Game Industry
- Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City heading to the PC and PS3-
The much anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City for the PC and for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system is coming this spring – on March 30, 2010. For the first time, PlayStation 3 and PC players will have the opportunity to experience the last two thrilling chapters of the Grand Theft Auto IV saga together on one disc.
The two action packed episodes, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, will also be available for download via PlayStation®Network and Games for Windows®-LIVE on March 30, 2010.
In The Ballad of Gay Tony, players explore Liberty City’s high-end nightlife as Luis Lopez, struggling to balance the temptations of money and vice against loyalties to family and friends. The Lost and Damned is a dark trip through Liberty City’s seedy underbelly as outlaw biker, Johnny Klebitz, fights to keep his gang together as a rift in the gang’s leadership threatens to tear the brotherhood apart. Both episodes feature a slew of new vehicles and weapons, and each episode adds new activities including cage fighting, gang wars and BASE jumping.
Well I guess the saying patience is a virtue is true in this instance, but I wonder whether PS3 and PC owners even care. It’s like someone giving you there old toy once they’ve had their fun with it, but then again who can resist more Grand Theft Auto. Who knows when the sequel to GTA IV will be released, if you ask me Episodes from Liberty City was a long time coming to PS3 and PC owners. Not one developer or publisher out there can afford to make their games platform exclusive in this day and age, simply because no one is recession proof. - White Knight Chronicles Preview (PS3) - Part One-
White Knight Chronicles is the latest game from developers Level 5 and it’s the company’s first project for the PS3. Despite the PlayStation 3 being just under three years old, WKC will be the first major RPG developed for the console. But it couldn’t come from a better company, since Level 5 have a deserving reputation for producing amazing games. Part one will look at the gameplay aspects of WKC.
- White Knight Chronicles Preview (PS3) - Part Two-
In part one, we looked at the gameplay. This time I’ll be looking at features that will should help White Knight Chronicles stand out, which is a fair bit since Europe and North America will be reciving the international edition of WKC. That means were in for some nice extra treats that shows you how much Level-5 appreciates JRPG fans in the west.
The nifty extras we shall be receiving are over 50 disc-based online quests which can be done on your own or with friends, voice chat so you can praise and insult your team members, and live talking where conversations will take place during your travels (just like those in Dragon Age, which means this will either be entertaining or annoying).
But the most exciting feature is the inclusion of the Georama. Fans of the Dark Cloud series will tell you this is one of the best aspects of the games and it’s so cool to see it come into WKC. This time, Instead of building a village to satisfy the non-player characters, you do so because a) you can show off to your friends and b) more importantly you can go on quests can get some unique equipment.
- Call of Duty 7 Rumours-
As we only begin to catch our breaths after engaging in some mind blowing modern warfare, Treyarch are already hard at work preparing for the next Call of Duty release to follow the immense experience that was Modern Warfare 2. Although many will be disappointed by the absence of Infinity Ward in favour of CoD 3 and CoD: WaW developer, Treyarch, it is impossible not to get excited by the prospect of another Call of Duty game on the way, especially seeing as rumours suggest that we are saying goodbye to both World War II and the near future, and are saying hello to a new setting and war entirely.
- The Winners of the Game Hub Games of the Year Awards 2009-
All your votes are in and counted. So who were the winners of the Game Hub Games of the Year Awards 2009? There are a few surprises amongst the obvious ones. Fortunately for all the nominees, nobody got zero votes (somebody got one though). So here are the Top 3 for each of the 13 categories: - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360 and PC)-
Splinter Cell has become one of biggest and most successful of the more recent franchises. Since the debut title in 2002 there have been 5 games so far and so when the guys at Ubisoft release a new one, it's worth a look to see what it's about and what we can expect. With a back catalogue of quality Splinter Cell games, we're all waiting excitedly, and, to be honest, we're all waiting with quite high expectations as well. The 6th Splinter Cell game, Convictions, is due for release on 26th Feb for PC and Xbox 360.
Splinter Cell Conviction will feature a story that's more about Sam Fisher, his history and his character. While investigating his daughter's death he discovers he's been betrayed by his former employer, the agency Third Echelon. Off the grid and gone renegade you will be in a race against time to put down a terrorist plot and find justice and answers about your daughter.
Game play wise, there's a bunch of things to be getting excited about as Ubisoft turn on the action to accompany what sounds like a gripping thriller of a story. - The Dark Knight Returns for a Sequel-
It has been announced that Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will be the worldwide publisher of the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum™, one of the year’s most highly reviewed and top-selling video game. The sequel is currently in development with Rocksteady Studios and is based on DC Comics’ core Batman property.
At this years Spike video game awards a teaser trailer of Arkham Asylums sequel debuted. Taking everyone by surprise, it was only 4 months ago that the first installment was released.
Rocksteady Studios seem to be wasting no time in announcing a sequel; they must be at a comfortable stage in development to shock the whole world with a teaser trailer.
Let’s just hope they don’t anxiously rush for a late 2010 release, as there’s a lot of recycled animations and models from the first game seen in the teaser trailer.
With the Joker and Two Face pretty much confirmed, the rest of the puzzle is yet to be revealed. Will the sequel be a sandbox Gotham city or will the city be in quarantine and consecutively explored? The fate of the franchise is in Rocksteady Studio’s hands, there are so many angles of the Batman universe yet to be explored.
There’s a lot of pressure on the developers heads right now after creating what is being called the best comic book video game ever. Just like many other Batman fans I can’t wait to see the result of this sequel.
“We are thrilled to build a global game franchise from Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is receiving an incredible response from gamers and fans of Batman around the world,” said Martin Tremblay President and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Rocksteady has taken Batman to a new level in the video game space and we are committed to delivering a sequel the fans will love.”
- Red Dead Redemption Gameplay Revealed-
Just as Christmas approaches, Rockstar has gifted everyone with the unveiling gameplay trailer, of the highly anticipated Red Dead Redemption. For those of you who haven’t been following, a brief summary of the plot is as follows.
John Marston troubled by his past is forced to kill or capture Bill Williams, for his family is in danger. Williams was a former associate of Marston, in his criminal days when he led a gang.
Think of Red Dead Redemption as a Grand Theft Auto formula western. With just 4 months left until release, I can’t wait to see what further gameplay mechanics Rockstar has install for us.
If the trailers haven’t already wet your appetite for Red Dead Redemption, this latest gameplay trailer is sure to justify your decision. This is definitely shaping up to be a promising April release, be sure to watch this space as we progressively draw closer to release date. - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Video Trailer with Preview and FAQ-
Prince of Persia : The Forgotten Sands will be on the shelves in May 2010 and Ubisoft are setting the launch gears in motion with a teaser trailer above and some of the first concrete details about the game.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is the next chapter in the Sands of Time universe. Visiting his brother’s kingdom following his adventure in Azad, the Prince finds the royal palace under siege from an army bent on its destruction. When the decision is made to use the ancient power of the Sand in a desperate gamble to save the kingdom from total annihilation, the Prince will embark on an epic adventure in which he will learn to bear the mantle of true leadership, and discover that great power often comes with a great cost. Game features will include:
- Testing the PS3 VideoStore on PSN-
Ok, so the new PS3 Video Delivery Service has been online in the First up I tested an SD version of Escape from LA (101 mins) starring Kurt Russell. The file size was 1570MB and my ‘20 Mbps’ broadband was running at its typically poor Friday night rate of around 10 Mbps. Wanting to test how good the film would play while it was downloading, I gave it a few minutes head-start, during which time it got up to 5%.
Fantastically, I managed to watch the whole film without it stopping once, the download itself finished with half an hour to go before the film finished. You can monitor the grey line (like a buffering bar on YouTube) ahead of the playtime when you press Select to see if the film is going to catch up the current download progress. The quality of the visuals and sound was surprisingly high considered it wasn’t the HD version and was more than a match for the PS3’s excellent DVD upscaling.
- PSN Video Delivery Store Launches in the UK: An In-depth Look-
Well, it took more than a while but UK PS3 owners can now rent and buy films over the PlayStation Store by downloading them straight to their hard-drives.The new part of the store launched at a Soho London party this week with a live performance from Little Boots and a set from radio 1 DJ Annie Mac in what essentially felt like a massive house party complete with crazy decorations similar to the zany indoor locations seen between programmes on Dave. The free bar went some way to keep everyone in the party mood too. In addition to the DJ rooms there’re several smaller ones with a few demo screens displaying the new store facilities, and taster screens of The Watchmen and Wolverine. Free booze aside, we at Game Hub were on hand to grab all the important facts for the launch of this long awaited service. So here’s our run-down and early impressions.
- Crackdown 2 Early Screenshots And Artwork- The latest screenshots for Crackdown 2 have been released, showing off some of what we can expect from the next instalment of this sandbox epic, pencilled in for release on, or around, the 25th June 2010.The sequel is being developed as the debut title of a new Scottish game development studio Ruffian Games (and published by Microsoft) and is set 10 years after the first game. You will play as another genetically-modified agent sent out onto the streets of Pacific City, the once-bustling metropolis has been ravaged by infection and the ongoing struggle for power over the city’s inhabitants. The player returns to fight off hordes of Freaks following their accidental release into the populace and regain control of the City from the hands of The Cell - a powerful terrorist organisation fighting to overthrow the Agency.As we would expect, Crackdown 2 should feature some big, over the top action sequences and free-form, sandbox, style game play allowing you to explore and progress through the game as you choose. The new protagonist comes with new abilities, combat moves, weapons and vehicles and game-play wise will feature 4 player co-op and 16 player only multiplayer.With Crackdown 1 being released in February 2007 the sequel will come out nearly 3 and a half years after the original. Here's to hoping that Crackdown 1 and 2 will come to be symbolic of how much X Box gaming developed and improved over time. That's the best that could happen. The worst that could happen is that Crackdown 2 is too similar to the original and doesn't bring much to the party above or beyond the original.
- New Red Dead Redemption Trailer & Official Release Date-
Red Dead Redemption is the sequel to Rockstar Games proud successor Red Dead Revolver (Released on PS2 & Xbox). Red Dead Redemption will be available on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, on April 27th 2010 in North America as well as April 30th 2010 internationally.
Red Dead Redemption recreates the American West at the turn of the 20th century: a violent and turbulent time of rapid growth and change. Players become the partially reformed outlaw John Marston; blackmailed by the government, his family threatened as he is forced to traverse the vast and unforgiving expanses of the Western frontier in search of members of his former gang. - New Medal of Honor Officially Announced-
Medal of Honor will return in 2010 and for the first time in it's 10 year history will leave the WWII battleground in favour of a modern theatre of war, Afghanistan.
Trailing behind similar games in it's genre in recent years (especially Call of Duty), the Medal of Honor series is hoping to reinvigorate itself by releasing a “best in class” single player campaign as well as world class multiplayer.
