Xbox 360 Premium (60gb) + Gears of War 1+2 + Fallout 3 - £199.99 delivered
Audiosurf, PC - £1.87
Audiosurf, PC - £1.87 on Steam.
It's $2.49 + VAT, which by my maths comes out as £1.87. Comes with the Orange Box OST too.
Sonic Chronicles - The Dark Brotherhood, DS - £17.71
Sonic Chronicles - The Dark Brotherhood, DS - £17.71 delivered
Bully [Scholarship Edition], Xbox 360 - £12.99
Bully [Scholarship Edition], Xbox 360 - £12.99 delivered
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, Xbox 360 - £16.99
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, Xbox 360 - £16.99 delivered
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon, Wii - £22.99
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon, Wii - £22.99 delivered
Twilight Princess, Wii - £16.29
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Wii - £16.29
Apply code EA5051 for 10% off.
Gears Of War 2 [Collector's Edition], Xbox 360 - £36.89
Gears Of War 2 [Collector's Edition], Xbox 360 - £36.89 delivered
Apply code "20PRIV" for 10% off.
The Club, PC - £2.91
The Club, PC - £2.91 delivered
Great on the 360, no idea how the KBAM controls are, but it'll work with a 360 pad too.
Portal: Still Alive - Review
Portal: Still Alive, XBLA - 1200 MS point
Review by Numan1617
To start off, and clear up some confusion surrounding Still Alive, I will state that the main game is exactly the same as the one included in The Orange Box. However, there are an additional 14 test chambers and new achievements that were not on the disc.
Given the length of time that The Orange Box has been out, I will not cover the main story/game of Portal but will instead focus on the new challenges. All of the charisma of the old Portal is still there and the challenges really do make you start "thinking with portals" once again. The new game mechanics add to the feeling of impending doom you get when playing through the story version of Portal, and some of them really make you sit back and think "how the… do I do this?"
The first new chamber sets things up nicely with a relatively simple 'get through the door' style challenge, so if your new to the world of Portal you have a nice stepping stone to get you underway, as well as helping you back in the saddle if you are a survivor of the original.
From here on out the pace really begins to pick up, so consider yourself warned. Chamber 3 is where things get interesting with the first new game mechanic, which I won't spoil here - suffice it to say that you may need to break an emotional bond.
Just the new chambers alone will give you an additional 10 hours of gaming (your mileage may vary, this figure is based on my experience) as you get the additional 14 chambers, each containing 3 types of challenges (fewest portals used, fastest time and fewest steps) so you will definitely have your work cut out.
Given the additional gameplay hours and the fact it includes a game you may already own, the value for money may be different for different people.
The new mechanics really do revitalise the game even though the main story is the same.
Overall I will say that if you did not purchase The Orange Box then this is a must have game just for the story/gameplay alone and if you did buy The Orange Box then just ask yourself the question: "Do I want to be challenged by a good old game once again?" In my case the answer was yes. I just can't get enough of this game.
15% off Play-Asia Sale
I am about to go out, so I can't pick the highlights (please feel free to make suggestions in the comments), but Play-Asia have a 15% off everything sale going on right now.
Be quick, you have just over 2 days, and if something goes out of stock, it's back up to full price.
LGF: At Eurogamer Expo
Just posting from Eurogamer Expo day 1, played a bunch of games and just stopping to refuel. Good news so far - one of my complaints with Mirror's Edge has been fixed, the cut-scenes are skippable. Good stuff.
LGF: LittleBigPlanet
Yesterday I popped along to Covent garden to have a play of LittleBigPlanet, and this is how I got along:
LGF: Guinness World Records: The Videogame
As part of the DS: London record attempt, TT Games where showing off their new Wii Minigames compilation (a real gap in the Wii's library...) "Guinness World Records: The Videogame".
It looks alright, I guess. I has online leader boards, and a bunch of other stuff. I was one of 4 lucky people who got the chance to play it. The balloon popping game involved holding the Wiimote in your hand and waggling it as fast as you could. That's the game.
Check it out:
LGF: DS:London Record Attempt
As part of the London Games Fringe, DS:London made an attempt at breaking the record for most people playing the DS in one place at one time. The record was previously held by some Australians.
