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Operations Manager: Henry M - henry.m@thegamershub.com Productions Manager: Dan H - dan.h@thegamershub.com Content Editor: Vaughn H (Starfox118) - Vaughn.h@thegamershub.co Tech Editor: Ryan P (Ryan.P) - ryan.p@thegamershub.com Media Editor: Lewis W
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Community Manager: Sam D Staff Writer: Joseph T - joseph.tyler@thegamershub.com Staff Writer: Robby D (Rob95) Staff Writer: Talwinder S (JustaGamer) Staff Writer: Gagan G (gagan0305)
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News Editor: Dylan V (dylan365v) - dylan.v@thegamershub.com Staff Writer: Robert D (Rob95D)
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US Editor: Anthony D (Anthony D) - anthony.d@thegamershub.com Staff Writer: Chris C (Chris C) Staff Writer: Nate D Staff Writer: Liam F (lpfisher) Staff Writer: Vanessa H (Vanessa H.)
Welcome...
This is the eighth edition of TheGamersHub monthly magazine. Each issue brings you the top reviews and news of each month about games and technology. The magazine will also include events that will be happening involving TGH and the community. We are no longer just getting to grips with the magazine now and have a set template made. But ofcourse please do feel free to give us any feedback on improvements that could be made, or future topics you would like to see appearing in here by emailing: dan.h@thegamershub.com
About TGH
Set up on July 27th 2009 to provide news, reviews, articles, previews and blogs with a community aspect. We have taken big steps to get where we are today, which wouldn’t have been possible without you. The sites aim was to create a place for budding game journalists to get some experience in the industry and since then we have helped people all over the place to build a respectable portfolio which has lead to many paid freelance jobs in some big publications. We reach 100,000’s of people each month checking out the site and we help provide them with a unique string of relevant content. We have a team in the UK, RoI and the US who report news throughout the year and we have some big plans for the future.
A word from this months Magazine Editor This month has been a big one for The Gamers Hub. With some new faces ready to appear on the site soon, as well as a tantalising site revamp in the pipelines for next year, I am happy to say that the site is continually moving forward. I’m proud to say that the previous Content Editor, Henry M has moved over into serving the site as the Operations Manager; and I, Vaughn H, have filled his position. You’ll still be getting the same great content as before but now with Henry free to focus on growing the site in new ways, you’ll get better and sharper content than ever before. Nowhere else is this clearer than having a glance through the pages of this months magazine. We have some incredible reviews ready for you to read, ranging from Rage to House of the Dead, as well as some excellent feature pieces by our talented team of writers. We also have some tantalising peeks at Soul Calibur V and Skullgirls. As always we have a huge slew of videos ready for you to devour at our Youtube channel, and great news and competitions for you to follow via our Facebook and Twitter accounts. If you have any ideas or issues you’d like addressed on the site, then don’t hesitate to get in contact with any members of the team though the addresses provided. -Vaughn. H
As always you can contact the team for any queires at the-team@thegamershub.com or report any problems with the website or magazine to help-desk@thegamershub.com As usual you can keep up to date with everything thats happening at TheGamersHub either via the website www.thegamershub.com or via the ever popular Twitter page @TheGamersHub, Facebook page or our Youtube channel! Happy gaming guys!
Link Is Back With: Th... Capcom Rolls Out an... Rockstar Unloads New... Skyrim Avatar Items Inb...
New Final Fantasy XIII... Soul Caliber V Annou... NYCC 2011: SkullGirls...
RAGE White Knight Chron... Dead Rising 2: Off the... House Of The Dead:...
A Sad Day for Games... Halloween Gaming... Blast from the Past Cynic Critic
Link Is Back With The Legend of Zelda: A : Dylan V Skyward Sword uthor
Once again Link is back to save the day, or night..he’s not that fussy in fairness to him. In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword we see Link continue his quest back to the Eldin Volcano. Now Nintendo have released a few more details of what players can expect from the game. Here they are: In the Fire Sanctuary, Link receives a new item – the Mogma Mitts. With these Link is able to get to the underground tunnels by digging through soft areas in the ground to explore the underground of the dungeon. On his way to help out Zelda, Link finds himself being thrown off course due to an eruption in the Eldin Volcano.
However when Link returns to Skyloft, he can look forward to many fun activities, including Pumpkin Pull, a game of target shooting that involves flying pumpkins. (FUN!!) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be available in Europe exclusively for Wii on 18th November. Make sure to check it out.
