TBOGT is to me, the real GTA the way I remember great characters, great story and ball bouncing funny it’s the same city but the adventures are different and what I was hoping for from the original GTA 4 with a new selection of vehicles to drive and plenty of new activities.

Luis Lopez is now our player of choice and it doesn’t take long to start liking him, within the first 5 minutes I was dancing away in a nightclub with some lovely ladies, John Travolta had nothing on me and once I had finished they wanted to check out the tent I had just pitched in my pants it was all going great. Then you meet up with Tony and this is where the mission’s starts and the starting mission with Tony is an unforgettable one involving some gonads and golf balls, the missions are well thought out.
Tony is not your only point of call for missions as always you will get to know some of his friends who will then offer you work or just ask you to hang out , All of his friends are total spanners but you can help but love them and I was chuckling away to some of the nonsense they spout.
If your not strolling around Vice city you’ll be driving cars, bikes, helicopters, aeroplanes and parachuting you way around its all great fun from start to finish, some of the new activities will have you frantically doing drug wars, being a door man at your club looking for trouble maker and chilling out while playing some golf on the driving range plenty to do.
The game will last you around ten hours depending on how much of a GTA legend you are and its ten hours well this is the way all DLC should be, and I have not even touched the Lost and the Damned yet …can’t wait.
9/10
As mentioned above time spoilt my GTA 4 experience, is it time to revisit am I missing out or will TBOGT be enough to keep my faith in the GTA series ?

I remember playing FF10 back on the ps2 and really enjoyed it, this was the only time I have finished a FF title before , I have drifted in and out of other games but none of the others kept me hooked like ten did.
The turn based combat of 10 I thought was there, as the current generations of consoles possibly could not handle free flowing combat so when FF was preparing for release on the 2 super consoles I thought maybe this time we can see some proper combat….
10 minutes in and I’m playing the same Final fantasy that I have played for the last 10 years, it looks really pretty but it should look pretty it does not even come close to the things Gow 3 does on screen . The characters look great and the background are fantastic but they don’t do anything just sit static.
The gameplay is sadly still the same, its walk here bump into things then attack with its dated turn based combat system, then rinse and repeat. Granted things get shaken up a bit with the paradigm shifts and some boss are quite challenging as you’ll have to pick the correct combination to beat them but still its very very old. I’m not too sure if Square does this to please its fan base but I can’t help thinking that surely with the 360 and the PS3 at its disposal this was the chance to really push the game to its limits and try to evolve the series.

I’m not saying the game is bad , it’s a big game with a heart felt story and the characters are all lovable as always. I’ll admit I got a little addicted to the combat once the paradigms kicked in but still I was hoping for more. The game does get considerably better towards the end, but come on , if I give you a 30 hour film and tell you it gets good 25 hours in are you seriously going to watch it? …no, or unless you’re a fan…yes.
I like FF13 but I can see why people don’t. If your a fan it’s essential, if you’re a fence sitter it’s like marmite, love it or hate it.

7/10

I bought the game with little excitement and wasn’t really looking forward to it, I remember looking forward to a popular title in the past that I hadn’t touched before which ironically it was the 3rd instalment that time round I couldn’t wait to play it and when I did I was seriously disappointed, I’ll keep the name out of it as I don’t want to upset the massive fan base it carries, so ill call it Malo 3.
So with Malo 3 still firmly set in my head as a disappointment I was determined not to get to worked up with God of War. As I placed the disc into my PS3 I was calm and composed ready to mash the buttons to death in attempt to save the world , I really do like Greek mythology and the stories so I thought I would be able to relate to that then it started , I couldn’t believe what I was seeing if only all games looked like this , I’m not one to slate games because they don’t look good but this looks so good it has to be mentioned …I was blown away.

So once looking at my screen with my jaw on the floor I thought “righty let’s have a go then“, straight away after a few button presses and happily devouring everything in sight I was even more impressed. Kratos moves like a dream the game is still silky smooth and I haven’t even been playing for 5 minutes then I realised what the hype was about , very shortly after starting you will encounter Poseidon the god of the sea after dispatching of him I was officially a God of war fan.
The gameplay is very simple; light & heavy attack, magic and grab and jump are Kratos’s main features, the right stick will have you dodge about the place like Graham Norton on speed. All weapons can be upgraded and you will have a few different weapons lying in wait as you progress throughout the campaign. I had heard of Kratos but I didn’t realise how much this guy kicks ass , seriously, at some point I was expecting him to batter people with his gonads.

