MY STYLE Events manager Max Freer Inside the Egyptologist's ...

www.thenorthernecho.co.ukJanuary 200715gadget manThe triumphsand turkeys■ D o n ’t m is sB u r t o n ’s B y t e s– g a m e r e v ie w sin T h e N o r t h e r nE c h o e v e r yT u e s d a yNIGEL BURTON nominates the winners and losers in the gadget game over the past 12 monthsIT’Sbeen agreat2006 if youenjoyvideogames. The year started with Microsoft’sexcellent Xbox 360 makingwaves and ended with the debut of aninnovative new console from Nintendo–one that promises totake video gaminginto the realm of family entertainment. Inbetween, there has been asteady stream ofexcellentsoftwaretitlesand one ortwogenuineclassics.Onlythe no-showof the SonyPlayStation3spoilt an otherwise vintage year. But Iguess we still need something to look forwardtoin2007.Sowhatwerethe winners and losers in thepast 12 months? Allow me to share myprejudicesandprovide some pointers if youhaveagreat wad ofChristmas cash burning ahole in your pocket.BESTFOOTBALLGAMEHIS isatrickyone.T Normallyit’sabitof anobrainer:ProEvolution Soccerwinsif youliketotake control ofthe players and the seminalFootballManagernicksthe silverwareifyoufancyyourself as amastertactician. But thisyearwesawadetermined effort byElectronicArtstonickthe console gaminghonourswithFIFA‘07.The gameplay in FIFA has been tweaked(again) to make it more than ever aclone ofthe mighty ProEvolution Soccer.Your playerstend to make sensible rather than suicidalruns and the team actually responds toamid-game change in tactics. There’s evenamanagementoption builtin.And it all looks mighty fine with beautifullymodelled stadia and accurate playerlikenesses. The soundtrack isexcellent andthe presentation generally excellent, afiendishmenusystem notwithstanding.Soanyone who found acopyof FIFAlyingbeneath the Christmas tree shouldn’t feeltoo let down. More than ever the EA franchiseishot on the heels of the market leadingProEvo.Infact,ProEvoalmost handed the title toFIFA this year partly because, in some respects,thelatest version isastep backwards.The CPU opponents are either woeful orfrighteninglygood –and formseemstohaveno bearing on howtheywill perform–whilethe graphicshaven’tshownthe same attentionto detail as aFIFA game for acouple ofseasons now.And yet Pro Evo still nicks itthanks tothe sublime controls and the excellentball physics that feel (and look) justright.Next year, though, Konami will have tostep upalevel if itisn’ttobefound wanting.As for Football Manager 2007, what canyou say? It’s still the daddy of all managementsimsandthe stubbornly2-Dmatchengineremainsaworkofgenius.If youownaPC and lovefootball then beprepared toloseawhole chunk of your life tothisgame.BEST ROLEPLAYING GAMEHE difficultywhen youhaveT attained nearperfection isconsistentlymaintaining thegold standardtimeaftertime.The Legend ofZelda: Ocarinaof Time on the N64would figureinanyone’slistof atop ten all-time greatestvideo games –which makes the task offollowing it uponanew console somethingof athankless task.The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princesstakesno chances.Youwon’tfind the daringinnovation once used in Majora’s Mask orthe unusual graphical look afforded TheWind Waker.Instead, you use the Nintendo Wii’swireless controllers to battle your waythrough anotherclassicadventure.Initiallyitfeelsabitstrange using the analoguestick to control movement while theremote targets the bad guys, but the lure ofTwilight Princess is sogreat that within afewminutesitall seemstobesecond nature.Which isjust as well because graphicallythis game is nothing to boast about. In fact,it wouldn’t have looked out of place ontheNintendo Game Cube and Xbox 360 ownerswill scoff ifyou point toTwilight Princessas one of the very best games available onthe Wii.And yetNintendo hasalways knownthatgreat graphics don’t necessarily make agreatgame –and provesithereonceagain.Once more azeal game provides acompellingexcusetoupgrade toanewplatform.TBEST INNOVATIONHE wireless controllers used by theNintendo Wii are taking gaming to awhole new level.Only last week Iwas browsing at alargecomputer store and spotted afamily(mum, dad and two kids) enjoying agameof tennis on the Wii. The two kids had thecontrols but mum and dad clearly couldn’tresist having ago themselves. After acouple of rallies they were grabbing thecontrols and taking to the courts for ahusband-wife grudge match.And all this was going on within theconfines of abustling computersuperstore.I’m willing to bet that neither parentwould have dared pick up aPS2 controlleror an Xbox 360 to “just have aquick go”.The Wii has done the impossible –madeparents and non-believers understandwhat makes video games fun.GAME OFTHE YEARHERE weresomanycontenders but,in the end, the choice waseasy.GearsT of Warhasbeen along time coming.Microsoftrolled out avideo demo of thegame in progress every time it wanted toshow off whatthe Xbox360 reallywascapable of producing. Afterawhile itbegan to look as though Gears could neverliveuptothe hype.Thankfully,itdoes–and some.Thisismore than just aHalo-beaterforanewgeneration;it’sawhole newexperience.Even people who aren’tdirectlyplaying thegame cangetakickout of something sobreathtakinglybeautiful and cinematic.Thisisthe firstgame toshowuswhatthenext generation of gamesconsolesarecapable of achieving and the futureistrulybright.STINKEROF THE YEARNtheorycreating aI video gamefrom aclassicmovie should beeasy, especiallyone with asmany set piecesas Jaws.So what wentwrong? Perhapsit was theridiculousliberties taken with the storyline, or the“super powers” the fish appears to possessor the way the graphics were so bad itwasquite possible to get your shark stuck onabit of scenery with nooption but to startagain.Whatever you do, don’t go into thegames shop and buy this truly awfulconcoction.There was another late entrant for thiscategory: British Telecom for failing toreconnect my phone line after Imovedhouse before Christmas and driving mecrazy with astupid automated voiceanswering service with its patronisinganswers to pertinent questions. If that isservice, I’m aDutchman. No on-linegaming for me over the holiday seasonthen.