Review: Borderlands (final GGTL article before the holiday)

Without a doubt two of the biggest selling genres today are FPSs and RPGs. Developer Gearbox obviously saw these two huge markets, and have decided to shove them both together and add a pinch of humour. And thus, Borderlands was born.

We can all name at least a few good FPS games: Call of Duty and Gears of War both jump immediately to mind. Furthermore, we can also name some awesome RPGs: Fallout 3 and Oblivion need no introduction. But it becomes more difficult when you try to think of a game that brings the multiplayer and weapons of a good FPS, and the storyline and massive area to travel typical of an RPG into one. Borderlands is the first one I’ve met. And with ‘hybrid genres’ gaining more and more popularity (Sport and RTS gave birth to Football Manager, in much the same way that Platformers and online creativity brought LittleBigPlanet into the world), it seems we have yet another to add to the bunch.

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IMPORTANT: Regarding the future of GGTL

It is with great apprehension, and after a great deal of thought about what is best for the future of Gamer's Guide to Life and the experience of the most important people in our journalistic lives (our lovely readers) that I am about to deliver some rather important news. I do urge you to read on, and I promise faithfully that everything upcoming is for the good of the site.

Now, I don't want you to think that, from that ominous first paragraph, Gamer's Guide to Life is closing its doors, shutting the Venetian blinds and packing up its boxes - because it most certainly isn't. We just feel that Gamer's Guide to Life needs a repaint, a real change round in system and a fresh and creative staffing team, and as such we're going to have to close our doors for just a little while.

So, to the changes that'll be happening. Well, first and foremost, our Managing Editor and site owner, Mr. Matthew Meadows, has left us for a little while due to commitments at university. However, never fear - I am assured that he will be back and taking his managing role again come spring/summer 2010, and says that he'll try to contribute what he can, when he can, but can't promise anything.

Another big change which will be coming over our time away will be a complete restructure, and a fresh face, to our team. You'll still notice some old faces when (we hope) you return to Gamer's Guide to Life once we're back, but we'll have some new writers and editors, and a different team structure which we hope will make the world of difference to the blog, providing our readers with the most comprehensive, dedicated, reliable and unbiased gaming journalism in the business. Or, at least, that's the aim.

And the final change will be Gamer's Guide to Life's entirely new look and feel. We'll be making some major design improvements to the site, and we aim to make it easier, quicker and nicer for you to look round. We'll still be retaining some elements which you'll be familiar with, but the revamp has been long-needed and will definitely take Gamer's Guide to Life into a new era.

We certainly hope you'll stay with us, even though we won't be posting, and be sure to check the site out once we're back and better than ever. We'll be sure to update you on progress on our Twitter account, and we'll be looking for site beta testers in the near future, so be sure to check the blog in order to register your interest. We'll let you know via Twitter, here and email (if you sign up via the sidebar) when the new site is up and ready.

To use a long-legendary gaming cliché - a new era is coming. We'll leave you now in the hope that you're in good health, and will have a very happy advent and Christmas. Gamer's Guide to Life will be back in late December 2009, or the New Year.

Linford

Review: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

A single bullet is a powerful object. Described by some as a work of art, and by many as a waste of human life, whichever view you take, there is one word that everyone uses to describe it - deadly.

In games, bullets have never taken this 'deadly' form. Many games bring us tactics and some realism - take the SOCOM franchise, for instance - but most just bring their own ideas to the table. However, the Operation Flashpoint series has always been close to this realism. The original, released in 2001, flew out of shops. It brought freedom but, most of all, this realism to the crowds. People ignored the silly controls, the evident bugs and instead just played. That's when you know a game is good. People just... play it.

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Review: Brütal Legend (Actually Does Rock)

Ever wondered what it would be like if God of War, your local Renaissance festival, Jack Black, ridiculous cleavage shirts, The Legend of Zelda, Ozzy Osbourne, Warcraft III, Heavy Metal, Midgard, and this costume were all thrown into a cauldron, brewed for three to four years, and poured into a video game? You would get Brutal Legend, the latest free-roaming action-adventure game released by video game designer Tim Schafer, a man so popular that he may in fact get more hype from the gaming community when releasing a new product than Jesus Christ gets on Christmas.

