Time to call it a day?

It is true that this blog has been going since October 2005, almost a year. But when I first started it, I was merely experimenting more than anything else. I wanted to try the blogging medium and so I began with this blog.

Hence the reason I have kept it fairly diverse. Focusing not on any particular subject but merely keeping the blog going with enlightening entries on various subject matter. As events happened I responded, such as when Sven was dismissed or the finale of Highbury, ANZAC day or Remembrance Sunday. As such, I see this blog more as a journal and re-titled it to Matthew On... to reflect this.

And then they came to read it. The audience began posting and whoosh, the experiment had took off!

But as mentioned, this blog was only originally set up only for experimental purposes and has since grown into a sizeable archive. There is enough content now here to split this blog with. Alas, doing so would spell the end for this little corner of the blogging community and the beginning of another.

So readers, I ask you, is it time to call it a day with this blog? Or is there a widespread clamor for it to live on?

The Best of this Blog

I have been writing this blog since October 2005 now. Since then, it has built up in content and now has a sizable archive of entries. So to save you a shuffle through the archives; I have decided to link you to what I feel are the best entries contained within this blog. They are:

Remembrance Sunday
An explanation on the causes & build up of World War 1.
The Greatest Video Games ever!
My personal top 10 and a few links to other sites raising the question.
Why Play Video Games?
An entry on the software industry and the growth of emulators.
Simply the Best
An entry on the most successful games console.
Highbury Farewell
A brief farewell to a famous stadium.
World Cup Hosts
A record of World Cup hosts in World cups.
The Trident Submarine
The only bit on politics you will find in an otherwise politically free zone.

These are my particular favourite entries. Some are maybe a little long (like Remembrance Sunday) while others are much shorter. Simply the Best hasn't been seen much so you might want to have a read of it. Anyway, have a good look!

Sunshine and Torquay

Well readers, I haven't updated the blog recently due to being on holiday in Torquay. And of course, the holiday season has been accompanied by the usual Summer sunshine.

To begin with, Torquay was a good place. Well located in Devonshire you can go up to Exeter, down to Paignton and Dartmouth or west towards Dartmoor and Plymouth.

But alas, why would you wish to leave Torquay? Okay, with the exception of Torre Abbey (which is currently closed) it doesn't have much in the way of castles or manor houses. But the Gardens are wonderful, the beach offers a good stretch of sand and on top of that you have an ancient cave, a model village, a museum, leisure complex, boat trips etc etc. Something to cater for most tastes it seems.

And what of the summer sunshine? Global warming they say, or something along those lines. Temperatures are rising!

The Former England Manager

As I'm sure you know, the World Cup is over and Sven is history. Not everybody has been pleased by England's performance in this World Cup, and he has had his critics. But really, just how good or bad an England manager has he been?

Taking into account competitive games, there were only 3 defeats to Brazil, France and N Ireland. The other 6 were friendlies that were never taken too seriously. England qualified for all 3 international tournaments and reached the qtr-finals respectably.

This shows remarkable consistency that has eluded past England mangers such as Robson. And even Ramsey failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup.

But no, we are told that three qtr-finals isn't good enough for such a team of highly talented players. For such a highly paid manager.

Overpaid he may of been, but there are only 3 managers who have ever done any better. Ramsey with his World Cup win, Robson with his World Cup 4th place and Venebles with his Euro 96 semi-final.

With such things put into perspective, irrespective of the fact that England just missed the heights, he must be recognized as one of the better and certainly the most consistent of England managers.

The Man in the Middle

Who is the man in the middle? Why, the referee of course! Indeed, love them or loathe them they are an important part of the game.

Which is why it saddens me that they do not receive much credit. Indeed, if they make mistakes then those are well documented but if they don't -well nothing is heard of it.

Okay, so the World Cup has had some poor refereeing moments. But in the France-Spain game the referee was spot on with both the first two goals. The first WAS a penalty with the Spain player on the ball pushed from behind. The second was also a perfectly valid goal as although one French player was off-side he was not involved with play. But, do we hear much of this good refereeing? No of course we don't.

So, give these guys a break. They do needs some assitance, from players and from other officials also. Technology of some sort would also be useful but alas yet to be embraced.

The Trident Submarine

I don't usually use this blog for political discussion. HOWEVER, exceptions can always be made and a recent BBC article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5103764.stm) on Mr Brown's apparent support for renewing Britain's nuclear deterrent, The Trident class submarine, for the cost of a mere 10-25 billion does not please.

