TheGamersHub Mag 003

Welcome...

This is the third 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 still getting to grips with the magazine, so please feel free to give us feedback on improvements that could be made, or future topics you would like to see appearing in here by emailing: dan.h@thegamershub.net

L.A. Noire Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Brink Let the credits...Get some credit!

Lego: Pirates of the Caribbean SOCOM 4 Motorstorm Apocalypse E3 Coverage

Black Ops: Escalation Review.

D&D: Daggerdale Review

Windows 8

New Xbox tech reaches developers

The end of Anonymous

Wii U Details

About TGH

Set up on July 27th 2009 to provide news, reviews, articles, previews, 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 and the US who report news throughout the year and we have some big plans for the future.

Mythos Competition

In total there are forty to solve along with fifty film reels to find throughout the city. One sad note I have to say about the city is the draw distances and the occasional pop in that happens. The Playstation 3 draw distances don’t seem quite as bad as the Xbox 360 counterpart however, this can be seen easily while driving.

Author: AnthondyD

Presentation Of A Noir The wait is finally over for Rockstar Games LA Noire, the story of the rise of beat cop Cole Phelps in the seedy city of Los Angeles. A lot was expected of this title from the graphics, to the story and to the presentation everyone wanted this to be a winner. Did Rockstar’s bet on developer Team Bondi pay off, or are they left holding the smoking gun?

A Second Chance

Player take on the role of Cole Phelps, a World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of Okinawa, the last and bloodiest battle of the war. Awarded the Silver Star for his bravery he returns to the United States and begins to re-evaluate his life. He decides to join the LAPD and becomes a patrolman. You help Phelps rise through the ranks of the LAPD by solving seemingly unconnected crimes to rid the 1940s streets of LA of crime. Between cases the game flashes to scenes from the Battle of Okinawa giving you a glimpse at what kind of person Phelps was during the war. It is also noted that Phelps has a wife and child, although they are both rarely seen throughout the story.

The City Of Angels

One cannot talk about LA Noire without expressing how detailed the location is. Los Angeles itself is a character in this intertwined story of corruption and justice. The city was re-created block by block through the use of topography from the era. Textures on buildings pop out at you graphically, as do the ninety-five different types of vehicles scattered throughout the city, each one individually modeled after its real life counterpart.

Throughout the city are various street crimes that can be undertaken by Phelps, these range from robberies, to a fleeing suspect and even simple domestic disturbances.

The street crimes, or unassigned cases as they are sometimes referred to, can pop up on your map when you are not driving a police sanctioned vehicle or while in a police car via the dispatch radio.

The games title, L.A. Noire tells as much about its story as anything. The term noire is widely used among films and was commonplace in 40s and 50s.

The term film noire/noir (can be spelt either way, one being masculine in proper terms and one being feminine) is derived from a French term black film and usually constitutes one with an unhappy ending, however most film buffs and scholars argue that some noirs end with a happy ending.

What makes L.A. Noire the definition of the genre is that it plays out like a film, you go from case to case solving crimes and the lighting is always stylized, all the camera angles work with the basis of a noire film, as well as the fact that most films in the genre have a detective, beat cop or a private investigator as the main character. The lighting is actually some of the best in a game as reflections and shadows are realistic and timed right. The game is one of the most beautiful I have had the pleasure to play. The main attraction is the facial animations which were captured by MotionScan. There are over four hundred different actors who are in the title. It is hard to find two people side by side who are exactly the same which is the beauty that makes the city come alive.

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The Life Of An LAPD Detective

Unlike most Rockstar published titles the game’s emphasis on story is immense and the gameplay is considerably less than other titles of the past.

Throughout the course of the game you will work your way through the different departments of the LAPD, often being relocated to another district. You start as patrolman, and work through traffic, homicide, vice and arson divisions solving seemingly unrelated cases that are all apart of a much bigger picture. As Phelps you will arrive on crime scenes and search the area for clues, a musical note will chime in if you are close to a clue (as well as controller vibration). Certain clues will have more to them than meet the eye, in these scenarios you will have to rotate the object in question with the left stick or hit X/A to interact with the object ,and sometimes with paperwork scroll through the literature with the left stick.

