Now I have been meaning to write a post like this for a longtime now so here it goes. I love the snooker games I always have and always will even if they don’t take my ideas into consideration when making a game that we can all be proud of and love.

When I say I love snooker I’ve played every single game since 2000 (I think) on the original Playstation, I work in a snooker hall part time as running a website takes up a lot of my time so I should know a thing or two about snooker and how the actual game runs and the formats that are used.

Now I would just like to quickly point out that I’m not saying the game is terrible or wrong I just think things could be added to the game to further increase it to greatness and maybe take the game further.

Kicks!

Now when playing or watching snooker you may come across the white jumping out of position in the game. This is rumoured to be caused by static from the cloth, chalk and the player. What I would like to see is some sort of kick system put in place where the player would come across kicks that would effect his or hers position in the game making that 147 harder to achieve.

The best thing about this system would be the fact that to help overcome the kicks you could ask for the white to be cleaned by the referee which would add even more realism to the game. This would not always stop the kicks but it may help and would be a great addition to the game.

Other Events

I’m not sure if most of you would know this but the PTC events are quite important events for snooker players on the main tour, even Ronnie has to play in them now and again. I would like to see this brought into the game along with a story mode where you start as an unranked player in your local snooker hall and work your way into Q school where you could win a chance to be placed on the main tour.

I’ve said this before (last year) we need more then just the main competitions that we get a chance to play in to make the game last longer and give players a real sense of what snooker players have to go through. Maybe you could save your money, move out of the snooker hall and have your own table and also use money to pay for your entry into Q school, and on that note!

Having things to spend money on

It would be quite a good feature to implement a system where you can buy cues again, maybe even add the option to go to John Paris for a cue as he is regarded as one of the best cue makers in the work where you could have a custom cue made.

Paying entry into events would be another great feature which I touched on above, getting into the Q school is not easy or cheap and combined with ranking points you may not be able to entry such events due to a lack of funds so spending well could become a factor in the game.

BBC Coverage

WSC Real needs to be to Snooker what Codemasters done to F1 bring in some interviews with the BBC pundits to add even more depth to the game, I would love to be interviewed by the pundits where a response could have rivalries started between yourself and other players.

By this I mean:

PUNDIT: Ricky, you played well that game and managed to keep Ronnie off the table for most of the match. Do you think your opponent played well with the chances he had?

ME: I think Ronnie need to try harder on the practice tables.

This would then mean that Ronnie would play harder in the next game or something like that as I have been rude about him making the game a bit harder due to poor sportsmanship. It may also put me a bad light with the press and sponsors.

Sponsorship

I would also love to see some sponsorship opportunities where if you are good enough you will be approached to wear the companies logo in exchange for equipment and/or cash. The better you are the better the sponsorship deals would be.

These are a few ideas that I would love to see put in the game and if the creators Dark Energy use any of these I would love a special thanks in the game credits (wishful thinking). This post is by no means over and I will be looking to do another part to this in the next week or so.

Happy Reading

The idea is simple enough, in addition to having to make the longest possible word from eight randomly selected letters.  You are competing against the clock and also against either a computer component or a human opponent. However the matches also take part on different zones and as you battle the opponents, you can take their characters prisoner and make them play for you. The number of characters you have per army for lack of a better term defines how many letters you can use to make a word, so if you only have four men in your army you can only make a four letter word. This can lead to some interesting / frustrating fights when your opponent can use eight letters and you can only use two. Believe me this can and will happen to you.

If it sounds complex, it’s because it is and it’s not explained in too great a detail, but I will get onto that later on.

When you first load up Quarrel, your senses are bombarded, lots of bright colours and enthusiastic music,  naturally intended to grab the attention of the player straight away and it does the job well of hyping up the game which is still fundamentally a case of battle Scrabble, there is no doubt that the game looks beautiful and the sound fits the game perfectly. Visually the game is far more appealing than it should be and succeeds in luring you into the sense that what you are about to play is going to be fun and frantic and on some level both of these would be correct.

The first thing that you will notice when playing the game is exactly how hard it is. The initial tutorial which, is strongly recommended to play through, does explain the basics, but then on domination you are thrown right into the deep end which in itself can be slightly off putting. On the first few goes you will persist in continuing should you lose a battle against one of your opponents, however after these you quickly realise that to lose even a single battle creates almost an impossible task, something I would attribute to the lack of explanation in the ‘Risk’ element of the game. I’m sure losing doesn’t place you in an impossible situation. It’s just how it feels at times and can be quite disheartening. This coupled with the strength of the AI in the game and the stress of the imposed time limit can lead to a disheartening experience all round.

