ModNation Racers - 2 Million Creations Trailer

By Mark

ModNation Racers is celebrating the fact that the game has seen 2 million creations since its launch last year. The PS3 exclusive seemed to be a hit with the public, featuring custom built tracks via the community and simple racing action.

The title was developed by United Front Games which have recently been hit with layoffs and troubles due to Activision's cancellation of True Crime: Hong Kong.

Catherine Confirmed for US

By Mark

Well it's been long debated but Catherine is indeed making its way over to the US this summer. Even after being denied by Atlus there was always a chance this would happen purely due to the fact that the game was developed on 360 and knowing the popularity of the console in Japan it would of made little sense to only release in that region.

There's no solid release date yet apart from 'summer' and absolutely no word on a European release but keep your fingers crossed as always. The game has a preview site up at www.catherinethegame.com which you can check out now although there is little to be found there.

Last Guardian Details From Famitsu

By Mark

Famitsu have had a chance to look at The Last Guardian and the fine folks over at Andriasang have translated the details so we can get a better idea of the upcoming game from the developers of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.

• You initially can't communicate with Torico, so he'll quickly fall asleep.
  
• Torico can't eat everything. If he eats something he doesn't like, he'll spit it out.
  
• The game uses a collision system with similar capabilities to that of Shadow of the Colossus.
  
• Even if you're caught by the guards that fill the dungeons, the game doesn't immediately end.
  
• Torico may have a life gauge.
  
• They're currently looking into the possibility of showing gauges to support the player -- this is one area that Ueda is worrying over.
  
• In its impressions of the game, Famitsu commented that it exceeded expectations -- it's "real that exceeds real".
  
• Torico's actions are very detailed -- down to the level of his reacting differently depending on the sound in the area.
  
• The game uses a fake language.
  
• Famitsu commented that the boy main character's movements are also incredible. Ueda responded that when the boy approaches a wall, he will naturally extend his arms out, and as he approaches Torico, he will touch the creature. To show the feeling of existence for the characters, you need to show such actions that make it look like the character himself knows that there's a wall there.

It's all sounding rather good so far, let's hope that at E3 we get a real look at the game!

Pre-order Homefront and recieve free OnLive Console

By Jonny

Customers in the US who pre-order a copy of the new first person shooter Homefront, before March 14th will receieve the $99 OnLive console absolutley free (excluding shiping and taxes).

The OnLive system which offers a cloud based games on demand service for a monlthy fee was released last year and has since seemed to dissapear into the background, not making as much of an impact as was expected. So what does this mean if there giving away the console as a pre-order bonus? Is this some kind of Marketing Ploy? Is the console doing that badly? Why give it as a pre-order incentive with a disk based game?

Let us know what you think in the comments and you can also see the pre-order offer here.

Ninja Gaiden III Teaser

By Mark

Tecmo have just released a teaser that confirms Ninja Gaiden III is very real and on the way. There really isn't much to be seen though apart from series hero Ryu Hayabusa getting up to his favourite pastime of gutting those that cross him.

The teaser ominously ends with Ryu about to remove his mask then the message 'Unmask at E3 2011' so that's all we have for now.

Bulletstorm Review

By Mark

Giving the finger to the rest of your particular genre isn’t necessarily a hard thing to do, but to do that and make a killer game yourself that drags people in is. That’s what Bulletstorm’s goal is though and it set its sights high long before the game came out with the Duty Calls parody and heavy marketing with the game’s tagline ‘kill with skill’. So have People Can Fly achieved something here in the crowded FPS market of today or is this yet another shooter to promise the world and deliver nothing?

One thing to be clear, if you’ve come to Bulletstorm with high hopes of a deep involving story line and a narrative you can really get behind then this isn’t necessarily the right title to look at. Of course, while saying that I don’t mean what’s on offer here is bad by any means it’s just not the focal point of the game. Players assume the role of Grayson Hunt, leader of ‘Dead Echo’ a mercenary outfit working under the command of General Sarrano, this setup turns sour in the opening stages however after Grayson and the rest of Dead Echo are betrayed and dishonourably discharged from the force. 

10 years later is where the game kicks into high gear as we see Grayson send his squad and ship front first through the General’s fleet ship on a liquor fuelled revenge attempt that came about by chance. As you’d imagine such an attempt doesn’t go down to well and our hero finds himself and friend Ishi Sato now stranded on the planet of Stygia. Once a resort for tourists the universe over, Stygia is now home to meat-eating plants, giant monsters, mutants and criminal gangs that the pair find themselves fighting all too frequently along with Sarrano’s forces themselves as they too are stranded on the planet.  

