Pixels New Trailer!

Last Tuesday, Sony pictures released their first trailer for pixels. The film is an adaptation of Patrick Jeans short film (2010) of the same name. The world is under attack by characters from old school video games such as PAC-Man, Donkey Kong and Space invaders sent by an alien aggressor who misunderstood the video games we sent into space in 1982, as a declaration of war......right.

Featuring Adam Sandler, Peter, Dinklage and Josh Gad. The movie follows them as they use their arcade gaming skills to save the world from being turned into pixels.

Directed by Chris Columbus whose earlier works include Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire and Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone gives the movie some real potential. Also starring Tōru Iwatani the creator of PAC-Man! Which you do see in trailer getting his arm bitten. 

 The idea of old school video games destroying the word is solid, and the video effects are amazing.

Pixels will be released May 15th this year, and I look forward to reviewing it with all the good and the bad.

 

Black Ribbon's Top 5 Games of 2014 (As picked by Drake)

No, I'm not dead, just extremely lazy!

With the flurry of Next-gen releases in their first year, picking my top 5 should be a really difficult task. Although the monumental cock-ups make this list dubiously easy. In no particular order, lets get the list going...

1 - Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor was one of the games that has slid under the rug in many lists for the overall year and its a rather sad sight when Assassin's Creed Rogue is consider better. I often find myself questioning he logic of many of the groups to select a game with no innovation on the previous
generation console over a new IP with incredible mechanics and gameplay. Shadow of Mordor's visuals and story occasionally let it down but the creative power struggle system, fun combat, its return too Middle Earth and the vocal talent created something truly spectacular that has great length.

2 - Far Cry 4 

Ubisoft's year has been tainted by bugs, poor gameplay, hype and generally poor creations. Fortunately for them, many of us still bought into the series' and that's all they really care about.
Although they are likely to pay for that, they have had relative success with Far Cry 4. Unfortunately, I never managed to get around to reviewing much around the October Gamergedon but here is my TLDR version - Incredible visuals, addicting gameplay, fascinating story and characters with the added "I'm not running away from a psychopath in case he gets even angrier" ending that finishes the game in anything up to 15 minutes with gameplay that lets you walk around the room and finally, lets not forget that Troy Baker plays Pagan Min. Who can hate it? PS - Fuck the eagles.

3 - The Wolf Among Us

The Wolf Among Us is another Telltale game based off of the comic book series "Fables". The story of Bigby Wolf and the sudden murder spree to hit Fabletown is one with bigger twists than a twirl bar, more violence than a Michael Bay movie and an art style which elevates the series to new

heights. The wonderful thing about The Wolf Among Us is how engaging it is. The space between episodes was filled with The Walking Dead Season 2 and looking at the Wikia in the vain hope the next episode would appear. Its adventure into fable characters would normally be very Disney or Pixar like but Telltale and Fable's creator turned the world upside-down to create a dark, atmospheric neon lit world filled with a rising evil and isn't afraid to get its hands dirty.

4 - Walking Dead Season 2 

So, I've already mentioned Season 2 and it stands as one of the best game series' that I have ever played. The Walking Dead game inspired me to watch the TV shows and get into the comics and I've

never been happier with such a creation. Season 2 follows Clementine's fight for survival without Lee in her life. The fight for survival by a little girl in a traumatic world is distressing enough but when she feels more like a daughter and your responsibility is to protect her, anything that happens can be disastrous if you get it wrong. Telltale's knack and style has successfully carried The Walking Dead into 3 seasons and DLC that will stay with me as some of my all time favourites. A must play for any zombie survivalist.

5 - Dragon Age Inquisition

Every Dragon Age fan wet their pants with glee upon the news of another instalment in our beloved series. While 2 is considered the worst and often belittled, some of its characters carry over into
Inquisition alongside one or two from Origins that is incredibly gratifying to be reunited with. Bioware has a knack for creating games with vast worlds and territories that bring you into contact with some of the most crazy and loveable characters ever written. As for next-gen visuals, what Dragon Age lacked in texture, it made it up with the lighting. Atmospheric and beautiful, is not it for Bioware, the combat system and gameplay have improved drastically making Dragon Age a deadly competitor in the RPG market.


As a bonus, I feel an honourable mention should be made to another 3 games that I absolutely adore.
Bonus - Titanfall for its incredible reimagining of the FPS genre, Plants VS Zombies for its whacky take on modern shooters with a family friendly game that also appeals to the hardcore gamers and finally, Hearthstone. Not one for Blizzard MMOs and RPGs?, Say no more. Hearthstone blends the World of Warcraft characters into a FREE card game with balance, no pay to win features, a competitive community and all round fun.

How'd I do? Let us know your picks in the comments down below! Also go check out our new writer's view on this years movie selection. Click here to see his top 5 movies of 2014.

Assassin's Creed - Rogue - Trailer News

EDIT: The trailer has now been removed

In the last week news of a foreign retailer releasing a pre-order for a previous generation Assassin's Creed titled "Rogue" - previously under the codename Comet - has gone viral amongst the gaming community.

Riding on the hype of this news, an apparent still leaked (and trailer) from the upcoming trailer has surfaced on the web. Documenting the release for November 11th which follows Unity's release on October 27th. Demonstrated by the image sources say that we are keeping to the style that made Black Flag such a success. This being a new assassin, a big ass boat and a vast map to play with presumed to be the Arctic. I can't deny, no confirm the validity of these claims so we simply will have to hold on to see.

