The Greatest Co-op Games Of All Time.

With the likes of Army of Two, Kane and Lynch and Haze ushering in a new era of co-operative gaming, we thought it was time to put our favourite games to play with a friend under The Shed's microscope. An exceptional co-operative mode featured as a carefully considered (ie: not an afterthought) option in any game can more than double its longevity and simultaneously boost its fun factor. While the option to play co-op online is a welcome one, it just can't compensate for the kind of experience that you can share with a trusted friend (or enemy) in the same room, barking orders at one another, maybe even exchanging punches. A headset and webcam just isn't the same. As co-op modes are becoming de rigueur in the majority of next-gen games (as they frickin' well should be) we do what we always do. Look to the past...

Streets Of Rage series: The pinnacle of co-op gaming, the Streets Of Rage games have always held an irresistible pull upon us. Streets Of Rage II particularly remains the finest co-op game we've ever played. Not exceptionally difficult, defiantly linear, but nigh on perfect for wading through generic urban punks with a range of satisfying-if limited-moves at your disposal. The first Streets Of Rage actually featured special acrobatic co-operative moves that unfortunately didn't make it to the sequel despite their usefulness. Coupled with the hilarious ability to hurl enemies down holes (Stage 4) or off a building (Stage 7), Streets Of Rage is a game more than worthy of its great co-op credentials. Inferior sprites, graphics and sound meant Streets Of Rage looks fairly basic next to its successors, but still stands up as a fun, knockabout skull basher, especially in co-op.
If Streets Of Rage II stands out as the best of the Streets Of Rage trilogy, then Streets Of Rage 3 is undoubtedly the series' low point. Plagued by criticism due to previous games in the series being too easy, Sega took Streets Of Rage and ramped up the difficulty level too much, breaking it in the process. As Streets Of Rage II veterans, we waited for SOR 3 with baited breath only to find that we were only able to finish the game on easy mode-thus seeing only a small portion of what the game had to offer-and we only succeeded in making it as far as the penultimate level on normal difficulty.
SOR 3's branching storyline was a great idea and Sega attempted to incorporate a more complicated (if convoluted) plot to the game-about robots and other guff. Losing great characters like Adam and Max didn't help matters, with newcomer Zan proving to be a bit of a joke. An old man with a weird cybernetically augmented frame, Zan looked completely abnormal amongst the classic mainstay characters. Still, despite all of its flaws Streets Of Rage 3 managed to do the co-op thing fantastically well. Testament to the innate simplicity of beating on undesirable thugs, SOR 3 didn't manage to undo the joy of cleaning up the streets with a friend.

Of all the games we've ever played, we personally feel that Streets Of Rage deserves a current-gen update more than any other classic title, no other scrolling beat 'em up-not even Capcom's Final Fight-has managed to stand the test of time as well as Streets Of Rage. It’s indispensable co-operative gaming, long overdue a redux.

Golden Axe: A barbarian, an Amazonian and a dwarf, each with a different elemental spell, fighting style and weapon. Put two of them together and you have co-operative bliss. Another classic Sega title, this time it's a fantasy slash 'em up where you must find and destroy the nefarious Death Adder and recover the legendary golden axe. OK, so the plot’s poo and it isn't the best game ever made but it still dwells in the mind as an accomplished co-op romp-even if you are pitted against some of the campest fantasy villains ever committed to a plastic cartridge. Unintentionally hilarious, Golden Axe is not only compulsively playable in co-op mode; it is also a master class in cheesy, clichéd fantasy. Taking its cue from Streets Of Rage, it's possible to kick or lure your enemies into bottomless pits, which proves to be an eternal source of mirth. Being able to ride dragons (something which always initiates squabbling over who gets to take the scaly beast) as well as weird pink, beaky creatures adds to the overall experience.
Special mention must be made of Altered Beast, another slice of classic Sega co-op action conceived in a similar mould to Golden Axe. There's a lot to be said for the sheer comedy value of sprinting ahead of your mate and nabbing any power-ups, leaving your friend skinny and weak whilst you storm ahead as a formidable beast. Genius. The same satisfaction can be derived from stealing every spell potion that hits the ground in Golden Axe and unleashing the power of the elements while your sidekick can only watch. Ha! Alongside Sega's Altered Beast and Alien Storm (Golden Axe with aliens) Golden Axe is yet another essential co-op from the house that Sonic built. And you get to kick the crap out of crummy little pixie thieves. What's not to like? There's a next-gen remake in the works too, which should be good...maybe.

