GAMING: One A Day Project and Retro Revisited Blog

Hmmmm, has it really been that long since i've posted anything on here?

Well, i'm not completely out of the blogging loop, as i've been taking part in the One A Day 2011 project - where you must write about something every day.

Instead of rambling about my inconsequential life (which I know the majority could not care about), I decided to write about a retro game every day. Some you will have heard about. Others, perhaps not. Hence the name of the site, Retro Revisited.

Whether I can get 365 posts done, I do not know, but i'll give it a damn good try. You can catch up with over 10,000 words of retro related ramblings right here.

You can also subscribe to my Twitter feed here. I pretty much just tweet about the blog by the way. Not about every single thing that i'm doing in a day, therefore swamping your feed (I hate those type of people). I'll follow you right back if you do so, unless you're one of the aforementioned feed swampers.

GAMING: Black Ops and Batman reviews on Pocket Gamer

I've just reviewed Black Ops for a major videogame website. True, it's the DS version, but it's not a bad little game at all. Read my thoughts on Pocket Gamer's website here.

Feel free to mock my ill informed judgement using the sites commenting system- I can take it.

For those of you that aren't fans of games where you shoot Cubans in the face (what is wrong with you?) I also wrote a review a while back on the same site about punching supervillains in the face- Batman: The Brave and the Bold on DS. Read (and possibly mock) it here.

I'm hoping to write a bit more on here in the near future, although naturally, don't hold your breath.

SPORT- Lee Bradbury’s All-Star Select Vs The Southern Co-op Group

*NOTE* This has been a long time coming, but take a quick look at the trailer below to get an idea what this is about...

Event- 28^th May, 7pm, Fareham Town’s ground, Cams Alder Sports Stadium

By Simon Reed (CSA at the West Moors Co-op)

Being the last two of the Co-op team to arrive at the Cams Alder Sports Stadium my fellow colleague Russell and I had just enough time to don our yellow co-operative shirts and take to the pitch. We little idea what to expect from the game, but personally, I was very nervous.

As we lined up next to the All Star team in front of a crowd of around 300 I couldn’t help but notice that their teams titular player, Lee Bradbury, was strangely absent from their line up. This was no weak side we were playing though, as Darren Anderton, Sammy Igoe, Joel Partington and Linvoy Primus-all ex stars or current pros- were all lined up against us.

It didn’t take too long to find out that we were no match for the All Star team. The game quickly set into a pattern of constant All-Star attacks, with our team unable to get hold of the ball for more than ten seconds.

One of our main problems was opposing player Darren Anderton, of ex-England/Tottenham fame, as he was near impossible to get the ball off. He knew exactly what he was going to do with the ball about an hour before he got it, and none of our players had any answer on how to deal with him. Or the All-Star team in general.

It was a great achievement then, that the game stayed 0-0 for the opening 20 minutes. The inevitable did occur though, when the All Star’s broke through, and then made it 2-0 shortly after. I believe it was at this point that many of our team realised the game could turn into the rout we had feared and expected.

Fortunately, the compete lack of attacking threat we had displayed up to this point worked in our favour. A few minutes before half time my colleague Russell entered the All Stars box, and was held off by ex-Portsmouth player/man mountain Linvoy Primus.

Primus did obviously not expect a Southern Co-op worker to be capable of turning him and blasting the ball into the bottom corner. But that’s exactly what Russell did, and all of a sudden we were only 2-1 down, and actually back in the game.

Sadly this act of resistance was like awakening a sleeping giant and the All-Stars quickly regained their two goal lead to make it (a still respectable) 3-1 at half time.

Our half-time team talk pretty much consisted of attempts to be more organised and have a better shape, so that we wouldn’t be ripped to shreds like in the first half. But when your opposition consists of ex-England and Premiership professionals we all knew the aim was damage limitation.

Unfortunately in the second half the All-Stars were still running right through us; but at least in this half we were each organised enough to know where to be on the pitch to allow them to run right through us.

Lee Bradbury however, finally turned up, and seemed in a playful mood, helping out one of our players when he pulled up with cramp and laughing off one of our players when he hauled him to the ground. Bradbury failed to score as I recall, but the All Stars still racked up three more goals, making it 6-1 at full time.

Overall though, we were a more consistent attacking threat in the second half, and it was only the ball hogging antics of one of our forwards that meant we failed to add to our goal tally of one. Even near the end when we decided to throw all our players onto the pitch, meaning we outnumbered the All Star players at around two to one, we still failed to score.

