Crysis: Maximum Edition, PC - £24.35

Crysis: Maximum Edition, PC - £24.35 delivered

Contains Crysis, Crysis: Warhead, and Crysis Wars (multiplayer).

Warhead review here.

MadWorld, Wii - £24.94

MadWorld, Wii - £26.09 delivered

Wheelman, Xbox 360 - £26.09

Wheelman, Xbox 360 - £26.09 delivered

The demo was fairly inoffensive. Grand Theft Diesel.

Halo Wars, Xbox 360 - £32.18

Halo Wars, Xbox 360 - £32.18 delivered

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II, PC - £20

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II, PC - £20 delivered

Mirror's Edge, PC - £23.48

Mirror's Edge, PC - £23.48 delivered

Seemingly hasn't shot down in price like the console versions did. It is a really fantastic game.

FEAR 2: Project Origin, Xbox 360 - £19.99

FEAR 2: Project Origin, Xbox 360 - £19.99 delivered

FEAR 2: Project Origin, PS3 - £19.99

FEAR 2: Project Origin, PS3 - £19.99 delivered

Resident Evil 5, PC - £18.99

Resident Evil 5, PC - £18.99 delivered

Your guess as to when it will come out, and whether it will be any good is as good as mine.

Resistance: Retribution, PSP - £17.73

Resistance: Retribution, PSP - £17.73 delivered

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, Xbox 360 - Review

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand - PS3: £25, Xbox 360: £26.75

Review by Will Templeton


This is a 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand review, and so you're probably expecting to hear all about how, oh, it's quite a good game actually. That it's sort of a mix of Gears of War and The Club, and it's very aware of its audience and what it is, and doesn't take itself too seriously.

All of those things hold weight.

But that summary also points out everything that's wrong with Blood on the Sand. It's derivative of other experiences. Yes, it's surprising when you boot it up that it's quite solid, playable, and quite a departure from the abhorrent Bulletproof. But the same thing could be said about the Fantastic Four movie. "Oh, this isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be." And you enjoy it for what it is, but that doesn't make it good. It makes it competent.

At its worst, that's Blood on the Sand. Competent. Swordfish have taken the solid cover shooter mechanics that Unreal Engine 3 provides and built a solid game, that while better than everyone expected, is still nowhere near other similar experiences.

If you are expecting something close to either Gears of War or The Club, you'll probably be disappointed. The cover mechanics of Gears are present, but less elegant. You'll often find yourself popping out of cover the wrong way, or being hit when you feel you should be covered. You'll also miss the ease of Gears, as in BotS you're tethered to specific portions of a piece of cover and will find yourself ineffectively rolling at a wall just a little too often.

While The Club is a close comparison to the scoring system that many have drawn, it's really a little misleading. At a base level, you get points for kills, which is multiplied by more kills in quick succession. As you progress closer to five-in-a-row the timer speed up dramatically, necessitating the fifth kill to be almost instantaneous. However, that's where the similarities end. Where Blood on the Sand really comes into its own, though, is the Scenario system.

Without the Scenario system, Blood on the Sand would be just another shooter. A boring 50 Cent game. Scenarios, however, add pressure. At set moments in the game a pop-up will appear: take out two grenadiers in eight seconds. Collect $30,000 in one minute. Kill all the enemies that have just arrived in a van within twenty seconds. The game's full of these, and if you do them, you get points. You also get an in-game reward, such as more grenades, or explosive and incendiary rounds for your pistol. If you're good enough, you could go through the entire game only completing scenarios and using these bullets. And the payoff from using them is so rewarding, you'll want to go for them. And so, you'll take risks.

Without these risks, the underlying game shows some serious holes. There's no run option, the cover mechanic occasionally has to be fought to work properly, and the AI leaves a lot to be desired. With them, though, the game just works. Each of them is a mini crescendo event that gives you just enough reward to want more without making the game too easy. It's an extremely-well balanced mechanic.

