Motion Controllers

Motion Controllers are a subject that I'm very cautious about, as a serious gamer I want something that not only works but gives me everything if not more that I already get with a normal controller. Personally I really want these to work there a great idea and if they work I'm all for them.

Many people think that motion controls are a brand new idea, this is not true for years developers have been designing and creating motion controls. Most if not all don't really work but they had to start some were. The most known retro Motion controller was the power glove for the NES released in 1989 this was a full glove that covered your hand and lower arm and worked using 3 sensors placed around the Television set, from what Ive heard it didn't really work that well but I imagine if set up correctly and used properly will work fine. If it wasn't for this We may not have the Motion controls that were using today.

Currently there are 3 Modern motion controllers, First the Wii controller this has been out a while now and were the first of the 3 to release motion controls one thing to mention is that the wii's main controller is the motion controller and the secondary one is the normal game controller where as the other two use the normal game controller as there primary controls. the second is the PlayStation move For the PS3 this was the second to release out of the 3 and looks very similar to Nintendo's wii controls but works very differently ill go into that later. the final of the 3 is Xbox360's Kinect this has not controllers and uses your body parts to track movement this is a completely new concept and something that will either change the future of gaming or be dropped before it takes off.

So lets get into these 3 Different motion controls

Nintendo Wii



The Wii Was the first to introduce us to the new motion controls and they did a fairly good job with it it was a simple system you have the motion controller its self seen on the right of the picture above this is the part that tracks your movements it does so by using a sensor bar that can be placed above or below the TV this then tracks where the wii Remote is pointing there is also a wii motion plus which also tracks the angle the controller is held and improves the accuracy. A very simple idea and works very well the remote also comes with a few attachments the most important is the nunchuck seen on the left of the picture above, this attachment gives the user 2 more buttons and an analog stick for more complicated games, the nunchuck is a great idea but one thing that's always bugged me is the wire that connects the 2 there is a way of getting the nunchuck wireless but its very chunky. This controller works very well however you do need to be stood pretty Central to get the best from this stray to far left and the sensor bar wont pick up your moves.

Positives                                                        Negatives

+ Simple design and easy to set up                       - Limited angles with sensor bar
+ Quite accurate                                                   - Occasional disconnection with motion plus
+ Tons of accessory's and attachment                   - Very fine movements inaccurate
+ The first to hit stores with motion controls            - Oldest Controller first to out date
+ Very comfortable                                                - wire between nunchuck

+ Easy to use for all ages                                      - Destroyed many TVs lol

+ Stylish design                                                    -  Too many lame games

Total Top Spec score 8.9 / 10

Playstation Move

Ive left this a little while because I had this coming at Christmas and I wanted some hands on time with this until I let you all know what i think. Ive had the PlayStation move a little over 2 weeks now and I'm happy to report that it not only works but it works well is very accurate easy to use and set up and most importantly its fun.

The PlayStation move works on a very simple idea but one that's executed very well, rather than use sensor bars the move is tracked by a glowing orb at the top of the controller and picked up by the PlayStation eye a camera that until now was only used for things like eye pet and other small games like that is a great idea because if you already have the camera its something you don't have to buy. The move controller can be used in move games but can also be used at the PlayStation's XMB menu which is a cool way of navigating and something that Ive never experienced before.

As I mentioned before the move is very accurate and picks up Even the slightest movements which give a very fun and less frustrating time when playing. The move has its add on's just like the Wii but again I think Sony have improved on all that Wii have started for example the quality and feel of the controllers just seems to be better the navigation controller (Nunchuck) is wireless so there's no wire getting in the way everything just seems better. There is only one thing that the move is depending on and that's the games if they suck then the whole idea will fail now so far the games Ive played and seen all seem pretty good and there's a few on the way like infamous which gives me confidence to say the PlayStation move is going to go far and I recommend you all give this a go.

Positives                                                                   Negatives

+ Easy to set up and use                                                - Can be a bit pricey
+ Very accurate and precise                                            - Needs more space than the Wii
+ Qwerky design that makes you say whats that               - Strange design
+ Used what all ready works and improved it                     - When playing with a friend too     
+ Lots of games in the pipe line                                        many controllers are needed
+ Extremely comfortable

+ Easy to use for all ages

Total Top Spec score 9.6 / 10

Kinect

Mirror's Edge

 

 There's not many games where the main player is female, there's a few exceptions like Lara croft, Ruby from wet, Bayonetta and Nariko from Heavenly Sword but compared to the amount of male leads in games its not something that's to common. Mirrors edge I believe is a game that needed a female lead this game just wouldn't work with a male lead. In this game you play as Faith Connors who is a 'runner' a courier who delivers packages around the city, faith is no ordinary courier though she uses roof tops and urban building to get around this is due to the city being taken over by a government obsessed with surveillance in order to reduce crime, but at the same time losing everyones rights, this is what faith and the other runners are against and fight for everyones rights.

