machofantastico's Articles

It's been some five years since Moon Studios bought us the splendid platformer of Ori and the Blind Forest in 2015. In those five years the Austrian studio has been hard at work on it's anticipated sequel and it's finally here. But does Ori's latest adventure manage to deliver us yet another magical experience or does he fall flat on his face? Due to a series of unfortunate events, Ori finds hi...

Link's latest adventure is one of his greatest to date, a game that all but changes the DNA of The Legend of Zelda franchise whilst still feeling familiar enough to satisfy even hardened fans. See that mountain? You can climb that. From the first moments Link walks out into the vast and beautiful lands of Hyrule, you know Nintendo have created something special. The Japanese developers have lon...

STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT 2 REVIEW. How do I start a review of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 without discussing the microtransaction saga and pay-to-win debacle that's been raging for a good few months now, I guess I simply have to face that ugly monster in the face and get it out of the way. Because even with EA's last minute changes and apologises, Battlefront 2 still features a progression system th...

The first Bayonetta game made quite a splash upon its January 2010 release, being one of the games that introduced Japanese developer Platinum Games to many gamers, often for the first time. The action packed over the top third-person beat em up gained a great detail of praise and deservingly so. That said, it wasn't without it's shortcomings and flaws and with a sequel rumoured/dismissed for y...

Valiant Hearts shows a wonderful amount of respect and appreciation for the time period. The first world war is a period of history that isn't all too often recreated in video game form, you're much more likely to see another world war two shooter hit the market. However in many respects the bloody first world war that lasted between 1914 and 1918 was a turning point in the history of mankind a...

What would happen if Plants vs Zombies had a head on collision with Battlefield? Well you'd get PvZ Garden Warfare of course and if that sounds as cheesy as it seems, you'd be right. But wait, don't walk away just yet. Popcap's latest entry in the popular PvZ games is unashamed in it's humorous take on all things war games, from Call of Duty to the previously mentioned Battlefield, Garden Warfa...

It'd be easy to look upon Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and see nothing but a cheap cash in on the popularity and sale success of Borderlands 2, however doing so would be somewhat of an injustice. Don't get me wrong, the Pre-Sequel is very much a Borderlands game through and through, with a few new additions and variables thrown in to make just enough difference to tell the two games apart. It fe...

Mario Kart is one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises so it's surprising than that despite it's celebrated legacy we're still only technically on the eighth iteration, hitting the Wii U in the hopes to revitalize the struggling system. It's especially surprising when you consider just how many copies the previous console based Mario Kart on Nintendo's Wii sold, over 35 million copies. So with...

Developing video games is tough, even from the outside that seems obvious. It's not impossible, but it's one hell of a challenge, one that takes patience, time and talent to name just a few of the requirements to make it in the industry. So designer Dean Dodrill 's accomplishments with Dust: An Elysian Tail is one to be applauded. Having developed the vast majority of this charming action adven...

It'd be easy to look upon Tomb Raider with a cynical eye, one tinted with the knowledge that the men and women of Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal had at some point, played the highly successful Uncharted franchise and said 'hey, let's make that game but featuring Lara Croft' and to be fair on face value that's how Tomb Raider appears, a less captivating Uncharted as it attempts to reboot a...

Hey do you like jokes about balls, poo or maybe you're in it for the fart jokes? If you do then there's a damn fine chance your a fan of South Park, if so then you're in for one hell of a treat because finally South Park gets the video game it deserves (took a while didn't it) because South Park The Stick of Truth is the best South Park game to grace the video game form. Though, let's be honest...

Oh Clementine, the troubles you've faced. In a world where danger and disaster lingers around every corner, it's no surprise you've been forced to grow up quicker than you'd like. The world in which you now live is no longer willing to let you simply be a young girl, you're faced with death everywhere you turn and must face up to your fears daily, just to stay alive. Clementine is developing in...

Final Fantasy games are an odd bunch, despite it's beloved legacy as one of the industries best known franchises, it finds itself trailing behind as the Japanese role playing genre struggles to compete with your Elder Scroll's and Mass Effect's. No longer are they seen as pushing the boundaries of game mechanics and story, rather they are all too often judged as having outdated mechanics with a...

Into the world of Kingdom Hearts. Well dear reader, I have ventured forth into the world of Kingdom Hearts. It's not my first time, having first attempted to play this charming Disney/Square Enix RPG back on the PS2. But unfortunately due to my Playstation 2 console crapping out and the invasion of both the Xbox 360 and PS3, Kingdom Hearts took to the backburner and I've forever felt bad about...

Having been a long time Assassin's Creed fan, even I have to admit that Assassin's Creed 3 took the wind out of my sails. There was a part of me at peace with the fact that the franchise was past it's best and that was okay, after all some of my favorite games of the past generation were Assassin's Creed games. It's with that in mind that I took barely any notice of Assassin's Creed 4 Black Fla...

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, the best in the franchise since Brotherhood. Oh what plans I had for this Christmas period, a time for me to complete those games I was so eager to finish and a time for me to wrap up my Game of the Year list for 2013. Yes there were games I wouldn't have the time to finish, but there were a few titles I was determined to experience before I wrote up my list. Sadly...

Clementine is a young girl in a world which requires her to grow up sooner than she'd like, just to survive. From walking corpses to the fellow survivors who portray both the best and worst in humankind, the world of The Walking Dead remains as violent and unforgiving as ever. However she must face these dangers herself, face to face and that is at the heart of this second season of the award w...

Part of me has always been fascinated by the depiction of depression in various forms of media, especially when considering how personal and unique it is for each and everyone who has been unfortunate enough to have suffered from it. In the years that I've visited mental health support groups on the web and the countless websites offering help and advice, I've realised how personal an individua...

The original Audiosurf was one of the earliest rhythm puzzle games to capture my attention, it certainly wasn't the first of it's genre and it most certainly hasn't been the last, with many other games attempting to splice rhythmic musical interaction with a wide range of game genres ever since. But it was the most memorable for me and developer/creator Dylan Fitterer has been hard at work on i...

It might have a new name, but there's a lot that feels familiar about WWE 2K14, something that won't come as a shock for those familiar with this long standing wrestling franchise. While publisher 2K games might have purchased the rights to the WWE wrestling games after THQ's collapse, it's still long-time developer Yukes at the helm. However with 2K now involved, fans were hopeful they might b...

If you weren't somehow aware, the next generation of gaming consoles are about to hit stores and the homes of gamers around the world. Despite the countless next gen articles that are sprouting out on every gaming site out there, the launch of Sony's Playstation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One is being met with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Like any new launch, there's a degree of the unknown...

Is Battlefield 4 simply Battlefield 3 with a new coat of paint? At first sight the answer might appear to be yes, yet in this latest iteration of DICE's ever popular combined arms multiplayer shooter, it's obvious that the Swedish developer have gone with the well trusted belief that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's not to say Battlefield 4 is without innovation, it's just many of these...

Is Battlefield 4 simply Battlefield 3 with a new coat of paint? At first sight the answer might appear to be yes, yet in this latest iteration of DICE's ever popular combined arms multiplayer shooter, it's obvious that the Swedish developer have gone with the well trusted belief that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's not to say Battlefield 4 is without innovation, it's just many of these...

Telltale Games' Poker Night 2 is the sequel to their 2010 poker release featuring a cast of colorful characters from video games, animation and more. Combining these personalities with the widely popular card game of poker might seem like the perfect combination, yet it proved otherwise with Poker at the Inventory. Whilst it wasn't a bad game of poker, it most certainly wasn't one of the best....

Like magical swords, walking skeletons, giant fire breathing dragons… like magical fantasy? If you answered yes, than Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep might just be for you. The latest piece of downloadable content for Gearbox Software 's loot filled shooter Borderlands 2 , it's also the last piece of content made available for free for those with the season pass. Looking back over what's bee...

I like being surprised, I go into each year in the hope another uniquely stunning game might remind me of how wonderful and emotionally touching video games can be. We are surrounded by the norm, and don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the norm. I like a good first-person shooter like the next guy, but over the past couple of years I've realized that the game that truly stick with me are...

As of writing this, I have invested a good 128 hours into Borderlands 2 . Due to this I thought it would be a good idea to type down some of my long term impressions and thoughts related to Gearbox Software 's loot driven shooter. Right now I'm deep within the second play-through, known as the True Vault Hunter Mode. It's interesting to revisit Borderlands 2 every so often, it's a game I've bee...

The high definition upgrade to the much loved randomly generated platformer finally hit the PC on August the 8th, having been available on consoles for a good while now. Bringing with it an exclusive mode and it's usual amount of infuriating anger as you attempt to make your way through the ever more challenging levels. For those unfamiliar with Spelunky, we shall take a quick history level. De...

So I've been tackling with the idea of reviewing Valve's Dota 2 for a while now, though it being a free to play game I'm never quite sure if that's suitable. So instead of writing up a typical review, I've decided to simply type down some of my thoughts related to Valve popular Moba. It seems somewhat fitting to do so coming off the back of the International 3, Dota 2's third annual big money c...