Brutal Legend is the story of Eddie Riggs, a leather-donning roadie with biceps that would make a gorilla look ridiculous. His wish: to go back to an era when music was pure - the early 70s. When a set collapses on him, the mythical fire-beast Ormagöden does him one better, transporting him to a fantasy land filled with dangerous creatures and colossal monuments, archaic effigies to the Titans, ancient gods of Rock.

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Feature: Fallout 3 DLC Extravaganza

It's not often that all the DLC for a game is reviewed at once. Then again, it's not often that a multi-million selling, already-successful game gets five seperate DLC packs, but far be it from me to judge. Fallout 3 might have been one of the best-selling games of the last couple of years, but Bethesda don't seem to have given up on it yet. And thanks to the kind people at Bethesda's PR company, I've got an extravaganza of a review for you.

Find out all the thoughts on the Fallout 3 DLC after the jump.

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Beta Impressions: MAG

When Massive Action Game was first announced to games journalists and an audience of hundreds and thousands (via high-speed internet streams), people were impressed. Whether it was the idea of a semi-realistic military shooter, or the idea of a full chain of command system, or the promise of 256 online players per match, I don't know, but it's safe to say that Zipper Interactive's promise - to bring a true MMO shooter to a console - shook the gaming world a little, like the aftershock of a mild earthquake. Or something like that.

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Hear ye, gamers! Today, the Legend Cometh

In case you've forgotten, today - Friday, October 16th - marks the beginning of a new epoch in Europe... Rocktober. It's not just a month - it's an era that will hopefully change the way we think about games.

Why, you ask, with one eyebrow raised? On that date, the much-anticipated Brutal Legend will be released for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Hopefully, it's going to kick major ass. I'm all giggly with excitement, so I thought I'd remind you of the game too with a video. Or two. Or seven. I'll just link two. They're from the Brutal Legend website. Hit the jump to check them out.

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Review: Halo 3: ODST

Ever since the release of Halo on the original Xbox, the Halo series has both set the bar and dominated the realm of console shooters. With the main story being wrapped up in 2007's Halo 3, series developed Bungie decided to created an offshoot to the franchise entitled Halo 3: ODST. Marketed as an extension to the Halo 3 experience, ODST puts the player in control of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) instead of the usual super soldier, Master Chief. When ODST was announced, it was first determined to be a straight up expansion to Halo 3, but through the course of its development, it has evolved into a full on retail package with its own multiplayer modes and campaign. However, the question is whether or not Bungie was once again successful in pleasing their die-hard fan base, or if they should have left the series with the closure it had.

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Review: TRINE

Back in the day, platformers were all the rage. Every arcade was full of them - and some were really good. However, recently - bar the Mario popularity - they're all but gone. So it's nice that FrozenByte have decided that we need a new one.

TRINE is a side-scrolling, action-based platformer. Originally released for PC, with a DVD edition and a downloadable version from Valve's ever-popular Steam service, TRINE became an unexpected success. So much so, in fact, that they decided that a PlayStation Network version was in order.

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New Final Fantasy XIII English Trailer is a little bit Jpop, a little bit Rock and Roll

I'm a little wary of any Final Fantasy titles released after FFX. Actually, make that any after IX. So, when I watched the new english-language Final Fantasy XIII trailer released on Sunday by Square Enix, I did so from between narrow, doubting eyes.

My problem with Final Fantasies released after IX is that they just seem too 'poppy', too flashy and stylised, too... anime. Now anime is a fine genre with a noble tradition, but there comes a time when I want to play a good, solidly built Eastern-style RPG and not be sent to the hospital with an epileptic attack. Anime, especially interactive anime, does that to me. It inspires epilepsy.

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