Think With Portals

ThinkWithPortals is now Keybrood

2009-02-03T17:06:00.002+00:00

www.keybrood.com

A New Era For ThinkWithPortals

2009-02-03T08:00:00.002+00:00

Well, its finally time to write that post. I'd say I was flipping the switch, but really there's no switch to flip, because in fact the all new ThinkWithPortals is already live on the web. Confused? If it's about car insurance, you'll want this site. If the aforementioned confusion is in fact relevant to the blog, read on. Oh and if you're on the new site now, you can read on by clicking the 'Continue?' button just below here.

Over the past couple of weeks, the team here has been working on a whole new website just for you (and also that guy). We've posted a bit about the new site already, but seeing as it's now switchover time, I guess we go ahead and explain all about the new blog. You will of course receive just the same fantastic journalistic talent as before, including genius-level wit, biting satire, and reviewing games months after they are released. And the team is the same: ex-Ninty fanboy Aquatic Wanderer, the moustachioed Fluorescent Octopus, and warring PC/PS3 gamers Farmer Fryingpan and Volcanic Octopus. So that's what's staying the same. Time for what's changed.

You may notice that Keybrood is sporting a whole new sexy blue look. That's right, our site design is complete! It took us a lot of trial and error, but with the advice of VA, coding skillz of myself and the artistic fumblings of AW, the layout has finally fallen into place. Smaller changes may be made over the next week perhaps, but what you see here will more or less be what you'll see for quite a while. So get used to it!

More importantly, starting this week, regular features 'Store Detectives' (Friday) and 'Weekly Roundup' (Sunday) will be joined by a couple of all new features. 'Home Capers' will be a regular look at new content and humorous goings-on in PlayStation Home, arriving every Wednesday. 'Kompetitive' will be a lovely gloating session from Armadillo, as he looks over our many multiplayer battles of the past week, and whilst this will be about just us to begin with, we really want to open it up to you, our readers, so get involved by commenting! Also at the top there you may have noticed the mysterious 'Podcast'. While nothing is up yet, plans are in motion to get our thoughts captured using sound (mainly from our mouths), and into the form of awesomeness for you Internet people to listen to, but this will probably happen whenever possible/we feel like it.

You may also remember the comic Aquatic posted a few months ago, now on its own page under 'Comic'. We intend to pester him enough to get this into a regular occurrence, so when you're not in fits of hilarity caused by our writings, we hope that pictures will do it. And finally we have the Trophy list, (arguably one of the most integral parts of any gaming site) where you'll find links to most (if not all) Trophies for any PS3 game out there with them.

There we have it, a definitive list of what we aim to achieve in the short times coming. I don't know about you, but I get excited just thinking about it.

And with a push of the 'Publish' button, we usher in a new era for ThinkWithPortals. The Keybrood Era.

And we hope you enjoy it.

The ThinkWithPortals/Keybrood Team

http://www.keybrood.com

Explanations

2009-01-29T00:54:00.002+00:00

I should probably point out that the lack of posts here on TWP at the moment is due to continuing work on the new site, which is nearly finished. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Happy Blogday

2009-01-27T22:20:00.004+00:00

Throw your minds back exactly a year ago. Picture two adolescents; minds full of gaming goodness, bursting forth but with nowhere to go. So, words were had, keys were pressed and mice were clicked and Think With Portals was born.

Sure we have advanced from then; our style has changed, our blog has been updated and more importantly, new team members have joined, but at it's core Think With Portals stayed the same, and so it will stay forever.

Well...except the name. You see we've been hard at work on the new site (Octopus more so than the rest of us) and we're just about ready to unleash it upon our lovely dedicated audience. Just about.

So in celebration for our 1st ever birthday, I would like to give you a gift. The gift of our new name.

Keybrood.

I'll let that sink in.

We'll be coming at you full on later this week, so, and I hate this saying, watch this space.

Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One Trophies

2009-01-26T08:00:00.001+00:00

This awesome Penny Arcade game finally launched on the European PSN Store last Thursday, and you can grab it now for £7.99.

