Deals, News - by Fuller - March 9, 2010 - 22:22 UTC - 1 Comment
As it’s House party month, Microsoft have decided to go all out! First up is Scrap Metal which debuts tomorrow, for 1200MSP. Next week? Perfect Dark, a bargain at 800MSP. Finally Game Room launches for free the week after, with games costing various prices. Games on Demand will see Condemned: Criminal Origins added to it’s lineup. Of course Microsoft hasn’t forgot the deals of the week, with the original Fable being reduced to 800MSP from March 15th, and all of the Fallout 3 DLC being reduced to 400MSP each, the week after. For the full press release, which also includes Avatar items, hit the jump!
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News - by Fuller - March 9, 2010 - 22:11 UTC - Be first to Comment!
Microsoft have announced that Windows Mobile 7, will get almost full Live support. What does that mean? Well you’ll be able to access your friends list, your Avatar (Albeit, a 2D version of it), and as well as those pretty boring features, it has been confirmed that games for Mobile 7, will support achievements! Is this Microsofts first steps into the handheld gaming market? Having achievements is going to appeal to a lot of ‘cheevo whores out there, this certainly trumps Apple, in terms of cross platform connectivity.
Media, News - by Dom - March 7, 2010 - 20:44 UTC - Be first to Comment!
Right now, I’m finding it quite hard to breathe as I’m head over heels in excitement ! Valve have officially announced and confirmed that Portal 2 is on it’s way into our life, and have done so through the always awesome Gameinformer magazine. Good F*cking Times! The title has a retail release date for the October 26th 2010. Check out the scans below.
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News - by Dom - March 6, 2010 - 13:15 UTC - Be first to Comment!
Due to user feedback, Microsoft have announced it has made changes to the Terms of Use and Code of Conduct to Xbox LIVE.
“Since the beginning, Microsoft has made an investment in the security and safety of Xbox LIVE and created tools and monitoring practices to ensure it is a fun and welcoming entertainment experience for people of all races, nationalities, religions and sexual orientations,” said Xbox LIVE GM Marc Whitten.
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Features, News, Previews - by Jason - March 5, 2010 - 22:32 UTC - Be first to Comment!
Australian reviewer turned Diva, Jason gets his demands met and goes to play Metro 2033 again.
So, I mentioned in my previous preview from a couple of weeks ago that the game was looking pretty damned good. Being the VIP like I am (let’s face it, I’m awesome) I was allowed access to play the game for four hours over at Microsoft HQ. As I rocket my way to stardom (I’m joking, my ego isn’t that large, but it works for the humour, dammit), I made a list of demands. I demanded pickup via stretch hummer, Russian beer to get me in the mood, and a smattering of scones and egg pie (quiche for men); all of which, surprisingly, were met. Well played, THQ, well played.
Now, I’ll say this first. The atmosphere is still amazing, and I can’t say that enough. There were times I quite literally looked around due to thinking someone or something was behind me, only to find that the sound in the game had tricked me to do so, or the atmosphere had sucked me in to such a stage where that was possible.
The addition of the native language for the game, Russian, as a spoken language is a guilty pleasure for me. Assassin’s Creed 2has taught that games are really meant to be played in their original language with english subtitles, much like anime. The only problem I had with the subtitles is their consistency. Sometimes what characters were saying in the background didn’t come up in the subtitles, which isn’t a game breaker, but it’s certainly not ideal.
The game is fairly linear, unlike a game it will be compared to, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Is this a bad thing? No, not at all, it’s a semi-classic first person shooter with psychological elements. Trudging all over the map was a pain in S.T.A.L.K.E.R, so I’m glad it was swapped for the more linear approach; this gives the players a lot more chance to be immersed in the atmosphere and really enjoy the game for exactly what it is.
There’s a good amount of weapons in the game, giving people plenty of ways to kill baddies, whether it be man or beast. If you want to be all stealthy and use throwing knives in people’s faces? That’s cool (it is). If you want to ‘duplet’ your enemies in the face with your shotgun? Go nuts, LT and RT are assigned to each barrel, double down for double fun! My personal favourite was ‘the bastard’, an SMG with one hell of a kick. But hey, you can see its clip, so that’s cool, right? All of these weapons have their own upgrades, purchased with ‘pre-apocalypse’ bullets (military grade rounds).
There’s a few issues with hit detection on enemies, but I was playing on Hardcore, so these may not happen in the standard difficulties. Also, when you see a weapon on the ground and go to pick it up (which is quite uncommon in itself), there’s no description of whether the weapon is better or worse, or what upgrades it has on it, so you may spend some time guessing or really analysing the visual cues. Ammo is also hard to come by, I understand that it’s post apocalyptic, and the use of bullets as currency is an awesome addition, but you will spend a lot of time with your knife. Which is awkward, because it has zero stealth capability and doesn’t feel like it could cut paper. In fact, I’m more likely to cut the enemies with paper than I am the knife you’re given.
When on the surface, you’ll need a air mask and filters. Whilst some people have complained of motion sickness due to the blurring on the mask, I did not suffer it myself, but it is worthy of a mention. What I must ask though, what’s the purpose of being able to change your air filter early? I mean, it may save you a few seconds in battle, but usually if you don’t know a battle is coming up before you’re already in it. If you get hit a lot in combat when you have your mask on, it will slowly crack and break, leaving you gasping for air, about fifteen or twenty seconds away from death unless you find a new one.
I do offer some advice for the game. In chapter 2 when offered the chance to ‘follow’ and ‘enjoy’ a hooker? Don’t do it man. Don’t do it. I did, and well, the outcome wasn’t good. That’s my advice to all of you, and I hope you take it.
Now, despite my nit-pickings about the game, I’m still massively pumped for the game, and when it comes out on March 18th, I’ll damned well be playing it, because this is still shaping up to be a great title.
News - by Dom - March 4, 2010 - 18:29 UTC - Be first to Comment!
Aliens Vs Predator has becomes SEGA’s fastest-selling title in the publisher’s history. So this Rebellion FPS became the fastest-selling title of 2010, with better opening week figures set by Mass Effect 2 and BioShock 2.
“We are absolutely delighted with the strong first week sales of Aliens vs Predator,” said SEGA UK managing director John Clark.
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News - by Dom - March 4, 2010 - 18:12 UTC - Be first to Comment!
Shockingly, Take-Two have just revealed that their underwater FPS franchise, BioShock, has only reached sales of seven million units in total.
BioShock 2 has shipped over three million units since it’s release on the 9th February 2010.
News - by Dom - March 4, 2010 - 17:53 UTC - Be first to Comment!
Ben Feder, Take-Two’s CEO has said that more DLC (downloadable content) is on the way for the hit FPS/RPG title Borderlands. Good Times.
“Borderlands continues to build on its success in the market,” Feder said during Take-Two’s quarterly financial earnings call.
“We will continue to support the title with more add-on content,” he added.
News - by Jason - March 3, 2010 - 22:31 UTC - Be first to Comment!
Sad news today, it actually breaks my heart a little. It appears that Red Dead Redemption has been delayed just over a fortnight. Most recently scheduled for a ’solid’ an April 30th release date in EU regions, it has now been delayed until May 21st in EU regions. At current, we have been unable to confirm with Rockstar PR exactly what has transpired to cause the delay, but we’ll keep you posted with news as it comes in.
