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Last week I ran down my favourite games of 2008 so it’s only fitting I take a look at five games coming out in 2009 that are getting me all excited.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

One of my favourite games on the original Xbox was The Chronicles of Riddick. I liked it so much I went to see the film of the same name which was a mistake as it was very, very bad and nowhere near as good as Pitch Black. The game already looked incredible back then and this sequel called Assault on Dark Athena looks like it could be a belter too. It’s a brand new story and this time there’s a multiplayer mode and of course it will look even better. The original Butcher Bay game is on there too complete with enhanced graphics and gameplay tweaks.

Resident Evil 5

After the fantastic Resident Evil 4 gave the survival horror genre a swift kick up the arse, it’s great to know we only have to wait a couple of months for Resident Evil 5. This one’s set in Africa and once again there’s another outbreak of that lousy T-Virus. Chris Redfield and the ever-cheesy Wesker are back in the action along with female characters Sheva and Excella. And of course, there’ll be plenty of angry infected people and mutants to shoot from your third-person view. Although this won’t revolutionise things this time around, I’m sure they’ll tweak this to make it even better than the last one.

Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams

Although all we can show you of Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams is this rather relaxing teaser trailer where a girl looks out to a lovely sunset holding what seems to be a Big Daddy doll made out of a baseball and a cork, it’s something I’m excited to play. Even though the last game was flawed in my opinion with the regeneration chambers mechanic, it did have an atmosphere about it I haven’t experienced since playing the original Half-Life. I’m not even sure if the game will be set in Rapture or in a completely different world. Hopefully there’ll be more magic in this sequel, and of course the ability to shoot fire, lightning and ice from your bare hands.

God of War III

I’m not a massive hack and slash fan but I can easily spare some time for the God of War games. This is the first game for the PS3 after Kratos’ outings on the PS2 and PSP, this game promises to be a painting in motion. From the looks of this it’s going to play smoother than the proverbial baby’s bottom and it looks like Kratos has got some funky new god-given upgrades to play with.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted took me by surprise when I played it on the PS3. I was expecting a run-of-the-mill action adventure and was totally blown away by everything about it. Ok, so it borrowed the best bits from Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider and Gears of War but that’s not a bad thing. In this sequel, Nathan Drake is on the trail of some Marco Polo treasure and travels to Italy, Tibet and even gets to play in the snow. There’ll be more stealth in this game as well as better climbing and that seamless stop and pop combat. It’s just another reason why I’ll play on my PS3 more this year.

That’s just five of a long list of games I’m going to play this year, and then of course tell you if they are in fact any good or not. Thanks for supporting Gamesweasel in 2008. Tell your friends get them to subscribe and hopefully, we’ll all make it through 2009 with loads of gameplay hours and achievement points behind us.

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Eidos Interactive presents a tantalising taster of Tomb Raider: Underworld’s stunning Thailand setting in which Lara shows off a beautifully smooth repertoire of moves against an evocative and atmospheric backdrop.

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Get ready to go green with rage with The Incredible Hulk 360 game, PS3, 360, PC, PS2, Wii and DS on the upcoming Incredible Hulk release date on the 13th June.

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Looking through binoculars, we could see the camp we were about to invade and also an indication of wind speed. You can start fires in this game so it’s good to know which way the wind’s blowing in case you end up barbecuing yourself.

Anyway, driving into the camp we ran someone over, got out of the jeep and took cover. These enemies are clever though and flanked us, filling us with bullets. Suddenly, the dude we chatted to earlier helped us up and to cover, where he gave us a pistol to get us back on track before picking up another weapon. And they don’t always work. Twice we saw the weapon jam whilst our character tried frantically to clear the blockage whilst being shot at.

Out came the flame-thrower next and soon we were torching wooden huts with people inside and a wooden rope bridge to stop people sneaking up behind us.

Then, it was time to go hang gliding and drift over some of the massive 50 square kilometres of the map which never stops to load in the next segment.

Lastly, we saw that you can set your alarm and have a kip to change the time of day, so if you fancy invading camps at night and being stealthy, you can.

I have to say this one’s looking amazing and there’s not a sign of sci-fi anywhere. It’s a lot more real-worldly, whilst keeping with the open-ended gameplay. Finally, the Far Cry 2 release date is scheduled for the beginning of Autumn.

