The (Slightly late) Aqua Aqua 2 review is finally out! Take a peek ^__^

Are you a masochist with a passion for video games? Because boy do I have something for you! Aqua Aqua: Wetrix 2 feels like literal torture for the first five hours. However, once you get your head around the floaty control system and ridiculous difficulty, you find a puzzle game that isn’t just really satisfying, but has a unique concept to boot. The premise for the game is simple;…

Anyways, lets get down to business. FIFA 2001 was the first of the franchise to hit the Playstation 2 as a release title in November 24th, 2000. It was the eighth in the series already and boasted detailed kits and the first time that certain players had unique faces. All these seem like small things now but back then it was a big deal. Dan Adams of IGN stated that ‘The new models are definitely a step up from last year, even though the face deformations can make them look just that; deformed’. What he is referencing here is the new push to make the players ‘react realistically’ to goals etc.

Adams goes on to mention how useless the AI is in the defensive position on the pitch and the fact you can be tackled from up to four feet away without a penalty. He says ‘I just don’t think thats physically possible. Maybe I’m just out of shape, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen tackles like that in a real game.’ With all that aside however, Adams felt that ‘…when all is said and done, what we’re left with is a good, fun game that soccer fans all over the world will enjoy.’ and praised the introduction of online multiplayer for the first time in the series.

For this title, I actually struggled to find any more recent reviews for the game. Which I guess isn’t too surprising for a franchise that releases a new title every year. However, if you are interested in seeing what the game looks like in motion and want to learn some period football trivia along the way, you should go and check out ‘chrismadagames’ and his Fifa History series. I’ll throw a link in the Bibliography at the bottom for the FIFA 2001 episode!

Now its time for me to run onto the pitch and have a kick around myself. I think I’ll be relying a lot on Ed for this one. Him being my resident football aficionado after all! I’ll keep you posted how it goes.

Signing off,

Josh Ayres

Bibliography

“CMG’s FIFA History – #5 – FIFA 2001 (PS2)”. YouTube.  Web. 16 Aug. 2016. –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB7QL-8C_D0 

Adams, Dan. “FIFA 2001 – IGN”. IGN. Web. 16 Aug. 2016. – http://uk.ign.com/articles/2000/10/24/fifa-2001 

Josh Ayres is a film maker, Youtuber and journalist rolled into one, writing about all your favourite (and not so favourite) Playstation 2 games. He also writes for the ‘WhatsOn UK’ website. Check out his latest article on Pokemon Go!

My Tekken Tag Tournament review is finally here! Check it out = )

When the Playstation 2 was released, no matter where you lived, Tekken Tag Tournament was the reason to buy the console back in November 2000. When this came out, I was seven and Pokemon was my only love, so I had no time for this finger-destroying beat ‘em up. Although, I do vaguely remember hearing kids older than me fawning over the graphics. Which is understandable as the game starts off with…

Showreel - 2016 from Josh Ayres on Vimeo.

Not having much to go on I turned to the instruction booklet to help me out. The initial concept sounded solid enough, create lakes to house the water being dropped on you while dealing with different environmental problems like meteors as you go. Which gave me flashbacks of a favourite Xbox Live Indie game of yore, From Dust. The idea of a more arcade like environmental puzzle game sounded awesome!  The booklet goes on to detail the games interesting ‘bingo mechanic’ and has a two page spread dedicated to the games ‘lore’ which consists of four monsters being angry because God made water. Gripping stuff!

Aqua Aqua: Wetrix 2 as the name suggests is a sequel to the Nintendo 64 game Wetrix and is developed by the now defunct Manchester based studio, Zed Two. Who went on to create Future Tactics: The Uprising and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial And The Cosmic Garden. I mean I want to sound shocked that they went under but history has already proven that making E.T. games is never a good way to be successful in the video game industry.