25 billion, think of all the wonderful things you could do with that eh. I mean seriously, health, education, commerce - usually the important stuff - would all benefit handsomely from that sort of investment. But no, 25 billion is deemed better spent on a submarine & nuclear deterrent that existed as a counterbalance to the USSR during the Cold War.

Well, haven't these fellows heard yet? The Cold War is over and the USSR no longer exists! Forget about the ban the bomb jargon, it is all rather outdated rhetoric from a by gone age. Nuclear weapons should have been completely disarmed a while ago.

Incidentally, I am due a visit to a submarine museum soon where I shall see the old World War 2 submarine, the HMS Alliance, in dock. That's where the Trident should be lying in the not too distant future.

(above) Protestors make a good point

The Wii

Too much football on at the moment. Anyway, stumbled across Nintendo's latest console offering in a magazine recently. Curiously titled the Wii.

The Wii, what an interesting name to give to Nintendo's supposedly revolutionary new console. I understand that this is not supposed to be an acronym of some kind or other but just pronounced "We."

So the console is called 'We', or 'The We'. What a name eh? Supposedly, Nintendo were concerned that the increasing complexity of video games meant that they were no longer bringing families together like they used to. So, they go and create a console that will once more provide family entertainment and title it Wii (We) to represent its more inclusive nature.

Still, doesn't seem to be the most trendy name in the world. Why not the NR (Nintendo Revolution)? Or, perhaps the NN (New Nintendo)? Acronyms often make for better reference.

Aside from the name, the console will provide a revolutionary new controller along with the customary enhanced graphics. Zelda and Mario titles will provide the usual games impetus. So, if you've got £100-200 to spare you may want to take a look at 'The We'.

World Cup Hosts

So, the Fifa World Cup is upon us once more. The 2006 World Cup, to be held in Germany, should provide us with a good tournament & a good run from the home team. For, despite the pessimism surrounding the current German team, a brief examination of the performances of previous World Cup hosts illustrates that playing at home usually pays dividends:

Host Nation Performances

2002 Korea - Semi-finalists
1998 France - Winners
1994 USA - 2nd round
1990 Italy - 3rd place - play-off
1986 Mexico - Qtr finalists
1982 Spain - 2nd round
1978 Argentina - Winners
1974 West Germany - Winners
1970 Mexico - Qtr-finalists
1966 England - Winners
1962 Chile - 3rd place - play off
1958 Sweden - Runners up
1954 Switzerland - 2nd round
1950 Brazil - Runners up
1938 France - Qtr - finals
1934 Italy - Winners
1930 Uraguay - Winners

As you can see, the host nation has won the World Cup on six occasions. While of the non-winners, six of them have been best ever performances by that particular nation at a World Cup. Even the 1938 & 94 efforts by France and the USA were their best at the time. Never has the host nation failed to go beyond the first stage of the World Cup.

The only slight exceptions here are Brazil in 1950, Spain in 1982 and Italy in 1990. Brazil have won the World Cup 5 times so finishing second at home was disappointing for them. Italy, also having won the World Cup 3 times were one of the favorites to win Italia 90. While Spain have reached the Qtr-finals on a few occasions so to finish in the second round in Spain wasn't their best performance.

Despite these three exceptions, all the evidence suggests that it most definitely does pay to play at home. Even if this German team isn't the best they have ever had, a run to the semi-finals surely has to be some sort of expectation.

(above) West Germany win 1974 World Cup

The Champions League Final

What a shame, what a terrible terrible shame. Barcelona 2 - Arsenal 1 rang the full time score on an interesting final in Paris.

A night to remember perhaps only for those of Barca origins. But somehow I don't believe the other half will be forgetting things in a hurry either.

For, they started so brightly with some nice passing and movement & then a great early opportunity well saved. On the 17th minute however, the world caved in as Lehman made a terrible mistake by committing a foul outside of his box. A few seconds later and the ball was in the back of the net.

Now, the referee had blown the whistle on play to stop just before. That is why the goal was not given. Was he too hasty? Should he have played the advantage? Most importantly, should the keeper have been sent off?

Well, the answer to the last question might be yes. However, it was hasty to blow and it would have been better to let play continue and give the advantage. A yellow card would not have been entirely inappropriate and the match could have continued with 11 V 11 albeit with Arsenal probably 1-0 down (assuming Barcelona would have scored from the advantage being played).

How much better that would have been for the game. As it was, Arsenal were up against Europe's best team with 10 men for 73 minutes. This ensured an uneven final for the remainder of the time, with Barca having most possession and Arsenal playing on the counter attack.

The second (winning) goal has also been called into question. It was very very marginal - difficult to call. Not a clear off-side but not a clear on-side either.

