We’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room; the ghosts always came across in the past as wholesome rule abiding peace keepers, saving the world one mission at a time while keeping the smart arse comments and quips to the regulation minimum level. Now they appear to be bad-ass motherfuckers. Case in point: capping this guy while wearing a snazzy blue augmented reality rig. We all cool with this change in attitude? I am. Let’s continue.

I need 10cc of screen jam, STAT!

Optical camo. Finally the Ghosts are living up to their name and a fitting start to a trailer that is all about cheating when you’re outnumbered… except he’s not actually outnumbered here. I think he’s just testing it works before going up against a huge bunch of terrorists.

Get away from her, you BITCH!

Some people might say that it’s a sorry state of affairs that that most young people these days know precisely what “Prepare to breach” means. Not me, though. I’m only mentioning it because in this trailer the Ghost forgo the use of det-cord, breaching charges or one of those white squares on a stick and kick the door in. A home grown, corn fed, organic breach. Nice.

Breach this!

We’ve seen the Ghost out breach Team Rainbow and for their next trick… out neck-snapping Sam Fisher. We are also reassured at this point that the Ghosts are only here for the bad guys by having them tell the endangered civilian that everything will be OK, although there might be a bit of a mess.

Oh SNAP!

OK, now we really are cheating but there are a bunch of those guys and I’ll assume we only have a finite supply of those magic ‘nades. Then we’ll just need to use our night-vision/heat-vision/back-rockets/drones… wait, there haven’t been any of those back rockets from the announcement trailer… odd.

Outnumbered but not out gadgeted.

Running up to the end we get a face full of action finishing up with this cracking shot. I do try and avoid spoilers but that guy is getting it unless he has some kind of tire deflecting tech. He probably does. I wouldn’t worry about it.

Hey Steve, deploy your tire repelling backpack widget!

As the trailer says, we’ve got a fair few months to wait till this is with us but keep an eye out for the online multiplayer beta. I’ve played a few rounds of team deathmatch and it’s looking great.

But we’re not here for the story, we’re here for the fighting and what gamers really want from a new game in an established series is new characters and new mechanics and in this respect, SoulCalibur V delivers big time. Once fully unlocked you’ll have a choice from a cast of around 28 characters made up of returning characters and newcomers in about equal measure with some of those newcomers being inspired by older characters, remade and revamped into younger bodies. All of the newcomers have entirely new move-sets and fighting styles so while it might look like Taki, Kilik and Sophitia have just undergone some plastic surgery and been given a new name it’s not the case. The cast feels very well rounded with very little overlap in styles, even the Alpha and Omega versions of Patroklos and Pyrrha play quite differently from their standard alter egos. The position of honorary guest is this time filled by everyone’s favourite assassin, Ezio Auditore and while he might seem a little out of place he’s a darn sight better fit than Yoda!

As you will have come to expect the characters and stages are beautifully rendered. Characters animate beautiful and weapons glow, flash and spark during combat providing visual cues to the sharp eyed player and visual candy to the less experienced. Music is suitably ethereal and dramatic while the heavy amount of voice acting is traditionally cheesy and amusing.

While I’ve always been a fan of the series in the past the more advanced game mechanics have often passed me by, none more so that the Soul Gauge and Critical Finish systems of SoulCalibur IV. Thankfully these have been scrapped, the Soul Gauge has been replaced by a more traditional Critical Gauge bar that fills as you deal and block damage. As this fills you can choose to spend your accumulated power in various ways. Pressing all three attack buttons as a follow up to specific moves or combos will perform a Brave Edge, costing two sections of Critical Gauge it will extend the combo for additional hits and, of course, damage. Costing a full four sections of Critical Gauge, a Critical Edge attack is performed with a standard input across every character and deals huge damage with a flashy big hitting move that can be used to finish or, in some cases, start a combo. These new systems along with counters, advanced blocking and fast movement techniques really amp up the drama and excitement without overwhelming the player.

Beyond the story there is a standard arcade mode featuring the standard cast, a boss rush mode and a quick battle mode that pits you against a seemingly unending number of custom characters, some inspired, some horrific but all entertaining. Keep an eye out for Katsuhiro Harada, the producer of Tekken, who shows up using the bonus ‘Devil Jin’ fighting style! The always welcome training mode offers a huge amount of options for those looking to improve their mastery of the game, the downside here being that, by default, the training mode is very cluttered and it can take some time to get yourself set up. You can also run through each character’s basic moves and combos but again this is hard to navigate and would have worked better as a separate challenge or trials mode.

While my exposure to the various online modes was limited pre-release there is a good selection of modes on offer that each seem to work well. Ranked and player lobbies are present as well as a mega-lobby mode dubbed the Global Colosseo that functions as a huge chatroom for casual play and hosting tournaments. Those wishing to study their performance in more detail, or those that enjoy watching masters at work will welcome the Replay mode. A stand out feature of the player match is the ability switch to a smaller window while observing a match, retaining access to the social functions of the lobby.

I couldn’t end this review without at least touching on the character customisation mode. Expanded from the excellent mode in SoulCalibur IV, everything and every bodypart can be coloured with a vast palette, you can apply patterns and stickers as well as items literally anywhere you wish. The options are quite limitless and the interface is functional and fun to use. You can start with an existing character or go crazy with a fully customisable body shape. More equipment and items will unlock as you play and the promise of DLC (including WINGS) will keep you coming back for more.

In Quarrel you battle your opponent for control of the board. The number of troops you have on a board segment equate to the length of word you can use in the defence of that segment or the attack of an adjacent segment. In a battle both sets of players are given the same set of eight letters from which to form words to their allotted length. If you have less troops than your opponent you’re at a disadvantage but the rewards for beating them will be higher. The strategic element of troop placement and movement is strongly reminiscent of Risk. Word forming brings memories of childhood games of Boggle and student daytimes watching Countdown to mind and the scoring is obviously taken from Scrabble. That might sound like I’m being very reductive but I’m not. You know what sucks about Risk? Losing on a shitty dice roll; there is no skill in that. Boggle? That word length matters more than quality. Scrabble? Not nearly enough fighting! Quarrel is a great combination of all these ideas; a game of risk and reward where the risk is weighted by your skill with words. The real beauty comes from understanding the simple rules to the point of forming a plan of attack. You know how long your opponent’s word can be and they have the same eight letters to choose from as you. It seems obvious but the realisation that you can score more points with a well formed shorter word and work out your opponent’s potential maximum score is quite profound and extremely satisfying.