Bronze Trophies

Stray Cat - Earn a support character.
All Together Now - Do a Team-Up attack involving all three party members.
Nine Lives - Kill an enemy using the feline support character Thomas Kemper.
Pack Rat - Find and collect all of the hidden collectibles scattered around the game.
Pacifist - Win one battle using only counterattacks.
Fight 'Em With Items - Use every combat item at least once in the game.
Level Awesome - Get all party members to Level 15.

Silver Trophies

A Winner Is You - Successfully complete the first episode.
Steel Devils - Find and destroy all the robots in the game.
Silent, But Deadly - Beat the final Boss without healing.
Clean Sweep - Kill all enemies in Episode 1.

Gold Trophies

Immortal - Play and win the game without allowing a character to die during combat.

Weekend Roundup XV

2009-01-25T21:00:00.000+00:00

So, to the Roundup! It's been a bit of a slower week games-wise this one, including on the blog (hey, we've already posted more this month than any other, and we've has exams, so chill!). There is something I want to talk about in this week's little editorial, so for those of you wanting more game news, feast your eyes on this little lot, then read the exciting stuff further down: Kid's Archery, Wireless PC-PS3 link, Voice Actors, YouTube Street Fighter, PSP down to £110, Dylan Jobe's Presentation, Obama's Phone, White House Technology like 'Atari', Jolicloud Netbook OS, LA Noire Hirings, Flight Simulator Dropped, All New Search, No More BD-Java. Right, on to the interesting stuff.

There is a good reason for the decreased number of posts this week: we've been hard at work on a whole new site! That's right, TWP is going all grown-up! We've been with Blogger since we started here now, nearly a whole year ago, when myself and Aquatic set up A Pail of Beavers (no, we don't know why the blog had a different URL and actual name) and first assumed our watery aliases. Then I shifted around a few bits on the site, we added two new contributors in Armadillo and Fryingpan, and assumed the more sensible name of ThinkWithPortals. Now, we're preparing for another, more solid metamorphasis.

As we grow in size and popularity (hint: we have been, by quite a bit) and get more involved with the gaming industry, we feel that a more original name and more expandable blog is in order. Blogger has been good to us, but it has its limits, and we plan to move to the highly-customizable WordPress platform for the new site. A brand new (and un-green =O) design will also be arriving, and we're making it much easier to get to what you want on the blog.

Don't think that the new site is just an excuse for us to sit back and go "we're done". Oh no, we've got new features on the way too. When the new site goes live, Store Detectives will return (after some television-related technical hitches), and these here Roundups will continue, but will be accompanied by a regularish comic (see Aquatic's singular previous doodle here) and an shiny new podcast! On the texual side of things, there'll be a new feature about our multiplayer antics of the week, as well as a weekly update on goings on in PlayStation Home. And that's not all! We plan to create more of a community too, although we're keeping those plans under our very pretty hats for the time being.

Dont worry that we're gonna be keeping quiet here until the launch though, we've got plenty of content planned for this week, including a little competition between the team that Volcanic just thought up. And for those of you worried we're veering too far away from our more analytical roots towards a purely news site, you needn't fear - more crazy jumping to conclusions coming up soon.

We'll be back soon with more information on the new site, but til then: hold tight.

Fluorescent Octopus

PS: Looking for what we've been playing? You want the post just below.

What Are We Playing

2009-01-25T20:30:00.001+00:00

Little separation this week only, there's lots to talk about in the Roundup, so what we've been playing has got its own little post.

Earlier this week, I discovered the Red Alert 2 files on my computer. Soon enough, myself, Aquatic and Volcanic had started a series of viscious competitive matches which resulted in tears, mashed keyboards, and more than a couple of explecitives. You can see more from Armadillo's warped perspective here. And before you think I'm just really shit, I play the long game in RTSs - something Armadillo FAILS AT COMPLETELY THE RUSHING BASTARD. /rant. Elsewhere, I've been playing Penny Arcade Adventures, which Aquatic has completed already, and he overtook me in the trophy stakes. But we don't talk about that, okay?. Wow, I'm a bit hormonal today.

