Finally as we head towards September, the games have started trickling in ready for the busy season and Microsoft have even confirmed that prospective 360 owners in the UK will finally see the price cut that has been promised to the rest of the world as well as the eventual release of the Elite version of the system. All of which should help keep the 360 as the UK’s best-selling next gen system despite the rampaging Wii gaining ground at a rate of 3 sales to 1.

And if you’re looking for a game to show off you new cheaper machine then look no further than the spiritual successor to the System Shock series, Bioshock, a game that the industry is fast running out of superlatives for. Personally, plaudits for engrossing narrative, great art direction and atmosphere you could cut with a harpoon gun are all well and good on their own - but when you look at pictures, play the demo and read all the features, you’ll begin to get a composite picture of a game that brings everything together into an experience that’s been described as ‘virtually unassailable’ by 1up, and IGN have called an ‘essential gaming experience’.

Here on the X-Boards the reception to the demo on X-Box Live has been no less euphoric - ‘possibly the game of the year’ and the slightly less restrained ‘The presentation and atmosphere are really intense, I’ve not come across anything like it in a video game before!’ So, could it be, amid all the hype surrounding the likes of Halo 3 and GTA4, that this relatively small arthouse game from 2K can put everything else to shame? If not in terms of sales then in terms of pure gaming experience? At least at close on 20 hours of game time its bucking the trend of reliance on online play taking precedence over real story telling.

If you’ve not beheld the beauty of Bioshock yet then check out this trailer video:

The only recent release for Playstation 3 is the latest in the Madden series. Also released for the 360, PS2, DS, PSP and Wii, the game is being hailed as a successful transition of the franchise into the next generation on the 360. At least that low frame rate issue has raised its head again on the PS3,  IGN even describing the claim that it reaches 30fps as ‘optimistic’ while the 360 version shows off next gen animations at a steady 60fps. The video below will show the difference,  you can click through to gamevideos and watch it full screen for a better representation.  You’ll be surprised about the difference it makes to the quality and enjoyment of the visuals.

The Wii version meanwhile offers, as you would expect, an absolute ton of multiplayer modes, some taking advantage of the new online capacity that is growing well. Apparently this version is not without its bugs and many critics have slammed it for this. Others have pointed out that when the bugs aren’t there the extra modes are a very welcome addition to the Madden experience.

For the sake of PS3 owners let’s hope that something changes for the better when the real version of football hits the next gen machines.

Some lucky journalists have had their hands on Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 for the 360 and signs are good.  Features such as improved AI, scaleable commentary and much improved presentation are all welcome signs over the previous slap dash effort that was about as next gen Fifa 97. At this point about 40% complete, all signs are that everything that made the series great on PS2 is coming to 360 with a little extra thrown in.

Blue Dragon, the RPG that was supposed to sell the 360 to the Japanese market, has arrived in America to a collective ‘meh’, much the same reception that it received in the east… It’s basically exactly the same type of game we’ve been getting from those distant shores for decades and adds little to make it worth paying attention to.

EA have been making interesting news for a while - first a high level big wig moved from Microsoft to EA,  then another one moved back the other way and since then they have signed a big money deal to create games for Apple’s iPhone. The New York Times would have you believe that this means the Apple hardware will be challenging the DS for the handheld market but I suspect that in reality all it means is that iPhone owners will have a quality of cell phone game never seen before.

The DS itself has been over-run with a glut of sub par family games of late - to illustrate this I offer you: High School Musical Makin’ the Cut… yes… exactly… if you can endure this video to the end you might actually enjoy this game as a kind of Elite Beat Agents lite.

The PSP meanwhile continues its new lease of life with highly playable versions of Tomb Raider Anniversary,  Madden and a version of the arcade and Dreamcast classic Crazy Taxi all being supported by the surprising Jeanne Darc, a fantasy strategy/RPG based, as youve probably guessed, on the legend of Joan of Arc. This is one of the best looking games I’ve seen on Sony’s handheld,  proving that artistic endeavor can easily overcome hardware restraints. Listen to the voice acting too - a level of quality rarely seen in any videogame, let alone a portable one. Okay, so competition for best RPG on the PSP isnt exactly a hard fought battleground, but this looks like it could take on all comers for some time. Have a look, you’ll not regret it.

Going to try something new to finish off this week. A question.

We usually have classic game of the week here so I thought I ask which classic game would you like to see dragged kicking and screaming into the age of PS3 and 360?

Think what was done with the Prince of Persia games on the PS2 and take it from there… perhaps you’d like to see an FPS version of Spy vs Spy in glorious HD or an MMO rendition of Gauntlet?  Personally I’d like to see what a quality developer could do with Flashback.  A game that has always oozed class, and is still incredibly playable today, it would be brilliant to see the liquid smooth gameplay and engrossing story brought up to date for one of the next gen machines.

Discuss the latest video game news with Jaguar Wong on the X-Boards

Posted by Jaguar Wong in Console Yourself, Sci-Tech & Video Games • Add to del.icio.us Add to Digg