Lego Racers Review

I am going to review the game Lego Racers. Lego Racers can be played on Nintendo 64, Playstation, Windows and Game Boy Colour. The game publisher is Lego Media and the PEGI rating for the game is 3+. The game has both single and multi-player functions. The things that you use to play the game are the arrow keys, other buttons e.g. shift and use tools e.g. Mouse, Keyboard and Joystick. The tools that are easier are the mouse and keys because they can be easy to use and they don’t go wrong as the joystick can sometimes. The cost of the game is £10.00 for a new one and £1.75 for one used from Amazon.co.uk.

The game is a racing game in which you race to the end and see who wins and along the way you can get power-ups and booster and this can add to your score at the very end of each level you play. Also you can collect points along the way for bonuses and power-ups. The game is a racing, strategy and puzzle game because you are racing against other people and at the same time you are thinking the best way to win the race. Another thing is that you have shortcuts on each level where you go along them and then you may even become first and this makes you quite far ahead. One of the special power-ups let you go through a portal and out. You can choose your own driver and car. I think this is good because you get more variety to choose from and you can choose which world your car is from e.g. moon, jungle, desert etc. This can makes the car change colour, have different parts and wheels for different surfaces depending whether you onn sands, rock on the moon or on watery surface of a rainforest/jungle.

The game was intermediate and it does give varieties of different levels which you unlock each time you complete one. The levels get difficult as you go through and the levels do vary whether you are on a desert or on the moon for example. On a desert world you get to race on sands you have tombs with mummy heads on, cacti and palm tress. On the moon you get aliens craters etc. The game can be played with only one person or with more people so this gives for more playability and choices. Also you can race against non-player characters and also racing against another player. I enjoyed the game and it wasn’t too complicated but someone under the age of 3 might not know how to play it or understand the game because they might not know what to do. The people who would be interested in the game are young people ages 3, teeangers and also people who like Lego. You can play the game again once you have completed the levels but it does get boring because it the same levels all the while. The game might go on for hours depending or how long you are racing for. There are touraments where you race for a many different tracks and you can choose the numbers of tracks and laps there are on each level. The physics were good but sometimes the cars might be slow at reacting and you may come last rather than first. The physics on the game are trying to be like the real world because the cars are just racing rather than just jumping around. I thought the graphics were very good because the Lego pieces looked like real Lego pieces. There is music the background when you are racing but I don’t think it fits the game that much.

I thought the game was really good and I would recommend this to other people and tell them it is a good game to buy from the shops.

Visuals: 5/5
Audio: 3/5
Gameplay: 5/5

ROCK BAND REVIEW

I am going to review the game Rock Band which I was playing on the x-box 360. You can play the game on X-box 360, PS3 and WII. The game is a rhythm game which was released in 2007/2008. The game is published by MTV games, Electronic Arts. The game has a variety of choices because there is singular-player mode as well as a multi-player mode. Another thing that it has lots of choices because you can choose which palyer you are and choose different instruments to play with. The rating that PEGI has given the game is 12+ because of Comic Mischief, Drug References, Lyrics, Mild Blood, Mild Cartoon Violence and Suggestive Themes. When the game first came out the price of it was really expensive which was over 100 pounds but now it is out for a while the price has gone down a bit(£60.00) from Amazon.co.uk. The reason I think that the games was so expensive when it came out probably might be because it is popular and lots of people play on that sort of game.

In the game you play on 45 licences tracks e.g. Suffragette City by David Bowie, When you were young by The Killers and Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers plus 13 bonus tracks e.g. Can't let Go by Death of Cool, Seven by Vagiant and Brainpower by Freezepop. There are lots of controllers you can use and these are a guitar controller(wireless or wired). I think the wireless guitar is bettter because you ahve free control on where it goes and you don't have to be fixed in one spot all the time. You can use peripherels from other games e.g. (Guitar Hero)and use them in Rock Band. I think the guitar from Guitar hero was better beceuse it is easier to control and finding the colours on the Guitar. From experience I found that is was handy because you can use Guitar Hero controllers. I found this quite easy to get the hang of the grip of strumming the guitar and picking the colour it needed when it comes up. The game has different tools e.g. drum controller, microphone, headset and a gamepad. You can play different songs and when they are playing, different colours appear and you need to click on them with the appropriate keys and then when it gets towards it you need to strum the guitar. In the game you can pick out a number of varieties of songs to choose from.