What are you hoping for from codename Comet/Rogue and do you feel its too much for one year? Leave your comments down below!

Source - http://kotaku.com/leak-shows-off-rogue-this-years-last-gen-assassins-cre-1616239537

The Wolf Among Us - Finale and Season Review - NO SPOILERS

Over the next few days, The Wolf Among Us - Episode 5 is going live across a large selection of platforms. The highly anticipated finale to the series inspired and influenced by the Fable graphic novels is bitter sweet. As ever with something you invest a lot of time into, you can become attached to the series and it certainly is sad to see Bigby Wolf's current tale end. With the huge success, it's quite possible that we will see his return and that is calming to think about.

If you aren't aware of The Wolf Among Us, you must experience it. From the studio that brought you The Walking Dead, Telltale studios have brought the comic book world into an experience that can only be described as an interactive show where your choices and actions form the story around you. Starring the Big Bad Wolf, Bigby, you are Fabletown's protector; a detective of sorts. Over the 5 episodes you must solve the murder of a young Fable, but its never going to be that simple with Telltale. Without divulging the story, I can say that nothing really goes to plan for you. you're thrown from pillar to post trying to work out who the murderer is but also get stuck into the affairs of many of Fabletown's citizens who fate YOU decide.

Telltale's success is not simple down to its innovate gameplay or story telling, it's also down to the characters that it creates. Lee and Clementine from The Walking Dead series are the perfect
 examples of this. Their bond and partnership was endearing and you couldn't help but fall in love with them. The same can be said about Bibgy Wolf. Although he's not the loving sort of character, he is a reformed character with a troubled past. His big persona, strength and forwardness are great fun and he knows he's doing what needs to be done in a place where many fear his past. A man seeking redemption if you may. As a much more aggressive character, he's accustom to violence so many of his actions can be extreme. Personally for me, this makes him even cooler and has sold me onto buying the graphic novels.

As I've already mentioned, the gameplay and story are wonderful, mixed with the amazing art style that uses thick and heavy outlines with many saturated colours, the colours actually pop. With news that Telltale are creating a Borderlands series, the blend of styles will make it one of the best visually. The vast amounts of work that goes into creating the art and story do have it's drawbacks. Waiting patiently each month for a download means that many, like myself, have to suffer with a poor internet connection to download a substantial file and is a bit of a pain on days/times when internet traffic is high or your internet is down. The other problem is that the game can be a little fragmented with framerate issues. Dropping from time to time when loading and presenting itself as frozen does interrupt the flow of the story. Many of the Xbox users may also notice an achievement glitch which awards you the achievements but doesn't acknowledge them on the Xbox hub. Currently the situation has yet to be fixed and little news opens up why this is happening.

I've been very careful not to reveal any spoilers for this series due to the fact that it is just epic and everyone's experience can be different. The overall ending is set but why should I ruin that? Episode 5's release was heavily anticipated and you will not be disappointed with this instalment. I'm a little confused by the end scene myself but I hope we will see some answers in the near future.

Wolf Among Us as a whole series deserves a 9/10. Sure, it can be buggy at times, but everything else works in it's favour. It's not convoluted and it's not pre-school level. A very well written (with some very funny moments), voiced and styled first outing for Bigby and I can't wait to see him return...Please let him return!

Sniper Elite 3 - Can it Hit the Broadside of a Barn? - Quicky Review!

Want a game for your next-gen console at £40 that isn't finished? Well this is you game! Rush to your local retailer and purchase this game with a story shorter than that thing you call a penis, next-gen graphics from 2002's Gamecube, a 16GB install, a frame rate that drops as often as an alcoholic in a vineyard and glitches enough to make EA's UFC proud. Having seen nothing about Sniper Elite III at EGX until a few months back, I was fairly excited. X-ray kill-cams and an intuitive mechanic for snipers sold me on V2 and returning with "Improved works" and some new extras just seemed like a much stronger game. It may simply stand that the Xbox One version of the game is supremely glitchy but that's no excuse for a game that cost £40 and just appeared out of nowhere one day without much warning.

If you're looking for a story that engages you in an action packed adventure with colourful lead character and a dark villain to boot, Don't play this. Both of these feel non-existent. Considering you only meet the villain in the final mission and kill him a little later, it feels really unjustified to pave the way for an insane Nazi, only to cut him down without any enforcement of what he is doing that is

Kaaaarl...That Kills People...

anything other than following orders. Our lead man whose name is never mentioned in game but is Karl Fairburne is practically faceless. With the emotional range of Ryan Reynold's Deadpool, the only difference is that Karl talks to himself like a madman...

The redeeming factor for Sniper Elite is the X-ray cameras. Trying to get good shots for the recording (Will be up on the Black Ribbon Youtube channel soon!) was great fun. A yelp of happiness spewed from my mouth once I finally managed to achieve a testie shot on some poor bugger. Playing on the 'normal' rating was fairly simply to do as long as you didn't go getting sighted and make a lot of noise. Bullet drop was the only gimmick that affected that particular setting of difficulty with several others ramming up the difficulty for those with the patience not to draw everyone out and play whack-a-mole with dozens of Nazi craniums.

