Official PlayStation Magazine Australia has published the first review for the upcoming Batman: Arkham City, giving it a stunning 10-10. Those who enjoyed the first title have a lot to look forward to it seems. Some of the quotes read as follows: “Presentation: Endlessly creative, perfectly moody, and technically flawless. This is Epic’s Unreal engine pushed to its absolute limit.” “Sound: Alternatively foreboding and frantic, the game’s orchestral soundtrack matches the on-sccreen action perfectly. Voice acting is brilliant.” “Controls: Complex and initially overwhelming, but also logical and responsive. It’ll take a while to get used to them, but once you do, it feels perfectly natural flinging Batman around.” “Replay Value: Immense. A massive main quest, dozens of side missions, Riddler challenges, secondary game modes, and DLC will keep most people occupied for months.” “VERDICT: We can’t imagine how a superhero game could be better than this. Absolutely sublime.” I personally don’t count on reviews too often, but this is hard to ignore. Source: Arkhamcity

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Batman: Arkham City – 1st Review!

We’re going to start a new weekly event that will award our visitors with ways of getting free points to put towards our giveaways! This week, we’re using that newfangled form thingamajig. Somewhere on the site is a hidden phrase you must enter into the field (not case sensitive). I can’t spec ulate where. That’s your job. 200 points for the first 20 people!

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Free Points Saturday!

During tonight’s NFL Season kickoff, Sony has the first TV spot for the title planned to play during the Packers/Saints game. And yes, it is all in-game. You can watch it above!

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The First Uncharted 3 TV Spot Airs Tonight

I heard X-Men: First Class was ok but not great. I meant to go see it at least at the dollar movies but never got around to it. I still want to see it, but it will be a rent not a buy. Heard about Hanna recently thanks to Jason (I think) mentioning it in the live chat. Anything for you this week? Highlights for this week: X-Men: First Class, Hanna, Scarface Limited Edition Steelbook, Fringe: The Complete Third Season, The Office: Season Seven, Scream Five-Film Set (Scream 1-3 + Two Documentaries), Dressed to Kill, Straw Dogs, Everything Must Go, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, The Caine Mutiny.

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Blu-ray Releases For The Week Of 9.7.11

The Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection has a final release date and its next week! Gasp.. $9.99 will get you the following: Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat 2 Ultimate Mortal Kombat Warner Brothers officially announced the details this morning. The game includes leader boards, Trophies and online play. Man I can’t wait to play the first one again. Hopefully it will hold up in terms of its very old graphics engine. Source: IGN

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Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection: The Release Date

Today is the last day for signing up for our first GT5 tournament, which is to take place this Sunday! Currently, we have 5 people ready to race, so the odds of winning one of the prize cars is VERY good (3/5). If you want to join, be sure to reply here . Right now, with only 5 people, 1st place will get the Corvette and 500 points for the site. If we get more signups, 1st place will get more points, as will all other places (up to 10th). You also get 150 participation points since it will take up a bit of time, but you must finish the tournament to receive any points.

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Last Chance for GT5 Tournament Signups!

Don’t forget, we still have our first GT5 tournament scheduled for the 24th, which is next Sunday (not this Sunday). You must have your entry in before the 20th, at which point I will set up a final post, including driver list, etc. Currently, we have 4 entries, with plenty of room for more! Don’t forget, you have the chance to win one of these babies . Hope to see you there!