All your clues are stored in your notebook and can be accessed by pressing the select button, along with your important locations, case name, and people of interest. After you gather clues you either interrogate a witness or drive to a location where you find more clues and interrogate a witness. Interrogation has you reading questions from your notebook and, based upon your knowledge of the case and clues, determine if they are telling the truth, being dishonest or straight up lying. If you believe they are lying you will be forced to find a clue that backs your claim up. You will be graded on the left hand side after each interrogation showing how many correct responses you got. Some will branch the story very slightly and make finding the perpetrator that much easier, but in the end if you got them all wrong you would still have plenty of evidence to go on. The game does not penalize you for charging the wrong suspect but it will not allow you to die, or shoot and kill a suspect unless otherwise told to do so, doing so results in a Game Over. Freedom is very limited in this game as you can tell but driving is one thing you are free to do whenever you step into a

car (unless in pursuit of course).

Driving around the city is very relaxing but odd in this Rockstar/Team Bondi collaboration as you can’t get any wanted stars and as a matter of fact you cannot do anything a normal open world game would allow you to do, like pull your gun out whenever you like. Your gun only comes out in scripted sequences like shoot outs and certain chases.

Which is quite a downer in what could have been, a fun post game experience.

Not So Open World

Despite so much going into the creation of the living breathing city of Los Angeles for LA Noire little has been done to fully utilize it. On top of the aforementioned inability to draw your weapon and participate in the little things like causing chaos, that made Grand Theft Auto series famous and fun, you are unable to do the little things. You are unable to run random pedestrians over, but however during cases it will penalize your final score (as it should) but they don’t die, instead they are pushed to the side as if your car is a plough.

Another odd note is that I have yet to explode a car from gunfire, sure you can shoot red canisters that explode but you can’t blow up vehicles, short of ramming it into a gas tank.

However there still is a good amount of damage on every vehicle.

As mentioned earlier there are ninety-five vehicles to find and some are hidden and unlocked by moving up in rank.

You can raise your rank by not only doing cases (getting correct answers help a lot), but by also by collecting one of the thirteen newspapers scattered throughout the story, discovering real life locations and monuments in Los Angeles, as well as solving the random crimes.

The Straight Dope

LA Noire has had a lot of hype surrounding it for many months.

Little to no gameplay was shown up until days prior to the game releasing, and rightfully so.

Everyone did not believe that they were seeing gameplay.

There is no CGI and there are no smoke and mirrors.

Everything is in game, and everything is beautiful. The gameplay is solid when it comes to driving, shooting and even the running

,which I felt was awkward at first but it sort of feels great. If you treat LA Noire as an interactive story more than an open world game you will enjoy it that much more. The city comes alive and many will be happy to know that post-game there is a Free-Roam option, but it still has the same restrictions as the rest of the game (shooting and inability to make hood ornaments out of pedestrians). The replay value only stands as far as to perfect your case ranking to five star and exploration. Thankfully from the main menu you can pick and choose which cases you want and because of auto-save once you are finished you can go back to the main menu. The collectibles and the expected DLC look to keep this title going for some time. The potential in releasing new cases is immense, as several times during the story a few months pass with no explanation of what has happened during those missing months. The overall arching story is well worth the price admission but sadly doesn’t pick up gameplay and story wise until the second desk. It all boils down to if you are willing to pay full price for an interactive cinematic experience.

There is a reason LA Noire was honoured at the Tribeca Film Festival and playing it now many gamers can see why. If you love a good story, enjoy crime or detective stories and even if you love the noir genre you owe it to yourself to pick up LA Noire, despite its minor faults, as the whole package is just so unique that few games may reach overall public interest as LA Noire.

Final Score: 4/5

Author: Ipfisher

There’s something about these LEGO games that keep people playing over and over again. They’re incredibly simple and, unlike most games nowadays, they’re just pure fun. With LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, they’ve married that incredible sense of fun with a movie franchise that is all about fun (only because, if we’re being honest, that’s all it’s got). The world of Pirates seems to be a perfect match for LEGO’s next venture.

As soon as LEGO Pirates’ first level got under way, I immediately noticed the way Jack Sparrow’s LEGO counterpart walked.

His swashbuckling swagger has translated perfectly to the bricked world… shoulders back, hips forward, and arms swaying wildly. This recreation of Johnny Depp’s character is really indicative of Traveller’s Tales commitment to their properties. The entire game, be it cut scenes or gameplay, is hilarious. All of the LEGO games have had a great sense of humor, but Pirates has surpassed that track record. The incessant uses of bananas, pigs, apples, and wieldable/wearable items, such as a big gold mask reminiscent of Courage the Cowardly Dog, are a real treat to dig up. (Literally dig up…there’s a lot of digging to be done here.)

