Lego Batman, PC - £14.99 delivered
Xbox 360 Premium (20gb) - £148.98
Xbox 360 Premium (20gb) - £148.98 delivered
Wow, an incredible deal if you aren't that bothered by hard drive size. There are a bunch of game promotions included too, like Halo 3 or Gears of War for £10 each.
Stranglehold, Xbox 360 - £4.99
Stranglehold, Xbox 360 - £4.99 delivered
Fairly fun, throwaway action game. Worth a fiver if you are looking for something to play.
Update: Sadly it has sold out now.
Xbox 360 Elite - £229.99
UPDATE: OK, all the different retailers are dropping their prices at the moment, and offering different promotions.
I'll wait for the dust to settle and do one big run down of all the best offers, don't buy a 360 in the meantime.
DEFCON + Uplink, PC/MAC/Linux - £4.71
DEFCON + Uplink, PC/MAC/Linux - £4.71
Spend £15 or more for free P&P.
Cracking deal. As you'll no doubt see in today's podcast, I've got a lot of love for Introversion.
This deal is for DEFCON, a game about Global Thermonuclear War. Everybody dies.
Uplink is a hacker game that was too hard for me to play when it first came out (I was 14), but was certainly very interesting.
The Red Star, PS2 - £2.49
The Red Star, PS2 - £2.49 delivered
Buy this game.
It is a Shmup/Beat 'em up. With RPG-light elements.
It is set in civil war torn Neo-Russia
It has magic, and guns, and explosions.
It has references to Zoolander, The Office and Contra.
It is superb.
Megaman Star Force 2 - Zerker X Saurian, DS - £16
Megaman Star Force 2 - Zerker X Saurian, DS - £16 delivered
Stop laughing, these games are one of my guilty pleasures.
And yes, they are all the same.
Xbox 360 Premium (60gb) + Halo 3 or Viva Piñata - £169.97
Xbox 360 Premium (60gb) + Halo 3 or Viva Piñata - £169.97 collect in store
The price drop is now in effect, but this is (so far) the best place to get a premium from, since it comes with either Halo 3 or Viva Piñata for free. Just hit the "special offers" tab, and pick which ever one you want. You could also get it delivered for an extra £5.95.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, PSP - £12.99
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, PSP - £12.99 delivered
Student discount available too, brings it to £11.60.
SavyGamer is proud to announce the launch of a new partnership
You might have noticed a new link up there on the top right, here's what's going on:
Long version:
On Thursday the 14th of August, GamesRadar, the general games site for Future Publications, announced that they would be shutting down the GamesRadar UK forums, and politely requested that every sod off to the USA GamesRadar forums.
The community of the GamesRadar forum rejected that, and from the ashes of GamesRadar has risen a new independent forum. GRcade.
This new forum is not directly connected to any main site, it is just a forum for people who love "Games + Stuff". There is no corporate backing, and the only reason it exists is because the old GamesRadar community wanted to stick together.
Now, to ensure that there was a constant flow of new members to keep the community alive, it was decided that they would tie to other sites with links to the GamesRadar community, and so arose the idea for "Official Partner sites", one of which is SavyGamer (the other two are D+PAD and Press Start Online). The idea is that I link to them, and they link back to me, hence the banner for SavyGamer on GRcade.
However, I want to take that idea even further.
I'd love for you guys to register at GRcade, and I will be exploring loads of different ways for the community here and there to interact with each other. I'll be linking to threads in GRcade when it's relevant, and if there's any interest, I'll be offering opportunity for GRcade forumers to contribute to SavyGamer in a range of ways. If you do register, maybe put something in your sig mentioning that you've come from SavyGamer so that people know where you've come from.
Short Version:
Awesome new forum! Check it out!
Boring legal stuff:
There is a great mod team, but SavyGamer is in no way responsible for the content of GRcade. Opinions represented in GRcade don't necessarily represent those of SavyGamer.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, PC - £5.99
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, PC - £5.99 delivered
Student discount available too, brings it to £5.40.
Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock, Wii - £39.99
Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock, Wii - £39.99 delivered
Student discount available too, brings it to £35.99.
New International Track & Field, DS - £14.99
New International Track & Field, DS - £14.99 delivered
Student discount available too, brings it to £12.50.