The single player campaign will follow the operations of today's elite forces, referencing the will, mindset and professionalism required by today's highest calibre soldiers. Known as a Tier 1 Operator, you will take on missions no one else can handle under the direct control of the National Command Authority. The development team has been working closely with US Special forces at all stages of the game's construction to ensure maximum realism and will be basing as much of the game as possible on real events.
- Reign of Augustus, Grand Ages Rome - Preview-
Reign of Augustus, the official expansion pack for PC strategy game Grand Ages: Rome will be released in January 2010. Normally PC game news doesn't figure particularly highly on my gaming radar due to the lack of a rig decent enough to play anything remotely new but flicking through the features of this game and what the expansion pack brings to the party really makes me miss playing RTS games. I have sunk more hours in to Age of Kings and the Age of Conquerers expansion than probably any other game and kicked off my online-gaming career in ernest.
This is one of the reasons I'm most exciting about the potential of Cloud Gaming. With a bit of luck it will bring back to the masses the ability to play new release PC games on old machines and, for me personally, bring back new release RTS games as a valid persuit.
Failing that a Mouse and Keyboard set up for console RTS games would almost certainly find it's way into my gaming set up. Finding console based RTS games less than fulfilling, even the most well adapted title doesn't feel or play comfortable enough for any serious time spent in-game.
So here's the latest on Reign of Augustus, Grand Ages: Rome, the game and expansion that has got me excited about RTS games again and makes me seriously consider investing money in a rig that will get me back into the genre.
- Assassin's Creed 2 Developer Diary-
The latest instalment in the Assassin's Creed Developer diary highlights the architecture of the game, the history accessible via an in-game database, the Assassin's Villa, Ezio on a horse and reinforces what an enormous project this game has been.
If you haven't already, check out our Assassin's Creed Preview and a look at Ezio's Da Vinci arsenal.
Few places in the world, or periods in history, have such spectacular architecture and if you were in any doubt about how well this was going to be presented in Assassin's Creed 2, check the video out. What's even better for history fans, whether they know it yet or not, is the added depth and history available to the player via the in-game database. The information on offer and the attention to detail in the recreation of the period goes to show what an enormous project making this game was.
The concept of Ezio's Villa looks great and is one of the aspects I'm most looking forward to. In the villa you'll find everything you've collected in the game and through the in-game economy. It also looks like you'll be able to upgrade and extend your villa and the town to enhance your income and surroundings.
As well as the actual features of the game it's also really interesting to see and “meet” the writers, producers, creative director and historian behind the game.
Finally of course while it's well known and been seen before it's good to see Ezio on a horse and will hopefully be included in the game with at least as much fun and effectiveness as Epona is in the Zelda games.
- Assassins Creed 2 Preview-
In the debut of AC1 we saw a lot of potential for a stealth game that was great but not without it’s flaws. Majority of the criticism was to do with the repetitiveness of the missions. The general pattern was to sit on benches eaves dropping and steal a letter or interrogate a messenger. This would guide you to your next target to assassinate.
Ubisoft Montreal has heard the fans criticism and has promised that Assassins Creed 2 offers more content than players bargained for. You can say goodbye to all the niggling gameplay mechanics of the first installment as most of them have been removed or over hauled for AC 2.
Assassins Creed 2 takes place in the 15th century of renaissance Italy, Rome, Florence and the Tuscan Countryside. Players now take control of Ezio Auditore da Firenze who is a man of education and wealth occasionally pleasing the ladies. After his family are killed and betrayed he learns of his destiny to become a master assassin. Wearing the white cowl and duel blades you can bet Ezio is out for blood.
A new feature in AC 2 is to earn money either by looting it from people you have killed or pick pocketing from civilians as you walk past them. Money earned can be used to buy a bunch of new weapon types such as maces, axes, swords, hammers, spears, variant of daggers, hidden blades and dual blades to name a few. All weapons and armour (as well as upgrades) in the game can be purchased from blacksmiths scattered around the games environment. - Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Definitive Overview-
I didn't spend my hundred hours of gaming time on Call of Duty 4 on the single player campaign and nor do I expect to spend more than the anticipated 8-10 hours playing the Modern Warfare 2 single player. It's all about the multiplayer and here's all of the key information you need on the Modern Warfare
Modern Warfare 2 Online Multiplayer
Online play retains much of what is familiar to us from previous Call of Duty games. Game modes available are Free-For-All, Search & Destroy, Demolition, Domination, Team Deathmatch, and Capture The Flag the returns and the action will take place across a number of locations based on the single player campaign. An annoying feature of COD 4 was that when a host left, the game ended. This is now fixed with in-game host migration, which should remove all instances of having to go back to the lobby and restart the game.
- Eurogamer Leeds Expo: Summary-
Brendan Griffiths takes a look at some of the best upcoming games at the Leeds leg of the Eurogamer Expo including: Aliens Vs Predator, Avatar, Bayonetta, Dante’s Inferno, Dark Void, God of War III, Heavy Rain, Saboteur and Split/Second.
It’s not often that UK gamers get to go to an expo; it’s even less often that a show manages to climb its way north of London, so it’s no surprise that the Eurogamer Leeds Expo sold out in advance for its two dates at Saviles Royal Armouries Square for the 27th/28th October.
While the queue went around the building it didn’t take long to get in once the doors opened and despite the event being sold out it never seemed overcrowded in the two halls used. The gaming areas were made up of stools in front of TVs or playing stands like you might see in shops like Game and HMV. There was a mix of HD screens for each game. Some medium sized, others 50 inch monsters. Although, sitting on a stool two feet in front of 50 inches of brightly coloured Ratchet & Clank was a bit overkill, I had to lean back to avoid my face melting.
But on to the games I managed to get a bit of extensive time with.
- From Altair to Ezio-
There's two big events in November and the release of Assassins Creed 2 is one of them. There's a lot of hype surrounding the release and from everything we've seen so far it looks like it's going to be another shiny gem in Ubisoft's crown of quality titles.
The video here shows you Ubisoft's Developer Diary of how the team got from Altaïr to Ezio in terms of character personality construction and development and if you're a fan of Assassin's Creed or excited about Assassin's Creed 2 check it out. Ubisoft have an excellent Assassin's Creed youtube channel, and you can watch a bunch of exciting and interesting videos that are bound to whet you're apetite for the November 20th release date. They also have a good news blog from which you can get the latest and greatest Assassin's Creed 2 news as it is released.
Videos and content like this are reassuring to gamers not only because it shows that the developers care enough to put them together, but demonstrates the effort and depth that is going into the story and character. All bodes well for a great game and hopefully a great story.
We've already seen in an earlier article how Da Vinci inventions will shape Ezio's arsenal and don't forget to check out the excellent Assassin's Creed 2 Concept art. - Assassins Creed II- DaVinci's Arsenal-
As you are probably well aware, it is the famous Renaissance Master, Leonardo DaVinci, who will be providing you with much of your equipment in your time as Ezio, the main man of Assassins Creed II. Of course, we all know about The Glider, but what we might not know so much about are the weapons, so here are four examples of what Leo is going to be giving us on November 20th.
- We Sing Karaoke Comes to the Wii Party Box-
It's now common knowledge among most gamers that the Wii is primarily a box for parties, novelty games and the quirkier titles that make up your games library. There's nothing wrong with this, afterall the 360 and PS3 have got the more serious end of the market sown up very nicely with quality game after quality game. Nintendo have made a spectacular success and fortune out of what the Wii is and the latest addition to the Party Box identity of the Wii comes in the shape of We Sing and 4 USB microphones.
We Sing follows in the footsteps of Singstar and Lips and definitively brings the karaoke genre to the Wii. Up to 4 players can sing along at a time (apparently the first time this is possible) and some pretty cool features looks set to bring the title alive.
Coming with 30 tracks at launch (though I would expect more to be available via download later) and spanning a range of genres, they will include:
UB40 – Red Red Wine
Amy Winehouse – Tears Dry On Their Own
Charles & Eddie – Would I lie To You?
Sugababes – Girls
OneRepublic (ft. Timbaland) – Apologize
Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha
Shampoo - Trouble
Spice Girls - Wannabe
Tasmin Archer - Sleeping Satellite
Moloko - Sing It Back
Lady GaGa - Poker Face
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Lily Allen - The Fear
Tom Jones - Delilah
Kylie Minogue - Loco-Motion
Roxette – It Must Of Been Love
The Automatic – Monster
Duffy – Mercy
Madness – Our House
James Morrison and Nelly Furtado – Broken Strings - The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest- What's in Store?-
When, after a hideously disappointing film adaption of Phillip Pullman’s ‘The Golden Compass’ was panned, New Line Cinema collapsed into its brother company Warner Bros., Warner decided they wanted more than just New Line’s film franchises, so they took The Lord of the Rings game rights off EA as well, no doubt hoping they might be able to spark a bit of interest back into old fans ready for 2011s and 2012s two film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit.’ And so, to start with, we’re going to have ‘The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest.’
In case six film free years have left your memory hazy, Aragorn is the one who goes from creepy looking, scraggly haired guy, to the slightly more combed King of Gondor. This makes him a great hero to star in yet another gritty LOTR game entry. But that’s not where Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are taking it; this game’s for kids!
- Fable III- We Saw the Future, what's next?-
Gamescom 2009 is now ebbing into the ever growing past now, but if there is one thing that has stuck in my mind amidst all the many exciting goings on, it is Peter Molyneux’s announcement of Fable III.A few months ago the second DLC for Fable II was made available in the Marketplace. This was a slightly disappointing breeze of fresh adventure named ‘See the Future.’ Although after a lacklustre adventure there was precious little future to see, this taster of what’s to come was certainly food for thought and immediately got players guessing what might be in store for a potential sequel.
So it was no surprise when, standing in front of hoards of press inside the Cologne Trade Fair Centre, Peter announced that in Fable III, you are going to become the ruler of Albion. Of course, this is a very exciting notion, and if pulled off correctly it should make one heck of a game. So is Peter, who is also juggling with new Natal project ‘Milo’, up to the challenge?
- Confessions of a War Veteran and a Gamer-
The following story is based on real events. That’s the kind of quiet claim that might make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Mostly it’s something reserved for films, but here it applies to a game, or rather, a real-world event that involved one.
- Top 5 Game Adverts Of All Time-
Making an advert for a game or console is almost as difficult as developing the product itself. A misjudged commercial could ultimately decide whether a game's fate. When done well, though, game adverts have the ability to transcend their purpose, and become as iconic as what they are selling. Here are five examples that got it totally right:
- News: Free Wii Internet Browser Giveaway-
Nintendo have generously (finally) decided to give away the internet browser feature on the Wii. And as PS3 users will attest, browsing the web from your sofa is awesome.There's even better news for those of you about to explode in fury for paying 500 points for it in the past. Nintendo has said you'll be able to help yourself to a 500 point NES game from its Virtual Console range around the end of October. There has also been a Flash update meaning better video viewing for some sites such as YouTube. You might want to download it to an SD card rather than the Wii's memory though as it takes up over 200 blocks.