Volanic managed to convince Fryingpan to buy old game Hearts of Iron 2 (one of Armadillo's favourites), which Fryingpan is finding suitably hard. Easier perhaps was the Farmer's win at the "World Cup" in Fifa 09 using New Zealand. Oh and I looked up Football Manager; amongst this year's new features (yes, this is 2009), it lists "a 3D match engine, support for female managers and widescreen compatibility". Wow, way ahead of its time.

Stay tuned for the Roundup, awesome news ahead!

FO.

Sly Cooper 4

2009-01-25T14:34:00.003+00:00

So myself, this guy and the 3 other people that bought all three Sly Cooper games should be excited [very excited]. Yes I'm talking about Sly 4, rumored to set in Afghanistan and featuring Sly battling wave after wave of Nazi Zombie Taliban [A man can dream can't he?] is planned for the PS3 and PSP. Sucker punch are planning to release the game simultaneously- so we can expect inter connectivity between the formats.

Sucker punch have stated that: "The graphics have been majorly overhauled and the gameplay will be more varied and focused this time around. We're aiming for a fully interactive 3-d world, with no loads and seamless interaction between settings and characters."

More updates when they become available.

Volcy

Birthday!

2009-01-25T13:35:00.004+00:00

Yes tomorrow it is the birthday of the Farmer himself, that's all really... just thought you might like to know. He's not doing anything exciting by the way- just Football manager 09.

Red Alert 2 Fest

2009-01-23T22:16:00.004+00:00

So, another week and another gaming competition without Fryingpan who seems to refuse to play with us. First of all I'd just like to mention than Octopus hit me really hard today...haha [literally- he punched my arm].

Anyway, so in celebration of Red Alert 3 coming out on PS3 [That's our excuse anyway], we [AW, FO and VA anyway] have been playing Red Alert 2 together via a LAN. Had a match with Octopus, [which lasted all of 5 minutes] after I Conscript rushed his base and trashed his Construction yard. Fun match, quick warm up.

So onto the bigger match of the night, myself vs FO vs AW. Now of course that's not the way it worked out. Reasonably sensible start off but then soon developed in Octopus sending some Kirovs into Aquatics base, causing damage but more importantly leaving my Kirovs open to bomb his CY. Spurred on by my success [Premature], I mocked Aquatic with a quick [and soon regretted] 'hahahaha'. Not taking any of my shit he then sent his Black Eagle bombers in my general direction and obliterated my CY...sad sad stuff.

I noticed that Octopus had been left out of this destruction, [and being a fair old chap] I levelled the playing field. Although when I say levelled the playing field I mean I Kiroved Octopus's entire base and put him out of the game. If you haven't guessed by now, we like Kirovs.

Leaving myself and AW in the game we had a brief 4 minutes of Cold war, in which a tit-for-tat exchange occurred, using the Cloning vats I spammed Flak troopers and negated his Air superiority, then moved in for the kill with [you guessed it] the Kirovs and Conscripts.

Good game lads.

Any strategies for RA2? Comment and discuss.

Volcy

Signed, Sealed And Dated

2009-01-22T17:20:00.012+00:00

So it falls upon me to divulge a bunch of new dates for multiple games, packs, and so on. Thankfully this was a great week for finding out some high profile release dates, as well as some that people have been itching to get their hands on. But we might as well as start off with the release we've got the most deets on; Tomb Raider: Underworld for the PS2.

Europe

UK, Italy, BeNeLux - 23rd January
Scandinavia - 26th January
France, Germany, Spain - 30th January

US

Everywhere - Early March (we'll update you guys when we know more.)

But that's not where all this Tomb Raidery goodness stops, oh no, we've got something more. You know the two new chapters that's coming up for the Xbox 360 as DLC, Beneath the Ashes and Lara's Shadow? Well, here's a sneak preview of what they're working on, deduce from it what you will!

The release date for the first chapter, Beneath the Ashes is February 10th, and alongside it comes six new outfits and 125 points worth of achievements. The next chapter, Lara's Shadow, will come a month later on March 10th. Warning: both will bring new awesome places to raid, (possibly tombs.)

Now as you may have known, other dates have cropped up over the Internet, but here's the ones that we'll be keeping our eye on (coz they're for Europe!).