Here's what we got up to:
LGF: Girl Gamers Tournament
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 - Review
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, PS3 - £27.98 delivered
Review by Amitai Winehouse
As a pre-warning to anyone reading this review, I must tell you that I am reviewing the Playstation 3 version of this game. As far as I am aware, the PS2 Version will likely be the same as last year with minor updates. They have done the same for the last 2 or 3 years.
Last year was not a good year for PES. Poor online play. Not 'next generation' enough for consumers. FIFA arguably catching up. A horrible port appearing on arguably it's biggest non-USA console, the PS3. Konami had a lot of work to do, and I can gladly say that they've done that and more. The graphics are better, the atmosphere is better, and the gameplay is what it should be, unlike FIFA.
Pro Evolution Soccer has always been renowned for one thing, even in the days of Oranges11, and that is quality football. It's been called the "Football Fan's Game", and never is this more true than in 2009. From the minute your first game kicks off, you feel as though you are in the stand watching a match, a real match. Players move realistically, the ball flows, and every pass seems to count. When the ball hits the back of the net, you can't help but celebrate ever so slightly.
Yes, a lack of licenses does bring you out of the realism every couple of minutes, and it's never fun to play against North London Blue. But the inclusion of the Champions League and an apparent patch in the coming months which will add more licensed teams might help this. The Champions League includes everything you'd expect, including the opening video, and most importantly, the theme music. The coverage plays up the history of the Champions League as you play it, and once again you find yourself immersed in what seems to be a real game, thanks to Champions League branded TV Broadcasting.
If there is one place PES can be faulted over recent years is a lack of innovation. The Be a Legend mode is ripped straight out of FIFA, but there is one huge difference. As I said before, PES seems like a real game, and therefore when John Smith runs out onto the pitch for Real Madrid, you can't help but think that you yourself are appearing in front of a packed Bernebau.
This game is not perfect, and despite the beauty of it, we still have not reached photo realism, and many players are still the generic people we'd expect sadly. However, as a full game, PES 2009 trumps the 2008 effort in every single category. If you didn't own that, I'd recommend it outright for any console. For the PS3, if you owned 2008, I would again say it is worth paying full price for 2009. As someone who never experienced the Xbox 360 version of 2008, I don't know if it was any good, but I'd argue that some of the new features in '09 are worth whatever cheap price you can find at the end of this review.
Judgement: Worth a buy.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, PS3 - £27.98 delivered
LGF: Video Games Live
Wow, Video Games Live was the perfect kickstart to the London Games Festival. A lot of fun, and really well put together. Everyone had a great time time.
Here's what we got up to:
Classic Arcade Medley:
Tommy Tallarico opening/Metal Gear Solid:
Canapés and Wine:
We were going to try and grab Tommy and Jack for a few words, but they got mobbed by a massive queue of people, so we just decided to mingle, and have some wine and Canapés.
All in all, it was a great evening, I'd definitely love to go again. Video Games Live have also just put out a retail CD in the UK "Video Games Live - Volume 1", and it has a great selection of tracks, with something for everyone. You can get it here for £9.98 delivered.
There was lots of gamer in joke, and audience participation. I was a little concerned it might be a bit pretentious, but not even slightly. If you've never seen a Live Orchestra, but would be interested in seeing one, Video Games Live would be a great first experience of a Live Orchestra.
It was always going to be the case, but there was some songs I would love to hear them play. But they told us to contact them with any requests, and I will be doing.
Brilliant night.
The Road to LGF
I've not had much sleep, not got a seat on the train to London, and the train is delayed. I have a big cup of hot Tea. London Games Festival is going to be brilliant.
Video Games Live is tonight and I can't wait, I'll be sure to report on it.
London Games Festival GO!
London Games Festival is about to kick off, and as you may know, me and Willeth will be there, and we'd love to see some of you guys if you're going to be there.
Here's the (provisional) events I'm going to be at:
Video Games Live - 24th
A Live concert with Tommy Tallarico, Jack Wall, and the English Chamber Orchestra performing classic and contemporary Video Game music at the Royal Festival Hall. I'll be at the 4pm showing.
DS World Record - 25th
I'll be helping set a new record for most DS players together in one place, at the Rocket Centre at London Metropolitan University at 4pm.
LittleBigPlanet - Covent Garden - 26th
I'm probably gonna check out the 'creative workshops' in covent garden, and see if I can do/make something cool.
Eurogamer Expo 2008 - 28-29th
The big event, I'm going to be playing as much as I can, definitely RE5, Left4Dead and Fallout 3.
GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair - 28-29th
I may also try and get a job
Rock Paper Shotgun: THE LONDON THINKOSIUM - 28th
I'll be at the Alphabet Bar, I'm sure this is going to be a right laugh.
If you can't make it to any of the festival, I'll be record as much of it as I can, so watch this space. If you are going to be about, shoot me an email on lewiep@savygamer.co.uk, and we'll have to meet up!
Xbox 360 Premium 60GB - £142.18
Tesco are selling the 60GB premium for £144.71, which is an incredible price. You can save a couple more quid by getting it from PC World via their pricematch.
You can order one to collect in store, and get them to pricematch it +10%.
Fatal Fury Battle Archive - Vol 1, PS2 - £13
Fatal Fury Battle Archive - Vol 1, PS2 - £13 delivered
Includes:
Fatal Fury,
Fatal Fury 2,
Fatal Fury Special,
and Fatal Fury 3.
World Heroes Anthology, PS2 - £13
World Heroes Anthology, PS2 - £13 delivered
Includes:
World Heroes,
World Heroes 2,
World Heroes Jet,
and World Heroes Perfect
King of Fighters Anthology, PS2 - £13
King of Fighters Anthology, PS2 - £13 delivered
Includes King of Fighters '94, '95, '96, '97, and '98.
Castlevania Double Pack, GBA - £11.98
Castlevania Double Pack, GBA - £11.98 delivered
make sure you pick "Amazon.co.uk" on the right.
Contains Aria of Sorrow and Harmony of Dissonance, which both looks fantastic on the DS.
Siren Blood Curse, PS3 - £13.93
Siren Blood Curse, PS3 - £13.93 delivered
Use discount code HALLOWEEN to get £2 off the displayed price. Thanks to Furry for the tip!
Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition, Xbox 360 - £49.99
Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition, Xbox 360 - £49.99 delivered
Includes:
Art Book
Selected Soundtrack CD
Safety Deposit box
Keychain
Duffel bag
Left 4 Dead, PC - £20.69
Left 4 Dead, PC - £20.69 delivered
Apply code "Softuk10" for 10% off. Thanks to $ilva $hadow for the tip off.
World of Goo - Review
World of Goo, PC/WiiWare
Review by LewieP
World of Goo is as close to perfect as it gets.
Please get it.
It's genuinely incredible.
I played the original tech demo for World of Goo (Tower of Goo), a few years back, and thought to myself "Wow, this is really neat, I wonder what could happen if they made a proper game out of this, I bet it could be fantastic."
That's exactly what 2D Boy have done, and it is fantastic.
It feels, and plays, like a very contemporary update to lemmings. It even has moments where you get to destroy everything on screen as a cathartic release from failing a level, before you give it one more go. The controls are brilliant, the animation is lovely, and the presentation is brilliant. The music is brilliant, it feels like it's not quite right, but that is part of the charm. Reminds me of Worms actually.
It is literally just about getting things from A to B. Although it's very post-portal. That's not a criticism at all, it has a lot of similarities with portal, but it really has it's own identify.
It's genuinely hilarious. Not just hilarious though, hilarious in a very game-y way. It has a wonderful character, 'The Sign Painter', who is consistently surprising, and consistently brilliant. Some of the scenarios are very witty, and very knowingly used.
All the humour, style and polish in the world won't make a fun game if the game isn't fun to play.
Luckily, World of Goo is fun fun fun fun fun.
The puzzles are very well constructed. They are always fair, and always logical. If you are anything like me, you'll spend about half the time working out what you have to do, and half the time working out how to do it. There is a lot of trial and error involved, but experimenting with different solutions is always a joy. It's very conducive to group play, taking turns.
World of Goo is a triumph of game design, and a breath of fresh air. Exactly what WiiWare needs, and a commendable indie effort.
It's an obvious conclusion, but thinking with Goo is the thinking with portals of 2008.
The SavyGamer Podcast, Episode 9
No, you're not missing an episode - this one's two episodes for the price of one, as I'm a lazy bugger and have to merge the two. We have a very interesting discussion on financing games and I dive into my backlog, finally. My audio's not great on this one as I had to work from a backup recording, but I think most of my points come across. Enjoy!
Show notes (Highlight to view):
00:00 Opening
00:37 Welcome
02:17 News - Portal: Still Alive, BioShock 2, MGS4 on 360, PS3 pricing and firmware, Will's various conspiracy theories around Microsoft and Sony, and a lot of things we're looking forward to in the future. Also a discussion on advertising and making original games.