Soul Bubbles, DS - £14.99
Soul Bubbles, DS - £14.99 delivered
Student discount available too, brings it to £12.50.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Xbox - £2.49
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Xbox - £2.49 delivered
Not quite as good as Chaos Theory, but still damn good.
This is 360 compatible
Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis, Xbox 360 - £4.99
Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis, Xbox 360 - £4.99 delivered
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, Xbox - £2.49
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, Xbox - £2.49 delivered
One of the most original and interesting first person shooters I have played in a long time.
Sadly, not 360 compatible.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Xbox - £2.49
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Xbox - £2.49 delivered
Utterly brilliant game, one of the best looking Xbox games, fantastic level design, and an incredible soundtrack from Amon Tobin, highly recomended.
It is 360 compatible, and looks great upscaled.
Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, Xbox - £2.49
Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, Xbox - £2.49 delivered
This is 360 compatible
Urban Chaos: Riot Response, Xbox - £2.49
Urban Chaos: Riot Response, Xbox - £2.49 delivered
This is not 360 compatible.
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, PS2 - £2.49
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, PS2 - £2.49 delivered
Spore, PC/MAC - Review
Spore, PC/MAC - £26.98 delivered
Review by LewieP
Spore is life, the universe and everything, packaged up in a charming, albeit sometimes infuriating, user friendly click-a-thon. It is one of the most important PC games released in a long time, and it wouldn't surprise me if in 10 years time we are feeling it's impact. That said, it is far from perfect.
The tech Will Wright and his team have put together is pretty astounding. The game design geek in my head is excited at the prospects of what is in store for this kind of procedural user generated content stuff, and the creature creator is both robust and simple.
The community integration is superb, and should be the model for how to nurture a creative community around a game. Maxis have made it incredibly easy to share, and enjoy creations of your friends directly in the game. The Sporepedia, a database of all the Spore creations, if just fantastic, and the Sporecasts, targeted discrete packets of content, are a brilliant way of sifting through the huge body of content to find what you want.
The scale and scope are fantastic. You really do start off on a cellular level, and it scopes all the way up to intergalactic colonisation. You genuinely feel like the other species you encounter are living and breathing in their environment. The level and creature design feels natural because it is natural. There is something I can't quite put my finger on about Spore where it has nailed the feeling of exploration.
Each stage has it's own shortcomings though, in particular, the space stage is a bit disappointing. Somehow it manages to reduce adventuring over huge galaxies filled with unique and excited species and civilisations to playing intergalactic janitor, having to keep a watchful eye on your home planet is no fun when you want to be off adventuring. There is still a lot of fun to be had, but I wish some of the micromanagement wasn't so fiddly.
This is a really easy criticism to make, but that doesn't make it any less valid - No doubt EA have been looking at the astronomical sales of the entirety of The Sims franchise, and want to target a similar market segment with Spore. There have been a bunch of design concessions made to make Spore more accessible. For the most part these are harmless, but every now and again something pops up that just irks me.
There are also obvious gaps which future expansion packs are going to fill. The flora editor has been held back for an expansion pack, and I can see scope for expansion upon combat, the creature stage, and definitely the whole 'ecosystem' aspect of the Space stage.
I couldn't review Spore without mentioning the DRM. Quite simply, I would not have bought Spore with the current DRM it has. The SecuROM DRM requires you to connect to the internet to install the game, and you will only ever be allowed to install it 3 times without having to contact EA, where on a case-by-case basis they will decide if you are allowed to install it again. This is in my opinion unacceptable, I have reinstalled Halflife, Deus Ex, Alpha Centauri, upwards of twenty times, and it's not unreasonable to want to install, uninstall and reinstall a game as many times as you want if you have paid for it.
Whilst I am at it. Please EA, continue to put your games on Steam. All your games, not just Crysis. I got it from the EA Store, where it costs £40, £13 more than a physical copy. You also only have access to the download for 6 months, after then, unless you have backed up the installer (or paid the £3 for "Extended Download Service" to let you download it for up to 2 years), you are out of luck.
The launch was plagued by technical issues too. Authentication servers went down, Spore.com went down, and my EA store download corrupted.
Honestly, it is a fantastic game, and unlike anything before it, and it should be played by everyone. But the whole experience is surrounded by some easily avoidable nuisances.
Spore, PC/MAC - £26.98 delivered
Xbox 360 Price Drop now official
As reported previously, the Xbox 360 will be getting a price drop.