Flower (PSN) - February 12th 2009
[Edit (Octopus)] Nobi Nobi Boy - February 19th 2009
Killzone 2 (PS3) - February 27th 2009
Red Alert (PS3) - March 2009
Fat Princess (PSN) - March 2009
I Am Alive (PS3) - April 2009

Jeez. I'm going to love the next two months.

-AW

Infamous vs Prototype

2009-01-22T12:00:00.000+00:00

Last Sunday, I updated the playlist and wishlist that you can find in the sidebar when I wrote up the Weekend Review (yes the move to Sunday is permanent). This is quite a normal thing to do, but this time it caused a bit of a dispute between myself and Aquatic. The specific cause of the dispute? I had put Prototype in my wishlist...and not Infamous.

I admit that normally (as part-time fanboy) I choose Sony games over competitors, and hey, right now, Sony needs the money. And I was really hyped for inFamous from the very moment they announced it at E3 last year (or was it the one before?). But then, come CES this year, they released some new gameplay footage. Ah.

And that's where I started to worry. Because rather than a game where you get to use electricity in lots of fun, exciting ways, it was looking like inFamous was in fact just a third-person shooter with your hands as guns and electricity as bullets. Prototype on the other hand had gone underground for quite some time, just surviving the whole Activision-Blizzard-let's-cancel-or-drop-shitloads-of-games fiasco. And although the game was intriguing before; post-hibernation the game is looking awesome.

See! Powers abound - rather than a shooter, Prototype is the platforming-action-adventure game I was hoping inFamous would be. I guess we'll see whether I was right to be concerned when the games are released. Prototype should be out this summer, with inFamous following in autumn.

Patience

2009-01-22T08:00:00.000+00:00

Well, it seems that the LittleBigPlanet downloadable content that was supposed to be starting again tomorrow has been delayed. Whilst the new content wont now appear until next week, we have been told what to expect in the coming weeks.

On Monday 26th, there'll be free male and female Chinese New Year costumes available (picture above) on the Store. These costumes will only be available for 10 days so grab them whilst you can. In next week's Thursday update, there'll be a free Groundhog Day costume (which will be around for a week) and two God of War-themed downloads - a pack containing a bunch of stickers and the Minotaur and Medusa costumes, and seperately the Kratos costume that was previously available with pre-orders.

The following week (the 5th of February) a special Valentine's Day will go up (for 2 weeks) and will be followed the week after (the 12th) by the Ape Escape and Toro the Cat costumes that were previously only available in Japan. On the 19th, a WipEout-styled pack of costumes and stickers will be up for grabs. Oh and judging by the tease on the PlayStation Blog last week, our hunch may have been right, and some Killzone content will be around at the end of February too.

Can you wait a week?

(Source: EU Forums - more pictures there, via TheSixthAxis)

Internetlol

2009-01-20T19:37:00.002+00:00

Just saw this little beauty in the comments on the PlayStation Blog post for PSP Firmware 5.03

"Eric just wanted to let you know that we as psp/ps3 owners are still highly hoping for IN-GAME MUSIC...you know how cool it is to play Stardust HD or Wipeout listening to coldplay or jack johnson..."

Written Journalism Still Exists

2009-01-20T08:00:00.004+00:00

Octopus with another of our brief summaries of the latest issue of the UK Official PlayStation Magazine, coming round every four weeks like a mildly interesting menstrual cycle.

The cover story this month is the review of Killzone 2, which recieved a wonderful 9. Say what you want about the honesty of an official platform magazine reviewing a key exclusive, but their review hyped me up possibly more that I already was - now I'm foaming even more at the mouth! Features in this issue of the mag include a rumour-mongering look at this year's secret games including Assassin's Creed 2, COD: MW2 and the new Team Ico game; a couple of new details on Uncharted 2 (Elena is back); an interview with Kaz Hirai; a peek at this year's upcoming awesome games; and the top ten games of 2008 according to a reader poll. The list is as follows: Dead Space, Bioshock, Resistance 2, Mirror's Edge, Burnout Paradise, COD: WaW, Fallout 3, GTAIV, LBP and good old MGS4 coming top.