The irritating thing, though, is that as an enthusiast, this mechanic only worked on the hardest difficulty. Even without being the most skilled gamer, I had to step it up to get any sort of challenge, as it's obvious that Blood on the Sand is very aware of that portion of its audience that just want to pick it up and kill people over and over.

And yes, that's what this game excels at - giving you an opportunity to cap some fools without being super serious about it. But there's a deeper level in there that can be really rewarding if you're looking for it.

Just don't look too hard.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand - PS3: £25, Xbox 360: £26.75

Race Driver: Grid, Xbox 360 - £12.95

Race Driver: Grid, Xbox 360 - £12.95 delivered

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, PC - £9.99

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, PC - £9.99 delivered

Weekend Special Roundup 13/3

Steam:
Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 - £2.99
There has just been an update to it too, adding achievements and a new map.

GamersGate:
Mount & Blade - £7.40

Impulse:
Safecracker - £7.13
Dungeon Lords [Collectors Edition] - £7.13
Genesis Rising - £7.13
MotoGP 08 - £21.41
Cellblock Squadrons - £3.53

Good old Games:
Patrician 3 and Port Royale 2 - $15.99
Just add both games to your basket to receive the discount.

The Magic Toy Chest - Review

The Magic Toy Chest, PC - $19.95

Review by Bobby



The Magic Toy Chest is one of those games that if it were a flash based web game would be the talk of the internet. One of those meme like popular games posted on message boards the world over. Because it is one of those games. This game however costs $19.95, the question is, is it worth it?

Developed by Graduate Games, MTC is a physics based puzzle game similar to the Incredible Machine, which if you haven't played, you should. The aim of each level is to get a certain amount of a toy into the eponymous chest, in an attempt to tidy the various rooms of your house, and boy do I wish I had been able to get away with tidying my room like this, because this is fun.

Most levels start with the relatively simple task of locating all the keys to open your Magic Toy Chest, from here though things get a little tougher. The aim is to relocate a certain toy from where it currently reside to the MTC. Easier said than done. The idea is to set up the toys you have access to and use them to move the desired toy into the chest. There is a good number of different toys to choose from, each with individual actions to help you with your chores, the rocket can be set up and shot into the air, the ball, err, rolls, and the jumping dog, well, jumps. A clever aspect of this is if you happen to get any of the extra toys in the level into the box, not only do you get bonus points, but you get to use these to solve the puzzle.

One area where MTC varies from similar games is the real time set up, a lot of these games require you to set everything and then press go and see if it works, MTC does not, so you can see if you reactions are faster than gravity. Fortunately, so this doesn’t get frustrating, a simple tap of the space bar pauses the game time so you can set up and then un-pause, if required. This aspect makes for a bit more variation in the solving of puzzles.

Sadly there are few rather obvious bugs. Some levels start and pieces of the puzzles simply fall away as they aren't attached properly. Other times objects pass straight through others, or the object shape doesn't match the collision edge. Frustrating as these are, they aren't really gamebreakers, but possibly the most fundamental issue with this game is that a number of the laws of physics simply aren't obeyed. Friction has no place in this game, gravity is only loosely adhered to, and momentum ignored in place of an objects preset placement ability.

Even better than this though is when the toy truck causes a warp in the space time continuum and makes gravity fluctuate. Fun as this is, it is a pretty large flaw in a game billing itself as a physics based game.

Unfortunately, it is this which leaves the lasting impression not the puzzles, the frustration which comes with a puzzle not working because a piece floats through another, or won’t stop moving is greater than the fun aspect of the game, and this is a shame, as MTC is actually fun, but so are a lot of free games out there.

The fact there is a skip function shows that a lot of thought has been put into the game, it is the output which is flawed, not the concept, I look forward to seeing more from Graduate Games in the future.

MTC is a fun but flawed physics based game which is wholly suitable for children and may appeal to parents who want to limit children’s access to the internet for similar games.

