PC Games And Reviews

Battlefield 3 - First Gameplay Footage!

2011-02-24T17:05:00.001Z

Here it is!

Well, there it was...
Once again the trailer doesn't show any where near as much stuff as we'd like it to. However, it's looking in good shape, Beta testing should be starting in the next few months and some more info should be released in the coming weeks. Rumours of another trailer are swimming about out there too! Hopefully the next one will be a bit longer, more in depth and hold our interest for a bit longer than 30 seconds.

Set for release in Autumn 2011 - Can't wait!

Dead Space Review!

2011-02-06T08:00:00.003Z

That's right, here's a review of Dead Space...1!

Oh yes, we're with the times here, totally up to date...okay, okay I'm about 2 years late with this but since Dead Space 2 got released a few days ago I decided to crack open my copy of the original and actually play the thing.

And this was my initial reaction.

It's....It's SYSTEM SHOCK 2! Okay it's definitely not SS2 but lets count the similarities on my "How much is this game like system shock 2" chart: Deserted human space hulk *check*, remote assistance from questionable sources *check*, evil alien hybrid creatures *check* and finally upgradable weapons/suit/etc *check*! Being an absolutely huge fan of the Warren Spector classic (I'm sorry I "dissed" you the other day sir) I was immediately hooked on this after about 10 minutes.

So for those looking for an overview of the plot, you play the part of Issaac Clarke (and although I've read this in a million reviews already, it's an amalgamation of two famous Sci-fi authors Issaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke), an engineer chap who is part of a small repair crew sent to help the distressed USG Ishimura. Shortly after arriving however your team is set upon by a couple of gangly alien monstrosities where you loose the two disposable characters from your crew. The attack also serves as a way of separating you from your other companions and starting you off on your journey to learn the fate of the crew and attempt to end the chaos. Awesome.

Lets sift out some of the bad stuff next, specifically the actual moving around and shooting game play. I really felt like I was dragging Issaac around rather than him following my movement, especially when aiming. Adjusting the mouse sensitivity helped, but then he'd spin round too fast when not aiming, I'd hate to blame console-isation here but it did feel like it had been designed for analogue pads rather than mouse control.

The next negative point is that I have next to no recollection of the music in the game aside from a few generic horror bits that had high pitched string sections. There wasn't much else, but whatever themed music there was didn't stick and I reckon they missed a trick here. Isaac looks quite iconic and deserves his own theme at least. Something that could have played when he does something clever or heroic that reminds the player just how awesome he obviously is.

And despite his freeman-esque silence throughout the game he comes across as a tough bugger who always gets back up if he's knocked down and isn't afraid to rip the tentacles off aliens if they get too close. In fact it's worth letting aliens get a little too close sometimes because nothing else seems to attack you while you're grappling with something else and, despite it being a "press this button as fast as you can" event it's always awesome watching him rip aliens to shreds with his bare hands.

The fighting isn't too bad and it's worth a specific mention because of the tactics you need to use to kill the necromorphs (the alien's official name) effectively and quickly. Rather than head shots or torso shots these nasties need their limbs removed before they slow down. And most of the time you'll need to remove both legs before they pause in their tracks and then you'll need to take off at least one arm before they completely give up!

However despite the panic that fighting brings, the overall pace is feels quite leisurely thanks to Isaac's pondering stomp through the decks of the Ishimura. The developers have used it to good effect by littering the place with audio logs from the lost crew and video messages from your two surviving companions to fill in the gaps between fighting. But don't let the pace fool you becaure there'll be times, many times where the pace quickens and you're suddenly running for your life and you'll have to think on your feet to survive.

While my favourite parts of the game are nearer the end (me being a story-geek and all) the journey is well worth it. There are several really memorable locations and puzzles that are cleverly mixed into the plot. But the ending is strangely satisfying, especially knowing that Issaac returns for the sequel. The last few minutes reminded me of another popular horror game ending, but I'll forgive it because of the few surreal but great moments before hand where the game really makes you think about what Isaac has just been through. Very well done!

So in a nutshell this is probably the best rpg/horror game I've played for years. For comparison, I enjoyed it more than Bioshock but not quite as much as Mass Effect 2. So if you're looking for a good value buy, and since it's currently a fiver on the EA store I can't recommend it enough. Of course I'm probably preaching to the choir now, it having been out for almost 3 years! However the sequel came out a few days ago and I'm already itching to press that "buy" button...

[Score 82 out of 100]

Battlefield 3 Teaser Trailer!

2011-02-04T21:58:00.004Z

Yes - You read it right a Battlefield 3 Teaser Trailer!

For something that's been so hush-hush, a trailer!? Oh boy, this is going to be great!

So, here it is:

...wait. That was it?

That's not a trailer; at most a helicopter exploded!

Disappointed.

Well anyway. Here's something better to have a read about. It's been announced that they're reintroducing prone into the game. YES! PRONE! You can lie on the floor and stare at the worms again! Just like you missed being able to do!

They're also making it 64 player multiplayer as well! Bringing back jets from Battlefield 2. Those notorious bomber noobs will be back above you, raining down death (Or their own aircraft for those pilots which lack depth perception) on top of you.

They're using Frostbite 2 as their engine now, souped up from Battlefield Bad Company 2. Sounds like they're building back in the factors that they lost in Battlefield 2 from the progression to the first Frostbite engine.

We shall see you in the Battlefield (3) in Autumn 2011 soldier!

Indie Games from Get Games (go?)

2011-02-04T14:58:00.000Z

Yesterday GetGamesGo.com let the world know about a new service they're calling "Indie Games" (which is more of a description) where they hope to help out independent developers by giving them a bit more attention than other portals.

Currently they've got a promotion on with some of the games getting up to 75% off! Not too bad, and it also runs for a whole week up til Feb the 11th 2011.

Here's what else they had to say:

“With developers such as Croteam, Trine, Firefly, Bit Barons, Bumpkin Brothers, Revolution and Anima Games already signed up to the service, we are looking to add many more over the coming weeks and months as we expand this service for independent developers,” said Graeme Struthers, CEO at Get Games. “If you are an indie developer and you are interested in joining the Get Games service then we would love to hear from you and to add your games to our service.”