Mercs: Sublime but ridiculous scrolling shooter played from an isometric view (Killzone: Liberation owes a debt); Mercs is an undiluted, overblown, balls-out, rapid-fire shooter. To this day we still don't know what this game is about, we always impatiently skipped the macho-bullshit exposition scenes and got on with the business of blowing away non-specific goons. With a selection of typically over-the-top weapons, Mercs is a shining example of Reagan-era politics, playing like an interactive version of Rambo III or Commando, which is no bad thing. It's just that in the current political climate, Mercs hasn't aged well, looking positively bone-headed and just plain dumb. Reducing native shanty towns to charred kindling is just one of the overtly silly things that shows Mercs’ age yet being able to eviscerate enemies with whip-like spins of the flamethrower manages to compensate, even if it is a little graphic, in a primitive 16bit kinda way. That doesn't mean that it isn't a blast to play, because it definitely is. However, it's best played with infinite lives and infinite ammo switched on as this allows you to enjoy Mercs at its most unadulterated. Marching into battle gung-ho, without a care for the consequences, boldly standing in the firing line, eyes glazing over as you unleash a barrage of bullets into a bizarre tank-cum-giant-impossibly-huge-gun-turret -thing, as it flashes in an epileptic-fit inducing lightshow as your hail of fire wears down the gigantic, screen-filling boss. Repeat until said boss explodes in a fittingly huge explosion, stand back and admire your handiwork. Mercs is as brilliant as this sounds, it's a game so relentlessly stupid but so indescribably brilliant that it has to be played to be believed. OK, so maybe we're veering dangerously into hyperbole here, but Mercs is undoubtedly great fun with a friend. Pick up a copy of Capcom Classics Collection: Vol. 1 and try it yourself if you don't believe us.

Gears Of War: The best game on Xbox 360 is also the best co-op game on 360. It's like the 21st century Mercs, Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago and his lantern-jawed compadres providing dangerous levels of testosterone and wanton destruction. Trampling the Locust through the fantastic campaign mode is an unparalleled joy with a buddy. Crossing the river when assaulted by the Krill is so much more nerve-shreddingly dramatic with a human-controlled colleague at your side. Knowing that you've a non-AI mate covering your back and that should you die you can be resuscitated makes life a little easier, but no less challenging and most importantly of all, co-op Gears is enormous fun. Not only that, but having a wingman at your side creates further scope for a more strategic approach. When routes split, one of you can go one way, while the other takes the alternative approach. Or conversely, why not stick together? Why not position one player at a high vantage point to pick off Locust on the ground sending your chum into the fray to meticulously plan a Hammer Of Dawn assault. Strategy worthy of any General worth his salt we think you'll agree and all part and parcel of the only decent co-op game we've played in recent memory. Except maybe Halo 2... Thrashing the Warthog around is so much funnier when you have a second Master Chief along for the ride.

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in The World Of Illusion: We love to throw in an anomalous choice into our lists and here's one. The antithesis of all the violent, machismo games listed above, World Of Illusion is pure gaming candyfloss, fantastical Disney platform fun at its very best. What made World Of Illusion more than just your average lazy, day-glo Disney game was the implementation of platforming obstacles designed specifically for co-operative play meaning that playing with a friend was always infinitely more involving and rewarding than playing alone. Whilst the co-op stuff was largely simplistic (it was a kid's game after all), it's arguably been an influence on the forthcoming Army Of Two, a game built from the ground up purely for co-op play, featuring similarly buddy-specific tasks like pulling one another over scaleable walls or giving your mate a boost. However, seesaw operated rail platforms are yet to be confirmed for Army Of Two.

Bubbling under…Two Crude Dudes, Probotector, Metal Slug, Gunstar Heroes...all classic, all great.

Manhunt 2 banned.

It's been a low watermark week for gamers what with the controversy surrounding Resistance's use of Manchester Cathedral upsetting the Church Of England and now this. Manhunt 2 has become the first game to be banned by the censors in more than a decade. This isn't just a withdrawal like selected stores enforced with the release of the original Manhunt, this is a full ban: Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 will not be released.

Be assured we'll still be importing this for our PSP, but it must be a massive disappointment for Wii owners especially. Of the three formats Manhunt 2 was confirmed for, Wii is the most bereft of mature titles and had the most exciting innovation with an inventive use of the Wii-mote for acting out its various executions. PlayStation 2 gamers can at least go back and enjoy the first Manhunt, which we maintain is still one of the console's best games. As we've already said, PSP owners have the option of ordering a US copy, which can easily be found at any number of online stores.

