To the EuroGamer Expo and back

My dearest followers...

I return to you slightly tired but still buzzing from my trip to the EuroGamer Expo. This was my first ever trip to a gaming expo so I was really excited to see what was going to be in store.

With my large bag filled with food, my fave book, DS and camera, me and my gaming troops (which consist of my hun Nathan, Ashley and his cool friend 'Frosty') got the 8am coach down to London and then hopped onto the underground train to Monument which got us literally minutes away from the venue. The EuroGamer Expo was based at the Old Billingsgate, which is right outside on the Thames river and the perfect venue for the large crowd that it brought.

The que was MASSIVE...but I know how to look enthusiastic while waiting!

After a good wait we were finally in and allowed to run riot on all the games. We got inside the venue at about midday and it was completely rammed. But then what could you expect. With two floors of games like God of War 3, Heavy Rain and Dante's Inferno...what do you expect! Many of the games which were available to play are already out, such as Fifa 10, Metroid Trilogy and Need for Speed: Shift, but its always great to see them in all their glory.

So many gamers...so little time

Now after making a lap to see what was on offer, me and the gaming troops made our way to the basement. After confirming with the scary bouncer that I am very much over the age of 18 (but hey it was nice to no I still look young right?!) we proceeded to enter the over 18 section in the basement.

It was all dark and spook I tell ya!

Now in this section of the basement, we were able to catch a few glimpse of God of War 3 Dante's Inferno and Hard Rain. I haven't really played any of the other games in either the God of War or Devil May Cry series so I was interested to see what was to offer. God of War 3 did look amazing. It had a medieval feel to it and the game play did flow really well.

Dante's Inferno was also cool to see as well. But I must say that the look of Dante's Inferno did scream God of War 3. I believe, if I can get this the right way round, Dante's sword energy bar was basically the same as Kratos energy bar. Now I can only judge on the snippet that I managed to see, for there was a lot of people surrounding both demos of the game, but I must say they both looked very promising.

As we mooched around the over 18 section, we also spotted Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer, for the Playstation 3. Not available until 2010 this game like the above games, we thought it looked absolutely beautiful. The game is very dark with very unique control system. now I didn't get a complete rundown of each of the buttons but I did find out that the right trigger will allow the character to move forward instead of the analogue stick. There was little action during the game play and it seems that if there was any, it would be quick time events. Quick time events are like a mini cut scene where you have to push certain buttons in order to complete your characters action, such as defending themselves. The story follows four characters, with one being confirmed as detective Scott Shelby. Other information about the game seems really sparsed but I am impressed so far.

While shopping for snacks, Detective Scott Shelby just couldn't find what he was after.

After having a stroll, the gaming troops had split up. Myself and Nathan had a snoop around the Wii section to find ourselves watching a run of Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. We managed to watch a match, where the players were using the Wii's arcade stick. Now I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to arcade sticks so I have the up most respect for anyone who can pull off any form of moves using it. So after the match was over we then had a chance to face the winning player. Nathan went first. During this demo, you were able to choose two characters and use them as a tag team. Nathan chose Ryu and Veiwtiful Joe while the unnamed player went for Zero and Megaman Volnet. The atmosphere was tense as I cheered Nathan on. Now we had an idea as to how this guy was going to play but I must admit I was still surprised. This guy obviously knew what he was doing. Nathan gave it his all but unfortunately he lost.

Tatsunoko Vs.Capcom selection screen

...Poor thing was like a lamb to the

slaughter...but he did put up a

mighty fight!

Then the moment I had been dreading...it was my turn. Now I knew this was not going to pan out well in the slightest but I thought what the hey...I'll give it a shot. So I chose Ryu and a female character who's name I didn't make a note of, while my opponent chose the same two characters as before, Zero and Megaman Volnet. I did give it my all while I cursed the fact that I just cannot use a arcade stick but and before I knew it, it was over. Now I've always have a soft spot for beat-em ups so this game was ticking all the boxes for me.

As I tried to explain why I was doing so pants in order to distract the other player as I attempted to win...my plan failed!

Nathan managed to have a go on a game called Split Second. This driving game was like a cross between Burnout and Need for Speed. In the demo I got to see, it was basically a driving game where you had to make split second decision in order to dodge the various obstacles. These included falling buildings, boulders and aeroplanes. When you crashed it went into the classic Burnout mini cut scene where it shows you what your car looks like before you then can continue the race.

The graphics on this game is amazing.




And my beautiful assistant showing off Split Second

But the one game that I must say that EVERYONE was excited about had to of been Bayonetta. As I reached the demo I stood there in confusion because I know I've seen some pictures of the heroine before but for the life of me I couldn't remember as to where. Anywhooo the game was so exciting. We all had a go and we were all drawn into it. I tried to resist after watching the amazing demo but I couldn't deny myself. You get to play as this kick ass female who is a witch. She has various weapons which included her suit being able to morph into a giant monster and her heels have guns on them which are usable. Again this game is not out until next year (nooo) but if reports are correct, it should be out by January 8! (hazar :D )

Who ever played Bayonetta was just sucked into the heart-stopping game play.

