Shark gun

On a lighter note, I just recently was slapped in the face with information on Shark Gun for Wii. For a moment I thought I misheard, then I had the mental image of a gun used to hunt sharks, and then, of course, I visualised a gun that would actually be shooting sharks...


Upon closer inspection the gun from the article in question turned out to be just a crappy add-on for Wii, nothing as rad as the real shark gun (I'm using he word real quite liberally here, I know):


And then something in my brain went "plop" and it dawned on me that it was not my own insane imagination that has put the images in my mind. There actually was a game in which player would be wielding a gun that would shoot giant sharks swimming through the ground and devouring enemies (no, I don't need dried frog pills, thank you so very much).

The game in question was Armed and Dangerous and it was not the only crazy-ass weapon that the game contained - but the most memorable, if I may hazard a guess. You can see it in action in this YouTube clip. The only thing that could make the Shark Gun more awesome would be if it was shooting sharks with lasers.


And now try to imagine how cool would it be to play Armed and Dangerous with a Shark Gun attached. A whole new level of geekiness awaits!

PS. I desperately tried to put in this text expression "to jump the shark", but I couldn't figure out where to put it, so...

God of PSP

I should have written this post long time ago. I could have written it when I got my hands on God of War demo disk - or at least I should have started. I had already been thinking about it, when I finally bought myself a copy and was charmed - because this game is the epitome of excellence. I was to busy playing the game to write about it, then life got busy as it always does and I have never gotten to posting a review. Let me quickly wrap it up now, then.


God of War: Chains of Olympus redefined what PSP is capable of hardware-wise. The level of graphical detail is just stunning: hordes of enemies, dynamic lighting effects, smoke, shadows, particles, blood, all perfectly animated. All without virtually any loading times (in-game between levels, because there are some waiting moments when reverting to save point and turning the game on initially). Watch the game in action in the trailer below:

Not only is the execution stellar, but the gameplay is great as well - brutal, visceral fighting, with timed events triggering gory finishing moves, topped with logical puzzles to balance the action moments, so that player can catch their breath between the fights. I would like to stress the word brutal: the main protagonist, Kratos, is angry, powerful warrior and this shows in the way he treats his adversaries.

It's not about elegant sword duels - it's about boiling rage and aggressive fighting, presented in incredibly suggestive manner. Whether Kratos is climbing on cyclop's shoulders to lodge a blade in its only eye, or catching a harpy, throwing it on the ground and curb-stomping its head, he does that so brutally that player almost can feel the damage done. In his videoreview Yahtzee described the fight to be "satisfying to the point of eroticism" and I whole-heartedly agree.


The above screenshot draws attention to one more aspect of Chains of Olympus other than its insane graphics, namely gigantic enemies. Apart from cyclops, minotaurs and huge knights, there are also bosses, unfortunately not that many. What's more, only one of them is actually truly overwhelming - the battle with it spans over several rounds and is spectacular, but it occurs at the very beginning of the game, something that has been criticised by some reviewers.

Surprisingly enough, Chains of Olympus also features a decent scenario - be sure to check the story trailer to catch a glimpse of it. While there might be better stories out there, it's not a RPG and, frankly, this one stands for more than just an excuse for happy slaughter. There actually was one very dramatic and touching moment near the end when Kratos has to make a very painful decision (not going into details to avoid spoilers) and player has to physically take part in it, forcing the hero to make this one little move that for him means more strain than pushing heavy boulders.

Image courtesy of Sledziu aka MrHerring

Overall, this is one of the best or perhaps THE best game on the system and I highly recommend it. Top notch production values, unrivalled audiovisuals, satisfying gameplay - it's hard to find anything bad about the game. One could be nitpicking, of course, and point out relatively short gameplay time (some claim ten hours from start to finish, it took me about fifteen, which is quite decent for a videogame) or only one really gigantic boss, but for me these are the necessary concessions in trying to keep the game portable and produced on time and budget.

I know that given the time and date this post is somewhat redundant, but while there is a myriad of glowing reviews out there, Christmas is approaching and if you are having the slightest doubts what game you should buy to your PSP-owning cousin /friend, then look no further. This game should be a part of every adult PSP gamer's library. Let me stress this again - this is not a game for kids, due to some sexual innuendos and, more importantly, tons of gore and violence, as well as mature and grim story. Any adult PSP owners that have not played this game yet, however, should definitely go out there and buy it.

Post Scriptum

As a cherry on the cake, news flash: while Ready at Dawn (creators of Chains of Olympus and phenomenal Daxter) have retired from making PSP games, just recently the post on their website indicates they might reconsider this move. Quote: "Maybe we should reconsider this whole ‘no more PSP games’ thing because we seem to be doing pretty good at it". No guys, you are not pretty good, you are the best. Please come back.

Super Stardust Portable

I wanted to play the original Super Stardust from the moment it appeared, but didn't have PS3, so I had to wait. Some time have passed and while I still don't have PS3, Super Stardust was ported to PSP, adding Portable to its name. I was thrilled after seeing this trailer:

Now I finally got it and I can safely express my opinion: this thing rocks!

