pA :: Gaming

Hah! 

Deep Down - Still lurking in the shadows.

Driveclub - Urgh. The promise was there. They just did a Diablo III with it.

Final Fantasy - Looks like everything I hate about the new Final Fantasy games. PC port of FF7 being released on the ps4. Yay. Now if they'd used one of the high res custom mods so everything at least looked  updated I'd show more enthusiasm. As it stands this is the 3rd version of exactly the same fucking game.

Lords Of The Fallen - I enjoyed this game enough to complete it with three different characters. Boring after the initial playthrough though, NG+ is an absolute joke. Where is the difficulty increase?

The Elderscrolls Online - Oh what the fuck was I thinking? You can't ruin a good TES or Fallout series by trying your hand in the MMO category. Leave that to the professionals, and stick to those lovely vast expansive single player worlds that we all love to roam and scavenge from.

Dark Souls II - Flogged my PS3 like a pillock at the end of last gen, opted to download the pc version and use my PS4 pad. Grew incredibly bored within an hour, then uninstalled. Wasn't impressed, much preferred the original. Might consider looking at it again when it releases on the PS4.

Gran Turismo 6 - I enjoyed GT5 and invested plenty of hours into it right up until the endurance races... (4/24 hour races are they on fucking meth? Who the fuck has time to do that?) So I enjoyed this despite it being essentially the same game.

Assuming they make an appearance.

Deep Down

Driveclub

Final Fantasy (all been shocking since X...)

Lords Of The Fallen (Dark Souls-esque)

Warframe (Not bad on the PC, not great though)

The Elderscrolls Online

Dark Souls II

Final Fantasy X HD Remake

Gran Turismo 6

The internet is abuzz with talk of the next generation in gaming consoles, which for gaming enthusiasts like yourself, can be quite an interesting ordeal.

Heres the latest reports on whats coming over the course of the next year (images are concept work, not final copies).

Microsoft: Xbox 720.

Codenames: Oban, Durango.

Release Date: Speculated between March and Autumn 2013.

Price Range: £190-£250.

Rumours: Microsoft have apparently filed  a patent relating to projecting augmented reality 3D images onto the walls of the room you're gaming in, in an effort to more fully immerse you in the experience. 

Blu Ray included.

Kinect control methods as standard.

NO Second hand games, with discs binding to account/console upon first usage, meaning no more trade-ins and no more lending games to your pals.

Sony: Playstation 4

Codenames: Orbis, Thebes (The BEST, minus the T?)

Release Date: Speculated late 2013, with an appearance at E3.

Price Range: £217-£250.

Rumours: Sony are planning to ditch the fabled dualshock control in place of a biometric controller with touchscreen and sensors in the grip handles.  

Games and media supported at 4k resolution ULTRA HD!?

Seamless integration of the interface to allow users to download DLC whilst playing a game and transition back to gameplay unhindered.

Remember all the fuss about Square refusing to remake an FF7 in HD until they had successfully made another Final Fantasy to outsell it?

Well the problem with Square remaking FF7 is that they'd change too much content and have it ending up as another boring bag of shit like Crisis Core. So the fanboys of the internet have taken matters into their own hands and remodded the whole game, changing menu, character, and weapon textures. Hell, you can even make the game harder.

So, heres what the game looks like modded;

Those grand folks at IGN have picked up on a twitter feed from Erik Todd Dellums AKA Three Dog, in which the voice actor claims to have been given the go ahead to start tweeting about his return in the next installment of Fallout.

Oh fuck yes, this is monumental. For everyone who hated New Vegas, this would appear to be a direct sequel due to Erik's tweet, so fuck all that Mojave bullshit, viva la wasteland!

Other rumours suggest that Bethesda employees were seen scoping and mapping out various areas of Boston. Fallout 4's location anyone?