I had a quick look and already I can see some pretty good bargains like Clover: A curious tale at £2.99 and Zombie Driver for £3.50 (and of course, The Machine at £3.75) but there's 20 games on sale overall so worth a check!

Anything that helps independents has to be good news! Visit GetGamesGo here...

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II: Retribution - Wot?

2011-02-03T08:00:00.001Z

Wot indeed. Warning, Ranty post ahead!

I recently had a few people ask me what I thought about this upcoming game from Relic on the back of their Open Beta invitation to anyone who's pre-ordered the game.

Dawn of War 2: Retribution is the next in a line of Real Time Strategy titles that Relic have created featuring squad based control (as opposed to the traditional single unit control method used in most other RTS titles.)

Unfortunately I'll not be participating in the beta because I'm as likely to buy DOW2:Retribution as I am to call up Warren Spector and tell him "Hey, I'm really glad you put universal ammo into Deus Ex 2. That was great work."
Let's not beat around the bush, my reasons for not pre-ordering are threefold...

Firstly, and I'm sure many of you are aware of this, there are 5 bloomin games and not just one! Since I couldn't possibly afford all 5 and without playing all of the campaigns it would be a bit silly to try and write an informative review (after all I'd want to at least recommend one of the versions, or at least complain that they're all the same!) I was wrong.

Secondly each title costs £29.99 - full price! Full Price! And I never, ever buy anything for full price being a bit of a ~~cheapskate~~ bargain hunter. So if you wanted all 5 flavours of the game (can you play any race in multiplayer? Not sure...) you're looking at £150 for the full set. That's more costly than a real W40k army in miniature form, and we all know how much that costs... Wrong again...

This lovely Space wolves battleforce can be yours for £52 for example. Not that I would ever collect these myself...never *ahem*

Finally, based on past performance I've never been completely satisfied with any relic game I've ever bought. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Dawn of War 2 but not as much as the original game. Plus I've always been frustrated by their pricing structure and the way they go about releasing new races to play. If you've brought all of their W40K games as soon as they've come out, boy you've spent a lot of cash there.

Of course I have no idea if Retribution would be worth it to any of you individually at the starting price. I'm assuming that pre-orders are going well (they are advertising on steam after all.) For me though I'll be waiting til these are reduced, or come in some kind of all-in-one pack for the same cost as each. I just can't believe that each game will be worth full price for me...

Interstellar Marines want you to believe!

2011-02-01T12:00:00.000Z

More importantly they want you to give money to their cause in exchange for a promise, the promise being that they will release a completely awesome game...sometime in the future.

Do you wish to know more?

Ah, good ol' Starship Troopers...Anyway the gist is that to convince you they mean business they've released a few "mini" games over the last 12 months which were pretty fun. Namely Bullseye, a shooting range with a pretty awesome RPG like leveling system and more recently Running Man where you undertake a training exercise against suicidal battle droids.

It looks like they're gearing up for 2011 now with a new trailer and an announced multiplayer experience to come soonish. But why listen to me when you can listen to the guys themselves in this brand spanking new ~~infomercial~~ ~~trailer~~ video blog thing...

Looking good, and I have bought a support medal myself (so I could play Running Man earlier :D ) but I'm still very slightly skeptical about the whole thing for now. Until I see signs of the final game being made I'll always have a very slight doubt in my head that the project will be finished...

Anyway, why not visit the official site over here!

Back to the wasteland! Fallout New Vegas Tips and Tricks

2011-01-30T08:00:00.000Z

After well over 30 hours of wandering around this fast area I feel I am able to bestow some essential (or at least helpful) advice upon those of you who have just aquired Fallour New Vegas.

Get your boots on
Fallout New Vegas really is vast. It's huge. Massive infact! Really really big and the bad news is that you'll have to visit each location at least once by walking there before you're able to fast travel. That's a lot of walking but I recommend you stick to the story, at least to start with anyway. It's because if you wonder into the wrong area for somewhere you've heard about or want to visit straight off the bad you'll run straight into laser gattling cannons, cloaked super mutants or crazy tribe people with scary spears.

Sticking to the main storyline until you go beyond the doors to the vegas strip is my tip of the day. By then you'll have uncovered (in a kind of u-shape) a large number of areas that you'll be able to fast travel to and reach nearby locations that you have not yet discovered.

Whats in here then?
Did you know you can look inside restricted containers (eg, highlighted in red to indicate they belong to someone else) without bein told off? Just as long as you don't take anything...

Specialize, don't balance...ize...
Probably the best initial advice I could give anyone who is about to play or has just started is to not try to balance each and every skill out. I always have an urge to level up everything equally at once, the problem being that even early on some tasks require that you have a skill of 20+ to complete (say, to hack some computers)

Choose your weapon!
Again make sure you specialize in one weapon area early on. Many people choose to have a high melee weapon skill near the beginning of these games because there's no ammo involved and a higher chance to hit. Energy weapons probably isn't a great idea for a first weapon choice because of the lack of these lying around to start with. However choosing the standard gun skill isn't a problem because very shortly after starting you'll be handed a fairly decent rifle to get going with.

Keep it clean...
Keep your equipment and weapons in tip-top condition, you'll be thankful you did. Look out for weapons of the same type out in the field. You can use those to improve the condition of your existing weapon by pressing R when it is selected in the inventory screen. Try to keep the condition above the marker for best performance.

Keep it mean...
Look out for weapon mods! Not sure if they're new for this game (I don't remember seeing them but...) These come in the shape of scopes, frames, clips and all sorts that will help enhance your existing weapons. There are quite a few for the energy weapons available so keep an eye out. To attach a mod highlight it in the inventory and press the X key,

Vats != Cheating
Think of VATS as a tool instead. If you've not tried VATS then you really should give it a go. Basically when the enemy is nearby you can utilise your AP (Action Points...or Ability Points...or whatever) and perform a series of automatic actions in quick succession, usually involving aiming for certain enemy body parts. The AI then takes over your character for a very short time and performs these actions. Fun!

