Skate, Xbox 360 - £12.93 delivered
Apply code "ENT10" for 10% off
Update: The code has now expired, so it's £12.93, still a fantastic price.
Cheers to Avon for letting me know.
Skate, Xbox 360 - £12.93
Ninja Gaiden II, Xbox 360 - £19.99
Ninja Gaiden II, Xbox 360 - £19.99 delivered
Cheers to 'more heat than light' for the tip off.
1942: Joint Strike - Review
1942: Joint Strike, XBLA/PSN
Review by LewieP
I won't pretend to be a huge expert on the 1942 series, but I have played my fair share of various entries in the series both in the Arcades and via "Capcom Classics Collection" on the Xbox, which has the original 1942, 1943: The Battle of Midway and 1943 Kai.
194X is a series of vertical scrolling shmups, and the common theme across all the games is "There is a war, and we need someone to single handily win it for us, and you're the pilot for the job"
The thing about the 1942 series, is that it's fairly old school as far as shmups go, there's none of the modern level design and scoring system you would find in something like Ikargua, and the pace is fairly relaxed compared to say Triggerheart Exelica, and Joint Strike is no change. It's half way between a modern remake of the original 1942 and a new entry in the series altogether.
It's relatively underdesigned. There is a pretty basic combo system, and and upgrade system with two tiers and three branches, and the odd bonus level thrown in after a boss fight, but aside from those, it's just wave after wave of enemies, followed some pretty solid boss fights at the end of each level.
The enemies range from fodder that go down in one hit to bigger, more threatening airships, tanks and turrets. They all have really cool designs, and are animated very nicely.
In fact, the whole presentation is very slick. The diagrams that pop up to show you the boss's weak spots before the fight fit perfectly. There a bunch of little throwbacks to the older games too, like how enemies flash white whenever they are hit.
The levels all start out with a washed out grainy look to them, to remind you it is set in the 40s, then the colour fades in. It 's a really pretty game. Lots of levels artistic direction is taken from previous games, but the new 3D engine looks fantastic, and the water has to be seen to be believed.
Norihiko Hibino, the composer most well known for his work on the Metal Gear series and other Kojima titles, provides a soaring orchestral backdrop for the action. Spot on.
The difficulty might be a little unforgiving to newcomers to the genre, but it would be worth persevering I think. I have played a whole load of shmups, and it took me 3 attempts to be able to beat the first level without taking a hit, so seasoned shmupist like myself will probably feel right at home in no time.
A few bad things now.
The framerate is pretty weird. In my time with it, it has been locked at 60 frames per second the whole time during actual gameplay, but it stutters at some weird times, when nothing is actually going on on screen. Just before the traditional "DANGER" message pops up before a boss fight, the game stutters, and the same in the in game cut-scenes. Speaking of which...
It has some really annoying in engine cut scene bits. Nothing happens in them, there is no dialogue or action, the game just decides to take control of your ship for a while, and then zooms in and watches you do a barrel roll. In the middle of the level. I would forgive it if it looked as badass as similar things in other games, but really they add nothing to the game in my opinion.
There is a 2 player coop mode, but I haven't played it, since I am antisocial.
All in all, it's pretty great.
If you have tasted all the shmup flavoured goodness that the XBLA has had to offer so far, and want more, you can't go wrong with this. If you are sick of shmups now, then there is not really a whole deal completely unique to be found here, so I would say steer clear of it. If you are new to the whole genre, then this is a fairly uncomplicated offering, and certainly not the hardest around, it would probably be a great entry point.
1942: Joint Strike, XBLA/PSN
Update: For clarification, I was playing the XBLA version.
Ratchet & Clank: Tools Of Destruction, PS3 - £14.99
Ratchet & Clank: Tools Of Destruction, PS3 - £14.99 delivered
Clive Barker's Jericho, Xbox 360 - £8.08
Clive Barker's Jericho, Xbox 360 - £8.08
Spend £15 for free P&P.
Civilization Revolution, DS - Review
Civilization Revolution, DS - £19 delivered
Review by LewieP
I've not actually played that much of Civilization in the past. My love affair with Sid Meier is based mostly on 'Pirates!' and the glorious 'Alpha Centuari', which I will happilly name as being the game that has probably had the biggest impact on my gaming life. It was a big factor in my path from enjoying playing video games from time to time, to being a geek with a passion for game design and an interest in the process which leads to their creation. I have piled hours into Alpha Centauri over the years, probably more than any other game, and I will sing it's praises at any given opportunity. I don't even mind that it's not even had a sequel hinted at in the 9 years (!) since it's release, because it has aged like a fine wine.
If you haven't played it (which you really should, it's a fiver here, but I got it in Gamestation a while back for £1.98 in the buy on get one free section) Alpha Centauri is a pseudo spin off of the civilization series. It takes the same basic gameplay, but switches the historical setting for a futuristic, and still highly believable, Sci-Fi setting. Instead of rushing to develop gunpowder, you'll be striving for the Technological singularity, and instead of building aqueducts, you'll be working on the human genome project. It also has some of the greatest dialogue boxes from any game ever (Commit Atrocity? Yes/No).