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Capcom Rolls Out an Incredible Lineup Author: Vaughn H Capcom is one big company. It’s one big company with a whole host of tantalising games just waiting to be devoured by the public, by you. Here’s a run down of what to expect from that big yellow capsule computer company over the coming months. Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: PS3 & 360 – November 15th, PSVita – February 22nd 2012 Alongside the Phoenix Wright in this line up of new fighters, Capcom have announced the inclusion of that unlikely zombie slayer Frank West, and for all the Marvel fans, “Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant” Rocket Raccoon will be included too! Sounds like UMvC3 is going to be better than ever before. Resident Evil: Revelations: 3DS – February 7th 2012 Specifically made for the 3DS to utilise it’s improved visuals and 3D effect, Resident Evil: Revelations is a complete new entry into the RE cannon. Featuring Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield together in a brand new tale, one with new enemies and a completely new virus this should surely be the only 3DS title to pick up at the beginning of 2012. Asura’s Wrath: PS3 & 360 – February 21st 2012 Since God of War was released, many a game has tried to ape its controls, it’s brooding style, and few have come close; thats about to change. Asura’s Wrath is one rage filled game from start to finish, one filled with huge bosses and mindblowing combat. Playing as Asura, you take revenge on the seven Guardian Generals who framed him for murder, killed his wife and took his daughter. Intense is the only word to describe it.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City PS3 & 360 – March 2012, PC – “Soon To Follow” Everybody knows Resident Evil and its general play style and setting, but one thing nobody knows about is what the guys on the other side are thinking about it all. Operation Raccoon City seeks to enlighten you by giving you control of a team of Umbrella Corp Security Service soldiers (U.S.S), in a third person shooter against Zombies and Bio-Organic Weapon enemies from the RE series. Newly announced are pre-order exclusives for those who order via Gamestop, Amazon or Best Buy. These include a brand new costume skin for each of the 6 characters, as well as two weapons that are unique to each retailer. If this wasn’t enough there will also be a Steelbook Special Edition of the game that contains: a Steelbook with exclusive art, stylized foil sleeve, Umbrella Security Service embroidered patch, Spec Ops Field Unit embroidered patch, all 8 bonus weapons, and of course a copy of the game. Sounds very temping doesn’t it? Dragon’s Dogma: PS3 & 360 – Q1 2012 Taking control of a team of three Pawns you must traverse an organic and epic world in search of the Dragon. The world you play in is a completely open one, with battles occurring everywhere, it’ll give you the freedom to explore anywhere and everywhere whenever you want. Produced by some of Capcoms best action development teams, Dragons Dogma should be the best adventure/action game you’ll be playing in 2012. So that is one tasty line up of Capcom titles over the next few months. Any of those you are especially looking forward to? You can view or comment on this article here
Rockstar Unloads New Screenshots For A : Robby D Max Payne 3 uthor
Rockstar have Today released some new screenshots for the upcoming game Max Payne 3. The new screenshots show some slow motion shooting, explosions and well everything you have come to expect from Max Payne. You can check the screens below.
Max Payne 3 is set to release March 2012 on Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. You can view or comment on this article here
Skyrim Avatar Items Inbound Author: Vaughn H With the impending release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on 11/11/11 it seems that more news is flowing about it than any other game in the world, even Modern Warfare 3 which launches next week too. Already we have a making of video, and a sound of Skyrim video will be on its way soon too. The latest news straight out of Bethesda is those tantalising Avatar packs for Xbox Live avatars. For some peculiar reason you lot cannot get enough of burning your money away on items that literally do nothing, but what better way to spend money than on Skyrim themed items!
You can make your avatar look fancy in many a piece of attire: Dragon Bone Armor – 400 MSFT points | $4.99 Mage Robe – 320 MSFT points | $3.99 Dark Brotherhood Armor – 400 MSFT points | $4.99 Dragon Bone Helm – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Dragonborn Armor – 400 MSFT points | $4.99 Stormcloak Helm – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Or if you are feeling that an accessory is what your mini-me looks like then you have a fair choice: Dragon Prop – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Elder Scroll Prop – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Magelight Prop – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 Alongside this is the obligatory theme to customise your Xbox’s innards. Usually the sheen of premium themes are high quality and rather eye catching so Skyrim’s has to be the dogs nether-regions. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Premium Theme – 240 MSFT points | $2.99 All the prices are in dollars because apparently the UK market doesn’t need to know its monetary value, MS points are a good enough indication. These items are available now at your local Xbox 360 account.
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New Final Fantasy XIII-2 Screens & Artwork A : Anthony D uthor
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Soul Calibur V Announces Three More Characters A : Vanessa H uthor
Three new characters have been announced for the next installment in the Soul Caliber series! Soul Caliber V will feature Leixia, Raphael and Nightmare! Yan Leixia specializes in her use of a Chinese sword, named Ten Feet of Blue. Leixia knows the secret arts of the Ling-Sheng Su style of sword fight, making her a hard adversary.
Then there’s Nightmare. He fights using Soul Edge, a Zweihander type of weapon – and when he fights, he fights however his sword desires. He lords over the malfested minions of the cursed sword as his personal soldiers.
Finally there’s Raphael, the master of the rapier sword Flambert. Gamers can look forward to seeing Raphael, Nightmare and Leixia in Soul Caliber V, expected to release in 2012.
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NYCC 2011: SkullGirls Gameplay Breakdown A : HollowSchematic uthor
We got the chance to head down to the Skull Girls booth during New York Comic Con and get a run down of the game. If you have not seen Skullgirls it is a fighting game in the same vein as Marvel Vs Capcom 2. The art style is a something you have to see to beileve.
The title looks to take the fighting scene by storm with developers led by world renowned fighting game champ, Mike Z (Mike Zaimont). We got to spend some time with the developers and they walked us through the gameplay and intricacies of the title. Check out the video below. Skullgirls is set to release in early 2012 on PSN and XBLA.
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Format: 360, PS3, PC Release Date: Oct 4th 2011 Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Developer: id Software RAGE is Bethesda and id software’s new IP that has been in development for quite some time and an official announcement of the title coming in 2007. Now 4 years later we are ready to experience what id Software and Bethesda have been talking about with their new id Tech 5 engine which features revolutionary textures, and a game that mixes an environment similar to Mad Max 2 and gameplay similar to Fallout 3. Can this game honestly live up to all the hype or does it suffer from the hype it has created for itself? Welcome To The Wasteland Upon beginning the game the players are treated to a beautiful opening cutscene that depicts the events prior to the start of the game. Once you take control of your no-name character you are thrust inside an Ark which has kept you in cryogenetic hibernation for years and you find that everyone else inside the Ark has died, and you’re then told by a voice to go out and save humanity. The way the Wasteland is introduced is simply inspiring with a large scale vista and an array of detail. As you begin to wander around you meet your first ally Dan Hagar voiced by John Goodman. As RAGE progresses you will meet new characters to help you along your journey. Every character in the game is so amazingly detailed it is simply
RAGE
Author: Anthony D
jaw dropping what id Software have managed to accomplish across all platforms. On the Playstation 3 version we experienced occasional pop-in but nothing horrible, the detail is still amazing and the clouds are honestly the best I have seen in any game. The wasteland itself is a character and it really shows, the rough terrain, the detail of collapsed buildings and structures.