Playing Quarrel with four friends in party chat brings back memories of the early days of multiplayer Xbox Live Arcade. For me games like Uno, Marble Blast Ultra and Texas Hold’um became a way to hang out with my friends and chat while playing a game. Although due to the the game’s aggressive turn timer it can be hard for the chat to get going. This really should have been optional in player matches, replaced by a simple ‘hurry up’ option that other players could use to force a timer on an absent or lax player. Another odd omission is the ability to choose your favourite tribe to represent you during play. Random assignment is fair enough in ranked matches but again this should have been an option in player and private matches. Quarrel’s simple and welcoming user interface make it a pleasure to play with friends, or at least other humans, but even a single AI player in a four player game can really take the edge off the fun. Quarrel is made to be played with friends, so make sure that’s how you play it.

The sequel to Rebellion’s highly-acclaimed 2005 game Sniper Elite, Sniper Elite V2 continues to offer gamers the most authentic World War II sniping experience by putting them in the middle of war-torn Berlin amidst the frenzied final battle between German and Russian forces.

Update: New screens

Let me fill you in a little on Operation Raccoon City, it’s a 3rd person squad based shooter set in the world of Resident Evil during the events of Resident Evil 2 & 3, the titular threats of the trailer are the Umbrella Security Squad (USS), whom you will play as in the campaign, the opposing US Special Operations (Spec Ops) and the Zombie/T-Virus based monsters. Let’s see what else the trailer has for us.

The Fair

Setting the scene, we’re in Raccoon City. It’s pretty fucked up. I don’t think this is implying that the fair caused all this mess rather it lets us know that once upon a time Raccoon City was a pretty normal city that had fairs and other non-zombie based events. Moving on from this we see a team of badasses, and one of them sticks a syringe in a Zombie’s face. There is a cut at this point that threw me for while, you probably worked it out right away.

From Left to Right: Science, Medic.

The first group of people we see are the US Spec Ops but at the face syringing we switch to the USS, with one of that squad also ‘taking a sample’. I think we can take from this that the syringing parties are the team scientists. I was going to say they were likely to be medics but that big bald guy is clearly sporting a medic’s armband. I love playing as a medic, it forgives my poor KDR online so I call dibs on baldy.

Science, but sexier!

Things start to get real pretty quick and everyone starts running, someone stabs a beautifully rendered Licker, the Spec Ops seem to think some civilians are in danger and the USS are chasing down a couple of guys. Civilians? Not quite, it’s Raccoon City’s finest, the RPD! What can we deduce from what happens here? My guess would be that the RPD will play the role of zombie/bullet fodder.

Not S.T.A.R.S? Then GTFO!

We get a good look at the USS now, I’m loving their glowing masks. This next section with the zombies in the underground car park actually happened to me once. In the game I mean, when I played the game at an event and the trailer does a very good job of recreating that section of the game, except one of my co-op buddies was running late and didn’t arrive till we’d killed everything – convenient. Having now seen this trailer I can only assume that he was off syringing something.

T-E-A-M!

Sure enough the USS and the Spec Ops run into each other and Spec Ops pretty boy foolishly underestimates the group of people sporting way cooler looking gear than he has. Pretty boy gets punked and USS waste the remaining cop.

Clever Girl...

Bullets start flying and we can start speculating on the remaining squad member’s classes. I spotted demolition, sniper, CQC, shouting Australian girl and stink-bomber. We close out the trailer with some more fighting, science girl’s B.O.W tracking watch and a Tyrant throwing a car in pretty boy’s face. Awesome, I can’t wait to play more!

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is due to be released in the UK on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 23rd with a PC version following shortly after.

Frozen Synapse brings the simultaneous turn-based strategy genre bang up-to-date and lets you give detailed, accurate orders to your squad. It’s classic gameplay with a modern interface. Plan your moves, test them out, then hit the “Prime” button and both you and your enemy’s turns are executed simultaneously. Competitive-but-intuitive multiplayer and a huge single player campaign mean that Frozen Synapse will give you hours and hours of tactical delight.

Serious Sam explodes into the second dimension using everything in his arsenal to battle the abominable legions of Mental’s horde. Pull the trigger to let the heavy ordnance fly in Serious Sam Double D, a hand drawn, side-scrolling shooter featuring all the over-the-top gameplay and chaotic action of the Serious Sam series. Pile on the firepower with the revolutionary Gunstacker and fire all your weapons at once in a symphony of destruction! All that stands between victory and annihilation is a man in a T-shirt and jeans wielding a great big pile of guns.

An explosive homage to SNES-era platformers mixed with a modern physics-puzzle twist, Explodemon is non-stop action mayhem like you’ve never seen before. Players use Explodemon’s self-destructive nature to combat enemies and fly through the air, all the while solving a huge variety of physics-based puzzles (and, naturally, causing incalculable collateral damage).

Meet Munch, hero of the Oddest Oddysee of all. His luck is about to change – for the worse. Due to the rich variety of consumer products derived from gabbit species, their legacy has nearly come to its end. Adventure platformer with rescue missions, psychic powers, cool power-ups, and other special abilities

New Star Soccer 5 is a unique football career game which combines an exciting 2D match engine with in-depth RPG elements. Start out as a 16 year old player and become a worldwide superstar in this fantastic football experience. You need to train hard, play matches, make transfers, do interviews, meet your friends, sign sponsorship deals, go to the casino, buy cars and property… The list goes on!

So there you have it, get yourself over to Get Games or littlebigbunch.com now and grab this beauty of a bundle!

The start of Skyward Sword is frustrating, there is a great deal the game insists you need to know before you get to your first dungeon. There is a lot of reading to be done and a lot of skills to master. You know what, Nintendo? I was excited about the 1:1 sword motion controls. Just give me a sword and some things to fight right away. You’ve made it clear Link is a trainee knight; he could have his own training sword and no one would think that was weird. But no, you will have to endure, talk to everyone, learn to fight and fly and roll and jump. Then you just need to learn how to get to the surface world and find some missing animals and then you’re ready for your first dungeon. It’s no different from any other Zelda game I suppose but I can’t help think that players need to be sold on this new control scheme.