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I can, however, tell you that it looks fantastic and it’s modern, yet still retains the look and feel of the older games. Although with a 2D style, all the characters are in full 3d and fight like you remember them to from left to right and vice-versa. I played as Blanka in the single player mode and somehow managed to win three fights in a row (a feat which hadn’t been done yet during the morning session may I add). We then all had to leave the room while the multiplayer build was set up so we didn’t see any characters they want to keep under wraps. Guile and Chun-Li were paired off to fight each other and for some reason Guile’s corn-like hair’s shorter and Chun-Li’s thighs are fatter.

Each player has a super move which they can unleash when they’ve made a number of hits, but also revenge moves which can be activated to devastating effect if you’re taking a bit too much of a beating. This can certainly turn the tables if you’re about to lose.

Needless to say I got pummelled by a human opponent, so I grabbed a can of Diet Coke, a packet of crisps and a Twirl and left promptly.

No word yet on a Street Fighter IV release date but remember to subscribe to the Gamesweasel blog rss feed to keep informed with more updates when we hear about them, including a Street Fighter IV game review and a Street Fighter IV trailer.

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Sega Superstars Tennis looked cool with loads of Sega characters playing what is in effect Virtua Tennis. U-La-La, Alex Kidd, Sonic, Dr Eggman, NiGHTS etc all play against each other. They all have their own special powers and can play in themed areas such as Virtua Cop (Virtua Squad in this game because it’s banned in Germany). House of the Dead (again renamed because of the Germans), OutRun and others were there. I wanted to see the dead dudes from Altered Beast in there, “Rise from you graves”.

Sega Bass Fishing made you use the Nunchuck and Wiimote like an actual rod but I had trouble catching the Bass-tards.

Running on an Xbox 360 with a very decent framerate, the game opened with a usual shot of Lara’s behind looking over a temple as clouds swept across the sky with dismal rain falling from the skies. So weather effects are a new feature and even clouds cast shadows across the sky. Lara can even get muddy as she rolls over the ground and the rain slowly washes it off. Some people alone in their bedrooms may like to roll around a lot! – just for fun.

She then spots black panthers fighting enemy guards. This again is new AI similar to what we’ve seen in Bioshock, where AI characters will fight each other and you, creating a more dynamic world. She then bounced about targeting two panthers at once, so there’s a new dual targeting system in there too.

Next was the problem of getting high enough to climb about. Luckily, Lara can now pick up weapons such as big sticks and insert them into holes to make new vertical paths to ascend those dizzy heights she loves falling from so often.

Throughout, Lara looks more fluid than before and that’s because for the first time they motion-captured a gymnast. Would have liked to have had that job. They have also concentrated on her facial features more, showing off anger when she fights and even the odd smirk. Something’s funny, she just won’t tell us what it is.

We were then treated to a puzzle where Lara had to smash a stone floor, and luckily, there was a big stone block on a pillar above. Thanks to a new physics system, Lara could send out a grapple hook past the object, then move round to use the wire to push the block off the ledge and smash the floor. Again, we’ve seen it in other games but never through the eyes of Miss Croft.

Finally, after solving another puzzle Lara had to make it through a timed section on a motorbike with very fat wheels. Apparently there’s also something very cool about this which we haven’t been told about so expect another update when I get it.

More Tomb Raider Underworld screenshots

This time it’s developed by Ubisoft Montreal using a brand new engine and not Crytek whose engine was also very good and used on the recent PC title Crysis.

They’re aiming for a very open-ended game here with a narrative which plays out according to what you do, similar to Western RPGs. This time there’s also no special abilities like being able to rip someone apart like a knife through the proverbial butter. This time it’s all about guns, wits and I guess a little bit of luck. They’re also aiming to make the game incredibly immersive. No more map screens, when you want to survey the current square Km you’re in out of the 100 square km in the game, you actually hold a map out in front of you. Same goes for getting into vehicles, healing yourself or patting out burning clothes. All is done through your own eyes to keep you firmly inside the main character’s big meaty head.

