Gorgeous Opening Movie for Latest PSP Monster Hunter

By Mark

Not much to say here other than look at this opening movie from the latest installment of Monster Hunter on the PSP, if only ingame could look like that.

Free Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood DLC coming soon

By Jonny

Thats right folks some free DLC is on it's for way for brotherhood and according to Ubisoft should be out on December 14th for both PSN and Xbox Live.

The new DLC entitled "Animus Project Update 1.0," will include a new map a game mode. The new map, "Mont Saint-Michel," is set on the island of Normandy, France and the new mode, "Advanced Alliance Mode," is basically an update to the game's already available "Alliance Mode" that makes it more challenging for experienced players.

This isn't exactly amazing stuff but who can grumble when its free, I'll certainly be giving it a download.

Hear Some Music From 'The Last Story'

By Mark

We posted not long ago that Nobuo Uematsu would be the official composer for the Wii JRPG title 'The Last Story', well now we can hear a sample of what he's creating for the game as Andriasang point out that on the games official website under the product page you can hear a track entitled "Chitsujo to Kontan to" which is roughly "With Order and Chaos."

Just head to this page and click the play button, we don't know the context of the piece of music but it's definitely not bad.

Free NFS: Hot Pursuit Cars - Trailer needs 1M Views

By Mark

If the launch trailer for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit reaches a million views the developers are going to release some free DLC.


"If we can get the Need for Speed Hot Pursuit launch trailer to 1 million views by December 12th, these three amazing rides will be our little holiday gift to all of you playing Hot Pursuit," it said. "The race is on!"

The cars that will be given away are the Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible, the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 650-4 Roadster and the Dodge Viper SRT10 Convertible Final Edition.

Whatcha Playing this Weekend?

By Mark

Ahhh the weekend, a time for relaxation and the enjoyment of games among other things. What are you guys playing at the moment? For me it'll be Vanquish and the original Deus Ex, a trip down memory lane.

Drop a line in the comments with what you're currently up to gaming wise :)

Evolution of Isaac - Dead Space 2

By Mark

An interesting little trailer has come out for Dead Space 2 featuring the Art Director for the game Ian Milham. He explains that Isaac is now a much more fully fledged 'character' in terms of how much he talks and how he now drives the game forward. Check out the video below.

Reach DLC Map 'Quick Looks' from Bungie

By Mark

Bungie have put out a few 'Quick Look' videos showing off the new maps in the DLC package which drops soon, they're also pretty funny too so I'd advise checking em out, here they are.

Here is Anchor 9



Now Tempest



And finally Breakpoint



Look out for the DLC on the 30th of this month!

Meet Two Characters from Valkyria Chronicles 3

By Mark

I still say its a shame that this is on PSP as the first game on PS3 was gorgeous but hey, let's not let that stop us from meeting main character Kurt and Reila Marcellis, one of two female heroes of the game.

Here is Kurt



And here is Reila



Source - Andriasang

The Conduit 2 - Trailer and Screenshots

By Mark

The first Conduit game was a pretty nice surprise for Wii owners, it was a neat little FPS that controlled pretty well and let you kill some aliens while you were at it and even boasted multiplayer. The sequel is shaping up to be even better however, here is a trailer and a few screenies.

FFXIII Agito Details

By Mark

Siliconera have managed to get some details on the PSP title Final Fantasy Agito XIII, now that work on the game 'Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday' is done the team are fully focused on this title. 

Some concept has been released and the premise is that there is a conflict between four sides where battles are fought with both magic and weaponry. It claims to look at two sides of reality: the ordinary and the extraordinary. It's said that Square Enix will start releasing alot more information next year so I guess we'll just have to wait.

Source - Siliconera

Another Ridiculous Blops Kill - Tomahawk Time

By Mark

Here's yet another crazy kill on CoD: Black Ops, sure the amount of skill involved in such as kill is pretty close to none but that doesn't mean its not pretty funny to see. Check it out.

New Web Series Featuring Anthony Burch

By Mark

If you've seen Hey Ash What You Playing? you'll know who Anthony Burch is, and you'll also know that the show was any words similar to those of freaking and awesome. Well, he's now in a new web series entitled 'Anthony Saves The World' and the first episode came out today, I won't ramble on you should just watch it's entertaining.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Djinn Trailer

By Mark

The new Golden Sun game for the DS looks pretty awesome and i'm psyched about getting my hands on it, for now however here is a trailer for the game showcasing the Djinn aspect. Any of you excited about this?

