Gamesweasel

Guitar Hero World Tour kit only $69.99

Podshow — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:35:17 +0000

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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.

Buy Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Kit now
New: Buy Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Kit from Amazon.com for $69.99

YouTube video link

Tags: Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Kit, Guitar Hero World Tour

Discount Playstation 3 Prices

Podshow — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:37:18 +0000

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If you’re in the US and have a good credit rating then Sony could have the deal of the year for you. Sign up for the Visa Playstation Credit Card and Sony will give you $150 cash rebate if you use your new card to buy a Playstation 3 from an authorized Sony seller before December 31st. This effectively means that you can buy an 80GB PlayStation 3 for under $250 or buy a PS3 160GB for $350. We’ve never seen a PS3 price this low and it really brings the Sony PS3 down to compete with the Nintendo Wii console and the rumoured $100 Xbox 360.

For more details check out the Sony Rewards site.

With such a great saving you can get some great PS3 games to go with your console this holiday season - Call of Duty: World at War for the dads, LittleBigPlanet for the kids, and the complete Guitar Hero World Tour to party with around the Christmas tree.

Buy PlayStation 3 now
New: Buy a PlayStation 3 from Amazon.com

Tags: PS3, Visa Playstation Credit Card, Sony, Playstation 3

R-Type Command review

Podshow — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:34:26 +0000

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R-Type Command brings the world of R-Type together with some tactics. R-Type Command (UK name: R-Type Tactics) is a fifty-plus level extravaganza that attempts to add some depth to the side-scrolling series and revitalise it. Rather than soaring through levels as a one-ship army like the earlier games in the series, you will instead be asked to strategically work your way through turn-based missions (yes, turn-based) in two separate campaigns - one for the forces of Earth, and one for their enemy, the Bydo. You get to play as both good and evil. That’s a popular idea nowadays, isn’t it?

Think Final Fantasy Tactics in space and you’ve pretty much got this. Your wizards and warriors are now spaceships. And what an impressive pack of wizards and warriors we have here - assisting you in your waged wars are the R-Type units, of which you have a literal army. There are enough models of ship here to make the geekiest of sci-fi vehicle fans moist in the armpits with pleasure. There are over 100 types of R-Type available for your blastin’ pleasure - fighters, warships, bombers carriers, supply vehicles - each of which are obviously good for different things. With your squad of R-Types, you are tasked with taking down the Bydo Empire, one move at a time. Success brings with it the chance to play as the enemy, if you can be bothered.

Ignoring the difference in genre, the game looks very similar to every R-Type game to have preceded it. Graphically, it doesn’t seem to have grown very far, if at all. The graphics are pretty enough though, if a little old-looking, and it’s not too much of a pain to keep on looking at them while you’re busy fuelling, flying and fixing a half-dozen spaceships. Music is atmospheric - it’s quite probably what space would sound like - and adds, rather than detracts, from the mission in hand.

There’s no need to mention that R-Type fans will absolutely adore this. If you’re a dude who’s been following the series since day one, you’ll probably have grown to appreciate the various vehicles involved and have somewhat of a soft spot for them. The opportunities that this game offers, then, should simply not be passed up - you can control the enemy forces. You can customise and even make your own craft (based on what you find on the battlefield). There are secret missions and, if you last the distance, massive bosses for you to bombard with Force weapons. The world of the Typers lends itself well to this genre, so fans will be happy.

For the rest of the non-R-Type crazed, this is a competent tactical RPG that, despite its clever futuristic approach, doesn’t really develop into anything more than that. Of course, this is fine if that’s what you want. Combining old school rapid-fire gaming with modern details-obsessed role-playing isn’t an easy task, and for the Millennium Falcon model kit owners and Warhammer 40K loving wargamers amongst us, there can’t be much better an idea for a game that this. This is a specialised market though.

I found the whole setting tedious. Fair enough, this is because I don’t have much love for the genre or the space war idea, but again we go back to this very much being for a specialist group and not the casual gamer. Anyone outside of that group may have trouble with the difficulty level. I’m all for games being tough, but only when it’s fair, and sometimes this game just isn’t fair. It’s cheap. I don’t just mean this in the traditional way - I mean the way the campaign is made is cheap. There could have a lot more to do here, but instead challenge is milked by flattening levels of difficulty rather than strategy. A lot of time will be spent slamming buttons in frustrated repetition, the other half spent dying.

