Our Misspent Youth - A Gaming Blog

It's All A Game To Me?

2011-05-21T02:13:00.002+01:00

Violence in Video Games is a topic of great controversy and debate. There are those who see it as insignificant and harmless, and those who see it as down right deplorable. As I write this The United States Supreme Court are hearing a case that has the potential to change the way in which Video Games are perceived, by the masses, for good. I spoke to Nathan Ditum, a gaming journalist – former Reviews Editor at Official Playstation Magazine, current associate Editor of FirstPlay, and one of MCV’s “30 under 30” in the gaming industry - in an attempt to gain his insights on the controversial issue as well as his thoughts on the case.

Last year, California State Senator Leland Yee attempted to pass a law that would restrict the sale of violent Video Games to minors in California. However, it was deemed unconstitutional and as a result was never put in place. In February this year, after an appeal by Governor Schwarzenegger (who signed the bill in 2005), the US 9th Circuit Court again rejected Yee’s proposed bill. Now, with Yee appealing once more, this time to the United States Supreme Court, the question of whether or not the US government should interfere with the sale of Video Games is once again up for deliberation.

Every generation has one; a creative movement, medium or art form, that the previous generation just can’t seem to wrap their heads around. They are critical and dismissive because it’s new and different, like a child who throws his mushy pees in the dogs face because they don’t resemble the bright-orange, processed, ‘MSG-filled’ bile he’s grown accustom to having injected directly into his cornea, or however your supposed to feed infants. Today that medium takes the form of the Video Game, despite being one of the world’s fastest growing and most profitable forms of entertainment; the industry is still subjected to numerous attacks and accusations regarding the negative aspects of the art form – in particular the use of violence in many popular games - with very little attention paid to the good. It’s not change that the vacant skulled masses fear per se, it’s simply what they do not understand; which is a lot, but in this case it’s Video Games.

It’s something we see repeated throughout history; the kids begin to develop their own culture, their own art and their own creativity. Young people need a form of expression they can claim as their own. One that wasn’t taught to them by their parents or handed down by those that preceded them. It’s not a conscious decision to rebel, more an innate urge to veer off the beaten track. They latch onto some aspect of popular music or entertainment they relate to, they resent and reject the ‘old’ and welcome the ‘new’ with open arms and eager, fickle hearts. The parents cry out so heartily you’d think their offspring had just presented them with the trophies of a sixteen month killing spree, not Elvis ‘The Pelvis’ Presley’s latest 12”. Their fear for the fragile collective brood is natural though. They worry how this strange new music, attitude or technology will affect their little sweethearts, because they haven’t taken the time to experience it themselves. The same problem occurs with regards to video games; Ditum, a father himself, notes the lack of understanding among other parents,“it’s up to them to educate themselves about the things their children are interacting with, and to decide what’s suitable and what isn’t.” Regulating bodies such as the BBFC and PEGI are already in place to provide guidelines for both retailers and parents, all it takes is for a Father to take a look at the back of the box and learn a little more about what he’s about to buy his kid.

The apprehension that develops when the public are presented with adult content, be it violent or sexual, is based on the incorrect notion that Video Games are toys. As long as games are seen as a child’s plaything, as opposed to a form of entertainment and creative expression for all ages, the majority of adults won’t be inclined to engage with them, and the caution amongst those unaware will be propagated by the unabashed sensationalism and brazen ignorance that practically defines our society’s fear mongering media. Eventually it becomes more than caution, it becomes disapproval, which in turn leads to attacks on the medium as a whole, rather than smaller, more questionable elements of it. In other words, Fox News blames a school massacre on a game rather than the country’s reckless abandon attitude to firearms, and suddenly every oxygen deprived soccer Mom thinks her son is going to slit his teachers throat if she buys him a Gameboy for Christmas. A point that Ditum brings up in our conversation, “None of this stuff is known. The vast, vast majority of people would struggle to understand the distinctions between game genres and playing modes”, with so many people in the dark, he begs the question – “how, then, are we supposed to legislate and regulate them properly?”

Although he doesn’t “object to it on principle”, when asked about the violence often featured in games, Ditum stresses the importance of “context”. It’s true, with so many different forms of gaming available to us; the varying ways in which violence is presented to us must be taken into consideration. “Everything from the abstract to the photorealistic, the humorous to the sadistic, the contextualised to the gratuitous” can be found. He reminds us that “games are more complex and varied than many people who don’t play them realise”. He goes on to defend the presence of the violence, arguing that it “is common in games because many of them are, broadly, about gauging skill of movement and reaction, and sport and violence are two obvious ways of incorporating these things into a gaming mechanism.” The fact is violence in games is far more justifiable than the vacuous action tripe they pump out to cinemas every 6 months, in which countless victims are shot, beaten, maimed and blown up in the name of ‘justice’. At least with gaming there is reason; it provides a challenge, a competition. So why should games be treated any differently from film?

My worry is that if the supreme court rules in favour of Yee’s bill, the debate as to whether games fall under the First Amendment - like movies, books and music - will have officially been lost. America has an opportunity here to look at the foundations of it’s nation, at the history of it’s culture, and decide if irrational fear and lack of parental responsibility is reason enough to undermine the crux of it’s country’s freedom, and effectively place a leash on one of it’s fastest growing industries. I hope that the people who have been lumped with making this decision can look at the arguments and evidence (or lack thereof) objectively, not through elderly, frightened eyes, and make the right choice. If they don’t, they’ll be setting a precedent for this sort of thing. Ditum points out that it might “lead to inoffensive games being restricted” due to the bills vague definition of “Violence”. Even here in the UK this could still affect consumers; developers won’t want to make certain more adult orientated games, which have their worth, because it’s less viable as an economic venture. It will dumb down a large sector of the industry and its output, and perpetuate the ignorant perception of videogames as children’s toys.

Ditum believes the furor surrounding this law is “more about maintaining a broad market base than defending civil liberties.” I disagree, this is censorship; they’re forcefully discouraging true creative and intelligent expression simply because unwatched minors might come across adult themes in an interactive form; regardless of the fact that game rating’s are implemented more effectively than those of film or music. They’d place the responsibility of parental judgment on retailers before taking the time to educate themselves on this young, developing medium, or allowing themselves to make informed, sensible decisions about what is and isn’t appropriate.

Our Misspent Youth - Talking About Games: Episode 2 (5/1/11)

2011-01-16T16:19:00.004Z

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Two Glorious Minutes of Uncharted 3 Gameplay

2010-12-17T14:32:00.001Z

Naughty Dog follow up their Uncharted 3 Announcement trailer with a two minute clip of the game in action. Showing off unparalleled character animation and dazzling fire effects, Nathan Drake's latest adventure already looks stunning. With almost a full year until release, who knows how incredible this game will look when we finally get out hands on it.

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: SSX: Deadly Descents

2010-12-12T18:07:00.003Z

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: Mass Effect 3,

2010-12-12T18:06:00.005Z

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

2010-12-12T18:06:00.004Z

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: Forza Motorsport 4

2010-12-12T18:05:00.000Z

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: Prototype 2

2010-12-12T18:03:00.003Z

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: Insane

2010-12-12T18:02:00.000Z

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: Resistance 3

2010-12-12T17:57:00.002Z

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: Batman: Arkham City

2010-12-12T17:55:00.003Z

Spike VGA 2010 Announcement Trailers: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

2010-12-12T17:31:00.023Z

Not Impressed Misfits...

2010-12-05T21:57:00.003Z

I never thought I'd say this about... well, anything; but I thought the latest episode of Misfits was rather tasteless. I usually findwhat seems like the show's lack of social guile (or at least its complete and utter refusal to adhere to any societal expectations of suffocating political correctness) to be refreshing, humorous and entertaining. This week however, I felt strangely uncomfortable watching Misfits; every time a certain psychopathic, murderous character was on screen we were treated to a view of things from his distorted first-person faux video game perspective. Shoot teenager in face = 50 POINTS!... Yeah.

Not only did this mean we got to see digital realisations of Nathan, Alicia and the rest of the gang, but it was also an opportunity for the show to suggest that the GTA-esque game playing out in the nutters mind gives you points for mowing down elderly women while they potter across the street with their dog. I'd always gotten the impression that the show was written and produced by, if not actually younger, people who were younger at heart, and as a result more culturally in tune with our generation. However it seems I may have been mistaken, as these segments managed to make the same sort of sweeping, inaccurate assumptions about games that the frightened elderly politicians and psychologists, that attack our beloved art form, do.

Not only was its use of video games as a cause of violent behaviour unoriginal and unfunny; it was also unnecessary and inappropriate considering the current state of unrest in regards to US legislature in that area. It doesn't help the image of the medium amongst the ignorant, close-minded people who make baseless claims that games are responsible for increased aggressive and violent behaviour in young people.

Frankly I was dissapointed that the writers couldn't come up with something more original. If I'm honest the entire second series has been somewhat of a let down. Some of the charm and panache of the first run of episodes seems to be missing here; and a lot of the glaring contrivances of the plot are beginning to wear thin.

The vacuous, sensationalist fear mongers will see this and have a field day. I wasn't impressed.

More of this Misfits, and less of the thoughtless use of age-old scapegoats.

Schwarzenegger vs EMA

2010-10-30T20:59:00.003+01:00

I'm pretty busy with Uni work at the moment but just wanted to chime in with my thoughts on the matter. My worry is that if the supreme court rules in favour of Yee's bill, the debate as to whether games fall under the first amendment - like movies, books and music - will have officially been lost. This is America's big opportunity to look at the foundations of it's nation, and decide if irrational fear and lack of parental responsibility is reason enough to undermine the crux of it's country's freedom, and affectively place a leash on one if it's fastest growing industries.

