Okay so as pre-release deals go, this one seems to be a little shady. Sony have acquired timed exclusivity for the Pal release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, an Atari published game. What this effectively means is that the Sony platforms will expect the game to be released on the original release date of 19/06 but on the 360, DS, PC it will be out later in the year.

Obviously this kind of agreement between Atari and Sony doesn't come for free, and is benificial for both companys staggering the release date so that is spikes nicely for a sales quarter boost. This agreement co-insides nicely with the BluRay release of Ghostbusters worldwide on the 19/06. But is the extra money really worth risking the wrath of all 360 gamers in Europe? Especially when the rest of the world will be enjoying the next chapter in the Ghostbusters universe on whatever platform they wish, while us lucky, lucky people get to eat a nice piece of Synergy pie. Thanks Sony!

Full post can be found on Gaming Goodness

Hey guys, just a quick update to make you aware of some content on my own blog, Gaming Goodness

This week we have reaction to Gamespot's interview with Batman visionary Paul Dini, coverage of Guild Wars 5 year anniversary, insights into Virtual On, and some excellent Left 4 Dead modifications. If you are a fan of Randy Savage or Pee-wee Herman (lets face it who isn't), this week is definitely worth a look.

Speaking of Left 4 Dead, me and my buddies online are absolutely getting our butts handed too us by the A.I. We can only last a max of four minutes on the lighthouse level, it would be funny if it wasn't so embarressing. Thank god there is a new Burnout update to get our teeth into this week, cops and robbers offers something completely different to the previous game types and crucially its really fun.

Just wanted to give a quick summary of whats new at Gaming Goodness. We have a new feature about Bioshock 2: A Sequel you don't need to worry about, and an editorial about my own personal excitement surrounding Dynasty Warriors:Gundam 2. Absolutely worth a look if you ask me, trying to get as many hits in one day, help a British gentlemen out would you?

Speaking of British Gentlemen Henry Hatsworth is the best puzzle merger since Puzzle Quest, its the best game I have played on the DS for an absolute age.

The GDC always throws up the odd surprise but todays accouncement could be perhaps the biggest the event has ever had, Onlive and the potential of stream based gaming.It is being firstdemo-ed at this years GDC, Onlive represents a type of gaming revolutionwhere players would never need hardware upgrades or most devestatingly to purchase new consoles ever again.

Brainchild of Mike McGarvey (of WebTV and Eidos fame), the service can stream games to a desktop, entry level laptop and even a TV as all the calculations and gaming grunt are allbeing performed server side - by what could only be described as one behemoth of a gaming setup. All gamers have to dois purchase a device which records inputs and sends a signal to the server in Gaming HQ where the individual in turnrecieves a video of what he has just performed in game. As long as individuals have network speeds of 1.5mb and over the service is claimed to be stable and can operate at tolerable latency speeds (under 75ms)which is a must any competitive online games.

Obviously the level of scepticism is through the roof at the moment which can only be matched by the amount of excitement surrounding this device, which could be out as early as this winter. Games from EA, Take-Two, Ubisoft, Epic, Atari, Codemasters, Warner Bros. and Eidos will be avaliable on the service which include titles such as Crysis, Grand Theft Auto 4 and Burnout Paradise. Nothing has been confirmed regarding pricing for both the necessary hardware and online game service with the elimation of piracy from the service I would think many publishers would be suprisingly mercyiful with their pricing structure.

If - and its a big if- Onlive does become even an understated sucess it sends a huge message to everyone involved in the sale of games and hardware, not so much the publishers but the manufacturers and retailers who have made interactive software central to their business model. Most publishers view the online distribution model as benificial to the traditional methods of physical media and retail and the if adoption rates of Onlive were high enough it wouldn't be too long before it become the primary method of distrubution. But there is also other factors which Onlive would be solved, theold conundrum of second hand games being sold at retail would also go away, as well as the ever present problemof piracy which causes the industry to losemillions (perhaps billions?) each year. Let alone the consumer implications with most gamers already using 2-5mb setups already in their homeswhich arealsogetting pretty sick of shelling out on new hardware every three to four years on new consoles.