In Spirit Tracks you were driving that train almost right away. I was excited about that and knowing that it’s fun right from the start put me at ease. These new controls promised a whole lot more than a bit of train driving. Yes, Twilight Princess used the Wii-Remote for sword-play but it quickly became apparent that the only motion required was to tap the remote against your leg while slouching on the sofa. Motion based combat in Skyward Sword is on a whole other level and once you experience it you will suddenly realise that motion controls and real video games can coexist. Once it gets going Skyward Sword is a combat heavy experience that forces you to learn and play by its rules. If you can’t learn to use your sword properly then the game will bloody well take it away from you and at the end of the first dungeon that is precisely what the game does. Wave it around like an amateur and the creepy chief antagonist will literally take your sword and throw it across the room. This might seem harsh but it’s entirely necessary for the player to realise the depth of sword-play on offer. However, while the core mechanic of combat is solid and satisfying there are some issues with the more tertiary used of motion controls. Aiming at the screen when firing projectiles or looking around can be a little frustrating, helped somewhat by having a button for centring your view, but using the remote to swing on a vine or balance on a rope can be infuriatingly unresponsive and in some areas these kind of tasks are extremely overused.

So that’s the bad, and while you’re playing it may seem like a huge deal breaker but it’s only because it’s getting in the way of the wonderfully rewarding combat, entrancing story and utterly beautiful world. The story sets itself as you would expect, missing princess + magical sword + chosen hero = a big bad to take down at great sacrifice but as usual this is spun in such an entrancing way that even the dopey non-voices of the villagers are not enough to pull you back to reality. The dichotomy of the world is again an standard theme but here the split being between the earth and the sky, and you being mostly free to travel between them, lends a fresh sense of freedom to the series. The feeling of freedom is enhanced again by the ability to upgrade your equipment with the use of collectable items without conforming to some event specific timeline. It’s very clearly low level RPG customisation but it’s something new and will be welcome to most. It’s also almost entirely optional should you take offence.

Despite the obvious lack of graphical oomph that the Wii is crippled by the worlds of Skyward Sword are a joy to play in and explore and there are some neat tricks at play to take the edge off. The most visually pleasing is that as the world fades into the distance it takes on the look of a watercolour painting, no doubt extending the draw distance considerably.

The single player campaign is obviously fully covered from start to finish but that’s not what what Modern Warfare is all about is it? It’s about leaderboards, KDRs and unlocking awesome stuff. The guide fully covers every weapon, attachment and all the new perks. Not sure what the new support kill streaks are about? That’s covered, having trouble finding your way around the new maps, also covered, why not take the guide to the toilet with you? There is always more to learn! Spring for the hardback limited edition and you’ll also get a very nice stand up flip-chart featuring all the multiplayer maps.

We’ve teamed up with Brady and have an copy of the Signature Series guide to give away on Twitter so keep an eye on our feed over the next few days and maybe you’ll be lucky!

Signature Series guide is available now for £12.99, with the Hardcover Limited Edition costing £19.99.

Many, including myself, thought that Super Mario 3D Land would be based upon the Mario Galaxy gameplay model. While this might seem like a good idea, I think striving for that level of freedom throughout the game would have been a struggle. What we have in 3D Land is very much a traditional Mario platform game set in upon a 3D path. There is some level of exploration but you are essentially sticking to a single path with the occasional shortcut or secret room to discover. Super Mario 3D Land pulls its gameplay ideas from many different Mario titles both 2D and 3D but its heart quite obviously belongs to Super Mario Bros 3 and those of you that know their Mario we know that this is a very good thing. Obsessive fans may have to make a few minor concessions to evolution, though. Along with the standard Super Mushroom and Fire Flower power ups we have the the Super Leaf; essential to both gameplay and the story as Bowser has stolen most of them. Back in Super Mario Bros 3 this power up would give Mario a raccoon tail to swing about, a slow glide and, given enough running space, the ability to fly. In 3D land the Super Leaf bestows upon Mario the much rarer Tanooki Suit that used to allow Mario to turn to stone to protect himself. Here the suit behaves much like the old Super Leaf but it loses the flying mechanic that would most likely break the game. It’s all good, don’t worry too much, I only bring this up as it sparked a half hour conversation between me and my son the other day. Despite what PETA might think, Mario looks as cute as a button in the suit so any Mario lore indiscretions are easily forgiven.

The worlds and levels of Super Mario 3D Land are served up across a linear map with some levels being locked off if you don’t possess enough of the hidden Star Coins that are scattered liberally about, so there are some levels you will not automatically have access to but you can usually bypass these. Oddly, though, some of the boss levels are also ‘Star Coin Locked’ and unskipable. On my first playthrough I found myself a few coins short at the end of world five. I had foolishly assumed the Star Coins were entirely optional, but with every level being replayable it’s not a problem to jump back and grab a few more.

I got a real feeling that the designers had created the worlds in the order they are presented for play, taking more chances as they progressed. Once you’ve seen some of the later levels the first third of the game might seem a little pedestrian in comparison. Perhaps it was intentional easing in of the player; after all there has never been a game quite like this before. Environments are often familiar but always fresh and the few tricks of perspective the game uses are a bit of a let down when compared to the often inspired level design seen throughout. The game works best when it’s not trying too hard.

One thing I wasn’t prepared for was how well the 3D effect works; trust Nintendo to be the ones to finally master their own hardware. For comparison I played a little of the game with the 3D off and although it worked fine I missed the depth. Perhaps it was in my mind but the game seemed a little tougher in 2D. I very much doubt the 3D effect makes the three dimensional platforming any easier; that is taken care of by employing a much simpler conceit, very obvious shadows. Coins, enemies, power ups and of course, Mario himself, cast bold shadows across horizontal surfaces making movement in the 3D space much easier to judge, leaving you to enjoy some classic Mario gameplay in some beautifully designed levels. As a Mario game it’s hardly ground breaking; it draws upon many of the previous titles but what it takes from them is what made those games great. You’ll need to stick with the game to see the best it has to offer and it’s not really the type of game you will replay as soon as you’ve finished it but I can see myself playing though Super Mario 3D Land a couple more times over the next year or so.