God of war 3 for me is fabulous , I quickly realised that button bashing doesn’t do the game justice , you get mullered if you carry on smashing the buttons with a little bit of tact with dodging and moving will help you live longer making it a little bit more tactical than other clones I have played. With the inclusion of full on violence (some really shocking scenes) and big wobbly boobs this really is a real man’s game with the boss fights epic and really testing (Hades fight is ace). This is the complete package and should be played by everyone, the only real gripe I have with it is that the camera isn’t moveable, sometimes when you’re looking for items it can be a pain but that aside, God of war 3 is THE best game in its genre , I can’t wait for the collection now.

9/10
Karl Smith

Played through it first on hardened and felt that once again the game is far too short but after going through it again on veteran and then once again to grab the Intel the games life lengthened considerably, I know not everyone will be as keen as me to go through the game multiple times so I will agree that the 1 player campaign is far too short, the story continues from its predecessor and has some great characters returning for the second coming. Soap is there and now he is the main man, not the novice we where used to before so that means you have new recruits you take control of and guide them through the campaign .

Without reveling too much the story is excellent with more twists and turns then a series of 24 it will keep you guessing until its cliffhanger ending getting you to beg for more, but sadly the co op section which was great from WAW is missing.

Luckily the guys at IW have provided us with a special ops section these are a series of missions you can play through solo , split screen or online with 2 of you this makes up for the missing co – op campaign but I honestly can not see why this was not included , regardless these mission are a welcome addition to the MW2 package , as extends the games life further you can play these mission on regular , hardened or veteran and range from simple to nearly impossible but every mission is well thought out and great fun , the harder the level the more stars you collect and these stars are needed to unlock new missions as you progress.

Graphically the game has not changed much since COD 4 , but the visuals where stunning then and still look just as good the same goes for the sound and with the old weapons and many new ones at your disposal this really is the complete package.

Then there is multiplayer , in a word awesome I’m playing the PS3 version and even with the issues we are having at present it still is one of the best online experiences I have had , COD4 was different class WAW was decent and then this one comes along and lifts experenice of multiplayer gaming to another level , they have added new deathstreaks to help the helpless , new improved killstreaks new grenades options and weapons they really have done what I thought was near on impossible and improved COD 4 , the new multiplayer has a fair few maps and new modes to play everything has been improved and improved well lets hope they support it and supply us regularly with new maps to keep the masses enthralled

Where the single player campaign dissapoints with its short lifespan spec op and mulitplayer does more than enough to make up for this and some once it grabs you , you’ll be hooked and playing non stop begging for that extra game to level you up or to get the kills needed to unlock that sight for your gun , addictive ? You wont leave your house .

Call of duty modern warfare 2 is the game we hoped for , its has everything that made COD 4 great and improves and it sublimely once you put the disc into your machine it will not be coming out for quite some time.

8/10
Karl Smith

Being a Warcraft fan, when I checked out the previews and the shape the game was taking, naturally I got excited after having been waiting for Huxley to come out for some years now I thought maybe this could be my chance to see if RPG’s and shooter’s can live peacefully together on the gaming front.

You are on a bus heading into Pandora’s wastelands while on this bus you will have to make some pretty important decisions on how you are going to play the game as on the bus 4 characters are waiting hoping you will take one of out into the open, solo play is good but to get the most of out Borderlands get 4 friends to play together online and work as a team. You will get the best experience from this, and the more friends that join, the tougher Pandora becomes.

All characters you control through the wastelands have different play styles and each is as impressive to play as they have unique abilities and powers and you have the chance to level your character in the way you want, so with the solider for example you can go all guns blazing and turn him into a killing machine or you can turn into a aggressive Florence Nightingale with healing powers for you and your team.

Make your choice from the hunter, siren, solider or the berserker you’ll get off the bus and start your merry adventure tracking down the vault, straight away you notice the cell shade style graphics bold very bright and colourful its very different to the norm but it works really well and makes Pandora a beautiful place to explore , the bad guys are all well drawn and animated but my only gripe with them is they don’t change they just look the same but in different places once you have seen the first 3 guys you have seen them all.