Like a fast food milkshake, R-Type Tactics is thick, dense and not at all good for you, but still great for a few moments of idiotic indulgement. There are worse games on the market - definitely worse ideas than this gem of a design - and the multiplayer is a great way to spend your days. Looking on the sunny side here, this is a budget release which packs a lot of bang and smarts for its low price tag. An R-Type or general sci-fi fan would probably love it, and it’s definitely worth a try if you like to kill things like a real space marine. Give it a rent, because while it’s not the best this genre is going to get, it’s a fun experience that is by no means a waste of time and scores a blasting 7 out of 10.

Get R-Type Command now
New: Buy R-Type Command from Amazon.com
New: Buy R-Type Command from Buy.com
Preowned: R-Type Command - Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent R-Type Command - free rental trial from Gamefly.com

Tags: R-Type Command, R-Type Tactics, R-Type, RType, RPG

GTA 4 The Lost and The Damned release date

Podshow — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:32:14 +0000

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Rockstar have finally revealed the juicy details for first episode in the upcoming exclusive downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto 4. Entitled The Lost and the Damned you take control a new lead character and will have a bunch of new missions set in Liberty City to complete. New multiplayer modes as well as extra weapons and vehicles will see your dusty old copy of GTA4 brought to life for another few weeks. Hopefully you didn’t trade your original GTA4 game disc as you’ll need it to play this extra content. The Lost and The Damned release date is February 17th 2009 - the GTA IV PC release date is a few days away for those wanting to visit Liberty City at work.

Buy Grand Theft Auto 4 now
New: Buy Grand Theft Auto 4 from Amazon.com

Tags: GTA4, GTA IV downloadable content, The Lost and The Damned, release date

Video podcast - episode 076

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:25:36 +0000

This week on the Gamesweasel video podcast we talk about:-

We have 5 copies of Shaun White’s Snowboarding for the PS3 to give away by 15 December 2008, full details of how to enter can be found on our competitions page. Thanks for the emails, keep them coming in to gamesweasel@mevio.com. Be sure to visit the Gamesweasel blog for articles on Nintendo DS Buying guide for Christmas 2008, free Nintendo Wii points, EA Sports Active and the $100 Xbox 360?. You can also stream Gamesweasel episode 076 direct to your desktop, and watch the Call of Duty World at War review and the Skate It review on Youtube.

If you like any of the games we have reviewed in this episode you can buy Call of Duty World at War from Buy.com, rent Call of Duty World at War from Gamefly or check out the Call of Duty World at War Amazon page, also rent Skate It, buy Skate It or go to the Skate It Amazon page.

This weeks episode of Gamesweasel is brought to you in association with GoDaddy and offers you discounts on hosting and domain names. Use one of the following Gamesweasel December 2008 GoDaddy coupon codes to save you money - weasel1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and weasel2 gets you 20% off orders over $50 or £25. Some restrictions may apply, please see the GoDaddy web site for more details.

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Audio podcast - episode 076

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:00:46 +0000

This week on the Gamesweasel gaming mp3 podcast we talk about:-

Be sure to visit the Gamesweasel blog for articles on Nintendo DS Buying guide for Christmas 2008, free Nintendo Wii points, EA Sports Active and the $100 Xbox 360. Want to see the games we’ve been talking about? Check out the Call of Duty World at War screenshots and Skate It screenshots on our Flickr feed. You can also watch Gamesweasel TV episode 076 direct to your desktop, plus watch the Skate It review and the Call of Duty World at War review on Youtube.

We’ve compiled links to all the games reviewed in this episode so you can buy Skate It from Buy.com, rent Skate It from Gamefly or head to the Skate It Amazon page, also rent Call of Duty World at War, buy Call of Duty World at War or go to the Call of Duty World at War Amazon page.