There is no doubting that Arkham Asylum was a fabulous game and that the recent follow up, Arkham City, was even more special. There is however a chronological gab between the two games, at the end of Arkham Asylum our heroic dark knight has taken out the self appointed Clown Prince of Crime but the battle took it’s toll on the asylum and it’s in a fare old state. By the start of Arkham City a replacement city-prison has been build within the Gotham city limits and we jump right in to start cracking heads. So, how did this city-prison come to be?

Fans of Arkham Asylum will remember this scene

In July this year DC Comics released the first of a five issue limited series covering the six month gap. With stunning art by Carlos D’Anda along site a fantastic story written by DC veteran, and writer on both Arkham games, Paul Dini. The series has now been released by DC as a hardback graphic novel that also includes the all five of the digital chapters that were released online, again written by Paul Dini but showcasing some different artists.

Having excitedly poured over a copy on a recent flight I can confirm that it is a really great read that fleshes out the game story wonderfully while effortlessly weaving them together. We’ve teamed up with DC Comics and have copies of the hardback to give away to two lucky winners.

For your chance to win simply fill in your details and answer the following question.

Before Harvey Dent became Two Face, what was his job?

[contact-form]
Closes Friday 25th November 2011
BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY software © 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Developed by Rocksteady Studios Ltd, All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
DC LOGO, BATMAN and all characters, their distinctive likenesses, and related elements are trademarks of DC Comics © 2010. All Rights Reserved. WB GAMES LOGO, WB SHIELD: ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Generations attempts to bring together all that was great about Sonic while ignoring some of his more questionable horse/warehog/sword based adventures. Each golden Sonic moment has been recreated in both 3D and 2D form and dropped into an impressively busy hub world. As well as having to complete each area as both interdimensional versions of Sonic you are quickly given access to a number of challenges for that zone. While these are mostly optional you will need to complete one challenge in each zone to unlock the boss encounter for that set, this in turn will unlock another set of zones to play. The challenges range from speed runs and basic coin collecting to more varied, but often frustrating, partner challenges. In these you will be ‘assisted’ by a member of Sonic’s gang, adding a unique gameplay element into the mix. With these challenges being optional it seems harsh to overly criticise them as they stand as a a good example of what separates a good Sonic game from a bad one. If you add too much to the gameplay experience you will poison it. Sonic is about running fast and collecting rings, sure 3D Sonic has homing attacks, sliding and boosting but all of these things help you to speed through the level and collect more rings and once mastered will serve you well.

The worlds that Sega have picked to recreate for this game are extremely well chosen, Green Hill Zone was an obvious choice and its transition into 3D seems effortless and natural. About halfway through the game you’ll find yourself sky surfing your way into the City Escape stage, initially it appears to have been pulled wholesale from Sonic Adventure 2 and in concept it has, but the improved controls and visuals allow the player to enjoy it as the experience they remember, rather than the reality of fiddly controls and an awkward camera. I think this is the key part of what makes Sonic Generations great fun to play: nostalgia relived is often disappointing but nostalgia recreated with care and attention to detail is much more palatable. The game is a beautiful and colourful treat with more blue skies than you could ever hope for, the multilayered 2D levels are complex and detailed, they look great when the camera will pan around Sonic for a more dramatic angle, but only when no input is required by the player. Thankfully not a case of style over substance.

There are some issues here though. The game is fast, as it should be and in the 2D levels this is easy to cope with. A seasoned Sonic player should have no problem beyond the ever present issue of missing the optimal path and running into a wall at a dead stop. In 3D though the speed and shifting viewpoints can often leave you wondering what the hell is going on, you will normally make it to the end of a stage without any problems but if you don’t have any clue how you got there it takes something away from the experience. My other major gripe hails back to what I said earlier about not messing with a tested formula too much; the first boss encounter is a perfect example of this. Oddly this encounter is played out with 2D Sonic, using the Sonic Advance/Rush trick of a set of 2D platforms wrapped around a large 3D enemy. In Advance and Rush these worked pretty well but here it is a mess, the objective is unclear and requires timing and accuracy that you just don’t have available to you in the given situation. You must activate a bomb then trick the huge robot into hitting the bomb instead of you. The robot is destroying the platforms and bomb spawn points all around you and you are left with nowhere to jump that won’t result in you blowing yourself up. If you do eventually stun him you need to jump onto his arm, Shadow of the Colossus style, and spin jump his head but the arm is only there for a short time and the platforms you would use to get there have sometimes just been blown up. To compound the problem it’s easy to get stuck between his attacking arm and a respawning platform requiring you to restart the whole section. Sure, it’s just one fight and I’ve gone on about it too much, but is shows up as sloppy against an otherwise very well made game.

With nine zones, several bossfights, bonus stages and a wealth of challanges there is tons to do in Sonic Generations and the majority of it is great fun. You earn points for just about everything you do and these can be spent to unlock abilities, collectable artwork and music. A nice touch for the many diehard fans out there.

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II is the third ‘legitimate’ fighting game to be released for the 3DS, a pattern I look forward to seeing continue. I like my 3DS, you see. I don’t really play it much but I do enjoy it as a platform. It’s still a little bit magical and it was a huge surprise to me that the game I play most is Dead or Alive Dimensions, a game that unexpectedly managed to translate all of its fighting systems to the 3DS perfectly. Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, while a technical marvel and still fun to play, did not manage this. The systems in play in Super Street Fighter IV are just too complex to translate to a small screen and portable controls. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II unfortunately suffers in the same way. The core BlazBlue fighting engine is complex and this is further exacerbated by each character having their own unique systems and meters.

What I’m getting at here is that dedicated ‘Blazers’ are not going to be tearing up stages and unleashing eye melting combos that they can execute at a whim with an arcade stick. With that in mind this game becomes something different: a way to take a game you love on the bus with you and played like this it is a lot of fun. With 18 unique characters there is an absolute ton of things to do. Probably the most impressive of those is what impressed me most about the console release, the challenge and tutorial modes. When you bear in mind that the tutorial mode will teach you the fundamentals at the center of just about every 2D fighting game ever made you can see how this would be useful in a portable package.