Enough about that though, I could go on forever, but I've not even mentioned the game I am supposed to be reviewing at the moment.
Civilization Revolution is the new entry in the civilization series, aimed at making it more 'casual friendly'. The addition of customisable 'bling' that you can 'pimp your armies' with brings the series in a great new direction, and who wouldn't love the selection of Pussycat Dolls and 50 cent tracks available on the soundtrack.
Psyche!
Honestly, the streamlining of the gameplay is probably not going to be for everyone. I know that when I have got hours to set aside, I love nothing more than crazy levels of micromanagement Alpha Centauri offers, and tuning every aspect of my civilization to suit me is part of what makes the game. However, on a handheld, I think the simplifications are no detriment whatsover.
In fact, I can see myself playing more of CivRev on the DS than I would a regular Civ game. Whilst it has the same "just one more" turn draw of its less casual friendly siblings, half an hour is plenty of time to accomplish something worthwhile.
It's running on a mostly functional 2D engine. I say mostly, since every now and again the framerate chugs a little, but in a turn based game like this it's far from gamebreaking. It has kinda jankey battle animations. There may actually be an option to turn them off, but if not, you can immediately skip them (which I did every time). They add little to the experience, and are the most obvious example of redundant design, pandering to the mainstream audience.
The is some occasional unintended humour. I never expected to have Ghandi hassle me for Gunpowder technology in exchange for his knowledge of free market economies, and I can't help but laugh at the blatant political correctness shown by 2K by picking 'Otto von Bismarck' as Germany's most famous leader.
Some boring stuff -
I'm sure the Touch Screen controls are great, but I never bothered. The Dpad and buttons work perfectly fine for me.
It has online multiplayer I think, but I haven't tried it, since I have played it mostly on the go (Planes, Trains and Buses)
All in all, it's Civilization, on the go, and it's not bad in any meaningful way. Recommended heartily.
Civilization Revolution, DS - £19 delivered
See you in Omega Sektor
Well, today is Omega Sektor day!
We'll be meeting in Picadilly station in Manchester at 8.30am for those of you in Manchester, Birmingham Station at 10.30-11.00am for anyone getting the train, and in the lobby at Omega Sektor shortly afterwards.
Send me an email on LewieP@Savygamer.co.uk if you can any details. There is going to be a pretty big group of us, somewhere around 10-15 at least. I look like this, and unless it is hot, I will have a bright red hoodie on.
Sorry I am reminding you all so late, I only just got back from LA.
Devil May Cry 4 Limited Edition, PS3 - £24.99
Devil May Cry 4 Limited Edition, PS3 - £24.99 delivered
Alone in the Dark - Collectors Edition, Xbox 360 - £29.99
Alone in the Dark - Collectors Edition, Xbox 360 - £29.99 delivered
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii - £24.99
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii - £24.99 delivered
Student discount is available too.
Amped 3, Xbox 360 - Review
Amped 3, Xbox 360 - £6 delivered
Review by Amitai Winehouse
I don't like Snowboarding. After all, very few people who are inclined to video games do. The very idea of risking life and limb for very few rewards, not even a few additional achievements, seems foreign to most of my geek brethren. That is not to say that video game companies do not release video games about this sort of sport. EA "Big" has had a lot of success with the SSX franchise, spawning several games. Therefore, almost two years ago when Amped 3 was purchased, I was slightly perturbed, but not yet totally put off.
Never getting further than the end of the 'tutorials', I set the game down until only 3 days ago. Looking for something to play, I picked up on this once more, started afresh and began 'boarding'. There's no doubt that this game is one thing, and that is fun. The wholly realistic route is not the idea for games of this sort, and therefore I can take great happiness out of performing two backwards flips followed by a corkscrew 180.
The game was never going to be a story masterpiece unlike my last review, and therefore the creators set about taking the Michael as much as they could. From 8-Bit sequences featuring an evil overlord (who's face we never see, merely his hood and silver arms, looking for all intents and purposes to be a faceless Dr. Doom) to overly stylized animé style sequences which thoroughly parody animé traditions. The addition of being referred to as "Player 1" throughout also is a nice 4th wall break. The story itself is fairly funny, and whilst not being Hollywood quality, ties things together nicely.
One feature which is also nice is the character creation, which is expectable seeing as most games of this sort have that, and this is no different with a wide selection of clothes and bodily features spanning both genders. The challenges which give you "Coin" to purchase new clothes are also fairly challenging, and the game can be played even after the story ends, meaning a longer experience. There are also several unique challenges, which involve things such as riding a Sled, a Snowmobile, and also a Hang Glider on occasion.
A big thing lacking from this game is LIVE versus mode. I think this would have made an awesome addition to the game, and to leave it out is just mind-numbing. Who wouldn't want to laugh at someone over a headset as they wipe out, or perform a 100,000 point trick that leaves your friends gasping.
Another problem is the repetitiveness of some of the challenges in the game. The difficulty curve very much stays the same throughout each section, and therefore when gunning for respect, at times you may find yourself sensing a small amount of Deja-Vu. However, if the game is played as I believe it is intended to be (e.g. in short bursts) then this is not a problem, and the game remains what it is meant to be, fun.