Super Stardust Portable has incredible fun factor that makes me feel like I went back in time and was discovering shoot'em up games in the nearby arcade lounge once again. I actually have never been very good with shmups and don't recall finishing any of them without cheat codes - but SSD creates in me the long-forgotten feeling of "just one more retry" that I haven't felt for ages.

In case of most shooters where player has limited lives and saving game is not possible (as opposed to modern FPSes), I get bored and overwhelmed by my clumsiness and difficulty level. Super Stardust Portable makes me swear, curse, cry and eventually go back to try again, as soon as my thumb stops hurting from beating on the fire buttons.


Penny Arcade had this strip on Megaman Effect and I feel quite similarly about Super Stardust, except that the game will not get you funny looks from other adults "oh, he's playing kiddy stuff". The music and sounds are rock solid, the main tune makes player feel like a space soldier embarking on a mission to kill aliens (check it here) and the in-game music is fast and catchy, with a retro feel to it. Framerate is silky smooth and action is frenetic without ever slipping into chaos. Wonderful balance of difficulty and gameplay mechanics coupled with excellent graphical presentation (my coworker saw the game and said "wow, I didn't know PSP could do that") are a deadly combo.

There are mentions of new gameplay modes and/or levels being released as downloadable content, unfortunately not for free. This would effectively increase the cost of the game. But perhaps we can look at this DLC thing as a bonus for those who love the game (with little extra charge), not as a nasty way of forcing player to pay for game in rates?... Even if not, remember that what I am writing about in this note is a basic version released on PSN - and I still am raving about it.

If you like shooters even in the slightest, then you owe it to yourself to give this game a try. At the cost of ten bucks you have no excuse not to. I played this game at work in the toilet, something that has not happened to me ever since Lumines - I think this goes to prove how addictive Super Stardust Porable is.

Av(i)aritia

Avaritia is the Latin word for greed and, in Sesame Street style, it is a sponsor of today's note.

There are two very interesting free online applications I started using in their infancy (that is when they were still beta). I really liked the results I got and I planned to write about both of them. Unfortunately, both of them became non-free when their creators realised they could be making money out of it.


The first application was VectorMagic. In short, a great online tool for vectorizing images, yielding excellent results in most cases, especially with complex shapes and multiple colours. Used it, loved it - until it suddenly became non-free.

This is particularly nasty case - free for a long time, published at first at Stanford website, no mentions of any possibility of the application ever going to the market. Then one day, bam, out of the blue it changes website, becomes regular pay-for-use service and starts charging (not just a nickel) its users. Had I seen this coming, I would have scanned some of my art in advance, really. Going from "hey, we're educational institution and we have this cool free tool for you to use" to "it's a state-of-the-art professional software, so cough up buddy" was like a slap in the face. Steven Clark wrote a very thorough and detailed justification why he thinks it was a bad decision, so I don't have anything to add here. I wouldn't have put it better in word myself. Tsk, tsk. Shame on you, folks.


The second application was Aviary - a promising internet suite of different graphical (and in future perhaps more than that) tools realised in Flex technology. While in the beginnning it was free for beta-users, now it became a commercial service. At least they didn't promise to be free forever.

Out of these two, I think Aviary has better chances of success, because the folks behind it seem to rely more on community and a wealth of functions than single pay-per-use feature. Restricting access to anything but Phoenix editor and placing watermarks for someone who decides not to pay, however, doesn't sound like fun, especially since there are many free online alternatives to what really boils down to a little more funky image editor. Maybe the community part will make up for it, I am not sure.

Don't get me wrong - I am all for authors getting paid for their hard work, but I also am fan of freebies, cheap alternatives and solutions that go beyond "pay or be gone" schema. Additionally, in both cases I felt that the amount of money one would have to pay for functionality at hand is a little too much for a home user - especially when it attacks me out of nowhere (I'm looking at you, VectorMagic).

So there you have it. Two cool applications, but unfortunately not free. Two disappointments for students, users from poorer countries, people that don't have credit cards, and those still infected with "Linux mentality". Two approaches - one slightly better than the other, but still not fully satisfying. I thought they were both interesting enough to warrant a mention on Barts News nevertheless, but when it comes to me, I think I'll stick to trustworthy combination of Gimp, Inkscape and Blender.

Suffering for nothing

In the series of posts on fear in videogames I have forgotten one important title and I have been itching to put it in the final post (it's still coming...), but the perfect excuse appeared last week.

Polish network of "Biedronka" discount shops had the promotion where older games could be bought for some ridiculous money (about 3USD) - it included some solid titles, such us Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy to all you Yankees out there), Rise of Legends and Saga of the Suffering (both parts). I actually have the bundled version of the original game from CD-Action magazine, but have never played the sequel, so I allowed myself to this little treat:


The box, which is bordering on the tasteless, has gotten me a few weird looks and cautious comments from my co-workers, but the game is totally worth it. The Suffering appeared on Xbox and PS2, and was then ported to PC (it was actually a good port, too - something long forgotten in the world of modern PC games). It received generally favourable reviews, but didn't become an instant classic. I actually feel it was a bit underappreciated.