As a pre-order bonus, I was 'rewarded' with DLC. The trend sweeping over the industry to stick DLC straight after the game is released has to be the worst idea in history. So you couldn't just place it in the game to warrant the money I've just spent on something that's only positive part is shooting AXIS forces in slow-mo, in the nuts and just general violence? I would continue to rave on about the game being screwed. So badly screwed that I had to replay a mission from the begin just so I could get a recording that didn't feature a tank locating me 12ft underground. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy shooting people and it's just a mind-numbing experience which anyone can enjoy while investing the same brainpower as a breastfeeding baby. 6/10 is where I have to place this. With no characters, a story which was already written in for them, just dumbed down and it's fuck-ups are infuriating to battle with. DO NOT WASTE £40 on it. Wait until it's cheaper! Then you may enjoy it.

A Flurry of E3 2014 Trailers - Here's the ones that matter to me!

Simply said, the features and trailers emerging from E3 are incredible. Down below I will feature some of the best content from the event and my personal favourites from the first day. Let's get straight into it with the brand new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare with a suspiciously Titanfall-esque style



Now a trio from one of the best developers around - Bioware with information on an unnamed title, a new Mass Effect and Dragon Age Inquisition.





Square Enix returns with a follow-up to its incredible Tomb Raider



The long-awaited and perfectly timed Star Wars Battlefront rears its head in this production trailer



The fear inducing Dying Light slaps Mirrors Edge in the face as it waltzes on stage



Evolve makes Arnie's Predator movie look tame



And who can't love Scalebound's use of giant dragons beating the hell out of giant monsters while a skinny dude runs around listening to dance music?



This is only scraping the surface of trailers that have been coming out and it can only get better. Be sure to check out the E3 website and Twitter for tons more information and stick around on Black Ribbon for lots more news and reviews!

Murdered: Soul Suspect - Review! - Can We Crack This Case?

Murdered: Soul Suspect seems like its been heavily under-publicised. The overall advertising campaign is sufficiently weak for a Square Enix production that steps away from the common horror thriller of shooting everything with a pulse. Soul Suspect has opted for a non-combat approach with the need to immerse the player into the world and the story. Our protagonist is Ronan O'Connor; a detective with a rough past whose in search of Salem's serial killer threat -- The Bell Killer. Through an encounter with the Bell Killer, Ronan is thrown from a 4th story window, barely concious after the fall, the killer plants 7 rounds from Ronan's own sidearm into O'Connor's chest killing him in a matter of seconds which are the burning lights emanating from his chest. Upon watching his death in his ghost form, Ronan now takes on the mission of finding his killer alongside the other victims of the Bell Killer to head towards the light.

The story is actually very short. I would put it down to the fact that the story appears to happen over a single night and in real-time could be the 6-8 hours I playing the story and maxing out the achievements. Going back through to get some extras I had missed meant I had to go to the 80% mark of story completion and got there in a little over 2 hours considering the fact that clues and information were fresh in my mind. Being so short, many would suspect the story of being weak, limited in character development and basic. Only one of these stands true and to my dismay its the character development. Although we get little eye-dents throughout the gameplay which review Ronan's life, they are fairly lacking and generic TV tough cop. The loss of his wife was never explained but can only be assumed that it may have had something to do with the Bell Killer and his rough past as a delinquent who served time is a little different but play no role in his progress as a protagonist. Unless you go through and read every little note, you probably can't connect to him as well as could be hoped and its saddening for a character that drew me into a genre I'm very unlikely to play. In comparison, the story is filled with unexpected turns and a finale that's exciting and enthralling.

With a track record of gorgeous looking Final Fantasy's visual expectations for the game are enormous. Disappointingly enough, the cut scene quality was good, but no Final Fantasy and when in game, players look like they are made of rubber rather than flesh and bones. Considering that I play on the next gen Xbox One, quality of visual aspects is what is selling these consoles. However, I digress. The quality of the world is perfect. The creepy atmosphere of Salem's dark night life coupled with their afterlife is brilliantly portrayed through the pallet of dark hues and ghostly memory imprints of past structures. Glossing over the rubber faced characters and AI's, visually the movie is great and the set of the world is amazing to look at and occasionally run straight through. Including a soundtrack which immerses you in the land of the dead. Gradually peaking in moments of excitement and dropping its tone sharply when shit is about to hit the fan.

Now the gameplay isn't simply walking about and finding clues. We all know the notions that the midpoint between life and death that is filled with spirits of not just lost souls but also of the broken and tormented who terrorise those lost. The demons that haunt the world stand as a danger for Ronan and commonly appear though their demonic forms or portals that clasp their victims and drag them to the pits of hell. The only way to defeat these apparitions, you must avoid the portals through possession and rip the corrupted from their form, freeing them of their binds. The game plays almost like a platformer with puzzles to solve and dangers to avoid and is surprisingly enjoyable even if you can't use a physical weapon to kill. Inspiration looks as if Alan Wake was involved with its unique system for dealing with demons in a really simply and easy method meaning that the overall market
for the game is vast. Not just the hardcore gamers. Although, it really appeals to achievement hunters like myself. With incredibly easy achievements based simply on roaming the streets and solving deaths and regular story missions, many of the achievements are simple to get. For the large collections you are more than likely going to need to use the games online interactive map on the Square Enix site as the game lacks this function or the flurry of videos popping up on youtube. With it being so short, rounding off the missed collectibles won't take long on a speed run. I would highly recommend doing these as the ghost story collectibles reward you with tales that are very grim and chilling to the bone.