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REMINDER: Gran Turismo 5 Tournament

Metropolis, capital of crime. Private Detective Red Johnson is stretched to his limits after shots were heard from Drownedman’s Bridge. Explore strange worlds, find and use clues that will lead you to the truth in this unique game with stunning backdrops. Question suspects, push them over the edge and confront them in breathtaking action scenes. But don’t forget you also have a brain. In this 8 to 10 hours long adventure/investigation, you’ll discover a world in which everything is dark, sharp and deadly. Even humor. * Compulsive scenario with deadly humor * Between 8 to 10 hours of gameplay * Amazing graphics * Appealing characters with great voice acting * Original puzzles that totally fit the script * Scalable help system for beginners and core gamers alike From the studio that brought you The Pooyos, a fun game series for children 3 to 5 (“Because your 3 to 5 year-olds also deserve to play quality games”) we now get… a noir adventure game. Diversity is the name of the game, and a game that is diverse is what Lexis Numérique will provide to us. Love how this next quote from the sums up who they’re aiming at with Red Johnson Chronicles: If you’re only into first person shooters, Red Johnson’s Chronicles is not for you. Most of the time, point and click games have a set path to follow and puzzles can only be completed with the same solution every time which could put off many gamers… but the same can be said about any game (you only shoot and take cover; you only punch and kick walking from left to right; you only jump and run until you reach your goal, etc.) so let’s keep that in perspective before diving into this game. Want more of a background on the game and on Lexis Numérique? Here’s a Q&A session with the developer , brought to you by the PS Blog. You play as Red Johnson, Private Investigator (as in P and I put together). You investigate privately to uncover the truth below the dirt you got on someone you once knew from before the time when… ah, a cop just showed up at the office! Seems to be that the police are swamped with work to be able to do a proper job on a new murder case that just got dropped onto them, and now Red Johnson must take a payment from the taxpayer’s money to get to the bottom of this and uncover the ending to what is always a fun premise to a game: a who dunnit scenario! This is one of those games we like to call “A Point… And A Click”. You move a magnifying glass around the screen looking for objects or people to interact with, point at them… and then click with the X button to investigate further. If it’s an object, you’ll take it. If it’s a person, you won’t take them. Simple, right? When other humans are involved in the formula you’ll strike up a gentle and kind conversation to try and get insight into what has happened that led to someone being murdered at the bridge. Conversations take place on a separate screen with a special focus on the participants and a fade effect placed on the other objects around them to really drive the point home: LISTEN CAREFULLY at conversations so you can select the proper option from the dialog tree! Choosing poorly can make things end in a very bad way . We’re in the presence of a very good looking PSN game that has a style of it’s own and likes to mix up the way the screen provides us with specific input. The game itself is colorful and alive, but cutscenes play out in black and white and this certainly gives it a different vibe that delivers on it’s “noir” premise. When you click on a stair, an alley or an out of the way path and the view switches around to show you a different take on the scenery or to end up changing to another place. The voice acting is something else I also liked as each character has a distinctive voice which helps keep things interesting. Some people have expressed how the voices can be a bit over the top or “stereotypical” but in a game like this there’s only so much room for trying to come up with the perfect mix of style, substance and uniqueness… and balance everything accordingly. When closely inspecting objects, left analog stick moves the cursor and the right analog stick allows you to move the object to look for clues and information on how to solve all your problems (presented in this first episode. Won’t solve all your real life problems. Please use responsively under the supervision of a Beanie cap wearing PI). This “left stick-right stick” control method is available when solving puzzles as