Moving swiftly on, lets see what journalists were saying about this game back in November. Our good friend at IGN, David Zdyrko described it as ‘a game that might turn off a lot of first-time players. But for those willing to put some time into it, they’ll find that this is a very rewarding puzzle game.’. The turn offs come in the form of ‘camera problems’ and ‘some difficulty with placing pieces exactly where you want them’. The Telegraphs review agrees with this and mentions that the game only costs £19.99 over the usual video game price of £39.99 making it a ‘cheap and classy puzzle game’.

Six years ago, (Yes thats how long its been since someone wrote anything on this title. I guess that says something in itself eh?) PaulEMo talked about the game on his ‘Game a Day’ blog stating that ‘I simply couldn’t grasp the concept…well, it wasn’t so much that, as I couldn’t “see” the playfield properly’ which left him misplacing blocks and losing.

So just like with Wild Wild Racing, we have some polarising reviews. The journalists of the past enjoyed the game but the bloggers of the future… Not so much. I guess I just need to ‘dive in’ head first and see what the game deserves for myself!

Bibliography

Zdyrko, David. “Aqua Aqua 2 – IGN”. IGN. Web. 24 July 2016. (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2001/01/02/aqua-aqua-2)

“Aqua Aqua Wetrix 2”. Telegraph. Web. 24 July 2016.(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/reviews/4758758/Aqua-Aqua-Wetrix-2.html)

PaulEMo. “A Gamer Forever Voyaging: Aqua Aqua: Wetrix 2 (PS2)”. A Game a Day. Web. 24 July 2016. (http://paulemozplaysagameaday.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/aqua-aqua-wetrix-2-ps2.html)

‘Such Wild, Much Race’ – Wild Wild Racing Review

You know that guy at the bar. The one who tries a little bit too hard to impress the girl and ALWAYS ends up falling flat on his face? That is Wild Wild Racing in a nutshell and it all comes down to it trying to do too much on a brand new console. That’s not to say that it doesn’t fulfil its promises though. The game takes you across the globe, off-road racing in the wind, rain and snow all while…

Tekken Tag Tournament from what I understand is a legendary game by all accounts. For many people this was their first foray into the fighting game genre. With its quick paced yet highly tactical gameplay things would get really competitive, really fast, no matter your skill level. However, under its tough hard exterior of its moody front cover lies a game full of charm. The Tekken franchise has never really taken itself too seriously. What with its over the top story and goofy characters. From what I understand this game goes one step further with the introduction of a bowling mini game. With that in mind, I can’t wait to find out what else this game has in store for me.

Of course, this was one of the Playstation 2 release titles over here in the UK and was released November 24th, 2000 and was developed by the arcade geniuses Namco. Who also developed Ridge Racer V which is another highly successful Playstation 2 launch title. In other words, they had their fingers in a lot of Sony pies.

If you want to join me on this fighting adventure your best bet is to track down a copy of the PS2 game. However, for you purists out there you might struggle to find a original release copy. I had to settle with the ‘Platinum’ release. If you don’t own a PS2 you could try and find Tekken Hybrid for the Playstation 3. The disc contains a HD rendition of the game alongside a ‘Prologue’ to the sequel and the ‘action packed’ film Tekken Blood Vengeance. From what I understand its been out of print basically since Tekken Tag Tournament 2 came out. Either way, whether you want to witness the game in its original glory or track down the HD version I’m sure eBay will be able to help you out.

Anyhow, lets get into the nitty gritty of this ‘Overview’. Back when Tekken Tag Tournament  came out David Zdyrko from IGN described the game as ‘…arguably the best version of Tekken available anywhere.’ and goes on to describe some of the textures as ‘mind-boggling’. On the flip side he ends his review stating that ‘If you’re looking for revolutionary new features or gameplay, you’re not going to find it here.’ Either way, overall Zdyrko gave it an 8.3 out of 10 and even going so far to give it the award of ‘Editors Choice’.

More recently, Cary from the collab blog United We Game described it as ‘…a generous smorgasbord of all the goodness the series had to offer up to that point.’ Which sums it up neatly as one the biggest selling points the game advertised was a large roster made from the last 3 games. She goes on to say that its ‘the fighting man’s fighting game series as much as it’s the thinking man’s fighting game series.’ and then talks about how difficult she found it in comparison to more recent fighting game titles like Marvel Vs Capcom 3.