I say that if you are looking for something to kill a few hours with, then this game is worth what you can get it for know. It's likely better than SSX: Beating a Dead Horse, and the tongue in check nature of the brings it up a notch. A recommended buy.
Amped 3, Xbox 360 - £6 delivered
I am in LA
I am currently stealing WiFi from the Santa Monica Apple store. It's hot day, just been to the beach, and had some pizza. I'm here with my friend Josh, and have met up with Sheldon (from PA), having a wicked time! I was partying with Ant and Dec, Fern Cotten and the host of New Zealand Idol (bit of a creep) last night, at a private party we crashed. Peace and love!
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots, PS3 - £28.99
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots, PS3 - £28.99 delivered
Lost Odyssey, Xbox 360 - £7.99
Lost Odyssey, Xbox 360 - £7.99 delivered
Not heard of this site before, anyone got any experience with them?
Gears of War, Xbox 360 - £7.99
Gears of War, Xbox 360 - £7.99 delivered
Not heard of this site before, anyone got any experience with them?
Tomb Raider: Underworld, PC - £23.51
Tomb Raider: Underworld, PC - £23.51 delivered
Apply code "B4U" for 2% off
Ubisoft condone and endorse video game piracy.
Anyone who has bought any Ubisoft game ever, and in fact, anyone who ever buys any games, should read this.
Have you ever bought a game, and then not managed to get it working on your machine? Have you ever had to resort to download a no-cd crack to get it to run? I know I have, and I know that the games industry considers me a massive pirate due to buying their software, then running it in a way they don't like.
Which makes this thread over on the Ubisoft forums all the more entertaining. When faced with a version of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 that wasn't working on lots of machines, ubisoft did exactly what you would have done. They when and got a no-cd crack of the internet and released it as an official patch.
Continues here.
The games of E3 2008 you might have missed
Update: Apparently rehosting game trailers on Vimeo breaks their user agreement, who knew?
I'll be on the look out for a decent resolution video service that will let me host game trailers, let me know if you have any suggestions.
This year's E3 is drawing to a close, and there have been lots of huge game announcements, biggest of all is probably the announcement of Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360.
But E3 is not just about the big games, there have been a ton of really interesting smaller games shown off too.
Here is a roundup of some of the games that have really caught my attention that don't seem to be getting as much press coverage as I think they deserve.
Rhythm Heaven, DS
The follow up to the import only GBA cult hit "Rhythm Tengoku", Rhythm Heaven makes you focus on the what you hear, not just what you see. It's made by the Warioware team, and presented in a similar format, and certain to make you crack up with laughter.
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Xbox Live Arcade (and PC?)
I have literally sucked hours into the original Retro Evolved, both on the PC and the version included with Galaxies on the Wii. A bunch of new modes, Multiplayer and a remixed soundtrack is enough to interest me.
Wario Land: The Shake Dimension, Wii
I absolutely adored Warioland 4 on the GBA, and this looks like it is the natural continuation. Stunning 2D animation, and great looking cut-scenes from Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Blood: The Last Vampire). Viva la 2D renaissance. Speaking of which...
Megaman 9, Wii Ware/PSN/XBLA
I always preferred the Megaman X series to Megaman classic to be honest, but even still, this is just brilliant. I am a little disappointed about the lack of aslide too, but I really have faith that this will live up to it's legacy.
Kirby Super Star Ultra, DS
Kirby Super Star was easily one of my favourite SNES games back in the day. There was enough game there to keep you entertained for hours. No doubt some of the screen sharing coop fun might be lost in the transfer to the DS, although I am sure wireless multiplayer will be include, and even as a single player only title it will be fantastic to replay it. They also seem to be adding a whole load more content, hence the ultra. If nothing else the battery won't run out on this cartridge after 10 years or so. Also, 3D cut-scenes and production values out the wazoo.
Dark Void, PS3/Xbox 360/PC
I don't care that this is brown.
We have only really seen one level of this so far, and I am more than happy to give the level design the benefit of the doubt. It is like Gears of War. In fact, it is a lot like Gears of War. But then, multiply the scale several hundred times. It's hard to tell from gameplay videos, but if the controls are solid, and they mix things up enough to keep it interesting, this game could be epic.
It really feels like E3 is a lot less about big announcements than it used to be, remember the 2004 Twilight Princess announcement?
I guess it isn't the conference it used to be, it's far smaller, far more press orientated. It's also more about games that are going to be out in the next 6 months, rather than far away titles on the horizon.
Still, we have Develop Conference and Expo in Brighton in a few weeks (and Bungie, Epic, Rockstar, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony and maybe even SavyGamer will be there!), Leipzig Games Convention and PAX in August, Tokyo Game Show in October and then GDC in February 2009, so there is plenty to look forwards to in coming months.
I am excited about this game
This game looks really fun. It's made for all of us who winge on about games just being brown these days.
From what I can tell, it's one part Katamari, one part platformer with a spot of light combat thrown in.
It is based on a PC freeware game made by a bunch of highly talented Dutch students at Utrecht University, which can still be downloaded here. It's changed a fair bit since then, but I certainly think for the better.
It is an exclusive, for the Wii too, and a proper game too.
