Ok so recently I have run into a huge mess. Basically losing the entire contents of your computer is a really bad thing, as I not so handily found out a couple of weeks back. First a little background as to what happened:
So I was sat there about to do a job application, talking to friends on msn and steam and all of a sudden the screen froze. Whilst I re-booted the computer I sat there thinking how typical that the computer chose to do this right when I have something important to do. Admittedly if it had been a simple crash then it would not have been a big hassle as Word would have auto saved the file at a previous point but the hassle of having to re-boot your computer (especially with Vista) always takes away valuable time anyway. Well the boot screen loaded up telling me the hard drive was damaged and needed backing up and replacing. Oddly enough the most amusing part of it all was that I couldn't get past the boot up screen as it kept telling me to re-boot the system therefore making me unable to physically back up any data. How annoying. Perhaps in future some sort of device to tell you when your hard drive is about to pack in would come in handy.
I ordered a new hard drive from dabs.com and fitted it and it runs like a dream. The computer is now in the hands of my brother as I patiently await to get my new competition win computer fixed.
I decided to go for the Western Digital 500GB Caviar Black SATA-II with 32MB cache. The drive runs really well. The OS with a few games installed on the computer, Steam and a few other programmes such as anti virus etc boots up pretty fast which is brilliant! Also there is practically no noise coming from the drive which again is perfect. Western Digital drives have clearly developed a little way since the previous Western Digital in the rig before hand which even though it was fairly quiet could still be heard when involved in taxing tasks. It will be interesting to see how the 1TB hard drive I got for my new computer compares to the 500GB and how they run a year from now.
Anyway onto the main section of this post I would seriously recommend backing up all of your data on your computer once every month at least. There are many different methods of backing up data out there including software which will take an image of your drive or my chosen method of just backing up all my documents, music, pictures etc onto an external hard drive.
I would definitely do at least a monthly back up if not a weekly one. It is definitely amazing as to how much data you can lose just after a week of adding files etc to your hard drive.
Anyway I hope this has proven a help to you readers. I am heading off into the glorious sun and heat of Turkey tomorrow evening for two weeks. Hoping to have my replacement graphics card when I get back so I can finally make a start on playing those games again! That and building a website. Amazing how much can be disrupted just by not having your own computer to use.
AJ
Friday, 31 July 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
David Cameron's Slip Up
So quick post today. Another huge one which I have slowly been working on tomorrow. So searching round the internet doing the usual thing I came across the hilarious news post about David Cameron swearing on live radio. Brilliant to be honest because who better to have as someone in Parliament representing us as the Public than someone as down to earth as him! Brilliant fun and another comment was made by Clarkson this week too about our PM. How he gets away with it I will never know but it seems he is the only one to actually be able to say the truth about things. Why does no one else state we have a country run by idiots? Well maybe they are afraid of the comebacks but end of the day we do. After all what other Countries have let their finances run into the red as much as ours? In fact I do say we would be declared bankrupt were we a company.
"Cameron added: "Oh, yeah, pissed, sorry about that, I'm really sorry. But he said people are pissed off with politicians, which they are. I think that is choice language well used personally, from my point of view."
"Cameron added: "Oh, yeah, pissed, sorry about that, I'm really sorry. But he said people are pissed off with politicians, which they are. I think that is choice language well used personally, from my point of view."
The Tory leader's press secretary responds: "No, it was the twat."
Cameron pleaded: "That's not a swear word."
His press secretary replied: 'It is.'"
AJ
Thursday, 11 June 2009
Guns loaded? Better be because BF3 is confirmed...
Yes you read right. Finally they have decided to announce the inevitable sequel and next in the series for the multiplayer PC gaming title. It would seem that EA Chief Operating Officer, John Pleasants told everyone the following at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference:
"I've had the luxury of looking at Battlefield 3 over at Dice in Sweden and was highly impressed by the way the team is working on that product," he said. "Of course, that's not [coming out] in the fiscal year, but that is a product that is looking very good."
Excellent stuff now we just need more details and a release date. Considering the so called 'leaked documents' from two years back I think we could safely say things will have changed since those were revealed in the design plans. That said I do believe the release date would be from Q3 2010 to Q1 2011 although they will probably try and hit the Christmas rush much like most games companies. I think we can also safely say the game will be set in the present day or a couple of years before or after much like Battlefield 2.
We shall just have to wait for some more details though before we speculate much more!
Need for Criterion:
At the same conference as mentioned above John Pleasants also mentioned that Criterion, the developer behind the highly successful Burnout series, have taken over the Need for Speed series from Slightly Mad Studios.
I do wonder if this is a good thing judging by how unrealistic the Burnout games are and I hope that they can turn Need for Speed into a better series with a more realistic touch to the games. I just hope they keep their Burnout series out of Need for Speed for having two of the same would just be too much. Let's hope they can push the series forward though to new heights considering the past few years lows.
Not much more news today. What with E3 having just finished it would seem not much gaming news is out there at the minute. Must say though E3 was a bit of a disappointment for me. Not a lot of PC games getting announced there apart from the already controversial Left 4 Dead 2 and most of the other news from E3 was on the consoles. That said Project Natal has huge potential and not just in gaming terms. That hardware could in years to come become the focal point of our living rooms.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
"I've had the luxury of looking at Battlefield 3 over at Dice in Sweden and was highly impressed by the way the team is working on that product," he said. "Of course, that's not [coming out] in the fiscal year, but that is a product that is looking very good."
Excellent stuff now we just need more details and a release date. Considering the so called 'leaked documents' from two years back I think we could safely say things will have changed since those were revealed in the design plans. That said I do believe the release date would be from Q3 2010 to Q1 2011 although they will probably try and hit the Christmas rush much like most games companies. I think we can also safely say the game will be set in the present day or a couple of years before or after much like Battlefield 2.
We shall just have to wait for some more details though before we speculate much more!
Need for Criterion:
At the same conference as mentioned above John Pleasants also mentioned that Criterion, the developer behind the highly successful Burnout series, have taken over the Need for Speed series from Slightly Mad Studios.
I do wonder if this is a good thing judging by how unrealistic the Burnout games are and I hope that they can turn Need for Speed into a better series with a more realistic touch to the games. I just hope they keep their Burnout series out of Need for Speed for having two of the same would just be too much. Let's hope they can push the series forward though to new heights considering the past few years lows.
Not much more news today. What with E3 having just finished it would seem not much gaming news is out there at the minute. Must say though E3 was a bit of a disappointment for me. Not a lot of PC games getting announced there apart from the already controversial Left 4 Dead 2 and most of the other news from E3 was on the consoles. That said Project Natal has huge potential and not just in gaming terms. That hardware could in years to come become the focal point of our living rooms.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Sorry for the lapse of posts... Plus an explanation!
Well as the title suggests I am about to make an apology for the recent lapse in posts to the blog. Looking at the last post it would seem I stopped in March. Not very good considering I said I wanted to do daily blogging however since then there has been a hell of a lot going on and from now onwards there will be the odd post (probably a big one on occasions when i do get time to blog) at least once a week. It seems taking on post as a rep for motorbike group really takes up a lot of your time as well as other issues.
Then the worst thing happened to me on Thursday last week. I was sat at my computer trying to write an application form for a job I was applying for and all of a sudden everything on the desktop and in Word freezes. Uh oh... To put it short I restarted the computer and I find my hard drive died. Great I lost the application form and everything up to the last back up I did. Oh well more of that in a article this week I hope.
So on to the other reasons for not being able to post as much as I hoped in the future. Basically The AAA Partnership is going to take priority over the next couple of months, basically throughout the summer whilst the development process once it gets started (waiting for programmes can delay things). Obviously it would make sense to make this a number one goal for you readers and new readers to the site once we have it up and running.
Well enough of all that hopefully an article or two this week on some subjects I have been meaning to write about. These being thought up rapidly since Thursday and the beginning of E3.
So stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled back for more interesting posts coming your way soon.