Blood Dragons aren't the only unique thing in this Far Cry 3 expansion (of sorts). Developed independently at Ubisoft, Blood Dragon is an interesting new take on the idea of addition content for an established game, because whilst Blood Dragon base's itself off the core mechanics of Ubisoft's popular Island shooter, in most other ways it's a very different beast. It's an interesting experiment...

Saints Row: The Third is dumb fun, what more can I say. It's a pleasant reminder of why you fell in love with video games in the first place, because they were fun. In an age where we often take games a tad too seriously, it's refreshing to see a developer create a world for you to simply have fun in. Yes there's a funny story nestled within, yes there's a point to all the crazy violence you cr...

At times I almost feel guilty for enjoying Deadpool, it's not exactly a bad game it's just flawed and generic in a way that seems almost fitting for the source material for which it's based. Deadpool, Marvel's hapless goon won't be converting those who already hate his endless fourth wall breaking jokes and stupid humor, yet every now and then I couldn't help break a smile. But maybe that's jus...

The Last of Us paints a grim, depressing picture of a future where a fungal infection as run riot on the populace of the world. Highlighting humanities need to survive at any cost in a way so very few games have attempted to, let alone achieved. Let's get one thing straight, this isn't simply Uncharted with zombies, it's a new IP from a developer looking to challenge their own rules and methods...

The next generation is upon us... well sort of. At least we have some sort of idea what Microsoft and Sony have to offer us in the next five to ten years at least. That is as long as the gaming consoles are still a viable options in a landscape where more and more folks are going mobile, and more and more gamers are turning to their PC's to satisfy all their needs. Still, you get the sense that...

What-ho! Sir Hammerlock approves this content. Ready to go hunting on the plains of Pandora? Well you should be, why aren't you? Come on we haven't got all day, those scaylions aren't going to hunt themselves you know. Now that you're finally ready let me introduce you the continent of Aegrus, a land filled with creatures that are as varied as they are dangerous, and that's not to forget the lo...

Mr Torgue's Campaign of Carnage is more content for Borderlands 2 , not that I'm complaining. Gearbox Software's stupendous loot driven shooter was one of my favorite games of last year and I welcome any chance to return to Pandora, hell I never left. This time round your vault hunting hero is tasked with becoming the champion of the campaign of carnage, a violent and savage tournament set up b...

Resident Evil 6, what positives can I take away from a game I was so desperate to see the back of. What hope is there that I can praise the very few moments of actual quality amid the flood of mediocrity and frustration. Resident Evil 6 is a bad game, let's just get that out of the way. But it's the fact that it's bad because of decisions made by Capcom's development choices rather than any tec...

Welcome to Columbia , a floating city in the sky that's as fascinating and mysterious a place as anything that has come before. As you walk its streets, travel it's skylines and breath in the atmosphere, it's clear that a loving amount of care and attention has been given to every small detail of this beautiful city. It's a familiar experience that warms the heart, yet at the same time rips you...

Look, I wouldn't criticise you for turning your nose up at Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing Transformed . The idea of a Mario Kart-like racer featuring Sonic, his Sega friends and a few bizarre cameos doesn't exactly sound like fun personified, but don't jump to conclusions just yet. Developed by Sumo Digital, Transformed is the sequel to the 'better than it had any right to be' Sega and Sonic A...

Since its announcement DMC Devil May Cry hasn't been short on controversy. Long time fans of the hack and slash franchise have called foul, shouting from metaphorical rooftops (internet forums) in disgust and anger because Capcom went and changed their blonde haired hero and the world around him. Passing the torch onto a new developer in Ninja Theory , this revision of Dante and his demon fille...

Better late than never, right? Whilst I had intended to write this up around New Years, certain things occupied my time so my inevitable list of games that made 2012 all super and that, is finally here. Now I'll be the first to admit, I've gone off the idea of calling one specific game my game of the year, so instead of a numbered order you'll find a selection of games that made 2012 a year to...

Black Ops 2 is an infuriating game, one that isn't the fresh exciting advancement to the franchise the advertisements would have you believe. It's certainly not a bad game, but for every smart and sensible change the folks at Treyarch made, they go and spoil it all by having dialogue which is at times laughable and over the top set pieces which fail to thrill, no matter how many explosions are...

A constant that's surrounded Halo 4 since it's announcement as been the ever lingering question on if we actually need a new Halo trilogy. The much loved Xbox exclusive shooter as been well served by it's creators at Bungie, but with a new team in charge and the doubts that have surrounded the game, one must question if Halo 4 is simply a result of a console generation dragging on to long. Say...

In celebration of the recent release of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection , I thought it'd be interesting to revisit these much loved stealth action games and see if they still hold up to my fond memories. While I'll certainly be playing the HD versions of Snake Eater , Peace Walker and Sons of Liberty , not to mention Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots , I'm also hoping to play either t...

Rock of Ages isn't your typical tower defence game, in fact it's art style might for a second have you thinking that Monty Python's Terry Giliam had gone and made a video game, he hasn't (though I'd love to see him have a crack at one.) Rock of Ages is the most recent release from Chile based developers ACE Team , yes the folks behind the bizarre first person fighting game Zeno Clash . Their fa...

Let's get one thing straight, Spec Ops: The Line is a generic third person shooter, the sort you've played to death in this generation of consoles. That's not to say it's without substance or the occasional moment of, dare I say brilliance. Don't get me wrong, it's attempts to tell an emotional story don't always work, but some credit must be given for the method of storytelling Spec Ops: The L...

Audiosurf as inspired a great many developers to follow boot and release their own rhythm inspired indie games. The latest to hit the PC is Symphony: Liberate Your Music , from developers Empty Clip Studios . Symphony is not just inspired by Audiosurf, but also the likes of dual stick shooters such as Geometry Wars with its strikingly bright and frequently chaotic on-screen action. One glance a...

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE NINTENDO 3DS XL! So Nintendo finally got around to announcing that new 3DS we all heard rumours about around E3 time. I'm not quite sure what I expected from a revision of Nintendo's most recent handheld. Now I bought a Nintendo 3DS when it launched in Europe, and all to quickly got the buyers regret. Don't get me wrong, the 3DS is a fine handheld which still as great poten...

E3 2012 THOUGHTS & THE FUTURE! As the dust gently settles upon another crazy E3 , we're left pondering what the whole chaotic show meant to the industry we hold so dear to our shrivelled hearts. Did it meet expectation? We're we left dangerously staring at our monitors for hours in anticipation for the next big piece of news? No... not exactly. But that's not to say this years E3 wasn't without...

E3 2012, THE WII U AND MUCH MORE! E3 is upon us! Well okay not quite yet but it's pretty darn soon folks. E3 as always felt like some sort of gaming holiday to me, where we gamers can worship all that is holy in this great hobby of ours. It's not perfect, far from it in fact but it's an event that holds a special place in our shrivelled cold hearts. Where we can squeal in joy at some random gam...

ANYTHING AS GOT TO BE BETTER THEN JURASSIC PARK! I'm not sure if you knew this, but The Walking Dead is pretty hot right now. So it seemed inevitable that this zombie invested property would eventually make it's way to video game form. Who was tasked to turn the popular comic book and AMC television show into a video game? Well none other then adventure starlets Telltale games , who at one poin...

GAMING WITH LIMITATIONS! Why do we game? It's a simple enough question, but there are many varied answer to it. The intention for these articles are simple, to take a more in depth look at the less obvious reasons why we love playing video games. It's a subject that as fascinated me over the years, and while it might not be of great interest to the majority of gamers out there, I think they'd b...

REMINDING YOU THAT THE EVENTUAL APOCALYPSE WILL BE RATHER DESTRUCTIVE! The original Motorstorm was an highlight in the early days of the Playstation 3's life, providing gamers with both a visual treat, and an action packed arcade racing experience like no other. From it's multi-layered take on varied race classes that helped form a different method of track design, to it's stunning visual prese...

PORTAL, YOU'VE BEEN COMPLETED (PLUS GIVE-AWAY) It's been a while since my last entry, I'm certainly becoming Mr Inconsistent. As much as I love writing about video games and the mad industry surrounding our obsession, I only like writing one of these up when it's worth my time and yours. Same can be said for reviews, which I haven't been to frequent with over the past year. Though let's be hone...

SONY UNVEIL THEIR LATEST HANDHELD GAMING CREATION, THE NEXT GENERATION PORTABLE. Anyone who follows the gaming industry with even the slightest degree of interest will have seen the months of speculation concerning Sony's latest hand held device, articles solely based around the fact that some journalist heard that his cousin, heard from his brother, that the PSP2 would have a touch pad flooded...

MEDIA MOLECULE CREATE A MASTERPIECE OF CHARMING CREATIVITY. Creation in the hands of talented, skilled game developers can be a beautiful thing, as they weave their magic to create wonders of both sight and sound, developing intense atmospheric third person shooters or high impact racing games, the only limit to their creative imaginings are time, money and technology. Yet if LittleBigPlanet 2...

