Inspired by twilight (great movie).

While I was watching it with my girlfriend I wonder to myself …who would win in a fight Kain or Vamp ,Tricky one huh? Both are bad asses and both have the craziest powers. If you’re undecided then ill bring on some facts to help you

In the red corner we have VAMP

Born in Romania, Vamp lost his entire family in a church bombing in which he was pierced by a crucifix and buried in the rubble next to his parents. In order to survive, Vamp fed off of the blood of his family; this is how he acquired a taste for blood. According to Solid Snake, his name is not a reference to his vampire like behavior, but to the fact he is bisexual

A legendary character in the metal gear solid series. Debuting in metal gear solid 2 as the ”immortal” vampire you could not take down .Tricks from running up on walls , dancing/fighting on water , holding his breath for a looong time , effortlessly balancing on railings and on top of that deadly fighting skills.Vamp proved to be difficult opposition for snake , but his rivalry with the character Raiden is the most famous.

In the Blue corner we have KAIN

An arrogant noble murdered and revived as a vampire, Kain embarked on a crusade to kill his assassins and then be restored to human form. When he came to revere his powers, Kain turned his back on his prophesied duty and became a vampire lord ruling over the land. Kain’s attentions later turned to averting his destined doom at the hands of his lieutenant Raziel. Kain’s manipulations of Raziel in the hopes of changing his destiny effectively set in motion the events that make up most of the Legacy of Kain series

Kain has the power of the dark gift , giving him mystical powers like turning into a mist form and nearly being invisible .When he drinks another vampires blood he gains their power , powers like jumping great distances  influencing the weak willed , super speed and telekinesis .all that = bad-assness.

Winner …

You decide

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots

A primeira matéria sobre MGS4 foi feito pela revista inglesa Playstation Magazine, o game tirou nota máxima, bem justificada pela revista.

Estamos em 2014, cinco anos após os incidentes em Big Shell (MGS2). MGS4 tráz um mundo onde a intervenção militar em solo estrangeiro está proibida, aumentando a necessidade de Private Military Companies (Companhias Militares Privadas, PMCs), para travar guerras de negócios. A nanotecnologia tornou-se importantíssima, tanto para aumentar as habilidades dos soldados, como para reforçar a fidelidade dos mercenários. O sistema nanotecnológico que as PMCs usam é chamado de “Sons of the Patriots” (SOP). As cinco maiores PMCs (Praying Mantis, Otselotovaya Khvatka, Werewolf, Pieuvre Armement e Raven Sword) são controladas por uma única companhia, chamada Outer Heaven, comandada por Liquid-Ocelot. Reunindo um exército capaz de rivalizar com o americano, Liquid-Ocelot prepara uma revolta armada com o objectivo de tomar controle absoluto do SOP. Com o mundo mais uma vez em crise, um desacreditado Solid Snake é “jogado” no Oriente Médio com a missão de eliminar definitivamente Liquid. O jogo se situa em cinco localidades: Oriente Médio, América do Sul, Leste europeu, Shadow Moses e Outer Heaven.

Fonte: Wikipédia.org

]]> http://davidlam.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/snake-update/ Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:38:41 +0000 davidlam http://davidlam.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/snake-update/

Working on the gear as we speak…(er type).

Much less bad-ass then my last one.

Odd thing is it came out looking like Sean Connery who was the original insperation for Big Boss.

All day,  I think I can do another before bed.

-Love sam

Slowly but surely have been plugging away at Snake.  The new announcements at E3 this year have renewed my interest.  Want to build him out and try out the new decimation master feature in Zbrush.

Yes! I was just in there to check how the countdown was going and I noticed that the storm had picked up. Thinking this might be a chance to see a new peak of whats going on.. I sit… waiting… and there it happens! A new old and welcome face! Raiden?

Place for the countdown: http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/next/index.html

/Alex
@Start And Select
http://startandselect.wordpress.com

-Jimmy Jangles

Yes it has been confirmed people a famous Sony/Nintendo product is making its way over to the 360. You might be wondering why this is happening. Well the plain answer is money; I guess Konami did not feel as if they sold enough copies for the PS3. Rejoice people of the Xbox, we shall have the holy grail of tactical espionage action video games. The question is why would a game fitted for blu-ray move backwards? Even Otacon made a snide comment to the 360’s lacking ability to read blue ray. “Hold it, Snake. Time to change the disc. I know, I know… it’s a pain. But you need to swap Disc 1 for Disc 2. You see the disc labeled “2”?” said Otacon in MGS4 finishing with “Huh? Oh, wait! We’re on PS3 system! It’s a Blu-ray disc dual-layered, too no need to swap.” My guess will be that the game will have to be broken into a 2 disc game. Which bring up the question going from on-line game play to single player? Now we have arrived at my favorite part of this whole game! The on-line, oh my I can not wait to play this. Now with this on Xbox live we shall have a ton more players and friends to play with. At first I did not like the idea of one of my favorite games selling out in a sense. I feel that Metal Gear should be a Sony product. With the on-line throw into the mix I really do not care just as long as I can play the darn thing. I also think that Konami will be adding in new features to their 2008 hit. Much like the “subsistence” series that have typically included extras such as Metal Gear Skateboarding (MGS2), extra missions as Snake (MGS2) and Catch the Monkey (MGS3). Which then leaves out the people that own the game for PS3 creating another void of hate between PS3 owners and Xbox360 owners. Lets hope Konami would cause such a thing to happen in the gaming industry, we consul owners have enough things to fight about any ways (thank you Bethesda). The name of this product will be posted here very soon, and no it is not Metal Gear Solid 4 Subsistence.

Quote from:

To get to the original You Tube pages just scroll onto the video and click the title in the upper left hand corner.

En los premios que entregan año con año las gentes de Famitsu, el señor Hideo Kojima resultó ganador al premio de Persona más valiosa del año.

