Gaming Diary - Nethack

Hey guys, Mark here and I'm here today to talk about Nethack... For all of you who don't know Nethack is one of the earliest RPG's ever. It was played back in the day where PCs were more primitive but that doesn't hinder it at all.


The picture above, for those who may not understand is of me getting killed by a ghome lord in level 5 of the dungeons of doom. It uses symbols and colours to create everything, for example a browny green + is a door while a white + may be a spell book. The controls are quite complicated, with pretty much every button on the keyboard doing something and capitals as well, Eg 'w' is to wield another weapon while 'W' is to wear something.

This game is also good because of the variety, it generates a new dungeon every time you play and anything can happen, last night I got some +3 boots which gave me a good Armour class, owned some monsters then I found a potion, drank it, went blind and died. You basically have to go through the Dungeons and find the pathway to the next one, avoiding or killing the monsters, getting items along the way, and avoiding traps and hazards.

Overall I am very happy that I returned to playing this game, as it is very fun and very addictive (once you learn the controls that is!) I am very happy that I dug it up from my files and now I shall go play it some more =D

Screenshots by me! =D

Teh E3 News: Ubisoft

Well here we are, yes it's the E3 coverage for Ubisoft written by none other than me Callum the salmon. Well Ubisoft certainly have a great line up for some concepts most of which will have many of you excited.

Well here is the list of games presented by Ubisoft; Assassins Creed 2, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Rabbids Go Home, R.U.S.E, Splinter Cell Conviction, Red Steel 2 and Academy of Champions.

Well Assassin's Creed 2 certainly has got many people wondering what could be in store for them, it is following a highly successful game and will be really hard to get it quite as popular as the first but i have heard how many people are looking forward to this so keep an eye out.

No more heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, again a follow up to a great game although one thing that was a bit off with the first one was the lack of free roaming when your not doing missions so it is possible that they may have fixed this, again a highly awaited game.

Rabbids go home, yet again another rayman spin off is on the way, it is rumoured to be the last in the series of the rabbids, i have yet to play any of these but i think i might invest in one, when I have the money.

There is also R.U.S.E which is a new strategy game and another pretty good follow up of Red Steel with Red Steel 2 which again you slash people with swords as you do in the first one, then you run around a little so yeah just a classic killing game.

Then lastly Academy of Champions which is being released on the Wii and again is another Sports/Fitness game which there has been too many of these for the Wii and my mum has decided to buy the newly released ones recently and to be frank they aren't that good so fingers crossed this will be better.

This line up of games is definitely quite pleasing, most people will be looking forward to these new games and sequels.

Pictures from: http://www.cheatcc.com/images/news/e3logo.jpg
http://dlb-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ubisoft.gif

Teh E3 News: Sony

Hey guys, Dave here covering Sony’s show at E3 2009. Note that this is all in order of what happened at the conference. (Some stuff shall be missed out – general figure stuff like PSN and PSP figures).

First thing Sony showed was some footage of the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Closed Multiplayer Beta. The lucky few that got an invitation to be part of the closed beta (I myself was!) were told that it would be available for download that night. The footage shown was gorgeous showing of some destruction able environments, quick time events, dynamic cover and general shooting the crap out of people.

Following afterwards was footage from upcoming PS3 exclusive MAG (Massive Action Game) which is a multiplayer only title which features a massive 255 player limit. That means that it’s possible to play a game with 254 other people!

Next up Kaz Hirai came on stage to unveil the PSP GO! (which was leaked onto the Internet early anyway... But still, Sony joked about it, Jack Tretton cracked a joke about leaks in there type of business earlier on in the show). As the image shows the PSP GO! Features no second analogue stick. PSP GO! Is 50% Smaller than the first PSP and 40% Lighter, which is a large improvement! It comes a 16GB memory and a slot for expansion cards. PSP GO! Also features no UMD drive, thus games are downloadable only (there are rumours Sony are going to put the UMD drive back in, and that Sony are trying to create a way for people to download PSP game’s they have already bought for free). Also unveiled along with the PSP GO! Was a new PC media manager for the PSP, and a new XMB function called “Sense Me”, which creates playlists based on your desired mood (this is actually available on some Walkman phones).


