Tolkien’s 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the best stories ever told, in my ever so humble opinion. I’ve spoken to a lot of people about it – people who have read it, those who have tried and those who have never even managed to get to page one – but there are some things that they all agree on; they’d rather watch the film. I could easily create pages after pages as to why I disagree, but why make something just to cause arguments (they’re more fun in person) when I can focus closely on why I think the story and books as a whole are fantastic?

Hence, this post. I hope you enjoy it!

How would you describe The Lord of the Rings, and the Middle-earth world created by Tolkien in general? Some might say traditional fantasy, others high fantasy while many would simply say fantasy – these would more likely be people who don’t mind a bit of the genre but don’t really understand why there is a ‘high’ fantasy at all. In theory, they’re all right but I would stick with high fantasy. It follows more rules and conventions of that sub-genre than any other.

A grand and epic world, supplemented by main characters that fill that world well and leave the reader in awe in almost every scene are just one of these conventions. The quest that spans the entire story without getting old, and continues despite every problem and obstacle and a villain, who in this story we don’t see much of directly, all combine together in a fantastic way that many other writers cannot even get close to.

We are drawn to certain characters more than others, with Strider/Aragorn being one of the most obvious. While he starts out cold and distant, he quickly becomes the champion for most readers and could easily have been the main protagonist if it wasn’t for the Ring – how easy it would have been to alter the beginning and background to focus on men rather than Hobbits, and full respect for not taking that road. I like Aragorn, but he was a bit predictable at times. That was one of his redeeming and annoying qualities.

Almost every character can be summarised this way but don’t worry, I won’t go through all nine members of the Fellowship.

A lot of people who have read the trilogy, and beyond, have told me there are elements they didn’t like – Tom Bombadil in The Fellowship of the Ring being one of the most ovious. Granted, he probably wasn’t suited to film, and as such wasn’t included, but I am glad characters and events such as his existed. It provided more depth to a world where the entire focus was on one little band of gold.

Tolkien’s writing style may also have been difficult for some readers. I don’t think it’s as hard as Shakespeare, but it can be longwinded and slow at times but the change of pace is something I welcome and enjoy. It shows the world and events move differently for everyone at different times – as it is for us in the real world. Things slow down – the quest doesn’t happen over a couple of days and running at such a high pace and level of stress and tension would destroy our heroes in a matter of days, maybe weeks. While this is a fantasy world and a fantasy story, everything that relates back to our real lives forges a stronger bond between story and reader, don’t you think?

One of the most impressive things about The Lord of the Rings trilogy and world is the scenery, settings and descriptions. There is simply no other way to describe the success Tolkien has at really drawing the reader into a scene or area of Middle-earth. If you had to pick a flaw, it’s that it does slow the flow of the story (which I normally hate) but it gives you a chance to breathe and really take in this glorious world. Without such vivid imagination and descriptions, the films could look quite different and it proves that a dark story or scene can take place in the brightest setting. There are hundreds of other examples out there, but this story is one of my favourites.

As I said, I could easily go into a lot more detail about this – and maybe one day I will! A critical and reasonably academic paper could come from me at some point, but for now, this will have to do. Hopefully, I’ve explored some things to grab your interest in these epic books or inspired you to try again, read them again or if nothing else, watching the films once more.

The ending though, well not the ending-ending, but the bit before it? Oh boy…

No. 1 – Final Fantasy VIII

So, here it is. FFVIII is the number one Final Fantasy game for me. Not the most popular choice but I do have reasons. Hopefully, you won’t stop reading out of disgust. You’ll give me a chance to explain and you’ll even accept a different opinion from FFVII at the top. Maybe?

Story

I’ll hold my hands up and admit it right now – this is not the best story seen in the series. In fact, too many parts of it seem to try and rival VII in some way, which makes it even less appealing considering the different world, look and system involved. That being said, it’s not the worst story either, compared to titles on either side of its release. It is pretty decent overall, with some areas standing out and others lacking. It’s like many Final Fantasy titles in this respect.

The characters are the same. Squall is an emo kid, we get it. He’s annoyingly cool for the first 20 minutes, maybe (if you’re having a good day) but then gets to be a pain in the ass very quickly. By the end, he’s actually grown as a person though, which is something a lot of protagonists throughout Final Fantasy titles just do not do. Each character has flaws to their personality that makes life difficult but they have a goal and they come together to get it done – the romance story is probably one of the weaker aspects while Laguna’s story is great just for the comedy they (try to) bring.

Graphics and music

FFVIII carried on from FFVII’s graphics leap, and it made the game stunning at the time – especially the CGI scenes. Even now, it doesn’t hold up too badly compared to some older games, just a bit blocky but what do you expect from a Playstation title. The music is great too and catches the tone of each scene and area perfectly. These are two areas that Square (later Square-Enix) would later seem to prioritise over gameplay and story. They seem to take the attitude that looks mean everything. Hopefully, they’ll learn that while good and pretty, there’s far more to a title than that.

Junction system

This is probably my favourite aspect of the game, and my favourite system of all Final Fantasy games to date. The system was as simple or as complex as you wanted. You could choose an automatic setup or you could do it yourself and I spent hours tailoring my characters to suit my style of play.

Being reasonably young on the first time playing, I didn’t realise that using junctioned magic MADE ME WEAKER with each spell. Obvious now, I know, but it made magic more tactical than how strong the magic stat was, what the weakness was and how much MP or Mana I had. It would directly impact other stats. Magic was, in some cases, difficult to find so more strategy was needed.

What really let this system down was the ease of which you could max out GF’s (Guardian Forces – AKA summons) and the 1,000 experience points per level. A tiered system would have been more difficult.

Side games

Triple Triad! I love this little card game – it’s a fun addition that isn’t actually necessary to completing the game. Tactical thinking and a variety of rules make it fun to play, even if the AI is a little too predictable at times. I’d love an updated version and I do remember the days where a group of FFVIII fans got together and made an online version. I met some great people back then. The abilities involving Triple Triad and the items you could get definitely made this venture worth it on any play through.

Summary

Overall, FFVIII is a great game. It has its shortcomings as do most, if not all, games. Some people beat down on it more thn others and I’m not sure why. Personal opinion plays a part, but as the title that followed VII, it had a lot to live up to and ultimately failed to surpass it according to most people. Then again, every title since VII has failed in that regard. Technically, I think it works well and it’s one of my favourite games to go back and play with one of the most enjoyable side games of the lot. It’s definitely one of my favourite games of all time and favourite Final Fantasy title to date.

Side note

I haven’t included Kingdom Hearts or non-numbered titles in this top five. I love both Kingdom Hearts and titles such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Dissidia. They may get their own posts in the future – we’ll see. As it stands, this is based on my opinions of the five games covered, not influenced by other people or sales statistics or anything – just one gamer and his thoughts. I hope you’ve enjoyed the countdown and will join me for more next year.

Just to recap:

5 – FFX

4 – FFIV

3 – FFVI

2 – FFVII

1 – FVIII

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games trilogy is a great set of books – they are well written with excellent pace, strong characters and consistent development. They are great, all round books that stretch beyond their targeted audience. The first two have been made into films with the third on its way but I’ve heard mixed reviews about Catching Fire and having seen it twice now, it’s time to weigh in.

Before I start, I will be covering the books in a post next year so I won’t make many references to them except in relation to the film. You’ll have to wait for a deeper look at the books, I’m afraid!

Getting to Catching Fire

So, we leave Katniss and Peeta after they both survive the 74^th Hunger Games – the first time two people have done so. Their act of love is seen as defiance across the capital and riots are starting, although they don’t know it. Their lives are about to change but neither of them are aware of the full impact of what they’ve just done.