Recommended Skills
Aside from picking at least one weapon type to specialise in there are a few I would personally recommend, depending on how you want to play the game. I'm not much of a "hid in the shadows before striking" kind of chap, I far prefer to use the environment to my advantage. There are a shed load of computers in the wasteland, all ticking away still while controlling all of those little (or large) processes that are so important. Therefore I would definitely suggest keeping a high Science skill going as there are so many advantages.

The other skill that I believe is a must is Speech, with so many dialogue options it's very frustrating to see the ones you could use if your speech was of a high enough level. It can save a lot of fighting and earns you even more experience.

The last skill I would recommend would be the Barter skill. Making money in the wasteland is quite tricky and at one point it will help to have 2000 caps on you (hopefully that wasn't too spoilerish.) Plus in the early stages of the game you will probably need to buy stimpacks and doctors bags on a regular basis, so get selling!

This'll Perk you up...
The best perk in the entire game (I reckon) is the strong back perk. It allows you to carry more items which means you have more to sell and can carry more guns.Otherwise these are where you can have a bit of fun with the game and would recommend any of them (although I would suggest in particular you consider the swift learner perk...)

Battle Buddies (Spoilers)
On the subject of companions there was only ever one for me. The choice however is, do you choose a companion who has skills that fill in the gaps of yours (eg, if you've concentrated on weapons and lockpicking you may want a companion who helps with science and medicine.)

My problem is I get very attached to non-player characters who have more character than most real people and I also usually settle with whomever I happen across first. In this case it was the lovely Veronnica and her power fist (literally) that first offered to join me on my journey. A member of the Brootherhood of Steel and tough as nails, perfect if you need to do some close up damage to the enemy, which I happily did.

Finally, don't get bitten by RADs
RADs, your radiation level is very important. Get too irradiated and you'll suffer the consequences. Make sure you look out for some rad-x and rad-away as soon as possible just incase you step in the wrong direction and fall down a well full of radiation (not that I've known this happen in FO:NV yet...)

You can get cured of Radiation poisoning from any doctor...for a price...but it's worth it!

And So...
I hope that helps people, if there's anything I've missed out that you'd like me to cover (or think I should have), just bung a comment below!

Review of Fallout New Vegas!

2011-01-29T08:00:00.001Z

Lately my life has mainly consisted of playing Fallout New Vegas which somehow I've managed to spend well over 30 hours on so far has been the reason for my recent lack of posting. And while I've only just completed it once (and one way) I feel I've seen enough to make a fair judgement (or at least a fair-nuff judgement?)

So if you've played Fallout 3 you'll have a fair idea what's involved here as it's pretty much the same gameplay again but with a different story/setting and you can safely skip over the next paragraph or two.

For those that haven't yet played Fallout 3 (and just why not?!?) Fallout New Vegas is a shooter with a heavy emphasis on RPG elements. Each game in the series has usually started off with you defining what kind of character you'll be playing as and involves setting up your starting statistics in terms of strength, intelligence, luck and then you'll decide on your skill set which includes things like science, lock picking, gun handling and so on. There's no right answer in which skills you choose usually although it's far better to specialise in these games rather than try to go for a balance.

Once you've picked your skills you'll be flung into the wide open world and pretty much left to do what you want. You could spend your whole time with the game just searching for and killing off bad guys around the available area. Of course that's not the real aim, where you find RPG statistics you find objectives and missions and the like and Fallout New Vegas is no different!

Without spoiling the story too much, this journey into the wasteland obviously focuses on the idea that New Vegas is a thriving, new-age version of it's former self. Mostly owned and controlled by the mysterious "Mr House" and his merry band of robot buddies. All of this is explained in a bit more during an intro sequence but that's the gist.

Most of the game is similar to other fallout games where you'll explore the post-apocalyptic wasteland, finding landmarks such as outposts, settlements and even the famous vaults that featured more heavily in previous games. In fact I think this is the first fallout game I can think of where you don't start inside a vault which was quite unusual. You do get to visit some however such as a plant-covered vault 22 or the criminal populated vault 3.

So lets turn our brief attention towards the gameplay. Well fallout has never had the fluidity of something like halflife but it does feel quite solid. The projectile weapons have never really felt graspable, I'm not sure if it's to do with the sound or the animations but aside from the obvious damage they did they mostly felt like a series of pea shooters with funny noises. Strangely enough they seem to feel more real when watching them in VATs mode...

I really get on with the "Information is king" philosophy in games like this though, so although fighting is a necessary evil (heh) I love the fact that there is almost always another way to go about things. If your speech skill is high enough or you've discovered something to support your argument on a computer or perhaps you've discovered a character's ugly little secret you'll be able to take the persuasive route, avoid bloodshed and probably gain a little more respect out there in the wasteland.

Going back to the story, I think this is probably the most interesting fallout game so far and that's because they've forgone the long explanation of what's happened to the world (after all it's pretty obvious) and created a setting with interesting characters and factions and an approaching war. The only problem being I didn't feel much of a connection with any of the characters or factions in the same way I did with, for instance, Mass Effect 2.

More criticism on it's way, this time to do with the world's colour palette. I understand that the ground is earth coloured, but I don't buy that the people and the buildings would all be shades of brown/grey. The only major change of scenery is when you visit vault 3 otherwise everywhere looks pretty much the same everywhere you go.

Dialogue, however, is pretty believable - which is a relief since it's such a lynch pin in rpgs like this! The responses are generally fairly standard and I never really felt surprised about the possible responses pretty much ranging between "yes", "maybe", "sometimes", "no" and "that's interesting, tell me more!" But the writing was solid and you do feel intrigued as to what the characters have to say or what their troubles are.

