Casual Gaming

Emerging from the deepest depths of Korea for European consumption in 2007, Maplestory is a massively popular MMORPG, with over fifty million players worldwide.Inspiring everything from Anime and fan art to a range of snacks. Whilst being extremely popular, the game is also very different from its online siblings, boasting unique visuals and side scrolling gameplay, while retaining many of the classic elements that make the genre so popular. With the recent release of the expansion pack, Knights of Cygnus, the time seemed right to look at what makes the game such a fan favourite.

After the initial, coma inducing tedium that comes with installing any downloadable PC game, it quickly becomes apparent that Maplestory is much more, and in some cases much less, than an ordinary MMORPG title. Visually the game looks like a cross between an upscale anime and the psychedelic imaginings of an overactive twelve year old splattered across the monitor. Colourful players roam across 2D backgrounds reminiscent of an early Megadrive title, interacting with surprisingly detailed characters and items, while a retro digital soundtrack will either serenade them or drive them insane. This style will instantly put a lot of more mature gamers off, but for those willing to look past Maplestory’s out of retirement presentation, a deep and engrossing MMORPG experience awaits. Read More  »

Ten years ago, turn based RPG action ruled the gaming world. Titles such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest had gamers craving multiple discs, turn based battles and logic defying haircuts. Not only were these games massively popular with both their fan boy audience and casual gamers but, in the case of Final Fantasy, were some the best games of their generation. Due to the fact that the majority of these games originated from Japan and shared similar themes, the genre was affectionately crowned the ‘JRPG’. Hours were chalked up, bosses were beaten and potions were thrown, all in the name of this eccentric and engrossing brand of gaming.

It’s no exaggeration to say that in its golden age, the JRPG really was the most popular gaming genre of its time. There’s not a gamer in their twenties that hasn’t at least heard of Final Fantasy VII and almost ten million of those gamers bought the game.  This giant fan base has inspired everything, from the standard geek fare of cosplay, to the big budget heights of films and energy drinks. This success allowed other JRPGs to break into the mainstream, with Pokémon becoming a global Gameboy phenomenon and Square going on to release a host of other Final Fantasy titles, each gaining commercial and critical success.

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No other form of entertainment has the ability to suck up so much of our free time and make hours pass by like seconds. Most people who read this will agree that they have spent more time blowing their games wide open, than on more worthwhile pursuits such as....gardening.
In honour of the countless hours of entertainment gaming can give I have compiled a list of the five most life consuming games and have taken a look at what makes them so addictive.

1. World of Warcraft:   It would be wrong to start any list of life consuming games without paying homage to the worldwide MMORPG phenomenon that is World of Warcraft. Since its release in September of 2001, Blizzard entertainment’s “pay to play,” open world RPG has gone on to have over 11 million monthly subscribers. While perhaps the entire MMORPG genre could be given a rightful place in this list, no other game of its type has sucked people in quite as much as Warcraft. With numerous expansion packs to extend the games already limitless lifespan and horror stories of people dying at their computers after playing marathon five day sessions, Warcraft is probably the most worthy of the five games in this list to be labelled life consuming, literally.

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PopCap Games and Sony Online Entertainment have done it again and brought another fiendishly addictive puzzle game to the PSN Store following on from the success of Bejeweled 2.

Zuma has you controlling a rotating stone frog in an Aztec temple firing different coloured balls out of its mouth. So yeah, it’s a little strange. Bear with me.

The aim of the game is to get rid of all the coloured balls before they move through the course and get sucked down a hole at the end (if one goes, they all go). You do this by shooting out coloured balls to make sets of three or more of the same colour to make them disappear. This is aided by a line that shows where the ball will land. You’ll have to be extra precise when aiming from distance or at awkward angles. It’s a bit reminiscent of Puzzle Bobble in a “Not there you shit!” sorta way. It’ll make you angry sometimes but you won’t be able to put it down. Read More  »

Dawn of War II is not an RTS game. Well, certain parts of it aren’t, anyway. Relic have been responsible for the hugely successful series which combined the depth of strategy in the Warhammer 40K Tabletop gaming with accessible Real Time Strategy conventions, and before Dawn of War II, this had barely changed. Even now, with the release of the new game, some things haven’t changed. Relic are probably still devoted to producing a plethora of Sims-like expansion packs for the game in the near future. Indeed, you can just see future content through its lack in Dawn of War II. No Chaos Space Marines, for example, means that they’ll be back in a separate standalone campaign. The fact is, Relic know that they’ve attached the perennially popular Warhammer licence to a successful gaming genre. Not only that, but they know how to milk it. A tad cynical, perhaps, but when the refined gameplay works so well, why complain? And that’s really the mantra of RTS gaming, staunchly upheld since the days of Westwood’s Dune and Command and Conquer series: don’t change what works.
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Over the years it's become customary that every major Hollywood blockbuster gets a video game tie in, but now it appears that the humble British Soap Opera is going to get the same treatment.
Mindscape have recently announced plans for a DS game based around the stalwart ITV1 show Coronation Street.
Judging by their recent output on the DS consisting of amongst others, Deal or No Deal and Crazy Pig, Corrie fans shouldn't be expecting a free roaming adventure set in Weatherfield along the lines of GTA 4 and co.
Whilst details of the game are still vague, hints have been made somewhat predictably that it will be a family game and according to an ITV spokesperson is being made in response to huge demand from viewers.
With a release date of Christmas being suggested, is this to allow enough time that the game is of the highest quality? Or to cash in on what is the industry's busiest period?

At an era now where 3 dimensional games are, and have been for a while the way forward, the time has come to ask the question; is it for the best? Now the obvious answer (and most certainly the correct answer) is simply yes. Unfortunately for some games though the three dimensional take over has caused one or two rather prodigious problems.
Sonic The Hedgehog: The game that was quite frankly one of, if not the biggest gaming successes of the early to mid 90’s. My childhood grew up around the humble 16-bit blue ball of fun, and enhanced my gaming future. The Sega Mega drive was in many means Sonic the Hedgehog. If you owned a genesis and lacked any of the prickly Erinaceinae’s games then you were considered imbecile, foolish and simply befuddled in the mind. It was a game appealing to all ages and in no time at all Sonic became a worldwide icon, a challenger to that well known short, podgy, Italian/American Donkey Kong assassin from the Mushroom Kingdom. Read More  »