What we'd like to do to the UK censors. Does that make us sick? No. ~>

At the time of writing, a cursory glance at major online retailers indicates that the game is still available for pre-order, but we're not sure if this actually means anything. We just hope that the censors see sense and change their minds as they've ironically decided to ban a supposedly 'sick' game in the same month as a supposedly 'sick' movie. Eli Roth's notoriously gratuitous and graphic Hostel: Part II will have cinema-goers reaching for the sick bags on 29th June. The fate of Manhunt 2 however remains a mystery. We just want it even more now...you always want what you can't have.

HOT SHIT: the BIG 8.

Why the big 8? Because, that's why. Only two of these forthcoming games are sequels (BiosShock doesn’t count although it’s a successor to the System Shock series) so it’s refreshing to see original games triumphing on next-gen consoles: these are the ones we want the most.

Haze (Free Radical, Ubisoft): We’re looking forward to pumping ourselves full of performance-enhancing Nectar and marching headfirst into Haze’s frenetic gun-toting action. Free Radical’s new first-person project leading on PlayStation 3, is really starting to take shape, its detailed, lush jungle environments giving Far Cry a serious run for its money. You play as a trooper for the shadowy and morally dubious Mantel Corporation. As such you have all the best kit at your disposal, the best weapons, dropships dropping off reinforcements and an unlimited supply of tasty Nectar. Administer yourself with a shot of said drug and the odds become stacked heavily in your favour. Members of the rebel Promise Hand group that you’ve been sent to root out glow like neon lights whilst you simultaneously receive a hefty boost to your strength and agility making melee attacks fatal. Additionally, Nectar has you develop foresight which means you're able to see grenade blast radiuses before they go off amongst other 'spider sense'-type abilities. Overdose on Nectar though and you’ll become engulfed in a drug-induced haze and begin to lose a grip on reality and your trigger finger. Hence the snappy title.
We’re going to say something real controversial now, but we think Haze could be the Halo-beater PS3 owners have been waiting for. No pressure then Free Radical.
PlayStation 3 gamers will be able to get their hands on Haze 28th September with the 360 version following March 2008.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (IO Interactive, Eidos): A genuinely compelling title from the makers of the Hitman games. Its mature, adult content should make for an unparalleled cinematic narrative as you take control of two thoroughly dark, depraved, mentally unhinged criminals. Kane is a traitorous diamond thief who's fleeced his old mob, The Seven. Kane’s agenda is to keep hold of the loot he’s hidden, which is where Lynch comes in. As Kane, you’re supposed to be leading Lynch to the hidden diamonds, so he’ll be keeping a beady eye on you. Hired by The Seven to have Kane retrieve the stolen booty, Lynch is a proper psychopath lacking any kind of moral code. His lack of ethics means that he’ll rock his shotgun whenever he likes, even populated areas like clubs. Being unstable, Lynch is capable of unspeakable acts of violence, which may make for some unsettling, disturbing scenes. So, a game starring a heavily scarred career criminal and a certifiable maniac should be truly intriguing. This has shot right to the top of our most wanted list.
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is out on 360, PS3 and PC November 9th.

Beautiful Katamari (Namco Bandai): We fell in love with We Love Katamari on PS2, so naturally we’re dying to play its next-gen sequel. Visually it looks like its business as usual, albeit with a hint of next-gen HD sheen. For the uninitiated, Katamari Damacy (as it’s widely known) is the worlds only roll ‘em up. Katamari’s premise is a simple but fiendishly addictive one. You play as the King Of All Cosmos’ son The Prince and it’s your job to push around your katamari (a big ball) and roll up as many objects as you possibly can whilst adhering to a time limit or set of rules. There’s no limit to what you can roll up with your katamari, and in We Love Katamari on PS2 one of the game’s final stages tasked you with rolling up landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben. Ultimately, you ended up rolling up all of your previously rolled-up katamaris accumulated throughout the game into one uber ball, then roll it right into the sun. Obviously. Mad as a baboon with rabies, the Katamari games are consistently brilliant standing out as both unique and eminently playable, which is why Beautiful Katamari can’t come soon enough. Roll on!
Beautiful Katamari is due for UK release on PS3 and 360 early next year.

Stranglehold (Midway): Showing off the much vaunted ‘Massive D’ engine (the D is for destruction) that will also feature in Blacksite: Area 51, Stranglehold is the digital sequel to John Woo’s Hong Kong action classic Hard Boiled. Reprising his iconic role as cocktail stick chewing super cop Tequila, you play as a flawlessly replicated Chow Yun Fat, able to recreate Woo-style gun scenes complete with trademark doves. Cool. Leaping with twin pistols blazing, you can string together some spectacular combos using various props and pieces of the surrounding scenery, such as banisters, tables, trolleys, chandeliers and more. One notable scene sees Tequila interacting with a T-Rex skeleton in a museum. It’s a perfect example of the kind of balls-out action we can expect to see in Stranglehold. Combine this with the ability to destroy almost anything in your environment and Stranglehold is set to be the premier action title that is going to rock your world.
Look out for Stranglehold on 360, PS3 and PC, September 7th.