Although it misses a map for direction, the interactive map can guide you but doesn't look very good whatsoever and can be ignored. I cannot confirm the prices on other deals but I managed to get my hands on a limited edition copy for less than the standard package which includes this neat little book which holds clues, story hints, some artwork and a message from the artists. The little addition is well made and is a wonderful extra on top of a wonderful game that I shall be rating an 8/10!

Have you played Murdered: Soul Suspect yet? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

Titanfall Beta - REVIEW!

As many of you may have noticed, the Titanfall Beta ended last week. I've left a little time between posting this to allow for it to settle down and hear some new information running up to the release. Down below is one of the first videos I uploaded to Youtube of my Titanfall antics. If you'd like to like, subscribe or anything else, simply go to the channel/video!

Titanfall is undoubtedly one of the, if not THE biggest game coming out this year. With rumours circulating about MLG competitions and Xbox One bundle with reduced price, this game is going to sky rocket even further than before. Based entirely online, the game has one weakness; No single player campaign. The lack of story worries me initially as it removes a lot of the potential. The story could be extremely fast paced and would be great to understand the warring factions. Although news of an online campaign within the multiplayer matches addresses these, it relies on others to pull their weight and also a stable internet connection to enjoy for a long period of time.

Ignoring the story, the Beta was simply an online stress test of their servers and checks on any glitches or bugs that may occur. Looking back at GTA V and others, the popularity of a beta would have solved many of the problems that plagued (and still do) its launch. With games like Bungie's Destiny later this year and Defiance (based on the Syfy channel TV show), it feels as if we are journeying towards multiplayer being the key component for gaming on the next generation consoles and Titanfall is the first to really open this.

If you care to look at my videos, it is easy to see how chaotic the game is. It feels like an all-out war zone although it's only 6v6, the inclusion of AI minions/grunts/spectres and the auto Titan function, the battlefield is packed. All the space is usable and easily accessible with the double jump and wall run functions but you cannot camp out as accessibility to every spot is incredibly easy. The fast paced nature and goals of each game also force you to keep moving and stop people from hiding in a corner under the stairs and delve right into the thick of it. All of it's mechanics are flawless and it flows brilliantly. All of the additions can switch the tide of a game for better or worst in a matter of seconds and it truly gets the blood pumping with no "WTF, How the fuck did he get me" when you no damn well how they got you. I couldn't get angry or rage quit like Call of Duty can do from time to time. Titanfall puts you in a zone and just doesn't let go!

As it stands, the game has the potential to be the biggest thing coming out this year. Smashing the CoD franchise into dust with it's new take on first person shooters and multiplayer team play. Jumping from this to CoD is probably the worst decision I have made and simply cannot wait for it's release!

Top 5 Games of the Year - 2013

Looking back over the year of games, I have noticed that very little actually caught my attention. Apart from the generic continuation of the basic and repetitive instalments of CoD and Battlefield, that leave little to be desired apart from a new 6 hour campaign and new maps for the online play. I would have written have like to have done an unboxing video on the youtube channel (Black Ribbon Gaming Youtube Channel) of the new generation of consoles but seeing that I could just about afford the Xbox One and only just received it, I felt it a little pointless to do one so late on. I would also like to stress that I only have an Xbox 360. PS3 games, unfortunately, cannot make it into my top games as of yet.

In no particular order:

1 - The Walking Dead - Telltale Series.
Yes I know that it came out last year but the full hard copy came out earlier this year with every episode and also the 400 Days dropped too. Plus the new one comes out in a few days and I'm wetting myself with excitement. Possibly one of the most innovative games in many, many years.
A cinematic story that forces you to make moral decisions that affect you later on (Don't worry, forums and Wikia will help you to get the perfect ending that will help you in the next series!). With a creative art style and brilliant script writing, this game will stand as one of the best for many years too come. The Walking Dead - Review

2 - Bioshock Infinite
Originally destined for release in 2012, Bioshock was pushed back into the earlier part of this year. Saddened by the wait, hopes were high for an even stronger game. In true fashion, it was out of this world. A change in scenery was worrying to think about but the overall outcome gave you a new story that can go so many different ways. Take the DLC for example. You get to return to Rapture and it's just awesome to see the world again but with people actually living there, not some crack heads and adorable Big Daddies... A tense and exciting game. Ken Levine has done it again and should just be aloud creative freedom to do what he pleases! Bioshock Infinite - Review

3 - Tomb Raider
An unexpected favourite of mine. Earlier this year, Josh wrote a review praising it for being amazing. I held back for a while. I didn't want to spend too much money on something that I may not enjoy. Eventually I caved in and bought the special edition box set version with some really cool additions in it for only £20. Bargain! I kid you not, the game was awesome. A mix of fantasy carved into a survival story doesn't always work but Square Enix knocked it out of the park. A vast landscape with lots of free-reign to do as you please but enough guidance to keep you on track without being too intrusive. Combat is simple and realistic and the visuals are astonishing. Nothing short of incredible and too think they have just released a special edition with upped graphics for the next gen consoles. Square Enix have a prize winner by keeping their trademark cinematic footage but moved away from sponging from the Final Fantasy series. Tomb Raider - Review

