Shining Soul on GBA didn’t do too well. The most hardcore Shining fans disliked its real-time gameplay when compared to its turns-based roots, and the general games-buying public tended to stay away from it too. However, my experience with Shining Soul II has been nothing but positive.

Streamlined controls

As a fast-paced action RPG on a handheld, the control system has to be absolutely clear, yet versatile enough to support different situations, and SSII gets it just right.

Fast food menus

The L menu holds weapons; the R menu items. Tapping the shoulder button opens the menu and scrolls through, and B uses the item (weapons are equipped automatically). In multiplayer, holding B throws the selected item, letting you heal your teammates.

Pressing A unleashes a standard attack, and holding it charges up a more powerful attack. With higher levels and better weapons come stronger attacks, but they take longer to charge. It’s actually very well-balanced.

Huge selection of items

I was expecting there to be a shortage of useful weapons, items and armour with this being a handheld RPG, but the range is absolutely vast.

• Multiple weapons. The brawler has the claw and knife – and these increase in grade as you go through the game. Some have effects such as defence up, HP recovery or attack properties.
• Armour boosts. Wearing all the armour pieces of a particular set gives you an extra boost in certain statistics. This makes it even more desirable to collect the highest-level armour possible, as adding the final piece of the puzzle can put your stats up enormously!
• Item oddities. Antidotes and healing herbs are present, but most interesting are the stranger items: old Sega consoles, speech bubbles, cats and more. Some of these come in sets that lead to even rarer items.

Gratifying gameplay

I’ve left this for last even though I suppose it should be more important. The best thing about Shining Soul II is that it’s fun to play. For some reason I want to describe it as “scrappy”, not because it’s put together badly but because most of the combat takes place at close range (apart for rangers, who are boring and overpowered, as is traditional!) – I’ve shouted “run away, run away!” to my character many times!

When you level up you get free choice of where to add your four stat points, giving you a great sense of being able to develop however you like instead of boosting or adjusting statistics to compensate for the pre-determined level-up.

You also get another kind of point which you use to level up your character’s skills. These could be the ability to equip stronger weapons, increase their healing power or gain attack power when in danger. Each character has different abilities, so they’re all truly different.

Sometimes the bash-bash-flee gameplay gets a bit tiring, but a great item or weapon always seems to come along at just the right time. Even if it doesn’t, with eight very different character classes you can always explore another aspect – I loved my brawler Groudon until I got a ranger, and loved him until I got a magician and a swordsman!

(P)SO similar

I’m a big fan of Phantasy Star Online (with two level 100+ characters – eek!) and SSII shares some of its best and worst bits.

• Got soul! You can equip items that unleash devastating attacks if you take a lot of damage, rather like Photon Blasts.
• Hit, run, hit. The whole “run in, hit them, run away” style of play was perfected by PSO, but with SP recovery as standard in SSII it makes even more sense.
• Stupidly rare items. I know I’m never, ever going to get a Psycho Wand, and I also know I’m probably never going to get a full set of SEGA letters to make a beautiful Sega speech bubble.
• Co-operative focus. Sometimes I like to compete, but I’d rather work together to solve puzzles and progress through the game, using everyone’s skills together.

In short

Shining Soul II is a simple game with plenty of depth to explore. Sidequests, unique items and other titbits are plentiful, and with the multiple character types you never feel resigned to grinding out levels, as in many similar RPGs for the PC.

I often think that the measure of a good game is whether writing or thinking about it makes you want to play it. I get reminded of their charms and some of the good times I had with them, and I know that if I picked them up again I’d discover so much more. Shining Soul II passes this test with flying colours.

However, there is one thing Shining Soul is missing. Something important and potentially amazing that a Shining Soul III on DS could rectify.

Something I’ll write about on Friday!

Good evening and welcome to the very first edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers! Tonight we pay tribute to the brightest stars in the world of game blogging and honour their achievements in categories such as Best Soapbox Post, Most Thought-Provoking Post and Best Post by a Sibling or Blood Relative.

Now, on with the night of a thousand stars!

Tonight’s first award is the prestigious Best Blog URL award. This award goes to the website address that most amused and entertained me, and continues to do so. The content has to be good too, and on that basis, the winner is… Gameslol.com, and Marek Bronstring‘s “A MySpace for games“, predicting success for indie developers through the Great Games Experiment!