This is a proper sandbox world. You can even set fire to long grass which will be harder to do if it’s just finished raining, destroy buildings, ride vehicles and get other NPCs they’re calling ‘buddies’ on your side. To help you complete your objectives they can cause distractions and set up road blocks. Whether they’ll let you use them as a human shield is yet to be seen – spoilsports!

Even though it seems to be losing its Sci-fi roots, it does sound like lots of fun being given the freedom to go nuts in the African plains. You can get your hands on it later in the year.

In essence the game’s a community modding and platforming game where you can design your own stages for up to four people to complete co-operatively. These characters are all very cute and you can add all sorts of hats, clothes and accessories to them to make them look cute – and weird, which will please lots of people I know.

You just have to make your way from the start to the finish but the limit on how you do that is set by your own imagination. Skateboards, tanks, footballs, bricks, fruit, spinning wheels, you name it and it’s there, or it can be made and plonked into the crazy world.

It’s also possible to die in the game, and at CES they showed some of the little critters jumping over hot colas and sometimes into it. They then go flying off the screen a comedic way. Norman Wisdom eat your heart out.

In order to post levels on line you’re going to need to complete them first to prove they can be done, and as you play through the levels already in the game, you earn something they’re calling Fluff which lets you buy new objects and gear. Users can also rate levels you post online and then your levels will be famous for all to see. And if you like playing through a level or find it frustrating, you can even emote and make faces by using the d-pad for angry, happy, sad etc. Who said you can’t just turn on a smile?

It all sounds great and should be a big hit for Sony as the nights begin to draw in again.

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Of course there’s online battles to take part in with other human players but also an offline mode where they say, the AI is unparalleled. Add to this some of the regular futuristic weapons and vehicles along with some new ones and we should have a great console FPS on our hands.

Old favourites include the shock rifle and the very up close and personal shock cannon. Over 24 weapons and vehicles have been given a facelift Janice Dickinson would be jealous of for maximum killing potential.

Also, instead of the offline mode just being arena battles, they’ve included a single player campaign so you’ve even got a story to play through. Online modes include, deathmatch and team deathmatch, capture the flag and an all-new warfare mode.

And if you don’t like what they’ve provided, you can mod your own levels and game types and download more online.

Hopefully it’s gonna be good, it’s out end of Feb and I’ll review it then.

The last game sold over 16 million units worldwide and in this one they’re promising an intense solo campaign which uses tactical play as well as just showing people the business end of your rifle, and they say they will break new ground in co-op and adversarial online modes.

They also promise 11 new weapons, more challenging AI and more Vegas. Cool, I wonder if Elvis can marry you and a hostage you find in the chapel and then, like Britney, you can get it annulled 24 hours later.

We’ll see if there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when I review the game in a few weeks.

First up there’s the delayed GTA 4, originally pencilled for a pre-Christmas release it slipped quicker than a well-oiled person rolling out of the pub on New Year’s Eve to an Easter release date. In the game you play Niko, a not-so-happy chappie from Eastern Europe. You arrive on the shores of Liberty City and get involved in lots of violent corrupt stuff as usual over four boroughs. This being next-gen I think we’re in for a treat with the same great open-world gameplay, great detail in the scenery and characters and much more to do than ever before. One thing’s for sure, it’ll sell by the lorry load on all formats and get good reviews on the hype-wagon whether good or bad.

Then there’s Metal Gear Solid 4. Good to see Solid Snake’s still taking the Viagara – now he’s an older gent getting a bit fed up of war and wondering – what’s it good for? Anyway, looking at the trailers it seems Hideo Kojima is still into making Hollywood movies on consoles and is going to be back with a blinder. This time there’s nowhere to hide so you have to blend where you can round the city as you sneak past guards and get intot some pretty hefty firefights too. Expect some old favourite characters and plenty of surreal humour too – this time exclusively on the PS3 with no exceptions. Now where have we heard that before?

Nintendo promise us Wii fit, their sort of plate looking thing that goes on the floor and plugs into the Wii which lets you exercise without leaving your house! And if you want to fight on the Wii, Super Smash Brothers brawl will be massive with new guest characters including the afore-mentioned Solid Snake out to kick Mario’s ass.