you can tell from the first puzzle you run into which requires you to set the proper combination to open a padlock (no, open sesame doesn’t count) and you use the left analog to move between each set of numbers while the right analog lets you choose the number itself. You can even shake the Dualshock 3 (remember this one started as the Sixaxis?) to help you solve a puzzle or two. All these options make the game feel more dynamic. There’s another element in the game that helps us make a better use of all the evidence we’ve located: the migthy analyzer! Back at your HQ office you can use this marvelous piece of equipment to… do an analysis of the objects you’ve found. You never know when a clue will be available in that discarded can of soda! You can also compare two objects to see if there’s a match between, say, a discarded bullet casing and a gun you found so you can consider if it’s part of the investigation or not. And then, you run into your first Quick time Events (QTE). What are those, you ask? Here you go: Quick Time Events (QTE) : They’re quick, they’re timed and they’re eventful. Shenmue showed them to us, God of War made them it’s own and Red Johnson takes them out for a spin again. When you meet each of the major characters a QTE will start and you must get it completely right to progress (making no mistakes gets you a trophy but making a mistake on every single part of each QTE also gets you one… you know what that means? Play the game twice for both trophies!). If you miss any segment you have to start all over but since they’re quick (hence the QTE name) it’s not like you’ll loose too much time learning the sequence. You’re graded depending on how you do on QTEs, conversations and puzzle solving. Less mistakes or being faster gets you a better grade, a better grade gets you more money. Get mo money, get mo problems. Get a final A grade once you finish? Trophy unlocked! You can save anytime which is great in case you have to stop playing for any reason. It also helps greatly when solving puzzles since you can save before starting one and reload if you get a very bad grade (wink wink, nudge nudge). It’s very difficult to keep track of everything and remember every single detail about a conversation you might have had during the first hour of the game when you’re on hour 5 already which is why you’re provided with a notebook ton help you sort things out. The notebook contains lots of information (more of which is constantly added and you can tell that thanks to a file folder icon that pops up on screen) and you can access it with the Select Button to see where you’re coming from, what you’ve learned so far on the case and what needs to be done to move on ahead. Here’s a brief description of each of the sections available once you open up the notebook: Objectives: A list of all the things that you have to do in order to solve the case Notes: General information about pretty much everything that relates to the case at hand. People: Details and description of the people you’ve met and that play a part on how this story develops. Clues: Shows all the puzzles you’ve unlocked and solved and also gives you the chance to, should you ever be stuck on an objective, purchase hints in exchange for your hard earned money… and doing so won’t block you out of any of the trophies! Map: Allows you to move between the different areas available in the game. Progress: Handy list that shows you how much you’ve done and how much is still left to do. Great for us trophy hunters since we can tell how many puzzles or conversations we’re missing. I’m soooo glad that adventure games have been on such a huge comeback in the last couple of years and Red Johnson Chronicles: Episode 1 (how soon until Episode 2?) does the genre good. 7 to 10 hours of total depending on how good you are at point and click games, great voice acting, a very nice looking environment, a colorful cast of characters and lots and lots of puzzles make this a great game to add to your collection. Review Pros Cons Very good looking PSN game Part of the awesome Point and Click Year Long Revival Great price No ETA on Episode 2 Rating 92% Published by Lexis Numérique Developed by Lexis Numérique Cost – $12.99 Available on PSN Want to get this game? Then you can: Buy Red Johnson’s Chronicles Episode 1 Buy a $20 PSN Card! Buy a $50 PSN Card! Other Information Disclaimer – A copy of the game was supplied by the publisher for this review. – Game was completed (TWICE) before writing this review . – Total amount of time played: 10 hours.

