Blog Archives

Roll7 announces OlliOlli2: Welcome To Olliwood at EGX in London

25/9/2014

Following the international success of their debut console title OlliOlli on PlayStation and PC, London based developer Roll7 have announced they are working on a sequel to the twitch score-attack hit - OlliOll2 : Welcome to Olliwood.

The iconic ‘skater’ is going all green-screen and getting radical at Olliwood Studios, plucking the player from the street and dropping him squarely in the middle of the Big Screen’s most bodacious cinematic locations.

Gameplay will be enhanced with the addition of Ramps, Jumps and Epic Hills allowing for monster air and split level routes. The much praised OlliOlli combo system is set to be even deeper, through the joy of Manuals, Reverts, Revert Manuals and Grind Switching.

The team are even updating the hallowed ‘Tricktionary’ with new specials including 540 Shuvits, Anti-Casper Flips and Darkslides to name but a few.

To accommodate the sheer volume of action, the ‘skater dude’ and his pixelated world are being given a new art makeover, with clean lines, new backgrounds and over 9000 extra frames of hand drawn, detailed trick animations.

OlliOlli2 producer, Tom Hegarty is hyped about progress; ‘OlliOlli2 will be the embodiment of skateboarding flow and flair, with a whole new world of opportunities for the skater to bust out a crazy set of tricks and moves…’

There will be five new worlds, fifty new Amateur and Pro Levels and two hundred and fifty new Challenges to tear through, along with the return of the much loved Daily Grind, Spots Mode and RAD Mode.

On top of this OlliOlli2 is set to have a NEW Mode: Combo Rush. This mode is a split-screen Local Multiplayer (up to 4 players) that pits players in a race to ramp up biggest scores on a spot in a set time limit.

Also planned is an 18 track curated extended soundtrack to listen to while grinding, popping and flailing.

Call of Duty®: Advanced WarfarePower Changes Everything Trailer

24/9/2014

Power changes everything in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, from the Private Military Corporation-driven storyline in the single-player Campaign to the innovative exoskeleton movements in Multiplayer. Take a look at what makes Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare the total gaming package, including the world premiere of the four-player co-op mode: Exo Survival.

Pre-order the Day Zero Edition now and get up to 24 hours early access!

·         http://www.callofduty.com/advancedwarfare/buy

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Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell (Standalone Expansion) - Walkthrough

24/9/2014

Why this piqued our interest

Saints Row is by far one of my (Paul's) favourite franchises and I always want more Saints. Now though it looks like I will get the chance to play as Gat and that has me stoked.
The trailer below has some more info including new abilities and weapons.

Konami Confirmed Exhibitor for Play Expo

23/9/2014

Konami, the company behind gaming titles such as Pro Evolution Soccer, Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania and Silent Hill, have confirmed their attendance at this year’s Play Expo.

Konami will be giving fans the opportunity to play Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 which has already received high praise from the press and public alike. The game recently won the title of ‘Best Sports Game’ at Gamescom 2014.

Attendees are invited to play and experience the game for themselves which will be available in the now.play zone. The Konami staff will be at hand to answer any questions about the game as well as to provide details of the new PES League season where entrants will have the chance to win exciting prizes simply by just playing. Head down to the now.play zone to find out what is up for grabs.

Fans are also invited to participate in structured playoffs between each other which will take place in the pro.play tournament area. Not only will fans have the opportunity to win official Konami and PES brand merchandise, they also have the chance to win a ‘money can’t buy’ UCL Dream Ticket which guarantees the winner as seat at the 32-man PES UCL Final.

That’s not all as Konami will also be unveiling the first ever PES League University Championship, open exclusively to UK university students nationwide. There is also a unique opportunity for university students to become PES League Ambassadors, where they will be able to organise PES League tournaments on campus, updating results directly on the official PES League website, giving their fellow students the chance to become PES League University Champions and to win amazing Konami prizes.

There will also be a number of other playable Konami titles on next-gen consoles – details to be confirmed shortly.