This weeks episode of Gamesweasel is brought to you in association with GoDaddy and offers you discounts on hosting and domain names. Use one of the following Gamesweasel GoDaddy coupon codes December 2008 to save you money - weasel1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and weasel2 gets you 20% off orders over $50 or £25. Some restrictions may apply, please see the GoDaddy web site for more details.

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PSP podcast - episode 076

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:51:16 +0000

This week on the PSP RSS Channel we talk about:-

To get hold of any of the games reviewed in this episode you can buy Skate It from Buy.com, rent Skate It from Gamefly or check out the Skate It Amazon page, also rent Call of Duty World at War, buy Call of Duty World at War or go to the Call of Duty World at War Amazon page.

This show is made especially to be added to your psp rss channels videos - see our PSP videos page for full instructions on how to get the mp4 automatically to your PSP. You can also watch the Youtube Call of Duty World at War review and Youtube Skate It review videos, as well as streaming episode 076 of Gamesweasel direct to your desktop.

This weeks episode of Gamesweasel is brought to you in association with GoDaddy and offers you discounts on hosting and domain names. Use one of the following Gamesweasel GoDaddy coupon codes for December 2008 to save you money - weasel1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and weasel2 gets you 20% off orders over $50 or £25. Some restrictions may apply, please see the GoDaddy web site for more details.

[STREAM] | [DOWNLOAD MP4] | [PSP RSS FEED]

Xbox 360 party games

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:22:32 +0000

YouTube video link

So Christmas is fast approaching and for some of us, it’s a dreaded time when members of the family all come together, open their presents and then get a bit bored because it’s tradition. Well, if you want to change that trend, here are some ideas of what you can get for the whole family to play if you happen to bring along your Xbox 360 or are getting one from Santa.

In a move that blatantly rips off Sony’s ideas, Microsoft have released three Xbox 360 party games in time for Christmas to support their new philosophy to target casual gamers as well as the hardcore.

They’ve released a karaoke game called Lips, a new version of Buzz! Quiz TV-style quiz game called Scene It? Box Office Smash! and an PlayStation 3 Eye style game which uses the Xbox Vision camera called You’re in the Movies. Ok, so they may have many similarities to PS2 and PS3 games but if you only have an Xbox that’s no bad thing.

So let’s start with Scene It? Box Office Smash. This latest version is basically a movie quiz that shows you film clips and then asks you multiple choice questions about them. Up to four players can enjoy the game at once but of course, if you have a larger family round for Christmas, you can play in teams. The controllers are wireless and as sturdy as you’d expect and there’s a fair mix of movie genres so everyone should be able to at least get something right. Unfortunately there’s not a massive amount of questions so don’t break this from its box before the big day if you don’t want to have your fun spoilt be repeat questions.

If singing round the telly after you’ve had a few sherries is more your thing, then Lips could be what you want to bust out once everyone’s digested their Christmas pudding. Boasting a track list of 40 songs, it’s basically a karaoke machine in a box. There’s not much here for solo players so once again, this is ideal for parties. The wireless microphones put Sony’s USB ones to shame and they even light up and have motion sensors for use in the game. Each track has the original music video and lyrics to sing along to and there’s more content on the way via Xbox Live. You can even import your own music from your iPod but be warned, you won’t have the words on screen so you’d better know those words or you’ll just have to hum along.

Finally there’s You’re in the Movies. It’s basically a series of mini games bundled with the Xbox Vision camera, where you act out scenes into the camera and then they’re compiled into a little movie at the end. Horror, romance and action are all there but, although this may sound fun, it’s actually not. It takes a fair while to make all the scenes for your movie, and the bits at the end are a bit disappointing after all your hard work. It’s also tricky to get the lighting right as the software ‘keys’ out the background to fit you into the scene. Once again, it’s probably a bit of fun to try out on Christmas day but it’ll probably end up on eBay come boxing day.

So, there’s some ideas to make your holiday a little more fun this year if you own an Xbox. Next week I’ll be taking a look at some of the party games available to you if you own a PS3.

