WORK: Hyper – Epic Mickey Feature

First published in Hyper issue 207.

The year was 2005. Warren Spector, the man who headed the development of videogame classics Deus Ex, Thief, and System Shock, stood before a group of Disney executives pitching his ideas for a new game. Having spent the majority of his career working on M-Rated titles that were often dark and gritty, he was unsure whether he was in the right place pitching to the right people, but his agent had assured him that Disney were keeping an open mind, so he went on with his pitch. He enthusiastically explained his concept for a fantasy epic or, if that wasn’t what Disney was after, he had ideas for a science-fiction game set in the near future. The execs didn’t seem particularly interested. Spector was certain that the meeting had hit a low point when they all began texting on their Blackberries during his presentation.

The Rise And Fallout Of Red Ant

Story first published in issue #197 of Hyper magazine and re-published 17th March 2010 by GamesIndustry.biz.

THE RISE AND FALLOUT OF RED ANT

They were one of Australia’s largest independent videogame distributors until the Australian dollar crashed and brought them down with it. A year on from the collapse of Red Ant Enterprises, documents have emerged that raise serious questions about unexplained loans made by the company, as well as the movements of its director and his wife.

WORK: Hyper #197

Brown is the new brown.

Issue #197 of Hyper (on sale now, to my knowledge) is a really important issue to me, for two reasons. The first being that it’s my last issue as news editor. While I wouldn’t have minded doing the news from France, it would have been a logistical nightmare trying to interview people (email interviews are not an option – you just end up with the response of some PR person and it makes for really lame articles) and staying in tune with the Australian gaming scene while being overseas. The second reason is I have a feature published in this issue – my first-ever feature for Hyper – about the fall of Red Ant Enterprises.

This article is probably the biggest thing I have written to date, taking more time and research than any other piece I’ve ever worked on and requiring more sensitivity than any subject I’ve had to tackle. My editor was kind enough to give me six pages in the magazine to tell the story of the collapse of the company and I’m really excited to finally see it in print after months of work. I’m pretty proud of it.

So if you find yourself with a pocket full of gold coins while you’re at the newsagency, pick up a copy of The Australian to get your hit of political analysis, and then pick up a copy of Hyper. Also, a packet of Zappos, because they’re delicious.

WORK: Hyper – Prinny Review

It are ONE MIRRION PRINNIES! And by that, I mean four.

My friend Matty has a copy of Tekken at his house — I’m not sure which version it is; we always just call it “Tekken” because none of us really care enough to take note of the number. Let’s just pretend it’s Tekken 4. Anyway, every time we go over to his place to play on his PlayStation 2, we each choose a character and stick with it. I always choose the lady who kind of waves her crotch in front of everyone before grabbing her opponents with her legs and thrusting her crotch into their faces. Button-mashing with her tends to lead to victory, although Matty has assured me that he and my other friend, Morgan, have gotten really good at Tekken since the last time we played together and they can now both beat my crotch-thrusting, button-mashing ways. We’ll see.

How is any of this relevant? Well, issue #191 of Hyper is on sale soon — it’s the issue that has some dude from Tekken 6 on the cover! — which means I can now post my reviews from the previous issue on the internet. Here is my review of Prinny. You might like to read it, and then go buy the issue of Hyper with the Tekken dude on the cover, and then remember that the best way to win is to crotch-thrust like it’s nobody’s business, because it ain’t.

WORK: Hyper – Cooking Mama 2 Review

OH YEAH WATCH ME FONDLE THIS! BIG SMILE AS I FONDLE!

As I was playing this in the living room, my brother walked in, took one look at the TV screen, and the following conversation ensued:

Him: “…What…what the fuck is that?”

Me: “Cooking Mama 2, something something on Wii”

Him: “…Why?”

Me: “Review.”

Him: “Sucker.”

Yeah, whatever. Now I’m gonna get back into the kitchen to bake some cookies and then I’m going to play some pet sims on my pink DS, yeah? YEAH.