The Magic Toy Chest, PC - $19.95

Spore, PC - £17.89

Spore, PC - £17.89 delivered

Project Gotham Racing 4, Xbox 360 - £6.99

Project Gotham Racing 4, Xbox 360 - £6.99 delivered

Bundle Copy.

We Love Golf, Wii - £6.99

We Love Golf, Wii - £6.99 delivered

Patapon 2, PSP - £14.49

Patapon 2, PSP - £14.49 delivered

Skate 2, Xbox 360 - £24.99

Skate 2, Xbox 360 - £24.99 delivered

Skate 2, PS3 - £24.99

Skate 2, PS3 - £24.99 delivered

Tom Clancy's EndWar, Xbox 360 - £14.99

Tom Clancy's EndWar, Xbox 360 - £14.99 delivered

Tom Clancy's EndWar, PS3 - £14.99

Tom Clancy's EndWar, PS3 - £14.99 delivered

Important news for Wii/DS owners and potential owners

Nintendo have announced that they are going to increase the price that they charge retailers for Wii consoles and Wii/DS software.

Speaking to MCV they had this to say:

“Due to the severe and continuing depreciation of the pound, we are, unfortunately, having to raise our trade price to UK retailers of Wii hardware,” a Nintendo UK spokesperson told MCV. The price that they then offer to consumers is, of course, up to the retailers. We are only – reluctantly – raising our trade price now to retailers due to unprecedented and sustained depreciation of the pound. This is a problem brought about by extreme currency fluctuations that are a symptom of the global economic situation.”


MCV say that the increase will be "£19 including VAT".

Nintendo also spoke to Gamesindustry.biz about increasing the price retailers are charged for new Software:

"The final price in the shops is always up to retailers but we will not be increasing the trade price of existing Wii or DS software. However, the trade prices for new titles yet to be released may rise as a result of the depreciation of the pound."


It's hard to know exactly how to feel about this. On the one hand, it certainly is true that the GBP has had a pretty rough time recently. But historically, any time that Nintendo has had the opportunity to charge us Brits more, it has done, regardless of what global currency markets have been doing.

I guess I'll be doing what I always do, try to keep track of the best deals. Since the RRP is not changing, I imagine it will be possible to buy the console for £180 still pretty regularly. Shopping around can get you one for £166.37 right now, but it's hard to imagine they will be readily available for much less than £180 in the future if Nintendo are raising the price by £19. It's pretty crazy to say this, but maybe if you plan to get a Wii any time in the next 6 months, you will probably not be able to do better than £166.37, so maybe think about buying one sooner, rather than later.

As for the DSi, I think it's pretty overpriced already, but at least they aren't increasing the price any further. Amazon are taking pre-orders for £144.97, in both black and white flavor, which is the best price so far. I imagine there will be some good deals on the DS lite when the DSi does come out next month.

And software - How do people feel about imported software. I occasionally link good deals on imported region free software on the DS or 360, but I might consider doing so for the Wii too if there was interest. The thing is, if Nintendo does charge more for software, it is unlikely that the RRP will go up, retailers will more likely just discount less frequently. Less discounts means less bargains.

If I were to post a guide for how to make Wii consoles region free, would people be interested in me widening the net to imported Wii software from reliable import retailers?

Nintendo Wii Console - £166.37 delivered
Nintendo DSi [Black] - £144.97 delivered
Nintendo DSi [White] - £144.97 delivered

Update:
gamesindustry.biz has spoke to two retailers about this news:

Igor Cipolletta (ShopTo.net)
"It's very bad. If it's true that they want to increase it by £18 then there is no margin for us at all. It's very disappointing because we believed that after two years the Wii machine would get cheaper rather than more expensive - I've heard that this is the first time in history that the price has gone up for a machine after two years.

