Modern Warfare 3: Game play footage from E3

As i've been showing Battlefield 3 footage I thnk it's only fair that I show some MW 3 stuff also. Gotta admit it looks shit hot.

Thoughts?

G

Battlefield 3: The Low Down

Here all the low down on what you can expect from BF3. I've not owned any of the pervious Battlefield games but I will be getting my grubby paws on this one when it launches. I've been firmly on the Call of Duty camp since COD2, don't me wrong i'm excited for the upcoming release of Modern Warfare 3, but to be honest I think this has me more excited!

What do you think, will BF3 knock overtake the gigantic success of COD/MW? Comment bellow

G

Apache: Air Assault - Demo now available.

I'm geeking out right now. I've just read a tweet from majornelson confirming that the demo for Apache: Air Assault is now available on the xbox live market place.

I've been waiting for a good Apache flight sim on the xbox for time. The last one I played was Apache gunship on the original playstation. This has been a long time coming for me. 

Here's a look courtesy of XboxViewTV from the Tokyo Games show 2010.

And here's some great gameplay footage and walkthrough thanks to artifuckt

Comment bellow of you already play some Air Assault of if your a fellow Apache flight sim fan

G

Blog - We've REACHed the end of the road

Today should be a great day for me. I am a massive Halo fan. I say it loud, I say it proud. The creation of the Halo Universe was as big to me as the birth of Star Wars was to fans back in the day. Master Chief is my Luke Skywalker.

Today is the launch of Bungie's final installment of their Halo series, which returns to the time just before the 1st game where we see the fall of the planet Reach. We know how it ends but the game tells the story of how Reach fell and the final stand Earth and more importantly Noble Team made against the Covenant.

For every successive launch of the Halo games I've been all over it like white in rise. I book time off from work, pre-order the limited edition version of the game then head down and queue up with the other Halo head cases for the midnight launch, take my copy along with a 4 pack of Relentless and other assorted gaming snacks home and spend the few days kicking ass and taking names in my favorite place from home.

But this time my fight against the convent will be different, it will be a sad affair, as this is the last game Bungie will be making under the Halo banner. So, as I slaughter any convent scum that comes my way I'll know I'm one step closer to the end of my time in the Halo Universe. I'll be picking up my copy later tonight and with a Relentless in hand and a tear I'm my eye I'll fight the evil covenant one last time and say fair well to my comrades, my solders, my friends.

Halo forever baby!!!!!

Video - These Kids take gaming wayyyyyy to seriously.

Here's a collection of some of my favourite video's of psycho kids playing xbox.

Initial Review - Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

The long anticipated Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has finally arrived in the Uk and after much hype about how this was gonna be a Modern WarFighter 2 beater I've had a chance check out to see if it really is that good. I feel its important before I write anything else that this review in only after playing the multiplayer co-op mode for a couple of hours on system link up so this review is limited at best but hey, its better that sweet FA (I hope).

Now I don't know about you but when I play a game for the 1st time I inevitably think 'what game is this trying to be?' I was expecting it to be a Call of Duty type game but I was wrong. This very much has the feel of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2. Levels/maps are on a large scale and game play requires some thought and cunning to go into your plan of attack, running blindly in with guns blazing will not get you anywhere except hovering over your team mates white you wait to re-spawn.  

Codemaster, the studio behind this title, have obviously opted to make this game feel as real as possible. When you are in game you can really feel the beneifit from the rediculous amount of weapons data the guys at codemasters accumulated with the help of the US military. Each weapon looks and more importantly behaves very differently from each other which means making the right kit choice pre-game is not something to be taken lightly which adds to that realistic game play feel. Fans who enjoy the more fast and furious paced shoot em up's, like Call of Duty will find the firefights somewhat less than satisfying, there were many occasions I found myself asking 'is he dead?' and 'what happened?' after my screen simply goes black after being shot due to a lacking feedback system in the game mechanic, I mean is it too much to ask for some controller vibration and maybe some noise to simulate the bullet blowing my arm off? (You can probably tell this was my biggest grip with Operation Flash Point).