For the full article head on over to IGN: 

Oh yes. Its here. Blizzard have officially announced the release date for powerhouse dungeon-crawling hack'n'slash RPG Diablo III, as May 15th. Incase you've been a recluse gaming under a rock for the past two years, Diablo III is the highly anticipated sequel to best selling online RPG Diablo II, where players will explore a labyrinthine host of randomly generated dungeons, slashing, bashing, and obliterating an unending slew of monsters guarding various drops of unfathomable amounts of epic loot. The story will take place 20 years after D2 and the destruction of the world stone, and focuses on a new band of heroes battling two of the surviving lesser evils Azmodan and Belial. Gameplay has been made more WoW-like to tailor to newer players (to much griping from veterans of the Diablo series) and has been criticised as being not dark enough. Hardcore mode returns, for those of you who enjoy staying dead when you die, along with a totally new feature, the Auction House. Where players can sell in-game items for real cash to be used on the blizzard store. All five character classes have been revealed; The Barbarian returns as he was in D2. The Witch Doctor - Akin to the Necromancer. The Monk - Melee combat, much like a holy paladin. The Demon Hunter - An assassin & amazon-esque hybrid. The Wizard - Very much a reincarnated version of D2's Sorceress class. After playing the beta I can say the game is indeed impressive, instantly taking me back to the glorious days I spent glued to Diablo II. I only hope Blizzard havn't veered too far towards WoW with this release, as thats one game I could never really commit myself to. 

For anyone yet to jump on the SSX bandwagon I seriously suggest you get you're arse into gear and hop on board. Until a friend of mine enlightened me, I'd never even heard of the series, well snowboarding never interested me... But SSX is a refreshing, high octane injection of dubstep, hiphop and techno trainwreck down some of the most insane mountain ranges in the world from start to finish. It really shines in multiplayer, an infinite number of global tournaments starting up, some of which are free to enter, earning players with the skill to rank well anything from 50,000 credits, to a cool, "heres my weeks notice boss I quit" 1,500,000. Ridernet is basically a snowboarding auto-log from NFS. Where every score you submit, will automatically be sent to the server, and placed on a ranking for you to check whenever you like, with real-time updates whenever a friend or rival beats you... (Or tries to..) The game offers 3 main competition modes, Race it, Trick it, and Survive it. Where the goal is to descend the mountain as quickly as possible, score the highest points, or make it down as many times without dying, respectively. SSX will appeal to new and old fans alike, anyone who has ever enjoyed tearing up a Tony Hawk's, Dave Mirra's or Shaun White's will fall in love with the carnage and general mayhem this game provides. pA.gaming points: 92/100.

Mortal Kombat 9

Genre: Beat 'em up.

Why watch it: Because its Mortal Fucking Kombat. The game that changed the way kids went about beating eachother up in playgrounds for decades! Where previous reincarnations of other classics such as Street Fighter IV tried to rehash 3D rendered characters on 2D backgrounds and got away with it fairly well, they totally fucked the game up the arse by shafting the control scheme in every way possible. That, is not a problem with MK9, its the same old classic button presses that everyone has come to know and love.

The visuals are nicely polished, bold and bright for special moves, but generally dark and grimey. Players will get the satisfaction of watching their opponents bones crunch and shatter from high impact moves, displayed in a cool X-ray style shot, incredibly similar to Blitz: The League II. Fatalities are back (obviously) and goreier than ever, with 26 characters slated for the initial release, and further available via DLC.

When can I get it: Conflicting. March-April 2011.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUZIdfYwbSw

Fight Night Champion

Genre: Boxing

Why watch it: Fight night champion looks to raise the bar as fight night round 4 did coming from FNR3. Not only does the game boast an M rating for mature due to excessive strong language and realistic blood splattering, but it further improves on FNR4's already fairly impressive Legacy Mode by adding in different things to do on your calendar days, opposed to just training, recovering, fighting.