I hope that the people who have been lumped with making this decision can look at the arguments and evidence (or lack thereof) objectively, not through elderly, frightened eyes, and make the right choice. Because if they don't, there becomes a precedent for this sort of thing. It's almost as good as censorship, just in a very indirect, round-about way; they're forcefully discouraging true creative and intelligent expression simply because unwatched minor's might come across adult themes in an interactive form, regardless of the fact that game rating's are implemented more effectively than those of film or music. Even though I live in the UK this is still going to affect me; developers won't want to make certain more violent games, which have their worth, because it's no longer a viable economic venture. It will dumb down a huge sector of the industry and its output and perpetuate the ignorant perception of video games as children's toys.

They'd place the responsibilities of parental judgement on retailers before they took the time to educate themselves on this young, developing medium, thus allowing themselves to make informed, sensible decisions about what is and isn't appropriate.

It won't end here, if games are vulnerable, who knows what's next.

Album Review: Magnetic Man - Magnetic Man

2010-10-21T11:21:00.027+01:00

I'd just like to start by saying I've never done a 'proper' music review, so apologies for the lack of quality or insight. That being said, my job is made easier by the fact that the music falls into a genre I happen to like.

A couple of months ago, whilst illegally riding 'bendy buses' around London, I noticed that everywhere I went, I kept seeing posters and billboards with this mysterious, futuristic 'M' on them. Being drawn to all things peculiar in nature, I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. Turns out the fuss was a Dubstep 'supergroup' (as Wikipedia calls them) consisting of veterans and pioneers of the movement; Benga, Skream and Artwork.

The album, eponymous in name, opens with the beautifully arranged 'Flying Into Tokyo'. Comprised of pianos, strings, and what I think is a music box, the track is as far from traditional dubstep as possible, but somehow doesn't feel out of place. For stubborn listeners who limit their iTunes collection to Datsik and Excision, it helps to imagine the tremolo as a sort of wobble bass.

The record then kicks into gear with 'Fire', igniting the collection in a metaphorical sense. Initially I hated this track, but I now find it hard not to at least bop my head along to the beat wherever I am. Ms Dynamite makes an appearance on the track but her vocal exploits don't compare to some of the album's later cameos. Next up is the first single released, 'I Need Air'. This track divided opinion, with classic dub heads siding with the view that it's upbeat synthy-ness was more at home in an electro rave, rather than the small dark clubs of old.

In a similar vein came 'Anthemic' which, as the name suggests, felt grand and atmospheric; and comes across as something that could easily fill the O2 Arena. This is by no means a bad thing for a genre trying to break into the mainstream. 'The Bug' is one of the more memorable tracks with an irritatingly catchy vocal burrowing into your brain through the use of a vocoder. 'Ping Pong' is a nice lengthy interlude leading to the next collaboration 'Perfect Stranger'. Featuring up and coming vocalist Katy B, who found mainstream success with her solo single 'Katy On A Mission', ' 'Perfect Stranger' is another step away from the conventional 'Kick-Snare' beat, and also the first and stronger of the two more Drum and Bass style songs on the album.

The group have a knack of nailing the names for their tracks and track 8 follows suit with the aptly named 'Mad'. All the tracks are suitable for listening on in-ear/on-ear headphones but 'Mad' is the only one I would forcibly recommend playing through a nice audio set-up with a sub-woofer as the opening synth infiltrates your mind for 16 plus bars before a heavy drop forcing a subby bassline through your ribcage. Towards the end of the first 16 bars post-drop, an insane, whiny pulse (best description is a v8 engine trying to sing opera) pierces in sending the beat into a melodic, chorus-like frenzy. This track could quite literally make you sex your woofer.

'Boiling Water' (the other Drum and Bass-like track), with vocals by Sam Frank, and 'K-Dance' are in my opinion the inevitable down points of the album, they seem like filler material. However, they do lead onto arguably the most addictive track and the second to feature Katy B, 'Crossover'. The 'wobble' is present but not generic and the vocals compliment the mood and feel of the track which is described by some as the new 'Katy On a Mission'.

'Box of Ghosts' is something of a surprise package as it's a track consisting of no kicks, no snares and lots of synths. The only percussion present is the constant hi-hat, so the song isn't completely void of audible rhythm. Continuing the anti-generic theme is a return to the strings with 'Karma Crazy'. From the moment it drops, you can feel Benga's influence all over it like some sort of kick-drum bukkake and it hits hard. This one is a banger.

To round it all off is 'Getting Nowhere'. The ethereal strings shine through after the return of the music box on the intro, and John Legend's soulful tones add to the ephemeral feel with cries of "Almost there..." It's a fitting end to a solid piece of work.

Magnetic Man have done a great job in striking a perfect balance between mainstream Pop and niche Dubstep, keeping everyone happy by providing accessible, catchy tracks for newbies and appeasing the experienced listener with the depth and dirt they crave. Lets just hope they don't overdo it and try to release their own range of action figures and condoms.

Eurogamer Hits London: Part I

2010-10-03T15:33:00.004+01:00

I know it's been a while since I wrote for Our Misspent Youth, but I've been busy with a few things, like up-rooting my entire life and moving off to Uni to study Journalism. Yeah... nothing too major. Anyway, you may be aware that the London Games Festival has officially begun, kicking off with the Eurogamer Expo that's been taking place over past three days. Seeing as I'd like to write about games for a living one day, I thought I should go and all that. So I travelled all the way from my humble student digs in Northampton, back down to my hometown of London, where the event was happening. I saw a whole heap of gaming goodness, but you've heard plenty about pretty much all of it, so I'll just talk about a few of the highlights, as well as what I actually got my hands on. First up was Fable III. Peter Molyneux wasn't around on Saturday when I went, so he wasn't there to whisper sweet nothings of love and morality into my ear whilst I battled relentless hordes of 'hollow men' and an even more unforgiving frame rate, unabating in it's desire to chug... chug... chug along. However, it wasn't final code, the machine had probably been on all day, and that disc had likely seen a fair bit of wear and tear throughout the previous day of the event.

Aside from the god awful frame rate, which could very possibly be tightened up by release, and ignoring the fact that the demo crashed on me when I first tried to play it, what I played was really very good. Well, if you like Fable II that is; because that was, as the gentlemen of Giant Bomb might put it, some Fable-ass-Fable. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as you enjoy what the last Fable game had to offer, you should be pleased with what's on show here. Combat seems relatively similar, the integration of the gun into combat is much smoother, switching between melee and projectile is as simple as moving your thumb the half-inch from the X button to the Y button. There have been noticeable improvements to the how the game looks too, which is surprising considering how soon after Fable II's release this game was announced. A lot of the time, with such a short development cycle, graphics aren't the priority for developers, and end up being the least improved aspect of sequels. But Fable III looks really, really nice. A darker palette and harsher, quite impressive lighting give the environments a more sinister undercurrent, juxtaposing the usually bright and playful character of the Fable games.

Next I played some Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer, and it was the only thing I went back to play again... and again. Yup, I waited in line on three separate occasions to get hands on with the multiplayer, first out of curiosity, second out of want, third out of need. If that doesn't tell you something about what I thought of the game, then let me spell it out for you. It's immediately satisfying, immediately intuitive, and immediately fun. The idea makes instant sense; you try and kill one guy, whilst another guy tries to kill you.

At least that's how it goes down in 'Wanted' mode, which is sort of the 8-player Deathmatch to the 'Alliance' modes Team Deathmatch. In 'Alliance' you are partnered with another player and tasked with taking out the other teams in the area. 'Wanted', however, was all that was available, so that's what I became temporarily addicted to. So for the purposes of multiplayer, you pick a 'Templar', one of 8 (no two player's can select the same 'templar'), then you pick set of abilities. The choices I can remember are: Smoke Bombs & Morph (changing your appearance temporarily), and Speed Boost & Throwing Knives. I won't bore you with how the game looks or feels because truth is it looks and plays exactly like AC:2. What you do need to know is that stalking a target from the roof tops, then leaping down on to them and sinking a blade into their neck, just as they were about to take out their own target, is hella satisfying. It's all the more satisfying when your target was you're friend and is now bitching down the mic. Who'd a thunk stabbing dudes online would be fun? Wait, scratch that. Why on earth wouldn't stabbing dudes online be like the best thing ever?

Tomorrow I'll talk about Tim Willits' Rage presentation and my experiences with Rock Band 3, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, and Killzone 3... D.

This photo was taken at last years expo. This years was just like this, only more futuristic.

Irrational Teases With Stunning 10 Minute Bioshock: Infinite Gameplay Demo

2010-09-22T02:07:00.000+01:00

TGS: Here Kitty... Kitty, Wait... That's A Good... Dog?

2010-09-16T15:53:00.003+01:00

Brand new TGS gameplay trailer for The Last Guardian:

TGS: Cut That Fool!

2010-09-16T15:49:00.001+01:00

Gameplay demonstration showing off the cutting abilities at your disposal in Metal Gear: Rising.

TGS: Team Ico Collection Confirmed

2010-09-16T15:46:00.001+01:00

Just confirming what we already knew, a Shadow of the Colossus/Ico collection is on it's way. Set for a Spring 2011 release, the package will feature both games, re-mastered in HD, on one Blu-ray disc.