As mentioned before Warcraft took many hours of my life with partly to do with its fantastic loot system gearbox have opted for a similar system here and its really impressive with over half a million+ guns and shields to choose from all have different stats sights and special abilities all colour coded to let you know what kind of beast you are carrying , white and green are at the lower end of the spectrum , blues are decent and what you should have as standard then we move onto the purple (EPIXXXX) and orange for the top end , these can be obtained from crates and cupboards from around the world or even drops from enemies you kill on route to the vault , so don’t forget to loot those bosses and these guys carry the bad boys and if you are playing with 4 friends the guns drop will be more powerful than if you were playing solo these drops are all random so each time you play through the gear will be different making the games lifespan longer as you try and complete a character of Rambo portions.

Borderlands is primarily a FPS , if you liked fallout you will love this if you didn’t like fallout there is a big chance you will still love this as it is all geared for action with lite rpg elements which are simple and easy to use , its never complicated its all straight forward .

As mentioned before getting 4 pals extends the games lifespan, playing solo after playing with your mates just doesn’t feel the same but its an exciting adventure none the less , Borderlands is all about the journey and the loot which is fantasic but when you get to the end you’ll feel slightly dissapointed with the ending but never the less you can start from the beginning with your level intact fighting tougher baddies the second time round as the game scales with your character on every playthrough.

It will be a great addition to your collection and you will have hours exploring Panadora but to get the most out of Borderlands, get online .

Warcraft
With
Guns

8/10

Developers: Gearbox Software.
Publisher: 2k Games.
Genre: RPG/FPS.
Platform: PC/Xbox 360/PS3.
Release date: 23/10/2009.
Reviewer: Guest Reviewer, Karl Smith.

The Marine

You have the choice to make a custom US Marine soldier. You have a team of men that you can give various commands to. One minute you can be in open farm land near small Towns the next your racing down a hillside threw the tree’s grass and twigs breaking under your feet. You see the enemy moving in and out of the cover in the distance. Then you hear the crack of gunfire you hit the ground the grass flattens as you take cover. Your sights are on but the light is fading, you can hear your teammates yelling enemy spotted etc your adrenaline is up. You switch to night vision the whistle of gunfire is flying over your head while strays break up the ground in front of you.

That’s just one example of how you will be using laser designators to mark out areas in town from the side of a mountain and watch from a far while missiles rain down. This game is without a doubt the most realistic military combat game out today, but because of this you lose that arcade; “you can live forever” feeling you get with the COD/ Battlefield range. Here one foot wrong means the end of you and your team. You can be downed laying for ages waiting for a medic to come help but slowly you’re fading away from the injuries that you have received. It’s visceral and straight to the point.

Diversity

Options wise, the game has plenty. You can play single player either on your own, or co op over LAN/online. Multiplayer is rich and diverse with the same intense feeling from single player being banged at you with 50 player modes. Stand out moments for me include rushing in and dragging a team mate out of trouble by the foot while still having an arm free to spray hot lead at my oppressors.. Also to top the multiplayer off there’s a mission editor where you can make and set your own parameters to the battle you want to fight. It’s very much in the vein of the mission editors that have followed this series, it’s a bit easier for the layman to navigate but end results can be stunning.

Weapons/vehicles

Well this says it all. Sixty weapons, one hundred and twenty air, land and sea vehicles, everything from the XM8 to the F-35 lighting Fighter plane. Boats Tanks Helicopters the list goes on and that’s just the military you have civilian cars buses etc. The game is a mass of detail. Lovely put together by people that are sick on war.

Gameplay

This is not for the gamer that wants fast action paced, respawn all over the show gaming. This game is as close as your likely to get with a Keyboard and mouse to real combat. Everything has been lovely rendered down to the last detail. The game will give you a range of missions from hostage extraction to blowing the hell out of targets. The maps you play on is absolutely massive the missions can also change on the fly. You can run in to a town to blow up a target, and next thing you know, your being pulled into a hostage extraction and finding details on a mass grave of civilians that you will have to go and get Intel on. The game has enough content to keep you going for months. Then the editor will expand this by making it possible to create your own missions. If you like your war in the style of the original Operation Flashpoint this is your game. All of what made the original Flashpoint the game of the year when it was released is back 10x.

