There has been an immense amount of rumour and loads of speculation regarding a new PSP being released by Sony, well it has been pretty much put to bed now. In the new episode of Qore, (which has been leaked) the existence of a new PSP has been confirmed and it will be called PSP Go! I guess Sony won’t be too happy about the leak as they would have preferred the news to be a surprise of sorts at their conference at E3 next week but hey, at least we can all rest a bit easier now. Below are some of the main bits of information regarding the new PSP:

• 3.8″ screen
• 43% lighter than the PSP 3000
• 16 GB flash memory
• Bluetooth
• No UMD drive
• Memory Stick Micro
• It won’t replace the PSP 3000
• Autumn release (probably in America)

The big point to take from that bit of information is that the PSP Go will have no UMD drive, which indicates PSP games could partially be going down the digital distribution route. This would mean Sony would have to set up some sort of PSP store much like the one Apple have for their iPod/iPhone, very interesting. If that wasn’t enough, this new episode of Qore also revealed a few new PSP games which will be shown at E3, one in particular is rather interesting:

• Gran Turismo Mobile
• LittleBigPlanet
• Jak & Daxter
• New Metal Gear Solid

Yes that’s right folks, a new MGS game for the PSP. Is this the game that Kojima Productions have been teasing at for the last few weeks or is that something entirely different?! Well one thing is for sure, we definitely won’t be missing the Sony conference next week and we recommend you don’t either. Anyway we shall leave you with some footage from the latest episode of Qore which shows off the new PSP Go! (Video got pulled!) Oh wait the video is back, not great quality but hey beggars can’t be choosers!

…and what a splendid family it is. As gamers, we are rarely treated to games that possess stories as engaging and entertaining as their gameplay. The original Mafia, developed by Take-Two was one of those games that managed to accomplish both. Although not perfect, it was definitely a brilliant experience that should be played by any lover of your typical gangster movie, as it drew heavily from films such as The Godfather and Goodfellas. A lot of the problems in the original were caused by the time period of the game (1920′s). With the sequel set 20 years later, some of these problems should be alleviated. For example, no more painful 40Mph (which was the top speed of most vehicles) battles with your chosen automobile to try and get to your next destination.

If the trailer is any indication of the final product we should be in for another dose of compelling story telling, which should hook you in and keep you begging for more, combined with a nice healthy dose of sandbox-gaming.

Yes you guessed it, I’m talking about the new hotly anticipated Batman game, Batman: Arkham Asylum. Now I have to admit, back in early 2009 when the first trailers were being unleashed upon the public for this game, I was majorly skeptical about the impending release of yet another batman game. As if I hadn’t been tortured enough with the quite dismal range of Batman titles that have been forced upon us. Therefore it was to much surprise when Rocksteady Studios started to make a believer out of me with each subsequent character reveal (Bane being the one that tipped the scales). I suddenly found myself looking forward to a title I had dismissed without a second thought and for good reason.

Well now, Rocksteady have done it again with their latest reveal which, I have to say, has made me even more of a believer (who would of thought it was possible?). All you hungry gamers out there in possession of a PS3 will be able to get exclusive content in the form of playable…..JOKER! From what I can gather, this seems to be a fairly fleshed out part of the game and the Joker is present with all his witty and disturbingly creepy charm. You can tell the team went to great lengths to convey this by the character animation but enough of my salivating, I’ll let the trailer do the rest of the talking.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is due to hit store shelves in August

There hasn’t been much revealed about The Saboteur. It certainly hasn’t gathered much hype in the gaming media but we think this is one to watch out for. Set during World War II (no don’t stop reading), you are given the task of taking down German officers/officials and in general just sabotage their plans for world domination. The unique thing about the game though is the use of colour or the lack of it in some ways. The majority of the areas you will play in will be covered in black and white representing the rule of the Germans and it is your task to bring colour back to the environment. Actually, I don’t think anyone could do the game justice just talking about it. Here, have a look for yourself.

The Saboteur is due to be released towards the end of 2009

Is it wrong that we are actually looking forward to getting our hands on Bayonetta?! Yes, we know she has the whole cheesy yet sexy Sarah Palin/librarian look about her but the gameplay does actually look pretty good. It has the whole Devil May Cry feel to it. Add in the fact that the talented guys and girls at Platinum are the development team behind the game, we can’t help but think our excitement is a little bit justified. Still not with us? Maybe this new trailer will get you on the Bayonetta train.