Visually this game looks great from the maps and characters right down to the the option screens. The maps are HUGE, the one's I played are very well made and the attention to detail is impressive considering the sheer scale of the maps. I found myself presented with lots of locations to explore and search out possible enemy threats, of which there were many. An added plus of this type of maps design is that you are given many options when making a plan of attack again adding the the realism aspect of the game. The interface in the menu screen and during game play in the HUD looks great with a very clean, contemporary feel and it worked very efficiently, I found it very clear to understand and follow during the heat of battle.

In summary I did like this game, I'm a fan of GRAW2 for the realism set in a modern day theater and this is taking that type of game to the next level. GRAW2 was the last game of this type to speak about and that was released years ago so this has been a long time coming and Flash Point fills the gape brilliantly. That being said do I think this is a Modern Warfighter 2 killer?Absolutely not. It's realism premise limits its audience because this game type requires a real passion for this game type to spend the time picking up every option open to them to get the most out of the game. Where as Modern Warfighter is more of an arcaded shoot 'em up which mean its an easy game to pick up and play initially but for thoughs who want to get more involved there are area's to master. For these reasons and not forgetting the massive fan base the COD name has generated the soon to be released Modern Warfighter 2 is where the smart money is at.

Happy Gaming 

G

Coming to Xbox 360... E3 Announcements round up (pt1)

Now, I know I’m a little late out of the gate here but as I’m sure most of you are aware E3 happened recently and Microsoft have announced some amazing feature coming to the Xbox 360 and Xbox live. Here’s my run down of what’s in the pipeline.

1st off Xbox announced their answer to the ever evolving world of social networking. They are teamed up with two of the big hitters in this space, Twitter and Facebook, to bring these services right into your Xbox 360 gaming experience through Xbox live.

Facebook– This addition to Xbox live will mean you will always be connected to you friends any time, any where, any couch. But this service wont only be limited to updating your status or sharing pictures. Through Facebook’s service ‘facebook connect‘ you will also be given the ability to share your in game glory monents by posting updates and screen shots directly to your account.I can’t wait to start posting pic’s of my plasma grenades going off in my buddies face!

Twitter– The guys from Twitter can add yet another Twitter client to their, already massive, list of 3rd part apps to leverage their service. Right from your 360 you’ll be able to post status’s, read all the updates from the people you are already following and reply to any direct messages you may have, meaning you’ll always have your finger on the pulse without even having to leave your arm chair.

Last.Fm –In an unexpected, but welcome, announcement the Last.Fm service will be coming to Xbox Live’s Gold members. Many of you Iphone users will be familiar with this service but this will be the 1st time its been used in such a way that it could be an integral part of your day to day entertainment. This service provides its users the ability to create personalised radio stations based on your musical taste and then music is streamed to the user, thus meaning you will have unlimited access to more music than you could ever actually listen too…sweet. All you illegal downloaders who have a guilty conscience can sleep easy knowing you have a LEGAL alternative (*you know who you are).Did I mention the best bit? this service is all free! *don’t forget you need to be a gold member of xbox live.

Movies –All you movie fans out there haven’t been left out in the cold either. Instant on movies will be available, no need for any discs or lengthy downloads, movies will simply be streamed straight to your console. All this viewing goodness will all be available in high definition, 1080p and 5.1 surround sound no less! In addition live party for movies was announced giving the ability to watch your favorite films with your xbox live friends in a party.

Personally I can’t wait to see these services come to my 360, I’m an avid user of all things in the social networking space and I find it fascinating all the ways creative ways designers bring all these different service together to make one big happy family… awe (blurr, pass the sick bag). Post your comments bellow, let me know what you think about these service, too much? clouding what the 360 is all about? great? one more excuse to pick an xbox over other consoles? Stay tuned for next part of my e3 run down coming soon…

P.s. Once these services are launched i’ll try to do a full run down of exactly what you can and can’t do with them.