Why the 3DS XL Isn't The Console We Want Or Need

Last night Nintendo had a little get together and announced some new things to the public that they either missed or didn’t want to reveal at E3, if you’re asking yourself “why?” right now, don’t worry you’re not alone. Considering their E3 conference that was broadcast worldwide to millions of people was only 15 days ago you would’ve thought that announcing a new console, even if it’s just another iteration of an already existing model, would...

Nyko Circle Pad Better Than Nintendo's (3DS)

Nyko have done what Nintendo couldn't, they've made the circle pad pro into something that actually looks good. The circle pad pro launched by Nintendo this year with Resident Evil was not well received, it has pretty much disappeared off the shelves so arguably must be selling well despite only working with a handful of games. What can't be argued however is that it does work well, game like Resident Evil and Metal Gear solid cry out for...

Wreck-It-Ralph gets an 8-Bit Game Tie-In (Play This!)

Wreck-It-Ralph is a new Disney animation due out around Christmas this year and it's looking to be a great video game inspired movie. If you havn't seen the trailer yet I've included it below for you, make sure to look out for famous faces. The film follows Ralph who's been doing the same job for decades, he's the bad guy in 8-bit game Fix-It-Felix, but he's sick of it, hates being the person that everyone dislikes and hates the fact he's...

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS) [E3 2012]

Luigi doesn't seem to have much luck with his trips to mansions, I imagine he just wants some time away from Mario, relax, see a nice country house, look at some art maybe. If that's the case then he should have probably seen a travel agent instead of that professor who instead straps him to a hoover and sends into these huge houses full of bloody ghosts. Gameplay of this sequel is similar to it's Gamecube predecessor, except this time there's...

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (3DS) [E3 2012]

Mickey's first Epic outing on the 3DS is not a spin-off or port of the direct sequel "Epic Mckey: Power of Two' that's coming to home consoles this year, instead it's a completely different game set in the same universe. Taking place in the same Wasteland from the Original Epic Mickey game on the Wii, 'Power of Illusion' promises to explore the "lost history" of Disney video games. (For anyone who hasn't played the original;...

Dead Island: Riptide [E3 2012]

Announced this week is a follow-up, but not sequel, to the well received 2011 title. The game will be a standalone tale in the series and will be for consoles and PC. That's lliterally everything that's know about it for the minute, we can expect a full reveal this summ...

Unreal 4 Engine Next-Gen Tech Demo

Do yourself a favour and make sure you're watching this in a good resolution. It's pretty impressive isn't it? Remember this isn't meant to be a cut-scene, just like the Square Enix one, this is an engine that runs games... this is what your games will look like whilst you're playing them. In all honesty it's amazing and I love these tech demo videos. It's like i'm being bitch slapped with graphical quality, it's like Epic are shoving my face into the screen saying "look! look! This is what we're doing with your games! They're so realistic you...

Halo 4 (Xbox 360) [E3 2012]

The gameplay demo/trailer we were treated to in the microsoft conference opened E3 this year and shows Master Chief back in his first game since Halo 3, which means it's actually been 5 years since we last saw the Chief, if you don't count the brief Easter Egg at the end of Halo Reach. Set 5 years after Halo 3, Master chief and Cortana appear to be on an alien world teaming with coveneant and forerunner enimies alike and a UNSC ship has crash...

Watch Dogs (Ubisoft) [E3 2012]

Without doubt being hailed as one of the best things to come out of E3, Ubisoft's new IP has been 2 years in development and looks set to debut on current gen consoles despite it's amazing look. The trailer itself is visually stunning and it's hard to believe that something like this could run on current machines, there's just too much going on. For me this game symbolises everything that is good about a show like E3, it came out of nowhere at...

Xbox Entertainment Range Boosted (Xbox 360) [E3 2012]

Microsoft announced a number of new content partners and new features which will be coming to the Xbox dashboard over the next year, yet again though if you're not in the US then you're getting next to nothing interesting. In fact getting nothing would probably have been preferable as now my dahboard is going to be full of even more adverts and content I really coulcn;t care less about. Internet Explorer...

Power A's MOGA Mobile Controller (Android) [E3 2012]

Whilst the Nyko controller i've already posted about looks quite professional and pretty much the dog's bollocks for playing games on a phone or tablet, this solution from Moga is equally impressive. It holds your phone for a start, which makes for a better gaming position overall than having to have you tablet/phone supported serperatley or on a table whilst you have two hands on a controller. It comes bundled with a free Android...

Forza Horizon (Xbox 360) [E3 2012]

Forza's new outing seems to be going for a more 'Need for Speed' vibe than the usual 'Gran Tourismo' style that we're used to. This new approach has been shown off  in videos teasing street racing and drift competitions which look to replicate the best of previous Forza games. The title aims to include the attention to detail on the cars and tracks that players have come to expect from a title in the series but give the gameplay an update...