More Ico / Shadow of the Colossus Collection - (PlayStation 3) Videos

Finally Something Slightly Interesting About Call Of Duty

2010-09-02T22:21:00.000+01:00

Rock Band 3 Full 83 Track Setlist Revealed

2010-08-28T23:05:00.001+01:00

2000s:

Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
At the Drive-In - "One Armed Scissor"
Avenged Sevenfold - "The Beast & the Harlot"
Dover - "King George"
The Bronx - "False Alarm"
The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1"
HIM (His Infernal Majest) - "Killing Loneliness"
Hypernove - "Viva La Resistance"
Ida Maria - "Oh My God"*
Juanes - "Me Enamora"
Metric - "Combat Baby"
Paramore - "Misery Business"*
Phoenix - "Lasso"*
Poni Hoax - "Antibodies"
Pretty Girls Make Graves - "Something Bigger, Something Brighter"
Queens of the Stone Age - "No One Knows"
The Ravonettes - "Last Dance"
Rilo Kiley - "Portions for Foxes"*
Riverboat Gamblers - "Don't Bury Me...I'm Still Not Dead"
Slipknot - "Before I Forget"
The Sounds - "Living in America"
Tegan & Sara - "The Con"
Them Crooked Vultures - "Dead End Friends"
Tokio Hotel - "Humanoid"*
The Vines - "Get Free"*
The White Stripes - "The Hardest Button to Button"*

1990s:

Faith No More - "Midlife Crisis"*
Filter - "Hey Man, Nice Shot"
Jane's Addiction - "Been Caught Stealing"*
Maná - "Oye Mi Amor"
Marilyn Manson - "The Beautiful People"
The Muffs - "Outer Space"
Phish - "Llama"
Primus - "Jerry Was a Racecar Driver"
Rammstein - "Du Hast"
Smash Mouth - "Walkin' On The Sun"*
Spacehog - "In the Meantime"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Plush"
Swingin' Utters - "This Bastard's Life"

1980s:

Anthrax - "Caught in a Mosh"
Big Country - "In a Big Country"
The Cure - "Just Like Heaven"*
Def Leppard - "Foolin'"*
Devo - "Whip It"
Dio - "Rainbow in the Dark"
Dire Straits - "Walk of Life"
Echo & the Bunnymen - "The Killing Moon"
Huey Lewis and the News - "The Power of Love"
INXS - "Need You Tonight"*
J. Geils Band - "Centerfold"
Joan Jett - "I Love Rock N' Roll"*
Night Ranger - "Sister Christian"*
Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train"*
The Police - "Don't Stand So Close to Me"
Roxette - "The Look"*
The Smiths - "Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before"
Tears for Fears - "Everbody Wants to Rule the World"
Whitesnake - "Here I Go Again"

1970s:

The B-52's - "Rock Lobster"*
Blondie - "Heart of Glass"
Bob Marley - "Get Up, Stand Up"
Chicago - "25 or 6 to 4"
Deep Purple - "Smoke on the Water"
Doobie Brothers - "China Grove"*
Elton John - "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
Foreigner - "Cold As Ice"*
Golden Earring - "Radar Love"
John Lennon - "Imagine"
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird"
Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"*
Ramones - "I Wanna Be Sedated"
Steve Miller Band - "Fly Like an Eagle"
T.Rex - "20th Century Boy"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "I Need to Know"
War - "Low Rider"
Warren Zevon - "Werewolves of London"
Yes - "Roundabout"*

1960s:

Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations (Live)"
David Bowie - "Space Oddity"
The Doors - "Break on Through (To the Other Side)"*
James Brown - "I Got You (I Feel Good" - Alternate Studio Version*
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Crosstown Traffic"*
The Who - "I Can See for Miles"

Irrational Reveals Their Latest Project.

2010-08-13T02:00:00.000+01:00

Street Tekken? Tekken Fighter?

2010-07-25T15:51:00.006+01:00

Hot off the press from San Diego Comic Con 2010, here's the first trailer for the newly announced Namco/Capcom crossover, Street Fighter x Tekken. Developed by Capcom, the game will feature characters from both (shock! horror!) classic series, and will utilise the game engine and graphical style seen in Street Fighter 4. Fighters from the previously competing franchises will be able to perform EX-style supers as well as trademark character moves like Ryu's Hadouken and Kazuya's Lightning Uppercut.

Also announced by Street Fighter and Tekken's producers was Tekken x Street Fighter. This is Namco's Tekken version of the game (note that Street Fighter x Tekken is a different product) which is rumoured to be using Tekken's engine and visual style, as well as the 360 degree arena fighting the series is known for. The producers then went on to add that the games were still a ways off and that fans should sate there lust for digital face smacking with the upcoming Marvel vs Capcom 3.

Here's the SFxT trailer and some gameplay footage. I won't ruin who's in it.

Our Misspent Youth - A Gaming Podcast: Episode 1

2010-05-28T15:22:00.009+01:00

‘Our Misspent Youth - A Gaming Blog’ presents ‘Our Misspent Youth - A Gaming Podcast’. In the first ever episode we recap on the happenings of the Halo: Reach Beta, discuss why Backbreaker will paralyze Madden and how Red Dead Redemption is pretty darn awesome!

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Madden goes for the pass, Backbreaker Intercepts!

2010-05-26T01:11:00.038+01:00

It seems that EA, with all their big boy dollars, have monopolised every sporting license they can get their hands on. They have exclusive rights to the English Premier League until, well, when Seabass dies. The NHL is theirs. and so is the NBA. And NFL, well 2K Sports made an NFL game and what did EA do? They cock-blocked and spent butt loads of cash on getting the license from 2K. EA have been making Madden games for ages and, since they moved on to next-gen, have been guilty of pouring out the same toss repeatedly knowing that no-one can compete with their exclusivity. Except some British men who had other ideas. Backbreaker is coming to sack the quarter back that is EA and end their career, or something.

Developer Natural Motion hid away for longer than Bin Laden trying desperately to break through the EA defense. Well actually they never made games in the first place but anyway, at one stage it seemed that they had failed and the future of the game hung in the balance. But Natural Motion fought back and tried to use the ultimate play from the book, stealing Madden fans.

The first step was to give players the best graphics they could offer and, after playing the demo on my old CRT TV, I'd say they they succeeded and I can't wait to see what it looks like in HD. Next, Natural Motion would have to give players the most realistic football experience possible. They achieved this by using the Euphoria game engine. As a coder myself, I'm fascinated by the tech behind this but I really should bore you with the details. Instead I'll provide a handy link, and tell you that it's what makes Niko in GTAIV do that crazy realistic dying shit when he flies out the windscreen of a Blista Compact. The engine ensures that no two tackles are the same.

Next was the camera. In normal matches Madden-style, the camera is maybe 20ft in the air. The developers wanted to involve the player in each pass, tackle and touchdown so they placed the camera behind the player à la Skate. While playing the demo I actually found myself tensing up when tackles came in. The camera isn't the only thing borrowed from EA's alternative skater. Pass plays are executed with the Right-Analog stick, with the player pushing forward for a quick/shotgun pass or backward then forward for a downtown lobbed pass. To assist the player, the game also has a Focus feature. When executing a pass, the Left-Trigger focuses on the Quarterback and blurs out your blockers and the opposition defense. Whilst this allows you to make better passes, you won't see the sack coming if you take too long.

The defensive game is where it gets a bit difficult. Initially, from your play, you play as one of the defense with the option to cycle through positions before the snap. When the ball was snapped though, I found it really difficult to block my man whilst the camera was trying to focus on the man running for 1st down. When you have done your blocking but the ball somehow eludes your defense, you can switch to the player in the best position to stop the offensive man and take that bitch down.

The running game is simply awesome. The Right-Trigger sprint button can't simply be used for round the clock sprinting willy-nilly. To be successful you have to time your dodges and mix them with bursts of sprinting in between on coming traffic before you can even think about making it to the endzone. It's almost like Mirror's Edge albeit with no free running, guns, or females.

The one feature in particular which drew me into the game was the editing/customization mode. It's the same thing which, every year, makes me buy PES instead of FIFA. This editing tool (tool is an understatement, lets call it a suite) is so powerful in this game that its nearest comparison is the already mighty Forza 3. However this game's editor is so much more powerful that the only thing stronger is Photoshop. That may be a slight exaggeration but, as a testament to the strength of the suite, every team logo and kit in the game is made using it. The videos below demonstrate the editor being used to recreate a logo from one of the teams, helmet and endzone editing and GAME's logo being put to a team.

Still not convinced. Well this is your section. This IS still a demo so it isn't perfect. The camera is great for a first attempt but I think it should be repositioned maybe a yard or 1-2 feet back and a foot higher because when I play football, my eyes aren't in my torso. Also the stats system is VERY simple. I didn't get to view it in the demo but I've seen it in a more complete version of the code and players are limited to 4 stat categories: Focus, Agility, Speed and Strength. One thing I can say is that, the players on each team are balanced. Every team has their weaknesses.

Well I'm convinced, and if you're not, or you're one of those people that waited for Tony Hawk Ride to come out before you realised the franchise was dead, then why did you even bother reading this. In my opinion, you can go and spend £40 on last year's Madden game with a new player on the front, waiting to fall victim to the Madden curse (Drew Brees) or you can buy the clear underdog/dark horse/outsider and have so much fun you'll forget it's unlicensed. I don't know about you but I hear death bells tolling; not just for Madden but for EA. Watch This Space!

I am totally on board with this!

2010-05-25T22:28:00.002+01:00

Movies! Music! Shock Horror!

2010-05-25T16:58:00.004+01:00

What's that? A post about movies and music on a gaming blog? Oh well, get over it.