- Ten Questions for the MapleStory Team: Developer Interview-
After our recent review of MMORPG hit Maplestory Gamehub was able get in touch with the masterminds behind the game and ask them a few questions.This is what the korean develoment team had to say:
1. When you released the game almost six years ago did you think it would become as popular as it has?
We did expect MapleStory to bring great impact to the online game society, but didn’t expect this much support and popularity with over 92 million registered accounts across the world.
2. What were your main influences when designing and developing the game?
We are influenced by numerous factors, but the most important factor is the reaction and satisfaction of our players. We always review our content to check if they will be able to present fun and excitement to the majority of our players. As in designs, warm and cute designs were developed in the beginning, but as MapleStory service develops, we are bringing more fantasy factors to designs.
3. Was the decision to make the game two dimensional a difficult one?
It wasn’t a difficult decision. We had confidence that the two dimensional theme would be welcomed by our players as a pleasant surprise. - East Meets West in the Red Steel Series-
I like to prepare for new games by replaying their predecessors. Resident Evil 4 in preparation for Resident Evil 5, Halo 3 for ODST, and most recently, Red Steel for Red Steel 2.
Much has been made of the Tokyo-meets-the Wild West imagery in the imminent sequel, but that idea runs throughout the original too, albeit in a less comic-book fashion. The cultural mixture of the two is apparent through how new media from one side of the globe, Japan, meets the other, the U.S. The fact that the action in Red Steel begins in L.A and then shifts to Tokyo, is no coincidence. It just seems that the videogame medium is great for mixing culture, because it’s comprised of both image and sound, and already draws deeply on pop music and blockbuster film. In the game, the Western aspect comes to the fore when you have a showdown with a Samurai; after swords are drawn, an Ennio Morricone-style Spaghetti Western soundtrack comes up, all wailing guitars and choral aura. Similarly, shootout action is informed by Hong Kong cinema: signifiers of traditional Japanese music are accompanied by Hollywood J-Rock, like something the 5,6,7,8’s would play for Tarantino. From The Karate Kid to Kill Bill, America has been inspired by Japan’s tales of Shoguns, Samurai’s, Ninjas, and later Japanese art like anime and manga. It is through culture that nations communicate, and videogames as cultural products, are no different. Red Steel, thankfully, unlike Daikatana, a similar Japanese-inspired American action game, is still a bit good.
While Red Steel 2 will be loud and visually arresting, kudos go to Ubisoft for setting the original in a believable, real-world environment that we can connect to and demonstrate our ability to exchange and reflect ideas globally.
- 5 reasons I'm looking forward to Left for Dead 2-
'Cause you can never kill enough zombies!
- Why I'm excited about the new Wolfenstein game - Preview-
The new Wolfenstein game is released on the 21st of August, on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC and I'm excited not only because it looks like a brand new, quality first person shooter for me to get my teeth into, but also because the franchise's history carries so much positivity and good gaming experiences for me in the past. For me and most of my generation, who started playing video games in the late 80s and early 90s, Wolfenstein, along with Doom, was one of the first, and one of the best, games I played and introduced me to so many aspects of FPS gaming that I'd go so far as labelling it a defining game in my personal gaming culture and tastes. Being a bit of a history nut Wolfenstein just pips Doom for me with the WWII back drop and visuals making it that little bit more enjoyable and iconic.
Plunged once more into the world of the Nazis and the Occult, you will play as BJ Blazkowicz in 1943, sent on a special ops mission behind enemy lines and into the heart of the 3rd Reich to investigate evidence that they have a mysterious new power in their arsenal.
A member of the Office of Secret Actions, Blazkowicz finds that through some remarkable 1940's technology (…) the Nazis are harnessing the power of something called the Black Sun, via a dark parallel dimension called The Veil, to create a new weapon of mass destruction and bring victory to the fascist war machine. Clearly based on historical fact, this sounds at once a bit silly, but also admittedly a bit awesome, as you attempt to (not for the first time in Mr. Blazkowicz's career and probably not for the first time in your gaming career) save the world from Nazi domination. - Happy 20th Birthday to the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis Console!-
Boy does that make me feel old. As of today, this classic console has been entertaining the western world for 20 years. Well, With my ever-growing resentment towards my creaky Commodore 64 with its cassette loaded games and joystick, I probably wasn’t far off giving up on gaming and instead dedicating my life to something even less illustrious like sticker collections or even paying attention at school.
Early adopters and damn lucky kids at Christmas managed to get the
- Batman Arkham Asylum first impressions-
Turns out, the inmates are running the asylum
A first look at the playable demo for the upcoming Batman - Arkham Asylum
Based on previous experience, games based on comics are generally pretty poor. Many are tie-ins from big budget films, meaning constraints such as a tie in storyline and release dates means developers are forced to rush out any old tripe under the official license. However, if anyone can save us from this sea of cack, it’s the big Bats. First appearing in 1939, Batman’s latest offering is Batman: Arkham Asylum, a third person adventure taking inspiration in part from the 1989 comic series of the same name. The story sees Batman trapped in the asylum with the maddest and most malice of Gotham City’s criminal element.
- The Death of the JRPG?-
Ten years ago, turn based RPG action ruled the gaming world. Titles such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest had gamers craving multiple discs, turn based battles and logic defying haircuts. Not only were these games massively popular with both their fan boy audience and casual gamers but, in the case of Final Fantasy, were some the best games of their generation. Due to the fact that the majority of these games originated from Japan and shared similar themes, the genre was affectionately crowned the ‘JRPG’. Hours were chalked up, bosses were beaten and potions were thrown, all in the name of this eccentric and engrossing brand of gaming.
It’s no exaggeration to say that in its golden age, the JRPG really was the most popular gaming genre of its time. There’s not a gamer in their twenties that hasn’t at least heard of Final Fantasy VII and almost ten million of those gamers bought the game. This giant fan base has inspired everything, from the standard geek fare of cosplay, to the big budget heights of films and energy drinks. This success allowed other JRPGs to break into the mainstream, with Pokémon becoming a global Gameboy phenomenon and Square going on to release a host of other Final Fantasy titles, each gaining commercial and critical success.
- Video Game Rental Guide-
Video Game Rental Guide
Here's our handy guide for renting video games online!
Pick from our selection below which all give you UNLIMITED GAME RENTALS a month, the only limit is how many discs you can have at home at once. Renting video games is a great way to get better value from your gaming. Renting games is right for you if...
- You're an experienced gamer and complete games quickly, getting fewer hours of game play. Renting games will give you better value for money than buying the game.
- You often or quickly get bored with games and don't complete them
- You like to play a little bit of a lot of games rather than stick with one game for a long time.
- You're unsure if you want to buy the game and commit up to £40 - trial the game with a rental first.
- You're mainly into films but also have a games console and just want to try a few games out - get a game rental service that offers films as well as games.
Whichever of the above applies to you, renting video games is a great value way to get the most out of however and whenever you play games! With most video game rental companies offering a free trial, there really is nothing to lose by signing up, you can cancel at any time and it won't cost you a penny.
Pick the right package for you from our game rental guide below. We've placed all of the services in our order of recommendation and only feature companies that pass our minimum standards.. Not sure which one to go for? Sign up and take free trials at the sites that offer them to sample their service before committing any money.
- You're an experienced gamer and complete games quickly, getting fewer hours of game play. Renting games will give you better value for money than buying the game.
- Battlefield 1943 Launch Party-
Anticipation has been high for the next instalment in the World War II Battlefield series. Following on from the huge success of Battlefield 1942 on the PC, here at Game Hub we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the next title in the series, Battlefield 1943, that thankfully will be released on consoles. So when EA and DICE invited us down to the Tamari club in After realising that perhaps video games hadn’t taught me as well as I thought about map-reading (actually, I’ll say Google Maps screwed me over) and reluctantly heading for the Underground instead, I eventually managed to arrive in time for the mission briefing. Well, a complimentary Battlefield-themed cocktail. Sunset Sniper anyone?
- Buy Video Games-
We all know the big highstreet and online brands to buy video games, but shopping around can give you a much better deal and save you money. We've collected together a range of online shops to buy video games from, some you've probably heard of, others you may not have. Shop around and check them out for the best deals on the games, consoles or accessories you're shopping for, and if it saves you some money, I'll be happy!
- PS3 starts to look more attractive to mid-range gamers-
Since it's UK release in March 2007 the PS3 has failed to impress me with any stand out gaming titles. Despite the PS3's bigger and better processing and graphics capabilities these have yet to be shown off in a way that I feel can't be replicated by the Xbox360. The 360 hit our shelves in December 2005 which has given developers a 2 year headstart in getting the most out of it. The early titles in particular I felt showed a clunky, shallow graphical experience which lacked the depth and thoroughness of Xbox titles being released at the same time. Launch title Resistance Fall of Man looks remarkably unimpressive compared to the original Gears of War, which was released 4 months previously in November 2006.There has also been a number or art-style and experimental games that have failed to whet my personal appetite for what it can offer. Experimental and arty games are great, but mid-range gamers need a core substance of quality shooters, racers and action games that they can't get from the 360 to justify shelling out the £300 required for a decent bundle. Related to this, the loss, or to-date lack of, PS3 exclusive franchises which mid range gamers can feel passionate about. The loss of the GTA series exclusivity was a big blow and Gran Turismo and God of War are all games we can get excited about but can't yet buy.
But as with so many things, these issues are coming to light again now because they're hopefully about to disappear. With big name titles like Gran Turismo 5, God of War III, Heavy Rain, Massive Action Game (MAG) and Uncharted 2 on the horizon, the PS3 is hotting up. Massive Action Game is getting me particularly excited and we'll be taking a look at this in more detail.
- Gaming Identities: The rise of Clans and Guilds-
Game Hub has recently looked at the impact that the internet and online gaming has had on the way we play games. Digital distribution of games together with cloud gaming have and might shake up the games industry in a big way, but in this 3rd part in the series, we're looking at how the internet has changed who we play games with and how it has changed our personal and gaming identities through clans and guilds.
If and how we can define ourself through video games is really made possible with multiplayer gaming. Before 'the internet', gaming was, at most, only a 4 player pursuit and multiplayer aspects of games limited. Gleaming rays of hope of what was to come came from games like Goldeneye, but the ability to identify yourself as a member of a group of gamers was stunted. Moving into online gaming, FPS's and MMORPG's are the genres most commonly associated with clans and guilds and both allow the player to identify themselves and associate themselves with an organised group of gamers and as a member of that clan or guild.
Different species and character groups within MMORPG's mean identity within a game can... - Cloud Gaming-
Physical media and dedicated gaming consoles, we are told, are dying breeds. And the prime suspect for their expected demise is “The Cloud”. Cloud Gaming is on it's way and may shake up the gaming world for all of us so I'm taking a look in to this to see exactly what it is, and what it means for the gaming community.