MY FIRST BLOG OF THE YEAR 2011, A YEAR THAT PROMISES GREAT THINGS FOR GAMERS. It is said that typing or writing down your thoughts, concerns and worries can be very therapeutic, be them good or bad. This might explain why so many people decide to blog their thoughts and opinions down on the world wide webby on a daily basis, I've seen and read blogs that have been active for years, yet have see...

While I haven't been writing an whole lot about video games lately, that doesn't mean I haven't been playing them. So like almost every other gamer out there, I thought I'd awards some awards to those titles or content who deserve it. Now like every list specific to the writer, I'm sure you'll disagree with much of what I have to say about this past year in gaming and the winner for each specif...

A JOURNEY THAT'S ONE OF THIS YEARS GREATEST. The ancient Chinese novel 'Journey to the West' as been retold in various forms or another over the past 400 years since it's creation, but it's a tale that continues to inspire many who look to create their own interpretation of the legendary story. Ninja Theory are the latest to attempt a retelling, with Enslaved: Odyssey to the West for Xbox 360 a...

CAUSE COMBAT IS ALWAYS MORE FUN ON A MONDAY NIGHT. Monday Night Combat is an charming pick up and play team based third person shooter set in a futuristic game show environment, clearly inspired by the likes of Team Fortress 2 and Defence of the Ancients. This latest Xbox Live Arcade release is able to create a cocktail of both, resulting in a complex yet approachable shooter, one that contains...

GET A TASTE OF THE DIRTY SIDE OF BEING A MAFIA MAN. Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven holds fond memories for me, providing an experience that no past Grand Theft Auto title as matched. While Rockstar Games beloved franchise as advanced leaps and bounds both technologically and conceptually over the years, many gamers out there have been crying for a sequel to a game they much adored and one that...

IN A WORLD OF CRAFTING, A WORLD OF MINING, THE WORLD OF MINECRAFT Have you ever dreamed of building your own pixelated house in a pixelated world? Have you ever thought how awesomely beautiful a pixelated virtual planet of your own would be? Well if you have, then Minecraft is the perfect game for you. They'll be some of you reading this thinking 'What the flip is Minecraft?' and hopefully a go...

IT'S THE SAME XBOX 360, BUT IT'S ALL SHINY AND STUFF! So it's been a short while since I last took the time to write up a blog entry, there's a few reasons why but there pretty boring and not at all game related so I shan't detail them here. What is game related is the release of Microsoft's new redesigned Xbox 360. Codenamed the Xbox 360 Slim by all you hip and happening gamers out there, it's...

BATTLE OF THE ARCADE RACERS! May is an interesting month for us gamers, with a number of much anticipated games making their way to store shelves in the coming weeks. Lost Planet 2 as recently seen a somewhat disappointing release and Remedy have finally been kind enough to give us Alan Wake to play. But they are not the subject of my blog today, for I feel now is better time then ever to talk...

RETURN TO RAPTURE IN THIS WONDERFULLY REFINED SEQUEL! Almost four years have passed since we gamers first got a taste of the underwater utopia of Rapture , in the years that have followed the world of Bioshock as become as loved as any other in the industry. So much so that when news hit that a sequel was in development, many responded angrily claiming that such a classic did not require a sequ...

THE WORD 'SUPER' AS NEVER BEEN MORE FITTING! The fighting genre is indeed back, and kicking butt better then ever. We have 2009's Street Fighter 4 to thank for that as much as any other game out there, and Capcom are following much adored traditions by providing eager fans with an upgraded version in the form of Super Street Fighter 4 . But considering this is technically an extended version of...

THIS HAZARD WILL BEAT YOU INTO VISUAL SUBMISSION! When Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved hit Xbox Live back in 2006, few could have guessed the floodgates it would open for competitors looking to tap into the same addictive source that made Bizarre Creations dual joystick-stick shooter so popular. Many have already tried, some succeeding better then others, but none have come anywhere near matching...

A CHARMLESS CAMPAIGN MEETS A STUNNING MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE! Battlefield: Bad Company 2 does what good sequels do best, fix past faults and builds upon the fundamental mechanics already in place. There's a clear reason why the Battlefield name is at the forefront of this latest DICE creation, while a single player campaign might tag along for the fun of it. It's still very much a Battlefield e...

ON THE BATTLEFIELD WITH BAD COMPANY! Hello there friend, I hope your well. Are you? Well that's super. Anyway, today I want to talk a little about Battlefield: Bad Company 2 bought to you from the fine folks at DICE . who are from Sweden, which I think is wonderful. So as some of you might know if you have read some of my more recent previous blog entries, I have a new gaming PC which is runnin...

GENERAL RAMBLING 2: THE RAMBLING CONTINUES! Hello folks, been a while since I last sat down at my desk and wrote up a blog entry. I do enjoy writing these, even if no one will read them. But I was hoping that my short break would provide me with subjects to discuss and titles witty enough to knock the wittiest comedian to the floor. Sadly all I've realised in that month or so break, is the sad...

PART ONE: THE INTRODUCTION? Well hello there ladies and gentlemen, this is part one one of what I hope will be a frequent series of blog entries concerning the process of building a gaming rig. Now I should state right at this minute, that this is not an actual tutorial on how to build a PC. There are hundreds of great guides out there if your unsure of the process and what is required, I may e...

WHO KNEW SKIMPILY DRESSED LIBRARIANS COULD KICK SO MUCH ASS! Let's get one thing straight, librarians are rarely sexy. There usually mature ladies dressed to high heavens in three layers of wool, and dressed in a horrid coloured skirt that goes right down to their ankles and probably sipping a nice cup of tea. They won't suddenly start attacking angelic creatures who appear in the non-fiction a...

SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR INNER GUITAR HERO, EMBRACE YOUR DJ HERO! Of all the current genres of gaming, the music rhythm genre continues to be over saturated with titles that are either poorly executed or simply copying off an already successfully established formula. Every year publishers continue to throw out new titles with small insignificant changes knowing that the majority of gamers will eat i...

The future is here my friends, and although we are yet to enjoy the wonders of hoverboards, nor have I gone to the moon yet, I am still rather excited to talk about the past year for videogames. I won't lie, it didn't match 2008 for being a thrill a minute gaming year, but that doesn't mean there wasn't some top titles worthy of awards and your love. Now I've almost forced myself to get around...

GAMING IN A WINTER BORDERLANDS! So it's all rather cold, snowy and wintry in dear old England at the moment. But that hasn't stopped me from actually getting in some gaming now that I have a new Xbox 360. Now I spoke in my previous blog about getting the Modern Warfare 2 Super Elite 360 console, well that didn't exactly go to plan for a few reasons. While many of the stores sold out of that ver...

GENERAL RAMBLING #1 - BECAUSE I COULDN'T THINK OF A TITLE! Christmas draws near folks, for some that will be a wonderful thought indeed. But for others it will mean listening to the same bloody Christmas songs again and again. No this entry isn't about Christmas, I've already had my rant about that kettle of fish. Instead I wanted to chat about a number of different things, I don't really have...

BIOWARE: CREATORS OF NEW UNIVERSES AND LORE! On completing the original Mass Effect , I waxed lyrically about Bioware 's ability to create a universe that was both interesting, and rather thrilling. Now unlike their past work with the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game , in Mass Effect they no longer had a backbone of lore for which they could fall on when times got a little t...

I PROPOSE NEW CHRISTMAS RELATED LAWS! So I switch on the television, sit down on a nice comfy chair and surf the channels to see if there's anything of interest on the TV. As expected there's bugger all to watch and I'm left feeling deflated by the total crap we see on television nowadays. I shan't start ranting about my dislike for the big box of moving pictures, but when I find myself switchi...

REST IN PEACE: MY DEAR XBOX 360! It's all rather sad isn't it? No? Well it was for me!! Well I knew it would happen one day, despite various repairs and fixes I knew this day would come. When I say 'this day' I actually mean last Monday, when after four years of faithful service I decided to officially allow my dear Xbox 360 gaming console to go to console heaven to join the other zillion broke...

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER EAT YOUR HEART OUT! Three years ago, the folks at Infinity Ward offered the gaming world their latest creation in the much acclaimed Call of Duty franchise. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was met with award after award and few gamers would begrudge Infinity Ward those precious treasures of the videogame industry. It offered new and exciting additions to the classic formula of co...

While I've stayed away from to many awful games this year, I would have to say that Terminator Salvation was a terrible game. Broken in areas and combat that literally caused me to fall asleep at one point, I feel sorry for those who bought that game. Terrible experience and without a doubt the worst game I've played this year so far. Also have to give Guitar Hero 5 a mention, though that was n...

MODERN WARFARE IN THE AGE OF THE DRAGONS! Those nasty Terrorists are at it again, when will they ever learn. Tomorrow sees the release of a rather anticipated game, to say it's being hyped is the biggest understatement of the year. But Infinity Ward 's latest addition to the fabulous Call of Duty franchise is without a doubt a huge release that as many a gamer wet with anticipation. Now while e...