I’m putting a good deal of emphasis on the games humor and consistency with the world because, if we’re being honest, story isn’t exactly Pirates’ strong suit. People love the movies and that’s fine, they’re pretty good, but its storytelling has never been the focus. In similar fashion, there’s very little story to be had in the LEGO rendition. Small scenes before and after levels show pieces of story but the lack of…well, words, makes it difficult to convey the movies’ often convoluted tale. You know the part in ‘At World’s End’ where Calypso gets released? Yeah, that’s a pretty ineffective scene in the game. Plus side, she still has crabs. Seriously though, if you haven’t seen the movies you’ll be completely lost. I feel like the Star Wars and Indiana Jones games have done a much better job of this.

There’s not a whole lot of change to the series’ formula here and, luckily, that’s just fine. You’ll spend the majority of your time moving through various blockified environments solving puzzles, meeting new characters, and collecting studs and minikits.

One new mechanic, however, is the use of Jack’s compass. You’ll spend a fairly large amount of time tracking down various objects with the

aforementioned compass and getting 100% on a level requires that you find all 8 items. For the most part, you’ll stumble upon them as you play. This is where that digging comes in to play. You’ll have to either find a shovel in the level, or switch to the playable guard dog to unearth them. This adds a surprising amount of value to the already collectible-heavy title. Some of these items take some serious searching to locate, despite the path your compass lays out for you. These additions are a definite must have due to the game’s short story. The real game begins when you unlock free play.

The LEGO games have always been intended for co-op play and Pirates is no different. The AI is good enough, but it’s so much more fun with a friend beside you on the couch. Remember the PS1/N64 days when splitscreen co-op always led to a streak of team kills?

Yeah, that’s still fun. There’s no benefit to having the most studs at the end of a level, but that won’t stop me from killing my partner to take all of theirs. Beyond the mindless fun of team killing however, there are times when it really helps to have a second brain with you unless, however, that second brain is fixated on stealing your studs. That might be a bit of a downer.

Traveller’s Tales already has a pretty solid stable of LEGO games, but it’s not too much of a stretch to say that Pirates of the Caribbean is one of their better ventures. It’s well executed, fun, and faithful to the source material...even in its faults. Any shortcomings in the game can easily be attributed to the films. The story is a bit lacking, but it’s chock full of hilarious characters, beautiful level design, and enough piratey fun to keep Michael Bolton entertained for at least a week.

Final Score: 4/5

A few years back in 2007, there was a game called The Witcher. Developed by CD Projekt, it was game that defined PC RPGs. It had so much going for it, even if there were some problems here and there.

Now in 2011 CD Projekt has released The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. This sequel hopes to achieve new heights in storytelling, graphics, gameplay and more.

Does The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings set the new bar for next-generation RPGs? Or will it fail to meet the expectations we all hoped for? Find out in this review of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.

Story:

Without spoiling much of the story; here is the gist of it. The player controls our returning hero, Geralt of Rivia. Geralt is a Witcher. Witchers are people trained with magic to fight monsters with their strengths and abilities. Taking place four months after the first game, we now find Geralt waking up in a prison and soon interrogated. The interrogation explains how Geralt ended up in this situation.

Serving as King Foltest of Temeria’s bodyguard, the same king during the end of The Witcher, Geralt is accused of assassinating the king. Now it’s up to Geralt to find the identity of the true killer.

Author: Chris C

The story only gets better and is quite impressive with the amount of effort that went into it. The Witcher 2 story as a whole is a deep, cinematic, and a well-written adventure that has quite a bit charming dialogue choices and reactions. The story will significantly change during the course of the game.

What I mean by this is that the game will change depending on a key moments without notice. This alone will have players playing for hours on end. With over 15 different endings, one playthrough will not be enough to fully experience this epic story. Players will also have the option to transfer their data from The Witcher, but this does little to change the story.

It will more or less have extra dialogue where NPCs comment on your previous adventure. Overall, the story is enjoyable and epic till the very end.

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Presentation: Gameplay:

Gameplay in The Witcher 2 hasn’t changed much. It h a s however improved since we last saw it.