So should the game be punished for having a harsh difficulty level? After all Dark Souls became a sleeper hit of 2012 and was notoriously difficult, but was loved and loathed in equal measure. It’s a tricky one to work out, on one hand no a game should not be punished for out and out difficulty, but then again it’s the manner of difficulty which needs to be analysed. The whole basis behind the game is spelling and words and if that is not a strong point of the person involved, there is no scope for them to improve, unlike Dark Souls where you learn from your mistakes. If you don’t know the best word or your brain can’t deduce anagrams quickly you will most never will. As such it runs the risk of alienating the player and even worse makes them feel stupid, especially when as a rule we use video games as a form of escapism for the real world.

Whilst the game is difficult with a punishing AI and could potentially suffer at being aimed at to a very select audience, you cannot deny the quality in the creation of the game. Yes at times you will want to throw your pad across the room in frustration, but it’s never at the game, more at yourself for not spotting the obvious word which would have led you to victory.  The application of the game is basically flawless in its execution, but with such limited appeal and replay value the game will most likely suffer.
All in all it’s basically battle scrabble, which on a mobile device with hop in and out ability may have more appeal. Yes the lush animations and characters make the experience far more enjoyable, but it’s still difficult to see it as a game which would have a long shelf life. Once the challenges and the domination mode are completed, it’s hard to imagine anyone would sit down to revisit the game, even multiplayer would fail to garner further interest, which as it stands at present is having a few teething problems.

This is why it confuses me that I am persistently drawn back to the game.

Despite the negatives that I have mentioned previously, there is a hidden charm in Quarrel that keeps you coming back for more. I allowed my girlfriend to play the game and she fell in love with it (the only other game she loves is Peggle), as a shared experience it certainly became more enjoyable as we mocked each other for not spotting obvious words, but more importantly when each other was playing, we wanted to play ourselves and surely that is a key component to any game.

Yes, the game is for a very selective audience. Those who don’t want to be mentally challenged should certainly avoid it, however at an extremely reasonable price of 400 MSP, I would challenge people to go against their conventions and give the game a chance. You could certainly spend your points on something far less rewarding, but you have to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 

Thanks to Aaron for supplying us with another fantastic video. If you are interested in joining the league, email luke.smith@gamingtilldisconnected.com for more details! There are always spaces for aspiring racers in what is one of the leading F1 simulation series online!

Revelations tied everything up perfectly, bringing back the elements of the first game (that falters in the presence of the last three editions), and completed Ezio and Altair’s story very nicely indeed. Ubisoft have announced that for the next game, due out this autumn/winter season, they will be moving away from Italy/Turkey as featured in the last game, and instead taking on a whole new adventure. However, I’m sceptical as to whether or not they will ever truly be able to detatch themselves from this side of the story. So long as Desmond Miles is the main character, his ancestors will always be Altair and Ezio; he will always be trying to piece himself back together; there will always be this history that simply cannot be erased. Of course, the perfect way to get around this would be for an all new main character. Sure, you can keep Desmond on as a side story if you want. He could possibly be the new Subject 16 (or Subject 17…), proof that the Animus does work to a certain extent. But for the love of god Ubisoft, drop Desmond. This story has been exhausted for four games now, and endless subplots on DS and PSP. We want something new.

But what is that something new? There are many rumours flying about as to what era they are going to take on, so let’s analyse the possible permutations for Assassin’s Creed 5 (for lack of a better name).

Egyptians

This would be one hell of a challenge for Ubisoft. The further back in history you go, the harder it gets for lack of historical knowledge. That is what makes AC so great, the fact that most of the main characters are real historical figures. Remember Ricardo Borgia from ACII? He did actually become Pope, and his son was Cesare Borgia, who died in Spain. The crimes Cesare was accused of in the game correlated with those in real life. I could go on, but the gap between game and reality is miniscule. Egypt though would be an interesting one. Possibly we could discover how the Creed began – the first Assassin being anointed. The mysterious death of Tutankhamen may even be a topic they could cover. Graphically, my mind blows at the premonition of  Egypt being a possible location. Revelations took the eye candy to a whole new level, but this would take it a whole lot further. It would be very very difficult to pull off, but if they could, Ubisoft would strike gold. My only worry is that a) it’s very hard, and b) it would still have ties with Altair for my liking. Egyptian history would be a one-trick-pony. If they want another 5 games, then Ubisoft may have to look elsewhere.

Likelihood – 5/10

American Revolution

Today, new rumours have surfaced from a Ubisoft ‘insider’, stating that the next game would be set in the time of the American Revolution, where great battles were fought between American Natives and British colonists. This would make a great amount of sense logistically, as of course, Ubisoft is primarily based in North America. Secondly, the time frame is far closer to the present day than even Ezio’s story, so the historical accuracy would be heightened to such a level that it almost becomes hard to manoeuvre. The American Revolution is studied in far greater detail than any of the previous eras, so it might be harder to get a story concrete enough to use. However, Ubisoft aren’t fools, so they would be able to work out something I am sure. What kinds of weaponary would we see? Surely not the Ottoman blade? It’s a jump of 200-300 years – far too great for any continuation with Desmond’s ancestry (somebody hi-5 me!). For a game about Assassins, I’d find it quite hard to see any way of fitting to this theme. However, there were clues in much of Brotherhood indicating an American setting. It’s a tricky one, but it looks favourite right now.