Katniss isn’t exactly likable in the film, at least, not at first. She is cold, calculating distant and acts like she doesn’t care about anyone other than herself, Gale and their families. There is a reason for this provided in the books, more than the world they live in but this isn’t really explained in the film which makes her come across as a bit cruel and heartless at times. I’d use another word, but it might not be suitable. We are going to see these qualities resurface in kind in Catching Fire.

Character development

We learn more about Peeta, Katniss, Haymitch, Gale and more in this film. We see familiar faces and their traits return – Katniss’ complaining and hard-ass attitude, Haymtich’s drinking, Peeta’s patience. These are all present throughout the trilogy, well other than one of what I’ve just mentioned!

In each film, we see the characters grow a little but it’s not until you get to the end and compare the beginning to the end that we see any real changes. Keep watching, you’ll see what I mean.

Pace of the film

The pace of the film is great. It starts off exactly where it needs to and it isn’t slow. It follows the book well, so if you know it, you can understand what Katniss and Peeta have to deal with. How they deal is the setup to the 75^th Hunger Games – the Quarter Quell. We know that it’s coming from the trailers and the premise of the films. No new characters are introduced until after the reaping so we know we’re still following the same tributes and we will for the rest of the trilogy.

We’re treading on familiar territory from the reaping onwards. Same process applies until the end of the film pretty much, so I understand why some people might get bored.

Expanding and elaborating on what came before

It’s the same premise but with a much different delivery. Everything is bigger and more elaborate this time, right from the parade to the training grounds and life in The Capital. The arena is bigger and better than ever before (for the audience anyway) and has a set theme to it, with a logical progression. Figuring this out is easy so it’s left for you to wonder if it was meant to help or hinder our protagonists. You’ll have to read the book or watch the film and decide for yourselves on that one, I won’t spoil it.

Overall

I prefer Catching Fire to The Hunger Games for a few reasons. I think the characters are more relatable in this film – perhaps because we get to know more about them and have more links to them than in the first film. We have more reason to feel for now only Peeta and Katniss, but all of them. Every tragedy is more tragic than in the first film and the lengths they all go to to achieve their own goals is the perfect setting so Mockingjay. Keep that in mind.

Not only is Catching Fire my favourite book of the trilogy, but it’s my favourite film so far. Knowing what comes next, it may well stay that way.

F1 2013: Season Review

Now that the dust has settled on another Formula One year, I’ve been thinking about this season: the highs and lows, shocks and surprises and I thought I’d get a little summary together to tie us over until the new season begins next year. Feel free to disagree with me and let me know why!

Kudos to the Champ

No matter whether you like him or hate him, Sebastian Vettel has done some remarkable things the last four years, as has the Red Bull team. We have been the witness of some dominating performances reminiscent of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. People will complain, as always but there’s plenty going on after the winning position if you pay attention.

The records Vettal has broken, and at such an age, are incredible and he’s probably not done by a longshot. I’ll be interested to see how he copes with the lows if and when they come his way. We saw a darker, meaner side of him in the team orders fiasco early in the season. Is there more of this to come? Time will tell.

Stand out driver

There are a few names to mention here. Fernando Alonso for Ferrari has once again pushed more than most other drivers with an inferior car. Valtteri Bottas has proven he has some talent, but whether he can transform that into results is something else. Nico Hulkenberg has once again shown this season why he is so highly rated. Max Chilton set his own record of finishing every race in his rookie season.

However, I have to give it to Lotus driver Romain Grosjean. Compared to the driver he was last season, and despite a few hiccups this year, he has proven himself to be fully deserving of his place in F1 and with a team such as Lotus. We have not seen all the French driver can do and if Lotus can pull it together next year, he could be a title contender. Wouldn’t that be a great reward for him!

Stand out team

Of all the teams, Mercedes did better than expected, especially judging by their performances since the brand took the team in 2010. To have the pace they did was downright shocking to everyone on the grid – unfortunately they couldn’t hold it in the race due to high tyre wear. They solved it through the season (probably helped by the ‘illegal’ tyre test they did) and were often the closest challengers to the Red Bulls.

Best race

I enjoyed Melbourne, Australia, the most. I like the track, and being the first race of the season always means there are some unsure faces and some unpredictable results. Kimi Raikkonen won the first race after an unsurprising Red Bull front row. At first, it was a case of familiar faces at the front. It soon changed and the season would offer a little more spice but things soon settled down and things got boring in subsequent races, unfortunately,

Worst race

Silverstone was probably the worst race of the season, but on the other hand, it was the most interesting. It was the worst because of six tyre blowouts that could have, at any point, seriously injured the driver in the car and others around it. It was worse because we’d seen tyre failures like this before but nothing this severe. I said at the time I was surprised the race wasn’t stopped and I still hold to the belief. It was a ridiculous environment to be in. It did lead to a change in compounds for the next two races – did that play a part in Red Bull’s success in the second half of the season? Undoubtedly.

Biggest surprise

For me, the biggest shock was McLaren being so uncompetitive. It was ridiculous that one of the teams we’re used to seeing challenge for wins and championships couldn’t get a podium this year, especially after Jenson Button won in Brazil. Lewis Hamilton, for all his problems, definitely made the right choice that year. Whether it continues to pay off, is something we’ll have to see, as well as if McLaren can make it back to the top.

New rules and changes

One advantage to waiting a while before posting this review was these “new rules” being introduced. I’m a bit confused that they’d go for double points at the last race rule but not an increased weight limit to be fairer to drivers – I mean, really?! The fact that this rule would have made only three – yes, THREE – differences to the championship in about ten years makes it a stupid rule that won’t really do anything. I kind of understand why they did it, but one race is kind of pointless if someone wins with three or four races to go in the season. It seems like a cheap shot and not thought out at all, but with all the other changes, it will make for an interesting year.

Overall thoughts

Not the most dramatic or enthralling of seasons by a longshot, but it definitely had its moments. While some things will be carried over to the new season, the new rules and regulations mean that we are going back to square one for many teams and that should give us a much more interesting season to come as teams and drivers get to grips with what they have to work with. I’m very excited for 2014!

No. 2 – Final Fantasy VII

Yes, Final Fantasy VII only comes to number two in my top five and I know that will cause some surprise (even controversy) among die-hard Final Fantasy fans about how I have no idea what I’m on about. Well, just bear with me and I’ll explain why.

On another note, I did say last time that I’m really grasping at straws for the top three because I love them all, so this is what it’s come down to.

The game

On its own, FFVII is probably my favourite game of the entire Final Fantasy franchise. The story is gripping, the characters (mostly relatable) and if you’ve managed to learn anything about me from these blogs, then you should know that I love science fiction and such related themes, even in a fantasy based genre!

It’s clear throughout the game that there is more to the story than we’re being told in this title. It keeps the audience wondering and we don’t need to know anything else – it’s great that we do learn (I’ll come to that) but it isn’t necessary for what I’m getting from the game, or what I want from it. There’s love, heart break, betrayal, soul searching, laughter, adventure, history and future and so much more. It could be a seven series long TV show or more with all the side stories and characters you come across.

The Materia system is brilliant too, and you get a chance to really give your characters abilities that you prefer and suit you style of play. This is based on your weapon and amour choices and a lot of time can be spent finding the best weapon and armour combination before you get your Materia combination right.

The Materia itself is a great way of doing things, and limits how often you can use abilities per battle before it resets after each fight. However, you can ‘master’ each one to get a new one and come up with some truly powerful (and almost unbeatable) combinations. In most, if not all cases, when you max out a Materia you get a new one so you can put each of your favourites on numerous characters. In the end, it makes things too easy if you try too much.

