Vader to be available in 360 Soul Calibur 4 - PS3 gets Yoda

Well, that took a long time to happen. Bandai-Namco are finally going to do the right thing and are going to let you play as Vader on the 360 in Soul Calibur 4. Most people said this would happen, but we really didn't know when it would happen or if somebody would pull the plug on it. I was really annoyed about not getting Vader in the 360 version as to be honest I do not want to play as a backwards talking green midget in my epic sword fight game and I don't have a PS3 yet. Give me the Dark Lord of the Sith - kthxbai.

There is a price, as always with the dark side. The price today is capitalism, the route of all fanboy wish fulfillment. 400 MS points is the heavy toll we must pay for Vader goodness - that is if you are in Japan. Vader comes out as DLC on October 23rd in Japan but will almost certainly follow in other territories very shortly afterwards. Dates and final pricing for other regions have yet to be confirmed, but I'd bet by the end of November every territory will have him. The price will probably stay at 400MS points unless somebody wants to be a massive dick about things and raise it.

PS3 owners? Same date, same speculation but maybe a slightly different price as in Japan you will pay ¥600 (US$5.93) for Yoda. Not that you give a shit, but I hope you enjoyed all those extra months with a worthwhile extra character in your Soul Calibur for no additional cost.

*Shakes fist*

You can read more about this story here. Hey, do you think that now one big Japanese games company has given in to the money fueled urges of 360 fanboys that Konami might finally give us a MGS4 port? Please?

Article by: Edwin Jones

Games Night wins Games Media Award

From MCV, the second annual Games Media Awards took place recently. These awards recognise the different media aspects of the game industry. From the list, Games Night, a topical review show (which will return in the future) on Xleague.tv (and then Pulse), beat off strong challenges from last year’s winner Johnny Minkley (Radio One) and One Life Left (Resonance FM).

For those that dont know, PG's own Wesley Lock was a semi-regular guest on the show, and you can watch previous episodes of Games Night here

Article by: William Stephen

Little Big Delay

According to recent reports at MCV, Little Big Planet has been delayed in Europe until the 14th of November. Well at least this gives you more time to save up!

The game was due to hit shelves on the 24th October, the same day as Fable 2 and Far Cry 2. But now, you'll just have to wait longer. Well at least this gives you more time to save up!

Article By: Wesley Lock

Monkey kills after videogame influence!

Well we had to show this one. What happens when a monkey is subjected to a violent videogame such as Manhunt? Well he kills of course.

Check out this video, which shows irrefutable evidence that a Monkey, when playing violent videogames, can lead to devastating consequences.



Article By: Jon Barstood

Portal: Still Alive expansion out next week for the 360!

I think I can speak for the entire internet when I say that Portal, a very good game included in Valve's 'The Orange Box', was perhaps the most meme-tastic game of the last five years. The incredible ending song is now sung around the world anywhere that you might find a large gathering of nerds. The term 'the cake is a lie' is posted on thousands of internet message boards daily. Rick rolling is less popular than Portal references and that takes some damned hard work.

Portal was and is a very good FPS puzzle game. It is a good thing then that it is getting an official expansion which will be available on Xbox Live next Wednesday on the 22nd of October 2008. The expansion will also include the full original game so those who didn't buy 'The Orange Box' (shame on you!) can get the best game in the whole collection by downloading it off Xbox Live. New content comes in the form of 14 Xbox 360 exclusive new challenge maps and six advanced maps that weren't in the original.

Remember, this was a triumph.

You can read more about this story here.

Article by: Edwin Jones

Play Wii Games on the BIG Screen

For anyone living in the london area, Gizmodo has reported that you'll be able to play games in the cinema in the Rex Cinema+ Bar on Rupert Street in Soho.

While it isnt a big chain like Cineworld and Vue its still something at least. You can only play the games they have so no games like No More Heroes on the big screen which is kinda crap. But on a 24x8 foot screen who wouldnt want to play games on that?!

Oh and you have to pay too, obviously.

Article by: William Stephen

Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams - PS3 Teaser

If you're a fan of Bioshock (and so you should be), then you can check out the PS3 teaser trailer for its sequel - Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams.

Not much is shown, hence why its a teaser. But it is certainly enough to 'wet' our appetite.



Article By: Wesley Lock

Pirates playing Fable 2 and Far Cry 2 already

That's right. It appears that Pirates have already got their scurvy mits on both Fable 2 and Far Cry 2 over a week before the games hit our shores.

Both games appear to be region free, however self confessed pirate H8MACHINE whom we've mentioned before stated " Be aware that this is a bad Kreon rip so its not safe for Live" Whilst we have no idea what a bad Kreon rip is, it appears that the game could cause problems for those who try and go on Xbox LIVE with it.