Graphics

God, where do i start? First up I’m going to mention the game’s bugs. It will require some patches before it reaches its full potential. But for what does work, it looks completely amazing. Day to night cycles shadows that cross valleys and explosions that will light up the night sky. The attention to detail is quite astounding. You just have to take a walk through a forest, and the terrain, insects, wildlife are all lovely recreated. Trees that will break away as a Tank plummets through the thickness of the forest. Houses that will disintegrate when missiles rain down on them. It’s something to behold. However, those bugs do keep creeping up watching trees next to you turn into brown boxes and detail breaking up in the distance does really need attending too. But again this is to be expected most of the time with PC titles and we know most of the time they will be addressed over time. In my honest opinion this is the next game to Crysis graphic ways.

Final thought

This game is as real as real can get. If that bores you then stay away, but if you are the type of gamer that detail makes you have a semi then this game is for you. It’s not easy; it’s more frustrating at times than fun. But what they do right they do amazing if a ArmA 3 can approach the issues that are well apparent from the get go in this game, then this will be something extremely more special than it is now in its current state. But to its shortcomings this game is the most realistic Military Sim on PC, and to that it will be rated.

8/10

buggy
beautiful
Intense

Developers: Bohemia Interactive.
Publisher: SOS GAMES
Genre: Military Sim/FPS
Platform: PC
Release date: 19th June 2009
Reviewer: Trevor(Ninjagoat79)

Infamous is a free roaming platform game with a twist of Superhero/Supervillain thrown in for good measure. Can Sucker punch make the first steps into the Next gen and do justice the name that laid Sly cooper on the world. Read on to find out if this PlayStation 3 exclusive cuts the Mustard.

Story

Empire city is locked down its a disaster Zone. The Official word is that it was a Terrorist Attack, are you to blame?. They sure think so. You have these powers now after awaking in hospital, what do you do with them, become the hero the city needs or make your self ‘infamous’ and rain down your evil infamy upon the citizens of Empire city. The city is divided, bridges downed, the city’s power grid is out. It’s up to you, Cole MacGrath to make what you will of these new found powers and either free Empire City or bring it to it’s knees. Infamous marries the open world game with the comic book story style quite beautifully. The story is stellar and that fitting an AAA title.

Friend or Foe?

The world that you the gamer roams is diverse and the list of characters that will open to you as you progress will grow over the period of the game. Believe me the casual gamer is going to be here for a while. At the start you will be introduced to Zeke your loyal friend and Trish your mistrusting girlfriend. She doesn’t know what to believe at this early point. She sees you as the terrorist and it’s up to you to prove her otherwise. The game will throw relations at you, are they trust worthy or are they misleading you?

City Life

Empire City is a mass metropolis, hell on earth, people running around in distress. Wanting help lying injured, others asking why did this have to happen to them. Cars are damaged and laid bare throughout out the streets. Some even crashed right threw shop fronts. Trains have come to a halt due to no power in the lines. Overall the city has a proper gloomy feel to it and fits in nicely with the disaster zone that is Empire City. There’s always that impending sense of danger with the various enemies strung around the city, you choose like in most open ended games how you wish to tackle the city.

Gameplay

Infamous is a sandbox game divided into three sectors that represent three different parts of the city. Divided GTA style by bridges. There are different enemies per sector as you progress through the game. The more XP you get from completing the side quests killing enemies the more power you will earn to buy Coles untapped skills.

The game works with a Karma meter you do good it moves you into Hero territory. Your archs of lightning will glow a cool jedi style blue. But if you do Evil then your karma will fall and you will become Infamous, dawning a red sith style hue from your Lightning strikes.

At times you will be presented with options and to how you complete these options your Karma will be affected. One example is where I had a food crate that needed knocked down from a crane. When you get it down do you eliminate the people that need it most so you can have it to yourself.. Or do you let it be shared among the people. Another example a guy is strung up by his feet, the citizens of Empire city want him dead what do you do..leave him to the baying mobs or do you shoot the rope and help him down?

