I’ve never really been into the Motorstorm games which is odd as I much prefer fantasy racing over the more technical simulation games of say Gran Turismo or Project Gotham. I guess it’s because I’d just rather be playing an FPS or something. However, on the PSP it feels different and worthwhile because I don’t necessarily have to be sitting at home while I’m playing it. Motorstorm Arctic Edge takes the high-octane racing to some rocky, snowy mountains and once again you get to race bikes, snowmobiles, quads, trucks and cars over the terrain. Of course, your choice of vehicle means you have to choose your path carefully. You can take to the high ground and thin tracks on a bike or trudge through the deep snow in a truck and barge everyone out of the way in the process.

Festival mode has over 100 races for you to compete in. Some are just first past the post races, others give you bonus points for staying in the lead for a set amount of time or have you go through a series of checkpoints and try to finish with the most time on the clock as it constantly ticks down. The action’s fast and you can now cool down your boost meter by going over water and snow to prevent you from blowing up if you keep it activated for too long. There are only 8 vehicles on the track at once to keep things moving at a fast pace and the game is definitely easier than its console cousins.

The soundtrack is also great with the likes of Pendulum, Prodigy and Queens of the Stone Age providing some tunes you’ll definitely know and maybe like as much as I do. And once you’ve had your fill of the single player mode you can take the game online and play in Wreckreation mode where you can do time trials against developer ghost data or data you’ve downloaded and experiment with tracks and vehicles in free play.

Despite not being as pretty as the console versions, this is definitely my favourite Motorstorm game as the game style fits the PSP perfectly. It gets a very good 7 out of 10.

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Related: Pure review, Project Gotham review, Motorstorm Arctic Edge review

Tags: Motorstorm Arctic Edge, racing, Motorstorm: Arctic Edge, PSP, Motorstorm, PS2, Arctic Edge, Sony, driving

I had my first experience of 3D cinema the other day when I watched Up. Once my eyes had adjusted I was initially impressed but then I sort of got used to it. It’s the same with videogames. Next-gen machines come out and everyone goes ‘whooo’ but then the bar has to constantly be raised in order to impress. It’s a pity then that not only does Up have average graphics, but it’s also a very average platform game that’s of little interest to me.

You mainly play the game as Carl and Russell as you move round the 3D platform levels attached to your floating house. Similar to the Lego games, you can play with a friend and must work together to get round the environment. For example, Russell can shimmy along ledges and use Kevin the bird to reach new heights, while Carl can use his cane to climb up ledges and keep wasps and spiders away with the screeching of his faulty hearing aid. In single player mode you hit a button so switch between them which sometimes works and can sometimes be frustrating when the AI takes over and moves characters precisely where you don’t want them.

Most of the time you’re just platforming and collecting coins and artefacts as you go. Combat is extremely limited to swinging your cane at things or picking up items to use against the inhabitants of the forest. Occasionally you also get a boss fight but the action throughout is all rather slow and cumbersome. What do you expect from controlling a geriatric and a boy scout?

To break things up a bit you can also take to the skies and literally dogfight with the talking dogs. For some reason this is also the first thing you do in the game which is odd as it’s set in a scene right near the end of the movie.

Young children may enjoy playing as the characters from the film but this doesn’t offer anything for the older gamer. It’s an average platform game so it gets an average score of 5 out of 10.

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Related: G Force review, Wii Christmas party games, Youtube Up review

Tags: Up, Up, disney, pixar, THQ, platformer, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, DS, Mac OS X, Windows, Single player, 2 player, co-op, multiplayer, Youtube Up review

Once again it’s time for another EA Sports game with a new number on the end. This time it’s the turn of FIFA. When you first look at the game it doesn’t look much different but you’ll soon realise that they’ve ironed out all the things that made 09 great to make this version excellent.

First of all there’s the 360’ movement, meaning you’re no longer running at 45 degree angles. This makes for a more realistic movement of the players and coupled with the improved ball physics, some truly interesting and freakish goals that are sure to make you shout out or hold your head in your hands.

Manager Mode is the main season mode where you play through a number of seasons and make transfer and squad decisions. Be a Pro mode is back where you play as an individual and now you can make your own Virtual Pro. Using EA’s Game Face technology which is currently broken as I review the game due to high demand, you can put your face right into the game and level them up RPG style in custom games and even in the arena.

Following on from the Adidas Live Season comes Live Season 2.0 where you can download the latest games your club’s played and try to replicate or re-write history. It’s a shame you have to pay for this after a 5 game demo but hardcore fans will find it worth the extra spend. There’s also a set piece creator where you can modify and save set pieces for use in games. Again, only the hardcore will probably go this deep into the game but it’s a nice touch.

As ever, presentation is slick with some great player likenesses and some good ad-libbing from Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. I usually say not to bother getting the new version of an EA Sports game if you’re enjoying last year’s, but once again, FIFA’s come up trumps. Over to you Pro Evo. FIFA 10 gets 9 out of 10, if you know what I mean.

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Related: Fifa 09 review, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 review, FIFA 10 review

Tags: FIFA 10, FIFA, football, soccer, FIFA Soccer 10, EA Sports, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS, PC

So Guitar Hero 5 is available in the shops and the good news is this doesn’t feel like just some more songs to jam along to slightly repackaged. It is in fact quite a leap forward for the game both in terms of graphical style and the way the game plays.

First of all let’s cover the track list. There are 85 songs on this and as usual, some you’ll know, some you won’t, depending on your musical taste. Queen, Muse, Nirvana and Garbage all appear amongst others and you can even unlock guest characters such as Shirley Manson, Santana and Kurt Kobain and then add them to your customised band line-up.

It’s also never been easier to get into a game. Party Play mode lets anyone just drop in or out of a song at any difficulty without interrupting the song which really adds to the accessibility of the game.

The on-screen graphics have also been streamlined. Gone are the big meters which crowd the screen. They are now incorporated into the fret display and the whole look of the band and venues looks a lot more authentic. They’ve copied the grainy look of Rock Band and the character animation and lip synching is really a sight to behold. Another great touch is the ability to play Guitar Hero 5 as your Xbox 360 avatar. You look a little out of place as you’re a lot shorter than everyone else but you can also customise a completely new character to look like you in the character creation mode.

It’s also great that you can play any song from the off in quick play mode and in career, you unlock new venues and songs even though you haven’t played all the songs in the previous category. You can also get more stars by fulfilling criteria mid-song like finger tapping all the tap sections of whammying the sustain notes.

Apart from there not being enough modern tracks for my liking, Guitar Hero 5 really is the ultimate band experience so far. Neversoft have really pushed things forward this time around and it’s tricky to say how they’d better this.

Guitar Hero 5 gets and almost perfect 9 out of 10.