The Cloud is already present in most of our daily lives. Every time you check your Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail emails via a web browser, you're accessing, retrieving and interacting with them stored in The Cloud. Most internet users have also interacted with The Cloud when using Google Docs in which your docs, spreadsheets and presentations are all edited online without ever being saved or used on your PC itself. The analogy of 'The Cloud' is the 'place' where the files you view and use online are stored and means not only do we save our hard drives from the abuse of saving thousands of emails and documents, but also that we can access them anywhere on the world.Looking at gaming, Cloud Gaming is set to cause one of the biggest shake ups of the way we play games since the early 1970's when the first dedicated gaming consoles hit the shelves. The “Cloud Gaming” generation will not own physical media nor will they store video games on a hardrive. Instead, they'll connect via the internet to central servers, on which the games are stored and the processing required to run them takes place. With all of the processing and media storage happening remotely, the only hardware the user will require is a PC with an internet connection and a 3rd party box to manage the flow of information from PC, through the internet to their servers, and then to receive that information back and translate it onto your TV or monitor. With the industry leaders currently claiming to have all but eliminated latency (down to 1 millisecond), the gamer's interactions with the servers through the internet is planned to be as seamless and quick as interacting with a console in the same room.
- Digital Gaming. Here to Stay.-
Digital. Everything’s going digital. In fact if you’re in America right now it’s the only way you can watch TV, as the analogue signal was recently switched off. The last few years has seen digitally distributed music explode and become the market leader way ahead of the CD.But what about games? Recent years have seen platforms such as PSN (PlayStation Network) and Xbox Live Marketplace distributing small and diverse games such as Geometry Wars, Braid, Flower, and Rag Doll Kung Fu. There have even been full-sized games such as Warhawk and Burnout Paradise, or extra chapters as in GTA4: The Lost and Damned.
So what does this mean? Will game discs start to fade out like CD’s? Only a fool would say so (or somebody very confident of not accidentally deleting their collection after a night on the town). However, Sony’s recent announcement (that we all knew about anyway) about the new PSP Go, is relying solely on digitally savvy gamers.
The new PSP will not have a UMD drive; instead games will solely be available through digital distribution. This can be via the PSN on PS3, or on a home computer, and possibly straight to the PSP with a wireless connection at home connecting straight to the PSN Store. - Back to basics for Nintendo-
With Nintendo’s roster of imminent releases, it looks like this year and next could mark the company’s re-discovery of its roots as a unique and ‘pro-gamer’ institution. Following last year’s E3 showcase, Nintendo garnered some criticism for ‘dumbing down’ with many of its titles for Wii seeming aimed at a large majority of lucrative casual gamers rather than the more traditional fan base, prompting some detractors to go as far as announcing the end of the company as a unique and recognisable games developer. But with two new Mario games on the way and a new Metroid, Nintendo’s attention seems to be returning to its definitive franchises.
- E3 09 Microsoft keynote...My notes-
First up...
+joyride new arcade game using your avatar in a new type of kart racing
+shadow complex arcade made by epic which is a side scrolling shooter w/ 10+ hrs of game play over 120 secret items/locations
On to a few new games on other platforms other than xbox...
+modern warfare 2, final fantasy 13 both spring 2010 release and tony hawk:ride which features a new skateboard type controller also rock band the Beatles w/ 1 exclusive track for xbox.
Now to the exclusive games for xbox ...
+crackdown 2 skills for kills!
+left 4 dead 2 which looks awesome. If you didn't play the 1st I highly suggest looking into playing this game. Released 17 nov
+splinter cell:conviction, which is a lot more fast paced game which is a split of 007 and new Sam Fisher. I say 007 style because of the new gadgets.
+halo ODST - You will be playing as a few different ODST to piece together a new story. The old halo pistol is back now with zoom! When purchased u will get an invite to the newly announced Halo: Reach multiplayer beta
+Forza Motorsport 3 which claims to be this generation's greatest racing game, including a new art creation for the car's paint. It's hard to explain but this new way to paint and design your car is really cool and the possibilities are endless with the amount for customization available.
+the long awaited Alan Wake. The game play that was shown looks amazing.
Also, big news...the metal gear solid franchise will be coming to the xbox featuring a new game called MGS:Rising in which you will be playing as Radian from other MGS games
New content for the xbox live dashboard
+Radio Station last.fm comes to the xbox.
+Live tv by sky
- Will the Wii get a Second Wiind-
Most people will remember the first time they played on a Nintendo Wii, and while hitting back the tennis ball or throwing the bowling ball down the alley were astounded that gaming had come so far. Standing on the edge of a giant new pool of gaming possibilities things were looking good.
But the problem for Nintendo, or any other company pushing the boundaries, is that for the current generation new technology very quickly becomes old technology, and what was once astounding quickly gets picked apart and becomes everyday. In the fastfood, get-rich-quick, google age, we want it all and we want it now, which meant that some more cynical gamers, myself included, began to see the boundaries, problems and limitations of the Wii remote, specifically the movement tracking capabilities. - Video Game Podcast Show- We've teamed up with Channel Flip so you can watch the latest and greatest video game news right here at Game Hub! Sit back and take a couple of minutes to enjoy Zoe Cornwall presenting the latest video game show from Channel Flip - the best way to get your video game news! Check back every day for updated shows!
The Channelflip Games show is hosted by gaming enthusiast Zoe Cornwall and was also named as one of the top video podcasts of 2008 by Apple UK. In the show Zoe puts down the control pad to give you her verdict in the latest and greatest gaming titles on portable, console and PC. - FragEgg Brings Together the MMORPG Community-
The MMO industry is one of the most interesting and exciting developments that online gaming has made possible. With the top 10 most popular MMO's attracting around 50 million players between them their popularity across the world, particularly in the far east, is unquestionable. And most gamers, fans of RPG's, card trading games and table-top games will understand why. Playing video games for escapism is an oft cited reason for playing them, and you'll find it in bucket loads in an MMO game.
- A Leap of Faith: Mirror's Edge Interview with Tom Farrer-
Brendan Griffiths talks to Tom Farrer, Producer of Mirror's Edge at Dice Studios, Stockholm.
Mirror's Edge was one of last year's most highly rated games in the melee of Christmas releases. Its brave ideas and excellent execution has changed the way we look at the first-person genre.
Jumping in first-person games is commonly poorly done. So why the decision to do a whole game based on it?
In some ways it was for that very reason. We wanted to do something new. First person platforming isn't bad it's just been badly implemented usually because it isn't a core focus of the games it is in. We are fans of titles like Prince of Persia but there is always a degree of separation when playing in third person. We wanted to really put you in the moment, have you be the one making the death defying leap, seeing every moment through the eyes of the character you're playing. We believed that it would be a very powerful experience. - Final Fantasy VII Hits PSN Store-
Final Fantasy VII has finally been put on the PSN Store for PS3 and PSP! Unfortunately the most celebrated RPG of them all is only currently available on the
Even though the
The game costs ¥1500 / HK$118 or about £10 to us. Not bad seeing as used PS1 copies on eBay are going for at least £20.
- The Independent Games Festival Awards-
There was a varied array of games on display at the annual Independent Games Festival Awards and this is a short review of the winners. The IGFA rewards innovation and originality in the many independent games made each year, with this years IGFA showcasing over two hundred new and innovative games.
The top award of $30,000 Seamus McNally award was given to the fantasy based game Blueberry Garden, created by Swedish games designer Erik Svedang with the unique point that all frames from the exploration game were hand drawn in their entirety which gives Blueberry Garden a very distinctive look from other games. A preview of the game can be viewed here. The award for the Excellence in Audio was awarded to developer Digital Eel's Brainpipe, with the audio being described as "ear tickling sound effects and immersive dreamscape music.” This was particularly interesting for me as I have always had a keen interest in the audio behind video games and believe this constant pushing of boundaries is an excellent way forward.
There were two awards for Data Realm's Cortex Command with the game taking away the Technical Excellence award and the much vaunted Audience award. The Point and Click category was won by another game featuring hand drawn frames in the Czech developed Machinarium.
- Bioshock 3 with Bioshock movie AND Bioshock MMO?-
With details of Bioshock 2 Sea of Dreams just beginning to surface ( :-) ) , news that there will be a third installment to the franchise has already been confirmed
by the boss of Take Two Strauss Zelnick. It was suggested by Strauss Zelnick that Bioshock 3 will be released alongside an accompanying Bioshock Movie directed by Gore Verbinski of Pirates of the Caribbean director-ing fame.
Speaking with investors, Strauss Zelnick stated that in response to questions about a Bioshock movie, rather than a release with Bioshock 2, it's far more likely to be released to coincide with Bioshock 3. The Bioshock Movie, from initial reports, looks more likely to cover the events of the first Bioshock game (IMDB keywords are Survivor, Underwater, Plane Crash and Utopia) but as we've seen before movies have no issues with amalgamating one or more games/books into one movie.
It's good news that this relatively new franchise is taking on new and bigger projects and there can definitely be comparisons drawn with the Halo franchise which successfully launched a new franchise that spawned 4 games, books and at some point, a movie. It's always good to see new franchises, games and ideas released into the games industry to compete with the latest version of FIFA and Madden with their latest incremental improvement. March has also seen reports that the Take-Two team are considering a Bioshock MMO game, which really would be a massive project but good news for fans.
With both bioshock 3 and the bioshock movie set for release towards the back end of 2010 or 2011, i'm sure a lot of people are already getting excited! - Don't start blaming games again-
One day removed from the horrific shootings in Germany and already videogames are being implicated in somehow creating a monster. Haven't we been here before? Aren't we, as a society, smarter than to instantly make a giant leap from pretending to be in the Army on screen to finding a gun, walking out on to the street and shooting innocent civilians? And, while we're about it, are average gamer arguments that "it's just a game" really helping us get to the bottom of why these events occur?
Let's take a step back. Clearly anyone who takes a gun and goes on a killing spree is unwell. Are games the cause of the illness, or are they merely a means of escape for a person who feels they can't connect with society in any meaningful way? That their only hope of interaction with others is through a faceless medium where they are more powerful, skilled and respected than they could ever hope to be in the real world?
Interestingly, Michael McLendon, the Alabama shooter who only this Tuesday killed 10 people in a similar attack, hasn't been linked to videogames. But then, he was 28. Tim Kretschmer, the German shooter, was 17. Clearly adults don't play videogames. Or, if they do, they are level-headed enough to accept the unreality of the virtual world. They just shoot people because they have a grudge.There is clearly a difference between watching violence on a film or TV show and actually adopting an alter ego and interacting in a violent world. That's where the "it's just a game" argument perhaps falls down. However, for every Tim Kretschmer there are a million gamers who just play their games and go about their business. If violent video games are to be banned or somehow diluted just in case one person is driven to murder, hadn't we better ban alcohol, ban violent films, ban life?