Likelihood – 8/10

Russian Revolution

Now THIS would be what is known as “the best thing ever.” Russia has always been something of an enigma in historical terms, but it also holds one of the greatest periods of brutality – something that the Assassins would surely be interested in? The time frame I am thinking of is from the mid to late 19th century, right the way up to the First World War. The Tsar’s ruled Russia with an iron fist until they were overthrown in 1917. I think that Ubisoft could fashion a good story out of it. There was a leading terrorist group called the Black Hundreds operating around this time – could they be a basis for Assassins? They did kill much of the royalty in this period, under great repression from Alexander III. I believe this could be a really good period for Ubisoft to take on, as weaponary was still in an intermediary stage. I’d love to take on the role of a character devoted to the Black Hundreds, before aligning with Lenin’s new Bolshevik regime, which eventually took control of Russia in 1917. It’s just an idea, which Ubisoft are unlikely to even consider, purely because of the lack of knowledge about the subject. It would be a glorious era though, and certainly a personal favourite. Can I see it happening? No chance really…

Likelihood – 2/10

In short, I think we’re going to be off to America, which will be a shame. I’ve loved the series so far, and I do hope that a change in direction won’t tarnish Assassin’s Creed. As I said earlier, the series is now at a crossroads. Turn left, and the series becomes better than ever imagined. Turn right, and all of Ubisoft’s hard work will be undone. Make your move Ubisoft, but do so carefully. An announcement is expected before the end of the financial year (April) – so fingers crossed we get the news we want!

In the UK, this will consist of all GAME and Gamestation stores which can be found in most major towns and cities. This totals to over 600 stores.

This announcement is hardly a surprise, as sampling in stores is now commonplace for most new consoles. However, it does mean that any uncertainty as whether or not to buy the product can be dispelled in-store.

The store versions will be preloaded with WipEout 2048, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, ModNation Racers: Road Trip, Reality Fighters, Little Deviants and Everybody’s Golf for potential customers to try out.

There are still many questions hanging over the PS Vita. The Nintendo 3DS have immediately proved itself as a market leader, and the Vita’s innovation may take itself in the opposite direction. Sony want to bridge the gap between tablets and gaming it would seem. Despite the love for all things Apple, gaming on the slightly-bitten systems is not the same. There is nothing like holding a controller, and feeling in complete control of the game. That point though is what, for me anyway, was the downfall of the PSP. It just didn’t feel the same, as one hand always felt like it wasn’t being used as it should be. The Vita though has two analog sticks. Therefore, the only difference to the PS3 controller is the L2/R2 bumpers (which for sure I’ll moan about sometime soon). On the up side, it looks beautiful, and the launch titles are far better this time round compared to the PSP launch. F1 2011 and FIFA are just two titles you can pick up on February 22nd.

There’s a massive difference though, it has to be said, between the anticipation for the PSP, and for the Vita. We now know what to expect, and not to get our hopes up also. Fingers crossed that this finally cracks the portable gaming system in the next-gen era, otherwise we may have to resort to Pokemon on the Game Boy Colour!!

The PlayStation Vita hits stores in the UK on February 22nd. The RRP will be £229 for the Wifi only version, and £279 with additional 3G coverage.

Once again, thank you to Aaron for supplying the video of what was a cracking race!

Contrary to our report last month, the releases will not follow the trends set by every Call of Duty up to now.

Usually, maps are released in groups of 4 or 5, as seen with Black Ops (First Strike, Escalation, Rezurrection etc). However, for Modern Warfare 3, gamers can now expect to receive new maps monthly from January until October:

• January: Two new maps
• February: New map
• March: New map, two new Spec Ops missions
• April: Two new maps
• May: New map, new Spec Ops mission
• June: New map, new Spec Ops mission, new game mode
• July: Two new maps
• August: New map, new Spec Ops mission, new game mode
• September: New map, new Spec Ops mission

The first new maps were released yesterday for Xbox 360 users, but only if they are Cod Elite subscribers. Dates for PS3 and PC users are yet to be unveiled, although it isn’t expected to be too long until all users can enjoy the maps. We can also expect to see “Park” hitting our consoles soon, as was confirmed by GTD last month (http://www.gamingtilldisconnected.com/2011/12/26/news-modern-warfare-3-dlc-set-for-january-release-date/).

However, this seems to indicate a rethink at Activision, as Park seemed to be guaranteed as the debut map. With Battlefield cutting into MW3′s lead in the market, could this be an attempt at regaining gamers?

The first maps released were “Piazza”, set in an Italian village, and “Liberation”, which has come under heavy criticism claiming it has drawn inspiration from the maps in Battlefield 3. You can find a video of Liberation below.

The sheer excitement of a bulk of maps may be gone, but more regular intervals will ensure that MW3 fans are never bored. Expect to find more information about the maps as and when we receive it!