With the final whistle going and the score 6-1, most of us realised that being a mere team of convenience store workers, only losing by five goals to such an incredible team of players was probably as good as any of us could have realistically hoped for

Well done to all those who played, as well as thanks to those who came to watch, as all the money raised through the event went towards the Help For Heroes Campaign.

GAMING: Professor Layton and the Express Disaster

Did you see it? The Daily Express' Professor Layton advert cover that is. Basically, The Express dedicated an extra cover to the new Layton game 'Professor Layton and the Lost Future,' with the actual paper hidden inside. Here it is if you didn't get the chance to see it:

Bizarre isn't it? Judging from the many confused expressions I spotted from customers looking at this cover I would say that this cover was a mistake- by The Express and Level 5.

Over fifty copies were left over in our shop in which I work, where usually there are around 5 or 6. I've said it many times before, but most people are easily confused. So the Express readership, who are mostly middle aged or older, would likely have been bemused by this cover and therefore avoided it, scuttling away from it in a confused stupor.

I liked it though. So much so I kept a few copies of the cover. Sad I know, but there you go. If anyone else wants a copy of this rare piece of Layton memorabilia let me know. Here's some inside and back pics of it.

GAMING: 3DS Rumour Mill Continues...

I'm currently completing a work placement/internship/unpaid period of work at the Pocket Gamer website, so i'll put the stories I don't think are going to make the cut on there on here, including a recent rumour about the 3DS released date...

Please keep up with me on Twitter on https://twitter.com/EBTKS

If you add me i'll add you straight back. Cheers.

A German tabloid paper has claimed they know the release date and price for Nintendo's 3DS before it has even been officially announced.

Bild, the highest selling newspaper in Europe, has reported that the console will be released on November 11^th this year in Japan and early 2011 in Europe.

The paper goes on to price the handheld at €200 and has suggested that launch titles would include Mario Kart 3D, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle.

With Nintendo expected to make the official announcement this Wednesday it will soon become clear whether this is simply Bild publishing rumours to boost sales, or actual honest investigative reporting.

Although the paper is the German equivalent of the Sun it did manage to predict the announcement of the Wii controller 2 days before it was announced back in 2005.

To add further confusion an ex employee of peripheral make Factory Keys recently claimed a November 20^th release for the 3DS in Japan. Who knows what to believe...i'm just looking forward for a concrete date to mark on my calendar.

EDIT- Turns out, Bild got it wrong. Silly, silly Bild...

FILM/SPORT- The World Cup Goes To The Movies...

So the World Cup is over. It’s just a few weeks until the league season starts afresh, but this will feel like years to many football fans, trust me.

Looking for other things to occupy the time is difficult, but one stopgap could be to watch a film. But we all know when film comes into contact with football the result is usually utter tosh. Remember Goal (above)? Or rather don’t- it was rubbish.

So moving on, here is my attempt to liken every team that participated in this years World Cup to a film- some are incredibly tenuous though, so if you can think of any better please feel free to let me know…

Algeria = Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (1992)

Both have some link to green, in either shirt colour or environmental outlook, and are not really the type of thing anyone wants to watch if they had the choice.

Argentina = Apocalypto (2006)

A slightly crazed guy is responsible for driving both efforts (Maradona and Mel Gibson respectively), and both are also pretty entertaining to watch.

Australia = Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

A decent effort, despite some poor moments, but their predecessor was much, much better.

Brazil = Terminator 2 (1991)

Despite the technical excellence, they lack the heart of their predecessor/s. Neither can really be held in the same regard as their prior incarnations.

Cameroon = Terminator Salvation (2009)

Both possibly destabilized due to one big star (Eto’o and Christian Bale respectively) dwarfing the rest of the teams effort, and therefore resulting in a bit of an unorganized, boring mess.

Chile = Commando (1985)

Sure, neither is ever going to win any actual awards, but at least they go full out to entertain- and achieve that aim with aplomb.

Denmark = Three Colours: Red (1994)

Both are European, and have much to do with the colour red. Next!

England = Batman and Robin (1997)

Despite a decent array of talent at their disposal, both are undone by poor management/directing decisions. They therefore ended up being roundly hated by all.

France = Heavens Gate (1980)

Constant disharmony amongst all involved meant that both ended up as being seen as a joke, and guilty wasting criminal amounts of talent/money.