Así también Solid Snake fué el personaje del año, Metal Gear Solid 4 ganó el premio de “Alta Calidad” y Grand Theft Auto IV el campeón mundial, a continuación los premios:

Persona más valiosa del año: Hideo Kojima

Personaje del año: Solid Snake

Compañía del año: Capcom

Juego del año: Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G

El mejor vendido: Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G

Premio al título inicial o novato: The Last Remnant

Premio a la innovación: Wii Music

Premio a la alta calidad: Metal Gear Solid 4

Premio al mejor juego de carreras: Mario Kart Wii

Premio multijugador: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Premio parael juego para todas generaciones: Pokemon Platinum

Premio a la comunicación: Animal Crossing: City Folk

Premio al juego de acertijo-aventuras: Professor Layton and the Final Journey Through Time

Premio a la obra maestra: Dragon Quest V

Premio a personaje(s) de acción: Dissidia Final Fantasy

Premio al RPG: Tales of Vesperia

Premio de dramatismo: 428

Premio al Playtation 2: Persona 4

Premio mundial: Grand Theft Auto IV

Fuente: Famitsu

Metal Gear sagrou-se oficialmente como uma das maiores franquias dos games de todos os tempos, ao lado de títulos como The Sims, Mario e Warcraft. Hideo Kojima, o pai da “criança”, por várias vezes foi, e continua sendo homenageado em fóruns e feiras de games, tanto que ele é convidado de honra em um congresso, no próximo dia 23 de março, a GDC (Game Developers Conference).

A última obra máxima que esse cineasta e desenvolvedor de games fez, após três anos – ou mais – de trabalho foi Metal Gear Solid 4. No dia 12 de junho de 2008 o jogo foi lançado mundialmente para as milhares de plataformas playstation 3, fazendo muito marmanjo brasileiro e comprometido esquecer que dia 12 de junho é dia dos namorados. Eu mesmo não lembrava disso.

Metal Gear Solid 4 não somente tirou o console da Sony do abismo em que se afundava, como hoje é o maior título de vendagem do PS3, com mais de quatro milhões de mídias vendidas.

Caso você esteja preocupado com “spoiler”, acalma-se, não será aqui que vai ver as fofocas sobre o final do game. Mas se você quer informações gerais sobre o game, go go go!

Velho, porém Homem!

O ano é 2014, cerca de cinco após o incidente no Federal Hall (Metal Gear Solid 2, para playstation 2). Solid Snake, ou melhor, Old Snake, o protagonista da série, Homem com H maiúsculo, sofre de uma misteriosa degeneração que está acelerando o processo de envelhecimento de seu corpo. Otacon (pra sempre amigo) ajudou Snake a procurar vários médicos especialistas, porém, tudo em vão. Alias, Otacon e Snake têm algo mais “urgente” pra se preocuparem do que uma simples doença degenerativa misteriosa, faça-me o favor né!

Nesse tempo, a commodity (Matéria-prima homogênea em estado bruto ou qualquer produto primário mineral ou vegetal, produzidos em larga escala, ger. destinados ao comércio externo cujo preço é regulado pela relação entre oferta e procura, cf. dicionário Aulete) principal não é tanto o petróleo, ou o aço, mas sim, a GUERRA!

A guerra é o supra-sumo da economia, promovendo o desenvolvimento das nações que, por sua vez, oprimem outras.

As PMCs (Private Military Companny) são instituições privadas fortemente armadas e regimentadas que trabalham para a ordem e a manutenção dessa guerra. Vale observar, por exemplo, que nas disputas político-religiosas entre Israel e Palestina, ao invés dos E.U.A (obs: os E.U.A são aliados de Israel) mandar seus jovens despreparados, ou soldados do próprio estado norte-americano, eles contratam essas PMCs para que façam o “servicinho” para o país. Isso vale para todo o tipo de conflito que ocorre no globo.

As maiores PMCs, Praying Mantis, Werewolf, Raven Sword e Octopus Arms, são mantidas e coordenadas por, ninguém mais, ninguém menos que Liquid Ocelot!

Imaginem que esse mercado da guerra é administrado pelo arquiinimigo de Snake, que por sua vez, não vai deixar o seu “brother” tão de boa assim!

E lá vamos nós, mais uma vez, manter a ordem e a integridade dos Patriots, quero dizer, do mundo, com o triozinho mais famoso do MGS series: Roy Campbell, Otacon e Snake!

Quer saber mais? Tem que jogar pôh!

Música, Câmera, Ação!

Os gráficos do jogo são totalmente, completamente, indiscutivelmente insanos! Eu costumo dizer que até hoje, dia 15 de março de 2009, às 12:52 do domingo, nenhum jogo do mundo dos consoles conseguiu produzir gráficos melhores que dois games: Gears Of War 2 e Metal Gear Solid 4. Não joguei todos os jogos de PS3 e Xbox360, mas não sou daqueles que viu pouca coisa também.

E vou mais além: sabe-se que no início da vida do playstation 3 os desenvolvedores de jogos tinham dificuldades em produzir títulos que de fato usassem toda a capacidade de hardware do console. Hoje em dia é que estão conseguindo desvendar os segredos do kit de produção dos jogos. Isso torna a produção de Metal Gear Solid 4 mais fantástica ainda, pois, como que naquela época, fizeram um jogo tão bem feito?! Cenários como os da América do Sul, com seus filetes de rios, riachos e sua rica vegetação são um show à parte!

A Europa é outro mapa deslumbrante! Experimente olhar para o alto e enxergar a lua escondida entre as nuvens, ou mesmo enxergar os detalhes das belíssimas construções. A arte gráfica, aliada à trilha sonora dá um belo espetáculo cinematográfico.