If you look at the history, the pound was higher [against the Euro] and they've been making quite a percentage more of money, so now they can take the loss rather than increase the price. Plus it goes against the economy, in England we have job losses and all this, which makes it increasingly difficult to afford a machine - this doesn't help them. I'm concerned about the software, maybe the software could go up. I don't think it should."


Don McCabe (Chips)
"It's a first. I can't remember any other console that has been launched, been on the market for a couple of years and then gone up in price. It's an absolute first. I half expected it, I can see their reasons why and there are reasons which are perfectly valid in today's market place - the Pound has been dropping against the Euro for a while now and it shows no sign of bouncing back.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think Nintendo could have sold all the machines that they have done at the GBP 199 price point, because we've effectively had shortages from day one, pretty much all the way through. There's never ever been quite enough stock in the market place, each Christmas we come to there's always stock shortages.

It will have a negative effect on the sales... I think we'll still end up with shortages come Christmas again, but through the summer it's going to have an effect. It wouldn't be unrealistic to expect similar price rises across the whole Nintendo range. I don't think any retailer has got the ability to soak up that sort of margin change, I think I saw one story that said the supermarkets wouldn't be passing the price point on but I think they will. I don't think any retailer can take that sort of squeeze."

Persona 4, PS2 - £12.99

Persona 4, PS2 - £12.99 delivered

Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit - £9.17

Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit - £9.17

It's £9.67 delivered at Currys, and £14.67 at PC World, so PC World Price Match brings it to £9.17.

House of the Dead: Overkill, Wii - £19.99

House of the Dead: Overkill, Wii - £19.99 delivered

Unreal Tournament 3, Xbox 360 - £8.95

Unreal Tournament 3, Xbox 360 - £8.95 delivered

"New but unsealed"

Unreal Tournament 3, PS3 - £9.99

Unreal Tournament 3, PS3 - £9.99 delivered

"New but unsealed"

2100 MS Points - £14.93

2100 MS Points - £14.93 delivered

Weekend Special Roundup 6/3

Good old Games:
Simon the Sorcerer, Simon the Sorcerer 2 and Simon the Sorcerer 3D – $14.97
Add all three to your basket to get that price.

GamersGate:
Civilization IV Colonization - €14.99

Steam:
World of Goo - £4.24

This game is pretty much a must play, especially at that low price. I would say that having played both versions, I prefer it on the Wii, but it is excellent whichever platform you play it on. My review is here.

Impulse:
Warlords Battlecry III - £7.10
GalCiv I: Ultimate Edition - £2.84
Mr. Robot - £2.84
Painkiller - £7.10 (which is a much better deal at Steam/GOG)
Alpha Prime - £7.10
Unreal Gold - £4.26
Civilization III: Complete - £7.10
Fences - Free

Professor Layton and the Curious Village, DS - £22.95

Professor Layton and the Curious Village, DS - £22.95 delivered

Half-Life 2 [Orange Box], Xbox 360 - £11.74

Half-Life 2 [Orange Box], Xbox 360 - £11.74 delivered

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, DS - £17.96

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, DS - £17.96 delivered

House of the Dead: Overkill [Collector's Edition], Wii - £24.99

House of the Dead: Overkill [Collector's Edition], Wii - £24.99 delivered

Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure, DS - £14.96

Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure, DS - £14.96 delivered

Cheers to Oxx for the tip off.

Xbox 360 Elite - £189.59

Xbox 360 Elite - £189.59 delivered, and a good bundle offer.

When you buy any Xbox 360 from Amazon, you get either a game, or a Wireless entertainment pack for £10. So for £199.59, you can get a 360 Elite and any one of the following:

Xbox 360 Wireless Entertainment Pack (includes a Wireless Controller, Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda)
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
Gears of War 2
Burnout Paradise - The Ultimate Box
SEGA Mega Drive: Ultimate Collection
Grand Theft Auto IV
Far Cry 2
Prince of Persia

Works with the 60gb Pro (£159.99) and the Arcade (£124.99) too.