Ignore what the Video says about the release date, I have it from THQ that it's set for a September 26th release.
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom, Xbox 360 - £11.75
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom, Xbox 360 - £11.75 delivered
Apply code "B4U" for 2% off
Dragon Quest Swords: Masked Queen & The Tower Of Mirrors, Wii - £17.99
Dragon Quest Swords: Masked Queen & The Tower Of Mirrors, Wii - £17.99 delivered
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit - Review
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, PS3 - £32.99 delivered
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Xbox 360 - £32.99 delivered
Review by TheSonicRetard
There would be a review here for you to read, but TSR is waiting on a new console to be shipped to him from Sony after his PS3 got bricked by the 2.4 firmware update.
He'll be getting to write an actual review as soon as his replacement console arrives.
Thanks Sony.
7/10
Mirror's Edge looks awesome - MP3 Download
Mirror's Edge is one of the hottest looking games I have seen from early E3 footage, but any reaction to footage of it I have seen has included people saying how much they love the music. I have tracked down a full mp3 of that lovely chilled out song, you can download it here:
Alcorus - Shine
Cheers Scotty.
Be sure to buy the inevitable OST.
Search Engine plugin
I have just put together a search engine pluging for Firefox and IE7 users, so you can search through SavyGamer deals/posts straight from your browser.
You can grab it here.
Let me know if you have any problems with it, although from my quick testing, it seems to work fine.
Edit: Also, new favicon!
WALL·E, Xbox 360 - Review
WALL·E, Xbox 360 - £28.55 delivered
Apply code "B4U" for 2% off
Review by LewieP
Foreword
I have not yet seen the film WALL·E, and as such I will be reviewing this game entirely on it's own merit as a game. It is possible (and in fact likely) that having seeing the film before playing the licensed game would have an impact on your experience.
I do plan to go and see the film at some point though, I am doing the whole thing backwards for the benefit of the game playing public.
This review will probably contain minor spoilers.
I first booted up WALL·E to hear some pretty annoying music, so I skipped the cut scene. Then I got to the (surprisingly slick) menu system. Booted up a new game, and began my adventure. As soon as I took control of WALL·E, I moved the Analogue stick forwards. Then I got an Achievement for moving forwards. Instantly.
Off to a good start then.
I was initially fairly impressed with the animation of the titular character, his caterpillar tracks look and move just right. It's a shame the environments don't hold up so well. At best, there is some really impressive things going on with the physics, on a pretty large scale too, but at worst there is bland, repeated objects and textures all over the place. The bad outweighs the good. On the surface it looks pretty, but the animation, destructibility and up close textures let the whole package down.
The first level or so is fairly easy platforming challenges, involving thowing cubes, hitting switched, and avoiding falling to your doom. Whenever you do die (which is more likely going to be because the camera lets you down than the gameplay challenge) you will respawn pretty close to where you were, no lives system to worry about. There are lots of collectible trinkets strewn over the place, including some 'oh so subtle' references to previous Pixar films (Is Toy Story really 13 years old? blimey!), which unlock bonus content, including multiplayer maps.
After a while, I bumped into this iPod looking flying Robot called EVE. I took control of her, which was not only a much needed change of pace, but it was pretty damn fun. The EVE sections of the game are like a Rogue Squadre-lite with next gen pretties smeared over it. It's a real shame that they didn't give you more freedom as EVE, but you are constantly being intterupted with cut-scenes and timers, so you never feel like you can enjoy it to it's full extent. Hat's off for the homage to the Death Star Exhuast run from Return of the Jedi though, that was ace. It was around this mark that I realised how good all of the in game music was. Crank it up to 11 and you will hear some really great ambient music.
For the first half of the game, there is no enemies, it's just you VS. the environment, and it really would have been a lot better had it stayed that way. In the second half, they introduce a range of enemies, and the combat is pedesrtian at best. Hammer the right trigger til either they or you die. Luckilly the AI is bad enough that you can often position yourself somewhere that it can't 'see' you, and you can take them off from a distance, without them even noticing you. At the turning point, there is a boss battle which had me laughing for all the wrong reasons. You don't actually fight it, just jump into a nearby wall untill it dies. Seriously.
WALL·E underperforms on a technical level. Nothing approaching game-breaking, but it definitely shows itself up in a few key areas. The framerate is pretty ropey, the controls never quite feel spot on, there are invisible walls all over the place, the camera stuggles at times.
It also managed to crash my 360 once, I hope it's not early onset red ring.
If you can see past these kind of troubles, the kind of troubles that often come from an underdeveloped licensed game, then there is fair amount of enjoyment to be had out of WALL·E.
WALL·E on the Xbox 360 is a pretty serviceable, but by no means spectacular, 3D platformer. It has just enough new and interesting elements to keep your attention to completetion, and it retreads just enough familiar ground to be instantly accessible. Keen gamers will be able to burn through the main game in around 6/7 hours, but others in the target audience will probably take longer. The bottom line is, I imagine for most people reading this, there are many far better gaming investments to be had this summer, and this should be pretty far down the list for serious gamers.
However, and this is probably what you expected as soon as you clicked on this review, if you are looking for a "my first platformer" for a younger child who they enjoyed the film, then you could do a lot worse than this, although only if they have already played LEGO Star Wars.