Saw ‘The Killer Inside Me’ yesterday. It was excellent. No doubt in future it’ll be part of the ‘Shocking Cinema’ module of film studies. But to be honest it’s a lot of fuss about nothing. Violence isn’t even that shocking, what’s more disturbing is his motivation and rationale. The way he conducts himself as he carries out these grizzly acts, so calmly, almost pleasantly; and his victims’… if not pleasure, then certainly acceptance of what is happening. I feel like most of the inflammatory reactionary press it’s been receiving is mainly down to the fact that the violence is predominantly aimed at women, and on top of that is highly sexualised, which kind of amplifies the admittedly very submissive female characters, regardless of the violence.

I don’t see why people are offended by the idea of violence being offensive. If that makes sense? Violence shouldn’t be easy or throw away. It should be difficult to watch. It should stay with you, and remind you of how gruesome and downright evil humans can be. If the you weren’t upset or disturbed or at the very least made uncomfortable by the violence in a film then what would be the point of including it at all. When violence is easy that’s when you should be concerned people. That’s when you should be offended. If you’re so inclined. Anyway rant over. Sensationalism aside, it’s a fascinating piece of cinema.

I downloaded Pendulum’s ‘Immersion’ the other day. Very mixed bag. Some tracks as good as those on past albums, but as a record it’s a little underwhelming. ‘Salt in The Wounds’ is classic Pendulum, and ‘Set Me On Fire’ and ‘The Vulture’ are highlights. The former being heavily dubstep influenced, and the latter being remeniscent of Hadouken!’s recent Noisia produced stuff.

There’s also ‘The Island, Part II (Dusk)’. Which is a bit of a departure for Pendulum, because essentially a straight up electro track. And a sick one at that. In fact it would be right at home on some Kitsune Maison or Ed Banger compilation. That style, and that good. Another surprise is ‘Comprachicos’, which has a bit more of a typical, heavier DnB sound, which is interesting from Pendulum. Although it suffers from a lack of drops. Okay, album review done.

Bioshock 2 Review.

2010-05-13T09:31:00.019+01:00

RETURN TO RAPTURE IN THIS WONDERFULLY REFINED SEQUEL!

Almost four years have passed since we gamers first got a taste of the underwater utopia of Rapture, in the years that have followed the world of Bioshock as become as loved as any other in the industry. So much so that when news hit that a sequel was in development, many responded angrily claiming that such a classic did not require a sequel. Yet the video game industry is run like any other, through cash and with the original game selling more then four million copies a sequel was always going to eventually happen. But could such a sequel recreate the mystery and emotion that the original Bioshock bred so well or would it simply be a quick cash-in on popularity?

Bioshock 2 takes place ten or so years after the events of the first game, with Rapture still the dilapidated insane asylum you fondly remember. Splicers still walk the water drenched corridors, Big Daddy's stomp their dominance as they protect the precious Little Sister's who continually gather Adam, the all important source of chaos in this once beautiful underwater city and then we have Subject Delta, a specifically developed advanced Big Daddy whose point of view you experience Bioshock 2's tale from. Of course we mustn't forget the Big Sister's, whose acrobatic and energetic fighting style makes them a challenging enemy to fight. But what of the tale it as to weave?

Like any Big Daddy, you as Subject Delta are bound to a Little Sister who you must protect at all costs. That specific Little Sister goes by the name of Eleanor Lamb, who is taken from you ten years prior and who you must locate if you and her are to survive. As you would expect, there are many layers to the story which are worth experiencing for yourself, you come across many more mysterious stories found throughout Rapture and the sequel does a great job of recreating some of the wonderment that made the original so loved. Sofia Lamb is the mother of Eleanor Lamb and the Andrew Ryan like nemesis trying to stop Subject Delta rescuing her daughter, to stop you she will send the 'family' of Rapture against you in the form of Splicers, Big Daddy's and Brutes, who are powerfully large Splicers who have the strength to send large object flying your way.

Much of the arcing tale helps develop the back stories and general lore of Rapture to some degree, never feeling odd or out of place. It sits well when compared to the events of the original with the fall of Rapture between Atlus and Andrew Ryan, not to mention some rather special extra treats for example the wonderful Andrew Ryan inspired amusement park which will surely cause a chuckle. It's good to see both care and thought put into the overall story, when it was all to easy to throw in some forgettable tale that would neither add anything exciting or worthwhile. It helps that both gameplay and mechanics have been better defined in the sequel, creating an adventure that rarely feels frustrating or lacklustre.

Gameplay generally feels more refined and better in tune with most shooters available today, the ability to now dual wield both a plasmid power and a firearm goes a long way to removing some of the frustration players had with the original Bioshock, and gun play simply feels more precise and satisfying. There welcomed improvements that at times makes some of the games more action orientated moments a pleasure to experience. The same can be said for the weaponry in general, which you will continually be upgrading with extra treats to help you in battle. Hacking is another area of the game that as seen change, gone is the pipe connecting mini game of the first title to be replaced by a simple yet effective time specifically controlled game in which you must hit green or even blue sections of the device without setting off alarms.

The improvements help the thought of a sequel make perfect sense, and you might even be shocked by just how poor the original game handled when the action got heated after playing Bioshock 2. You'll no longer die due to frustratingly sluggish controls even though weapon and plasmid selection can still feel like a chore at times, it's hard to see any other means to do this sort of selection though so it is somewhat forgiveable. It's rather frustrating that despite these advances in the way Bioshock 2 handles, the game often struggles to keep up with the on-screen action with framerate slowdowns found throughout.

Using pretty much the same exact Unreal Engine that powered the first game, Bioshock 2 can at times be a mixed bag visually. Offering some stunning scenes with a great use of lighting, colours and artistic design while at other moments suffering from the usual inability to load textures and a framerate that can be far from stable. The graphical presentation is so alike the original Bioshock that it's hard to see if anything as been upgraded when it comes to the visual workings, this is frustrating and rather disappointing. That said, Bioshock 2 is saved by a wonderful use of artistic design that is wonderful to view and appreciate. Weaponry, characters and locations all have great personalities and there continues to be a great use of originality throughout Rapture.

Thankfully the use of audio throughout the game is award winning, great use of period specific music and an orchestral atmospheric soundtrack help you get truly immersed into the world of Rapture all over again. Voice-overs are some of the best out there, helping the story feel like it as a purpose when compared to the original game and the well thought out small audio touches are both creepy and thrilling at the same time. Hearing a Big Daddy cry out in pain as battle erupts hasn't lost any of it's impact nor as the sound of splicers chatting away as they search for Adam. It's an audio treat till the end and one that as clearly been handled with great care on the part of the development teams.

The single player story will last a good eight to ten hours depending on how many audio logs or general item looting you do, but that's not the end of your time in Rapture as Bioshock 2 features a rather promising take on multiplayer. True it's far from a much required feature for the franchise, but it's one that as potential and works rather well when you can actually connect and play against others. Multiplayer modes might be given different names, but they will be familiar to anyone whose played any multiplayer title. You have your usual deathmatch, team deathmatch and capture the flag games with Bioshock's related twists for added impact and personality. A prologue provides a welcomed reason for the mode to make sense and the interesting use of plasmids and firearms in the multiplayer makes it a mode worthy of some of your time. It's no Modern Warfare 2 beater, but offers an interesting take on the familiar if and when you can connect as my time with the mode was hit endlessly with connection problems.

At first the whole thought of a sequel to Bioshock left me wondering why, why did one of the greatest games created in the past decade require a sequel. Yet having played Bioshock 2, a sequel or possibly even more Bioshock games make perfect sense. It won't satisfy all, but Bioshock 2 does a wonderful job of keeping the great qualities of what made the original so loved throughout it's single player story while also refining many of the flaws gamers had with it. A fantastic sequel that is only really let down by an ageing engine that struggles to match or handle what the story throws at you. An interesting take on multiplayer only adds to what is a worthy sequel to a classic game.

You'd Think I'd Be More Smarter By Now... Right?

2010-05-11T13:28:00.006+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I fell victim to that strange thing we know as nostalgia. I'd recently come into a little money and so, as a student on a gap year with fuck all responsibilities, I temporarily became a whole lot less frugal than I usually am. Whilst browsing the Playstation Store I came across a PsOne classic I'd had very fond memories of as a youngster, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee.

As soon as I fired it up I was struck by how much I could actually recall, it essentially took me back to the time and place that I remember playing. It also reminded me of how fucking difficult I found it as a little tyke. So I concluded that now, with my almost fully developed 19 year old brain, with all my worldly wisdom and my ability to reason using simple fucking logic, that I would finally be able to finish it.

Well fuck that, after about an hour and a half I'm already stuck. So I turned it off, and the sad thing is I'm unlikely to try it again now, thus ends my trip down memory lane. That nostalgic feeling I mentioned earlier had been replaced by those of failure and inadequacy. My fond memories had been tarnished, all that remained were reminders of my incompetence. Fuck you Oddworld... Fuck you.

Just do it already...

2010-04-29T01:16:00.000+01:00

This new live-action spot for Halo: Reach, showing how a Spartan comes to be, just makes me think whoever has been making these recent Halo trailers needs to team up with Blomkamp and make the effin' movie!

Hell to the Yes

2010-04-20T22:49:00.002+01:00

Gun 2?

2010-03-19T16:12:00.004Z

I don't think I could be more excited for this game. Ever since Gun came and went I've wanted a sequel. One with less bugs and flaws but a sequel none the less. This is looks to be even better than that, thank you Rockstar... Thank you.

We Have Lift Off

2010-03-16T18:17:00.003Z

Well my foray into the world of game journalism has taken a significant leap forward today. It would appear I am now officially a published game critic/journalist/raconteur if you will.