Our second award tonight is for Best Objective Review of Addiction. The winner of this award did well to avoid being sucked in by the allure of his chosen game, and provided an in-depth review of the game and its new features. The winner is… Jaimie from Just Online Games, for Burning Crusade – World of Warcraft!

Next up we have the award for Best Article by a Sibling or Blood Relative. This was a hotly-contested category, but in the end there was only one real winner. And the winner is… Phil Newton, with his article “Computer Love“. Family ties aside, it’s also a tremendous article that poses a very interesting question for developers.

Thanks Phil, and might I say, that’s a lovely dress you’re wearing!

Coming up after the break, the award for Best Anti-Microsoft Post and a look at what this year’s nominees wore on the red carpet! Don’t go away!

Don’t forget to link to or trackback this post, comment on some of the articles featured and spread the word about the carnival!

Hey, welcome back! You know, a funny thought occured to me during that break.

The next award is one of my favourites: Best Writer of Rants and/or Reviews. In order to win this award, the writer has to be adept at balancing the fiery and articulate sides of blogging, and nobody did this better than the winner of this award: Jigsaw hc of Jigsaw hc’s Rants and Reviews! His posts “Top 3 Problems with Xbox Live Arcade” and “GameFly.com vs GameznFlix.com” both juggle constructive advice with a little healthy ranting. Watch that blood pressure, though!

Every once in a while, a blog article comes along that really makes you think, and think hard. I can’t think of a more suitable way to introduce our next award, Most Thought-Provoking Article. The winner did a great job of tackling a serious subject in a positive way, and had a top-notch interview and research too. It gives me great pleasure to award Most Thought-Provoking Article to… Alvaro Fernandez from SharpBrains.com! His article “ADD/ ADHD and working memory training: interview with Notre Dame’s Bradley Gibson” examines how “Serious Games” might actually be good for hyperactive children.

I teased you with this before the break, but now it’s time for that most controversial of awards, Best Anti-Microsoft Post. It’s a good job this carnival is opt-in, otherwise we’d have no chance deciding this one! Seriously though, this article takes a good dive inside Windows Vista and emerges, gasping for air but triumphantly clutching this award. That winner is… Akusai at VGMusings.com! His article “Microsoft Hates Gamers” details how Microsoft’s new anti-piracy measures might be counter-productive.

Another commercial break now, but the best is yet to come – top-quality mouthing off in Best Soapbox Post and the chilling Worst Attempt at Modesty in a Blog Carnival. Don’t go changing!

Submit your blog article to the next carnival of video game bloggers on March 19th using our carnival submission form!

The next award goes to the blogger who created the Most Frightening Alternate Reality. Frankly, if the winner’s prediction came true I think we’d all be imitating lemmings and running for the nearest cliff. The winner is… Gianfranco Berardi, for his article “If Old Games Were Made Today?“

Next on the agenda is Best Soapbox Post. The nominees for this category were all intensely opinionated and worthy, but in the end there could be only one winner. And that winner is… A Struggling Student, for “I Hate Ebay Sellers Selling Nintendo Wiis: Let’s Screw Them Over“!

Now our first special guest of the evening. To present the award for Worst Attempt at Modesty in a Blog Carnival… Me!

I’d like to give this award to myself, for my article “Five Games To Change Your Life In 2007“, featuring five games that will define your gaming year: Spore, Bioshock and more!

Thanks, James!

And now we come to our final award of this glorious evening, the Inaugural Jordan Bieber Award for Most Articles Submitted. The very first winner of this award has surprised us with his dedication to submitting blog articles, and entertained us with the results. Opening up my email every day to see his name in the inbox cheered me no end, and with his whopping eight articles submitted (at the time of writing) put him way ahead of his nearest competitors. They’re all on very varied subjects too, showing his capability and versatility.

No award could do the winner justice, but the Inaugural Jordan Bieber Award for Most Articles Submitted goes to… Jordan Bieber!

The Jesse Ventura Campaign Video Game – create a game about a wrestling governor!
How to sell your games – fund your addictions with recycling!
How I lost 90 pounds playing computer games – get the celeb look with Physicam!
Wii Play – Worth it – play about!
Tetris + Web Cam = TetroDance – make a move!
Why I am not buying Super Mario World on VC – make a stand!
Building a custom Arcade Machine on a budget – make a cabinet!
Zelda TP Ending – Not Epic Enough? – may contain spoilers. I haven’t read it as I haven’t completed Twilight Princess yet. You’ve been warned.