WALL·E, Xbox 360 - £28.55 delivered
25% off everything at Play-Asia Sale!
Play-Asia are having one of their "25% off everything" sales right now, for the next 10 days. I bet all of the best stuff will go fast though.
The deal is, as long as it is in stock, and has been out for 30 days or more, it qualifies. Items will be getting restocked too.
Here's the details
I'll have a look through now and pick out some of the highlights.
Grand Theft Auto IV, Xbox 360 - £20.50 delivered
Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Xbox 360 - £17 delivered
The Bourne Conspiracy, Xbox 360 - £20.50 delivered
GRID, Xbox 360 - £20.50 delivered
Sega Superstars Tennis, Xbox 360 - £15 delivered
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Xbox 360 - £15 delivered
Component Cables, Wii - £5.50 delivered
Official White Gamecube Controller - £14.50 delivered
No More Heroes (USA version), Wii - £19.50 delivered
Okami (USA version), Wii - £19 delivered
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (USA version), Wii - £23.50 delivered
Gunstar Super Heroes, GBA - £7 delivered
bit Generations: Boundish, GBA - £5 delivered
bit Generations: Digidrive, GBA - £5 delivered
bit Generations: Coloris, GBA - £5 delivered
Jet Set Radio, Dreamcast - £5 delivered
Let me know if you see any good deals.
The Government does not understand the internet
ID Cards.
I don't know if you feel strongly about them or not.
I completely understand the theoretical benefits to a unified compulsory ID system, however, the proposed implementation of ID cards is both highly flawed, and unlikely to realise any of those benefits in my opinion, and be very costly to the taxpayer.
Regardless of your opinion on the issue, I imagine that most of you think it is important to have a coherent and open public debate over the issue.
The government would probably like you to think it is supporting an open debate on the issue, it recently launched the 'debate forum' mylifemyid.org. Have a look over it, have a look at the information provided, and then have a close look at the forums.
It essentially amounts to propaganda. Every single government employee (the admins and mods) are towing the party line, supporting the ID cards plans 100%. Posts disagreeing with them are being edited, or even completely deleted, without a trace.
To register on the site, you are forced to give them personal information. You have to fork over your age, gender, location and current employment status. Which is one good way of scaring off privacy concious individuals.
Once you have registered, even if you uncheck every box regarding whether or not they can send you emails, your inbox will be bombarded with unsolicited, illegal, emails.
In addition to this, the government are using mine and your tax money to provide (what I hope is) free marketing to the following brands: Super Mario
Finding Nemo
Dilbert
Powerpuff Girls
Sonic the Hedgehog
and Batman
I don't care how kickass these brands may or may not be, my tax money should not be used to market them.
The forum code is terrible, up until a few minutes ago they were ordering posts with the oldest at the top. It frequently shows signatures twice, and the post ordering is in no way conducive to debate. The whole operation is geared towards being as spinable as possible. This government can't even put together a stable forum but they want us to trust them with a centralised database of our sensitive personal information?
I urge you to register and undermine it as much as possible.
If nothing else, this patronising drivel should not be the face of Britains youth:
Frontlines: Fuel of War - Special Edition, Xbox 360 - £17.95
Frontlines: Fuel of War - Special Edition, Xbox 360 - £17.95 delivered
Comes with:
Additional Content
Exclusive Art book
Limited edition T-shirt
Official Soundtrack
Poster
Cheers to Adam MacLeod for the tip off.
Tom Clancys Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - Legacy Edition, Xbox 360 - £10.99
Tom Clancys Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - Legacy Edition, Xbox 360 - £10.99 delivered
Guilty Gear XX Core, Wii - £2.99
Guilty Gear XX Core, Wii - £2.99 delivered
No idea if this entry in the series is any good, but at that price I am willing to take the risk.
Update: Looks like it's sold out now, hopefully they will honour my order.
House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return, Wii - £12.99
House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return, Wii - £12.99 delivered
Puzzle Quest - Challenge of the Warlords, PS2 - £3
Puzzle Quest - Challenge of the Warlords, PS2 - £3 delivered
Gameplay Sale Now on
Gameplay Sale Now on.
I'm having a look through it all for the best deals now ;D
Trauma Centre: Second Opinion, Wii - £12.49
Trauma Centre: Second Opinion, Wii - £12.49 collect in store.
Reserve it here and then take this printout along, and get them to pricematch + 10% of the difference. Comes out as £12.49 by my maths.
Burnout: Paradise, PS3 - £15.77
Burnout: Paradise, PS3 - £15.77 collect in store.
Reserve it here and then take this printout along, and get them to pricematch + 10% of the difference. Comes out as £15.77 by my maths.
Burnout: Paradise, Xbox 360 - £15.79
Burnout: Paradise, Xbox 360 - £15.79 collect in store.
Reserve it here and then take this printout along, and get them to pricematch + 10% of the difference. Comes out as £15.79 by my maths.
Army Of Two, Xbox 360 - £15.79
Army Of Two, Xbox 360 - £15.79 collect in store.
