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The ever-funny Charlie Brooker will be doing something someone should have done a long time ago. No he hasn't cured the common cold, but what he has done is get a gaming programme on the BBC at a decent time: 10pm.

The programme promises to deliver discussion on gaming's rise to power, and how it might change the industry. Personally I can't wait.

It's probably also worth mentioning that this won't be aired in America for a good while. Sorry! As an apology on behalf of Britain, I present to you, a video of a cat unplugging a light.

However, those of us with UK passports will be able to watch Gameswipe tonight on BBC4 at 10pm, or probably on the BBC iPlayer for a week after broadcast.

Matt

Labels: Gameswipe, Matt, Reminder, Televison

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Those of you who aren’t familiar with older video games may have never even heard of Wolfenstein before, allow me to educate you – Wolfenstein was one of the pioneers of the FPS genre that is... well it’s pretty darned popular, isn’t it? This game’s ancestor, Wolfenstein 3D (that ran on MS-DOS) may not look pretty to the eye, but its influence on modern gaming cannot be overstated. Such a shame is it then, that Wolfenstein does nearly nothing new for the ever so slowly stalling genre.

But hey, do you like shooting guns? At Nazis? Well then my friend, ignore the rambling diatribe above and go out and buy Wolfenstein. Yes, as you may have imagined this game is an incredibly competent first person shooter that makes good use of a very well made upgrade system and some cool magical powers.

Wolfenstein’s “plot” is little more than a flimsy premise to set you on your way to capping some olde-worlde skinheads. That isn’t necessarily bad, per-se, and didn’t really influence my enjoyment of the game; I mean, if you wanted a deep meaningful story... well, you probably shouldn’t be considering playing a game in which the main character is constantly addressed as ‘BJ’. Go to the German WWII town of Isenstadt and kill the leader of the ‘Nazi Paranormal Division’? Sure, why not. Use the magical crystals to walk through walls? Absolutely.

The game completely quashes any smouldering embers of narrative left by making every single German (that’s pretty much everyone in the game apart from ‘BJ’) have a terrible, terrible accent, that reminds me of some sort of semi-racist impression of a Nazi which your drunken uncle might impose upon you at a wedding. Then... well, towards the end, a character that is reasonably important in the grand scheme of things dies in a gunfight. This may sound reasonable, but the game presents this as some kind of huge calamity when you have talked to this character for literally at most; 2 minutes. It was at this point I realised Wolfenstein was awesome.

Sure, it has a terrible story, but you know what: Raven Software doesn’t give a damn, and neither should you. The shooting system is terrific, there are eight weapons in all that will absolutely quench your blood lust, and dude, when you shoot a Nazi’s head, it pops off like a coconut in a sideshow. Speaking of weapons, as I mentioned earlier, they are all super upgradable, to a point where at the end of the game I was completely unstoppable, mowing down Nazi’s with a super-charged laser cannon that leaves a smouldering pile of bones. During the course of the game you pick up four crystals, one that allows you to see things not visible in the real world, one that allows you to slow down time, one that deploys a bubble shield, and one that gives you extra damage power. However, these magical powers won’t last long - at most 15 seconds - meaning the fight isn’t too unbalanced.

It’s probably worth mentioning that Wolfenstein has a multiplayer component. The little I played of it (about 45 minutes in all) was really enough to prove to me that it was passable. There’s a Team Deathmatch and two objective based modes that really just add another bullet point on the back of the game’s box. However competent it is doesn’t really matter, however, as I’m willing to bet that within a couple of months the servers will be empty.

Wolfenstein isn’t pretty, it’s not got some new “cutting edge” art style, it wasn’t written by J.J. Abrams and its multiplayer is forgetable, so if you want any of those things, move along. However, if you like shooting then you’ll get a good solid 8+ hours out of this game that are incredibly enjoyable, even if only for low-brow thrills.

