dwarf

I thought the opening hour or so was incredible. The pacing, the artwork, the Prophet reverence and exploring the ultra-intense vibrancy of Columbia. The combat definitely picks up once you've acquired a few vigors and you get the hang of everything (you can take that literally, the skyline fights are usually the most entertaining). Elizabeth was brilliant throughout, usually I find character animations, facial especially, really jarring and awkward but there were probably only a couple of instances where it wasnt seamless. The story turned a little incoherent from about the half way point but the ending was still satsfying. I dont have any major gripes with the game, only niggles. I forgive it for its faults because the world they created was such fun to be a part of, sure under close scrutiny the distant islands and textures are poor (noticeable most when aiming down iron sights) but visually I thought the bloom was gloriously appropriate. Difficulty wise Id say hard mode was near perfect - I died roughly a dozen times of which only a few deaths felt cheap. I cant see myself suffering through 1999 mode because I imagine the patriots/handyman/l.comstock's ghost to be a pain the arse. Collecting vials/gear was as addictive as it ever has been, although maybe they could have made backtracking more open/obvious. A solid 9/10. Loved it

Hmmm, I think I can wait because I'll have all that Plus stuff to download, including the latest Motorstorm. And we can Unch from Monday evening, finally! It's been pipe dream stuff up to this point.

I pre-ordered the PS3 version at The Hut with that incredible grey fitness t-shirt for £34.98 Pumped. I didn't even get on with the original BioShock but everything about this looks incredible, the detail and everything about Elizabeth's animations is awesome. GIMME!

Yoshi's appearance in that vid might be explained by way of referencing the star colours. If you have not collected a star, it will remain yellow in the ending cinematic, likewise if you have collected it, it remains blue.

Sweet thread. - 4 Player WarioWare (Mega Party Game$) - especially Wobbly Bobbly, that shit cray -

Nice Chinos.

PS3 & 360 versions are £34.98, you basically get a free crap T-shirt included (it's £26.98 for PC). Free digital downloads of BioShock 1 if you pre-order a PS3 or PC copy. http://www.thehut.com/elysium.search?search=bioshock+infinite That seems to be the cheapest of all the major UK online retailers. Any advances, you let me know! Columbia trailer part 2:

I ordered that 12GB PS3 off Shopto, cheeky little deal I reckon. Will upgrade to the 250GB drive straight away. Excited to be a gamer again.

The lack of buzz for BioShock Infinite is appalling. I'm not even going to be able to play it and yet I'm going nuts!

I'll just say now that you shouldn't get excited about the platforming in Uncharted or compare it to PoP's. Platforming in Uncharted is used more as a glue to tie the game together and control the pacing - it's never challenging. The camera angles when you're performing leaps serve up some sweet vistas though.

Don't bother with Drake's fortune, if you're unsure about the games, play the best entries. It cuts out time and money.

I say it all the time.. : peace: You just don't fucking know. Among other games, Shorty suggested: Fallout 3 Infamous 2 Dark Souls Uncharted 2 Those games are bloody exceptional. Between them, those four games crush the entire Wii library.

I think Sony shat on the competition this gen, but each to their own. (I don't speak for handhelds, I don't do them)

Right you are.

MGS4 is interesting, it isn't a must-have by any means.

Yeah I saw that 12gb offer on shopto... Might go with that as I have an empty 250gb HDD knocking around.

I'm looking to buy a replacement PS3 for cheap, and preferably one that's new (but a slim/super slim so that it's not liable to YLoD). Where's cheap?

I've just watched a Ken Levine interview, the lead designer of the BioShock franchise. He's by no means a genius, but he offers some rare insights into the development, marketing and tinkering that goes on behind the scenes in videogame production. As gamers we don't tend to pay too much attention to the craftsmanship involved in games because, for us, doing so inevitably shatters those illusions that developers struggle so strongly to uphold in order to keep us immersed. I might add that it's usually a losing struggle to mask these technical flaws from gamers even in the finished product, and it's these technical flaws that prevent games from attracting serious attention and criticism in the mainstream media. So I understand why sometimes it's better to turn a blind eye to all of the cog-turning because it can spoil the magic somewhat. At other times, it's dead interesting. So here's the interview with Ken Levine: I also think this is a great read on the creation of Crash Bandicoot - how the title evolved and what it represented in terms of the success of the Playstation and its competition with the inexorable Mario series. http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/02/making-crash-bandicoot-part-1/ And finally, one of the more exciting ways I've seen developer/gamer interaction is in Valve's developer commentaries. If you bought the Orange Box hopefully you would've taken the time to play through the Half-Life games a second time round, which gives you access to orange dialogue boxes as you play (as shown in the vid). So much thought goes into the design you just wouldn't imagine, you gain a real appreciation for how games are simply unable to make themselves. Whether the commentary is basic description for the way lighting can be manipulated to guide players to the next location or if it's about effective ways of implementing narrative, the whole experience was really engaging and informative, and I think other developers would do well to emulate Valve in this area. I'm not usually the type to care about technical, mechanical things but I love games to the extent that the education becomes addictive and entertaining. If you've found some interesting developer reads/watches, or if you enjoyed any of the above links, do share your thoughts.

Back in the day Cooky and I tore it up on Pacific Rift. I ploughed a lot of time into that game but I always felt I was putting in more than I was getting out of it. It was missing that little something. I approved of the sluggish vehicles but at the same time the handling lacked a sense of freedom, and the races a sense of speed. Maybe the boost didn't have enough impact or there was a lack of a satisfying drift mechanic. It played much faster in the cockpit view but only idiots use that. On the plus side, some of the tracks were incredible and they were joyous to behold, some really memorable architecture. The converging nature of the courses sometimes made it hard to tell which paths were worth bothering with I guess, and that made it a painful grind against the merciless AI. Anyhow, Apocalypse looks to have strayed from the mould, it looks more solid, frantic and fun, but at the same time seems to have lost its identity a fraction. As I say though, look forward to giving it a go.

So if Plus is downloaded before March is out, new users get: PS3 Mass Effect 3 Joe Danger 2 Dead or Alive 5 Mortal Kombat Guardians of Middle Earth F1 Race Stars Quantum Conundrum LBP2 Motorstorm Apocalypse Infamous 2 Vita Stuff: Puddle MGS HD Collection Uncharted: Golden Abyss Gravity Rush // I don't think I'll bother with Mass Effect 3, haven't the patience for something like that right now. I'd give Joe Danger a spin, I'm definitely keen to check out Motorstorm, might have a bash at Quantum Conundrum and perhaps go through Infamous 2 as an evil bastard. The rest...mehhhhh. I remember being so excited about LBP before its launch, but I have zero desire to try the sequel. I did have fun creating levels in the original it must be said. Any good lingering Plus discounts? Or were all the deals recounted in that long quote on the previous page?

Bewildering. GAME never do good deals, but now they've just offered the deal of the year. I wonder what loss they're making on that.

It would be irresponsible to snub that deal. So I now have 13 months of Plus membership but no controllers to make use of it, LOL.

These knives man! If anyone here bothers playing Gunslinger, even when it goes free on Plus, I will be extremely disappointed.