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Red Johnson’s Chronicles: Episode 1 Review

Avatar Creation The Avatar creation process is full of many unique options. You have full control of your in game Avatar from every feature of the face to the body. There is even a Monster Hunter type voice option where you can chose how he or she will grunt and grown. The story still centers around Leonard, but your Avatar will be with your party from the begging just like the first game. For those of you new to the series, your Avatar is your main character that will be used in Multilayer. The game still allows you to use whichever character you want during single player, but who’s going to pass up on changing into the White Knight? Graphics and Sound The game is gorgeous and the amount of detail to the bugs around plants and the ambiance of the sky is simply amazing. The vibrant color pallet brings the world to life. Drop in a killer musical score and a very nice opening song and the world which you spend a good 33hrs in becomes very believable. This is the best part of White Knight Chronicles 2 without a doubt. MMO Feel The game from the very start of character creation feels like a free to play MMO. You can pull up a gesture menu at any time and wave and greet and so forth. The items found and looted from chests appear in a news ticker of sorts in the upper left of the screen. The game feels like World of Warcraft and you can see where the team got their inspiration from. Its just such a mix up of stuff that makes nothing work here. The Japanese RPG is there underneath what is obviously an attempt to cater to the Western market. A shame to be honest. You can still make your own town and upload it to the servers for friends to visit and it can serve as a basis for setting out on a long list of mediocre Quests. Let the Problems Begin Where do I start with this one. The inclusion of White Knight Chronicles (the first one) International Edition is a great bonus, because if you haven’t played the series before you almost have to start with the first one. You will begin 2 in the level 30+ area and will have no tutorial at all to aid you. This leaves you having to manage hundreds of skills and attacks which must be assigned to your in game attack menu. I spent 2hrs here alone before even setting out on a quest. Major issue for newcomers of the series if you chose to start with 2. You must assign every single skill and attack which will be chosen via an in game menu during battle. The battle system was supposed to be improved and more fine tuned, but all they did here was speed up an already boring battle system and add a few options like where to hit an enemy while attacking. Your attacks are chosen as stated before and you must wait for a circle to become fully illuminated before hitting X to initiate the attack. Boring doesn’t begin to explain it. While all this is going on, you have total control over your character, but for what reason? None, to be completely honest. You can try to run around an enemy while charging your attack, but if the enemy is going to hit you, it wont miss if you’re running away, making me wish the battle was turn based even more. They are trying to fake real time battle here and it simply doesn’t work. The ability to create combos is still here and works much the same way. You add your attacks however you see fit and they use up AC points. These combos are almost pointless, as a decent air combo will use up enough AC points that you’re better off waiting to get a few more to turn into the White Knight and decimate everything in a few whacks. The option to command your characters to attack how they see fit, or defend, etc, is there to more or less say, “Hey you can do this”. I found it much easier to simply set it to attack what I am attacking and that is how I left it during my play time with no issues. More Confusion Imagine starting a movie that you have never seen half way through and you have a general idea of what to expect with White Knight Chronicles 2. There is no character involvement at all. The game assumes you have played the first one and remembers every detail that has occurred during Leonard’s previous escapade. Then you have the politics of this person and that person trying to take over and without no solid story behind it you lose any sort of commitment to the cause. Add in a bunch of fetch and kill quests and you have a very boring title on your hands. Running around in the forest destroying cores is as fun as it sounds. Find the core and hit it until its gone, all the while backtracking and spending way too much time in one area. While trying to locate your objectives, you will encounter a bunch of smaller enemy types with the a big beast in the center. You simply attack the smaller ones until you earn up enough AC points to transform and smash the big beast in a few unsatisfying whacks. Shoot me now please. Releases in the states on 9-13-2011. Review Pros Cons Musical Score Graphics and detail Boring combat No tutorial Overly Complex menu system No character involvement Tries to be too many games Rating 48%

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White Knight Chronicles 2 Review

