The age-old adage of the humble cuppa being an elixir for life’s ills seems to be underselling the drinks healing properties.
It appears it may also possess the power to help small businesses survive in trying economic times as more and more open throughout the UK.
Edinburgh is now second only to London for coffee culture thanks to a surprising surge in the number tea of coffee shops opening, and more importantly staying open, throughout the capital during the recession.
Among the estimated 180 of these shops that now permeate Edinburgh’s streets is the Tea Tree Tea café, one of many recently opened independent establishments to have found a recipe for success.
Tea Tree Tea directors Drew Buchanan and Jamie Russell attribute their success not only to their niche approach of focusing on a wide selection of teas, but also their personal relationship with regular customers.
This allows them to maintain a consistent flow of core customers even during seasonal lulls that affect the big brand tea and coffee shops like Starbucks and Costa.
In the same area four other similar tea shops have opened and also managed to thrive.
Drew and Jamie believe this is because the recession has yet to fully hit small businesses, but are aware times could soon become tougher.
The pair remain optimistic about the future however, as plans to open a new site and build on their current success continue unabated.
Breathless, cinematic, unpredictable and polished; Uncharted 2 is PS3’s reason for existence, about freakin’ time.
The first Uncharted was truly excellent but ultimately fell marginally short of justifying it’s host’s place in this generation.
Naughty Dog seem to have broken Uncharted down, isolated everything great about it and extrapolated their findings until the final result is something much bigger and meaner.
That proceedings can leap in scale so dramatically yet remain so focused is something to applaud the developers for, as this is one of the tightest narratives to ever grace a videogame.
The only gameplay criticism I can really level at Uncharted 2 is that there is nothing new here. Shooting, climbing, exploring, puzzle solving and more shooting is the order of the day. Let me make it clear that I appreciate the numerous unique set pieces but these do not amount to original gameplay mechanics.
Visually the game is mostly stunning, frequently breathtaking and truly otherworldly at times in it’s beauty; staggering through a snow storm with a train’s flaming fuel tank lighting the way; exotic, steaming jungle vista’s and the most convincingly human performances from a virtual cast I’ve ever seen are just a small taste of what’s in store.
All this visual loveliness does however come with one caveat; when it’s not perfect, you will notice.
Drake MUST complete his animations. As you leap from ledge to ledge you will often watch him hover in front of the ledge while he finishes up his animation, it’s frustrating and is something you’ll see a lot.
Drake also has a tendency to “snap” between animations at times, shattering the player’s immersion.
There are also small environmental deficiencies like snow passing through solid roofs and a lack of interactive continuity in Drake’s ledge grabbing exploits (objects that were grab-able elsewhere may not always be so if the game doesn’t want you going somewhere, while drops of survivable height kill you randomly for the same reason).
Very minor niggles aside, Naughty Dog have deftly crafted the most cinematic gaming experience I have ever indulged in, the few very minor visual quirks and slightly derivative gameplay on display ultimately don’t even come close to removing this one from classic status.
Unfortunately for the hugely talented dev team at Infinity Ward it’s publisher, Activision, has decided to blatantly, disgustingly and unapologetically cash in on the series’ popularity by slapping a ridiculous rrp of £54.99 on the STANDARD edition.
For me, the first Modern Warfare is one of the defining single player games of this generation; A perfectly paced thrill ride that utilised console technology so efficiently it was able to offer a dramatic experience that felt truly fresh and genuinely exciting.
It deserved to sell as well as it did (indeed, still is, over 14 million copies and counting) and this continued popularity has meant the title has maintained a high retail value to this day, still commanding a price around the £29.99 mark at most retailers.
This popularity has no doubt inspired Activision to rip us all off, emboldened (it’s a word!) by the series’ popularity, they reckon most of us will just stump up the cash anyway, and the sickening thing is, most of us will.
The popularity of the series also serves to undermine the absolute shite Activision’s UK Managing Director Andrew Brown came out with to defend the move, attributing the high price to the risk of building franchises.
Risky to release this game? Are you for real Andrew?
Finally, let me tell you this company’s CEO, Bobby Kottick, was disappointed at the lack of console price cuts at this year’s E3 (more console sales mean more game sales for him), suggesting the console manufacturers should acknowledge the current financial climate even as he raises his own product’s price. Hypocrisy at it’s most blatant and infuriating.
I for one will be buying Dragon Age: Origins this week (Although I’ll probably, very sheepishly, get COD next week when the temptation becomes unbearable) and I sincerely hope the game’s guaranteed high sales don’t result in an rrp of £65 for Modern Warfare 3.
So Microsoft and Sony both have plans to have a bash at the corpulent whore of the gaming world that Nintendo has had all to itself in a dingy hotel room for the past three years, putting out cigarettes on her back and whipping her with cheap belts.
It seems the other two have found the address and turned up for some fun of their own, with Sony showing more of a “me too” attitude than Microsoft by pitching up with cigars and flashy designer belts. At least Microsoft brought a gimp ball and a rubber fist.
Yes friends, what my obtuse, offensive and unnecessarily bloated analogy is inferring is that motion control and an increase in casual gamingis coming to your platform of choice.
