2100 MS Points, Xbox 360 - £14.89 delivered
Ikaruga, XBLA - 400 MS Points
Ikaruga, XBLA - 400 MS Points
Only for xbox live gold subscribers, it's this weeks deal of the week.
Guitar Hero Xplorer guitar, Xbox 360 - £9.95
Guitar Hero Xplorer guitar, Xbox 360 - £9.95 in store at Blockbuster
Not sure if this is a nationwide deal or not, if someone can confirm/deny that, please do, but Will just saw preowned guitars in the Blockbuster in Macclesfield for under a tenner. Great if you need a spare one.
Terminator Salvation - Review
Terminator Salvation, Xbox 360 - £20.95 delivered
Terminator Salvation, PS3 - £20.95 delivered
Terminator Salvation, PC - £20.99 delivered
Review by 043
When Epic’s Gears of War was released in 2006, it made a splash on the console shooter scene by bringing the controllability of a first person shooter to the third-person perspective, while retaining a certain cinematic flair. Of course, its over-the-shoulder view was used in Resident Evil 4 a year earlier, and even cited as an influence on the game; but it brought more clones to the market than RE4 ever did. GRIN’s Terminator Salvation can be considered one of those clones, taking Gears’ perspective, cover system and even gameplay segues straight from its Great Uncle Marcus. Only this time, there’s a film license, and such, a lack of creativity behind its production.
Playing as John Connor (who looks or sounds nothing like Christian Bale’s portrayal from the film), the player has to work from set piece to set piece defeating the namesake androids, and completing a few objectives. The gameplay isn’t varied at all, and when I make the comparison to Gears of War you know exactly what you’ll be getting into; the environments are extremely linear, filled with cover and weapons/ammo, and the enemies usually flow from one or two spots until the area is cleared. The one real break in all this mediocrity is given in the form of on-rails shooter levels, almost entirely from the back of vehicles that lets you destroy some flying SkyNet ships, and just wreak havoc upon the landscape (with no destructibility) while you make your move out of enemy territory. These stages are pretty fun, but aren’t enough to pull the game up a notch in replayability or overall fun rating.
The controls are straightforward enough, with the usual control stick usage, A is strictly for cover, B switches weapons, Y takes control of the camera to show off points of interest, and RB throws your grenades, while LB goes completely untouched. I felt like this scheme worked fine, except that everything felt slowed down; even on the highest sensitivity setting, the movements felt sluggish and unnatural. No real problem with the camera, as it stays its constant two feet behind, eliminating the chance to hang on any of the objects. The only thing I feel missing is a sprint button, which is needed to flank some of the bigger enemies, but regenerating health combined with a ridiculous amount of cover makes up for this.
The enemies and weapons, what I consider to be the two biggest chunks of a shooter’s playability, are the biggest complaint I have about the game. The franchise is best known for the T-800, a huge, silver-bodied skeletal robot, with glowing red eyes and a clinched, metal jaw; and they’re here in a slightly older T-600 form. There are also smaller, flying drones called “Aerostats” and four-legged walking ones called “T7-T Spiders” – but they are so easy to take out that it just adds to the game’s blandness. Every enemy in the game, with a bit of movement and distance, can be defeated just by strafing in one big circle (or taking cover) and shooting weak points. The weapons don’t help either, consisting of your basic shotgun, assault rifle, a single machine gun, rockets, and grenades – I know the series strives for some realism (at least at this point in the timeline), but where are the awesome laser rifles from the intro to Terminator 2: Judgment Day? The game would’ve benefited from a shift away from the “movie prequel” angle, and more into the future war we’ve only seen in a few key moments from the films.
I guess that’s what sequels are for, huh?
Basically, when it gets down to it, Terminator Salvation is a rental, at best. The overall length of the game only spans nine chapters, taking about four hours to complete it, with three difficulty levels (which can deceive you, as even on easy there are one-hit kills; damage taken and given seem to be the only differences) and co-op that might extend the game’s life by another playthrough with a buddy. The visuals are acceptable, but it’s not gonna do anything to push your console to its graphical limits, and the voice over work is simply okay, lacking 95% of the cast from the film. I finished it once on single player, and played it a little bit with a friend of mine, and found myself dragging to complete it, simply because it is so very cookie cutter. If you want a shooter, the market is so saturated that there is no reason to try this one short of a sale bin at the local shop or getting it for free.
Terminator Salvation, Xbox 360 - £20.95 delivered
Terminator Salvation, PS3 - £20.95 delivered
Terminator Salvation, PC - £20.99 delivered
Far Cry 2 [Collectors Edition], Xbox 360 - £14.99
Far Cry 2 [Collectors Edition], Xbox 360 - £14.99 delivered
It comes with:
Artbook,
Map,
T-Shirt,
Map Guide Book,
Making-of DVD.
Far Cry 2 [Collectors Edition], PS3 - £14.99
Far Cry 2 [Collectors Edition], PS3 - £14.99 delivered
It comes with:
Artbook,
Map,
T-Shirt,
Map Guide Book,
Making-of DVD.
50 Cent: Blood On The Sand, Xbox 360 - £14.99
50 Cent: Blood On The Sand, Xbox 360 - £14.99 delivered
Review here.
50 Cent: Blood On The Sand, PS3 - £14.99
50 Cent: Blood On The Sand, PS3 - £14.99 delivered
Review here.
Mirror's Edge - Pure Time Trials pack, PS3 - Free
Mirror's Edge - Pure Time Trials pack, PS3 - Free
The Pure Time Trials pack ha been made a free download on for the PS3. Head to the PSN and download it now. No idea if this is permanent or not. Appears to still be 800 ms points on the 360.
It's a fantastic game to, you can get it for £12.99 delivered here, and see my review of it here.
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