Homefront Gameplay Clips Appear

By Mark

Homefront is a bit of a touchy game it seems due to the events in the game being a bit close to current events in Korea, but at the end of the day it's a game and the developers point out that it is 'speculative fiction'. Annyyyhow here are som gameplay clips, apologies that they are a bit awkward and short to view but its something!

LBP2 - Controlinator Trailer (Plus Portal remade ingame)

By Mark

Media Molecule are really going out of their way to ensure that the creation aspects of LittleBigPlanet 2 are fantastic. The controlinator lets the user control any mechanical object they have, which removes alot of fumbling around with switches and makes for ease of use. Here's the video for the controlinator in action and below that is an example of the creation aspect at work were someone has made a version of the hugely popular 'Portal'.

Unreal Engine 3 Tech Demo

By Mark

CVG just put up a tech demo video from Epic Games studio, its an awesome video showing the potential of the engine and I thought I'd help spread the video so here it is.

Confused About Catherine? Game's Director Wants to be Clearer

By Mark

Little is known of Catherine's actual gameplay elements other than the fact that it's labelled as a "Action Adventure", well the games director Katsura Hashino is worried about the amount of hype the game is garnering and wants to let people know what they're getting into.

The most important thing to point out I'd say is that even though this is coming from the Persona development team that doesn't mean Catherine will be an RPG, as pointed out its currently said to be an "Action Adventure" affair, Hashino says:

"It's a game made with a cinematic (?) fusion of action-puzzle and adventure. This is why if you're not all that good at action games, I think you'll be okay."

"It certainly does not have the level of freedom of many of the popular games of today. However, if you're interested in 'a slightly different feeling,' I believe you'll be fulfilled by the unique 'good feeling' that can only be experienced with this game."

It's nice to know that they don't actually want to hide behind vague details and sell the game on just its premise but it's even nicer to know that Hashino feels it to be a unique experience and in an industry currently being mostly dominated by sequels this is good news. Here's the newest trailer again in case you missed it and keep coming back to see if we get any more news on the game.

Source - Andriasang

Imageepoch Step Into Publishing (and more)

By Mark

If you've played a lot of Japanese DS games then you may have heard of Imageepoch, they were behind titles like Luminous Arc and 7th Dragon among others, it would seem that they are now ready to step up and publish titles that come from other developers.

A feature over at Andriasang has all the details and I'll explain some of the more interesting ones here. Their publishing efforts begin with a game called "Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari" or for english speakers "Final Promise Story". It's classed as a dungeon RPG and claims to have a serious story and high strategic combat and will be housed on the PSP.

The CEO of the company Ryoei Mikage who is also the game's executive producer goes on to explain an interesting element of the game, and this is that if a character dies in combat it means that they are lost forever and it will have an effect on the story. To what extent noone knows but the idea is cool and the original concept was called 'Lost Game'. Here's a trailer for it

There are some other things of note such as Sega becoming a main distributor for Imageepoch and some other titles that the company is working on so get on over to the feature here.

Yakuza 4 Trailer

By Mark

Yakuza is a huge franchise in Japan and it definitely has its niche outside of the land of the rising sun. And so here is a trailer for the 4th game in the main series and you'll see the usual features return: hostess clubs and fetish clubs. minigames, beat em up action and a gritty story.

One major difference is that you will not only be able to play as series main character Kiryu Kazuma but also as three new characters each with their own accompanying back story for you to see. Here's the trailer.

Grandpa's Leftovers - 'Better Than Life Physics'

By Mark

Wow, check out this trailer for an indie game entitled 'Grandpa's Leftovers'  (first episode in the Tiny and Big series) it boasts 'better than life physics' and it certainly doesn't fail to impress. The character you play as has a grapple hook and a laser beam, it may not sound like much but look at what you can do with them, it's awesome. A demo will be available soon (next week!) from the official website which you'll find here.

Some PS3 Gamers Demanding Refund on Black Ops

By Mark

Disgruntled consumers are nothing new but the select amount of people who have started and signed this petition appear real mad about the differences in quality between the PS3 version and the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops.

It's fair that they want the same product on the platform they choose to play and regardless of whether alot of people will call them childish it makes for an interesting read, looking at the points they make which include:

"Technically, the Playstation 3 can equal and/or out perform the Xbox 360 on many levels. Yet, the Triple A title BO was release on the Playstation 3 with sub-par graphics, buggy software and less features."

"Is it fair to charge PlayStation 3 owners the same price for an inferior product, when both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 had the same amount of development time?"

"Is it fair to charge PlayStation 3 owners the same price for an inferior product, when the previous version (Modern Warfare 2) was equal on both systems but the updated version (BO) is not?"

