Category: Video Games

I previously interviewed Mohammed Taher, the Kuwaiti creative director and founder of the Brave Wave record label. Since then he’s been busy helping in the releases of various projects like Keiji Yamagishi’s (Ninja Gaiden’s composer) first solo album, Shovel Knight’s soundtrack and an album by duo composers Saori Kobayashi (Panzer Dragoon) and Yumiko Takahashi (Suikoden) under the name of AKANE.

It doesn’t seem like he or Brave Wave take any breaks because they recently started a new label called the Generation Series. Under the Generation Series name they’ll be releasing definitive, remastered soundtracks of classic games. The first game they’re working on is Street Fighter II. The Verge recently interviewed him and sound engineer Marco Guardia about the challenges they faced working on such a huge project.

The project is interesting for various reasons. First of all, convenience. Video game soundtracks are hard to come by and when you do find them they usually cost more than they should because of rarity. The reason I personally think the Generation Series is interesting is the idea of preservation. Other forms of media (like film) have people restoring and preserving them. Preservation is a new concept when it comes to gaming, especially video game music, so I really appreciate Brave Wave taking the initiative.

It’s great to see Kuwait being represented by someone like Mohammed Taher, so be sure to visit Brave Wave’s releases page to support them.

Markaz Al-Kuwait has started selling the collectors edition of Halo 5: Guardians seven days before the world wide release date and for KD150. Amazon in comparison is selling the collectors edition for $250 which is around KD75, so it’s obviously a lot more expensive here.

No word on if the regular version of Halo 5 is out yet, chances are shops will try to sell as many as these collector editions before making the regular, more affordable version available!

UPDATE: As Yousef points out in the comments, the Collectors Edition doesn’t even include a CD of the game, but a code to download it. So even if you buy this version of the game you won’t be able to play it until the release date.

The Star Wars Battlefront Beta just got released a few hours ago and both me and my brother started downloading it on our PS4’s at the same time. I have a 10Mbps WiMD connection in Salmiya while he has a Zain 4G LTE internet connection in Salwa. We started downloading around 9:30PM. By 11:30PM I had more than 5 hours left to complete the download while my brother with his Zain connection had 51 minutes left.

This isn’t a very scientific test obviously but it’s an interesting comparison nevertheless. With Zain’s new 1TB for KD20 a month deal, it might not be a bad choice at all.

For the gamers here, Metal Gear Solid V is out in Kuwait ahead of the official launch date by 5 days. I picked up my NTSC copy from Kuwait Toys Center in Rihab Complex a few moments ago for KD20. Thats the cheapest price I’m aware of for the PS4 NTSC version as of this post in Kuwait. I think the shop is going to be open all day because of the rush for this game. When I was there at around 2:45PM there were three other people in the shop with me all there to get the same game. Not sure how many more copies he has but if you want one you could call them up and have them set aside one for you. [Link]

Reyoog is a locally created breakfast game for the iPhone where the aim is to try and fulfill as many breakfast orders as you can in 3 minutes. The game is in Arabic without an option for English since the dialect is all in Kuwaiti. The game isn’t free, it costs 99 cents which might or might not be worth it for you. If you’re interested in downloading the game just look for “Reyoog” in the app store or click this [Link]

Although visually not pleasing, the idea behind the Badilha app is a great one. Badilha is an app that allows you to buy and sell used video games in Kuwait. Currently your best option is usually heading to Rihab Complex when you want to do that or using my blogs classified section. But, having an app revolving around this idea is much more convenient. If you’re interested, the app is available for both [iOS] and [Android]

I found a cool vintage gaming store hidden in one of the many alleyways in Rihab Complex. There were a couple of other stores selling vintage consoles and games but this one had the largest collection by far.

The store had a ton of stuff including the NES, SNES, N64, MSX (Sakhr), Dreamcasts, 3DO’s, Gameboys, Ataris, Master Drive, Saturns, Game Gears, and a whole lot more. The store also had old games and accessories to go along with the consoles.

It’s difficult to explain how to find the shop but I’ll try my best to at least point you in the direction. If you take the escalator to the top floor of Rihab Complex, the store would be in one of the dark alleyways in front of you. It’s shop #4 and their phone number is 22626811.

Tribal Rivals is a new game by Lumba, a partly Kuwaiti owned studio based out of San Francisco. I posted about their previous game called Desert Tycoon back in 2012 and their new game is less of a sim and more of a Command and Conquer style combat strategy game.

Tribal Rivals is set in early 20th century Arabia and is an epic story of revenge, leadership, and perseverance. The aim of the game is to lead your village, train your troops, start or join a tribe and wage battles against enemies and other players.