After a very long day of walking which caused my feet to burn like hell, Ashley, from the gaming troop had the idea of going to get some ice-cream. So after a 25 minute train ride, we all managed to get to Leicester Square to get to the ice-cream shop. Now before we got there we all hoped that the journey was truly worth it...and believe me it was. It was a Haagen Dazs shop so you knew the ice-cream was going to be good. Normally I am a Ben & Jerrys girl but I must admit I was definitely shown the amazingness of Haagen Dazs.

Queing outside of heaven!

The gaming troop are all smiles. Mmmm...Yummy Ice-cream!

As this was my first gaming event I've EVER been to I have to say it totally ROCKED. I cannot wait to go back next year. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more pictures, more details of the games I've played and (fingers crossed) some videos of the day out!

Dead Rising

My dearest readers.

It has been a mighty long time since I have done a blog and that I do apologise. As I am sure I have mentioned in my last post, I have been struck by the illness commonly know as lazy-itus. This has disabled my zest for blogging and for doing anything which would take more then five minutes to perform. Lucky for me I have now made a full recovery and I'm fighting fit to give you what you have been waiting for!


As promised, this next blog was for the game Dear Rising, available on the Xbox 360. Now, I have had this game since I first got my Xbox which according to my gamer stats, was two years ago. Back then I had a small t.v and dvd combo, which as you can guess, wasn't filled with any high tech magic, but it got me through my first steps of playing high def games. While playing Dead Rising, unfortunately I was unable to enjoy it to the max simply because I couldn't read the flaming text. As soon as something important came up on the screen and I spent goodness knows how long trying to decipher the very tiny writing, it would disappear. After consulting my friends about this, I was told that the text was made for a HD ready t.v. So finally this year, as a treat for my birthday I got myself a 23" HD ready piece of hotness and I must admit that it has taken my gaming to a whole new level. Graphics look sharper and more defined then I could imagine, allowing me to fall in love with my games again.


Now as I was going through the games that i own, I decided to give Dead Rising a spin and see if I could get the game play that I expected from my little dvd, t.v combo. As the disc span and I watched the cut scene I must admit that I did get excited. I wanted to give the game a proper chance so I decided to start from the beginning. Now I do try to be as impartial as possible when it comes to reviews. Yes I am going to be biased because the games that I review are games that i went out and spent money on, but I always try to give a balanced argument. Unfortunately, for Dead Rising, I am unable to give this game my all. The concept of the game is ok. You play as a reporter,Frank West, who goes to a small town to find out what has happened to its inhabitants. While making his way via helicopter he notices that nothing is what it seems, it appears that zombies have started to consume the town. The only way to get any answers, Frank heads to the last place where survivors have found refuge...the mall. As the daring reporter that you are, you have give yourself 72 hours to get the scoop and get back to the helicopter without being left behind.


During the game, you are able to pick up different items, which you can find in a mall, including a lawn mower and use it to take out any zombie that gets in your way. Now this I must say is a very fun part of the game. Its really interesting to see what different objects you can use to smack the walking dead. But I must say that there aint anything else I found remotely impressing with the rest of the game. I think the biggest bug bear that I found while playing would be that practically everything you did in the game, a load screen would follow. If you move to another part of the mall, a load screen appears, if you see a cut sequence, load screen. Now I do understand that you need a load screen, for it obviously allows the game to load and the examples I have give is quite pants but it really did get on my nerves. Unfortunately, I have given up completely on this game and have decided to ignore the fact that I once brought it.


I do hope my (barely) review doesn't put you off giving this game a whirl, for it may just push your buttons, but I'm afraid it was more 'Oh please' then 'Argh SCREAM!'. Dead Rising only gets a U.F.G score of 0.5 out of 5.

Oh my giddy giddy gum drops!

Oh my goodness...it has been a mighty long time since I've written a review and my fellow readers I do apologise. I have been side tracked from my next gaming review after playing continuous hours of Guitar Hero: World Tour and Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, which I shall be doing reviews for the both shortly! :D

Make sure to look out for my next review of the only zombie game I have in my collection....Dead Rising

Ask auntie U.F.G :)

Again another delayed post I was meant to of done yonks ago but only just remembered, as I sit here typing into the wee hours of the morning when I should be in bed sleeping...I'm such a rebel!

I thought I'd give all fellow readers, be it subscribers or just passers, the chance to drop me a question. If you have any questions about my previous posts, about games or you just wana send me a yo yo yo, you now can, just send it to urbanfemalgamer.com

To slim PS3 or not to slim PS3

Good evenin' gang...or morning (it is 2:30 am!)