Reserve it here and then take this printout along, and get them to pricematch + 10% of the difference. Comes out as £15.79 by my maths.
Army Of Two, PS3 - £15.77
Army Of Two, PS3 - £15.77 collect in store.
Reserve it here and then take this printout along, and get them to pricematch + 10% of the difference. Comes out as £15.77 by my maths.
Xbox 360 Elite + GTA IV and Call of Duty 4: GOTY Edition - £289.99
Xbox 360 Elite + GTA IV and Call of Duty 4: GOTY Edition - £289.99 delivered
Xbox 360 Premium + GTA IV and Call of Duty 4: GOTY Edition - £229.99
Xbox 360 Premium + GTA IV and Call of Duty 4: GOTY Edition - £229.99 delivered
Xbox 360 Arcade + GTA IV and Call of Duty 4: GOTY Edition - £189.99
Xbox 360 Arcade + GTA IV and Call of Duty 4: GOTY Edition - £189.99 delivered
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - Legacy Edition, Xbox 360 - £12.99
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - Legacy Edition, Xbox 360 - £12.99 delivered
The original game plus all the DLC packs.
Tomb Raider: Legend, Xbox 360 - £4.99
Tomb Raider: Legend, Xbox 360 - £4.99 delivered
I played this on the Oxbox, this is exactly the same game with extra pretties right?
Bioshock: Collectors Edition, Xbox 360 - £19.99
Bioshock: Collectors Edition, Xbox 360 - £19.99 delivered
Now this is a proper Collectors Edition. Making of DVD, (fantastic) Soundtrack CD and a Big Daddy Figure.
Gears Of War 2: Collectors Edition, Xbox 360 - £39.99
Gears Of War 2: Collectors Edition, Xbox 360 - £39.99 delivered
Beautiful Katamari, Xbox 360 - £10.29
Beautiful Katamari, Xbox 360 - £10.29 collect in store.
Reserve it here and then take this printout along, and get them to pricematch + 10% of the difference. Comes out as £10.29 by my maths.
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, PS2 - £4.99
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, PS2 - £4.99 delivered
Sonic Mega Collection Plus, PS2 - £4.99
Sonic Mega Collection Plus, PS2 - £4.99 delivered
Pretty much a must own if you have any love for 2D platformers.
Perfect Dark Zero - Limited Edition, Xbox 360 - £4.99
Perfect Dark Zero - Limited Edition, Xbox 360 - £4.99 delivered
It's it pretty bad game, but if you (like me) want to find that out for yourself, no need to spend more than this.
Assassins Creed Collectors Edition, Xbox 360 - £19.99
Assassins Creed Collectors Edition, Xbox 360 - £19.99 delivered
Comes with rather kickass Altair statue thing.
Space Invaders Extreme, DS - £12.83
Space Invaders Extreme, DS - £12.83 delivered
A few pennies cheaper than my previous post. No excuse to not get this game.
Mass Effect, Xbox 360 - £9.99
Mass Effect, Xbox 360 - £9.99 Collect in store
I think this is a clearance, but there seems to be plenty of stock.
Thansk to Xush for the tip off.
Update:
Even better, head to PC world armed with this printout, and get them to pricematch + 10% of the difference. Since they are charging £32.99 for it, by my maths it should come to £7.69 after the pricematch.
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, Gamecube - £12
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, Gamecube - £12 delivered
That's with the bongos included.
One of my favourite 2D platformers ever. Really, really excellent, and a bargain at that price.
Rhythm Tengoku Gold, DS - £21
Rhythm Tengoku Gold, DS - £21 delivered
If this is anything like the GBA version, it'll be fantastic, and language barrier will be minimal.
It's basically WarioWare + Elite Beat Agents, only a little bit crazier and better than that would imply.
After playing this for long enough, this will make perfect sense:
If you like crazy Japanese import (and if I know my audience, I bet you do) you should definitely pick this up.
Xbox 360 wireless controller - £22.99
Xbox 360 wireless controller - £22.99 delivered
If you haven't already, head to Eurogamer.net and grab a £2 shopto voucher for free.
Lost Odyssey, Xbox 360 - £14.69
Lost Odyssey, Xbox 360 - £14.69 delivered
Apply code "B4U" for 2% off
Infinite Undiscovery, Xbox 360 - £29.98
Infinite Undiscovery, Xbox 360 - £29.98 delivered
Pretty good pre-order price.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, PC - £17.99
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, PC - £17.99 delivered
£3 off £30 at Game.co.uk
Head to Game.co.uk, and apply code "DXT74JR2" to a basket of £30 or more for £3 off.
You can also get £2 off any item priced £29.99 by adding a gift wrap to nudge it over £30
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Review
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, PS3 - £29.99 delivered
Review by Amitai Winehouse
From the off, I want to confirm one thing about myself and my relationship with the Metal Gear Solid series. For some, it is an abusive relationship, in which one partner seems to be nothing but schizophrenic, changing his whim and direction of the game when it suits him. On the other hand, there are those such as me, who take even the very worst with boyish glee, pushing aside the very little we find bad, and savouring the best like the last few inches of a Bacon Sandwich.