AJ
P.S: By soon I do actually mean soon not like 2 months from now...
Then the worst thing happened to me on Thursday last week. I was sat at my computer trying to write an application form for a job I was applying for and all of a sudden everything on the desktop and in Word freezes. Uh oh... To put it short I restarted the computer and I find my hard drive died. Great I lost the application form and everything up to the last back up I did. Oh well more of that in a article this week I hope.
So on to the other reasons for not being able to post as much as I hoped in the future. Basically The AAA Partnership is going to take priority over the next couple of months, basically throughout the summer whilst the development process once it gets started (waiting for programmes can delay things). Obviously it would make sense to make this a number one goal for you readers and new readers to the site once we have it up and running.
Well enough of all that hopefully an article or two this week on some subjects I have been meaning to write about. These being thought up rapidly since Thursday and the beginning of E3.
So stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled back for more interesting posts coming your way soon.
AJ
P.S: By soon I do actually mean soon not like 2 months from now...
Friday, 20 March 2009
Are EA feeling alright?
Odd this. EA have announced that they will be releasing a new multiplayer mode as DLC for The Godfather 2 on the day it ships which will be free. Free, what from EA? Yes apparently so. The new DLC which will enable Don Control in multiplayer.
Wow along with all this they have released screenshots which can be viewed here.
Damn good of a company who only half a year ago were polluting us all with DRM games which they have relaxed a little on, charging for DLC and releasing poorly made games which felt only half finished. Perhaps this will turn out to be a new page in the history of EA. Would be nice to think so.
The Godfather 2 is set for release on April 7th 2009 on PC, Xbox 360 and the PS3.
Starcraft 2 beta sign-up begins:
Blizzard have recently relaunched their online hub for their games www.battle.net and for anyone who signs up to the new site you will have the option to be able to participate in their Starcraft 2 beta. People will be chosen at random from this however as of yet there has been no date for either the beta or the release of the game. If you remember earlier on this year it was mentioned about how only one game in development would be released this year. Judging by the beta only just starting with sign-ups I would suggest this would be Diablo 3 as I previously mentioned (You can view the post here).
No co-op for Bioshock 2:
2K have dispelled rumours which have been flying round the internet about there potentially being a co-op mode for the sequel to Bioshock by stating:
"There won't be any spliced-up rhinos, Soviet invasions, or co-op, but you may very well see a Big Daddy or two."
Interesting there was speculation about all of those mentioned but nice to see that the Big Daddy will be making a return to the game as there were at first doubts as to whether the Big Daddy was to be replaced by the Big Sister.
Blizzard have also confirmed that they will be releasing the game simultaneously on all platforms these including the PC, Xbox 360 and the PS3. Nice of them to do it in once go unlike with the first game where they delayed the PS3 version until later although that did provide us with a nice teaser for the sequel to the second game which can be viewed below.
You can also view the video here in case it does not show.
Riddick 3:
On a side note quickly. For those of you who saw Friday night with Jonathan Ross tonight you may have noticed that Vin Diesel was being interviewed. In the interview he mentioned that the script for the next Riddick film has been completed and that they are hoping to start filming early next year! Brilliant news in my opinion and let us hope that it will follow through with the atmosphere of the first two films yet still keep the unique aspect of the series.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Wow along with all this they have released screenshots which can be viewed here.
Damn good of a company who only half a year ago were polluting us all with DRM games which they have relaxed a little on, charging for DLC and releasing poorly made games which felt only half finished. Perhaps this will turn out to be a new page in the history of EA. Would be nice to think so.
The Godfather 2 is set for release on April 7th 2009 on PC, Xbox 360 and the PS3.
Starcraft 2 beta sign-up begins:
Blizzard have recently relaunched their online hub for their games www.battle.net and for anyone who signs up to the new site you will have the option to be able to participate in their Starcraft 2 beta. People will be chosen at random from this however as of yet there has been no date for either the beta or the release of the game. If you remember earlier on this year it was mentioned about how only one game in development would be released this year. Judging by the beta only just starting with sign-ups I would suggest this would be Diablo 3 as I previously mentioned (You can view the post here).
No co-op for Bioshock 2:
2K have dispelled rumours which have been flying round the internet about there potentially being a co-op mode for the sequel to Bioshock by stating:
"There won't be any spliced-up rhinos, Soviet invasions, or co-op, but you may very well see a Big Daddy or two."
Interesting there was speculation about all of those mentioned but nice to see that the Big Daddy will be making a return to the game as there were at first doubts as to whether the Big Daddy was to be replaced by the Big Sister.
Blizzard have also confirmed that they will be releasing the game simultaneously on all platforms these including the PC, Xbox 360 and the PS3. Nice of them to do it in once go unlike with the first game where they delayed the PS3 version until later although that did provide us with a nice teaser for the sequel to the second game which can be viewed below.
You can also view the video here in case it does not show.
Riddick 3:
On a side note quickly. For those of you who saw Friday night with Jonathan Ross tonight you may have noticed that Vin Diesel was being interviewed. In the interview he mentioned that the script for the next Riddick film has been completed and that they are hoping to start filming early next year! Brilliant news in my opinion and let us hope that it will follow through with the atmosphere of the first two films yet still keep the unique aspect of the series.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Thursday, 19 March 2009
You might be wondering...
As to why this week has been a bit on and off with the blog posts. I do have a fairly good reason/reasons but I shall put those off and just let you know what I am hoping to do in the short future dependent on time.
Basically I am planning on doing the normal week-day posts which will involve the round up of interesting news items as found on the internet. These will be gaming related for the foreseeable future. The weekends or at least one day over the weekend I am hoping to start doing a weekend feature of sorts on a specific topic and my thoughts on it. As ever the week-day posts will also have this attached to them too.
If you have previously seen in a previous post (or if you have not please click here to view it) you may remember be mentioning about the You Tube project I had in mind. This should surface over the summer however it will again be dependent on the amount of time i have between now and then.
That is actually all for now. This is as I said due to varying reasons why I have not posted recently but please be sure to check back tomorrow for more news!
AJ
Basically I am planning on doing the normal week-day posts which will involve the round up of interesting news items as found on the internet. These will be gaming related for the foreseeable future. The weekends or at least one day over the weekend I am hoping to start doing a weekend feature of sorts on a specific topic and my thoughts on it. As ever the week-day posts will also have this attached to them too.
If you have previously seen in a previous post (or if you have not please click here to view it) you may remember be mentioning about the You Tube project I had in mind. This should surface over the summer however it will again be dependent on the amount of time i have between now and then.
That is actually all for now. This is as I said due to varying reasons why I have not posted recently but please be sure to check back tomorrow for more news!
AJ
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Why so serious?
Stealth! That is the main subject of the next video to come from Eidos (being developed by Rocksteady Studios) for their upcoming game, Batman: Arkham Asylum. This can be viewed below.
Now onto the subject of the video. As I stated above the video focuses on the element of using stealth to kill or incapaciatate your enemies inside Arkham Asylum which has been overtaken by the Joker. The graphics look brilliant, the game play looks brilliant and the moves which you seem to be able to perform look oddly like something Riddick would do. Strange but it looks pretty good coming from that perspective.
So if you like the look of the video below then be sure to pick up the game coming soon on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360!
You can also view the video here in case it does not show.
Operation Wolfenstein gets leaked:
22 screenshots which have been claimed to be taken from the multiplayer side of Wolfenstein which is currently being developed by Activision. The screenshots look surprisingly good however the only thing which confirms they are from the next game in the Wolfenstein series is the Wolfenstein logo in the bottom right corner. Does this confirm that they are from the game? Potentially although Activision have seemingly denied that these have been approved by them or distributed.
You can view the screenshots here.
DLC Achievement now unlocked for Steam:
Today Valve have announced that developers can now add DLC to games using the Steam platform. Wow this is a big step you might suggest. I think so too and in all honesty probably a good move for them as it may push for more developers to put their games and DLC onto Steam. Constantly expanding Valve are providing more and more services, the majority of them free of charge, to both developers and gamers alike available for use on Steam.