E por falar em música, esta foi composta por Harry Gregson Willians. Não conhece? Bem, H.G.Willians, foi o carinha que compôs as trilhas de MGS 2, MGS3 e, finalmente, MGS4. Foi também o compositor de trilhas para filmes como Crônicas de Nárnia, Xmen Origins, Cruzadas, etc.

Ainda quer mais qualidade, e referências do que estas?

obs: David Hayter continua sendo o “dublador” de Snake. VIVAH!

Hands Up!

A jogabilidade não poderia deixar de ser tão boa quanto o jogo em si. Os fãs que desde sempre jogaram Metal Gear series não estranharão, e tão pouco terão dificuldades em aprender alguns novos comandos. Mesmo os novatos não vão encontrar muitas dificuldades em aprender os movimentos de Old Snake.

Como descreve o próprio título da série, o negócio aqui é se infiltrar e espionar, sem deixar nenhum rastro de seus serviços. Para isso, o jogador deve usar bem as armas com dardos tranqüilizantes e os ataques CQC (Close Quarters Combat) que ajudam a neutralizar os inimigos sem provocar maiores alertas e rebuliços.

Um dos movimentos mais legais – e difíceis - do game é quando Snake rende um soldado e o revista, assim como faz o policial da guarda civil quando manda a gente levantar os braços e apalpa os lugares mais indesejados. Nesse momento, o jogador pode tanto adquirir itens como armas e munição, como, só de sacanagem, dar um soco bem no órgão másculo do soldadinho. AAAUUU!

Uma das novidades sobre a jogabilidade do game é também a possibilidade de acionar uma visão em primeira pessoa, como Doom, e jogar como se fosse um digno FPS (First Person Shooter). Aqui vale tanto pros jogadores mais furtivos, quanto para aqueles que gostam mesmo é de fazer estrago e mandar bala!

O jogo permite apenas um único player no modo off-line, e até 16 players no modo on-line, que diga-se de passagem, é muito divertido, possibilitando ao jogador a oportunidade de travar batalhas em cenários totalmente exclusivos, adquirir dinheiro e comprar itens para a customização de seu soldado.

Adeus Solid Snake

Vale a pena cada centavo gasto nesse incrível game. Pros fãs da série que querem desvendar e “viver” o último capítulo da participação de Snake em MGS, vale ressaltar também sobre as seqüências cinemáticas que normalmente duram mais que 15 minutos, sendo que a mais “fodástica” tem 91 minutos (final do jogo) de animação! Isso mesmo, mais que uma partida de futebol!

Para aqueles que simplesmente gostam de jogar e apreciar um bom jogo de ação, vale a pena também!

(+) gráfico, música, jogabilidade muito bons!

(+) modo online cativante e divertidíssimo

(+) Old Snake manda bem nas cenas carregadas de emoção, lutas e intrigas!

(-) A instalação do jogo ocupa 5 GB do HD. Um pouco mais até!

(-) Burocracia pra jogar online (criar uma conta na konami, depois uma pro jogo, etc.)

Nota: 9,5

]]> http://gamefaceuk.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/metal-gear-solid-4-gets-a-price-drop/ Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:04:35 +0000 rand0mpanda http://gamefaceuk.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/metal-gear-solid-4-gets-a-price-drop/

Konami announced today that MGS 4 will be added to the Playstation 3’s Platinum range on March 5th, and will cost about £24.99!

Há algum tempo surgiu na internet um video mostrando uma comparação entre uma música composta por um músico russo e o tema de Metal Gear Solid. Tanto que pela suspeita de plágio o tema, que era utilizado em MGS2 e MGS3 foi retirado de Metal Gear Solid 4. O video do Hideo Kojima escutando a música pode ser visto neste link para o youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTcNUoxCmHI

Só não coloco ele aqui no post porque o autor do video retirou o código para incorporar, então lamento, mas vocês terão que clicar no link XD

El misterio fue revelado y debo decir…que decepción.

Cuando todos esparabamos y especulabamos sobre el próximo MGS en alguna otra consola o una nueva entrega en el PS3 o PSP, Konami reveló Metal Gear Solid Touch  que llegará a nuestros iPhones y iPod Touch y esta ambientado en MGS4.

Tambien revelo:

Dance Dance Revolution S Lite

Silent Hill: The Escape

Frogger

XboxOZ360’s Top 12 Games ‘Overall’ of 2008 – OXCGN.

by GrathiusXR & Shadow Wave

©2008 Arthur Kotsopoulos – Ben Cadwallader

We look at the top 12 games from several platforms in order to determine which are the Top 12 Overall Games for 2008, and you might just be surprised at the ‘overall’ winner for 2008 – coming from an Xbox site. OXCGN (aka XboxOZ360-gamer) has always maintained that the staff are “gamers” – not fanbois. Most have more than 2 consoles and platforms to play games on and simply enjoy ‘gaming’ period.

So what better way to round off the year than to take a look at what we believe to be the top 12 ‘overall’ games of 2008. Some of you may agree, disagree or simply sit on the fence, but each game has its merits and each one has been judged on those qualities as well as several other factors which help it stand ahead of the rest.

Please, sit back, grab a drink, and take your time to ‘read through’ the Top 12 Overall Games of 2008, and feel free to let us know of your thoughts in the comments section.  (Ed note: any abusive language will be dealt with with a ban – sorry. We’re not here to be abused, nor are our readers, so some civility please.)

We have several of the Xbox and Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade games reviewed on the site, so you can check those out from the links in each game. Please enjoy.

• 12 – FIFA09 (All major consoles and PC)

One of the best sports games in years and one of the best representations of the ‘beautiful game’, FIFA09 improves on every aspect where FIFA08 fell short.

With a multitude of online and offline game modes available there are countless hours of fun to be had with FIFA09. Faster gameplay and custom tactics to suit your playing style, Adidas Live Season that forever changes the game each week and so much more.

