Due to the work we are carrying out on our site episode 3 will be ever so slightly delayed. Fear not, normal service will be resumed shortly and you can expect your bi weekly dose of audio bargains to land on your i pod in the very near future. Stay Frugal People.

I can’t really put my proverbial finger on it. As gaming goes, I’m usually happier than a pig in brown stuff when a solid first person shooter darkens my door. Particularly if there is a large multiplayer component containing a rewarding ranking system bolted on. I have spent more time on COD 4 than I’d care to admit and if I’m being honest, the thought of reaching prestige was akin to a wild uncontrollable addiction.

So why, oh why, do I just not get on with the uber popular Killzone 2?

Casting my critical eye over it, the single player was an enjoyable experience if a little clichéd. A forgettable plot and challenging control scheme was put to one side as the relentless action pushed the game into above average territory. In my opinion, the progression through the various levels was an enjoyable, if not memorable experience. To me, it was the “summer Blockbuster” of gaming, the popcorn movie that’s worth watching but won’t occupy a future space in your DVD collection.

The only blot on its campaign copy book was an ending that was frustrating, mundane and vaguely reminiscent of messrs Bioshock and Gears. Whether it’s following a tried and tested formula or just a lack of ideas, the systematic final boss fight is a staple for the genre and it is becoming more than a little tiresome. I suspect I may be alone in that assessment; however these events usually involve mindless repetition of some kind, a trait that doesn’t sit well with me in any walk of life.

So having enjoyed the campaign, with the exception of the final level, I marched into multiplayer buoyed by the positive reviews and incessant hype present on every gaming forum in existence. But after nearly 3 torturous hours of the multiplayer I must confess to having no inclination to return to the game ever again.

I suspect the reasons for this are two fold. In the first instance I was late to the party due to my house move. So when I entered the fray I was armed with a spud gun and water balloons whilst every other player sported one shot kill weapons and the infuriating ability to become invisible.

Secondly, I am not a big fan of right stick zoom shooters. To me, it’s a bit like watching a football match without the simultaneous consumption of alcohol. It’s just doesn’t feel natural and try as I might, I just can’t make the necessary mental adjustments. On more than one occasion I have unwittingly selected a hand grenade rather than zoom in for the kill, much to the amusement of my perplexed opponent.

The end result is a mixture of disappointment with the game and frustration at my own sheer ineptitude.

Of course there is a third possibility. That is the sub conscious refusal on my part to conform to anything not branded Call of Duty 4. The very real possibility that, secretly, I resent anything that tries to urinate in the hallowed Modern Warfare’s pool. Including its grenade glitching successor. (whose name shall not be uttered here)

Perish the very thought.

I did not know whether to pen my thoughts in a serious fashion or not. However I have ultimately decided to apply my usual writing style to this document despite the sad circumstances’ surrounding what has happened. The end result is a mixture of humour and a serious tone.

CrankyGamersUK the podcast has breathed it’s last. Much to the dismay of it’s loyal dyed in the wool community, which I am proud to be part of, messrs Tozol and Fly have unexpectedly gone their separate ways. As is cursory with events of this nature, details are sketchy and many important things have yet to be addressed satisfactorily. Major stumbling blocks such as who will retain the cranky name and which of the hosts will get custody of site mascot, Silenthitoshura, remain unanswered.

I realise it is profoundly arrogant to assume my opinion on the matter carries any weight with my fellow community members. But I’m going to go right ahead and express it anyway.

They say history repeats itself. And you know, “they” seem to have a pretty solid handle on the way of things.

Back in Julyish 2008 the site underwent an extraordinary transformation. In true Sunset Beach fashion, Kid Dog, dramatically distanced himself from the then blossoming CGUK community. Removing himself from friends lists and the position of forum moderator, KD made it clear his podcasting career lay on a very different path to the increasingly popular Tozol. A man with an extraordinarily bad pony tail but an equally as extraordinary drive to achieve what he wanted, KD boldly set up a site that not only mirrored CGUK but had a spookily similar name.