Ark Survivor Players will unlock more weapons as they progress in the story and some will become available at shops. Every weapon has different varying ammo from exploding, steeltipped, electric or even toxic filled. Just about every secondary item that the player will come across which is including but not limited to, ammunition, turrets, wing
health you will revive. The defibrillator also sets out a shockwave killing anyone around you instantly however the downside is that it has to recharge to use it again.
sticks, lock grinders and healing items. Wingsticks become very useful tool as the game progresses and even on harder difficulties as a direct hit can result in decapitation and instant death to unarmored foes. As enemies take damage and their allies die around them they will retreat to cover and fall back which is interesting to see such adaptive AI. Sometimes you will end up
only downing or injuring an enemy and they will crawl to cover which is also pretty cool, until you blow their brains out. RAGE’s wasteland is a brutal and harsh world with mercenaries, bandits and mutants. You will die, however RAGE has a neat little mechanic where the player has to play a minigame which acts as a defibrillator to revive, how good you do depends on how much
Kill or Be Killed There is no doubt that RAGE borrows a few elements from Fallout and Borderlands, however the one key difference is that it is not an RPG in the most basic sense. You do not level up your character but you will unlock new upgrades as you progress for weapons, defibrillator, vehicles, armor, health and equipment. The player will also participate in many missions and have opportunities to explore and conduct various side missions and side activities. Unlike Fallout the player has a garage of a few vehicles that can be upgraded with rockets, miniguns, armor, spiked tires and different paint jobs. Players will encounter other enemies driving around as well and in watchtowers attempting to hinder their progress. The driving plays out like a scene from Mad Max which is what they were going for, the driving is fast and the explosions are so amazingly cool that Michael Bay would like to take credit. The controls are typical driving game fair with right trigger being gas and left trigger being break and e-brake is set to O/B and you change weapons with R1/RB and fire with X/A.
Players can also purchase shields that are temporary as well as mines that can be activated by quick menu on the d-pad and used with L1/LB. Take Your Rage Online Not only does RAGE offer a fully detailed singleplayer experience but it also has an online mode that takes the feel of Mad Max into your living room. Think the races from the singleplayer except online and up to four players in a competitive mode with rankings and unlocks. The modes vary and change every match. Chain Rally where you attempt to take rally points before your opponents and chain them for increased points, Triad Rally where the player captures three consecutive points to score before their opponents, Meteor Rally where players collect meteors and drive them to capture
zones to score and finally simple and to the point Carnage where, as the name suggests just kill the enemies to score. It would have been cool to see a simple race option since the singleplayer had it and the developers even cited inspiration from Motorstorm however there is not. Co-op is also an important online feature where players can take their friends through legendary missions in the Wasteland Legends mode for high scores. These missions are ones that players will only hear about in subtle ways during the main campaign and you can play via split screen or online co-op and attempt to attain legendary status on the leaderboard. The online is a great addition, however not what many expected to be implemented from id Software whom are known for their Quake series of titles.
Learning To Love RAGE In the end RAGE is a balls to the wall first-person shooter. Not an RPG that it was made out to be, sure it has certain elements like ‘side-quests’ these are completely option and offer some outside stories to help those of the wasteland. The characters are deep and engaging, however the story itself doesn’t really get interesting until more than halfway through. The online component is solid and fun, as for the co-op it is a very welcomed addition and adds replay value. The story itself has little replay value other than difficulties and wanting to 100% the entire game, collectibles, races, and side-missions. Looting, creating and additional bullet options are great for the game, however ranging in at around 8-10 hours the game feels
short for the expansive world it creates. Do not get me wrong, RAGE is worth your dollar for the sheer entertainment value and unique gameplay experiences that you will not find anywhere else. The detailed world and amazing vehicular combat of the online and races is great. If you are a very story based person and were looking for an RPG to keep you busy until Skyrim comes out that was akin to Borderlands or Fallout, than you are sorely mistaken as this is a horse of a different colour. RAGE is a bloody in your face game that pulls no punches which will have you on the edge of your seat wondering what will jump at you from the next corner, just make sure your quick on the draw.
Score: 4/5
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White Knight Chronicles II Author: Chris C Level-5 is a developer known for its great titles like Dark Cloud, Dragon Quest VIII, and the Professor Layton series. White Knight Chronicles was their first title for the Playstation 3. White Knight Chronicles was released a few years back, with some major gripes, Level-5 now hopes to set the record straight with White Knight Chronicles II. So does this sequel provide players with their long awaited improvements, or does Level-5 repeat the same mistakes twice? Find out in this review of White Knight Chronicles 2.