Hurrying things up now we have yet more sequels. Capcom will be releasing hardcore fighting shooting game Devil May Cry 4, Sega will be scaring us again with Condemned 2, Resident Evil 5, Far Cry 2, Silent Hill 5 and RPGers will love Fallout 3 and Sony has high hopes for Killzone 2.

And let’s not forget Splinter Cell Conviction, Burnout Paradise, Ghostbusters and GT5.

That’s lots of games and not too everyone’s taste. I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating so we’ll find out if all these games live up to the hype as the year rolls by.

If you don’t know, Jenga is a game where you remove blocks from the middle of a wooden tower and put them on top, thus making it taller and more unstable as you go. The loser is the person who makes it topple. This is a game based on touch and gravity and unfortunately, despite the touch screen it just doesn’t work on the DS.

You can’t touch the bricks, and even more galling is if you want to play this with another person they need to have a cartridge themselves too for wireless play!! Imagine that in real life “Wanna come round for a game of Jenga? Oh, you need to buy it too and bring it round otherwise the bricks won’t work”.

Could this be a blatant attempt to sell 2 copies of the game instead of 1? Methinks so. What’s next for the DS, Twister? You should be ashamed Atari!!

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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.

This one has a timeline that runs parallel to the previous full game and expansion, and features you as a new team investigating the incident Armacham. Your job In this new adventure is to find out what Perseus is, apart from a Greek man who ended up with Medusa’s head. Nice.

There are some new enemies in this one too, granted you’ll still have to fight super soldiers and weirdy things but also the Nightcrawler, and their lives again, and their lives will pull us through. Believe me, fighting him with his Peter Stringfellow hair would be scary.

The great news is this is a stand-alone expansion pack which basically means you don’t need the first game to play it and it’ll be cheaper than a full-price game. And they’ve included 16 player multiplayer in this one too for online shenanigans.

You can play it before the year’s up with the lights off and bicycle clips well fastened.

This one’s interesting because it’s a return to the point and click adventures of say Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle, but being on the WIi, a lot of the puzzles are solved by pointing your remote or by using it to do the actions of what you need to do on screen.

So, Captain Barbaros has turned himself into treasure ad scattered himself round the world, and you and your flying monkey Wiki are on a quest to find it all again. Wiki’s handy because he uses his tail like a helicopter to fly about and gives you useful advice and tips like a good sidekick. In a way, you’re getting a fun story and adventure with lots of mini games thrown in, but because there’s a reason to do them it doesn’t feel pointless like in some other games that use the remote for the sake of it. You may use it to saw down a tree, catch a big fish, to turn keys in locks or even as a weapon.

This looks like a really fun cartoon adventure and something that should amuse adults and kids alike. If you wish for a return of games like Monkey Island, then this is probably the closest thing to it for a long time. I’ll give it a nice lovely big review is I get my hands on it in the New Year.

Now it’s back as a prequel with Crisis Core- Finfal Fantasy VII for the PSP and I’m sure it’s going to sell very well if recent PSP bundle sales in Japan are anything to go by.

Once again, the game takes you back to the land of mako reactors and materia as the crises extends to the very core of the planet. The story this time revolves around Zack, some geezer who had already returned to the Lifestream before the vents of the PSOne game.

In this game we’re promised we’ll find out more about Shinra, the evil money making corporation and take part in an adventure with new improved graphics and more insight into the world of Final Fantasy VII.

When fighting in the game, you use a new battle system called Digital Mind Wave, a sort of mini fruit machine that spins in the top right corner of the screen. Match up the symbols and you get a Power Surge resulting in a devastating attack. Unfortunately those random encounters are still thee to annoy you when you’re just trying to travel about but that’s part of what Final Fantasy is.

Unfortunately there’s not much more to go on and the game name hasn’t even been fully finalised but I’ll be bringing you a full review when I know more myself.

It reminded me of a Tarantino film so I thought I’d check it out a bit more for you guys and report back.

Developed by IO Interactive, the same people who made the Hitman games, you take on the roles of both characters as you first break out of prison then go on a trail of murder and revenge.

One’s a psychopath constantly on medication, the other’s a flawed mercenary, both with brutal attitudes about what’s right and wrong.