Yes, richly-deserved applause. Sadly that brings this wonderful evening to a close. I’m sure you’ll agree that they were all worthy winners, but I’d like to pay special tribute to them all – this was my first blog carnival but I was very pleased to see how many bloggers submitted high-quality articles. Eighteen for a first carnival is superb, so thanks to everyone who entered! Please add a link to this post on your sites and tell other bloggers about it, and everyone will reap the benefits.

The next Carnival of Video Game Bloggers is back here on March 19th, with the deadline of Friday March 16th. It’s another open mic free-for-all, so be creative and I’ll see you back here in a month!

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Today I published an article on my brother’s shareware website, Sodaware.net, entitled “Creating Emotions With Music“. As the title suggests, it’s about how music enhances the atmosphere in games and makes players feel involved. It’s intended for shareware developers, but it’s still a good read for anyone else. Whilst you’re there, be sure to download one of the very enjoyable demos – I recommend Outpost Kaloki!

This also nicely brings me onto a little site news I didn’t want to post separately. I completely overhauled the Music page, separating my musical identities using some form of beam and placing them in two different ionic containment fields: Prosody and James Newton.

For the first time ever I’ve also typed up my lyrics, so you can finally work out I’m saying in the middle eight of Sky Lights. There’s a lot of instrumental music on the James Newton page, including samples from the soundtracks to “Tanner“, “Dad’s Army and Beyond“, “Shining Online” and “Diversification: The Future of Farming?“, and I’ll be updating it often.

Thanks also to everyone who’s submitted an article to the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. If you haven’t joined in yet you’ve still got plenty of time – as long as I receive your entry before Friday it’s up. Click here to submit your article and join in!

 I’m listening to The Love We Make, from Emancipation Disc 3 by Prince

It’s not often I make predictions, but I fully expect these five games will blow your mind this year. Set aside a game budget of £250 and put everything else into an ISA – you won’t need to buy any other games this year.

Spore

The main appeal of Spore to me is that it’s a game you can have a mess around with. There are levels and phases and so on, but its appeal as a sandbox – should be sandpit, really – is that you can create your own creatures, evolve and mutate them, and see how they get on. This concept’s been around as long as I can remember – Eco on the Atari ST and E.V.O. on the SNES, for example – but for once the PR cliché is probably true: it’s only possible with today’s technology.

Your freaky characters will live alongside other players’ creations – content you create in the game migrates across to others’ machines automatically, creating a feeling of communal play direct interaction. It reminds me of the migratory content in Animal Crossing: Wild World actually; I hope we’ll see more games trading content automatically, without players trawling the web, and I’m all for it.

It was recently confirmed that Spore will be coming to Wii, which will hopefully be the first title to use WiiConnect24 as it was intended. The DS version is promising too, although I’m willing to bet it will be quite seriously cut down compared to the high-powered PC version.

In short: Control life from gene pool to galactic pillaging.

See more: www.spore.com

Virtua Fighter 5

It’s a shame that it took until Virtua Fighter 4 came to the PlayStation 2 for Sega’s flagship fighting game to gain recognition, but with the upcoming sequel out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 it’s finally hit the big time, and looks to be getting better all the time.

This time introducing two new characters – Rey Mysterio Jr. clone El Blaze and monkey-style Eileen – VF5 features amazing graphics and one of the most finely-tuned fighting experiences anywhere. I believe it’s the most skilful 3D fighter ever: top players go into incredible detail, even memorising how many frames of animation each move lasts.

Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution was probably the best fighting game ever, and if there’s any justice in the world this will hurtle Virtua Fighter way past all pretenders.

In short: Beautiful, addictive, thrilling. 

See more: http://www.sega-europe.com/virtuafighter5

Halo 3

Let’s face it – no matter how good it is, Gears of War is no more than a stopgap before Halo 3. While the cinema is flooded with big money trilogy-closers this year – Pirates of the Caribbean 3, the Bourne Ultimatum, Shrek 3, Spider-man 3 – there’s no such competition for Halo 3, which I fully expect to be the year’s highest-grossing game.

Was that a prediction?!

Why yes, yes it was, and with good reason: Halo 2 reputedly made $125m on its first day in the States, and sold over a quarter of a million copies here in one week. Crikey, it even made the news, an honour usually reserved for games that:

• Kill people;
• Break TVs;
• Can be grossly misrepresented.

Unfortunately Halo 3 has no strong release date yet, but I’m predicting an October/November release. Even if it is released that late I still think it’s a very strong contender for best-selling game this year, and a force the PS3 will have great difficulty surpassing or equalling.