"Is it fair to charge PlayStation 3 owners the same price for an inferior product, when the previous version (Modern Warfare 2 on PS3) looked visually better than BO looks now on PS3?"

"We are requesting a full refund for Call of Duty Black Ops!"

The petition appears to be garnering at least a small following as CVG report there is at least 148 on board as of now. I'd just say these things happen in the industry, inferior versions happen alot across the platforms and its not always one sided. Then again, it's understandable why they're pissed about it.

Here's the petition if you feel obliged to get involved - http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/codbo/

Two Worlds II Trailer

By Mark

Two Worlds II is looking to greatly improve on the original in my opinion so its good news that it will finally release in January. While we wait though here is a new CG trailer for the game, granted CG trailers never reveal much but they're nice to watch right?

Epic Mickey Dev Diary - 'Archives'

By Mark

The Wii is getting a little bit of a treat with Epic Mickey. It's a promising looking platformer with a twist and it boasts great visuals for the little white box. It seems that Warren Spector and his team are really trying to nail the history of the all but legendary 'Mickey Mouse' as the game will encompass history that alot of younger people these days would know nothing of.

But lets not ramble on about that here, I'll let you see for yourself.

New KillZone 3 MP Trailer

By Mark

Looking forward to KZ3 next year? Here's a trailer that shows a couple executions up close and personal, some mech gameplay and even some pretty funny teammate voice chat.

In all seriousness though this trailer does show off the games sweet looking multiplayer and hectic action galore.

TRON Mouse is Awesome Looking...But Expensive.

By Mark

Sexy, fancy and awesome devices are nothing new but this one for the upcoming TRON film looks great. It comes loaded with sound effects from the movie and changes light effects upon pointing and clicking but if you really wanna geek out then it has an extra precise 5600dpi 3.5G laser sensor and a bunch of extra buttons for you to mess about with. As i say in the title though, there comes a steep price and this will set you back at least $100

Whatcha think?

Lords of Arcana Trailer

By Mark

The upcoming PSP hack n slash from Square Enix 'Lords of Arcana' has a new trailer showcasing some gameplay with metal guitars somehow getting invovled. Sound interesting? Here have a looky.

No Demo for Marvel Vs Capcom 3

By Mark

MvC3 is looking awesome and we're dieing to get our hands on it alas that will not come in the form of a demo. Over on the official forums the VP of Strategic Planning Christian Svensson stated:

"Sorry but zero percent. As with Street Fighter IV, there will be no demo of MvC3."

Well. That kinda sucks, but thats how it is folks instead lets just watch this trailer to pass the time.

Crazy Care Package Kill - Blops

By Mark

Some pretty random kills can occur in the world of online multiplayer games and this is one of them. Good thing Blops decided to put in a theatre eh?

Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack Tour

By Mark

Reach's first batch of DLC is nearly upon us and we've already seen a trailer for the maps but how about a tour of them? IGN has made this little video and its worth the watch if you wanna check out the new maps on offer.

More Halo: Reach Videos

Elder Scrolls V In Production? Rumour Alert

By Mark

People have been waiting for the new Elder Scrolls game for a long time now, and not even for the release I'm just talking about waiting for at least some confirmation that the game is coming. Over at Eurogamer there is a report that claims an 'unnamed source' has all but confirmed the game saying that voice work is currently being done.

The same source goes on to say 'The sequel to Oblivion is coming, we can hereby confirm without hesitation.' and also that it will be a direct chronological sequel to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In the same report it's also stated that "Fallout 3 technically does a lot more than Oblivion. The new stuff is an even bigger jump from that," and that "I can say it is on the existing platforms, which we're really happy with. You almost feel like you have a new console when you see the game.". Now they're some bold claims to make given how impressive some games are these days but we'll have to see.

Obviously I'm going to state now that this could be a load of bull, so please remember it is only a rumour and take the information with a pinch of salt. On the other hand if it's remotely true (which it must be, it'd be foolish not to make a sequel given how many people want it/how successful it would be, anyway!) then those of you baying for a new Elder Scrolls title may have hope yet. Excited?


Source - Eurogamer

DS RPG Radiant Historia is Bound for North America

By Mark

If you enjoy RPG's from the land of the rising sun you'll know that generally the wait we have between the original Japanese release and the North American/European one can be anywhere up to 6 months later. It's painful yes but Atlus have cut that gap down considerably for their original DS RPG title Radiant Historia.