The rumour machine (obviously the best feature) reads as follows: EA is to hold an auction that will be open to every player in the NFL for the chance to be Madden 2010's cover star (thought there was a supposed curse on that?); developers are already working on games for PSP2, which is tentatively scheduled for release in 2010 (heard this one elsewhere too, but why are MotorStorm and LBP not then PSP2 launch games?); Tetsuya Mizuguchi is looking to make a sequel to Rez, the rights for which are currently owned by Sega (yes please); Square Enix will unveil a 'different from Final Fantasy' MMO at E3 (wahey?); a PSP version of brilliant off-road racer Motorstorm is in the works and may be released before the end of 2009 (yep); despite the fact that FEAR 2 isn't even out yet, Monolith is already working on FEAR 3 (unsurprising, bad economy is leading developers and publishers into focusing more on sequels and established franchises); and Indiana Jones and Batman weren't the last film favourites to be tuned into blocks - Lego Harry Potter is on the way (I was pretty sure they denied this?).

Previews are of new racer Fuel (awesome), FEAR 2: Project Origin (not scary), Gostbusters (disappointing), and Supercar Challenge (super), and even Hydrophobia makes a tiny appearance, stuck to a March release date. Besides Killzone 2, reviews include Skate 2 (8), Patapon 2 (8), Savage Moon (7), LOTR Conquest (5), NPPL Champtionship Paintball 2009 (only 4), Madagascar 2 (3), Bolt (6), Way of the Samurai (6), History Civil War: Secret Missions (3), Age of Booty (6) and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (5). There are also online reviews of PES09 (5), FIFA09 (9) and COD: WaW (8). Oh and next issue is going to have an exclusive Resi 5 review.

PlayStation Official Magazine UK Issue 28 (February 2009) should on shop shelves today, and already in subscribers hands, and has a menacing looking Helghast soldier on the front.

So I Lost My Job....

2009-01-19T19:39:00.002+00:00

Well not quite, although it has been a depressing week. I don't seem to be having any luck. Financially I'm bankrupt, morally too, most likely, keeping those I like from the things they want to do and excluding those who, perhaps, deserve a second chance. I also seem to have the inability to pick those good enough to do good for me and am having a poor influence on the younger generation while neglecting the older generations experience. And yet...

I am the Special One.

So Football Manager 09 has taken me as another casualty like so many before. 25 hours in the past week has been spent endlessly scouring obscure countries international squads looking for a gem of a player who might just reverse my fortunes.

It is a game with which one can become very..... angry with. But it is a love hate relationship, for every hour you put in, three hours later you see the benefits. This may seem backwards but it gives that 'one more game....' mentality.

And don't get me started on network games....

The Special One.
I will not play Schevchenko.

Mini Ninjas

2009-01-19T12:00:00.001+00:00

You remember the Hitman games, right? 'Murder simulators' and all that? Well guess what the next game from the people behind it is. No ideas? "Mini Ninjas". Seriously!

I kid you not, after the fantastic Hitman: Blood Money and dismal Kane and Lynch, developers IO are taking a break from making games that teach you to slaughter people, and are instead making a game for kids. Mini Ninjas is set around the story of Hiro and Futo, who are tasked with saving the world when all the other ninjas are captured whilst investigating an evil animal army created by the Evil Samurai Warlord (not joking). Talk about last resort.

But believe it or not, there are hints of IOs other series, just like you could choose how to approach targets in Hitman; in Mini Ninjas, you can choose how to approach different puzzles. So should you encounter enemies, you could possess an animal to sneak past using Hiro, make them dance to distract them using Tsusumi's flute, or just fight them with Futo. All in all, there are six playable characters to choose from on the fly depending on situation, but there is a particular emphasis in the game on stealth, and a number of the stages require a good amount of creeping around.

And whilst the premise of the game is intriguing, the winning aspect is the art style. Bearing in mind the game is designed for kids, it features a sort of stumpy cartoony style (stumpy as in they're all quite short). On top of beautiful bright colours (like an anti-Killzone) and the shiny slices that show up on hitting enemies - obviously there is no blood - are very reminiscent of the sort of kiddie-anime you find on CITV.

Mini Ninjas looks fantastically promising, even for big kids, and the open approach to every situation is liberating. The game should be out by the end of the year.