Official Playstation Magazine UK has included two of my reviews in their April issue, Way of the Samurai 3 and Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce. Go out and buy it, support the dwindling art of print media. Or you know... just me.

She Moves In Her Own Way...

2010-03-11T16:08:00.001Z

Here are a few higher quality videos of what was on show from Sony at GDC yesterday. Courtesy of GiantBomb.

Move Bitch! Or Get Out The Wii!

2010-03-11T15:25:00.003Z

So it's official, yesterday at GDC Sony announced the Playstation 'Move'. The motion controller works in conjunction with the Playstation Eye, boasting tech that far surpasses the Wii in terms of accuracy and seems to provide 1 to 1 precision. Given the PS3's HD graphical capabilities and excellent first and third party development support, the 'Move' has a great deal more potential that the Wii ever did, hopefully this doesn't crash and burn.

Here is some footage of the guys at Kotaku putting it through it's paces, as well as a nice shiny picture.

'Move' controller and 'Sub-Contoller'

First of all we see the upcoming Socom 4, compatible with the 'Move'.

Next up is what looks like a third-person brawler/boxing game. Note that two 'Move' controllers are being used, rather than one and a 'sub-controller', for increased accuracy.

Here we see some sort of gladiator title, gameplay seems similar to the third person action Sony demonstrated when the motion control was first announced back at E3 09.

Unsurprisingly we have a Ping Pong title, not very exciting on it's own, but considering the precision of the controller, this could be a relatively accurate representation of Table Tennis.

Finally we have your standard party game fair with... wait for it... 'Move Party'. Resembles much of what the Eye Toy has done before, but it's to be expected.

Heavy Rain: Review

2010-02-25T14:42:00.004Z

It’s rare that a game totally delivers on its promises. It’s even more rare when a developer manages to live up to the claims they have made. When Quantic Dream announced their follow up to Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit), we heard wild claims of creating new and innovative ways of gaming. That they’d tell a story in a way never before seen in this industry. That they could make you feel, care and hope. That we’d be taken on a journey, as if we were watching a film. Well, after seeing Heavy Rain through to the very end, I can say that without a doubt, they have most certainly succeeded.

Quantic Dream have genuinely achieved something incredible with Heavy Rain. You may be skeptical. I too was hesitant to trust that it would do everything they boasted. I too feared it would be, (god-forbid) one long quick time event. But until you have experienced it, there is no real way to express how refreshing and exhilarating it was to play through what is, frankly, a groundbreaking product.

The first thing you’ll notice is how visually arresting the game is. Heavy rain employs stylistic techniques similar to what you’d expect from a full motion picture. Everything from the hazy background chatter of a busy police station, to the thoroughly impressive lighting effects - highlighted spectacularly as you hesitantly creep through a desolate apartment block, sunlight triumphantly pouring through grimy windows, bouncing off the dust particles floating aimlessly across your path. Of course there’s the rain itself, relentless and foreboding, it sets the tone for the dark, unsettling tale it permeates.

These visual tweaks and graphical flair make for cinematography that easily rivals the most depressing of European indie flicks; and the added touch of spot on performance captured animations mean you totally believe in these digital actors. You are engrossed from the word go, and as you are introduced to each character and treated to a beautiful close up of them, dilating pupils and all, you fall more and more in love with the sinister, yet downright breathtaking world of Heavy Rain.

When Quantic Dream began tossing the term “interactive drama” around, showing screens of gameplay that saw huge button prompts appearing above characters, there was an almost universal moment of stomach churning dread amongst the gaming community. The fear was that we would be forced to endure a 10-hour long quick time event. Thankfully this is only partially true. Whilst you will occasionally be frantically tapping buttons and swiveling analogue sticks in order to keep the digital face you inexplicably care about from being murdered, the majority of the game however, proceeds at a much calmer pace.

Instead of pressing ‘Triangle’ to block a punch or hop over an obstacle, the sticks are employed to mirror the actions that you are performing on screen. Similar to the control scheme in Skate, the input method here aims to represent as closely or intuitively as possible, the behaviour or actions of your character. This could mean anything from rotating the stick to wrap bandages over a wound, to holding ‘R1’ and slowly dragging the stick to set the table without dropping or breaking any plates. In one case, you’re even asked to gently sway the control pad from side to side to mirror the seductive dancing of Madison Paige, the games heroine.

It’s these innovative and exciting applications that make playing Heavy Rain so wonderfully refreshing, even if you’re simply cooking eggs or putting on lipstick, these mundane activities instantly become totally exhilarating. At least the first time round that is. Having replayed large chunks of the game more than once I can already see where some of these simpler, less interesting activities, may not be so fun a third or fourth time.

That’s not to say that the game becomes boring or too slow at any point, the pacing of Heavy Rain is one of the most impressive aspects. It manages to be exhaustingly quick one moment, and then reservedly slow the next, all the while being thoroughly enjoyable; whilst the quieter sections may drag on momentarily, and the more hectic segments seem too challenging at times, for the most part the game is constructed and presented in a way that is virtually pitch perfect. You’ll never be fighting for your life wishing you were methodically investigating a crime scene, and you’ll never be watching television with you’re kid hoping for a murderer to come crashing through the window. Somehow Quantic Dream have created a narrative in which you are happy at any given point, you are always satisfied with the challenges of that scene. Whether things are moving at a snail’s pace or hurtling at you with life threatening hast, you’re never left wanting more.

I wont give anything away about the story, all I’ll say is that although it’s not the most original yarn to be spun in recent times, and influences such as Saw and The Departed (to name a few) can be seen throughout. If we consider the way in which that story is told, with it’s endless variables, branching paths and multiple endings. The authentic and terrifically realised characters that act out these gripping scenes, as well as the vivid, engrossing world they inhabit. Then it’s clear that Heavy Rain is not a game, nor is it a movie; it is in fact is as perfect a cross between the two mediums as we’ve ever seen, or are likely to see for years to come. A unique and refreshing experience, that sucks you into its dank, grimy world, makes you care about the people within it, and leaves you with a sensation games rarely manage to evoke. This one is definitely not to be missed.

Sweet

2010-02-13T13:41:00.001Z

Perfect Dark Hits XBLA Next Month

2010-02-12T18:45:00.012Z

Awesome. Perfect Dark is finally coming to XBLA in March, running in 1080p at 60fps. It'll be 800 points ($10) and will support online play for every mode, including 4 player local split-screen. They've also added support for 8 players online as well as bots.

Gameplay Footage From 1UP Rare X10 Interview:

Splinter Cell Conviction - X10 Gameplay

2010-02-12T02:15:00.003Z

Mass Continuity

2010-02-11T18:34:00.008Z

One of the few flaws I found in Mass Effect 2 resides, surprisingly, in its narrative. Though I liked the fresh cast of characters and the interesting back stories they brought to the table, something about the majority of the Normandy’s crew being absent rang a little hollow. What I would like to see from Mass Effect 3 is a little more continuity; I feel like I haven’t really been able to invest in any of the new personalities because they all might (and some undeniably do) have expiry dates. Though BioWare did a decent job of handing out cameos to previous cast members, for some of them it almost felt like a passing wave in the hallway (if you romanced any of the game’s original cast, you’ll know what I mean).

Also, I feel like little acknowledgment was given to what seemed like some of the previous game’s more important decisions. For example, saving the Rachni Queen in the first game could have led to a pitched battle between the Normandy and a Collector ship; just as the Collector ship is about to blow Shepard and his mates to smithereens, in comes the rebuilt Rachni fleet to the rescue, saving the day and affirming your previous existence in this universe. Instead, we got a psychic e-mail.

If you established a new human Council in the first game, you should be able to see them instead of getting a single dialogue tree with Admiral Anderson (another important character from the previous game who was given a throwaway appearance) that ultimately culminates in a big steaming pile of nothing.

All I’m saying is that I’ll be real bummed out if Mass Effect 3 opens with some cataclysmic event that renders your previous decisions and relationships largely irrelevant.

Heavy Rain: Review

2010-02-10T18:16:00.015Z

It’s rare that a game totally delivers on its promises. It’s even more rare when a developer manages to live up to the claims they have made. When Quantic Dream announced their follow up to Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit), we heard wiled claims of creating new and innovative ways of gaming. That they’d tell a story in a way never before seen in this industry. That they could make you feel, care and hope. That we’d be taken on a journey, as if we were watching a film. Well, after seeing Heavy Rain through to the very end, I can say that without a doubt, they have most certainly succeeded.

Paper Planes...

2010-02-09T17:19:00.001Z

Just finished Heavy Rain, getting started on a review, should be up sometime tomorrow.

The Games Industry in 2010

2010-02-05T21:34:00.015Z

Last year, the US film industry made approximately $10.8 billion dollars in box office revenue. The video games industry made 57 billion. At the same time, economies are struggling or outright collapsing worldwide. I firmly believe that we are all experiencing a unique moment in the industry’s history, one of those turning points that will be looked back upon if not fondly, then at least reverently in the future.

Individual genres within the medium have stopped standing head-and-shoulders above their predecessors’ accomplishments, and current hardware has ceased to shame any and all comers before it. A time is coming when (and this may have already come to pass for many) the average gaming enthusiast won’t give a damn how many processors you can shove into a box. So where do you go when you can’t go up?