It is, however, not just a retailer specific promotion, but an official Microsoft pricedrop, coming into effect on the 19th of September.
The new official prices for the Xbox 360 are as follows -
£129.99 for the Arcade
£169.99 for the Premium (60gb)
£229.99 for the Elite
Neil Thompson, senior regional director of Microsoft UK had this to say -
"Xbox 360 has now sold over 20 million consoles worldwide and due to its unprecedented success, we are now able to pass on the rewards of that success to the consumer with a new retail pricing from £129.99.
With more games, more entertainment with Xbox Live and now even more value, we are looking forward to welcoming more customers into the leading next generation console, Xbox 360."
I'll be keeping an eye out for clearance prices on old 20gb stock, if anyone has any stock left that is.
As it is though, that's a cracking price drop, to be honest I thought the 360 was already pretty reasonably priced, but the 19th is going to be the perfect time to pick up a 360.
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, DS - £7.99
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, DS - £7.99 collect in store
Not a great deal of stock, but there is definitely some about.
Mercenaries 2: World In Flames, Xbox 360 - £32.99
Mercenaries 2: World In Flames, Xbox 360 - £32.99 delivered
Dragon Quest: The Chapters of the Chosen, DS - £17.49
Dragon Quest: The Chapters of the Chosen, DS - £17.49 delivered
Bakushow, DS - Review
Bakushow, DS - £24.99 delivered
Review by LewieP
I first booted up Bakushow, and found to great surprise that there is no single player mode. That's fine though, I'm not going to discriminate against a game for being multiplayer only. I will say this though, the packaging should certainly be more explicit in telling you that if you only have access to one DS it is basically just a title screen.
Not that there is much else here even if you do have multiple players.
There is absolutely nothing to Bakushow that could not be done, in many ways better, with Pictochat, or hell, even a pencil and paper. There is essentially no game here whatsoever.
The game, if you can call it that, is that players take turns to write or draw something on the DS, then all players must answer the 'challenge' within a set time period. Then players vote for who answered it best.
Then you do it again.
And again.
That's it. There are no built in challenges, there are no minigames, there is nothing.
If you are playing with just two people, then the voting system is broken, because each player just votes for themselves continually. Resulting in player 1 winning by virtue of being player 1.
I kept searching for an extra mode or something, and found nothing. I genuinely thought I had somehow missed the actual game, but alas, I had just played it all already and not realised.
I am utterly shocked that anyone had the disrespect for their players to put this on a cartridge and charge Twenty Five Pounds for it.
The only thing Bakushow succeeds in is making you wish Nintendo had of put a few more features in Pictochat.
According to the guys who made it - "If you think this game is boring, you are boring." That is not how things work. They do not have the right to say this. I think Bakushow is boring because it is a bad game, no other reason. Since when have developers been able to put out disclaimers regarding your opinion?
Do not buy Bakushow, please. In fact, if you see anyone in GAME (since that's the only retailer that will dare to sell it) pick it up off the shelf, I implore you to tell them not to buy it. Bakushow is contentless shovelware, there is no game there whatsoever.
The SavyGamer Podcast, Episode 4
In this episode we discuss why we've skipped a fortnight, and I get very excited and interrupt Lewie a lot. VGChartz are mainly responsible.
Show notes (Highlight to view):
00:00 Opening
00:36 Welcome
00:45 The Lost Episode
03:12 Contests! [Link]
05:00 I talk about a shame tarp, here. That's a weird reference. [Link]
07:19 Are Harmonix a little insensitive?
08:31 New Rock Band song - Stephen Colbert
[Note: This song is now available on PSN but was not at the time of recording]
11:32 Left 4 Dead demo announced by Gabe Newell - but when?
14:45 Is the New Xbox Experience going to be relaunching the console?
15:45 No. No it isn't. We spend a bit too much time debating why it isn't.
21:32 But when is it coming out?
22:32 Resistance 2 beta [Link]
25:31 Anti-Spore. After recording, it turns out that this was a massive Rick Roll. [Link]
26:23 Fracture demo coming soon
28:50 So there was a Half-Life Episode 4? [Link]
34:18 Tons of bargains this week!