In short: A sales juggernaut; buy or die.

See more: www.bungie.net/games/halo3

Bioshock

It was a toss-up between this and the equally impressive Crysis, but Bioshock won out in the “games with brains” stakes.

One of Bioshock’s most promising features is its emphasis on emergent gameplay – AI characters have roles and desires, and will make different decisions based on the options presented to them. Similarly, you can mutate your character to suit your own playing style, something we’re more used to seeing in roleplaying games and MMORPGs.

Another thing I like about Bioshock is its combination of gameplay styles. Although a stylish-looking first-person shooter, there’s more to it than that: you can photograph enemies to identify their weak points, a feature reminiscent of Metroid Prime’s very useful scan visor. Resources like camera film are scarce though, so you have to be more tactical when deciding what to use and when.

A lot of FPS promise AI that will be aware of you and react accordingly, but it’s refreshing to see characters whose options are broader than “shoot, hide, run, surrender”.

In short: Intelligent ambitions evolve the genre.

See more: http://www.2kgames.com/bioshock/

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Okay, perhaps it’s a bit strong to say the new Pokémon games (due this summer, hopefully) will change your life, but I reckon they’ll certainly improve it immeasurably.

Despite the shift from GBA to DS you can transfer your precious Pokémon from previous play, allowing you to use potentially any Pokémon from the series’ ten-year history.

The big news, of course, is that for the first time ever you’ll be able to trade and battle across the Internet using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, as well as seek out others’ Secret Bases and play a game of Capture the Flag. I reckon FireRed and LeafGreen’s wireless adaptor was a test run for the Wi-Fi side of Diamond and Pearl, but with the coolest bits from Ruby and Sapphire too it looks like being the complete package.

In short: Pokégasm.

See more: www.pokemon.com

You reached level five!

There we go – my top five games to play this year. There were more I wanted to post, but these won out in a battle of the death. One thing about my choices I found interesting was that none of them were designed for Wii, despite my hopes that Wii will change my life. If Animal Crossing for Wii was confirmed for this year, the other games wouldn’t stand a chance.

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I’m listening to Gateway To Your Dreams, from NiGHTS Into Dreams [Sega Saturn] by Sonic Team.

I use my real name for all my instrumental music and work I produce for other people. Here you can find music for various screen projects, both big and small.

Film

Tanner.

1. Tanner’s theme.
2. Photoframe.
3. Let’s talk about Dad, again.

Tanner is a feature-length film written, produced and directed by Oliver Crocker, starring Frank Williams (Dad’s Army), Bernard Wrigley (Phoenix Nights) and Tony Osoba (Porridge).

About the soundtrack.

I wrote the score in around a month. One thing that was clear from the start was that each major character – Craddock, Tanner and his absent father – would all require a strong theme to set them apart. I decided to use a basic palette of piano and cello for a number of reasons including time, resources and plain old ability.

Using these two instruments consistently actually made crafting the themes easier – the common ground linked the characters, and also allowed me to explore their sounds in different areas. Extra instruments such as bassoons and flutes were used on two of these sample tracks to add colour, and other tracks include full drums, pizzicato strings, electric guitars and synthesised elements to further explore moods.

The second track, “Photoframe”, is Tanner’s (deceased) father’s theme. The third track is Tanner actually discussing his father, and beginning to understand how much like his father he has become. I particularly like the way the music works in these three tracks; it’s very pleasing to me.

Video games (NEW)

Shining Online

I started writing music for the Shining Force fangame Shining Online about five or six years ago now. Although work on the game takes place very sporadically, it’s something I’m very proud of and close to, and has inspired probably the best piece of music I’ve written.

1. Shrine theme.
2. Vagabond

I intend to upload more of my Shining Online music in the near future.

Documentary music (NEW)

Dad’s Army and Beyond: The Frank Williams Story

A documentary about the popular Dad’s Army actor Frank Williams. For this I wanted a nostalgic sort of feel, so went for my old favourites: piano and bassoon. I like this song, but I’m aware that if a real bassoon player tried to play it they would almost certainly suffocate.

1. Amber Leaves

“Diversification: The Future of Farming?”

Using a completely different style to Tanner, this combines rustic sounds and rhythms with soothing spacial synths, and is some of my favourite work yet.

1. On the Farm.
2. At the Day’s End.
3. Ambient Farming.

Ask for more!