- RTS or Tabletop Game?-
Dawn of War II is not an RTS game. Well, certain parts of it aren’t, anyway. Relic have been responsible for the hugely successful series which combined the depth of strategy in the Warhammer 40K Tabletop gaming with accessible Real Time Strategy conventions, and before Dawn of War II, this had barely changed. Even now, with the release of the new game, some things haven’t changed. Relic are probably still devoted to producing a plethora of Sims-like expansion packs for the game in the near future. Indeed, you can just see future content through its lack in Dawn of War II. No Chaos Space Marines, for example, means that they’ll be back in a separate standalone campaign. The fact is, Relic know that they’ve attached the perennially popular Warhammer licence to a successful gaming genre. Not only that, but they know how to milk it. A tad cynical, perhaps, but when the refined gameplay works so well, why complain? And that’s really the mantra of RTS gaming, staunchly upheld since the days of Westwood’s Dune and Command and Conquer series: don’t change what works.
- Xbox Live Arcade Awards for 2008-
The Xbox Live Arcade Awards for 2008 will be accepting votes from March 3 at 10:00 A.M. GMT, and ends Tuesday, March 10 at 11:59 P.M. GMT so get your votes in now if you'd lke to see an arcade favourite of yours get recognition. There are 9 categories and the final winner for each one will be decided with votes from the Arcade Awards Voting Application downloadable from the Xbox Live Game Marketplace. All games can be viewed in screenshots or downloaded directly from links within the Voting application if you'd like to check them all out first hand before you vote. Votes can be downloaded at any time before the deadline.
More details, and the winners once they're announced, can be viewed here: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/events/xblaawards/.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not particularly well versed in arcade game downloads from xbox live (though i did have a browse through some of the original xbox games available and will be downloading a movie with some free points I got) but I really like the fact that these kind of votes are happening. Hopefully the voting application will be put to more uses in the as it is with the wii voting channel.
Best Family Game
- Boogie Bunnies
- Roogoo
- A Kingdom for Keflings
- Lost Cities
- Meteos Wars
Best Original Game
- Castle Crashers
- N+
- Braid
- Penny Arcade Episode 1
- Schizoid
- Age of Booty
Best Classic/Remake Game
- Bionic Commando Rearmed
- Street Fighter II HD Remix
- Mega Man 9
- Galaga Legions
- Rez HD
Best Overall Arcade Game
- Upcoming Stories awaiting coverage at Game Hub-
Below you'll find a list of stories, events, reviews or previews that are waiting to be covered at Game Hub. To cover anything on this list just select one, follow the link as a starting point and submit a completed article. Don't worry about anyone else picking up and completing the same article, sometimes it's better to have two takes on a subject than one. All authenticated writers are of course welcome to write and contribute articles on any gaming subject, these are just a set of recommended things we'd like to see on the site.
Please return to this page from time to time to find and pick up stories that are waiting to be covered. It is a great starting point if you are ever unsure of what to write about. Articles only need to be 150 words long so don't worry about them taking an age to write.
Only authenticated Game Hub writers have access to the link for this page.
Previews/Demo Reviews
- History and the WWII FPS-
War has changed. And it’s not a war like Metal Gear Solid, with jumpy sci-fi robots and conversations longer than Oscar acceptance speeches. I’m talking about a war that’s already happened, that’s already a part of history: the Second World War. WWII remains an ever-familiar setting for the First Person Shooter genre, with franchises like Medal of Honour and Call of Duty continuing to sell by the bunker load. However, it seems odd that just as gamers begin to demonstrate an enthusiasm for COD4’s modern warfare setting, the series returns to its 1940’s battlefield for the fifth entry.
The justification for this return given by Lieutenant Colonel Hank Keirsey, the military advisor for Call of Duty: World at War, was that game developers Treyarch now possessed the technology to capture the visionary scope of the story from U.S soldiers who served in the Pacific Theatre of WWII. It’s a noble intention, but somehow the videogame doesn’t quite live up to the promise. Or rather, it actively subverts its original intention for the sake of pleasing its no-scoping, splash damage shocked ‘l33ts’, which I’m pretty sure didn’t exist when the actual war was taking place. If WWII went according to COD conventions, veterans would be honoured by such game given goodies as increased accuracy or recoil reducing upgrades, and their battlefield movements defined by giant rotating icons. As videogame depictions of the war are almost irreversibly entrenched in this arcade gameplay, the technical code which goes towards creating them becomes all-too noticeable, overshadowing any sense of honest, historical realism. Sadly, there’s not a chance in hell’s highway that these games can match the authenticity which by comparison, film provides; even if they do plonk the gamer right into the thick of the action, their overt visual cues and handholding message tips lessen the force of the experience.
- New Gaming league due to start Mid February-
Uk eSports Governing Body has today announced a deal with technology provider Dell to be the sponsor for the first national videogames season UKeSA Season one which starts in Mid February. There will be 3 Divisions 22 games and a prize pot of up to £40000 (unconfirmed)
The UKeSA seems to be trying to take a step to get competitive video gaming into the same streamline media that many other sports enjoy, whether this will work or not remains to be seen but is a positive step forward out of the shadows for those who want to enjoy the success of competitive gaming!
If you fancy your shots at being the next Fatal1ty then head on over to the UKeSA website to have a look at the structure currently only Guitar Hero 3, Halo 3, Modern Warfare and R6V2 feature but the promise of more is still there!
More information about UKeSA can be found at www.ukesa.com or by emailing info@ukesa.com.
- The Dead Rise Again-
It has been in speculation for over a year now, and Capcom has officially confirmed that Dead Rising will be returning as a sequel to the first instalment. What comes as a foreseeable surprise though is that the game is no longer an Xbox 360 exclusive, but a multi-platform title due for release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The survival horror sequel was confirmed soon after apparent leaked footage began to appear on Youtube. There is finite amount of information circling around the game so far however what is known to date is that the game is being produced by Canadian studio Blue Castle Games including a number of the team members involved in the first installment.
- Command and Corrie?-
Over the years it's become customary that every major Hollywood blockbuster gets a video game tie in, but now it appears that the humble British Soap Opera is going to get the same treatment.
Mindscape have recently announced plans for a DS game based around the stalwart ITV1 show Coronation Street.
Judging by their recent output on the DS consisting of amongst others, Deal or No Deal and Crazy Pig, Corrie fans shouldn't be expecting a free roaming adventure set in Weatherfield along the lines of GTA 4 and co.
Whilst details of the game are still vague, hints have been made somewhat predictably that it will be a family game and according to an ITV spokesperson is being made in response to huge demand from viewers.
With a release date of Christmas being suggested, is this to allow enough time that the game is of the highest quality? Or to cash in on what is the industry's busiest period?
- Off The Beaten Path: Dreamcade Impact-
With a new slew of games beginning to rear their heads, the first major title being released in less than a week, the entire videogaming world is gearing up for an all out brawl when Street Fighter IV is released on February 17th in America, Japan, and Europe almost simultaneously (all within a week of each other). Being released on consoles, some may find the controller a little unfitting when attempting certain moves (Akuma’s murder-punch comes to mind). For those needing their arcade stick and 6 button layout, special controllers will be available on SFIV’s release, a hefty little pricetag of about 80 bucks; mind that these controllers are manufactured by third parties, which don’t always yield the greatest results. However, if you’re a hardcore fighting addict, don’t think third party controllers are exactly the best quality, and you have about two and a half grand to blow, then I’ve got the product for you: Dreamcade Impact.
- 2008 Bafta video games nominations-
The Bafta video games nominations 2008 have been announced. There's lots of familiar faces in the line up, and maybe a few that appear too many, plus one or two you may not have expected to see.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is up for 7 awards, which is fully deserved in my opinion. In many ways this is a stronger title that world at war, it's a shame they didn't include some kind of Zombie-Evil-Generic-Terorist level in though! (zombie nazi's is one of the main features that is taking me back to COD5). I'm pleased to see Fable 2 getting nominations. I really enjoyed this game, though it wasn't exactly challenging and it did get a little repetetive towards the end it was a great way to spend January's gaming time and i'd like to see it take some accolades.
I'm surprised at Assassins Creed popping up where it does but maybe I'm just spoilt now and what was a great game I'm overlooking.
I've starred what in my opinion should take the title. My game of 2008 was Modern Warfare, I'd be very interested to hear what yours was? I'd also be interested to know what you think the winners should be - leave me comments below it'll be interesting to see how things compare.
- Geeks are...cool now?-
Funny, how rapidly things become fashionable. “Everything comes around,” my mother tells me. Growing up and even now, I sometimes found myself being ridiculed for wearing anything gaming, comics, or “geek” related. This ridicule never bothered me. “Yeah, I spend my free time playing games and reading comics and I love it!” These were my feelings but others viewed my interests as “un-cool” or “weird.” My friends and I didn’t care as we felt this “lameness” separated us from everyone else. This is what made us different and in our own world cool. For in our world, we were judged not on the price of our clothes, but by our high score. We viewed each other not by our athletic achievements but our DPS and respective levels. Recently though, with the emergence of games and comics becoming more accessible and mainstream, either through TV shows or movies, “geek” apparel is seen everywhere. My school, for example, features such people dressed in Marvel shirts or other themed shirts found in Wal-mart and one has to wonder: “When did this become cool?”
- Resident Evil 4.5?-
The much publicised Resident Evil 5 demo finally hit Xbox Live on Monday and although Capcom point out before hand that the demo does not fully represent the final product, it is shaping up to look pretty impressive. As a visual showcase the attention to detail is outstanding, with beautifully realised landscapes and effects ( the exploding barrel effects are some of the best this generation has to offer).
The style of gameplay carries on with the action based approach what Resi 4 started and the option to use the D-pad to switch quicker between some key items is a welcome addition. Not being able to move whilst shooting makes a what some might call an unwelcome return and although the control style has not changed much, it isn't the perfect marriage that RE4 had with the Gamecube controller and takes a while to get used to. Having Sheva by your side comes I handy when reloading or on the brink of death, but on the flipside can become a hindrance when having to do the same for her. I cannot comment on the co-op mode ( my username is my Gamertag if anyone wishes to try it with me sometime).
Overall first impressions from the demo seem to imply a well presented action experience, that could be hindered by a jerky camera and fiddly controls.
- A New Level To Gaming?-
Now the new year is well and truly underway I have come to realise, or more come to face the realisation that I, as well as a copious number of other people, am trapped within a mental mind game that I seem to be unable to escape from. That perplexing, unpropitious mind enslaving phenomenon that is better known as “Achievements”. Yes, Microsoft’s answer to sliced bread. They have me, entangled within a second realm where hysteria embraces my body whenever I hear that oh so fulfilling “ping”, followed by the ever more so satiating confirmation I have unlocked an achievement.
- The Force vs the Credit Crunch-
Over the years Luke Skywalker and the Jedi Knights protected the galaxy, but it seems not even the power of the Force could repel the threat of the Credit Crunch. Since Free-Radical went into administration last month, the future of Star Wars Battlefront 3 has been what Yoda might call “clouded”.