I can however see why some may not like Metal Gear Solid. After all, some people do not like balloons, fluffy toys and anything else worth smiling about. Typing away at their computers (yes, I do realise the hypocrisy), they try to confine things to unwritten rules and laws, in this case, video games. Many of those detractors seem to focus on the fact that Metal Gear Solid 4 (and the entire series in reality) is very heavy on sections when you are not allowed to play the game. But the truth is, those who looked forward to MGS4 would in reality be disappointed if we were not told to "Live, Snake" at least once. The games would really only be half the games they are if it wasn't for these long movie like sections. Kojima has always taken the stance that video games are art, and this is his way of expressing it, through additional story development.
The gameplay itself is very good. However, I'm going to have to take off my fanboy cap at least once, and look at this objectively. The thing which we fans were most excited about (being in a dynamically changing battlefield) is only present for the first 2 of 5 areas in the game. Even though there are sections which are incredibly innovative and are nice touches (the following of a resistance member through Europe being one of them), much of it is the "same old, same old" with the omnipresent vehicle, sneaking, and gunning segments being involved. Sometimes you can still wish for a game to be slightly innovative.
The game is also beautiful. I mean, the surroundings are nice, the characters look realistic (and so does nearly everything else), and there are some serious "Whoa" moments when the game transitions from cut scene to in game. Rather than fading to black, occasionally, the camera will merely move behind Snake, and honestly, the in-game engine makes the game and cutscenes look beautiful enough to be CGI movies rather than video games. However, the abuse of brown is something I wish would stop in video gaming. I mean seriously, since when did everything have to be so dank and depressing. Windwaker is an example of a game using art to make a game better. I'm not suggesting Metal Gear Solid become a Cartoon game, but it is ridiculous that the only green in the game comes from a 30 minute long section. Other colours are totally removed from this world. Even MGS3 had a nicer pallete of colour, and I wish Kojima had not decided to go with the rest of the gaming world and sacrifice some beauty for 'realism'.
The story is really Metal Gear Solid personified. I'm not going to say too much in order to avoid spoilers for those of you who haven't yet played it, but there is enough good fan service in this game to make anyone happy. This may however eliminated newer fans of the series, which may not be good considering this is the game that is meant to sell Playstation 3s. The game does a fairly good job of containing things however, and despite referencing the other games in the series, one could get away with going in totally blind (as discovered when asking friends about the game, who loved it). There are also several twists, including one that honestly shocked me beyond all belief.
In reality, I was never not going to love this game. I'd rate this up there with some of my favourite movies, and I'd say that this is without a doubt the best video game I've ever played. People may point to things such as GTA IV for being so tremendously huge, or Mass Effect for taking literally a lifetime to come near completion, but MGS4 is the best experience I've ever had with a video game.
Plus a single line in the game made me start crying.
I am not going to attach a number to this, but would recommend it to anyone. If I hadn't of owned a PS3 before this, I would have been glad to pay the full price of the console for this game alone. Go and pick it up. I know I'll be buying Metal Gear Solid 4: Subsandwich.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, PS3 - £29.99 delivered
Day of Defeat: Source, PC - £2.96
PC World clearance
Just been in PC World Manchester, near Old Trafford. They have a pretty large selection of older game on clearance, buy one get one free. Most around a tenner.
They have DS, PSP, PS2, Xbox 360 and one or two PS3 games available. I was nearly tempted by Yakuza for £10, but couldn't find another PS2 game I wanted (you can't mix and match formats).
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: Limited Edition, PC - £8.73
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: Limited Edition, PC - £8.73 delivered
I just got a Nokia N95
I am posting this from my new mobile phone, how cool is that!
Expect lots of pointless "Wow! Guess who/what I just saw" posts from now on.
It will be great for posting from PAX too.
In other tenously related news, later on this month I am going to be heading to LA for 3 days courtesy of Activision. No, I'm not that important. I won a guitar hero competition. I'll get back just in time for the Omega Sektor meetup.
Project Gotham Racing 4, Xbox 360 - £11.75
Project Gotham Racing 4, Xbox 360 - £11.75 delivered
Apply code "B4U" for 2% off
Civilisation 4: Complete, PC - £6.98
Civilisation 4: Complete, PC - £6.98
Spend £15 for free p&p
Includes both Warlords and Beyond the Sword expansions.
Alone in the Dark - Review
Alone in the Dark, PC - £19.99 delivered
Alone in the Dark, Xbox 360 - £29.99 delivered
Alone in the Dark, PS3 - £34.99 delivered
Review by Rook
Waking up with no memory to see the man beside you murdered by occultist thugs is a strange start to Atari's last hurrah for big budget single player games. A gritty story, told in the style of a TV series complete with cliff hanger endings to chapters along with DVD styled menus to skip to your favourite parts and the cutscene's could almost make you buy into it. But Alone in the Dark as a game finds itself in something of a conundrum, and the usual review community has had a difficult time pinning the game down. When a game's reviews manage to evenly cover 60% of the scale then there's always something up, something that some people could see, and drag out of the game and other bits that some people couldn’t get over. Alone in the Dark manages to be a game with ideas and vision, and it has them in spades. It just never quite knows how to play its hand.