BECAUSE TWO HIDDEN BLADES ARE ALWAYS BETTER THEN ONE! The original Assassins Creed developed by Ubisoft Montreal Studios met with mixed reception upon it's release back in 2007, despite offering a rather unique take upon time travel and historical settings, many felt that the whole experience was let down by repetitive gameplay mechanics and a less then well developed story. But even with such...

KEEPING TO THE CREED - ASSASSINS CREED STYLE. Yes Desmond is back, with a shiny new chair. Looks a hell of a lot more comfortable then the last one he had. Now I shan't deny my love for the original Assassins Creed game upon it's release back in 2007, I thought so much of it that I named it my game of the year. Which is kind of a big deal in my own little universe, though it will mean bugger al...

NATHAN DRAKE'S LATEST ADVENTURE, IS ONE OF GAMINGS FINEST. The credits began to roll down the screen, there was I seated with goosebumps and shivers of excitement rattling through my body. Knowing I had just experienced one of the finest adventures to ever grace any form of entertainment. A shining example of not just how far videogames have come, but how they have the ability to reach new leve...

SHORT BUT FUN, HALO: ODST PROVES THE HALO UNIVERSE STILL AS LEGS. Playing a first-person shooter based Halo game without being the iconic Master Chief is rather odd at first, though in the end it seems to be a welcomed change. When Bungie Studios first announced Halo: Recon, it was originally intended to be a side expansion built using the Halo 3 engine. A total name change and a new so called...

SO I'M TOLD UNCHARTED 2 IS RATHER GOOD. Drake's latest adventure looks to be one of the finest yet. We are now in the month of October, which means we are set for some big game releases. From the heavy metal adventures in Brutal Legend to the massive racing simulation that is Forza Motorsport 3 and while most folks might want to talk about November and the obvious release of Call of Duty: Moder...

FABULOUS FOOTBALL IN FIFA 10! FIFA is back folks, and better then it's ever been. Every year, football fans around the globe go to war. A war that as been raging on for years and one that may never truly see a victor. Though unlike most wars where there can be no victor, football fans usually get the wonderful spoils of these battles each and every year. Of course I'm speaking of the much debat...

CODEMASTERS TAKE THE COLIN MCRAE FRANCHISE IN AN WHOLE NEW EXTREME DIRECTION! Colin McRae may no longer be with us, but the legendary rally star lives on in the form of the ever popular Colin McRae rally franchise developed by Codemasters . First appearing back in 1998, the series as gone from strength to strength being both a commercial success and a cult favourite with fans of the sport. Desp...

GRAN TURISMO NEEDS TO EVOLVE! Gran Turismo is loved by many, I'm just not sure why they love this Japanese developed racer? Before I begin, let me say that I owe no loyalty to any one console and that I have no interesting in criticising or supporting a game simply due to the platform it is based. Now the reason I just said that past sentence is because I don't want a million Sony fanboys and f...

THE BUSY GAMING MONTH OF OCTOBER! The big release season as begun, it's all rather thrilling and exciting. Important games are being released folks, as I ramble on in this latest blog, the good old Royal Mail should be in the process of preparing a morning delivery of Halo: ODST for me. That's if they don't suddenly all go on strike again, right now that seems like a real possibility. But anywa...

PLEASE MAY I RAMBLE ON ABOUT VIDEOGAMES! It's ironic that I'm about to ramble on about someone who doesn't say a word. Prepare for a somewhat messy blog today folks, now I shall admit to having no talent whatsoever at anything I've ever done in my life. But I am sort of a perfectionist for good or for bad (the bad being the fact that I have no confidence or pride in ANYTHING I create) and it's...

AN ARTISTIC AND BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE OF THE HIGHEST REGARD! Respect is easy to say but hard to demonstrate, one can say they respect a belief but showing that respect is a whole different matter. So when I finished experiencing the fourty-five strong setlist of The Beatles: Rock Band , I was left with a refreshing satisfaction that respect still shines brightly in the world of videogames. For R...

THE GRAND THEFT AUTO 4 LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP! GTA 4 protagonist Niko Bellic, of whom I can't bring myself to truly like as a overall character in a Grand Theft Auto game. Some of you might know of my love/hate relationship with Grand Theft Auto 4 , I believe I've touched on the subject quite a few times in past blogs. But I felt it was only right that I discuss the issue futher considering I h...

THE ICONIC VIDEOGAME MASCOTS OF TODAY! Remember when Mario and Sonic were mortal enemies, and people gave a damn about Sonic... the good old days. When I was of a younger age, I recall fondly the days spent arguing on my Primary School playground about which console was better, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System or the Sega Megadrive/Genesis . More then often these 'arguments' would result...

THE FAB FOUR FROM LIVERPOOL ARE FINALLY IN A VIDEOGAME! The Beatles finally have their very own videogame, but will it live up to expectations? The Beatles, one of the most successful bands in human history. The Beatles, a group who have inspired millions of young talents to pick up a guitar, drumset or mic and learn to play music. The Beatles, four lads from Liverpool who finally have their ve...

BATMAN'S IN FOR ONE HELL OF A NIGHT AT ARKHAM ASYLUM! There is a reason why Batman is so beloved by so many people, he's human afterall and one of the easiest comic book characters to relate to. He can't fly naturally, he can't shoot webs from his wrists and the last time I checked he wasn't able to become an angry green monster of destruction. It's because of all these factors that Batman as s...

INTERESTING WOLVERINE FACT: HE LIKES TO SLICE THINGS OPEN! It's a proven fact that developing videogames based around big hit cinema releases is a challenge, with the movie studio often dictacting what and what shouldn't be included. So why should developers take on such a title, well for one they are often guaranteed to sell copies as excited movie watchers pick up a copy on their weekly shopp...

GUITAR HERO 5, BRINGING BACK ARTISTS FROM THE GRAVE... VIRTUALLY! Kurt Cobain is reborn... virtually for us all to feel slightly weird about. Now for those who read my blogs, you'll know I've talked about The Beatles: Rock Band quite a bit lately and how excited I am for that game. But it's not the only music rhythm game to get a release next month, it's also not the only music rhythm game to v...

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE KILLER SOUNDTRACK YOU KNOW! In 1986 Japanese developers Taito introduced Arkanoid to the gaming world, quickly becoming the much treasured and loved classic that it is today. Based upon Atari 's Breakout series of the 1970s, it tasked the player with using a small round ball to break colourful blocks in an attempt to achieve the highest scores. Since then developers aroun...

THE METAL GODS SMILE UPON US, FOR METALLICA ARE HERE! It was only going to be a matter of time until the legendary heavy metal band Metallica was given their own Guitar Hero game, and for good reason. The popular American rockers have produced some of the most beloved rock music of the past two decades, tracks that feature many iconic guitar rifts and unforgettable lyrics. Guitar Hero developer...

NO HIDING IN SHADOWS FOR SHADOW COMPLEX! Shadow Complex, the 'hot' game of The Summer of Arcade 2009 (See what I did there). Shadow Complex , you've probably heard of it. This metroidvania inspired Xbox Live Arcade game as been the talk of the videogame town lately and for good reason. It brought in the end of Xbox Live's Summer of Arcade 2009 and what I way to end it, I've heard many a folk sa...

DIRT 2: NOW SLIGHTLY MORE DIRTIER! More dirt makes a better game, that's a proven fact. Racing fans are in for a treat with a number of exciting titles hitting consoles and PC this year alone. One such title is Codemasters DIRT 2 , a sequel (of sorts) to 2007's DIRT . Now I say it's a sequel of sorts simply because the Colin McRae rally franchise as been around for a while now and despite the r...

BEING ENGLISH! Now I have to admit that writing a more personal and none game related blog on Giantbomb does feel a little weird and maybe even a little wrong. But I'm a man of order and I wasn't keen on mixing both game related blogs with more personal matters of discussion. Of course there's nothing wrong with doing so, afterall when one writes about videogames as a passion and hobby, one can...

AH! AVATAR MARKETPLACE.... HOW MUCH?? The New Avatar Marketplace, introduced with the latest Xbox Live Update. Now hopefully you Xbox 360 owners out there have updated your consoles with the latest dashboard update from Microsoft. Having been discussed enough by the gaming media already, I shan't go into what exactly was in the update as you no doubt already know. But what I do wish to talk abo...

Sgt Pepper would be proud. Okay, the title is a little over the topic but I needed a smart and probably overused title for this blog and that seemed to suit. Don't hate me for trying to be humorous and smart, though failing miserably. Anyway, let's get onto what we need to be discussing in the rather wonderful game known as The Beatles: Rock Band . Now as many of you will no doubt know, the gam...

THE 21ST BIRTHDAY BLOG! Welcome to my Blog folks, Hope everyone is well, haven't been blogging to any great degree this week for quite a number of reasons of which I shall discuss in a short while. But this is the first non-game related blog I've done for at least a year, I don't usually do 'personal blogs' but I thought why not. Afterall many of you fine Giantbomb bloggers often discuss issues...

