“m9700 laptop ate my desktop!”.

If you’re like me, your laptop is for work and playing ‘Bubble Bobble’ and your desktop is the scene of 3D carnage, death and destruction. Son, times are a-changin’ (yes, they have been for some time but it fits in with this article).

You sexy beast.

Seriously. If I could have children with an inanimate piece of technology then the m9700 would be the one for me. Why? Firstly, it’s cheap-ish. For around £1200 for the base model (the dual GeForce GO 7900 GS model comes in over £2000) you get a machine more than capable of handling the latest games. Second, it just looks and feels great. The high resolution (1900 x 1200) is fantastic and works well in any lighting conditions. Even the sound from the onboard speakers showed no signs of distortion at higher volumes. The original Alienware styling has been toned down a little but retains the alien logo (no mistaking who makes this laptop, is there?).

Surely it can’t all be good?

No, it isn’t. This little beast weighs in at 4kgs. Not light in anyones eyes. Another whinge I have is the power consumption. Spend more than 90 minutes away from a mains supply and it’s game over. It would appear that the graphics card and the processor do not power themselves! Ah well, I can live with some things.

Don’t let that put you off. This is a desktop replacement. It looks and feels great and, in my eyes, is well worth the money.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Hard men in space suits!

Another visually stunning first person shooter set in the near future (no, this isn’t Tomorrows World and we DO NOT stand by any predictions of the future). The player controls a special forces soldier (Again! Has anyone really ever met one of them? Well, apart from that chubby, unshaven guy with the odd looking hearing aid who lives next door to me. No, honestly, he keeps telling me to punch him in the stomach to prove how tough he is! - Sorry, got a little carried away there) equipped with a hi-tech battle suit called the “Nanosuit” which enables him to perform amazing physical feats. Crysis is extremely demanding on hardware and it will be necessary to dial down the settings on all but the most powerful systems.
The single player campaign starts off with escalating tensions between the USA and North Korea. American scientists have discovered what they believe is an alien artefact (it’s really a silver wheelie bin) on a remote island and the North Koreans quickly take it over and the scientists end up as hostages. The US sends in a special forces team to rescue them (again!).

What happens next?

Initially the player fights against conventional solders and vehicles and the game features a good mix of stealth and action while later on the game evolves into a far more complex battle. The AI and gameplay is a little quirky and sometimes the AI can be downright annoying but this will likely be fixed with a patch or two.

Multiplayer games are quite entertaining although the game only features two modes. These are instant action and power struggle. The instant action is simply a quick and dirty deathmatch mode whereas power struggle is more complex involving capture points and objectives for teams.

Maim, kill, destroy…

Yeah, we like this. Not first choice on the list and, to be fair, although very attractive we did get tired of the death match mode relatively quickly. It’s a good game for a general audience rather than those sneaky, die-hard ex-special forces type who live next door to me!

Popularity: 24% [?]

But no nukes to play with!

Brilliant first person shooter with stunning graphics and superb gameplay. Call of Duty 4 brings a touch of realism without sacrificing game play fun. Nice touches include the ability to shoot through thin materials and still hit the enemy on the other side. No more hiding from a 20mm cannon by ducking behind a wood fence!

Single Player

The single player campaign weaves an interesting, if short, story and is well voiced by professional actors some of whom will be familiar to players from their appearances in TV shows. The player starts off in the role of a newly qualified SAS soldier and later in the game gets to play a US Marine. As the story unfolds, the player switches back and forth between these roles which provides an enjoyable mixture of all out action and stealth.

Multi Player

Final thoughts.

Transition from SAS to US marine! Not my idea of advancement but what the hell, it’s just a game (but I’ll continue to grumble for many hours yet).

Popularity: 21% [?]

1000, 2000, 3000, check canopy…

…release your container. 12 seconds later you hit the ground. Congratulations. You’re airborne (if only it were that easy!). Continued below…

The game.

Enjoyable first person shooter with excellent graphics and fluid gameplay. Medal of Honor Airborne is a decent addition to the already crowded WW2 shooter stable and adds a few new and improved features such as a somewhat non-linear campaign and character improvement during the single player game. The rag doll physics are a bit quirky at times and sometimes corpses can be left in the most hilarious positions but overall, a good stable engine.

A note on playing with yourself.

The single player campaign is fun without being taxing and generically portrays 1944-1945. Weapons and models are good and the campaign takes the player on several missions as a US Army Paratrooper. Players are able to upgrade their weapons by completing certain simple goals during the game and this gives a good sense of achievement. Missions are somewhat non-linear and the player can decide how and when to complete various goals.

Next: Playing with other people!

The multiplayer part of the game is pretty standard with Capture the Flag and Deathmatch modes. It is quite enjoyable and polished but not as in depth or sophisticated as some other games.

Summing up.

We like this game. It’s not one that you’d put in a time capsule to show kids how great things were 25 years previously but good entertainment when you stagger back from the pub!

Popularity: 21% [?]

No, we haven’t won the world cup. Viking for the Xbox is here.

Skarin is dead. The mass hordes of the underworld are at the gates. Cue resurrection and a war of epic proportions. This game consists of three island scenarios. The gameplay starts off with a series of smaller missions which allow you to hone your fighting skills, earn some cash and, more importantly, recruit an army of bearded lunatics to fight at your side.

Annihilation.

Each island level culminates in a war that makes the Bruno vs Tyson fight (remember that?) look like a pie throwing contest. This is real end-of-the-world stuff. Muscle bound Norse warriors clash with freaks from another realm - it gets bloody, really bloody.

Don’t be fooled.

Hacking and slashing the enemy canon fodder to pieces is easy enough but beware. The Legion soldiers will give you nasty slap if you slip into ’slipper combat’ mode. In order to succeed against a sub-boss you will need to really know your special moves, so get practicing.

Eye of the beholder.

Not the sort of game we’d call visually stunning but attractive enough to keep us interested. The view of the mass battles was generally pretty good. The major flaw in the views was found in crouch mode - seemingly insignificant objects blocked our view of the wider area.

Initially, your moves are fairly limited but can be upgraded in exchange for gold (hint: make sure you do a good job of exploring as there’s plenty of the shiney stuff to be found).

Conclusion

In all, a good game which has been designed to be enjoyed by everyone rather than just ‘masters of combat’. On that note, we’re off to dismember some more bad guys. See you in Valhalla for beer and tall tales!

Popularity: 2% [?]