First off, The Witcher 2 will not be a walk in the park. The Witcher 2 will be brutal, and it will take focus and skill to actually survive the many fights that Geralt must face.

On top of that, each time the player dies your last save will be deleted. It has been a while since players have felt such brutality from a game, placing it somewhat similar to Demons Souls.

Besides battling some tough enemies, The Witcher 2 has quite a few other things t o do. Geralt is customizable to a certain point, but his abilities come with a w i d e range of customization..

Character advancement is quite important; this is where most of Geralt abilities need to be unlocked. There are four development paths; training, swordsmanship, alchemy, and magic. Each of these has its own abilities, along with two levels for upgrading purposes. Training will help with basic skills and upgrades.

Now the player must choose wisely and invest in one of the three other paths. If the player chooses Swordsmanship, Geralt’s swordplay will be a force to be reckoned with. He will deal more damage, suffer less from blocks and have improved critical hits, along with the abilities that come with it. If the player chooses alchemy, Geralt will be good at making better potions with longer effects, traps, and bombs. If the

player chooses magic, Geralt will have a good variety of spells to play with.

Players don’t have to choose one path, its completely up to the player on how they would advance Geralt abilities.

Combat itself has a lot of depth into it.

One mistake can easily turn the battle the around into the enemy’s hands. Like I said before the game is quite brutal and it does take focus, skill, and tactics to survive. It can be a combination of all three or two. Depending on how the player advances Geralt, your play style might be completely different.

Exploration is key in The Witcher 2. There are quite a few distractions that will have the players attention for hours. Besides doing quests and bedding women, there are three interesting attractions like; Dice Poker, fist fighting, and arm wrestling. Fist fighting will have Geralt fighting random men for some good’ol training.

Fist fighting can help the player for combat and its good experience even if it doesn’t involve a sword or magic. Arm wrestling is well, arm wrestling.

First to pin the other opponent’s arm wins. Dice poker is more or less poker with dice. If you’re a little gambler, this attraction is quite interesting and fun.

Much hasn’t changed in The Witcher 2. Combat is much of the same, but harder and needs skill and focus to survive. There are quite a few attractions that will have the player’s attention for months on end. The player will also have more ways to customize their own Geralt with a multitude of abilities and skills. Overall, players who love hardcore RPGs, this game will be for you. If you’re not then there is always easy mode and you will still get that same enjoyable experience.

If you have a high-end computer, The Witcher 2 will look gorgeous and detailed. The graphics are quite breathtaking with the amount of detail that went into both the environments and characters themselves. The characters are also unique with most of them looking different around every corner. The voice acting is also top-notch, where even NPCs have that same emotion, charm, and depth that the main characters have. The sound of The Witcher 2 is easy on the ears. Most of the tunes feel medieval as a whole. Overall, The Witcher 2 presentation is high, with quality graphics, voice acting, sounds, detail and more. You m i g ht never

find this much detail in all presentation categories in RPGs.

Closing Note:

The Witcher 2 is one of those games you must buy to fully experience the amount dedication that went into it. The story is deep and cinematic with an expansive amount of dialogue that can easily change t h e story without notice.

The story will have the players wanting more to understand the lore of The Witcher.

Gameplay wise much hasn’t changed The Witcher 2.

C o m b at is basically the same at the first Witcher with much of the same controls, but this time around The Witcher 2 will not hold your hand. The game will be brutal and it will take focus and skill to survive. The player also has a bunch of quests and attractions to do, along with a highly customizable Geralt for any of the character advancements. Presentation wise, The Witcher 2 is gorgeous and detailed and will leave players breathless with the stunning visuals on both environment and characters. Overall, The Witcher 2 sets the bar for the next-generation RPGs, even today’s RPGs do not stand against the might of The Witcher.

Final Score: 5/5

Author: Chris C

SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals (or Special Forces in the EU) has been handed back over to Zipper Interactive.

Since SOCOM: Confrontation was a failure to many, people waited for Zipper Interactive to bring the next SOCOM game. Well, it’s finally here as SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals for U.S. or SOCOM 4: Special Forces in PAL areas. It has been quite a while since we last saw Zipper Interactive working on a SOCOM title.

So does their hard work pay off at the end of day? Or will this mission of bringing back SOCOM become a failure once more? Find out in this review of SOCOM 4.

stealth, and sabotage missions alone.