HELL HATH NO FURY, LIKE A WIPEOUTHD ADD-ON! The Wipeout franchise continues to be a great success for Sony, and when they told the videogame world that an high definition version would be made for the Playstation Network. Well there were many eager Wipeout fans desperate to see what developers Studio Liverpool would make with the extra power of the Playstation 3 console. The franchise had spent...

THIRTY PERCENT SHOOTING GUYS, SEVENTY PERCENT RELOADING! The wild west, an almost mystical place these days. But once upon a time it was the breeding grounds for all sorts of legendary tales, the types of tales that were told around a nice warm camp fire or in your local cinema through the wonderful medium of moving pictures. Cinemas around the globe have at some point, showed a western or two....

THE FIGHTING GAME FEVER! (NOT SWINE FLU RELATED) Welcome to my Blog folks, It's a rather pleasant rainy Sunday afternoon here in dear old England, I've had a quite delicious sunday roast and I watched me some Formula One. Nothing out of the usual and that's for the best, but today much of my thoughts have been taken up with the wonderful genre of the beat-em up. This classic and much beloved ge...

VIDEOGAME THOUGHTS ON ROCK BAND NETWORK! Harmonix Music Systems recently announced the Rock Band Network , a revolutionary new system intended to offer bands the chance to get some exposure on the ever growing popularity of Rock Band . It's already been received with great excitement and it's truly understandable considering how such a service could change the face of both user generated conten...

First of all, I know this comes a day or so late and I'm sure every member of Giantbomb as wished Whiskey Media and of course the Giantbomb crew a Happy Birthday. I can't believe it's already been a year, how time flies when your entertained by a page dedicated to cheese and the many game appearances 'cheese' as made. It's a wonderful site and back in the blog days I don't think anyone could ha...

WHY AM I PAYING FOR XBOX LIVE? Welcome to my Blog folks, Everyone loves to have a good rant, afterall the actual description of a rant is a poorly researched argument that directly attacks an idea, person or institution and usually often contains few proven facts. Now while I'd like to think that my personal rants have a little more honest truth based within them, I'm as guilty as anyone of let...

BEING THE PORTABLE GAMER! Welcome to my Blog folks, Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening to you all. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying whatever videogames they might be playing. Next week will be a rather busy week for me and I won't be spending any time near a PC, so I felt that while I had some spare time I would write up a new blog entry. With these coming days comes the possibility of...

1 VS 100 UK BETA THIS FRIDAY! Welcome to my Blog folks, Eurogamer and a number of other sources have confirmed that the 1 VS 100 United Kingdom Beta is set to kick off on the 10th of July, this friday for those to lazy to check a calendar. This isn't shocking news considering the beta was expected to start pretty soon though it's nice to see it finally confirmed for the United Kingdom. It being...

NEW 'OLD' LUCASARTS GAME ANYONE? Welcome to my Blog folks, So as some of you might have heard, LucasArts are to announce a new title in an existing franchise this coming monday. If you hadn't then please check out Kotaku's article on the matter of which I shall be discussing. It's somewhat important to remember that LucasArts aren't all about bright glowing swords and throwing people about with...

I HAVE A WISH FOR THE BOMBCAST! Welcome to my Blog folks, This is just a quick little blog to discuss a great wish I have for the fantastic Giant Bombcast, now I might need to explain this a little and it might be for my entertainment only. But how great would it be if Jeff, Ryan, Vinny and Brad did an entire Bombcast in their English ascents. With the recent unveiling of Project Natal at E3 an...

BURNOUT AIN'T NO PARADISE FOR ME! Welcome to my Blog folks, If you hadn't noticed already, summer is here and I'm already sweaty and uncomfortable. I'm honestly not a summer person, give me rainy chilled out thunderstorms anyday compared to this sort of weather. I'm well informed in knowing that the current heatwave is affecting many countries around the world, although we were rather lucky to...

FIREWORKS HAVE NEVER BEEN SO MUCH FUN, NOR SO DESTRUCTIVE! We all like a good firework display from time to time, from the noise and speed of the rocket. To the eventual explosion of colour and sound, there hard not to like. So when I heard that there was a Nintendo DS game that allow me to live my dreams of being the rocketman myself, I jumped at the chance and picked up a copy of my very own....

OPERATION FLASHPOINT (PC) Three months have passed since I last wrote up one of these, and I felt it was about time that I got around to discussing another special game of my childhood. Now thinking back, I'm not totally sure I was exactly a child when I spent my time endlessly playing this very special PC game. In fact I might have been more teenager then child, but what does that matter right...

MORAL CHOICES HAVE NEVER BEEN SO ELECTRIFYING! Every single one of us, as at one point in their lives thought about what it would be like to have their very own superpowers. To be like superman flying through the clouds or to suddenly go invincible at the click of your fingers. There abilities we dream of, and one of the main reasons companies like Marvel and DC have been so successful. Their c...

YOUR FINEST DIGITALIZED VERSION OF THAT GAME GOOD SIR! Welcome to my Blog folks, While we do indeed live in an age of impressive technological advances in almost every aspect of our daily lives, from the trip to the local hospital to watching your favourite TV shows on a screen so big, that folks think your compensating for something. Yet even these wonderful advances, are always under some for...

TRUEENGLISHGENT'S E3 2009 AWARDS! Well E3 is over, and while it's taken me sometime to get around to providing my perspective on this golden videogame event in Los Angeles, California. What best place to start then in the general giving of fake awards. Now every gamer and his dog will write up their own opinions and even give out their own awards on the games and technology that impressed them...

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES MULTIPLAYER BETA IMPRESSIONS! 2009 looks to be yet another strong year for videogames and of course for us gamers. We will get to experience some of the most stunning and entertaining games of this generation, none more so then Naughty Dog 's PS3 exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves . The sequel to the wonderful Drake's Fortune , looks to build and refine what was an...

PROJECT NATAL = FUTURE HORROR FILM SUBJECT! Welcome to my Blog folks, Day zero of E3 was both a rather odd and exciting experience, but the same can be said for many past E3's. We saw John Cameron talk for 14 hours about a game we never actually got to see, Microsoft acheived yet another one-up on Sony by unveiling Metal Gear Solid: Rising and of course we got to say hello to Project Natal. Whi...

MICROSOFT E3 PRESS CONFERENCE - MY THOUGHTS! So the first large scale E3 press conference is over, and it was quite an enjoyable ride. I forgot how hard it can be to adjust to so many interesting things being shown on stage at once, I actually feel slightly burnt out and I wasn't even there. We saw things that we expected to see, and were still taken back by a surprise or two. Overall it was qu...

E3 PREVIEW PART 4: FINAL PREDICTIONS! We are now technically only hours away from the start of the E3 Expo, so for the final part of my E3 preview. I thought it only best to discuss some of the predictions I have for this special videogame spectacle. Now every gamer as hopes and expectations for an event such as this, and I for one like to keep things realistic. Some of the much speculated rumo...

TEG'S E3 PREVIEW PART 3: NINTENDO! Part 3: Nintendo! NINTENDO FOR THE CORE GAMER! The previous two E3's for Nintendo have been rather forgetful events. While they've promised big announcements for Nintendo fans each of the past two shows, all to often we've come out of the conference wondering what the hell we just witnessed. No truer was this, then at last years Electronic Entertainment Expo o...

THE DEATH OF EXCLUSIVITY? Welcome to my Blog folks, You'll know doubt know that E3 kicks off early next week in Sunny Los Angeles, California. The event hasn't even kicked off yet and we've already seen a number of brand new games, let alone the answers to some big questions gamers had entering into E3 (yes, Commander Shepard is alive afterall). I'll admit that I've found some of these sudden r...

METAL GEAR EXCITEMENT! Welcome to my Blog folks, Now while I originally had no intention of writing a blog this morning, I felt this alone deserved some more discussion time considering how big it could turn out to be. For those not in the know, check out the Kojima Productions teaser site whose most recent countdown ran down late last night for us Europeans. Many of you will know that the teas...

TEG'S E3 PREVIEW PART 2: SONY! Part 2: Sony! PART 2: SONY! Now less then a week away, the always eventful E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo already looks like it'll be one exciting ride for all involved. From the hungry videogame media looking for the hottest scoops to us gamers, who are always eager to hear anything of the latest and greatest titles. Without a doubt we are in for a good couple...

A TEASER FOR A TEASER! Welcome to my Blog folks, Well it's a beautiful Bank Holiday Monday here in beautiful Blightly, and I know I should be outside catching the rays as it were. But that's not my style and to be totally honest with you reader, I'd probably look rather stupid doing so. So I felt it was time I discussed another matter that's recently been bugging me for my latest blog entry. An...

ELECTRIFYING, EXCITING, ELEGANT AND THAT'S JUST THE DEMO! InFamous is electrifying in more ways then one, this latest game from Sly Cooper developers Sucker Punch . Looks to provide Playstation 3 owners with an exclusive to be proud of and if the demo is anything to go by, all PS3 owners are in for one hell of a treat. The demo hit the Playstation Network this evening and I was eager to get a t...

