Brighton Ahoy!

Sorry about the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks, I've been super busy writing up previews for the upcoming EA Sports catalogue - NBA Live 09 and NHL 09 both have mega cool online features that make them worth checking out.

Anyway, off to the Brighton Develop conference this Wednesday and am looking forward to seeing the big dog himself Ken Levine (Creative Director on Bioshock/ 2K Boston President) speak about gameplay and story in Bioshock.

Fanboy alert! It's Ken Levine!

Will be heading off to the NCSoft offices later in the day to see (and hopefully play) upcoming MMO 'Aion' and interview the guys about it. I'm not a big MMO fan but it's always exciting to see games that are still in development. Need to catch the train at 6.30 am though, which is gonna be a bummer.

Looking forward to Soul Calibur 4 at the end of week too, i played the game a few months back and it felt awesome then so my expectations are pretty high. The pain of not being able to play Yoda vs. Vader will still take a while to ease though.

In other news Bionic Commando: Rearmed will be released August 13th! With that and Geo Wars 2 being released in consecutive weeks i think it's time to invest a few more Xbox Live Points.

E3 08 - MAG

MAG - Massive Action Game.



The trailer for this looks incredible - a 256 player online, squad based action game that includes all the usual MMO elements of a dip in and out campaign and personal character development. The trailer showed a massive squad of players that included tanks, air borne infantry and mounted guns attempting to take out a fortified enemy base.

If this game works properly than i might have to take my first step into the MMO world as it finally looks as though there is a game worthy of my time on the horizon.

Early days yet though...

E3 08 - DC Universe Online

Sony Online Entertainment announced the development of DC Universe Online. As the name suggests it's an MMO set in the DC Universe.

You'll be able to create your own hero/villian and enter the DC world alongside the more established hereos of Batman, the Flash, Superman etc.

Playing as a villian sounds awesome! Release prisoners from Arkham Asylum and take out the Batman! Yes!

In terms of art style it's all based around the Jim Lee drawn DC comics so if you're a fan of those then you'll be pleased, if not... tough. The design of the Joker looks particular sweet!

E3 08 - PSP... same old

PSP is still not setting the gaming world aflame with excitement and that looks set to continue.

Resistance Retribution will be coming to the PSP in Spring of 2009... looks... average.

LocoRoco 2 will also be coming to the PSP - not sure where they can go with that franchise to make it different (or better) than the original, but we'll see.

Vakyrie Chronicles looked pretty awesome though!

E3 08 - Playstation Home

So will Home ever be available? Yes... apparently...

New video of PS Home (which looks very similar to vids we've seen before) shows off some features such as game-specific locations such as "the Resistance 2" area which is all decked out in Resistance attire (metal walls and alien corpses etc.) but only shows a bunch of avatars standing around talking... great.

No world on when it's going live though.

E3 08 - PSN

Finally, all Playstation users will have a single, unique sign-on... about time! Much like your Xbox Live ID this will allow you to sign on via a PC and see your friends list and send messages etc.

New PSN title announced - Racthet & Clank Futures: Quest for Booty a continuation of the PS3 R&C game. For a downloadable game, the graphics look crazy good... like retail game good. R&C: Quest for Booty will be $14.99 and will be out this fall.

The montage of upcoming titles for the PSN make the XBLA titles look like graphical crap (apart from Geo Wars), they are 50% more expensive though.

New RagDoll Kung-Fu game coming out... i totally hate ragdoll physics.

Gran Turismo TV (GTTV) will be launched through the PSN from August 1st to users who own Gran Turismo: Prologue. This will enable users to download a variety of free and PPV content from the car world. This includes TV programmes such as Top Gear and All About Ferrari as well as actual race events from all over the world.

E3 08 - 130 New Games Coming to PS2 in 2008

As well as the usual Warriors Orochi, Singstar, and Madden updates Yakuza 2 will finally be coming out in the west this year!

Gonna have to dust off that old PS2 and plug it in for a few days later this year then...

E3 08 - A LittleBigPlanet Business

LittleBigPlanet is used to demonstrate Sony's business numbers. Wow, LittleBigPlanet is looking as stunning as ever. Final Fantasy might not be exclusive anymore but this game might just be the real reason to get that PS3 in your home.

Sony outline how they are going to start full scale distribution in the Latin American territories. The Playstation brand has generated over $50 Billion of revenue since the launch of PS1.

Seriously... LittleBigPlanet is a system seller! I want it now!

E3 08 - Resistance 2

Insomniac's Resistance 2 is the first title shown off by Sony at their press conference. And yes... it looks mightily impressive. Set in 1952 you'll need to fight the Chimera and reclaim the USA for ourselves. First a scene is shown in which you're fighting a hella big monster (i mean like bigger than the thing out of Cloverfield) with a rocket launcher.

