http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php Gaming blogs from the Frag Dolls http://www.fragdolls.co.uk/images/uploads/blogfeed.jpg http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php en-gb fragdollsuk@googlemail.com Copyright 2008 2008-06-30T11:34:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/admin/goodbye http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/admin/goodbye After three amazing years, we have decided it’s time for Frag Dolls UK to take a rest.  It has been a wonderful experience for the three of us, but as time moves on so do we and we all now feel it’s time to head off on some new adventures.  We’ve driven tanks, interviewed personal heroes, broken world records, and had the opportunity to go behind the scenes of some of the greatest games ever made.  Most importantly, we’ve also met some wonderful people: you.  We’d like to thank you for your overwhelming support and friendship over the years, and hope … Frag Dolls UK 2008-06-30T11:34:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/sarin/what_are_we_saying_about_ourselves http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/sarin/what_are_we_saying_about_ourselves In the big bad world of self projection, it is very important that we come across as we mean to. In a networking meeting we may want to highlight our skills. Show that we are ambitious and highly achieving, yet approachable. In other situations modesty, compassion and intellectualism may be favoured. One word can change how people see you, or in my recent case it was two words. I was mid conversation when my hobbies came up, and I of course placed ‘online gaming’ quite high on my ‘things I like to do’ scale. But I had never really thought about … sarin 2008-06-25T08:37:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/up_up_and_away http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/up_up_and_away What do you do on a lovely weekend when the sun is shining?  Go check out some military planes, of course! Last week I headed over to RAF Cosford.  I’m generally clueless about flying machines - it’s also seen as a bit of a “boy’s thing.” Which was all the more reason for me to go!  Most of the planes were from World War II or the Cold War, and ranged from test planes (like the mysterious TSR 2) to the well reknowned Spitfire (Cosford holds the oldest one in the world, y’know.) There were helicopters, jet engines, missiles - even … jam 2008-06-16T21:45:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/my_generation http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/my_generation Recently I came across a poll asking for your favourite generation of video games.  Was it the 4th generation (SNES, Megadrive), 5th generation (N64, Playstation, Sega Saturn), 6th generation (Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, Dreamcast), or the current generation (Wii, PS3, Xbox 360)?  Or perhaps a different generation entirely?  My personal favourite came in at a measly 14% of the vote, second to last.  Yup, I’m part of the generation commonly referred to as the “16 bit era” – the 4th generation.  And let me tell you why I think it’s the best gaming generation of all time. The 16 bit era was … jam 2008-06-10T17:02:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/a_man_has_a_choice_i_chose_the_impossible http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/a_man_has_a_choice_i_chose_the_impossible I have very mixed feelings about game to movie crossovers. There hasn’t been a single game that’s made a genuinely successful movie. Some have had financial success - Resident Evil produced a trilogy of movies. That just doesn’t happen if each doesn’t do well enough at the box office. Tomb Raider also produced a sequel, and Silent Hill did well at the box office too (with a sequel confirmed and in the making.) All of these films though were critical disasters, getting incredibly bad ratings and reviews across the world. So why should gamers care? Well for me the problem with … kitt 2008-06-07T13:31:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/sarin/no_worries_mate http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/sarin/no_worries_mate “I already know the game is going to be amazing so this is one demo I won’t be bothering playing.” - Monkey_Puncher, 2008. That one sentence sums up my entire feeling towards Ninja Gaiden 2. I could post it with no explanation and feel my sentiments on the upcoming title were fulfilled. When any new game is coming out, we all have our hopes and our doubts. Will it be as spectacular as the screen shots portray? Have they really massively upgraded the enemy A.I.? Well, the answer when it comes to Ninja Gaiden 2 is: I really haven’t even thought … sarin 2008-06-04T11:36:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/the_nintendo_channel http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/the_nintendo_channel There’s still a lot of hardcore hate being directed towards the Wii. Is it dumbing down gaming? Could it herald the death of “proper” games as we know it? Despite the controversy, I think Nintendo have recently unveiled a groovy new feature for its little white money-making machine. The Nintendo Channel. The aptly named software can be downloaded for free via the Wii Shop Channel, and keeps you up to date with the world of Nintendo. It might not sound very exciting, but it does a couple of things that put it above the similar efforts being made by Sony and … jam 2008-06-02T12:05:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/beyond_beyond_good_evil