The aim, then, is to get off the planet and take out the General that wronged them. Along the way our heroes are not alone. The pair find themselves joined by Trishka, the delightfully foul mouthed woman with a shadowy past and current leader of ‘Final Echo’ the replacement for Grayson’s Dead Echo outfit. As I say it’s not an amazing premise, but there is a lot of crass humour and over the top moments that are just plain fun to view or play regardless and at the end of the day that’s what Bulletstorm is all about, fun.

As you’d expect it’s the gameplay where Bulletstorm either lives or dies, with claims to make the player ‘kill with skill’ and poking fun at competition it had to make it on this aspect at least and for the most part it does. The controls are standard fair albeit tweaked to match the arsenal and abilities that are offered in the game, so to compare to other titles instead of grenades being thrown you’ll be leashing enemies toward you and instead of a one hit melee button we have a kick that sends the enemy flying, allowing you to kill them in whatever creative manner you please. 

The killing with skill comes into play once Grayson has acquired the leash, the explanation given is that the onboard AI within the equipment is constantly evaluating the user. So the more ‘skillshots’ the user completes the more points they earn for ammo and upgrades. It’s not a perfect reason but at least they implemented the game’s main feature into the actual narrative. There’s also a multitude of weapons that you have access to so that you can pull off the flashy, over the top kills ranging from the standard assault rifle to a weapon that fires huge drills at foes. If that still wasn’t enough to quench your killing need then you’ll be pleased to know that each of the weapons come with a ‘charge’ shot once unlocked. These add more variety to your killing choices and can make for some really entertaining multi-kills. 

As for the levels you’ll be stomping around in, Bulletstorm is structured in a very linear way. While there are some open battlefields the focus is to keep pushing forward and racking up as much destruction as you can along the way. Some will feel that the design could, or should, be freer in terms of roaming Stygia but again that isn’t the aim of the title. Instead of that we get a blazing rush of a campaign that has a wealth of ‘holy crap’ moments, crude and obnoxious humour and that injection of fun that has felt absent from other shooters these days. 

In addition to the game’s campaign there are also two other featured modes; one being ‘Echoes’ which has players dash through segments of campaign levels where they can rank on a leaderboard for high scores. While the other is ‘Anarchy’ mode, this is largely akin to horde from Gears of War or fire fight from Halo. Competitive multiplayer is absent although it’s easy to see why once you’ve experienced the game. 

Visually, the planet of Stygia has some truly awe inspired vistas that you’ll appreciate when taking a breather from all the mass murdering you’ll no doubt be accomplishing during your time with the game and while it’s not the best looking game out there it certainly appeals to the eye. Aside from the urban sections of the planet you’ll also visit caves, an overgrown garden, a museum and then there’s the sections that take place within the spaceships so there’s enough variety going for you to gawk at.

The voice work in Bulletstorm does the game a great justice as the game is packed with jokes, one liners, insults, conversation and arguments so it’s nice to see that People Can Fly got the right people for the job. You’ll immediately pick out Grayson’s voice (Steve Blum) if you’ve played Dragon Age: Origins as he also provided the voice of Oghren whereas Trishka is handled by the all too familiar Jennifer Hale who lends her voice to all the FemSheps out there in Mass Effect.  As for the game’s soundtrack it’s also suitably fitting drafting in heavy rock beats when wasting foes and orchestral scores when dealing with the subtler moments. 

To wrap up Bulletstorm does what it set out to do, and that’s to bring back the ‘fun’ to shooting. No military or real world settings, just some off world pirates stranded on a beautiful planet that happens to be brimming with the perfect victims for kicking and leashing around. With nice visuals, great sound work, a pleasing narrative and overall kickass gameplay it all adds up to being a great experience that doesn’t falter that much in delivering a purely archaic and enjoyable experience. Sure, the multiplayer could of been better and the ending is somewhat flat but those are things that can be dealt with in the sure to come sequel and for now Bulletstorm is a title that deserves your attention while it lasts.

Bulletstorm - 8.5/10

In a nutshell we...

Love

• Over the top at every turn
• Skillshots
• Humour abound

Not So Much

• Point A to B, again? 
• No real closure at the end

'Gunstringer' Gets Lengthy Demo Video

By Mark

Gunstringer, for those who don't know, is a 2D/3D hybrid shooter that is on the way for Xbox 360's Kinect.

The game features a resurrected cowboy puppet that naturally seeks revenge on those that killed him and is being developed by Twisted Pixel, the folks behind Splosion Man. 

The game is set to hit XBLA later this year and it's still a work in progress, here's hoping for more success for the developer.