Like Desert Tycoon the illustrations are gorgeous and the game is free to download for both the iPhone and iPad. Get it [Here]

Since I’m planning to stay in Kuwait during Eid I figured I’d pick up a new video game console. I’m probably getting a Nintendo Wii U and an Xbox One although I haven’t really finalized my decision yet. But, I have been doing some research and I’ve put together a list below of the different console prices around Kuwait as of today:

Nintendo Wii U Mario Kart Bundle
Xcite: KD135
Blink: Not Available (KD119 Zelda Bundle)
Digumz: Not Available (KD112.9 Zelda Bundle)
Digumz Store: KD135
Rihab Complex: KD130
Mr Babu: Not Available (KD99.9 Zelda Bundle)
GamesQ8: KD135

Sony Playstation 4
Xcite: KD149.9 (KD142.9 with inFamous Second Son)
Blink: KD124
Digumz: KD124.9
Digumz Store: KD135
Rihab Complex: KD118
Mr Babu: KD119.9
GamesQ8: KD125

Xbox One 500 GB + Kinect
Xcite: KD209 (KD148 Without Kinect)
Blink: Not Available (KD137 Without Kinect)
Digumz: KD152.9 (KD134.9 Without Kinect)
Digumz Store: KD155
Rihab Complex: KD150 (KD135 Without Kinect)
Mr Babu: KD155
GamesQ8: KD155 (KD135 Without Kinect)

Update: Added the prices from the GamesQ8 online store.

To coincide with the World Cup, KDD have released a football game on iPhone and Android phones called KDD Penalty. I downloaded the game and tried it out and honestly, I found it buggy and boring. I have no idea why they would release this game, there isn’t anything in it even to connect it to the brand other than the KDD logo plastered here and there. If you want to download it click [Here]

Blink are going to have a “crazy deal” on the new Sony PS4 this week where they’re going to offer up the 500GB US version of the PS4 for just KD99. Not sure how much quantity they will make available They’re going to make only 5 to 10 units available and you’re going to have to check their website on Monday or Wednesday at 10AM or 6PM to catch the deal. Check out their website for more information [Here]

via 248AM Gaming

A friend of mine told me about this game last night and I can’t stop playing it. Side Wheel Hero is an indie game developed by an Emirati developer named Ammar Harfoush. The game is inspired by the popular pastime in the Gulf which consists of balancing an SUV on two wheels and in this game you also try to pick up coins while trying to avoid other cars.

The game is pretty fun and the location, cars and even the music are all very authentic to the real videos you’d find on YouTube. My only issue is with the ad banner. Because the game is free to download it’s ad supported which is fine except for the fact the ad is just randomly placed on the top left part of the screen as you can see in the screenshot above. It’s pretty distracting and I wish there was an option to pay to get rid of the banner.

It’s a simple fun game based on a regional phenomenon which is why I love it so much. If you’re interested in Side Wheel Hero it’s available on all mobile platforms and you can download it using the links below:

Apple iOS | Android | Blackberry 10 | Windows Phone 8

Mohammed Taher is a Kuwaiti music director, producer, writer and the guy behind the music label Brave Wave. I posted about him last year after the popular gaming blog Joystiq posted about his then upcoming album, World 1-2 which featured 21 video game composers. Recently though he was invited to give a talk at Bit Summit, an indie game festival held annually in Kyoto, Japan. My brother managed to score an interview with him and just posted a feature story on him in the gaming section [Here]

Minecraft is an insanely addictive video game and one I stopped playing some time back since whenever I played it I wouldn’t be get any work done. A local school teacher on the other hand has been using Minecraft as an educational tool in his classrooms. Intel recently conducted an interview with Eric Walker, a teacher at the American International School of Kuwait on how he uses Minecraft to teach his students. You can check out the article on the Intel Free Press website [Here]

2013 was a pretty good year for gaming consoles since there was a pretty large variety of AAA and indie games to enjoy. I’m generally not very picky when it comes to video games and I enjoy a wide range of genre’s but when one genre is over-saturated (like first person shooters), I tend to choose something that tries to offer something unique. My time was evenly spent between four consoles, the Wii U, the PS3, the 360 and the 3DS and picking my favorite game was not as challenging as I originally thought it would be. But, two games in particular stood out from the whole range of games that got released this year and both these games deserve more awards than any of the other games.

1 – The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

What’s not to love about this game? It’s Challenging, beautiful to look at and features a captivating world filled with secrets and dungeons.

2 – The Last of Us

A brutal, intense and emotional roller coaster. There really hasn’t been a game (in a long time, or really just ever) that has affected some of us like The Last of Us has. I used to just play it two or three times a week because I knew there was always something bad around the corner. You would find and pick up a journal entry or a note you to either read a great story of survival or a really sad story about death or loss. The amount of detail that went into the environments to support these stories were also impressive. This is one game I loved, but would probably never play it a second time.

3 – Super Mario 3D World

When the E3 trailer was revealed, most of us had written this off as a quick-cash in before Nintendo released the true successor to the Galaxy franchise, but since its release its been getting rave reviews. 3D World includes some of the most unique and entertaining level designs while pushing the series forward making it one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences of the year.