Disappointed With Duke Nukem? Don't Forget About Bulletstorm!

Grayson Hunt will never change his ways.....

I'm seeing a lot of bloggers and journalists shed tears over the latest release of Duke Nukem Forever, I haven't played the full thing but from my brief encounter with the demo I can see where the agony comes from. The final verdict with this game is that it's bad, I wouldn't go as far to say its very bad, but its bad. Lets face it too much hype was inserted into this game and I think we were totally off guard when the reviews finally came. The trailers were pretty awesome, very masculine and a tongue and cheek attitude to go along with it not to mention in nearly every trailer we got the "The king is back, baby" so of course our expectation were pretty big. Duke wasn't just the "King" of over the top shooters he was the king of the FPS genre itself, notice the use of was.  Yes, a lot has changed over the course of gaming in the last twelve years that it took for this game to finally come out. FPS genre is at it's highest point and is at a huge demand for quality shooters, so when did this occurrence come you ask? About the time Halo: Combat Evolved was introduced to the gaming population, the critically acclaimed game went on to become one of the biggest franchises that's on going today. Not to mention in 2007 when Call Of Duty 4 delivered a linear yet cinematic blockbuster feel that most people expect from games nowadays. Duke Nukem Forever is bad just at its core shooting mechanics, and in today's gaming world is completely unacceptable. But don't worry folks, Duke is not the only over the top FPS that came out this year. Introducing Bulletstorm:

What other game as outrageous as Bulletstorm allows you to control a giant robot Dinosaur that kills your enemies? I'll tell you NONE! Yes, in every aspect where Duke fails Bulletstorm thrives. Duke is your typical shoot em up FPS, while Bulletstorm introduces a completely new and innovated way to kill enemies by allowing the player to innovatively and creatively kill enemies to be awarded points in an old-school arcadey way. "Kill with Skill" is the motto along with "Do cool stuff to get cool stuff", a pretty simple game mechanic that stay's true to this foundation. Bulletstorm's humour is slightly different from Duke's in the sense of going for a much more unique style then the average cheesiness you would find in an 80's movie. Bulletstorm will either make you cringe or have you on the floor laughing depending on how you like your comedy, some truly bizarre stuff come out of the characters mouth and are far from the usual repertoire you will find in Duke. For example the first time you are introduced to the character Trishka Novak, the female lead in Bulletstorm, you will find probably the most quoted line in the entire game;

Trishka: "Yeah?..Well go fuck yourself! You shitpiles give chase I will kill your dicks!"

Grayson: "What?!? What does that even mean? You're gonna kill my dick? Well...I'll kill your dick how 'bout that huh?" 

Ishi: "Speaking of dick killing parties..."

Yes the three characters makes for a pretty odd couple, but the comedy like I said is not for everyone's taste but I cant find a legitimate reason why one person can like Duke's comedy and not Bulletstorm's. It's all kind of the same sloppy burger as Randy Pitchford likes to put it, except Duke has so much cheese you probably wouldn't taste the meat off the burger itself even though both are in good tastes if you ask me. The downside to Bulletstorm is that it attempts to incorporate a story into the game even though its the biggest drawback in design. For some reason or other they (the developers) felt it was necessary to include a revenge story which requires quite a level of seriousness into the game and at some points take's the player out of the all the carnage, comedy and fun of it all. It's a very mediocre story that could be easily passable in a comic book but sadly faces realism that no player want's to endure in a game like this. All I'm saying is that don't mix comedy with some serious shit, because its an awful mix that doesn't belong in a video game. Bulletstorm needs to learn a little from Duke when it comes to comedy, make the entire game a comedy or become one of the meaningless shooters out there. Duke doesn't fail in its comedy, its all about taste and if it is not for you don't moan about it. 

Sadly Duke Nukem Forever doesn't live up to expectations because bad development choices were made. Instead of starting fresh Gearbox Software tried to finish a product that has been dragged through many other development studio's over the past 12 years, that's why the graphics are pretty rubbish. Gearbox Software are an amazing studio and I give them tops for getting that annoying bitch out there for the public, sure it was bad, but now they can focus on another Duke and knowing these guys they'll ace this game with flying colours. But you know, after Borderlands 2 of course. 

As for Bulletstorm, I (personally) name this the king of over the top FPS's. You may not have history, but considering the release you have held your own against other top shooters and you did it in style. Bulletstorm is on the throne for now, but it deserves it in my opinion. I remember around the release of Bullestorm that someone said that it is "just a warm up for Duke Nukem". Well the tides have certainly turned. 

Hope you agree with my judgement, feel free to troll in the comments. 

Cheers for reading

Tim Tim

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No more Lulz-sec? Hooray!