Gears of War: Judgement (Xbox 360) [E3 2012]

A new Gears of War game is on the way touted for release in Q1 2013 and is being made by BulletStorm developer People Can Fly, the rumour before the big reveal was that the new game would follow the series main protagonist Marcis Fenix on his journey through the pendulum wars and we'd see the events leading up to his incarceration where we find him at the beginning of the fist Gears game. Instead Epic Games have thrown a curveball and...

Square Enix: Next-Gen Demo [E3 2012]

Called' Agni’s Philosophy' the tech demo was shown off at E3 from Square Enix and shows off their next-gen engine called 'Luminous Studio'. It will power new games across consoles, tablets, phones and PC's enabling greater ease in development. The video is said to be likened to in-game content and easily matches anything we're used to seeing currently in cutscen...

Star Wars 1313 [E3 2012]

The new Star Wars game is the franchise's first foray into the world of the mature rated game,  you play as a bounty hunter exploring the criminal underworld on Coruscant's infamous level 1313. This is a cover based action game which looks amazing it has to be said,  so amazing that it must be for next generation consoles,  especially as this is a pre-alpha demo running on a high end pc at the minute and it's not out until...

Nyko Bring Gamepads to Android [E3 2012]

Sometimes (read as: always) the touch screen controls on mobile games are awful, I own GTA III, Minecraft and Sonic CD on my Galaxy S2 and I don't play any of them like I should because the controls get on my nerves. This new device from Nyko in partnership with Nvidia would solve all of my mobile gaming woes, and i'm sure i'm not alone. The PlayPad and PlayPad Pro connect to your phone through bluetooth and the Nyko app, the only requirement...

Game & Wario (Wii U) [E3 2012]

Usually the prospect of Wario being in a game would excite me, but as Nintendo generally does nothing but rehash old products they have seen fit to disappoint me again by not letting Wario live up to his full potential, seriously, just let Waluigi take over the minigame fest and give Wario a platformer again, having just watched the Wreck-it-Ralph trailer I feel like Wario should be the star of that film, constantly having to...

Mass Effect 3 (Wii U) [E3 2012]

So the reveal for Mass Effect 3 on the Wii-U is pretty lacklustre and was just part of a sizzle reel of third party software, no details about how they'll get new players to the series up to speed, something along the lines of the PS3's interactive comic will surely do the job also there was nothing in particular about what makes the third in the series stand out on this console. The only thing Nintendo and Bioware are giving us at the...

Pikmin 3 (Wii U) [E3 2012]

I have to say Pikmin is lost on me, i'm sure if I had played the originals then i'd know all about it's weird little flower creatures and the astronauts who seem to control them to twat bugs and collect fruit...that's the point of the game yeah? also is there a reason it feels like i'm on LSD whilst watching the trailer? The interesting thing about this launch title for the Wii U is that you don't actually have to use the Gamepad for it, in fact...

Lego City: Undercover (Wii U) [E3 2012]

The latest Lego game comes from Nintendo in the form of an open world adventure which looks alot like a Lego version of GTA, just with less violence, swearing, stealing and general 18+ action, really it's not like GTA at all, it's more just a 3rd person action game in a city. Flying helicopters, rooftop chases and undercover disguises are aplenty in the announcement trailer below: This does look quite fun and if I was to purchase a Wii U then...

Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition (Wii U) [E3 2012]

Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition (or "Armored Edition" if you're American) is amongst some of the bigger gaming franchises not usually seen on Nintendo's consoles that are coming out for the Wii U this year. The game is said to include details not found in other editions of the game. The 'Armoured Edition' of the title seems to be in direct reference to an ability in which Batman's new armoured suit collects energy from downed opponents to...

New Super Mario Bros U (Wii U) [E3 2012]

So it turns out Nintendo's tech demo from last years E3 announcement which they said "wasn't a retail product" is in fact a retail product and also a launch title for the new console. In fact this surprises me. Why Nintendo havn't used Mario to show off the new HD functions of the system by making another full blown adventure game is beyond me, in fact a port of Galaxy would suit just as well, instead they seem to have just taken the tried and...

ZombiU (Wii U) [E3 2012]

ZombiU is Ubisoft's exclusive mature rated game for the Wii U and honestly is the only thing about the console so far that does anything for me. It's probably the first instance of using the tablet in an innovative way and genuinely works to immerse you in the gameplay. The first thing to know about ZombiU is that death is permanent. Like really permanent. When you start a game you get a randomly generated person, you name them but that's it,...

Nintendo Land (Wii U) [E3 2012]

If someone put the words Nintendo and Land together before now it would've instantly put an image in my head, it would be a theme park, a Nintendo based theme park, a Nintendo Land if you will, with rides and zones based on loveable game characters, there would be a Hyrule zone where you go on a Zelda themed rollercoaster, buy a shield and sword whilst drinking potions, a Mushroom Kingdom zone where there's a water ride involving going down pipes...