The celebrate this next advancement in the development of Steam, The Maw will be the first game to release DLC via Steam.
Valve also had the following to add about the DLC:
"DLC can now be added to any game on Steam, regardless of whether it was originally purchased via Steam, at retail, or via other digital outlets. It is also a feature of Steamworks, the suite of free tools and services available to game developers and publishers."
Again a pretty damn interesting proposal for the leading digital platform for PC gamers. As I said before this could see more developers heading towards Steam and let us all hope so too except with lower prices than they currently are putting games on there for...
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Now onto the subject of the video. As I stated above the video focuses on the element of using stealth to kill or incapaciatate your enemies inside Arkham Asylum which has been overtaken by the Joker. The graphics look brilliant, the game play looks brilliant and the moves which you seem to be able to perform look oddly like something Riddick would do. Strange but it looks pretty good coming from that perspective.
So if you like the look of the video below then be sure to pick up the game coming soon on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360!
You can also view the video here in case it does not show.
Operation Wolfenstein gets leaked:
22 screenshots which have been claimed to be taken from the multiplayer side of Wolfenstein which is currently being developed by Activision. The screenshots look surprisingly good however the only thing which confirms they are from the next game in the Wolfenstein series is the Wolfenstein logo in the bottom right corner. Does this confirm that they are from the game? Potentially although Activision have seemingly denied that these have been approved by them or distributed.
You can view the screenshots here.
DLC Achievement now unlocked for Steam:
Today Valve have announced that developers can now add DLC to games using the Steam platform. Wow this is a big step you might suggest. I think so too and in all honesty probably a good move for them as it may push for more developers to put their games and DLC onto Steam. Constantly expanding Valve are providing more and more services, the majority of them free of charge, to both developers and gamers alike available for use on Steam.
The celebrate this next advancement in the development of Steam, The Maw will be the first game to release DLC via Steam.
Valve also had the following to add about the DLC:
"DLC can now be added to any game on Steam, regardless of whether it was originally purchased via Steam, at retail, or via other digital outlets. It is also a feature of Steamworks, the suite of free tools and services available to game developers and publishers."
Again a pretty damn interesting proposal for the leading digital platform for PC gamers. As I said before this could see more developers heading towards Steam and let us all hope so too except with lower prices than they currently are putting games on there for...
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
The weather today in fuel...
Looks pretty damn amazing. Codemasters have released a weather gameplay video for their upcoming open world racer, Fuel as well as some new screenshots. They show us how lightning, rain, snow and tornadoes will look in the game and how they could impact on how you play the game. Look pretty good to me so far and so do all of the previous Fuel videos we have seen. This could be a damn good racing game and let us hope that Codemasters deliver on this one just as much as they did with Grid.
You can view the video below and the game is coming out on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on 15th May 2009.
You can also view the video here in case it does not show along with the new screenshots released by Codemasters.
You be the Don:
According to the new video which has been released by EA for The Godfather 2 you can be the Don and you choose how you want to play the game. This shows you a little more about how the game will work without having to read any text on their website. Looks pretty interesting and the explosions somehow look awesome compared to the rest of the game graphics. Mind you looks like this is getting to be a game which we may not want to miss after all...
Also just wanted to add as to how ironic it was that M_the_C commented on the post yesterday about The Godfather 2 and today they released another trailer. Brilliant timing or what!
You can also view the video here in case it does not show.
Tonight it is a short post but you can blame that on Blood Diamond being pretty good and so long. A damn good film but it is late however hopefully I shall do a small article for you all to enjoy on Friday as I have the day off!
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
You can view the video below and the game is coming out on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on 15th May 2009.
You can also view the video here in case it does not show along with the new screenshots released by Codemasters.
You be the Don:
According to the new video which has been released by EA for The Godfather 2 you can be the Don and you choose how you want to play the game. This shows you a little more about how the game will work without having to read any text on their website. Looks pretty interesting and the explosions somehow look awesome compared to the rest of the game graphics. Mind you looks like this is getting to be a game which we may not want to miss after all...
Also just wanted to add as to how ironic it was that M_the_C commented on the post yesterday about The Godfather 2 and today they released another trailer. Brilliant timing or what!
You can also view the video here in case it does not show.
Tonight it is a short post but you can blame that on Blood Diamond being pretty good and so long. A damn good film but it is late however hopefully I shall do a small article for you all to enjoy on Friday as I have the day off!
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Riddick is back
Starbreeze have released a developer diary video today on their upcoming game Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. This looks fantastic so far with the game play elements looking to really put you into the game and feel immersed. This could be a giant leap for the series as not only are they releasing in one game the Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena but also the re-worked original Escape from Butcher Bay which is just fantastic. To top it all off we even get to hear the voicing from Vin Diesel himself. A bargain!
Play as Riddick on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 from April 24th 2009.
Empire Total War has marched to number 1!
Congratulations are in order to Creative Assembly for making this superb game. The latest title in the series has just made it number one in the sales charts beating Killzone 2 by a whopping 1600 units and it only came out last week! Also another milestone achievement for the Developer is that this title is the fastest selling one in the series to date.
The chart has not had a PC exclusive game at the number 1 spot for a year and a half before today too.
No 2009 release for Rage:
Todd Hollenshead, CEO of ID Software has today announced that Rage will not be released this year. Perhaps they will be looking for a 2010 release?
We do know however that ID Software will not release any games until they are finished to perfection. This is brilliant of a Developer to still do this. Mind you they never really put a release date on the game so we probably were not expecting it this year anyway.
Godfather 2 has gone gold:
EA have announced that their sequel to the Godfather, Godfather 2 has gone gold and will be released on April 10th 2009. The game which sees you playing as a mobster who is recruited by the Corleone family to set up business in New York, Miami and Cuba by any means necessary will introduce a different kind of gameplay element to the original and play out more like the PSP version of the Godfather game. This involved you having to take over rackets in order to become the most powerful Don. Sounds interesting and hopefully it will deliver to be another great game in EA's U-turn of quality for games.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Play as Riddick on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 from April 24th 2009.
Empire Total War has marched to number 1!
Congratulations are in order to Creative Assembly for making this superb game. The latest title in the series has just made it number one in the sales charts beating Killzone 2 by a whopping 1600 units and it only came out last week! Also another milestone achievement for the Developer is that this title is the fastest selling one in the series to date.
The chart has not had a PC exclusive game at the number 1 spot for a year and a half before today too.
No 2009 release for Rage:
Todd Hollenshead, CEO of ID Software has today announced that Rage will not be released this year. Perhaps they will be looking for a 2010 release?
We do know however that ID Software will not release any games until they are finished to perfection. This is brilliant of a Developer to still do this. Mind you they never really put a release date on the game so we probably were not expecting it this year anyway.
Godfather 2 has gone gold:
EA have announced that their sequel to the Godfather, Godfather 2 has gone gold and will be released on April 10th 2009. The game which sees you playing as a mobster who is recruited by the Corleone family to set up business in New York, Miami and Cuba by any means necessary will introduce a different kind of gameplay element to the original and play out more like the PSP version of the Godfather game. This involved you having to take over rackets in order to become the most powerful Don. Sounds interesting and hopefully it will deliver to be another great game in EA's U-turn of quality for games.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Friday, 6 March 2009
More The Wheelman screens drive our way
Ubisoft have released 11 more screenshots of in game footage for The Wheelman which is due to come out on the 27th March 2009 on PC, Xbox 360 and the PS3. The game stars Vin Diesel voicing the main character whom you play as. The screenshots look pretty good to me.
You can view the screenshots here courtesy of CVG.