How these games get leaked so early is beyond us.

Article by: Wesley Lock

Konami looking into Metal Gear Solid 4 on Xbox 360

According to recent reports from Kotaku, Konami are "looking into" an Xbox 360 version of Metal Gear Solid 4.

It seems like the days of exclusives may very well be ending, as Konami PR guy, Yoshitaka Arai said "The worldwide demand for an Xbox 360 version (of MGS4) is quite high, and it is something we are currently looking in to."

Many have argued for a while now that Metal Gear Solid 4 would never see a release on anything other than the PS3. But with more and more titles receiving the multiformat treatment, as we mentioned previously with the new Tekken, things are changing.

Below is an artists rendition of what Metal Gear Solid 4 on the Xbox 360...



Article By: Wesley Lock

UPDATE: Apparently the story was originally taken out of context, but it will still be interesting to see what happens with all the recent multiplatform announcements.

Starcraft II: One game for the price of three?

Heh. I guess merging with Activison will do horrible things to the soul eh Blizzard?

It appears greed has at last gotten the better of the RTS and MMORPG titan developer, Blizzard. Rather than ship the new Starcraft title with all three main campaigns of the 3 races it features included in one game, Blizzard has decided to sell each campaign seperately at full price. That's right, to play as the Zerg, Terrans and Protoss in single player campaigns you will have to buy three seperate products. This wouldn't be so bad if the original Starcraft didn't include three seperate campaigns for one price and if EA (who are usually the ones to try pull this sort of thing) didn't already have modern versions of Command and Conquer out which let you play as three races for the price of one game. You can read more about the story here.

Seriously Blizzard? This is insulting and below you. I am shocked and appalled. You are releasing the opposite of the Orange Box. Why can't you follow the success of Valve and morality? Don't Valve make enough money? I guess not.

Article by: Edwin Jones

Fracture Review - PS3/Xbox 360

Format: Xbox 360/PS3

LucasArts don’t just churn out Star Wars games you know. They’ve given us some absolute classics over the years; such as The Monkey Island series, Grim Fandango and Sam and Max. Fracture is the latest release from LucasArts and developer Day 1 Studios, but unfortunately it isn’t a point and click title like those aforementioned classics. But a third person terrain-deforming shooter thing.

Fracture follows two sides of the US, the cybernetic focused Atlantic Alliance and the DNA restructured genetics focus of the Republic of Pacifica. You’re on the side of the Atlantic Alliance though, and play as the humorously named Jet Brody, who looks like every generic American protagonist you’ve ever played as. Of course stuff happens, the president orders a strike on the Pacifican Territory and war starts.

So you lead the one man army, Jet with his terrain-deforming weaponry which allows you to lower and higher terrain. Whilst it may seem novel and exciting, it quickly wears thin. Your abilities are used to help pass obstacles as well as defence. For example, you can raise terrain to shield yourself from enemies. However, you’re better off just running up to them and punching them in the face. They’re not smart. Instead of the AI having any amount of intelligence the game simply throws an increased number of enemies at you.

As well as the typical shotgun, assault rifle, sniper-rifle weapon affair, there are some slightly more interesting weapons, including one which can freeze enemies, and a vortex grenade which creates a magnetic whirlpool of destruction, swirling round and causing damage to anything in its path.

It all gets pretty tiresome though, and quickly. The amount of influence other games have had is quite evident. You can clearly see that they’ve been inspired by Gears of War for example. However, there isn’t really anything that fracture has done better than any of these titles from which it’s influenced.

And like many of these titles that it takes so much from, it is inherently linear. To the point where you are often spoon-fed information without being give the chance to work out what you need to do in the first place. Early on in the game it seems that destructible environments could play a large part in the game, but they don’t - only when the game wants you too.

It’s not all bad though, if you’re looking for a title to get a few easy achievements then you can’t go too far wrong with Fracture. Rent the game and in the first hour or so you could easily find yourself getting a couple of hundred achievement points. Although there are some achievements that you’d need to be quite devoted in order to obtain - i.e. the complete 1500 multiplayer games achievement. The physics are pretty good as well, and, your character does seem to have the ability to punch holes in the wall. Though that isn’t going to help much.

It’s certainly not a terrible title, and there are numerous moments of enjoyment. However, it’s thoroughly recommended that you play either the demo, or at least rent the title before purchasing. And you may find yourself feeling a bit of déjà vu. And you may find yourself feeling a bit of déjà vu. And you may find yourself feeling a bit.. oh you get the idea.

Review By: Wesley Lock