Flower, Sun, and Rain, DS - £9.99

Flower, Sun, and Rain, DS - £9.99 delivered

For those of you waiting on the inevitable price drop on this, here it is.

Spore, PC - £17.73

Spore, PC - £17.73 delivered

Or you could buy it from Zavvi's "Bounce Back Sale" for £34.16.

Zavvi.co.uk is now ran by The Hut, but seems like they are not going to be having standardised pricing.

Our review of the game is here.

Deadly Creatures, Wii - £17.99

Deadly Creatures, Wii - £17.99 delivered

See our review here.

Little Big Planet, PS3 - £12.95

Little Big Planet, PS3 - £12.95 delivered

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, PC - £9.99

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, PC - £9.99 delivered

The Hut Sale

The Hut are offering 10% off games with the use of the code "newlook10". There is also £2 taken off the whole basket during checkout if you spend £20 or more, so if you are getting several items, try to order them into groups of as many separate £20+ transactions as possible. Here are some of the highlights:

Xbox 360:
Resident Evil 5 - £28.36
Resident Evil 5 [Limited Edition] - £35.76
Street Fighter IV - £23.86
Dead Space - £15.96
Burnout Paradise - The Ultimate Box - £20.44
MK Vs DC Universe - £14.16
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad - £21.54
SEGA Mega Drive: Ultimate Collection - £19.36
Eternal Sonata - £7.86

PS3:
Resident Evil 5 - £28.36
Resident Evil 5 [Limited Edition] - £35.49
Street Fighter IV - £23.86
Dead Space - £15.96
Burnout Paradise - The Ultimate Box - £20.44
SEGA Mega Drive: Ultimate Collection - £19.36
Heavenly Sword - £11.46
Oblivion [GOTY Edition] - £13.26

Wii:
Sonic and the Black Knight - £24.06
Okami - £11.46
Madworld - £23.86
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop - £19.54
Rogue Trooper - £23.70
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition - £13.26
Wii Play - £25.86
Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers - £21.54
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles - £13.26
Dragon Quest Swords - £6.96

PC:
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - £5.16
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky - £11.46
Audiosurf - £4.26
Command And Conquer: Red Alert 3 - £13.26
Command And Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars [Kane Edition] - £11.46
Burnout Paradise - £20.44
Empire: Total War - £21.54
Dawn of War II - £18.64

DS:
The World Ends With You - £14.34
Trackmania - £15.96
Puzzle League - £15.96
New Super Mario Bros - £22.26
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - £11.46
Dragon Quest: Chapters Of The Chosen - £7.86
Geometry Wars: Galaxies - £6.96

PS2:
God Hand - £8.76
Persona 3 FES - £15.96

PSP:
God Of War: Chains Of Olympus - £6.06

Let me know if you spot anything else particularly good.

Little Big Planet, PS3 - £12.99

Little Big Planet, PS3 - £12.99 delivered

Resistance: Retribution [Collector's Edition], PSP - £17.99

Resistance: Retribution [Collector's Edition], PSP - £17.99 delivered

Comes with:
4 Resistance: Retribution postcards
Resistance: Retribution PSP theme code

10% off at The Hut

10% off at The Hut

Apply code "newlook10" to get 10% off

I will pick out the best deals later on today.

Argos uses eBay...

Looks like there is a few good deals here.

Cheers to LaceSensor for the tip off.

Tomb Raider: Underworld, Xbox 360 - £12.99

Tomb Raider: Underworld, Xbox 360 - £12.99 delivered

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, Wii - £22.39

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, Wii - £22.39 delivered

Weekend Special Roundup 27/2

Good old Games:
Unreal Gold and Unreal 2: The Awakening Special Edition - $16.98

GamersGate:
Anno 1701 - €14.99

Steam:
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition - £3.49

Impulse:
Not up yet

GAME Sale

In addition to the great offers on the Xbox 360 console, GAME have dropped the prices on a bunch of games.