 The game play in this game is very different from what we have been used to but also so very close to what we have at the same time. The camera is the view of faiths point of view i.e FPS however this game doesn't base its self on guns and war, this game avoids conflict as much as possible and most of the time your finding ways to escape rather than stand and fight, this I like just makes it feel more real and gives you that don't trust anyone feeling. from the beginning to the start your jumping, hanging, swinging, sliding and running and boy your defiantly running. The entire game is based on the what the runners call 'The flow' and is basically a instinct of what is possible and the quickest path of escape this is shown to us as red objects and this is what the runners see, its a very clever way of showing the player were to go without it seeming too controlled and gives us that feeling of being truly free like you can go everywhere in this city even tho you can only really explore a small section.

 Height is one thing this game simulates very well when you miss a jump and believe me you will it really gets your stomach the first few times, its also what makes this city seem so large. its the height that makes all the leaps and jumps so dramatic because you know one wrong move and your done for, One thing i will say is that this game needs a sequel this game is really cool but i think the second one will improve on what this game lacks, the first play through of this game is very difficult and rather than speeding through each level using 'the flow' it more seemed like stopping looking at the area and working out where to go and what to do and even with the runner vision and the red objects its still very hard i think the sequel will improve on this and be a great game.

 The graphics and look of this game are stunning this futuristic city is not like anything that's been shown before in all other games the future city is a dark and sinister place but in this game everything looks brand new, clean and crisp. I don't think I've played another game that looks anything like this and I think more games should take a few pages out of this games book.

There is a total of 51 trophies in this game.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/game/mirrors-edge/trophies

  

Total Top Spec Gaming Score 7.5 / 10

Critter Crunch

 

I recently got this game and had my first play through and again PlayStation plus gave me this free, critter crunch is a game Ive never heard of and even when I saw it free on the PlayStation plus I was still two minded whether to download it or not, after seeing a trailer and seeing some game play I gave it a try and I'm happy to report its a very nice game.

This is another Tetris variation of game play except in this game the blocks (Critters) fall from the top and you add from the bottom. The idea is that you feed smaller critters to lager critters so the smallest are fed to the medium and the medium critters are fed to the larger ones a simple concept that soon become more and more challenging as the game progresses, more critters, more lines of critters, a ever increasing speed of fall and the introduction to different critters such as blockers that cant be moved and others which help such as bomb critters and wild card critters that class as any colour. You play the role of Biggs a furry forest dweller with a very big appetite, the smaller critters in this game have energy crystals inside them, and its Biggs job to blow them up and collect there crystals for him and his children.

This game has a few types of play first you have the typical adventure mode with a small story within, then there are puzzle modes in which you have a set amount of moves to clear the screen, then a challenge mode that gives you a set time to complete different challenges and Finally multi player where you can either battle it out to clear the most critters or work together in co op mode I have played all modes and each one offers a great experience which gives the game more replay value.

As a free game I was very impressed with this game and too be fair the game to buy is not that expensive and can be purchased and downloaded straight from the PSN store. For anyone interested in these types of puzzle games like bejeweled and Tetris I would defiantly suggest checking this game out.

 As all games now a days this has its own set of trophies 14 in total link to the list bellow:

http://www.ps3trophies.org/game/critter-crunch/trophies/

Total Top Spec Gaming Score 6.5 / 10  

Happy Bonfire Night

Its bonfire night and I thought seen as tonight is all about fireworks why not talk about an old game I used to play for the PlayStation 2 'Fantavision'

 

 Released in November 24, 2000 fantavision was one of the first games I played for the PlayStation 2 at the time I dint think much of this game but after playing it a few years later I got the hang of it and its quite a good game especially for bonfire night :)

The way this game works is very basic you have different coloured flares shoot into the sky and you have the job of matching the different colours together and exploding them to create fireworks very simple concept but soon becomes very immersive one the screen fills with flares and your rushing to get them all.

This game was only meant to be a demo for the PlayStation to show the public what it could do but due to the popularity ended up being a full game to buy. This game is a great PS2 classic and a great festive play for bonfire night its also very reasonably priced now a days too another great reason to give this a play :)

Total Top Spec Gaming Score 5.7 / 10