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II also features an entirely new mode called Abyss. In the style of Dissidia you progress through a series of battle while earning points, items and experience. Of all the fighting modes on offer I had the most fun with Abyss mode as it seemed more suited to the portable form factor and was a good way to try out some new characters I had previously ignored.

There is no escaping the fact that the 3DS controls are not suited to motion based fighting games, and in this case we are not given the option of using the analogue stick as a pseudo arcade stick so you are stuck with using the uncomfortably placed D-pad. There is the addition of the easy input ‘Stylish’ control scheme and while this works well it does take the edge off the wonderfully complex systems in play and will leave any experienced player feeling cold.

The BlazBlue series has always been visually stunning, with high resolution sprites over deep and complex animated backgrounds, and while all these sprites and backgrounds are present and correct they have suffered at the hands of the 3DS hardware. Animation is less smooth and there are some jagged edges on show. The 3D effect however is very nicely done, even if it is a little bit odd. 2D items such as the sprites and interface elements are layered in the foreground with the 3D stages behind them. It’s a little strange, for sure, but the effect is enjoyable (and optional).

When I was given this review I was offered the choice between the 3DS and PSP versions. In content these games are identical but the lure of using my 3DS again was too much so I chose that version. Having now played the game it is fairly clear I made the wrong choice. The better D-pad, button layout and screen of the PSP far outweighs the 3D effect offered by the 3DS. If you have a choice take the PSP option.

The Rabbids are back and still quite, quite mad in Rabbids: Alive & Kicking for Xbox 360 with Kinect and we’ve teamed up with Ubisoft to give away three copies of the game to the top three scorers on our webcam-tastic game. Just fire in and log your score, have as many goes as you want but be sure to submit your score as a guest using your Twitter ID. Don’t want to use your webcam? No problem. If you deny access to your camera you can play with a mouse but where’s the fun in that?

You have one week to set your score as we’ll take the winning scores from Saturday November 12th and send a copy of the game to our top scoring twitter followers.

Scores must be submitted as a guest by simply typing in a Twitter ID, that is following @ReadyUp, as your name winner will be notified by a Twitter mention and DM, we can only DM you if you are following us so make sure you are!

Submit your score like this! Bwaaaah!

The two headsets I have been testing are the Trittion Detonator Stereo (RRP £59.99), and the Gears of War 3 Stereo (RRP £89.99), both are Xbox 360 wired stereo headsets that connect to your console and Xbox 360 pad in a similar way but the build and connectivity options do vary so I will detail the differences separately. Both headsets feature Tritton’s Selective Voice Monitoring technology, this gives you the option of hearing your own voice alongside other players on the chat audio channel, while this may feel odd at first it is very useful once you get used to it, as these headsets tend to block out any external noise you may find yourself shouting without SVM enabled. While testing the headsets I played both Gears of War 3 and Dungeon Defenders in co-op, Bastion and Batman: Arkham City alone.

Tritton Detonator Stereo

The cheaper of the two headsets is slightly heavier with more padding in the headband and slightly larger 50mm drivers. The inline remote features separate analogue volume controls for both game and chat audio, these can be a little fiddly to find without looking but work well enough. The three buttons on the remote allow you to mute all audio, your microphone and also enable SVM (detailed above) mode, the buttons light up when enabled making it very clear how your headset is currently configured. Out of the box you’ll have everything you need to use the headset with your Xbox 360 and, due to the way this headset is cabled, as headphones with any other device that uses a 3.5mm jack. While it may have looked a little over the top I tested the headset with my 3DS for a few games of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II for a blast of some very pleasing J-metal. The boom microphone is rubberised and adjustable to suit your needs, it is also easily removed for safe keeping or when using the headset on the move. Ignoring the chat functions to begin with, in use Bastion’s amazing soundtrack sounded better that it ever had and the wind and rain of Arkham City came through very clear, perhaps a little too much bass but beyond that I cannot find fault with the sound quality provided.

Upon firing up Gears of War 3 for some co-op Horde I got to testing the in-game chat side of things. Initially I had some issues balancing my team mates’ voices against the game audio but soon found acceptable levels. However later in play I found myself constantly trying to adjust the levels, an issue I didn’t have with the Gears 3 headset. I also found the SVM setting seemed far harsher on the Detonator. However it is well worth noting that my team, who I play with often, all commented that I sounded very clear ‘for once’, in the past my older wireless headset would cut out and suffer from a loose connection to my pad. All in, and considering its price, the Detonator performed extremely well. It has a couple of advantages over the Gears 3 headset with it being immediately usable with any 3.5mm jack device with no cable clutter and the light up buttons on the inline remote giving excellent feedback and reassurance as to your current settings.

Gears of War 3 Stereo

Sporting some heavy Gears of War 3 branding this headset is not very subtle, and while on paper it may appear to be very similar to the Detonator it features a few more premium touches and slightly better performance that aim to justify its higher price tag. It is slightly smaller and lighter than the Detonator, featuring very slightly smaller 40mm drivers. The boom microphone is also removable but has a red metal shaft that is far more pliable than the rubber microphone on the Detonator, the microphone is also twisted to lock it into place and while I had no reason to think this was necessary it does feel stronger and somehow safer. Continuing with the overall look of the headset, the main cable has a crimson red plastic weave coating making it appear very tough while remaining flexible and light. Living in a house with two kittens and a young child I often find cables trapped in drawers or wrapped around the wheels of my office chair, and while I thought it best not to try and break the cable in such a way my initial impression was that it would survive a decent amount of abuse. The inline remote, while offering the same functions as the Detonator, is quite different. The game and voice volume controls are both digital jog switches that can be pushed in to mute all audio and enable SVM respectively. Microphone muting is handled by a large slide switch on the face of the remote. All of these controls are easy to find without looking but sadly lack the visual feedback of the Detonator’s light up buttons. While the main headset is removable from the remote just like the Detonator it uses a proprietary connector so is not immediately useable with other devices without using the full cable and the USB connector for power. Tritton do sell an optional adapter to convert this proprietary connector to a standard 3.5mm jack but it would have been nice to include this in the box.