For more info on Konami at Ply Expo read here

Smash Bros 3DS: First Impressions

19/9/2014

By Chris Murray

Oh Man. Give me more Smash Bros already! Yes, this week I finally got a chance to play one of my most anticipated titles for the 3DS Smash Bros. Unfortunately for me, the full game is still a few weeks away from being released in the UK. So I’ll have to make do with the demo until then. Although the demo is not actually available until the 19th of September, Club Nintendo members received multiple redeem codes for a somewhat special versions the demo that they can share with friends.

Fortunately for me, I received one of these codes from Fellow BC writer Matt. Thanks buddy!
Incase you’re wondering, this “somewhat special” version of the demo allows limitless plays. Whereas the one available to the public on the 19th is limited to thirty plays.

So don't worry. No extra characters to choose from or other stages. The Smash Bros demo allows players to choose from five characters from the roster Smash Bros has to offer. Nintendo’s star player and regular to the series, Mario. Link from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Pokemon favourite, Pikachu the little yellow electric hamster and two newcomers. Villager from the Animal Crossing game’s and wait for it… Capcom’s Megaman! This is just a small handful of the whopping thirty one other characters there are in the full game. That’s not even including the unlock-able ones. There is only one stage to choose from in this demo. But again this is from a large list of twenty six others the final game has to offer. Talk about value for money!

Gameplay for the most part is fairly simple and hasn't changed much from the previous instalments. I’ve not played these in a very long time however so I could be wrong. A and B buttons are the main form of attacks. But use these with the stick pushing them in different directions and you will open up various other attacks you can use to knock your opponents out of the map etc. Good old Smash Bros…. I think.

Each character has whats called a “Final Smash”. Meaning, smash the floating orb that will appear randomly throughout the battles, and receive a super powerful and stylish attack in return that knocks the opponents off the map with ease. Megaman’s Final Smash in particular is pretty great! Shooting a large orb from his Buster Cannon that absorbs opponents into it if they get to close. After this, Megaman then summons multiple versions of himself, all of which then shoot a very large blast from each of their cannons. If you get caught in this then its game over. Well, until you respawn at least.

Frame rate is superb also despite all the chaos happening onscreen. I’ve not seen any technical hitches, so thats a good thing. Its a very pretty game for that matter too. You would think it would be hard to keep track of your chosen character with so much happening. The 3DS version however has a slightly stylised look to it, adding a thick outline over each character.

All in all Smash Bros seems like it will be a solid addition to the 3DS, and when its eventually released a solid addition to the Wii U for that matter. I genuinely cant wait to play more of it

Smash Bros 3DS is released on the Third of October. Not long now! Unfortunately other than “Winter 2014”, there is no official release date for the Wii U version just yet. I’m sure it will be soon though. I hope! All I know is that I definitely want to play it. Just need a Wii U first…

F1 2014 Singapore Hot Lap with Romain Grosjean

19/9/2014

Why this has piqued our interest

With the real season hotting up as it approaches the business end, we go to the cramp hot bed of action that is the Singapore Gran Prix.

The flood lit Marina Bay circuit is a challenge for real and virtual driver alike. From the look of this video the track seems perfect for a testing time for all those virtual drivers brave enough to test their metal in F1 2014.

We can’t wait for this weekend’s race at Singapore and to witness another chapter in what has been an incredible and incident packed championship.

It’s certainly been a vintage year for F1 so far. So to get you in the mood for this weekend’s night race, we’ve got a new F1 2014 hot lap featuring Lotus F1 Teams' Romain Grosjean and, of course, it’s set at the Marina Bay circuit, home of the Singapore Grand Prix.

World of Tanks puts the pedal to metal with a new Race Mode

18/9/2014

Tank Rally mode with custom map and free tank to enter the game on September 29

Why this has piqued our interest

The Video should explain all but The World of Tanks mechanics complete with true Vehicular warfare just looks like tonnes (sorry for the pun) of fun.

Wargaming today announced the addition of Tank Rally mode to its free-to-play online action game World of Tanks. The new mode, which pits players against each other on a racing track full of destruction and explosive action, will be available for a limited time in-game from September 29th through October 12th.