Matt

Labels: Activision, Matt, Review, Wolfenstein

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Ever since it was shown at E3 2009, 5th Cell's creative Nintendo DS puzzle game Scribblenauts has had an overwhelming amount of hype and anticipation for its release. For those of you who don't know, Scribblenauts gives the promise of letting the player solve action puzzles using literally thousands of nouns. All one has to do is think of something they would like to conjure and simply type it on the bottom screen and it instantaneously appears on the screen to be used however seen fit. Now that the game is on shelves, could it possibly live up to the amount of coverage and buildup it has received in the past few months?

It's sort of telling that before Scribblenauts even gives the player a menu, it drops them right into a playground title screen to mess around with the item generator. I say this because this is easily the most impressive part of the game, and rightfully so. Being able to summon anything that comes to mind is a power that no other game has given before and, for the most part, 5th Cell has kept their word. Scribblenauts has pretty much everything you would ever think of, jam packed into a tiny cartridge (copy written material and profanity omitted, of course). There is a shortcoming however, in the fact that a lot of words give the same result, for instance; "monster" and "boogeyman". Another issue that arises from having so many things in the game is glitches between objects interacting. This is pretty much an unavoidable problem however, as the game would have been in testing for years if they were to check how every object interacts with one another. Overall, the item creation is a blast and its problems are easily forgivable.

After messing around with the title screen to get acquainted with the item creation, players will want to jump into the actual game. Scribblenauts consists of over 200 levels that range from quite easy to frustrating. Of these 200 or so levels, there are two different types - puzzle and action. Puzzle levels require the player to complete a specific scenario by using created objects, such as "reunite girl and cat" or "stop the runaway truck". Upon completion of the objective, the player will be rewarded with a starite, the game's form of collectable. The other type of levels, action, will simply require the player to maneuver the games main character, Maxwell, around the level to reach a starite. In addition, each level can be done again in advanced mode which challenges to beat the level three times in a row without using the same items. The level design is generally great in Scribblenauts, offering cute and colorful environments and objects. However, players will find themselves being able to solve every level with the same few items and this makes the game feel a little repetitive and dull.

Scribblenauts is predominately a fun game but there is one major problem that takes away from full enjoyment: the controls. With the exception of moving the screen around the level, all of the games controls are done with the touch screen. The annoyance occurs in this because moving your character and moving objects is the same action. This creates huge amounts of frustration by creating such situations as trying to pick up an object and incidentally making Maxwell jump into a pit of lava and attempting to make him walk across a bridge only to pull the bridge out from beneath his feet. By making the d-pad control the character, this issue could have been easily avoided and, although it doesn't take away a great deal from the game, it certainly diminishes a lot of fun from some of the levels.

Scribblenauts comes with plenty of unlockables to obtain. Things such as new avatars for your character and songs give the game a little bit of variety. Scribblenauts also includes a level editor. It feels sort of tacked on and last minute however. It allows the player to take a completed level and changed items around and add new ones using the item creator. This mode isn't particularly appealing as it doesn't allow for actual level creation, and instead allows for manipulation of existing levels.

Scribblenauts is a charming game and a technological accomplishment. Its item creation makes up in quantity what it lacks in quality. This also applies for the games levels, as they are somewhat repetitive. The experience is clouded by its poor controls, but people who are interested in the game will most likely be able to ignore this problem. With plenty of unlockables and a level editor to fool around with, Scribblenauts will last a long time to players who enjoy the game. In a world full of copy-cat game design, its great to see developers trying something different and thinking outside the box and Scribblenauts is a game that should not be passed up by gamers looking for a break from the typical experience.

Tyson

Labels: DS, Nintendo, Review, Scribblenauts, Tyson

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To celebrate the release of the New Super Mario Bros multiplayer game for the Wii, Nintendo is out to find the best gamer in all the land... of Britain.

On October 17 and 18, gamers will be invited to test their skills at four Gamestop and four GAME stores across the country. There, they will face off with the toughest, most bad ass and competetive games of all time: Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit, New Super Mario Bros DS, and Mario Kart DS. It will be a glorious and bloody

The top two finalists from each venue will then be invited to compete in a grand finale hosted by comedian, musician, and radio personality Iain Lee, a man who knows a frightening amount about The Monkees. I don't know where said finale will be held, but at it the finalists will square off to decide, once and for all, who is 'Britain's Best Nintendo Gamer.'