TEG'S E3 ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPO PREVIEW! PART 1: MICROSOFT! Part 1: Microsoft! The E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo is a golden event, much loved by those involved in this wonderful industry. For some years now, it's been the main event on the videogame calender and is the source of all sorts of talk and rumour. While it's an event which as had it's up's and down's over the past few year...

TEG BLOG: METAL GEAR NEXT? Welcome to my Blog folks, Being the Metal Gear fan that I am, it only seemed right that I to got the chance to discuss the heavily debated next Kojima Productions title. Now I believe I've already said this in a past blog, but for me. Metal Gear Solid 4 was one of the greatest games ever created. Of course fanboys and fangirls around the globe will disagree, fight and...

THE TALE OF VESPERIA AND THE MANLY VOICE! Welcome to my Blog folks, While I had no intention of writing a new blog entry today, something happened that I thought was only worthy of discussion. Something that surprised me in more ways then one and probably said more about myself then the actual game I was playing. As the title suggests, I was spending sometime with the recently released Tales of...

THE HOPEFULLY NEVER INFAMOUS BLOG ENTRY! Welcome to my blog folks, Hope everyone is well, it looks as if we are in for a good couple of rainy days here in good old Blighty. It's been an odd recent few weeks to be honest. While it's clear that Spring as truly arrived in all it's beauty (along with the many thousands of bugs that get on my nerves), my actual gaming activities have been rather lig...

MOST ANTICIPATED GAMES OF E3 2009! The E3 Expo is around the corner, and like many a gamer. I wanted to talk about some of the games I'm most excited to see more of when E3 takes place at the beginning of June. Like all good lists, you'll probably agree with some of the choices and disagree with others. But that's what makes a good list afterall, right. Keep in mind that the run up to E3 is oft...

THE SIMS 3 QUICK QUESTIONS ROUND 1! While viewing information for The Sims 3, the latest in the massively selling life simulation games from Electronic Arts. I noticed many questions that went unanswered, questions usually from those who enjoy this popular series but don't understand what exactly is new about The Sims 3. So it's with this in mind that I wanted to try and answer some of the smal...

THE KING OF ALL LIFE SIMULATIONS RETURNS! To be the best selling PC franchise of all time, you need to be able to tap into a market that very few games are able to. You need to be able to create a game, that will get the attention of a wider audience. An audience that might not be dedicated hardcore gamers. That's what The Sims franchise did perfectly, and the latest installment is about to hit...

LEFT 4 A DILEMMA! Welcome to my Blog folks, I hope everyone is doing ok in videogame land. We've been having some beautiful weather here in dear old England and I've been spending quite a bit of my time sitting outside either reading a good book or enjoying a Nintendo DS game. But this fine Spring weather as also got me thinking about some of the odd things I do as a human being, relating to vi...

THE INEVERTABLE ASSASSINS CREED 2 BLOG! Welcome to my blog folks, Now while I wanted to hold out for as long as I possible could before discussing the latest installment in the Assassins Creed franchise, I honestly knew I wouldn't have the will power to do such a thing. I won't try and follow the gaming crowd by mouthing off about what I hated about Assassins Creed or talk about how it was appa...

BLOOD, GORE AND VIOLENCE ON THE WII?..... NEVER!!! It's become common knowledge that the Nintendo Wii is the home of family friendly videogaming, Nintendo's decision to aim for a younger and non-gamer audience as been a right one, for it's made the Wii one of the most successful consoles ever. It's without doubt that the little white box as it's share of forgettable titles for such gamers as my...

DSINTERESTED! (WORST TITLE EVER)! Welcome to my blog folks, First let me do some apologising, the title of this blog truly is the worst title to ever exist on Giantbomb. But it's Saturday morning here in bright sunny England and my head hurts like hell so give a fellow gamer a break. Hopefully you can at least see that I was trying to be humourous with such a title, but I of all people should k...

GOING MOTORSPORT MAD AND GETTING ALL SIMMY! Welcome to my blog folks, Well I've been going a bit motorsport mad these past few days, I'm not totally sure if it's my eagerness for the new Formula One season next weekend or the simple fact that I feel I need to be using my Logitech G25 Steering Wheel considering how much it cost me. But whatever it is, I've been enjoying some great motorsport tha...

THE LESS ANTI-RESIDENT EVIL 5 BLOG! Welcome to my blog folks, Well I've promised myself that I would be less anti-Resident Evil 5 this time around. Strangely despite reading through my previous blog on multiple occasions before posting it, I never realized until a day later how anti-Resident Evil 5 I came across. I honestly wasn't trrying to be such a moaner, I was just airing my feelings towar...

ENTER THE KILLZONE FOR ONE OF THE PS3'S FINEST TITLES! Hype can be a deadly uncontrollable disease to a videogame, it can ruin a games enjoyment within seconds and in today's tough financial times, destroy a whole development studio. As the gaming industry gets bigger and bigger each year, the expectation of gamers do to. Gamers expect more for their hard earned buck nowadays and already hype a...

FIFA 96 (SEGA MEGADRIVE) The Sega Megadrive was in itself, a very special console to me. It went on to play a huge part in creating the love I have for Games and the Gaming Industry today. Every kid I knew had allegiances to one of the two big videogame companies of the time, either you were a Nintendo Nutcase or a Sega Super Fan. At least that's what my friends and I used to call them, I guess...

THE ONE TRUE FIGHTING KING RETURNS! Street Fighter , two words that for many are a perfect representation of videogame entertainment. Two words that have become so popular that even none gamers know what their sons or daughters are talking about when it comes to this special and beloved beat-em up franchise. First appearing back in 1987, Street Fighter as been played by billions all around the...

THAT 'NON ZOMBIE' GAME WITH THE BAD CONTROLS! Good Afternoon Dear Readers, I hope life is treating you well, not to mention the all powerful Gaming Gods. It's been quite an interest couple of weeks within the Gaming World with the release of massively anticipated Killzone 2 on PS3 and of course Street Fighter 4 hitting consoles some weeks back. This means that we have all been quite busy enjoyi...

EMPIRES: TOTAL WAR PREVIEW! Empires: Total War! There is simply no denying that Creative Assembly's Total War series as become one of the most loved PC franchises to date. Ever since we first got our strategic fingers on Shogun: Total War almost nine years ago, the franchises fanbase as grown and grown. So it's no great surprise that there was eager anticipation for what the developers had next...

THE 'I JUST JOINED TWITTER' EDITION! That's correct, I have joined Twitter. Despite my Anti-Social networking sites attitude over the past few years I have actually joined my first ever one in Twitter partly for a couple of different reasons. Reason one is that GiantBomb have recently added the feature to the site with it's latest update, and reason two is that Stephen Fry also uses Twitter and...

Image 3. Image 2. Image 1. FEAR THE TEENAGED GIRL! Gaming today is filled with First-Person Shooters left, right and centre. It's hard for one specific title to shine through the shadows of the rest but when that one game does, well it can be a very special and entertaining event. But there are on occasions, games which stick to what they do best and don't try anything that they know might unba...

I UNDERSTAND STREET FIGHTER! So today I have had a relevation of sorts, if I can call it that. While spending more time enjoying the newly released Street Fighter 4, something in my brain clicked and I suddenly understood why so many gamers spend hours upon hours trying to master every specific move of every fighter and spend years mastering when to use such moves in battle. It's a revelation t...

STREET FIGHTER 4 FIRST IMPRESSIONS! Street Fighter 4. So the newest installment in the now legendary Street Fighter franchise is now avaliable for console gamers on the PS3 and Xbox 360. I had my copy hit yesterday morning and I spent most of the day realising all over again that I totally suck at anything Street Fighter. But that doesn't make Street Fighter 4 a bad game, because honestly it's...

Image 4. Image 3. Image 2. Image 1. WHO SAID VIDEOGAMES COULDN'T BE REPRESENTATIONS OF ART? Flower is one of those odd games where a review can never really describe it best, it's simply one of those games where you need to experience it yourself to truly appriate what it is trying and achieves to do. Now avaliable for the Playstation 3 via the Playstation Network, Flower is developed and creat...

THE 'IT'S SNOWING' AND ZOMBIE KILLING EDITION, BOUGHT TO YOU BY THE WEATHER! Hello Dear Reader, So it's been a little while since I last updated this blog with anything of great interest and I hope that will change soon enough, I do enjoy writing about Videogames but I find it tough to write up another blog if it doesn't have any interesting points or views for discussion. These Quick Blogs wer...

MY XBOX 360 IS BACK BABY... AND BETTER THEN EVER!!! I come with joy and jolly news my dear readers, for I have bought my Xbox 360 back from Console Death in that I have fixed the Red Ring of Death. As some of you may know, my dear European Launch Xbox 360 suffered it's first Red Ring of Death just under a week ago and I was honestly quite down by the whole thing. Not just because it was the dre...

