Playing this game has proven one thing to me: whilst explosions and tanks are all well and good, games only utilising these assets and nothing else fail to offer anything more than a shallow experience.

So why am I so down on Mercenaries 2? Well let me tell you why; lost potential. This game could have been so much better. Just look at the concept: nukes, tanks, a Swedish hard-man, a politically relevant storyline and pedigree after a fun prequel. This game should be nothing less than amazing; but it isn’t, and that’s what hurts the most.

Labels: Matthew, Matthew Meadows, Mercs 2, Review

A Mercs 2 review is coming shortly - I still have more stuff to blow up.

Matt

Labels: Matthew, Matthew Meadows

The teddy bear. A toy thought fondly of by many, but never usually thought of to do with advanced technology. But that's about to change - the humble teddy bear is about to join the A-list. Now, at this point, you're probably thinking 'what the hell is he going on about?'. And I wouldn't blame you, but hold on - there is a point to all this.

It seems that the teddy bear is making more than just the usual appearances in children's bedrooms. In fact, Teddy now has a definite place in the world of tech.

Take Resistance: Fall of Man, for example. If you're a very talented gamer - and know the right glitches - there's a teddy bear hidden away in the online Somerset level. I'd post a picture, but I can't seem to find one.

The same happens in Call of Duty 4. In the Ambush level, there is a teddy bear slumped against some boxes amongst the warfare. Why, though? Is it some sort of secret between all the FPS devs or something?

Either way, it's beginning to get ridiculous. The above picture will show you why. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the teddy bear USB Flash Drive. I mean, a USB drive, shaped like a teddy bear. Do people have nothing better to do with their lives?

So why is it that the humble teddy bear is inflicting itself on our technological lives? I guess we'll never know, but the subject has certainly given me an interesting article to write.

Linford

Grandparents. At Christmastime, they always give you some money to spend and tell you, in their little elderly voices, to spend it on something useful. Then, when you spend it on games merchandise, they shake their heads and look disappointed, and you feel bad. But not any more - welcome, everyone, to a PS3 application that might actually help you: Life With PlayStation.

LWP is a valiant attempt by the good people at Sony to make your PS3 more than just a games console. Not that it isn't already, but you get my drift. The app brings you the latest news, weather and other important information direct to your beloved console, and (surprisingly) has some promise.

It's easy to get, too. All you have to do is load up Folding@home from the [Network] tab on the XMB, start the update and wait for it to download. At only 126MB, the update won't break the bank, either.

The main graphical interface of LWP is the Earth. Simple, you think? You'd be absolutely right; you control where you want to look at on the planet using the analog sticks and the left and right D-Pad buttons. It's intuitive and easy-to-use, so full marks in that department.

Content-wise, LWP is a little bit bleak. At the moment, all that's available is news and weather data, but Sony promises more to come soon. On the plus side, however, the content which is there is well implemented and quite clever.

There are some criticisms, I have to admit. Modifying the options of LWP can be difficult, and I still haven't found a way to access Folding@home, even after extensive searches. But apart from these couple of niggling glitches, and the lack of content, LWP isn't a bad bit of kit. One tip for Sony, though...

I'd rather have fantastic games than XMB add-ons.

Linford

Labels: Life With PlayStation, PS3, XMB

Here it is, then. Sony's promised Life With PlayStation service, an XMB add-on that that's going to make having the most powerful console on earth something - dare I say it - useful.

Life With PlayStation is a 'lifestyle tool for your XMB' that brings you up to date with the latest news, weather for your area and much more to come in due course.

To get in on the excitement, all you have to do is load up Folding@home from the 'Network' tab of the XMB. You'll be prompted to download the update, which will cost you 126MB of HDD space. Also contained in this patch is an update to the Folding application itself. You'll now be able to complete more advanced simulation of folding proteins.

I'll get a full review written up when I've checked it out.

Linford

The PlayStation3. It can play music, videos, store your photos, play HD visuals and Blu-Ray disks, play games and keep you in touch with your mates, plus much more. You'd think it coudn't do anything more high-tech - but you'd be wrong. Please welcome Sony's latest innovation, ladies and gentlemen - PlayTV.

PlayTV is a clever little bit of kit that turns your PS3 into a PVR, giving you the ability to watch, pause, rewind and record live TV - a bit like a Sky+ box. The kit costs £70 in total, and allows your PS3 to receive Freeview channels and interactive TV services.

The demo looks promising. The menus are well designed and quite snazzy, and the EPG is easy to use. The few channels which came stocked with the demo were only sample channels, and the picture quality left alot to be desired - although this will be no problem in the final release as the channels are delivered via your TV ariel, giving crysal clear visuals.

There are some very good features tucked away inside PlayTV. Recorded TV can be moved from PlayTV to the XMB and treated like any other video file, so you can watch your favourite programmes on your phone or PSP. PlayTV also works via Remote Play, so you can tune in at any time via an internet connection.

PlayTV seems to be a good little bit of kit, but I'll have to take a look at the full thing before making my mind up completely. As you'd expect with a demo, it still leaves alot to the imagination, but gives just enough away to sway a potential buyer.

I can't wait until I get my grubby little hands on it.

