Nathan Blades looks at the polarising RPG for PS3 & 360.
Jason Rose brings us a buyers' guide to smartphones available this Christmas.
Nathan Blades covers some console and industry-defining titles for the Sony PlayStation
Nathan Blades burns rubber in Mario kart 7.
Golden Joystick Results Announced - The results of the UK’s premier video game awards were announced this week, with Portal 2 scooping the coveted “Ultimate Game of the Year” award (and this writer thinks, quite rightly). The awards are widely seen around the world as being something of a gaming “Oscars”, though many have questioned their validity and focus on popularity.
Other winners include Angry Birds Rio in the Mobile Category, Minecraft in downloadable, and the Nintendo 3DS in Innovation. Surprisingly, despite it being seven years old, World of Warcraft won best MMO, likely due to last year’s Cataclysm expansion. An “Outstanding Contribution” award, something of a lifetime achievement, was given to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, whose Sonic Generations will be released on November 1st.
World of Warcraft is Changing, Still Staying Largely the Same - In the event that you have already grown tired of the latest World of Warcraft expansion of Cataclysm, Blizzard already has their next major expansion lined up - revealed last Thursday at Blizzcon.
Mists of Pandaria introduces the Pandaren - anthropomorphic pandas (surprised?), a race that has no allegiance with the Alliance/Horde factions all the other races are divided into. Pandaria itself is looking great - if a bit of a nondescript blend of Asian cultures.
Furthermore, the collectable pets that were previously just for show can now be trained and battled, in a manner not dissimilar to Pokémon. There is no doubt that Mists of Pandaria will cater to all of your obsessive-compulsive needs.
Nintendo Unveil 3DS Firmware Update - After a decidedly lacklustre launch and sales, the 3DS appears to be picking up steam of late, with the release of several high-profile first-party games, as well as a firmware update which will bring a host of new features to the 3D-enabled handheld. This will include the ability to shoot up to 10 minutes of 3D video using the console’s cameras, as well as a utility for creating stop-motion animation.
In terms of other software, the bundled “Find Mii” software is getting an update, and the Street Pass Plaza, which logs when you meet other owners, will get a map, showing when and where they were encountered. As well as this, a feature similar to the original DS’ Pictochat is coming, which will allow users to send messages and drawings over the Internet.
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 - Trading Cards and Lawyers Included - A lot of fighting fans have been irritated with Capcom announcing Ultimate MvC3 so soon after the original; but the steady release of new content information has even the dissenters salivating.
Two new characters - Nova, a superhero given the power of the 'Nova Force' by a dying alien, and Phoenix Wright - the protagonist of many of the Ace Attorney games. Phoenix definitely steals the show here - being a character with no real combat abilities, the developers have gotten creative - letting him throw evidence, tripping foes by scrabbling on the ground for clues, and a Super Move where he summons a judge to slam the entire field with a gigantic gavel.
In addition to the character announcements, a new mode has been introduced - Heroes vs Heralds. Here, there are 'Ability Cards' to collect that change how your fighters behave - ranging from invisibility to the being able to parry attacks. The wide range of cards available promises some fun (or entirely insane) fights.
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