http://uk.gamespot.com/wii/action/supersmashbros/player_review.html?id=602296
(the link)
I have seen a fair number of blogs simply proclaiming that they had indeed finished a review and as an act of publicity had posted a piece of self advertisement to try and get as many readers as possible. So rather than simply tell you that yes I indeed have finished my Super Smash Bros. Brawl review, allow me to tell you how I came to write this review.
I have made a slow progression in the way I write reviews; not least in the fact that they seem to progressively get longer with every game (and make no mistake Brawl continues that tradition) but also in the time I spend writing them. My first two reviews were entirely written on the "write a review" page on GS. Both of them done right there and then, in little over maybe two hours. As I progressed onto Half Life I realised that I couldn't write a review in this way, mainly because there was so much more I wanted to write about Half Life; so I then descended into MS word and wrote that review over several sessions. Halo 3 continued much in the same way except that I was developing the nack for writing a helluva lot more than I used to, and also going into a fair bit of analysis. I then had somewhat of a renaissance with the short review, mainly due to the fact that Portal and HL2: episode 2 were very much suited to short reviews (no doubt if I ever do a Half Life 2 review its length would undoubtedly beat Halo 3). So there is the story of my reviews as of before Brawl; however with Brawl I went even further forward with my professionalism-I went into a notebook.
In all honesty this was no doubt down to me being in Ireland while I wrote the Brawl review where I had no TV or computer. The approach of writing by hand actually made things a lot easier as I was able to write faster and felt more able to cross out stuff I didn't like. It may also come to your surprise (to any of you who read this) that Brawl was not the first review I wrote in the book. No, that honour goes to Shadow of the Colossus which was an helluva lot harder to write than Brawl. Partly why i didn't type out Colossus first was that I wasn't sure that I was fully happy with it, and indeed i'm still not sure. Whether SOTC is the next review I put out is again up for question because while in Ireland I wrote a third review-Call of Duty 4.
I completed Call of Duty 4 in two days, well technically I had to wait until after I came back from Ireland so I could see the final cutscene on the bridge and do the bonus mission, (did the game on hardened, tried the bonus mission on veteran for about 3 hours and I will do it if my cousins lend me the game (note: if my cousins are reading this, that was a lie. I do not want to do the bonus mission on veteren, that was just something I wrote not to make me look like a quitter.)). Am I disappointed by its length? Not at all, as with Portal sometimes short games are the best ways to go and there were even points in Cod4's campaign that felt stretched.
That's for another time however because in all honesty there are lots of games I could review in the coming months. Only a few days before I left for Ireland I beat Mass Effect, and while in Ireland I triumphed over Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. So there you have it, the history of my reviews. I only intended to write about Brawl but I guess i'm wandering again. Maybe it is the fact that I am very pleased with my Brawl review that I am writing this or the fact that I was sick of that blog making me look like a computing expert. Either way, I've written something; now maybe you'll comment on them 
I bought SS2 for my cousin last year as a computer alternative to whatever other shooter I got him for Xbox. While he was pleased with the gift he did tell me later than after their last 3 computers had all broken due to game related issues (I believe it was Canon Fodder that caused the issues on all three counts) he was not allowed to install a game onto his family computer mainly because his Dad's entire job pretty much existed on it.
Of course I already knew this so it was with a slightly winking grin that I suggested to my cousin to bring the game while he came round to my house for the weekend. Now, I had heard that there were troubles with old games and vista, I also knew that SS2 was itself a game that had problems running on XP as well as Vista, so I didnt expect the process of allowing myself to play the game to be smooth running. What i didnt expect however was the fact that I would have to make such intricate changes to the games files, practically adding failsafes and codecs to allow the thing to even work.
Initially things looked promising. The actual installation seemed to work very well with no problems and I was having hopes that I may actually get a clean installation for once. Unfortunately the moment I attempted to play the game a warning message came up saying that
"System Shock 2 needs 35MB of memory to run, you only have 27 MB of space free"
Noticing that I had 176 GB of memory in my drive I was a tad perturbed. However a trip across internet lane and I discovered that the way to solve this problem was to just restart the system. I did so and the game obliged in its end of the deal to allow me to progress to the main menu, unfortunately that was as far as I would be getting.