4 - Assassins Creed 4 - Black Flag
Yeah. Do I really need to explain this? Pirates, Assassins, Sailing, killing shit and all that fun stuff that we've come to expect from the AC franchise. I'd have to question you if you did not enjoy this. The story is far superior to AC3, the visuals are fantastic, sailing is no longer a gimmick and you're a motherfucking pirate assassin! The game drops the mini games and really focuses on experiencing the incredibly vast world. It's sandbox but MASSIVE. A very similar combat system with little change makes it easy to jump back in and frolic around the deck of your ship, pestering the local wildlife or stabbing anything in a red coat... Assassins Creed 4 - Review

5 - Grand Theft Auto 5 (Not the multiplayer)
One of histories most successful games, this list simply could not ignore it. Seeing that GTA4 bored me, I wasn't expecting to have so much fun. Yeah, it lacks top of the range visuals and is extremely glitchy but the huge story and the mad antics are entertaining. It's a game you can pick up and enjoy without having the use your head. However, I don't enjoy the multiplayer much. It's a cluster of people paranoid that they're going to get wiped and will shoot without a thought. Simple, crazy and unruly.  Great with a few friends, some beer and some terrible food.

If you have enjoyed what you have read, please subscribe to the blog! There is so much you can also do, like Facebook, my Twitter and my Instagram for early previews of what I will be writing about each week. Or pictures of my dogs...Stuff.

Eurogamer 2013!

A few weeks ago, we travelled 200 miles to London for the UK's biggest gaming convention. Down below is a video I mixed together of our trip and what we got up too!

The video is on the brand new Youtube channel which will be inundated with a ton of stuff once I finally manage everything else going on.

Be sure to like, subscribe and SHARE! :D

NEW Grand Theft Auto 5 Trailer

In the last few hours the new Grand Theft Auto trailer was dropped. The long awaited return of the GTA universe has been an extensive one for many fans. Personally, I didn't even finish GTA4 as it bored me a little, but since Rockstar released Red Dead Redemption which is one of my favourite games. A compelling story and a creative style will be mimicked into this episode of GTA and will bring the game to a whole new level. Released on September 17th, I shall be getting it and will be hitting it hard for a few days. I'm going to leave a question to you guys, Are you guys looking forward to this and would you like gameplay videos?

ENJOY!

Call of Duty - Vengeance DLC 3 - Review

Today, we had the long awaited release of the new Call of Duty DLC pack, including 4 new maps and an addition to the world of the zombies. So below, we have COD's description of each of these maps and I shall add my opinions after.

Cove
"The stage is set for all-out conflict on this small, forgotten island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, where players battle it out amongst the wreckage of a jet that crash-landed during a smuggling operation gone wrong."
Cove appears to be a small map, everything leads to the same spot. No dead ends, no sniper sight lines and plenty of shrubs to catch out the unsuspecting. With a circular shape, it fits a high-speed SMG or a mid-range assault Rifle. You will have little time to react, and the likelihood of surviving continually would be very unlikely.


Detour
"Players fight amongst the scattered vehicles, exposed iron and collapsed pavement of a destroyed suspension bridge, high above this East Coast waterway where the action can play out on multiple levels."
This bridge in NYC is a 2 platform small map. Another small map which you will need an SMG or assault rifle. You have to be wary on the top level about holes in the road. These holes can lead too the lower or off the map, so keep visual.






Rush
"Fast, close-quarter engagements are assured in this paintball course turned full- combat arena, giving players new opportunities and challenges to use the cover to their advantage." 
Probably my favourite map. It's a bit bigger and is reminiscent of the skate park. It would have been nice to see a little more thought going into the map. The inflatable barriers should have punctured when you shoot them, or the whole thing could have been a paintball match. You have some sight lines for snipers, but I imagine seeing more "quick-scoping" than the real use of such a weapon.



Uplink

"In this re-imagined adaptation of the fan-favorite Call of Duty®: Black Ops multiplayer map Summit, players clash deep in the rain-soaked jungles of Myanmar, high atop a hi-tech mountain facility." 
Essentially, a map re painted with the removal of a few ladders to stop a notorious camping spot. Re-imagined maps should be given for free rather than running out of ideas and copying & pasting an old map. Plenty of sight lines for snipers and still corners and rooms for people to hide in. The collection of rooms were always notorious for camping and will be trouble for online play. Keep moving, SMG's will be good in the tight rooms but an assault rifle will be best for survival tactics.


Buried - Zombie Cowboys!
"Players will be challenged to face their deepest fears, trapped inside a long-forgotten subterranean Old West mining town infested with swarms of the undead."
Processing is the main map for the zombies maps. It is chaotic and disorganised, rooms lead to dead ends and can cause huge trouble when you are running about on your own. A few new additions have been added, one being the upgrade of the Ray Gun and a few more guns mixed in with some environmental additions which add some new and interesting aspects to the game.

E3 - My favourite trailers!

Now, by the time this gets out, the whole event will most likely be over. Instead of looking at the consoles and how far Microsoft have screwed their fans, we shall be looking directly at a few games that I've been excited about over the past months that have been exhibited during the last week!