Get the games now
New: Buy Lips from Amazon.com
New: Buy Scene It? Box Office Smash Bundlefrom Amazon.com
New: Buy You’re in the Moviesfrom Amazon.com

Tags: Xbox 360 party games, xbox 360 christmas, xbox party games, xbox 360 party games, xbox 360 family games

Skate It review

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:21:09 +0000

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For many years Tony Hawk was the only real skating contender on the block when it came to making videogames about skating. EA’s Skate which came out a couple of years ago changed all that and some people preferred their new ‘Flickit’ controls, which represented the moves on a skateboard more realistically than just pushing a button. I can’t skate and so I wasn’t a fan, preferring Tony Hawk’s simpler control method.

Well, now the game’s out on the Wii in the form of Skate It and this time they’ve taken the control system that bit further with flicks and shakes of the Wii-mote to get you doing ollies, nollies, shove its and grinds. You can also get on the Wii balance board if you want to truly get that feeling of leaning into your turns and applying pressure to your board to get it off the ground.

Of course, if you play through the career there’s a loose story of sorts. The city of San Vanelona has seen some sort of strange disaster which has effectively made it a ghost town. This makes a skater’s paradise as they’ve all free to use any part of the city as their skate park. So, you doing your tricks and your friend filming you on camera, you set about completing tricks and combos to get some really gnarly stuff on tape…dude.

I have a big problem with this game and it’s mainly because of the controls. Making a ‘proper’ game for the Wii is always tough if you’re using the motion sensor because it’s simply not accurate enough to do what you want it to do. Try to do specific combos and you’ll quite often fail due to some mistranslation between your wrist and the Wii. Try to use the Wii balance board and things get even worse. I can’t skate anyway, but transferring your weight from toes to heel to steer is nigh-on impossible and I ended up weaving left and right like I’d had far too many JDs.

I also can’t help wondering if this ‘city disaster’ was just a story to excuse the developers from having anyone else in the game world. It’s certainly weird skating round the grey ghost town. The graphics also leave a lot to be desired. You can design your own character from a limited set of options but they’re a really odd shape.

On the positive side, the game does have a good soundtrack and will still please fans of skating games who want one on the Wii. There’s also fun to be had by bailing on purpose from a great height to make sure you enter the ‘Hall of Meat’ by breaking every bone in your body.

If you’re going to get this game, my word of advice is to stick to using the Wii remote and Nunchuck. Don’t buy a copy of Wii Fit just to get the balance board – you’ll be disappointed. Skate It gets a disappointing 5 out of 10.

Get Skate It now
New: Buy Skate It from Amazon.com
New: Buy Skate It from Buy.com
Preowned: Skate - Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent Skate It - free rental trial from Gamefly.com

Related: Tony Hawk, Skate It for the DS, Youtube Skate It review

Tags: Skate It, Skateit, Wii, DS, Skating game, Wii balance board, Skateboard game for Wii

Call of Duty World at War review

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:19:23 +0000

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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.

Get Call of Duty World at War now
New: Buy Call of Duty World at War from Amazon.com
New: Buy Call of Duty World at War from Buy.com
Preowned: Call of Duty: World at War - Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent Call of Duty World at War - free rental trial from Gamefly.com

Tags: Call of Duty World at War, Call of Duty, World at War, Keifer Sutherland, Call of Duty: World at War

World of Warcraft Lich King sales figures

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:17:27 +0000

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The World of Warcraft expansion pack The Lich King is officially the fastest selling PC game ever. It sold over 2.8 million copies in 24 hours - that’s a lot of people not coming out of their houses over the next few months.

Tags: World of Warcraft, Lich King, sales figures, Lichking, WOW Lich King, expansion pack

Buy GTA IV and get GTA Vice City free

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:16:10 +0000

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Want to play GTA Vice City for free on the PC? Well now you can, if you pre-order GTA IV for direct download via Steam. Valve are doing the deal for gamers itching to play on their PC on 2nd December.

Want the boxed version instead? Preorder GTA 4 for the PC from Amazon.com now in time for the 2nd December release date.

Tags: GTA IV pc version, GTA Vice City, GTA IV PC version

Videogame pirate jailed

Podshow — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:14:23 +0000

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Pirates beware…Steve Adams from Dudley made over £1 million selling copied software at computer fairs and on the internet. Now he’s staying at Her Majesty’s pleasure for 3 years after living life in the fast lane.