This game looks amazing. You see the action from a 3rd-person view similar to Hitman and there are plenty of guns to choose from and lots and lots of bloody bodies. It’s even a cool touch that the scenery breaks around you as bullets fly, even pillars crumble like in the lobby scene of the Matrix. Although Keano Reeves isn’t there looking like a bit of a twat indoors in a black mack and sunglasses.

Also interesting is the addition of squad-based combat similar to Ghost Recon and the ability to play the game as both characters in co-op mode online, although in single player you only play as Kane.

If it wasn’t for the cool characterisation and cinematography of this game, this would probably just be another standard shooter, but something tells me this one’s more than the sum of its parts. I’ll give you guys a full review in the next couple of months if Eidos will be kind enough to send me a copy. And for the 360 please, I like getting those achievement points.

It’s an all new story with a female Ninja who is Hiyabusa’s apprentice form the Ninja Gaiden console games. It’s set between Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 and will provide hints at what happens in the console sequel.

It’s the controls that really sets this game apart. ON the left screen you have a map and on the right you have a portrait view of the action. Your ninja follows the movement of the stylus. Tap on an enemy to attack them, then swipe through them to get direct input of what your sword does to them.

You can also cast magic as the left screen turns into a hand making magical gestures as you have to trace a symbol on the right screen with the stylus. Do it successfully and you can then point your magic at your enemies.

There’s no confirmed release date for this game yet in the UK but if you like the sound of it you can import it from the States in a couple of weeks.

I guess Codemasters are a bit fed up of being remembered for Colin McRae, Brian Lara Cricket and other safe games like Treasure Island Dizzy and wanted to make a truly adult game full of gore. You know, something you’ll have to play wearing bicycle clips to avoid making a mess of your carpet.

This is Clive Barker’s Jericho to be precise and if you’ve ever seen his Hellraiser movie you’ll know he’s the king of disturbing imagery and creating scary characters form the depths of hell.

In this one you lead the Jericho squad, a seven-man strike force who are trained in Occult Warfare. You’re sent in to investigate a mysterious lost city that’s suddenly appeared in the Middle East and before long you’re surrounded by child-like ghosts who can attack through walls, ceilings and floors and other dastardly demons who look like they could do with some vitamins and a good night’s sleep.

Luckily, your task force have some special powers, including a sniper who can make her bullets go round corners thanks to her telekinetic powers, a heavy weapons expert who can kick serious butt and a geezer with a samurai sword as a secondary weapon how’s a bit nifty on his feet.

Form the sounds of it, it may play a bit like the fantastic PC and 360 game FEAR, but with less soldiers to fight and more scary bits where everything turns into a nightmare. Barker’s also asked Cris Valesco to write the score, so if you enjoyed the music on the God of War games you’re going to like this one too.

If you like the sound of it you can play it with the lights off, the sound turned down and some spare pants at the ready in time for Halloween.

This game’s perfect for Nintendo’s consoles as you control de Blob who like a sort of space hopper round the colourless world of Chroma City. All the colour’s been drained by the INKT corporation. Say it quickly and it sounds like inked, get it?

It’s basically an action puzzle game as you swing and bounce your blob around the city whilst avoiding some nasties that want to squirt you with horrid black ink and squish you.

Whilst you’re avoiding them you have to splash the landmarks, buildings and citizens with colour.

As well as the single player campaign there’s also multiplayer. Up to four people can play via split screen which I haven’t seen for a looong time with the advent of Xbox live etc.

This game started life as a student project and it’s interesting that THQ picked it up and turned it into a full commercial game.

According to their press release says you must bring spunk and character back to the city. Er…

Instead of co-op being a game mode in this one, it’s the actual game as you and a real life partner or adaptive AI soldier use two-man tactics in a third-person warzone to win the battles and make it out alive.

The story’s not too original, there’s a global conspiracy that threatens the safety of the entire world and your two man team has to stop all this naughty business and uncover the truth by using the one thing that people only seem take notice of these days – violence.

It’s all about to man tactics, so one minute you may be laying down covering fire so your team mate can make it across the battlefield, or your buddy might be sniping from a high position, or taking care of you as you parachute in to a situation. In a similar vein to the Splinter Cell co-op mode, you’ll also be helping each other repel down buildings and giving each other a leg up to climb up walls and ledges.