Germany = The Evil Dead (1981)

Both involved groups of young kids who despite no-one expected to be able to compete, fought against the odds and managed to create a simple but effective style of entertainment.

Ghana = The African Queen (1951)

Both involve battling against the odds, and there’s also the rather obvious Africa connection. That’s more than enough, so let’s move on…

Greece = Exorcist II: The Herectic (1977)

Very poor efforts, and made any success its previous iterations had seem a fluke (Greece winning the Euros in 2004, and the first Exorcist respectively).

Honduras = What Just Happened (2008)

Unfortunately, despite the efforts of all involved, both are completely forgettable in every way.

Italy = A View To Kill (1985)

Old, tired, and in desperate need of re-invention. They are both sadly one of the worst of a line of decent past iterations…

Ivory Coast = Horton Hears A Who! (2008)

Both either involve or are linked to elephants. Plus they’re both quite colourful (Ivory Coast’s shirts/the films palette). That’s all I’ve got.

Japan = Akira (1988)

Besides the obvious Tokyo connections, both are also technically excellent but lacking the necessary qualities to be truly great.

Mexico = Rambo (2008)

You enjoy watching them if they’re on television, but you know they won’t be truly great or last a great while (Rambo is only 92 minutes long, Mexico rarely go beyond the second round).

Netherlands = The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (1966)

Good= Sneijder. Bad= Van Bommel. Ugly= The way they approach football in general.

New Zealand = Rocky (1975)

Both involve a lot of heart and grit-but don’t expect them to win in the end.

Nigeria = Battlefield Earth (2000)

Despite the large resources to call on, they still both end up disappointing.

North Korea = Back To The Future Part II (1989)

Both try and mine inspiration from successes in the past, but fail to truly match up to them. Despite that, both have their good moments.

Paraguay = Quarantine (2008)

Yes, it’s quite good, but in the end both aren’t as good as something related to Spain (either the Spanish original film, or just Spain the football side). That good enough?

Portugal = How To Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008)

Despite both boasting talent in their line up, they play it too safe, taking few risks, and end up not pleasing anyone.

Serbia = Escape to Victory (1981)

Both share the same achievement- beating the Germans. Apart from that, they’re a bit rubbish.

Slovakia = Reservoir Dogs (1992)

A good debut (Dogs was Tarantino’s first real film), although it hints that the best could be yet to come…

Slovenia = Clerks (1994)

Despite being against the odds and having little expectation behind them, they performed admirably and were reasonably entertaining.

South Africa = Out of Africa (1985)

South Africa made sure that many wanted out of their stadiums and Africa as soon as possible, thanks to the endless drone of the vuvuzela…

South Korea = The Good, The Bad and The Weird (2008)

Both Korean, as well as usually going all out to entertain. Both can lose focus at key times though.

Spain = 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Despite all the technical excellence on show, both are hard to truly love. They are both things to respect, but could never be considered hugely entertaining.

Switzerland = Triangle (2009)

Well structured and competent, but likely to leave you frustrated and with a bit of a headache.

USA = Transformers (2007)

Despite all out attempts to impress you, they both fall up short of being anywhere near good enough to be true classics.

Uruguay = Citizen Kane (1941)

With their best days seemingly behind them, both are still capable of proving everyone wrong and can still entertain.

SPORT- World Cup Diary, Entry 2

Total football? Feh. Behold neutral football, compliments of Switzerland yesterday. A 1-0 victory against favourites (but regular World Cup bottlers) Spain was something to be admired rather than enjoyed. The Swiss’ tactics and defence were pretty much flawless.

And as someone with Swiss family, I loved it. Seeing Spain pump ball after ball into the Swiss box was like seeing a child continuously run into a glass door. Yes, it was somewhat cruel and unfair, but also enjoyable and funny in the extreme.

But seeing the Spaniards frustrated resulted in making Group H very interesting indeed. First, Honduras look to be the deadwood of the group, and should realistically end up with nul points. So the game between Chile and Switzerland next week is key. If the Swiss perform another defensive shut-out against the lively Chileans, which is not out of the question, then they should top the group. Leaving Spain to need a result against Chile to even get to the last 16.

It took the World Cup nearly a week to warm up, but it finally looks to be clunking into life. Let’s hope it doesn’t flatline in dour frustration (for the viewer at least) again.

Oh and don't forget about my mini match reports on Twitter, for every game, right here-
http://twitter.com/EBTKS
Thank you.