Its all very pie in the sky at the moment isn't it folks, and I have to admit perhaps my own excitement for this new device has got the best of me but the implications(you have to admit) are pretty radical for the industry even if its a moderate sucess. But perhaps what will be the most interesting for us gamers is tosee how Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo react to this news will they acknowledge its existance or merely put their PR into overdrive and talk about what a inferior product the Onlive may be on release. Who knows at this point but I suppose whatever happens it sure will be interesting over the coming weeks and months, especially with E3 round the corner.

The end to Fear 2 is something to talk about but unfortunately a few of you will still be playing the game, so we'll have to leave that to another time. But as ground breaking as the ending is, its nothing compared to the review thats now up on Citizengame.co.uk, which you all can find here by an incredibly dashing fellow. Its a shame because until two thirds of the way through the game it is a tepid experience with very little in the way of scares or interesting events.

Fear 2 is an great example of a game which you need to play all the way through because until you reach a certain point, you'll never know whats coming. More importantly if your reviewing this title it would PM or more effectively just google Fear 2 ending and watch a youtube cutscene.

Its a keeper..

So the super viral video released from Capcom on February 6th either through a leak or some clever marketing has hit the Internet and Capcom have confirmed the existence of a sequel to the 2006's (wow its old) Xbox exclusive title. But with the somewhat odd history of Dead Rising 2 with the Blue Castle development rumours being discussed months ago and the guarantee that the title is set in a Vegas-esque environment, here is what needs to be in the sequel:

Same Save System: Dead Risings save system was broken, mean and absolutely hated the player with a detestable amount of evil, and that made it awesome. Survival games shouldn't be accommodating, they should be ballsy hate-fests encouraging the player to make mad dashes through legions of zombies with little to no health in a vein hope of reaching the games few save points. If you can easily save a point of progress you immediately lose the tension of which a horror game thrives on, if nothing else if there should be no quick save option at the very least.

Free play mode: On completion of Dead Rising a mode unlocked which was effectively a free play option but restricted with diminishing health which led player character Frank West to scoff down food every couple of minutes in order to sustain himself. This is NOT a free play mode! Free play modes are when you can mess around with the games engine within a somewhat indestructible context, not being even more vulnerable than the story mode made you.

Zombie Strippers: Judging by the press release assets it seems as though these are definitely in, but what this game is crying out for is multiple strippers. Vegas is known for all things seedy and wrong so every spectrum of the adult entertainment sector needs to be represented- midget, S&M, male, female, shemale, black, white, red, brown, blue. Maybe even some of the creepy guys that come out after eight to hand out prostitute catalogues to everyone that passes by, pretty sure Vegas has though TM'ed though.

More Capcom Stuff: We all love Megaman but you know what western audiences love more, every other Capcom franchise. It would be amazing to see some Resident Evil paraphernalia, like an Umbrella Corporation t-shirt or a Lost Planet Mech which you could decimate entire populations of Zombies in one of Vegas' many car parks.

Multiple Casinos and their Respective theme parks: Vegas is the perfect setting for a Dead Rising sequel, not only in subject matter but also in the location and the over abundance of source material which Blue castle can source locales from. Imagine venturing to the top of Stratosphere and being able to zoom in on the carnage down below with your camera. Alternatively imagine stumbling into the Caesar's Palace Arena and having to fight a Zombie boxer and his support crew in the ring, or maybe being able to punch Carot Top in the face at the Luxor stage, or just fend off armies of strippers from the strips multiple strip joints. Vegas also has a ton of rides as well, all of which would be absolutely fantastic in a game, here's hoping New York New York gets its coaster in there. Obviously it would be impossible to get any permission to be able to use all these designs directly as I'm sure the owners of all these trademarks wouldn't be impressed with their intellectual property being savaged by the Zombie horde. But Capcom haven't shyed away from direct emulation before and paying homage to Vegas' best would be incredible.