However, there is a point throughout the whole game, and the Cloud and Sephiroth rivalry is well known, probably one of the most famous throughout the Final Fantasy series. The graphics and music for the time of release were also fantastic, and were a real ground-breaking move away from sprites (which I still miss). It was the beginning of a change in look for the series that has been carried on through to the current generation, and soon to be next generation, of titles.

All together

So, why is FFVII only number two in my top five? Well, unfortunately, this title isn’t just a game for me, and it’s nothing so simple is a VII-2 this time (thankfully). Unfortunately, with mobile games, handheld games console games, a movie and animated shorts all tied in to the VII universe, it’s almost impossible to tell what’s been planned and what has been added on as a money maker.

Even if it was all planned, which I’m not completely sold on, the amount of information and planning is staggering. Cloud suffers from the same problems in almost every game he title he appears in, so what’s the point, other than a quick turnaround in Advent Children. Zack stands out like a sore thumb from the world and his Soldier mentors, which is interesting but his unwavering resolve doesn’t work for me. The story of the Turks isn’t convincing and made me like their characters less, making subsequent play throughs of any game less enjoyable. The only extra the series I enjoyed somewhat was the PS2 title Dirge of Cerberus, but it made me think more deeply into VII’s world than ever before and I still had answers and hopes of a sequel that was never to be thanks to simple mechanics and a lacking story not befitting the FFVII brand.

I could go on, but I’m giving you a taste of the problems of what has happened to the FFVII title. I could go on for quite some time, but this expansion of the world or and universe has decreased my love and enjoyment of what is a standout game.

Conclusion

You may accept my arguments, or even agree with some of them, and it still wouldn’t make a difference. That’s fine, this is my opinion. FFVII on its own should probably be at the top spot, as it is for many fans. For me, having played and seen the other titles in this series, I’m less than thrilled now and while I, like most of you, would love a HD remake of this title, it would still never return to the top of my list now. However, it will always be up there as one of my favourite titles that I spent countless hours on through numerous play throughs.

Sony’s Next Generation Console Arrives: A Weekend with the PS4

Depending on how you look at it, I was one of the organised or very lucky ones to get Sony’s next-gen console, the PlayStation 4, on the first day of release. I told everyone I knew that for the whole weekend I’d be busy trying out the three games that came with the system. I’ll go into a little bit about these as well later. I’d also like to draw your attention a blog post from October where I attended Play Expo and got my first look at the console, controller and one game. Read it here.

I’m not making any secret of the fact I have always been a PlayStation gamer. I wasn’t keen on the Xbox and while the 360 was better, there was never a big reason for me to switch. I’m pretty good at being objective but make of that what you will.

Console

Sharp, angular and very stylish is the easiest way to describe the PS4 console. I’ve read plenty of comments about how people don’t like it but it’s a definite improvement from the PS3 and it is plenty heavy – despite not being much bigger than a slim line PS3. My package came with two controllers and the camera, which offers little for me and my current selection of games but some interesting things to explore and try. This will hopefully be explored more in the future and while the camera most likely isn’t as advanced as the Microsoft counterpart, it is very responsive.

While you can connect to the internet wirelessly, unless you have a PlayStation Plus account (which is the paid version of the PlayStation Network) a lot of the online functionality and online multiplayer aspects of the games are not available. While not overly expensive, and with some handy features, it’s worth considering. Cloud storage will be one of the most used aspects, I predict, given the size of the hard drive, which sounds impressive, until you realise how big the game files are on the PS4. As an average guess, you might get 10 saved on there, and cloud storage will be needed if you don’t want to delete anything.

Better than that, though, is the fact you don’t have to wait for a game to download or install completely before you play it. Installing what you need as you need it makes the system much more efficient. Just something to keep in mind!

Killzone: Shadow Fall

This was the game included in the box with the console. I haven’t played the Killzone games other than the main console titles – the handheld console games eluded me – and each one was pretty good. The gameplay was good and each time, Killzone offered stunning visuals with a less than brilliant story. For Killzone: Shadow Fall, the pattern is largely the same. As expected with the next-gen console, the graphics are incredible (but if they weren’t, I’d be very disappointed) and the gameplay is still very good. The PS4 controller is well used and the touchpad has a use, although somewhat basic for what I would have liked. All you do with it is swipe up, down, left or right to determine the actions of your drone. It’s a start, but nowhere near what I’d hope it would be capable of.

Overall, it’s a great game that continues the legacy of Killzone well. The story and characters could be better but I’ve been blown away with how good it looks and how well it plays that I can get past it. The multiplayer was fun as well, which is useful in an FPS title.

Need for Speed: Rivals

So, generally I like my racing games more in the format of a bunch of cars on a circuit for X amount of laps and trying not to blow myself up. Boring? Probably – but that comes with being a motorsport fan. When they release an F1 title for this console, I’ll be first in line for it. Need for Speed: Rivals is a pretty fun game which is stunning to look at (and that’s just the cars) and very easy to play. Two very quick intros at the start give you the basics of playing as a racer and a cop. You can switch between the two at any point and with a number of challenges, modes and things to unlock there’s plenty to keep you busy.

I crash a lot on this game. I’d rather pick a slower car with better handling, although it doesn’t help much, to give myself the best chance. The crashes can be spectacular though. What does get me is that while it’s fun to play offline on your own, the open world concept that lets you race against anyone (AI or player) at any time. This is the default setting.

Battlefield 4

I have to admit, FPS titles such as Battlefield or Call of Duty never really appealed to me – there was nothing wrong with them, I just prefer fantasy/sci-fi stuff if given the choice, and there are some great sci-fi shooters which I usually end up playing more. Once again, this game looked stunning. I was literally on the edge of my seat throughout as I tried to work out what was happening and where and who and what weapon I should use and who was shooting me and where my team was. If you are familiar with the genre, and probably previous titles of this series, you might be fine. Otherwise, it can be a little overwhelming at first.

Saying that, I couldn’t stop playing for hours, no matter how hungry I got. If it can keep me like that, and I’m not the biggest FPS fan, then it’s probably a good shout. I prefer the genre of Killzone: Shadow Fall, but Battlefield 4 plays just as well and I’m more invested to the story and team right now. However, the touchpad use is even more limited on this title, which is a shame.

Summary

This probably goes without saying but I’m generally impressed so far. Having to pay for PlayStation Plus is a bit annoying but something that will probably come good over time. This console is definitely geared to gamers so far and the only thing I’m worried about is hard drive space. We’ll see how that pans out in the future but it’s been a very good weekend and no issues whatsoever so far!

End of an Era in Brazil, 2013

The threat of rain kept drivers, engineers and audiences around the world waiting for an upset that Brazil can often throw into the mix. Unfortunately, it was only the threat we got. Sebastian Vettel got his record, and Mark Webber came away with a good result to end the season with another Red Bull one-two finish. Not only that, it is the end of Webber’s F1 career, Massa’s time at Ferrari and the era of the V8 engines. While there was more tension than usual in this race, it still wasn’t the most exciting of the year.

Tribute to a legend

Some will agree and others won’t, but Webber is, in my opinion, a true legend of the sport. His number of podiums and wins may not be as high as Vettel’s, and he may not have a world championship but compared to almost every driver on the grid today – and in the years that he has been racing in F1, there is no more honest and respectful driver out there. There are always bad days and incidents but his honesty on pretty much everything will be sorely missed. I’ll be keeping an eye on how he goes in endurance racing from next year and wishing him all the best!