As the Pepsi adverts used to say.

If you’d like me to write some music for your film, television program, game, advert or anything at all, drop me an email with your idea and what you’d like it to sound like and I’ll get back to you!

Long Distance (2005)

1. Long Distance (2:48)
2. New Leaf (3:43)
3. Charity (2:52)
4. Throwing It All Away (3:18)
5. Where the Silence Is (2:52)
6. Break the Silence (3:28)
7. Leaving Song (2:40)
8. Decayed (3:37)
9. Sky Lights (3:33)
10. Beeman (1:01)

Thanks to: Hannah for everlasting love and inspiration, Phil for web design and support, Jim for musical mastery and the support to make it possible and you, for wanting to listen.

All tracks written, performed and recorded by James Newton, apart from New Leaf, recorded by Jim Parker; Beeman lyrics by Chris Day. Acoustic guitar solo on New Leaf courtesy of Jim Parker.

Making the album

What started as my desire to write and record an album in the summer of 2003 took until August 2005 to finish. It took me much longer to write ten songs that I had originally anticipated, but I had them all written long before I recorded them all. When I got my new PC in August ’05 I decided enough was enough, and recorded very rough versions of them all in about two days. My bedroom was a mess, with an electric guitar and amp, acoustic guitar, two mics and a keyboard all interweaving, much as they do on the record (ho ho).

It was hard work but I enjoyed it, and even though the temptation is there to re-record them with better production and more polish, the time has come to lay them to rest, which is partly why I’m putting them online – although they’ll always have a place in my heart, these songs have had their moment, and it’s time to leave them behind and see what comes next.

What comes next?

Good question. Just as I had the title and artwork for Long Distance far in advance, my next album under the Prosody name will be called “Alight”. I don’t have any songs for it, but it might be taking a more relaxing, ambient path, as you’ll hear if you head over to the James Newton section…

Lyrics

I decided to break with my five-year silence on lyrics and post them up, mainly because some people have said they struggle to make out just what the Hell I’m singing about. Worry no more, friends!

Long Distance

Look at us now, torn apart
But together all the same somehow.
This for us is a new start
We’re closer than ever now.

You were so far away,
Something I have always wanted to say
Is when you cry look towards the time
When we’ll be together every day.

This is one journey I don’t want to end.

Where do you see this going?
Where will we go from here?
There’s never any true way of knowing,
But what we want was never so near.

Though now I’m so far away,
Things won’t always be this way.
Lift your eyes, push them up to the skies,
We share in all that beauty every day.

This is one journey I don’t want to end.
This is one journey that won’t ever end.

New Leaf

I’m in need of repair
My body is shattered,
My heart is scattered,
Here and there, don’t know where.
Inside out for too long,
Waiting for a feeling,
I’m waiting for healing,
I’m hanging on.

I’m waiting for a new life,
Strange as it sounds I want to go under the knife.
I feel like I should be terrified,
But not with you by my side.

You got under my skin,
You came in through a cut
And you sowed my skin together,
No longer under the weather.
Black and blue fade out,
Wounds are all repaired,
I’m still amazed that
Someone cared, you cared.

I’ve turned over a new leaf,
So this is what it feels like to breathe.
You bring me
You bring me relief.

I’ve turned over a new leaf,
So this is what it feels like to breathe.
You bring me
You bring me relief.

Charity

I don’t see myself as anything more than I am
Without you I can’t see all the good you see in me.
So why do you give all you have to me?
You know I love your charity.

I can’t hear myself, all my words just let me down.
But you see through my wrongs to find the good in me.
So I slide away in search of peace,
That’s where I find your charity.

And I feel our life
Is slipping away from me
And all I see
Is you
You’re drifting away.

I don’t feel like myself any time when you’re not near.
I know our day will soon come, but that won’t chase away this fear.
So why?

I feel our life
Is slipping away from me
And all I see
Is you
You’re drifting away.

You know I love your charity.
You know I love your charity.

Throwing It All Away

You came to me without warning,
You turned midnight to morning.
I was so eager to be yours,
To have someone to sail the same course.

I thought that I could do no wrong,
You were all I’d wanted for so long.
But I’m not the perfect one
Out of the two of us.

This is what I’ve waited for all my days,
So why does it feel like I’m throwing it all away?
I’m throwing it all away every day.

I’d tell you all of my mistakes
If I had the courage it takes.
But every time I get near,
I’m hit with fear and step on the brakes.