Well it appears Lulz-sec, the anarchy love hacktivist group responsible for the Nintendo, Sony, Bethesda etc. attacks, have "retired" according to their official twitter. The reason is that they say this was a 50 day project. However a lot of us know this isn't the case. Enter Team Poison. Personally I haven't heard of these guys until recently when they announced they'd reveal the Lulz-Sec data which is the real reason they're gone. Team Poison have released email adresses, IPs, Phone numbers, adresses, job info, relations (LINK TO THE FILE). We essentially have a snap shot of their lives. They even give proof which makes it even more hilarious. I personally couldn't be happier. I'm not a fan of hacking myself, unless it's for a good cause such as taking down Westboro Baptist Church related sites. Lulz-Sec were to me just pure idiots. They claimed to be fighting the whole Sec movement yet I don't see how alienating various fans would help. That's like a country going to war and bombing their own nation. Personally I feel that little bit more safer online now that they're gone and I know i'm going to find it hilarious when these guys pop up. A quick read of the Team Poison reveal shows us that they aren't your average joe and their countries are varied. The funniest thing I think is how they went on for ages about being an amazing hacker group and how they've now been brought down in a matter of around 2-3 days.

Hopefully now we can get a bit of a breather now that they're gone.

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Captain America has a new Saoucy Trailer

Well Captain America the First Avenger is out this time next month. Never really liked Captain America but these trailers have me captivated.

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Team Fortress 2 is FREE FOR LIFE (Free Stuff pl0x)!!

Valve are so awesome (sometimes). To get folks downloading their very own PC platformer Steam they have made one of their classic games free for life. Team Fortress 2 is probably one of the best FPS multiplayer game you can find on the PC, after its pitiful  release on Xbox Live and the PSN due to amount of hackers PC became the only legitimate place to play Team Fortress 2. And now its free.

Unfortunately this free deal doesn't come on the Xbox or on the PS3, just comes on the PC for Steam. You can download Steam here, and join in on the rampage going on. 

Of course this sounds too awesome for a lot of people, but Valve quite a while back implemented a character customisation and a store for you to buy microstransaction items for macrotransactions prices. Sounds silly but this is quite a new function people need to get used to. It began with Battlefield Heroes which must have been successful considering quite a lot of game are following in their footsteps. I find it's an ok system as long as it doesn't effect the game whatsoever. 

My reaction to the news:

Maybe its time to get Gary's Mod.

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Game Of Thrones Season Finale Was All About Tits and Dragons (What more could you want?)

I'm not one to spoil the whole series for anyone who has been slowly watching the show through the internet or just hasn't arrived at your country yet. But what I just felt yesterday while watching the final episode of Game Of Thrones was a mixture of the boner hitting jeans and in complete shock and awe as I watched the above picture, which was basically tits and Dragons. 

Fantasy, it can be complete and utter shit when its done wrong but when it's done right you cant help but become completely in love with the world you are immersing yourself in. I have read a lot of fantasy and I have never read or seen any story that cuts the bullshit like magic, prophecy's and Elves yet still incorporate Dragons into the story. Its like having your cake and eating it too, or.......something. Either way Game Of Thrones ticks every box in the awesome department. 

I'm not going to talk about the final episode because like I said I don't want to ruin it for y'all. Your far better off watching it for yourself and join in with the conversations at work, because its seriously that awesome. Anyway I have given it far too much praise. If any you folks have been watching tell us what you think, I know I wont be waiting for the next season and jumping right into the books. Season 2 will air around April of 2012.Until then folks!

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Are You Watching The Game Of Thrones Finale?

I'm finding it hard to not talk about Game Of Thrones on the Bl4rG but I cant help it anymore, the anticipation  is killing me for tonight's episode. I know some American folks have probably seen in at this rate but for the folks who live in Britian or Ireland its on tonight!

At 9:00 pm on Sky Atlantic I'll be watching the final episode of, what I think, is the best television I have watched in quite a long time. I look forward to watching this every Monday and tonight I just cant bear the anticipation. What will happen to the Starks? What will happen with Jamie Lannister? So many questions and only tonight to answer them. Comment if your on the same level of anticipation with me!

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We have a Minecraft server!

(That jumble of text on the left is only there for me because of one my own mods so you don't have to worry about that)

Well not really we as a blog, more so it's a server my friend got and made me an admin. All blargers are welcome to join us. We have various mods, a VERY strict set of rules against griefing etc. and such but it's easier for you to see rather than read (if that makes sense). Just type in this ip and you can join our server. My username, as is on this and my ps3 is Theusualtype.

46.20.119.44:27665

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Bobby Kotick Activision's CEO In New Movie With Brad Pitt?

So Kotick hasn't been in the news for quite some time now but to anyone who has an odd interest with this guy and just loves to rip on him whenever they get the chance, well its your time right now. Kotick is a man of many words, most of those words revolve around money. Yes the CEO was quite infamous when he refused to pay video game developers Infinity Ward their royalties after the hit game Modern Warfare 2 and even went as far to fire its two main figures in the studio. But now Brad Pitt is asking him for money? WHAAAA??

Oh the irony Mr. Kotick, but that's what's funny about this new upcoming movie which has this crazy bastard in it. Brad Pitt want's to make a baseball team achieve greatness by getting them into the major leagues, or something like that (I don't know shit about Baseball). But the team is shit, so in the trailer you see him asking for money to buy new players and low and behold Bobby Kotick is sitting on the chair right in front of him telling him to fuck off. Not literally of course, but still pretty hilarious. Got to 0:17 to see his face: 

So this obviously was put in for a joke, I mean not a really funny joke but a joke nonetheless because we (as gamers) know who the man screwed over and did it in many different positions (in-your-endo). Don't know why or how he got that role, but meh still funny.