Bargains of the week:
Assassin's Creed, 360 - £7.99
The Darkness, 360 - £4.99
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, DS - £17.93
41:50 Playing Rock Band with my family
43:34 Lewie's mummy on Defence Grid: The Awakening
45:32 Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball
47:25 Castle Crashers, poo, and a little clan discussion
50:39 We should have had more 2D games
51:49 BAKUSHOW - the game that would be very boring to play with us
55:53 Contest details
58:55 Something happened here with the audio, not sure what. I should say "We'd done the barrel rolls, but we needed to wait for him to do one degree of flatspin, but he thought we still had to do barrel rolls."
59:46 Rainslick contest
1:01:05 Close
1:01:15 Minute of Silence
Link dump:
SavyGamer Contests
Vault 77: One Man, and a Crate of Puppets
GamerDNA (my page on 360voice)
Battlefield Heroes
SOCOM Confrontation
SupCom
Resistance 2 beta
Anti-Spore (sorry for the above - couldn't resist! :P)
Half-Life Episode 4 Thread
Total Runtime: 1:02:15
Total Filesize: 59MB
Contest info:
For the SOCOM beta, send an email to willeth -at- gmail -dot- com with the subject SOCOM CONTEST and your story.
For the swag, send an email to lewiep -at- savygamer -dot- co -dot- uk with the subject SWAG CONTEST and your justification.
For the Precipice special edition, send an email to willeth -at- gmail -dot- com with the subject PRECIPICE CONTEST and your comic as an attachment.
Got feedback on the show? Post a comment, or email us:
LewieP - lewiep@savygamer.co.uk
Will - willeth@gmail.com
CoD 4 Variety Map Pack, 360 - 400MSP
The Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4 is half price until Monday at 8am GMT. These are the maps that are included in the Game of the Year (goatee) edition.
It's been knocked down from 800 points (~£5.32) to 400 points (~£2.66).
All Sterling values in this post are compared to Tesco.com points pricing. If you get your points elsewhere then the equivalent cost will be higher. No word yet on whether this discount is also available on PSN.
Xbox 360 Price Drop
Looks like Woolies is going to be dropping the price of their Xbox 360 consoles.
£129.99 for the Arcade
£169.99 for the Premium (60gb)
£229.99 for the Elite
Here's a photo, supposedly from a Woolies employee. This would be in line with their recent price drops, if you remember they dropped the Wii to £159.99.
Now, I can't guarantee this will work, but if you want to try and trick the system and reserve yourself a console, so you can be sure to have one, this might help.
If you order one over the phone (0844 811 7111) they will hold it for you, so you can just turn up and pay and collect it on a set day. They will hold onto items for some time (if I remember correctly, a week), so if you order one now, they will give you a date for when you can collect it. Then, you can wait for the price drop, and just turn up and ask for it at the lower price when the price drop does happen. If the price drop doesn't happen any time soon (since I can't say when this will happen), no matter, you can just cancel the order, and not have to pay a penny.
Thanks to Engadget for the heads up. Stay tuned for SavyGamer for more on this as it becomes available.
Multiwinia + Darwinia, PC - £13.28
If you pre-purchase Multiwinia on steam, you get the fantastic Darwinia for free. Comes to £13.28 by my maths.
If you haven't already got/played Darwinia, I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful, unique, beautiful game. Very indie, but at the same time, very polished, and it has a great sense of humour (be sure to download the PDF of the manual too).
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, DS - £9.43
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, DS - £9.43 delivered
Apply code "reward5" for 5% off
Gears of War 2, Xbox 360 - £28.43
Gears of War 2, Xbox 360 - £28.43 delivered
Apply code "reward5" for 5% off
Thanks to John for the tip.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, PC - Review
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, PC - £15.89 delivered
Apply code "reward5" for 5% off
Review by Rook
Making your way through the driving rain, the remnants of the abandoned town of Limansk stretches out ahead. Somewhere over the other side is the reactor core, the heart of the zone. Shuttered windows, and nailed up doors leave only the streets which look oh so very open. With the warning of an ambush ahead fresh in mind I find myself pressing up against the few ruined cars that have long since been abandoned. A cursory sweep with binoculars doesn't give anything away, but a moment later lightning baths the fronts of the buildings and in a window, for a brief second, a black silhouette is outlined in cold white light. Raising the scope of the silenced rifle, the figure remains a shadow in a patch of gloom, but it's enough. Raising the sights just a little to factor in the bullet drop, the trigger is pulled and the inevitable happens: "This is XRay Engine crash reporting client. To help the development process, please Submit Bug or save report and email it manually".