It’s a sport game that can be easily picked up and played with no skill or knowledge required, and while Konami struggle with PES to define it on the next-gen consoles, EA are only improving in every area to please the fans.

It’s earned the last spot on the list because apart from all the shooters and RPG games it is one of the few sports games that manages to stands out against the big name titles. It’s a shame that despite it being a sports game it doesn’t get many nominations for GOTY.

• Check out our full review here.

• 11 – Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core (PSP)

This is the definitive Playstation Portable game of 2008. Crisis Core provides players with a story driven prequel to the great classic Playstation 1 game, Final Fantasy 7, which is sure to make many fans happy.

Instead of playing as Cloud, you play as the lesser, but important character from the original game, Zack. Crisis Core tells Zack’s story of working for the Shinra Corporation before the events of Final Fantasy 7.

Crisis Core doesn’t use a turn based battle system, but has become more of an action game with RPG elements. Zack can run around the area and attack when he wishes.  Due to the games long length, the combat can become a bit tiresome towards the end, as pressing the X button performs most of the combat, but what drives this game is its deep and revealing story.

For the PSP system the graphics, sound quality and presentation is top notch, and never becomes mundane. Fans of the series will love to revisit classic areas that look very different now on the PSP system. The game even has full CGI cut scenes that comes close to rivalling the quality of the Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children movie.

We gave Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core the number 11 spot, as it is a game that fans or people new to the genre can pick up and understand.  It’s a very impressive game that will captivate players until the credits roll.  Hopefully this sequel means we are one step closer to getting the dreamed about Final Fantasy 7 remake. If you own a PSP, do yourself a favour and pick up this brilliant title.

• Check out the IGN.au review here.

• 10 – Resistance 2 (PS3)

Resistance 2 sits amongst the upper tier of PS3 flagship titles alongside LittleBigPlanet, MGS4, and the soon to be released Killzone 2. It is one of the few exceptional first person shooters that push the PS3 in terms of game play and content.

Boasting a staggering 60-player multiplayer to suit anyone’s needs and a separate single player co-op experience, which runs parallel to the single player, Resistance 2 is a complete package.

10th spot is what we feel Resistance 2 deserves, as it’s not the greatest example of gaming in any one area but provides an overall package that delivers. Big scale battles, a great variety of weapons and enemies and plenty of Chimera to shoot at, Resistance 2 is an FPS game that any fan of the genre should have a go at as it is one of the few good shooter games that stands out as fun, challenging and worthy of experiencing.

• Check out the Metacritic review here.

• 9 – Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)

It’s a JRPG game that knows how to entertain. It was a tale of evil, power, love, friendship, family and most of all, life. Mistwalker provided a game that encompasses everything you could ask for in the JRPG genre.

It stands out as a great accomplishment with stunning visuals, a huge world to explore, and with a great variety of enemies, characters that you love to hate and hate to love and so much more. Playing through the game as Kaim, an immortal that has lived for hundreds of years, has allowed Mistwlalker to include a plethora of side stories for almost everything.

Kaim interacts with NPC’s throughout his journey, with these interactions unlocking various dream sequences that become the vehicle for deeper character development and story exposition. Lost Odyssey does not disappoint, with an engrossing tale that spans 4 discs and stretches beyond 50 hours.

Lost Odyssey sits at 9th spot, as it wasn’t a title that many could just pick up and play, and required a serious time investment, which is something most gamers are short on.

• Read our full review here.

• 8 – Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii)

The long awaited third game in the Smash Brothers franchise was finally released on the Wii after many delays this year by Nintendo, and is sure to provide avid gamers with hours of multiplayer madness that will surely help make parties and small social gatherings more lively.

While Brawl’s single player may eventually become boring and tiresome, the real experience this game delivers is in its multiplayer. Its simple control scheme makes the game very easy for almost anyone to pick up and play.  There are heaps of characters to choose from, with many famous Nintendo personalities making an appearance, as well as some iconic characters from other series.

4 player battles are great fun and full of laughter if you are playing with a group of friends, and as each character bows out of the fight, it will eventually lead to an intense 2 player duel, where anything can happen.

We gave Super Smash Brothers Brawl the number 8 spot, because of how long the multiplayer will surely live. This is a game that will be frequently put into the Nintendo Wii  for years to come. The social aspect of the title places it amongst the other great multiplayer games of 2008.

• Checkout the IGN.au review here.

• 7 – Crysis Warhead (PC)

Crysis Warhead is a fantastic PC game for its low price and value. While not a true sequel to the original Crysis game, Warhead gives players a chance to view the story from a different perspective and ‘fill in the gaps’ by playing this time as the character Psycho. You play through events occurring on the other side of the island, adding a unique viewpoint to the action. Warhead has been better optimised and performs more consistently on any type of computer.

Crysis Warhead sets the bar for graphical quality just above the original game, and provides jaw-dropping visuals for the player to lose himself or herself in. The players gets to rock out in the nanosuit and then are able to take out their enemies in almost whatever style they wish by altering the enhancements the suit provides. Speed, strength, or invisibility, can be improved, which dramatically changes the style of play.

Also bundled with Crysis Warhead is a fun multiplayer game called Crysis Wars, where players can fight each other in Death Match style multiplayer matches, and where each player is in their own nano suit. It becomes very entertaining to play against an enemy that has a completely different play style to you by exploiting a different function of the nanosuit.

We gave Crysis Warhead the number 7 spot because for the lower price point of $49.95 AUD, this is a great game to put your PC through its paces; its game play is very diverse and should provide great entertainment for gamers that love shooters.

• Check out our full review here.