I still love the B-movie style robot guards, the 50's America styling, the brutish super mutants and the animalistic ghouls. All from the previous game but all things I was looking out for this time. Fallout New Vegas isn't anything amazingly new by now, we've had Fallout 3 and it's barrage of DLC. But if you're after more of the same (and lets face it why wouldn't you be?) And you want to see how the original creators of the franchise would make use of this new fangled engine or you just want to be thrown into a war zone full of Legionnaires, cowboys, robots and dynamite throwing criminals then this is something you should definitely consider!

[Score: 83 out of 100]

Picaroon Out Now!

2011-01-27T08:00:00.000Z

Oops, it's been out for a while. Since the 7th of Jan thie year to be precise! Bad Andy, Bad!

Anyway, free-to-play, rts, mmo and all those words that mean you can hurt your friends in a virtual world without any visible bruising!

(nice trailer after the jump)

I had a go at Picaroon a while ago and if I didn't have loads of other games to play constantly it's something I would have poured plenty of time into. As the trailer below shows, you start with an island and build it up til you can produce ships, send those ships out (remember to build some defenses) and colonise other island or conquer enemy islands.

There's plenty of intracies such as alliances and supply lines and so on to get your teeth into so why not give it a go!

Check out my thoughts when I gave away some beta keys for an earlier version

And here's the trailer:

Picaroon can be downloaded from the official site - click here!

Steam Owns my Drive!

2011-01-26T08:00:00.001Z

I've just had to faff about re-partitioning my hard drive because I'd run out of space on one of my partitions!

And the party to blame (and thank?) for 140gb partition being full is those folks over at Steam!
My I: Drive, affectionately called FAT DISK contains only one folder. One single folder: Steam

However! Using a rather neat piece of software, I've given Steam more space to eventually move into - Fantastic! It now has 293gb (About a 3rd of my 2nd drive) all to itself to enjoy! I personally see this as a bit of an omen. And what is that omen? To buy more Steam games of course!

If anyone is in a similar position (Having to delete games in order to install new ones) I suggest the partition adjuster I used pretty highly! It's called MiniTool Partition Wizard! Uses a graphical interface, just shift the boundaries as you please. Keep all your games and use up waste space!
(However, make sure you follow what it says, and make backups. Don't want to goose your PC do you)

Defenders of Ardania Announced!

2011-01-25T18:00:00.004Z

How do you like your Kingdom sire? Full of Towers?!

That's how this new Majesty 2 spinnoff is looking anyway. Paradox interactive have announced that they are releasing, in their words (and pictures) below...

Defenders of Ardania - A new tower defense game set in the world of Majesty. The game will be available on PC and iPad and is being designed with the intent of launching on consoles as well.

Obviously we don't care here for the ipad version, but a Majesty styled tower defense game? Yespleasenowthankyouverymuch!

You can always visit the official paradox interactive site for regular updates on this (or of course watch this space!)

EA Games - Thoughts. Twitter Style!

2011-01-25T08:00:00.000Z

I've never understood Twitter at all. I've been told I'm essentially a cave dweller for missing out on it's fantastic in-built stalking facilities of any celeb/person/neighbour's dog you please. Apparently we all love a good stalk!
Another thing is the character limit! How is 140 characters enough to depict your thoughts, or even a meaningful comment or remark? I'm not quite sure. Let's give it a go though!

We'll use some of EA's releases coming this year then (Not all of them, because some sub-par, but that's beside the point):

Crysis 2: Super-soldier tearing through New York. Gadgets at your fingertips + impressive cinematics. Hopefully improved MP from orig.

Darkspore: Alien RPG. SP and Coop. Looks indie-esque. Download only. Should be one to watch, looks fun!

Deadspace 2: Alien horror sequel, mutilate as you please! Hot pick of this year, although a bit samey as original? Another to watch!

Battlefield Play4Free: Looks like a reskinned BF2. Most likely outdated and behind the time, but it is free. Worth a try maybe! Ultimate budget fps. Free!

Portal 2 (Distributed by EA): Epic Epic Epic! Portal slinging fun! Definitely a contender for Game of the Year 2011! We can't wait for this! GLaDOS? Oh yes...

Dragon Age 2: Massively successful RPG comes again! Looking bigger, better and badasser! For all you wannabe grey wardens, this is a definite buy!

Yeh - It didn't work at all did it? Although maybe it's a good method of writing for people with short attention spa... Oh..? Yes. Short attention spans. Now... what's next on the To-do list Andy!?

Duke Nukem Forever - Dated?!

2011-01-24T12:15:00.001Z

If you're like me the first thing you think when you hear the phrase "Duke Nuken Forever Release Date" is:

"Yeah...right...hehe..."

But this is indeed what Gearbox claim, Duke Nukem will be out on the 3rd of May 2011.

What? You want a trailer to prove this?

Well since you asked nicely...

There is this brand new trailer that features a 10 second urinating scene. I never through I'd write that on this blog! Otherwise it looks decidedly Borderlandsy, but I think plenty of people have commented on that before.

Gearbox really are a machine when it comes to pumping out games (probably the wrong description for their productivity when describing a Duke Nukem game) so I'm absolutely sure they'll hit their target (or get close.)

I would definitely expect some kind of "Ah no, it won't be released yet...JUST KIDDING!" video or announcement just before though...they're that kind of breed...bless em.

Oh and here's that trailer I was talking about...

Battlefield 3 - Tweet Update!

2011-01-23T16:24:00.002Z

The next part of the Battlefield franchise is in full swing (Although there's a distinct lack of official material regarding it at the moment) - Needless to say though, there is some information trickling through!

Updated on Twitter, KM Troedsson "L_Twin" said:

Today we've gave a BF3 demo to my boss's boss - he was near speechless when it was over, mind blown, jaw dropped. Team aced it, kudos!

Sounding good!
It's rumoured the Beta should be starting in around 6-9 months. Luckily, we should have a slot on the Beta when it does come out! (Medal of Honor bonus on purchase)

Keep you informed when we can!

Total War: Shogun 2 on Pre-purchase

2011-01-21T12:43:00.002Z

The next part of the epic Total War series is now available on pre-order on Steam!