Tank Rally mode pits teams of 3 against each other on a completely revamped version of the Port game map where players must not only race to the finish line and capture a solitary control point, but also try their best to destroy the competition on the way. The track, filled with ramps, explosives and other interactive objects, will provide ample opportunity to tip the odds of victory with every shot fired. The only tank available in the new mode will be the custom built M24 Chaffee Sport tank that will be given to all registered players for free.

Tank Rally mode will also come complete with a special in-game medal, “Racer 2014,” awarded for being on a winning team, as well as a set of combat missions enabling tankers to earn experience points and credits.

For more information about World of Tanks and to download the award-winning, free-to-play action MMO, visit:

·        http://worldoftanks.eu (Europe)
·        http://worldoftanks.com (North America)
·        http://worldoftanks.asia (Asia)
·        http://worldoftanks.kr (Republic of Korea)

World of Warships: Class-by-Class Developer Video

17/9/2014

Why this has piqued our interest.

With World of Warships coming ever closer the developers have dived further into the in-game ships strengths and weaknesses. The video gives you an idea of the Rock, Paper, Scissor approach to the gameplay, helping to give each battle a sense of balance.

From Battleships to Destroyers to cruisers you will get an idea of each class and how best to utlilise them.

In the second episode of "World of Warships: Developer Diaries". What are the roles of cruisers, destroyers and battleships? How do the different warship types interact with each other? Let’s find out!

Dying Light Coming Sooner Than Expected

11/9/2014

Techland is really excited to announce that Dying Light, its highly-anticipated action survival game, will hit the stores in 2015 on January 27th in the Americas, January 28th in Australia and New Zealand, and January 30th in Europe and Asia.

Dying Light can be pre-ordered from the game's official website. These pre-orders come with a free DLC mode called Be the Zombie. In this competitive asymmetric multiplayer mode, you invade other players’ games as the Night Hunter – an ultimate zombie with a unique set of deadly skills. By playing as the Night Hunter, you turn into a fast, agile and dangerous predator, whose objective is to hunt down human survivors.

GOG.com Celebrates 6th Birthday With a Huge, Week-Long Sale

8/9/2014

Hot on the heels of the inclusion of movies into its catalog, the DRM-free digital distributor launches a week-long celebration of its games. Titles from each of the past six years of GOG.com's operation are up to 80% off!

8 September 2014 – GOG.com, the DRM-free home to all that is good in gaming, kicks off its sixth birthday celebration in style with day one of its week-long Birthday Sale. To honor the games that have left an imprint on gaming's history, each day GOG.com will put a selection of gems on sale, changing the lineup completely every 24 hours. We'll kick things off with games from GOG.com's Year One (released on GOG.com between September 2008-August 2009), including titles like Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Complete Edition (70% off, $2.99), Simon the Sorcerer (75% off, $1.49) and Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition (66% off, $1.99).

Gamers might want to be on the lookout for magnificent titles like Deus Ex GOTY Edition, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, Hotline Miami, Banished, and, obviously, The Witcher 1&2, which will be featured during the next days of the 6-years-spanning sale. The promo runs until Monday, September 16, at 9:59AM GMT.

With the recent addition of movies to its offering, a major website level-up with gamer-friendly features and an ongoing 6th-Birthday Promo, GOG.com is the place to be this fall for gamers everywhere.

ACTIVISION TEAMS WITH HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR TO CREATE LIVE-ACTION LAUNCH TRAILER FOR DESTINY, TITLED “BECOME LEGEND”

4/9/2014

Activision and 72andSunny have come together to create a blockbuster live-action launch trailer to build upon the excitement and momentum leading up to the global launch of Destiny.

The spot, “Become Legend,” is directed by Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion, TRON: Legacy) and features a Fireteam of Guardians on an epic, action-packed road trip across our Solar System to face our enemies, take back what is ours and in the end, Become Legend. The spot is set against “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin.

Destiny, created by the acclaimed developers at Bungie, hits store shelves worldwide on 9th September for PlayStation®4, PlayStation®3, Xbox One and Xbox 360.