The more good karma missions you complete the more evil side quests you will lock until you decide to play through the game again. Cole moves about the world effortlessly jumping from roof to roof and climbing the buildings in much the same way Assassins Creed had shown us. Cole will look for ledges or what ever he can get his hands on till he climbs to the top of the building makes thus making the game so much more fun to play. For instance, your jumping off a roof and want to land on a power line, the games controls are precise and its easy to maneuver Cole towards an object in fact it sometimes feels like theres a safety lock on so you don’t fall.

Your missions are marked in much the same way other sandbox games have approached this genre. You have a radar in the corner that has all the way points listed. You can also push select and set your own way points. Story missions are marked by blue explanation marks encircled. Side missions are marked by Yellow encircled explanation marks, It’s straight forward and right to the point.

The gameplay is solid and it doesn’t get that repetitive feel some these sandbox games bring with them. When you die it will leave you near to the point in your progress you died instead of having to re do a full mission all the time. Some of the missions are similar, but not to the point where your doing just the same thing over and over again. Many times there may be mass enemies awaiting your arrival and at the same time many good citizens queuing at a busy hospital. Do you approach the bad guys head on with the knowing you could harm the public by accident or stay back and lure them towards you? It’s always there for you to contemplate.

Graphics

Infamous stands among the finest looking games on the PlayStation 3, it’s definately the best looking super hero style game out there at the moment. Everything in this game has been detailed on a massive level, Empire City looks alive.

There’s a host of effects from Coles lightning to the beautifully drawn city. From the night time streets to the day time hustle and bustle this game has it all. You will find yourself stopping to admire this City. Getting that Batman moment in for for good measure! The game runs in native 720p but does not suffer in the slightest for it. From the car head lights to the city coming to life every time a new power grid is regained. Infamous looks stunning to the eye.

There’s the odd glitch here and there but I expect nothing less from sandbox games, sometimes a person laying waiting for help will be suspended in mid air. Pop up is also evident as cars will appear at the end of the street buildings causing it to draw textures sometimes as you walk by.

Lastability

Infamous has easily 30+ hours in it for the average gamer. It has a great story and a wicked control system that will keep you coming back for more. The game does not feature a co-op or multiplayer mode but seldom does a game come along where the single player warrants a second run through. You will spend a load of time on side missions and collecting the various collectibles throughout the game. Earning the XP to buy stuff from the store to tap into the previously untapped powers Cole has. Goes a long way to keeping you coming back.

Final thought

We have had many a sand box hero game on the market from your Spidermen to Hulk and the newly acquired Prototype. But if your looking for a game with some proper depth and a good story and great controls plus graphics to boot, then Infamous is for you. It will drag you in with it’s story and spit you out with it’s Action

Sucker Punch has done themselves proud with there first outing on PlayStation 3. They have delivered a AAA title for Sony to add to their growing catalogue. This is a must have title for Playstation owners!

Go on its your chance to show your mammy you can be a good boy!

Fuel is a free roaming racer set in a world destroyed by Global Warming. It is from Codemasters, the ones who brought you Colin Mcrae Dirt, and has the largest map in a game in history, 5,560 square miles (14,400 km²) in size, with every single part explorable. With over 75 vehicles in the game, players can choose from bikes, ATVs, muscle cars, SUVs, buggies, trucks and many more.

The game chucks you a Quad Bike first straight into it’s amazing open world. I moved the camera around me and was amazed at how damn good the graphics were as the sun set over the mountains in the distance.

Gameplay / story

The game is very easy to pick up and play, even if it’s for ten minutes before you leave for work (although you may want to phone in sick if you do this). It consists mainly of a Career mode of checkpoint races, but you can also discover Fuel cans, which earn you Fuel to buy other vehicles, and with over 70 in the game, you will be saving up for a long time! Vista spots and Liverys unlock you more of the map and customisation options for your vehicle. These are usually spotted as you are driving around, and they get pin pointed on your map. Driver customisation is also a great bonus, unlocking clothes as you go along, there is a great selection to choose from, going from Army helmets to leather jackets.