I tried to work out where I went wrong
I thought I’d find the answers in a song.
I’ll never be the perfect one
Out of the two of us.

This is what I’ve waited for all my days,
So why does it feel like I’m throwing it all away?
Throwing it all away every day.
Throwing it all away every day.

Where the Silence Is

I can’t sleep some nights,
My eyes crave images and light.
Distractions invade my mind,
Colours, thoughts and shapes of every kind.

So I go to where the darkness is.

At night my mind is full of sounds,
Rushing winds, fat rain and crying hounds.
I explore the world through the noises in my head,
Until my thoughts turn to quietness instead.

So I go to where the silence is,
And when I’m there, you’re what I miss.
So I go to where the silence is,
And when I’m there, you’re what I miss.
Where the silence is.

Break the Silence

Five hours have passed
Since I last heard
A simple “thanks”,
An empty word.
Since six o’clock
My ears have been numb,
There’s a fear here
I just can’t overcome.

My belly, chest and head
All sting.
My heart and soul
Explode and sing.

Break the silence,
Break the silence.

One word says love,
But it doesn’t say it loud enough.
This demon draws and sucks
The warmth right out of us.
This black surprise
Now has its nails in you.
We’ll fight it off together,
We’ll come through.

If you break the silence.
Break the silence.
Break the silence,
Break the silence.

Leaving Song

If there’s one thing I want,
It’s to have you in body, not in font.
I’ve built up my substitutes,
I wheel them out for comfort when it suits.

Yesterday was just another day spent waiting,
Yesterday was the day that we let fate in.

Another day age goes by,
It’s the one thing between us and our life.
Time is all we have but it’s fleeting,
It keeps us apart, stops us meeting.

Yesterday was just another day spent waiting,
This is wasted time, it’s so frustrating

Decayed

They say you don’t know
How hard it’ll hit you.
But take it from me,
There’s no escape once it’s bit you.
You move around in a place of no sound
Looking for comfort but there’s none to be found.
Got to look above to find
Someone that you love.

I wonder what you would say
If you’d not run away that day.
I wonder what you would be.
Would you be anything like me?

Even now I’m still hiding
From what I want to say.
Trying to write ten years in a three minute song,
Can’t do it, no way.
Take a deep breath.
I’ve got something to say,
And you’re not getting away this time.

I wonder what you would say
If you’d not run away that day.
I wonder what you would be.
If you’d be anything like me.

I wonder what you would say
If you’d not run away that day.
I wonder what you would be.
If you’d be anything like me.

Sky Lights

It’s an ink-black night,
And the air is thick with heat.
See the last star die,
And to the clouds admit defeat.

Hidden away for another day,
As the black rain pours over me.

Lightning crackles through the sky,
Burns its path upon my eye.
Thunder shakes me, the smell awakes
The stirring soul inside.

The bright lights in the night sky return,
Behind the clouds a million stars burn.
A million stars burn.

A grand amber sun on the horizon.
The air fills with colour
Light has won.

Beeman

Beeman, Beeman,
Does whatever a hornet can.
Stings your nose in the park,
Catches thieves in the dark.

Beeware! There goes Beeman!

Is he strong?
I’ll bet you money.
He’s got radioactive honey!
Can he fly?
Yes he does!
Take a look, overheard!

Beeware! There goes Beeman!
Beeware! There goes Beeman!

I promised I would do more to promote the site and share that traffic with other bloggers, and here’s the first step of that process: the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers!

In case you’re a little unsure, a blog carnival is a collection of posts from different authors on the same topic. Think of it as a magazine – there’s a deadline and an editor, and everyone who wants to get involved submits their articles. The carnival is then published online with links to the articles, and participants read, write and share their thoughts with each other. It’s really a very communal occasion, and always turns up lots of interesting reading material.

The Carnival of Video Game Bloggers starts on February the 19th, right here at The Collected Writings of James Newton. For more information, and to submit your articles or offer to be a host, I recommend using the carnival’s homepage, which you can find here.

I hope you submit your article and come back to enjoy the carnival on the 19th of February!

Miguel Trincado Settier’s rising stars take on the experienced Spanish strong hands in the first elimination round of the Konami Cup. Forced to rest regular keeper Curtis and midfield inspiration Delgado, how will Settier‘s partly reshuffled team fare in the pressure cooker of the second round?