Truthfully, looking back, I regret taking a side and I deeply regret leaving a negative I tunes review for KD that was in no way based on the merit of his podcast. In addition I posted some forum posts that were negative in tone not only to KD but also his co host, Spy. I’d like to take this opportunity now to apologise to both parties and I retract fully any comments made in the “heat of the moment”. Furthermore I will go on record here and now stating that I was entirely wrong to react in the fashion that I did KD / Spy deserve all the credit in the world for what they have achieved since leaving the CGUK community. Please note however, I do not however apologise for insulting anyone outwith the 80’s sporting a ponytail.

This time round the lesson has been well and truly learned. I will not be doing anything as churlish as taking sides and I certainly will not be launching any uneducated tirades in either parties direction.

But I will say this. In my time at CGUK Fly has not only provided me with the opportunity to write for the site blog and moderate the game nights forum, he has also become a good online friend and is someone that I turn to often for advice on online matters. I wish him the speediest of recoveries and thank him profoundly for the opportunities and advice that he has thrown my way on to many occasions to count. I have not had the same interaction and have never really got to know Toz as well as I have Fly. But that matters not, I extend similar sentiments to Tozol and hope to see him back in the pod casting saddle again sooner rather than later.

I thank both for the hours of entertainment that they have provided me, and like someone has already voiced on the boards, it made CGUK become much more than a video games podcast to me.

Additionally, I feel the cranky community is at it’s strongest when there is a podcast for it’s members to rally round . I hope something arises from the community phoenix style to fill the massive void that will inevitably present itself. There is no shortage of talent contained in the cranky boards and I have every faith that something will develop in the fullness of time.

That audio something will not involve me however as I am fully committed to the Frugal Gaming UK show. Daz and I have worked hard to get the podcast up and running and we’re proud of what we have achieved so far. We’ve only just scratched the surface of what we want to do and there’s exciting, but time consuming, events ahead.

Back to CGUK and on a personal level, I have diminished my involvement with the CGUK boards since a much publicised and humiliating spat with an individual that, frankly, would do well to stay well clear of my physical vicinity. In truth it was not the antagonist that was the problem, it was some comments from other members supporting the other party, it made me question whether I should maintain the same level of involvement with the site. In my book, there is no grey area in this case. The poster was firmly in the wrong.

That said I‘d like to thank everyone who did rally to my defence, Strident and Nemo particularly were typically supportive for which I am very grateful. I have decided that I will continue to moderate the PS3 game nights and put up the occasional blog post but my forum involvement will become much less frequent.

In conclusion, in my opinion the greatest thing CGUK ever achieved was the community it expanded and the communities it created. S4G goes from strength to strength whilst Daz and I are at the start of something very new and very exciting with the Frugal Gaming UK podcast and site. All are welcome to join us and the site offers something different, making it a place to visit as well as S4G and CGUK rather than instead of.

You can visit the frugal forum here and download our (explicit) podcast here.

I will see you in the frugal and cranky forums.

Peace

It’s as if millions of voices suddenly cried out and were then silenced by a bloody good bargain.

Things have moved on of course, and the eventual progression of technology had improved the gaming experience immeasurably. Well apart form gaming demos of course; they have evolved into something quite different from what they were originally intended to be.

Since X Box live started to distribute demos en mass into peoples living rooms, it’s commonly accepted that demos of games should be free and distributed without prejudice or payment. It seems like utter lunacy to exclude any portion of your target demographic from your marketing campaigns van guard. But that is exactly what’s happening, with conditions being attached to entry and some of which involving the splashing of cash. It is almost like the demo is a commodity in itself, something of value that carries with it the potential for exploitation.

But is it exploitation or the maximisation of opportunity? There is a thin grey line separating the twain and if developers can create new or bolster existing revenue streams then why the hell shouldn’t they? Particularly in a murderous economic climate that has seen profit margins slashed and massive shareholder unrest.

Take Qore for example. Despite never having seen the virtual magazine, I have it on good authority that it is very poor in terms of content. And being virtual in nature, it can’t even be used to line the bottom of bird cages or clean posteriors in times of emergency.

Of course for some people this means its usefulness is halved even further. Throw in a few exclusive demos such as Socom however and people are cueing up to pay for it, and at a price that would cover a chunk of some of the PSN’s top notch DLC.

The blame could maybe lie at the feet of 360 exclusive, Crackdown. Giving purchasers a code for the in demand Halo 3 beta paved the way and opened the doors for similar tactics to increase sales of an entirely unrelated product. Microsoft never released figures but it wouldn’t be a complete stretch to imagine most people with a 360 picked up Crackdown on day of release. Of course Beta’s are different in purpose and scope, but the principle remains the same.