Tags: Steve Adams, video game, software piracy, pirate

Amazon Black Friday deals - the $100 Xbox 360?

Podshow — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:55:44 +0000

Snap yourself up a bargain this Friday at Amazon for one day only; Amazon.com are having their Black Friday sale featuring some unbelievable savings in their gaming section - great if you are a gamer, even better if you want to get all your Christmas shopping at a fraction of the cost. Game bargains for Friday include:-

Call of Duty: World at War - $49.95 (usually $59.99)
Fallout 3 - $39.95 (usually $52.99)
Heavenly Sword - $19.95 (usually $50.99)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - $39.95 (usually $69.99)
Pure - $29.95 (usually $59.99)
Resistance: Fall Of Man - $14.95 (usually $29.95)
Soul Calibur IV - $39.95 (usually $49.95)

Hardware bargains include a $499 gaming projector, a $42 Sony 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo for the PSP and a $40 PS3 Dualshock 3 Sixaxis Controller ready for some multiplayer family fun.

Xbox 360 for $100
Rumors are circulating on the web that Amazon are making room for a new Xbox 360 model by clearing out their old stock of Xbox 360 Core Systems at $100 each. Looks like we’ll be spending this Friday on the Xbox 360 Core page with our fingers on the refresh button until we snap up a bargain console along with some cheap peripherals for the winter months.

Drop us a comment on the Gamesweasel blog if you spot any more Black Friday deals and we’ll share them out before the offer ends at midnight.

Nintendo DS Buying guide for Christmas 2008

Podshow — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:57:07 +0000

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So you want to buy a Nintendo DS for Christmas either as a present or for yourself? Just in case you are new to the Nintendo DS, the Nintendo DS accessories and Nintendo DS games then we’ll go over the basics first.

The Nintendo DS is a great little portable games system that can be used at home in a comfy chair or while you’re commuting on a bus or train. The Nintendo DS console comes in two main flavours; the original launch model which is now commonly known as the DS Phat (discontinued) and the newer updated model called the Nintendo DS lite. For this article we will be mainly be referring the Nintendo DS lite system because it is superior in every respect to the original version.

When you first look at the Nintendo DS lite you’ll notice that is has two LCD screens, at first this does seem unusual and you might think you’ll need two pairs of eyes to use it. Don’t worry though your current pair of eyes is more than enough. The lower screen uses touch technology which allows you to interact with the DS games in much more detail; typically you’ll be using a plastic stylus to tap the screen with but you could use your finger like you would with an iPhone or iPod touch, beware of the fingerprints though. The top screen is not touch enabled but identical visually to the lower.

Another of the favourite DS features is the built in rechargeable battery that charges from a standard mains outlet saving you a fortune in AA batteries.

A standalone DS lite costs just $129.99 and in a variety of cool colours - Metallic Rose, Cobalt/Black, Crimson/Black, Onyx, Metallic Silber, Polar White and Coral Pink.

Nintendo DS games are stored in special flash cards like those used with digital cameras, uniquely the Nintendo DS handhelds accepts two types; the regular DS game card and Gameboy Advance cards (these are games from a previous Nintendo portable console which can be also be played on a Nintendo DS - known as backwards compatibility). You can buy Nintendo DS games (and Gameboy Advance games) from many different retailers and there are a huge number to choose from in many different categories (genres). You can be jumping around magical lands with a hero like Mario, training your Brain with Dr. Kawashima, racing cars around fun tracks with the Wacky Races crew and many other fun activities that just make the Nintendo DS so great to own.

The NDS is truly a games console for everyone, here is a look at a selection of titles that would make great gifts for current DS owners in your family or games that would be perfect to buy as a starting point with a new Nintendo DS lite.

Games for the 7-12’s

The Nintendo DS is great for youngsters as there is hardly any setup, simply plug the game cart in, turn on and hey presto it’s ready. There is also a wide range of games for younger age groups which star all their favourite cartoon characters and TV show stars.

Disney Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force - A fun title packed with mini games featuring the famous group of Elite Penguins.
Mario Party DS - A virtual board game featuring Nintendo’s best loved characters such as; Mario, Peach, Yoshi and Wario. Lots of game boards and mini games to keep the kiddies occupied for ages.