Beyond the improvements in build, the Gears of War Stereo headset managed to justify its higher price tag by providing a clearer and cleaner sound in game. I found chat and game audio much easier to balance and using the SVM function was a much more comfortable experience. Being very similar headsets on paper I didn’t expect to notice that much of a difference but my time using the Gears of War 3 headset was noticeably more enjoyable. It’s just a shame that the 3.5mm adapter isn’t included and that the remote doesn’t give any visual feedback as to the current settings. That aside this headset offers a lot of bang for its sub £100 price tag, its hardy build and powerful sound means it has easily surpassed and replaced my Turtle Beach X31s as my headset of choice.

There is obviously more to it than that, and when Batman finds himself inside the Arkham City limits he gets right to sorting out all the mess. I say gets right to it, that’s not really true of my time with the game. I got right to running about the streets and gliding between rooftops, kicking in gangs of thugs and following blood trails because you can do whatever you want – sure there is a story, and those key quests will be marked on your map, but so will all sorts of other things. Unidentified murder victims, VR Training modules, ringing phones and what seems like an unending series of collectables left for you by The Riddler are all there for the Dark Knight to check out.

You have access to more or less the whole city from the get go, although there is some degree of Metroid style ‘Gadget Gating’ in place, for example, you can’t get past a dangerous steam pipe until you’ve found a gadget that will let you freeze up the ends of pipes. I wonder who you get that from? For all my initial exploration I soon realised that I had a review to write for a deadline and jumped back into the story, although the second this review is finished I’m going right back into my game, those thugs aren’t going to knock themselves out, you know. For the record my initial run through the story took me about 15 hours, and at that point my save was showing a measly 32% completion. I have a huge amount left to do, not just collectables but also some long chaining side quests that I have since gone back to but still not come to the end of. If you’re not playing on a timer I would recommend you pick these up wherever you see them, as they have a lot of back story to them and are well worth your time. I’d love to talk more about the story but that just wouldn’t be fair, I’ll say it’s engaging, well written and does an excellent job of leading you through encounters with all your favourite Gotham residents. It doesn’t feel contrived or forced, and while it doesn’t end with a bang, potentially catching the player unawares, it does end how it should. The rest I’ll leave for you to discover.

It’s worth noting that I died quite a lot playing this game, I was playing on the default difficulty and perhaps not playing with as much care as I should have been at times. Combat situations break down in to two types: group combat and room clearance. Group combat is normally either in an enclosed space or out in the streets of the city and pits you against a selection of enemies all at once. This is where the combat system comes alive, get your timing and reactions down and you’ll find yourself dancing around the screen cracking heads, just how it should be. You’ll need to pay attention though, there are three types of basic counter to get to grips with, and a whole host of combos and special attacks to master. I only really died in group combat when I wasn’t paying attention. Room clearance is another matter, usually set in a multi-level environment with a number of armed, patrolling guards that need to be taken out before you can proceed. Although you can try and handle this kind of combat in the same was as when fighting groups you will quickly find yourself dead, as Batman is not fond of bullets. Stealth, and the correct use of gadgets, is the order of the day here. It took me some time to get used to this and I died many times along the way, the real key is staying hidden for as long as you can and keeping on the move when you are spotted. Take your time and you’ll find these sections far less frustrating than I initially did.

Part of what makes Arkham City a great game, and make no mistake it is a great game, is the obvious commitment to high quality presentation. Loading screens recap the last few moments of dialogue from the story so you’re never lost and your map, status and upgrade screens are crammed with information while managing to remain clean and clear. Missions are often dished out via Batman’s equivalent of a police radio scanner, so you’ll hear the call go out for, let’s say, a stranded medical crew, all fully voiced in a convincing manner. Voice acting is another high point, it comes as no surprise that much of the voice cast is taken from some of the excellent Batman cartoons in the Warner Bros back catalogue, and the voices of The Joker, Harley and The Penguin really stand out for me. Visually the city is stunning to behold, a twisted mess, each district proudly showing the unique scars left upon it by the villain that inhabits it. This is the worst Gotham has, distilled into a confined area and left to tear itself apart, horrific perfection.

Much has been made during the promotion of Arkham City of the inclusion of Catwoman. While she features throughout the main story as much as any other character, if you have entered the code for the Catwoman Bundle (that you should find in your new game box) you will find yourself taken away from Batman from time to time to play parts of the story from her point of view. It’s a refreshing change as she plays quite differently, using faster combat and more agile level traversal at the cost of having considerably lower health and armor. Catwoman is also playable throughout the excellent challenge modes. These take the form of staged combat scenarios, both group and room clearance, that you can complete at various levels of difficulty and reward. There is a tonne of replayability here that speaks to the quality of the combat engine. It’s not all Batman and Catwoman though, those pre-ordering the game from GAME in the UK will also have Robin (Tim Drake) available for these challenges. The Robin Bundle will be available to everyone as a paid download at some point in the future along with another bundle featuring the original Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson, as the mighty Nightwing. I adore the character of Nightwing so all I can say about these DLC packs is, here, take my money, all of it.

Yet again we have another game that I enjoyed every moment of that I can’t seem to find fault with, a wise man once said that Batman: Arkham City is rad as balls, it is.

Let’s start with some of the games, coincidentally all ending with the number 3.

Mass Effect 3

After a short presentation we were shown a playthrough of the combat gameplay demo recently shown at various other events. As expected the game looks and sounds stunning and the new enemies, in the form of Cerberus soldiers, add a real space opera vibe to the game. It seems Cerberus are out to get Shepard in ME3 and they are not messing about, deploying heavily armed and well equipped operatives and huge piloted Atlas Mechs that, once disabled, can be jacked by the player. After the combat demo we were treated to a bit of ‘on earth’ action featuring a spoiler that we were asked not to share. I’ll just say that watching Earth get torn apart by giant walking Reapers left me aching for more. Luckily when we left the presentation the demo pods had been setup with the combat demo for us to try out ourselves. Mass Effect 3 is looking to be a fantastic end to the trilogy.