We play games in a time when they’re refining themselves, when they’ve stopped searching for the “next big thing” and have started exploring previously established concepts, breaking them down into their base components, examining and reevaluating them. An excellent example of this is the recently released Darksiders, a game that, while doing nothing terribly exciting with its narrative or characters, handily incorporates key elements from two extremely marriageable genres: platformers and combo-based hack-and-slash. The two titles that are often mentioned in conjunction with Vigil Games’ latest are The Legend of Zelda series and the God of War series, and with good reason. Still, I feel like anything that can be said about the correlations between those games has been said and probably by someone who said it better than I could, so I’ll just let that dog lie.

My point in all of this is that, while it does very little to incorporate anything new into games, Darksiders still contributes to the medium via its experimentation with game play archetypes. On the other end of the innovation spectrum we have Mass Effect 2. I don’t think I have to argue that the main draw to ME2 is the narrative. Whether it lived up to expectations or not, it is undeniable that there was an almost hysterical sensitivity to spoilers around the forums during the weeks leading up to release.

It wasn’t just on Giant Bomb, either (though we certainly had our share); Kotaku and Demonoid both saw a strange mix of giddily excited threads, and threads who’s only purpose was to rage incoherently about the number of spoilers the thread starter had been inadvertently “exposed to.” Just a side note about spoilers and people who are easily upset by them: if you’re concerned about seeing or hearing anything about a game that is coming out in a few weeks, don’t go on the internet. Just don’t.

Stay on your Facebooks, on your MySpaces, or just go play some games, because the entire internet is not bound to your service and will continue to discuss things you’d rather not discuss regardless of your personal feelings. I’ll admit, I didn’t want ME2 spoiled for me; I’m one of those guys, but when I did stumble across something whilst idly browsing, I was the first to admit it was my own damn fault. It’s real easy to stay spoiler-free: either only read threads that are tagged as clean or hey, maybe just don’t enter threads about Title X at all.

In the same way that Darksiders chooses a side of the medium to focus on and excel at, Mass Effect 2 pursues the cinematic route. While the character development, story progression and pacing of that game are all pretty spot-on and Bioware continues to expand upon their dialogue systems with the new interrupt feature, when talking about Mass Effect 2 in purely mechanical terms, it does little if anything that hasn’t been seen or done better in another game previously. And that’s okay. See, games have gotten to the point where I feel that the pressure to be “bigger, better and more badass” isn’t really present anymore, or at least not in the same way.

Flavor and personality seem to be attaching themselves more and more to a title’s success both critically and commercially, as seen with the recently launched Star Trek Online. Jeff Gerstmann himself said that the game isn’t technically impressive and that it doesn’t do anything that he hasn’t seen in the MMO genre before, but that he’s willing to continue playing just so that it will continue to replicate the lights, sounds and feel of the Star Trek universe.

It’s no longer about being the best, most mechanically sound game, but the most interesting. No longer about originating game ideas, but implementing them in a polished, sleek way. No longer about being the best third-person shooter out there, but about having that mechanic serve as a girder to support the stronger aspects of your game. No longer about doing what every MMO has done before you and more, but about the presentation of those familiar concepts and the context that they’re placed in.

It may not be 1998, but 2010 promises to be an interesting year for video games as they explore more and more of their potential. I for one am happy to be here to see it. Thanks for reading.

My Bad...

2010-01-28T01:25:00.002Z

Sorry about the lack of posts recently, I've been studying for exams which meant I was fairly busy. But now that I'm done with those I'll have plenty of free time to waste on this blog.

Infinity Ward's Behemoth Beset by "Disease"

2009-12-17T02:06:00.011Z

Just read this article on Destructoid that tells of a strange virus that's spreading amongst the XBOX 360 Modern Warfare 2 community. The virus, which started as a mod for the PC version of MW2, constitutes of the player obtaining infinite grenades and ammunition (alongside weapons that never require reloading) and appears to infect its victims via "carrier" players who have caught it from another player (which has earned it some delightful comparisons to STDs).

As of now there is no cure for the bug, but Microsoft and Infinity Ward have both released assurances of their speedy progress on a solution as well as threatening those spreading the virus with permanent XBOX Live bans. Destructoid alludes to this being some kind of uprising by disgruntled MW2 PC players due to the decision by IW to axe dedicated servers, but I think this is simply the case of people on the internet being assholes. Again.

While the symptoms of this glitch may initially seem appealing to some, try to remember that a game isn't fun if it has no rules, especially if that game revolves around competition on a level playing field. With that in mind, you might want to steer clear of MW2's competitive online offering for the next few days while the issue is resolved. Hell, there's always Spec Ops with friends, right?

That's A Mighty Fine Pair of... Boots... You Got There Partner

2009-12-16T01:35:00.005Z

Physics, detail and lighting look incredible. Well done Rockstar, you've gone and made a good looking game, fancy that.

Sure... Didn't See That Coming

2009-12-15T21:53:00.000Z

Any Hopes I Had Are Oscar Mike

2009-12-14T22:36:00.004Z

Gameplay trailer giving us our first taste of how next year's Medal of Honour reboot will actually look and feel. Prepare to be disappointed.

I had high hopes for this, I really wanted it to be good, but it just looks like a poor man's MW2. Visually it doesn't seem to hold a candle to Modern Warfare and some night-vision/AC-130-esque missions seem ripped straight out of Infinity Wards record breaking shooter. As much as I feared they would rip off MW2, I didn't think they would literally copy and paste.

With any luck DICE can redeem the title by producing some multiplayer that manages to rival that of MW2. Other than that my hopes for this game are pretty much out the window. Way to live up to expectations EA.

Would You Like To Blow It Up With Me?

2009-12-14T21:53:00.002Z

Worse Crimes Have Been Committed

2009-12-14T21:50:00.001Z

This the trailer announcing a next-gen update to the True Crime series. There were some interesting aspects to the original and it's sequel, so as long as Snoop Dogg isn't involved I'm open to the idea that is may end up being a fairly decent game.

Shoulda Coulda Woulda

2009-12-06T14:50:00.018Z

So Yeah The Saboteur is out where I live and yet I still haven't played it, my Xbox 360 is on the fritz again only after it being sent to get fixed little over 4 months ago. So come this Christmas I will be getting a PS3 Slim, now before the fan boys start their petitions I would just like to say that I support all the consoles and think they all have their individual strengths and weaknesses and mainly because I wanted a Blu-ray player.

Anyway, back to the Saboteur and first thing is first, I usually buy a game based on it's review scores or how much I have enjoyed watching the various coverage of the game and seeing as this is Pandemic's last game I was vastly curious to see what they'd come up with. You play as Sean Devlin, an Irish race car driver who's best friend gets murdered by the Nazi's who occupy WWII era France. Sean is recruited by the French Resistance, which is where it get's really fun, as Paris is your entire sandbox.

Yeah this all sounds absolutely great doesn't it? Well apparently the Pandemic curse of "NOT FINISHING YOUR GAMES PROPERLY" has come into horrible effect, the biggest complaint that I have been hearing from various review sites is that the games mechanics don't really mesh well together, now judging from Giant Bomb's great Quick Look, I would coherently agree with them. The games review scores have been merely in the 7's, with only a couple of sites willing to give the game no more than an 8.2 or 8.5, but hey that's still good. So yes I will probably end up getting it at some point for the PS3, and forming my own opinion on it.

Look forward to some ramblings from me on the game in the near future, so until next time folks.

On The Brink Of Something Great

2009-12-03T16:59:00.012Z

New gameplay footage of Brink, shows off some objectives, class selection and gunplay.

There are moments when frankly this looks incredible. Graphically the game feels reminiscent of Killzone 2 (with a little TF2 mixed in), and as a result is just as visually arresting. The detail in the environments is instantly noticeable and small things like motion blur and excellent particle effects create a look that appears visceral and engrossing.

However, there is just something that bugs me about the movement. It feels a little off, it's not quite right and it shows. I get the impression that the game controls in a similar stilted and delayed fashion, to that of Killzone 2, and for me that could be a deal breaker. Killzone 2 looked and sounded amazing, but the faux weight they attached to the movement and aiming ended up feeling sluggish and obtuse. It certainly didn't convey the realism of being a physical body and occupying a virtual space, which is hopefully what they were going for when they instead ruined the feel of their game.

It's still early daze yet so lets not jump to any conclusions. So far Brink looks very very promising, with an interesting approach to environmental traversal, multiplayer and class/objective selection, this is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Xbox 360 Games - E3 2010 - Brink

PS3 Games - E3 2010 - Brink

Cracks In The Wall Hint At A Hidden Mirror

2009-12-02T14:47:00.009Z

Earlier today, a posting of the resume of Oscar Carlén - senior lighting artist at DICE - included the words "Mirror's Edge 2".

It's been taken down now, but it leads us to believe one thing, Mirror's Edge 2 is in the works. Apparently it had said that Carlén was currently involved on two projects: Battlefield 3 and Mirror's Edge 2. News that I am definitely pleased to hear, as I was one of the few who genuinely loved the original Mirror's Edge. It was highly underrated, for attempting something new, and executing it pretty darn well considering it was a first attempt with an original IP, it didn't get anywhere near the amount of praise and affection it deserved.

Although, the future of both projects is still in question given the recent spate of sacking's over at EA. Lets hope DICE and specifically the team working on the Mirror's Edge sequel make it through, at least alive, if not in one piece.

Breaking News! Halo on PS3

2009-12-01T17:21:00.025Z

Attention all Sony fan-boys. Now you have your first and only chance to play Halo on PS3.

Well... sort of. This is in fact, the new collection of seven animated short stories based in the Halo universe. Halo Legends, the collaborative attempt from Microsoft and anime's biggest production houses, now has a release date of February 16th 2010 in Japan. It will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray, but unfortunately for all the dedictated children of Microsoft, not on HD-DVD.