Oh, the glory of war.

When the dust clears, and only one hero remains, perched heavily atop his trusty Wii Balance Board, wiping the blood and sweat from his eyes, he will know the taste of victory. He'll also be awarded spoils - a trip for five to Nintendo Headquarters in Japan. Not. Too. Shabby.

Here's where the event will take place:

* Bluewater, GAME store
* Swansea, Boarders concession
* Manchester, Trafford Centre, Selfridges concession
* Oxford Street GAME store
* Birmingham New Street, Gamestation
* Hull, Gamestation
* Edinburgh Princess Street, Gamestation
* Norwich, Gamestation

Is it just me, or is Super Smash Bros getting completely overlooked in this event? It makes me sad.

Greg

Labels: Event, Greg, News, Nintendo

As many of you will have realised, due to the fact you were probably one of the staggering amount of entries we had, a few weeks ago we ran a competition giving you the chance to win a Massive Action Game beta key. Well, the competition closed a week ago, and since then we've been busy at work collating the entries, discarding the invalid ones, sticking them all into a hat and generally doing all the post-competition stuff that's necessary for finding our winner. And, needless to say, we found one. See who after the jump.

We had a staggering amount of responses, but a big congratulations to gunner420_8[at]live[dot]com who was picked at random from a draw of all the valid responses. Your beta key will be emailed to you shortly.

All those of you who didn't win - commiserations and better luck next time. We'll be trying our best to get out hands on some more beta keys soon, but until then, be assured that the game is going to be excellent when you get it at release. Trust me - I know.

We'll be hands on with MAG at this year's Eurogamer Expo, so be sure to follow all our coverage over at http://eurogamer.gamersguidetolife.com/.

Linford

Labels: Competition, Linford, MAG

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Alright, so we were just a tad slow at posting this. But, nevertheless, we’re posting it now just in case you haven’t seen it. In from the Tokyo Game Show (which is going on now, incidentally), this new, action-packed trailer for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed II, is sure to get the juices flowing in fans of the series and new players alike.

For the first time in an Assassin’s Creed II trailer, we’ll see precisely which event prompted Ezio’s decision to become an Assassin. Also, we see Ezio without the Assassin’s outfit in this trailer, and one would be forgiven for complimenting him on being a rather handsome young fellow. However, the one thing that is most exciting (for me at least) is the combat – what we see in this trailer just shows how many leaps and bounds this sequel has taken in terms of upping the quality of combat in the first. New combos, fantastic moves, and what looks like one hell of a lot more gore are looking to make Assassin’s Creed II even better than its prequel.

We’ll be going hands-on with Assassin’s Creed II almost a month before release as part of our Eurogamer Expo coverage, over on http://eurogamer.gamersguidetolife.com/ – be sure not to miss it.

Linford

Labels: Assassin's Creed II, Lineup, TGS09, Ubisoft, Video

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One of last year's hyped games, Army of Two, had a mixed reaction. Some sites, like IGN scored it relatively highly. Others, such as EDGE, were very disappointed. And yet, despite the mixed reaction, EA decided to start work on a sequel, and have recently released these 6 screens from Tokyo Game Show '09. Graphically, it looks very good. Perhaps a bit to good - touching the screens up before release, perhaps? Who knows? Anyway, judging from these it looks like the basic gameplay will continue into this sequel. Take a look at the images after the jump and let us know what you reckon in the comments.












Jacques

Labels: Army of Two, Jacques, News, Screens, The 40th Day

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Champions Online is fun. Lots of fun. Oodles and oodles of fun. But it's not perfect. Allow me to explain the way this is gonna work - anyone who wants just the summary of my review, head to the end of the article now for the cliffnotes. Everyone who wants a more in-depth look at the game, read on.

First of all, for those of you who don't know, Champions Online is a brand-new MMORPG released by Cryptic Studios for the PC and Xbox 360 earlier this month. Its theme is superheroic in nature - you play as your very own superhero in a futuristic setting that almost - almost - resembles the North America of today. It resembles the future in the way Mel Gibson's The Patriot resembles the past ... very, very loosely.