The latest and most obvious example of this kind of strategy that has raised eyebrows across the pond is the Killzone 2 demo. Amusingly, perplexed commentators have expressed their bewilderment publicly and then ran straight down to GameStop to place a five dollar pre order. To me, it says that the demo has become something more than a snippet of code to wet the appetite in preparation for the main course. It’s become a product in itself, something of value that people will hand over whatever method of exchange is used in that part of the world to obtain.

In truth it’s always happened, with magazines of the 80’s and early 90’s plonking demos on discs and cassettes to shift their rag,  so in that respect it’s nothing terribly new or inventive. The difference is now that demos are available to freely download, as they should be, whereas at that time magazines were nearly the only way to pick them up. With limited channels for distribution, the magazines at that time were a necessary evil for getting the demo into the public domain. With the advent of the PSN, Live and Steam that reasoning no longer applies.

The truth probably lies somewhere in-between exploitation and morally acceptable business practices. But to be honest my opinion is rather lopsided. I’m all for developers expanding their bottom line and gathering the resources to create and publish quality content. But not when their hawking me something indirectly that should by rights be free and I for one will not be paying a penny for it, no matter how it’s dressed in the window.

It’s been a slow month for news and my immediate house move has put paid to regular blog updates for the month of February. However some things just merit a damn good blog post and this happens to be one of the chosen. Shoinan, writer for thegamereviews.com and author of the youhavelost wordpress mega blog has kicked of his very own fake radio podcast show.

Along with Meh from the CGUK forums, I was fortunate enough to grace the first episode of the soon to be uber popular “Big Red Potion” podcast. If this show turns out to be anything like Sho’s writing then it will be unmissable, unrivalled and a shoe-in on your i pod. Download the episode “Downloadable Malcontent” here.

Listen to the Resistance 2 co-operative review from CGUK episode 57. Originally intended as a “directors cut”, laziness prevailed in the end and the same version on the show makes its way over to this blog. But fear not, there is still a reason to download and re-listen, as there is a funky new theme song that was the result of to much Jack Daniels and a chronic case of insomnia. Feedback would be very much appreciated on the alcohol fuelled introduction to the review.

Oh, and if you have not subscribed to the finest independant gaming podcast on the planet then check it out here. Your podcasting habits will never quite be the same again.

Thank you to everyone who offered their feedback on the last audio review. Following on from that Fallout 3 near 20 minute epic, its a trimmed down affair this week clocking in at around half the time thanks to some merciless editing. The subject of the second audio review to spout forth from the lips of CGUK’s very own Nory316 is Shaun Whites Snowboarding. So sit back, tune in and turn up the waffle.

Listen to the review here.

Or leave feedback / subscribe via i Tunes here.

PS – Thanks to Toz, Fly and everyone at CGUK for their support.

Step forward 3D, more of a regurgitation than a revolution, Sony proudly displayed the next must have fad for gamers at this Years CES. Revisiting a tried, tested and failed idea from the 70’s may seem like folly but according to IGN it looks fantastic and promises much.

According to IGN it was predominantly the potential for movies that was the focus of the display but there was a trial of Wipeout HD on show to prove the transition to games is not far behind. The chap interviewed by IGN’s Jessica Chobot was gushing in his appraisal of the technology that has moved on a great deal since that woeful Jaws movie.

It’s an interesting turn of events from a company facing massive financial losses for the past year. One can only assume that 3D will be the next generations Blu Ray, designed to spearhead the PS4’s way into living rooms across the globe. It’s a strategy that paved the way for the DVD playing PS2 but has proved to be flawed for its premium price high definition successor.

The biggest problem faced by this next evolutionary step is the suspected cost, wisely Sony refused to comment on the hardware specifics focusing rather on a buzz building tech demo. Rumour has it though, it’s not only the console and some geeky looking glasses that are required, it’s a whole new TV set with some fancy internal organs.

If lessons are learned from this generation it must be that prettier pictures doesn’t mean better profit margins with the graphically limited Wii stomping the current competition into dust.  Hopefully Sony takes heed and introduce an affordable 4th gen console, regardless of hi tech features under the hood.