Linford

Over on the European PlayStation Forums, there's an exciting little competition going on. And it all centres around the upcoming and massively hyped PS3-exclusive, LittleBigPlanet.

The competition is basically to create a unique costume for Sackboy, the game's main character. They provide the blueprints, or outline, and you open it up in your favourite image editor and get creative!

The full details are here. Make GGTL proud!

Linford

Many waiting for the release of the FIFA '09 or PES09 demo are going to be disappointed, because the PlayStation Store update has been pushed back - but only by one day, luckily.

According to MusterBuster, the EU PlayStation Forums' Community Team Leader, the delay was due to a 'minor technical problem'. The new content will be uploaded 'as soon as possible', MusterBuster promised.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Linford

DAY FOUR
17:50HRS
ANOTHER UNDISCLOSED LOCATION


Yes, I know I was meant to be keeping a daily diary. But, to be completely honest, I wouldn't want to put you through the painfully boring experience of reading about the wait.

Anyway, the new PS3's come. After handing over my old unit, the exchange was made and I was the owner of a brand new 60gig PlayStation3 console. I rushed upstairs and plugged it in - obviously. And it worked perfectly - all my PSN account, wireless router and Trophies were picked up straight away.

Customer service - a sparkling 10/10, Sony. Even in my hour of need, you were there to help. Thanks very much.

Linford

DAY ONE
20:25HRS
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION


I'm not happy. Really, really not happy. Not only do I have the most stinking cold ever to hit the Milky Way, but my beloved, expensive and frankly brilliant PS3 has died on me.

I got home from college today, and was looking forward to giving one of my best mates a good thrashing on CoD4. The console booted as usual - but with one problem: no disks were showing on the XMB. Turns out the motor in the Blu-Ray drive had gone kaput.

So, what did I do? I rang up the kind people at Sony, and spoke to them. They're very kindly sending me out a replacement 60gig on Thursday, so before them I'm backing up all my saved data. I'll keep you updated in my 'woes of the next gen' diary each day. Let's see if everything goes to plan.

Linford

Labels: PS3, Writer's note

There's a new blog on the block, ladies and gentlemen. The Review is a blog filled with reviews. Reviews of what, you might ask? Reviews of nearly everything. Head on over, you can find it at http://thereview-blog.blogspot.com/.

Linford

"When the Russians closed their borders, we feared they were developing a weapon of unparalleled power. The truth was far worse..."

Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man was well hyped even before it released as the first PS3 release title. Originally named I-8, due to the fact that it was Insomniac's eighth game, the game centered around an alien invasion set on a parallel earth during the WW2 era. And it absolutely blew me away.

I got my PS3 on my birthday, just after launch. And, as if that wasn't enough, three games came packed in a separate present: Resistance, MotorStorm and Ridge Racer 7. There was absolutely no doubt which was going into my baby first. Ripping off the wrapping paper like a maniac, I slid the Blu-Ray disk into my PS3 and booted the game up.

First impressions certainly impressed me. I was instantly thrown into the action; the first thing I saw was an army chopper falling out of the sky and exploding - with almost frightening realism. The sound was fantastic, too. Having hooked the PS3 up to my stereo system, I experienced the full blast of the Dolby-enabled sound effects. Bloody hell, I nearly wet myself with excitement.

I must have played through at least three-quarters of the game that day. And my mates were pretty amazed with it too - the multiplayer option was a particular favourite, with many commenting on how fantastic the graphics were and the gameplay was. It was definitely addictive, and it set the benchmark for other shooters on PS3 high.

My friends were right, for once - the gameplay and graphics were absolutely amazing. The framerate was smooth and fast, and the gameplay was immersive and challenging. The weapons felt satisfying to fire, and the gameplay engine allowed me to play it one-man-army style or more tactically, should I so wish. At that party, the humble Resistance was even compared to the likes of the Halo series. Magic.

Back then, Insomniac's offering was possibly one of the best games ever to have graced the face of the games industry. The visuals and gameplay that Resistance brought us were fantastic - the likes of which had never been seen before that moment, apart from perhaps on the most powerful of gaming PC's. But now, how does FoM hold up almost two years later? I slipped the disk back into my PS3 to see, just for old times sakes'.

Visually, Resistance is still magnificent. True, there are better out there now, but the graphics are still believable, immersive and realistic even next to the likes of the mightiest of the new wave of FPS's. That first part, with the explosive helicopter, is still up there with some of my favourite game starts ever, and the game still lives up to the reputation it gained in the first place. The gameplay feels a little old fashioned now, compared to that of newer shooters such as Call of Duty 4, but it is still fun and reminds me just what a brilliant game it really was.

So, Resistance: Fall of Man still feels like quality, even after a while and at least twenty new first-person shooters. I'm ashamed to say that I forgot about Resistance in the heat of all the new shooters being released, but now I've played it again, I'm sticking firmly by it as one of my very favourite games ever.

"Never underestimate humanity's will to survive."

Linford

Hi all. Just to let you know that I have successfully completed my ISP changeover and everything's working just fine. As such, my PS3 posts will be starting again. Just thought I'd let you know.

Linford

Labels: Writer's note