Adidas and EA Sports have teamed up to bring PC, 360 and PS3 Fifa 09 players an exclusive new real-time data service. It’s called Adidas Live Season, Fifa 09 will be able to download updated player information every week that changes in-game player attributes to match the real unfolding football season. This special service will be compatible with the Barclay’s Premier League, La Liga BBVA, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Series A and Mexican Primera Division.
Andrew Wilson, Executive Producer for Fifa says. “The game will feel and play differently each week. With Adidas Live Season if Ronaldinho has a great match on the weekend you’ll feel the difference when you pick up the controller as his in-game attributes increase.” A Fifa 09 PS3 and Xbox 360 Demo will be available on September 11th.
Yet another Baby Simulator heads to Nintendo DS later this year, so if you’re the type of gamer who has always wanted a virtual baby or you have a teenage daughter and want to get the safe sex message home then this game could be just the ticket. With Baby Life for DS you get to skip the messy aspect of procreation and can build your own perfect 9 month old baby from various attributes with over 3 million possibilities, so don’t worry about creating a baby that looks the same as your other Baby Life playing friends.
Your task is to help your very realistic baby to grow up from 9 to 15 months - there are more than 100 items of clothing for your baby to wear too. If all that nappy changing hasn’t put you off, then why not head into the Babysitting mode where you can look after up to four children at once!
Another new trailer from Capcom’s upcoming Resident Evil 5 has surfaced and the game is looking as good as ever. We still think it’s not a radical step up from Resident Evil 4 but as that was such a great game, we’re not too bothered.
Fatal Inertia was released last year on the Xbox 360 as a full priced title to mixed responses from gamers and critics. Now it’s here on the PS3 as a downloadable for less money and this time around gamers do get a bit more bang for their buck.
It’s a futuristic racing game where you pilot ships that hover close to the ground. You simply have to complete the required number of laps and make sure you pass through the checkpoint gates. Do this before everyone else and you come first. Simple.
Of course, to make things a bit more tricky there are weapon pads you can fly over which give you abilities that might give you the edge over your opponents. There are the standard speed boosts and shields, but unique to Fatal Inertia are launchable magnets and grapple guns.
Magnets can be fired in front and behind and if they stick to a ship they effect handling and eventually explode to cause damage. Grappling guns can be fired to stick to other ships and then the other end can be fired to the scenery or other ships to cause some amusing and satisfying crashes.
When it comes to courses there are plenty to choose from, ranging from tropical paradises to barren icy worlds. Compared to the WipeOut games, there’s certainly room to pick your path but that can give rise to getting lost and missing checkpoints. If you do miss a checkpoint you might as well stop playing because it’s almost impossible to recover.
Handling of the ships is good for the majority of the time in the early stages of the game but things quickly get tough when you hit the third league and it’s when you’re under pressure things still seem a little sluggish.
I’d also have liked to hear some better music to get my heart pounding whilst zooming round the tracks.
The game also has split-screen and online play although I couldn’t actually find anyone online when I tried to connect so unfortunately can’t comment on what it’s like to play with other people.
As a downloadable game that’s relatively cheap this is a fun futuristic racer that will entertain while it lasts. It gets a good 6 out of 10.
Because there is nothing coming out this week I’m reviewing God of War: Chains of Olympus. There are two good reasons for doing this. First of all I haven’t got round to playing it until now and secondly it’s a good game so listen up.
Once again you play the Greek badass Kratos as you explore new lands to save the world from eternal darkness. If you’ve played either of the other titles on the PS2 you’ll be right at home here and be able to jump into the action immediately. The game’s a mix of arena battles and puzzle solving but, unlike the Hellboy game I reviewed last week, the game remains constantly exciting by introducing new monsters with different attack patterns and plenty of puzzles to keep your grey-matter exercised as well.
Kratos begin s with simple attacks but as you collect red orbs by killing enemies and opening chests, you upgrade your attacks and get cool powerful combos and new items which not only help you fight but let you make it further into the game.
Combat is fluid and gruesome - it really is great fun ripping soldiers and monsters in half with your bare hands! Presentation is also fantastic with the game looking superb on such a small screen. Music, sound effects and voice-over also serve to make this a complete package for fans of third-person action adventures.
The game’s rated 18 which is fair enough thanks to all the blood and gore - but also there are moments which are embarrassing to play if someone looks over your shoulder on the bus. I am of course talking about the presence of boobs and scenes where you pleasure ladies in return for energy to help you power up. It’s a little bit cringy.
Chains of Olympus is full of variety - so much that you’ll never get bored as you play through it and you should enjoy every moment. It’s almost perfect so it gets an olympian-sized 9 out of 10.
Fancy making £200,000 for selling a Nintendo Wii? Well try chucking it on eBay and hope a small child bids on it by accident. 5 yr-old Archie Lovett did exactly that and his Dad wasn’t too happy when he got the bill. Luckily they sorted it out - he already had a Wii.
Microsoft are releasing a new Xbox 360 controller with an improved d-pad which registers 32 directions. It’s been in use with Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 at Leipzig and may also prevent blisters for people playing Street Fighter IV in the near future.
Sony’s had a lot to announce at Leipzig this week. The PSP 3000 will have a clearer screen and the same dimensions as the PSP Slim & Lite, there’s a new 160Gb PS3 on the way, a PS3 keyboard in the style of a BlackBerry that slots into your controller and the Little Big Planet release date of 29th October
