Weekly Ramble: Delayed Edition
No better than long in development video game project I to have been hit with the dreaded delay. Better late than never some would say. But during the three days I didn’t post the Weekly Ramble I have been holding it back to polish it and make it better for you lovely people. Not a lot really happened last week so will focus on a few of the smaller stories that you may have missed.
The New 3DS (the small one) Dies
Nintendo has decided to end production of The New 3DS. For those unsure which of the crazy titled 3DS systems this is allow me to briefly explain. It’s the standard size 3DS but its got all that extra power so you can play Xenoblade Chronicles on it. That or one of the very few exclusive titles released for ‘The New’ range. It’s also the model that allowed you to change the face plates. So expect to see all those face plates shoot up in price on the used market. Oh! and this model also has 3D, I know that’s dumb to point out as it’s in the title but you would be surprised how many people I have spoken to that still forget some systems have the 3D capabilities. It’s not a big loss since The New 2DS XL is coming out very soon at the very reasonable price of £129.99. It has a bigger screen just no 3D. If need 3D The New 3DS XL is still in production. Surprisingly the standard 2DS is also still being produced the cheapest model with no clam shell, the old 3DS hardware, without 3D of course it looks like a weird dual screen Game Boy. Hey if it sells it sells.
Sports Direct Buys Into GAME
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Billionaire and owner of Sports Direct Mike Ashley has decided to keep the sinking ship that is GAME alive by purchasing 44 million shares in the company. This means he owns 25.75 percent of the company now. Mike Ashley was in the headlines last year as Sports Direct was being investigated for poor working condition of staff as well as paying people below minimum wage. Whether or not this controversy seeps into GAME now remains to be seen. GAME which is the UKs equivalent of Game Stop has had a rough few years. Sales have been declining and the retailer has struggled to remain relevant on the high street. I don’t often go into a GAME but the main problems I notice is games are more expensive instore than online for both new and used games. The stores also seem to be now focusing additionally on over priced mechanise as well. It is particularly difficult for GAME to survive since second hand stores such as CEX are offering decent deals on used games as well as selling retro titles which GAME fails to offer. The new games market is practically cornered by online retailers. But if you have to go retail supermarkets and retailers like Smyths Toys (its like Toys R Us) are still offering better prices than GAME. Well see if Sports Direct can save GAME but I can’t help but feel it was game over for the company a long time ago. Lets just hope if they do turn things around they treat the staff on the front line with respect and avoid the crappy working conditions reported from Sports Direct last year.
Metal Gear is 30! Party Time!
The gaming media loves to remind me how old I am. This week we were reminded that Metal Gear turned 30. Starting life out on the MSX, one would be surprised to see this interesting stealth title turn into the cultural phenomenon it became. In common Konami fashion very little has been celebrated from the company but of course the fans have been celebrating in droves. I never got around to playing Metal Gear Solid 5 since the drama surrounding that development put me off the experience. I have been invested in the majority of the other titles. Highlights for the series for me include:
- Metal Gear Solid — The original Playstation title was where many of us stated with the series. A decent stealth title with a fascinating narrative that was fully voice acted. Metal Gear Solid was a massive hit for the Playstation. It resurrected a old and sort of forgotten IP and the series continued to be popular since this revival. From Physcho Mantis messing with your controller to flipping over the Playstation box to find Meryls codec number (you were screwed if you rented the game from Blockbuster). This game still has the most memorable moments of the series. It may not be perfect but we sure as hell remember it vividly.
- Metal Gear Solid 2, so Raidens the main man now- One of the main criticisms of MGS2 was you now play as Raiden for the majority of the game instead of smooth talker Solid Snake. For the time I felt I was one of the few of my circle of friends that had no problem with this. It was a bold move to switch things up and also we saw more bare Raiden ass than I needed for one game but it was different and more importantly a surprise. Also this game got really messed up towards the end. It’s worth playing through for that alone
- Finally playing the MSX games — Included on all the HD versions and Subsistence version of Metal Gear Solid 3 on PS2 it was great to finally be able to play the original MSX games. It was especially a treat on PS Vita so I could play the games on the go. As someone fascinated by gaming history its great to see the origins of the gameplay style and see how it evolved.
- Playing every version of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for GH101 Game Club — The great Fred Rojas and I decided to to play through Metal Gear Solid 3 for a game club for the Gaming History 101 podcast. After playing through the 3DS version (of all ports) early I decided to head on a quest to play through every version of the game I could. Before the show I managed to play through the original PS2 version which was my least favourite version due to a restrictive camera. I played MGS3: Subsistence on PS2 which felt like the definitive version of the game to this day as it features the new camera controls and tons of extras. Finally I played the HD ports on Xbox 360 and PS Vita. Both of these are just purdy versions of game with the new camera controls.
- Metal Gear Solid 4 ending — Some argue the game was not that great but I had fun with it felt like a fitting end to the series once I watched through a two hour ending. All this time and games and the series had concluded and Kojima could finally leave the series to rest……oh wait. I have nothing against Metal Gear Solid 5, I haven’t played it. But I also would have been fine if the series just finished after 4. This game also has a pretty bad ass soundtrack.
And finally its Summer time so lets all go on holiday with our 3DS and return in September when there is more gaming news to report.
In all seriousness it has been a hectic week. Like most people I have RL (real life) problems like work and illness. It’s a stressful time so I write to release some tension and because it’s a distraction from the RL stuff. Delays will happen and I won’t lie leading up to September there will be more of them (more on that in another article). Thank you still for taking the time to read my articles. Once October rolls around I hope to be back into a more regular routine. Until then I’m hoping to have a least one article per week.
Finally until next time,
Have a mad one
JAM
