You would have thought that Ubisoft given the resources they have, would try and minimize the need for mandatory installs as much as possible. However, Future Soldier on PS3 comes with arguably one of the biggest mandatory installs seen since the PS3 launched in 2006.

The exact install needed is 6.35GB, so make sure you have the space saved on your HDD before inserting the game disc. For those that are wondering, the Xbox 360 version of the game also has a pre-game HDD install, but unlike the PS3 this one is optional so you don’t need to install it if you don’t want to.

If you want to pick up the digital version of this game instead and happen to have a subscription to PSN+, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s a 15% discount in place which is nice – otherwise it is available for a whopping £50 for buyers in the UK.

For those that have already spent some time with the game, is it meeting your expectations? In other words, is it a welcome break from Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3, or have you already gone back to those games? We’ve seen some early criticisms of the A.I in campaign mode, so let us know your thoughts on this aspect as well.

More About: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, ubisoft

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We have seen Collector’s Editions in the past which cost over $100 and seeing the content that Capcom is offering for $150 here, we actually think that this is a very reasonable deal. Their Collector’s Set for Street Fighter will include a total of 15 discs, a statue of Ryu, an art book and also a replica of Ryu’s belt.

The discs in question are a combination of soundtracks and previous games. The soundtracks cover the entire Street Fighter franchise which is pretty cool in itself for video game music lovers, whilst the games on offer include Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (online edition), Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and wait for it, Street Fighter X Tekken as well.

What’s even better is that the SSFIV and SFXT discs will come with all character and costume DLC, including the characters that are currently locked away on console for Street Fighter X Tekken. Finally, you’ll also get a Blu-Ray containing documentaries, anime movies and the original Street Fighter 2: Animated Movie which is quite a watch.

Did we mention that the Ryu statue lights up as well? All that can be yours in September for $150. The big question that most of you are asking now though is whether the package is worth it or not. You could argue that most Street Fighter fans already own the games that Capcom are offering and if they are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Street Fighter, then shouldn’t the company be including the original Street Fighter game and the likes of Street Fighter II Championship Edition as starters? That would probably make the package much more appealing, but we’re guessing it would take too much time and effort for Capcom to include the original games that made the franchise famous.

What are your thoughts on the Collector’s Set folks? Would you have liked to see some more game content as well? There’s no Alpha games either which may be disappointing to a lot of you.

More About: Capcom, street fighter

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Sony has announced through the PlayStation Blog that the maintenance will be occurring on Thursday May 24 at 8am Pacific Time or 11am Eastern Time and will last throughout the day until 11pm Pacific Time or 2am Eastern Time. For those wondering how the outage affects those in the UK, downtime will begin at 4pm UK time and last until 8am the following morning.

During the outage, online gaming will be possible but only if you stay logged into PSN before the outage period begins. Otherwise you’ll be locked out from signing into the PSN, just like you will be using the PS Vita and PSP as well. The PlayStation Store will obviously be out of action as well, but Netflix and Amazon movies should be unaffected so that’s good news if you plan to watch some movies during the downtime.

Sony has insisted on the PS Blog that the maintenance needs to happen frequently in order to ensure that PS3 users get a ‘world class online entertainment experience’. Despite the maintenance periods though – do you feel you are getting this at the moment from Sony, or are the maintenance periods every single month not really good enough? At the end of the day, online gaming still remains a free service on PS3, so perhaps there’s no reason to complain.

Will Sony be bringing down PSN in June as well? More than likely. Give us your reaction to the latest outage. Just to reconfirm – your MW3 and BF3 online sessions are not affected.

More About: sony

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We previously told you that Robomodo were aiming to have as many of the original soundtracks in the new game as possible and now we can tell you that a 50% ratio of old tracks have made the cut. Goldfinger by Superman is one of the well known tracks from THPS1 and you’ll be pleased to know that this has been included in the remake soundtrack.

Also featured is one of our favorites ‘Bring the Pain’ by Public Enemy and Anthrax, while other familiar tunes such as May 16 by Lagwagon and No Cigar by Millencolin are included as well. That means the rest of the tracks are brand new, so let’s hope that they have the same impact that the originals did and all become cult favorites in years to come.

It’s a shame that there isn’t more original tracks, but don’t forget that you may be able to just play tracks from your PS3 or Xbox 360 HDD whilst playing the game anyway – if you need the likes of AlleyLife bad enough. There’s still no specific release date for the game other than June, but we’re guessing that Activision and Robomodo will announce a solid date at E3. There may even be a playable demo at the event on the show floor as well – fingers crossed.

Are you happy with the soundtrack listed below, or has your favorite track been left out? We hope that this game comes to PS Vita one day, as it would mean that custom soundtracks can be played using that handy feature that the handheld has.