Overall, SOCOM 4 houses quite a boring and unentertaining plot. All it has is a straight forward story, with little creativity.

On top of that, the characters themselves are not really likeable. They do try to draw a back story with Cullen Gray, but it doesn’t feel planned out as well. The other characters are fine, but nothing is drawn out for them. SOCOM 4 story is quite a forgettable experience and should be played in short burst.

Story:

Gameplay:

SOCOM 4 is set in Southeast Asia, where NATO forces are fighting local rebel forces called Naga. The player will control Cullen Gray, the leader of a NATO Special Forces squad. He and his 4 squad members Schweitzer, Wells, Forty-Five, and Chung must fight for their lives and uncover what caused these terrorist attacks. After losing their main command post, Cullen Gray must take charge as the new Ops Commander.

The player will not be totally alone doing these missions. They have support from an off-shore ship that houses Oracle, a woman who will provide Intel and support. During the course of the story, the player will also control Forty-Five, who will partake in recon,

If you’re familiar with the SOCOM series you probably know by now that the game is a third-person squad based tactical shooter. Let’s focus on the basic gameplay elements for now. Players will follow typical 3rd person shooter action, but there are new features that change SOCOM 4 quite a bit. Some of these new features include; a cover system, health regeneration, first-person ADS (Aim Down Sights), dumbed-down tactics, exclusion of pistols for two primary weapons, mod system, and much more. SOCOM 4 has changed and some of these features will make or break the game.

First up will be the cover system. This is the first SOCOM game ever t have a cover system. The cover system is actually a nice inclusion, but fails most of the time. It helps to a certain point, but when enemies can just shoot though the cover or weapon shots get blocked by the wall it fails. Sadly the cover system is not on uncharted standards. If you’re a true SOCOM vet, you would remember the single-mission where you can command your squad, but with a lot depth. Here in SOCOM 4 it has been dumbed down to simply the four d-pad controls. The right will control gold team, when left will control blue team. Up will make your whole team move to a certain point with the cross hairs and down cancels the orders. The good thing is that these commands are at least easier to call out. The bad/ good thing is that these commands don’t have much depth. Next will be that players now carry two primary weapons, instead of one primary and a sidearm. There are quite a few weapons to select from, in which there is a good variety in all categories of weapons.

With over 35 weapons to choose from, the player must level up these weapons to unlock mods. These mods help improve the weapon capabilities, along with unlocking attachments like

silencers, scopes and more. This works with both singleplayer and multiplayer weapons, with each having their own mods levels. This is quite a different method of unlocking weapons and attachments, but it limits the player from fully customizing their weapons. AI within SOCOM 4 feels dumb, and yet smart at the same time. What I mean by this is that the AI on both your teammates and enemies will change unknowingly. Teammates will sometimes fail to follow orders, get lost, and do something completely opposite. Enemies on the other hand can be quite brutal with the amount of numbers they have. They can also be dumb and not notice a thing. The AI isn’t the strong point in SOCOM 4.

The camera can, and is, a big issue during gameplay.

It’s way to close and affects sight quite easily. The camera also tends to turn quite slowly, where enemies run quite fast and the camera cannot keep up. Hopefully this problem does get fixed, because at times the camera will get you killed more than human error. Overall, the camera is an issues that must be quickly addressed.

Overall, SOCOM 4 has decent, but quite tactical gameplay to say the least. It doesn’t have much depth like previous S O C O M games though. Cover system is a hit or miss from time to time. Weapons e a c h have their own progression level, which will unlock certain mods for that weapon, but limits the player to fully customize the weapon. Tactics in SOCOM 4 also feel dumbed down and only limited to the four directional pads. The controls might take some time getting used to, but work for the most. SOCOM 4 gameplay has that tactical feel, but it also does feel simple, guided, and linear >>

Multiplayer:

Multiplayer always has been a big feature in any SOCOM game. Without multiplayer, SOCOM wouldn’t feel like SOCOM. SOCOM 4 multiplayer has seen quite an overhaul, which may or may not appeal to some. The good thing about SOCOM 4 multiplayer is that it’s still tactical and requires a lot of communication with the team. Multiplayer is divided into two modes, co-op and competitive.