But they must face it, it was the opportunities they missed which cost them most dear. Not the referee, though certainly he did not help.

Highbury Farewell

Yesterday saw the final match at Highbury (Arsenal's former home ground). An exciting 4-2 win over Wigan that assured Champions League football for them next season.

Might I just briefly use this entry to salute what has been a great venue for English football. Hosting some memorable games, unique atmosphere and a fantastic playing surface. A great stadium.

It will now soon be demolished to make way for new developments. Arsenal football club, meanwhile, will move to the 60,000 capacity New Emirates stadium. Highbury, RIP.

The Champions League

The Champions League final has been confirmed. Barca booked their place into the final with a 1-0 aggregate win over Milan while Arsenal did so in similarly (if not more so) unconvincing fashion against Villarreal (who?).

Thank goodness for their goalkeeper, otherwise it might be quite a different story now. Villarreal, playing in a ground that would not have been out of place in the English first division, looked a rather good team. They kept possession well and showed some good movement. What they didn't show was good finishing as they wasted numerous chances.

Alas, Arsenal make history in becoming the first London club to reach the European Cup final. Really, this is rather suprising given the size of London & the number of clubs it has. But can they go one step better and win it?

Barcelona are having a good season. They are top of their domestic league and could do a league and European Cup double. Not easy opponents by any means and I am in no doubt they will be the favorites to win it.

But, being underdog might suit the London club. They were underdog against Real Madrid and Juventus too. Didn't do much harm there. And when they went into the semi-finals more fancied they struggled.

So good luck to them. They may need it, but hopefully they will produce a better performance than against Villarreal.

ANZAC Day

This is a little late, as ANZAC day was yesterday. However, better late than never as they say.

If you don't know, ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and is held to remember the efforts of these soldiers during World War 1. And in particular, the Gallipoli campaign.

The Gallipoli campaign proved to be a most unsuccessful military offensive which resulted in many casualties for ANZAC troops (est 10-000 dead). It is a poignant day of remembrance for the lives lost here rather than a celebration or glorification of war.

So, lest we forget the efforts of the ANZAC troops to both your respective countries and the British Empire.

Mario 64 again...

Haven't been able to up-date the blog recently. In the meantime, I stumbled across this rather impressive little video of a fellow completing Mario 64 in 16 minutes. See for yourself at:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6493722340610946105&q=mario+time

He does admittedly cheat a little (by making use of glitches) but all those moves he pulls off without error is still very impressive.

Mario 64

Readers may recall an entry I made on the greatest video games ever made. There, Mario 64 made more appearances in the compiled lists than any other. With a Nintendo 64 emulator installed on the PC, I felt it a great opportunity to sample it and see for myself.

Firstly, the emulation was accurate. Save for a few pop-ups, it was just like Mario 64 running on the N64 (The screenshot below is taken from the PC emulation). Although, the playability was admittedly slightly effected from using the keyboard controls as opposed to the analogue stick it was designed for.

It's now 10 years since the game was first released. And while the graphics must have certainly been revolutionary at the time, they aren't that special by modern standards. Though, the 3D environments still look quite good.

But alas, even using the keyboard controls this game was great fun to play. Exploration through the 15 3D worlds, combining so well with the game controls as to make it very playable. And no doubt even better with the analogue stick it was designed for.

What I also liked was the greater freedom it gave to players. No need to play through the entirety of one course in order to progress to another. Instead players could jump in to one course, grab a few stars and then jump into another and collect a few more there. Moving backwards and forwards through the courses in order to progress through the game.

The game offers a reasonable challenge. Although, collecting the 70 stars necessary in order to defeat Bowser wasn't that hard as you can play through and focus on collecting the more simple stars to reach. But certainly, finding all 120 stars and game secrets presents a real challenge that will take you a while to achieve.

So, is this the greatest video game? There is no doubting the quality of the title. When it was released, it started the 3D platformer and set the standard which to this day hasn't been eclipsed. It was the first of its kind, and that sort of innovation is what makes the classic games.

Scorched 3D

Well, for readers of this blog I have a little treat. I stumbled across this revamp of an old, but classic, DOS game (DOS version screenshot immediately below) available for download: Scorched 3D.

It involves war-games between units, the firing of a large array of arsenal until one of the units loses all its energy and is thus destroyed. The game has been completely revamped with a new 3D graphics engine but retains its basic play and concept. It also has multi-play and on-line play, which is great fun.

You can download the full game from CNET at:

http://www.download.com/3000-7486-10432065.html

Have fun!

A New Focus

It has been said, by one of the posters here, that this blog needs more focus. And perhaps that analysis is not entirely faulty.

