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The current Top 10 Console games on GameBase.info...

1. Fifa World Cup South Africa

PS3 & Xbox 360 - EA Sports

2010 Fifa World Cup: South Africa may, for some, seem to be an unnecessary purchase, released as it is smack bang between last years Fifa 10 and this years Fifa 11. However,  if you are thinking of taking the leap, then there are enough features to make it potentially very worthwhile.

One of the main additions to gameplay, in terms of accessibility, is the new 'two-button' control method. This allows you to greatly reduce the number of buttons required to play at a competitively high level. It uses the left thumbstick, as normal, to control your players' movement. The 'cross' button is used for all passing types, when in posession of the ball, allowing you to use one button for ground, air and through passes. The position of the player you are aiming for and the strength of the pass you put through to him, will affect the style of pass. 'Circle' is used for shoot when you have the ball and sliding tackles when the opposition has it . When not in possession, the 'cross' button is used for a standing tackle.

The game also has 'Become a Captain' mode, which offers the same method of gameplay as in 'Be a Pro' in the recent Fifa releases.  The aim is to take control of your customised player and, as the title implies, become captain of your chosen country.  In this mode, the 'two-button' mode can be used with the regular feature of using the 'cross' button to call for the ball from a team mate. In addition,  the 'circle' button can be used to tell your team mates to apply pressure when without possession and to shoot when you do have it.

Other game modes include the Practice Arena, where you can practice set-pieces, play 1v1 and play practice matches with varing numers of players on each team. There is also The Story Of Qualifying, in which you can change history by taking on various in-game challenges teams faced, but failed with, in the World Cup qualifying rounds. Online game include competing in The World Cup competitions, as well as playing individual games against opponents from all around the world. 

A regular feature of the Euro and World Cup Fifa releases is that you can practice or play penalty shootouts directly from the main menu. The control scheme for penalties has been overhauled and can be tricky to get a hang of. However, there are very good training videos and practice modes. 

To defend penalties requires the use of both thumbsticks. The left is used to move the position of your keeper and the right is used to choose the direction of his dive. To take a penalty you must watch the moving pin in the composure bar (in the bottom right of the screen) and press shoot when it is as close to the middle as you can (the speed of this changes depending on your difficulty settings). Once you have pressed shoot, you need to decide how long you are going to hold it down, to power up your shot. The longer you hold it the harder the shot. Finally, to direct the ball, you use the left thumbstick.

With Fifa World Cup: South Africa there are lots of involving game modes to keep you interested over the summer and get you into the spirit of the World Cup, until the Fifa 11 release in the autumn. Hopefully, we will see the 'two-button' mode continue to feature in future Fifa releases, offering as it does a more intuitive and accessible method of gameplay for either new players or those who would prefer to use less controls and still compete at a high level.
 





2. Forza Motorsport 3

Xbox 360 - Mommy's Best Games (80 points Xbox Live Indie Arcade)

Bullet-hell shooter Shoot 1UP is a ferocious one or two player Xbox 360 game. It has some slightly saucy graphics, great game play and stonkingly good accessibility features.

The aim of the game is pretty basic: Blow up enemies, collect power-ups to get more powerful, avoid enemies and their bullets, score high. That's about the size of it, played against imaginative backgrounds and frenetic music. Rowdy!

Accessibility Options Include

Gameplay speed adjustment from 25%-200% normal speed
Remappable buttons
One Switch mode (requires held presses)
Auto-fire options
Visual constrast options

Some players may struggle with the sheer weight of visual information, and to keep track of their ship. In this case, I recommend experimenting with the speed control, control options and switching the backgrounds off.


Free Trial and Full Game available to download from: Xbox Live (UK), Xbox Live (USA) and Xbox Live (Japan).

Shoot 1UP Alternatives? Try SYNSO 360 or Fishie Fishie Fifty.

3. Raquet Sports Party

PS3 Network - Creat Studios
Cuboid favours brainpower over fast controller reactions. Whilst the clock maybe ticking away, there are no time restrictions enforced. The aim of the game is to direct the rectangular object across a course so that it ends up in the correct position to upend nicely (not to mention with great satisfaction) through the glowing hole in the floor with the least amount of moves.

Whilst that might sound easy enough, the levels stretch you a little bit further each time. The control method is simply using the d-pad to roll the object onto its different sides, which quickly becomes intuitive as you and your ‘cuboid’ become one. This game is highly addictive and highly accessible due to the limited controller input (the game could be played entirely with four switches via an interface such as a Console Switch Interface Deluxe or Lepmis PS3-SAP .