Max Payne 3

That’s right, Max is back and Rockstar were on hand to take us through a huge gameplay demo. It would be easy to write off this new Max Payne game as a cash in on the history of the series, to churn out a game for some easy sales from a famous name. When Max Payne 3 was announced I wasn’t expecting much, but having seen the game played it’s now at the top of my ‘ones to watch’ list. Rockstar have reinvented Max with a new look and have really pulled out all the stops when it comes to AI, voice acting and motion capture. Characters move and behave very fluidly, Max will shift his weight when changing direction and bullet time is now a joy to behold. You now have full control of Max while diving in slo-mo and Max’s body will move realistically as you pivot his aim mid-flight. Attention to detail is what stands out here. Max will brace for impact and put out his arm as he falls to the floor, or he’ll be carrying his assault rifle in his off hand while shooting with a pistol. And by the way, each of those guns you can see all over the floor has a unique serial number, should you wish to check.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

I’ll admit, I thought I was bored of Call of Duty. I thought I was done with it. I watched the presentation start up and shifted in my seat. Maybe I should have excused myself; my arse was getting sore. The gameplay demo started up underwater… oh great, a water bit. The player moved through the level avoiding large mines then stuck a bomb to a submarine, forcing it to surface. As this happened I realised we were near a city, and that city was getting attacked from all angles. It looked amazing. That’s when I started to pay attention. The level progressed with the team breaching the sub, working their way through it at speed to ward a control room, taking out enemies left and right. They launched a ton of enemy missiles at the opposing forces and made a swift exit. What followed was a high speed escape through an amazing looking environment while the chaos you had just unleashed rained down around you. I turned to the person next to me as it ended and said “OK, fair enough. That looked fucking awesome”. They weren’t done wowing us, a run through a level based in Canary Wharf and an overview of the new Elite service and I was beaten. I want more Call of Duty. I want this Call of Duty. Bravo, Activision, you have warmed a heart that was cold to your warmongering ways.

While I have much more to talk about in part two of this feature I wanted to just give a quick shout out to the people I met and hung out with over the weekend. Vikki (@_vixx) of GGSGamer.com, my partner in firstly observing, and then competing in, the epic Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops competition. If you need someone to set a dog on fire, give her a shout. Lisa (@kleaneasy) and Andrien (@EscoBlades) from fellow GMA nominated xboxgamezone.co.uk, yes we should be enemies, but they really are very nice people. Fellow group 4 member Mike Jenkins of absolutegaming.info with whom I shared several ‘Did you see that?’ moments during our Tomb Raider demo. And lastly thanks again to Graeme, Terry, Crissie & Teddy for being such gracious hosts.

By now you’ve probably already scrolled to the end to see what score I’ve given Gears of War 3, if not I admire the patience you’ve shown thus far and to reward that I’m going to say that Gears of War 3 is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve ever played.

It must be a daunting task to create a game that not only completes a trilogy but attempts to better the preceding chapters in every way it can. While it could be said that Gears 3 doesn’t really push the genre in the way the original game that defined it does, it just about perfects it. The previous games were very good, the weapons felt powerful, the controls were solid, the story was well written and the visuals consistently pushed the Xbox 360 to new levels. Gears 3 offers improvements in every area. For those not in the know, the Gears of War series tells the story of the humans of the planet Sera and their struggle against the Locust horde that came to the surface during Emergence Day. The series practically defined the genre of the third person cover based shooter and has consistently raised the bar with every release.

Speaking generally, everything in the game looks richer and better defined, with fire and lighting really standing out. In the past, Gears could have been criticised for being overly grey and dingy, but this final chapter offers a welcome change as it moves Delta Squad into a set of bright and often beautiful environments. Sure, most of the buildings have been destroyed and quite a bit of the world is either burnt or burning, but it’s mostly bright and sunny outside, so much so that our heroes have seen fit to remove some of their heavy armour.

Some amount of PR noise was made about this new look for Marcus and his boys (and girls), and it makes sense within the confines of the story but also manages to humanise the cast a little by making them look less like huge robots with a face. This is helped along by the addition of the two female COG soldiers. Anya has been present throughout the series but has given up her post as remote intel officer and has slapped on some summer season armour and picked up a Lancer. Unlike Sam who, while still softening the mood a little, is a more battle hardened soldier. Having them as part of the core team takes the edge off of the testosterone fuelled group and helps the more emotional moments in the game seem more genuine.

Even though the team is much bigger than we’ve seen before, the active squad rotates frequently throughout the story, with any non-active members off completing some secondary objective to move things along. At one point early on you even play out the same series of events as two different squads. I had hoped for more sections like this, but the rest of the away team’s missions were just relayed via radio contact. There are several parts of the game which could make perfect ‘other side of the story’ downloadable missions.

Anya and Sam bring a refreshing change to Delta Squad.

Being the final part of a trilogy, fans of the series will be expecting answers. A great deal was left unknown at the end of the second game so there is much to cover here. As with all well realised stories these answers are linked together, and by the end of the campaign you’ll know what caused E-Day, why the Locust are being turned into Lambent and of course the fate of the human race on Sera. That said you could happily play this game without a clue of preceding events, there is a short ‘Previously on Gears’ video that will bring you up to speed, and it’s worth watching even if you know the story back to front.

The game plays out over a reasonably lengthy five acts with very little filler, the obligatory vehicle sections are tied into the plot and don’t outstay their welcome. After a short intro the action gets going and barely lets up for a moment until the epic Hollywood ending, pausing only to let you gather some ammo and follow the path into the next battle. I advise you to put off the jumping right into multiplayer first and get the campaign played, though, as you’ll want to avoid spoilers, at higher levels Horde mode features enemies best encountered in context. The icing on the campaign-cake is that it is now playable in four player co-op.

Whilst at first glance the multiplayer of Gears 3 might seem a very similar offering to that of Gears 2 there are a huge number of subtle changes that polish the overall experience. Besides the very smooth lobby system and overall re-balancing of modes and weapons there are some real improvements to the way you work as a team. Holding LB doesn’t just point arrows at your team mates, it allows you to see them as a kind of silhouette wherever they are on the map, so you can easily tell if they are running, hiding or in combat. In addition, all players now have a coloured aura over them at anything beyond medium range away, making it much easier to tell who’s who at a distance. They’re subtle changes, but really very welcome. My personal favourite addition comes in the form of destructible cover, as now anything less sturdy than stone can be chipped away at and eventually destroyed. This has been heavily exploited by the map designers, leaving players to risk unsafe cover for a tactical advantage.