Overall, White Knight Chronicles II’s story arc feels rushed towards the end. The story has a value of a full length feature, but it feels like Level-5 have taken shortcuts to end the story as fast as possible. Most of the time players will be exploring the fields more than the actual story itself. Each of the main characters has an important part to play during parts of the game, but sadly they are completely forgotten during other segments of the story, and at the same time the villains make a brief appearance, quickly
the improvements that Level-5 have made. Level-5 did listen to the fans, and they have made quite a few welcome improvements that have made this title more enjoyable then the last. Level-5 even gives players additional content like errands, bounties, and more; there is even an enhanced version of White Knight Chronicles on the same disk. Like I said before, Level-5 made a slew of improvements to White Knight Chronicles II. The first major improvement is the combat itself, veterans will see that the combat is
Format: PS3, PSP Release Date: 10th June 2011 (Europe) Publisher: SCE, D3 Publisher Developer: Level 5 STORY: The story continuing where White Knight Chronicles left off, one year later, Grazel continues his campaign to conquer the world and become the new leader of the Yshrenian Empire. Leonard and company must travel to new territories, and familiar ones, meeting new characters, and proving help ag http://static.thegamershub. net/wp-content/uploads/ WKC7.jpg ainst Grazel’s Mag http://static.thegamershub. net/wp-content/uploads/ WKC6.jpg i army. The party’s main goal is to keep Grazel’s army at bay, return order of
detailing their actions. This provides little reason to completely hate the villains of this story. The whole story brings into question “why do I have to hate these villains so much?”, or “why do the main characters have mixed roles?” This makes players feel distanced from the story, and care less about it. This simple and generic storyline feels inconsistent and rushed, made deadly with poor character development. GAMEPLAY: White Knight Chronicles II plays the same as its previous title. The only difference is
faster paced then before. Players will also see an increase of status information, this includes weight of armor and weapons, positive and negative statistical effects on the player, critical hit value, smaller text, and an improved interface. These are welcome improvements that are, not only in White Knight Chronicles II but, in the enhanced version of the first game as well. There was one long awaited request by veterans, the ability to transform into a knight for your avatar. Finally that request has come true and players will be happy to see that their avatar has finally
some meaning. Players receive the Knight Arc, which allows the players to transform into their fully customizable knight. Players can change the color, armor, weapons, and enhancements of their knights. This ability is really helpful and important for future quest and bounties. White Knight Chronicles II also has additional content for players to take a break from questing or doing the story. Players will have the option to do bounties and errands; bounties are basically marked hunts where the players must track down a marked monster and kill it for guild points, experience, money, and even rare items. Errands are nothing more than typical running around quests; NPCs will ask the player for certain items, or make him/her talk to certain people. Errands can be annoying and there is really little incentive to continue them besides guild rank points and rare drops. Besides the improvements and additions to White Knight Chronicles II, it basically has all the same elements as before. Georama is back and players can import their georama from White Knight Chronicles to improve upon, combat has been overhauled dramatically, but still plays the same as before, quests are still a major part of getting guild rank points. Multiplayer supports up to six players, depending on the quest requirement.
Players can still also bind materials to create new items, weapons, armor, and accessories, along with an increase in binding level. Players will all start at level 35 when starting the White Knight Chronicles II story, and the level cap has been increased to level 80. Rebirth requirements have also been changed so you’ll require a certain guild rank and being level 80. Skill sets have been changed to accommodate the improve combat. Players can still explore and gather in the massive environments that White Knight Chronicles II has to offer. There are still some problems that Level-5 failed to address, firstly the camera; During combat the camera will autolock onto one enemy leaving no option to rotate the camera around unless you disengage from the lock-on. This takes time away from the fasted-paced combat, and soon players will get hit no matter what the case. The camera is also an issue when it comes to close quarters combat as well. Another issue would be the lack of AI support, this is a frustrating issue that can easily get everyone killed. The problem is the complete lack of detailed commands you issue them, and at the same time they will stand there and do nothing, whilst sometimes they fight for no reason. The AI cannot make up its mind on anything. Overall, White Knight Chronicles II is a dramatically improved game with a few frustrating issues. The core gameplay is basically the
same, most of the features are the same. Combat is fastpaced, with more detailed status on your character, which includes; weight, status effects, critical hit values, and much more. New additional content like bounties and errands are welcome, but are nothing special unless you count rare items or your knight arc.
PRESENTATION: White Knight Chronicles II doesn’t set anything in the graphical department, it has a nice unique world, but doesn’t have the graphical power to support it. There is an improvement of some of the textures and character models, like water on cloths, small details on monsters, armor, and even hair. Sadly that wasn’t the case with the environment, it suffers from bland textures and outdated graphics. Due to not having a powerful engine, it does suffer from massive framerate drops, and slowdown, when the action starts to pick up or there are to many enemies on screen. The Voiceovers are not bad at all for a Japanese RPG. There are some corny lines and way too much talking during the field exploration, but they do get the job done. Soundtrack wise the game features improved music, but most of the soundtrack has been reused from the first White Knight Chronicles game. Overall, presentation wise White Knight Chronicles II isn’t special and barely does anything to improve upon itself.
CLOSING NOTE: Overall, White Knight Chronicles II is a good JRPG that had the potential to be great. Sadly the story isn’t as good and is quite disappointing on how they ended the tale of the White Knight so quickly. Gameplay has been dramatically improved in almost all categories. There are still some frustrating issues that Level-5 forgot to address like the camera and ally AI support. Graphically, White Knight Chronicles II does not set anything ground breaking. Level-5 did touch upon the game’s engine here and there, but this unique world doesn’t show much potential with outdated graphics. Voiceovers are not as bad for a JRPG, but can get annoying when running through the environment. The core soundtrack has been updated with a few new tunes, but most of the music is still re-hashed from the previous game. White Knight Chronicles II is an improved sequel that has tons of content for the fans of the game, but sadly it feels more like an expansion pack than anything else.