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BioShock Infinite Diary - Factions At War (New Gameplay Footage)

Ken Levine once again talks about BioShock Infinite in this developer diary focusing on the main faction of the game, the Vox Populi otherwise known as the Anarchists. The leader is Daisy Fitzroy who, with her miltia, aims to take down the The Founders and its leader Z.H. Comstock, the founder of the city of Columbia. Fitzroy also wants Elizabeth the women who you swear to protect throughout the city. You don't necessarily take sides in the game, but Comstock is apparently the key to help Elizabeth control her powers. Which means the first part of the game is to reach Comstock with Elizabeth. 

Daisy Fitzroy speaks out to the Vox Populi.

Not much is known about the storyline of BioShock Infinite, but to me it's one those rare games that I just choose not to read up because I feel that it will be much more satisfying by just digging into it on its release day. The less you know, the better is all I'm trying to say. I played BioShock and knew nothing about it and it became much more satisfying because it allowed me to dig deeper into the plot by picking up audio diaries and just playing the game over and over again. 

I am seriously looking forward to this game, this was by far the best game at the show at E3 and I only saw a little bit of footage. All the other sites that got to see the full demo at E3 handed it game of the show and it wasn't even playable. Check out the E3 trailer here: 

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E3 2011: Annoyed Gamer Talks About The Worst Of E3

Marcus Beer like's video games, he certainly like's ranting about them but not in such a praising manner as many video game journalists would typically do. No, he is not your typical video game journalist, Marcus likes to say how things are and doesn't necessarily give a flying fuck what everyone else thinks of his point of view. 

He is the co-host of Invisible Walls a podcast on Gametrailers.com and it is the best podcast that discuss's the gaming industry in my opinion. They're a good bunch of people on that show and have a nice balance of opinions that come in very different shape or forms depending on the person speaking. It's nice to build a perspective from these guys since each of them reflect on something different. 

Marcus like's to bash the shit out of anything when he is given the opportunity, but that's not why I respect him. I respect him because you bashes the shit out of a game when needed. Watch the worst shit he saw at E3: 

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Annoyed Gamer's Worst of E3 2011, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Gotta love your Welsh video game journalist's: http://www.annoyedgamer.com/ 

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Infamous 2 review

The version of Infamous 2 (Special Edition) that I was given instead of my STD. from my Local gamestop, Contains free infamous 2 DLC and Uncharted 3 beta

Infamous, the brilliant superhero/villain title that won over our hearts in 2009, is back and better than ever in it's sequel Infamous 2. Infamous 2 takes off after Cole McGrath as he, his buddy Zeke "Jedidiah" Dunbar and a new character, agent Kuo take off for the sleazy paradise New Marais, a rip off of New Orleans. They are fleeing what was described only as the Beast, a huge monstrosity of power which obliterated Empire City in the blink of an eye. As they make their way down the countrys edge, the beast is hot on their tail. Cole meets Dr. Wolfe, a scientist who believes he may have the only thing capable of stopping the beast, the RFI or Ray field Inhibitor. However he needs 7 blast cores. To keep Cole occupied as he gathers, he also must defend himself against a man named Bertrand, a high roller in new Marais with great influence over the hicks and inbreds from the swamp lands. Cole must use his powers to cut Bertrand down and defend the city of New Marais from the oncoming storm that is the beast.

Story: Well Infamous 2 takes place not too long after Infamous 1, the city began to rebuild itself after the damage the first sons and Kessler did to it. Cole, Zeke and Kuo are about to leave the city when, DON DON DONNNNNNNNNNNNN the Beast appears. Cole attempts to protect the city however is easily beaten and is forced to retreat, Cole heads to New Marais, to meet with Dr. Wolfe, a man who is believed to hold the key to beating the Beast. Sucker Punch did not take Coles powers away like nearly every other series does *HACKING COUGH* GOD OF WAR *HACKING COUGH*. However Bertrands men attacks the good Doctors lab and blast shards and cores alike are sent all over the place. Cole is forced to gather these items to grow stronger. During his travels Cole unlocks new powers meets new people and enemies and so on, I don't want to spoil much of the story.

Zeke and Cole overlooking New Marais

If you were to compare the story of Infamous 1 to Infamous 2, Infamous 1 would have the more BIGGER twists, turns and shock moments, however I enjoyed Infamous 2s plot more. The reason being was it went on longer without being stretched too far and being made bland. The game kept you interested with new abilities and monsters. The story also introduces a sort of a love triangle between Kuo who is later revealed to be an Ice conduit and Nix who is a fire conduit and Cole. So there is lots to keep you hooked and thankfully there is no Moya and Trish calling you a bastard despite the fact you can go above and beyond the call of duty. The ending in Infamous 2 lives up to what Infamous 1 had. Prepare tissue boxes for Manly or lady tears... At least if you play it with Good Karma the whole way like me.

Cole being all Cole and Kuo being all... not very sexy really...