Gran Turismo PSP and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker were both unveiled next for the PSP. GTPSP will feature over 800 cars and 35 tracks with six different variations. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is set 10 years after the events in Metal Gear Solid 3 and from the trailer shown, there were multiple Snakes. Both are due for release in 2010. Jack Tretton then came back on stage for a quick round-up of PSP titles forecoming. These featured Resident Evil PSP, Little Big Planet, Monster Hunter: Freedom, Hannah Montana (Hooray!!) Harry Potter and Motorstorm: Arctic Edge.

A new PS3 game created by Rockstar, called “Agent” was announced. Barely any information was announced about it though. All that is known is that it is an espionage thriller set in the 1970’s, and a PS3 exclusive.

Assassins Creed 2 footage was then shown which looks stunning. The Developers pointed out that Leonardo Da Vinci would create your weapons and items in the game, (such as the famous Da Vinci Glider). New AI will feature making it harder to hide, as will 30 new weapons and dual take downs.


FFXIII was then announced to be coming out Spring 2010, then, which I’m sure many people wet themselves at hearing: Final Fantasy XIV was releasing in 2010, is an online RPG, and PS3 exclusive. Then came the biggie: Sony showed off their own Motion Controller, which looks a lot like a wand with a glowing ball on the top of it which was tracked by the PSEye (PS3’s version of Eye toy). They then showed a live tech demo of some guy playing Tennis, baseball, golf, and using a whip and desert eagle, which was fired using a button on the controller, mentioning that doing so without a button would feel very unnatural (perhaps taking a pot-shot at Microsoft’s motion controller here!). They stated that this was only a prototype (and a very good prototype at that) and they are hoping for a spring 2010 release.

Modnation Racers and Play.Create.Share were then shown. Modnation Racers is basically PS3’s version of Mario kart, but people can create their own tracks and riders and then share them with the world. Play.Create.Share is what Sony called this new genre.

Team Ico then showed a trailer for the final part of the Ico trilogy: “The Last Guardian”. The trailer had amazing attention to detail, textures and lighting. A quick teaser trailer for Gran Turismo 5 was then shown, which showed off some vehicle damage (a first for Gran Turismo).

The last thing shown by Sony was a God of War 3 demo. The God of War 3 demo was described as being better looking than anything ever, on any platform. It featured a huge lava man destroying scenery and making a new path for, still as pissed off as ever, Kratos to run through.

So, that’s pretty much all that Sony showed at this years E3. Sony certainly have a lot to live up to, after showing all this. I for one hope they come through. Next Years E3 will certainly have a hard time beating this years!

Teh E3 News: Konami

Hey guys Mark here and I'm gonna be looking at what Konami had to offer at this years E3.

This is the image 360 fans were left to look at when Hideo Kojima revealed Metal Gear Solid: Rising at Microsoft's conference. Finally a Metal Gear game for 360! This is what Kojima's teasers were counting down (along with something else I'll talk about later). This appears to be Raiden, The main protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2 and a side character in MGS4 and I personally looking forward to playing as him after seeing him as a super cool ninja in MGS4 =D. It looks like he has a Cyborg Exoskeleton (thanks wikipedia) and an eyepatch. This suggests it will be set after MGS4 because he lost both his arms saving Snake in that... Then he still saved Snake without his arms (by wielding the blade in his teeth). There's another piece of artwork showing Raiden on the back of Crying Wolf (a member of the "Beauty and the Beast Corps") from MGS4... Apparently though this game isn't going to be worked on until next years E3, but ya never know with Kojima...

Another game shown was the other game Kojima's site, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. This is a PSP game set ten years after MGS3 and four years after MGS:Portable Ops. It appears to have Big Boss in it and there are multiple Snakes in the trailer, so Co-op perhaps?

Konami's third and quite possibly my most favourite of the three is definitely Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. I love the Castlevania series, and I love Metal Gear Solid. So whats it gonna be when Hideo Kojima says he's gonna try to make it? Kickass (hopefully =P). It is said to be nothing like the other games in the series, so sorry if you wanted to hunt down Dracula with the vampire killer. You play as Gabriel, a member of a group known only as the brotherhood of light and your wife is murdered by these monsters and her soul is trapped for eternity and she guides Gabriel. Also in the trailer was a strange mask which is quite mysterious indeed.