Well that's not really fair to be honest. On my first attempt in the main menu i did actually get to starting a game. But no sooner had I walked off the train (there's a train at the start (like the one in the beginning of half life)) the game froze and task manager read the application as "not responding". I would be seeing alot of that over the following days.
My travels through the internet with my 35MB problem had shown me several highly complex ways of solving the problem, and as I really didnt feel like editing the games program files I looked for the most basic alternatives available and they werent particularly helpful. The most frequent of responses was the problem that people were running the game on two cores. A quick look at my system information confirmed that Ihad two cores as well. Hopeful, I restarted the game like it said, Alt-Tabbed to something else, brought up task manager, went to processes, selected SSHOCK.exe, right clicked, clicked on "set affinity" and unclicked one of the CPU's. Praying this would work, I went back into the game and got a black screen when I clicked on start game. Black screens would also prove to be a frequent sight while trying to fix the thing.
The next, and perhaps most obvious solution was to change windows compatibility for the program. This just flat out broke the game for me, sending up "not responding" screams from windows, without even a glance at any loading screens. I was disgruntled, as well as slightly sweaty (I really shouldn't have selected "run in 256 colours"). But I came to the conclusion that I would have to do something major and fix the game myself, and not rely on any quick and easy solutions to fix what would prove to be a fairly hefty task.
picture break time:
Basically, what follows is what I found out through various sources of what I had to do. It's divided into 3 sections so this should help anyone who's having problems installing the game.
1. Running the game
(This is what everyone wants, and this should stop the game from crashing. It's quite a short process but it does require you to follow the steps exactly as written)
-Download the official SS2 patch to upgrade the game to version 2.3
-Search the folder containing all of the installation files. Search for a file called "cam" it should be a .cfg file or just a CFG file.
-Open the file, windows will say it cant open the file, ask it to let you choose a program to open it manually. Open the file in notepad.
-You'll see some writing that you shouldn't concern yourself with. Beneath the other sets of writing (I left an empty line beneath the writing already there and my own) type in:
safe_texture_manager
sfx_no_asynch_all 1
-Save the file
-Create a new, blank notepad text document and simply save it as "safe_texture_manager"
-Download this file http://www.sshock2.com/files/shock2fixed.zip
-Unzip it, and save the application inside of it into the installation folder you have currently been working within.
-You will notice that this looks like another application file you have in this folder. Rename the application you just downloaded as "SHOCK2.exe" and rename the old application as "SHOCK2.old" (this is to make sure that if you click play when you insert the CD it will choose this new application rather than the old one)
-You will need the CD to play the game.
-If the game is still giving you problems make sure you only have the game running on one CPU. If you didnt read the top bit of my post:
-Start SS2 as normal. Once you are on the main menu Alt-Tab out of it. Start task manager. Go to Processes. Find "SHOCK.exe". Right click on it. Click on "Select Affinity...". Uncheck one of the CPU's. Go back into the game.
2. Fixing your binds
(Some of you may notice that when you go into the inventory screen you are unable to drag or use items there. This will occur if you made your own binds (your own button configuration). To check if this is the problem, load up the default bind set and see if you can drag and drop now. You should be able to and even if you still can't it is more than likely that the following will fix the issue.)
-In the installation folder find and enter the folder named "Binds"
-You should see various "BND Files". You will notice that there are two main names for each file "cfga" or "cfgb". cfga stands for the button configuration while you are in shoot mode and cfgb stands for the configuration while in use mode. The numbers represent which bind it is. bind 0000 is for the default layout, 0001 is for the standard fps layout the game supplies you with, and 0002 should be your binds.
-Open both 0002 files in notepad, and check that at the top it says "My binds" or whatever you saved it as. You can do this with the other files as well if you want to just to make sure.