Gonna Need More Fuel

2009-01-19T08:00:00.015+00:00

14,000 square kilometres.

That is how big the map in Asobo Studios and Codemasters' new racer, Fuel, is. Regardless of your choice of vehicle in the game (there's 70 including bikes, trucks, quads, muscle cars, buggies and dragsters) it will take you hours to cross the whole map, which is open from the start. Worried that the scale of the game means you'll be travelling for miles through an ugly, bland landscape wishing the developers had managed to find time to build some actual gameplay? Well don't be. In fact, the basis for the game world is generated by an advanced engine the team has been working on since 2002. The engine takes satellite photography from a number of sources, calculates altitude and gradient and then renders it in 3D before adding in relevant textures, such as trees, grass or even snow. Astoundingly, the engine then adds in a complex network of roads along sensible routes, before generating hundreds of race events based on these.

Then the developers take this computer-generated world and gets to work. They refine every single aspect of the game, from clearing thin avenues of trees for alternate routes, cutting down the events to the best (about 200 challenges and 70 career events will make it to the final game), and then perfecting each of these one by one. The end result is a massive, but streamlined, map, and plenty more time for the developers to spend working on the rest of the game.

Which of course is what they have done. MotorStorm is the clear comparison here, but there are also elements of Burnout Paradise in the mix. Whilst the game takes MotorStorm's lush greenery and open orange deserts, and you can abandon the pre-laid roads and cut across the scenery, Burnout's sense of speed and flattering handling (managing to make play fun, whilst still leaving room for personal improvement) are also present. The game's career strand is split between time trials, circuit and checkpoint races and 'raids', where competitors charge across the map to a far away point however they want. The 200 challenge events are made up of elimination races, massive raids, agressive fighting races (think Burnout's Road Rage) and helicopter chases. Vista Points are dotted around the map and offer spectacular views, as are car wrecks from which you can steal rare add-ons for your garage. There's even an incredible race designer, in which you can design your own events which span the entire map before uploading the route for others to play.

The massive online map also translates to online play. Whilst online events are plenty, there is also a nifty free roam mode, in which you can drive around doing whatever takes your fancy with up to 15 other racers online. One of Fuel's nifty unique features is that should you wander too far from the rest of your online lobby, you will be automatically switched to another group in your current rough location, ensuring you've always got people to be playing with.

The sheer scale and amount of work that has evidently gone into Fuel makes it one of my most anticipated games of this year, and if the team can replicate Burnout Paradise's fantastic sense of fun and dedicated online community, it will surely have a winner on its hands, and one that will take a hell of a lot to beat. Fuel should be out by the end of the year.

Weekend Roundup XIV

2009-01-18T20:00:00.011+00:00

Hola there internets, Octopus here with yet another roundup of the weekend variety. It's been an interesting week on the blog, mostly for reasons we can't talk about yet, but it hasn't been too bad a week on the rest of the internets either.

Oooh, which story to pick to babble about. Hmmm....I'm gonna go with this one from Joystiq on the topic of the PlayStation Phone, which is apparently now not happening. Whilst the Sony Ericcson rep they spoke to told them that current phone specs would not be suffucient to do the PlayStation brand justice, it appears that there is a different, more concerning, issue behind this. Joystiq (and a number of other sites) are reporting that Sony Electronics wont lend the PS brand name to a phone made by Sony Ericcson, and in fact a PlayStation Phone will only happen when Sony Electronics makes a handset themselves. This seems to suggest that Electronics is at least considering making their own phones, which would lead to two divisions in one company making competing mobiles. What gives? However, if such divisions do exsist in the company, it does explains the current lack of a PlayStation Music Store (of which one would think Sony Records would be a launch supporter), and may also explain why the Sony Pictures-backed Movie Store has yet to find it's way outside America. Anyway, my advice: sort it out Sony, you need to bring everything together to make the PS3 the victor at the moment, and right now these internal catfights are leading to wasted resources.

