On this weeks Gamesweasel we cover:
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There’s a patch for Pro Evo 2008 for both PS3 and the 360. Konami haven’t explained what the updates too but there’s speculation it helps with online and offline jerkiness. So far on my 360 I’ve noticed no change. If you have PES 2008 and have felt the effect of the update, please email me at gamesweasel.btpodshow.com .
Blu-Ray discs are kicking HD DVD’s asses according to their European Committee. They say more than a million films have been sold for its format with a 73 percent share, leaving a piddly 27 percent for HD-DVD. Sales have been bolstered by the PS3 having Blu-ray capability and by the recent releases of 300 and Casino Royale flying off the shelves.
The latest update is available for backwards compatibility for your 360 so now there are over 300 original Xbox titles you can play proper like on your console. New games include Burnout 2, Worms 3D and Point of Impact and remember, they’ll also look better played through your nice TV all anti-aliased and stuff.
I’ve just seen the teaser trailer for and that’s it – just the teaser trailer. The game is Deus Ex 3 and all I know is they are going to try to recapture the essence of the first game and not the sequel. Good thing I say. When I played the start of the first game on the PC I didn’t like it much and then had to interview Warren Specter, the guy who made it. I told him my thoughts and he replied with ‘hey, a lot of people say that. Get past the first mission and you’ll love it.” I went back, persevered and now it sticks in my memory of one of the best PC games ever made. Luckily I also got to tell him that when I got to chat to him again a year later.
So, in this modern day we can be sure it’ll probably come out on consoles too, and maybe launch on the 360 first, it won’t be as long as the first one, and hopefully you’ll again get to play the game the way you want to play it, affecting how the story plays as you go. I’m very, VERY excited about this one and hope to be playing it by Christmas 2008 or at the latest Easter 2009.
So my next review is Dead Head Fred and no it’s not a game about two bald brothers in a pop group or Rik Mayall being an imaginary friend wiping poo on your sofa, it’s about a private detective who’s brought back from the dead without his head. Instead, he has a brain with eyeballs in a jar balanced on his shoulders. Nice.
This one’s a third person action puzzler with cool film-noir style graphics, a tight script and some of the best voice acting I’ve heard. In a way it also works well on the PSP as it’s made especially for that format alone and not just ported across lazily to sell a few more copies.
So the game starts with you looking through your jar head as a scientist revives you, who then explains you’ve been murdered by the mob. You then have to get your memory back and get revenge on the people that did this to you by running round the town, graveyards and swamps, talking to a heap of colourful characters and fighting zombies. The good news is you can steal their heads and use them to give you new abilities. A bit like Worzel Gummage but with swearing and blood. Actually, this game’s a lot LESS scary, I was terrified when John Pertwee put on his creepy thinking head.
Combat’s a little bit messy with a limited combo system and a glitchy camera at times, but this is more than made up for with the adventure parts of the game and the very funny characters you’ll meet along the way. It’s also fun swapping heads with different abilities like a mannequin’s head which will stop freaking out because they’re talking to a zombie with a jar head, a zombie head which can absorb air to make you float and a stone head which lets you walk on the sea bed amongst others.
There’s also some mini games like catching worms for bait and fishing so you can make some lovely health drinks. Not sure why, you’re the wise-cracking walking dead!
With so many average PSP games out there at the moment, this one really is a breath of fresh air. It’s funny, fun to play and has a compelling storyline and genuinely likeable characters which will make you play this to the end.
It gets a very good 7 out of 10.
Get the game now
New: Buy Dead Head Fred from Buy.com
Preowned: Dead Head Fred - Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent Dead Head Fred - free rental trial from Gamefly.com
It’s seemed like an age but at last Mario gets a full proper game on the Wii and we haven’t seen him strutting his stuff like this since Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube. In fact, that game being not quite what it should have been it’s actually the best game since Super Mario 64 or its remake on the DS.
This time, Mario’s exploring space on lots of spherical worlds that completely break the boundaries of gravity, what’s up, down, and if and when Mario should stick to the floor or go flying through space.
Once again you’re on the hunt for stars after Bowser steals Princess Castle and the whole castle from under her and flies off into space with it. Gives a whole new meaning to moving home doesn’t it?
Anyway, what this means for you the gamer is a fantastic adventure full of fun, new ideas and plenty of varied gameplay which never gets tiring. There’s the usual jumping on heads, jumping down pipes and coins to collect, but also the ability to spin into enemies with a flick of the wrist with either the nunchuck or the remote. I was a bit worried when I saw Mario running around round planets as to how it would handle but the good news is it feels as natural as breathing, and a lot more fun (although not essential to living).
When it comes to special abilities, Mario can turn into a bee so he can buzz around the levels and climb over honeycombs, let fireballs fly with his flower power and can zoom round space by jumping into stars he can launch on with a shake of the remote. You also need to point it to sweep up Star Bits which appear whenever you bash enemies or run through flowers etc. It’s quite addictive grabbing all those bits which you’ll need at points in the game to feed to stars that open up new locations or do you special favours. There are also other ways Mario can move about according to the level you’re on – sometimes you’re riding on the back of a stingray, or walking on top of a ball using the Wii remote to tilt it. Constantly there are new ways to get hold of those precious stars and you’re going to have to use your brain as well as your reactions to play this one.
This game is also one of the best looking games so far on the Wii. It’s bright, colourful and the world you enter at the very start of the game is breath-taking. It’s also nice to see Bowser back to his proper nasty ways. Well done lad!
It moves along at a great pace and it’s one you’re not going to want to put down.
So, to sum up, if you have the weekend spare I recommend you get this on a Friday and really get into it as you’ll be itching to get back on it as soon as you put down your remote.
It’s rare I do this but I’m going to go into fractions here and give it 9 ½ out of 10. If you have a Wii, you must own this.
Get the game now
New: Buy Super Mario Galaxy from Buy.com
Preowned: Super Mario Galaxy - Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent Super Mario Galaxy - free rental trial from Gamefly.com
This week Matt Cuttle talks:
In the competition this week we are giving away five copies of Ace Combat 6: Skies of Liberation for the Xbox 360, so download this episode , check out the question then head over to the Gamesweasel web site for full details of how to enter. Where are your emails this week? Our email address is gamesweasel@btpodshow.com and we want to hear from you.
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