Tuesday 9 July 2013

Grand Theft Auto V Gameplay Trailer

Finally a proper glimpse into the world of Grand Theft Auto V. This trailer shows off some of GTA V's features - car customisation, sports, oceans to explore, animal hunting...

Thursday 4 July 2013

GET YO' SPIKY ASS OVER HERE! - Final Fantasy VII arrives on Steam



I woke up this morning, bleary-eyed and zombie-like, to boot up my PC and start Steam... only to be greeted with an update that one of my all-time favourite games has been added to Steam's store; Final Fantasy VII.

Thursday 27 June 2013

Dota 2: How to eradicate your free time


Dota 2 - a lot has been said about this game, how it is insanely difficult to learn and that if you're a noob then the community will cut you down where you stand, leaving you a quivering mess in the corner of the room. This is partially true, but I don't think it's to the extent that we're lead to believe. Let's take a little look at this seemingly intimidating behemoth.

Tuesday 11 June 2013

E3 2013 Sony Press Conference: PS4 Info

Sony came out fighting in their press conference, obliterating their rivals, Microsoft, when it came to DRM, used games, and the price of their console. We also finally got a chance to see the new Sony console in all it's parallelogram glory. I've listed the keys points from the conference below:

E3 2013 Sony Press Conference: Knack

I admit it, Knack isn't my usual type of game. It's brightly-coloured, cartoon style, wouldn't normally get me excited. But I must say, it does look great... perhaps I'm growing tired of the more serious games I tend to gravitate to and I'm looking for something that doesn't require my brain to become emotionally-hammered.

E3 2013 Sony Press Conference: Destiny

A long-awaited reveal at the Sony conference was the first look at some actual gameplay footage of Bungie's Destiny. I have to say, I purposefully haven't looked into this title too much as I wanted to wait until the gameplay was revealed, and I'm impressed.

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference: Xbox One Info

Amongst the game announcements and trailers, Microsoft also clarified a few points that we've been calling out for and and ones we didn't expect. I've listed them below:

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference: Quantum Break

The creators of the Max Payne and Alan Wake games, Remedy, showed of their new Xbox One exclusive during the press conference.

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference: Sunset Overdrive

A welcome addition to the games announced during the conference is Sunset Overdrive, from Insomniac Games, the creators of Ratchet and Clank.

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference: Dark Souls 2

Oh god, it's that game... the sequel to Dark Souls, the game which had me frustratingly crawling through dungeons and dark forests trying oh so hard to just stay alive, nevermind actually progress.

Monday 10 June 2013

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference: Titanfall

A new IP was revealed during the conference - Titanfall. This futuristic FPS sees you jumping into large online multiplayer battles, traversing the environment by running along walls, boosting across ledges and calling down huge Titan mechs to climb aboard and do battle with.

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference: Dead Rising 3



A surprise announcement from Capcom brings back the much-loved zombie killathon, Dead Rising, in it's third encounter.

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference: The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt



We also saw gameplay footage of The Witcher 3, from CD Projekt Red. The third and final instalment in The Witcher franchise will have you romaing an open world, and it looks spectacular.

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference: Metal Gear Solid - The Phantom Pain



To kick off the flurry of game announcements and new footage at the E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference, we were treated to some stunning gameplay footage of the new Metal Gear game - Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain.

E3 2013 Microsoft Press Conference


I sat and watched the conference live over Twitch, I sat through the advertising-speak, the fluff, the bull... to pick out the games and announcements which I found the most exciting, so I could deliver them to you - minus the bull.

Keep your eyes peeled for further updates as I sort through all this... stuff.

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Marvel Heroes: First impressions




It's out and it’s free to play! Gazillion Entertainment's Marvel Heroes is the latest in a pile of Free to Play action-RPGs. As you've no doubt guessed, it's set in the Marvel Universe, allowing you to take on the guise of one of many popular superheroes. I've spent a few hours delving into the game to bring you my first impressions.

Civ V: How it's helped my relationship


My girlfriend is at Uni; she has been there for almost 2 years, with the odd break every so often where she gets to come home. It's tough, being away from the one you love, but certain things help when missing them. Sure, there is the usual phone/Skype calls, and visiting one another... But one thing that has helped, is multiplayer, namely Sid Meier's Civilization V multiplayer.

Sunday 2 June 2013

New Frontiers: Welcome to the world of indie games

I'd never appreciated an indie game until recently. Sure, I'd played a few – FTL: Faster Than Light, Deadlight (which I've reviewed), and Limbo - but until my recent purchases of Mark of the Ninja and Monaco, I never really had that feeling of “Wow, this could actually be one of my favourite games, up there with the rest of the bigger budget triple-A titles I've come to love over the years.”

This comes at a good time. Lately, spending £30-£40 on bigger titles has left me feeling hard done by; instead, I wait for them to be included in a Steam sale or pick them up second-hand in a store. But indie games are cheaper, ranging from anywhere between £5-£20 at launch, yet containing just as much fun and content as the big titles.