The information, only relevant to hardcore anime fans, is that Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) will be the creative director and Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) will direct the episodes. TOEI Animation, Studio4 C, Bones, Casio Entertainment and Production I.G. are all creating shorts for the project.

Visit the official site for more details.

As Long As It Reflects How Much Of A Badass I Am In The Rear

2009-12-01T13:51:00.005Z

First in-game footage of the SMART system being used in upcoming "cross play" shooter Brink. Feels similar to the movement in Mirror's Edge, I loved Mirror's Edge, so that's a good thing.

Xbox 360 Games - E3 2010 - Brink

Prince of... Where's he from again?

2009-11-30T19:45:00.013Z

Ubisoft has confirmed a new Prince of Persia game is on its way.

The game is due out in May 2010 to coincide with the movie release, but will be a return to the 'Sands of Time' story line, rather than a sequel to last years re-imagining of the series. This means no Nolan North one-liner prince, and certainly no digital Jake Gyllenhaal, abs and all.

In the meantime here's Gyllenhaal and the lovely Gemma Arterton (looking slightly less the 'English rose' than usual) in the trailer for the upcoming Bruckheimer disaster.

Surprisingly decent british accent award?

How Low Can You PSPgo?

2009-11-30T14:52:00.009Z

HMV cuts a whopping £75 off the RRP of Sony’s all-digital portable console.

Whilst you’re out Christmas shopping this year it’s unlikely you’ll find a better bargain than HMV’s current ‘very limited’ deal on the PSPgo.

The retailer’s website is offering Sony’s latest version of the handheld in black for just £149.99 – yeah, you read right, that’s a hell of a lot less than the RRP.

So if you were thinking of purchasing a PSPgo but held off because of the cost… Look no further.

Crackdown 2 Graffiti Competition

2009-11-27T15:09:00.008Z

Hey all you arty types! Ruffian Games, the developer of Crackdown 2 is running a cool competiton, or maybe it's just a timesaving procedure. But anyhow, they want users to submit their graffiti to compo@gazaxian.com by December 9th and if they like it they'll put it somewhere in the game (due next year) and drop your name in the credits.

Obviously there are some, (boring) rules, as defined by Ruffian Games:

Do not submit someone else's pictures without permission. We don't want to be tied up in a legal battles with spotty teenagers claiming we ripped off their work because you copied your entry from underneath the Staines underpass (the one near the chippy, not the one by the roundabout).

Keep it clean. However tastefully or lovingly rendered goatse or tubgirl pics aren't going to end up in the game

Submission format: 1024 x 1024 images please. Format doesn't matter that much. PNG is nice.

Get your submissions to us in time, we need them by Wednesday the 9th of December

Go have fun!

"Hey!! I NEED A MEDI... never mind." - MAG Beta: Hands On

2009-11-25T12:58:00.015Z

The first thing I noticed when I booted up the MAG Beta, was just how smoothly the whole thing ran. It might still be in the beta stages of development but it's already clear that they have a very solid foundation on which they are building this enormous experience. I connect to players almost instantly with very little lag or delay, and that's on my so-so wireless connection.

I've had trouble with almost every online game except Rock Band, LBP was particularly troublesome (at least the last time played it) and even Uncharted 2 has been a tad sketchy at times.

So when approaching MAG my main concern was that it throw a whole bunch of network issues in my face, and things weren't looking good when it took me about an hour and a half to download an update. But alas, all my worries vanished as soon as I was connected. The other surprising thing is the level of polish, not only in the user interface and network, but the character models and environments themselves.

I haven't really been paying much attention to MAG since it was announced, it sounded like a cool idea but it never really struck me as that exciting. I suppose I just assumed that to accommodate 256 players, they would be sacrificing the level of graphical fidelity and detail that I have come to expect from games of this generation.

That is not the case, the first thing you notice is that the game really doesn't look half bad, and this isn't even the finished product. As soon as you connect you are asked to select a character, cycling through the various head I could select I kept thinking how much better everything feels and looks compared to what I had imagined.

The frame rate is smooth and the draw distance is great enough to have it feel like your part of something epic. The guns feel and sound incredible, firing off rounds is almost reminiscent of Black, and possibly even the beast that is Modern Warefare 2.

Before you do anything you must pick from 3 different PMC groups, who you choose to fight for will affect the look and feel of your user interface. You can then outfit your character with weapons and equipment, connect with friends who are also online, or just jump straight into a firefight. At the moment I am only allowed to access 2 game types, 'Objective' and 'Sabotage', this may be due to my low rank or the restrictions of the Beta, at the moment I'm unsure.

Once you pick a game mode you are placed into a cue to join a game, the longest I had to wait in a cue was only around 15 seconds. After that you pick which squad you would like to be a part of and off you go.

For some reason I thought the whole thing would be a bit low budget, but it has definitely surpassed my expectations. I'll update you on how my experiences change as I play more. But at the moment I'm fairly impressed.

It's definitely a rush spawning only to see a dozen of your player controlled comrades running along side you, it's a total "Fuck Yeah" moment, and one that doesn't happen all that often in games like this.

Great, Now I Can Let Everyone Know How Shit I Am At Video Games

2009-11-17T11:57:00.002Z

Now It's A Fight

2009-11-12T09:16:00.002Z

Looks just as good as Fight Night, definitely more realistic than UFC Undisputed, but will it play better?

No Russian... But A Shit Load Of Murdering

2009-11-11T23:02:00.002Z

Guess who's back?

2009-11-06T12:47:00.001Z

Hey everyone, I'm back. Did you miss me? I have returned from the depths of blogging Hades and I'm back on Olympus. Get ready for some awesome reviews!

Credit Where Credit's Due... Or It's A Knifing In The Spleen.

2009-11-03T12:39:00.007Z

It's true, people don't give AC 1 enough credit. Yes it made some mistakes that seem obvious in hindsight, but to go about creating an original IP, to build the universe, gameplay and themes from scratch is a very difficult thing to do well. And they were so ambitious, it's easy to forget that you can free run across an entire, highly detailed city. Altair was able to grab hold of, and climb anything. We'd never seen that before in gaming. And they developed a fighting system that wasn't the usual hack and slash button mashing you get in most games.

There is a lot of cool things about the first game. That's why it was so eagerly anticipated. As soon as people got the game they'd been looking forward to for months, they forgot about the things that had gotten them so riled up, the same things that probably kept them playing to the end. Assassin's Creed was an ambitious and genuinely innovative game, which is extremely impressive for a first attempt. I know it was mainly disappointment that lead to the way it was received, but people need to give credit where credit is due.

Son, Use Your Awesome Assassin Powers To Suck Balls At Chess

2009-10-27T04:01:00.003Z

Assassin's Creed: Lineage Part I - The first in a series of shorts based in the Assassin's Creed universe.

Meh

2009-10-26T18:12:00.002Z

New trailer for Bishock 2. Also it looks like thursday's the day that those in the know, are allowed to tell.

All You Need Is Love - The Beatles: Rock Band - Review

2009-10-26T17:08:00.006Z

‘Lovingly crafted’ is sadly not a phrase associated with many games these days. This is because the gaming industry is driven by an incredible thirst for profit. Not innovation, not quality, just cold hard cash. The games themselves reflect this, as for the most part, games produced are rushed, opportunistic, money-grabbing disasters. In recent years the rhythm genre has become one of the worst offenders, with Activision pumping out stale Guitar Hero sequels and spin off’s year after year. This is why it’s so refreshing to come across a game like The Beatles: Rock Band, which is thankfully about the music rather than the money. Obviously there is profit to be made, but the level of care, attention and sheer reverence poured into this title is down right startling in the current landscape of gaming.

It’s evident from the off that Harmonix has created a gaming experience that focuses entirely on The Beatles and their music. Unlike band specific titles from the ‘other leading brand’, there is no filler here. It’s all Beatles, all the time. Just the way it should be. Some might argue that a track list consisting of all Beatles songs might alienate those who wouldn’t consider themselves Beatles fans, and for some this may well be the case. But what this game does is introduce a whole new generation to their music, gamers and non-gamers alike. The party and social gaming aspects of this genre mean that the appeal is broad enough to draw in - through word of mouth, the Beatles name, and the fact that it’s a Rock Band title – a huge audience. I am a prime example, I had never seen the appeal of The Beatles, but to be fair, I had also never really given them a chance. This game has brought their music into my world in a fun and engaging way. In the same way Guitar Hero and Rock Band have expanded my musical horizons in the past, The Beatles: Rock Band has done the same only in a much more specific way. I’m sure my experience will be similar to a huge number of the people who buy the game. The rest are clearly fans so will enjoy it either way.

The games structure is much more similar to early Guitar Hero titles, than past Rock Band experiences. World Tour mode is nowhere to be found. Instead you’re given a list of songs, and you have to play through all of them. The game aims to chart the entire Beatles career, so songs are divided into different events, representing different periods in the Beatles lifetime. You start off playing iconic gigs like ‘The Cavern Club’ and the ‘Ed Sullivan show’, and work your way through each of the bands milestones until the final show on the ‘Apple Corps.’ rooftop. As you progress through the story, the song selections do a great job of showing the development and changes the band went through, both in terms of their sound and their looks. From a player perspective this is incredibly rewarding, as you follow them on this journey you really begin to feel a rich connection with music and the artists, in the same way someone who had grown up with The Beatles music might feel. In addition to this there are a number of unlockable bonuses like photographs and video clips offering insight and anecdotes, further demonstrating the care and attention to detail the game has recieved, and generally boosting the appreciation that the overall experience encourages.