Less Load times: The first Dead Rising was effectively a launch title, only being released a few months after the 360 was launched so itwasn't optimised to maximise the hardware. As a result the load times between sections of the mall were terribly often stopping for a minute or breaking up the action in a jarring way which often broke the experience. Dead Rising 2 will be multi-platform and will be fully utilised to use all of this generations power, so hopefully the new areas will be without significant load times, more Zombies and bigger areas.

Uploadable Pictures and Video: The first games protagonist was a photo journalist, why can't the second game have the same motif but compliment it with Video. Watching friends play Dead Rising is almost have as much fun as playing it, so including the option to upload and watch other peoples video from your console would be an excellent addition.

More Social Commentary: Zombie media is built for social commentary usually concerning rampant consumerism and the evils of modern life. The first Dead Rising was perfect for this as it was set in a mall - a la Dawn of the Dead. But what better way to match this capitalist setting than the sequel being based in Vegas, the worlds centre for the infamous 'money talks' sensibility. Any sort of social commentary in games is rare and it was Dead Rising 2 should honour its Zombie lineage by stuffing it full with complicated survivors and boss characters dripping with political satire.

Frank West: I really like Frank West- he was funny, bulky and he leant the original Dead Rising a gravitas and human side which complimented the players experience completely. But judging from the latest screen shots the new protagonist is some blond dude with a love of motorcycle jackets and guitars. Its rare to judge anything important with press shots by the lack of Mr West is a bit disappointing, lets all hope he is a support character or a grizzled survivor who has gone through it all before.

Impossible Achievements/Trophy's: Dead Rising was known for its absolutely mental achievements! Many friends of mine have risked bricking their already temperamental 360's in pursuit of the 7 day survival achievement, which needed the 360 to be left on for over 24 hours and gamers had to keep playing the game throughout that time. All this effort and potential money wasted through overheating consoles just for 20 gamer points. Capcom is crazy they make games for absolutely die hard fans, its time to push those fans even further.

N.B: You can check out this post at Gaming Goodness as well

It's different.

If you would like a longer review, you can find it at a lovely site known as Citizengame, or for those lazy browsers, you can just click here. As always all and any comments are welcome, hope you give it a read .

Every January a very strange thing happens, people who are usually calm and knowledgable about games suddenly shed their money very quickly on the first sign of a sale sticker. So instead of perhaps saving your valuable earnings for the JUMBO gaming month that will be Febuary - with Street Fighter and Resistance, you instead spend the cash on Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer for £8 on the 360. Did I say you? Sorry I meant me, but for every stinker I buy, I seem to be finding a bargain like Metriod Prime 3 on the Wii for £10.

You win some and you lose some - well mostly lose.

Happy New Year Gamespot, and in true new years style I have been hitting the sales! It is also at this point I'd like to remind everyone that I am actually very masculine - ahem. Anyway, there is some real bargains out there, for example Alone in the Dark (Collectors edition) for £7 from game.co.uk and the awesome Bangai-o-Spirits DS for just over £10 on various websites, my DS game of the year. Its a time to play some games that you would never ever usually buy and for low, low prices, now if only I had some time to play them..

Lord knows why but I have an inescapable urge to buy a Dreamcast with Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Crazy Taxi. It may sound insane, especially when you see the prices on ebay but when I think about holding the nearly half-a-decade old plastic in my hand, I can't help but get excited. Having never played the console before I can't explain the needless nostalgia for it, worth a punt for £30 though right?

