Last-Video-Games

Personally, we reckon the N64 - home of wrestling games - is still not to be touched in the world of virtual grappling, but if early impressions of WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 are anything to go by, our 64-bit favourites could be in for a kick in the cheggars.

This year’s version boasts over 50 half-naked characters to chose from, and a raft of modes playable online. We like what we’ve seen so far - more soon. Read the rest of this post »

Late 1998 was a really bad time to release a good shooter. Consider Shogo, the hybrid anime FPS/stompy-mech game from the creators of Blood, FEAR and No One Lives Forever. It was a brave idea (always a bad omen), it looked different (risky) and it was brilliant (commercial suicide). It was also released at the same time as Half-Life, so the gaming public barely glanced up.

Picture Mechwarrior grafted onto FEAR, and rendered in a chunky anime style. You’re a soldier and pilot with a giant bipedal mech, the game split 70-30 between on-foot and in-mech sections. Both use the same engine and models, so as a mech you can trample on the tiny men who would kill you in seconds on foot. The fact that the two scales could be mixed sometimes bit back: in one of your many encounters with your sub-nemesis Samantha Sternberg (the only character with no ‘k’ in her name - true fact), she’s in her mecha and you’re on foot. Ulp.
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The graphical prowess of the PS3 is really starting to show at this year’s E3, and Naughty Dog’s adventure stunner Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is right near the top of the pile.

Previously known simply as Big, Uncharted follows lead character Ethan Drake on a mission to prove he’s a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, and find his El Dorado treasure.

According to Sony it’ll be in the shops this November. Read our recent hands-on impressions right here. Read the rest of this post »

More screenshots?! You can’t moan when they’re showing off Irrational’s gorgeous Bioshock though, unless you’re some kind of crazed horror FPS-hating mentalist, that is…

In related news 2K has just delivered a seven foot tall Big Daddy into our coffee area, which almost put us off buying our Americano this morning. Have a look at the pic on the right; if you can get it out our front door you can have it.

The August release date is fast approaching, and if you haven’t already you can check out our recent hands-on time with the PC version, as well as our little chat with senior designer Joe McDonagh. Read the rest of this post »

Red-haired Nariko is a feisty one. She’s got swords and she doesn’t hesitate to go berserk and wreck a few blokes… just for fun.

Or maybe the storyline has something to do with revenge, an invading king with an army of millions and some ancient sword that cannot be used by mere mortals.

Either way, Heavenly Sword is good fun, and we say that BEFORE attempting to stand Nariko in a corner and swivel the camera to get a good view of her perked, polygonal ass.

You know you’ve all done it in Tomb Raider.

Source: www.computerandvideogames.com

Can you feel the Heat? (ho ho!) Eidos has made the obligatory E3 screenshot dump for its premier actioner Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

The Hitman boys’ latest presents us with a dark and gritty tale of two men bound together on death row, eventually leading to a Michael Mann-style run of discovery, co-op shooting and lots of big sky scrapers.

You can read all about it right here.

Source: www.computerandvideogames.com

Late 1998 was a really bad time to release a good shooter. Consider Shogo, the hybrid anime FPS/stompy-mech game from the creators of Blood, FEAR and No One Lives Forever. It was a brave idea (always a bad omen), it looked different (risky) and it was brilliant (commercial suicide). It was also released at the same time as Half-Life, so the gaming public barely glanced up.

Picture Mechwarrior grafted onto FEAR, and rendered in a chunky anime style. You’re a soldier and pilot with a giant bipedal mech, the game split 70-30 between on-foot and in-mech sections. Both use the same engine and models, so as a mech you can trample on the tiny men who would kill you in seconds on foot. The fact that the two scales could be mixed sometimes bit back: in one of your many encounters with your sub-nemesis Samantha Sternberg (the only character with no ‘k’ in her name - true fact), she’s in her mecha and you’re on foot. Ulp.
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Another slow week but at least you can console yourself through the summer months by going back to all those games you somehow never quite finished. E3 is also providing a great deal of news and the fact your 360 now has a three year warranty surely means you can thrash it for all its worth safe in the knowledge that it’ll get repaired for free.

In terms of releases Transformers: The Game is supposed to be the big summer blockbuster but actually feels more like a funeral in a scrapyard. The Darkness eventually creeps out onto PS3 and Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword on PC is by far the game with the greatest depth this week. Wii fans who like doing IQ tests will delight in the release of Big Brain Academy but the rest of us might just skip this and wait for better fruits to arrive.
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A collaborative effort with the goal of providing increased game development opportunities for students has resulted in the creation of the Game Republic Academy. The University of Bradford has announced that it has teamed up with the University of Hull and Sheffield Hallam University in order to create this ‘game academy’. The local developers supporting the project include Rockstar, Team 17 and Sumo Digital.

The Game Republic Academy will aid students interested in game development by providing financial sponsorship and summer employment at major game developers. In addition, the creation of the academy has allowed for the creation of new university programs, such as the University of Bradford’s AI for Games Masters degree.

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EA CEO John Riccitiello has voiced concerns that certain games companies are currently “boring people to death”, and says they need to push aggressively to broaden the appeal of videogames to drive the industry forward.

Reported by the Wall Street Journal, Riccitiello, appointed CEO in April, said he’s worried that companies including EA are churning out too many games that lack innovation and sequels that offer little more than predecessors.

“For the most part, the industry has been rinse-and-repeat” Riccitiello said. He reckons there just aren’t enough games that are breaking new ground.

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