-In the cfga (shoot mode) file scroll down and make sure that the following is correct, if it is not correct then edit it accordingly:
bind mouse1 +fire_weapon
bind mouse2 frob_object
-In the cfgb (use mode) file scroll down and make sure the following is correct, if it is not correct then edit it accordingly:
bind mouse1 +drag_and_drop_mode
bind mouse2 frob_object_inv
-Save the file, and load up these binds in the game to see if their functions now work.
3. Making the cutscenes run
(There are 10 cutscenes in System Shock 2. Only 3 of them are worth watching as the other 7 are quick 10 second scenes that show your ship coming in and out of dock with space stations, and the credits, and the intro showing the logos of irrational and looking glass. The three cutscenes that are of interest take place firstly when you start a new game, then when you first wake up on the Vaun Braun (this takes place after your third year of training and when a womans voice starts speaking too you), and then there is the last one at the end of the game. I am telling you this because I could not get this to work so if you cant get it to work you can pause the game and find the videos on youtube. But this does seem to be the best solution to the problem.)
-On the System Shock 2 CD locate and double-click on a file called iv5play. This application should install the codec required to play the movies.
-You now need to register that codec with Vista. To do so type "cmd" into the search box. Right click on the program that comes up and select "Run as administrator".
-Type in the following and press return:
regsvr32 "C:Sshock2LGVID.AX"
BEFORE you do so however you may have to change the C:Sshock2 to wherever you saved the installation files containing the LGVID file.
-Cutscenes now should work.
So yes, that is my story and the results are clear. I can run System Shock 2 really well now, although I can't view the cutscenes. He went home on Sunday so I get to keep it for a while. Hope to see you on board, it's really fun.
-Dr. Janice Polito
With the first quarter of 2008 already well and truly gone it feels slightly pointless describing games that I will no doubt be playing very soon. Indeed there are some games on this list that many of you will already be playing and if you feel that this is a waste of time then you are more than welcome to come and live over in England where writing blogs about super smash bros. brawl is the only way to pass the time. So without further ado, let's start the countdown.
10. Okami Wii
Clovers beautiful swansong returns at last to a new crowd, and the console it was always meant for
The PS2 had some of the most artistically beautiful games of the last generation, proving that a consoles technical ability is never a fair measure of the limits to its art. The most distinct of these was Okami a game that graced the ps2 just as the xbox 360 was being released and at the time presented an interesting comparison between the more technical beast Gears of War. Now, the game is being released on what many are calling its true home, with the wii-mote forever being the ideal candidate for celestial brushwork. I held off buying Okami for the ps2 because I was fairly sure that it would be released on wii and it turns out that I was right. Okami's distinct blend of Zelda-like puzzles and dungeons combined with an art design that is truly special and you have a game that simply cannot be ignored. While many have undoubtedly played and finished the game already, for me it's like 2006 all over again, and if the original could be compared with the like of Gears of War then there's no question that it could do so again.
9. Grand Theft Auto 4
"What we lack in size we make up for in scale" says Rockstar as their ultimate vision for Grand Theft Auto finally comes to fruition
I have to be honest; I don't particularly like the GTA series. While I undoubtedly had endless fun with my friends copy of GTA III that was restricted to short 20 minute play sessions which often resulted in mass killing sprees and heroic getaways. While I never had the opportunity to play Vice City, my return to the series with San Andreas was disappointing to say the least; the murdering had lost its interest and there wasn't much else of the game that I liked either. Come the impending hype for the first GTA4 trailer and I was as disinterested as the next hater. When the trailer did arrive however I was surprisingly shocked. In the space of 1 minute and 3 seconds I was suddenly genuinely keen on finding out more about the game. Enormous credit goes to Rockstar for this; as a teaser trailer it was perfect, revealing and hiding everything we wanted to know. We were presented by Nico, a character arriving in the newly renovated Liberty City telling himself "perhaps here, things will be different..." Rockstar know how to write games it seems, with inspiration from the Godfather, Scarface and Goodfellas ever present in all their previous titles. But only here in Grand Theft Auto 4 does it all seem to feature. With the huge critical success of Vice City and San Andreas it is difficult to comprehend exactly what Rockstar intended for the genuine successor to its landmark ps2 opener. Whatever happens, it is clear Rockstar have put all of their creative output into this one title and their decision to cut down on many areas that fans expected to be extended (area size, planes) reveals a company who know exactly what they're doing.
8. The World Ends With You
and now for something completely different...
For me to explain to you why I am so interested in this game would be impossible because I genuinely don't know why I'm looking forward to it. If you asked me what the game was about, you would be greeted with a similar look of vacant blankness, because I truly don't understand this game and perhaps this is why I am so excited about it. With so many games you are delivered the experience before you ever get the chance to try it out for yourself; be it through videos, previews or forums. The World Ends With You suffers no such pain as every video, every preview and every forum post simply adds to your own confusion. You might say that it is therefore ridiculous for me to be excited about a game I know nothing about, "how do you know its going to be good?" you may reply. I would again say that it is exactly this kind of unknowingness that attracted me to the game in the first place, and it is this continued sense of strange mysticism that keeps me hooked to the game, because even though I know otherwise; I still look for every new video, preview or forum post about this game, and it will hopefully prove likely that I will still remain nonplussed about the game until I am holding it in my hands. And if that moment ever does come, then I can honestly tell you that it will be my most exciting gaming moment in years.
7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Release date EU: TBA
"A delayed game is eventually good; a bad game is bad forever". This famous quote came from the refining king, Mr Miyamoto himself. However when the game in question has already been out in 2 other continents for several months, the likelihood of Brawls delay actually meaning something beyond localisation is about as likely as Nintendo ever being able to release a game simultaneously. To be fair, it makes sense to stagger the launch, with even the US' release crippling brawls online it would be difficult to comprehend the amount of lag if the entire world came in to play. However negativity aside and I must admit that the US release of the game raised my level of anticipation to its highest point, and justly so seeing the scores the game has been given. As is ever the case with internet hype, the game has been utterly spoiled for me (well characters and stages at least) yet I remain ever itching to try out all of those characters so dutifully revealed to me by friends, posters and magazines. While I'm sure you'll agree that the preview to this title has been fairly predictable so far let me end on perhaps a more surprising note. While the gamer does indeed have many reasons to play this game, the thing that I am most looking forward to in this game is the music. Whereas I was disappointed by Halo 3's superfluous orchestration of its music, the quality of those tracks were already fairly decent to begin with. Twilight Princess' midi files most certainly require an orchestration however as do the various hits from the past. As well as this is the contribution of metal gear solid and sonic the hedgehog, with both these series' having some of the most recognisable themes in history. Combine this all together and you have the only game of 2008 that I would by for its score alone.
6. Spore
The most ambitious game of 2008 will soon arrive as Will Wright offers the world his own slice of creation
Calling Spore "ambitious" is doing a severe injustice to the game. Whereas many other games this year have been noted under similar terms Spore easily outdoes all of these games in terms of what it is trying to achieve. Whereas most games only offer the tiniest amount of history to be covered, be it a world war or a single period in history, Spore ousts them all with a design so grand that it would be theoretically impossible to go farther. Covering the entire life cycle of a single species from microbe to interstellar race Spore charts your progress as prey to predator and coloniser to invader, from inception to destruction Spore sets itself apart by presenting a million different possibilities to the player and a space setting so large that Will Wright himself has said that there are "over half a million different stars, each one having its own planets, more than anyone could visit in a lifetime.". While the scale is definitely there Spore now needs to live up to its claims; the idea of controlling a creature from its very beginning to its more advanced stages presents different game types for each stage of the creatures evolution. Each of these is going to need to be played differently enough to feel like progression is being made but each is also going to have to feel familiar enough so that alienation doesn't set in at every stage. While this is the first game in the countdown to not receive universal enthusiasm that is only because the game is so ambitious to begin with that it will require an enormous amount of effort to match the enormity of the task Will Wright has set himself. However, this is not a review and as such we should certainly give Spore the benefit of the doubt so far. Mr Wright has certainly proved himself, but this will undoubtedly be his greatest challenge yet.
Who would have thought GS had a word count limit 
Who would have thought i'd actually find that out 
(I did part 2 below because part 1 would be seen by people first so it would be easier to have them follow onto 2)