I just thought I'd do a mini post about the slim PS3, which I would of done earlier today...but it was such a BEAUTIFUL day. The sun was out (which we all know is a rare occurrence in England) and the skies were clear and blue (which is even rarer) so I had to bask in it before the gloomy Autumn kicks in. Anyway....

As many of you already know, the slimline PS3 came out on the 1st of September to the price of £250. For 120g of scrummy storage space, which is great since the PS3 is rockin' the BBCiplayer function and of course theres the Play Tv which is also just great so to have that much space for that price and with having Bluray it's just nuts to not get it. The only set back was how the slim PS3 looked like. Now when my boyfriend seen this...lets just say he was not impressed and when I seen it I was repulsed by it and thought nope not for me. But I must say that I actually was wrong about it (now I rarely say I'm wrong so please take the time to bask in it!). I've managed to see it in the flesh per say and its actually pretty cute. Unfortunately its not the same shiny plastic like the bigger PS3, its like a brushed plastic, if that makes any sense. And the eject and power buttons are actually physical buttons and not like the biometric type buttons the larger counter part has, but beyond that it does look adorable! Just need to save up me pennies (and stop spending my money on takeaways!) and FINALLY get one!

Ready Up, up and away!

Just a quick sticky bickie for you all.

I recently was asked to become a contributor for a kick-ass website called Ready Up! who specialises on blogs and reviews on all things lovely and to do with games.

Its absolutely cool that I was asked and I finally got to add my very first post on there site two weeks ago which was awesome. It is very delayed for me to say this but then I got there in the end! Make sure you check out the site and get involved with the really cool forums.

Beautiful Katamari

Hello fellow readers!

I've just realised how long its been since I've done a review. I do apologise for the delay...I've simply been uber lazy recently but hey...I finally got my review done so please enjoy!

I thought with my next review I go all Japanorama on ya and do a review of Beautiful Katamari which is available for the Xbox 360. Now this game has come out for the Playstation 2 and the PSPa and has become as rare as rocking horse poo (yea I said it!). Now your probably all thinking why of all the games released would this be so darn popular? Well I'm hoping to explain all in the following review.

Beautiful Katamari, the sequel to Me & My Katamari, follows the story of the King's son the Prince as he tries to save the world. Unfortunately the King has created a black hole while playing a rigours game of tennis (yeah that's exactly what happened). The black hole has gotten bigger, it has sucked up all the planets and stars, so its your job to roll up various Katamari's in order to replace them.

There are in total thirteen levels with the option to buy more via Xbox Live. Each of them have different time constraints, different size katamari's to build and different types of items to collect to create a planet. With each level, your Katamari starts at different sizes and your placed into different locations. The initial size of your Katamari you start off with and the time your given can usually dictate as to how far you can progress. But here is a challenge to all my readers, can you make your Katamari bigger then the target?

Now here is a tip for you guys to get a higher score. After each roll, if you have just reached your target size, the King usually gives you a rubbish score and tells you to do better...which is pretty naff. The only way to avoid this, get a better score and to get a sparkling review from the King you need to completely smash, and I mean SMASH the target. If you can get the biggest size Katamari as you can, be it double, triple or even ten times the size needed. This may take you a couple of goes but believe me its all worth it! Now don't worry about only going over certain items for what has happened is that in each level the majority of stuff you need to get just so happens to be what you actually need. So get rolling everyone!

I got this game when it first came out and I recently thought to play it. Now I must say I did forget how fun this game is. I've even got non Katamari fans to give it a whirl and now there just as addicted to it as I am!(and yes my sweet that comment was about you!)

The game play is very simple so even the less experienced gamer can give it a shot. You control the Katamari using the two analogue sticks, which allows you to move forward, backward and even to flip over the Katamari when you get stuck (which can happen a lot)...and that's it. As your playing it, you do find yourself getting even more excited when your Katamari is big enough to pick up more weird and wonderful items...like people, spaceships and even continents! The Japanese pop sound track compliments the game to a 'T' and believe me you'll be trying to sing to each and every track before you even know it.

If I was to moan about the game...I guess the only thing I could think of is how mean the King can be when it comes to scoring your Katamari after you finished the level. At first it was mega annoying that after playing the same level at least 3 times and only collecting the items required you can't get a score over 40. But if you follow my top tip which is above, you'll see your score improve dramatically.

Now this game may sound extremely random, which it is, but it's definitely one of those gaming gems I'd recommend everyone to at least give the demo a try. The demo is still available from Xbox Live. With all that taken into consideration I give Beautiful Katamari a handy U.F.G score of...4.5 out of 5! Keep on rollin'!