• 6 – Far Cry 2 (Xbox 360/ PS3/ PC)

Ubisoft Montreal knows how to deliver a top-tier experience and they have not failed with Far Cry 2. Thrusting the player into an open African environment and giving them the tools they need to complete their objective, Far Cry 2 creates many great unscripted and unexpected moments.

Take the stealth approach if you desire, using the night as cover and attacking with Molotov’s, a pistol and a sniper rifle. Alternatively take the Rambo approach with an AK47, some grenades and a grenade launcher as a secondary weapon. The terrain is huge and expansive, offering 50 square kilometres to explore.

Sure the travel is a bit tedious at times but this open-world is sure to immerse you in the game. Watch the sun set, make a bush fire and watch the wind do the rest, plus so much more.  Then there is the map editor which is absolutely amazing.  You can create your own world then go play in it.

It gets 6th place for the fact that it is your world to explore at any time and do anything you want in. There was no forcing you down a particular path; the game was just one big non-linear playground to have fun in.

• Check out our full review here.

• 5 – Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

The sequel to what is undoubtedly one of the most popular Xbox 360 titles to date, Gears of War 2 raises the bar for the genre in almost every aspect. Epic vistas to look at, more variety of enemies, new game play features and a more fleshed out storyline are just some of the features of Gears of War 2.

Whether it’s playing the campaign on your own or with a friend, gathering a party of 5 to go forth and battle against others on Xbox Live, enjoying the company of fellow gamers in the 50 waves of Horde mode, or playing with intelligent Bots, Gears of War 2 has something to offer both Single Player and Multiplayer fans alike. Gears of War 2 promised a lot and delivered on almost everything, but what’s a great title without its flaws hey?

We gave it the 5th spot mainly because it is still flawed with certain glitches and issues (mainly regarding Multiplayer) but offers an experience and a single player campaign that is just pure awesome. Whether it’s gunning down Reavers with a turret or battling Brumaks with mortar weapons, Gears of War 2 has delivered.

• Check out our full review here.

• 4 – Fallout 3 (Xbox 360/ PC/PS3)

Bethedsa’s first Fallout game, they have had to change a lot from the classic game play of the previous titles to be more appropriate for the current generation.  Using the impressive Oblivion engine, Bethedsa have created a very strong game, where players can spend hours wandering around the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Another very strong story has been written for Fallout 3, where players break out of the safe Vault 101, in search of their father (Voice acting by Liam Neeson) and stumble into the radiation filled wasteland.  Once the player is out of the Vault, you can do as you wish,  travel wherever you want, do quests in whatever order you wish, and make your own decisions which have varying consequences. Fallout 3 is a game that lasts as long as the player wants, which can last up to 100+ hours if you wish.

Players will fight many mutated animals and other dangerous enemies in their travels, where they can choose to fight in third person view, or first person. The new VATS combat system has also been added, where players can pause the game and target specific areas of an enemy (such as an arm), and watch as it flies off in a gory mess after the gun has been fired – and it never gets old!

You can learn a great deal about the game’s history through many quests that are found throughout the wasteland.

We gave Fallout 3 the Number 4 spot because of its rich, diverse environment that players can lose themselves in for a very long time.

• Check out our full review here.

• 3 – Dead Space (Xbox 360/PC/ PS3)

The iconic EA over the years has produced a plethora of games, though many have been heavily criticised as being disappointing and downright abysmal. Yet this year EA have stepped up their game and have come forth to produce titles of quality.

Dead Space is a one of those titles, with the use of narrow dark corridors, graphic dismemberment and excellent audio.  It  created a genuinely spine tingling sensation of claustrophobia and helplessness. It was hard to find a fault with this title, which featured a storyline that had twists and turns right up until the final cut scene.

It’s a title best played at night with the lights turned off and the sound full blast, as ammo is scarce, enemies can be heard scratching at the walls and character movement is solid. Using a 3rd person view and incorporating the HUD directly on the player’s torso it created a more immersive experience that firmly wedges itself amongst the other great titles of the year.

We gave it 3rd place because it absorbed you into the game like no other. It fleshed out the storyline with twists till the very end and kept you guessing.

• Check out our full review here.

• 2 – Braid: (Xbox Live Arcade)

Jonathan Blow’s Braid is the most unique and influential game to be released for a very long time, a game that takes the side scrolling, platforming genre to a new level of creativity. Whether it’s the game play, story, graphics or music, all aspects of this game are completely different from all other XBLA releases making it a great game that stands out from the rest.

You play as Tim and as you travel through different worlds searching for your ‘princess’, you discover more and more of the very deep and complex well-written story of the protagonist and his memories.  Instead of general side scrolling like Mario, Braid has implemented more of a puzzle theme into the game, where you manipulate different aspects of time to collect (ironically) puzzle pieces, which unlock other parts of his memory to get him closer to finding the princess.

The gorgeous watercolour style graphics glisten from your television set. The rich colours and unique design are inspiring and make Braid even more interesting to play through. The style of each world’s design is accompanied by suitable music specifically chosen by Jonathan Blow. It is very fitting and does a very good job at setting the theme of each world.

We felt Braid deserves the number 2 spot in our Game of the Year listing as it oozes class and creativity. We hope that Jonathan Blow’s problems with the Xbox Live Arcade Service are resolved, or if not, we see a Braid sequel on any platform. But whatever the case, we can’t wait for it.

• Check out our full review here.

• 1 – MGS4 (PS3)

Hideo Kojima’s latest and final story of the Solid Snake saga marks the end of an era in gaming. Each instalment of the Metal Gear Solid series has amazed us with its high cinematic presentation and game play. Whether gamers experienced the whole series, or just played Metal Gear Solid 4, the game attracted whoever experienced it into its deep and enticing story.

The game has near movie quality cut scenes that will set the standard for future titles, with brilliant voice acting and animations.  These cut scenes (whilst quite lengthy), were always a joy to watch and thankfully Metal Gear Solid 4 was given the ability to pause these cinematics.