Xbox 360
The Bourne Conspiracy - £6.99
John Woo Presents: Stranglehold - £6.99
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box - £12.99
Turok - £6.99
Turok Steelbook - £7.99
Too Human - £7.99
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom - £7.99
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty - £4.99
Shaun White Snowboarding - £16.99
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution - £14.99
Grand Theft Auto IV [Special Edition] - £29.99

PS3
Monster Madness: Grave Danger - £6.99
Devil May Cry 4 - £9.99
Brain Challenge Deluxe - £6.99
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 - £8.99
Armored Core For Answer - £16.99
Shaun White Snowboarding - £16.99
Tom Clancy's EndWar - £16.99
Grand Theft Auto IV [Special Edition] - £29.99

Wii
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams - £6.99
No More Heroes - £9.99
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 - £7.99
Baroque - £6.99
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga - £12.99

DS
Doodle Hex - £4.99
Bangai'O Spirits - £9.99
Ninjatown - £8.99

PC
Shaun White Snowboarding - £7.99
Devil May Cry 4 - £4.99


These may be available in store too.

New Xbox 360 bundles

GAME.co.uk have a new bunch of great value deals on the Xbox 360:

Elite
Xbox 360 Elite Pack with Halo 3 - £199.99
Xbox 360 Elite Pack with Need for Speed Undercover - £199.99
Xbox 360 Elite Pack with LEGO Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, Halo 3 and Extra Wireless Controller - £224.99
Xbox 360 Elite Pack with LEGO Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, Need for Speed Undercover and Extra Wireless Controller - £224.99
Xbox 360 Elite Pack with Halo 3 and Halo Wars - £219.99
Xbox 360 Elite Pack with NFS Undercover and Halo Wars - £219.99

Pro (60gb)
Xbox 360 Pro with LEGO Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, Need for Speed Undercover and Extra Wireless Controller - £199.99
Xbox 360 Pro with LEGO Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, Halo 3 and Extra Wireless Controller - £199.99
Xbox 360 Pro with Halo 3 - £169.99
Xbox 360 Pro with Need for Speed Undercover - £169.99
Xbox 360 Pro with Halo 3 and Halo Wars - £189.99
Xbox 360 Pro with NFS Undercover and Halo Wars - £189.99

Arcade
Xbox 360 Arcade with Halo 3 - £129.99
Xbox 360 Arcade with Need for Speed Undercover - £129.99
Xbox 360 Arcade with Halo 3 and Halo Wars - £149.99
Xbox 360 Arcade with NFS Undercover and Halo Wars - £149.99
Xbox 360 Arcade with LEGO Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, Halo 3 and Extra Wireless Controller - £154.99
Xbox 360 Arcade with LEGO Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, NFS Undercover and Extra Wireless Controller - £154.99

These deals are all available in store too I believe.

They have a bunch of games on offer too.

LocoRoco 2, PSP - £9.99

LocoRoco 2, PSP - £9.99 delivered

Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, Xbox 360 - £17.99

Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, Xbox 360 - £17.99 delivered

God of War, PS2 - £7.99

God of War, PS2 - £7.99 delivered

Skate it, DS - £7.99

Skate it, DS - £7.99 delivered

Halo Wars, Xbox 360 - £34.93

Halo Wars, Xbox 360 - £34.93 delivered

However, it might be worth thinking about the Limited Edition of the game.

Halo Wars [Limited Edition], Xbox 360 - £41.49 delivered

This comes with, amongst other trinkets, a code for downloading the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack early. Not only does that mean you get it early, but you won't have to spend the additional 800 ms points (equivalent to £6.28ish, if you are using the cheapest points) on it when it does come out, so if you are planning on getting it, the effective price of the Limited Edition is £35.21, just a shade more than the regular edition.

Elite Xbox 360 + Halo 3 - £199.99

Update:

New deal, with much more on offer posted here.