Detroit, for example, has been transformed from the ghetto-infested slum we came to love in Tim Allen's Home Improvement into a bustling megacity, a regular metropolis filled with jobs and skyscrapers and renamed Millenium City. The only real similarity between this new, sexy urbania and modern Detroit is the city's gang life, which is just as reliably varied and exciting as it is today. Other familiar areas get cameos too - Canada is overrun by zombies and terrorists, New Mexico's houses radiation junkies and deadly robot cowboys and vixens, and though I haven't been there, I've heard that at some point you go to The Moon. That's right, the f**king Moon. I haven't been there yet... but I've heard it's nice.

The gameplay in Champions echoes some core elements of traditional MMOs. Fighting is like in other online role-playing games (auto attack, use an attack power, use a healing power, lather, and repeat), but it has one major difference - holding the buttons for certain powers allows you to utilize them in different ways. Confused? I'll elaborate. When heroes with munitions power set click once on the "Two-Gun Mojo" attack, they will fire two pistols at an enemy simultaneously instead of just one. If the "Two-Gun Mojo" button is held down, then the player will continuously fire the same two pistols at an enemy for a couple of seconds, causing significantly more damage to a target. Similarly, a block ability is only activated when a player holds down the shift button. It's like Cryptic took the general principles of the old MMO setup and moulded it into something completely different. The change does wonders to make gameplay more exciting, and I hope to the gods of gaming that other MMO designers take the hint and adopt it.

One negative aspect of the gameplay is its repetitiveness. Killing 50 mobsters and defusing a gravity bomb may be new and exciting for the first twenty levels, but after a while it turns into a grind. I don't necessarily blame Cryptic for having those quests. I don't think it's really possible to have the kind of MMO we know of today without it.

You can tell that the designers tried their damned-est to keep levelling up interesting, though. PVP, which gives experience in Champions, is fun and relatively balanced, and 'Open Missions' allow players to team up with whoever else is in the area to stop spur of the moment catastrophes, like an alien invasion or a mayoral assassination attempt. But the best feature I found - the crown jewel in Champion Online's tiara - is the nemesis system.

The nemesis system in Champions works just like the character creation system in the game: you choose your nemesis' powers, give it a costume complete, and give it a facial expression depending on its personality. The only difference is that when you create a nemesis, you also get to choose A) the look and abilities of their henchmen, and B) whether the nemesis is a maniac (à la Joker), a mastermind (à la Lex Luthor), or a savage (à la Sabertooth or Lobo). If you pick a mastermind, your nemesis is more likely to rob a bank or steal the Hope Diamond from a museum. If you pick a maniac, your nemesis if more likely to be burning down an orphanage filled with puppies. If you pick a savage, your nemesis is more likely to attack the closest thing he sees at any given time, just because it looked at him funny.

Between your nemesis and your hero, you'll find room to express your latent creativity in Champions. So far I've released my inner Van Gogh creating a gun-toting, trench coat-donning zombie named "Ichabod," a barrel chested Green Beret skilled in the martial arts called "Misha," and, my favorite so far, a seven foot tall communist dinosaur sorcerer wearing tights and a cape whom I've dubbed "Tyrannosaurus Red". Awesome. But so much creative freedom has its costs. Taking note of all the colorful costumes you see running through the streets in the game is like visiting your crazy Uncle Tom's acid flashback and not being able to escape. Many of the costumes I've seen, like a hulking werewolf wearing the tight pink skirt of a cheerleader, will haunt me until I lay on my deathbed.

The biggest problems I've encountered are lag, server downtime, and bugs. Problems with lag is the most common discussion I've seen in general zone chats besides LFG requests and arguments about Barack Obama. Server downtime is to be expected with any new MMO, but that doesn't make it any better when I sit down and log in at my computer expectantly only to find I'm downloading yet another patch. Which brings me, nicely enough, to bugs - this game is filled with them. More than I'd usually expect from a game on release day. But, that's what the patches are for. In a couple months, most of the bugs will probably be gone ... we hope.