Bayonetta is due to be released at the end of 2009

Bioware have released a couple of trailers already for the upcoming Mass Effect 2 and one of them hinted that the protagnist, Commander Shepard, could be dead. Well fear not Shepard fans, he (or she, totally up to you) is back. Here, have a look for yourself in this brand spanking new trailer.

If we don’t say so ourselves the trailer looks fantastic and it is good to know that Commander Shepard will be back as it keeps up the continuity of the games universe. We loved the whole epic sci-fi feel of the original and judging by the trailer, this will provide us with more of the same. Oh and before we forget folks, don’t delete your original Mass Effect save as we are told it will actually effect certain events/situtations in the sequel!

Mass Effect 2 is on schedule for a late 2009 release

Yesterday morning Microsoft announced an exclusive deal with Sky to bring sports, movies and TV shows straight to the Xbox 360 this autumn. The service will be provided through Sky Player, an on-demand TV service which has been available for a while now to access via your PC or Mac.

Xbox 360 owners who already subscribe to Sky will be able to access Sky Player through their console, in addition to their PC or Mac. If you are not a Sky subcriber though you will be able to sign up for the Sky Player through your 360 which will enable you to watch Sky on your 360 without the need for a satellite dish or a Sky box. No package or pricing details have been announced yet but we expect something soon.

At this press event on Thursday Microsoft also gave us a glimpse of the service, they showed off how users will be able to watch live football with up to seven of their friends from the comfort of their home and Xbox Live. During a match users can get into a party then talk to each other via their headsets throughout the match. If that wasn’t enough all users can enter into a virtual stadium with a virtual stand for everyones avatars to stand or sit down in. Users will also be able to make their avatar cheer if a goal is scored! Awesome!

This service sounds great and Microsoft have done really well to secure this deal with Sky. Hopefully though people without Sky will not have to pay too much for it and it would make sense if some sort of pay-per-view payment scheme is announced. I can imagine quite a few people would just like to watch one football match rather than paying to watch every match in a season. Anyhow we will keep you posted on any new details on this matter as soon as they emerge.

A few months ago Konami announced they are in the process of remaking (or reinvisioning as they like to call it) the original Silent Hill exclusively for the Wii. The game is currently being developed by Climax Studios and is called Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.When we originally heard about this we thought “Why oh why would you do that? Leave the old classic alone!” but then our minds suddenly changed.

• Harry is moved using the control stick.
  
• The Wii remote is used to aim the flashlight
• No load times
• When you look at something Harry will vocally respond
  
• The Wii remote acts as your cell phone, and the static noise comes out of the Wii remote speaker
• Combat has been removed from the game, you can only flee
  
• When the monsters chase you the Z button will allow you to break through doors, climb fences, through windows etc.

The above details really changed our minds and we thought to ourselves “Hmm this could actually be decent”. The only gameplay mechanic that made us slightly worried was the fact that there would be no actual combat in the game. Then our minds went back in time a little and we asked ourselves was the combat a huge part of Silent Hill anyway? The answer was no. Besides I know I wouldn’t be standing still and trying to kill nasties on my own in a spooky town like that, I would run away as fast as I could!

The imaginative use of the Wii remote is what really got us smiling though, the fact that it would be acting as your flashlight and phone/radio. I mean imagine sitting alone in the dark (best way to play these games) and then all of a sudden getting totally freaked out by sounds coming out of the Wii remote. In theory it all sounds great, we hope the developers can pull it off as the Wii certainly needs more games like this.

Oh and just for your viewing pleasure we have the first trailer for the game, enjoy!

It was inevitable really wasn’t it, we have had Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing and now in 2010 we will be getting Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. This is what Gary Knight (European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe Ltd) had to say about the game:

“Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is no ordinary racing game. Its huge variety of characters and vehicles, plus the ability to play both online and off set it apart from other games of this type. The team have pushed the boundaries on what you would normally expect and created a different and unique party racing title whereby you really can’t take anything for granted!”

Continue reading “Sonic and Co go racing!” »

Ever had someone tell you that you are playing a certain game just a bit too much? Whether it be too much World of Warcraft (like some of our God is a Geek staff, you know who you are!) or in this case a healthy dose of Street Fighter IV? Well it would seem you are not alone. As I innocently scoured the internet for my daily dose of (yes you guessed it) Street Fighter IV news, unaware of what I would find, I stumbled across the following video of this disgruntled girlfriend of some poor gamer. She has a quite lengthy rant about how her boyfriend ignores her for Street Fighter IV which apparently was developed by “Capcon”. Anyway I hope this little clip brings a smile to your face like it did mine.