Score: 3/5 You can view or comment on this article here
Dead Rising 2: Off The Record Author: Anthony D Same City, New Story
of like an ‘everyman’ where Frank West is simply Frank West, the original zombie killing badass. The story comers to Dead Rising 2 and however, kind of takes the fans of the series whom same route and requires Around this time last year already played the first. If Frank to search for Zomplayers were reveling in the you are new, you may dive brex to keep himself cured carnage and joy of Dead right in to the story or if you (again every 24 in game Rising 2 as Chuck Greene. are fan you may think you hours) which is kind of anAverage badass, and all know what is coming from noying and feels as though around good guy who was the story direction and they got lazy after such a caught in the middle of a want to dive right into the unique opening to Frank. conspiracy as all he wanted Sandbox mode. The great Many of the psychopaths to do was save his daughpart is that both options you come across are exactter. After the fact, fans are open to you from the ly the same as well as the clamored for Frank West start. Many thought that survivors. The only excepto return and it appears the sandbox mode had to tion comes with how Chuck Capcom had listened for be unlocked, but Capcom Greene is re-introduced once. Dead Rising 2: Off decided to make it available and the added Uranus Zone The Record is rightly titled to all, which was a great theme park that has its own as the game takes place in decision in the end. The psychopaths occupying it. an alternate timeline in the story mode kicks things off same universe as Dead Ris- with Frank West wrestling a ing 2, except of course with horde (a very large horde) added areas and weapons. of zombies for cash during Can the original zombie an episode of TIR (Terror slayer live up to the new guy Is Reality). The start is a in Fortune City? Or can you lot more in your face than just not teach an old dog, Chuck Greene’s start on his new tricks. motorbike. Chuck was sort Format: 360, PS3, PC Off The Record tries to Release Date: 11th Oct 2011 be devil’s advocate at the Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Vancouver start, catering to both new-
The Frank West Factor Frank’s tear through Fortune City adds a host of new combo-weapons for the player to unlock as they rank up as well as new items and vehicles (found mostly in Uranus Zone). Besides the little additions, fans will enjoy the return of the camera. Frank retains his trusty camera from the original and during the course of the story, opportunities to gain a bit of
extra PP will occur that are usually marked by flashing PP camera icon above the indicated person. You can also look through the photos and choose which to share with online friends. The gameplay is solid as ever and the autosave feature is now even more useful as it saves every time you enter a new area. It has become more user friendly or as purists would say ‘noob friendly’. Some
fans might dislike this but it isn’t something that will keep them from enjoying. If anything it will allow them to enjoy it more so they don’t have to go back two hours and re-level and gather weapons and combo cards because they forgot to save at the last urinal.
Playing In The Sand Off The Record brings a highly requested feature by the fans and public alike to the series, a sandbox (freeroam) mode for players to just enjoy the atmosphere and all the ins and outs of Fortune City. The joys of Sandbox Mode doesn’t stop there though, there are challenges for the player to compete in that vary in difficulty and requirements and each one different from the last. Each has a ranking from bronze to gold medal and an overall leaderboard as well as friends rank. If you want to relax with a friend you can utilize the drop in drop out co-op in sandbox mode as well. When you bring a partner with you, challenges change to co-op challenges. There are hours upon hours to experience in sandbox mode which makes up for some fun times. One major gripe is that they completely had to get rid of the online TIR (Terror Is Reality) game that allowed four player versus. It is kind of sad but it is understandable since they replaced it with Sandbox mode. Some fans might be sad but this just means if you own the original Dead Rising 2, it is best not to trade it in for this but buy anew. Another great development choice is to have both Story mode and Sandbox mode save on one
slot which allows shared XP, money, clothing and combo cards between your Sandbox adventures and the story mode. So if the player is stuck they can go into sandbox with a friend and level up and gather money and XP to make the experience that much easier. Frank Is Back In Full Form The return of Frank West in the main arc of the games was a lot time coming. Many fans will enjoy their experiences with Frank as well as the new weapons, locations and enemies that players will come into contact with in their return to Fortune City. The Sandbox mode is unprecedented and the fixes to the save system as well as the shared save file between the two modes. Overall Off The Record is an experience that fans of the series should not miss, and newcomers will enjoy the new mode. The missing online versus can be irritating as well but all is forgiven once you realize your Frank West once again. This is the only zombie game this year that gamers should be looking at.
Score: 4/5 You can view or comment on this article here
House Of The Dead: Overkill Extended A : Vaughn H Cut uthor
Cinema is always a massive influence on how games are made and formed. Many developers wish to craft a story that contains all the action of a hollywood blockbuster, and in some cases the rather lame plots. Other games wish to bring home the sense of scale, wonderment, and intensity found in independent cinema. It is rare however that an entire cinematic movement inspires a games look and feel. So it’s thanks to the Blacksploitation, Grindhouse, Hammer, and B-Movie movements in the 70s and 80s that we have House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut. It’s plot scores some points for originality; it’s got twists and turns aplenty, as well as some absolutely crazy scenarios and bosses. A virus has turned much of the population into monsters, not zombies as the game so nicely pointed out, and two cops are on the chase for the man they believe is responsible. A man named Papa Caesar. What makes such a basic, and frankly stupid, story acceptable is how the game is so aware that this preposterous story really doesn’t matter as all players want to do is shoot
the hell out of things. In fairness to story though is that it fits perfectly within films like The Thing With Two Heads, Jesus Preacher Man, and The California Kid. If anything HotD:OEC is just so amazingly aware of its influences it has become the perfect example in videogame form. Loading screens are replaced with 70s styled ‘intermission’ screens, levels are all given snappy names and tag lines; ”Naked Terror – ‘They will strip your flesh!’” being a prime example. Alongside this the game is full of stereotypes: a smart talking, foul mouthed black cop who doesn’t take nothing from nobody, with a cool and collected sidekick to keep him straight; a big breasted and angry stripper out for vengeance, accompanied by a bimbo big breasted stripper too, and finally a hispanic criminal with awful fashion sense. All of this its topped off with an incredible narrator who can really deliver that cheesy 1970s cinema feel, its just an absolutely impeccable package.
As this is a PS3 remastering of the Wii original (House of the Dead: Overkill), you are probably wondering if its worth picking it up over the original title. Straight away its transformation into high definition has greatly improved it, gone are the muddy visuals and textures of olde; in their place sharp and crisp models and great lighting effects that really bring levels to life. It is by no means the best looking game of the year, but in comparison to the Wii game it looks like its been built from the ground up! With the Extended Cut it also adds in two extra levels and characters to provide the game with a bit more back story, its also got a tidier HUD and menu screen and features 3D TV support when available;which should be amazing as regularly enemies come at the screen, and one boss utilises this feature to great degree. It does also contain everything that was in the original version, so you’ll be getting the old game plus so much more. Of course not everything can be stellar about this game, ultimately its gameplay is the same old lightgun affair, especially when played with Playstation Move over the Dualshock 3 approach. Levels may be brilliantly themed, but essentially all you are doing is
the same thing in a different place. Boss fights are rather repetitive, as they repeat their actions over and over until defeated. At the end of the day it is just a standard House of the Dead game really, although one that is excellently presented. It is safe to say that HotD:OEC is by far only intended for those of 18 years or older, it regularly drops variations of the Fbomb, features limb mutilation and gory death, as well as strippers, incest and drooping old woman mutant boobs. It also contains a ton of thing to keep you coming back to it and replaying, including a great ‘Shoot the S**t’ mode where you get to bleep out the swear words in cutscenes – again a very self aware game. Ultimately this will be some of the most fun you have with Playstation Move and a mate, its also the best House of the Dead game around; it’s fresh, funny, and brilliantly constructed, just don’t go in expecting anything more than good solid fun.