Master the Art of War in the darkest age of Japan, endless war leaves a country divided. It is the middle of the 16th Century in Feudal Japan. The country, once ruled by a unified government , is now split into many warring clans. Ten legendary warlords strive for supremacy as conspiracies and conflicts wither the empire. Only one will rise...

After the success of Empire and Napoleon Total War, they're going back to where they started; Japan. But with it they bring new innovation to the battlefield!

New RPG skills and experience for your Generals and Agents.
New Multi-stage Sieges - scaling the walls is only the beginning!
New Hero units inspire your men and carve through the enemy.
New rotating 3D campaign map.

Oh, and by the way. Spies are now Ninjas!

Shogun 2 Total War - Steam pre-purchase

Coming March 15th 2011

Valve Time - Like Hammer Time. But not

2011-01-19T08:00:00.000Z

Definition: The date/time set by Valve for a release. However, the actual time is usually significantly longer.

Whenever a release date is announced, and given a date, this date is subject to Valve Time. This means that the game/update may not be released for a variable amount of time.
Examples

It could be Release Date +3 hours
Coming tomorrow at 11 AM -> Coming tomorrow at 2PM

(Referring to a Team Fortress 2 Update)

Or. In more extreme cases
Every 3 months -> Every few years
(Referring to the Half Life 2 Episodes)

Valve Time has become a bit of a meme now. It's even self-referred to by the development team; there's a list of examples of Valve Time here on the official Valve Developer Community Wiki.
I think it shows a company's run by humans rather than machines when they can poke fun at themselves, personally. Doubt you'd see many other developers accepting that they miss their deadlines every so often, and putting a bit of humour into the mix when talking about it either.

However, Valve Time has struck again!
You'll all be very sad to hear that Portal 2 has been pushed back a bit further! It was said to be released in February/March time, but it's now been put back to April 21st!

Looks great doesn't it! Hope Valve Time fails to shift any further. Sure it's worth waiting for. But it's like dangling meat in front of a hungry puppy, then moving it away. Or some similar analogy, but referring to digital jumble...

Oh, and by the way. Where's Episode 3? (don't push it! we're lucky not to get another zombie game! -andy)

M-m-m-monster Kindom! Majesty 2: Monster Kindom DLC thoughts!

2011-01-17T08:00:00.000Z

It's time once again to don the crown of fiscal freedom and attempt to bribe your way back into the hearts of your "loyal" subjects!

Majesty 2 returns with what I believe is their final DLC Pack: Monster Kindom!

The premise this time around is that you've been usurped! Stripped of your crown and power, which isn't a good start to any day. However your forever-loyal royal advisor managed to forsee these events and whisked you away to safety before you were forcably removed from the throne.

His now questionable judgment has left you to ally with the very creatures you've been battling against to keep hold of your kingdom. What a turn around eh?

In comparison to the other DLC packs that have been released for Majesty 2, this feels far more complete and accessible. The reason being that while the previous packs contained all of the previous units and their upgrades being available from the get-go this time you're starting with new units of different capabilities and strengths.

Monsters troops feel quite a bit weaker to start with than their humanoid counter-parts (although this is just from my memory, no real comparisons were done!) However you can have 4 spearmen to their building rather than the usual limit of 3 which I guess is to compensate for them being slightly less hardy.

Other buildings and their content have also been changed. The market is now a bazar (bizzare?) and provides more exotic versions (although they do seem to be almost exact equivilents) of the health potion, protective amulet, etc... that were previously available. The same goes for the blacksmith with it's more ragged version of weapon upgrades, however all buildings look very different and far more...um...monstery!

Story wise it was quite fun listening to the royal adviser again, who has stuck with the role since the creation of Majesty 2. Especially his obvious worry about the new alliance with goblins and rat people. His constant re-assurances that everything will be alright in the end, even though he sounded less sure of it as the game progressed, kept me chuckling away.

So, perhaps you've enjoyed Majesty 2 but not been tempted by any of the DLC so far? In which case this would be the one to get. It's just as challenging as the others but has a far more interesting premise and a shed load of new units in comparison to the previous add-ons.

Finally here's the release trailer:

Majesty 2 Monster Kingdom can be purchased from loads of places, like GamersGate (clicky) at the time of writing it's £10 (well, £9.99)

Age of Empires Online?

2011-01-14T15:12:00.005Z

Any fan of RTS games will have some point or another played an Age of Empires game (or Age of Mythology)

They were fantastic games, loved as much by hardcore RTS gamers as more casual players! I started with Age of Empires II. That was my first real experience of an RTS game , and I thought it was great! The diversity of civilizations, and the graphics associated with them, really stood out to me - There was such attention to detail! Get bored with one civilization? No worries, you had about 20 to pick from (I think?)

When Age of Empires III came out, I was on to it like a shot! I played through the singleplayer, and got into the Online gaming scene a bit. It wasn't quite as good as the original one, but that's how it usually is. When you're mesmerised by one game, the next one doesn't ever seem to be quite as good. I'd waited 6 years for it as well! Not literally though... It wasn't like I sat there scribbling tallies on my wall waiting for it...

Now you can imagine how excited I was when I heard somewhere that a new Age of Empires game is in the works! However - Age of Empires: Online? That doesn't sound quite right now does it? Where's my roman numeral IV?

Here's a trailer for it:

That doesn't look how I want it to look! What's going on!? It looks so bouncy; why is everything attached to springs?

Age of Empires Online is persistent game. Your empire will always be active, even when you're not playing. There's no offline play at all, which may upset some people. But they've said they're aiming it towards how gamers play nowadays, online and in groups. I can agree with that, but I still think there's an equal number of people who like to play singleplayer and alone.

The game will be for digital release only; no retail copies at all. Now, to me this sounds like a DLC-Chain in the making. I imagine they're going to release a cut down game, and then give players the "Choice" of what they'd like their game to consist of. Of course, fork over the dosh in order to do it. Only one civilization is going to be released in the first instance of the game... Yeh... I think my theory sounds about right. If they do bring out a new civilization(s) what's the bet you'll have to pay for it?