Games for the 12-16’s

How about some games for the older kids?

Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia - Another adventure in the land of Pokémon with monsters to battle, capture and train as your own.
Kirby Super Star Ultra - Japan’s favourite Nintendo mascot is now a massive hit in the States; it’s time for more fun with the kick ass pink ball who can do almost anything.

Games for 16+

The older gamers are always after new games, here are a selection of our favourites which should keep them amused for weeks.

Mario Kart DS -Featuring classic racing gameplay of the original Mario Kart from Super Nintendo but with the all characters and tracks from newer Mario Kart games. With online play too!
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures - What self respecting adult doesn’t love the Indiana Jones movies? Recreate all the fun of the films on your DS but this time everything is made from Lego!
Chrono Trigger DS -This classic 13 year old role playing game returns once more and it’s not for the faint hearted. Chrono Trigger is a difficult adventure for advanced players only.

Games for OAP’s

Get off the DS kids as Gran wants to train her brain and stay out of that nursing home for a few more years yet -here are a couple of titles for the older gamer.

Brain Age -Keep your brain and response time in check with a daily workout or math, language and logic puzzles.
Brain Age 2 -Even more brain training activities for those looking to move onto more advanced puzzles every day.

Nintendo DS Accessories

Where would we be without extra accessories for our gadgets? The Nintendo DS Lite travel kit has everything you need for under $15 and features lots of nice little extras to make your DS life more accessible:

12 Volt power adaptor
Earphones
Game Case
Screen cleaner
Wrist Strap
Screen Protector
Stylus extender pen

Tags: Nintendo DS, DS Buyer guide

Video podcast - episode 075

Podshow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:00:52 +0000

This week on the Gamesweasel video podcast Matt Cuttle talks about:-

If you’d like to win Sonic Unleashed for the Xbox 360 then check out our competitions page before 8 December 2008. Always great to hear from you, our email address is gamesweasel@mevio.com. Also be sure to pay a visit to the Gamesweasel blog for articles on Nintendo Wii buying guide for Christmas 2008, EA Sports Active, Help Wanted for the Wii and GTA 4 pc release date. You can also stream Gamesweasel episode 075 direct to your desktop, and watch the Gears of War 2 review and the Mirrors Edge review on Youtube.

We’ve compiled links to all the games reviewed in this episode so you can buy Gears of War 2 from Buy.com, rent Gears of War 2 from Gamefly or check out the Gears of War 2 Amazon page, also rent Mirrors Edge, buy Mirrors Edge or go to the Mirrors Edge Amazon page.

Gamesweasel is brought to you with GoDaddy.com and offers you some great discounts on domain names and hosting. Use our Gamesweasel December 2008 GoDaddy discount codes to save money - weasel1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and weasel2 gets you 20% off orders over £25 or $50. Some restrictions may apply so see the GoDaddy web site for details.

[STREAM] | [DOWNLOAD MP4] | [VIDEO PODCAST RSS FEED] | [SUBSCRIBE IN ITUNES]

Audio podcast - episode 075

Podshow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:47:50 +0000

This week on the Gamesweasel podcast Matt Cuttle talks about:-

If you’d like to win Sonic Unleashed for the Xbox 360 then check out our competitions page before 8 December 2008. Always great to hear from you, our email address is gamesweasel@mevio.com. Also be sure to pay a visit to the Gamesweasel blog for articles on best Wii games for boys, EA Sports Active, Help Wanted for the Wii and GTA 4 pc release date.Want to see the games we’ve been talking about? Check out the Gears of War 2 screenshots and Mirrors Edge screenshots on our Flickr feed. You can also watch Gamesweasel TV episode 075 direct to your desktop, plus watch the Mirrors Edge review and the Gears of War 2 review on Youtube.

If you like any of the games reviewed on this show you can buy Mirrors Edge from Buy.com, rent Mirrors Edge from Gamefly or head to the Mirrors Edge Amazon page, also rent Gears of War 2, buy Gears of War 2 or go to the Gears of War 2 Amazon page.