The games ‘lovingly crafted’ quality transfers over to the presentation to. The user interface utilizes simple shapes and colours to create a pleasing, more minimalist feel, whilst still encapsulating the themes and feel of the games definitive visual style. The note highway has seen some renovation since Rock Band 2. The colour palette is much brighter, with more pastel shades and a more varied range of hues. The Beatles, although not quite unrealistic are stylized caricatures of themselves. Their movements and facial gestures, drawn from their real life counterparts, give them a sense of character and personality that most music game avatars lack. Each location is also charmingly rendered, screaming crowd and all. Although once you get to the years in which the band stopped touring and did all their recording at ‘Abbey Road’, you are treated to ‘Dreamscapes’, acid-trippy visual free-for-alls. Each is song specific, and as you can imagine, the more abstract and drug-fueled tracks produce the most, shall we say ‘creative’, experiences.

Everything about this game screams quality, time, love and passion. The four things missing from most games, it’s the way games should be made. I hope that other developers and publishers can look at this game and take on board what Harmonix has achieved. It’s an incredible title, exactly what the industry needed to refresh a sinking genre, and demonstrate how to save it. Only once you’ve played it can you can truly appreciate the magic that is, The Beatles: Rock Band.

We are Official.

2009-10-21T17:20:00.001+01:00

From now on the site is under the domain http://ourmisspentyouth.com. We're straight up legit, no blogspot needed.

Taking A Stab At Variation.

2009-09-29T14:42:00.002+01:00

Infinity Ward Follows The Call of Duty and Gives Us Gameplay

2009-09-25T11:41:00.004+01:00

This is apparently the first level of the sequel, and It does look just a little bit excellent. It's good to see the civilians featured in the trailers are actually present in the missions during gameplay, and not reserved purely for cutscenes.

Thank You, Come Again

2009-08-25T21:02:00.002+01:00

Two different examples of how the same scene can pan out in Heavy Rain.

Microsoft E3 Conference Round Up

2009-08-21T12:49:00.002+01:00

Left 4 Dead 2 reared it's zombie killing head, very surprising as the first was only released very recently and seems more suitable for a more episodic DLC format, rather than a full on sequel. Crackdown 2 made an appearance, first was a great game, they seem to been mixing it up by adding some kind of mutant/monster aspect to the game, could be interesting. Splinter Cell: Conviction is back and actually looks pretty damn good, they've done away with the beardy hobo vibe, gone for a much more gritty atmosphere, genuinely feels like a rebirth for the series, first time I've been excited about it since number one.

Bungie showed two titles: ODST and teased the newly announced Reach, probably based on the Fall Of Reach story, part of the Halo universe fiction. We were given a gameplay demo of ODST, looks like the story might be genuinely compelling as it's focusing more on actual people as opposed to the voiceless demon that is Masterchief. Team aspects make it look more interesting as a single player experience, different stories being told from different perspectives. They aslo mentioned a new online co-op mode called 'Firefight' which we'll hear more about as the week goes on.

Epic showed an XBLA game called Shadow Complex, a side scrolling futuristic shooter reminiscent of early Metroid titles. Microsoft announced a new avatar friendly game, Joy Ride, a cartoony racer. We were shown a trailer revealing graphics and gameplay for The Beatles: Rock Band, and Forza 3 made an appearance too. Microsoft, with the help of the lovely Felicia Day, also told us about the new networking features coming to Xbox. Soon both Facebook and Twitter will be fully integrated into the system, and now as well as upgrading their HD video service to support full 1080p, they are introducing Sky TV functionality for us here in the UK.

Infinity Ward, pleased the crowds with an impressive demo of Modern Warfare 2, showing off the same dramatic and engaging single player action we had in the first. We finally got a glimpse at what Alan Wake was actually all about, kinda looks like a mystery survival horror, very cinematic, visually underwhelming but gameplay looked impressive for that genre. We were also shown some more of Final Fantasy XIII, nothing new there really except some summoning action unseen in previous gameplay footage.

Two biggest announcements of the day are probably that the Metal Gear Solid Series is finally making an appearance on Microsoft's console, apparently "completing" what it has to offer. It won't, as many hoped and suspected, be a port of the excellent Guns of the Patriots, but rather a new title called Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Starring cyborg ninja Raiden (as opposed to irritating lady boy raiden) the game will provide "totally new Metal Gear experience". My guess is that it'll be more action orientated, more of a hack and slash with puzzle solving elements, but that's all speculation.

The second huge announcement, was the reveal of Project Natal, pretty much Eye Toy++. Microsoft are introducing a new motion sensing system in the form of a camera that tracks your entire body and all your limbs. It can also recognise your face and voice, to automatically log you in, and can act as a scanner to input images and text. It genuinely seems like a new generation of motion control, a new way to experience games and, if Peter Molyneux and his MIlo program have any say, molest creepy parentless children.

It'll be interesting what Sony has in store for us in the coming days.

Mirror's Edge Video Review

2009-08-01T22:46:00.000+01:00

I Know What I want For Christmas, A Magic Parachute

2009-06-07T20:55:00.002+01:00

E3 09: Assassin's Creed 2 Cinematic Trailer

2009-06-02T15:32:00.000+01:00

E3 09: Star Wars: The Old Republic Trailer

2009-06-02T15:31:00.001+01:00

Microsoft E3 Conference Round Up

2009-06-01T20:40:00.012+01:00

It'll be interesting what Sony has in store for us in the coming days.

E3 09: Dante's Inferno Trailer

2009-06-01T18:19:00.002+01:00

Can you say epic? Lets all say it together shall we.

E3 09: Just Cause 2 Trailer

2009-06-01T18:05:00.000+01:00

InFamous - Preview

2009-05-25T15:32:00.005+01:00

Immediately InFamous seems much more promising upon getting my hands on it. From what I can tell the gameplay footage I've seen doesn't do it justice, the game is a lot more fun to control and play than one would imagine from simply looking at it. This level of polish is impressive too, on face value it might not seem particularly amazing to look at but what with all the action happening on screen; cars being tossed into the air, lighting bolts shooting from your hands, electricity jumping from structure to structure, it's all done incredibly seamlessly, creating a very smooth, very enjoyable action experience. The game itself puts you in the role of Cole, a man who awakes after being caught in a massive explosion, and finds he has the ability to manipulate electricity. The demo shows off a few of the different mission structures, and lets you play as the two polar opposites of good and evil. The difference mainly being that your electricity is either blue or red and your attacks are either more precise or chaotic. The demo isn't timed and there are a good few missions, with ample opportunity to do a bit of exploring, which is where a great deal of the fun is to be found. The guys at Sucker Punch have created a world that is as rich and detailed vertically as it is horizontally. With endless amounts of ledges and pipes to help you traverse the landscape, Coles abilities allow him to hop, skip and jump around the environment with super human agility and ease. Free roaming games must be enjoyable whilst doing just that: free roaming. It is the platforming elements of InFamous that make it so fun to play, without even beginning a mission. Combat, although tricky at first, is extremely gratifying. Your electrifying powers, in combination with your climbing abilities, make for many a nail baiting fracas; the freedom provided by your mobility allows for experimentation and different approaches to taking out enemies. There is a real sense of power and destruction in the combat, you reap havoc and leave chaos in your wake, it makes for lots of fun. So far this all is all based on a demo preview, so obviously this isn't representative of the quality of the full game, but it's safe to say that so far things are looking good.

F**K Me Those Are Some Impressive Visuals.

2009-05-17T18:43:00.002+01:00

I've never been so convinced by the visuals in a driving game, most that claim to be ultra-realistic look too shiny to be real. But when I saw the gameplay footage of Dirt 2 in this studio tour, I actually had to double check I wasn't looking at a real car, the, roads, dirt, cars, environments all look incredible, very impressed Codemasters. Very impressed.

"So its war, but modern? Wait, how do we get to shoot nazis?"

2009-05-11T16:48:00.004+01:00

A small quick teaser of what the gameplay in Modern Warfare 2 will look like. It looks good. No surprises then.

Duke Nukem Forawhilebutnottoolong.

2009-05-11T16:45:00.004+01:00

We've been waiting for Duke Nukem Forever for what seems like... well... forever (get it). After much speculation and rumour, there seems to be some cold hard evidence that the game actually exists, albeit with awful voice acting.

Prince of Persia: The Abs of Time?

2009-05-11T16:24:00.004+01:00

Prince of Persia film production footage. Hopefully this won't turn out to be completely lame. At the very least it'll be 2 hours of the ever-so-delightful Gemma Arterton, which definitely will not be lame.

Our Misspent YouTube Channel

2009-05-08T20:58:00.001+01:00

We're In The Game.

2009-05-05T18:43:00.003+01:00

EA Redwood Shores, EA's oldest subsidiary development studio, is getting a new name, logo and identity. The studio will now be known as Visceral Games, with the emphasis on creating high action gaming experiences that immerse you in their worlds. It was also revealed that Visceral Games has two unannounced titles in the pipeline, and with games like Dead Space and the upcoming Dante's Inferno under their belt, the future is looking rather bright for them.

A Hard Day's Rock

2009-05-05T18:26:00.001+01:00

Harmonix and MTV today announce two pretty cool Beatles-themed guitar peripherals going on sale when The Beatles: Rock Band hits stores on September 9th - the Rickenbacker 325 (top) and Gretsch Duo Jet (bottom).

Assassin's Creed 2 Screenshots

2009-05-02T04:25:00.004+01:00

They tell us 3 things, you can swim, you can fly/glide, and there will be new weapons (big scythe lookin' thing). Enjoy.