 
Wii - Sega/Prope

'No complicated controls...Just Tap! Place the Wii Remote on a flat surface and tap your fingers to race friends, launch fireworks, soar through space and tap to the beat in five unique multiplayer party games.'

Let's Tap offers a new way of interacting with the Wii remote. As the title suugests, you control the games using tapping. The Wiimote is placed on a surface (two card boxes are provided and require only light tapping), you then tap this surface which sends the vibrations to the Wiimote motion sensors. The menus can also be accessed using tapping, with one tap moving selction on to the next option and two taps selecting. 

PS3 Network- Sony
At present there are only a handful of games available for the PS3 eye camera. However, the ones that do show much promise for its capabilities and the inventive thinking of the games designers. What was originally an easy all-inclusive format with the PS2 eye toy, has now in some instances been pushed to create some challenging games such as ‘The Trials of Topaq.’

Easier to pick up, though similarly interesting and impressive graphically, is ‘Operation Creature Features’ (pictured above). The aim is simply to move the ‘blurbs’ from one door to another. The ‘blurbs’ follow the movement of your hands and body through the eye camera as you coax them past the obstacles to safety. ‘Mesmerize’ is a program where you choose an effect and simply move your body as if interacting with what you see on screen such as a giant pin board or flares. ‘Aqua Vita’ is almost like an interactive fish tank screensaver. Make small movements to attract different fish and sudden large ones to scare them away. In ‘Tori-Emaki’ you move a small sphere around a painted Japanese landscape and guide a flock of birds to simply explore.

Wii - Cing/Nintendo

'Read and Solve like a Mystery Novel!'

The game plays like a mixture between playing a point and click adventure game and reading a 'Whodunnit?' There is a lack of quick reactions or complicated co-ordination or dexterity required by the gameplay.

Much of the gameplay involves talking to people to gain information and clues to help solve the mystery of Ashley's mother's death. The interaction with objects and people aswell as movement around the game involves pointing the Wiimote at area of the screen and pressing the 'A' button to select them.

To move, you point and press the arrows at the edge of the screen. When in conversation with another character there is no auditory speech, only text at the bottom of the screen. To move on to the next line of text press the 'A' button. During a conversation you may have the option to select a particular question or answer. Again, this is selected by pointing and pressing 'A.'

A part of the gameplay and the storyline is the use of the 'DAS,' a personal computer which can be used to help solve puzzles and take photo's. To access your 'DAS'; select the icon in the bottom right of the screen.

Another Code: R requires patience and a sharp mind rather than sharp movements and reactions, allowing the player to get drawn into the story an one gets drawn into a book. However, in addition the interactive element of the gameplay allows you to take part and play a role in the final outcome of the story.

XBOX Live - Victor Ortega

Qoccer is a turn-based football game in the same vein as Subbuteo, but with less restrictions and more immediate fun.

Playing in either 2 player mode or against the CPU, both teams are given 30 seconds to set up all of their players' direction of movement (indicated by the arrows) for the next passage of play. When both teams are ready, with a press of a button, they all fly into action at once. Contact with opposing players is allowed, meaning there is no stop-start element, other than with the gameplay mechanism itself.

Switch between your players using either RB or LB, the power of their movement with RT and LT and their direction with the left thumbstick. When you have finished setting up your players press 'A.'

Qoccer is instant and competitive fun, and allows for the action and excitement of football to be experiened without the quick reactions and fast movements usually required.

Go to the XBOX Live Marketplace and search the 'Indie' section for a free trial or to buy the full game (80 MS Points).

Wii (available on wiiware) - One Button Wai Wai Action/Konami

"In Tomena Sanner, players take on the role of businessman Hitoshi Susumu who is behind schedule and won't stop running until he gets to his ultimate dance party... A high speed side-scrolling action title, Tomena Sanner also features a unique timing based control system that players can utilize as they jump, dance and fly over hurdles that come their way."

Use the 'A' button on the Wiimote as the sole input method for instantly engaging and imaginative use of one button gameplay. It is playable in single player mode or with up to four players sharing a split screen over nine levels. The menu's are navigated with using the Wiimote's d-pad.

The gameplay does require accurate timing and reactions for button presses. The better the timing the quicker/more imaginatively Mr Susumu will deal with the obsticles.

Tomena Sanner is available on wiiware for 500 points.