WORK: Hyper – Disgaea DS and Don King Boxing

My goodness, it’s that time of the month again, and would you look at that cover! It’s like someone blew up a zebra and Hyper caught it on some paper. Stunning, if not slightly disturbing. In this issue, I previewed Don King Boxing for the Nintendo DS and reviewed Disgaea DS for the, well, DS. Read on for some excerpts!

Work: Chrono Trigger (FULL REVIEW, AT LAST!)

This review appeared in issue #185 of Hyper magazine.

At some point in time, a group of gamers somewhere on the interwebs decided that it would be socially acceptable to roll their collective eyes at JRPGs. The eye-rolling business caught on fast and, before long, everyone was making fun of the genre. Perhaps it was because they were excruciatingly pretty in a very anime-stylised kind of way way, or because they constantly featured a male protagonist with spiky hair, or maybe even because they all were incredibly linear, with the player’s actions seldom causing any real effect. It was like the developers had removed the player – the real person – from the equation and, rather than involve us and make us feel that we were the ones behind the characters, we were merely asked to shuffle the characters along until the next cut-scene.

As a lover of JRPGS (and I swear it has nothing to do with my gender or race) and their never ending sameness, Chrono Trigger was a breath of fresh air. No, it was more than that – it was a foot to the face, and perhaps the most delightful foot to the face I have ever received.

While its gameplay mechanics are typical of JRPGs of the era (turn-based battles, moving from place to place exploring buildings, forests and dungeons, talking to people and opening up treasure chests filled with ether and potion), it’s the way the game involves the player that is its truly stand-out quality.

The focus of the game is on time travel and restoring balance to a world where balance has been lost at various points in time. Playing as Crono (that’s right, sans ‘h’), you travel through time with your nerdy friend Lucca and a princess named Marle to escape the wrath of Marle’s father. By travelling back and forth through time, you are exposed to the same kingdom at different stages in history, venturing thousands of years into the past and future. Perhaps it is this theme of time travel that gives the game a whole new dimension, not so much because time travel is anything new and unusual, but because actions and decisions made in the past will inevitably affect the future and, in Chrono Trigger’s brilliance, the player is held accountable for these actions.

Work: Chrono Trigger + Happy Lovers’ Day, Bitches!

So it appears to be Valentine’s Day! Had it not been for the café across the road from my local train station advertising pink lover lamingtons, I may have completely forgotten about it! Although a pink lamington can’t possibly be a real lamington, because lamingtons are coated in chocolate, and chocolate is not pink.

Judging from that opening paragraph, I guess it’s clear that I am not spending today canoodling with a man friend or exchanging pleasantries with potential love interests. But, you know what? That’s okay. And it’s okay because the newest issue of Hyper is now out, and who needs love when you have glossy magazines about videogames, right? Right!? Right.

Oh my, is that a superhero issue? Why, yes, yes it is! Did I write about superheroes in this issue? No, no I did not. Which is a real shame because I know so much about Joel Schumacher’s contributions to the Batman franchise.

Anyway, if you’re in Australia and need some magazine lovin’, go and buy this month’s Hyper. For those who can’t get their hands on this magazine of radness, I’ve posted my full review an excerpt of Chrono Trigger after the jump, just because it’s Valentine’s Day. That’s right, the entire review as it appears in the mag. I appear to be asking for trouble!

Work: LocoRoco 2 and Disaster: Day of Crisis

The latest issue of Australia’s only multi-platform gaming magazine, Hyper, is currently on sale at all good newsagents and a few other outlets that I have not paid attention to. Actually, it has already been out for several weeks. Oops!

In this issue, I had the pleasure of reviewing LocoRoco 2 and Disaster: Day of Crisis. Here are some teeny, tiny excerpts from my reviews. Once you’ve had a read, you should go and buy the magazine. Even if you eschew the way in which Australian gaming mags write about videogames, you should at least grab a copy just to look at Malcolm Campbell’s wonderful art direction. I mean, look at that cover. Yes, I know Blizzard provided the cover art, but it doesn’t stop Malky from doing amazing things with what he’s given. In this issue, you will also find a photo shoot featuring my Nintendo backpack and toadstool plush toys. I like to contribute where ever I can.

Right, random excerpts. Hold onto your butts!