I'm a Soulll Maaaaaaaan.....

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/25175.html

The first proper trailer (ie, you actually SEE something) for Soul Calibur IV is up on gametrailers and it's a doozy. I don't know if these in-game graphics are running on a PS3, 360, PC, or Atari Lynx, but by crimminy they're mighty sexy!

The only worrying thing for me is that there's no sign of little Talin, and I like playing with her! well, not 'playing' with her, your honour, I swear she said she was 16, I swear!!!!!

PES 2008 Demo On European Marketplace Now!

The Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 demo has just hit the Xbox Live Maketplace, weighing in at a GARGANTUAN 1.18gb. That's a lot of football. Interestingly, it's only available on the European Marketplace, currently.

I don't know what's in the demo, as I'm still downloading it and it's (unsurprisingly) taking forever. There must be LOADS of people trying to get it. I don't even like football and even I'm a bit excited...

Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday, 20-09-07

Only one new title up on the Xbox Live Marketplace this week, but it's certainly nice to see some original content, rather than more re-releases. Geon: Emotions is available to download now, priced 800 Microsoft points.

At first glance, Geon looks like a puzzler, but it's really not. I suppose it's hard to pigeon-hole, but it's an arcade game that's almost a sports game, almost a puzzle game and ALMOST good. The basic idea is to roll your little cube thing around the board, collecting orbs (like Pacman) until you have enough to fill your power meter. When it's full, you can roll over to your opponents goal and score a point. Meanwhile, the other player (AI or human) is trying exactly the same thing, but on the flip-side of the board. It's an interesting idea and certainly works to a degree. It'll sometimes raise the heartbeat seeing as you're playing directly against an opponent, not a time limit as such, but for the most part, it's fairly boring. You have a range of powers to unleash at certain points in the match, but they kind of add confusion to a seemingly simple game.

It looks pretty, and it's refreshing to see new content on the marketplace, but there's other arcade games that are far more worthy of your money. The trial is worth a blast but, for me, it didn't get the emotions going.

:-(

And Since It Is The "Roblab Star Wars Week" 2007...

Since the news of Star Wars on Wii allowing people in a galaxy not so far away to wave their remote in the face of the darkside, I feel I must explain my excitement at seeing Star Wars Battlefront : Renegade Squadron is due to be PSP exclusive!

If it is anything near as good as the last one, its gonna be amazing!

However, my Jedi based excitement has been quashed slightly by the posting of the Darth Vader that looks like a penis.

Thanks Rob.

Before My Family Alert The Authorities...

I suppose I should explain my lack of posts on this blog, but as Matt has pointed out, occasionally you will get hold of a game that will make you want to play it, rather than write about it.

This has indeed been the case recently, as my recent purchases have included delights such as Medal of Honour Heroes on PSP (32 player online death matches while in bed!!!), and also Guitar Hero II.

Now, as a real life guitarist, i was VERY skeptical about whether a plastic guitar game would grasp my interest or; anger me immensely. A bit like the way you feel when your favorite band turn shit, release a poor album that goes top 10, and feel the bile in the back of our throat when everyone claims they have loved them all of their life.

Elitism aside, I figured using my left over Virgin Megastores vouchers on a bit of experimentation couldn't hurt that much...

So returning home with my plastic guitar in hand, much to the mockery of my other half, i popped it in the PS2 and waited to be upset...

...however...

...its fucking brilliant.

After literally 10 minutes, its easy to get to grips with, but at the same time, there are always chances to mess up. This, I believe, is what makes a game addictive. Knowing you are fully capable of doing something, yet not quite getting it spot on is pure anal retentive brilliance!

Added bonus's include being able to play Lamb Of God and Every time I Die tracks, and also real franchises such as Ernie Ball Strings, Gibson guitars and Line 6 amps!

Its almost like they made a Singstar/Dancemat game just for meat heads like myself.

Scared, Cold and Alone - More Star Wars Tat

Whilst googling for an image of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for my previous post, I found this amazing site! It's not particularly games related but I have made this 'Star Wars Week' in honour of Lucasarts bringing a Star Wars game out that might not be utter shit and therefore I'm letting myself away with it.

www.fanboy.com/star_wars/

Highlights include:

R2D2 Bin

Star Wars ABC Art Posters

Star Wars Car with R2D2 in the back

There is loads more, most of it quite frightening but some of it is just amazing on many levels.

Some of it however is just plain creepy...

News That Made Me Unleash My Force All Over The Place!

And I'm not the only one!

Lucasarts are also throwing off huge, sticky wristfulls of force in all directions, including to Wii owners.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, all I really want to do with my wii-mote is be a kid with a lightsabre again. So the great god of gaming has smiled upon us and declared that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be making it to the Wii and will have an exclusive 'Duel Mode' to satisfy our collective craving.

My only concern (why is it I always find myself becoming suspicious of Wii games? Have I been burnt that many times already?) is that without the physics stuff that the 360 and PS3 can handle, will this game be any good? I expect there will be 'some' of the physics that the Wii can manage (see Eledees) but they'll have to change the game a great deal.

That could be a good thing however, as the last thing we need is another Wii game ported over from a more powerful system with hilarious results.

I think this will make a lot of people that own a Wii and a 360/PS3 buy both copies of the game if it truly is quite different to play. Which I'm sure Lucasarts will be fairly pleased with.

It's all Jedi mind tricks if you ask me...

The Real Warthog Video

Next Tuesday at midnight, I, like many others, will be buying Halo 3. If you haven't heard of it, it's the third part in one of the best videogame series ever. But, I digress.