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Anyone old enough to remember the G.I. Joe cartoon and toys? Well if you do, you may or may not be excited about the new movie. This is the game of the movie of the cartoon and as you’d expect it’s actually a load of watered-down rubbish so I’ll be quick.

As you can see, the game almost plays like Commando or Contra in that you just run into the screen and shoot everything in front of you. This wouldn’t be so bad if the game played like Gears of War but it actually plays a bit like the 80s game Commando which of course is unacceptable. You can play alone or co-op and if you’re playing single player you can swap between characters mid-level, however, they skate around the environment like the 3rd person mode in Fallout 3 and the cover system isn’t worth using at all. So, you just end up strafing all over the place and shooting stuff. And if you do have to backtrack, the camera doesn’t move so you run blindly into the edge of the screen.

Character models are shoddy, environments are boring and the whole game feels like something you should download from the Xbox Live Arcade. If you want some good run and gun action instead, pick up Gears of War 2 – it should be pretty cheap now. G.I. Joe gets an awful 2 out of 10.

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Related: Gears of War 2, Bionic Commando review, GI Joe The Rise of Cobra review

Tags: GI Joe The Rise of Cobra, GI Joe, Rise of Cobra, G.I.Joe

We all know that most movie licenses are very bad but Disney’s G-Force actually bucks the trend and delivers a satisfying action adventure with high production values and tight controls. In the game you play as Darwin, one of the G-Force team, as you try to put a stop to electrical appliances that have come alive thanks to a virus.

In a change from the swine flu stories in the news at the moment, this time a virus is making irons, microwaves, toasters, shavers and headphones come alive and start attacking humans. Of course it’s far-fetched but these appliances provide suitably-sized opponents for your little guinea pig to fight with. Darwin has a plasma gun which can be upgraded, a quick-fire blaster rifle and a saber whip for melee combat. You’ll also have to employ some strategy with some of the appliances as some of them only show their weak spots at certain times or need to be destroyed in some other cunning way.

You also have the help of your housefly friend Mooch who you can control to squeeze through grates and slow down time to make it past fans and lasers to open doors and hack security for you. It’s really fun flying around the rooms and finding a way to get Darwin further into his mission.

Of course, the game’s very linear as you’d expect from a title like this and unfortunately there’s not too much variety in the game. Apart from a couple of levels when you’re in your hamster ball vehicle, all the environments look very samey and drab and most of your enemies can be killed by moving and shooting until they explode. Still, in short doses this game is great fun to play with high production values and responsive controls.

The game also comes with 3D glasses and you can switch this mode on in the options. To be honest though, I wouldn’t bother. The game doesn’t look much more 3D than it does in normal mode, everything looks washed out and it gave me a headache. Disney G-Force gets a very good 7 out of 10.

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Related: Lego Indiana Jones review, The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian review, Youtube G-Force review

Tags: G-Force, GForce, g force, Darwin, Disney, guinea pig, hamster, Mooch, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation Portable, PSP, iPhone OS, G-Force review

I haven’t seen the movie yet but braved reviewing the game on the Wii nonetheless even though it of course contains spoilers. I won’t go into the plot of the game or the movie here but it’s safe to say the game features lots of running about Hogwarts as you uncover another mysterious plot that always comes back to Voldermort.

Being on the Wii, you use the nunchuck to move Potter round the environment, but then use the remote in what boils down to three games throughout the main game to either pilot your broomstick in games of Quidditch, mix potions, or cast spells around the castle and when duelling opponents. Unfortunately, apart from running around the castle to trigger the next cutscene, that’s all you really do. Anything else just seems like a lengthy tutorial, even hours into the game.

Let’s start with Quidditch. Basically the game goes on around you as you concentrate on catching the snitch. The action’s on rails here as you follow the snitch and point the Wii remote at the screen to steer Harry through stars that keep you on target to catch it. Keep hitting the stars and you win the game.

Potion making is probably the most fun but not once you’ve done it 20 times. Here you press A on the remote to pick up a potion then you tilt it to pour it into a cauldron. You also shake the remote and nunchuck to heat the pot and can also stir the mixture all using gestures. This works really and translates what you do with your remote almost exactly on screen.

Finally, there are the duels which you’d hope you would be able to employ some strategy in. Unfortunately, all you really have to do is get as close as possible to your opponent and blast them repeatedly as fast as you can until you beat them.

Unfortunately, that’s all there really is to the game. The likenesses and voices are good but the frame rate struggles most of the time and cutscenes (of which there are many) appear a bit rushed. If you’re a Harry Potter freak there’s something here for you. For everyone else, it’s just very, very average, like a Muggle. Harry Potter gets 5 out of 10.

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Tags: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter, Half Blood Prince, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PC, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince review

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3 years ago I saw a rather good looking Indiana Jones game which had some dynamic fighting using their new Euphoria engine. So far, that game hasn’t surfaced and what we get instead is this latest adventure on the Wii, Staff of Kings. This time Indy is looking for the Staff of Moses and once again has to fight thugs, Nazis and mystical forces along the way.

Being on the Wii, LucasArts have decided to eek out every last bit of motion control. You use the remote and nunchuck to punch with your left and right fist, and by holding down the B button and swinging the remote, you can unleash your whip to disarm enemies, pull them closer for a handy headbutt or swing around the environment. You even get to use it as a joystick as you fly a plane and as a light gun during shooting sections.

Although it’s quite novel using the controls in this way to fight at first, it soon gets a bit frustrating. You can’t always pull off the moves you mean to do, not that that matters because your enemies mostly wait around for you to hit them or dodge their attacks. The fighting is fun though as you pick up objects and smash them into tables, fish tanks etc and does feel quite meaty as Indy’s punch-ups often look in the movies.

Unfortunately the game’s also very glitchy and feels rushed and unfinished. Tutorial sections and cut-scenes can’t be skipped so if you happen to die during them ,you have to sit through long sequences before you can try again. Although the Indy sound-alike is very good, audio skips and jumps as the game loads new areas, and even animations jump and skip as you fight and move around.

There’s also a co-op multiplayer mode in there if you fancy it as Indy and his Sean Connery Dad run about together but to be honest, this is pretty throw away too.

It’s a shame I enjoyed the old graphic adventure Fate of Atlantis and the PS2 game Emperor’s Tomb more than this one. It may be better on the PSP and PS2 thanks to a less convoluted control system but if you want a tomb-raiding action adventure, get the recent Tomb Raider instead. Staff of Kings gets an average 5 out of 10.

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After such a long wait we can finally look forward to the upcoming blockbuster movie and accompanying video game releases of Harry Potter’s 6th adventure; Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Electronic Art’s have spent many months and worked very hard to make this the best Harry Potter video game to date and promise to keep as close to the storyline of the film whilst making the game fun and interactive for the player.