Elsewhere in the gaming internets this week: Harmonix apparently is interested in making a PS3 version of their awesome old game 'Amplitude', which was one of the main inspirations behind Audiosurf; Free Radical is still just about alive in a broken state, and really needs to find a publisher for TimeSplitters 4; a stronger focus on the PC version of new kid-friendly Sony MMO Free Realms has led to a delay for the PS3 version; Final Fantasy XIII wont make it's way outside Japan until at least April next year; Patrick Keplek talked about the intriguing Silent Hill iPhone controls; Media Molecule teased some new LBP content; and PixelJunk Eden is getting a new free patch and an Encore pack of DLC.

Another thing I wanted to mention this week is Windows 7. I've been running it full time for just over a week now, and I will be talking about the new features and other enhancements later next week, and hope to get a video tour online. For now though, I will say that after spending some expended time with the system, it doesn't seem anywhere near as essential an upgrade as XP or Vista were from their predeccessors. There are some situations where 7 really shines (on portable devices, computers with lower specs, and those with SSDs) but there isn't enough to recommend it to anyone else as a must-buy. As I say, more in the week. For those interested, the first supposed screenshots of an alpha build of Office 14 have leaked onto the web too.

In terms of what we've been playing, things have been pretty Crash Commando-centric. I actually managed to complete Mirror's Edge, and in a prefect example of Trophies suggesting a different way of playing than I normally would, I managed to do so without ever firing a weapon (that's another silver in the bag). And you know what, I'm damn proud of that. But most of my gaming time this week has been devoted to playing shitloads of Crash Commando. The game is so fantastic, and although I don't want to say too much, as Armadillo will likely be writing a review up this week, but it has occupied myself, Armadillo and Aquatic pretty much all week, and that is praise enough. Oh and Fryingpan defied us all. Guess what amazing action-packed game he's been playing this week? Football-frigging-Manager. I also hear stories that he now refers to himself as the 'Special One' and has developed a love of big long coats. He needs to get out/on Crash Commando more.

Finally, for those looking for some 'bizarre' this week, click here for a strange story on MSN News about a girl selling her virginity to pay her college tuition fees.

Good luck Obama!

Fluorescent Octopus

Damn

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

So my TV died.

Bummer.

AionGuard

2009-01-17T16:00:00.005+00:00

Okay, so I'm actually pretty sure that the newly revealed AionGuard from Avalanche Studios (creators of the Just Cause series) will look nothing like their other works. But when they haven't even released a logo for the game yet, appropriate artwork is scarce. AionGuard sounds like a radical departure from the aforementioned series, abandoning the sunny island climes and showy skydiving, and opting instead for an fantasy world full of witches and dragons.

Avalanche has been working on the title for two years now, and is nearly ready to unveil the new game, which involves epic battles with giant monsters, massive armies, and pilotable dragons (please no motion sensing), and it even claims that AionGuard will feature action equal to some of the "finest set pieces gaming has to offer". Play follows the actual AionGuard, who have merged their bodies with awesome mechanical suits, which also grant them magical powers. They are out to recapture their world from the evil Nazurbaal, who are harvesting the world of its mystical energy source. The open-world gameplay requires you to lead the AionGuard to recapture various regions by crippling supply lines, or destroying power nodes before heading for the region's stronghold. You'll also often have to work with local tribes and revolutionary leaders to take down the base.

Avalanche will be talking more about AionGuard soon, but for more information right now, pick up the latest issue of Edge magazine (out now), which has a passive feature on the game.

TWP's Top 5 Crash Commando Moments

2009-01-17T12:00:00.000+00:00

Cracking straight into it, I love Crash Commando [its really more of an addiction], so here are my Top 5 moments...

5. Noticing a kill, then remembering you mined the whole damn level.
[Happened mainly on the Cave]

4. Spawning then dieing instantaneously.
[Volcano is the culprit here...Ironic much?]

3. Switching server after getting pwned by a hardcore player.
[Depressing]

2. Running over your teammates with the rail buggy.
[Funny, if a little embarrassing and bad for your score]

1. Mid-air grenade launcher/ grenade kill.
[Skillful and satisfying, cue: Boo-ya]

Bioshock's Final Destination

2009-01-17T08:00:00.001+00:00

I felt dirty making this image.