In that aspect, players of the UFC series will see similarities. 60 boxers scheduled for the roster, greatly improved online play, and instead of a single stamina bar draining away from punching, players will now have four factors counting toward stamina drain. One for each arm, the torso, and legs. Throwing the same punch, being hit repeatedly in the torso, or continually running away will tire that respective muscle group and cause fatigue. So no more cheesy one punch opponents. Yeah, you know who you are.

When can I get it: March 4th, 2011.

Killzone 3

Genre: Futuristic Halo-esque FPS.

At a glance: Its like the lovechild of Halo and Modern Warfare 2 on crack. The aiming system seems more similar to MAG than CoD, which has been heavily criticised by dun dun dunnnn! CoD players. Although I can't argue, it really does seem like a sprayfest.

Verdict: While I prefer my shooters with a certain degree of realism, there are moments when I watch the gameplay and concede that maybe blowing the fuck out of your mates with some next gen weaponry isn't really all that bad afterall. It is strikingly similar to Bad Company 2 and MAG. Gameplay, aiming and class wise.

So perhaps I won't buy it on pre-order, but I will certainly consider a purchase down the line because ding ding ding! Its move compatible.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTzrVgoHct4

 The Pit: Dog Eat Dog

Genre: 3rd Person Hack and Slash.

Why watch it: Because this is basically an entire game based on the same concept as TES: Oblivion's arena. Where you'll be a gladiator fighting for your life, dispatching your enemies in a variety of bloodthirsty and creative ways. Various skill types and traits, game modes, tactics and of course, there are no rules. Its survival of the fittest.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge

Genre: 3rd Person, Fantasy/RPG.

Why watch it: Well first and foremost its from the RPG powerhouse Bethesda, masterminds behind titles such as Fallout 3, New Vegas, and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. The typical elements are there, swords, bows, powerful spells and fireballs flying everywhere.

Those blokes from Rockstar have done it again. So what can you expect from one of 2011's most anticipated titles? Well imagine Heavy Rain and Red Dead mixed together and there you go. While the graphics, much like Heavy Rain, are nothing short of spectacular, this game really shines with its MotionScan technology.

What it MotionScan technology I hear you ask? The characters are acted out by real people, and the new technology used in the production of L.A Noire enables the game rendered characters to keep the facial expressions and movements the actors used while recording their lines (of which there are over 2000 pages). This is incredibly useful, as players will need to read their suspects in confrontations or during interrogations in-game.

Set in the 1940's, players will take on the role of Cole Phelps, an old World War II veteran, fresh into the LAPD. As your success grows with each case solved, you will rise up through the ranks, eventually being sat behind a huge desk at the top of the chain of command. This is far from linear, you'll be expecting to do real police work, assessing crime scenes, interviewing witnesses, collecting data etc.

With the release of Two Worlds II being pushed back again, its gonna be a fairly slow month for games. So heres a roundup of the best looking things to come.

  Dead Space 2

What it is: A futuristic Resident Evil-esque, SCI-FI horror.

Who its for: Those who like the over-the-shoulder style shooter, or those who just love obliterating things with high tech weaponry.

Should you buy it:  Yes! If you played the first, or just fancy a bit of gore and carnage, this is for you.

Mass Effect 2 What it is: A futuristic third person shooter with lots of character customization.

Who its for: Anyone who has ever enjoyed a star wars film, and likes their shooters free-roaming apposed to linear.

Should you buy it: Absolutely. The ps3 version includes DLC the Xbox version doesn't, and has slight improvements with the game engine.

DC Universe Online

What it is: A shoddy WoW/City Of Heroes rip-off with naff clunky controls.

Who its for: Those budding WoW/City Of Heroes geeks who fantasize about becoming a superhero.

Should you buy it: If you're into the supehero thing, or enjoyed games like Batman, and Prototype. Yes, but its really not my cup of tea.

Mindjack

What it is: Another futuristic shoot em up with a great idea for having other players hack into your single player campaign and pop up at random.

Who its for: Those die hard 3rd person shooter fans.