Further reading shows it's nicely tied up into Windows - LIVE. Great. I love that I do. About as much as a fork in the eye that is. Such a pointless bit of software in my opinion; I've got plenty enough forms of communication between my gaming friends which I've had for years, so why do I need another one forced upon me?

I think alienation will be rife. Older gamers who played the original, or II won't like the drastic change in graphics, interface and playing style. If it is full of DLC, it will turn them right off the game; I know I won't give it the time of day if they start charging me for everything.
I can see if now:
"Your villager doesn't have the right tool to access that resource. Have you tried buying it from our in-game store?"
Spiffing.

But! I could be wrong! It could be a fantastic game, and I may be misinterpreting what I'm seeing at the moment (I don't have a stigma towards Microsoft at all...). Closed BETA is currently operating with applications being open at the moment to members of the public. If we happen to get a slot, we'll try and hand out some more information if we can.

Very eager to see whether it will sink or swim

Set for release sometime in 2011 (No date has yet been set)

DEFCON: Everybody Dies

2011-01-14T08:00:00.000Z

What a happy title!

DEFCON is a strategy game based on the inevitability of Nuclear War breaking out on a global scale. Your job is to defend your own nation, while waging war on those who attacked you!

The game starts very simply. You have your nation (Usually a large continent sized area), and you're in peacetime. I bet there are buttercups and daisies growing outside too! How lovely!
However, war is going to ensue soon, so you need to place your units, much like on a chess board. You throw down your Radar stations - These detect missile launches and let you know where they are! In synergy with your Radar Stations you deploy your Silos. They act as anti-missile bunkers, as well as Nuclear Launch Platforms! The 3rd and final land based structure are your air bases. These can be used as defense or attack, whichever you deem necessary!

Oh, and while you're at it, get some fleets on the go, a pack of submarines should instill fear in your enemies! Especially when they're armed to the teeth! I'd like Sean Connery to captain mine, although if he didn't defect, that'd be a bonus!

Soon enough, the missiles start flying left right and centre! Your planned tactics have gone out of the window! Who knew that Mr. Nasty Russki was going to launch from there!? You'll have to change your silos from attack to defense! And get those fighters out to protect your Radar Stations!

The game has a fantastic mix of planned tactics, and on the fly decisions. Playing against the AI can be a bit dull, but playing against other players is always interesting. No two fights are ever the same! You can build alliances to better wipe out your enemy, but be weary of who your opponent is friends with. Who knows, they may just have a fleet waiting to take you out while your back is turned...

This game is one for the strategists completely! If you're not one of those types, you'll find the game good fun for a while, but you may soon get tired of it and look for something a bit more shiny and different.

DEFCON feels a bit like a digital board game. But a bloody good one that has Nukes in it! The genius is in the simplicity of the design, but the variety of tactics that can be used. The looks themselves are pretty neat too. Very simple, but still has that cool "techy" look we all associate with anything military. The eerie glow of a nuclear impact gives some twisted satisfaction, followed by the white text that indicates the devastation you caused.

Have a crack at the First Strike tactic and see where it leads you to - I doubt it will be a happy end... Because of course, Everybody dies.

82/100

Full of meaty goodness! Super Meat Boy!

2011-01-13T08:00:00.002Z

Something I was able to get my hands on before my Honeymoon was Super Meat Boy.

And pretty super it is too!

This is something I'd describe as a skill based platformer game. So basically you're only limited by your own platform gaming skill which, to be honest, doesn't really suit me much but I can certainly appreciate it.

So far after quite a few levels I've not come across any "pixel perfect" jumps required, and it doesn't have the same ambience as, say, Cave Story. But it does have quite a few features that make it worth considering.

The flash-like animations that play throughout the game are fantastically put together and made me laugh almost constantly. For a marshmallow shaped character meat boy doesn't half show some emotion through the game, however happy or sad it was always hillarious.

Musically I felt like I was back in the 90's of PC Gaming! Which is a good thing! Although I couldn't find the credits for the composer so no idea who wrote it specifically (if anyone knows please let me know!)

But my favourite feature has to be the replay of a level once you've completed it. All of your previous attempts during that session are played at the same time which causes it to look as if an army of super meat boys are trying to complete the level. Probably one of the funniest thing to watch in a platform game ever and kept reminding me of Albert Einsteins definition of insanity...

I did have one particular gripe with the game (as you'd expect!) And for a PC conversion (I assume this was made for the Xbox first) it has a fairly large flaw: Re-Definable Keys which is an option that's completely missing. You have to stick to their key combination or stick in an x-box controller if you have one. I don't and when you have to start using the run key for longer jumps I would have prefered to redefine the run and jump keys so they were closer together.

Aside from that though this is a super fun romp. When you get it right it really feels right and the design of the level you've been cursing for minutes certainly becomes the best designed level you've played so far! It's not perfect and I could only play a few levels at a time, but that feels like the idea too, you can dip in and out (which is a nasty image considering the name) and just play a couple of levels when you're waiting for something to download or whatever..

So hats off to anyone who can make a bloody lump of meat look cute! If you're not looking for a story much and want something where a little practice makes perfect then you can't go wrong with SMB.

I felt the full price of £12 was a bit much, but I would certainly keep an eye open for when it's in the sales...

Meaty!

Click here to visit the steam page for Super Meat Boy!

Mafia II

2011-01-12T08:00:00.002Z

The Don informed me to review this slice of Italian gaming (Yes, I know it's Czech...). I've been "kindly" informed, it is better I give it a favourable review otherwise certain "Accidents may happen"; and ever the possibility of more "quoted" words may be used against me in the future. "Consequences".

Mafia II is the 2nd game of the Mafia series (If you hadn't figured that out from the name). The story is set in 1940s America progressing through to the 50s. You're Vito Scaletta; an Italian immigrant who moved to the USA (Possibly Mario's more suave cousin) with his family, seeking "The American Dream". However, it isn't what they thought it would be, so he turns to a life of crime to try and make ends meet.