Last October, the fantastic first-person-shooter Bioshock finally worked its way to the PlayStation 3, completing the trifecta of gaming platforms: PS3, 360 and PC. "But wait!" I hear you cry. "What about Mac?" "Sorry, did you say Mac was a gaming platform?" I cry back. A muffled sound almost like a reluctant sigh of acceptance can be heard from your general direction. I really don't know where I'm going with this imagery.

Back on topic, Bioshock is in fact coming to Mac this year. So if you have a gaming-capable Mac (a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro basically) you will be able to enjoy this wonderful extravaganza of awesomeness sometime towards the end of this year, with the folks at Feral Interactive to thank. So about when Bioshock 2 comes out for the rest of us then. Ouch.

Let's just hope they don't make a mobile version, eh?

CoD: WaW Double XP Weekend MADNESS!!

2009-01-16T23:22:00.005+00:00

I'm sure if Armadillo was here he'd be raving all about it (in the subtle way he does rave), but he's probably off getting a slice of the action now.

Regardless! The lovely chaps and chapettes at Call of Duty world have decided to give you guys all some more fun and double the XP this weekend! And for those who haven't yet finished the game, zombie nazi mode is unlocked.

Go shoot some fascist undead!

-AW
it's so hard to find pictures of soldiers going aaarrrgghhhh, y'know

I Am Alive

2009-01-16T21:00:00.002+00:00

It was announced at E3 2008, but it has been silent since then. Finally, we've got details on Ubisoft's upcoming action-earthquake-adventure, I Am Alive. Or should I say survival horror? Because although the game doesn't feature zombies or monsters, the developers say it has people struggling to survive and also "shows how society changes in a natural disaster". Either way, the game sees you playing as Adam Collins, who is trying to survive following an earthquake in Chicago.

Whilst there is still a veil of secrecy surrounding the project, which is unlikely to lift anytime soon, we do know that the game will be played from the first-person perspective, to enchance the players involvement in the disaster and its effects. And although natural and unnatural disasters have been protrayed quite recently in films such as Cloverfield and I Am Legend, and TV shows such as Jericho, the game's senior producer (Jade Raymond has nothing to do with the game, as has been rumoured) Alexis Goddard says that on top of turning daily life on its head, the team is also "changing the very social values and rules that both everyday life and videogames rely on." Now that's one hell of a line to live up to.

Luckily, it appears the game may meet that promise. The team denies I Am Alive is a first-person shooter, and in fact the gameplay itself should dissuade you from this - not least because ammo and health packs are not just lying around unrealistically. “Confrontation is a way of dealing with violent groups, but will rarely be rewarded,”Goddard says. "We encourage the players to use tactics, diversion, and discretion. You've found a police shotgun, which is out of bullets - rightfully so, since Chicago has long been a proponent of a ban on guns. How about some intimidation? After all, who knows the gun is empty but you? Just point it at looters and they'll remain at a distance as you progress toward your objective. However, you can only aim it at one person, so you have to watch for being flanked."

It appears all is not as it seems in the storyline too - whilst it first appears to be a straight up earthquake, there is a pretty much complete absence of any kind of government assistance, which lends itself to more of a conspiracy. Luckily Adam will not be alone in his quest to stay alive in the few days the game spans. He will have to venture out into Chicago to gather supplies and the like, and will meet other characters along the way, some friendly, some not-so-nice. Already unveiled are Riley, Virgil and Peter, who are a young female doctor "intent on saving lives", an African-American former soldier, and a disabled ex-fireman who has set up a refugee camp respectively. Talk about covering all your bases. Jokes aside, each of them will offer advice, help and objectives, and you will end up relying on them to survive. On top of surviving and trying to attract some sort of government attention, Adam has also decided to go find his ex-girlfriend amongst the chaos (Cloverfield much?), which could prove incredibly tricky when even going out to find some water often results in a rabid mob stealing it from you. The team behind the game also suggest that Adam and Alice's relationship may even play out in flashbacks until the game's finale.

When the team revealed inspiration has come from I Am Legend, Lost, Armageddon, Titanic and Cloverfield amongst others, it set itself lofty goals. Luckily, the clever interaction options and secretive story look set to make I Am Alive a hit. The game is currently set for a spring/summer release.