I got through Jazzpunk: Directors Cut (PS4) over the course of a couple of boozy nights, 

and while some of the things that happened seem a bit fuzzy I'm content with the idea 

that slight intoxication might be the best way to enjoy the game. It's an adventure game 

which is really heavy on jokes and simple to play, no puzzle was too taxing to the point of 

there not being a fail state or game over throughout the game. The humour is very much 

Naked Gun meets Ren and Stimpy and the jokes are so constant there are some that fall flat 

but many more that made me laugh. I was initially concerned that it would all revolve around 

the noire spoof mixed with a few robot jokes but it wasn't long before my concerns were 

erased, any meeting with the boss who sends you out on missions was especially funny. 

The joke with him which concludes the whole game is one of the best.  A few times tasks 

went on a couple of beats too long, escaping the hotel and a collection of sporting events in 

particular but it's hard to get too angry when while rooting around for one solution I 

accidentally created some penis topiary. Its nothing special graphics wise, although at 

points the mixture of 3D and flat sprites works really well and all the sounds, music and voice 

acting really helps to build the odd world that I inhabited for a fleeting, drunken time. I'm not 

too up on how the game came about but it feels like a game where the makers may have 

been a little unhinged or at least they left all there inhibitions at the door before making 

this wonderful strange thing and that's great because none of the gags I was bombarded 

with felt strained or that they'd been through some sort of think tank. It might not be for 

everyone but I liked it. 

I soldiered on with another adventure game too, Life is Strange (PS4). I really want to get 

it finished before the year is up, I loved the first chapter and then for some unknown reason 

I failed to carry on. I've now got through to the end of the penultimate chapter and am really 

excited to see where it goes next. Forgiving some dubious dialogue at times "I'm going 

to take a dump. You coming with me?" It feels like a really good tv show most of the time 

I'm content to watch the cutscenes rather than play the game, the  effect my choices have on 

the world also seem really poignant, in chapter 3 I made a few choices which really seemed 

bad but I'm sticking to my guns and seeing where I end up. I've taken to one character 

in particular and am starting to think my defending of them may well be a bad road to go 

down. Hopefully I'll be done with it by next week, not because I want to rush through it but 

because I want to see how it ends.  

Earthbound and Dune 19.10.16

I wanted to love Hitman (PS4), so much so that I forgot to ask the question is it the sort of game I like or am good at? The answer is a resounding no. I admire all the parts that construct the game, its simply amazing how many characters are walking about doing they're set routine and the choice of approach to the two missions I've attempted are overwhelming. I knew I was struggling though in the training mission, even being told what to do I just didn't have the patience to get the most out of it. In a rather clumsy fashion I found myself in a room alone with my target, shot him and ran away and while I achieved my goals I felt I was missing out. This feeling only got worse when I took on the next full training mission, this time I disguised myself as a mechanic, found myself sort of alone with my target, strangled him and then ran away, but my fleeing this time involved shuffling along a lot of windows. Now I was a certified Hitman through my ineptitude at killing people or rather my ability to kill people and then run away I got to the part which has stumped me, killing two targets in a place packed with guards and people. There are parts I really like to the Paris mission, I spent way too long tailing a model to disguise myself as him and I've poisoned a lot of Sushi hoping that it will find its way to one of my targets, the problem remains though that I'm not good at the game. I've got as far as finding myself in the same room as one of the people i'm meant to kill but also with a bunch of eagle eyed security, ready to shoot me the second I put some rat poison in a Champagne glass. I can see that the game requires a lot of patience and tailing people, working out the perfect time to strike but thats not for me and while I like the premise I just can't get into the game. 

By some weird premonition or coincidence I played a bit of Rampage (PS2) which led me to playing Rampage World Tour (N64) both fun games, I can see the uproar about the N64 game now, for a couple of quid off eBay it's fun, if I'd invested £40-50 back when it was released I'm not too sure how I would have felt. The weird thing is though that playing both of these games was a great introduction to 100ft Robot Golf (PS4) a game which is the perfect balance of stupidity and gameplay. It knows the joke, but isn't so involved in it to forget that it needs to feel good to play at the same time. The idea is that in a giant mech you play golf, the advantages of this is that you can smash up or shoot or throw hoverboards at obstacles in your way, which can vary from asteroids to buildings or whales. Beyond that it adds some interesting ideas to a golf game, you have to physically run (or walk) to where the ball lands and each machine has a variation on how to play a shot, some are more traditional power bars others involve timed button inputs each has its own advantages and disadvantages and its a lot of fun getting used to. The feature I've liked the most is the addition of a campaign which via the language of Manga tries to make sense of the insanity of whats going on. It's a fantastic way of learning how to play the game and I've loved it. The story doesn't take too long, around 2 hours and there are the usual incentives of customisation items win during the time spent going through it. I really, really like what I've played of it so far and am excited to try out the multiplayer which looks like its got a lot going on. 

Earthbound and Dune 12.10.16

The Pac Man CE series so far in my opinion has been the best example of making an old video games character relevant in the modern age. Pac Man CE 2 does something really nobel in attempting to continue to evolve the format and in doing that making sure the series still feels like its moving forward. The safe bet would have been to update the game minimally adding a few maps and some new skins for the characters what this game feels like though is a complete reevaluation of the game. Gone are clearing left and right sections to collect fruit as well as to move onto the next string of dots you don't always have to eat all the existing dots but more drastically you can now bump into ghosts a number of times before hitting them becomes fatal (thats a big deal) also jump pads and a bomb which restarts you at the centre of the map I believe are additions (might be wrong though). Some of these features don't always work, the jump pads confuse things a bit too much for me for example. What I found relieving though was that once I unlocked new music and maps I found the same old addictive arcade feel of the first two games.  I'm loving it the same way I love the earlier games, short bursts of score attacking gameplay. Certainly I wouldn't play it for hours, but it does have that addictive "just one more go" feel when everything clicks into place. 

I also played more than I should have of NFL Blitz (N64). It does for American Football what NBA Jam does for basketball, making it more accessible by striping out a lot of the more complicated features of a more simulation based sports game. Thats perfect for me, the games are quick paced and simple to get into (at its most basic around 9 plays are available for both offence and defence) it's even so unafraid of getting away from reality that it has a depleting boost bar. Once I'd got around the complicated process of clearing a N64 memory card, something I'd completely forgotten, I started a league and am really getting into it. It's a real shame that these sorts of sports games have gone by the wayside in the modern day but at the same time I'm really pleased this game holds up so well. The only downside is that the CRT i've got hooked up at the moment refuses to play NTSC games in colour, so I'm missing out a little on the graphics!