THE RED RING OF DEATH EDITION! Hello There Dear Reader, Well as some of you may already have guessed, this blog is all about the dreaded 'Red Ring of Death' that as affected so many Xbox 360 consoles around this World of ours. My dear old European Launch Xbox 360 suffered it two days ago and I was honestly quite upset. Why I'm not to sure, but my Xbox 360 as been fantastic since I first purchas...

Today is indeed a sad day in my Gaming Life, for at ten to five this evening my Xbox 360 suffered the dreaded Red Rings of Death. This is my first ever time witnesses this 'Cancer' of videogame consoles and it is a very sad sight to see. I honestly thought my Xbox 360 was immune to the disease, I have heard many a gamer cry out in anger and sadness but I never thought it would be me. Especially...

RESIDENT EVIL 5 DEMO IMPRESSIONS! Well Hello There Dear Reader, So the much anticipated Resident Evil 5 demo hit Xbox LIVE this somewhat dull English morning and I was eager to try it out myself, despite not being a huge Resident Evil fan. There is simply no doubting that Resident Evil 5 is one of the 'Must Have' titles hitting our consoles this year. For me personally it's a series of games th...

BREAKING NEWS! I ACTUALLY PLAY MY NINTENDO WII. Hello Dear Reader, I hope you are all healthy and well in these tough and despressing times. Well I have News worthy of any local News 24 Channel to broadcast, for I have actually turned my Nintendo Wii console on for the first time in around four to five months. It's indeed big news and worthy of my discussing the matter I think. As many of you m...

TrueEnglishGent Previews: The Sims 3! Box Art. Next month sees the newest release in the hugely popular The Sims series. The Sims, which played it's part in Will Wright's rise to Videogame fame as become a massively selling franchise with a large amount of Expansions and Stuff Packs avaliable for both the original Sims and it's newer sequel, The Sims 2. Part of the series success as come from t...

Hello My Fellow Giantbombers! It's been a good long while since I did one of these, as I decided to only write about things that were worth my time. Well recently I decided I needed to discuss the matter of the iPhone and iPod Touch not being taken seriously by the gaming media and gamers alike. As readers there's more then a chance that you'll disagree with me in the following article but a go...

Image 4. Image 3. Image 2. Image 1. THE WORLD IS AT WAR AGAIN, AND I'M THERE TO REVIEW IT When Activision Blizzard announced that the next installment of the Call of Duty series would see a return to it's World War Two roots, and be developed by Call of Duty 3 developers Treyarch. There was quite an outcry of fans who wanted to see the franchise stick in the Modern era, but it's now pretty clea...

I DON'T MAKE RESOLUTIONS..... I MAKE WAR! A Happy New Year Dear Readers, I hope you all had a great Christmas and a Merry New Year. I can gladly inform you that I did cheer up over the Christmas period and almost got rid of my Humbug status. But I wanted to actually talk about a concern I have for the year 2009 in Videogames. It's fair to say that we have been treated with some special games th...

TRUE ENGLISH GENT'S TOP TEN GAMES OF 2008! So here we are dear readers, at the end of another great year of Videogames. We got to experience some pretty special titles hit our consoles and PC's this year and I shall admit finding it tough to create a list that best represents my feelings towards the games I have enjoyed. There are some games which I was forced to leave out, but that doesn't mak...

TWAS THE QUICK BLOG BEFORE CHRISTMAS.... AND I'M STILL A BIT OF A HUMBUG! Hello Merry Readers, I hope this Blog before Christmas finds you Merrier then I, yes I'm still in a bit of a humbug mood today. In fact I've been somewhat of a humbug all week and I promise not to bring you down to much in this quick blog. I wanted to get a blog out before Christmas night incase Santa decided to shoot me...

BROKEN SWORD GOES DC AND MY GAMES OF THE YEAR LIST DISCUSSION! Hello Dear Readers, I hope you healthy and well as Winter approaches, well it's already here but you get where I'm going. I shall admit I'm finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year, I'm not exactly sure why but I'm already kind of sick of seeing it left, right and centre. Maybe my thoughts will change in the actual...

Image 4. Image 3. Image 2. Image 1. I DON'T THINK ARCADE GAMING AS EVER LOOKED MORE BEAUTIFUL! Let's all be honest for a moment, they may call it arcade gaming but it's not exactly the same experience we all fell in love with those years ago when arcades were king. There was never a huge amount of arcades here in the British Isles compared to most countries but I still got to enjoy some great a...

PRINCE OF PERSISTENCE AND OTHER RELATED UPDATES! Hello Dear Readers, I hope you are healthy and well, I have finally took the time to write up a quick blog on what's been going on. Well for those that may have read my previous blog, you may remember that I wrote it in some pain, from weird aches to odd bones clicking here and there. I felt pretty terrible and it only got worse until I at to see...

MASTERING HARD DIFFERCULTY AND OTHER THINGS! Hello Dear Readers, I hope you are all well and healthy. I woke up this morning in terrible disconfort and pain, not totally sure why but my body feels as if it's been hit head on by a large 4x4 Vehicle. My head is ringing as if a doorbell had been placed between my ears and I feel pretty sick at this moment in time. But I wanted to update my page a...

MIRROR'S EDGE - XBOX 360 VERSION! Image 4. Image 3. Image 2. Image 1. I HAVE A LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH FAITH! Mirror's Edge is DICE 's latest attempt to convince us gamers that they can actually make a good single player game and aren't just some fantastic multplayer developer loved by most (if not all) PC gamers. This latest attempt offers you the experience of doing some parkour which is...

STEVEN!.... YES!.... COMING! Some of you might have no idea what I'm talking about, while other who are visitors to the Big British Castle may get it! and no I'm not mad!

MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE VIDEOGAME MUSIC - VOLUME TWO! This is my second volume of favourite videogame soundtracks I have come to love over the years. Most are pretty modern, I'm not a huge retro fan so not many of these are from the 90's although I do have a good collection of songs I'm greatly fond of from the Sega days. But I hope theres something on this list you enjoy listening to, and maybe...

ROCK BAND 2 HITS EUROPE AND 20% DISCOUNT DILEMMA So this past week as finally seen the release of Harmonix/EA's much celebrated music rhythm game Rock Band 2 here in Europe. Much like it's older brother, the original as taken a good couple of months to reach our shores and I still have to wonder why when it's simply just a disc. Anyways, so that's what I've been playing this weekend for stupid...

THE NEW XBOX EXPERIENCE - EARLY IMPRESSIONS! So today saw the launch of Microsoft's new dashboard for it's much loved Xbox 360 console, and like many I was eager to try it out for myself. So I thought it best that I write up a early impressions blog to speak about what I currently think of the new dashboard system now that it's finally with us. For some the NXE came early, with many having the...

THE BLADE DASHBOARD SYSTEM 2005-2008! Tonight we pay a small tribute to a dashboard system that as served us faithfully for a good three years now. It wasn't always kind to us and we even got mad at it from time to time. But it always provided us gamers with the content we needed and loved. It often worked silently in the background while we looked to download the latest Rock Band track and pla...

GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR REVIEW (XBOX 360 VERSION) NO ROCK BAND, BUT IT CERTAINLY ISN'T NO TRIBUTE BAND! Guitar Hero , we all have fond memories of our first time hitting those coloured fret buttons to some of our favourite tracks or whamming your way through a song or two. It replaced the good old air guitar and created one of the most successful franchises of gaming history. But it's also gone...

Hello My Fellow Giantbombers! I hope your reading this in good health as the Winter cold hits us hard. I'm sure many American's might think that it always rains here in the United Kingdom, never stops as we try to live our day to day lives. Well you'd actually be very wrong, it's like us Brits thinking that Yanks have no sense of humour when they clearly do. Infact it's quite common for this gr...

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR ONE! Ceremonies around the world have been taking place to remember those who fought bravely in World War One 90 years ago. France, Australia, Great Britain and many other countries are remembering those who kept this world free from evil and gave their lives for us all to live a free and happy life. So I think it's hugely important we never forget that terrible wa...

ROCK BAND 2 AND THE GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR DILEMMA ENDS! So dear readers, a good month of plastic instrument rocking is upon us. We may pull weird faces while we play and we may look like fools as we rock out to some Red Hot Chilli Peppers tune. But we can't deny how much fun it is to play and experience everything the music rhythm genre as to offer. Of course we could all learn real instrumen...

DEAD SPACE - XBOX 360 VERSION! Image 3. Image 2. Image 1. WHO KNEW SPACE WAS SUCH A VIOLENT PLACE! When we think of Outer Space, we think of big powerful rocketships taking men and women of great intelligence to study the many wonders of this world. We don't think of horrid blood thirsty aliens looking to savagely kill any human that may cross their path. Yet in the universe of EA's newest shoo...

CURRENT VIDEOGAME IMPRESSIONS! So I've been spending a good amount of time playing those modern pieces of entertainment the kids called videogames, I've been playing a good few to be honest and it's only the last few days that I've found myself getting more dedicated to one or two main titles. Of course all of these games are recent releases and to be honest I have mixed reactions when it comes...