The gameplay is smooth, although sometimes it does get a little annoying when you crash going down a hill too fast, but when you’re going top speed across a desert, through a forest, or even on top of a mountain, you just feel the sheer scale of this game, and how much you have in front of you to explore. From the skeletons of dead animals, to the truck driver hauling ass down the highway at midnight, I feel this game just has so much to it, and I’ve barely scratched the surface with about 4 hours gameplay put into it.Talking about scale, one thing I really love about this game is that the world actually feels real. The background scenery of the mountains and hills are not just a static picture, they are actually there, and drivable. Fuel even includes extremely realistic and random weather events like thunderstorms, blizzards and even tornadoes, which are amazing to see, but a bitch to drive in!

The races are fast and unpredictable, although if you make a wrong move it can lead to disaster, calling for the restart option. Theres normally around 20 checkpoints, and are fairly spaced out, so the race can last a while. Controls are responsive, and driving is a breeze.

Graphics

Asobo done an excellent job, and hit the graphics spot on. The areas in the game all have their own unique, and beautiful feel to them. Even from the time the sun comes up and to the pitch black night with just your headlights and the moon to guide you, the game feels fresh.

One of the best things about this game is the consistancy of the map. You can get from one side of the map to the other, for example the snowy mountains to the sunny beaches, without seeing a loading screen once. In fact you can play for a few hours without seeing a loading screen, except for when you do races of course. This is what done it for me, just the fact you can play the game how you want, without interruptions.

Sometimes it can seem that some of the area’s, for example the grassy destroyed forest, are a little copy-paste. Not that it’s a bad thing however, with a game this huge you can expect it.

Multiplayer

The Multiplayer consists of ranked or unranked races or a Free Ride mode. The races are brilliant, as I said before, they are structured by checkpoints. You do not have a set route, as long as you go through each one. I did find myself veering away from the checkpoints and getting lost a couple of times, leaving me in last place. The maps just may need a little getting used to.

Free Ride is an excellent addition, you basically just chill with friends and do what you like. Exploring together is awesome, and you can even start up your own custom races and go against each other on the spot.

I have yet to experience lag in the servers, but for once, I don’t think there is any. None of the other players were jumpy or glitchy, and they were smooth just like AI racers.

Summary

Fuel will be the best £30 you will spend in a long time. If you are looking for something a little like Pure, but with so much more to it, then this is the game you want. It’s free roaming and exploration capabilities, along with it’s career mode and unlockables will devour so many hours of your free time. The graphics are amazing, and the amount of vehicles will have you trying something new nearly everytime you pick up the controller.

Although the game has very few and minor bad points, it’s good outweighs them like Rik Waller on a see-saw with Kate Moss.

Official Site: http://www.fuel-game.com/

Avatar
Redsteel 2
SWSWS – Shaun White Snowboarding World Stage
Academy of Champions
Splinter Cell Conviction
RUSE
Tween Games 2.0
Petz
Your Shape
Rabbids Go Home
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Assassin’s Creed 2

EA:

MySims Agents: Wii, DS
Mass Effect 2: Xbox 360, PC
Need for Speed Nitro: Wii, DS
Need for Speed SHIFT: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, PSP
Spore Hero: Wii
NHL 10: Xbox 360, PS3
Army of Two 40th Day: Xbox 360, PS3, PSP
G.I. Joe: Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP, PS3, DS
Fifa 10: PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PC Download
Battlefield: Bad Company 2: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Dante’s Inferno: PS3, Xbox 360
Brutal Legend: Xbox 360, PS3
Dead Space Extraction: Wii
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, PlayStation 2, Wii, DS, PC, Mac
Fight Night Round 4: PS3, Xbox 360
Grand Slam Tennis: Wii
The Sims 3: PC, PC Download, Mac, iPhone
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10: Xbox 360, PS3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii, iPhone
Battlefield Heroes: PC Download

Hardware/Services:

The new PSP Go will be released on October 1st

PS3 Motion Controller

Games:

Uncharted 2 Beta to go live on the 3rd June.

PS3 exclusive ‘Agent’ from Rockstar

Lost Planet 2

Final Fantasy XIV for PS3

The Last Guardian by Team Ico

God of War III to be released in 2010

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Brand new Resident Evil game will be out on the PSP next year!

Gran Turismo PSP