So whats the takeaway from this then? Just by glancing through the instruction booklet I noticed pages upon pages detailing different moves and all the individual character combos. Does this game simply not stand up to the test of time? Or maybe its simply a product of its age where you are expected to memorise combos just to stand a chance in Arcade mode?

All will be revealed in my upcoming review!

Signing Out,

Josh Ayres

Controllers have cables?

My bed time reading.

Best band name ever.

Michelle 5eva

This image of poor Ling is literally nightmare fuel.

Bibliography

Zdyrko, David. “Tekken Tag Tournament – IGN”. IGN. Web. 8 July 2016. (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2000/10/24/tekken-tag-tournament)

Cary. “(Tekken) Tag! You’re It!”. United We Game. Web. 8 July 2016.(https://wegameunited.com/2016/01/21/tekken-tag-youre-it/)

I’ve never played Wild Wild Racing, I do however recognise the cover art. I’m not sure if thats because I used to confuse it with the Crazy Taxi cover… I mean they are both yellow and involve cars so its not a massive jump. Either way, Wild Wild Racing is trying to scratch that same itch. Just with off road racing over picking up customers.

The game aims to sell itself as a less serious Collin Mcray Rally; With unque weather elements for each track and the ability to ‘make your own’ route from start to finish, all while unlocking new cars in its different challenge modes. Ranging from time trials, collecting letters Tony Hawks style and… crazy golf?  You need to complete all of these along with the three different cups to unlock the ‘legendary’ Wild Wolf car.

From what I can tell the only way to still play this game is on the Playstation 2. I managed to get my copy for 50p so it shouldn’t set you back too much! Assuming you can find it of course. The game is one of the many Playstation 2 launch titles we are going to be covering over the coming months. So it shares the same release date as all the others (November 24th, 2000).

Speaking of how old this game is, I noticed something that really shows the age of this title. This is a bit geeky so bare with me (He says on a blog dedicated to retro video games) but the eagle eyed among you might notice that the classification organisation isn’t the usual PEGI.  Back then in the UK classifying video games was done by the British company known as the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA for short). It wasn’t until April 2003 did PEGI even exist and their ratings didn’t become mandatory until July 2012! Hence why sometimes you see games being classified by the BBFC or PEGI during this time period. Sorry, I’ll go back to Wild Wild Racing now I promise!

During the launch, IGN’s David Smith highly praised the overall graphics of the game. Especially the finer details. ‘The suspension animation is amazing, especially how it complements the well-modeled terrain…, and since the engines are exposed, you can actually see those animating as well.’ He goes on to commend the courses for their variety in terrain although describes the game as not a ‘ground breaking racer, but what it’s chosen to do, it does very well, and it’s worth your attention if you need a slightly different species of speed at the PS2 launch.’ It was given a 7.8 overall with only its sound letting it down thanks to its ‘generic techo’ beats.

More recently however, Lord Carnage had this to say about Wild Wild Racing during his ‘Classic Game Room’ feature. ‘The environments are kinda dull and the music sucks but if you play it enough you will learn the tracks and win the races using the short cuts.’ He then describes the challenge modes as interesting and closes off by saying ‘I recommend this one if you are a fan of driving games on the Playstation 2 and you can find it for less than a dollar’.

Now, it’s time for me to form my own opinion on this early launch title. So sit tight, maybe grab a coffee and I’ll be back with the results before you know it!

Such Cover. Much Edge.

‘Can’t let you do that Wild Fox!’

Signing off,

Josh Ayres

Bibliography

Smith, David. “Wild Wild Racing – IGN”. IGN. Web. 9 July 2016. (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2000/09/13/wild-wild-racing-2)

Bussler, Mark. “Classic Game Room – WILD WILD RACING review for PlayStation 2″. Lord Carnage. Web. 9 July 2016. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0TjmlG00K8)