All we can hope for is thoughtful implementation that doesn’t see an end to our own gaming tastes but rather enhances them organically and naturally (if they need to at all).
If this can be done while providing the newly formed gaming demographics with what they want to play then a brave new world of synergetic gaming harmony, where everyone has something to play suited to their tastes and abilities, is potentially on the horizon.
Microsoft do seem to be taking their time a little more and developing something a touch more unique than the other two, while Sony’s new wand thingy is rather similar to the Wiimote and working in conjunction with the Dual Shock in the other hand definitely evokes thoughts of a Nunchuck/Wiimote combo.
Microsoft’s project Natal seems to have more potential for being used unobtrusively in tandem with a traditional controller and considering the launch is still about a year away, with tons of first and third party support being poured into it, (Rare for one are working pretty much exclusively on Natal projects now) the project does have me feeling a very, very small twinge of optimism that it could work out great for us all.
The Heavy Metal love is easy to see as it permeates every facet of the game’s world, from incredibly stylised character design to the face melting soundtrack (Ohhh you played it? Yea I jacked that from the game, up yours Douche!) and the open world itself, where nothing, not even the trees and flowers, escape Tim’s meticulous heavy metal makeover.
This wonderful design aesthetic has been lovingly draped over myriad game genre’s, from button mashing brawler and open world sand box adventure, to a unique take on the RTS genre, Tim loves games and wants you to have a blast with this, regardless of what you’re into.
Some will tell you this is shoehorning and not squeezing in but they are fools richly deserving of your contempt. Try and get it all over their shoes and in their hair.
With videogames I believe the more personal the experience feels, the better, and brutal legend leads YOU in right from the start as Jack Black talks to the player, leading them into a Record Store to begin the adventure.
The originality doesn’t stop there as Schafer continues to play with videogame conventions throughout. Without revealing too much even the way swearing and violence filters are introduced is done in a surprising and very funny manner.
Additionally, the way the hunter introduces his kill tallies displays a perfectly judged level of satire as the developers take the piss out of stale gaming conventions.
Ultimately it feels like a deeply personal project, made with heart and passion by a man who clearly loves his chosen medium, it’s creator’s unique touch found in every corner, evoking thoughts of similarly lovingly crafted projects in TV such as Firefly.
The dark side to this gaming love story is the gaming community’s seeming inability to come to terms with even the slightest hint of original gameplay.
The RTS elements have been derided to the point where Schafer felt the need to write a letter explaining how to play the game.
This is a worrying indicator of the state of the games industry originality wise, if people can’t even get their heads around relatively simple new kinds of action gameplay (the RTS commands feel like inputting combo’s you see!) what hope is there that we will ever see something truly ground breaking?
Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3 were two of my favourite games of last year as both titles absolutely blew me away with their attention to detail and overwhelming sense of immersion and the extra content released for both provided a welcome opportunity to dive back into both of those worlds and discover new things.
The astounding scope and level of quality of both of these games’ DLC truly sets new standards, with enough content and value for money to form stand alone releases.
What really interests me, however, is how natural a feeling it is becoming to download my entertainment.
I very rarely buy music on physical media now, with my first thought being to buy through iTunes. Accessed anywhere and at any time via my iPhone, it is quick, easy, relatively cheap and I instantly have my new “chewns”.
I still buy my movies on a mixture of Blu-Ray and DVD but I can’t help but think that it is because there is not an idiot proof option for that at the moment, ala iTunes.
Perhaps it is easier for me not to bemoan the lack of physical media with music and to be open to the same with film because they are cheaper than videogames.
If I was paying £30-£40 a pop for a download only piece of entertainment would I be so eager? I never thought so, but I’m starting to come around.
Purchasing the aforementioned full game sized expansions already feels like second nature, as does buying smaller games through Xbox Live and PSN, with what’s on offer on those services increasing in quality and scope all the time (Shadow Complex anyone?).
Microsoft are already running a games on demand service where you can download full retail games and although the idea of abandoning physical media is hugely controversial, once a reliable system is in place that makes it second nature and pricing is set fairly and follows a traditional physical retail curve (ie. goes down after a while) then to be honest, I’m all for it.
“The environment where PlayStation wins is best for this industry”, ahhh Sony boss Jack Tretton, you absolute tool.
This is real speak from the man in charge of one of the major players in the videogame industry, yes of course Playstation having a monopoly would be good for the industry, how could I have not realised that!?
Seriously, This quite frankly astounding assertion from a business man, is the most insane comment to come from Sony high management since madman Kaz Hirai suggested we work extra hours to pay the PS3′s original exorbitant price point, keeping the extra Playstation brand pennies thusly accrued jammed down our bellends for safety.
Y’know, in case some trifling annoyance like paying for your kid’s bone marrow transplant tried to get in the way.
This week I also had to listen to Turn 10 game director Dan Greenawalt talking shitalmost every day about Forza 3’s superiority to other racers, constantly feeling the need to assert his game’s superiority over Gran Turismo 5.