It doesn't waste much time throwing you into the action, a quick glance at a mirror let's you take a good look at yourself and really shows off the engine, the detail in the facial textures is amazing. Carnby, aged and ever so flawed, least to mention is the scar splitting his face apart still manages to look rugged and handsome. Around you the building is blazing, and it's not long before a second of Eden's many tricks are shown off, fire creeps towards you, a slowly spreading mass of flames consuming much that's in its path. A couple you've just saved argue at you, but you want to play around, in the sluggish first person view the fire extinguisher slowly beats back the flames but the audio strangely mutes out making it difficult to hear what they said... something about needing to double back, but that's all you hear. Looking back the couple that had once been so animated stand there mutely, no button press seems to engage them to replay their dialogue.
In fact the opening acts seem to lay almost all of the games cards on the table at once, rooms that you're walking around in are suddenly ripped out, twisted and hung over the Manhattan streets before being torn apart. Catching a ledge means you're suddenly scaling down a building that's half ablaze while bits of it collapse around you. On the streets a car chase against the very city itself as buildings crumble, cars are thrown into the air and the road is shredded by an unknown force is unlike anything you’ve played before. Yet all of this is dampened by the dogged persistence of a number of issues that never go away. The car has trouble mounting pavement sized gaps and often gets stuck to other cars forcing you to repeat the same sequence over and over. On foot the problems multiply. Trying to play in first person and the camera will arbitrarily rip you out into third person and push you back in with no warning. The controls jump between character relative and camera relative similarly with no warning. And many actions can only be done in one view or the other, leading to a lot of fumbling trying to remember how to do a specific task and melee attacks are downright painful to perform.
Yet this is a game where getting through a door can mean shooting out the lock, bashing the door down or setting it on fire. Where making your own explosives, weapons and traps are all necessary for survival (although curiously, monsters will mostly leave you alone as you fumble in your jacket), where you'll end up weighting down a bus with corpses to stop it from tipping or removing another's hand (did I really do that?) just to get through a scanner. A game where easing through the backseats of a car dangling over the edge of an abyss offers up a far more unsettling experience than any monster closet has ever managed. But annoyingly it's never really enjoyable, where a success just meant you managed to trick the game into doing what you wanted it to do and usually after a less than cooperative first couple of attempts.
Towards the second half of the game it changes pace and opens up, leaving you alone in Central Park with a number of tasks to complete. With plentiful supplies (every car contains one useful item, and trashcans are overflowing with objects) you almost feel more Charles Bronson up against defenceless thugs, than a man who's worst nightmares are coming to face him. Outside of a few impressive bosses, the monster designs never quite work, and nor does the AI with them happily leaving you alone after all but the briefest of chases. The set pieces that had been a highlight previously are now few and far between, replaced mainly by a seemingly endless task to kill tree roots. The story and interaction with other characters also tapers off, replaced with text messages that rarely offer any insight or relevance to the situation. It's at this point you'll wish to skip ahead, but the last chapter remains stubbornly locked, and jumping forward means you lose all your items and is often more hassle than just looking up the answer online.
As it winds down, a final tomb raider style puzzle sequence comes and goes all too quickly, and the gameplay stops with probably one of the most visceral gunshot wounds depicted in a game. Sadly this leaves just the slightly unsatisfying ending to the story. With just that little bit more work this could have been a great game, paring down the control scheme so it wasn't 4 pages long, simplifying the inventory, getting rid of the ridiculously unnecessary object control scheme, a few more checkpoints, a more reliable save system, a decent camera, reworked script and perhaps a more complete story. There's an endless list of little details that may have seemed too much for Eden and Atari, yet this could have been a masterpiece instead of flawed swansong.
Rating – Pomegranate (http://xkcd.com/388/)
Alone in the Dark, PC - £19.99 delivered
Alone in the Dark, Xbox 360 - £29.99 delivered
Alone in the Dark, PS3 - £34.99 delivered
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Steelbook), Xbox 360 - £23
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Steelbook), Xbox 360 - £23 delivered
New Search Bar!
I have got rid of the blogger navbar, and added a search form to the right. It looks a bit prettier and a bit more professional.
Let me know if you have any problems with it.
Race Driver: Grid - Special Edition, PS3 - £29.99
Race Driver: Grid - Special Edition, PS3 - £29.99 delivered
Comes with a 'Making of' DVD and a Hardback artbook.
Race Driver: Grid - Special Edition, Xbox 360 - £29.99
Race Driver: Grid - Special Edition, Xbox 360 - £29.99 delivered
Comes with a 'Making of' DVD and a Hardback artbook.
Shadow of the Colossus, PS2 - £10.28
Shadow of the Colossus, PS2 - £10.28 delivered
Apply code "B4U" for 2% off
Mass Effect:: Special Edition, Xbox 360 - £19.99
Mass Effect:: Special Edition, Xbox 360 - £19.99 delivered
From what I can tell, it comes with a Bonus DVD, a Soundtrack, a book, and a bunch of other stuff.
Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, DS - £7.99
Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, DS - £7.99 delivered
For any USA folks after this PAL/Japan exclusive game, this will be by far the cheapest place to get it from.
Shopto charge £4.11 for international shipping, which by my maths is around $24 delivered.
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