F1 2014; Sochi Hot Lap with Daniil Kvyat in his Torro Rosso

4/9/2014

Why this has piqued our interest

Sochi is a new track both in reality and in the world of F1 2014. For many this will be the first time they see the track run in full and with the way Codemasters create these videos you are in for a visual treat.

The game is coming out on the 17th of October for the PC, PS3 AND Xbox360 and we will be under starers orders from the outset.

This year’s 2014 FORMULA 1 RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX will be the first time that
Russia has hosted a FORMULA ONE™ race. The fast and flowing 19 turn track
features a demanding final sector and includes 1.7km of public roads and the
GRAND PRIX™ is set to be run in front of 55,000 fans. The new hot lap video is
FORMULA 1 gamers’ first chance to see the full circuit in the game.

The Sochi Autodrom is one of four tracks which offer new gameplay
experiences in F1 2014, including Austria’s Spielberg circuit which features on
the FORMULA ONE calendar for the first time in a decade, the return of the
Hockenheimring to the calendar which last held a race in 2012 and the
BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX which was run as a night race for the first time in 2014.

First Look: Tales of Xillia 2

2/9/2014

I’m approaching Tales of Xillia 2 from a slightly odd place. Whilst I’m a massive fan of the JRPG genre and love anime, I’ve never played any of the “Tales of…” series let alone this games predecessor. This is both a blessing and a curse as, whilst it means I can review the game as its own product, it can also lead to a slightly baffling feeling to begin with. Thankfully the in-game encyclopaedia nicely brought me up to speed with the general setting and the world I was in, and a quick recap on Wikipedia.org (other plot spoiling websites are available) allowed me to catch up on the events of the previous game. Which is a good thing, as the new characters Ludger (The D is silent…) and Elle are joined by pretty much all of the characters from the previous game

The whole game oozes Japanese style, starting with a fantastically animated 2D J-pop intro to rival the best Anime series (though it has nothing on the Ichirin No Hana intro for Bleach…). It has all the character designs one expects from a JRPG (effeminite men and schoolgirls) but whilst they are perhaps clichéd in appearance, they do have interesting enough back stories for you to feel intrigued in their story. Additionally there has been the odd 2D animated cut scene but, to my disappointment, they aren’t as frequent as I would hope. There have been some occasions which would have greatly benefitted from this treatment to up the impact and spectacle.

The main reason I say this is because, unfortunately, I’ve had my eyes spoilt by the new generation of consoles. The graphics, outside of the battles and the lovingly traditional cutscenes, are very definitely seated in the last gen. With jaggies everywhere, It’s not as pretty as the world or plot deserves.

Gameplay wise, it has to be said that I haven’t been a fan of the real-timification of the JRPG genre. I’m very much a fan of the “two lines of people hitting each other with sticks/the power of the sun over any of the attempted “more dynamic” systems. (Final Fantasy 13 I’m looking at you! Oh you want to play with yourself, be my guest. Call me when there’s a cut scene…). The system in use here, however, is definitely one of the best iterations. It’s hard to describe in terms of similarities to other titles as it is a very unique style which has a definite RPG base, limited actions and stat-determined damage (with all applicable elemental types – even guns!) whilst allowing for a wide range of different button-combo-activated moves and attacks/defending.

All in all, it is a very good RPG game that provides a definite shot of JRPG to the arm, something I’ve been sorely missing for a long time, and I can’t wait to dive further into the game and its world. I’ll be in touch!

The Saints will be back in 2015 with a new title and a Re-elected SRIV

1/9/2014

Why this has piqued our interest.

PAX this last week was the venue for the return of the Saints as Deep Silver announced something new and something else kinda new as well. The kinda new is the remastered version of the hugely popular Saints Row IV (which we reviewed on its original launch here), the move to current gen hardware should see some stunning visuals as well as a host of other goodies including a huge array of content. This was one of the games of the year when it came out originally and we hope it will continue giving players the laughs that other games can not even get near.

The second announcement was of a stand alone title called Gat out of Hell and this looks like the sort of crazy over the game that the Saints are now synonymous with. The video below should give you some idea of what to expect along with the visuals but we will be bringing you further news as this is one game where we would do that.