Burnout Paradise (Criterion, EA): Burnout has arguably the finest pedigree when it comes to balls-to-the-wall arcade racing. No other racer offers such lightning-fast racing and such explosive, pornographic, automotive carnage. Burnout makes its next-gen debut offering an expansive, free-roaming city for you to explore at your own pace. Online, you can pull up beside someone you want to race, rev up and then go. In the middle of a race, if you think you’re going to rack up a huge crash junction score, you can seamlessly abandon the action and go for a record-breaking crash score instead. Genius!
Burnout’s vehicles look shinily desirable as always and this time Criterion say that they’re far more satisfying to handle. Handling physics look and feel more realistic as cars now have suspension allowing for accurate body-roll which means flipping your car may become a real danger when taking sharp corners at high velocity. Crashes will be more spectacular too as for the first time you can twist or break you car’s chassis which means you can potentially tear your vehicle in two or bend it into an unrecognisable heap of scrap metal. Nice.
Burnout Paradise will be pulling up on 360 and PS3 September 30th.

Mass Effect (BioWare, Microsoft): Elder Scrolls IV in space? Maybe. BioWare’s epic sci-fi RPG looks simply breathtaking. Create your own version of Commander Shepard: the game’s hero (or simply be Jack) then jump straight into what promises to be a uniquely immersive space opera. Have a meaningful chat with alien races with the best dialogue this side of Deus Ex, blast alien races or destroy alien craft. Travel to far off planets and destroy alien races or just explore. The edge of the universe is the only limit here, Mass Effect is going to be one of the biggest games on 360 this year along with, um, what’s that other big game called? The one with the Master Chef? Sorry, Master Chief… Check out Landon’s ‘Why I Hate RPGs’ for more.
Mass Effect is set to be released for 360 on October 5th.

BioShock (Irrational Games, 2K Games): Eerie FPS set in the drowned art deco city of Rapture, opening with your character lost at sea, you descend into the dark, submerged city ignorant to the unique horrors that await you. Rapture is utterly unsettling, scary and macabre, featuring some of the freakiest inhabitants this side of the Big Brother house: it’s that horrifying. Decaying ‘30’s style décor, accompanied by crackly, old records from a bygone age indicate to you immediately that all is not what it should be in the murky depths. Body harvesting little girls accompanied by their guardian ‘Big Daddies’ stalk the claustrophobic corridors along with the shambling, corpse-like freaks wielding rusty hooks and other welcoming tools designed solely to inflict gruesome lacerations. Chilling.
Adding depth to the game is a unique risk/reward dynamic in the form of Rapture’s energy-based currency Adam. Adam is a precious force, which can be gleaned from dispatching the creepy ‘Little Sisters’ and can be used to enhance your supernatural powers. Leaving ‘Little Sisters’ alone though means avoiding gruelling battles with ‘Big Daddies’ and can lead to greater rewards later on in the game…decisions, decisions. BioShock will undoubtedly be one of the best First Person Shooters available this year and is already looking absolutely essential.
Lucky PC and 360 owners can have BioShock induced nightmares August 24th. The PS3 faithful will have to pray for a release date. Seriously. PRAY.

Alan Wake (Remedy, Microsoft): Another game that Billy Gates has plundered from a multi-platform release, Alan Wake is yet another ambiguous title that has piqued our curiosity. In short, it looks amazing and coming from the people that brought us Max Payne it’s bound to be overtly cinematic and above all, very, very good. A mysterious, psychological thriller Alan Wake tasks you with investigating some mysterious goings on in a small town in Middle America. From what little we’ve seen, it looks like Remedy is going for a Silent Hill vibe, but without the gibbering flesh-bags.
Will be ace although PS3 misses out once again, which is a damn shame. Here’s hoping it finds its way to Sony’s baby sooner rather than later.
Alan Wake is slated for a July 30th release on PC and 360. In a mystery befitting of the game itself Alan Wake is available for PS3 pre-order on Amazon and will hit the console on September 30th despite the official site claiming exclusivity to PC and 360. Most curious…

It's the Church Of England's turn to have a go at games.

It's been at least three seconds since the press and other concerned parties with far too much time on their hands have whooped with indignant outrage at so called violent videogames. Enter the Church Of England who are demanding a full apology from Sony for allowing Manchester Cathedral to be used as a site of a violent shootout in Resistance: Fall Of Man. Sony say that they acquired "all permissions necessary" to develop the game.

Church leaders held a meeting on Monday to draft a letter and discuss what additional action to take against Sony.
The letter stipulates four demands:
1. An apology for using the cathedral
2. Withdrawal of the game, or modification of the section of the game to remove the cathedral interior.

3. Sony to make a substantial donation from the games' profits allowing the cathedral's education department to target more effectively those aged 18 to 30
4. Sony to support other groups in Manchester fighting against gun crime.

Games are always a ripe target for moral outrage. It's like shooting fish in a barrel. They even have Blair on board, so they can't lose.

In a reply to the church's misplaced ravings, Sony said: "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is aware of the concerns expressed by the Bishop of Manchester and the cathedral authorities... and we naturally take the concerns very seriously.
"Resistance: Fall of Man is a fantasy science fiction game and is not based on reality."
There are certain elements of this argument that we can empathise with, but once again the morally outraged have got the wrong end of the stick. Games are an easy target and you can be sure that not one of them have even played or seen the game. That last line from Sony's reply: "...fantasy science fiction...not based on reality.." about sums it up.

You can safely bet that were it a film or book that had featured the same sequence , we wouldn't even be writing this article.

Review: NBA 2K7 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)

Basketball. Not the most popular sport in the UK, but when it comes to videogames, whether you're a fan of the sport or not you have to admit it does translate well to games. Personally, The Shed is a casual basketball fan. We've been to proper games and everything. Hell, we even played for our school team and well, like everything else, wasn't that good at it. Still, three consecutive local championships is not bad, and we have the medals to prove it. So, we're more than qualified to judge the latest update in the NBA 2K Sports series, alright?

Take a look at our pictures. Do we strike you as the sporty types? Skinny in frame, wan and anaemic in complexion, we're not fat, but then we'll not be running the London marathon any time soon. In short, we tend to avoid sports like cats avoid water. It's not that we don't like to play, in fact we love to participate in a casual game of football, squash, tennis or indeed basketball every now and again. It's just that we're pants at all of them, so it's only sensible to keep our sporting pursuits strictly digital.

A while back, EA used to rule the roost with their sports range, "if it's in the game, it's in the game" the man who voices Solid Snake would proclaim...he still does in fact. We're just not nearly as convinced anymore. NBA Live lost its way around 2003, FIFA is only beginning to find it's feet again after years stuck in a stodgy mire of piss-poor physics, far too easy scoring mechanics and player models that resemble their undead counterparts. With Konami's Pro Evolution series comfortably providing punters with sublime football heaven it's the 2K series that has demoted EA's NBA Live franchise to the bench.

NBA 2K7 cements the reputation that it has steadily built, standing head and shoulders above all other basketball titles. Boasting every team, arena, player and a raft of licences, modes and customisation options, 2K7 is the not just the most accomplished current-gen basketball game available, it's one of the most accomplished sports games available. It deserves a place in your collection alongside Virtua Tennis 3, NHL 2K7 and the forthcoming Pro Evo or FIFA (whichever one is your taste).

NBA 2K7 is a joy to play. It's fluid, intuitive, incredibly simple yet deceptively deep. Using the left analog stick to run coupled with the right analog 'shot stick' with moves mapped to the face buttons means you'll be picking and rolling, popping threes and dunking in minutes. Free throws make for arguably the first truly inventive and natural use of Sony's sixaxis controller yet with you mimicking the shooting action. It almost feels like you're silkily guiding the ball to the basket yourself; it's a clever use for the under-utilised motion sensing pad. Not only a brilliantly realised b-ball game, NBA 2K7 is beautifully presented to boot. The game looks outstanding, right down to the likenesses and the individual beads of sweat that glisten under the stadium lights, NBA 2K7 is one of the best looking games on current platforms. Additionally, the commentary is great and the replays, highlights et al, are all recreated in flawless detail.

With its host of customisation options, 2K7 throws yet another ball square into EA's face. NBA Live has taken a hell of a slide in terms of customisation options, with staple elements inexplicably diluted immensely or scandalously removed altogether. NBA 2K7 packs in every conceivable customisation option you can imagine. Career mode? Check. Roster management? Check. Street ball? Check. Ludicrously in-depth create-a-player mode? Check. Create-a-team? Check. Classic teams? Check. Check. Check. It's all here and it's all good.