I found the game hard at first but once I got used to it, it seemed to be easy. The game did give variable difficulty levels of easy, medium and hard. The game can be single-player mode or multi-player mode. In singular play mode you just have to use one instrument but whereas in a multi-player mode you have lotf ot instruments and alot more playbility. You can play the x-box live on the internet with other people from other countries for example. I enjoyed the game but first I found it hard but when I got the hang of things it seemed to come naturally to me. You can't really play the game over and over again because you would get bored because it is the same songs all the time. But as the elvels get harder you have strum ot bang harder so if you don't you would lose that level and would have to start again.

The game can go on for hours and also it takes a while because you can choose which instruments you want and also you might want a solo with the band in the background. The instruments play well when you play it but some times there might be a glitch and might not react in time and you may lose on the level. The graphics on the game are good but the graphics used to make the audiences are not as good because they mainly focus on the songs more. All the way through the game you have music playing and some times the music suits the instruments but not all the while.

I thought that the rock band game was good but sometimes it is tricky to know when actually to hit the right keys at the right timings. I think that this is the sort of game that I would recommend for people to buy in the shops and have a go at playing on it.
Visuals: 4/5
Audio: 3/5
Game Play: 3/5

convention and game elements on racing games

Racing games are either first- or third person perspective in which the player play on either on land, sea or air. The can be simulations or simple arcade racing games.



UNDERSTAND GAME ELEMENTS



GAME PLAY:

You go around a track and race other players and see who wins and along the way you can collect bonus points and power ups which add to your score. When you are playing with the controls, in Mario Karts it seems to go faster then Lego Racers for example. On Mario Karts it is tricky to know when to fire the objects because you don't have a box telling you when to do it and with Lego Racers it tells you at the start which you need to press to fire the objects at your opponents. In general you need different skills depending on what type of racing game it is e.g. Rally Point Games.




OBJECTIVE:

You go around a track and see who wins first and also get points along the way on the game and get to unlock other tracks or cars in each level. In general with racing games that when you complete a level you get to unlock different objects e.g. new car, wallpapers etc. Generally the controls in racing games are easy to use.



STORY:

Most racing games have a simple storyline which is who can be first to win and become a racing champion. With most racing games you don't need a plot line for them and generally you more concentrating on racing rather than thinking what the story is.




PLAYER/NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS:

The non-player characters are the ones who race against you and ones that you don't actually control. The player would be trying to get to the finish line first. When the characters and vehicles are heavy you tend to drive slowly whereas characters and vehicles that are smaller you tend to go faster and quicker. Each character in a racing game are different because each one has certain abilities and characteristics that they have e.g. Mario Karts because some of them are small, big and different abilities and each one has a different weapons.







SOUND( DIEGETIC/ NON-DIEGETIC)


Racing games have both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds because you got sounds from the games and the sounds from when the tyres of the cars screech. The sounds make you feel that you are there and some makes racing games scary or happy or even tense. The music makes the racing games more exciting.




ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

The artificial intelligence in racing games are the other cars that race against you which are controlled either by another player or by the computer. The artificial intelligence on some racing games is harder than others. Sometimes the computer does make mistakes when you throw a object at it.

RULES

DESIGN RULES:

The characters on racing games are normally human but one a racing game like Mario, there are humans and creatures. The non-player characters in racing games are the characters that you race against on each race.

Some racing game levels are like in the real world e.g. Rally Point but some are not like in the real world e.g. Lego Racers. A lot of the time in racing games the atmosphere is calm and still but some can be furious and frantic.

In a lot of racing games you race and see who wins and who comes first. With a lot of racing games you normally use the arrow keys and possibly other keys as boost ups or shortcuts.

The dietetic sounds you get in the racing games are the tyres screeching on the cars or the noise of the cars racing and the non-dietetic sounds you get are people talking in the background and possibly some music as well.

When the menu of the racing games come up it is easy to navigate where you want to go on the screen. It is easy because the buttons are easy to click on.

A lot of the racing games have vehicles and humans but sometimes you can get racing games which have creatures in them.

PLAYER RULES:

The controls in racing games are easy because it just the arrow keys and other keys. You don't have any control on the characters that are racing against you. On some of the racing games there are boundaries to where you go. With some racing games players sometimes finding it hard but other people might find it easy to use the controls.

You don't have any ammo in racing games but when you race along you can collect bonus points and other objects along the way.