Gameplay:

Gameplay in Infamous 2 has been completly revolutionized. We get a better free running engine, New powers depending on your Karma and no I don't mean the two crappy main ones you got in infamous 1, I'm talking about a completly new move set, Fire ( evil) and Ice (Good) that depends on your karma. Melee combat is also WAY better than the original seeing as you could go an entire game in Infamous and not hit anyone because of junkies, homeless people and guys in heavy armour (Who we all know can run very fast (Super sarcasm)). In this game they made melee amazing. Zeke crafts for you a new weapon called the AMP which is basically an oversized tuning fork which has a high voltage running through it. Fences are now climbable and for the first time you take advantage of this, you get a trophy.

Kuo being all sexy with ice and Cole just being Cole

A really important inclusion was that of the mission create mode where you can, well, create your own missions. I was personally blown back when I heard of this. Never before has a super hero game ever had something like this. I've given a few of them ago and just had a quick flick through with the options and I have to say it came out brilliantly in terms of layout and being able to have things to do. Karma doesn't have as much of an impact, besides being able to choose your own powers, as it did in Infamous 1. In infamous 1 people put up posters and everything about you but in this game however it's rare to see people applauding you as you run down the street. However a lot of mini challenges have been added to help people change karma quicker e.g . halting a mugging or kidnapping or for the sadists in us, beating people up for shards or killing people protesting about you. Destructible terrain has also been added allowing new ways for you to kill Bertrands minions and the corrupted. The map too has been improved as it's no longer the recycled crap mass of concrete that there was in Infamous 1 and the sectors can REALLY be told apart. There's even a whole new Orleans flood section (Well the game is meant to be set there). The one flaw I had with the game is the camera. It was the only thing that didn't get an improvement from Infamous 1.

Continue to glide with your static thrusters like a BAUS

Graphics and Music:

The graphics have greatly improved in this game. People no longer run as if they have a desperate need to use the toilet, building are textured better, lighting is much better. general animations for people are better. It really looks like they put a huge amount of effort into this game. Really small details do make a huge improvement, whether it's paint peeling off the walls or water splashing as people fall in. As with Infamous 1, music isn't THAT big in the game. From what there was though, it was an amazing original score, which only made it worse that it wasn't around all the time.

Nix, The fire conduit who is just generally evil.

Overall:

Overall I absoultely ADORED this game. It fixed all the flaws it had besides the camera.

The story was spiced up, I loved the characters both old and new. Loved the graphics, loved the mission create . This game is possibly the best PS exclusive out there in my opinion. It beats Little Big Planet 2 anyway.

This game is getting a well deserved 9.5

The only main flaw I found was the dodgy camera. It is possibly my GOTY so far. Narrowly beating Portal 2, LBP2 and Heavy Rain. We shall see at Christmas if it has been beaten

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E3 2011: Gears Of War 3 - Horde 2.0 REVEALED!!

One of the things I was highly anticipating at E3 this year was the announcement of Gears Of War 3's all new Horde mode. Last years they showed off Beast Mode, an all new perspective of the Gears universe where you take control of the Locust. Horde from Gears Of War 2 was the simple wave after wave of enemy AI's that you got to kill with your friends, Horde 2.0 is slightly different. 

In Horde 2.0 you will your 5 players against the usual wave on waves of AI, but the twist lies in the gameplay and the enemies you face. The enemies you face is a nice mix between Locust and the Lambent but not only that, every tenth wave you will face a boss. It can be anything and I really mean anything the folks at Epic Games are really challenging you on your skills because you have to face a Berserker, Lambent Berserker, Brumak and many others I'm sure they're going to announce later this year.

Another new addition is what you can do with the points you are given from killing your enemies. You can set up barriers as you gain point. In Gears Of War 2, you gained point in killing enemies but could never do anything with these points so this is quite a nice addition as you set up tactics with your friends. But before you set up barriers or any other defence mechanisms you must have a Command Post. When you get a Commend Post you are given a certain area of the map where you build barriers, turrets, decoys, sentrys and buy ammo boxes. However you can't buy these when enemies are around, so you're given a few seconds before the game starts to buy these items and barriers. 

Its a pretty slick system I must say and leaves you with a numerous of choices to fight off the waves of enemies. I certainly like the enemies you face when you reach round 10, it sounds impossible to beat multiple Berserker's let alone the one. Lambent Berserker's are also a new addition to fight off, if you have seen last years E3 demo not even a Hammer Of Dawn can kill one of these motherfuckers yet with Gears there always a way to kill something. Check the video below to see Horde 2.0 in action skip to 11:30 to see the Lambent Berserker fight. 

As we can see from the video it took a solid 10 minutes for these guys to kill a Lambent Berserker. From this video you can notice a few things from it, you now respawn if you have enough point and still go on fighting. This is probably necessary considering the amount of enemies you must face and bosses. Now Berserker's are not the only thing you have to watch out for facing Brumak's is also a huge addition to Horde 2.0. Now in the video I showed above you saw the guys quickly cleaned up the other enemies and then focused all their attention on the Lambent Berserker, in the video below they face a Brumak with a fair few amounts of weaponry except they also have to face Maulers as well. Find that quite difficult in my opinion, check it out here and scroll to 7:40:

Cheers for the read, hope to see you folks around September 20th so we can embrace getting arse raped by Lambent Berserker's. Till then folks. 

