Sponsored Video: Wreck-it Samsung

Disney's latest film Wreck-it Ralph is an absolute must-see for anyone with a nostalgic hard-on for retro-gaming and the 80's arcade games like Donkey Kong, Q-Bert etc...
Although the story is the usual sugarcoated cliche that'd make a diabetic go PoP. The film is nonetheless a pure joy hunting for the easter eggs and references that are peppered throughout the film. My favourite part being a group therapy session between a random zombie, Zangrief, Bowser and a Pac-Man ghost.



It looks like Samsung has partnered up with Disney and is offering a great mini-scavenging hunt in the site over here as part of their promotion for their Samsung Note device. You even have the chance to win one if you wish to compete.





You can also watch their promotional here:


Although the use of stylus pen with a smart phone has met with some criticism, it's nonetheless a fun device with a lot of great practical features. In fact you can read a previous positive review from me here

Good luck!



Note: This article is sponsored by Samsung

Stop! Hammer-time

So where have I been to warrant such an absence?
I have actually picked up the new wonderful hobby of Warhammer 40k Think Lord of the Rings but in errr space.

The game pretty much resolves around you painting miniatures, and then using them in a tabletop battle. Except I have absolutely no interest engaging in the part where you need to actually socialize with other people. I coin the term "socialize" oh so loosely in this case however. You know, thinking about the average socially inept people playing these games. And yours kindly is not the exception to this rule, trust me.

Unfortunately it's also extremely expensive. It's kind of the nerdy way of getting rid of your wages faster than you can say "disposable income hooooooooo"

You can actually spot the gallon of mead at the back

Luckily 2012 was an absolutely stellar year in the gaming world, and this year's Steam Winter Sale is an excellent way of catching up, so I'll be hoping to write a few posts about reviewing some of this year's underrated, or down-right kick-ass games.

Sponsored Video: Secret World Preview

The Secret World is a strange beast. It is an MMO set in the modern world with locations such as New York, London, Tokyo, ... offering a more in-depth gameplay with an emphasis on self-exploration and but using the old and familiar combat mechanics from previous mmo's
Last weekend was the last beta trial  before its imminent release and obviously I had to try it out in more depth.
I came out of the beta with a few mixed feelings but was overall definitely pleased. It's a fascinating and intriguing little morsel but like so many MMO's it's just a few elements short of innovative perfection.


The Positive Points:

The game has a really enticing and vivid game setting. It is set in a modern day world with political factions making the decisions behind the scene, and with ghouls and horror all hidden and obscured from view.

Graphically it looks very decent for an MMO although that doesn't mean there's no weird glitches clipped textures. But even with that the setting is delightfully gloomy and makes perfect use of the many TV and horror tropes like fog, dim lighting etc ...

What makes The Secret World different than any other MMO is in many ways a very fluid and open quest system. Quests are more storylines that will open up to you and that can be left for later while you enter a new minor storyline. Your character progression is in a similar vein left wide-open, disfavouring the far too frequent level system in other MMO's.
It's refreshing and great fun. In my opinion the game's best feature without peer.

The gameplay itself encourages investigation and with its use of an in-game web browser it also enables research. When at one point a character asks you "Have you ever seen a panther tripping" you can open the browser and find that exact video on Youtube. It's amazing and offers so much more depth to the game. In that same vein, the dialogue is of an immensely high quality.

The Negative Points:

The character creator from the beta was quite disappointing. Only offering a few different clothing options, albeit with many colouring variations) It's still unsure whether that will be the case during launch, but I had a feeling that Funcom might use clothing for a micro transaction business model.

Not enough political/factional impact from my liking. I was kind of missing all the cloak and dagger and political backstabbing that really should be rife in a setting based almost completely on secret power factions. Once past your faction headquarters there's not enough political intrigue, both interior to your faction, as exterior with the rivaling powers
That's based however on a very small part of the game so this might be the case later on.

As fun and refreshing as the questing and gameplay is. The combat is a bit disappointing. Still using hotbars with spells and abilities you are once again bound to be clicking and pushing the same buttons.
Although you cna choose between guns, melee weapons and spells, they all feel more like a bland flavour difference.




All-in-all the beta was a great bout of fun and the game is definitely worth trying out. I heartily recommend so.

For anyone who has preordered the game will open its secret doors tomorrow on Friday 28 June. If you're still undecided on the game you can view a trailer here:

This article is sponsored by EA

Orcs Must Die 2 Release Date

For those unfamiliar with the game, Orcs Must Die was a great Tower Defence game that saw you pitted with an arsenal of magic and deadly traps against a horde of invading orcs. You can read my review on the game here.

Robot Entertainment has now announced a sequel which will be released on the 30th of July 2012.
The sequel will bring more of the same and most importantly: Added co-op!

The released pictures so far look great, Especially of note is the below picture set outdoors. Could this indicate more open areas for warfare? It would definitely add a lot more challenge to the maps, even with co-op in mind.

E3 Revelations: Zombie WiiU

As daring and innovative as Nintendo has always been with making new consoles and gadgets. It hasn't always been successful. And I was personally kind of really dissapointed with the Gamecube.

Still Nintendo merits a lot of respect for not being a repetitive cashcow with its products and to always push for fun gameplay.

So in that same vein of pushing different technology, I had some serious mixed feelings about the WiiU. I mean why use a handheld console as a controller for a screen. That design choice just seemed marred to me.

But then I saw this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZbsXFoCHks

Need to get this now .. Bring on the Zombie Apocalypse!


And lolz at the hacking interface!

Sponsored Video: Darksiders 2 Trailer

There's lots of sequels this year I've been looking forward to: Guild Wars 2, Torchlight 2,  Bioshock Infinite. The most underrated perhaps is Darksiders 2.

The first installment received its fair share of (perhaps deserved) criticism. Mostly due to it borrowing so many game mechanics and styles from other games (Zelda, God of war, Portal)
The end result though was still a visually stunning masterpiece thanks to Joe Madueira's visual art-direction and the crisp look of Vigil's graphics engine.

The second game will now focus on another iconic Rider of the Apocalypse: Death
There's a trailer that quite poignantly depicts him throughout our history by hiding him in many of our paintings and murals. The paintings illustrate many of our revolutions and wars detailing each of Death's many roles: Solider, Executioner, ...
His ghostly mask leaving his mark throughout humanity's history.


You can watch it here:






And speaking of masks. After the disappointing Mass Effect 3 Collector's Edition (more on that later this week) I'm seriously getting this one.
Check the life-sized mask!










This article has been sponsored by THQ, although all my thoughts are my own

Sponsored Video: Angry Birds with Lazers

It's an understatement to say that the Angry Birds franchise is perhaps the most successful flagship of today's casual gaming generation and the game is nothing less than an icon of how simple gameplay can be addictive and refreshing. Not to even mention the awesome viral content like this and this.
I've also spent like a hundred pounds of change to just try and get of these plushy things in my local arcade.

It's no surprise then that there have already been sequels in the franchise, and we are two days away from the release of the newest Angry Birds game called Angry Birds Space which is set in spaaaaaaaaaaace.

The game on the Samsung Note device will feature a unique level and also all-new Angry Birds Space characters. One of these is aptly called Lazer Bird.
The Samsung Note itself makes for an almost paradoxical device since its bigger screen makes it more in-line with handheld consoles but its focus on a stylus makes it a deviate among other platforms.

You can watch a trailer from Samsung here to see how the Lazer Bird "reflects the personality of Samsung GALAXY Note"



This article has been sponsored by Samsung to Pew Pew.

PS VITA Review

It's been a few weeks since the launch of the PS Vita and this merits a quick look at the device and some of its games to see if it lives up to the hype!

The PS VITA is a really powerful console with graphics and detail that is currently the best on the handheld market. The device also packs a great amount of potential by offering motion sensoring, dual analog sticks and a touchscreen both in the front and back of the console.
According to Sony it's the perfect device for innovative games based on the game's peripherals but I have as of yet not really seen any proof of that. Nonetheless here are a few of the games I have tested so far:


Rayman Origins

Rayman Origins is a great old-school platform game with a great level design that takes you on an adventuring journey from dense jungles to a polar world filled with fruit and ice cubes. Its art is absolutely amazing and outlandish as you can see in the screenshot below:

The gameplay is fun and varied with a lot of collectibles and locked areas to come back later. Unfortunately the game only takes use of the Vitas front touch screen and analog sticks so there could have been much more potential here.
But aside from that it's a great and addictive game which lends great for a casual game while traveling etc...

 Mutant Blobs Attack!

Mutant Blobs Attack is one of the cheapest games the PS Vita has to offer and is in my opinion of the best.
It's a great little platformer with tongue-in-cheek references to Facebook, Angry Birds and many more.

Apart from using the analog sticks, there are a few little minigames that require the PS Vita's motion sensor and where you navigate the ridiculously grumpy yet cute blob by rolling it.



The PS Vita is a great console, but unfortunately with its ludicrous price-tag may not be entirely merited if you already have a DS or PSP.

Sponsored video: Last Story

With the dusk of the recent consoles finally setting in.  Nintendo seems to have decided to make their Wii's swansong a strong and compelling one.
Frst there was Skyward Sword, which was perhaps the first game where the Wii's real power of motion sensoring was first (and last?) showcased.

Their recent game which is hybrid of actiongaming and RPG's is called Last Story and is a game from the famous game creator: Hironobu Sakaguchi (think Final Fantasy). The game has already gathered much critical acclaim for its story and combat mechanics.

Amazingly the game offers a 6(!) co-operative mode where people can control a henchman with their own unique story and powers/abilities. The game's spiritual predecessor Final Fantasy is never far away. But that said, the game looks like it managed to create its own unique impression in the Japanese RPG world with a brilliant and innovative combat design and a rich enthralling game setting.

You can watch the trailer where the characters are poignantly introduced here:







This article has been sponsored by Nintendo.

Darkness II Review

The Darkness 2 is what happens when you take a genre that's been submerged in cliches and infuse it with new gameplay elements, a change of graphics and a strong narrative.
As dark, violent and obscene the game is, as much of a blast of fresh air it is in reality.



Gameplay-wise the Darkness continues the same gameplay as seen as in the previous game. Although you have a decent delection of guns at your disposal, those will not be your main weapons. You are inhibited by an ancient evil phantom called the Darkness, which grants you two snake-like tentacle arms extending from your shoulders. These are able to swipe or grapple foes, and also allow you to regenerate health by devouring the hearts of your foes. They also perform finisher moves with an obsene cruelty I have not seen much in videogames.











Graphically I can imagine the game is a hit and miss for people. The developers obviously wanted to stray true to the game's graphic novel roots by giving it a feel of a polished cellshaded reflection.
Think Borderlands graphics but darker, and less rough.
This is where the game will either appeal to you for that unique visual style, or on the contrary just repel you.

Narratively the game has amazing strong. You are thrown into the sequel by means of a half flashback and the memory of your late beloved is what drives your personal quest forward. Although perhaps not everything is what it seems, as later you find yourself in an asylum where the game is hinting that perhaps this is just your imagination.  It almost feels postmodern in that effect and I had to admit I was rivetted by that and you ponder whch is reality and which insanity.
Unfortunately later on in the game starts to drag, perhaps not as much naratively as more gameplay-wise. This is a shame as the single-player game is rather short like so many other FS's nowadays.

All in all The darkness 2

[Sponsored Video] PS Vita

PS Vita has by now launched one of the most ambitious handheld consoles. Earlier on I was quite impressed during the Eurogamer expo when I had the chance to have a one-on-one with this slick piece of technology.
I was quite impressed back then and I'm looking forward until Amazon snail-mails it to my flat.

Here's a video featuring Rizzle Kicks about the PS Vita. For those who don't know: Rizzle Kicks is British Hiphop duo and is pretty hip at the moment. Although truth be told their music is neither hip nor makes me hop (IMHO). That said the video is quite amazing and well shot, and the duo's enthusiasm is damn infectious.  It showcases how the PS Vita is an amazing portable device due to its 3G connenction.

It's a visually very neat video starting from the morning till the evening and how both sides of the group can entertain themselves mostly while doing other activities like having a good ol' English Breakfast and heckling cab drivers.
All that's missing is a guide on how to play this while peeing. My life would be complete with that knowledge but anyway I digress.

You can watch it here:





This article has been sponsored by my acute gadgetomania.

Review: Arkham City (PC)

Arkham Asylum.

At the time of its release it was seen as perhaps the best Batman game ever. It achieved a goal no other game had ever got close to. Immersion, feeling as if you were the Bat.
Arkham Asylum was a dark atmospheric game combined with a fluent and visceral combat system.

It's no surprise then that when Arkham City was announced there was both maniacal drooling and skepticism at the same time.
But in my opinion the developer Rocksteady delivered.

Finally a developer that uses the golden design rule: If it ain't broke, it doesn't need fixing. We still have the same combat animation with combo points and slow-motion take-downs. With a few tweaks to the game's detective mode and gliding system.

It has been a year of open worlds to explore and besides Skyrim and Saints Row 3, Arkham City also offers a large world populated by the scum of Gotham. Ranging from cannonfodder henchman that you knock senseless to the perhaps EVERY villain from the Batman franchise.
Unfortunately this is both where Rocksteady delivers and mars at the same time. because unlike in the previous installment that was a tightly narrated, Arkham City's openness kind of loses focus.
But that is easily forgiven when you glance over the city taken in it's dark and gothic horizon, or when you glide over the city's rooftops like a dark predator that you are.

Rock on Rocksteady

Samsung FCU

Last week Samsung had released the latest and last video in the  "FCU" campaign. It's a great series about a news-unit called FCU: The Fact Checkers Unit, which is a tam that, you guessed it, verifies random (and ludicrous) weird rumours about the rich and famous.

Questions such as: "Does T-pain sleep in a coffin?" and "Does DMC live in a castle?" (Apparently he does walk that way)

The last video wraps up the series nicely and ponders on the question: Who (or what?) is Heavy Mustache and how to seduce women by means of a cow costume. Someone find me this awesome costume!
You can watch the video here:





A great thing about this series is how the actual product, the Galaxy Note, is seamlessly integrated into the background in a completely non-intrusive way. It's a refreshingly commercial social video in that aspect. Props to Samsung for that.



This post is sponsored by Samsung

SOPA

For all those who wondered why the blog was inactive for over a month.

Pre-emptive strike because of SOPA and PIPA

*cough* uh ... yeh


SOPA and PIPA have been discussed at length and from the die-hard internet junkies scouring through reddit to the user who perhaps only checks his mail and Wikipedia: Everybody has read about the inherent effects of this dodgy legislation.
The internet is a very complicated subject. It's a tangled web that diffuses the concept of nationality and affects millions of people for thousands of reasons. This is why it deserves more than some vague legally-binding text.