And it's gone. All the atmosphere, all the tension is converted into petty annoyance. I should be enjoying this game, but it feels as though someone is having fun with a bizarre metagame. Instead of probing for anomalies, your hunting for crash bugs. Which scripted event will trigger it next? The game's story (very much a rehash of the first game) is quickly replaced by trips to the forums, the discovery of an [Unofficial Fix] thread a greater prize than any artefact. Minor bugs abound, the Directx10 graphics corrupt in the rain, the AI occasionally decides not to initialise on loading, the quick save feature doesn't work etc. But these are simply part and parcel of a game, the slight quirks are almost more annoying. It's not that the AI can throw grenades further than Olympians could dream, it's not that they do this with pinpoint accuracy, without being able to see . It's that they do all this without any possible knowledge of where you are.
Getting away from all that, Clear Sky manages to deliver on so much of what was promised with the original Stalker, it's a living breathing world. The fire fights remain amongst the best that any game offers, brutal and unrelenting. Standing out in the open is a sure fire way of needing to hit the reload key, but hunker down in cover and soon you'll be pinned down and surrounded. The faction wars add in friendly squads, and the storyline is often best left forgotten as you join in their patrols. Small skirmishes soon give way to fully fledged battles for territory. Grenades, tracers and screams fill the air, and then as quickly as it starts it dies out again, and the scavenging can begin. The scripted events can be more hit and miss, having played through 8/10ths of the game without limits, it feels odd to be pinned down by a single sniper that can't be killed despite repeated headshots. At other times it's pitch perfect. Making your way through the distorted swirls of radiation pockets and gravity anomalies you swear you can almost see something move ahead. It's not long before the nervous friendly AI notice the same thing and then open fire predator style. By the time you make it to your destination, the rest of the squad lie torn apart, dotted along the route.
As a game it manages to be both beautiful and ugly at the same time. Much like the real 'zone', it's a world you'd hate to visit, but could stare endlessly at pictures of long since forgotten play parks, the abandoned flats and houses slowly being reclaimed by nature, or just the ever changing (and rarely clear) sky. Catch a zone at the wrong time of day then a simple zombie duck hunt turns into another gaming session abandoned until daylight returns both in the real world and in the game world. The voice acting, whilst not brilliant is amiable enough, the minimalist sound track adding just enough to keep things going with the real stars being the guttural sounds, the footsteps, the creaking, or the moans that leave you feeling not quite as alone as you'd like to be.
In the end, I have the feeling that Clear Sky will depend more on the player than anything else. It's a game that won't tell you when you've made a mistake, but just leave you with that sinking feeling halfway through a zone when you realise you really should have bought the more expensive suit of armour, or that might be another, less dangerous way around. It often offers just enough of a hint of what you should be doing, but similarly leaves enough doubt that the less intrepid might miss the cues. Yes, artefacts are hard and dangerous to find, but you're a stalker, it's worth the risk. Yes, bad things happen in the zone, but you're a stalker, you're prepared for them. Yes, scraping together a living in the zone is tough, but you're a stalker, it's what you do.
In the end saying that Stalker epitomises everything in PC gaming is as much of a low blow as it is a compliment. As a game though, it very much takes the highs with the lows. On the one hand it offers something so unique and so hardcore that it'll never appear in this form on a console. On the other, you are paying to beta test a game that may never be finished. GSC Game World could have won a lot of praise by following the path of CD-Project and re-releasing the original game patched up to how they intended. In the end they cashed out with another unfinished product.
Rating – Pineapple (http://xkcd.com/388/)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, PC - £15.89 delivered
Apply code "reward5" for 5% off
PES 2009, PS3 - £28.43
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, PS3 - £28.43 delivered
Apply code "reward5" for 5% off
Sonic Chronicles - The Dark Brotherhood, DS - £17.03
Sonic Chronicles - The Dark Brotherhood, DS - £17.03 delivered
Apply code "reward5" for 5% off
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Xbox 360 - £16.99
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Xbox 360 - £16.99 delivered
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Xbox 360 - £23.99
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Xbox 360 - £23.99 delivered
Zack & Wiki: Quest For Barbaros' Treasure, Wii - £16.99
Zack & Wiki: Quest For Barbaros' Treasure, Wii - £16.99 delivered
Yakuza, PS2 - £5
Yakuza, PS2 - £5 delivered
Perfect timing for anyone interested in the sequel, that's on the way.