We saw another rare chink in Vettel’s luck today. It wasn’t enough to keep him off the top step of the podium but a late call for a pit stop had him sitting there a bit too long – but didn’t affect Webber too much. On the first lap, there was the hope that Nico Rosberg could give Vettel more of a challenge but now, we’ll have to wait for next year for a serious challenger.

Racing incidents

The Lewis Hamilton & Valtteri Bottas incident was very curious. It must have been a tough decision for the stewards, but it came back quite quickly. Lewis was moving back from his original position but there was space on the other side – not much, but some – and it wasn’t like he was forcing the Williams driver off the track. Again, it was harsh but as Bottas ended up worse off, and Lewis was the one making the direction change, it had to be his responsibility in the end, I guess. I’m still not convinced though.

I felt very sorry for Felipe Massa. The decision to give him a drive-through penalty was harsh, and it did spoil what was turning out to be a great battle between himself and Hamilton. We’ve seen those battles in the past often end badly but Massa crossed the wrong lines on the track and that does incur a penalty. After the race, he commented that he wasn’t the only doing it, but the only one to get a penalty. Whether that is true, I don’t know but you can see how it would feel to him, on his final race at Ferrari. Hopefully he won’t dwell on it too much.

Summary

McLaren had a great weekend, considering the form they’ve had all year.  A fourth for Jenson Button is the best result of the year for them and his experience will be invaluable with their rookie driver coming through. Fernando Alsono will have to think about his future if Ferrari still can’t deliver a car. The Mercedes team have done well this year – better than anyone thought – and Romain Grosjean has really grown this year. Let’s not forget Max Chilton, who did finish EVERY race this year, in his first year in the sport. A great achievement, and this all makes next year much more interesting!

Results

1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)

2 – M. Webber (Red Bull)

3 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)

4 – J. Button (McLaren)

5 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)

6 – S. Perez (McLaren)

7 – F. Massa (Ferrari)

8 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber)

9 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)

10 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)

11 – P. Di Resta (Force India)

12 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)

13 – A. Sutil (Force India)

14 – H. Kovalainnen (Lotus)

15 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)

16 – P. Maldonado (Williams)

17 – J. Binachi (Marussia)

18 – G. van der Garde (Caterham)

19 – M. Chilton (Marussia)

20 – C. Pic (Caterham) – DNF

21 – V. Bottas (Williams) – DNF

22 – R. Grosjean (Lotus) – DNF

No. 3 – Final Fantasy VI

Of all the Final Fantasy titles I’ve played, which is most of them given an international release on some platform, I enjoyed VI a lot. It has to be said that my top 3 were very close together and I’ve had to really pick at things I really found annoying to differentiate them.

One thing that really stood out to me from this title was the story/narrative/plot – whatever you want to call it. As a writer, I choose story and FFVI has the best story out of all the games in the series. The characters are diverse, and this title features the most playable characters in any of the numbered titles – and quite possibly any Final Fantasy game, but I am open to information showing otherwise – with fourteen characters that are available throughout most, if not all, of the game and several secondary characters that make regular appearances.

The inclusion of so many characters gives the player a chance to experience a deep, thoughtful and complex story that will take you from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other – and it really doesn’t disappoint. I enjoy the replay factor of this game almost purely for the story, which is expertly crafted. Some characters could be left out or replaced with large parts for others but the balance is very good and if you haven’t played FFVI, I’d recommend it just for this.

However, that’s not all!

Compared to modern games, the graphics are outdated – how I prefer the term ‘classic,’ ‘retro’ or ‘vintage.’ Different people use their own terms but whatever you call it, this is a blast from the past – and it doesn’t look half bad. Every so often, it’s nice to see where our games have come from. The artwork is still popular online today and that makes it an enjoyable experience.

Most importantly, as with many older games, I found this one of the most challenging titles to complete. It was a much longer and more expansive world and story, with a number of things to do and explore. I’m generally the kind of person who likes to explore first and complete the story later, and it has annoyed me about some games, especially more recent Final Fantasy titles (naming no names).

If I could see more, I’d love some even more challenging dungeons and boss fights. As with any game, you can find ways to make yourself almost unbeatable with the right team and abilities. Options to fight more powerful bosses that rely on you being at this level would be quite fun…or maybe I’m just asking for trouble? Both are equally possible.

Having seen the poor voiceovers as well as the “good” ones, I’d always pick the original version over any remake – don’t get me wrong, I’d buy and play a remake if it came around – purely because I have a lot of memories. What I enjoy about it is also what VI rank only number three. It’s a bit confusing at first, the tutorials aren’t that great and the world is very overwhelming at first. On replays, this is actually quite nice because I already know but it makes it more daunting to get to grips with on the first try. It’s also something that subsequent titles learnt straight away.

The fact that I still own a PlayStation copy of FFVI is a testament to how much I love this game. I am working on actually getting a PlayStation again at some point too, or at least a PS2.

A Predictable Result in Austin, 2013

I love the track at Austin; it looks like it will be exciting every time. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up this time, partly due to Sebastian Vettel’s continued domination, and partly due to the conservative tyre choices. Let’s face it, Pirelli cannot catch a break – they either pick too durable tyres or too weak tyres but the problem they face is the compounds are just wrong this year. This is something that really needs to change next year or they will continue to fail in their given target: create unpredictable races with more pit stops.

Grosjean’s form continues

I’ve said this a few times, but Romain Grosjean is getting better! Compared the incidents he had last year, the man racing now is completely different – I could almost be convinced it was his twin brother. Everything he’s doing is working, and if Lotus can keep up with Red Bull, Mercedes (and you could argue Ferrari and hopefully McLaren again next year), you’d have to say he has a chance at being in that championship hunt.

It’s a welcome back to the grid for Heikki Kovalainen as well. Not the best result in the race, but overall his weekend was good, and if he can keep it up next week, is there a chance he’ll actually get a race seat again? I hope so.

Mixed fortune for Williams

It’s obvious, now more than ever, that Pastor Maldonado and Williams are not on good terms. Signs have been there for a while but this weekend it came to boil when the drive publically said he thought the team might have altered his car. That’s crazy, right? Why would they do that when they NEED points? He has options, mostly due to his funding as I don’t think he’s a fantastic driver. Yes, he has a win, and I’ll give him that but compared to Sergio Perez, Esteban Gutierrez, Nico Hulkenberg and others, I don’t rate him.

Valterri Bottas, on the other hand, had a fantastic weekend and got a points finish for the team. It was a great drive and result from the rookie and proves he’s got talent. Whether he can turn that talent into something exceptional, we’ll have to wait and see.

Taking the good with the bad

The whole weekend was full of mixed fortunes for many teams other than Williams and Lotus. McLaren had a bit of a strange one with Jenson Button finishing just inside the points after a penalty and Perez in seventh – it’s ironic since he’s been let go. Ferrari as well, with Massa also outside the points compared to Alonso’s result, despite being injured. Mercedes got a decent result from Lewis Hamilton which cemented their place in the Constructors Championship ahead of the final race as well, but Nico Rosberg could only manage ninth.

Force India didn’t have a great one with a retirement for Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta missing out on points. It’s hard to see the Scot not only keeping his drive but even staying in the sport. It’s a shame, because he’s got talent (and I’m being patriotic) but as it stands his past comments and unlucky results and problems may well have killed his F1 career this year. Hopefully not, but I doubt he’ll be with Force India next year either way.

Summary

Not an amazing race but another record for Vettel. The final race could be a bit more interesting, especially if we get rain again, as can very possibly happen in Brazil. I can’t believe it’s the final race next week, but I’m looking forward to new rules and regulations, the confusion, trials and joys it will bring. Until next week!