That's enough general information on the game. Here's my conclusion, in categorical summary:

GAMEPLAY
Good. A new combat system counterbalances some of the repetitiveness of levelling, as do Open Missions and a fun PVP setup. After three characters and 46 gained levels, I haven't stopped having fun.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO
No complaints. The world is aesthetically pleasing, and the audio effects are varied and engaging. Both give the game the unique feel of a world that really does belong in an old comic book. That's a plus.

DEPTH/LENGTH/REPLAYABILITY
If you like superheroes, very good. If not, probably just good. It's an MMO, so it's meant to be played for a long time. Unlockable costume pieces and an achievement system ensure hours of play time for the perfectionist.

STORY
Very good if you like superheroes, just regularly good if you don't, like above. The Champions universe has been around since the early 1980s, so it's pretty vast, and the game does a good job of tapping into it and bringing playing characters into the mythos.

BUGS
Bad. But Cryptic is already patching them away with success. I don't see bugs being a major problem for Champions a couple months down the road.

CONCLUSION
If you like superheroes, Champions Online is at least worth a look, especially if you you've played an MMO beforehand. Its new gameplay system and nemesis creation options are refreshing, and could become milestones for the genre. All in all, I'm pleased with my purchase.

Greg

Labels: Atari, Champions Online, Cryptic Studios, Greg, Review

Honest, we did. We only popped out for some bread and milk, and all of a sudden we’re away for almost two weeks. And honestly, we feel really, really, ever so bad about that. But fear not, loyal readers (and new ones alike) – we have good news for you. We’re back, with a vengeance, and our two-week disappearance from the face of the earth was not in vain, as we’ve been working on some stuff we think you’ll like.

Starting at home, we’ve got some great content upcoming on our main site. Starting with a review of the superhero-based MMORPG, Champions Online, at 7pm this evening, the stuff we’ve got upcoming is almost a new level in journalistic awesomesauceness. Then, we’ll have a review of Bethesda’s WET coming in the next few weeks, courtesy of Jacques; a full low-down of Wolfenstein in the form of a review from our very own Lead Editor, Mr. Meadows; beta impressions from the frontline of the MAG beta from myself; and all our usual news stuff and features which you’ve no doubt come to love.

A little further afield, we’ve got some very exciting coverage lined up for you over the next six weeks. The observant amongst you will have noticed the banner at the top of the blog, advertising our coverage of this year’s Eurogamer Expo. Well, our dedicated coverage has gone live just now, over at http://eurogamer.gamersguidetolife.com/. We’ll be covering all the ins and outs of the expo, starting today. Then, we’ll be reporting from the expo in Leeds and the first day of the London venue from 28th-30th October, before Jacques and I are live with press access from the Old Billingsgate venue in London for the last day, and undoubtedly the most exciting, of the Eurogamer Expo. Be sure not to miss it.

We’ve also been hard at work thinking up new ways to make your experience on Gamer’s Guide to Life better. As such, be ready for some drastic cosmetic changes coming to the site over the next month. We’ll also be bringing some much-needed and snazzy new features, so look out for those as well. If ever the blog experiences downtime, you can’t get on, or it looks like the staff have all died – don’t worry, we’re just all very busy doing other stuff which’ll make your experience much nicer here.

It’s good to be back.

Linford

Labels: News

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Woah - you lucky people: I've got a treat for you PS3 owners that you'd be stupid to miss. Here at GGTL, we are extremely exited for Zipper Interactive's MAG, and we have manged to bag you - our readers - a beta code from our mates at Zipper Interactive.

Yep, this is your chance to get a place in one of the biggest beta tests this side of 2010. Unfortunately, the code is only valid for EU & US PSN accounts, as it has come straight from the Penny Arcade Expo in America. These things are like gold dust, but we prevailed in finding one and now we'd like to offer you the chance to take up your weapons and see what makes this game so awesome!

We will be sending the code out to the winner by the 20th September 2009 so get ready! To win you must answer the following questions correctly. Please send your answers to win@gamersguidetolife.com and we'll choose a winner at random. Once chosen we'll email you the code. Simples.

