Gears of War 3

Hidy Ho my fellow readers!

It has been a mighty LONG time since I've written a blog but I had to inform you all just in case you didn't get the fabulous news!

After a long day of grafting, I was MORE then ecstatic to get an email from Xbox 360 confirming the European release date for Gears of War 3.

Due to hit the shelves for April 8 2011, we finally get to have the final installment of the gears last stand against the horde.

Once I finished Gears of War 2, I had so many questions then answers. The main question would be where is Marcus dad and is he really still alive. (If you haven't finished Gears of War 2 and I spoiled it for you then I am so sorry!)

It seems that the main addition they added to the game is a 4 player co-op which I cannot wait to try out. Make sure to check out the link! http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/

Lips

Hello again my fellow readers!

I have finally gotten round to finishing my review for the awesome karaoke game Lips. I blame the fact that I've been so immersed in playing Bayonetta, but I'll do a review that another time! :D

Now as you may of already of guessed, Lips is a karaoke game for the Xbox 360. This may sound cheesy and possibly something that may not be up your street, but I can assure you that once you grab your mic and your chosen your anthem, you will quickly change your mind.

The game is divided into four sections giving you a diverse selection of modes to chose from . The first being Sing! where you do exactly what it says on the tin and sing. Suitable for both single, co-op and quick play where you chose each song you wish to play. In Jukebox, it plays a random selection of songs or you can have a pre programmed set of songs.

This game is both fun as a co-op game with the various party modes that you can chose from. But it is also great to play solo. When playing, you have a choice of singing to most of the songs original music video. Alternatively you can have a custom video, which can go with the songs you have which don't have the video. Also there's the option of having a virtual video. This option comes with a computer generated video. Now when you have this background you need to make sure you shake your mic, because the more you move the more active the video becomes!

As a additional treat for those who are playing co-op, you can add another element to the game by choosing one of three interactive videos. The first is called Time Bomb. With this mode, you have to sing as well as you can in order to fill up your cup of water. Once you have enough water, you need to tip your mic and that will douse the fuse. In Vocal Fighters, you and your opponent must duel it out and see who will be the king or queen of Lips. You both sing the same song and who ever does better, wins. And last but not least is Kiss. For all our lovers and non fighters out there, the aim is to work as a team and to get the characters to kiss as many times as you can. When you sing well, your character moves towards each other in preparation for their embrace. As the characters get closer you both need to tip your mics back at the same time to get them to kiss. It sounds pretty straight forward but it is mighty tricky!

Another feature for Lips is the online mode. The way this works is that you chose a song and you send a invite to your friend to challenge them. You both sing the song twice in your own time and once you both have completer the challenge, your scores are then compared. Now I must admit that I was slightly disappointed that you couldn't just play against each other there and then but this alternative does work.

Lips comes with the chance to customise the colour of music bars that you sing too on the screen. And what I thought was even cool was that the colours on the bar sync with the colours you see on your mic! You can also add music from your MP3 player, so when your bored with the pre loaded songs, you can still keep the party going!

Now this game is fun with or without mass participation. There has been numerous times that I've sat with my mic and got my musical grove on. Of course it is a major blast when my family and friends come around and sing with me. You don't have to sing to join in for Lips allows you to use the buttons on your control pad to add various percussion and background sounds, making the song that little bit more special. For me Lips is a definite party game I would suggest you should add to your collection. Lips get a U.F.G score of 4 out of 5!

New year, new gear, who's here? ha ha ha

Happy new year my fellow followers!

I do hope you all had an awesome Christmas and a fantastic new year. This Christmas was extra special for I got to see my new baby niece who is GORGEOUS and also for being a good girl and scraping together my pennies, I managed to get my sticky mitts on a Blackberry Curve which I am totally LOVING! I get to pretend that I'm really important because it looks like such a serious phone but I manage to balance it out with the girliest background that you have ever seen!

Now with a new year in swing, that means I have another 365 days worth of showing appreciation and reviewing both new and retro games. Keep your eyes peeled my lovelies for the upcoming reviews, which include Midnight Club: Dub Edition, Lips and Scene It!

It's Xmas already?!

My dearest gaming followers!

Time has most certainly flew from the last time I put a post...it's soo odd that in just (counting on me fingers) 2 weeks and 4 days it will be Christmas! But I must admit...I aint feeling very chrismasy at the moment...now this could be down to me getting older and no longer believing in santa, but I'm not getting that magical feeling that I should have now. It would help if lovely Bayonetta was coming out now and not January 8th (sigh). But I guess it gives me something to look forward to though...right?! Hopefully I'll be able to get into the mood before the big day comes!

So tell me....what have you asked for santa to bring you this time?

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