Play as the band to Guitar Hero 1, 2 & 3:
Activision have announced another expansion type game called Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits. This will include 48 famous and infamous songs from Guitar Hero 1, 2, 3 and Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Nothing has been released yet as to what the tracks will be but considering there are 4 games prior to the release of Guitar Hero: World Tour it sounds like only a few from each game will make it into the latest game by Activision. This is however good news for those fans who want to rock as a band playing along to some of the songs features in previous games. So far Activision have not released any of their back catalogue of songs from previous Guitar Hero games unlike the Rock Band series which has made all tracks playable on all titles in the series.
Personally I think this is great news as having played Guitar Hero 3 I would love to have some of the songs available to play on Guitar Hero: World Tour as a band. This will most probably be one of the few 'expansion packs' to the series I will actually get.
The trailer looks a little naff to be honest as all it shows us is some writing on screen and no in game shots or sequences. At the end though it does state to visit the website (http://www.guitarhero.com/) to choose which songs are revelealed next. Perhaps this means we will be able to choose as to what we would like to see in Greatest Hits.
Along with this announcement Activision kindly released a debut trailer for the new title too which is viewable below:
You can also view the video here in case it does not show.
The game is coming out in June 2009.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
You can view the screenshots here courtesy of CVG.
Play as the band to Guitar Hero 1, 2 & 3:
Activision have announced another expansion type game called Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits. This will include 48 famous and infamous songs from Guitar Hero 1, 2, 3 and Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Nothing has been released yet as to what the tracks will be but considering there are 4 games prior to the release of Guitar Hero: World Tour it sounds like only a few from each game will make it into the latest game by Activision. This is however good news for those fans who want to rock as a band playing along to some of the songs features in previous games. So far Activision have not released any of their back catalogue of songs from previous Guitar Hero games unlike the Rock Band series which has made all tracks playable on all titles in the series.
Personally I think this is great news as having played Guitar Hero 3 I would love to have some of the songs available to play on Guitar Hero: World Tour as a band. This will most probably be one of the few 'expansion packs' to the series I will actually get.
The trailer looks a little naff to be honest as all it shows us is some writing on screen and no in game shots or sequences. At the end though it does state to visit the website (http://www.guitarhero.com/) to choose which songs are revelealed next. Perhaps this means we will be able to choose as to what we would like to see in Greatest Hits.
Along with this announcement Activision kindly released a debut trailer for the new title too which is viewable below:
You can also view the video here in case it does not show.
The game is coming out in June 2009.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG).
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Bullshit says Bowling from Infinity Ward
Yes you read it correctly. Bowling from Infinity Ward had the following to say about the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 leak yesterday:
"It didn't come from anyone who has access to our internal builds and indeed contains several features that are already in CoD4 such as grass camo for snipers. In short, it's BS".
Nice of them to come clean about it. To be honest though when you looked at the list it all looked like guesses anyway plus the information in that 'leak' made the game look more like Call of Duty: World at War to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare than another leap for the series which would be a shame. I hope that Infinity Ward deliver as much development in the gameplay as in Modern Warfare 2. This would surely cement itself for yet more awards and they have already promised us it will be the most anticipated game of 2009.
All aircraft for PC are grounded for another week:
Ubisoft have just announced that Hawx for the PC will be delayed by another week and instead be coming out on the 20th March 2009. They have offered no explanation for the sudden delay. If you remember they also delayed the PC version of Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway in order to fix a bug so perhaps this will be the reason for the delay.
New Screens hit The Pitt:
New screenshots of the upcoming DLC, Fallout 3: The Pitt have been released today from Bethesda. These look pretty good to me and the DLC is set for release on the 24th March 2009. See the screenshots below.
Bioshock 2 first news has risen from the sea:
Bioshock 2 first news has risen from the sea:The teaser website for Bioshock 2: The Sea of Dreams has emerged showing us some of the first details about the second game in the series. Bioshock 2 is to take place 7 years after the first game and is a pleasant surprise as there was a lot of speculation that Bioshock 2 would instead be a prequel.
The site shows a world map with some scribbled writing. Above the writing there are a series of 3 items which once selected show a picture of a doll which looks very similar to a Big Daddy but improved. Another is a newspaper cutting about the disappearance of a 7 year old girl. An extract is provided below:
"Local fisherman Eamon Clune, 44, and his wife Charlotte (32) were awoken by the sudden shattering of a window in the front room," a document on the site reads. "Moments later, his daughter Maura, age 7, screamed. Mr Clune rushed to investigate the noise only to notice the unknown attacker racing out of the broken window with incredible speed."
It goes on further to describe the attacker:
"Due to the moonless night, Clune was unable to provide a description of the assailant. He notes that the attacker was thin, above average height and wore some kind of red light."
This description seems to provide the basis for perhaps an evolved Big Daddy and this is further backed up by the picture of the doll resembling what appears to be a Big Daddy. In the original game the Big Daddy's were large and rather slow.
The third item is a letter from a J. Lynch with some red writing on the letter written by another person. No clues as to who this could have been.
AJ
Monday, 2 March 2009
Warning: Quake Live is Packed
Well apparently the free to play online in your browser remake of Quake 3 Arena has been a pretty big success for ID Software. When the beta went live last week there were queues of people waiting to play the game anywhere between 20,000-50,000 people. Wow all that for a free to play game? Wonder if Battlefield Heroes will have the same effect on people. Which apparently should be released sometime this year although that has not been confirmed yet.
Anyway back to Quake Live: ID have stated that they will be making their top priority the reduction of the queues. Clearly this is a huge problem for potential players as no one wants to spend all their time waiting for a game to load, even a free one.
This brings me nicely onto the subject of online free to play browser games. How do they work you might ask? Well let me answer you. Basically by micrpayments and in game advertisements. As this is a relatively new way of delivering games to people this is still quite a new thing for the games industry. The way that these in game purchases of items for your characters and the advertisements is something which has yet to be fine tuned and as to whether it will ensure the game is successful is another matter altogether.
We have however already seen in game advertisements for games, for example the most recent one I have come across is Burnout Paradise. They have billboards dotted round the city usually depicting adverts for 'Real Life' products/services as you would normally see when driving around in 'Real Life'. This works great in a modern game however would be work in the fantasy genre or WW2? If they could disquise it all to that era/setting then it could work rather well.
Need For Speed: World Online:
Today EA have released the first image of their new title Need for Speed: World Online which is set to be released in the far East by the end of the year followed by us Westerners shortly after. Well please find the image below which shows us some of the interface, the world, an in-game map and some other features. Looks rather snazzy to me although we shall have to wait and see as to whether this will sell as the recent Need for Speed games have not exactly been the best of games but time will tell and I would be interested to see as to how this will compare to other racing games at the time.
Hawx - Flying the skies with your friends (or foes):
On Friday Ubisoft released the video viewable by clicking here showing the multiplayer aspect of their new game in the Tom Clancy franchise: Hawx which is an air combat simulator coming out on the PC on the 13th March 2009 and Xbox 360 and PS3 on the 6th March 2009.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG) for providing the screenshot.
Anyway back to Quake Live: ID have stated that they will be making their top priority the reduction of the queues. Clearly this is a huge problem for potential players as no one wants to spend all their time waiting for a game to load, even a free one.
This brings me nicely onto the subject of online free to play browser games. How do they work you might ask? Well let me answer you. Basically by micrpayments and in game advertisements. As this is a relatively new way of delivering games to people this is still quite a new thing for the games industry. The way that these in game purchases of items for your characters and the advertisements is something which has yet to be fine tuned and as to whether it will ensure the game is successful is another matter altogether.
We have however already seen in game advertisements for games, for example the most recent one I have come across is Burnout Paradise. They have billboards dotted round the city usually depicting adverts for 'Real Life' products/services as you would normally see when driving around in 'Real Life'. This works great in a modern game however would be work in the fantasy genre or WW2? If they could disquise it all to that era/setting then it could work rather well.
Need For Speed: World Online:
Today EA have released the first image of their new title Need for Speed: World Online which is set to be released in the far East by the end of the year followed by us Westerners shortly after. Well please find the image below which shows us some of the interface, the world, an in-game map and some other features. Looks rather snazzy to me although we shall have to wait and see as to whether this will sell as the recent Need for Speed games have not exactly been the best of games but time will tell and I would be interested to see as to how this will compare to other racing games at the time.