I mean, the monster is bloody huge, and it looks amazing. Your character's movement looks a little sluggish though. A new trailer was then shown which gives you a good background of the story you'll be playing through in the game (basically... shit is all messed up).

Resistance 2 will feature 8 player online co-op and 60 player competitive multiplayer.

E3 08 - Wii MotionPlus & Wii Music

Add-on for the Wii-mote which will improve the motion controls for the controller will be bundled with Wii Sports Resort (next spring).

Looks as though the add-on works well and dramatically increases the possibilities for developers to create games that are more intune with the gamers movements.

Shigeru Miyamoto (the dude) introduces Wii-music! A music game that uses the Wii-mote (including nunchuk) and the Wii Balance Board. Wii Music is focused on allowing everyone to "experience the joy" of creating music. Instead of following on-screen commands you just move the controller (or push a button) to the timing you want and the game will pick a note for you that matches the tune of the song. For example, if you want to play the saxophone you just hit the buttons when you want to play a note and the game decide on the correct note to play.

The drum mode is different as you have to actually hit the correct pads and symbols (displayed on-screen) to create the correct sounds. The Wii Balance Board is used to hit the foot pedals. Lessons are included to touch you about playing the drums.

Classic Nintendo tunes will be included to play in the game i.e. Mario theme, F-Zero them etc.

E3 08 - Grand Theft Auto DS

Holy Crap! GTA: Chinatown Wars will be coming to the DS this year! The game will be set in GTA4's Liberty City and will introduces a host of new characters.

E3 08 - A Console for Everyone

Nintendo DS gamers are now 48% female - 52% male.

Guitar Hero: On Tour "Decades" will be coming to DS this fall and will allow players to share songs with other gamers. For example you have GH: On TOur and your friend has On Tour "Decades" - you'll be able to play each others songs co-op via local Wi-Fi.

Spore will be a unique experience on DS including a unique creature creator using touch screen and you will also be able to exchange creatures between DS'... PC one looks a lot though.

Poke-fans mark your calenders! New Pokemon Ranger set for Nov 10th

E3 08 - Call of Duty: World At War (Wii)

Loads of gameplay footage of COD: World at War which looked rather impressive graphically for a Wii title. Interestingly players were shown using the Wii-Zapper - will be interesting to see how the control scheme for movement works.

E3 08 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars

New Wii game based on the Genndy Tartakovsky Star Wars animated series. Character models are extremely loyal to the versions that appeared in the animation.

E3 08 - Pleased, but not satisfied!

Finally here's Reggie to pat himself (and his company) on the back.

Reggie says Wii sales in the US have exceeded 10 million units and the DS has broken the 20 million mark in the US (amazing DS sold 8.5 million in 2007 alone with 2008 sales 12% ahead of that!). Reggie claims that the Pokemon franchise is the main catalyst for the sales totals.

Pokemon game sales have exceeded the 185 million mark worldwide.

DS has sold over 70 million copies worldwide!

Apparently third-party Wii titles have been successful... not so sure about that.

E3 08 - Animal Crossing: City Folk

Katsuya Eguchi speaks about Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii. City Folk will include a city which will host such areas as shops, beauty salons, an area to see what other players are currently doing.

The post office will now include options to enable you to add pictures to letters and post them to the Wii message board or send directly to friends.

City Folk will also include the Wii-speak option which always you to communicate using voice with other players in the game. The Wii Speak peripheral will come bundled with the game.

Of course, all the Animal Crossing staples are present and correct - visit other players town, design your room and plant flowers etc.

E3 08 - Iwata-San

Nintendo's Global President Saturo Iwata lays out why Nintendo has been succesful:

"Evergreen Products" - Games such as Nintendogs, Mario Kart have a long product lifecycle and continue to sell many years after release - this is in contrast to the usual big release followed by distinctly fewer sells model.

"Great Ideas" - WiiWare enables small teams, with small budgets to make great games based on a great idea.

"Intuitive Interface" - New ways of interacting with games has changed the market in terms of who buy and play games.

"New Form of Social Interaction" - The breaking down of the physioligical barriers between gamers and non-gamers. Wii and DS games have enabled the steroetypical gamer to talk with the "non-gamer" about videogames on an even playing field.

Iwata also makes a jab at Sony and Microsoft by stating that innovative idea get boring faster when competitors copy and dilute ideas. Follows on by saying that Nintendo are constantly thinking about new ways to both improve the current experience and to create new ones.

E3 08 - Where's Reggie?

Reggie is not presenting the Nintendo Press Conference... boo!

They have got Olympic Gold Medallist Shaun White demoing "Shaun White Snowboarding" using the Wii Balance Board though.