From the look of the trailer it doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously which is refreshing for a war game. I’ll be getting ready to practice my virtual buddy high-five in time for a full review when it comes out for PS3 and Xbox 360 in November.

In this one Ratchet is still trying to trace where he came from as he’s the last of the Lombax race. Even his little robot friend Clank can’t help him when it comes to fathoming out this one. However, the evil Emperor Percival Tachyon is also interested in Ratchet and wants to wipe the last Lombax off the face of the universe with the help of his insect horde of Cragmites.

And so another adventure begins with lots of platforming, puzzling and of course comedy weapons to kill your enemies with.

Let’s concentrate on some of the new weapons. There’s the Combustor which fires out balls of flame which also sets fire to the floor, there’s the Groovatron which is basically a big mirror ball which plays music and makes all enemies around you dance to death and there’s the Vizicopter which you can launch into the sky and control with the sixaxis as you fly around and launch missiles from above.

There’s also shielded enemies in this game so you’ll have to use your Buzzblade to ricochet spinning metal spikes off walls to hit them from behind or fire radioactive plasma over their heads to spray them with a whole load of hurt.

Another cool device is the Tornado, again controlled with the Sixaxis function of the controller, meaning, if you can co-ordinate yourself correctly, you can control Ratchet and send the Tornado to sweep up enemies and objects around your immediate area.

As well as all the new weapons it’s the same game you know and love with new tweaks and better graphics. You can play through the adventure in a few weeks time.

That game will soon be a reality. It sounds simple, looks great and is called Little Big Planet.

Having seen the videos of this game, this really is a look toward what the PS3 is capable of after all the launch titles with good but not stunning graphics have been and gone. It has the look of a pre-rendered movie that Pixar would make but it’s all running in real time as you and up to three other friends move through the levels.

Controlling your character isn’t just a question of jumping with the X button and using the analogue. You even use the shoulder buttons to move your character’s arms indepently and the sixaxis function of the controller to move their head. Hold R1 and you’ll grab something and pressing directions on the d-pad effects the emotions the face is controlling.
The world is also a stickler to physics – Isaac Newton would have a field day. If a rubber ball hits a wall, it behaves how it would in real life. If you swing about on a rope, you’ll swing to and fro depending on how much momentum you apply from your character.

Central to creating a level is a control system called Pop It. Here you mix and match what you want and where to put it, and you can even put items together to create new things like vehicles, tanks and skateboards. You can then use these in multiplayer games to find new ways of getting round obstacles. The whole thing looks like an interactive Vauxhall advert which makes you want to shout ‘COME ON’ as you play though the levels. It’s sure to be a hit with gamers and non-gamers alike when it comes out September 2008.

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No reason’s been given for the delay, so I’ll make one up. Er, they lost the code down the back of the sofa?

Instead, the guys that made the not half bad Silent Hill will be doing this one. The movie will follow B J Blazkowitz and his troops as they investigate Nazi paranormal stuff.

In the follo-up to this new take on the game, you play Chris Redfield. Once a member of STARS as you played him in the very first game, he’s now part of the BSAA unit (whatever that stands for). He’s found himself in a desert colony and things aren’t too normal round these parts as the folks here start bleeding from the eyes and attacking you with hatchets and other sharp objects that really should stay locked away.

Once again it looks like Capcom are sticking with the over the shoulder view that worked so well an 4 but this time they promise we’ll be able to use the environment around use much more, similar to barricading doors shut and kicking ladders over in the last game.

Also, it appears that the foes you’ll be fighting aren’t exactly ythe clichéd zombies you fought in earlier renditions of the series. These villagers don’t shuffle and moan as they crawl towards you at a snail’s pace. These ones run, think, and even call others with megaphones as if you didn’t think your hands were already full with 20 mad villagers chasing you with pointy things.

Although not seen in the trailer, there’s bound to be some more puzzling to do as you reach new locations to complete whatever mission Chris says he’s got to do in the trailer. Thankfully, it seems random puzzles and retracing your steps were abolished in Resi 4 so let’s hope they don’t make a return here.

Expect a more detailed preview or full review as soon as I get my hands on it in the coming months.