First out of the gate is Watch Dogs. Created by Ubisoft, this science fiction thriller looks to be an exciting and creative dimension on sandbox gaming. A big brother world, dominated by high grade electronics and security systems is cracked by a vigilante mastermind who fights crime much like Batman but with little remorse when it comes to his gun.

Secondly, we have the 3rd edition in the Dragon Age series "Inquisition". Forgetting the truly horrendous acts of the 2nd game, I'm excited about playing this. Clocking up almost 100 hours of game play from Origins, I hope that this instalment can equal the classic in both story and content. It does seem that Bioware pull it back in the 3rd game and lose it in the 2nd. For instance, Mass Effect 2; which was quite a change from the first but the third worked out to be one of the best games I played. Keep it up Bioware!

Now we have another new game on the scene. Ryse: Son of Rome. I know little about what this game is about but by look at the trailer, it involves swords, battles, Romans and lots of blood. All things I enjoy in a good game. So, here you go!

Fourth and finally we have Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag. Following from the triumphs of the navel missions in AC3, the creation of the game gives new light on the overall tale of the assassins order. I've posted about this multiple times already and I'm a huge fan boy of this so I shall just pop the trailer here for you guys before I ramble much further!

Thanks for reading guys! I would have put the new Battlefield and Call of Duty but they seem to be getting enough attention at the moment. These are just a few of the games that I'm looking forward too, so be sure to comment about yours!

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 - Uprising DLC! REVIEW

As you can tell, this is about the new DLC for Call of Duty!
Within this DLC pack we have 4 new maps, a new zombie mode with some new guns to blow stuff up!

To avoid me tearing my hair out when playing online, I created a private match and just went through to critic the maps on my likes and dislikes.

First map on this list is.....ENCORE
The map is alright, it's supposed to represent an actual concert but seems way to small for such an event... The map doesn't really stick out and grip you to your seat but I can bet it will get your blood pumping when you have a round of free for all with your friends alongside some sub machine guns. But first, make sure your friends aren't campers, otherwise you're gonna have a bad time! The description for the map talks about sight lines, yet they are incredibly small and really ruin the whole sniper aspect of the weapons system. However, COD players tend to enjoy quick-scoping rather than the simple and realistic methods...

The next map is MAGMA
Right, so we are now in Asia, a big volcano has gone off and there is lava everywhere. There are no invisible walls to stop you from exiting the map, just hot magma that kills you instantly when you step on the cooling sections...Further around the map I start to watch the lava roll down the hill and I know it's hard to make it look like the lava is flowing but it just doesn't look right in the parts that require detailing to get right. Some of the fire effects are poor and a lot of stuff is simply copied and pasted from other maps. This map is nothing spectacular but the lava is a nice touch to keep you on your toes but more campy spots found!

Now VERTIGO
Vertigo is eerily reminiscent of Highrise for MW2. With medium length stretches and small rooms, combat is well varied, however a lack of sniper high points make the map look fairly level or flat. The map was dragged straight from the game making you wonder why it wasn't part of the online on release day, but we know that game companies, most notably the cod franchise; like to get their hands on more money. It also seems that they run out of map ideas and just threw this one in there as they already had it all set up.

Finally STUDIO
This map is my personal favourite from the maps. The original map (Range) was also good fun in the original Black Ops but why they couldn't have made these free when they are from previous games, it really makes me wonder. On spawning into the map, I noticed barrels, explosive barrels which can quite easily spawn kill you if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time!
The T-rex and other mechanical robot things move and make robotic motion noises, but lack a roar or a screech (in the case of the Alien thing) when you walk past it, which could be created with a simple trip switch. The varied sections liven each area up and make it obviously identifiable when calling for help in certain areas. "HELP ME!, I'M STUCK IN THE ALIEN WORLD" will certainly make life easier when you are a tad stuck. Once again though, COD didn't have the decency to make a new map, just take the remains of a map which became campers map shortly after it's original release.

MOB OF THE DEAD!!!

Upon opening the zombie world you are given 2 areas to select from, Cell Block [Grief] or Sunset Strip [mob of the dead]. Mob of the dead is the first zombies map to actually let you escape from the island, but you need a lot of skill, patience and team work. But as always, my partner and I were dropped in with some retards that would ditch you at the smallest sign of trouble, making this game very difficult with anything less than 4 players. Once you select the Mob of the dead you become a ghost and you go to revive yourself to start the game off. It's a cool little feature but you cannot choose which character you want to be. The ghost aspect of the game opens tunnels that give you extras, power and parts for the escape plan, but in the heat of battle you can revive yourself in certain circumstances while teleporting zombies away.  I only played one game, so I'm yet to experience new weapons and the true extent of the game but a lot of detail was put into this with little

pep talks to yourself if you are truly close to death, which is actually quite deep and meaningful. Plus it's one of my favourite eras, so the accents and the gangster mannerisms of the characters are pretty damn funky.

Overall, the DLC is good, maps are lacking and are simply to grab a bit more money out of everyone's already tight pockets. If you want them, I recommend getting the season pass. It is cheaper in the long run and you get a couple of extras along the way.
Maps - 6/10
Mob of the dead - 8/10  (May change once I get a really solid go at it!)

Time to try and sleep. Here come the zombie nightmares! xD

Far Cry 3 Quicky Review! -SPOILERS-

I finally managed to play it! I've had this for at least a month with the intention of giving it a go, it was a good thing I got it free!