An early passage of play in the fourth minute saw Peter Lewbrant threaded into the penalty area by strike partner Binoth Rooijmans, but opposition keeper Sanzol saw the danger early and intercepted the pass. Lewbrant was put through again less than five minutes later when Rud Risum‘s vision caught the striker unmarked in the box, but the referee’s assistant raised his flag with a controversial decision that brought hoots of displeasure from the home fans. TV replays showed Lewbrant‘s right leg had strayed just beyond the last defender, justifying the decision.

Frustration

Pierce found himself free on the left with ten minutes played and checked inside before taking a fierce shot at goal that looked nearer than it actually was. Although a formidable striker of the ball, even Pierce would have been fortunate to see such an optimistic shot swing into the net.

Kevin Karkfeld had impressed in the previous game and so won another starting place, and was unlucky not to put his team ahead early on. A magnificent turn on the edge of the box put him clean away from his marker, but his right-foot shot was rather tamely hit and Sanzol pushed it around the post for a corner. Rooijmans shouted at the youngster, gesticulating at his feet as he was some eight yards out, unmarked and rather more of a natural goalscorer than Karkfeld.

Not all the action was around the Osasuna goal, however. Sorensson almost landed his team in all manner of trouble when a soft pass to the Dejesus was intercepted by Aloisi, but he was unable to control the ball and it bobbled away from him for a goal kick.

Impatience

LGU quickly broke down the other end and when Rud Risum picked the unmarked Prince out in the box with a chipped ball the LGU fans rose as one. Prince‘s first header ballooned upwards, buying the Osasuna defence time to bring numbers back and clear the danger. Sighs and groans rippled around the fans; the atmosphere in the stadium was different today, not one of patient hope but impatient expectation. After the last two excellent displays LGU fans’ hope has given way to belief that this year they have the quality.

They endured a nervous thirty seconds as Osasuna had three real chances, all caused by poor passing play from LGU defenders, but thankfully for the increasingly frazzled supporters Dejesus was bright and aware in his first start to take care of the danger.

The half-time whistle did little to calm the supporters’ nerves. For the first time this season, I heard derisive whistles in the LGU Arena, and so set about to interview some of the fans to see what they thought of their team so far.

“Fans are unrealistic”

“I think we’ve had the better of the game, we haven’t had many clear chances but with the players we’ve got all it takes is a Lewbrant shot or a Rooijmans header and it’s 1-0,” self-entitled überfan Sean Landgraff told me.

When I asked him about the boos at half-time, he replied “I think all the press attention we’ve been getting has boosted our profile and maybe now we’re getting a few more non-fans at the games, people who expect three goals a game. We’re a small club on a cup run, you know? Let’s be realistic here.”

The boos were quieter but still noticeable when the teams took to the field for the second half. The real jeers, however, came when Rooijmans finally shook off his marker and burst into the penalty area. With Rud Risum and Peter Lewbrant both free and waiting for a pass, the referee mystifyingly blew his whistle to signal a free kick to Osasuna, making a pushing movement. The whole stadium seemed to sigh and throw its arms in the air at such a bizarre decision.

LGU had their clearest chance of the day when Lewbrant found himself in half a yard on the edge of the box and let off one of his increasingly-famous right-foot shots, but somehow an Osasuna defender got across to cover. The rebounding ball fell to Prince, and his cross fizzed across the six-yard area just inches above Rooijmans‘ desperate leap. The fans’ reaction told you they were beginning to believe it just wasn’t their day.

In the 80th minute, this feeling swelled. The usually strong defensive team of Adinolfi and Hoogstrate were nowhere to be seen as Aloisi was put clean through, and not even Dejesus‘s sprint and lunge could prevent him from trickling the ball into the empty goal for 0-1.

When the whistle blew the boos had disappeared, replaced by stunned silence.

Landgraff United 0 – 1 Atletico Osasuna

R.C.D. Espanyol 0 – 3 Landgraff United

LGU progressed to the next stage of the Konami Cup this evening with a commanding 3-0 victory against Spanish champions Espanyol.

As early as the 10th minute, Rooijmans stole a yard from his marker and confidently slotted across the face of goal to take his team into the lead. Ten minutes later, his strike partner Peter Lewbrant perfectly showed his team’s “never say die” attitude by pressing the Espanyol fullbacks, pinching the ball in the eighteen-yard box and pushing it past the goalkeeper for two-nil.