Nintendo Wii U Detailed [E3 2012]

Nintendo's press conference was, as expected, dominated by the Wii U and whilst their Conferences generally fall behind Microsoft and Sony in terms of consumer response, this conference in general was poorly recieved, Nintendo Land for example received little to no applause which is a strange thing for these type of events, usually everything is cheered in some way. The strangest part of the presentation seems to be that after knowing about the...

Adventure Time DS Game Incoming

YESSSS, exciting news! Adventure Time is getting the DS game it greatly deserves. Creator Pendleton Ward tweeted the announcement last night and provided some DS based drawings to go along with it. Ideally this will be a fully 8-bit game or follow closely the style of the show, anything else will not be acceptable. It was firstly announced as a 3DS game but since then further tweets have clarified that it’s actually a standard DS game,...

US bill to put cigarette-style warnings on video games

Obviously this has come about because it works so well with smokers and now since these warnings about cancer and tar and harming unborn babies are on the pack nobody at all smokes because they're worried about the percentage of benzene, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide that is going into their bodies. What? ...you mean that's not true? ...you're telling me that nobody actually reads those warnings and takes them to heart? Instead they simply...

10 Days to save Game. Walmart has offered a buyout.

According to a few sources, the troubled GAME Group UK has 10 days to sort itself out otherwise administration looms. That makes March 24th deadline day. It's already been noted that Game are failing to stock major new releases over the coming weeks from Capcom, Nintendo and EA and that their current firesale might not be going too well as customers are using up reward card points to buy rather than cash. Game have many a prospective...

Jet Set Radio HD detailed

The original Dreamcast version of Jet Set Radio (Jet Grind Radio if you're American) was released nearly 12 years ago and it is still probably one of my favourite games, it was so beautiful and infuriating at the same time, it paved the way for cell shaded games and boasted an amazingly varied soundtrack full of very listenable tracks. I’ve been hoping for a port of the game every since Sega announced that they were releasing the Dreamcast versions...

BBC iPlayer to Land on Xbox Next Week

The BBC's catch-up TV service is to land on the Xbox dashboard in the next week and will join the existing offerings from Channel 4 and Channel 5. Microsoft have been trying to sort a deal out with the BBC for some time but stumbled on the beeb's refusal to go along with the Xbox's plan to only offer premium apps to gold subscribers. This was apparently in violation of the BBC's TV license agreements which is something along the...

The Next Xbox Won't Use Discs: Why that's both Good and Bad

This is coming from MCV and if true it means that the daddy of all non disclosure agreements has been broken and I’m betting Microsoft will be pretty pissed off. Last month they held a developers meeting in London which is rumoured to have been the first time they’ve shown off their upcoming hardware to those that need to know about these types of things before the public do. The rumour coming away from this leak is that the next xbox will not...

Bioshock Infinite has a Robot George Washington Boss

I think the title of this post says it all. There's not much more I need to add, it's a robot president with a machine gun. I keep throwing money at the screen but nothing is happening ,why is October the 16th so far aw...

First Video of Tony Hawks Pro Skater HD

Watch Tony and his friend Chris Cole skate in real life while giving you one of the first looks at this summer's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD. The game features a  remake of some of the best parts of the first two games whilst receiving a glossy make over for 2012.The gameplay is much the same as 12 years ago with 2 minute runs on each level to complete various challenges, some previous skaters from the series return along with some new faces, no word yet if a mixture of songs from the amazing soundtracks will accompany.The game will...

Blizzard Really Want You To Play Warcraft Again

The 'scroll of resurrection' is an offer that Blizzard have where an existing subscriber can grant account time to a  non-subscriber, usually it's just 7 days of free play but for the next 90 days Blizzard have buffed the scroll and instead now both parties get a few rewards. The subscriber gets one of the shiny in-game mounts that you'd usually have to pay for on the Blizzard store, the target party gets themselves one character instantly...

SW:TOR Patch 1.2 starts your Legacy

April sees the next  major game update for Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Arguably it adds alot of features which should have been present from day one, guild banks anyone. There's new flashpoints and operations and more intriguing is the legacy system in which you build a family tree from your existing characters and unlock rewards including a mailbox on your ship and the unlocking of new species (whatever that means). Add to it a (finally) customisable UI,  colour change options on armour, mini pets, new gear, new...

ROCCAT aim to bring together your smartphone and PC for gaming.

ROCCAT, manufacturers of various peripherals for the PC have released pictures of what is to be their upcoming Powergrid range. Normally a list of upcoming keyboards and mice doesn’t interest me unless it’s the game tie-in sets from Razer or the infamous Art. Lebedev keyboard, but this has really hooked me in. Firstly we have the ROCCAT Phobo gaming keyboard, you’ll notice something straight away that’s different form your standard gaming...