This time around Harry Potter faces his darkest and most terrifying battles yet and will need all of his magic skills and cunning to defeat the evils brought on by Lord Voldemort. You will need to help Harry, Ron and Hermione protect Hogwarts once again in the sprawling and detailed game which is jam packed full of exciting things to do which include;

• Competing in the exciting Quidditch Cup
• Learning new magic duelling skills and taking them into battle
• Creating exciting magic potions
• Taking part in cool and stealthy night time adventures in Hogwarts while everyone is asleep
• Exploring brand new magical areas outside of Hogwarts such as The Burrow and Horcrux cave

No matter what system you own you can look forward to Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince because it’s coming out for Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PC, PSP, PS3, DS and Mobile phones. The Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince release date for North American fans is June 30th and the release date for Harry Potter 6 in the Europe is just 3 days later on 3rd July.

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Related: The Lord of the Rings Conquest review, Iron Man review

Tags: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter 6, Quidditch, Xbox 360, PS3, PC, PS2, PSP, DS, Wii, Mobile, movie, film

Rather unusually for a series of action figures, G.I. Joe (or Action Man for British Readers) actually started off as a toy and then moved into comics, a cartoon show and now the upcoming blockbuster movie G.I Joe The Rise of the Cobra. As most of you will probably already know, GI Joe is a tough action hero who can adapt to any scenario and learn any skill necessary to stop bad guys from the evil Cobra Organization. You could say he’s a tougher version of James Bond although I wouldn’t like to commit and say who would win if pitted against each other.

Hasbro have entrusted EA to develop the heavily anticipated tie in video game and from the looks of the latest GI Joe Video Game trailer it seems that was a jolly good idea because it looks full of action, guns and melee combat. G.I Joe The Rise of the Cobra video game is coming out on all platforms including 360, Wii, PS2 and PS3 and we’ll bring you more news as we get it.

The G.I Joe The Rise of the Cobra Release Date is August 4th in North America and 31st July in Europe.

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Tags: GI Joe, Rise of the Cobra, G.I. Joe, release date, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PS3, DS

If you can’t get enough of Silent Hill the original game’s coming back for the PSP, Wii and PS2. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories will offer a remixed version of the PSOne original complete with unique controls for the Wii. The release date for Silent Hill Shattered Memories is Autumn 2009.

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Rock Band 2 came through my door a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately, I still haven’t got hold of any of the peripherals. Still, I do have a set for Guitar Hero but unfortunately, only a drum kit for the PS3. Still, apart from the fact that the drums are now wireless, not much has changed when it comes to how you hit the buttons so I’m going to concentrate more on what you get on the actual disc.

You get a lot of songs with Rock band 2. Over 500 in fact if you count the 80 on the disc, the 20 you can download for free, the ones you can import form the original game for a small fee and future downloads. There are classics from AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan and the Chili Peppers in there, as well as some more modern tunes and some from the days of Brit Pop. Remember that? Oh, those were the days. As usual you can play solo or as part of a band, and then hit the buttons and strum, drum or sing in tune in time to the music.

At first glance you’ll think it’s just more of the same, but they’ve tweaked the gameplay enough to make it much more user-friendly. To begin with, you don’t just play songs in order. You can now choose from set lists which are either mystery, user-created or solo songs. As you unlock new gig venues and cities to fly to, the choice widens. Some gigs you can play in 5 minutes, and some are a whopping 7 songs or so which will take you at least half an hour to complete. It’s also good news that you can change your difficulty on the fly without having to play through the career again. This means someone can play unlocked tracks on your profile on easy mode if they’re not as good as you. Individual band members can also set their own difficulty so everyone can play at their own level at once. If someone’s truly dreadful but wants to play along, there’s even a no fail mode which won’t chuck you out of a song when the crowd are ready to kill you.

You can also take the tour online and play with other band members not in the same room as you – useful if you have a small flat or only have the guitar and want to experience playing in a full band.

On top of that there’s a slightly better character creator and extra challenges to compete in to earn yourself double money for example. You can even hire managers and staff which effect how many fans you get and ultimately how successful you are. Rock Band 2 is once again great fun to play and even more versatile this time around. It’s great for parties, playing alone, or even to practice the real drums using the tutorial mode. It gets an excellent 8 out of 10.

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I know of two people called Shaun White. One is the ginger snowboarder, the other is a PR Manager at Electronic Arts. I’ve never asked him if he actually snowboards but I bet he’s not as good as the ginger one.

In this first next-gen Shaun White game, you play an unknown rising star, and Shaun wants you to collect a number of very large coins across four mountain tops in Alaska, Park City, Japan and Europe. Not quite sure why, but he does.

You’re then plonked on one of the mountains and you’re pretty much free to roam where you want, picking up the coins that appear on your radar and finding challenges to earn you money and points. These challenges can range from straight races with other borders where you can throw snowballs at them to knock them off their boards, grinding challenges where you must jump on every tree and rail you see and collecting challenges where you must collect rotating guitars as you whizz down the slopes. There aren’t really any set courses to go down, everything is free form so you’re able to go where you want to find the best air and even hidden locations. It’s even possible to fall down cliffs and cracks in the ice if you’re not too careful.

It all looks suitably snowy and the soundtrack’s not half bad either, but my problem with the game is it’s not quite sure what it wants to be. It aims to be realistic, but later in the game Shaun gives you Focus powers which let you do silly stunts. At the beginning, it’s also painful to do any kind of tricks with the board you’re given. You seem to slow down way too quickly on straights and it’s tricky to control your boarder when it comes to aiming where you want to go. Tricks are pretty simple though, with the left stick used to rotate your boarder mid-air and the right stick being used for grabs.

Collecting those coins to get through the game may also annoy some people as it slows down the pace. To get some of them you have to work to take the best route and it’s annoying when you see one that you can’t get to without having to go back down the mountain and get a ski lift or helicopter back to the summit.

If you’re really into snowboarding and you’re itching for a next-gen kick, then this is it. If you’re more casual and you just want some action on a board, either check out our Skate It review or wait for a slightly less chilly experience with Skate 2.

Shaun White Snowboarding gets 6 out of 10.

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It’s almost the end of another year and each year seems to bring another version of the racing franchise Need For Speed. This new one sees you infiltrating a gang of street racers in order to uncover some organised crime and drug syndicates. Just how racing against them somehow leads to arrests isn’t quite clear. Still, it’s an excuse to race around the city streets and avoid the cops. Even though you’re on their side they don’t know that so there’s another excuse for some high-speed racing and a high probability of losing your no claims bonus.