The recently leaked internet footage of the demo reel Free-Radical put together shortly before administration, has got fans wondering what could have been, or could indeed still be. Aside from the suspect animation for the characters when running and the unwelcome sight of Jar Jar Binks, it does look impressive, with sprawling landscapes in game and some very detailed cut-scenes.
I have always thought after the Episode 3 heavy Battlefront 2, that the franchise should have one last hurrah and the current generation of consoles seem a perfect playground to showcase over 30 years worth of a much loved franchise.
Here's hoping that rumours about Rebellion or Pandemic picking up the game come to fruition, as apart from giving gamers the Star Wars game we deserve, it could also help the franchise in general reclaim some of the dignity that the Clone Wars TV series has taken away from it.
- Gaming goes highbrow-
Just when it looked as though every subject under the Sun had been turned into a video game at some stage during its relatively short lifetime, when along come the Really Useful Group. A multimedia company set up by the composer and Leyton Orient's most famous fan Andrew Lloyd-Webber.
They have recently announced plans to produce a number of games based on Mr Lloyd Webber's most famous works including Cats, the Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar. Early indications suggest that the titles will begin initially with sing-a-long affairs (so an FPS based around Evita doesn't look to be happening anytime soon) , to be released on consoles, PC and mobile devices.
Does the Really Useful Group's decision mean that gaming is becoming high-brow? The theatre is becoming mainstream? Or that they just fancy a piece of the pie that Singstar and co have enjoyed huge sales from.
- Namco's New Label-
Namco is one of those labels that seems to have been around forever. From Pacman, to Tekken, to Katamari Damacy, everyone has played or at least heard of all of their games. In perhaps their biggest announcement all year, Namco Bandai-Games America Inc. has unveiled a press release that they are creating a new publishing label. SURGETM is going to be a studio dedicated to creating games geared towards western gamers.SURGETM is going to be its own studio and publishing label dedicated to creating "cutting-edge, genre-defining games that are targeted at satiating the appetite of western gamers. SURGE is planning on releasing games in a variety of different genres and for all the platforms. Hopefully they can create some more classics for Namco in the way of Pacman and Tekken. The first game to launch under the new label will be Afro Samurai, a game that will blend hip-hop and Japanese cultures. The game is slated for a release date of January 27th, 2009.
"SURGE presents a significant milestone for NAMCO BANDAI as it personifies our commitment to deliver compelling content for the discriminating player who is looking for games that are not only groundbreaking but also push the envelope," said Andrew Lelchuk, executive vice president of sales and marketing at NAMCO BANDAI Games America, Inc. "Through passion and innovation, SURGE will complement our portfolio of established franchises and intellectual property while positioning the company as a creative force."
One thing I have to wonder, as an American, is why it seems companies are forming to create games for Western Gamers now. At least speaking for America, our economy isn't exactly anything to brag about....at all...>_<. From the looks of it, Americans won't exactly be flocking to buy games anytime in the next year, so it seems that the majority of the gamers that these games will be played by are in Europe.
- Pixel Females: Their Role in Games and Economy-
While it may not seem very obvious point blank, the women that are featured in video games have a large affect on the gaming business. Afterall, would the Dead or Alive games ever sell if it weren't for the girls' scant outfits? Why was Tomb Raider able to crank out so many sequels? Wasn't it Chun-li who forced hordes of gamers to spend loads of quarters in the arcade? These pixelated vixens hold a lot more weight in game sales than most gamers take note of. So, the question isn't their importance in games, but their portrayal. Would games sell if the girls were in normal outfits? Would the Mario have had nearly as much success if the roles were reversed? In this an analyzation of women's roles in games as well as their affect on the industry, we will see how they have come, and if they really do help sell games...
PART 2
The 90's is when women really started to get more exposure. The Final Fantasy games allowed for strong characters such as Terra, Rydia, and Celes to make a name for themselves; however they always played second fiddle to the male characters. In a bold step for fighting games, Chun-Li stepped into the fray in Street Fighter: World Warrior, showing the gaming community that she could take Ryu and just how powerful her thighs of steel really are. The awesome thing: both of the series' maintained staying power. Chun-Li is still one of the most easily recognizable characters in gaming, and any Final Fantasy game is a high profile release.
- Any publicity is good publicity-
With the news that Activision and Neversoft are to release Guitar Hero: Metallica, its a good time to look at how close the music and video game industries are now intrinsically linked. Its a win win relationship for both industries; the video game gets signed bands for background, menu music etc, many familiar, many not so familiar and retrospectively the bands, whether globe conquering metal gods like Metallica (this is me being biased as I am a rather big Metallica fan......) or newly signed bands, both get exposed to people that wouldn't ordinarily listen to certain genres of music and thus new fans are made, more albums bought, more gigs filled to capacity. The advent of games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band has taken this symbiotic relationship to further heights – the music isn't just in the background anymore as you thunder round streets in supercharged race cars or while creating a formation in the Fifa series, now the music is the game and you are, to a degree, making that music.
Throughout both Guitar Hero and Rock Band editions, you get to play hundreds of songs, many that you wouldn't ordinarily go out of your way to listen to yet having to conquer those songs to continue and beat the game means more and more exposure for the bands concerned as you get further and further into the game, more songs are unlocked, and yet more exposure for the bands featured. Even guitar brands themselves are now getting in on the action with many replicas of famous guitar brands now available for the Guitar Hero/Rock Band series, Guitar Hero 3 actually comes with a replica Gibson and you can also purchase guitars in-game for your guitar wielding avatars to play.
- Pixel Females: Their Role in Games and Economy Part One-
While it may not seem very obvious point blank, the women that are featured in video games have a large affect on the gaming business. Afterall, would the Dead or Alive games ever sell if it weren't for the girls' scant outfits? Why was Tomb Raider able to crank out so many sequels? Wasn't it Chun-li who forced hordes of gamers to spend loads of quarters in the arcade? These pixelated vixens hold a lot more weight in game sales than most gamers take note of. So, the question isn't their importance in games, but their portrayal. Would games sell if the girls were in normal outfits? Would the Mario have had nearly as much success if the roles were reversed? In this an analyzation of women's roles in games as well as their affect on the industry, we will see how they have come, and if they really do help sell games .
The typical idea of women in games is that they are objectified, used as sexual objects. I used to feel this way too, and I always used to question things like why Jill Valentine would be fighting zombies and Nemesis in a tube top and mini skirt. I mean, the more skin she shows, the more likely she is to get bitten, right?? Yes, this is the thing you often hear feminist gamers talking about, and although I do agree with them for the most part, I don't think women in games are treated nearly as poorly as made out. A look at gaming history over the past twenty-five years, the female counterparts of games have really come a long way from what they were to begin with. Although they are still used as a ploy to sell games (Rumble Roses anyone), there has been a definite increase in the usage of females in games, almost to the point where lack of a main female character may result in a loss of sales.
- Take-Two “can’t ignore” the Wii-
Colour me less sceptical over the Wii's future as a one-size-fits-all console; in a recent conference call held to discuss the latest financial results of his company, Take-Two's CEO Ben Feder said that the large installed base of Nintendo's Wii means that it cannot be ignored and that M-rated content would be considered for release in the future.
The imminent release of GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS will give the company some insight into the viability of more grown-up content with Nintendo users, although it's had its fingers burnt once with the disappointing response to the release of Manhunt 2 last year.
"Even much of our M-rated content that we feel is much more appropriate for the PS3 or 360, we have to look at the Wii as a viable platform across all our labels," said Feder. "We just have to. We can't ignore the installed base; we just can't. And we're going to do a lot of learning with GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS in terms of bringing that kind of content to a Nintendo platform." He added that all future sports titles are being considered for Wii release.
This news should come as a shot in the arm for those publishers considering bringing more adult-themed content to the Wii. While it will never compete graphically with its rivals, the control system, coupled with Nintendo fans' taste for things which are a little left of centre, means that some thoroughly absorbing experiences could be created.
And more adult content may mean we finally get to see the end of those god-awful Animal Crossing adverts that are on TV at the minute. "I just designed a new T-shirt!" Do one! - Japanese Nationality in Phoenix Wright 3-
I finally finished Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations yesterday. It’s probably the best game in the series (including Apollo Justice) and the last case is a real whopper.
But it got me thinking about the things that Konami’s Hideo Kojima said at TGS this year; that Japanese videogame output has fallen way behind that of the West. This was a pretty ambiguous statement. Was he referring to the technical innovation and overall quality of the games? Or did he also mean culturally? Phoenix Wright 3 (made by Capcom, another Japanese developer that’s had big success in the West), sort of gives us a few clues.
The game’s last case gives us an insight into the power struggles in the Kurain genealogy, between the main and branch families. The Kurain families are female spirit chanellers, whose activities and garments bear a loose resemblance to Shinto mysticism. In this case, and indeed all throughout the series, the family’s identity is one of the core themes. Their clothes and symbols become significant and instantly recognisable, as do their musical themes which reflect this culture. Is the appearance of the Phoenix Wright games in the West a defiant statement of Japanese nationality amongst its alleged toning down for Western tastes?
Perhaps only partly. Despite the fact that the characters of the Kurain family all bear the visual signs of Japanese heritage, they are all written with American personalities, perhaps to fit in with where the game is set. Mia is an idealistic attorney, Maya a burger-crunching pop culture fanatic, and Pearl bears all the stereotypical resemblances to Western depictions of childhood: someone emotionally strong rather than intellectually strong. - Midway's $150 million Nightmare-
Looks like even the heroes of "Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe" can't even save Midway now. The company that made such games as Mortal Kombat and Spy Hunter, is massively in debt. This morning, the publisher issued a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that they are an incredible $240 USD in debt. How bad is that? Well, considering how their total assets at the end of September were $167.5 million USD (including property), that means that they are $72.5 million USD in debt.
How did Midway ever get in such a horrible financial state? Well, here's a break down: $150 million from various note holders, and $90 million from the company's former shareholder, National Amusements. National Amusements is owned by Summer Redstone, and as a result of the horrible economic situation he was forced to sell his $30 million dollar stake in the company for a mere $100,000 to financial buyer Mark Thomas. Midway's debtors may call in the company's debt if they so please due to their ownership change. Midway has indeed received notices from these people that they want their money back. According to the $150 million dollar loan, Midway has 20 days to send debt holders notices of the interest changes. The debtor companies could then decide make Midway pay 100 percent of their debts back in 30 days if they so please. So, in a nutshell Midways has 50 days to come up with $150 million dollars. By January 23rd, Midway could have to pay nearly twice of what they lost in their quarterly report in November (approximately $73.5 million.) If Midway doesn't pay this off, it could cause National Amusements to call their $90 million that they loaned to Midway. Based on what Midway has, there is no way that they would be able to pay off both loans.
"I can't really comment other than to say that we are pushing forward," a senior rep told Gamespot. Meanwhile, Midway is sticking to their release schedule through the first quarter of 2009.