Gamesweasel is brought to you with GoDaddy.com and offers you some great discounts on domain names and hosting. Use our Gamesweasel GoDaddy discount codes December 2008 to save money - weasel1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and weasel2 gets you 20% off orders over £25 or $50. Some restrictions may apply so see the GoDaddy web site for details.

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PSP podcast - episode 075

Podshow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:40:40 +0000

This week on the Gamesweasel PSP RSS Website Matt Cuttle talks about:-

If you’d like to win Sonic Unleashed for the Xbox 360 then check out our competitions page before 8 December 2008. Always great to hear from you, our email address is gamesweasel@mevio.com. Also be sure to pay a visit to the Gamesweasel blog for articles on best Wii games for girls, EA Sports Active, Help Wanted for the Wii and GTA IV PC release date. To play any of the games reviewed in this episode you can buy Mirrors Edge from Buy.com, rent Mirrors Edge from Gamefly or check out the Mirrors Edge Amazon page, also rent Gears of War 2, buy Gears of War 2 or go to the Gears of War 2 Amazon page.

This show is made especially to be added to your psp rss channels videos - see our PSP videos page for full instructions on how to get the mp4 automatically to your PSP. You can also watch the Youtube Gears of War 2 review and Youtube Mirrors Edge review videos, as well as streaming episode 075 of Gamesweasel direct to your desktop.

Gamesweasel is brought to you with GoDaddy.com and offers you some great discounts on domain names and hosting. Use our Gamesweasel GoDaddy discount codes for December 2008 to save money - weasel1 gets you 10% off domain name purchases and weasel2 gets you 20% off orders over £25 or $50. Some restrictions may apply so see the GoDaddy web site for details.

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Mirrors Edge review

Podshow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:16:35 +0000

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Here’s a new concept. Take the parkour element of Assassins Creed and make a first person run ‘em up set in a not-too-distant future where couriers now take important packages on foot over the rooftops, risking their necks in the process.

You play Mirrors Edge as Faith, one of these flighty people who have a head for heights. At the beginning of the game your policewoman sister is set up for her Dad’s friend’s murder and so you embark on a mission to find out who did it and clear your sister’s name. What this basically boils down to is you infiltrating a number of buildings via the rooftops, nicking something, then hightailing it out of there whilst lots of police chase you.

So how does the free running mechanic work? Well, to look and turn you use the standard FPS controls of the analogue sticks, then the L1 and L2 buttons to for high and low movements. Examples are jumping, vaulting and climbing, or sliding or dropping down. As you move about your urban climbing frame, red areas indicate where you should be going. If you get truly lost you can press the circle button and that literally points you in the right direction.

Although the game is mainly about running, you’ll sometimes have to fight so you can slow down time at the push of a button, or press the R2 button with any of the afore-mentioned buttons to flying kick, slide kick or punch enemies. You can even press the triangle button at the right time to disarm someone and steal their firearm.

And it’s not a bad looking game either. For once it’s not set at night and there’s a nice clean, crisp look to it that’s refreshing. I’m not too keen on the cut-scenes though, the strange animation technique looks like something from a cheap tampon advert.

When Mirror’s Edge works it’s genuinely fun. Running and vaulting away from the police as shots ring all around you is genuinely exciting. Unfortunately, it’s let down by its ambitious nature. Because it’s in first-person, it’s tricky to be precise at speed. When you’re not sure of your exact footing it’s easy to miss ledges and plummet to your doom over and over again. In fact it brought back memories of the original Tomb Raider which isn’t a good thing.

Luckily, the checkpoints are close together so you’re never thrown too far back into the level, except when you’re doing some of the chase scenes.

Mirror’s Edge is an interesting idea but it doesn’t quite hit the mark. Still, when it works it’s fun and it’s an original concept so because of that this free running game gets a good 6 out of 10.

Get Mirrors Edge now
New: Buy Mirrors Edge from Amazon.com
New: Buy Mirrors Edge from Buy.com
Preowned: Mirror’s Edge - Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent Mirrors Edge - free rental trial from Gamefly.com

Tags: Mirrors Edge, free running game, Parkour, FreeRunning, parcour, mirror’s edge, parkour games

Gears of War 2 review

Podshow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:15:22 +0000

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It’s been a couple of years since the first Gears of War and since then, lots of games have copied some of its innovative features – particularly the duck and cover gameplay mechanic of diving behind walls and popping out to take your shots to take out the bad guys.