I won't go into more depth, because I don't want to spoil any of it though.

SPOILER ALERT
Nah, I'm just teasing...

The game has a similar format to Grand Theft Auto; the way the world is made, how you can walk around, and interact with things. However, it's not Grand Theft Auto clone, nor a close copy to it. Sure you can drive around, cause mayhem, irritate the Police. But Mafia II is much more refined, and centres on one main story. The game is full of cinematic sequences. It's a true "Story lovers" game. The developers have really tried to make you feel engrossed in the story as much as possible. However in doing this, some of the actions you have to perform are a bit menial and boring.

For example, you're selling stolen cigarettes. You're standing in the truck and having orders shouted at you: "Red Carton", "Blue Carton", "White Carton" - All you do is pick one up, and throw it. Somewhat pointless. But then again, they're trying to keep it as an interactive story. Even though it may be a bit flat, you can appreciate why they get the player to do it. A tad unpolished methodically, but it's part of the game.

But where there are these little "rough bits", other parts of the game are genius. The attention to detail in parts is fantastic. I approached a cat that wasn't too happy to see me; I got hissed at quite violently. The cat then made it's "subtle" exit through the window, followed by an almighty crashing of bins and a very loud meow from the cat in question.
The radio stations have songs from the time periods in questions, and you're regularly given updates about the progression of the 2nd World War as well. They've really done their homework on it!

The gameplay is great, although sometimes staggered by the inevitable cutscenes. You'll get to "whack" some rival mobsters, and fight in the ensuing gun battle. Or take a more stealthy attitude towards things if you're doing a robbery and don't wish to get chucked in the slammer (Again...) - There's real diversity in what you do!

Mafia II engrosses you in the mob life. You start as a rookie, and slowly increase your reputation within your group of fellow mobsters. Your jobs get more interesting and advanced as the game progresses. Anyone who started playing it, and was a bit disappointed that you got an M1911 Colt to play with, fear not, the paragon of the mob aesthetic is in their! The one weapon that sums up the mob in America: The Thompson SMG (Complete with Drum Magazine!)

You'll get to feel like you're in the Godfather films! How is that not cool!?

Mafia II has funny little moments in it too, things that can only make you smile. You'll find these out for yourself if you play it, but I found Joe's chat-up lines were pretty good (Because they were so bad). Mafia II really is a fantastic bit of ingenuity. As I've already said, sometimes the cutscenes feel like it stops you dead, but it's a story rather than a Shoot'em Up.

I've read a few other reviews, and heard a few people's opinions saying they think it's too stifled. But I reckon it's because they've bought the game thinking "Wahey. Mafia Grand Theft Auto!" which is just isn't.

If you want to run about, blowing cars off the street with bazookas, get Grand Theft Auto. If you're interested in a game where you feel you're part of a film (While watching it at the same time) buy Mafia II. Anyone who is a fan of TV series like the Sopranos, or the Godfather films... maybe even Bugsy Malone? Would find this a great game for the aesthetics and story!

85/100

(I hope the Don approves and reconsiders that "accident" that could have befallen me)

Note on the DLC
We've not tried the DLC so we have no idea of its quality or whether it's worth it. If we do happen to come into ownership of said DLC in the future, we shall be right on to it to let you know what we think!

Games To Buy in 2011 : Andy's Thoughts

2011-01-11T10:00:00.000Z

Oh blimey this is going to be an awesome year for games. Specifically I'm looking forward to 4 big titles, can you guess what they are? (Hint don't look at the tags, it gives it away!)

Firstly I can't wait for Kerebos and Paradox to give us Sword Of The Stars 2. My mates and I have waited for this for some time and we all own the previous game and all of it's DLC which is quite unusual for us!

The new ships look fantastic from the trailer and we just can't wait to see what will come from the new design and new tech trees! Release Date: Quarter 3 2011

Next up is Deus Ex: Human Revolution for me. The horrific disappointment that was the second game many years ago has still not put me off the series and every couple of years I'll play the original just to remind myself what an absolutely awesome game it was.

This new entry into the series looks like it could be a winner and has a much darker, less dumbed-down look to it. They really seem to have understood what the original gave us, except for perhaps the music of Alexander Brandon (I'll give up on that idea one day) and I have the highest of high hopes that even being a prequel it will still be one of the most awesome games released this year. Release Date: February 2011

Third is the game I think everyone is (or should be!) waiting for this year: Portal 2! At least it's the only game we can probably agree up on in the PCGR offices!

After the unforgettable original back in 2007 (blimey was it really that long ago?!) We've all hoped that a sequel to the portal spewing, fast moving, thinking man's FPS game would soon be upon us. Unfortunately we had to wait for two zombie games before that happened. *Sigh*

Anyway, now it is almost time, only a few short months to wait, providing there are no more temporal shifts in Valve-Time. Release Date: 18 April 2011

Finally the game I'm probably waiting for above all else (because I'm such a fan boy) - the recently revealed Mass Effect 3 from Bioware.

It was this time last year I was only a few weeks away from playing ME2 and I was watching the awesome trailer daily (oh yes, that's how badly I'm in love with this game series) and I was not disappointed, which is refreshing these days!

I've played it more than twice through now and every second is still amazing, so the prospect of the end of the trilogy arriving at the end of the year is super exciting. Release Date: Christmas 2011

And just to finish this post off here's the reveal trailer for ME3 released near the end of last year. But before I go, let me ask: what games are you waiting for this year?

The Running Pillow Bundle!

2011-01-10T07:08:00.000Z

Indie Studio Running Pillow are now selling their three games in one bundle at the price that you want to pay!

Galatron, Kings Smith and Kings Smith 2 have all been reviewed here so why not check them out! I'm simply stunned by yet another name-your-price deal having appeared!

Check out the deal at the Running Pillow Website!

Review of Mark Leung: Revenge of the Bitch

2011-01-09T08:00:00.015Z

Mark Leung (also the creator of the popular College Saga youtube sensation) is a complete genius and has the most thorough understanding of internet psyche I've ever encountered. Well it's that or he's seriously wrong in the head. Either way it feels like Revenge of the Bitch is designed to annoy half of the people in the world while making the other half chortle for hours on end.