LGU’s momentum builds

Landgraff United totally dominated the first half, deflating their opponents’ attacks resulting in a very impressive zero shots on goal for the home team. Miguel Trincado Settier‘s pairing of Hoogstrate and Adinolfi in central defence has been the rock of his team’s recovery from that disappointing early defeat in the first game; with strength, awareness and good communication, this is a first-rate defensive partnership that Settier will do well to keep hold of. With growing crowds and interest in LGU’s Konami Cup, it is surely a matter of time before a more wealthy club comes in with a generous bid for one – or both – of these two.

After the restart LGU came out as they had finished the half, putting pressure on the opposition and challenging for every ball. Unfortunately Lars Jonsson got a little carried away, resulting in a booking for a rash challenge in the 64th minute.
Despite all their good play, LGU didn’t have this game all their own way, and with fifteen minutes to go David Garcia brought down first-time starter Marcel Vanderzyppe. Vanderzyppe was immediately stretchered from the pitch and played no further part in this game; after the game, physios revealed he had torn a hamstring and will be out for eight weeks, ruining his Konami Cup after just an hour and a quarter of play.

Settier’s risky move

With Vanderzyppe injured and an already-weakened bench, Settier was forced to bring William Pierce onto the pitch, despite intentionally resting him from this game to allow him to recuperate. This proved a smart move on Settier‘s part, but had LGU failed to qualify having had their most influential midfielder available but rested, surely Settier would be feeling the heat from the LGU fans.

Back on the pitch, the resulting free kick was some thirty or more yards from goal, and with set piece man Vanderzyppe off the field, LGU were forced to improvise. Delgado tapped the ball across to Lewbrant, who unleashed a wicked curling right-foot shot that totally deceived Kameni in the Espanyol goal, hitting the net inside the top-right corner: another great goal from this rapidly-developing forward, putting him joint second in the competition’s top goalscorer list.

At 3-0 up, LGU were cruising, although four serious goalscoring opportunities within seven minutes proves there was no slacking. Settier has done well to instill a tremendous attitude in his squad, who kept playing right until the final whistle signalled their passage into the elimination stage of the Konami Cup.

It’s been said before, but with a well-rested team on form, LGU could certainly challenge for the top honour in this competition. Finishing second in their group, LGU now come up against Atletico Osasuna in the quarter final stage.

Quarter final: Landgraff United vs. Atletico Osasuna

LGU’s cup campaign was fully back on track today after an impressive 3-0 win against highly-fancied French team Somesterrine.

The enormous noise of the loyal Landgraffites made the LGU Arena a foreboding place for the travelling fans, and within just two minutes the massive stadium was even louder, as fan favourite Binoth Rooijmans capitalised on an early defensive error to curl a shot around the keeper from close range.

Seven minutes later his strike partner Peter Lewbrant had doubled the advantage with another impressive strike. Closed down by two defenders on the edge of the box, Lewbrant still managed to squeeze a shot from outside the box between the two and around the diving keeper.

LGU’s dominance was telling for the next twenty minutes, as they pulled their opponents’ defence around searching for an opening. They nearly scored a spectacular third; Janot in the Somesterrine goal was clearly confused when Steen Rud Risum‘s long-range shot bobbled off the pitch, but his relief was obvious when the ball came back off the base of the post.

Patrick Curtis had little to do but receive the ball from the ballboys following a few unconvincing attacks from the visitors, the most troubling coming in the 34th minute when Hellebuyck struck, but Curtis was equal to it.

Going in at 2-0 up, LGU coach Miguel Trincado Settier must have been on cloud nine, but would have been fuming when Fernando Adinolfi received a yellow card for a reckless tackle from behind on the troublesome Hellebuyck, who had a good chance from the resulting free kick that Curtis was glad to see pass the goal. Adinolfi continued to walk a tightrope for the remainder of the game before being wisely substituted in the 75th minute.

Settier’s shouting from the touchline must have spurred on his players as they built up another attack. Jonsson and Sorensson linked up well before feeding William Pierce on the edge of the box, whose crisp low shot skimmed past three defenders and into the bottom corner of the goal; 3-0 to a dominant Landgraff United.

LGU were satisfied with playing a defensive game for the remainder of the match, confident that their three vital points in this group stage were secure. At the back, Hoogstrate and Sorensson were strong and co-coordinated, and the famous midfield of Prince, Pierce, Delgado and Rud Risum made a magnificent showing with tireless running and playmaking.

Perhaps it could be Landgraff United’s year after all.

Next match: R.C.D. Espanyol vs. Landgraff United