Jump into Gears of War 2 and you get more of the same. The gameplay mechanic itself is exactly the same and luckily, developers Epic have a few new tricks up their sleeves to keep the game feeling fresh.

Since the last game the Locust Horde have been getting even stronger so this time Marcus, Dom and their fellow members of Delta Squad take the fight to them to wipe them out once and for all. Immediately you’re faced with all the big creatures from the first game. Corpsers and Reapers appear almost right from the off and we’re introduced to some new aliens to blow into the middle of next week. There are the Tickers, basically running landmines that charge kamikaze-style towards you, and also the Brumaks, basically massive locusts with guns on their backs and each arms. Of course, you’ll need some new firepower to take these down so now there are mortars to get to grips with and flame throwers to make them all hot under their reptilian collars.

There’s also the ability to now use a downed enemy as a meat shield, and use shields found on the floor. These mean you can advance with cover and use a pistol to take down your enemies which does change things significantly in multiplayer.

There’s also more variety in the gameplay. Some levels are on rails as you gun down enemies from vehicles, there are levels where you almost exclusively use your chainsaw in melee combat which you’ll never get tired of, and even a level where you have to make your way out of a giant worm sort of like a cross between Inner Space and Jonah from that book. There’s also a tank-driving mission which is probably the most disappointing as its turning circle is rubbish, resulting in frequent restarts when you fall off cliffs etc.

I’ll be brief with multiplayer as it’s so big and it’s ever-evolving. Playing campaign co-op is great fun as always and there’s a new Horde mode where you must fight waves of enemies as a team. Then there are the multiplayer deathmatch modes and team-based games which, apart from Horde mode, I can’t try out as multiplayer matchmaking seems to be broken at the time of reviewing.

Still, it’s another slick package that delivers both in single and multiplayer modes (when they get it working). There’s plenty of replay value to keep you playing well past your first single player campaign.

Gears of War 2 gets a monstrous 9 out of 10 - if you own a Xbox 360 then Gears of War 2 is an essential for your collection, true fans of the game should get hold of the Gears of War 2 Limited Edition before stocks run out.

Get Gears of War 2 now
New: Buy Gears of War 2 from Amazon.com
New: Buy Gears of War 2 from Buy.com
Preowned: Gears of War 2 - Pre-Played from Gamefly.com
Rental: Rent Gears of War 2 - free rental trial from Gamefly.com

Tags: Gears of War 2, Gears of War, Xbox 360, gears of war 360, gears of war gameplay, FPS, Youtube Gears of War 2 review

The Conduit

Podshow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:13:29 +0000

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Nintendo are claiming that hardcore gamers will soon sit up and take more notice of the Wii. Currently attracting a massive install base of casual gamers, they hope Sega’s new FPS The Conduit can lure FPS fans to the console with better graphics - watch Gemesweasel and Wii Game Review for more news on The Conduit when we get it.

Tags: Wii, The Conduit, FPS

Billy Suicide

Podshow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:11:36 +0000

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There’s more gaming controversy in the papers over a new casual game called Billy Suicide. In the wake of previous suicide news stories, papers have once again kicked up a stink over the game which sees you trying to stop poor Billy Suicide ending his life prematurely. Unlike most games where the object is to kill people this reaction seems a little odd given that the object is to save a life - presumably Lemmings is the next game for the chop?

Related: Billy Suicide game

Tags: Billy Suicide, flash game, PC

Xbox 360 experience release date

Podshow — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:10:40 +0000

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If you haven’t switched on your Xbox in the last few days you’re in for a surprise. Initially spotted during Microsofts E3 highlights the new Xbox 360 Experience will begin to download giving you a better 360 experience. You can play with new avatars, play from your hard drive and communicate with other gamers in party mode. Watch episode 75 of Gamesweasel for the new Xbox 360 experience video featuring the latest features.

Related: Microsofts E3 highlights, Halo 4

Tags: Xbox 360, Xbox Experience, release date