Full Tracklist:

Bring the Noise – Anthrax featuring Chuck D
Superman – Goldfinger
When Worlds Collide – Powerman 5000
Heavy Metal Winner – Consumed
May 16 – Lagwagon
No Cigar – Millencolin
You – Bad Religion
The Bomb – Pigeon John
We the People – Lateef the Truthspeaker
Marathon Mansion! – Pegasuses-XL
Teenage Blood – Apex Manor
Please Ask for Help – Telekinesis
Flyentology (Cassettes Won’t Listen Remix) – El-P featuring Trent Reznor
USA – Middle Class Rut

More About: Tony Hawks Pro Skater HD

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It looks pretty fun too, but we can’t hide our disappointment in reminding ourselves that this will be a PC game only. Having looked at the trailer, it seems like this game is crying out to be on console as well and you’ll probably agree with us after watching it.

There’s no release schedule for Marvel Heroes yet which may be slightly worrying, but at least this trailer gives us and every other Marvel fan an exact idea of how the game is shaping up. If you have played Marvel Ultimate Alliance, you will probably say that this game almost looks like an upgraded version of that. There also seems to be a Diablo vibe about it as well, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing having these two games as initial comparisons.

MUA was great fun, but again this is a PC game only remember so Gazillion, the developers behind the game are going to have their work cut out if this is going to be a huge success on just one platform only. We see the likes of Deadpool, Spiderman, Wolverine and even Black Widow in the trailer. It looks like the main plot is going to evolve around the cosmic cube, which you should now be very familiar with if you have watched all of the recent Marvel movies and The Avengers of course.

Having seen the trailer though, does this game really qualify as a true MMORPG? It’s a shame it’s not going to be on console, but it definitely looks promising regardless. One to keep an eye on folks.

More About: Marvel Heroes

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Polyphony Digital are a company well known for taking their time with games. Gran Turismo 5 owners had to wait four years between an announcement and a eventual release, but just like previous games in the franchise, the game delivered.

There’s a lot of expectation on Sony and Polyphony Digital to once again deliver a quality game for GT6, especially with the likes of Forza breathing down their necks with every new release. There’s also no word on what development stage the game is currently at, but Brian Dunn, Sony’s Associate Brand Manager has stated on his LinkedIn account that development is apparently already under way.

Earlier on we told you that another Sony employee had outed a PS Vita version of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, but the information on his account still remained public. Dunn on the other hand has swiftly moved to remove all evidence of the GT6 mention, but thanks to that magic tool known as Google Cache, you can still view it here.

We doubt that the game is so far ahead that Sony can make this a PS3 release though. A much more likely scenario is that Gran Turismo 6 could indeed be one of Sony’s launch titles for the PS4. If Polyphony Digital want another four years to get the game finished, then 2016 is obviously well in the realms of PS4 territory. What about E3 this year though, is it possible that Sony may now be forced to mention the game? If we were to really stretch things, we would say that some sort of ‘tech demo’ for GT6 may be shown from Sony soon, to let everyone know at least that a new game is coming.

If you’re a die-hard Gran Turismo nut, what are you hoping to see from the next game? Presuming that this is a next-gen title we’re looking at, do you think 2016 is a realistic launch window for the game, or do you need something similar in the mold of GT5: Prologue to keep you busy?

More About: e3 2012, gran turismo 6, sony

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At the moment the game is only official for the PlayStation 3 and although we recently dreamed of having a PS Vita version as well, it looks like this could be a reality in the future. It also means that another of Sony’s intended E3 bombshells has been leaked prior to the event and how many times has that happened in recent years?

A portable version of the Super Smash Bros style mashup is mouthwatering to say the least. It was only days ago when we were wondering if the PS Vita hardware could handle a portable version of the game or not and based on the information posted to Robert Krekel’s LinkedIN account – this game is definitely on the way. Krekel is a sound designer at Sony America and has done sound work on previous titles such as Uncharted 3, Twisted Metal and Starhawk. Unlike previous LinkedIn leaks, the information about a PS Vita version of PABR is still there to be viewed by the masses. Just look at the ‘current projects’ section under experience and you’ll see it.

A PS3 and PS Vita version of an upcoming party game means two words to us – cross platform. Imagine the fun you could have being able to play PS3 players online straight from your Vita. Again, we’re not sure if hardware restrictions can make this possible, but the game is crying out for a basic level of cross-platform support at least. Even if you could transfer data between the two versions and perhaps unlock secret characters on PS3, by playing the PS Vita version only – that would still be pretty neat.