The game claims to be in an open world format but that’s not really the case. After an initial race from the cops at the start of the game, you’re free to race around the city. We’ll, I say race but there’s no-one actually competing against you and unless the cops find you and start to chase, there’s absolutely no goals to find and no races to stumble across. To get into a race you either hit up on the d-pad to get a map of the city with races available, or hit down to go the nearest race. You’re then faced with a loading screen before the race begins. Unfortunately, even in the races the open world isn’t used. You’re sent down a linear path with a few varied routes but nothing that feels free. Compared to Burnout Paradise this is a huge disappointment.

This being Need For Speed, it isn’t just a case of getting from A to B. Some races are straightforward but there’s also Highway Battle where you must leave a rival in your dust and stay ahead for a certain amount of time or reach a set distance. And of course there are police chases where you can smash through structures to leave carnage for them to crash into.

My other problem with the game is how easy it is. Even if your car isn’t as good as everyone else’s, it’s easy to steam past them and come in first. You then get driver points which up your stats and eventually lead to you buying bigger and more powerful cars. Also, on the PS3 at least, the framerate is appalling. Even playing offline, it plays with the type of lag you’d experience playing online with a bad connection. At high speed, it’s so bad it can make you crash and ejects you completely form the racing experience.

Because I played the Need For Speed Undercover PS3 version, I’m giving marks for the PS3 release only. Unfortunately, Need for Speed Undercover fails to deliver on everything it promises and the terrible framerate means it’s effectively broken so it gets a very bad 3 out of 10.

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If you’ve been following my games career over the past few years, you’ll know I’m not a massive fan of Sonic. I’ve always thought the games don’t really pose any challenge, feel like they’re playing themselves and just run far too quick to actually actively collect rings and avoid falling off ledges. Sonic Unleashed is Sega’s latest attempt to bring back the blue hedgehog’s glory days and this time they’ve turned him into a ‘Werehog’ when the sun goes down.

The game begins with a very impressive cutscene where Doctor Eggman splits open a planet to release the spirit inside. This has the effect of giving Sonic new powers at night. He’s now a bit of a bruiser with the ability to beat things up and use some weird rubbery arms.

So the game’s a mix of the usual 3D running and ring collecting for daytime Sonic, and a pretty mediocre beat ‘em up platformer when Sonic goes out and about at night. The speedy sections have that typical Sega feel about them, and move along at a blistering pace. Unfortunately it’s the same old problems I’m not fond of. Sonic’s movement is slippery and it’s impossible to collect rings accurately, and most of the time the game feels like it’s running on rails as you jump, whizz, slide and rush around the levels at a breakneck pace. I quite often launched myself to my doom without any warning. Luckily, checkpoints aren’t too far away from each other.

Sonic’s night time activities are even worse. There’s some dreadful, clunky platforming and some silly button mashing when fighting enemies. You can upgrade your characters as you collect orbs around the levels but it doesn’t really make much of a difference.

This, combined with a mediocre adventuring section between levels where you have to talk to people in the town until you find the right one to start the correct conversation tree makes for a game I won’t be playing again in my spare time. Once again, Sonic disappoints me. Maybe he should just go and hide in a pile of wood around bonfire night. Sonic Unleashed gets a pretty poor 4 out of 10.

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Related: Sonic Night of the Werehog, Sonic Chronicles The Dark Brotherhood review, Youtube Sonic Unleashed review

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I’ll be brief with the history of Guitar Hero. As you may or may not know, Harmonix first made this game, but then swanned off to MTV games to make EA’s Rockband. Meanwhile, Neversoft took over the mantle to make the last game and this one.

Of course, Rockband took Guitar Hero and expanded it to include drums and singing. Not one to be beaten, Guitar Hero’s done the same thing with World Tour and what you get is a similar experience with a few new ideas which don’t’ always work as well as they should.

So you get a lovely tracklist of 40 songs with varied success for the different music disciplines. Newer tracks are featured as well as some golden oldies and strangely, some with non-English lyrics which won’t please vocalists. In career mode you play songs in chunks of three or four in ‘gigs’, then new gigs open up for you to play. The good news is more than one is unlocked at once so now you can play some tracks later on down the line if the ones immediately after don’t take your fancy.

The hardware’s changed a bit in this one. The guitar now has a new part higher up the neck for solos and sliding notes. The problem is, there’s no time to adjust your hand to the new position and not enough signposts for you to find it without looking. You’re better off sticking to the buttons near the headstock.

I was more excited about the drums. These ones come with what look like cymbals to give a more authentic feel and the kit’s very nice to play. It’s quite quiet to hit with the sticks and it’s not too bulky. My only problem is with the sensitivity of the cymbals. If you want to hit them on the edge like a real cymbal it just doesn’t respond. You have to hit it in the middle at the top and this can ruin a good streak if you’re going for records.

They’ve also included a music studio. “Great“, I thought. I can lay down some tracks and make a single. Of course that was never going to happen and especially not using what they’ve provided here. As well as being unintuitive to use, there’s also some serious lag which prevents you from playing anything in time. There’s even lag during proper songs when you hammer some solo drum beats out. This should have been ironed out before release.

When it comes to singing the microphone is actually half-decent and does a good job of picking out even the smallest pitch change.

At the end of the day, Guitar Hero does the job if you fancy living out your rock and roll dreams. It’s nice to have the option of when and how to play each track. Is it better then Rockband? To be honest, they’re almost interchangeable. We’ll see what Rockband 2 has to offer. Guitar Hero: World Tour gets a very good 7 out of 10.

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Related: Guitar Hero Aerosmith review, Guitar Hero On Tour review, Youtube Guitar Hero World Tour review

Tags: Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero, World Tour, guitar game, Rock Band

Rock Band 2’s getting a new instrument! Is it a wobble board? Is it a didgeridoo? No, it’s something secret that plugs into the expansion port of the new wireless drum kit. Rumours abound it could be a keyboard so if you truly want to embrace the eighties, keep it here to find out at a later date.

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Related: Rockband price drop, Using the Wii Guitar Hero controller with Rock Band

Tags: Rock Band 2, new instrument, keyboard, Rock Band, Rockband, wireless keyboard, Rock Band synthesizer

For one day only Amazon have slashed prices for the Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Kit from $99.99 to $69.99 – if you were disappointed to find the Guitar Hero game wouldn’t run with your Rock Band controllers then this is the pack is the solution. The kit includes the wireless guitar, over 85 tracks to jam along to plus the option to download more online. Sadly no discount on the complete $200 band kit, but for less than $70 you’ll get a wireless guitar to strum along with tracks from Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica and Motorhead, something that is going to put a smile on a few fathers faces on Christmas day. Rock On.