Quick though! Let me tell you what this game is: it's an JRPG parody, a game that pokes fun at everything that is Final Fantasy and you can't help but admire the sheer bravery and persistence that it must have took to create it. Or perhaps the motivation came from the need to insult just about anything and everything to do with the world and the internet. I'm still not quite sure...

Similar to Final Fantasy and other large scale rpg games, you walk around a world, a parody of our own no less and fight battles against evil creatures (such as bunnies, hamsters, sheep...) in turn based form. Not Active Timer Battle unfortunately (my personal preferred battle system) but closer to Final Fantasy X's turn based system, it's one of those things you need to have a go at to understand fully. The big difference being that some abilities can take several time units to cast/perform in which time the enemy may have finished you off.

The system isn't badly implemented, adds some tactical thought (if you're able to think tactically through the madness that is Mark Leung Revenge Of The Bitch) and it helps that it's a familiar system. Newcomers wouldn't have much trouble though as everything is tutorialized (which probably isn't a word) and pointed out in surprising detail. It would have been nice to have a more active "camera man" with some sweeping shots during attacks and even when selecting moves, the static views were fine but a little dull.

The abilities and moves however were as far from dull as could be! My favorite standard attack came from the character known as Ines who had a violin that turned into a bow and arrow (seriously cool.) Worst attack had to go to her step mom Elsie with her strange head over heals skating blade attack.

As far as the enemies go, well the cute little lambs had some kind of "Cute attack" which lowers the defenses of some of your characters which was ironic (or something.) The endangered but dangerous pandas you fight throw bamboo at you and leprechauns are tricky to hit! And...well I could mention the attack from the baboon but there are no words...Really there's far too many standard enemies to mention in all, but some of the special enemies were especially fun to take on.

Goldman Sex, A C3PO type robot with a humping fixation gave me a laugh. After running through a cave of money counting R2D2 type robots he appears as a "bubble" (read dot-com bubble or other financial fad) that the girly characters you're with throw money into (that you never get back! And thus completes the metaphor) before he appears and tries to face rape your team. Lovely but as the move is anything but graphically detailed, the attack comprising of a "thrusting" of the hips, it's hardly anything that I would complain of (although I'm sure many others would!)

Some of the quotes during battles got a bit repetitive and annoying. It might have been better if the characters didn't always have to shout something at the start or end of a fight, then it would be more of a treat to hear their victory chant or motto. The enemy sounds also got irritating, especially those cats and their spooky, eerie and unforgettable...sometimes I still hear it at night....

Ahem, so yes, the battles are good enough fun and it's not the very old random battles that we used to get with Final Fantasy style games. As you walk through the world, insulting everyone, the enemies are all in plain sight and will often attack you if you get too close. You can run away from everything but you'll need to gain experience to be able to take care of the later bosses as per any JRPG. If an enemy is about to attack you however you can gain the upper had by preparing a stance which ensures you will be the first to attack them in the battle system.

As usual the biggest problem with an RPG title such as this is the grind, grind, grind that you need to go through to ensure your characters will be able to face their next foes with enough power to continue. I'm surprised the creator didn't put in some kind of short cut or at least some kind of joke involving this. It did get tedious and I have to admit switching the game to "Windowed" mode so I could get on with other things while the enemy attacked.

Trying to pull apart the threads of crazy thought that make up the plot it's difficult to see if the story is any good. In many ways it's very traditional in it's "a dark power is threatening the world" sense but on the other hand it's consistent use of over the top satire and characters that continue to stay completely in character throughout. Mark especially continues to be a complete arse at all times and never learns any kind of moral lessons at all....yay!

The very best parts of the game for me however have to be the filmed cut scenes. This is something that gamee have lost over the years in favor of scripted sequences and in some cases we've lost out, but Mark Leung has returned this greatest of gifts to us! These are seriously laugh out loud funny, it seems like everyone involved really got what the idea of the game was and it was very much like watching the shouty dialogue of an old kung-fu movie.

Ok now for my confession, I've not yet completed the game! ooh, shock horror! I'm over 10 hours in and it's just too long with all the grind for me with all the other stuff I need to do for now. I'm sure it's far longer than this and I will continue to play it when I can and update this if any of my views change over the coming weeks.

So far it's been a blast though, probably one of the most imaginitative and funny games you'll play in a long time. As long as you're not Irish, an animal lover, Chinese, Japanese, a robot, Canadian, a vegetarian, called "Justin Bieber", part of the banking system, a pirate... or if you're just stupid.

[Score: 80 out of 100]

Mark Leung: Revenge of The Bitch can be downloaded from the main site where there is also a demo! Go Gets!

My Honeymoon In New York

2011-01-08T18:00:00.001Z

Howdy Folks!

For those that don't know I've been away for two weeks in America. New York to be specific, on a late Honeymoon with my wife.

Firstly big thanks to Alistair for keeping things running while I've been away, but despite a cold and various real life stuff cropping up I'm back to continue my usual colossal output.

Before I get stuck in however I wanted to share quite a touching experience that happened during the last two weeks.

We visited the Nintendo store on several occasions, it always seemed to be en route to wherever we were going! On one of our final visits a large television was on downstairs which had previously been turned off the last few times we had been. Mario was displayed on the television and a small group of young lads (probably just over 10 years old) were stood infront of it.

It didn't take us long to realise that Mario was responding precisely to the young lads and was having a conversation about what their favourite Mario games where. The setup was great because the mario onscreen moved around and was lip-synched to whoever was controlling him backstage. The kids were completely spellbound by it and it was really nice to see.

Otherwise I did pop into a Gamestop (?) which was completely like a GameStation shop over here which was a little disapointing. Obviously there was no point in buying anything because it wouldn't work on my PC, plus I missed most of the Steam Sales (grr) but it was certainly an experience.

Oh and Hi Craig! Thanks for reading :)