- What is the Wii’s future?-
A fun, family-orientated console for all ages to enjoy? A serious console to rival the PS3 and Xbox 360, capable of hosting the next wave of cutting-edge games? Or a halfway house between the two? Just what does Nintendo want from the Wii and where is it headed? The direction seems confused.
One thing's for certain: it cannot compete with Sony and Microsoft in terms of getting games that display the bleeding edge of graphical prowess. But, with recent announcements suggesting games designed for grown-ups are in development for the system, and developers don't understand the Wii and don't develop to its strengths, it seems no one's really sure what to do with Nintendo's little white box.
Another certainty: you cannot market a console for over a year as being something for the whole family to enjoy, with multiplayer fun-fests and fitness fads at the heart of your campaigns, and then expect people to suddenly see your product in a different light. This episode seems reminiscent of the GameCube, where everyone saw it as a fun little toy that developers eventually shied away from while Sony and Microsoft fought for the loyalty of hardened gamers.
This time around is slightly different: unlike the GameCube, the Wii has sold by the bucket load, ensuring companies at least have to take a little bit of notice of what Nintendo wants to do. But unless there's consensus over what that is, we'll continue to get half-arsed conversions, poor relations to the leading titles and ‘family'-orientated games which most people simply regard as childish. - Ball-It : And We Thought The Wiimote Was Good-
The little white box of the Nintendo Wii doesn't have too much to look at, but it still pulls in a crowd. Ball-IT, a Finnish company, is hoping to compete with the Wii using the same tactics. They have produced a small, little squeezable ball, filled with sensors that can interact with TV screens, computers and mobile phones which they hope will revolutionize the way we play video games.Established in 2005, the Finnish company Ball-IT "aims to become a global leader in the development and production of motion controlled gaming solutions. These solutions include enabling devices and modules as well as core software components for implementing consumer-level User interfaces."
Although many other companies are also trying to come up with the next Wiimote-like controller, none have a product like Ball-it. "Ball-it wants to become the non-keyboard standard for remote communication with your screen." By using Bluetooth the golf-ball sized peripheral can interact with most other Bluetooth capable devices. The ball has wireless sensors built in and can sense geomagnetic fields, orientation, direction, speed, air pressure and acceleration, something that no other competitor has been able to do.
- Pointing the Adventure in the Right Direction-
Got a few thousand Wii Points to spend? It’s worth investing them in the enchantingly odd (and odd-titled) Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People. The first two episodes of the game series that defines acronymic awkwardness are now available on WiiWare, and provide welcome resuscitation for the sporadically dead genre of yore: the Point and Click Adventure.
Based on the long running online animated cartoon Homestar Runner, S.B’s.C.G.F.A.P focuses on the Macho Libre figure of Strong Bad and his frequent attempts to make Homestar’s life a misery. The first episode sees him, among other things, ruining Homestar’s attempt to win The Free Country Tri-Annual Race to the End of the Race, using a metal detector to find buried treasure, and chain-sawing bushes to death in order to gather their precious branches. It’s all madly surreal stuff, brilliantly written and spoken in wonderfully self-mocking internet idiom. And it might remind you of such classics as…such classics as…DAY OF THE TENTACLE!
- Don’t buy a PS3 this Christmas...-
...wait until Easter - the price is set to go down. According to rumours surrounding the Sony Computer Entertainment Staff Annual Briefing yesterday, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe head David Reeves said the pricing of the PlayStation 3 is set to get "more competitive" from Easter 2009. In some crazy, mixed-up world, that may mean that the pounds and the pence are going to have a race to see who's better. In our normal, mundane world though, that means a price cut.
According to PS3 fansite D+pad (http://www.dpadmagazine.com/2008/11/22/huge-sony-info-blowout/), Sony's console is outselling Microsoft's Xbox 360 in PAL territories, with a bigger installed user base. SCEE is currently the darling of Sony's games division, eclipsing SCEJ and SCEA in terms of sales. D+Pad's source added that sales of the PS3 in Europe have put the accounts ‘into the black'.
No exact date was leaked for the PS3 price drop but seeing as how the eagerly-awaited Killzone 2 is slated for a March release, don't be surprised if the two go hand in hand. Sony had better pray that there's a quick turnaround in the world economy or, price drop or no, there are going to be less and less people with money burning a hole in their pocket by the time we're tucking into chocolate eggs. And those hard-up parents who shelled out on a PS3 this Christmas in the vain hope of silencing their whingeing offspring are going to be plenty mad that they could have waited three months and saved some dough. Plus, the lure of a £130 360 may still prove too much for some, particularly in these economically tight times.
- Has Lara Croft revealed the awful truth?-
Is Tomb Raider: Underworld as good as some sources claim? According to blog site Twitter, one of its reviewers was asked to postpone a review if the game was expected to score less than 8 out of 10. While the PR firm accused, Barrington Harvey, has firmly denied any tampering, it raises the obvious question; who can you trust?
It's certainly a fine line. I was once asked hypothetically in an interview what I would do if a games company told me I couldn't review a game unless I gave it a high score. I said that as a staff writer, or someone even further down the pecking order, I'd have to run such a decision past the editor. But it appears lack of a game to review would be the least of my worries. My interviewer told me that sometimes such "requests" could be backed up by suggestions that certain advertising would be removed and that future releases would be more difficult to come by.
It's certainly true that exclusive reviews are often handed to magazines based on the amount of coverage they are given, even if that means trying to fill nine pages of one official magazine with just four or five fairly boring screenshots (you know who you are!). And in the cut-throat world of games magazines, getting your hands on a game first may put you in the sort of mood to add an extra mark or two to a game's score.
- Square's New Partership-
Square Enix Inc., the creator of huge franchises such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest, has announced that they have entered a new partnership with another company. Gas Powered Games Corp. and Square Enix are entering what they are calling a "strategic partnership".
To consummate their joining, the companies are working on a sequel to the Supreme Commander, an award winning strategy-based series. The partnership is one of the first steps in hopes to increase western development efforts for the global market. Considering how Enix has exclusively worked with only Japanese based companies before this, a location outside of Japan comes as a bit of a shock. However, working with western companies is the going to be one of the "cornerstones" in creating games geared toward North American and European markets.
"We see great opportunities in North American and European markets, both of which are expected to be maintaining sustainable growth over these coming years," said Yoichi Wada, president and a representative of Square Enix Ltd. "Therefore, it is crucial we create alliances with proven developers such as Gas Powered Games in order to serve these significant markets better by providing products and services in tune with customer tastes."
John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix and Square Enix Ltd., Square Enix's sister company in U.K., says that, "We are extremely excited to begin working with Gas Powered Games' talented personnel and see this strategic partnership as a significant step in our efforts to bring Square Enix titles to a broader global audience."
- 'Playstation Addiction' Forces Child into Hospital-
A 13 year old Italian boy, Lorenzo Amato, was admitted into a local hospital after showing stroke-like symptoms, Ananova has reported. The doctors at Italy's Lecce hospital said Amato couldn't speak. They thought he could have had a severe brain disorder after the youngster didn't understand anything that was going on around him.
Later the medics learnt that he'd been playing on his Sony Playstation for an unbelievable amount of time; a "marathon session" in fact.
The news travelled fast and a local politician, Antonio Buccoliero, was concerned for the boy. After speaking to the doctors Buccoliero said "They eventually managed to take care of him once they understood that this was a strange kind of mental detachment connected to his Playstation."
Nevertheless, the teenager, Amato, told his father to throw out the console and games, and stated "If I even think about it I want to throw up."
It's a sad time when children are being affected mentally by video games. They are supposed to be seen as a source of entertainment, pleasure, and nowadays even education (video games not children). What would happen to the industry if this changed and we started to see video games as an addictive influence like smoking or alcohol?
Back in 2006, a clinic for addicted gamers was opened in the Netherlands. An eight week program was started by the ‘Smith and Jones' addiction consultancy, with the knowledge of around 20% of gamers, including some children, could develop a dependency on their gaming habits.
They say that this compulsion resembles symptoms of gambling addicts and risk damaging relationships, health, education and their careers. One patient said "I have no social life; I have no friends - only cyber-friends" - Games rating debate rumbles on-
While PEGI's new traffic-light games-rating system looks to be getting rolled out in Europe by next spring, debate in the UK still rages on over who knows best. A report into the rating of games by Dr Tanya Byron, which concluded its consultation review yesterday, suggested that the current PEGI symbol system is too confusing for parents, with some believing the black and white age suggestions referred to the difficulty of the game, rather than whether or not they'd be exposing their little cherubs to a screenful of violent laser death.
PEGI (Pan European Game Information) has come up with a traffic-light solution, where the age ratings would be displayed in colour-coded circles. ELSPA, the UK's governing body, seems to think this is a good idea and has submitted a report to the Government suggesting that the PEGI system should be adopted and become legally enforceable. But the British Board of Film Classification disagrees. It sees itself as the arbiter of taste and decency, especially when it comes to those little round symbols. "We have challenged a number of organisations who have come up with symbols that look very close to BBFC symbols," said David Cooke, the BBFC's director.
So the argument looks set to continue. As games reach new heights of photorealism, and gamers lust after more violent, bloodthirsty titles - or simply ones where the violence and bloodthirsty-ness appear more realistic - there obviously needs to be a system in place which monitors and advises on the suitability of a game for a certain age range. What this does not need to boil down to is an arm-wrestling contest between the BBFC and PEGI over who owns the rights to put numbers in coloured circles. Maybe squares, or some other, more imaginative shapes, are the way forward?
- Hyper-Post Colonialism and Far Cry 2-
After spending some considerable (and often unnecessarily extended) time driving around the environments of Ubisoft’s Far Cry 2, it becomes apparent that the hybrid genre it champions, that between First Person Shooter and free-roaming Role Playing, reveals something very telling about the new sociological terrain that videogaming is (or rather isn't) heading in.
- New Wii Service Policy with Firmware Update-
A recent spate of firmware updates trying to stop the Homebrew Channel has finally ended up with a change of the Wii Network Service Privacy Policy. It gives details how your Wii may now download updates without your permission or even without notifying you first.
Old Policy
"To ensure that your Wii Console is operating properly and efficiently, we may download updates, patches, upgrades and similar software to your Wii Console. In addition, we may disable unauthorized or illegal software that has been placed on your Wii Console without notifying you where necessary, in order to comply with applicable laws, assist law enforcement, protect us and our customers, and prevent the use and distribution of software obtained through improper channels."
New Policy"We may without notifying you, download updates, patches, upgrades and similar software to your Wii Console and may disable unauthorized or illegal software placed on your Wii Console to ensure that your Wii Console is operating properly and efficiently, comply with applicable laws, assist law enforcement, protect us and our customers, or prevent the use and distribution of software obtained through improper channels."
There are also some other changes due to the update, including;USB keyboard support in the Mii Channel.