So that's it from Konami really this year at E3. I'd say they have certainly built up hype for these games and hopefully they're gonna rock (especially Castlevania!) Konami are definitely gonna have their hands full making these games though and I'm hoping they can deliver what they've promised and shown us this year at E3!

Image from cache.gawker.com and IGN.com

Teh E3 News: Intro and Nintendo

Yo guys! For the rest of this week and the next us guys at Triforce Games will be reporting on news from E3. We will be covering Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft and Konami. All the other companies will be summarized in this issues 'Teh Gaming News'. Now onto today's topic... Nintendo!

Now First off Nintendo have done well this E3. Very well in fact!

First off is TWO new Mario games! Super Mario Galaxy 2 and New Super Mario Bros Wii have both been announced. New Super Mario Bros Wii is apparently coming out later this year with drop in/out multiplayer/co-op (I say this because much like Lego Star Wars you can both help and hinder each other). Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the other hand will be much like the last but with Yoshi's! They seem to have powers much like as in Super Mario World and also new power ups for Mario can be expected. Such as a giant drill that can help you... Well, drill through stuff! Bee Mario seems to have returned from the last Galaxy game. SMG2 is going to be harder and will use even more innovative ideas.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers has finally shown up after no news from it for ages. It was play-able at E3 for the first time and seems to be a more serious take of a FF game for the Wii. Oh and it has Chocobos. =D

Metroid: Other M was announced as well. A Third Person ish shooter made by Team Ninja (The guys behind Ninja Gaiden). After watching the trailer I think I can safely say that this could rival the brilliant FPS games made by Retro Studios and I can't wait to see how this will turn out.

The long awaited sequel for Camalot's RPG Golden Sun has came to light (See what I did there?) on the DS. I haven't played the original Golden Sun games for the GBA but as far as I know they are good and this will (hopefully) be a good place to start for new people to the series. The graphics seemed very FF3 DSish and with bosses that take up two screens what more do want in a hand held RPG?

On the subject of the DS more Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was shown. Some more of the story-line was revealed as well. It seems that Mushroom Kingdom's residents have caught a virus called blorbs (which makes them swell up like balloons), while Bowser has eaten a 'lucky mushroom' that somehow turned him into a hero vacuum and sucked Mario and co into his stomach. You control Bowser on the top screen and the Mario Bros at the bottom where each others actions make an impact on each screen. With the usual humor found in Mario RPG's coupled with the great battling mechanic I am sure this game will be worth a look when it comes out.

Carrying with DS games its onto The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks. Not much more has been shown other than a new trailer with Link riding around on his train being chased by a big Gohma/Crab thing in a tunnel. Boss battles on the train perhaps? Some more of the controlable 'Darknut' like guy has been shown and how it will be used in battle and puzzles. If its as good as Phantom Hourglass then its a get as soon as its out!

Now, onto the big news of the week in my books. Being a big Zelda fan when the new Zelda Wii was released I was a happy person to say the least. Not much has been said other than it will use Wii Motion Plus. Some artwork was shown as well hinting that maybe Links without a sword? Or does the mysterious figure standing in front of Link got something to do with it. Knowing Nintendo we won't see anything till next years E3. So until then let the big wait begin!

Hideo Kojima

Hey guys, Luke here. I'm not up so late this time but I'm still waiting and hopefully for the last time. I'm guessing it will be as it is E3 this week so they would announce it on the site first. Earlier today the rain stopped and it became sunny around about the time that Metal Gear Solid: Rising was shown for the Xbox 360. Could the sun be the Rising sun? Coincidence or will they announce MGS for the PSP? Or will it be something completely new? Furthermore in the background was an 8 or a B but so far no one knows. Ok so it is the day after but the news was Metal Gear Solid: Rising and The PSP exclusive Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The teaser site was for E3 which began this week, and we will have full coverage of that on the weekend (5th - 7th).

That's all guys.
Play nice.