Results

1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)

2 – R. Grosjean (Lotus)

3 – M. Webber (Red Bull)

4 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)

5 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)

6 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber)

7 – S. Perez (McLaren)

8 – V. Bottas (Williams)

9 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)

10 – J. Button (McLaren)

11 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)

12 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)

13 – F. Massa (Ferrari)

14 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)

15 – H. Kovalainen (Lotus)

16 – P. Di Resta (Force India)

17 – P. Maldonado (Williams)

18 – J. Bianchi (Marussia)

19 – G. van der Garde (Caterham)

20 – C. Pic (Caterham)

21 – M. Chilton (Maurssia)

22 – A. Sutil (Force India) – DNF

No. 4 - Final Fantasy IV

I haven’t played Final Fantasy IV for a long time but it was always one of my favourites. I was too young for the original release on the SNES, but I did find it on for the PlayStation as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology containing the fourth and fifth numbered titles.

I remember the game well. Other games at the time, and while you can call the graphics and sprites of FFIV classic or retro, they weren’t up to par with other games at the time. That has never been a problem for me – if a game looks great, then that’s an added bonus but it’s not the main thing I look for. Despite this, it is recognisably Final Fantasy, and that was enough for me.

The music in FFIV is probably some of my favourite scores from any game in the series. While there isn’t the same clarity as recent releases, it does still draw quite a lot of emotion and it matches up with the story perfectly. The music has been reworked multiple times over the years as new versions of this game are released – and that’s got to give you an indication of the popularity and how good this game actually is.

No? Well, keep reading.

FFIV is not the most popular or well-known game of the series, but for many people, it offered a first in many aspects of what we consider to be a staple or classic feature of RPG’s. It was released in a different order to other games in the series which had an impact on this, but there are a range of characters to choose from with set job classes, and it brought in more tactical thinking.

The story – which I could write over 3000 words on, so I won’t – is also fantastic. I’ll go so far and say it is one of the better narratives of every Final Fantasy title. It brought the characters to life with very complex issues that still hold up today, but were even more relevant at the original time of release. Play the game and do some research; you’ll see what I mean. The depth and character development are brilliant even by today’s standards, and there is excellent replay value in this title.

The only big downside to the game was the length. Give the release date of the title, I’m not surprised and it was actually quite long back then, but there’s more to the story than what we see in the game, I’m sure and I’d love a version that lasts as long as a current title does.

What’s new?

An updated version of FFIV was released for the Nintendo DS and later for mobile platforms that took advantage of more powerful systems and graphics capabilities to bring this game to life. That is the biggest change of all, how it looked, and it was worth it. Again, compare it to nextgen capabilities, or even late PS3 or Xbox 360 titles, and you would never be fooled at all, of course, but it is a massive improvement and brings a lot more charm and life to the game.

With the number of characters that come and go, one update was being able to take the abilities of these characters and give them to permanent ones. While this is more fun, it does make the game easier – and it wasn’t the hardest game to begin with – but you can get some pretty good abilities and become unstoppable although new difficulty settings were included for more of a challenge. Finally, voice acting was included but, much like it is with many English versions of this series, it was disappointing, this time even more so, with the acting detracting from the dialogue and story of the game. Only the music remains the saving grace in these situations.

If you see it for a handheld or mobile device you own, or find it on the PlayStation Network – buy it right there! You won’t want to miss out on this fantastic game, whether it’s the original classic or the updated version. Trust me on this.

Plenty of Action in Abu Dhabi, 2013

While the Abu Dhabi race has not always been an exciting one, we have seen before it is possible to overtake here, if a little difficult. Unlike other races here, there was plenty of action going on, but Sebastian Vettel was clear of it during the first lap as he recorded another win.

A weekend to forget

Kimi Raikkonen had the worst weekend of his season. After the outburst in India, he almost didn’t show up – and missed the media events on Thursday. He only just made it to the first session and the pace wasn’t there. After a decent qualifying, he was demoted to the back and in the race, retired on the first lap. Financial issues have also come to light again and Kimi threatened not to race for the last two races if it wasn’t fixed. Safe to say he won’t miss Lotus next season!

The Britons Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton didn’t have the best race either. Lewis got stuck in traffic and had no grip at points throughout the race, and had to settle for a points finish when, realistically, he should have been fighting for the podium. It’s not the first time he’s had problems in Abu Dhabi, but let’s hope it’s the last. Button suffered front wing damage at the start again and that ruined his race but Sergio Perez salvaged a couple of points for the McLaren team.

Ferrari’s performance returns?

This was a good event for Ferrari – and boy, did they need it! Their poor run of form recently has raised many questions about the team, he decision to bring back Raikkonen and on Fernando Alonso’s future. They had poor pace in the practise sessions but the differing conditions make those largely redundant. Qualifying brought an improvement but the race was where we saw what Alonso and Felipe Masssa are capable of in a poor car.

It’s a shame, because Massa was brought in first when he was running ahead of his teammate but given the structure of the Ferrari team, and the speed Alonso had afterwards, it’s not surprising. Where Massa will go next year has yet to be confirmed but I hope he’s around for a while yet.

Plenty of action

Paul Di Resta managed a decent result again to help counter his run of bad form and increase hope for his future in F1. While I definitely saw more of his teammate, Adrian Sutil, Di Resta got the better result with his one stop and gives him great momentum in the final two races.

Nico Hulkenberg was once again in the thick of it. It was another strong showing that will increase his chances of getting the Lotus seat for 2014. However, the drive through penalty ended his hopes for a strong finish. It had to happen – the release was not safe, proven by moving away from the tarmac with the McLaren just behind.

It was looking good for Romain Grosjean to get another podium, but this time, the one time he needed the one stop strategy to work, it didn’t. Still, fourth is a brilliant result and keeps my hopes alive that he can maybe scrape a win before the season ends.

Summary

There wasn’t much need to see or hear much about Vettel throughout the race after the first corner. It was a dominant race from him once again and shows why he already wrapped up the championship. Two races left this season and if he wins both he equals more records. It was a good weekend, more exciting than we’ve seen for a while!

Results

1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)

2 – M. Webber (Red Bull)

3 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)

4 – R. Grosjean (Lotus)

5 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)

6 – P. Di Resta (Force India)

7 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)

8 – F. Massa (Ferrari)

9 – S. Perez (McLaren)

10 – A. Sutil (Force India)

11 – P. Maldonado (Williams)

12 – J. Button (McLaren)

13 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)

14 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber)

15 – V. Bottas (Williams)

16 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)

17 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)

18 – G. van der Garde (Caterham)

19 – C. Pic (Caterham)

20 – J. Bianchi (Marussia)

21 – M. Chilton (Marussia)

22 – K. Raikkonen (Lotus) – DNF

His Dark Materials

It’s Halloween! The number of costumes impresses me every year, even if they do turn into something else entirely unrelated to the occasion. I could do a post about it, or post something creative, or even talk about Thor 2, which I saw last night – but I’m not. I’ve had a lot of requests asking me to look at Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and I’m only sorry it’s taken me this long to do it as I love these books!

I actually got to meet the man himself in 2012, and it was an incredible experience. I was working at the Manchester Children’s Book Festival that summer and he was one of the authors there, and he was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met – never mind one of the nicest writers! Despite it being an evening session, and a busy one at that, he made sure he didn’t leave until he had seen everyone who wanted to meet him. It must have been 10:30 or later before it was all done. We need more writers like that…and maybe even more people like that too!