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Related: Guitar Hero Aerosmith review, Guitar Hero On Tour review

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If you’re a regular Gamesweasel downloader you’ll know by now I’m sick of World War II games. The last Call of Duty was a breath of fresh air and now it’s back to the 1940s with World at War. This is where it all began for Call of Duty when it took on Medal of Honor and won. So, does it offer anything new this time around? Well, yes and no.

The last game had a great single player experience and addictive multiplayer that gamers are still playing today in their thousands. So, the formula and gameplay’s not really changed, just the setting, which will really please World War II nuts (and I know there’s lots of you out there).

The Call of Duty World at War single player campaign concentrates on America’s battle with Japan and Russia’s push back into Nazi Germany. When playing, you switch back and forth between them to keep the variety up. Of course, the game’s full of fantastic set-pieces as you advance towards your enemy and there’s the weapons you’d expect to be holding, including a new flame thrower which is fun to use as you burn out troops from their bunkers. Keifer Sutherland also provides his best Jack Bauer shouty voice as he leads the American troops to victory, and they’ve upped the music with modern-day heavy metal when it all goes off with a bang.

You can now play the single player campaign in co-op mode. This worked fantastically with Gears of War and it works well here too. You can now provide covering fire whilst up to three buddies try to flank the enemy and get off a quick head shot. And, similar to Left 4 Dead which I’ll be reviewing next week, you have to revive each other when you take a mortal hit.

Play the game on Hardened mode and you’ll have a hard time, particularly as the game seems to respawn enemies at you until you advance. If you’re used to waiting behind cover for your team mates to fell the enemies you’ll be waiting a long time.

Multiplayer is as addictive as always. If you played Modern Warfare you can jump straight in. You gain perks as you earn points and this time, instead of calling in a helicopter after 7 kills, you send in a pack of dogs to maul your enemies and there’s no escaping indoors, they’ll follow you upstairs too! Once again there are plenty of game modes to suit every taste whether you want to work as a team or just run and gun as a lone soldier.

This latest Call of Duty is another complete package. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so they haven’t. Although it won’t take you an age to finish the single player campaign, there’s more than enough replay value with co-op and multiplayer. Despite some dodgy accents and some unnecessary F-bombs from Mr Sutherland, Call of Duty: World at War gets 9 out of 10.

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Related: Call of Duty 5,  Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack review,  Youtube Call of Duty World at War review

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Before I begin this Quantum of Solace review let me just get one thing out of the way. Goldeneye on the N64 was great but only at the time. If you played it now I’m sure you’d be disappointed and realise you saw it through rose-tinted spectacles.

Right, onto Quantum of Solace. The license if now with Activision after EA’s been making a quick buck with lazy Bond licenses for the last few years. Treyarch are the developers and the Call of Duty 4 engine is used in this first-person shooter that pops into third-person when you find cover so you can see Daniel Craig’s nic-nac shaped head sulking as he reloads.

The good news is that the controls are smooth and the Gears of War-style cover system works very well. The graphics are acceptable, including the very good likeness of Daniel Craig. Even the music score is better than David Arnold’s movie score. At least it uses parts of the Bond theme to make it feel like you’re playing as James Bond himself.

What’s very strange is that you actually don’t get to play through many scenes of the new movie. After playing for about an hour you’re already near the end of the film’s plot, so the game goes into flashback territory and takes you through the events of Casino Royale. It’s your typical average FPS with some neat touches along the way. There’s a great scene where you have to stumble to your car when you get poisoned in the casino and some good-to-watch quicktime sequences. This time you can actually watch the action as the game is very forgiving when it comes to giving you time to hit the correct button in the sequence.

There are also plenty of explosives dotted about every level. This makes for some cool explosions which, although don’t look too great, still make a big boom and rid the area of enemies.

There’s also a bit of stealthy gameplay chucked in for good measure and throw-away mini games when it comes to hacking into computers or breaking locks on doors.

There’s nothing absolutely stunning in this game, however Activision have succeeded in making a game that Bond fans will enjoy playing for a short while. And I do mean a short while. You can finish it in less than five hours, even four if you race through it. The game’s also incredibly easy. Although your health bar drains rapidly when shot, if you duck round a corner it fills up again just as quickly.

Thankfully there are some fun multiplayer modes to try out when you’ve finished with the single player but maybe it’s not worth buying full price. If you rent it you’ll easily finish it in a weekend.

However, Quantum of Solace did manage to charm me so it gets a very good 7 out of 10.

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Related: Daniel Craig denounces Bond game, Call of Duty 4, Youtube Quantum of Solace review

Tags: Quantum of Solace, Quantum of Solace game, PS3, X360, Wii, PS2, Goldeneye, N64, Bond, James Bond, Quantum of Solace videogame Daniel Craig, Youtube Quantum of Solace review

Sonic’s going to star in an animated short on the web. Entitled ‘Night of the Werehog’, it’s a spooky Halloween-themed movie that shows what might be happening to Sonic when the sun goes down in his new Sonic Unleashed game.

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Since last year there’s been a change in the Fifa vs Pro Evo battle. If I’m brutally honest Pro Evo hasn’t changed all that much since Fifa 08, despite it being a regular visitor to my 360’s DVD tray. Fifa, however, has gone down the simulation route and this year’s outing has really come up trumps. The game’s packed with tonnes of single player and online modes that’ll have you playing for months to come.

The first thing you’ll notice is the gameplay is slower so you actually get time on the ball and time to think about your next move. At times it can feel a bit sluggish, especially online when playing someone with not the best connection. Still, it represents the actual game of football better which is a good thing.

Again, you can play through leagues, cups and tournaments alone or with friends and now, thanks to the new Fifa 09 Adidas Live Data League system, your team’s stats are reflected by weekly updates. So, if Steven Gerrard’s having a blinder one week his stats will reflect this. If Van-Der-Sar’s having a mare he’ll also be a bit wobbly between the posts in the game.

Be A Pro Seasons is also a fantastic different way to play. Expanding on last year’s debut, you play as a single player and fulfil their position and role. You can even get called up the national team if you play well enough. I’ve spent most of my time playing this mode and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can also go online and play with 9 other teammates as a full team. I’ve not had the opportunity to try it yet so it’s yet to be seen if this will work or if everyone will chase the ball like kids in the playground.

As usual the presentation is fantastic with all the bells and whistles you’d see on Sky Sports and the commentary’s also lively. Martin Tyler and Andy Gray deliver the goods but sometimes the odd comment gets chucked in that doesn’t fit the action in any way.

The referee sometimes has some random moments too. Players get booked seemingly for just playing football and there’s a strange bug in there where every player in a team will shake their legs in time when waiting for kick off.

Still, with minor gripes aside this is by far the best Fifa game to date. There really is room in your collection for Fifa and PES as they now both offer very different gameplay. Fifa 09 gets a whopping 9 out of 10.