The blog's title is, originally enough, my blog. Now, while that seemed okay to start with I feel it now needs a change. It will be changed to: Matthew on...

Matthew on The Gameboy, Matthew on The Best of the Web, Matthew on The Champions League, Matthew on etc etc. Is that not enough focus for this blog?

Simply the Best

You may recall I wrote an entry, not too long ago, regarding the most notable console flops in game industry history. All failures for various reasons, but what is the most successful games console ever released?

Take a wild guess. The NES perhaps? The Playstation maybe? How about the Atari 2600? These were all successful consoles. But none are THE most successful console ever released.

No, if you must know the answer, that accolade goes to the humble Gameboy. Yes, that's right, the Gameboy is the most successful video games console ever made having shifted an estimated 120 million units world-wide and still going to this day.

You may be surprised by this. For the Gameboy, technically, is one of the least advanced consoles there is. It has only a very limited colour pallet, restricts players to a very small screen and boasts sound that can just about manage reasonable audio.

So, why so successful then? Well it's small, cheap, durable and has a large widely recognized library of games. Most notably Tetris, which is believed to be the greatest video game ever released by some enthusiasts.

As a portable, it held a special appeal. A simple sit down and play anywhere, no need for cables or TV's. This enduring appeal has extended the Gameboy's life longer than any other console. All consoles have a limited life-span, so they say. But the Gameboy seems to defy this rule.

Of course, it had other portable rivals. Like the technically superior Atari Lynx and Sega GameGear. Both of which offered 'colour' displays. However these were a little larger, more bulky, more expensive, more demanding on batteries, a little slower, and lacked the Gameboy's extensive library of games. They came, tried for a short period, but then died away. Unable to make up for their short-comings.

The Gameboy, for all its lack, has dominated its domain like no other console. It is a classic example of the old cliche, "gameplay, not graphics." If ever proof were needed of the validity of that claim, the Gameboy is it.

Technically advanced consoles, aren't always successful. Often, the high price that they demand is off putting. Like, for example, the Neo-Geo when it was released. And, technical superiority counts for nothing if they don't have the quality games that make good use of their capabilities.

The N64 might have had better hardware than the Playstation, but it finished a distant second. The golden rules of value and choice belonged to the Playstation, even if it was slightly technically inferior. In much the same way as the Gameboy.

No doubt, Sony had taken more note of the reasons for the Gameboy's success than its creators, Nintendo. So let's hear it for the Gameboy, the most successful games console ever made - and one which proves that technology isn't everything.

Best of the Web

I have been using the web for about 7-8 years. Always, you are on the look out for good sites. But, which are the best?

The Web is huge. Predominantly, it is made up of unofficial personal websites created by enthusiasts using some sort of web publishing software. These websites can be good (some are), but due to the fact that amateurs are largely behind them are often poorly designed, under-construction and containing outdated content.

So, the majority of the web-sites on the Internet are crap then? Well you have to say, yes! There is a whole load of uploaded crap that is sitting on the internet in a jumbled mess. Eventually, it gets deleted or removed.

Mostly, money for clicks has seen the Internet degenerate into a "Click this link" frenzy. Adverts can be seen on almost every page.

So, getting aside that. What are the best sites on the Internet?

Website awards exist to recognise outstanding websites. However, these are largely for the ameteur domain and are numerous to say the least.

So, the answer lies with those sites that have a permanent presence on the Internet and a huge number of users. These are the official sites, the sites created by large organizations with a large number of resources thrown at them, designed and maintained by professional web-designers. A typical example would be Yahoo.

Yahoo, undoubtedly is one of the biggest on the Internet. Few can match it for depth of content. My feelings are however, that it falls a little short on the design front.

What else? How about CNN? Content personified with multimedia to boot. Great, but let us face it, it is largely a news site.

CNET has been sited as one of the best. It is one of the best sites for downloads certainly. Also it is up to speed with the latest technology. But what else?

E-bay has proven very successful. On-line auctioning at its best. It has attracted a large number of users. Excellence perhaps, but only serves auctioneers.

No, the best web site on the Internet surely has to be one that would have something on it for everybody. Is there such a site? Well yes there is/are.

ISPs try and do it with their web-portals. However for me, nothing beats the BBC site. This site has the depth of content to rival Yahoo and co, but also presented making use of the Internet's more advanced multimedia features. I believe it is the best web-site on the Internet. See for yourself if you don't believe me:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

I challenge you to find a better site.