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E3 2011: Sony's Press Conference Review

Sony had a lot of explaining to do at this years E3 and if they didn't give us a show a lot of people would begin to question why they were in the gaming industry. Thankfully this is not the case, as Sony this year arrived centre stage with guns blazing and new shit to deliver, check it all here.

First up was Jack Tretton coming centre stage to apologise about the PSN outage. They couldn't ignore this and he addressed it as soon as he came on stage, and with much respect we felt that apology. It went a little something like this: 

Adam's thoughts: "I am glad he addressed this the minute he got on that stage, and thankfully the whole show made up for that outage as it was a loooong winter without PSN." 

Paul's C thoughts: "I thought they did a good job with the apology. I accepted it."

Paul's R thoughts: "I thought it was great, got it out of the way relitavly quickly, restored our faith, showed us that they can be trusted again."

Sony dived right into the conference with the exclusives and aimed high with Uncharted 3 at centre stage, check it out here:

Adam's thoughts: "Great demo, a new aspect of Drake I have never seen before in an Uncharted game looking forward to its release and how well it holds up against the original as it has a lot to live up to."

Paul's C thoughts: "I only have the second game, so I didn't know what was happening stroy wise. But I have to say it did look Awesome ! Makes me want to get the other games now."

Paul's R thoughts: "Not too much of a fan of Uncharted but this looks pretty epic. Fan of Tomb Raider so maybe I could get this further down the line."

Again with the exclusives as they immediately followed with another hardcore title Resistance 3, check it: 

Adam's thoughts: "Cool ass demo, really appreciated its graphics and gameplay. A lot of stuff was going on most of it I didn't understand as I have never played a Resistance game, but certainly from this demo I want to look at the previous games and decide whether I should pick this up."

Paul's C thoughts: "Resistance was one of the first games I got with my PS3. I liked it but I only beat it in co-op. I got stuck fighting some giant dinosaur thing in the second game and kind of gave up. Now Resistance 3 looks good, I'm just not in the mood for it."

Paul's R thoughts: "Didn't like Resistance 1, Didn't like Resistance 2, This one does look slightly better, all the violence looks pretty cool. Probably a  game I may mooch."

 

Next up is the announcement that BOTH original God Of War titles Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta will be getting a 3D makeover. Also, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus will be getting 3D along with God Of War, check it here: 

Adam's thoughts: "Never played either of these game, but Shadow of the Colossus does interest me hugely. Its one of those games that I never got around to playing but will do now, thanks to this announcement." 

Paul's C thoughts: "I've never EVER played God of War or Shadow of the Colossus. It seems to be a good deal for hardcore fans of those series and people who haven't played them,like me. I might consider trying them out."

Paul's R thoughts: "I loved God Of War 3... sort of replay value was ruined for me, Played a bit of the first one so it should be good to see some of them redone in 3D with all the action involved. As for ICO Shadow of Colosous, I never played them at all and didn't even know of them until I saw the DLC pack on the LBP store so I can't really comment on them."

With all these 3D games you'd think they would release a television wouldn't you? Well Sony's got your back with an, affordable,  3D televisions at around $500, check it out here: 

Adam's thoughts: "This was an awesome announcement, 3D gaming is pretty freaking amazing but when you just look at the prices on the telly's you just know you are never going to experience it any time soon. This television makes the experience possible." 

Paul's C thoughts: "Absolutely amazing piece of tech. Really want to know how they worked out that 2 player looking thing, and love the cheap price." 

Paul's R thoughts: "Actually pretty cool product. Being able to have two people playing, with the 3D glasses actually streaming what their character sees to their glasses. Revolutionary if you ask me."

Move took over the stage boasting around 8.8 million sales worldwide, first they showed off NBA 2K12.

Adam's thoughts: " *Yawn* "

Paul's C thoughts: "NBA 2k12 is to basketball fans, what Fifa is to me."

Paul's R thoughts: "Don't care about the sport titles. Only thing I enjoyed about it is Kobe's fail. Although I suppose it's good for the bball fans."

A new Move game came on to showcase to end the Move on the centre stage of Sony's press conference, check it here: 

Adam's thoughts: "Its cool for the kiddies, its not for me but I see where its coming from and I like that there isint any awkward movement from the player."

Paul's C thoughts: "Not really anything I'd want to play."

Paul's R thoughts: "I don't have a move, don't exactly intend to get one unless it's a cheap Heavy Rain bundle. I have a Wii I don't need a more accurate one with no games on it. However this game does have some pretty cool features but doesn't compell me to get a move."

Next up is the announcement that Little Big Planet 2 will be getting Move features but soon switched over to an awesome Infamous 2 trailer, check it! 

Adam's thoughts: "Fucking love Infamous, my favourite Playstation exclusive can't wait to get this game first day!" 

Paul's C thoughts: "Meh.."

Paul's R thoughts: "Looks like an awesome trailer, unsure why they aired it seeing as it came out the next day but I am REALLY looking forward to getting this tomorrow."

Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time got a debut trailer, being developed by Sanzaru Games check it out:

Adam's thoughts: "So looking forward to this game, loved the Sly Cooper games when I was a kid and ill still probably fucking love this game even if its not developed by Sucker Punch."

Paul's C thoughts: "I had never heard of that game before. It was....different."

Paul's R thoughts: "Sly Cooper wasn't really a game I played much out of the big 3 Ps2 games (R&C, J&D and Sly). I was always more of a fan of Ratchet but I did enjoy the demos I did play of it, just never got around to buying it. Possible split game on the store"

From the makers of EVE Online is Dust 514, which will combine the MMO with the Playstaion game bringing the two connected together making this the first of its kind. Check it out here: 

Adam's thoughts: "Its pretty freaking cool, REALLY cool if you play EVE and own a Playstation.Though it's not my cup of tea."

Paul's C thoughts: "Now this is something I am VERY interested in. Since I'm not that good a strategist, I'll be playing the Shooter part of this game. I REALLY hope this game is succesfull because of its uniqueness."

Paul's R thoughts: "Like the whole mmo feel to it. Not sure if i'll get it because I don't like a lot of online shooters (APHELGM COD MW2 AND BO APHLEGM) Would to have to wait for reviews and try it out before I buy."

Next up is Sony's love letter to hardcore gamers by bringing Ken Levine on centre stage to announce BioShock: Infinte to the Move and a free copy of BioShock when you purchase Infinite on the PS3. The surprise was that Irrational Games will also be working on BioShock title for the Playstation Vita. Check it here: 

Adam's thoughts: "Had a nerd seizure when this guy came on stage, before the event I was telling the Paul's if this guy came on stage I would give Sony the first prize winner out of the big threes press conferences. Completely surprised that Irrational are making a game for Vita, so I am definitely buying that because I love BioShock. I'm a die hard fan!"

Paul's C thoughts: "I'm not the biggest fan of Bioshock. Just didn't click with me. Looks good for all those interested in the series."

Paul's R thoughts: "Looks pretty dam amazing. Hopefully it makes up for the shameful shit stain that was Bioshock 2 (Hated it with a passion) Gameplay does look pretty good. As I said to Adam when the trailer first rolled "Fuck Rapture"".

The next section of the show is Playstation Vita the new name for the NGP. The Vita showcased with Uncharted: The Golden Abyss, check it here: 

Adam's thoughts: "Seriously amazing graphics and gameplay, the Vita is a Christmas buy for sure!" 

Paul's C thoughts: "Hard to believe the PS Vita is powerfull enough to make that look almost like a PS3 game. Seriously can't wait for the PS Vita. Christmas is sorted ."

Paul's R thoughts: "In terms of unchantered you can see my above comment. However the VITA on the otherhand is amazingly epic. Amazing specs, game line up etc. The price is epic, dual touchscreens (Problem Nintendo) definite X-mas pressie." 

Next up another announcement for the Vita is Ruin a Diablo like RPG that is a top-down hack and slash. Check the gameplay here:

Adam's thoughts: "So its Diablo, except on the Vita? SOLD!" 

Paul's C thoughts: "I don't care, I just want the PS Vita!"

Paul's R thoughts: "This looks really cool. I like the real RPG deal. Looks like this could be a title i'd buy with my PS vita on launch."

Modnation Racers got a reveal on the Playstation Vita, check it here:

Adam's thoughts: "Its cool, nothing fantastic but its cool out of all the games this is my least favourite  but the thing is I'd still buy it."

Paul's C thoughts: "Looks spectacular. Love the touch screen features. Like a giant fuck you to Mario but i'd need to try it out before I would buy it"

Paul's R thoughts: " Looks spectacular. Love the touch screen features. Like a giant fuck you to Mario but i'd need to try it out before I would buy it."

Little Big Planet also got a port to the Vita with this trailer: 

Adam's thoughts: "Out of any game I want on the Vita its this one, endless amount of fun on the Vita if you got this game. I would never be short of anything to do with this in my pocket." 

Paul's C thoughts: "If I like LBP when I get to play my free download of the first game, I'll more than likely get this one aswell."

Paul's R thoughts: " Big fan of LBP, This looks really amazing and I like the motion controls. Really looking forward to it." 

And last but certainly not least is Supper Street Fighter X Tekken to be announced on the Playstation Vita with Cole McGrath as an exclusive character. Check it out here:

Adam's thoughts: "Take my money now!!!"

Paul's C thoughts: "Still proud of the fact I actually made Adam believe I had played Marvel vs Capcom when I almost whooped his ass. But yeah, I'm not that into these fighting games so I'll leave them to the people who like them. Look good though."

Paul's R thoughts: "Tekken Fanboy here. Been in love with the series since Tekken 2. This looks really fucking epic especially seeing as I recently had a go of SF 3D and really enjoyed myself.

Ahh, did I mention that the Playstation Vita will come at a price of €250/$250 for the Wi Fi version and €300/$300 for the Wi Fi and 3G version. 

Overall: 

Adam: B+

"They restored my faith as a consumer, and from this show I already know what games I am going to get along side the Vita. It was a great show and tops to Sony for delivering the games I want the way I want it."