One of the most obviously things for me was the lack of religion in the books. This might not seem like such a big issue, really, but I remember it being compared as a contrast to Narnia, and those books were massively heavy on religion, especially when you put each book together. This was the complete opposite – not anti-religious as such, and not pro. Rather, it just left out religion as much as possible. That didn’t make it overly science based either, as our protagonists, Lyra and Will, are children who do not understand everything being said to them. As readers, we are given a lot more information and our understanding is probably better than theirs.

Dust is a theme comes up often, and a lack of understanding, not just from our protagonists but also the adults of the world, makes it an interesting idea. It lends itself to so many things, theories and ideas that until we hear more from Pullman, it’s impossible to know the true purpose of Dust in that universe. We can speculate, and take what characters say but I’ve always felt there was more to Dust.

As a huge science-fiction and fantasy fan, I love new worlds, rules, creatures and all sorts. Having that element in the His Dark Materials books definitely played a big part in keeping me interested as a younger reader. However, they were not so “out there” that it detracted from the story. The worlds were carefully planned out with the right amount of detail that kept me interested and wanting more but still fully believing in that world and also wanting to return to safer ground at the same time. It was brilliant writing all around.

It was one of the earliest books I read that seem to stray away from the “happy ever after” mentality that a lot of children and teenage books had at that time. Things have changed since, and it’s not a sad ending as such, but it was heart wrenching. It’s one of the reasons why I want to know more about what happened later, to see how they coped with the events in their lives.

I love these books, and quite happily and often read them again and again. Each time, I notice something new or a new idea comes to me and that’s one of the best things about a good book – that no matter how often you read it, there’s always something more to gain, and in a lot of books and works I’ve seen being published over the last ten years or so, that just isn’t there. Looks like I’ve just set myself a goal!

What’s more exciting for me is that The Book of Dust is still underway – I’ve been looking forward to this ever since the rumours started. While not a direct sequel to the trilogy, it seems we will follow an older Lyra and Dust is going to play an important part, but with a name like The Book of Dust, I’d really hope so. Patience is a virtue I’m getting more of every year so I can wait, especially if the extra time will transform it from a good read to an extraordinary book (or two)!

India sees Vettel take his Fourth Consecutive Championship in 2013

So, this weekend we have seen Sebastian Vettel take his fourth consecutive world championship! It’s a fantastic result, even if the race didn’t live up to expectations. It was certainly more interesting than the other races in India, and it was an example of the tyres being chosen correctly – still safe but with more uncertainty. It was promising to be exciting but in the end, Vettel’s dominance showed through it all. That’s four in a row for the man and the team. Will it be the same next year? I don’t mind it happening, as long as there’s less dominance!

Webber’s Woes

I really feel for Mark Webber – he had a chance of a solid result this weekend, most likely second place. I don’t think he could have held off Vettel this time around, even if he was on the better strategy – the new champion just seemed to get everything right and the traffic was never too bad for him this time.

The speed Vettel had through the entire race was staggering, and I don’t think Webber could have responded, but now we’ll never know. It’s a shame, and of course, the conspiracy theories will start flying soon but the team were obviously concerned since they told Vettel to take it easy. I was highly amused at Kimi Raikkonen getting the fastest lap on the last lap of the race, just to prove a point on his soft tyres.

Impressive drives

Romain Grosjean had a stellar race – from 17^th to 3^rd is a great result and continues the excellent form he’s had in recent races. Gone seem to be the accident prone driver and replaced with a man who has consistent speed and the desire to get the best result possible. It seems his driving style combined with the Lotus car really allows him to get the most out of his tyres, and I hope he can pick up a win before the season ends.

It was a good show from both Force India drivers to finish in the points, and nice to not have any complaints from them this weekend. You’ve got to give it to Sergio Perez as well, equalling McLaren’s best result of the season in 5^th (still doesn’t feel right to say, but hey). It’s a shame his teammate, Jenson Button, had such an unfortunate afternoon as the pace was there and it could have been 5^th and 6^th between them!

Another year and no title for Alonso

This has got to be getting to him now. In 3 out of the last 4 years, Alonso has been the closest, the runner up and the first loser to Vettel. How long will he stay at Ferrari if they keep this up? How long will they put up with his comments? With Raikkonen moving back to the team next year, will Alonso return to McLaren, or, just to stay in theme, how about Lotus, formerly Renaut? Interesting idea.

Summary

You’ve got to give it to Vettel, regardless of what you think of him as a driver. The team has come together for him perfectly. Will it last? Maybe, but the new rules will bring a lot of changes. One thing that did tickle me was the Raikkonen-Grosjean situation and the radio message to Raikkonen. It’s come to my attention that teams swear over the radio to prevent the messages being broadcast, but in this case, it was bleeped out and played. Lotus told Raikkonen to move over (but not so politely) and he responded in kind. It can be found on YouTube. Oh Kimi…

Results

1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)

2 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)

3 – R. Grosjean (Lotus)

4 – F. Massa (Ferrari)

5 – S. Perez (McLaren)

6 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)

7 – K. Raikkonen (Lotus)

8 – P. Di Resta (Force India)

9 – A. Sutil (Force India)

10 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)

11 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)

12 – P. Maldonado (Williams)

13 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)

14 – J. Button (McLaren)

15 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)

16 – V. Bottas (Williams)

17 – M. Chilton (Marussia)

18 – J. Bianchi (Marussia)

19 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber) – DNF

20 – M. Webber (Red Bull) – DNF

21 – C. Pic (Caterham) – DNF

22 – G. van der Garde (Caterham) – DNF

Guild Wars 2: One Year Later

It’s been over a year since the launch of Guild Wars 2, and everything I posted about last year stands strong. This is still a remarkable game but there have been a number of changes since earlier in 2013 that have changed the attitudes, goals and dynamics of many players. I’m not just talking about skill balancing, bug fixes and world updates – although these do happen regularly – but bigger changes to keep interest, and it seems to be working.

Living Story

Each character you make has a personal story to follow. These change depending on the race you choose and the options during character creation. Further options are made to players as you progress until a point later in the story where paths converge and the story is largely the same for everyone, regardless of race or background. There are still choices to make but you can cover all the story options at this stage with the five character slots provided.

Upon completing this, there wasn’t much to do in terms of progression. The focus turned to alternate characters, dungeons and fractal zones, where you could get rare skins and items from much harder foes. Then the Living Story was introduced and new content is released for a period of time – sometimes leading on from the last update and other instalments making you do something else entirely. This shows the world changing and evolving, with limited edition items and events to access.

This is great for certain events – like now there is a Halloween makeover in places, with new events, challenges and items to complete. Next month, it will be something different. Each instalment lasts for four to six weeks.

World vs. World

While WvW has been around since the start of GW2, I’ve only really given it a few chances. I’ve enjoyed it, sure, but I’m not the biggest fan of Player vs. Player. This has changed with a recent update, which have different “seasons” for WvW and new prizes. This has grabbed my interest again, and that of my Guild, with more people heading to these battlegrounds on a regular basis. The armour skins are good too, and drop rates for rare items are still low, but slightly higher than other places. This could be a good thing for me, right?

I live in hope.

Working towards the…impossible?

Each type of weapon has a Legendary version – they are the hardest to get because of the items and levels required to get them. I’ve been playing for over a year and I’m about two thirds of the way there for ONE character. Even then, the final item needed for each of these weapons has a drop rate that’s one of the lowest in the game. You can buy them, but I can barely save 100 gold, never mind between 1000-2000 gold!

Some people have been lucky, and others have focused their entire efforts on this. I’d like one (specifically Kudzu, the longbow) but there’s more to do.

New weapons were included in a recent update, requiring an increase in crafting levels and very hard materials to find (albeit, not as hard as the Legendary requirements). I’ll work on these eventually too, when I’ve finished my current to do list. By that point, there will be the same options for armour too. Then other items – there’s always more to do!