CONSISTENCY:

Most of the racing game elements are almost the same but some racing games have slightly different elements because of how you play the games. There are two different types of racing games which are simulation and arcade. Simulation racing games use real life physics to make it like the worlds you are in, whereas with arcade racing games the physics of them are more cartoony . In simulation racing games they use real places like big cities, towns etc and Aracde racing games use worlds like jungles, magic castles and deserts. Examples of Arcade racing games are Lego Racers plus Mario Karts and examples for simulations racing games would be Gran Turismo and Forza. In arcade racing games you treat them as being fun and enthusiastic and with Simulation racing games you treat them as you are actually there racing famous stars. You can collect coins and other power-ups along the way on Arcade racing games but in Simulation racing games you don''t really because you are just racing to become a champion at racing.

DEFINITION OF GAME GENRES

GRAPHICAL THEME:




The graphics for racing games are usually bright and standout really well. With simulation racing games they have to make it real as possibly as they can.




GAME STRUCTURE :




Some racing games have a storyline in which you race other people and see who wins but with others they don't have a specific storyline to them. For some racing games you have different levels and some you don't. Another thing is that some arcade racing games e.g. Lego Racers you get to design the cars and people.




GAME MECHANICS:

Racing games you race to the end and see who wins. The levels change each time you go onto a different one. Also you can change the car. As the levels get on you can get more cars to choose from.




CROSSOVERS BETWEEN GENRES:





The racing games incorporate simulation/action because you can zoom around the track you are being active all the while and also some of the racing games are real and realistic.





This makes racing games popular because the audience want to play for the cups and prizes and racing games are aimed at any age but someone under the age of 3 might not know how to play the games. I think that more casual gamers would play racing games that don't like the battles and fights in games e.g. RPG games. The characteristics make the games more exiting and make them have more playability.

Conventions and game Eleements of Arcade Games

An arcade game is a coin-based machine that can be in restaurants public houses and amusement parks. The first popular arcade games are amusement arcade games like shootings galleries and ball-toss games. Nowadays arcade games are on the Internet and on games consoles.

UNDERSTAND GAME ELEMENTS

GAME PLAY:

The game design for arcade games are simple and also most of the arcade games are played by using the arrow keys and using the spacebar as a attack key. You don't always have a spacebar on all racing games because you might have a different key instead. The controls are generally the same. Each levels gets harder when you progress through. When you play the games you can get power ups and boosters and once this has happened you are more in control with the game e..g BrickBreaker. A lot of arcade games are easy and simple and when you start playing on them it is easy to pick up. you when you start playing them you can easily pick up on.

OBJECTIVE:

Games like PacMan the goal is to rescue someone at the very end of the game but whereas a game like Puzzler bobble you try to pop the bubbles before they splat all over you. In most arcade games you need to clear the field before you die as the character.

STORY:

Most arcade games have a simple storyline when you go and rescue someone or clear the field. In the game Halloween PacMan you go around each level and on the final level you rescue the princess and on puzzle bobble you clear the field before the blaster clogs up. With Tetris you clear the field by rotating the pieces and make a line and once you made a line then the pieces disappear.

PLAYER/NON PLAYER CHARACTERS:

In most arcade games you have non-player characters which have artificial intelligence. When the ghosts are on PacMan for example it makes the game tricky and more exciting. In arcade games the non-players make the games more realistic. When you challenge other people it makes the arcades games exciting and fun and so much playability.

SOUND(DIEGETIC/NON-DIEGETIC)

All arcade games have non-diegetic sounds which are like music, narrative. Arcade games do have diegetic sounds because it is the type of sounds that the characters make in the gaming world. I think that the diegetic sounds in arcade games are simple and they might of used a keyboard to give the electric sort of sounds that are in the games.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

A lot of arcade games have artificial intelligence. For example PacMan, when the ghosts come near you die and lose a life and once you get near them they come after you. With some of the arcade games it is easy with A.I. but as with some it is harder.


RULES

DESIGN RULES:

in arcade games they have made up creatures/humans rather than real ones . In PacMan for example the ghosts are the non-player characters( the ones you don't control).

Normally in a arcade game the environment tends to be a fantasy look and fun. The environments also are colourful and happy.

Arcade games have both diegetic and non-digetic sounds because the diegetic sounds you get are the ones from a keyboard and the the non-diegetic sounds you generally get would probably be music in the background e.g. Tetris, Puzzle Bobble, PacMan etc. In Arcade games are non-diegetic which normally are sort of like soundtracks sort of thing. When the characters screen for example that would be diegetic. Mainly in arcade games you get happy sounds. The player normally doesn't control the sound.

The menu is easy to get on because it made very simple. It is simple because it more aimed at casual gamers.

For arcade games the characters tend to be more cartoony then real. If they have any vehicles, they would tend to not be real then normal vehicles.

People normally don't have tournaments with arcade games on the Internet. People play on the internet and can see other people's high scores and then you can try to beat their score and try to get high on the leaderboard.