Champions League Round-up

Well, time for some thought and reflection on the now completed 2nd round. And I have to say that I was right! My cynicism surrounding the first-leg results entirely justified as Chelsea, Liverpool and Rangers were all eliminated from the competition.

Firstly, the defending champions Liverpool. The 1-0 away defeat proved immaterial as they also lost 2-0 at Anfield. 3-0 and the end of their Euro glory.

Rangers had a costly 2-2 draw at Ibrox. They secured a respectable 1-1 draw in Spain but this was not enough to overcome the 2 away goals conceded.

Finally, Chelsea. Though they did well to draw 1-1 at the Nou Camp they needed a second goal to level the tie. 3-2 to Barcelona.

All of which leaves Arsenal. Real Madrid proved they weren't an entirely spent force and gave Arsenal a good game. However, they were able to hold out and secure a 0-0 draw which was enough to see them through to the qtr-finals 1-0 on aggregate.

I must admit, I am pessimistic as to their chances of winning the Champions League. However, should they avoid Barcelona or AC-Milan, I would fancy them to make it through to the semi-finals against any of the other remaining teams.

Console Flops

If you ever thought the video games industry was a force for good, providing quality entertainment to the masses, you may want to think again. Sure, we all know about the NES, Super NES, Gameboy, Playstation, N64 and Playstation 2. But, did you know that there is perhaps a much longer line of crummy consoles that never quite made the grade? You may have never heard of them, so I present to you the biggest console flops ever:

Virtual Boy (Nintendo)

This was intended to fill the gap between the Super Nes and delayed N64. It was a rather unique console in that it came with a headset you put your eyes in, and presented games in 3d. However, the 3d environments were limited to red and black colours only. See below.

Nintendo tried with this one, bringing out a number of titles and market campaigns. However, the console never took off and held little appeal.

To make matters worse, the few who were foolish enough to buy it complained about eyestrain. Nintendo eventually gave up and focused on SNES games until the N64 was released.

Verdict: Nintendo at their worst.

Jaguar (Atari)

Ah, this was supposed to mark the comeback of Atari as a major force within the games industry. The console boasted that it was a 64 bit machine, however this was later open to question as most of the titles looked fairly cruddy graphically.

The console did manage a few good titles such as Tempest 2000 and Alien V Predator. But these were few and far between with the majority proving naff and un-playable. With the release of the Playstation and Saturn Atari eventually pulled the plug on it in 1996.

Verdict: Atari RIP.

Atari 5200 (Atari)

Another Atari console, released in 1981. This was the successor to the highly successful Atari 2600, but was to be the prelude to the games market crash.

It proved to be badly designed with a very poor joystick. The console also suffered from software incompatibility with the Atari 2600. The biggest problem however was competing with Colecovision's (main console rival) head start.

The crash in the industry in 1983 killed this one off, along with the Colecovision. It would take a mustached plumber to repair the damage.

Verdict: Beginning of the end for Atari.

Amstrad GX400 (Amstrad)

This console was released in 1990 and was Amstrad's short-lived attempt to enter the market. It proved to be a commercial flop and one of the least successful consoles ever made.

Why was this? Well, largely due to the fact that the console was based on 8-bit technology and was almost immediately superseded by the 16-bit Megadrive and later Super Nes. There was little available software with titles being released months late or cancelled entirely.

In all, 40 games were released for the console. It was only manufactured for a matter of months before it was discontinued.

Verdict: It was voted 'Worst system of the month' by readers of a popular UK magazine. Maybe it was even more than that...

Amiga CD32 (Commodore)

This was a 32bit CD Rom based console. It did have a few notable titles but unfortunately the console is widely regarded as unsuccessful ( a flop).

One reason for this is the lack of original software that was brought out on the console. Most games were simply re-runs of the old A1200 titles.

What became of Commodore after this ill-fated console? They filed for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) just a year after its release.

Verdict: Commodore, where are you?

Apple Pippin (Apple)

Ever heard of this one? It was touted as a cheap computer, in reality it was commonly identified as an expensive games console. It was licensed to third-parties and the only third party one released, the Bandai Pippen, entered a market already dominated by N64, Playstation and Saturn.

Ultimately it was a late entry into the 3d generation of consoles and was underpowered both as a games console and personal computer. Bandai's version only had a relatively limited release in the US and Japan and died quickly. Below is an image of the Apple Pippen.

Verdict: Erm, ever heard of this console?

Well, have you read enough? Or do you need more convincing? There are other less notable flops than these such as the Dreamcast, Neo-geo, 3DO etc. However, I really haven't the time to write about them all. Just remember these consoles when playing your Playstation or whatever. They are the worst 'consoles' you are ever likely to see.