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Related: Fifa 09 Adidas Live Data, Fifa 08

Tags: Fifa 09, FIFA, Fifa 09, F.I.F.A., 2009, Fifa 2009, football, sport

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Apparently lots of the gaming world have been waiting impatiently for the release of Mercenaries 2 after they enjoyed the first game on the PS2 and Xbox. I must admit I can’t remember it so I haven’t been chomping at the bit to play it.

Still, now I’ve got it so this is what you do. You play as one of three Mercenaries as you do a number of missions for five competing factions in and around Venezuela. The game begins with you doing a mission for a guy named Solano and getting stabbed in the back for your troubles (for that, read shot in the arse). So, the story begins as you get revenge on Solano and earn money in the process.

Near the beginning of the game you get your first base and from there you can do challenges and missions to progress the story further. What’s good about the game is the sandbox approach to completing missions. You’re given the location and what you need to do and it’s up to you how you do it. You can nick cars from the roads GTA style and blow up almost anything in sight. It’s great fun being ultra-destructive, particularly later on when you can call in air strikes and hijack helicopters to cause some eye-popping explosions.

There’s also a relationship to keep with the factions. As you befriend them you get to use their resources and buy from them. Cross them however (and this can easily done by accidentally shooting just one of them) and things get harder as you get shot at a lot as you make your way from point to point.

So if shooting and blowing everything up in sight is your game, you may like this, but it comes with a fair few problems. To begin with, the enemy AI is more stupid than Frank Spencer. They sometimes ignore you or just stand in open space shooting at you until they’re dead – they also repeat the same lines over and over.

Also, it’s tricky to hit a moving target with any gun and you seem to have a deadly fist that can kill enemies with one hit – a useful exploit at times. It’s also full of bugs and glitches and generally has an unfinished look when it comes to animations and textures.

You can play the game in co-op mode online but I think you might struggle to find anyone playing in a couple of weeks time. Overall it’s not a bad game if you like mindless destruction. It’s just feels unfinished. Considering it’s been delayed for almost a year you’d think they’d have ironed a few things out. Mercenaries 2 gets an underwhelming 6 out of 10.

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Related: Army of Two review, Free Mercenaries 2 petrol, Mercenaries 2 review

Tags: Mercenaries 2, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Mercenaries 2, World in Flames, PS2, PS3, Xbox360, PC

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Darth Vader’s got a dirty little secret. Does he have three nipples? Does he like to wear ladies underwear under his black outfit and cloak? No, he’s got himself a secret apprentice and he’s getting him to do all his dirty work as he tries to overthrow the Emperor and rid the universe of the Rebel Alliance. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a third-person action adventure game where you do most of your talking with the bright end of your ligthsaber and of course those dark Force powers.

You begin the game as Vader himself, marching through a woody planet in search of a Jedi you want to kill. Here you get to play with powerful Force powers such as push and throw. You can even throw your lightsaber boomerang-style into enemies. You then find the boy who becomes your apprentice and the game skips forward a few years where you play as the young man himself.

Of course, you have to earn your powers so you begin with a limited push that can be used to open doors and throw people back, and throw which can be used to grip enemies and throw them about or throw objects into enemies with sometimes explosives results. As you play you earn points which can be traded for new melee moves and force powers such as lightning.

Being an official Star Wars story set between Episodes 3 and 4, it’s presented very well with the yellow scrolling writing and official music and characters. However, the gameplay is a little bit disappointing. Technically there are issues such as tearing which I usually only see on the PC. Enemies can also be pretty dumb – sometimes just standing in a corner like they’re that geezer at the end of the Blair Witch project. It’s also tricky to aim your force powers where you want them. Targeting flicks from object to object and you quite often end up throwing or moving the wrong thing when under pressure to stay alive.

Another major disappoint is no online play whatsoever. I was really looking forward to some Jedi and Sith battles using lightsabers and the Force but all there is in the menu is some boring downloadable content. And if you die or even go into a menu in the middle of a level, a loading screen pops up for at least 5 seconds. Aaaggghh!

I was hoping this would be the best Star Wars game I’d played since the Jedi Knight games on the PC. Unfortunately it’s not and it’s a shame the Force isn’t as strong in this one as I thought it was going to be. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed gets 6 out of 10.

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Related: Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga review, Youtube Star Wars The Force Unleashed review

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For some time now there’s been a monopoly in the wrestling game genre – but now there’s a new contender entering the ring in the form of TNA Impact – Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. As you’d expect you get to control a bunch of wrestling superstars as they grapple, slap and jump on top of each other to prove who’s the hardest. That description could relate to something else so we’ll move on quickly. You can also create your own wrestler and kit him out with a variety of tattoos, outfits and a limited set of new moves which you’ll earn as you play.

What I like about TNA is the simplicity of the control system. The Smackdown games in the past have put me off as there’s a move list bigger than the Bible. This one’s simpler in that there are hard and soft hits, a grapple button and modifiers depending on which way you move the stick as you press a different button. You can also put opponents in submission holds where you both have to press button sequences in order to keep or break the hold, and of course you can get on the ropes and leap onto each other from above.

It’s also very fluid and doesn’t feel like you always have to wait for an animation to play out before you make your next move. There are times when you can’t hit or grapple someone when they’re getting up which is a bit weird but this doesn’t spoil the action too much. The camera when playing tag team matches is also positioned a little too far away and sometimes your view can get obscured by the ring or the edge of the screen.

I also like the story mode where you begin the game as a wrestler called Suicide who gets beaten up badly after not rigging a title fight by taking a fall. You get to reconstruct your face which is a good excuse to create your wrestler.

When it comes to looks it’s a bit up and down. The motion-captured players look good but some of the player models look a little rough round the edges compared to the bigger cover superstars of AJ Styles of Samoa Joe. Match commentary is fun at first but a few different lines of dialogue wouldn’t have gone amiss.

With a fair few game modes, a fun story mode and satisfying Xbox Live play, this first outing for TNA is a success. It may be a bit too simple for some after a couple of hours of play but it’s still a genuine fun and accessible wrestling game. TNA iMPACT! gets a very good 7 out of 10.

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Related: TNA Impact interview with Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, Randy Orton interview, Youtube TNA iMPACT review

Tags: TNA iMPACT, TNA iMPACT, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, TNA, wrestling, sport, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, Youtube TNA iMPACT review

Good news for people who haven’t bought Rockband because they thought it’s too expensive. The full instrument edition which includes game, guitars, microphone and drumkit now retails for just over £100 – now you’ll just need a big enough room to play it in.