The good news is that this very good looking game isn’t as repetitive as we once thought. I was a bit worried it would just be lots of arena battles but it looks like there’s much more variety. Levels demoed were Nariko defending a castle as men in flaming barrels rolled towards her and also a side-scrolling scene where she has to knock as many enemies to their doom as possible.

There’s also a some cool looking context-sensitive bits to battles similar to God of War where the game goes into a mini cut scene and you do things that look spectacular by pressing buttons at the right time.

Another big surprise is a new playable character called Kai. She doesn’t have any melee weapons, instead she has a crossbow and you aim by tilting the Sixaxis controller.

Oh, and it’s also worth mentioning there’s a cool motion-capture movie which shows the superb facial animation that went into making the game.

As for the game, that’s another story. Let me review it for you now and you can make up your mind on whether to play it or not. What you get with Transformers The Game is a slightly open-ended game world with a story to lpay through similar to Spider-Man, Hulk Ultimate Destruction or GTA. Unfortunately, the three games I’ve just mentioned actually play better.

You can play as the Decepticons or the Autobots as you drive from location to location, beat up a swarm of enemies, then do it all over again. Trouble is, it’s not actually that much fun. Sure the buildings and cars smash when you so much as blow on them but if you’re playing as an Autobot you get punished for it – where’s the fun in that? Also, what’s the point in having long range weapons when a lot of the bad guys put up shields which force you to go and hit them with some limited fisty-cuff combos that get old far too quickly.

There’s also a strange detached feeling to the game. Smashing thing up in Hulk felt like it vented some anger! Not here, It just all falls a bit flat. It’s actually more fun to play the Decepticon missions as you’re supposed to smash stuff up and they have all the cooler cars. They’re faster and you can fly and even burrow underground to pop up and destroy military vehicles from underneath.

Transformers isn’t a terrible game, it’s just that it’s not as good as the one Atari released about four years ago, and strangely enough, I actually enjoyed playing the DS version of the game a lot more despite its camera and targeting issues.

If you’re a real Transformers freak then you may still want to play this. If however you were expecting Saints Row or GTA with robots instead of gangsters, think again. Transformers the game gets a disappointing 6 out of 10.

Available for Xbox 360 and PS3, the game follows Alex Shepherd, a soldier returning home from an overseas tour of duty. Alex has taken compassionate leave after his younger brother Joshua has gone missing. At first, Alex goes looking for him in the small town of Shepherd’s Glen before being transported to the misty empty streets of Silent Hill with strange creatures waiting for him in the darkness.

Konami’s promising an even more atmospheric title than the last one. My girlfriend better watch out because she got so scared of The Room she couldn’t bring herself to finish it! Again, there’ll be a mix of compelling characters to meet, melee combat and of course enough things to leave a bad taste in your mouth even after brushing, flossing, scarping your tongue and using mouthwash.

Not only will it look better, but Konami also say we will have more control over the central character than before, which could hint at an over-the-shoulder view which worked so well in Capcom’s Resident Evil 4.

I’ve played all the previous games and didn’t think the movie was actually that bad so as a fan, I can’t wait for this to come out. I’ll try to play it with the lights off and bring you a full review when I get my hands on it.

Now Sega Rally’s back for next-gen and this one looks to provide an experience just as great, but with a fun, arcade feel as opposed to a very hard simulation that’s only rewarding when you put the time in.

What Sega are attempting to provide this time is arcade accessibility with realistic depth. So, even if you can pick up the controller and power-slide the tracks with ease from the offset, the mechanics at work in the game are still something to behold.

The main thing that sets this apart from the rest of the pack is track deformation and the way it effects the car’s traction. Other games show you ripping up the gravel but in Sega Rally, as the top surface gets taken away, this changes the texture of the ground next time you pass it, making your car behave differently. With a rumble pack it feels good but with a rumbling steering wheel and peddles it really makes a difference and this should up the stakes for Mr McRae.

As well as this ace in the pack, the game features bumper to bumper rally racing with multiple cars on the track, varied, colourful tracks and locations and a variety of 2 wheel, 4 wheel drive and classic vehicles to buckle yourself into.

Combine this with multiplayer and online modes and you’ve got a rally game driving fans must own. If you fancy it, you can try it for yourself on 360, PS3 and PC in the Autumn.