Score: 4/5 You can view or comment on this article here
A Sad Day R.I.P Steven Paul Jobs Born: February 24th 1955 Died: October 5th 2011 Job: Apple CEO
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Games
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Technology
Author: Ryan.P
On October 5th, 2011, Steven Paul Jobs, the founder of Apple Inc. finally lost his long-term fight with pancreatic cancer. Many will know who Steve Jobs is, but for the minority who don’t, Steve Jobs has been the face of Apple for most of it’s life. He has pioneered the technology that we use today, and even managed to shape the way that we live. The iPhone kick-started the smartphone market, the iPad kick-started the tablet market; every major consumer tech revelation of the last decade has had Steve Jobs in the background, controlling the strings. His passing marks the end of an era and it will be felt around the world. As a mini-tribute to the great man himself, here is a run down of his best and most known creations in one article, so we can truly understand the power that this one man had over a market worth billions of dollars a year. Back in 1976, Apple’s first creation, came the ‘Apple I’. Sold as a motherboard (containing a CPU, RAM and basic video chips), it is now considered to be a full PC. It was priced at $666.66 at the time (roughly $2572 in current currency), a sign that Apple has always been pricey. Apple was incorporated in 1977, with help from a $250,000 investment from multi-millionaire Mike Markkula and in April 1977 they announced the Apple II. It differed from its rivals (the TRS-80 and the Commodore PETT) because it had colour graphics and an open architecture (which meant one could upgrade parts and software). By the end of the 1970s Apple had a handful of full time staff and a production line. In 1980 they released the Apple III in an attempt to compete with IBM and Microsoft in the business and corporate computing market.
After a few troublesome years at the company, Steve Jobs finally announced the new MacIntosh computer in 1984. Its predecessor, the Lisa, was released in 1983 and was the first computer to have a Graphical User Interface (GUI), but due to it’s high price tag and limited software it was a flop. The MacIntosh launched the famous $1.5million advert ‘1984’. It was directed by Ridley Scott (Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Alien); this is considered the ‘watershed’ event for Apples success, and a Masterpiece in it’s own. In 1985, Jobs entered a power struggle with John Sculley, who was hired as CEO by the Apple board of directors. Sculley’s job was to limit Jobs’ ability to make expensive items in unexplored markets. After Jobs was found to be housing a secret meeting, Sculley reported to the board and Jobs’ managerial status was revoked. He then left the company to form NeXT Inc. the same year. It wasn’t until 1996 that Jobs returned to Apple, when the CEO decided to buy NeXT and it’s NeXTSTEP operating system, Jobs was them brought in at an advisory level. In 1997 Jobs announced that Microsoft were to join Apple in making Microsoft Office available for the MacIntosh, and Microsoft made a $150million investment in non-voting Apple stock. In November 1997, Apple announced the App Store, using it to form the basis for a new build-to-order manufacturing strategy. In August 1998 Apple introduced the iMac. This was immensely popular and sold 800,000 units in its first five months. After purchasing several companies and securing their foothold in the digital video editing market,
Apple released two video editing products, iMovie for consumers, and Final Cut Pro for professionals. In March 2001, Mac OS X was released. It was based on NeXT’s OPENSTEP and BSD Unix systems. In that same year Apple opened it’s first Stores in California and Virginia and by October 2001 they had released the first iPod portable music player. The iPod was more successful than anyone could imagine - selling over 100 million units within 6 years. It wasn’t until 2003 that Apple opened its iTunes store, which immediately led the Online Music market. Everything beyond this is common knowledge. The iPod gave birth to the iPod Touch, which spawned the iPhone, that led to the iPad. Apple’s success’ have always come Steve Jobs’ daring products. After scouring social networks for most of October 5th, it is clear to anyone how much he is missed. ‘R.I.P Steve Jobs’ can be seen from everyone, stretching from friends, to those deep in the games, music and film industries, even to the legends of Heavy Metal. Steve Jobs will be smiling down on us, knowing that he has played such an important part in the lives of so many individuals across the world. If you ever hear someone say ‘It’s not about possessions, but how you are remembered’, they are talking about Steve Jobs. Rest In Peace. You will forever hold a place in our hearts.