Gearbox head Randy Pitchford also got into the spirit and shed little moany tears about everything from Steam giving Valve an unfair advantage, easy achievements giving a sales advantage to other titles to even asserting his new game ,Borderlands, will be “Less boring than Fallout 3”.
How can this industry ever hope to raise it’s head above this petty sort of childish bickering and become the leading entertainment medium of the future it is surely destined to be, something we can be unquestionably proud of, if the people at the top are so petty, childish and simply embarrassing to listen to.
The answer is of course that it can’t. The influence is easy to see as pointless little fanboy wars rage incessantly across the internet, burning up the few sane comments and opinions that sprout up along the way.
If these idiots learn to control themselves, perhaps the idiots who buy their products will follow suit and I won’t have to be embarrassed when I tell the prostitute from the night before (who is inexplicably still hanging around) that I’m writing a blog about games.
So, how can the iPhone help you play games anywhere? I am a little surprised that the cheerful wee fella from the ads who knows how the iPhone can help you in almost any situation (erectile dysfunction? There’s an app for that) hasn’t gone into depth on this.
Having owned my share of Gamegears, Gameboys, DS and PSP consoles I can say quite confidently that they were all a waste of money, ultimately only being used in the home for a very small amount of time.
You see, I firmly believe the iPhone is the best portable gaming device ever created, simply because it’s always there (as I’m sure your mobile is), meaning I can quickly whack it out anywhere and play games without having to carry an additional device.
I simply never got my head into playing games in public before, if I took a portable out with me who knows where the day would go, I could end up drunk as shit coming home with a lady (I did say “could”, there’s always a chance) looking fly as hell only to spill my Kirby games collection all over her bed at a critical point.
That’s not to say the games on the platform aren’t a factor, if they were all total shit it wouldn’t matter at all how handy it was having it everywhere.
Even more interesting gamewise is the potential it has for resurrecting sadly lost genres like the point ‘n’ click, which can work perfectly on apple’s handheld if implemented thoughtfully for the platform, as the recently released Beneath a Steel Sky: Remastered attests.
For me, the iPhone represents an exciting hotbed of potential for gaming, perfectly suited, as it is, to accommodate casual titles for the mainstream alongside full fat more expensive titles.
This is in addition to encouraging original development ideas thanks to it’s touch screen interface, packing enough power to hold it’s own against dedicated portable gaming rivals and seamlessly integrating gaming into your daily life.
(Yes this is awfully long, but please understand the topic is a sore spot that I simply couldn’t condense further. Oh, and there’s tons of rude words and a wank joke in this one to keep your interest.)
So Halo 3: ODST has dropped (yea, hilarious pun I know, thanks pal) into retail and taken up a defensive position behind that glass case of gaming curios at your local Gamestation in preparation for the flood (yea thanks again kid) of big Christmas titles.
What worries me, however, is the general vibe around it’s release as in what has turned into a relatively sparse Christmas period for huge titles, ODST’s release should stand as an event release of the season, with all the excitement, anticipation and even trepidation that brings.
I was looking forward to hearing people talk about the little secrets, curious little touches, bombastic set-pieces, hilarious glitches, and those little unexpected moments of emergent gameplay made possible by the Halo series’ undeniably first rate enemy AI.
What I see, however, is just another grand bitching session filled with wild accusations of reviewers being paid off perpetrated by the kind of pathetic reclusive who only serves to solidify the wider world’s view of gamers as quite simply: massive loser shit heads.
These chaps sit at home all day with their controller of choice lovingly crammed in their ass while their on screen manifestation repeatedly performs any action that produces a good strong rumble response.
They choke themselves with their charging cables as they mash their testicles into the disc tray/slot crying possibly delicious tears of unnatural love.
Love not for games, not even for the developers of those games, but the soulless corporations that manufacture the boxes we play them on. Bastards.
These people have ruined the game for me, since when has gaming been ALL about continuously professing your love for a fucking money making corporation.
It should be about professing your love for that amazing bit where the Ghost that was bearing down on your soon to be squashed little soldier man exploded, tearing itself apart and flying over your head at the last second as your final shot tore into the exposed engine.
I can’t enjoy it without thinking I’m somehow part of this ridiculous wankfest which explains why, two missions in, I just can’t bring myself to play any more right now.
Maybe it’s my fault. Perhaps when I was younger, it was the same and I just never saw it. No internet meant my gaming literary enjoyment was limited to one or two magazines a month and Gamesmaster was always a happy mess of colourful screenshots, handy tips and cheery letters about people who had been cured of cancer (probably).
No game is perfect and I’d love to converse with people about the ups, downs, and possible improvements that could be made to the game, but I can’t as it will almost certainly boil down to an inane and nonsensical Sony V’s Microsoft argument.
I have not lost all hope for the industry however, the lovely Tim Schafer’s next title, Brutal Legend, is out very soon and is exactly the kind of game that will breed healthy discussion and good times for gamers, having spent some time with the demo I believe it will be truly fantastic.
I will be avoiding the internet until I finish it though, just in case the 360 version has 8 more defs and a more stable framerate, in which case it’s all over.
Anyway, I’m off to give ODST another chance at seducing me, where’s that charging cable…