Saturday 1 June 2013

Going Live: Livestreaming on Twitch.tv

Greetings avid blog readers. As the title suggests, I have ventured to the lands of livestreaming via Twitch.tv. I tried it out this morning, whilst playing Super Puzzle Platformer Deluxe, and all seems to be working ok.

Friday 24 May 2013

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare - Free Weekend



Good morrow m'lord, doth thou yearn for bloody battles and castle sieges? Yes? Well look no further than Steam's latest free weekend!

That's right, Steam is at it again, with it's free weekend for Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. This game was released in October 2012, and although I'd seen snippets of game footage and screenshots, I wasn't tempted enough to pick up a copy, until today.

Sunday 5 May 2013

IncGamers Plays: Monaco

I joined my friends over at IncGamers for a couple of sessions on Monaco. Check out the videos below to see how we got on: You'll see how many people I can choke as the Cleaner and learn all about my sexy monkey.

 

 

Who is your favourite character to play as? Do you prefer stealth or to cause mayhem? And do you like my sexy monkey?

Put the money in the bag: Monaco: What's Yours is Mine Review


Developed by: Pocketwatch Games

Published by: Majesco Entertainment


Platform Reviewed:   Microsoft Windows (Using Xbox 360 Controller)


Monaco, that's where I've been... Well, not in reality, I have actually been super-incredibly-overwhelmingly busy, hence why I haven't posted for a while. Sorry.

Anyway, in the time I haven't been posting blog updates, I have managed to play Monaco. 'What the devil is that, Adam?', I hear you cry. I will tell you, good sir/madam!

Sunday 14 April 2013

No Light: A Deadlight Review



Developed by: Tequila Works

Published by: Microsoft Studios


Platform Reviewed:   Microsoft Windows (Using Xbox 360 Controller)




For my first real, proper game review – you know where you sit down and play, but take notes at the same time, with one of those pen things with the paper and the hand movements – I thought I would go for a game that I could potentially enjoy and wouldn’t be overly time consuming… ‘Deadlight’ – here goes nothin’.

It's been a while...

Hello! If you've been wondering where the heck the review I spoke of in my last post is, then fear not, it is finished and I will post it shortly after I have typed this.

Sorry for the delay, but we have been very busy with moving house and it's taken up most of my time. But, I can safely say that we're now nicely settled in, with all the furniture in it's place and the cat has found her favourite sleeping spot to people-watch and snooze.


I actually have a Study now, somewhere I can concentrate and be separated from everyday life to work, so I will be trying to post on the blog at least once a week.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled.

Monday 1 April 2013

Review Scores

Rating systems... I want one. There are many out there, and I've explored most of them pretty thoroughly for the purposes of this blog. I'll be using the '5 star' rating system. I did go over the other rating systems out there, and this one just seems like a much more solid and definitive one to use - it's not too big a group of numbers to get lost in,"should I give this game an 88 or an 89!?"

I won't break down how each rating will be given - it's more of a... if I give a game one star, it should pretty much be avoided and cast into the fiery pit of Mount Doom, but if I give 5 stars then it's a masterpiece that should definitely be experienced. Of course, this all depends on your taste in games, so a 4 star FIFA game can't really be compared to a 4 star Call of Duty game, for example.

The full review will obviously give more details into what I liked and disliked from a particular game, so the rating system shouldn't be the sole thing you check out, but it's there anyway, in case you want to use it.

Well, I'm off to write up my first review using the stars, which should be up by the end of the week - keep an eye out for it!

A 3 star rating... obviously!

Wednesday 27 March 2013

SimCity: The Story So Far


So, SimCity got it's release, after a 10 year wait. Fans of the series were excited. I was excited! Following the game’s development, from its announcement back on March 5 2012,  all the way up to its release a couple of weeks ago, only added to my excitement and eagerness to get stuck into this new version of my favourite city-builder. With the new Glassbox engine and the simplistic-looking interface of the game, it was set to be a major week for budding city planners - and it was major, for many reasons. It's just that not all of those reasons were good.

Friday 15 March 2013

The Web-Head Vs The Dark Knight; A Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

Up until 2009, Spider-Man was my all-time favourite super hero and Spider-Man 2 was my favourite super hero video game. It was open-world, and if you found yourself tiring of the story or the side-missions, you could simply veer off in any direction you pleased and web-sling to your heart’s content. You could actually see the webs sticking to the buildings and, unlike Spider-Man games since, if there was no building there to swing from then you couldn’t swing – which made it all the more challenging and immersive. My friends and I would spend hours just swinging amongst the high-rises of virtual New York city, taking turns to execute humanly impossible manoeuvres between narrowly-spaced buildings, passing the controller only when we ended up stuck to the side of a skyscraper like a bug on a windscreen.