Paul C: A

"A for awesome!"

Paul R: A- 

"Too many Move titles. Should've spent time on more important games. Loved all the tech. By the way DAYUSHT, god I love Iceland."

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Screw Modern Warfare, I want me some Jets...

I know a lot of you, TimTim included, are losing sleep over Modern Warfare 3's release later this year, but I for one think it will be beaten, bettered and battered by Battlefield 3 in many fields.

Well after the recent gameplay of MW3 at E3 and the fact it is almost impossible to tell it apart from MW2, i think that at this stage Infinity Ward are just getting lazy. They are very comfortable sitting back and letting the 10 to 13 year olds buy their shitty game cos its full of explosions. Now, I'm not saying this isn't good marketing, in fact its the opposite, but what about the serious, hardcore gamers who are swept to one side.

 Well thanks to Dice they're in luck. Bad Company 2 got rid of the whole Call of Duty ''lone wolf'' and brought a new concept called ''Teamwork''. Thanks to the squad system teams can work together far more effectively and can work towards the objective more efficiently. Now the game had its problems with the weapon and rank servers overloading and teh 1337 level 50's but then you look at CoD...Between the glass- breaking voices of ten year olds, tenth prestige hacks, out of map glitches, lock on and quickscoping to name a few, MW2's multiplayer has almost become unbearable. I for one will be spending my time online far from these problems and having fun ''spawning on my bro co-op style'' (that one was for Spartan) in Battlefield.

...And it has Jets

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E3 2011: Microsoft's Press Conference Review

So to begins this years E3 is as always Microsoft. Microsoft ended last year on a high note with some great games such as Gears Of War 3, Halo Reach and Fable 3. We got a good balance between Kinect and the core games and the show was overall enjoyable. Leading up to E3 this year was a confusing one, it was either going to go both ways. Kinect hardcore games was going be to announced or we were goning to get more first party games (exclusives) coming at us. I have to say neither was what I expected was coming up, check out what happened below. 

So Microsoft opened up with Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as they did last year with Call of Duty: Black Ops, each year they seem to get less climatic since Modern Warfare 2. Check it out here: 

Adam's thoughts: "Its nothing new, same COD experience which exactly what I expected. Still interesting though I like the setting and how your constantly moving from different environments, the environments are cool as always so I'm just going to wait for some multiplayer footage until I can confirm this decision of buying it."  

Paul's thoughts: "Agree that MW3 is the usual Cod experience i.e explosions, on rail moments and, well more explosions. I'm interested with their version of Horde which will accompany Spec Ops and will wait to hear about the multiplayer before I decide to buy it."

Next up, another third party game Tomb Raider. The reboot debut its gameplay at the Microsoft press event and here is how it looked:

Adam's thoughts: "Have to admit she is still sexy, though you cant have an ugly looking one in a game now can we? Other than the looks the game looks pretty good, I am liking how they're implementing the survival theme into their game and mixing it with the usual puzzles of a Tomb Raider game. I'll have to look at this more if I consider a purchase, its not the kind of game to show off in 5 minutes."

Paul's thoughts: "She grunts, A LOT. Kinda suggestive if you ask me. Never been a fan of the series but I guess for fans it looked pretty decent."

EA then came out and revealed that there games such as The Sims, Fifa and Madden will feature Kinect support. No demo's were revealed but from here on out the show basically became a Kinect festival.

Adam's thoughts: "I dont play any of these games, so I'm not too concerned with these list of titles though I would like to see some for The Sims, my mind keeps telling me that there is going to be some innovation here."

Paul's thoughts: "Guess it would make controlling the goalkeeper more realistic. I guess I'd have to see it in action to see if it's any good I'll stick to my controller thanks very much."

BioWare finally came out to take centre stage to reveal their Mass Effect 3 demo except with an all new addition to the game, Kinect. Yes that's right Kinect will feature in the upcoming Mass Effect that his hitting shelves next year. Check out the demo here:

Adam's thoughts: "Bllaaaaahh! More Kinect, out of the whole show this was the most impressive to use the bloody thing. The way you command your troops is cool, but the way you select what you want to say seems stupid. I mean it only takes me a millisecond to select what you want, so it seems like a waste of breath to select it using Kinect. Its nice, though I don't think this will get hardcore Mass Effect fans to buy Kinect. "

Paul's thoughts: " Now, I LOVE Mass Effect and this actually seems to be implemented in a good way. More voice control and less waving your arms around like a clown. Still don't know if it would push me to get Kinect. I get Kinect when I have more than one game I can use it with. Still, Mass Effect 3 will be Epic regardless."

Ghost Recon Future Soldier then came on with a demo once again showing off Kinect features and a big announcement that revealed all Tom Clancy games will use Kinect support. Check it out here:

Adam's thoughts: "Yay(sarcasm)!! More Kinect, just what I needed (more sarcasm!)! Ok this had some nice features and started off really well. The way he was using his voice and using his arms going through the accessories was pretty awesome like in Iron Man. It was really responsive with the voice which was really cool but then it got to the gameplay, and the guy transformed into a really awkward stance. You had to put yourself into a certain position and open your hand in and out to shoot, looked crazy therefore I don't like it. "

Paul's thoughts: "I've been waiting for news about Ghost Recon: Future Soldier since I got the last Splinter Cell game, which gave passage into the Ghost Recon Beta (Scheduled for LAST summer and never happened). I like how Kinect is used to configure your weapons through voice and movement but watching the developer control the aiming and shooting looked extremely awkward to me. In this case, I'd just like the voice control. The game looks good and can't wait for it to be released."