Now I'll be the first to admit that the title of this blog post is slightly misleading, I mean after all Red Alert 3 is a good game by all accounts. But personally I have never liked RTS games, and I mean ever! They have always seemed a tad stale to me and ever since the likes of Supreme Commander the vast majority of them have seemed overly complicated to the point of being exercises to withstand tedium. Yet Red Alert 3 isn't like that, its very much the action blockbuster of the RTS genre replacing actual tactics with rush and guns gameplay.

But there is one thing nobody even mentioned in reviews or previews in this game and its the sheer amount of cleavage on show. Now I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me, I like boobs, quite a bit in fact. But there is a problem with the objectification of women in this title, to the extent that I would probably hesitate showing any of the cut-scenes to my girlfriend. Not that she is any kind of shrew but I wouldn't want her to think that RA3 represents a trend in gaming which hasn't really been around for years, being hostile to female gamers.

All that being said the controls actually work for an RTS on a console which is a huge step and all issues aside I'm really enjoying it, despite feeling a little bit dirty, all at the same time.

My apologies for it being over a month since the last post, working in retail over Christmas leaves you absolutely no time. But enough excuses, Merry Christmas to one and all! I hope you all have a good one, and get all the presents that you desire.

Have a jolly, merry time!

Killing Zombies is fun but if the Left 4 Dead Demo experience is anything to go by, getting overwhelmed by them is, oh so much sweeter. It is this feeling which defines Left 4 dead more than any other because its not about kicking shooting Zombies in the head, well okay it is, but there is something else more profound happening. When playing with your buddies on-line you genuinely get a sense that you don't know what is going to happen around the next corner, instead of just feeling like your battling for survival gamers will feel like they are battling against an evil AI Director or Overlord which keeps trying to overwhelm your group with hostiles.

Left 4 Dead almost feels like a game of chess at times, with the AI director chucking game bosses at you in the guise of Super Zombies known as Witches, Tanks, Smokers, Boomer or Hunter at various times of the level. I could explain what these guys do but to be honest when you should experience them yourself, especially when your friends tell you frantically not to shine your flashlight at the Witch.

I know its a point that has been made countless times, but this game does have countless replay value the AI Director system maintains that sense that you don't know what your next play through will allude to. I've played it for 2 hours now and I still haven't completed the two levels supplied in the demo on the hardest play through. To give you an idea of the sense of length, there is five levels in each of the games four chapters. Each chapter is apparently the length of a feature film and the presentation represents that in the loading menu.

As widely reported there is no in game browser at the default settings, instead a lobby is created by a host. From there the host chooses to start the game with the desired settings and the game automatically searches and connects the party to a dedicated server. Its a bit console-esque with the behind the scenes allocation of servers but its slick and as long as you can find a server its relatively hassle free. Although during the busiest times it can take multiple attempts to connect to the server, but hopefully this is a problem that will be addressed when the full game is released. There is also complaints by a few friends about network errors and post game lobby problems, but I have yet to run into any problems.

I have been playing this game with the lovely chaps at Citizengame and its been an absolute blast, we'll be playing all weekend so feel free to check them out on steam. I believe the demo is now available for all on Steam. With the low system specifications, always friendly community,and immediately gratifying gameplay there really isn't any excuses not to give the demo a try this weekend.

Ladies and Gentlemen the pre-order demo goes live at 3pm. Anyone who wants to join me and the lovely people at citizengame.co.uk add us on steam, all the infomation can be found here. Who says you can't kill Zombies after Halloween eh? Although I'm still sitting on the fence regarding which format to get this title on, but I'm guessing the best place to start would be with the PC version.

My steam name is andygribb85, feel free to send me an invite all weekend or just ask me a few questions about the game.

Thanks all,

Hello there everyone,

It's becoming a bit of a habit now but I just reviewed Fable 2 at Citizengame.co.uk. Needless to say I was incredibly surprised how good it was, you can see the review here. As always if there are any comments or suggestions please feel free to put them in the comments at the end of the review.