Related: Rock Band review, Using the Wii Guitar Hero controller with Rock Band

Tags: Rockband, price

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The PES 2009 release date has been announced for the 17th October for the 350, PS3 and PC, check out the PES 2009 trailer and screenshots. This time they’ve got the exclusive Champions League licence and news to my ears, the Livepool licence along with Manchester United.

Update: Amazon limited deal – PES 2009 Pro-Evolution Soccer from only $19.99

Ends December 30th – We’ve discovered a great promotional deal over at Amazon, head to the Pro Evolution Soccer 09 Amazon page and get the game for only $19.99 when you spend $50 or more, pay with Bill Me Later then enter the code BMLSAVES at checkout for $10 off the game, you’ll even get super saver shipping thrown in. This offer is limited to one per customer and valid until December 30th 2008.

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Tags: PES 2009 release date, PES 2009 trailer, PES 2009 gameplay, PES 2009 screenshots, Pro Evolution Soccer, 2009, Konami, PES2009, PES 2009 trailer

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The EA cash cow keeps on mooing and hopefully we won’t see it getting in the way of a tidy putt on the greens of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09. Another year sees another golf game and whilst Tiger may be not on his usual superman-like form for real, this game certainly is.

After last year’s odd and not-so-welcome tweak of the control system, things have been put right this year with a more accessible analogue stick golf swing and if you like, the classic three-button press with a power bar which sets your speed and accuracy.

Tiger’s coach Hank Haney also appears on in the game and in a similar way to Madden 09, appears at the very beginning of the game whilst he watches your swing and tells you how good you are.

Then it’s time to mix it with the pros or create your own golfer and get onto the various links and courses to swing your big stick about. You can also customise your stick if you like to suit the way you play and when you’re on the fairway there’s a handy feedback meter in the corner of the screen which tells you exactly what you’re doing to hit those fantastic or quite frankly embarrassing shots.

The Tiger Challenge is back, where you have to play either 9 or 18 holes against real-life and make-believe opponents until you take on the man himself, there are also tournaments, mini games and the Fed Ex cup to make your way through. There’s plenty to keep you going.

And instead of applying points yourself to your character as you get more experienced, the game does it for you. Keep hitting long and your power will increase. Keep on applying backspin and you’ll be spinning the ball better than ever as you go. When playing single player you’ll still have to wait whilst the AI player has their shot but thankfully this doesn’t apply any more online. Now up to four players can tee off simultaneously and see each other’s progress in real time which means you can finish a round in-between an hour or two and not a whole afternoon.

For most of us, golf games are the closest thing we’ll come to actually being able to experience hitting a ball anywhere near where we want it to go. This one’s a return to form for Tiger despite the new commentators who aren’t a patch on the sarcastic couple we’re used to. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 gets an excellent 8 out of 10.

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Related: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 review, Crazy Mini Golf for Wii, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 youtube review

Tags: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, Tiger Woods, PGA Tour, 09, Golf, Sport, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, PS2, Wii

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So another year rolls by and EA release all their new sports titles with next year’s date on them. Madden NFL 09 is no exception and once again slightly tweaks the already established game to make a few improvements.

I guess everyone in the US is going nuts for this. Here in the UK it’s a slightly different story as most people don’t even understand how the game’s played. I do understand it on a casual level and luckily, this Madden video game is very kid gloves with newbies.

When you first start the game you play a few calibration levels so the game can set your skill level. The AI then constantly changes as you play the game to match how well you’re doing. It’s tricky to say if this actually works or not but if you find the going too simple or hard you can still make a few adjustments using some handy sliders in the menus.

All the American teams seem to be included too and you can choose to play games as a team in exhibition and franchise mode. Is there a coach mode in Madden 09? Well you can play as a single superstar quarterback, choose an agent, train to make your stats better and then make the plays as chosen by your manager with some John Madden game plans.

All I really know about the game is you get 4 downs to make it 10 yards. Fail to do this and the play switches to the other team. So, you have the choice of who to throw the ball to after the snap or whether to charge through the line of defenders.

It’s all about timing and button presses as to whether you connect with a runner but if you do get caught it is possible to dodge and turn your opponents and even wriggle free in some cases.

There’s also handy rewind button which can be used to rewind the action Prince of Persia style if you think you can do things better. Luckily you can turn this off if you’re a purist.

Presentation as always is slick and player animations are as smooth and shiny as the helmets they’re wearing.

As usual with EA sports games, at first glance it looks like nothing’s changed but for Madden fans it’s a must-buy. If you don’t like or understand American Football though, steer well clear.

So Madden NFL 09 gets two scores – a very good 7 out of 10 for the UK and an excellent 8 out of 10 if you’re American.

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Related: Football Superstars, Fifa 09 details, Youtube Madden NFL 09 review

Tags: Madden NFL 09, Madden, NFL, Sport, Madden video game, madden NFL, Madden NFL 09 review

Prepare for more street racing with EA’s Need for Speed Undercover which puts you in the driver driver’s seat once again. You’ll be racing through speedways, dodging cops and chasing rivals with an all-new ‘Heroic Driving Engine’ – a unique technology that generates incredible high-performance moves at 180 miles per hour during breathtaking highway battles. Need For Speed Undercover features stunning graphics, uber intelligent AI opponents, over 80 miles of road, car customization, real-world damage and realistic driving physics. You won’t be driving generic motors either, prepare for some hot licensed cars such as the Audi R8, BMW M6 and Lexus IS-F.

The North American Need For Speed Undercover release date is November 18th – Euro racers follow behind three days later on 21st November and as you would expect, Need For Speed Undercover is heading to every format under the sun, PS3, Wii, PS2, 360, PC, PSP and DS.

Related: Midnight Club Los Angeles, GTA4 PC version

Tags: Need For Speed, Undercover, PS3, Wii, PS2, 360, PC, PSP, DS

Following on from the successful Dynasty Warriors 6 360 and PS3 releases, KOEI have confirmed that the game is coming to Playstation 2 and Windows PC. Dynasty Warriors 6 for PC is being sold exclusively online in digital distribution format (i.e. not in stores). Dynasty Warriors 6 for PS2 on the other hand is coming in a special 2 disc set with exclusive extra content. The Dynasty Warriors Six PS2 extra content has been confirmed as:

• A set of Musou mode stories
• Some extra weapons
• Five new stages
• 10 new scenarios

The Dynasty Warriors 6 release date for PS2 and PC is November 18th.

Related: Devil May Cry 4 Review

Tags: Dynasty Warriors, Dynasty Warriors 6 release date, PS2, PC

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If you’ve still got an axe to grind and you’re a fan of the wrinkly rockers from Boston then you could do worse than check out Guitar Hero Aerosmith. With about 40 songs, interviews with the band and of course models of them prancing around on the stage it’s a fan’s dream.