Guild missions

Another inclusion has been focused on guilds and keeping their members active and working together. The reduced party size compared to Guild Wars was a concern but these missions don’t need you to be in a party, and allow multiple parties at once. From hunting specialist bosses, tracking down locations, completing a circuit full of danger and more missions, they provide excellent rewards once a week to players and access to specialist equipment to improve your stats and in high level situations.

More routes, targets and challenges are always being added and new rewards will be introduced at an appropriate time (probably adding to my list of things to do and get).

Summary

Overall, Guild Wars 2 is a great game and it’s only getting better. How much content they have to run with, I’m not sure but I’d imagine there’s a lot. With increases to crafting levels and new items always being introduced, there’s plenty to play for and aim towards. I know I’ll be playing for a long time to get at least one character with some of the harder to obtain items. Will you?

Play Expo: Assassins Creed 4 and the PS4

After the success and enjoyment of last year’s Play Expo in Manchester, I have been eagerly anticipating the return – especially as it coincided with my birthday! What better way to celebrate turning 25 than to play retro games, make a few purchases and see what’s new in the gaming world? Exactly. However, it didn’t go as planned and unfortunately, I was only able to confirm my attendance a few days before the event. As such, this isn’t as inclusive as last year’s review but there is one key point I did want to focus on at the end.

Bigger and better

With a much bigger space to utilise, Play Expo has learnt a lot from its first venture to Manchester’s Event City. Each arena got a much bigger space to fulfil and organise according. Where last year it could be crowded and hard to move, this year there was ample space that was filled with consoles, stands, shops and spectators alike. It was less claustrophobic but a much better atmosphere.

The costumes seemed much better than last year. Having been to Manchester’s Comic-Con this year, it was nice to return to a gaming atmosphere. Full respect to those that dressed up and got in the spirit – something I may have try one day, you never know – because it was clear a lot of effort went into those costumes.

The pros were just as intense this year as last, and that’s an intensity that drains you just by watching. I think I’m a gamer, but against these guys I know I’d have no chance. I didn’t interrupt for fear of death but it was fun to watch for a while again.

Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag

Of all the stands I saw and visited, this was the biggest for me. It’s fair to say that Assassin’s Creed is not my favourite series. I enjoyed the first one a lot, and the second did improve on what was great but it got tedious and repetitive for me – something I know other people don’t agree with.

After the second, it was a disappointment and unfortunately, there wasn’t much improvement this time. It caught my eye because it was on the soon to be released PS4 – so I had to try it out. The graphics weren’t as great as I wanted for the new console, which is going to show the crossover period we have where games are released on current and next gen consoles. Only later will we start to see the real capabilities of the PS4 and Xbox One.

AC4’s demo started on a boat that was as responsive as a slug with a hangover. It took what felt like ten minutes to turn and there were no clear instructions on what to do. Button mashing aside, the guys were quick to explain and I did crash once or twice while trying to figure out what to do. There’s so much to keep on top of that it was more of a chore than enjoyable. With a real tutorial, this might be different. Movement afterwards was also a bit sluggish and I switched off at the point.

It lost me. This is not an improvement and I’m not going to be buying this one, unfortunately.

PS4 and the controller

However, moving on from a disappointing game to an impressive console (or what were the indications of such). Not much can be said of the console from this demo but I did get my first taste of the new controllers and honestly, I’m very impressed.

I remember back in the PlayStation days where the first version of these controllers was released. I didn’t like it but by PS2, I had no choice and adapted. The design has been fairly consisted throughout and I like that. Even now, on PS3, of my 3 controllers, one is lighter than the others and is the one I use the least (I like a bit of weight, but not too much).

This new version sees new materials which make the controller a lot better to handle and use, with indentations in the analog sticks to rest your thumbs in. Much better.

The biggest differences were the lower trigger buttons, which stick out more to be easier to press. That’ll take some getting used to but it’s going to be useful if there is so much to do in games like AC4. The last thing is the touch pad, which wasn’t usable in this demo, so not much to say but it threw a few people looking for the start and PS button found on the PS3 controllers. They’ll find this with time, I’m sure.

Overall: very good and a good indication of things to come!

Final thoughts

Throughout the day, switching between new and retro games, I found myself thinking about sensitivity in game controls. Are we so used to sensitivity that the slightest touch for that fractional movement is so important? Going from a Sega Megadrive to a PS4 was so strange because I had to hammer the controls to move on the former console, whereas now I barely need to press anything. I really had a sore thumb at the end of the day.

Has anyone else thought about this? I mean, it’s good we’ve made so many steps but has that changed the focus of our games and the difficulty? I still find these older games harder than a lot of titles released today. Just some food for thought!

Not Quite a Classic Race in Suzuka, 2013

I do love Suzuka, it’s one of my favourite races of the year and it rarely disappoints. Yet again, there was no disappointment this year but it has to be said, it wasn’t the most exciting race ever – a pattern that has been consistent throughout this season. We were teased with the possibility of a winner other than Sebastian Vettel, which was nice while it lasted.

The right, or wrong, strategy

A lot of talk has been about Red Bull’s strategy, and once again the conspiracy theorists have come out of hiding and said the team sabotaged Mark Webber’s race so that Vettel could win. That’s rubbish.

At the point of the first stops, it wasn’t clear if Vettel could beat both Webber and Romain Grosjean, and to get past the Lotus driver, Red Bull pitted early, forcing Grosjean to respond. Ultimately, this would allow Vettel to take the lead and win but he’s good with tyres and can manage his race well. It was excellent driving and if Webber had gotten past Grosjean quicker, it might have been different. Besides, Mark is leaving this year, if he really thought something was going on, don’t you think he’d say so? He’s normally very honest, anyway.

Stand out drivers

Throughout the last couple of races there have been some great drivers, most notably Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg.

Like most people, I wasn’t sure Grosjean would be around this year, and quite rightly so. He was a danger to himself and other drivers and that carried on, albeit to a lesser degree, this year. The latter half of the season has seen someone completely new arrive and it couldn’t have happened at a better time, as he can prove himself to be a lead driver.

Hulkenberg has had flashes of brilliance before, but the last two races have shown a step up for Sauber and himself. If this continues for the rest of the season, it’s hard to imagine him not finding a better drive – although I don’t see why he’d move back to Force India at this stage, as some believe.

The Williams fall out

The last lap incident with Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas was a very interesting one. Maldonado reminds me a lot of Puan Pablo Montoya, quick racing driver but ruthless in his driving style. This works well but there should still be a level of respect between drivers – especially teammates.

How the stewards viewed it as a racing incident is beyond me, but they do have more information and views than me, so it’s hard to argue. From every view I saw, there was nowhere else for Bottas to go, and was essentially run off the road. If that had been Monaco, it would have been nasty – and let’s not forget, we’ve seen Maldonado do this before. Like a lot of rumours, I don’t believe he’ll be at the Williams team next year.

The driver market

This leaves a few questions about where some drivers will be next year. Felipe Massa, Hulkenberg, Paul Di Resta, Maldonado and even Fernando Alonso are all rumoured to want to, and potentially are, moving. There’s even talk about Rubens Barrichello returning – which would be fantastic but not very likely.

I hope Hulkenberg gets a seat at a top team, like Lotus. He’s done wonders in a car that isn’t up to scratch and would do very well, I think. He’s proven it before and will do so again. I’d like Di Resta to get a better drive, as I think he has a lot of talent but he needs to stop complaining about the team every time something goes wrong. It’s not good for morale and won’t make him an attractive prospect. As for Alonso going to McLaren, I can see it, but not until next year so he can see if they improve.