Also I went to the Eurogamer Expo this week in London, got to play some really good upcoming releases such as Mirrors Edge, Gears of War 2, and even Resident Evil 5! I'll be writing down some impressions over the coming days hopefully with some pictures as well, so hopefully I'll see you here soon.

Cheers

• Getting quite addicted to the earn-a-wage mini games.
• My wife is pretty.
• My other wife is too.
• Best RPG experience since Oblivion
• Dogs are cute, but having a dog watch your game because of the canine related sound effects is cuter.

Hey there ladies and gents,

I just wanted to give you all a heads up regarding my latest review of a charming little game called Lego Batman. All of my reviews will now be at www.citizengame.co.uk, an excellent game related website run by gamespot community's own, Danny O'Dwyer.

But first have a look at my review, see what you think, as always any and all comments are welcome:

Lego Batman Review at Citizengame.co.uk

• Why does Robin need a special suit to press buttons, I knew he was the comedy sidekick but jeez.
• Harley is officially the cutest Lego creation ever, and if anyone disputes this I will make them walk barefoot on team full of Subbeteo figures.
• Killer moth is the worst comic book villian ever, and the fact he is in this game really makes me wonder who Travellers Tales left out.
• I never knew Scarecrow had a bi-plane or better yet the appropriate paper work to fly one.

There is something you should know about me, I like Star Wars, specifically Star Wars games. Sure there was a time when it was easy to like Star Wars games when Lucas Arts were pumping out quality titles such as Tie Fighter, Rebel Assault, and Jedi Knight. But roundabout the arrival of the Episode One in cinemas, the quality took a sharp nosedive and then no one could play later titles like Clone Wars and Bounty Hunter without wondering where Lucas Arts had hidden their talented developers.

Enter Force Unleashed and in a radical change to Lucas Arts most recent form, it is actually really good. Acting as a bridge between Episode three and four the story provides an impressive insight into what everyone was up to between the end of the clone wars and Luke Skywalker reaching puberty. There are plenty of Cameos by major players and you see pivotal events play out in the Star Wars fiction. More importantly though the lead character, Starkiller, is actually a kick ass force wielder. He is fun to play with and he doesn't feel like a support character, he feels too powerful for the universe. Which is what makes the SW:FU feel brave but also kinda desperate for players attention, why Force Grip one Stormtrooper when you can pull a giant Star Destroyer out of the sky? It is this power which makes the story so compelling, explaining how this Force God fairs in an incredibly turbulant era.

The story is by far the most attractive concept of SW:FU, but there is enough to keep you interested between cutscenes. I'm not a fan of your average third person action games, Devil May Cry and God of War are the only two that stay in my mind. But there is interesting ranking up with good combos and the powers are staggered enough so you feel a genuine sense of progression. Not only this but it is always fun torturing your enemys by flinging them out into space, off walkways, or into each other. There has been plenty written about SW:FU groundbreaking AI and destructable scenary, but aside from the impressive stage demos none of that has been faithfully recreated in gameplay. Obviously thats a shame, but to be honest you will be having too much fun electrocuting jawas to care and nothing says FU (Force Unleashed) more than crushing an AT-AT with just the power of your mind.

At just under ten hours, SW:FU is your average slash and jump-a-thon but its a nice length because it doesn't out stay its welcome and manages to stay fresh with interesting locales to fight in and enemys to face. There are bugs and graphical glitches, but SW:FU is an enjoyable return to the Star Wars Universe. A must buy for fans of Star Wars and a title I'll return to complete again in the furture.

Do I put the 3 Red Ringed console on ebay? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy a new elite of premium model? Also just wondering does the elite model have a hard drive transfer cable with it?

Update: Thanks for all your help and suggestions ladies and gents, thankfully Microsoft are repairing my console free of charge due to the extended 3 year warrenty on RROD, yay! Shame its going to take 3 weeks, but it means I can get better acquainted with PC gaming, Team Fortress 2 ftw!