Question 1 - What other popular franchise does zipper Interactive make?
Question 2 - What is the American release date at this moment?
Question 3 - What's your favorite blog?
Question 4 - In one of the developer diaries a number can be seen on the back of a gun. What is this number?
Question 5 - What does PMC stand for?

And that's it. Of course, you'll need to bear in mind the terms and conditions, because they're very important. Other than that, get those answers in and I hope to see you on the battlefield!

Jacques

TERMS AND CONDITIONS This beta code applies to the Massive Action Game beta, and is only valid in the United States of America and Europe. To redeem the code, you must be at least 18 years of age and must have a North American or European PlayStation Network account. Beta trial members will be under a non-disclosure agreement, and must not write about, post screenshots of, speak about or otherwise discuss the Massive Action Game beta or the contents of the beta. These terms are subject to change at any time without prior consent. The competition will close at 12:00pm noon (BST) on 20th September 2009, and a winner will be drawn from the entries at random shortly after. Entries made after the closing time will not be counted.

Labels: Beta, Giveaway, Jacques, MAG, Massive Action Game

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The final playable character in the Marvel Ultimate Allliance 2 roster has been announced, and X-Men fans are sure to appreciate the addition. It's the one and only Bobby Drake, better known to the world at large as Iceman.

A founding member of the original X-Men, Iceman has featured prominently in both the previous Ultimate Alliance, as well as in the X-Men Legends games, so his addition to MUA2 is hardly a surprise, but it sure is good news.

With this last addition, the initial roster (new characters are sure to turn up as DLC sooner or later) stands as follows:

Captain America
Daredevil
Deadpool
Green Goblin
Hulk
Human Torch
Iceman
Invisible Woman
Iron Fist
Iron Man
Jean Grey
Luke Cage
Mister Fantastic
Ms. Marvel
Penance
Songbird
Spider-Man
Storm
Thing
Thor
Venom
Wolverine
Juggernaut (available as a pre-order bonus at Amazon.co.uk and Gamestop)

With the full roster announced, there's just one thing left to decide true believers - what side will you fight for? You have until September 15th* to decide. Excelsior!

Joey

*U.S. release date. Europe is set for a Q3 2009 release.

Labels: DLC, Joey, Marvel Ultimate Alliance

If you're reading this post right now, then chances are, you're a gamer. If you're not a gamer, well, did you see the name of the website? Move along now. However, if you are a gamer, you have probably at some point in your life fantasised about being a game tester. Ah yes, the holy grail of gaming dream jobs, getting paid to test upcoming videogames. Sound interesting to you? Well, Sony is looking for someone just like you, and aiming at giving you a free pass through the front door.

Cue "The Tester", Sony's attempt at it's very own reality show (because the public still can't get enough of regular Joe's lighting up their screens), and your ticket to fifteen minutes of fame and the ultimate dream job. In The Tester, Sony will pit a group of gamers against each other in a series of tests and challenges, in order to determine who should take way the grand prize: a job as a game tester in Sony's QA department in San Diego, California.

If testing games for Sony in sunny San Diego sounds as sweet to you as it does to me, go on over to the PlayStation.Blog and register for a chance to participate. For those of you who are just fine at your current day jobs, make sure to check the PSN for episodes of The Tester this winter.

Joey

Labels: Joey, Sony, The Tester

I really want to be a superhero. I mean, really. If it were fashionable, I would go to work wearing tights and a cape. Part of me is now, and will always be, indignant at the American education system for not supporting Masked Vigilantism as an acceptable college major. So I'm obviously attracted to any games that allow me to live my fantasy, if through the fourth wall.

I've only been playing for two days, but so far Champions Online is the closest I've come to actually being a superhero, even if it is in a game. Once, in real life, I chased a mouse out of my basement with a broadsword. That was as close as I've ever actually come. Champions comes close to that. It's almost mouse worthy.