Halloween Gaming: Staff Picks of the team you were working with. At almost any moment, any one of them could turn into the alien monster and attack you, or indeed you could play through with that never happening once. Venturing outside of the base would also reduce your health and effectiveness due to Anthony.D: Dead Space Dead Space is one of those games that you the icy cold, it literally was a battle for survival. hate to admit scares you, but you realize that It’s an excellent psychological survival horror everyone else has had their own moments of game, and one that is greatly overlooked by sitting in the dark playing it and starring at their pretty much everybody. vents just a little longer than usual. It’s a game that has that ambiance with the music, and Dylan365v: Dead Space 2 A game that anyone will probably agree subtleties with sound, that keeps you on edge. scared them to death. The element of surprise The dynamic system of enemies allows for them to come from anywhere in the ship which adds is something which needs to be perfect to scare more tension and the gore filled rooms will someone, and that is exactly what Dead Space leave players with unsettling thoughts. If you 2 masters! You walk corners want a good scare, play Dead Space in the dark around fearing for your with surround sound. See if you survive. life, and then nothing jumps y2duggan: Resident Evil It’s got to be the first Resident Evil for me. out at you! This It took gaming in another direction, Capcom is when you didn’t just decide to make games everyone begin to relax else was making, and they wanted something and then BAM(!) different - something that wasn’t done in a naked baby games before. By far the scariest game I’ve alien jumps on played (this might have been to do with how old your head and starts I was when it came out) although even playing beating you. Before the game these days, knowing what’s going to I played Dead Space 2 happen, is something that still makes my heart there was never a game race. The ambiance is what really did it for me. I had to take breaks from Minimal music, clever lighting and some wicked due to sheer terror. At artwork along with uniquely placed triggers stages I would look at my hands and they would make this my scariest game of all time. be sweating! Anyone who knows me will Vaughn.H: The Thing Forget Resident Evil; forget Dead Space, Silent tell you I never get Hill, and F.E.A.R. too, the one game you want to frightened by horror play on Halloween is The Thing. Based on the movies or games, but terrific, and horrific, John Carpenter film from Dead Space 2 managed 1982, The Thing is a masterclass in suspense, to scare the bejesus out isolation and horror in videogames. Your team of me… which is always a good not only gets picked off by the alien life-form thing in my eyes. From my point of that has overrun an Alaskan test base, but view though, Dead Space 2 is without a its use of a trust system only heightened the doubt the scariest game. In honor of it being Halloween today, we have gone around TGH Castle, and across the Atlantic, to compile a list of the best games to play this Halloween for a really good scare!
paranoia and made you question the reliability
Henry.M: Area 51 Back in the PS2 stages of my life I played a game called Area 51. Set in Area 51 - which was the first ‘shockhorror’ surprise for me - you play as a key member to the team of Hazmat units, set on a task to help put the mystery filled base under lock-down. At the start of the game you see a mutant out-break with a side dose of Aliens and Black-ops troops. The game only really started to scare me when all of my squad gets infected; leaving me to kill them and go deeper into the underground hell-hole. Later on I get infected, gain cool new powers, battle scary things and have sleepless nights. The chances are you’ll be so drunk soon you won’t even remember reading this.
JustaGamer: Alan Wake As JustaGamer just couldn’t sum up his love for Alan Wake in such a small space he has gone and written this article for your enjoyment!
Rob.D: Resident Evil 4 I don’t usually play scary games but one thing that stood out to me, and I found quite scary, was something in Resident Evil 4. Not many people thought Resident Evil 4 was all that scary, and looking back it really wasn’t that bad at all; when I first played it I was much younger, and even then it wasn’t too bad. One part did stand out to me though; near the end of the game in the labs, it just freaked me out. It had enemies that when shot would fall to the ground, but then would just get straight back up, you had to keep shooting just to keep them down. What made this even scarier was that I had very little ammo! From then on I had to use my ammo sparingly, this meant that every time I saw an enemy I’d get a fright knowing that I’d have even less ammo after, and when I saw another enemy after that I was screwed!
From The Spider-Man
Format: PS1, N64, PC, DC Relase: 2000 (PS1,N64) Genre: Platformer Developer: Neversoft
Author: JustaGamer Today’s legendary Blast comes in the form of the original 34 objective based levels ranging from hostage situations PlayStation & Nintendo 64 classic, Spider-Man. The to boss fights, traversing from A to B, and even a few title was later ported to the PC, Dreamcast & Gameboy environmental puzzles. Colour platforms. Released by Activision in 2000, this Of course as this is an ‘old school’ game, if you happen gem of a video game was developed by Neversoft, who are to miss your landing while web swinging through town or also the coders behind the highly popular Tony Hawk and you get beaten up by villains, the player will have to begin Guitar Hero franchises. Due to the popularity of the 90’s back at the start of the level. However this is by no means Spiderman cartoon on the Fox Kids channel (Spider-Man: and issue as this game is awesomely fun. Imagine this in the The Animated Series), this game was a loose adaptation voice of Stan Lee: ‘But worry not fellow web swingers, that was not tied into any particular storyline or model, Spidey has more than enough tricks up his red & blue sleeves even though many of the voice actors from the cartoon to dispatch of the most gruesome foe’. (an entirely made reprise roles within the game narrative. up quote there...) Going on from what Stan says, (thanks The title was highly praised by fans and critics globally and Stan), Spidey is pretty supped up with powers and offensive was hailed as a worthy game, bearing the spirit of the Spider- melee combat techniques galore. This means he can pull Man universe. This was made possible, not only through the some pretty cool combos including: Web Yank for pulling/ look and feel of the title, nor through the sheer number of throwing goons, Zip Line to zip directly various locations, Spidey villains; but, most importantly, through the overall Web Swing for Spidey’s unique method of travel, as well gameplay. Unlike some of it’s later video game adaptations, as many other abilities unique to the Amazing Spider-Man. Spider-Man is a linear affair, weaving the player through
As far the Story goes, it’s pretty impressive. Peter Parker witnesses an impostor Spider-Man steal an experimental device from a science conference being shown by, Dr Octavius. The police believe that Spidey’s gone crazy, and so does the whole city. This sparks off a roller coaster ride to the truth, and it also puts Spidey in between the villains and cops whilst trying to figure our the whole saga. Occasionally Spidey is aided by many well known Marvel characters, such as Black Cat, Human Torch & Daredevil. Spidey will need to stay nimble and alert whilst fighting some of his most dangerous foes, such as Carnage, Venom, Lizard Man, Mysterio, Doc Ock, Rhino, Scorpion, a range of Symbiote and more. Also included along the way is the option to collect 32 Comics spread throughout the game, enabling you to replay the game with different suits on allowing you to dish out double damage or have unlimited webbing. They really did mix up the gameplay. Also if you play the game once, but then want to replay it with a darker tone, players have the option to enter a password in the game menu which unlocks the ‘What If’ mode. This mode allows players to play the campaign but in an alternate universe, thus leaving the gameplay and story largely untouched, but adding a more sombre background feel in the scenery and characters (this feature was only enabled on the PlayStation version). I remember borrowing this title from a friend, and regretting having to give it back. The feeling of being Spidey was definitely true in this game, and the web crawling, web swinging & even combat created the foundation for future Spidey titles, and still show in the mechanics of today’s games. In 2001, Spider-Man: Enter Electro was released as a direct sequel and continued in the correct spirit of successful Spider-Man titles. Players were now able to fight and travel at street level for the first time. It also saw the return of the ‘What If mode’, as well as refining the controls and overall gameplay. Unfortunately, this title was not as well received as the first, an issue that plagued the series until the open world style Spiderman 2 released on the PlayStation 2 in 2004.