SavyGamer Contests!
These were originally announced in the podcast for last week, but as it snarled itself up and I can't get it together in a timely fashion I'm going to post these here instead.
We have two competitions going this week. One of them is to win a bunch of stuff from Lewie's PAX swag bag! To win, simply fire off an email to him (lewiep -at- savygamer -dot- co -dot- uk) with the subject SWAG CONTEST justifying why you deserve it. Be creative and make us laugh! We'll judge these over the next week or so and announce the winner on Episode 5 of the podcast, available a week on Friday.
The second is for a SOCOM: Confrontation Beta code. The beta lasts until the 5th of October and if you haven't got in on it yet then this could be a rare chance for you. This one also requires a little bit of effort - SOCOM is being bundled with the official PS3 Bluetooth headset. I want you to describe something that happened to you in an online game, either positive or negative, revolving around the use of (or lack of) a headset. Bonus points are given for creativity. Send your entry to my email address (willeth -at- gmail -dot- com) with the subject SOCOM BETA CONTEST. As the beta only lasts until the 5th, I'll decide this one very soon, so get your entries in before Sunday at noon GMT. I'll email the winner their code by Sunday evening and they'll also get a shout-out on the show.
On Friday's episode of the podcast, Episode 4, we'll be giving away a Collector's Edition of the Penny Arcade game - On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode 1. As well as the game (which runs on PC, Mac, and Linux) and a printed manual with the prequel comic within, it contains a keyring, a custom Startling Developments D20, and a Precipice T-shirt. Make sure you listen to Episode 4 on Friday to find out how to enter.
Sorry to anyone who was looking forward to our PAX impressions, but hopefully this week's show will make up for it. See you on Friday!
Halo 3 - Collector's Edition, Xbox 360 - £19.99
Halo 3 - Collector's Edition, Xbox 360 - £19.99 delivered
Sorry about the podcast....
I didn't intentionally mislead you guys. We did record a podcast this week...
..Except technical issues made it completely unlistenable, basically the two sides of the conversation don't match up at all.
So we aren't going to put it up, but we'll record a new one this Friday.
In the meantime, you can listen to the new series of One Life Left, which has just gone live.
If you've not listened to it before, it's really great. The OLL crew definitely don't take themselves to seriously, and it is a lot of fun to listen to. Highly recomended.
If you are a long time fan, or like what you hear just based on episode one of this series, I suggest you vote for them in the GMAs, the game media awards. Just send an email to gma@intentmedia.co.uk explaining that you wish to vote for One Life left in the category of “best broadcast”.
It's technically an industry insider only award, so if you can blag that you are somehow involved in the games industry/media that would help (just say your from a blog if you have one.)
So yeah, thanks for your patience, next 'cast will be up on Friday, technology willing.
Ensemble Studios closing...
I've been a big fan of their games over the years, so it cuts me deep to see Microsoft close Ensemble Studios. They were behind the fantastic Age of Empires and Age of Mythology games, and are currently working on the Xbox 360 exclusive Halo RTS "Halo Wars".
Shacknews reports:
Confirming a story broken by Shacknews, Microsoft now says that it will shut down Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios following the end of work on the company's upcoming RTS.
Microsoft issued a full statement on the news, which follows:
"Microsoft has decided to close Ensemble Studios following the completion of Halo Wars. After the closure, the Ensemble leadership team will form a new studio and has agreed to provide ongoing support for Halo Wars as well as work on other projects with Microsoft Game Studios.
The team at Ensemble has made invaluable contributions to the games industry with their Age of Empires and Age of Mythology games and with the highly anticipated release of Halo Wars. This decision does not reflect at all on Ensembles talent or the quality of Halo Wars. in fact, many people who have had a chance to test drive Halo Wars agree that it is on track to being a fantastic game.
This was a fiscally-rooted decision that keeps MGS on its growth path. While the decision to dissolve Ensemble was not an easy one, Microsoft is working to place as many Ensemble employees who do not move to the newly formed studio into open positions within Microsoft as possible.
As to our overall strategy at MGS, it remains the same. We are committed to growing MGS with world-class talent both internally and with our external partners around the globe. We have recently added some well-known developers to our team and will continue growing the team. Were particularly excited about the titles we have in the pipeline and continue to evaluate additional opportunities to bring incredible games to life with the industries best. Our investment in games has never been greater than it is today."