http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/beyond_beyond_good_evil Beyond Good & Evil was a game that blew gamers away five years ago. It was released to huge critical acclaim and helped cement creator Michel Ancel’s reputation as one of the games industry’s greatest auteurs. I personally loved the title and would put it in my top five all time greatest games - if I actually had a top five, which I don’t. It would be too hard for me to decide upon. Suffice to say the one thing I know about my top five is that Beyond Good & Evil would be in it. Between the brilliant character of … kitt 2008-05-30T14:20:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/sarin/i_wanna_save_when_i_wanna_save http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/sarin/i_wanna_save_when_i_wanna_save I crept into the stronghold; stealth killed the guard behind the fence and then lay in wait. Slowly I picked off the nearby Legion, using up all my throwing axes and fire pots. When the crowd had thinned I snuck into the shadows and started battling the remaining minions until the Champion spotted me and the real fight began. I was of course victorious, but it was a tough battle as lesser enemies kept running over the bridge and ruining my momentum. After lapping up the health and recuperating myself to a full bar of energy, I was ready to cross … sarin 2008-05-27T10:00:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/far_cry_2_recapping_with_lp http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/far_cry_2_recapping_with_lp Back in February I met up with LP Pharand, producer of Far Cry 2, at a conference in Paris.  Although I like to think I’ve obtained fairly good experience of interviews over the past three years, they still make me nervous.  This is especially so when it’s a highly anticipated game.  Far Cry Instincts may well have divided many a fan, but the developers seem to have ironed out all the quibbles for Far Cry 2.  News that the game is available on both PC and console has more than slightly shaken a fair few folk - at the opportunity of … jam 2008-05-25T21:28:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/haze_multiplayer_date http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/haze_multiplayer_date Remember what I said in my last blog, about the guys at Free Radical being a bit well… cracked? This video gives you an idea of how I came to this conclusion. I desperately wanted to know all the details of Haze’s multplayer modes. I’d heard a little about it - 16 players, 4 player co-op campaign, incredible diverse moves depending on which side you are playing for, but I wanted to hear the details from the horse’s mouth so to speak. The Free Rad guys were quite willing to impart their vast knowledge to me - but only if I’d … kitt 2008-05-21T12:05:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/sarin/i_dream_of_princes http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/sarin/i_dream_of_princes I love film trailers, they form an important part of the cinema experience for me. Every so often you get a trailer that really makes you sit up, something that you didn’t know was coming out, or even being made, something that had missed your radar but you would kill to see. Well, I had one of these moments rather recently. The black screen flashed up an image of a solitary man in Arabic dress, ‘he protected the power of the divine’, and then an image of sand flowing through someone’s hand - ‘he saved the cradle of civilization’. I was … sarin 2008-05-19T09:54:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/brighton_rock http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/jam/brighton_rock Brits always seem to go a bit mental when a little sunshine is thrown our way.  We grab our shorts and bikinis and pile onto the nearest beach, lapping up the rays we know will probably disappear all too soon.  This recent spot of nice weather has been no exception. So, last weekend I took advantage of the high temperatures and sunny skies (although I heard it was raining in Glasgow – sorry Kitt!) I travelled down to Brighton to catch some rays and a bit of shopping.  I’ve always had a thing for British seaside resorts.  When I was little, … jam 2008-05-15T10:33:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/hazey_dayz http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/hazey_dayz It was a great privilege for me to be allowed to enter the hallowed halls of Free Radical Design in Nottingham. Of course it’s a well known fact that not only are they a beacon of light in the UK games development industry, but they are also completely cracked. Every one of them. You do actually have to be mad to work there. It’s compulsory. I had a brilliant day and got to play Haze till my heart’s content. While I was there I took some time to grill the team on what it’s been like these last three years, working … kitt 2008-05-12T18:30:00+00:00 http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/cant_judge_a_book http://dev.fragdolls.com/uk/index.php/blogs/detail/categories/kitt/cant_judge_a_book So I’ve been looking at cover art a lot lately. There seems to be a revolution in cover art and it’s one that I’m liking. No longer do titles seek to cram every element of the game onto the cover using every asset available. No longer is it the style to have zig zags of colour to make up the background. With Nintendo taking the lead, cover art has become iconic, simple, clean and mostly… white. It seems that what gamers want - not so much in a game but at least on the cover of one - is a bit … kitt 2008-05-09T09:52:00+00:00