The multiplayer modes themselves have been changed and tweaked with Team Deathmatch being the standard adversarial offering. It’s your standard 5 vs 5 mode but with a shared pool of respawns for each team. While near the start of a match this plays out like any other team deathmatch, you soon find a great deal more people willing to revive you as the respawn counter drops – another example of the designers encouraging teamwork.

Horde mode is still present but has been given a lick of paint and now revolves around earning cash to pay for weapons, ammo and defences for you to setup while holding off waves of enemy Locust and boss characters, with challenge waves offering bonus cash for completing specific objectives. Beast mode is almost the opposite of Horde, in that you play as the Locust and earn credits to upgrade yourself to a higher class, working your way through the Locust ranks.

Gears of War 3 has converted me from someone with a quickly passing enjoyment of the series into a rabid evangelising fanboy that can’t wait to play it all over again, and who relishes the thought of spending countless evenings tearing through Horde mode with his friends.

It’s a fair story but on this premise alone you’re looking at a pretty heavy subject matter for a video game. Luckily El Shaddai’s development team was led by Takeyasu Sawaki, character designer of Okami. With that in mind it’s no surprise that El Shaddai is visually stunning, and not just stunning in the sense that it is beautiful but also that you will be stunned by how the world changes and morphs as you play. It’s not unusual for a game to feature a dream section where your character is taken out of the game world and into a strange ethereal landscape, usually a conceit to reveal some hidden plot element to the player. El Shaddai is a game composed in its entirety of sections such as these. This can be a little jarring but bear with it and you’ll soon learn to go with the flow and expect the unexpected. The heavy nature of the subject matter is also lightened by the wry sense of humor and the matter of fact nature with which your task is presented to you by your pre-cast-from-heaven, angelic companion, Lucifel.

I feel like I should start with by describing one of my initial gripes with the game, not because I’m vindictive and bitter but because it’s the start of the game that is the issue. The first third of the game is extremely confusing in just about every area. This is acceptable when it comes to the story but the flow and explanation of the gameplay is infuriatingly disjointed. While it will eventually make sense as you make progress you may have a hard time figuring out what’s going on as you are pulled in and out of areas, into boss encounters that you can’t win and then being dumped at what appears to be a check point. The only advice I can give here is that you just go with the flow, the explanations of combat techniques frequently interrupt you and are generally unclear but once you’re a few chapters in they’ll leave you alone and you’ll have time to work it all out at your own pace.

You will spend your time with the game following a more or less linear path through the environment, jumping over chasms and from platform to platform. This is where I encountered my main issue with the game: fixed camera 3D platforming. You’d think developers would have taken note by now, trying to judge the distance of a jump without a moveable camera is an inexact science at best. This is only exacerbated by the games ethereal nature and constantly shifting colour pallet. The frustration wrought by inexact platforming is tempered by the fact that falling does not cause you to die. You are usually set back on your feet a few platforms prior to your fall, so not a game breaker, just an irritation.

The real action is what will punctuate the following of paths: the combat. Other than a few minor enemies you will meet along the way combat takes place in a sealed off environment against one or more enemies, with more will spawning in as you defeat their predecessors. While at first this seems to be a button mashing affair you will soon find that mashing just won’t cut it. Correct weapon selection and timing is the order of the day here and once you start to master it the combat becomes extremely rewarding. You’ll need to watch your enemies movements carefully and use your weapon of choice to its strengths in order to triumph. It’s a challenge for sure but infinitely rewarding when you get it right.

At several points the gameplay will switch to a 2D platforming, usually accompanied by some voice over dialogue filling in some of the story. Having recently played Shadows of the Damned, where the shockingly tedious 2D interludes destroyed game pacing, I was very concerned when El Shaddai seemed to be pulling the same trick. My concern was unfounded, they deliver legitimate gameplay that offers a change in setting from the core 3D platforming and combat.

It was hard to know what to expect from Bodycount; it seems that it was simply marketed as a balls out shooter and I guess that’s what it is. You will be shooting a great deal during the limited six hour campaign. The campaign unfolds in a pretty vague manner. You are a soldier working for The Network. You are fighting rebels and mysterious military types. Like I said it’s pretty vague. But this is not a story driven game and it’s not meant to be; the vagueness makes that clear. This is about shooting the fuck out of everything and everyone you see.

As you progress you’ll be introduced to the main gameplay concepts. These are the ‘Intel’ system and Bulletstorm style skill shots. Intel is gathered as orbs from fallen foes and fills the Intel meter. This can then be used up in exchange for boosts for your character, be it adrenalin to make you invincible, explosive rounds, enemy tracking, etc. The oddest thing here is calling these pickups ‘Intel’, I just can’t fathom why it would be called that. The skill shot system keeps track of any special kills, headshots, backstabs, etc. and tots up your total to issue you with a grade at the end of a level. As far was I could tell this grade does not affect gameplay, there is no reward for getting a high grade other than a place on a leaderboard. For a game following the likes of Bulletstorm, that’s just not enough.

You can see there was real promise here but it seems like every idea and concept was incomplete when it came time to ship the game. Being able to double tap the grenade button to have it explode on contact was a great idea. Some of the weapons are genuinely fun to use, and tearing through waves of enemies can be engaging, even if they just stand about waiting to be shot. The loading time for respawning is almost instant. That didn’t happen by mistake, it must have taken some amount of dedication, but these things just make the rest of the game seem unfinished or rushed. The graphics don’t pop up or tear but are mediocre. It’s fun to tear though enemies until you soon realise that they are as dumb as a post. Littering the levels with ammo and Intel orbs looks cool until you’re full and they just hang around in huge clumps looking odd.

Taken at face value Bodycount is a fairly enjoyable, but shallow, shooter. However, the feeling I was left with was confusion. Why is it called Intel? Why, when I have a knife, is shooting someone in the back called a ‘Back Stab’? Why must I throw out mines three at a time? Why are those guards running through multiple panes of glass to get to me? Level destruction works well, and ‘Shredding’ is a decent enough name for that system, but having someone say ‘You’ll need to shred through that wall’ just sounds ridiculous.

[UPDATE] ALL GONE! Sorry!