However, myself being someone who knows a few of their chart-toppers and not much more, it all falls a bit flat. If anything it shows how aged the game format’s becoming and without the help of surgery of the like Steve Tyler benefits from, it’s easy to just go through the motions and plough through this one without getting properly excited.

In terms of structure, you play through the history of the band at venues they started at right through to where they’re at now. You play a couple of tracks as the support band with characters you’ll recognise from previous games, playing songs Aerosmith like or have been inspired by. Then the headliners come on and you play three tracks by them before moving to the next stage. It highlights for me how many songs I don’t know – they’ve been going since the seventies and I don’t remember rocking out to them at the age of two.

Love in an Elevator was a highlight for me and Walk this Way is hidden away and has to be bought in the if you really care what colour your guitar is behind that scrolling fret board. The songs are also pretty easy to play due to the nature of Aerosmith’s style – beginners may want to try this out but only if you’re mad for a bit of Joe Perry action.

If you’re a fan of Aerosmith and like Guitar Hero then it’s a must. For everyone else, stick with Guitar Hero III if you already have it and stick to the downloadable content. Guitar Hero Aerosmith gets a good 6 out of 10 and if you’re a fan you can give it a couple more.

Get Guitar Hero Aerosmith now
New: Buy Guitar Hero Aerosmith from Amazon.com
New: Buy Guitar Hero Aerosmith from Buy.com
Preowned: Guitar Hero: Aerosmith – Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent Guitar Hero Aerosmith – free rental trial from Gamefly.com

Related: Free Guitar Hero III tunes, Using the Wii Guitar Hero controller with Rock Band, Youtube Guitar Hero Aerosmith review

Tags: Guitar Hero Aerosmith, Guitar Hero, Aerosmith

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We all know Traveller’s Tales are very good at making whacky games like Crash Bandicoot, Lego Star Wars and recently Lego Indiana Jones – with Prince Caspian they’ve had to reign the sillyness in to make a game that’s got very similar mechanics to the drop in-drop out gameplay of Lego games but also something with the epic feel of the movie.

If you haven’t seen it, the foppish Prince Caspian is helped by the Pevensie family and a menagerie of beasts to save the kingdom from the rule of the evil King Miraz. Cue some fairly long levels set around castles, beaches, caves and forests with plenty of hacking and slashing, simple switch flicking and puzzle solving and switching of characters with the touch of a button.

It all looks very nice and there’s a fair few characters to play as, each with their own abilities. The problem is, being a fully-grown man, the game doesn’t really entertain on a level higher than a ten year old would enjoy – a pity when I know they can do this with Indy and Star Wars. It’s all a bit confusing too – I haven’t seen the movie and the live action cut-scenes almost give you whiplash by rudely interrupting and confusing you between missions.

To progress through the game you have to use teamwork, either with an AI partner or a friend. You have to stand on platforms at the same time, flick switches and keep each other’s torches lit in dark caves. Opening chests for bonus items is a nightmare though with far too much button bashing to get them open. I think they’ve slightly overdone the God of War mechanic here.

It feels like I’m playing just a re-skinned version of the Lego franchise with none of the charm and humour. The game’s functional but not anything to get incredibly excited about – a bit like owning a Ford Mondeo. Prince Caspian gets 6 out of 10.

Get The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian now
New: Buy The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian from Amazon.com
New: Buy The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian from Buy.com
Preowned: Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian – free rental trial from Gamefly.com

Tags: The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian, The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian, Narnia

After seeing Microsoft’s pretty successful conference and Nintendo’s fairly poor performance, what did Sony do to convince us that Sony would be the one to watch this Christmas? As expected Sony concentrated less on sales figures than Microsoft or Nintendo, after all they are still lagging behind in overall unit sales by a fair margin.

Resistance 2 looked amazing; with a Cloverfield style looking action scene where a huge skyscraper sized nasty monster needs dispatching. The game features 8 player co-op online and 60 in standard the standard multiplayer frag fest.

Little Big Planet, the cute creator platformer really stands out in terms of graphics and physics when Sony showed off a custom built level to help demonstrate their market performance. The real games emphasis is firmly set online, build, show and share exciting levels with your friends and everyone else on the PSN community.

Sony finally announced a proper PS3 budget range, called Greatest Hits, these titles will sell for under $30). With games like; Warhawk, Motorstorm, Assassins Creed, Oblivion and Ninja Gaiden, we’re pretty sure they’ll be a big spike of sales for these top titles.

A new 80GB PS3 is on its way and seemingly set to replace the current 40GB lower spec model which doesn’t feature PS2 backwards compatibility. The bigger hard drive will come in handy for the exciting new movie download service announced.

Related: Microsoft E3 Highlights, Little Big Planet

Tags: Sony, Little Big Planet, Resistance 2, 80GB PS3

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I haven’t seen the new The Incredible Hulk movie, partly due to the fact that I found the Ang Lee one really boring and partly because I’m not sure why we need another movie. Well, another film means another official videogame – but what is there to do with the big green bogeyman that hasn’t already been done?

Once again this game puts you in a free environment similar to the Ultimate Destruction game. This time you’re in the Big Apple as you play loosely through the plot of the movie and do lots of other missions along the way. Just find the icon on the map and press a button to activate the mission. Completing missions and other objectives gives you more points and new abilities with which to smash stuff up with. Standard punches and grabs will do for most enemies but you can also fill up your rage meter by smashing stuff up and go proper ballistic on your approaching enemies.

And smash things up you do – a lot. Everything in the game can be destroyed and it’s great fun leaping from building to building, picking up taxis and throwing them at people, or picking up people and throwing them at other people. If Nico Bellic from GTA 4 were big and green, he’d be in this game.

Unfortunately, it’s just not quite as much fun as Ultimate Destruction. You can’t rip taxis in half or surf down the street on buses, which is a great shame. You can however knock down buildings and there are ones dotted round the city which give you a special token for doing so – you’re like an incredibly angry tourist at times.

When it comes to presentation the game really doesn’t look like it’s playing on a next-gen console – I’ve been playing it on the 360. The Hulk has quite a bit of detail but even characters in cut scenes look a bit ropey and Tim Roth and Edward Norton providing the voices of the main characters sound like they really couldn’t be bothered.

In all it’s a pretty average action adventure game based on a movie. It’s not terrible and it’s always fun smashing stuff up – especially when it’s as fluid as this. An average game gets an average score so The Incredible Hulk video game gets 5 out of 10.

Get the game now
New: Buy The Incredible Hulk from Buy.com
Preowned: Incredible Hulk – Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent The Incredible Hulk – free rental trial from Gamefly.com

Related: Iron Man review, The Incredible Hulk release date, The Incredible Hulk review on Youtube

Tags: The Incredible Hulk, the incredible hulk video game