E3 08 - 360 Fall Update Details

Here is the official release from Microsoft regarding their upcoming 360 fall system update. *Taken directly from Microsoft's own Major Nelson*.

· Play from hard drive. Copy your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive. Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game.

· Access Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web. Browse and purchase Marketplace content whenever you want from Xbox.com and it downloads automatically to your console. Purchase that new map, television episode, the latest Xbox LIVE Arcade game or set up a movie to watch when you get home from work.

· Dashboard built into the new Xbox Guide. For everyone who loves the blades interface, it’s not going away; they are now built directly in to the new Xbox guide. Every feature and option is available right from the guide. You can even access your full games library at all times. No matter where you are (in dash or in game), immediately call up your games played list and directly launch a game.

· LIVE Party system. Create a party of up to eight friends, and stay with them from one game to another, or watch a Netflix movie together, or share a slideshow of your personal photos. It works with all Xbox 360 titles, not just upcoming games. LIVE Party allows up to eight people to chat in the dashboard, so you can meet up before playing.

· Xbox LIVE Primetime. This whole new category of games is going to give you more reasons to get online with your friends. Games will support everything you’d expect, like Achievements and leader boards, but many of these games will include real prizes. You can invite your friends, and even set a reminder for an upcoming show. Each game is broadcast simultaneously, so everyone is answering the same questions. Many events will have a live host, calling the shots as they happen.

· Avatars. Your online identity started as a Gamertag - it then grew into a personalized Gamercard. Now, it has evolved even further into avatars. You can express your style, check out new outfits and share this with the community. Avatars will also be integrated into Xbox LIVE Arcade games, LIVE Party, as well as retail games.

· New display support. Because you asked for it, we are adding 16X10 over VGA or HDMI, and support for 1440x900 or 1680x1050.

E3 08 - OMG! Square Enix have done it again!

How odd that an American made console looks as though it will be the dominant platform for RPG fans over the next year or more.

Final Fantasy XIII will be coming to the 360! No longer just a PS3 exclusive, FFXIII will be available in N. America and Europe on the 360 at the same time as the PS3 version. Rejoice 360 owners, rejoice!

Square Enix also announced release dates for their other 3 eagerly anticipated RPG titles - The Last Remnant will be released worldwide on November 20th and will debut on the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows. Star Ocean: The Last Hope will be available in Spring 2009. and 360 exclusive Infinite Undiscovery will be available Sept 2nd in N. America and Sept 5th in Europe.

E3 08 - Rockband Debuts Exclusively on 360

Rockband 2 will debut exclusively to the 360 this September (in the US).

Shackler's Revenge from the upcoming Guns 'n' Roses album will be available on Rockband 2, from launch, amongst 83 other tracks included on the retail disc. Among others the track list includes - Metallica, Beck, Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam etc etc etc.

Great news for owners of the original Rockband is that any tracks you have downloaded for the game will be forward compatible in Rockband 2 and you'll also have the option of loading up the tracks on the original Rockband disc to use in Rockband 2.

E3 08 - The Rumours Were True

Lips is a real game and yes it's a karaoke from the creators of (the awesome series) Gitaroo Man.

Lips will allow you to use music from your own music collection from your iPod or Zune. Not only will you be able to sing into the bundled microphone you'll also be able to create sounds of a tambourine by shaking or clapping with the mic in your hands, allowing you add your own style to the track.

At this point the artist Duffy came onto stage to demo the product who, quite humorously, didn't manage to hit all the notes on her own track. Still, the whole product seemed to work very well and looked someway ahead of Sony's singstar - especially with the ability to play any of your own music collection.

E3 08 - You're In The Movies

Codemasters will be releasing "You're in the Movies" - a game which encourages you to make short, funny movies by performing the actions that the game prompts you to engage in (these include swatting bugs on the screen and dance to the in-game music).

You'll see a representation of yourself on the TV via the Xbox Live Vision Camera (bundled with the game) and the whole thing kinda seems very similar to the Eyetoy. After going through a number of tasks the game will compile the footage into a short movie by adding it's own preset scenes and graphics. You then have the option to edit the footage and upload them to Xbox Live.

It seems like a pretty funny game that would be good in a party situation but will certainly not cater to the hardcore gamer crowd.

E3 08 - Geometry Wars, Galaga Legions, Portal: Still Alive and more...

Geometry Wars 2 (Bizarre Creations) and a brand new Galaga game "Galaga Legions" (from Pac-Man World Championship Creators - Namco Bandai) will both be available next month.



This next one will send shivers down your spine. Portal: Still Alive will be released this autumn exclusively on Xbox Live as well as a mysterious South Park licensed project.