After the previous Far Cry, I didn't really care for the series and we can still see many of those

annoyances coming through in this follow-up. I played 10 minutes of Far Cry 2 and then dumped it as it was so annoying, so I came into this one with little expectations apart from the raves reviews that came out around the time of its release.

Altogether, I did enjoy playing the game. There were flaws that would appear, simply to piss me off but some I managed to ignore. The sandbox world of Rook Island is amazing, the quality of the landscaping is brilliant and is one hell of a sight when you are using the gliders to travel. The thick jungles hide vicious creatures that want to use you as a new toy, which is bloody scary when you don't know where they are coming from! However the land can be annoying, when you cannot climb a slope over a certain degree or drive your 4x4 up it you wonder why you bother trying. Alongside this one of the missions detailed for you to jump from a bridge and use your wing suit to fly away, I happened to miss the chance to pull the chute, hitting the water and escaped off the map completely so my character drowned as he couldn't get back into the map world.

Story wise, the game is really simple. You go out with all of your rich friends and brothers to then get stuck on Rook Island after you went off course while skydiving. Rook Island is inhabited by mercenaries, pirates and general innocents. You end up causing a lot of shit towards the mercs and pirates while you rescue your friends. The campaign is approximately 12 hours long and can get really far fetched. With the introduction of magic items about half way in, it seemed stupid when the game was positioned in a fashion that's more like a survival game and doesn't reflect the true gritty

Part of the badass tattoo!

style. Alongside the whole magic tattoo stuff which was really odd but is part of some cultures and does look pretty badass. The characters are really frustrating, your older brother who dies at the start was probably the most bearable seeing he was only about for 5 minutes. The rest of them are just douche bags, especially the stoner. Character development is little, if any. Jason (you) is also very boring. You see none of the stress he would go through, but you see him go from innocent teen to a mass murderer with a machete and an SMG with an ability to sponge bullets and damage from everything apart from a 10ft drop! His change was to drastic and never really made you engage with him.

Weapons in the game are fairly varied and the use of the bow is great fun. The bow and a scene at some rice fields really showcase the ability of it but also blow you back to the most recent instalment of Rambo! With the huge size of the map, you will have enemies all around you and you constantly need to maintain a supply of weapons and ammo which is fairly cheap and easy to come across. Once the campaign is done, you have the whole world to play in. Liberating the island is a big task but good fun when you go in like a ninja cutting the alarm and single handedly popping all the enemies off from a mile off with a nice sniper round to the cranium. Then you have the ones just just play up and enemies find you from an impossible angle which would get on my tits.

Finally the bosses. Vass and Hoyt. Using Vass on the front cover was a mistake, he appears a few times until you get to kill him, all being for a few minutes and then disappears. Bigged up as a huge psycho nut job, you would expect to see him more often and truly see this, but you don't. You get little samples and then it's over. Hoyt was much the same as Vass but you could see what he was planning for you from the moment you first met (as long as you actually looked around his place properly). His plans were so evident that they could have cut to the chase instead of making Jason look like an idiot. Finally we have the boss fights which just suck. You suddenly hallucinate, kill everyone in the room and are put through quick time events to kill Vass and Hoyt. It lacked any substance to really grip you and stress you out.

Overall the game was alright, I haven't covered everything as I'm still hungover but I believe this game deserves a 7/10. If only they could sort a few little bits out and I would be happy, such as the AI's and driving.

Bioshock Infinite REVIEW! -POSSIBLE SPOILERS-

Here it is guys!, the long awaited sequel in the Bioshock series. As I have already stated, I have had this game on pre-order for exactly a year on it's release day and it was so worth the wait!

We enter the game on a small rowing boat with two cloaked people chatting away while a storm rages on around you. One of them hands you a small box with a pistol inside on the approach to a lighthouse, it's easy to see the similarities to the previous games within the first few minutes.

Once we arrive at Columbia, we are greeted with some stunning set pieces, reminiscent of Rapture and in perfect Bioshock style. The game is a visual masterpiece that truly takes your breath away on your first site of the floating city. The 1912 era of graphic design and advertising was a time of vibrant colours and simple typography which is reflected brilliant in and out of the game. If you follow me on Instagram, you will probably see the cover mixed in with the collection of photos of my dogs. If you were vigilant enough, you would notice that you can swap the cover around to reveal a stunning new piece which depicts the Songbird (Big Daddy of Columbia) towering over the floating city. As you can already guess, I liked the visuals and the character design was exactly the same with the fresh face of Elizabeth to the rock hard faces of the police that you will inevitably burn to a crunchy crisp. From visuals to sounds, you notice the crackles of the vinyl over the phonograph and the buzz of the classic microphones of the time. The flick of a coin is so simple yet so satisfying to hear. The selection of music is much like the previous with some Creedence thrown into the mix. The tension builders moved from "How much is that doggie in the window?" too new pieces created for the game.