RIP Ensemble, and good luck to everyone who is going to be loosing their jobs in finding new, and enriching jobs elsewhere.
Triggers, PS3 - £1.99
Triggers, PS3 - £1.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
You stick these onto the L and R 2 buttons, and they make them into triggers, like the box 360 pad.
Geometry Wars: Galaxies, DS - £7.99
Geometry Wars: Galaxies, DS - £7.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
Jam Sessions, DS - £5.99
Jam Sessions, DS - £5.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Wii - £8.99
Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Wii - £8.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
Nintendo Classic Controller, Wii - £9.99
Nintendo Classic Controller, Wii - £9.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
Odin Sphere, PS2 - £12.99
Odin Sphere, PS2 - £12.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
Update: I've heard that this is £9.99 in store at GAME, so maybe check there first.
Kingdom Hearts 2, PS2 - £6.99
Kingdom Hearts 2, PS2 - £6.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, DS - £12.99
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, DS - £12.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
Okami, Wii - £21.99
Okami, Wii - £21.99 delivered
Apply code "E10155087156447930" for £2 off.
That's with the special edition, extra pretty packaging too.
Football Manager 2009, PC/MAC - £17.43
Football Manager 2009, PC/MAC - £17.43 delivered
Apply code "FOOTY50" for 50p off.
Best pre-order price going.
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Xbox 360 - £24
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Xbox 360 - £24 delivered
Help me decide
I can probably go to one of the two up and coming UK gaming events, not sure which I should go to.
I will have to pick between Gamecity and the Eurogamer Expo. Not sure which I should go for.
Any suggestions? Anyone going to either of them?
Discounted Xbox Live DLC
I don't know why this hasn't been posted yet - certain Xbox Live content is discounted until the end of October. These are as follows (all prices in MSP. GBP values are when compared to the Tesco.com deal):
Mass Effect
Bring Down The Sky - Was 400, now 300 (~£2.00)
Lost Odyssey
Triple Bonus Pack - Was 200, now 120 (~£0.80)
Forza 2
Motegi Track Pack - Was 400, now 240 (~£1.60)
September Car Pack - Was 400, now 240 (~£1.60)
December Car Pack - Was 400, now 240 (~£1.60)
March Car Pack - Was 400, now 240 (~£1.60)
Oblivion
Shivering Isles - Was 2400, now 1600 (~£10.65)
Guitar Hero 3
Def Leppard - Was 500, now 360 (~£2.40)
Foo Fighters - Was 500, now 360 (~£2.40)
Classic Rock - Was 500, now 360 (~£2.40)
Beautiful Katamari
Accessory Set A - Was 200, now 120 (~£0.80)
Accessory Set B - Was 200, now 120 (~£0.80)
Accessory Set C - Was 200, now 120 (~£0.80)
Accessory Set D - Was 200, now 120 (~£0.80)
Special Accessory - Was 250, now 120 (~£0.80)
Just-size Stage - Was 300, now 210 (~£1.40)
Big-10 Stage - Was 200, now 140 (~£0.93)
Big-11 Stage - Was 200, now 140 (~£0.93)
Final Fantasy XII - Revenant Wings, DS - £9.99
Final Fantasy XII - Revenant Wings, DS - £9.99 delivered
Reconfirming the Morrison's deal
OK guys, I am pretty certain that the Morrison's deal is going to be happening, not only that, but it is going to include Wii and DS games too.
It will be any chart 360 or PS3 game for £25, any chart Wii game for £15 and any chart DS game for £12.
The big titles will probably sell out really fast, so I suggest going first thing on Monday morning to avoid disappointment.
Mass Effect, PC - £12.98
Mass Effect, PC - £12.98 delivered
Great for those who missed out on the Argos deal, and includes the Bring Down The Sky expansion. This is a limited time offer, so grab it if you want it.
Podcast update
We've not forgotten about the podcast, don't worry.
A combination of lack of time and technical barriers at PAX meant we didn't do one live from PAX.
Now that we are back, me being poorly, us both being jetlagged (hense the 4:30am post), other technical barriers and real life stuff have got in the way. Episode 4 should be up in the next 24 hours.
After that, we should hopefully be back to the normal schedule.
Thanks for your patience.
Pure, Xbox 360 - £29.73
Pure, Xbox 360 - £29.73 delivered
Just because there aren't enough 360 racing games with 4 letter names.
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