Cynic Critic
The views expressed in these series of articles are all those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Gamers Hub. You can find our review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution HERE Deus Ex: Human Revolution Developer: Eidos Montreal Publisher: Ubisoft
Author: Vaughn H
As head of Sarif Industries security, it’s clear to see Adam Jensen is always hard at work...
Deus Ex games have been the figurehead of a very niche genre, a genre that comes from mixing FPS gameplay with RPG elements and storytelling. The original Deus Ex did this excellently, it really created an atmosphere of a dystopian world that should really be a utopia for all. Its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War, was less clear, in fact it was a rather shoddy outing so I’m not sure why I included it. Now Deus Ex: Human Revolution has moved the now larger genre forward, holding itself aloof above all others, being smug about its great critical reception. Although when you really start to look into Deus Ex: Human Revolution there are a
lot of things that don’t really add up. In a game that tries to champion its realism of this newly augmented world, there are a lot of things that seem somewhat unrealistic. The biggest of all is where the hell does he keep all that weaponry? I know this is a problem with practically every RPG game (I mean how does Ash fit 99 of each pokéball into his backpack and still have room for his lunch?), but in a world championing realism maybe the Halo approach of physically seeing your weapons and grenades upon your person when in third person may have been a smart move, and arguably much more tactical...
Tied into this is the upgrade system of Praxsis points, they try to put realism behind what is essentially your tech tree upgrade system. This is a perfectly reasonable method but how do you just suddenly happen to have these upgrades available instantly? In the story it does say that you are fully kitted out and that you can activate these upgrades with Praxsis points, but whilst you have to go into a L.I.M.B. Clinic to get that chip tinkered with in your head, you don’t to have access to a deadly weapon in your arm that can fire projectiles and somehow painlessly reload? Not sure if I’d go activating that myself if I had one, but I’m not Adam Jensen, ex S.W.A.T and wold renowned gravely voiced badass. Most annoyingly of all, in terms of the augmentations, is that blasted battery system. You would have thought by 2027 some bright spark would think to put in kinetic charging batteries into limbs, so instead of having to wait for them to recharge slowly, and leave dead cells dead instead of recharging too, that they just keep charge from you moving around. Although I’m sure that would be such a game-breaker, this whole ‘realism’ angle is great when it suits the developer! Next up is the baffling AI that plagues the game. Where in hells name have all these corporations gotten these overly vocal, and incredibly idiotic henchmen from? Well I lie, some are idiotic, others are so blindingly alert its worrying. Whilst scouting ‘The Hive’ and its backdoor entrance, it is near impossible to enter without a guard somehow hearing or seeing you through a wall. It could be argued that they have tracking augmentations, but then surely if Edios Montreal were smart enough to use that excuse it would have been mentioned somewhere in the convoluted conversations you have with NPC’s. Later on when you are in Tong Si Hung’s headquarters all the henchmen are blind and dumb as hell. You could play smell my finger with them and they wouldn’t notice you, yet in a dimly lit club they can hear you fart from a mile away. Mixed in with this is the sneaking mechanic; when hidden behind a wall, pillar or some other opaque
object that seems around knee hight, you cant be seen. This however doesn’t stop a guard from looking over in your direction as they walk towards the object, nor does it stop them from staring intently at it whilst they stand there on their patrol, clearly they can see you but just aren’t letting onto it because its just too much of a hassle to have to face off against you. The plot is also somewhat questionable -spoiler alert- a big ass base at the North Pole?! Please. Yes it was a dark story, nobody wants to see a machine powered like that one was; yes it was a powerful ending, one tasked with negotiation and decisions; but to end with a choice of 4 rather black and white endings, it kinda made it seem like all your prior negotiations were useless... This is made all the more pointless by the fact that such a global catastrophe is never once mentioned in either of the previous Deus Ex games (which are actually set after Human Revolution). The inclusion of DLC is also a very odd one, it takes place when Adam goes missing for three days en-route to Panchaea. Not a bad place to slip in a cheeky bit of stealthy gameplay, however when you arrive at Panchaea there is not a single mention of this bloody excursion, in fact he seems to not remember a God damn thing other than resting for three days. Another extra mission that was added in for those purchasing the Limited Edition copy of the game seems too crucial to the flow of the story to omit, what happens to those who had just the standard edition of the game? Do they just skip an entire chunk out and has Tong Si Hung’s son not been kidnapped? There are just too many questions. The worst part about the plot is the big twist is not actually that big, nor much of a twist; within the first few hours of the game any keen eyed, and eared, player will have figured out that Adam is indeed “special”, and has been used as a company experiment. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a good game once you look past all the male bovine poo it throws your way. It’s a shame that it is so frequently hurling these natural burgers in your face.
When is the next issue of TheGamersHub Magazine? The next issue of TGH magazine will be released 5th of December 2011. This will be our ninth edition of the magazine and hopefully with all the feedback we recieve from you, it will be improved even more and so we always are aware off what our audience would like to read. If there is anything you would like to see appearing in this magazine or just want to give us feedback please email Dan at: dan.h@thegamershub.com For advertising in the magazine please contact Henry at: henry.m@thegamershub.com