Hawx - Flying the skies with your friends (or foes):
On Friday Ubisoft released the video viewable by clicking here showing the multiplayer aspect of their new game in the Tom Clancy franchise: Hawx which is an air combat simulator coming out on the PC on the 13th March 2009 and Xbox 360 and PS3 on the 6th March 2009.
AJ
With thanks to Computer and Video Games (CVG) for providing the screenshot.
Saturday, 28 February 2009
The Don is back
First of all for today's blog post I have to apologise for not writing here in a few days. Had to do job application and also spent the last 2 days unlocking scout achievements in Team Fortress 2 so I can report back to you about what the new weapons are like. More on those later.
The Don is back:
As mentioned in the title the Don is back in the form of The Godfather 2 coming from Electronic Arts (EA). This is due to be released on April 10th 2009 on PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC. They have released a new trailer viewable below today and this basically shows you how the business rackets work. How to take them and buy gaining them what benefits you get from them. Quite interesting video and actually makes you want to consider getting the game unlike the previous videos we have seen from EA.
EA beam down another video:
EA have also released another video today which is from their upcoming expansion Spore: Galactic Adventures for their 2008 title Spore. This video shows us just some of the many missions which will be available from the purchase of the expansion to play and is basically an add on pack to the space age section of the game. Interesting video and it just shows how much the space age could have been improved from the start but this look like it could be a good buy if you felt you did not get the best out of the space age in Spore.
Rock from March:
Last year saw the release of Guitar Heroes 4 on the Wii and all the other major platforms and we also saw the release of Rock Band 2 on the Xbox 360 too. Today Rock Band 2 has been dated for the PS3, PS2 and the Wii.
PS3 and PS2 owners will see the game released on March 27th with the game coming to the Wii on April 24th.
Will it be worth the wait? Well we shall just have to see but from a knowing a 360 owner who has the game it should be.
Boink!
With regards to the new Scout update for Team Fortress 2 please check back to the blog tomorrow and see what it is all about. See the pros and cons of the new update for Team Fortress 2.
AJ
The Don is back:
As mentioned in the title the Don is back in the form of The Godfather 2 coming from Electronic Arts (EA). This is due to be released on April 10th 2009 on PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC. They have released a new trailer viewable below today and this basically shows you how the business rackets work. How to take them and buy gaining them what benefits you get from them. Quite interesting video and actually makes you want to consider getting the game unlike the previous videos we have seen from EA.
EA beam down another video:
EA have also released another video today which is from their upcoming expansion Spore: Galactic Adventures for their 2008 title Spore. This video shows us just some of the many missions which will be available from the purchase of the expansion to play and is basically an add on pack to the space age section of the game. Interesting video and it just shows how much the space age could have been improved from the start but this look like it could be a good buy if you felt you did not get the best out of the space age in Spore.
Rock from March:
Last year saw the release of Guitar Heroes 4 on the Wii and all the other major platforms and we also saw the release of Rock Band 2 on the Xbox 360 too. Today Rock Band 2 has been dated for the PS3, PS2 and the Wii.
PS3 and PS2 owners will see the game released on March 27th with the game coming to the Wii on April 24th.
Will it be worth the wait? Well we shall just have to see but from a knowing a 360 owner who has the game it should be.
Boink!
With regards to the new Scout update for Team Fortress 2 please check back to the blog tomorrow and see what it is all about. See the pros and cons of the new update for Team Fortress 2.
AJ
Sunday, 22 February 2009
New You Tube Project
For those of you who have visited and viewed my You Tube channel AJB123644 you may have noticed that I have not updated it for a while now. I wish to change this and have a project in mind however I am going to below detail a few ideas in the hope that you readers will be able to give me some feedback on my idea.
The Pitch:
Basically the show will be posted once a week on a day as yet to be decided on You Tube. The show is to be themed round a news based programme where all the weeks news is rounded up into one place with the odd comedy added in for good measure. The show would be mainly based around gaming although would at times if something interesting came up have highlighted topics from general news items.
The show would also feature parts dedicated about upcoming games, viewpoints on these and more.
So any more thoughts you could suggest or maybe just give an opinion on the whole pitch. Would love to hear what you all have to say about the idea and I would like to get it up and running in the summer by doing a couple of one off videos with which to see how people react.
Also just a quick note that there will be no post tomorrow as I am off to a concert tomorrow night therefore will have no access to a computer from home until Tuesday.
AJ
The Pitch:
Basically the show will be posted once a week on a day as yet to be decided on You Tube. The show is to be themed round a news based programme where all the weeks news is rounded up into one place with the odd comedy added in for good measure. The show would be mainly based around gaming although would at times if something interesting came up have highlighted topics from general news items.
The show would also feature parts dedicated about upcoming games, viewpoints on these and more.
So any more thoughts you could suggest or maybe just give an opinion on the whole pitch. Would love to hear what you all have to say about the idea and I would like to get it up and running in the summer by doing a couple of one off videos with which to see how people react.
Also just a quick note that there will be no post tomorrow as I am off to a concert tomorrow night therefore will have no access to a computer from home until Tuesday.
AJ
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Codies Friday Frenzy!
Yesterday Codemasters had a huge release day for new screenshots and videos for various games coming up in the next few months. Considering we have so far for all the releases had very little in the form of media up until yesterday it seemed like it was a good day to be releasing everything and with the games coming out between now and the end of summer this year things are looking set to be a good summer. I say shut out the sunlight and turn on that PC or console. So let's take a look at some of the games coming out from Codemasters this summer.
For the official Codemasters web pages for the games please click on the game name to go there.
Overlord 2:
Codemasters have released a trailer and a bunch of screenshots for the sequel to Overlord which came out in 2007. This time round it sees you taking control of a new Overlord commanding an army of even more powerful minions. You are taking on the might of the Glorious Empire. A Roman styled faction.
The trailer is available to view here on the CVG website along with the new screenshots. The trailer looks pretty good and it looks like once again you will be causing a lot of mayhem. Overlord 2 is set to be released in June this year.
Jumpgate Evolution:
New trailer out for this space MMO along with more screenshots of the game. This is set to be different to Eve Online in the way that it is a lot more simplistic. You control your ship in real time much like a driving game. It is in effect designed to have the FPS characteristics of a shooting game but set in an MMO universe. This looks set to be ery exciting indeed but as to whether it will be able to compete with Eve Online only time will tell although there should be no real problem there as Eve Online is a highly complex game when compared to other MMO's on the market.
Jumpgate Evolution is set to be released in June this year. You can view the trailer and screenshots here.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising:
Sequel to Operation Flashpoint this is set to go up against Arma 2 this year which in itself be interesting to see how the two games compare and as to which one will come out on top. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a military conflict simulator which Codemasters have enabled to be as sandbox a game as possible. You can choose from many different roles to play in the Modern US Army which is the faction you will be playing for in the game where you are assaulting an island held by the Chinese.
They have made this game incredibly detailed. The trailer shows you the lighting effects, the character models and the day/night cycle and it looks really impressive. This is one game not to miss if you are into Military Combat Simulaters.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is going to be an intense shooter but as to how well it will perform when it compares to Arma 2 we will only have to wait and see.
New trailer has been released along with screenshots and these can be viewed here and is due for release in March this year.
FUEL:
This 5000 square mile open racing game is set to create a unique driving experience like no other. No other game has tried to create such a large environment and on top of all of that they even have real time weather effects which can and will affect the way you race!
I did more on the game in a previous post which can be read here.
They have released a new trailer not long after having released one a few weeks back along with more screenshots. The details again look brilliant and with a draw distance of 40km this should be breathtaking. View the trailer and screenshots here with the game due to be released in May this year.