Of particular note are the create-a-player options. We're always incredibly disappointed when presented with a basic, po-faced player editing facility where we can make a player just fine, but we can't give birth to a hideously deformed, gangly uber-freak. Thankfully, 2K7 lets you make pretty much anything and The Shed's horrendously mutated, crimson-faced, angry abomination is testament to the excellence of the player edit mode. Other sports titles should take note, this is how it's done.

And that just about sums it up. This is how it's done. NBA 2K7 is an essential sports game, whether you like the third or fourth (we're not too sure) most popular sport in America or not, as a gamer able to recognise quality, it's your duty to purchase this. Get some friends round too and it comes into its own in multi-player. Better than that, get mates round, invent teams of genetically modified monsters and let the laughter commence.

Look around online and you can nab a crisp, new copy for £17.99. There's really no excuse not to own this, especially on the cheap. Swish!

Buzzer beater: 9/10

Review: Mortal Kombat II (PlayStation 3 EDI. Midway, Sony Online Entertainment)

We're confused. Angry, frustrated and confused. Was Mortal Kombat always this difficult?! Is it just us, are we really this crap? Way back when The Shed owned a copy of MK II for the Sega Mega Drive and we remember being able to finish it effortlessly. We mastered fatalities, babalities, friendships; we could pull off special moves with ease and give any player a damn good run for their money. All this with only three attack buttons on the MD's funky boomerang-shaped pad and a minimum of gaming experience. What in the name of Shao Kahn has gone wrong?! Let us take you through our horrific MK II experience one step at a time.

The second we spyed Sub-Zero's frosty visage on the PlayStation Store games page we leapt at the chance to snap up a piece of gaming history. £1.99!? Bargain! Count us in, we hastily proceeded to download it to our PS3's hard drive, rubbing our hands and flexing our thumbs in anticipation. We're going to rock Outworld, just like we used to, so look out Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung and all you other crudely digitised characters, you're gonna get yours.

Title screen, good, we remember this. Convoluted intro story? Check. Character select screen: we remember all these guys! Ah, it's good to see them again. We choose old favourite Scorpion, taking on our first opponent, Sub-Zero, this should be a cake walk. We win, though not very comfortably, we realise that we remember nothing, no moves, no fatalities, not a thing. Johnny Cage up next and we so want to knock his whitened teeth out but he beats us again and again and again until we lose count of the pathetic beatings and decide to give up. Bested by only the second character, we're not off to a good start and this experience is beginning to marr all those rose-tinted memories of Mega Drive MK II. We study a few moves lists on gamefaqs.com and resolve to retry with a few special moves committed to memory. We pick Liu Kang this time round, his bicycle kick made him a force to be reckoned with, so we figure we'll be wiping that big spiky smile off Baraka's face. Wrong. Humiliating defeat after agonizing defeat, uppercutted into spikes, acid and other unpleasant stuff, it suddenly hits us. We're truly awful at this. Is this arcade difficulty? The level which was designed to rob underage kids at Blackpool pleasure beach of their hard earned twenty pence pieces? We suspect so and this being the case it seems frugal for us to bow out, research more moves and come back a lot later. We don't want to end up hating Mortal Kombat II, we really, really don't.

Nevertheless, memories of Street Fighter II come flooding back. To us it was always immeasurably better than MK, far more balanced, deep and rewarding, time hasn't been kind to Mortal Kombat II and placing it next to SF II makes it pale even more by comparison. Between SF II and MK II, give us Street Fighter II every time, better characters, better style, better game. Still, for a couple of quid, Mortal Kombat II is a real coup for gamers, a classic beat 'em up for the price of a tall cappuccino from your local corporate coffee house. A genuine bargain if ever there was one.

So, in summary although our experience of Mortal Kombat II was a deeply negative, dream shattering ordeal, chances are you may not be as unspeakably shit as we are. You may even have the balls to take the fight online where tearing an opponent's head clean off their shoulders will be ten times more gratifying when your rival is human controlled. Just don't expect to see The Shed participating online anytime soon, we have too much to prove against the horribly unforgiving, psychic AI that has consistently trounced us thus far. Plus, we'd quite like to retain a shred of our dignity. Give us time though and we'll be throwing a spear your way shouting, "come here!" Maybe.

<~ Liu Kang looks like he's having a good time in the pool there, check out his smile. This is a familiar sight for us, as acid-swimmer Kang, not victorious Zero.

Why the PS3 release schedule is SHIT.

So, after months of agonising waiting and massive hype, the PlayStation 3 arrives and after the initial wow factor of the new console and the launch games have worn off, where next? MotorStorm, Resistance, Virtua Tennis 3, hell, even Genji have provided The Shed with hours of gaming thrills. Post launch though, all PS3 gamers have been given is a glut of shoddy movie tie-ins, PC and Xbox 360 ports and, well, nothing else. Literally, nothing. OK. As you may have gathered, we went stupid crazy for Elder Scrolls IV and have done nothing but harp on about its legendary status for weeks on end, but now that we've nailed the Scrolls dead we're at a complete loss as to what game to purchase and kill next. Spider-Man 3 is meant to be a glitch-riddled mess of a game, so I'll keep my 40 quid there thanks. Pirates Of The Carribean just doesn't float my boat (pun intended) and we've played and finished pretty much every other game worth playing for the console.

So, what's out next week then? Let's see. Fantastic Four? Hmm, that won't be shit will it? Fantastic Four games have a great pedigree don't they? No. No they don't. Pass. Wait! Army Of Two! Brilliant! Out June 29th! I can wait 'til then! What's that? It's slipped back to November 16th? Oh, ok...there's bound to be something just round the corner worth a punt surely? Nope. Just more movie tie-ins - Harry Potter, Transformers and Surf's Up - where the fuck are all the big games?

Flash forward to September, there's a full-on assault of gaming goodness coming to PS3. Metal Gear 4, Heavenly Sword, Stranglehold, Tekken 6, Final Fantasy XIII, Killzone, Ratchet & Clank, Blacksite, Haze, Kane & Lynch, Turok, Unreal III! Seven of these are PS3 exclusive! That's impressive, but it's three friggin' months away! Do developers want us to actually go outside?! Enjoy the summer sun? Are they kidding?!! It looks like The Shed will be forced out of their comfort zone, made to socialise with others, maybe go out, talk to people who dont play games...it's going to be a LONG three months.

We'll still be covering all the big 360 releases, we haven't forgotten that Microsoft have a console with stacks of great games. After forking out over £400 for a PS3 though, we expected more.

"Gaaaaaargh!!!! My eeeyyyeesss!! My transparent skin!! I'm melting!! MELTING!!! Oh, what a world!!!!" We don't want to have to see this. We want to be hunched over a pad burning our eyes, not our skin. ~>

Why RPGs may be the most important genre in videogames.

When you break it down, all games can be described as Role Playing Games of a sort. Even when you're playing a racing game you assume the role of driver. In a beat 'em up, you adopt the role of combatant, eventually settling with a personal favourite. Every game casts you in a role and in becoming involved with a game's plot or structure of progression we essentially become the central figure in the game, we take on the role of protagonist.

<~ Oblivion's expansive vistas stop you dead in your tracks. In short, they're never anything less than breathtaking.

There's no purer expression of this level of involvement as that demonstrated in the RPG. Normally, your first action is to name your character, an immediate statement of ownership, stamping your identity on the game's central player. Recent RPGs like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Christ…not bloody Elder Scrolls again) and World Of Warcraft take this a step further, allowing you to create and personalise your own hero from scratch, down to the most miniscule of details. Increasingly more games are going down this avenue, enabling you to create your own character or edit and modify the existing protagonist. Sports games have allowed you to create your own players since the 16-bit days with early iterations of EA’s FIFA and NBA Live games. As games have evolved, so too have the wealth of options available for obsessive tweaking and customising. More recently, games like Grand Theft Auto have gradually introduced customisation options to each new version of the game. In Vice City, it began with being able to change Tommy Vercetti’s outfits subsequently leading to being able to customise CJ’s hair, clothes, body art and even physical appearance in San Andreas. However, in an unexpected decision, Rockstar have decided to reduce the number of customisation options available to the player for GTA IV. You’ll be able to change Niko Bellic’s outfits as in Vice City, but you won’t be given the option of transforming him into a slow, obese man mountain by devouring obscene amounts of Cluckin’ Bell chicken, Burger Shot burgers and cans of Sprunk. This appears to be a conscious choice on Rockstar’s part in keeping with the more realistic feel and aesthetic the team are adopting for their hotly anticipated sequel. It’s a decision that has confounded gamer’s expectations by flying in the face of what is currently a la mode in gaming, that is adding increased depth in the form of elements borrowed from the RPG. Conventions such as levelling up to reinforce the impression of character progression or evolution, unlocking new abilities or improving skills you already have, making your character stronger, faster, better. Games like Forza Motorsport, NBA 2K7, Virtua Tennis 3, Need For Speed and Tekken 5 have all added in-depth customisation options to their exhaustive list of features. These types of features are fast becoming a staple in the majority of games, whether it’s simply changing the colour of your car, dressing up a fighter in a panda suit or creating a custom player from scratch, the influence of the RPG becomes increasingly apparent. Granting the player the ability to evolve and grow as the game progresses, to ultimately personalise their own game experience are key elements that have been adapted from RPGs and continue to become more commonplace. With the advent of sand box gaming, games are taking the notion of freedom to a higher level. Though not necessarily an RPG staple, freedom is now the watchword for the lion’s share of today’s games and titles like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Grand Theft Auto, Mercenaries and more like them have embraced this by offering players expansive, immersive environments where the game world is your playground to do whatever you wish. Forthcoming games like Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed, Crysis and GTA IV pride themselves on their seamless, sprawling worlds, spoiling gamers for other titles with their fully realised, intricately detailed environments.