Even if the player prefers game play to the gorgeous cut scenes, the game play does not disappoint. Using Snake’s Octocamo stealth suit, the player can watch as Snake blends into the background to hide from foes and traverse the various areas much more safely.

For the Rambos amongst us we can run in guns blazing thanks to the much more diverse amount of weapons the player has at our disposal. Once the game has been beaten there are heaps of incentives to replaying the single player portion, such as getting the illusive stealth camouflage item.

We give Metal Gear Solid 4 first place for Game of the Year; it’s truly a gaming benchmark and an amazing story to be engrossed in. Even in a year full of Xbox 360 quality games, this PS3 game still rises above.

• Check out our full review here.

©2008 Arthur Kotsopoulos – Ben Cadwallader

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The winners have been announced for the Spike VGAs.  I’ll compare my picks with who actually won.

• Game of the Year:
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Personal pick)
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Grand Theft Auto IV

Honestly, I’m quite surprised. Perhaps this was a product of the hype and of the outstanding PR job that Rockstar does.

• Studio of the Year:
  • Rockstar North (Personal pick)
  • Harmonix
  • Media Molecule

Not too surprised really.  LittleBigPlanet was a huge release for the PS3.  Big win for a little know developer.

• Best Shooter
  • Gears of War 2 (Personal pick)
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Gears of War 2

I hoped it would win but I didn’t really think that it would stand up to Left 4 Dead.  Valve earns great respect in the gaming world and I didn’t see them losing.

• Best RPG
  • Fable II (Personal pick)
  • The World Ends With You
  • Fallout 3

Somewhat surprised.  The game was hyped pretty well but I’ve only heard mediocre reviews.  I wasn’t so sure that it would win anything.  I chose Fable only because of the following that the first one had.

• Best Fighting Game
  • Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (Personal pick)
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • Soul Calibur 4

Again, somewhat surprised.  I would’ve figured that the big names of Mortal Kombat and DC Comics would’ve been enough to push that one ahead.  And there’s always the weight that anything with the Nintendo brand carries that can propel their games ahead.

• Best Individual Sports Game
  • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Personal pick)
  • Wii Fit
  • Shaun White Snowboarding

Huh.  Not expecting that at all.  Understanding that Tiger Woods games aren’t the most exciting ever, I figured that Nintendo would pull the win with Wii Fit, simply because it’s Nintendo.

• Best Handheld Game
  • Patapon (Personal pick)
  • God of War: Chains of Olympus
  • Professor Layton

Umm…what the hell is Professor Layton?

• Best Graphics
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Personal Pick)
  • Gears of War 2
  • Metal Gear Solid 4

I had a hard time deciding this this one.  Both games have amazing graphics.  I think Metal Gear Solid won because of the amazing cut scenes.

• Best Game Based on a Movie or a TV Show
  • Star Wars: Force Unleashed (Personal Pick)
  • Star Wars: Force Unleashed
  • Lego Indiana Jones

I’m definitely shocked on this.  This game got low reviews across the board.  Granted, the Star Wars games are starting to become a bit saturated but Lego Batman got way better reviews than this.

• Best Music Game
  • Guitar Hero World Tour (Personal pick)
  • Rock Band 2
  • Rock Band 2

I saw it coming.  Rock Band has MTV behind it.  MTV = Viacom.  Viacom also owns Spike.  And Harmonix.  I’m so sure Viacom was being unbiased in this decision.  Rock Band is a good game but Guitar Hero World Tour has nicer guitars (that don’t have buttons that randomly stop working) and a way nicer, and more realistic, drum set.  And Guitar Hero Metallica will feature support for double bass petals.

• Best Driving Game
  • Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Personal pick)
  • Midnight Club: Los Angeles
  • Burnout Paradise

Eh, I can’t complain.  I like Burnout games.  I didn’t buy this one because I just didn’t feel like the free roam could work for these games.  And to get rid of the Crash scenarios that made these games what they are?  Blasphemy.

• Best Action Adventure Game:
  • Dead Space (Personal pick)
  • Metal Gear Solid 4
  • Grand Theft Auto IV

No.  Just no.  Grand Theft Auto IV was not the best Action Adventure this year.  My choices between MGS4 and Dead Space was a tough one.  I highly enjoyed both games (haven’t finished Dead Space yet) and it was hard choosing.  I did not think that GTA IV should’ve won this.  It is essentially the same game since GTA 3.  The same 3D gameplay, just with newer graphics, a deeper story, famous voice actors, and a bigger landscape.  I could’ve seen giving this to GTA: San Andreas when it came out.  To me this says “Let’s choose the most controversial game of the year just to prove the critics wrong and fatten Rockstar’s pockets a little more.”

• Best Team Sports Game:
  • NHL 09 (Personal pick, though I don’t honestly care who wins)
  • Madden NFL09
  • ?

According to all the results I’ve seen, a winner for Team Sports wasn’t chosen.  Oh well.  Moving on.

• Best Soundtrack:
  • Guitar Hero World Tour (Personal pick)
  • Rock Band 2
  • Rock Band 2

Huh.  Surprise surprise once again.  Rock Band gets AC/DC.  Guitar Hero gets Metallica.  Hmm…which is the greater franchise?  It isn’t the Viacom product.

• Best Xbox 360 Game:
  • Gears of War 2 (Personal pick)
  • Fable 2
  • Gears of War 2

Again, I figured that Fable, being a Microsoft product, would’ve dominated.  But the Gears series is a much bigger title for the 360 and I’m glad to see it won.  Fable is boring.

• Best Wii Game:
  • Boom Blox (Personal pick)
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • Boom Blox

I’m glad to see this game win.  I just sold my Wii so I ultimately don’t give a rats ass but I get tired of seeing Nintendo products being gods of the gaming world.  Smash Bros.  is essentially the same game it was back on N64.  I’m glad to see something innovative and fun got the win.