It only launched this month in Japan and is bound for North America in February, not bad eh? Although there doesn't seem to be word of a European release which is a bummer, but there's still hope. Anyhow, what's this game about I hear a small amount of you ask. Well. It's about a fellow called "Special Intelligence Agent Stocke" who uses a magical book to alter the course of historical events both backwards and forwards in time. In terms of gameplay it plays on a grid with an emphasis of strategy and combo building.

As with alot of Atlus' releases these days they are offering additional content upon launch as well, the spoils this time around being a soundtrack disc that contains the piano arrangements by composer Yoko Shimomura. Here's a trailer for you to pass a couple of minutes with, enjoy.

The Last Story Trailers Now Subbed

By Mark

It's always nice when you get to see a trailer where you didn't have a clue what was being said now subtitled for you to understand. Especially when it's for the upcoming JRPG epic from Mistwalker Studios 'The Last Story'. I've said before that for a Wii game particularly, this game is looking pretty amazing and I only hope that it does well at retail provided it is indeed as good as it looks.

Here are two previously released trailers now for your pleasure in understandable English, many thanks to the subber.

What these trailers do now is leave me wanting more for not only the game, but also the option to play the game in this manner with the original voices and subtitles. Can only hope right?

See Bayonetta From the Past! - Early Build

By Mark

It's always interesting to see things that you never got to see in the final game and this video piqued my interest greatly as you get to see Bayonetta as a still work in progress game from what looks like back in 2007.

Sega and Platinum Games have released a video showing what the game looked like back then and the differences are indeed noticeable, look at the action itself. It's a little slower and to me changes the feel of the crazy fast action that the actual released game was known for and also the interface, both menus and loading screens are totally different. I'll say I'm glad Bayonetta went on to be the game it was but it's definitely pretty sweet to see what things were changed and what the dev's were thinking back then and to see certain ideas that where thrown away or tweaked.

Check out the video and see for yourself, but I will say that other developers should think about doing this. Granted it gains them nothing but at least we get to see what we could of had, what do you think?

More GT5 Gameplay For You to Gaze At

By Mark

We had London and the rain before and now we're gonna look at some snow and damage, got some time to kill then you should check em out even if you're not the biggest racing fan out there. They still manage to impress. 

Damage Gameplay: While to me the crashes themselves don't look 'all that', the actual damage representation on the car is sweet.

Snowy Gameplay: Footage is a little shakey but still watchable.

'Offensive' Symbols/Emblems Not Tolerated: Microsoft

By Mark

If you've been playing Black Ops recently or really any online game that allows players to have a clan tag/emblem/symbol then you will have undoubtedly seen a certain amount of people who think it's 'funny' or 'cool' for one reason or another to have provocative images/words just because they can. Stephen Toulouse (essentially chief cop for Xbox Live) has written an extensive piece on his blog explaining that the use of a 'Swastika' symbol can indeed get you banned. 

Here's an extract from the blog explaining their standpoint, i realise it's word heavy but stick with it.

"Tonight I got asked one of those questions that only my job can apparently engender, namely “Hey, I’m not a genocidal hater of Jews but I really love the design of the swastika because its actually used by numerous religions, can I use it as my Call Of Duty: Black Ops logo? SWASTIKAS ARE AWESOME.No really, someone asked me this as a serious question on twitter.  So I of course replied, “no, of course you can’t, we’ll ban you.”

UH OH!  OUT COMES THE INTERNET PUNDITS!

You know the type I mean.  They’ve read an article that’s contrarian to some position widely held, or they’ve found some obscure fact that contradicts common interpretation.  Some of them claim to have known it as innate fact, others claim it to be widespread common knowledge taught to every single person in elementary school. Of course, usually neither is true at all. Most of them are just contrarians.  They would never dare to wear a swastika openly, but they love to argue about how the world has “misunderstood” this symbol. Or they view any opportunity for human interaction, no matter the appropriateness, to push their point."

There is a fair bit more to the article but i won't bombard you with it here, I feel he makes a good point and does go to explain why it is that Microsoft will punish people for doing such things. In the conclusion of the post he writes its all about context and sums up his message in a TL;DR statement which was:

"TL;DR: If you see offensive symbols in Call of Duty, Black Ops, report them using the in game option and they will be taken care of.  If you want to argue that swastikas are actually AWESOME, go to another forum.  On Xbox LIVE they are not allowed. :>"

If you've stuck with this article so far I thank you for reading and here is the original blog page - http://www.stepto.com/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=635 

Sweet GT5 Gameplay

By Mark

So Gran Turismo 5 will actually be upon real soon now, but while you wait just that bit more check out these videos of the game in action. The weather effects are pretty great, other games could definitely do to improve on the aspect.

So first up we have some gameplay from the London tack:



And now here's the rainy gameplay: