Nintendo and Sony are preparing to face off once again in a mighty battle this year with the releases of the 3Ds and the NGP. Both machines have unique features and will pack an expensive price tag, but will either take your fancy or have mobile phone games taken over from dedicated consoles?
iPad Joystick
0 CommentsJanuary 19, 2011 – 10:30 am
The worst thing about playing games on an iPad? ‘Virtual Joysticks’. Very fiddly to use and you end up covering the majority of the screen with your huge clumsy hands. However solutions are on the way, including this awesome looking portable joystick called ‘Fling’. Now you could well argue that developers should be making games that suit the iPad instead of shoehorning bad controls in, but the lure to play to play Pac Man Championship Edition DX on the go is just too strong. Watch out ghosts, daddy has a brand new toy. Shame about the name though, not the best thing to search for online. To save you the embarrassment of having ‘fling’ in your google search history, you can find the official website here.
Mummy Hates Dead Space
0 CommentsJanuary 19, 2011 – 10:00 am
Video games have been facing scrutiny from quite a few American politicians over levels of violence and the fact that age ratings are self regulated. There have been concerns that some companies have been actively targeting violent kids to young uns and how is the best way to counteract this? By advertising a super violent horror game claiming your mum will hate it. If you are over 18 you wouldn’t give a damn what your mum thinks about a game – however if you are 14 you will no doubt try anything to get the game to wind her up. Well done EA. The adverts themselves are quite funny, but it seems like the wrong way to market the game. Then again EA marketing seems a bit of a mess – remember the godawful Dragon Age trailers featuring Marilyn Manson?
I don’t think this campaign would work on my own mum. She bought me Splatterhouse 2 as a surprise birthday present when I was 7 as she thought it looked like a good adventure. The front cover had a maniac with a hockey mask hitting monsters with a pole. I had never heard of the game. Needless to say I had a few sleepness nights. And then my video game horror obsession began. Cheers mum.
A Special Edition To Fear…
0 CommentsJanuary 17, 2011 – 10:00 am
F.E.A.R. 3 has already won this years most annoying title to type out, and is now the proud owner of weirdest limited edition. The usual suspects of steelbook and DLC are included alongside a comic book and most disturbing of all – a pregnant Alma figurine. Not only does it look very creepy but the spawn in the tummy glows in the dark. You gotta love marketing departments. As of yet there is no news on how much the package is or who will be stocking it when it releases in May, but I would love to see the face of shop managers when they are told to encourage customers to pre-order the set – ‘Sir, have you ever wanted a glow in the dark pregnant figurine’. As if that would happen, imagine ever being called Sir in a game store. Can you see yourself picking this up? What would you like to see in a limited edition apart from plastic models which seem to be all the rage?
Tomb Raider Reboot
0 CommentsDecember 9, 2010 – 10:30 am
Poor Lara Croft. The old dear has been rebooted a few times over the years in a bid to milk more money from the Tomb Raider franchise while new pretender Nathan Drake waltzes in and steals the adventure fans with the Uncharted games. Now Crystal Dynamics are rebooting the entire franchise with a new title simply called ‘Tomb Raider’ which follows a 21 year old Lara Croft as she becomes shipwrecked on a mysterious island. A couple of years ago there were leaked documents hinting at the game and they featured heavy tones of survival horror so it looks like it could be a rather dark and moody title. Those who wince when Lara falls from a huge height will want to look away as the game director has confirmed there are lots of grisly ways for Lara to meet her maker, and you’ll see them in all their gory glory – which sounds a lot like the popular death scenes in Resi 4 and Dead Space. There will be plenty of room for exploration, though some places will be out of reach for young Lara till she hones her skills – very Metorid. Hopefully this reboot will work for Lara, there is a need for more competition in the action adventure genre.