• Best PS3 Game:
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Personal pick)
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • LittleBigPlanet

Kind of saw it coming.  It was too big of a release to not win.  I would’ve liked MGS4 take the win on this as it’s truely an epic game that had my jaw on the floor more than once.

• Best PC Game:
  • Spore (Personal pick)
  • Spore
  • Left 4 Dead

I should’ve seen this coming.  I think Spore somewhat flopped, though it was a really cool game.  Again, Valve has a lot of weight in the PC gaming market so it doesn’t surprise me that they took the gold on this one.

• Best Original Score:
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Personal pick)
  • Metal Gear Solid 4
  • Metal Gear Solid 4

I would’ve been highly upset if MGS didn’t win this category.  This game had amazing music.  It should set the standard for games to come.

• Best Multiplayer Game:
  • Gears of War 2 (Personal pick)
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Left 4 Dead

Not surprising, given the nature of Left 4 Dead.  I picked Gears of War 2 more out of hope than anything.

• Best Performance by a Human Male:
  • David Hayter as Old Snake in MGS4 (Personal pick)
  • Michael Hollick as Niko Bellic in GTA IV
  • Michael Hollick as Niko Bellic in GTA IV

Though the performance of David Hayter was superb, I knew that Michael Hollick was a shoe in.  The emotion he conveyed as Niko and the way that Rockstar made sure that his voice talents meshed well with the other characters was beautiful.  A well deserved award.

• Best Performance by a Human Female:
  • Debi Mae West as Meryl Silverburgh in MGS4 (Personal pick)
  • Keeley Hawes as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Underworld
  • Debi Mae West as Meryl Silverburgh in MGS4

A bit surprised really.  I didn’t play TRU so I wasn’t sure what the voice acting was like but I knew that Debi Mae West did a great job as Meryl.  She lent a lot of emotion to Meryl and really made the character shine.

• Best Independant Game Fueled by Mountain Dew
  • PixelJunk Eden (Personal pick)
  • PixelJunk Eden
  • World of Goo

I almost picked World of Goo.  After seeing the kind of press it was receiving on sites such as Kotaku, it doesn’t surprise me that it won.

Apparently there was 2 more catagories that I wasn’t aware of.  Best Big Name Male in a Game and Best Big Name Female in a Game.  Kiefer Sutherland for Call of Duty: World at War and Jenny McCarthy for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, respectively.  I honestly didn’t know Kiefer Sutherland was in Call of Duty: World at War.  Mostly because I haven’t played it yet (getting tired of WWII Call of Duty games).  I haven’t gotten to the Allied campaign in C&C: RA3 yet so I’m not sure about Jenny McCarthy’s performance in that game, though the Soviet campaign was a lot of fun.

I’ve not watched the Spike VGA’s since the first one when Andrew WK rocked out in a wheelchair.  I watched a little bit of one a couple years ago but stopped when World of Warcraft didn’t win anything (back during my “WoW is the best game ever!” days).  It is always interesting for me to see the nominees and the winners though.  Even though the list of winners has been leaked, I haven’t read the list yet and figured I’d make my own winners list.  Both my picks as well as who I think really will win.

• Game of the Year:
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Personal pick)
  • LittleBigPlanet
• Studio of the Year:
  • Rockstar North (Personal pick)
  • Harmonix
• Best Shooter
  • Gears of War 2 (Personal pick)
  • Left 4 Dead
• Best RPG
  • Fable II (Personal pick)
  • The World Ends With You
• Best Fighting Game
  • Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (Personal pick)
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Best Individual Sports Game
  • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Personal pick)
  • Wii Fit
• Best Handheld Game
  • Patapon (Personal pick)
  • God of War: Chains of Olympus
• Best Graphics
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Personal Pick)
  • Gears of War 2
• Best Game Based on a Movie or a TV Show
  • Star Wars: Force Unleashed (Personal Pick)
  • Star Wars: Force Unleashed
• Best Music Game
  • Guitar Hero World Tour (Personal pick)
  • Rock Band 2
• Best Driving Game
  • Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Personal pick)
  • Midnight Club: Los Angeles
• Best Action Adventure Game:
  • Dead Space (Personal pick)
  • Metal Gear Solid 4
• Best Team Sports Game:
  • NHL 09 (Personal pick, though I don’t honestly care who wins)
  • Madden NFL09
• Best Soundtrack:
  • Guitar Hero World Tour (Personal pick)
  • Rock Band 2
• Best Xbox 360 Game:
  • Gears of War 2 (Personal pick)
  • Fable 2
• Best Wii Game:
  • Boom Blox (Personal pick)
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Best PS3 Game:
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Personal pick)
  • LittleBigPlanet
• Best PC Game:
  • Spore (Personal pick)
  • Spore
• Best Original Score:
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Personal pick)
  • Metal Gear Solid 4
• Best Multiplayer Game:
  • Gears of War 2 (Personal pick)
  • Left 4 Dead
• Best Performance by a Human Male:
  • David Hayter as Old Snake in MGS4 (Personal pick)
  • Michael Hollick as Niko Bellic in GTA IV
• Best Performance by a Human Female:
  • Debi Mae West as Meryl Silverburgh in MGS4
  • Keeley Hawes as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Underworld
• Best Independant Game Fueled by Mountain Dew
  • PixelJunk Eden (Personal pick)
  • PixelJunk Eden

I am biased towards Metal Gear Solid 4 in my personal picks.  It was an amazing game that I fully intend on playing again.  And I have to admit, I was biased against Grand Theft Auto IV.  It did not live up to my expectations.  It was hyped and hyped and when it came out, I was mostly disappointed.  Maybe next time Rockstar.