In all looks like Codemasters have a pretty good line up of games due to be released over the summer which might I add is a brilliant time to release as so few new games are coming out at this time of year. Codemasters have thus far delivered well with games such as Racedriver Grid and hopefully these releases will rocket Codemasters into a league of its own and with the quality a gamer wants.
AJ
For the official Codemasters web pages for the games please click on the game name to go there.
Overlord 2:
Codemasters have released a trailer and a bunch of screenshots for the sequel to Overlord which came out in 2007. This time round it sees you taking control of a new Overlord commanding an army of even more powerful minions. You are taking on the might of the Glorious Empire. A Roman styled faction.
The trailer is available to view here on the CVG website along with the new screenshots. The trailer looks pretty good and it looks like once again you will be causing a lot of mayhem. Overlord 2 is set to be released in June this year.
Jumpgate Evolution:
New trailer out for this space MMO along with more screenshots of the game. This is set to be different to Eve Online in the way that it is a lot more simplistic. You control your ship in real time much like a driving game. It is in effect designed to have the FPS characteristics of a shooting game but set in an MMO universe. This looks set to be ery exciting indeed but as to whether it will be able to compete with Eve Online only time will tell although there should be no real problem there as Eve Online is a highly complex game when compared to other MMO's on the market.
Jumpgate Evolution is set to be released in June this year. You can view the trailer and screenshots here.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising:
Sequel to Operation Flashpoint this is set to go up against Arma 2 this year which in itself be interesting to see how the two games compare and as to which one will come out on top. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a military conflict simulator which Codemasters have enabled to be as sandbox a game as possible. You can choose from many different roles to play in the Modern US Army which is the faction you will be playing for in the game where you are assaulting an island held by the Chinese.
They have made this game incredibly detailed. The trailer shows you the lighting effects, the character models and the day/night cycle and it looks really impressive. This is one game not to miss if you are into Military Combat Simulaters.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is going to be an intense shooter but as to how well it will perform when it compares to Arma 2 we will only have to wait and see.
New trailer has been released along with screenshots and these can be viewed here and is due for release in March this year.
FUEL:
This 5000 square mile open racing game is set to create a unique driving experience like no other. No other game has tried to create such a large environment and on top of all of that they even have real time weather effects which can and will affect the way you race!
I did more on the game in a previous post which can be read here.
They have released a new trailer not long after having released one a few weeks back along with more screenshots. The details again look brilliant and with a draw distance of 40km this should be breathtaking. View the trailer and screenshots here with the game due to be released in May this year.
In all looks like Codemasters have a pretty good line up of games due to be released over the summer which might I add is a brilliant time to release as so few new games are coming out at this time of year. Codemasters have thus far delivered well with games such as Racedriver Grid and hopefully these releases will rocket Codemasters into a league of its own and with the quality a gamer wants.
AJ
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Boink! It's almost here!
On Tuesday Valve announced the next update for the Scout will be released next Tuesday (24th February 2009) via their Team Fortress 2 blog. As is the case with previous TF2 updates they are releasing a sneak preview of what is to come day by day until the launch.
So far they have told us about the Sandman which is a new kind of bat. This bat is pretty special and adds the ability to smack baseballs at the enemy team which in turn he gets stunned however the drawback is that you cannot double jump whilst this is being used.
Wednesday (yesterday) they announced the release of another two community maps. One being a new Arena map called Watchtower which basically is high up combat and with a lot of sniping potential, something which is lacking in the other Arena maps. The second community made map is to be a Control Point map and is based around sharop corners and short lines of sight. Both of these maps should be interesting to play.
Today Valve have announced the 'Bonk' Energy Drink and a list of the names of the 35 new achievements for the Scout. The Energy Drink will give you a few second rush of energy. Presumably by energy they mean speed. Again another interesting weapon.
So far it looks like the new Scout update will change the way the Scout is to be played entirely. By introducing a long range weapon it could make the matches interesting and by stunning people even more so. The rest of the updates we can expect to see will most likely involve a new game mode which Valve have promised us.
Tonight I have a little story for you all. I was on my way to my guitar lesson tonight when all of a sudden the motorbike broke down a mile from home. Deciding it was not worth the hassle of calling out recovery I decided to push it home. I must say it was rather amusing but ultimately it is a good work out. If you wish to get fit I would recommend pushing a 120kg motorbike plus fuel!
AJ
So far they have told us about the Sandman which is a new kind of bat. This bat is pretty special and adds the ability to smack baseballs at the enemy team which in turn he gets stunned however the drawback is that you cannot double jump whilst this is being used.
Wednesday (yesterday) they announced the release of another two community maps. One being a new Arena map called Watchtower which basically is high up combat and with a lot of sniping potential, something which is lacking in the other Arena maps. The second community made map is to be a Control Point map and is based around sharop corners and short lines of sight. Both of these maps should be interesting to play.
Today Valve have announced the 'Bonk' Energy Drink and a list of the names of the 35 new achievements for the Scout. The Energy Drink will give you a few second rush of energy. Presumably by energy they mean speed. Again another interesting weapon.
So far it looks like the new Scout update will change the way the Scout is to be played entirely. By introducing a long range weapon it could make the matches interesting and by stunning people even more so. The rest of the updates we can expect to see will most likely involve a new game mode which Valve have promised us.
Tonight I have a little story for you all. I was on my way to my guitar lesson tonight when all of a sudden the motorbike broke down a mile from home. Deciding it was not worth the hassle of calling out recovery I decided to push it home. I must say it was rather amusing but ultimately it is a good work out. If you wish to get fit I would recommend pushing a 120kg motorbike plus fuel!
AJ
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Modern Warfare 2 needs you!
Recently Infinity Ward, the developers of the highly successful Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare launched their Twitter page. So today they have asked people the following:
"Name one thing you'd like to see in Modern Warfare 2?"
Seems like they really want to get Modern Warfare the best they can this year and with the previous statement saying that this is "to be a very exciting year for the franchise as we expect this year's launch is likely going to be the most anticipated title of all of 2009". Perhaps they will be right after all. Most game developers which get involved with the community such as the Team Fortress 2 team for their updates. These are great and always play well with the community because they listen to some extent as to what their fans want. Hopefully Modern Warfare 2 will be more successful than Modern Warfare 1 and that was pretty damn good anyway!
My question though is whether they will be updating the graphics and engine for the game and introduce new features like the last time. It will be interesting to see whether they do or not as the direction they took with that for Modern Warfare 1 was what made it so popular with the new innovative features sending fans crazy.
You can view more details on this here.
In other news it seems that Microsoft are in talks with the Israel company 3DV Systems. They are a 3D video imaging and motion-sensing technology company. Microsoft are reportedly going to buy the company for 35 million US Dollars. Hefty sum of money if you ask me!
This all seems to have stemmed from the Wii's brilliant use of the Wii controllers and this is something which made the console sell so well in the past and continue doing so because no other console does anything such as what it does.
It seems that now Microsoft want in on the action too but with a twist. 3DV does not use controllers but rather a motion capture device which then translates your movements in game. How widely this could be applied to the majority of games would be intriguing but anything is possible as the Wii has already shown us with the likes of Call of Duty: World at War on the system and other games.
The big question for Microsoft is as to whether they will be doing this as a add on for their current console system, the Xbox 360 or whether they will incorporate this into a new console.
My guess would be towards the latter as the 360 is now coming up to 4 years old it would make sense for Microsoft to start investing in a new console. Also by the time Microsoft got 3DV working hard and into a serious project the timescales would fit. This big step forward for Microsoft could put them ahead in the game but only time will tell as to how both Sony and Nintendo will react to this move made by Microsoft.
AJ
"Name one thing you'd like to see in Modern Warfare 2?"
Seems like they really want to get Modern Warfare the best they can this year and with the previous statement saying that this is "to be a very exciting year for the franchise as we expect this year's launch is likely going to be the most anticipated title of all of 2009". Perhaps they will be right after all. Most game developers which get involved with the community such as the Team Fortress 2 team for their updates. These are great and always play well with the community because they listen to some extent as to what their fans want. Hopefully Modern Warfare 2 will be more successful than Modern Warfare 1 and that was pretty damn good anyway!