Great game! Beatshapers, enlighten us! StarDrone is a high-speed action thriller with a mix of arcade action, pinball, breakout, physics and collect-the-objects. PlayStation 2 version is compatible with PlayStation®Move motion controller and playable with normal DualShock or SixAxis controllers and created for HDTV and stereoscopic 3D (coming with separate patch). The game features over 50 levels of unparalleled gaming experience and extraordinary replay value. Cause your attackers to crash with rapid speed while collecting gems and power-up enhancements. Overcome perilous hazards and elude zillions of enemies in an effort to complete each stage with a record score. With simple gesture controls and unique, intuitive game play mechanics, StarDrone is friendly to beginners, at the same time challenging enough to bring you back for more and more. What you really want to know RIGHT NOW is… how do you play? You can control the action with the Dualshock 3 by moving the analog stick to choose the beacon you want to use as a traveling aid and press a button to go round and round, like a record . Star Drone is also PS Move compatible. How compatible? You point at the screen to highlight the beacon you want to use as an anchor point so you can orbit around it and press a button to lock your on it. Letting go of the button will send you flying depending on at what angle and direction your unit was before being sent on a journey through the stars. This video will help you understand how the game works: I like the music and so will you! StarDrone has some fast paced and exciting music to go along with all the bright colors and effects displayed on screen. Said music had the advantage of never feeling dull, repetitive, shallow, unnecessary, “just because” or all of the above at any time during my many hours of game playing. The levels start out very small and take just a couple of seconds to be completed but this is mainly to allow you to get the hang of things. Said threshold is reached once you’re at either level 3 or 4 at the latest. Then you like, totally, like, find your groove at level 6. You even get to see a map for the level you’re currently hovering over on the level select screen which helps you get an idea of how difficult said map can be once you go, go, go! Want some extra motivation? You can obtain medals for your fast paced effort… which is a bit hard at first. You see, medals are tied to your completion time for each level and since you have to finish them very quickly to make the grade. You might be a bit annoyed when you don’t get a medal on your first try. It pretty much seems like the game is asking for perfect, synchronized runs but eventually you get “in the zone” and find yourself obtaining silver or gold medals on your first try. There’s four levels types available: – Collect all stars: Get ALL stars on the level to progress onto the next one. – Destroy all enemies: It’s payback time! – Collect all star shards: You see, there was this big star that got shattered so we would like you to go and gather all the pieces and bring them back. Thanks! – Get to the finish line: Race for the giant green GOAL circle at the end of the path. Easy, right? Oh, you’re so, soooooo wrong. The fact that collecting stars isn’t the main objective of the level doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go out of your way to obtain as many as possible. First of all, they add up to your score total for the level and that in turn allows you to go up on the leaderboards as you shoot for the number one spot. Second of all, collecting enough stars will allow you to enter Comet mode so you can start to sparkle and grow spikes that help you destroy your enemies simply by saying hello to them as closely as possible. Eventually you realize you actually have a health bar that needs to be carefully managed. Hitting a Creeper (creepy spherical baddies), being blasted by a rocket or thinking mines are your friend (they’re NEVER your friend, ok? Not even when they bring a bottle of wine or some sweet, sweet cake to a small get together) takes some of that away which is why you must then start to take into consideration that there are health recovery items sprinkled around each level that will prevent you from ending your tale oh too soon… restarting the level is what it is called. FYI: as Mega Man has taught us, spikes are a one hit kill so you must avoid them or else suffer the wrath of the pointy tyrant! There are three power ups available to help you out on this endeavor: Berserk: You go crazy! Watch as rage and anger enter your unit and suddenly transforms it into a lean, mean killing machine. Any enemies near you are instantly taken care of as you dash into one after the other until either they’re all gone or your Berserk time runs out. Magnet: Having trouble reaching for the stars all around you as you fly? Grab a Magnet and then stars will want to be near YOU. Any stars even remotely near your unit will be drawn closer and added up to your collection with the greatest of ease. Invisibility: Sneaky move! Enemies will be unable to see you which makes each trip easier on your thumbs BUT if you, for some reason, decide it’s a good idea to crash into them without having entered Comet Mode… you’ll get hurt, and pain is not something you want right now. Avoid floating mines, rockets and the turrets from which they spawn, Creepers and other hazards to fulfill your destiny and complete all 53 levels included with your purchase, just as the prophecy had established all those centuries ago! Just be careful of level 39. Had to do that one over 100 times before finally being able to bid it adieu. It was the ONLY level I had a problem with so maybe it was just me being “off” for a moment but ooooh how I never want to see good old 39 again. Still, one level out of 53 that gave me a hard time isn’t something to dock several points out of a game that carries around lots of Fun-Fun with it. Review Pros Cons Very fun and fast paced game Great music Lots of content for the asked price Damn you 39! Rating 92% Published by Beatshapers Developed by Beatshapers Cost – $7.99 Available on PSN Other Information Disclaimer – A copy of the game was supplied by the publisher for this review. – Game was completed before writing this review. – All trophies obtained. – Total amount of time played: 5 hours.

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StarDrone Review