Compared to previous entries, Infinite has an increased focus on character development that really grips you and allows you to develop a connection to both Booker and Elizabeth. Booker is a man with a past full of darkness and incredible fighting capabilities that gives him the typical badass protector persona throughout the game. Juxtaposed against Elizabeth, who spent her life locked away reading and has become quite unaware of life outside of her walls, therefore becoming quite innocent. The story starts off quite gradual and simple yet a couple hours in, the twists start to kick in in true fashion with an ending that catches everyone out and leaves you reconnecting your jaw back to your skull... Elizabeth's powers become vividly apparent but can also really help in combat scenes. Unlike most female accomplices in games, I actually like Elizabeth. She doesn't get in the way, she doesn't get attacked (All combat comes your way) and doesn't bitch on...Looking at you Resident Evil 4.

Combat is fluid and with Elizabeth's abilities, it helps to ease the onslaught of enemies when you are dry on ammo. She even finds money, health and salts for you throughout to aid in combat. A few little glitches allowed me to take out some of the baddies far easier. One being a collection of them getting stuck in a door only to be blown into pieces with my flaming shotgun. Weapons range from the original to the wacky, much like the characters you go into battle with. Fighting a robotic version of Washington with a Gatling gun is a terrifying experience and can come as a shock when they appear in groups. It is a shame that certain enemies didn't appear much throughout the game, only appearing once of twice, but this may change in the upcoming DLC.

With a game length of approximately 12 hours, it can be easy to smash out a day but it's a game that draws you back into the story to see if you can better yourself or if those decisions you made will effect the outcome of the game. HINT - It does in 1999 mode (Unlocked once you complete it on normal). It may be my Xbox but there was some laggy moments which slowed down the game for me but didn't affect combat. Surprisingly they have also removed the multi player mode which I actually quite enjoyed in Bioshock 2 and could have had potential.

Overall I loved the game, I'm a hardcore fan and would love a sequal (if possible of course). With its astonishing visuals, sounds, fluid combat and story, I give this game 10/10!
Now I can go to bed!

Gears of War Judgment REVIEW -SPOILERS-

Well hello everyone!, Sorry I haven't been able to do much apart from the odd trailer. Essays ain't fun!

Anyway, as you can already see, this review is about Gears of War Judgement (4).  On hearing about a sequel to Gears of War 3, I couldn't understand what they would be able to do when the Locust swarms were defeated and human society began rebuilding. However, we start a few weeks after the great war that the COG's fought in the Pendulum War's against other nations and in the aftermath of Emergence Day. Here we follow a younger Lieutenant, Damon Baird and his team 'Kilo Squad'. To set the scene, Kilo squad are dragged into a large complex while being labelled as war criminals, each character the reports to the leader of the Onyx core (Elite soldiers) in a tribunal hearing while Locusts fight the defences outside. As each character explains what happened, we play through their experience leading up to the 'crime' that they committed.

An interesting introduction and plot that managed to keep me involved. Yet that isn't hard when the main campaign took me approximately 6-7 hours of playing - Yes, I'm tired after playing till 2am but it just didn't feel long enough. For a game that costs up to £40 with an even higher RRP, you would expect to get a lot for your money. They even dropped in an extra campaign which is called Aftermath, this only took 1-2 hours. In this we follow Baird and Cole in Gears of war 3 as they go find a ship and some reinforcement for the final assault. This should have been a DLC pack or part of the story for the game it is involved in. It leaves me to think that this game was simply an opportunity of get some extra cash out of fans like myself.

Very little has changed in the world of COG's. Visuals are astonishing, with vast landscapes that need to be on a nice big 1080p screen! With new games, I will always look at their fire effects. This is my indication on whether a game is well made and well funded or vis versa. Gears had this effect which is brilliantly demonstrated with the first few minutes of game play, with a tree engulfed in flames filling the sky with a black fog. All the standard controls are back, no change there. They are still a little fiddly to start and can be a slight annoyance when you want to turn around sharply to smack a dude upside the head with your Lancer-chainsaw combo. Cover based shooting is always good but annoying when you try to switch between cover. I have also never understood how they are still alive when they hulk over any of the cover, but you know, it's only a game.

I've yet to test the online game play for this but seeing I have some time before the release of Bioshock, I should be able to give it a little poke. I know the standard games are back with all new maps. From my previous experience, online games can be really fun and do require a lot of team work between players to win matches like Horde, where you are bum-rushed by tons of the slimy gits.

Overall, the game is great fun. I'm a big fan of Gears and a big fan of excessive violence in games. As much as this is an unnecessary follow up to a game which ended quite clearly, the story was gripping and helped to describe a deeper look into Baird's background before he meet Dom even when it appears to be a way to get some extra cash, but we all know big corporations wouldn't go doing that now...Wink wink, nudge nudge...

 For this game, I will give it 7.5/10
(Because I can!, that's why!)

NEW Bioshock Infinite Trailer!!!!

Here we go guys, one of the top games for this year...which should have been last year!, but lets hope that the delays for fixes and new ideas all work out!

Here we work our way out of the sunken city of rapture and move well up into the sky to fling between lines, blow some heads open, scream with terror, giggle at the extreme violence and absorb every drop of the story that we have got used to from the previous games. On it's release day, I would have had this bad boy on pre-order for a year!, to the day!

I can tell you now, I will be smashing this game so god damn hard on release day. I just hope my day at work flies by rapidly so I can become the gaming hermit I was born to be.

Lets hope it lives up to it's hype!

Expect a review a few days after I have completed it. I will not be writing a first thoughts piece, mainly as I will be glued to my TV screen!