The original Banjo Kazooie will also be available via Xbox Live Arcade in the run up to the release of Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

E3 08 - The new Xbox Experience

Xbox Live will be receiving a dramatic overhaul this autumn. The much talked about "avatars" (very similiar Nintendo's Mii system) will be included in the update allowing you to customise a character that "shows off your personality" and allows you to "express yourself".

As a whole the new system looks a lot simpleir and user friendly but as a "hardcore gamer" i get the feeling that the whole thing might be a little too simple and, dare i say it, too "Nintendo-ey".

Apparently the "new Xbox experience" is tailored to the living room. Instead of the traditional friends list you'll now have a community channel that that show which friends are online in a lobby and are represented by their avatars. This will allow you to connect with multiple friends at once and do things such as share photos etc.

Microsoft have also signed up with production company Endemol (Big Brother and Who Wants to be a Millionaire) to produce "Prime Time" - a massively multiplayer online game show in which you can compete against the whole of Xbox Live in a live game show.

A new "games channel" will also be added. This enables you to take any friends that are within the aforementioned community channel and launch a game (i.e. the newly announced Uno Rush") which will transfer all of your selected friends with you.

E3 08 - Microsoft: "360 will sell more units than PS3 this generation"

Microsoft claim that the 360 will definitely sell more units than the PS3 this generation. They also claim that the user base for Xbox Live has over 12 mi lion users worldwide and live users have spent over $1 Billion on Xbox Live downloads since launch.

NBC and Universal Studios have also signed up to release TV programming and movies over Xbox Live (in the US).

That means awesome movies like The Bourne Supremacy and Fast and the Furious will now be available - from today! If only i was in the US....

A selection of the MGM movie library will be available from today in Europe.

E3 08 - The Locusts Are Back

Probably the most anticipated game between now and christmas is Gears of War 2. The footage shown during Microsoft's press conference looked mightily impressive to say the least. While perhaps not much has changed gameplay-wise since Gears 1 the sheer scale of the game this time round looks significantly bigger.

The amount of enemies on-screen at once is, frankly, ridiculous with seemingly whole armies of locusts swarming in your direction. You'll also have to go up against Burmaks (giant beasts that you couldn't fight in the original) - which will be fun... if difficult.

New five player co-op mode "Horde" included in which ;players will have to battle wave after wave of increasingly difficult groups of locusts.

Released worldwide Nov. 7th.

E3 08 - I Love Capcom

The big story: Resident Evil 5 has full online co-op support!

Released in N. America & Europe on March 13th 2009 and Japan March 12th 2009.

Multi Kill!

Unreal Tournament 3 (360) review is now online over at GamersUniverse. Check it out here.

Not Such A Bad Company After All

For the past couple of weeks all I've been playing (in between games i gotta play for review) is Battlefield: Bad Company. I wouldn't exactly call myself a Battlefield veteran so I can't really compare this game is previous versions in much detail so all i will say is wow!


In terms of pure fun this game is up there with the very best and treads a fine line between tactical play and all out carnage. Both single and multiplayer elements are well put together and feel brilliantly polished. Enemies in single player do seem to be able to spot you a little too easily though, which makes stealthy play pretty difficult, but hey when you can blow up virtually everything in the game world who needs stealth, right?

"Gold Rush" (the sole multiplayer mode) is a well conceived idea also and offers you a wide range of routes to take in order to complete your objective. In terms of weapons it's not the guns but the support items that are the most gun to use. Destroying tanks with the mortar launcher or the laser designator (a user controlled missile) is hard to beat and I'm struggling to find an example of something equally as satisfying in any other FPS.

Anyway, i suggest checking the game out and giving it a spin for yourself. In the mean time take a look at these user uploaded pics from the game's multiplayer. The first one i took myself and got an achievement at the same time, which somehow scrambled the top of the pic - oh well.

Note - Click on pics to see full size image.

Go Team!

Shit... dude is dead!

WTF?

Imagine what that looks like from the other side of the wall...

New Banner - Check It!

Huge thanks to Dom Palmer for coming up with the awesome banner using the Battlefield: Bad Company grenade logo - big improvement over my personal effort, as was the old banner.

Hopefully this relationship will spawn new banners each month so keep your eyes peeled!

You can check out Dom's blog (including other examples of his work) right here.

Look him up!

I got on a leaderboard! (Briefly)

First time i've ever noticed myself on a worldwide leaderboard, albeit briefly! Check out the screen below of the Soul Calibur (XBLA version) Extra Survival leaderboard using Sueng Mina - 10th place in the world. Yay! I've now been surpassed - oh well... geeks.

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Update

New articles!

Reviews
NASCAR 09 (PS3/360)
Shadowgrounds Survivor (PC)
Top Spin 3 (PS3/360)

Previews
Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise


Also added a recommended and watching/listening etc. sections to side panel!