Next up Microsoft announced that a new dashboard will be coming in for Kinect users but not just that, Youtube and Bing will be now usable on the Xbox. All you have to do is say the word and Bing searches it on your Xbox, though I'm pretty sure it only searches media on the Xbox such as movies, games and music. Another huge announcement is that Live will now have a TV service called Live TV. Not much has been specified on this announcement but it plans to team up with Sky to deliver some of your favourite TV shows.

Adam's thoughts: "Its pretty cool, yet once again its not for me. I don't have Kinect and don't plan on buying one so I guess I'm out for the dashboard update and Bing. Youtube sounds nice but once again does this have to use Kinect? Considering the updates I am guessing so. Live TV sounds nice but I already have a Sky box. So these updates are nice, but not for me.

Paul's thoughts:"If Xbox did TV, the Irish customers will probably get the shaft. Saying Xbox (whatever you're looking for) will get old REAL quick. YouTube will be cool but It begs the question, what if I don't have kinect ? What do I do then?"

Thankfully Gears Of War 3 came on stage with a new demo, Cliff Blezinski and Ice-T arrived centre stage to play the demo.

Adam's thoughts: "I love Gears, a bit too much. Sadly this demo wasn't the big reveal I was hoping for, it wasn't a huge outside the box Gears experience or anything innovated. Just the same Gears experience that I love."

Paul's thoughts:"Well, I was already excited about Gears 3, it was a decent demo. But I was hoping to see the reverse Horde mode in action."

A lot of trailers were shown for Kinect but none of them as impressive as this, Rome, sure its simple but I guess you need to start there for a Kinect game like this:

Adam's thoughts: "Its cool, but I'm waiting for a demo."

Paul's thoughts:"Not really my cup of tea."

Halo: Combat Evolved remake was a rumor to begin with but became a reality at the Microsoft press conference celebrating its 10 years in the industry, watch the trailer now:

Adam's thoughts: "Pretty cool, not the biggest Halo fan but I know its something for the fans."

Paul's thoughts:"It's not a secret that I'm a Halo fan, so I was really looking forward to this. It had been rumoured since around last December and I'm really glad the rumours were true. Fans have been asking for this for years and for the ten year anniversary, we are finally getting it. This remake will support two player online campaign co-op, with the unique feature of being able to swap between the new and old graphics in real time. Essentially there are two engines being used. The original gameplay engine which plays exactly like the original and a new graphical engine. 343i decided not to add multiplayer to it as the original code would have led to problems with online play. They do however include 7 multiplayer remakes for Halo:Reach, six for multiplayer and one Firefight (that will be very unique). I can't wait for this. Releases November 15th this year."


Minecraft is coming to Xbox Live exclusively only with Kinect unfortunately, check it here:

Adam's thoughts: "I don't like Minecraft on the PC, so I doubt Ill like it on the Xbox....with Kinect."

Paul's thoughts:"Always wanted to try Minecraft, but if it only works with kinect I guess I'll still be waiting."

The it came to some bollox about Disney and Kinect, the perfect combination!

Adams's thoughts: "Fuck off Kinect!"

Paul's thoughts: "What he said..."

Next up is Star Wars on Kinect, something a lot of people were anticipating for this event. Check it here:

Adam's thoughts: "I do not care for Star Wars....or Kinect"

Paul's thoughts:"Where's ma Battlefront 3! That's all we want!"

Even more bollox!!

Adam's thoughts: "...................."

Paul's thoughts: ".........I'm 18 years old......."

Even more bollox!!!

Adam's thoughts: "Oh come on!!!"

Paul's thoughts:"It's called playing football with your mates....outside."

Even more DANCING bollox!!

Adam's thoughts: "-.-"

Paul's thoughts:"I don't need a game to tell me that I can get down like a clown in funky town !"

And to close the show the Halo 4 teaser was shown starting a new trilogy. Made by 343 Industries and is expecting a release of next year, no news if it uses Kinect (hopefully not):

Adam's thoughts: "God-damn you Microsoft, just.....God-damn you..."

Paul's thoughts: "My finely tuned ears noticed that the voice actors are not those of the originals. I hope they're just placeholders because it was a teaser trailer. By the looks of things, they seemed to be heading into a Forerunner structure possibly a Dyson Sphere. Only time will tell."

Adam: "So is that a yes? You are looking forward to it?"

Paul: "I look forward to it in hope that 343 don't screw it up"

Adam: "So................yes?"

Paul: "Yes."

Adam: "-.-"

OVERALL SCORES:

Adam = D- 

"Fuck off Kinect!"

Paul = D- 

"Only bumped to a D by the announcement of Halo:CE Remake.Tone down the kinect Microsoft! I know it's new but it's like us hardcore gamers are being left behind."

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