My question though is whether they will be updating the graphics and engine for the game and introduce new features like the last time. It will be interesting to see whether they do or not as the direction they took with that for Modern Warfare 1 was what made it so popular with the new innovative features sending fans crazy.
You can view more details on this here.
In other news it seems that Microsoft are in talks with the Israel company 3DV Systems. They are a 3D video imaging and motion-sensing technology company. Microsoft are reportedly going to buy the company for 35 million US Dollars. Hefty sum of money if you ask me!
This all seems to have stemmed from the Wii's brilliant use of the Wii controllers and this is something which made the console sell so well in the past and continue doing so because no other console does anything such as what it does.
It seems that now Microsoft want in on the action too but with a twist. 3DV does not use controllers but rather a motion capture device which then translates your movements in game. How widely this could be applied to the majority of games would be intriguing but anything is possible as the Wii has already shown us with the likes of Call of Duty: World at War on the system and other games.
The big question for Microsoft is as to whether they will be doing this as a add on for their current console system, the Xbox 360 or whether they will incorporate this into a new console.
My guess would be towards the latter as the 360 is now coming up to 4 years old it would make sense for Microsoft to start investing in a new console. Also by the time Microsoft got 3DV working hard and into a serious project the timescales would fit. This big step forward for Microsoft could put them ahead in the game but only time will tell as to how both Sony and Nintendo will react to this move made by Microsoft.
AJ
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Is GTA 4 PC Lost and Damned?
So with the release of GTA 4: The Lost and Damned just passed on the 13th February 2009 I wonder whether the content will stay exclusive or whether it will eventually pass onto the PS3 and PC. Recently Microsoft seem to be buying up these exclusive DLCs which is basically a huge tactical marketing tool. They say you get all this extra content by having a 360 and then get the extra money through the sale of the consoles. However it seems a little harsh to leave the PS3 and PC out from the DLC. After all we bought the game just as everyone else did (well apart from the pirates that is). So is it really fair to presume that by Microsoft limiting the DLC to only one console they are in effect tunneling people to their one console. The PS3 is still in it's early stages rather much comparable to a baby at the minute. It is just starting to learn how to walk and pick up its pace in the gaming industry.
We PC Gamers do seem to get the DLC occasionally that the consoles get however not all the time. Again what is it that makes us as a platform different to the PS3 or the 360? After all we all pay for the game in the first place and we all would pay for the DLC if they were to provide it.
This all actually leads onto whether the Lost and Damned would be released on the PC and PS3. I read that GTA 4 is getting sold and traded in by people due to having finished it and the lack of things to do round Liberty City once it is complete. Sure you could go on the multiplayer but even that has only a certain amount of time before that too gets a little tedious. So reading from people's posts on the Computer and Video Games (CVG) website it seems that people would be willing to go back to Liberty City if they had the Lost and Damned DLC. After all it adds a fair few hours to the game and changes a few aspects such as the style and story, guns etc. Surely this move would create even more revenue for Rockstar and also increase the second hand market with people buying back their copies of GTA 4 having sold them on due to finishing them.
In all a good move by Microsoft for snapping up the exclusive content but as I said it is not overly fair on the thousands of other gamers and it could seem like Microsoft and Rockstar are punishing for not owning a Xbox 360. I would contact Rockstar to see if they could comment as to whether the Lost and Damned will be coming to the PS3 and PC in the future but I do not have any direct contact details for them. Thus meaning I would just get through to customer support.
You can read the review produced by CVG for the Lost and Damned out now on the Xbox 360 here.
The lengthy post: You might ask as to why I did a huge post today. This is largely due to not posting yesterday. Something which I am deeply sorry about. I had a Parish Council meeting to attend and by the time I got back and had dinner there was little time left for me to write to the blog.
Other news:
Last night Criterion Games, developers of the brilliant Burnout Paradise announced that they will be releasing the Legendary Cars DLC for the PS3 on Thursday 19th February 2009. As you might be able to tell only two days time! They also announced the following:
"PC players will need to be a little more patient. We'll announce the release data for PC Legendary Cars in the near future."
Once company then that will not be ignoring the PC for DLC!
AJ
We PC Gamers do seem to get the DLC occasionally that the consoles get however not all the time. Again what is it that makes us as a platform different to the PS3 or the 360? After all we all pay for the game in the first place and we all would pay for the DLC if they were to provide it.
This all actually leads onto whether the Lost and Damned would be released on the PC and PS3. I read that GTA 4 is getting sold and traded in by people due to having finished it and the lack of things to do round Liberty City once it is complete. Sure you could go on the multiplayer but even that has only a certain amount of time before that too gets a little tedious. So reading from people's posts on the Computer and Video Games (CVG) website it seems that people would be willing to go back to Liberty City if they had the Lost and Damned DLC. After all it adds a fair few hours to the game and changes a few aspects such as the style and story, guns etc. Surely this move would create even more revenue for Rockstar and also increase the second hand market with people buying back their copies of GTA 4 having sold them on due to finishing them.
In all a good move by Microsoft for snapping up the exclusive content but as I said it is not overly fair on the thousands of other gamers and it could seem like Microsoft and Rockstar are punishing for not owning a Xbox 360. I would contact Rockstar to see if they could comment as to whether the Lost and Damned will be coming to the PS3 and PC in the future but I do not have any direct contact details for them. Thus meaning I would just get through to customer support.
You can read the review produced by CVG for the Lost and Damned out now on the Xbox 360 here.
The lengthy post: You might ask as to why I did a huge post today. This is largely due to not posting yesterday. Something which I am deeply sorry about. I had a Parish Council meeting to attend and by the time I got back and had dinner there was little time left for me to write to the blog.
Other news:
Last night Criterion Games, developers of the brilliant Burnout Paradise announced that they will be releasing the Legendary Cars DLC for the PS3 on Thursday 19th February 2009. As you might be able to tell only two days time! They also announced the following:
"PC players will need to be a little more patient. We'll announce the release data for PC Legendary Cars in the near future."
Once company then that will not be ignoring the PC for DLC!
AJ
Saturday, 14 February 2009
There will be an uprising coming this Spring!
EA are going to be releasing the expansion C&C Red Alert 3: Uprising this Spring but what is most intriguing is that they will be releasing it as a download only. So far they have not commented as to where it will be hosted etc but we can probably guess at it only being made available on the EA Download Manager which is a great shame. We all know that the EA Download Manager lets you download the game for free at any point within 6 months of purchase. You can opt to have this extended if you desire but after that time expires you cannot download the game anymore without purchasing it again. A great shame as the EA Download Manager could be bigger if they removed this feature especially as they do have some good deals on there.
I have added a new blog to the "Blog's To Visit!" list down the sidebar to the right of this post. The blog is run by M_the_C and is also trying to do a post a day blog also. His posts are brilliant and he is currently doing a 7 day stint in Children of the Nile. A great blog and I highly recommend you to take a look at it here or you can click on the blog via the list in the side bar to the right.
I was also planning on doing a written version of a new project I am planning for You Tube which will hopefully be seeing the light of day in the form of a few pilot episodes later in the year. Unfortunately a huge list of stuff to do crept up so I shall work on it for next Friday. It is a work in progress so it may change over time.
AJ
I have added a new blog to the "Blog's To Visit!" list down the sidebar to the right of this post. The blog is run by M_the_C and is also trying to do a post a day blog also. His posts are brilliant and he is currently doing a 7 day stint in Children of the Nile. A great blog and I highly recommend you to take a look at it here or you can click on the blog via the list in the side bar to the right.
I was also planning on doing a written version of a new project I am planning for You Tube which will hopefully be seeing the light of day in the form of a few pilot episodes later in the year. Unfortunately a huge list of stuff to do crept up so I shall work on it for next Friday. It is a work in progress so it may change over time.