As much as I am not too much the fan of horror game, I got hooked to The Suffering after having watched this trailer:

It was creepy, bloody and weird, but it oozed the atmosphere, voices were terrific and it promised a decent story. I immediately downloaded and eventually bought the game, played it and was not disappointed. Voice acting was really good throughout the game, even if a little over the top at times. Creepy atmosphere was greatly conveyed by sounds and further emphasised by the visions haunting main protagonist - every now and then the hero would see his dead wife and children, hear voices, split-second gory images would flash on the screen... Perfect depiction of descending into madness.

Story, while not as deep as it might have been, was really decent, with some very interesting background details introduced in form of notes and voice log of female guardian. There also was the moral choice system and while it essentially boiled down to either being downright evil or totally saint, please don't forget were talking about shoot'n'slice action title, not emotionally deep RPG. Some of the choices were of the "Kill him/don't kill him" variety, but the way they were presented (voices in protagonist's head arguing, visions etc.) really added to The Suffering's atmosphere and overall game experience.


The bottom line is that The Suffering is a gory psychological horror and definitely worth knowing. I brought this title up because I wanted to add it to the list of scary videogames (after somehow having omitted it earlier) so that you don't overlook this little jewel, even more so now that it has been released for free.

Indeed, you've heard me correctly - The Suffering was released for free, so if you have older computer and are looking for something playable or would just like to venture yourself into the darkness of Carnate Island, just head to Gamer's Hell, FileFront or FileShack and download it without paying even a cent. If horror games or violent shooters are your thing, you really owe it to yourself to indulge in The Suffering.

Freestyling in Blender

Long time ago when I still was a student, I had time and lacked principles (it's the other way round now, yay for being adult...). Back then I have been playing with pirated 3D Studio MAX and Illustrate! plugin. This combination allowed for creating sophisticated cartoon renderings, way more advanced than just regular cel shading options available in 3DS:


I assume that if you are reading this blog, you must at least have heard about Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - this anime was also done using the combination of 3DS MAX and Illustrate!


At some point in my life I have decided to stop pirating software, movies and music. I still occasionally download a cool song or a movie, but I moved forward to using only legal software and paying for cultural goods I consume. From that point on, software such as 3D Studio MAX has become unavailable to me due to its cost. I am not a professional, I do not intend to make a profit from using it and the price tag is way above my financial level.

But I still have this little dream of creating a short animated movie, mixing 3D and 2D, and this is where Blender steps in. Blender is a 3D creation program that has more than enough options for a home user - I have written about it at least a couple of times and indeed I do have a soft spot for it. Some people (cough, Wojciech Orliński, cough) might laugh at free software, claiming it is inferior to commercial programs, and to some extent they are right (although not always so) - but for millions of students and folks from developing countries all around the world, this is a good and legal alternative.


Unfortunately, Blender has always been quite far behind 3D Studio MAX in the cel shading department. Yes, it was possible, there were some tutorials showing how to use it and whatnot, but it was all limited and difficult to use. The results wouldn't be anything that could really threaten Illustrate! plugin.


While googling furiously for something with more potential, I have found Freestyle project. At the time it was barely usable. Perhaps someone with more skills and time on their hands than me might have managed to make it work - I didn't. But the sample renderings from the project gallery were quite cool indeed:

Renaissance sketching style

Technical drawing
(compare with similar Illustrate! image above)

Japanese painting style

I have been patiently waiting for Freestyle to be incorporated in Blender ever since, checking back every now and then, when just recently - tada! - it has finally happened. As you can read in this post, Freestyle is being integrated with Blender. You can download the latest Freestyle-flavoured version from GraphicAll (just look for Freestyle branch). The process of setting the whole thing up is made easier thanks to a proper tutorial (download the PDF here). I haven't given it a try myself yet, but the results look really promising, making Freestyle more reasonable alternative to Illustrate! for home users:

So go watch more videos in the aforementioned post and keep an eye on the project on the official development blog. I am really excited for Freestyle - I guess I might be doing my animation one day after all...

Black Mesa trailer

Those who get get all misty-eyed when remembering the classic first installment in Half-life series seem to have really sweet patch recently. First, the original Half-Life was on sale for 98 cents to celebrate its 10th anniversary (unfortunately, the price is back to normal now), and secondly, a great trailer of Black Mesa mod has just hit the internet:

You might remember me writing about this brilliant mod over a year ago, but just in case you don't, let me remind you that Black Mesa is a fan remake of first Half-life in source engine. Whether it will be distributed for free or licensed by Valve is not yet known, but in either case gamers win. Great story now recreated with visuals to match - excellent news for every gamer out there!