Summary

Not a bad race overall, with some interesting talking points but it does seem Vettel will get his fourth title next time out in India. Hats off to him, he does deserve it but as a fan, I want more variety. Well done to Max Chilton for being the only driver so far to finish every race this season, as it was announced at the weekend!

Results

1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)

2 – M. Webber (Red Bull)

3 – R. Grosjean (Lotus)

4 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)

5 – K. Raikonnen (Lotus)

6 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber)

7 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)

8 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)

9 – J. Button (McLaren)

10 – F. Massa (Ferrari)

11 – P. Di Resta (Force India)

12 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)

13 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)

14 – A. Sutil (Force India)

15 – S. Perez (McLaren)

16 – P. Maldonado (Williams)

17 – V. Bottas (Williams)

18 – C. Pic (Caterham)

19 – M. Chilton (Marussia)

20 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes) – DNF

21 – G. van der Garde (Caterham) – DNF

22 – J. Bianchi (Marussia) – DNF

Plenty Going on in Korea, 2013

Okay, so it’s taken me a bit longer than usual to get Korea’s post done – sorry! New job distracted. It’s not a great excuse, but it’s all I’ve got, and it does allow me to mention some things which have come to light since the last race – and just in time for Suzuka! I love Suzuka, it’s up there as one of my favourites. Hopefully, we’ll get some close and exciting racing.

A step up for Sauber

Since the tyre changes earlier this season, Sauber have been pulling back up the ranks. A lot of that is down to Nico Hulkenberg, who still seems to miss out on the bigger drives unfortunately. It was a stellar result for him, and once again proved what he can do.

That being said, it has emerged this week he is a serious contender for the Lotus seat, and I really hope he gets it. He’d be a brilliant replacement for Kimi Raikkonen, and if you put him with Romain Grosjean, you’re going to have an exciting line-up! 

The turning point

Two safety cars in Korea, and both changed the race. What was probably going to be a three stop strategy for most teams turned into two! It was an interesting turn of events and made for some exciting racing in the final laps.

I feel a bit sorry for Grosjean, with a few more laps, he might have passed Raikkonen. I’m a fan of the Finn, and he took his chance and it worked, but Grosjean was trying so hard and that extra step would have done him wonders.

Even more tyre concerns?

Back at it again, eh? Pirelli have had a bit of a nightmare this season but I do feel for them. They are restricted in what they can do testing wise, and that needs to change if we really want to get the right tyres for the sport. Some people disagree the current style works or is good, but it’s the way it is. So, let’s give them the resources and time to get it right – surely that’s the right idea?

Next year will be even more interesting, and hopefully they’ll get it right but I have little doubt of this, as testing is limited and no one knows what’s going to happen.

Sombre news

I’d normally talk about Vettel’s chances in Japan, but I think it’s important to mention two things that have happened this last week in the world of motorsport.

Last week’s IndyCar race saw a huge crash involving Dario Franchitti in Texas. There are clips online and it is a shocking incident to see and reminded me of the accident involving Dan Wheldon last year in Las Vegas. Thankfully, Frnachitti survived, and while he suffered some severe injuries, he seems to be stable. I’m hoping for a speedy recovery.

My next part isn’t so good. This morning, Maria De Villota was found dead. The news emerged towards the end of the second practise second in Suzuka and this is a devastating announcement. After her life threatening crash last year where she lost her right eye, it had seemed De Villota was recovering. Tributes have been coming in from all corners in a unifying sight, and I’d like to add my own to them. A real role model and big part of F1 and the motorsport world, my thoughts also go out to her friends and family.

Summary

It was an interesting race, livened up to the end. This week has been a mixed one – excitement about Suzuka and sadness about the accident and loss. I’m hoping next week brings better news.

Results

1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)

2 – K. Raikkonen (Lotus)

3 – R. Grosjean (Lotus)

4 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber)

5 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)

6 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)

7 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)

8 – J. Button (McLaren)

9 – F. Massa (Ferrari)

10 – S. Perez (McLaren)

11 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)

12 – V. Bottas (Williams)

13 – P. Maldonado (Williams)

14 – C. Pic (Caterham)

15 – G. van der Garde (Caterham)

16 – J. Bianchi (Marussia)

17 – M. Chilton (Marussia)

18 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso) – DNF

19 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – DNF

20 – A. Sutil (Force India) – DNF

21 – M. Webber (Red Bull) – DNF

22 – P. Di Resta (Force India) – DNF

The Glamour of Singapore, 2013

A street circuit where the race takes place at night? It’s got to be Singapore and it is a spectacle. It’s a challenging circuit, and one of the longest ‘natural’ races at just short of the two hour limit. Every driver is drenched in sweat afterwards but you can tell how much they love it. Sebastian Vettel was in his element again but by no means was it an easy win this year.

The range of strategies in play

We saw varying strategies in play, which gave us a few surprises. Jenson Button took a risk with a massive stint on his tyres in which he almost got a nice reward. Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso both made a long stint work and end on the podium, but McLaren still aren’t at that level yet.

Romain Grosjean and Mark Webber both had problems with the car this time around, a massive shame as both were looking at possible podiums at one point. What this would have meant for the entire race had they both lasted, we’ll never know. Webber’s grid penalty for the next race will also not make things any better. 

The safety car

This was the turning point of the race. It was at an awkward time in the race for the teams as they had to decide how to alter their strategies and predict what other teams would do. This proved to be essential in the final result, as I never would have predicted that podium this time around from the starting positions we had. If the safety car had been 5-10 laps later, it would have been a totally different game.

The unfortunate incidents

Daniel Ricciardo’s accident came after he signed his deal at Red Bull – thankfully – but it had a massive impact on the race, resulting in changing strategies that made for an interesting watch. This race was a lot more exciting than recent events, which the championship needed at this stage.

Paul Di Resta’s run of bad luck continued again – he needs to be careful he doesn’t inherit Webber’s misfortune – and at the worst possible time. With seats available in the driver market, he needs good results to get a better driver and show what he can do. The only positive was his progress until his retirement, he made his way through the field and initial signs were promising.

Good show by Mercedes

It finally looks like the Mercedes team have gotten over their problems earlier in the year but unfortunately haven’t been able to keep up with Red Bull. Then again, who has? There was some good hard racing between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and it was good to see. I was hoping for a few more daring attempts but I’m not disappointed.

We saw a more upbeat Hamilton this time around, which was good. I do feel for Rosberg, the safety car didn’t help him at all – he might not have finished any higher but it would have been interesting to see – and after his fantastic start where he almost took the lead, I’d have loved to see that battle continue.

Summary

It wasn’t a bad race. It was a result for Vettel, who extended his lead to 60 points. Unless he has at least two retirements or finishes outside of the points twice, it’s hard to see him not taking his fourth world championship. Once again, Alonso showed his form by finishing second as did Raikkonen, even with a bad back and injections, for the final podium slot. The Mercedes team will be raring to go at the next race.

Results

1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)

2 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)

3 – K. Raikkonen (Lotus)

4 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)

5 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)

6 – F. Massa (Ferrari)

7 – J. Button (McLaren)

8 – S. Perez (McLaren)

9 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber)

10 – A. Sutil (Force India)

11 – P. Maldonado (Williams)

12 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)

13 – V. Bottas (Williams)

14 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)

15 – G. van der Garde (Caterham)

16 – M. Chilton (Marussia)

17 – J. Bianchi (Marussia)

18 – C. Pic (Caterham)

19 – M. Webber (Red Bull) – DNF

20 – P. Di Resta (Force India) – DNF

21 – R. Grosjean (Lotus) – DNF

22 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – DNF