39:57 What we've been playing - World of Goo, EBA, Sonic Chronicles and of course Rock Band and Halo. And more!
57:31 Bargains of the week:
Condemned 2 PS3/360
KORG DS-10 synth
Dark Messiah
Halo 3
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
1:04:52 Eurogamer Expo - We'll be there!
1:09:17 End of Episode 9 - A special message
1:09:35 Start of Episode 8 with a classy DJ intro, and why SavyGamer didn't update often for a week or so
1:13:12 News: TGS - XBLA, NXE, ODST, other acronyms. Also our new segment - Game That Lewie Thinks Are '...Alright'. Also, do Nintendo have some plans for the DSi they haven't revealed, and is Multiwinia being ignored? LittleBigPlanet and the legality and complexity of user-created content - check out this calculator!
1:55:25 What we've been playing - Lost Odyssey, Mega Man 9, Toejam and Earl, and more!
2:16:38 Bargains of the week:
Boom Blox, Elite Beat Agents.
2:20:30 Close
Total Runtime: 2:20:36
Total Filesize: 131.9MB
Got feedback on the show? Post a comment, or email us:
LewieP - lewiep@savygamer.co.uk
Will - willeth@gmail.com
MEGA MAN 9, XBLA - Review
(also available on WiiWare and PSN)
Mega Man 9 is a game that shouldn't really exist. The current climate of videogames tends to be that games should be challenging, but ultimately beatable. This is a philosophy that works best with the majority of gamers - people who play a few rounds of Call of Duty after work, or pull out Wii Sports with the kids. People who use GameFly and expect to be able to whizz through a game and get the full experience, and then swap it for another. Even Ninja Gaiden, widely acclaimed for its unforgiving nature, takes pity on you if you fail too much and offers you an easier option.
These kinds of people will hate Mega Man 9. This is a game that will chew you up and spit on you if you let it. This is controller-wrenching frustration, an exercise in self-punishment, developed by sadists who I want to get hit by a fireball and fall into a pit and die so they can get a taste of their own goddamn medicine.
But it's glorious. This is what Mega Man is all about. Every time you die, it's your own fault rather than some issue with the game being 'cheap', and every time you hammer the A button to have one more go. It just takes you right back to the first time you played a Mega Man game and that pursuit of perfection - you need to know the level inside and out and learn the exact mechanics of the game. It really is comparable to the original series of Mega Man on 8-bit systems.
If there's one sticking point, it's that there's not enough there to appeal to the new crowd who might pick it up. It's not necessarily trying to, though. This is a game that would only ever appeal to an existing userbase, and if there's something that confuses me about Mega Man 9, it's that someone at Capcom thought it was worth making. I'm grateful to them for doing so, of course, but it is fanservice at its most overt.
It's an oxymoron in itself - a modern retro game. Anyone who only started playing games within the last few years and thinks 'retro is cool' will be frustrated and disappointed. Most who grew up with the medium have graduated to different, more forgiving experiences - in essence, grown out of it. And that tiny subset of gamers who still crave this kind of thing? Well, they already own it.
Bully: Scholarship Edition, Xbox 360 - £15.96
Bully: Scholarship Edition, Xbox 360 - £15.96 delivered
Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific Collector's Edition, PC - £11.96
Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific Collector's Edition, PC - £11.96 delivered
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, DS - £7.17
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, DS - £7.17 delivered
Amazon Super Saver Delivery Change
Amazon have just altered the terms for their Super Saver Delivery - now, instead of £15-worth of items, you only need to purchase £5-worth to qualify for free shipping.
While it might not be the best method if you want to get something in a hurry (like a pre-order), I've usually found Super Saver to take only a few days to arrive and now you don't need to go scouting for something extra that's cheap in order to take advantage of it.
KORG DS-10, DS - £23.51
KORG DS-10, DS - £23.51 delivered
Apply code "B4U" for 2% off.
This is the UK release. Check out my import review here.
Sid Meier's Civilisation IV - Complete, PC - £10.99
Sid Meier's Civilisation IV - Complete, PC - £10.99 delivered
Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic, PC - £3.99
Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic, PC - £3.99 delivered
Really fun game. Get it.
Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Wii - £7.99
Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Wii - £7.99 delivered
Halo 3, Xbox 360 - £9.99
Halo 3, Xbox 360 - £9.99 in store
A quick search looks like there is plenty of stock around.
Might be worth checking to see if a local PC World has it in stock too, and you can get them to pricematch it to £6.99.
Buy one get one free PSP/DS
This offer has been on for a while, but a few new games have been added, and some have dropped in price. Most notably, Space Invaders Extreme is now £12.98 on both platforms (DS/PSP).
Ratchet And Clank: Tools Of Destruction, PS3 - £13.46
Ratchet And Clank: Tools Of Destruction, PS3 - £13.46 delivered
Enter code "freedel" for free P&P
Poverty
Poverty is when people do not have access to what they require for an acceptable standard of living.
It's a funny term really. In a lot of ways, standard of living is pretty subjective. Depending on who you are and where you live, the criteria on which you judge standard of living are going to be different. What kind of things are essential? A car? An Education? Clean water?
A case can be made for all of them. In a hypothetical society where a car is the only feasible means of transport, not having access to one would be living in poverty. Education is one of the most important aspects of individual development. Clean water access is a basic human need.
Whether we like it or not, it serves a valuable social function. If everyone lived in relative comfort no matter what, there would be little to encourage people to succeed. I know I have seen people living in various degrees of poverty and thought to myself "I don't ever want to have to be in this position".
That's not attaching any blame or fault towards those who do live in poverty. The reasons for someone living in poverty are numerate and complicated, and often outside of their control. Maybe things would be better if the factors that determined whether someone lived in poverty had less to do with where they were born and more to do with who they are.
On an international level, it seems like it should be fairly simple to put into motion steps to reduce absolute poverty pretty drastically. Simple, but I guess not easy. It's just politics and economics. We have enough economists and politicians that we really should be able to resolve any political and economic challenge. I don't know what blend of free market economies, fair trade, international development, anarchism, science, communism, tax, infrastructure development, and just being nice is needed to reduce poverty in the areas worst effected by it, but I imagine that lots of people do know how to work it out. It's just about money.
Maybe I am under thinking it.
I don't really know what to suggest to you. I like to use SavyGamer to have a positive impact on the world whenever I can, but this isn't a problem I have the solution to. I don't know what I should do.
Is there anything that I should be doing?
There are lots of charities, but I've certainly not got enough spare money to give lots to charities, and charities themselves are kind of broken. I do volunteer work for Oxfam when I have the time, but I do that because I enjoy it, not because I think I am fixing the world.
I buy lots of fair trade stuff, but I don't really know how much of a difference that makes.
I used to sign lots of petitions, but not so much these days.
Does anyone have any suggestions for what the right thing™ is?
Update: I forgot to say, this is just my thoughts on the topic of poverty for Blog Action Day 2008
Please vote for SavyGamer
The RAM Raider Awards 2008 have just launched, and SavyGamer is eligible for the category of "Unwankiest Blog / Personal Website 2008".
I'd love it if some of you would vote for SavyGamer, either by emailing RamRaiderBlog@gmail.com, by Facebook or in the comments here.
The RAM Raider is a pretty great blog worth subscribing to, highly recomended.
Xbox Live Vision pack - £49.98
Xbox Live Vision pack, Xbox 360 - £49.98
This is the pack I used when I first joined Xbox Live. You get an Xbox Live Vision Camera, 12 months of Xbox Live Gold, a wired headset, codes for Live Arcade versions of Uno and Robotron, and 200 MS Points. There is also a free game called TotemBall on the marketplace that exclusively uses the camera.
Saints Row 2, PS3 - £15.97
Saints Row 2, PS3 - £15.97 delivered
Incredible deal. This looks like a misprice, given that Saints Row 1 is currently displaying the same price and that the 360 version is £34.97 (£31.82 elsewhere), but Tesco have a history of honouring these IIRC. Grab it if you want it, I won't judge you.
Enter code FREEDEL at checkout for free delivery.
EDIT 8pm 14/10 - This has now been corrected and is no longer available.
Gears of War 2 Limited Edition, Xbox 360 - £39
Gears of War 2 Limited Edition, Xbox 360 - £39 delivered
This comes with a code to unlock the golden Lancer for online multiplayer.
Fable 2, Xbox 360 - £33.18
Fable 2, Xbox 360 - £33.18 delivered
Use code 'perks' for 5% off. Thanks Kie!
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