2 for £14.99 in store at GAME

GAME appear to have added some new games to their 2 for £14.99 PC range in store.

The offer now includes:
Bioshock
Unreal Tournament 3
The Lord Of The Rings Online: Shadows Of Angmar
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadows of Chernobyl
Diablo 2
and others

When we saw it, there was also a copy of Bioshock in the 2 for £24.99 range, so it may just have been miss-stickered, in which case, it might not be available for 2 for 2 for £14.99 elsewhere, let me know how it goes.

Pretty much all of these are £10 or more elsewhere, so this is a pretty good deal.

Bioshock, Xbox 360 - £13.73

Bioshock, Xbox 360 - £13.73 delivered

Bioshock, PS3 - £16.28

Bioshock, PS3 - £16.28 delivered

Half-Life 2 [Orange Box], Xbox 360 - £12.43

Half-Life 2 [Orange Box], Xbox 360 - £12.43 delivered

Gears of War 2, Xbox 360 - £23.46

Gears of War 2, Xbox 360 - £23.46 delivered

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, Xbox 360 - £17.99

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, Xbox 360 - £17.99 delivered

Saints Row 2, Xbox 360 - £17.99

Saints Row 2, Xbox 360 - £17.99 delivered

Saints Row 2, PS3 - £17.99

Saints Row 2, PS3 - £17.99 delivered

Golden Axe: Beast Rider, Xbox 360 - £12.99

Golden Axe: Beast Rider, Xbox 360 - £12.99 delivered

Seriously, no coop?

Final Fantasy IV, DS - £12.99

Final Fantasy IV, DS - £12.99 delivered

Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII, PSP - £14.91

Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII, PSP - £14.91 delivered

Sonic Rush Adventure, DS - £9.91

Sonic Rush Adventure, DS - £9.91 delivered

Team Fortress 2, PC - £6.99

Team Fortress 2, PC - £6.99 on steam

Until Friday.

Deadly Creatures, Wii - Review

Deadly Creatures, Wii - £22.91 delivered

Review by The Rev Owen



Deadly Creatures, a third person action game in which you take control of a tarantula and a scorpion in the American desert, has been a difficult game to play through for review. Not because it's particularly hard. Not because it's a terrible game I couldn't face playing. No, it was hard to play because it completely terrified my wife, so I couldn't play it while she was awake. She's fine with zombies, monsters and aliens trying to eat my face off while she sits beside me knitting and tweeting, but put me in control of a tarantula and she can't even look at the screen.

You could make a strong case, then, for Deadly Creatures being the scariest game of all time, given that there are more people around terrified of spiders than there are terrified of zombies. Which doesn't seem right to me, but there you go. I'm not a huge fan of spiders, but I'm not especially scared of them, so I was able to play through the game without any trouble on that front.

So, if you're an arachnophobe, you should steer clear of this game. If you're not? Should you pick up this game? Well, the answer to that is slightly complicated, but the short version is "no". It's not that Deadly Creatures is an especially bad game. It's a pretty average game, really, enlivened somewhat by the unusual setting and the presence of Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper, who pop up now and again during the game as a pair of treasure hunters and who are by far the best thing about the game.

For the most of the time I spent with the game, I was thinking of giving it a very cautious recommendation as a rental. There aren't really any problems with the game, for the most part, apart from the camera, which is usually fine, but prone to the odd spasm in tight areas. The motion controls work and, with the exception of the scorpion's grass-slashing strike, aren't overused or annoying. The game just works and, if it doesn't set its sights too high, at least it doesn't overreach itself.

However... this all changed at the end of the game. The final boss is a terrible piece of work showing off all the problems with the camera and control system. It's glitchy, relies far too much on luck, the boss can hit you multiple times without you being able to recover and at the very end of the fight the instructions lie to you.