(1)  Grand Theft Auto 4 - Xbox 360 & PC

GTA 4 has all of the makings for game of the year: blood, sex, violence, destruction, death, and prostitutes.  For any fans of the gangster/mob genre there is no greater storyline than an Eastern European coming to America to do right  and getting dragged back into the underworld of crime.  Niko Bellic was a great character that encompassed the raw emotion that none of the previous GTA characters were able to.  The missions were far more diverse and the recreation of NYC was very well done.  GTA 4 is a must have for any gamer.

(2)  Gears of War 2 – Xbox 360

This heavily anticipated sequel does everything right, again.  The level design in GOW 2 is far more expansive and bigger and better than the original.  There’s brutal executions, more blood and gore, and a much more detailed plot delving into a lot of the backstories of Dom and Marcus.  Add in the addictive Horde mode and a highly replayable Multiplayer mode and you’ve got one of the best games of the year.

(3)  World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King – PC

The 2nd expansion to WoW opens up a new continent, caps the levels to 80, adds addictive achievements, new raid dungeons and gear, and improved battlegrounds.  Surely that will be enough to keep WoW fans please for the rest of ’08 and well into ‘09.  Blizzard has its hands full with some big franchise sequels coming out next year but World of Warcraft has become its flagship series.

(4)  Metal Gear Solid 4 – PS3

Snake is back..and old.  Metal Gear Solid 4 takes place in the future and has an aging Snake as its protaganist.  The cinematic cut scenes in this series has always made this franchise feel like playing your own movie, and with the amount of them in MGS 4 you feel like you are watching a movie.  Fortunately it’s a good one.  MGS 4 is probably going to come to the Xbox 360 in ‘09 but for ‘08 it was the only reason to buy a Playstation 3.

(5)  Call of Duty: World at War - Xbox 360 & PS3

The fifth Call of Duty isn’t made by the same geniuses that brought us Modern Warfare, but fortunately Treyarch used the old saying if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  The multiplayer is very similar to COD 4 and the story line harkens back to the WW2 but brings it to us in a fresh new form.  COD 5 will please fans of the series but all eyes are now on Modern Warfare 2 as Infinity Ward takes back the reigns.

(6)  Fable 2 – Xbox 360

Fable 2 is the sequel to Peter Molyneux’s Xbox masterpiece.  Microsoft is pretty severly lacking in the RPG department, and the Fable franchise is there to fill the void.  You can choose between being good or evil and whether you want to help town’s or destroy them.  It’s all here for your enjoyment.  You have a trusty dog to follow you around and you can get STD’s from the town whore.  What better way to spend a rainy sunday afternoon?  Fable 2 doesn’t exactly exceed any grande expectations, but its a solid game worthy of being on this list.

(7)  NBA 2k9 – Xbox 360 & PS3

There’s no better sporting franchise in recent years than NBA 2k.  With Madden feeling old and stagnant and basketball getting more popular again, NBA 2k9 brings the realism of the sport with far greater gameplay than anything made by EA in recent memory.  The 2k9 series is more aimed towards basketball enthusiasts than its arcade like competitor NBA Live, but that’s what makes this game the most real b-ball simulator on the market.

(8) Rock Band 2 - Xbox 360, PS3, Wii

Music rythem games seem to be getting a little played out with the sudden influx of them, but the Rock Band series was what really revolutionized the stagnant Guitar Hero concept.  With far better downloadable content than Guitar Hero World Tour, and a better song list out of the box (almost 100 songs), Rock Band 2 is the cream of the crop for people wanting to simulate their favorite band.  Also the price has dropped considerably on the instruments, making it an ideal gift idea for the holiday season.

(9)  Super Smash Bros Brawl - Nintendo Wii

N64 & Gamecube fans will remember how addictively fun the original Smash Bros was with a group of your close buddies on a friday night,  you know bucket of popcorn, dim lighting, no girls allowed.  Well with the Wii’s updated sequel you get a ton of cross over characters like Solid Snake and Sonic plus a ton of new levels, some old levels, and a pretty fun campaign.  The Wii doesn’t have too many games going for it, but Smash Bros Brawl has been a big reason for gamers to buy the system and have something decent thats worth playing.

(10)   Fallout 3 – Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Fallout 3 has completely remade the way we look at video games.  The story takes place in a post apocalyptic Washington D.C. where your character has emerged from safety in an underground vault to find his/her missing father.  And thats all you know.  Everything from that point becomes about survival.  You don’t know who to talk to, who’s on your side, and danger lurks around every corner.  Something like this has been tried in the movies (Resident Evil Apocalypse and I Am Legend) but this is the first time its done well in a video game and totally revolutionizes video game plots for some time to come.

Metal Gear Solid 4 War Of The Patriots Capscreen Wallpaper Pack

Download Link :

http://www.ziddu.com/download/2574492/MGS4_war_of_the_patriot_capscreen.rar.html

Well been trying to find time to work on this.. made a little progress.  Trying to just follow the concept art I can find and ignore the 3d versions already created.

Good evening, everyone. Not really anything ground breaking today, but there are a few follow-up stories to things that I wrote about earlier in the week.

After reporting that the Portal: Still Alive XBox Arcade game would be coming out soon yesterday, XBox announced that it would actually be coming out this Wednesday. The game, which will sell for 1,200 Microsoft Points, contains the original game and 14 new challenge maps and six advanced challenges for people to play.

In a follow from my XBox 360 Metal Gear Solid 4 story, the story that Morningstar published at the beginning of the week has been taken down. This came after Microsoft said that the 360 could handle MGS 4. I really can’t understand why Konami just can’t let this rumor die and confirm it already, maybe sometime in the near future.

That’s all I have for now. It’s been kind of a slow week, and I’m sorry about that. Just stay tuned for another update soon.