RPGs may prove to be the most important genre in videogaming as games continue heading down this route in order to satisfy players who demand a certain level of depth and longevity for their money. By incorporating components borrowed from RPGs, games have found an invaluable source of durability. Having characters that steadily grow through out the game and aspects that can be fully customised can multiply a game’s shelf life tenfold. Factor in the added possibility of downloadable episodic content and add-on packs available through online micro-transactions and a game’s life may cease to be finite. But this is all by the by as it’s these aforementioned RPG fundamentals that will prove to imbue games with a longevity that is only dictated by a player’s level of tolerance or attention span. The Shed’s prediction is that as games evolve and grow they will come to rely on using the idea of character advancement through levelling up or learning and increased personalisation within larger game worlds. It is with the current generation and the advent of high capacity formats like Blu-Ray that we are beginning to see a shift towards more ambitious fare that simply wasn’t possible on last-gen hardware. And this, friends, is a very good thing. To the future! And to the RPG!

Review: Killzone: Liberation (PSP. Guerilla Games, Sony)

Killzone was to be PS2's next big thing and exclusive killer-app. Early buzz was that it would be PS2's 'Halo-beater,' when the reality was that it was actually a very polished, competent shooter, but lamentably no Halo. On PSP, Guerrilla have scrapped the first-person perspective for an isometric, overhead view, lending the game a slower-paced, tactical bent. It works where previous PSP attempts at the FPS have failed. Efforts like Coded Arms and Medal Of Honor: Heroes have tried to map FPS controls to the PSP's face buttons and analogue nub with little success. Verdict: FPS games simply don't work on PSP, so adapting Killzone for PSP in this way proves an inspired decision and the perfect solution. For veterans of the PS2 original, its war-torn environments, weapons and characters will be instantly familiar. Also returning are the sinister, bellowing orange-goggled Helghast, led by the ruthless General Metrac. It's your job to stop Metrac and his brutal Helghan forces by any means. At your disposal are the usual ISA and Helghan weapons as well as ISA hovercrafts and Helghan tanks to pilot. Making their debut here, the vehicles are fun to control and offer an enticing glimpse of what we can expect to be driving in Killzone 2 on PS3.

Duck, hunt…
Once you get the hang of the duck and cover tactics, getting to grips with timing your offensives, knowing when to pop-up and shoot, it's then that you'll get into what Killzone: Liberation has to offer. Thinking like Patton is the key here; on occasion managing your team to the best effect and masterminding the best strategy is the crux of Liberation. Rushing headlong into a firefight, taking bullets to the chest isn't a viable option here. Using cover is integral and the only way to effectively play Liberation. Guerrilla are to be saluted for taking a gamble by transforming their FPS into an overhead third-person blaster, when conventional wisdom would have predicted PSP Killzone would be a lazy, rehashed FPS cash cow. Thankfully, it works fantastically well. The levels are well designed; the difficulty is pitched just right, making it accessible for Killzone newbies and seasoned veterans alike. Factor in the myriad of longevity-increasing extra challenges and game modes including multiplayer and Killzone: Liberation is a package that represents great value. Additionally, Liberation is well-structured, able to be played in flawlessly paced, bite-sized chunks well-suited to the PSP. Our sole criticism? Well, there has to be one. Duck, wait, rise, shoot, repeat…can sometimes get a little repetitive, however there’s almost never sustained periods where you’re doing this, which means that it rarely, if ever grates.
Killzone: Liberation is one of the select few titles that are truly essential for PSP and the perfect way to whet your appetite for Killzone 2 when it finally breaks cover on the PlayStation 3. Will Killzone 2 be the ‘Halo-beater’ the Sony faithful have been waiting for? Watch this space. For the time being however, Killzone: Liberation is the best way to while away the months until Killzone 2 arrives.
In the zone: 9/10