If you finally persevere through this to win the fight - and I only did because I thought I should finish the game before reviewing it - the game ends rather abruptly, after only about four and a half hours, shows you some jerky, unskippable credits and then unceremoniously dumps you back to the level select menu.

You can play through the game again, you can view some concept art galleries (which, incidentally, are far nicer and more colourful than the game's actual graphics) and that's your lot. It's definitely not worth buying and is barely worth a rental. An unfortunate disappointment.



Deadly Creatures, Wii - £22.91 delivered

Braid, XBLA - 800MSP

Braid, XBLA - 800MSP

This offer is active for one week, starting 1PM today, and available to Gold members only.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, PS3 - £34.49

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, PS3 - £34.49 delivered

Condemned: Criminal Origins, PC - £4.89

Condemned: Criminal Origins, PC - £4.89 delivered

Skate It, Wii - £11.73

Skate It, Wii - £11.73 delivered

Skate It, DS - £11.73

Skate It, DS - £11.73 delivered

SimCity Creator, Wii - £11.73

SimCity Creator, Wii - £11.73 delivered

SimCity Creator, DS - £11.73

SimCity Creator, DS - £11.73 delivered

Dead Space, Xbox 360 - £17.73

Dead Space, Xbox 360 - £17.73 delivered

Dead Space, PS3 - £17.73

Dead Space, PS3 - £17.73 delivered

Rygar: The Battle Of Argus, Wii - £25.99

Rygar: The Battle Of Argus, Wii - £25.99 delivered

Street Fighter 4, Xbox 360 - £27.89

Street Fighter 4, Xbox 360 - £27.89 delivered

Street Fighter 4, PS3 - £27.89

Street Fighter 4, PS3 - £27.89 delivered

Gears of War 2 [Collectors Edition], Xbox 360 - £33.99

Gears of War 2 [Collectors Edition], Xbox 360 - £33.99 delivered

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, Wii - £23.89

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, Wii - £23.89 delivered

Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, Xbox - £1.75

Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, Xbox - £1.75 delivered

Backwards compatible with the 360.

LEGO Batman, Xbox 360 - £13.99

LEGO Batman, Xbox 360 - £13.99 delivered

House of the Dead: Overkill, Wii - £23.99

House of the Dead: Overkill, Wii - £23.99 delivered

GTA: Chinatown Wars, DS - £17.99

GTA: Chinatown Wars, DS - £17.99 delivered

Weekend Special Roundup 20/2

Good old Games:
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus - $16.98

GamersGate:
Multiwinia: Survival of the Flattest - €6.99

Steam:
Eets, Gravitron 2, I-Fluid, Multiwinia and Trials 2 - £6.75

Impulse:
Mount & Blade - $26.99
Majesty Gold - $9
Europa Universalis: Rome - $17.99
Europa Universalis: Rome, Vae Victis Expansion - $9
Europa Universalis Rome Gold - $22.49

Tom Clancy's EndWar, Xbox 360 - £16.99

Tom Clancy's EndWar, Xbox 360 - £16.99 delivered

Tom Clancy's EndWar, PS3 - £16.99

Tom Clancy's EndWar, PS3 - £16.99 delivered

Gears of War 2, Xbox 360 - £19.95

Gears of War 2, Xbox 360 - £19.95 delivered

Disaster: Day Of Crisis, Wii - £17.99

Disaster: Day Of Crisis, Wii - £17.99 delivered

Dragon Quest - The Journey of the Cursed King, PS2 - £4.88

Dragon Quest - The Journey of the Cursed King, PS2 - £4.88 delivered

Little Big Planet, PS3 - £15.99

Little Big Planet, PS3 - £15.99 delivered

Vampire Rain, Xbox 360 - £3.99

Vampire Rain, Xbox 360 - £3.99 delivered

Beowulf, Xbox 360 - £3.99

Beowulf, Xbox 360 - £3.99 delivered

Contact, DS - £4.99

Contact, DS - £4.99 delivered