AJ
Thursday, 12 February 2009
That Blizzard must be delaying some games...
Blizzard have just announced today that their Beta for Starcraft 2 is still months away and with Blizzard confirming that only one frontline Blizzard game being released in 2009 it looks like we may not see either Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2 for a little while yet. The games were supposed to be released this Spring but now they do not have release dates. It will be a matter of time before they announce which one will be released this year but my guess is it could be Diablo 3 due to Starcraft 2 no doubt undertaking a rigorous beta to cater to their fans.
This could be seen as a good thing what with some games companies releasing games half finished so it is good that Blizzard are stepping out from the rest in order to release good quality games. EA also seems to be following the same trend recently by postponing some of their titles such as The Sims 3 for a later release.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has also been confirmed by Activision and is set to be released in the holiday quarter with Activision claiming 2009 "to be a very exciting year for the franchise as we expect this year's launch is likely going to be the most anticipated title of all of 2009". Hopefully this means that Infinity Ward are hard at work creating yet another excellant game.
Have played Burnout Paradise and I must say it is brilliant. Criterion have done a splendid job with the way the game presents itself and also the conversion to PC. My hat goes off to them and EA for a brilliant job there. Should also be seeing yet more content being released for the game in the coming months.
Other than that it started snowing here in Lincolnshire this afternoon which is great. It has since stopped the last time I checked. No more havoc for us then!
AJ
This could be seen as a good thing what with some games companies releasing games half finished so it is good that Blizzard are stepping out from the rest in order to release good quality games. EA also seems to be following the same trend recently by postponing some of their titles such as The Sims 3 for a later release.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has also been confirmed by Activision and is set to be released in the holiday quarter with Activision claiming 2009 "to be a very exciting year for the franchise as we expect this year's launch is likely going to be the most anticipated title of all of 2009". Hopefully this means that Infinity Ward are hard at work creating yet another excellant game.
Have played Burnout Paradise and I must say it is brilliant. Criterion have done a splendid job with the way the game presents itself and also the conversion to PC. My hat goes off to them and EA for a brilliant job there. Should also be seeing yet more content being released for the game in the coming months.
Other than that it started snowing here in Lincolnshire this afternoon which is great. It has since stopped the last time I checked. No more havoc for us then!
AJ
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Free 4 Dead...
Valve have just confirmed that their 2008 Zombie Horror Survival, Left 4 Dead, will recieve the content which is promised this Spring for free on both the PC and Xbox 360. Wonder how they managed to get that for free unless they had to pay Microsoft some money of course!
"The recently announced Left 4 Dead Downloadable Content (L4D DLC) will be delivered to Xbox 360 and PC gamers free of charge.Due for release this spring, the DLC for 2008's best-selling new game property on the PC and Xbox 360, is dubbed the L4D Survival Pack and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode (Death Toll, Dead Air). A Critic's Choice Edition of the game will be heading to retail stores this spring, and will include access to all the content introduced in the L4D: Survival Pack."
Sega have also just today confirmed a new Aliens Versus Predator game set to be released in 2010 and is currently in development by Rebellion who were responsible for the 1999 AVP game. More on that here.
Not really any other news which is of great interest today however yesterday was the start of my promised blog a day. Will do some more meaningful posts about other stuff later in the week.
I also today have received my copy of Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box so shall be loading that up tonight and hopefully having some good fun! Will report back on that ASAP.
AJ
"The recently announced Left 4 Dead Downloadable Content (L4D DLC) will be delivered to Xbox 360 and PC gamers free of charge.Due for release this spring, the DLC for 2008's best-selling new game property on the PC and Xbox 360, is dubbed the L4D Survival Pack and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode (Death Toll, Dead Air). A Critic's Choice Edition of the game will be heading to retail stores this spring, and will include access to all the content introduced in the L4D: Survival Pack."
Sega have also just today confirmed a new Aliens Versus Predator game set to be released in 2010 and is currently in development by Rebellion who were responsible for the 1999 AVP game. More on that here.
Not really any other news which is of great interest today however yesterday was the start of my promised blog a day. Will do some more meaningful posts about other stuff later in the week.
I also today have received my copy of Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box so shall be loading that up tonight and hopefully having some good fun! Will report back on that ASAP.
AJ
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Fuel plus the gaming BAFTA's
Today Codemasters have released the latest video featuring in game footage of their upcoming racing game, FUEL which will see gamers racing over stupid amounts of varying terrain in a fictional present and racing in a multitude of vehicles from 4 wheels to 2.
This looks set to be the racing game of 2009 if they can deliver, it looks amazing and with "100,000 miles of roads, tracks and trails and hundreds of race events FUEL’s epic world demands to be explored" this could be one racing game. More on that nearer to its release date which has been confirmed to be this May. View the amazing video below!
You can go to the official web page for Fuel here.
In other exciting news we have the gaming BAFTA's for this year with the shortlists available to view here. You can also vote for your favourite game of the year here and be in with a chance of winning some prizes!
Odd though that included in those lists is the likes of Call of Duty 4 when that was released back in 2007. I know it was good but did it really need to top 2008 too? Maybe they are counting the recent release of the game of the year edition as a 2008 release.
AJ
This looks set to be the racing game of 2009 if they can deliver, it looks amazing and with "100,000 miles of roads, tracks and trails and hundreds of race events FUEL’s epic world demands to be explored" this could be one racing game. More on that nearer to its release date which has been confirmed to be this May. View the amazing video below!
You can go to the official web page for Fuel here.
In other exciting news we have the gaming BAFTA's for this year with the shortlists available to view here. You can also vote for your favourite game of the year here and be in with a chance of winning some prizes!
Odd though that included in those lists is the likes of Call of Duty 4 when that was released back in 2007. I know it was good but did it really need to top 2008 too? Maybe they are counting the recent release of the game of the year edition as a 2008 release.
AJ
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
We are coming back...
Well what a great start to 2009. Well kind of seems like the year has started somewhat rather bleak what with Woolworth's shutting and so many other businesses announcing job cuts however have not fear for...
Hello all AAA Fans!
Just to announce that the site will start to become active once again over the coming weeks. What with the Christmas period and the mad rush of games released by developers in the fourth quarter of last year and Akardo bogged down with Sixth form and myself bogged down with other things we seem to have neglected the site a little bit.
So we are going to bringing to your attention some reviews as mentioned over the coming weeks so please come back and keep checking as to what will be happening!
See you all soon,
The AAA Partnership
Yes you read it right me and Akardo will be coming back pretty soon with the AAA Partnership and shall be updating as regularly as possible in light of trying to get the site up and running again and being more productive with it. What with the fourth quarter rush of games having also gone hopefully we shall be able to look back on some of the releases of last year and review them along with some of the major upcoming games for this year. Most notably for myself Empire Total War and Dawn of War 2 at this minute in time.
Also planning on keeping the blog updated a lot more with varying topics either every day or perhaps every other day depending on time schedules etc. At this minute in time I have been a little lax due to other demands.
AJ
Hello all AAA Fans!
Just to announce that the site will start to become active once again over the coming weeks. What with the Christmas period and the mad rush of games released by developers in the fourth quarter of last year and Akardo bogged down with Sixth form and myself bogged down with other things we seem to have neglected the site a little bit.
So we are going to bringing to your attention some reviews as mentioned over the coming weeks so please come back and keep checking as to what will be happening!
See you all soon,
The AAA Partnership
Yes you read it right me and Akardo will be coming back pretty soon with the AAA Partnership and shall be updating as regularly as possible in light of trying to get the site up and running again and being more productive with it. What with the fourth quarter rush of games having also gone hopefully we shall be able to look back on some of the releases of last year and review them along with some of the major upcoming games for this year. Most notably for myself Empire Total War and Dawn of War 2 at this minute in time.
Also planning on keeping the blog updated a lot more with varying topics either every day or perhaps every other day depending on time schedules etc. At this minute in time I have been a little lax due to other demands.
AJ
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