The following video is the best thing ever if you're a Halo fan. Please stand, for the REAL Warthog.




Why are these not for sale?

Why I Love Public Beta Tests

For the last five days, I've been playing the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer beta on my Xbox 360. The day it was released, I said that I'd write some impressions up at some point. And I have been meaning to do that ever since I first played it, but, to be honest, I'd rather be playing it than writing about it. Whenever I want to write something about it, I just find some time to squeeze in one more game...

The beta for COD4 has been out in America for some time now. It's been here in the UK for almost a week, too, and I feel like there's not much else to write about. Yes, it's the best multiplayer FPS I've ever played. It truly feels like a new Counterstrike game and not just a cheap sequel. The best thing about it, for me, is that it hasn't made Call of Duty 3 obsolete. They're two very different games and I guess it just reinforces what a fantastic multiplayer experience COD3 was, and still is. I can't wait for the full release in November. I'll definitely be picking it up at midnight on release day, even though I'll have the the THAT other FPS by then.

Which brings me to the point of this post. Public Beta tests. They're great! I've been involved in three on my 360 and they're, without a doubt, the best downloads I've had from the Xbox Live marketplace. You see, they're more than demos. You actually feel like you're helping and achieving something by playing them. You only have to look at the changes made to Lost Planet, after the public beta became the most downloading thing on the marketplace, at that time. Using feedback from the public domain, Capcom made some very important changes to the multiplayer portion of the game before release, helping it become a better experience for everyone.

And I surely don't need to mention the Halo 3 Beta. You even got a free copy of Crackdown with it. :-p

And the Call of Duty 4 Beta. I was pretty sure that I was going to buy it before. As I've said LOADS of times, I loved Call of Duty 3 multiplayer. And Call of Duty 2 had a fantastic single player. But I was also 100% buying Halo 3 on release. Call of Duty 4 could have waited seeing as I would be playing the most anticipated FPS of the year. But, seriously, I'm just as excited about COD4, now. The multiplayer is IMMENSE. Sure, there are a few hiccups, but that's the point of a beta. The stages are genius, the leveling up system is the best thing since Halo 2's matchmaking, it has party systems in place, the weapons are BRUTAL and there's a million more things I could say.

But instead, I'm gonna go and play it.

Sega Rally Demo Impressions

Now THIS is exciting. Sega Rally Championship is one of the all-time greatest racing games. The arcade version is one of the last games that I can remember truly making a stir in British arcades. And the Sega Saturn version was a brilliant conversion. I couldn't tell you how much of my life was spent perfecting every little movement on the Desert track at home. Sega Rally 2 kinda came and went for me. I played it a little on my Dreamcast, but it didn't hit me like the original did. And it had HORRIFIC frame-rates.

And now, Sega Rally. Coming to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PSP and PC from the 28th September. By my calender, that's two days after Halo 3, which means I won't be able to afford it. But if you opted for a Playstation 3, you'll be ok.

It's fucking awesome. Absolutely everything I wanted it to be. And I can't go any further without mentioning the skies. They're so blue! Only Sega do skies like that. When I play this demo, I feel like I'm on holiday. In fact, everything looks great. The environments are detailed and lush and the cars are... well, cars. There's no damage to the vehicles, unfortunately. To be fair, that's a big loss to me. But it IS an arcade racing game, I suppose. And that's the point.

By all accounts, the full game features just five tracks. That doesn't sound like many, but if the three that aren't featured in the demo are as well designed as the two that are, I'll be SO happy. Typical Sega, every little detail on the tracks is there for a reason, and within a few days of playing, you'll be memorising those details in order to thrash your way to victory and shaving milliseconds of your times as you do it.

One of the big things about Sega Rally is the track deformations. As you bomb it around the courses, your tyres leave tracks in the mud/sand/whatever. As the race goes on, the tracks start to look more and more knackered due to all the vehicles power-sliding around every corner. But these deformations aren't just aesthetic. They actually affect how your car handles on the track. You can feel each little bump through the vibration of your pad (which leaves me wondering about the Playstation 3 version which, famously, doesn't support vibration in it's SIXAXIS) and you have to learn to react to this changes in surface to aid you in winning the race. It's PERFECT.

And the music! It's like a Megadrive gone mad. Brilliant!

One thing, though. The demo features two tracks, and two cars. The original Sega Rally Championship (the best one, obviously) featured only THREE tracks and two cars. So, by just playing the demo, you've kinda got a bit portion of the game. Obviously with the full version you'll have a championship mode, online play, the other three tracks and more vehicles, but, until I can actually afford it, I'll be more than happy playing this demo every day. :-)

The demo is available now on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

"Game Over yeeeeeaaaahhh....."

Yoshi's Story On Virtual Console

This CERTAINLY warrants it's own post, as I've been praying for this game to appear on my Wii since launch. It's one of my absolute favourite platform games ever and all the critics can fuck off. It's beautiful, has the best music ever, and is rock hard to finish 'properly'. Amazing replay value and none of the emulated versions I've ever tried have worked properly. I now don't have to plug my N64 in ever again! Hooray! It's 1000 Wii points, like all other N64 games and it's worth ever single one.

There's some other games out today, too, but that doesn't really matter.

Goal Scoring Superstar Hero - On the rag

Sensible World of Soccer Trailer

Codemasters have announced that SWOS on XBLA will be here by the end of the year... It's all gone very quiet on a confirmed release date considering it was originally planned for August. Here's a trailer for now, looks like fun right? Oh yeah Skate has now been delayed by a month as well.