The ultimate feature for us is obviously cross-platform online play between both versions, but will Sony be able to deliver on this? The pleasing aspect for us is that the PS3 version doesn’t look like it’s a game which is ‘maxing’ out PS3 hardware. Sure it looks fast and frantic, but we have a sneaky feeling that the game may have been designed in a way so that the PS Vita can join in on the fun as well. Could PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale finally be the game which kicks off a ‘cross-platform’ golden era on the PS Vita? Remote play functionality has so far been non-existant, but we’ll let that go if we can play online with PS3 players direct from the Vita.

Are you excited about the possibility of cross-platform play for this game? Give us your opinions and suggestions on how it could work below.

More About: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

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That means that you can enjoy leveling up faster than ever, regardless of whether you play on PS3, Xbox 360 or PC. All playlists means that you can jump in and out of modes and still enjoy the rewards as well, so it’s a great time to earn that prestige badge you’ve been aiming for.

Double XP weekends traditionally kick off on a Friday, but a Tweet by Infinity Ward reveals that double xp is starting today, Wednesday May 23rd and wil resume all the way until Tuesday May 29. Just to remind you, the second content collection for the game is now available for Xbox 360 players and includes the new Face-Off modes, which two of the four maps are free to download for non-Elite players.

We have a feeling that this week-long double XP marathon is in celebration of the new content that’s available, so now may be the time to splash out on all of the new maps. Have you already had a chance to play the new map Oasis? We’ve added a decent gameplay video of that map below, including some commentary as well for those that are interested in seeing how it looks.

Don’t forget to check out the Content Calendar so you can see exactly what is available for the game in terms of DLC. Still no date for the PS3 Content Collection 2 sadly, but we presume that it will be releasing sometime next month. A whole week of double xp for MW3 – are you going to be playing this non-stop or not?

More About: Modern Warfare 3

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The first game was well received, picking up countless positive reviews from critics and ending up with a user Metacritic score of 8.2 which obviously isn’t bad. A potential sequel has now come out of nowhere though, as the PaulGaleNetwork is reporting that this game is indeed a reality, and aside from PS3, Xbox 360 and PS Vita releases, the game will also come to the Nintendo Wii U as well.

MercurySteam is once again on development duties and additional details by Paul Gale reveal that the Wii U version may even be ‘superior’ to PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. Just to refresh your memory, Paul Gale is no ordinary rumor leaker – he was the first person to release details on the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. At the time he referenced the game under a codename of ‘Title Fight’ and released the first image of SweetTooth from Twisted Metal.

Obviously all of those details turned out to be true, so it looks like yet another E3 secret has been blown wide open. A console sequel to Lords of Shadow is great news, but we’re more impressed to see that a PS Vita version is in the works. How much will they be able to squeeze into the portable version from console? We have seen with Uncharted: Golden Abyss that the PS Vita can deliver console quality games in 3D, so it’s very exciting.

The first Castlevania game on the PS Vita is a mouth-watering prospect and if you have been playing the franchise since the days of the NES, you’ll know that this could turn out to be a massive game for Sony and Konami. If you played and loved the first game, let us know your thoughts on the upcoming sequel. Expect details at E3 next month.

More About: Blizzard, Diablo 3

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As most of you are probably aware, it isn’t the first delay that we’ve seen for this game. In basically matching Final Fantasy Versus XIII proportions, Colonial Marines has actually been in development since late 2006, meaning that the game will have had a staggering seven years of development time.

After Sega last announced a delay in January when they said that the game will be coming out in Fall 2012, Gearbox Software boss Randy Pitchford has now revealed that the game will be releasing on February 12 2013 instead. While it is comforting that we finally see a solid release date given to the game, many of you will obviously be feeling that Gearbox are taking way too long to bring the game out.

Given the fact that Aliens Vs Predator by Rebellion wasn’t particularly amazing – should Gearbox be given more time to get things right? Seven years is obviously stretching the limit just a little bit but at the end of the day, there’s little consumers can do other than sit back and hope that all these delays are well worth it in the hope of finally getting a decent Aliens game to match the awesome original movies.

As big Aliens fans ourselves, it’s a shame to see yet another delay, especially after the bad news regarding Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider. However, given that Borderlands was an excellent game from Gearbox, we have a feeling that many of you are willing to accept this fresh delay and just look forward to the final release next year. Having said that, we’re now in the midst of a very impatient gaming industry, where consumers are used to seeing a new Call of Duty game every single year. The only problem there is that Call of Duty is an established brand and can make mistakes and still sell millions. Can Gearbox afford the same luxury? After Duke Nukem Forever, we’re not so sure on that.

The good news is that Sega has released a new trailer of the game, so at least you can see how the game is shaping up in the midst of this delay. Are you confident that it will end up being the best Aliens game ever, or are you a bit angry that the game isn’t coming out in 2012 any more?

More About: Aliens: Colonial Marines

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