The game came out on the 1st September here in the States, and hits your European shelves on the 4th September (tomorrow!). If you've played City of Heroes, you'll have a basic idea of the gameplay in Champions. Just consider it City of Heroes, evolved. Powers are clicked or hotkeyed into use, as with most MMORPGs. Some, like the block button, must be held down during combat. It's an interesting system, simple in theory but more difficult in practice than you'd think, especially when compared to games with purely click-and-watch-what-happens systems, like World of Warcraft. The difference is crisp and refreshing.

The aesthetics of the game already have me feeling like my purchase was worthwhile. The moves are zany, the music is sweepingly epic, and the costumes are a case study in the creativity of the human brain. I constantly feel like I took a wrong turn and winded up in some kind of video game superhero-based Narnia.

So it seems amazing - but that's only after two days of play. All is usually not well in paradise. Already, I can see the possibility of repetitiveness and boredom in certain elements of the gameplay and level design. It is, after all, an MMORPG, and that's a genre famous for driving people in circles until the Ragnarok.

That being said, I'm going to wait at least a week before I post a full review on Champions. That'll give me all the time I need to give you readers a confident, well-rounded opinion. It's an MMO - you want a full review.

If you're just dying to hear more from me about the game now, just pester me with comments on this post and I'll respond. Use lots of caps lock to get my attention. It's the internet equivalent of making loud noises or shining bright, flashy lights at my pupils when I'm trying to sleep. It'll get my attention.

Greg

Labels: Champions Online, First impressions, Greg, MMO, MMORPG

Rockstar Games, the studio behind the critically-acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series, has released the first trailer for the second downloadable addition to GTA IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony. Like the previous expansion, The Lost and The Damned, players will not take control of the GTA IV protagonist Nico, nor will the story revolve around the events of GTA IV. The game puts you in the shoes of Luis Lopez, a drug dealer and bodyguard of the titular Gay Tony.

Rockstar creative director Dan Houser also recently announced that the upcoming expansion, as well as the previous downloadable installment, will be released on a stand-alone disk. The package has been named Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, and will not require the original game to be played. This bundle, as well as its downloadable counterpart, are set to be released on 29 October 2009.



Tyson

Labels: DLC, GTA4, Rockstar, Tyson

Sony sure has been full of announcements these past few months. A new slimmer, cheaper PS3; the UMDless PSPGo; Firmware 3.0 and a tidal wave of PS1 classics hitting the Playstation Store were just some of the videogame goodies which Sony has been feeding its fans. What more could a Sony fan ask for? How about some classic God of War, HD style? Our wish, Sony's command.

That's right boys and girls, Sony has announced that, due to repeated fan requests, the now-classic God of War and God of War II will be slicing and dicing a PS3 system near you this holiday season. The collection will be coming in a shiny new Blu-Ray Disc and will feature remastered graphics, with the series' famous gore and brutality now set to shock and amaze at 720p resolution.

Pretty new graphics don't cut it for you? Well, the Gods of Olympus have come prepared for you non-believers, and they offer you the almighty Trophies. I'm thinking killing your way through games 1 and 2 of the franchise should be a bit more fun when you get an extra trophy for ripping that Medusa's head off.

At $39.99, this collection is looking like a pretty sweet deal for franchise fans, who just can't wait to get their hands on God of War III next March. And for those of you who haven't experienced two of the best games the PS2 ever offered, this might be nothing short of a must buy.

No official release date yet, but we'll make sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, let us know what you think of this collection in the comments section. Gift from the Sony Gods? Or a collosal rip-off?

Joey

Labels: God of War, Joey, Releases, Sony

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Matthew Meadows
Managing Editor

Linford Butler
Lead Editor

Jacques Hulme
Associate Editor

Adam Meadows
UK Editor

Matt Brooker
US Editor

Tyson Breen
Reviews Editor


Section Editors

Lauren Wainwright
Xbox Editor

Chris Hawke
PC Editor

Sean Engemann
Nintendo Editor


Contributing Team

Joey Nunez
Special Editor

Greg Mengel
Tom Acres

via Gamer's Guide to Life.com

via Gamer's Guide to Life.com

via Gamer's Guide to Life.com

via GGTL at Eurogamer Expo 2009

via GameDaily

via Destructoid

via Destructoid