Enhanced Parental Controls.
Twilight Hack version 0.1 beta1 can't be copied to the system memory.
Improved SD card read/write speed.
Improved disc reading. - The Masochistic Side of Brain Games.-
Over the last few weeks I have been thoroughly hooked on ‘Brain Training' type games. My favourite of which has been the newly released ‘Brain Challenge' on Nintendo Wii. This 1000 point WiiWare title has plenty of give with its five categories of puzzles: Logic, Math, Memory, Visual and Focus, and 43 different mini-games which include;
‘Balance' where different objects are shown on scales and the player must determine which is the heaviest object.
‘Trout Route' where the player must follow a path based on the progressive numerical relationship given (ie. +2, -3, etc.)
‘Travelling' requires the player to memorize a route of arrows.
‘Bouncing Ball' has the player determining which ball bounces highest.
Of course all of these have to be played as quick as possible to receive the highest score. Your score then gets turned into a percentage of brain power, and with the game starting with a quote "They say humans only use 10% of their brains..." don't expect to see huge numbers.
- New Football Manager goes to Goodison-
In what can only be seen as another step along the road to the day when even our most treasured hobbies are played out by free-thinking robots, Everton football club has signed a deal with Sports Interactive, creator of the Football Manager series, giving the Toffee Men exclusive access to the latest FM incarnation's database of foreign talent.
David Moyes has gained himself access to the opinions of over 1,000 worldwide scouts who compile the data for the FM games; instantly getting his hands on the vital statistics of more than 370,000 individuals from the world's favourite sport. In the past, Football Manager has predicted the rise of such talents as Wayne Rooney, who began his playing career with Everton, Barcelona wunderkind Lionel Messi, and Aston Villa's Ashley Young.
No doubt Moyes' Premiership rivals are choking on their Ready Brek at the prospect of Goodison Park's youth academy being stuffed to the gills with burgeoning footie talent. Even more so because, claims Sports Interactive, this wasn't the first time it's been approached by a team looking for the inside edge. It won't have harmed Everton's cause any that the founders of SI, brothers Paul and Oliver Collyer, are die-hard Everton fans.
If nothing else, the story sheds light as to how Alex Ferguson got his red nose. All those hours staring at his PC screen looking for the next Cristiano Ronaldo have given his schnozz a healthy glow.
- I'm playing all the right notes....-
........but not necessarily in the right order.
They often say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in a market already near dominated with the Guitar Hero and Rock Band game series, it seems that Wii Music, the latest 'big' release from Nintendo, isn't doing itself any favours by imitating its bigger and far more successful cousins. Despite an intensive advertising assault to promote Wii Music, just under 81,000 units had been sold by the end of October, a mere drop in the ocean when compared to the initial figures of both Wii Fit and Wii Sports in their first month of sale.
So what's behind this poor start of sales? Well, for a bit of a chuckle, head to Youtube and see for yourself the E3 video of Wii Music's introduction........the end 'symphony' sounds very much like a cat being neutered with nothing but a rusty cheese grater and a book on DIY cat surgery, its painful to say the least yet highly amusing.
- The console is dying. Really?-
In this recent article for ClickZ (http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3631593), Kevin Carney puts forward an argument suggesting console gaming is dying and set to be overtaken by online gaming. While he presents a couple of good points, and raises issues which games publishers and console manufacturers will need to address in the future, his overall theory is a little wide of the mark.
Too soon to say - First off, even taking the early release of the Xbox 360 into account, we are still only three years into a five-year console cycle and already we are seeing new ways to use our consoles. Nintendo's Wii offers something that had only been dreamed of in the past with its innovative control system and has brought the console squarely into the family space. Meanwhile, the blu-ray capabilities of the PlayStation3 and the rise of services such as Xbox Live and downloadable movies mean that the console is now becoming the little black box underneath the TV that does almost everything. - The Many Lawsuits of Nintendo Wii-
Since the Nintendo Wii was released it has been popular not only with gamers but legal actions as well. Just two months after the Wii showed its little white box in public, it was involved in a legal case with California-based Interlink Electronics. They had patented a ‘Trigger Operated Electronic Device' patent no. 6,850,221, filed in September 1997, only 9 years earlier, and described as an "ergonomically effective mouse for operating a computer." They also stated "This invention relates to a trigger operated electronic device. In particular, it concerns a mouse for operating a cursor in a computer system." Unfortunately for Nintendo their Wiimotes are also a trigger operated device that uses a pointer on a TV or screen and does slightly resemble the diagram in the patent. Needless to say Nintendo were taken to court to be sued.
- Prepare for the Mortal Kombat backlash-
After focusing their attention on Jonathan Ross, Russell Brand and Jeremy Clarkson over the last few weeks, it seems professional complainers will have a more traditional outlet when Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe hits these shores on November 21.
Controversy is bound to follow Midway's decision to leave in The Joker's gun-toting fatality; a move which has been given more coverage due to the fact that it's been taken out of the US release. The deadly finishing move sees the villain pull a gun and shoot his opponent in the head. We'll get to see the whole bloody thing, while our friends across the pond will have to make do with a toned-down version.
In an interview with Videogamer (http://www.videogamer.com/news/06-11-2008-9867.html), Midway's Hans Lo explained that the game would be given a Teen rating in the States, meaning it can be purchased by younger teens, while in Europe it'll gain itself a higher rating and allow the grim-but-cool fatality (which you can see at the end of this video clip http://www.gametrailers.com/player/38955.html) to remain.
Cue the Daily Mail-brigade getting their knickers in all kinds of knots. First, this obviously "glamorises" gun violence and will make scores of kids hunt out firearms and start shooting. Second, on the back of research which suggests videogames have long-term effects on children's violent behaviour, questions are bound to be asked about the "responsibility" of the videogame industry towards children, despite the fact that, due to the rating, the game shouldn't even be played by kids. Finally, it throws a Glock-shaped cat among the pigeons when it comes to the debate over game rating in this country. The government would like to see more involvement from the BBFC in this matter, but PEGI continues to insist that it can handle game rating, and is pushing to implement a traffic light system. A report is due on the issue the day before MK vs DC hits shops. - Games sales to eclipse music and film-
It was bound to happen one day. As the little black (or white) games box moved from kids' bedrooms to the living room and got everyone from your gran to the cat involved, sales of videogames were always going to grow. And quickly. But a report by the group Verdict Research predicts videogame sales will outstrip those of music and movies this year for the first time ever.
Estimates suggest revenue from videogames for 2008 will reach a whopping £4.6billion, up 42 per cent in the past year, compared to £4.5billion for video and music sales combined.
The results come on the back of a massive year for games, with stellar titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV and Wii Fit revitalising the market. But the shift does mark a growing trend in the popularity of games. And it seems the oncoming recession has done little to dampen people's buying habits when it comes to their consoles. When a CD or DVD offers only an hour or two's worth of entertainment, people are prepared to splash out that little bit more on a game which they know will last weeks. Retailers are noticing the trend and devoting more space in their stores to games and less to music.
Some experts blame piracy for the decline in music sales, but the growth in downloads - which gives consumers the chance to buy a single track for pennies as opposed to a whole album for pounds - must have something to do with lost revenue. Meanwhile, in the DVD sector, it seems while actual numbers of DVDs sold continues to grow, discounting and competition between retailers is causing the profits to stagnate.
- World of Warcraft isn't Going Anywhere-
Perhaps the biggest gaming juggernaut of the past decade has just reached its pinnacle of 11 million subscribers. Yes folks, there are 11 million subscriptions to World of Warcraft right now, making Blizzard’s MMO a force to be reckoned with. World of Warcraft is easily the biggest thing to happen to online gaming in a long time, and shows no signs of stopping.
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- The votes are in folks.....-
The big winners in the Golden Joystick Awards 2008
The votes have been counted, the numbers crunched, the joypads finally put down and the curtains drawn onto a cold autumnal morning, as the results of the Golden Joystick Awards 2008 have been announced with no real shocks, surprises or curve balls being thrown by the gaming public it seems. In fact it's as clear as the aforementioned autumnal morning which game has clearly triumphed across the board this year; Activision-Blizzard's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It scooped the awards for best multiplayer and was the ESA PC Game of the year too with gaming website GamesRadar.com also voting it online game of the year. To round off a great haul of awards, Activision-Blizzard were also voted as the Future UK Publisher of the Year. And it doesn't end there with the Call of Duty series with Play.com nominating the next installment of the series, Call of Duty: World at War as the One to Watch for next year.
In other awards, Rockstar North were voted as the CVG.co.uk UK Developer of the year, an award that went alongside Grand Theft Auto 4's triumph in the awards for the BBC 1Xtra Soundtrack of the Year (remember this the next time you're performing a drive by to the backdrop of Evil Woman by ELO, a stranger juxtaposition I cannot think of....) and also the Arvato Digital Services Xbox Game of the Year. The full round up of the awards presented are show below;
- Pre Ordering a Video Game - A Master Class in product launches and marketing?-
Christmas is approaching and we're already seeing the launch of a lot of this quarter's big budget, high impact titles. 2007 & 2008 more so than any other year has seen the release of franchise sequals and big launches accompanying the release of certain titles. I'm taking a quick look at some of the things that have been happening in the UK games market place to help the launch of new games and make them stand out from the crowd. These incentives to buy and incentives to pre-order generally fall into 3 categories - 1) exclusive versions of the game or cases/content when it's purchased 2) extra freebies given away with the purchase of the game 3) In game/game perks and bonuses not otherwise available.
- Mobile Gaming Set To Boom- One of the biggest potential developments in the gaming industry is that of mobile gaming, eEspecially casual mobile gaming. Boosted by the advent of Smart Phones such as the iphone and the new accessibility of customers to this market with mobile downloads taking off, the industry looks poised to launch. The world's early adopters of technology and trends, the far east seems to be the place where it's growing quickest.
- Will the iphone kill dedicated hand-held gaming consoles?- With Apple recently announcing the launch of the iphone 3G plus itunes 7 around the corner with an iTunes application store allowing you to download, amongst other things, games, are Apple about to shake up the handheld gaming market?
- Kids think games do make them more violent-
Kids think games do make them more violent
Broadcasting regulator OFCOM has conducted a survey in the UK about violence in video games. The survey has found that most children believe violent computer games do lead to aggressive behaviour, a hot topic again following GTA IVs release, which smashed the first week sales record in the UK and of course revolves around Nico Belic's rise in the criminal world of Libery City. - Console gaming could "die in the next 5 to 10 years"- This is the extraordinary statement by Sandy Duncan, who is CEO of YoYo Games and also the person responsible for launching and overseeing the European Xbox business on behalf of Microsoft. Sandy Duncan’s quote is below: "The industry is fundamentally driven by technology. I think dedicated games devices i.e. consoles (and handhelds) will die [out] in the next 5 to 10 years. The business model is very risky and the costs associated with creating new hardware are incredibly high."