LEWIS HAMILTON FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPION! I think this at to be said, I know it's not game related but what a fantastic moment in Motorsport. At the Brazillian Grand Prix and final turn drama saw Englishman Lewis Hamilton take the World Formula Championship and become the best driver in the world. What a great day for us all to be proud of and what a race. I nearly had a heart attack! LEWIS HA...

THE GUITAR HERO DILEMMA! I have a dilemma dear readers, a Guitar Hero dilemma to be precise. For you see I'm very unsure what pack of Guitar Hero: World Tour to get, or even if to purchase the game in the first place. Now I will admit I have always been fond of the Guitar Hero games despite the impressive rise of Rock Band and it's sequel (coming to my dear homeland on November 21st). It's fair...

Written from a Island in the sea! Hello My Fellow GiantBombers! As usual, I hope this blog finds you happy and healthy. As many of you will no doubt know, your Xbox 360 Dashboard will be seeing a number of serious changes in the Month of November when the much talked about ' New Xbox Experience ' hits Microsoft's much loved console on the 19th of November. This huge update will offer a totally...

PAIN MAKES ME A ANGRY GAMER! Yes another quick blog, I wanted to write up a brand new Gaming Blog but I've been in to much pain to both write or game. The cold weather as hit hard here in dear old England and it's even snowed already today, and as a Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferer the cold weather can affect me badly and it as done just that this past week. I've struggled to keep my head straight...

LET THE GAMING BEGIN!! So as I wait for the LittleBigPlanet servers to finally get up and running (come on Sony) I will though be happy that I'll have a good amount of games to play while I wait till possibly next monday. Today I should be having Dead Space, Fable 2 and Far Cry 2 coming through my letterbox. At the moment I'm still undecided which to play first, either Fable 2 or Far Cry 2. I h...

I gave up on WoW a long time ago, it's a good game and deserve the credit it got but man, was that game boring as hell at times and repetitive. I will be playing SW:TOR. As for it challenging WoW, well to be fair WoW is slowly falling and I think Blizzard know that. So for me yes, but it is to early and I suspect WoW will be pretty dead anyway when SW:TOR comes out.

BLOG 1: FIRST DETAILS REVEALED! THE OLD REPUBLIC / BLOG 1: FIRST DETAILS REVEALED! It's now been a day since the worst kept secret in the videogame industry was finally revealed to the world, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic MMO or Star Wars: The Old Republic to give it it's official and somewhat pleasant name is the newest game from the much loved developer Bioware and the less loved Luc...

STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC MMO SET TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! 1UP.com is reporting that the much rumoured Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic MMO is set to be announced on Tuesday afternoon in a formal press conference. This is of course the partnership between LucasArts and Bioware, now I have strong feelings about this but have decided to wait and write an article I was going to do...

MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE VIDEOGAME MUSIC! Music in videogames as always been a key part of the overall experience and eventual joy we obtain from this wonderful form of entertainment. From the classic 8-bit tracks of old to the unforgettable orchestral scores of today, it's clear that music as played a huge part in both videogames and our own childhood. Now I know there are many 'top 10' lists out...

REAL FOOTBALL 2009 WHO KNEW FOOTBALL COULD BE DONE SO WELL ON A TOUCH SCREEN DEVICE? I know this might not be your usual videogame review, but I see no difference between reviewing a Ipod Touch/Iphone application to reviewing a Nintendo DS title, especially when it's as good a title as Real Football 2009. Developed by Gameloft for both the Iphone and Ipod Touch, it offers an experience similar...

I don't usually do quick blogs but I thought this deserved one. Through the PS3 version of Bioshock it as been found that a teaser exsists for Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams. The original was a classic so I'm excited for this one. Some pics are below: Bioshock 2 Logo. Maybe one of the Children? They better have these in the collectors edition. Bioshock PS3 Menu. We all expected this to happen anyway...

LittleBigPlanet Beta Impressions #3 THE BETA ENDS, BUT WHAT A SPECIAL BETA IT WAS! The final article I will be doing on the LittleBigPlanet Beta , I originally wanted to get this up on the final day of the actual beta. The 11th of October to be precise, but to be honest I was quite busy with none game related matters these past two weeks so I didn't get a whole lot of time to experience the tai...

Coming from an Island in the Sea! Hello my fellow GiantBombers! I hope this blog finds you happy and healthy. As Winter approaches and the weather gets much colder it's nice to know that we'll have a good amount of varied games to keep us warm. The weather here in the United Kingdom isn't to bad at the moment although the signs of Winter are very much here. As an Arthritis sufferer I have been...

PURE REVIEW (XBOX 360) ATV'S + SSX TRICKY = BRILLIANT MINDLESS SPEED FUN! When you think of mindless racing fun, ATV's might not be the first form of vehicle to come to your head. But they prove to be more then just a bit of fun in Disney Interactive Studios and Black Rock Studios newest ATV title PURE hitting XBOX 360, PS3 and PC. The best way to describe PURE is to do a little maths, think th...

LittleBigPlanet Beta Impressions #2 IT'S LIKE BEING BACK IN ART CLASS, BUT FUN! Well I have finally got around to writing up more impressions on the fantastic LittleBigPlanet Beta currently in full swing to a much wider group of audience then ever before. Even though this is still classed as a 'Beta' it is starting to feel more like a Demo everyday, this is of course a good thing though to be f...

Wipeout HD Review! GOING VERY VERY FAST IN HIGH DEFINITION! The much loved futuristic racer makes it's Playstation 3 debut on the Playstation Network, but does it meet the high expectation fans now have for the series or does it hit to many walls along the way? The Wipeout series as now been a part of the gaming scene for a good long while, since first appearing on Sony's first gaming console i...

LittleBigPlanet Beta Impressions #1 LittleBigPlanet Beta Contests Make Sackboy Cry After what felt like years waiting to hear from the much delayed competitions currently breaking the internet in two, I finally got into the LittleBigPlanet Beta through one of the many I took part in. It would be an understatment to say that the distribution of beta keys went smoothly, I don't think I've ever se...

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Review! THE FORCE IS INDEED STRONG WITH THIS ONE! Star Wars is huge, if you didn't already know. I don't think there is one person on the planet that hasn't heard of Star Wars, maybe one or two small tribes in the deepest areas of the Amazon rainforest but I'm sure even they have heard of Luke Skywalker . Who hasn't? so its no surprise that this endless money maki...

Coming from an Island in the Sea! Hello My Fellow Giantbombers! I hope this blog finds you well, its been a good while since I wrote up my last gaming/personal blog here at GiantBomb.com and I have a few reasons for that. One, I've been busy playing a good few games of late so when I have had the time to write they have been in the form of reviews or previews and two, well I haven't been doing...

MERCENARIES 2: WORLD IN FLAMES REVIEW! MERCS 2 AS ITS FAULTS, BUT THERES STILL A WHOLE LOT OF FUN TO BE HAD WITH THIS SOLID SEQUEL For those of you who have ever experienced Pandemic Studios's Mercenaries: Playground Destruction then you'll know what to expect from its sequel. This is because so much of Mercs 2 feels similar to its Predecessor in so many ways and although in areas this is not i...

WILL THE DEMO SCORE YOUR PREORDER CASH OR SCORE AN OWN GOAL I can still recall playing FIFA 96 on my Sega Megadrive System. That game was indeed my first ever true game for one of my favourite consoles of all time. I can still recall the first match I ever played on that Christmas morning, it was England Vs Jamaica and despite my eager determination to win, I would go on to lose 1-0. Maybe it w...

SOMETIMES THE CASTLE DOES INDEED CRASH, BUT ITS STILL A FANTASTIC ARCADE GAME So the eagerly anticipated new game from developers The Behemoth finally reached out XBOX 360's this week in Microsofts Summer of Arcade games. This LIVE Arcade game as been on the lips of many a gamer and its great to finally get our hands on this old school styled game. In many respects Castle Crashers does indeed g...

THE FORCE GETS UNLEASHED AS DEMO HITS OUR CONSOLES! Well we finally got our sweaty Star Wars eager hands on one of the most interesting Star Wars games for a long time when Star Wars: The Force Unleashed hit our Playstation 3's and XBOX 360's this morning. After playing through the demo a numbe of times I wanted to tell folk of the impression I got of the game through what the demo offered. It...

Hello My Fellow GiantBombers! How nice it is to speak with you again, I hope that everything as been well. Over here in the UK the weather as been hot and unconfortable for most though some folk seem to be enjoying the weather. I have no problem with that, its just that when I see a shirtless fat man walk into Asda Supermarket with Sunglasses on, I remember why I hate the hot weather so much. D...

Hello There My Fellow GiantBombers! This being my first blog for this cool, hip and happening new site I wanted to talk about a matter that recently got my blood boiling. For those of us who love our Video Games, you will have no doubt tuned into the the widespread media coverage of Gamings key Event, E3. Though its fair to say that for the most part E3 was pretty average this year, there were...