PLAYER RULES:

The controls for arcade games are easy because you normally use the arrow keys and a spacebar. You do have restriction on the game when you bump the side but when you get onto the next level it comes up for you.

When you collect points your life health grows bigger and get more hearts. Generally you get more life points by eating the power ups.

CONSISTENCY:

Most of the game elements for arcade games are the same but some of game elements for some of the games are slightly different. Racing games with arcade elements can be fun, simple and the physics are not as real as the real world.

DEFINITION OF GAME GENRES




GRAPHICAL THEME:




The graphics for arcade games are usually blunt and pixelated. Even though they are simple, the graphics have become better because of more technology and you can now play them on the Internet, consoles and mobile phones.





GAME STRUCTURE:





Most arcade games have story lines to them but some of them don't have. The main sort of story to them is a action/adventure one. Also some of the arcade games have different levels which get harder each time you play them. With most arcade games in their most basic form you need clear the field as fast as you can. In generally, in arcade games you do want to clear the field as fast possible to avoid losing by getting hit or eaten. To add to you score each time you might have bonus items that you can collect to add to your overall score. You can get lots of points to become a champion of these arcade games. This is one of the incentives.





GAME MECHANICS:





Normally on arcade games, the player rescues someone who is danger. On each level you can also get power ups and short cuts and you can choose what character you are.







CROSSOVERS BETWEEN GENRES:






Arcade games incorporate action, adventure and puzzle elements conventions e.g. PacMan because when you are on the game, when you eat the monsters that is being active. Also when you go around it is like you are having an adventure and also along the way you solve puzzles

DIFFERENT GAME PLATFORMS

The different game platforms are mobile phones, internet games, casual gamers and core gamers.

Mobile Phones: In the 5th generation mobile phone games used to be cheap and were not as popular as nowadays. Also in the 5th genreation the mobile phone games were black and white. So now in the 7th generation the graphics are better and the phones are in colour and more expenise than in the 5th generation

Internet Games:The games started to become popul;ar in the 5th generation. A lot of the games on the internet are all arcade based ones. There is a big range of games on the inernet.The internet games are more aimed at casual gamers than core gamers. The controls on the keyboard can be more fiddly then on a console game because on the keyboard you have a lot of keys that can get in the way.

Casual Gamers: A casual gamer is someone who limits they time playing a game and takes it lightly and not as serousiy as a core gamer.

Core Gamers: A core gamer is someone who takes gaming seriously and plays the games for more than 2 hours a day. This is more assocaited with consoles games rather than games on the internet.

PC GAMES: PC games were aimed at casual gamers. The controls for them were the same as the internet. Most of the gameswere mainly role play based but also there were racing and puzzle games. There is not as much choice of PC games than the game consoles.

Industry Bodies

The industry bodies help to represent and serve interest for people who like computer games. Industry bodies works on three things being Operational Activities, Political Representation and Generating Media Coverage.


TIGA(The Independent Games Developers): TIGA was launched in 2001 by DTI Minister Patricia Hewitt MP. TIGA is a national trade assocaiation for computer games developers in the UK and Europe. TIGA used to represent 300 or so independent studios all over the UK but now it and now it represents all developers in the UK. TIGA works alongside the Government, the Westminster, Holyrood Parliaments to improve the games industry.

ELSPA(Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association): ELSPA was founded in 1989 by game publishers in the UK. It was one of the first and strongest trades over europe. ELSPA has 40 companies as memberships.

PEGI(Pan European Game Information): ELSPA turned into PEGI in 2003. PEGI sorts out the age ratings for games online and offline. The age ratings are 3,7,12,16 and 18. PEGI also sorts out the content each game has. PEGI is used in over 28 countries

There are two main things that makes a game come on the market and these are:

Publishers help out with the finance , sort out the packaging for the games and design the packaging and marketing

Developers make the games and test them out and decide what the game will actually look like

7th Generation

The 7th Genration of computer games came out in 2005 with the conoels being WII, X-box 360, Playstion 3. With in these consoles the notable releases were Mario, Pokemon, Red Ring of Death, Grand Theft Auto.

X-box 360

Playstation 3

WII

The WII has a processor of IBM power PC and its display is colour. The WII has a storage of 512 MB. For the connectivity the game console uses a WI-FI and also Bluetooth.

The 7th generation games are more up to date ones (current). North America introduced a console game called the Nintendo DS which was the first handheld console of the 7th generation. The first home console that came out in the 7th generation was called the x-box 360. Most of the consoles in the 7th generation had wireless controllers but the x-box 360 had wired controllers.