Co-op mode will support up to 5 players via online play or one person offline. This mode will have players playing instant action missions without any type of story or narrative. There are two types of missions that players can partake in. Takedown will have players going to enemy filled territory to takedown VIPs. Espionage will have players taking enemy data, and sabotaging their operations. Both of these modes might have different missions, but this requires the player to kill everything in sight.

Multiplayer supports up to 32 players and houses a hand of new game modes. Multiplayer will also support standard and classic modes. Standard will have re-spawn, air strikes, all weapons, and different set of rules, such as running speed and damage. Classic mode is where SOCOM 4 tends to the hardcore and requires more patience and strategy. Classic mode will have a vice versa set of rules like no re-spawn.

Both of these modes will be supported by a handfull of game modes. These game modes include; last defence, uplink, suppression, and bomb

squad. Most of these modes will require teamwork and communication, whilst others are just glorified ‘kill-fests’. Last defence will have players taking neutral sectors. First team to get all sectors wins. Uplink will have an attack and defence team. Players must capture all uplink points, where by the team must plant an signal flare for the enemy base to be destroyed.

Suppression is one and only game mode from old that made it to SOCOM 4. Suppression is more or less team deathmatch. In bomb squad, the attackers must escort a demolitions technician to defuse a bomb around the map. The defending team must prevent the demo technician from defusing the bombs.

Overall, SOCOM 4 multiplayer does feel quite sparse on game modes, but it does tend to both causal and hardcore crowd. Multiplayer is the redeeming factor for SOCOM 4, but there are some missing components.

Sadly SOCOM 4 doesn’t have a lobby system nor a party system, however the party system will be implemented in an upcoming patch.

Presentation:

Presentation wise, SOCOM 4 graphics are not that bad. The environments, character models, and weapons are quite detailed. Sadly there is a lack of animation on both characters and weapon models, which brings with some awkward looking animations from reloading to jumping. Voice overs are decent at best. The voice actors do have a lot of potential, but sadly the dialogue is what holds back the characters from giving any type of emotion. Soundtrack wise, SOCOM 4 has an epic score, with both Asian and orchestral instrumentals setting the tone and setting. Sound wise, the game can be quite weird. When scoring a head shot, players will hear a cracking noise. Another thing is that the guns mostly all sound the same, even when shooting a sniper rifle, it sounds like a shotgun blast. Overall, presentation wise SOCOM 4 is quite good, but there are some errors here and there.

Closing Note:

Overall, SOCOM 4 has taken some short-cuts in many departments. The story is quite dull and uninteresting with characters that are not likable. The setting and pacing of the story is fine overall. Gameplay wise, SOCOM 4 houses new features to the series like; a cover system, first person ADS, weapons mod, and more. Gameplay had short-cuts, due to limited customization, unpredictable AI, and simplified commands. Multiplayer is the redeeming part here.

It might be missing a few important features, but it’s still an enjoyable and tactical experience. Presentation wise, SOCOM 4 graphics are not top-notch, but look good overall, but with weird animations that easily stick out. Voice acting is held back by the wooden and boring dialogue. The soundtrack might be epic, but the sounds themselves all sound the same or misleading.

SOCOM 4 might fall flat on the story portion, so you might as well invest into the multiplayer experience.

Final Score: 3/5

Author: -AndyThe problem with Brink is that it’s not Call of Duty.

Unlike nearly everyone else making multiplayer shooters, developer Splash Damage isn’t making a game for Call of Duty players, who already have a game anyway. So as they’ve done with Quake Wars: Enemy Territory and Wolfenstein, Splash Damage has made a game for people who like a sense of focus in their gunplay, and something more than gunplay in their shooters.

The central fact of Brink is that, for better or worse, you will not be left to your own devices to wander a battlefield in search of action. This is a game that shunts everyone into direct conflict, usually over a very specific thing. You know that mad concentrated scramble when the quarterback fumbles a football, or when a baseball flies into the crowd at a stadium, or when a single bread crust is tossed out to a bunch of geese? That’s how pretty much every moment plays out in Brink, but with varying degrees of chaos based on how well you know the game. There’s precious little opportunity for occasional players to peel off after secondary objectives. It’s mostly two teams at extreme loggerheads.

The beauty of Brink is how closely you’re working with the other players. Very few shooters are this carefully calculated to force a team to interact without making it feel forced. Splash Damage has always been good at this, but they’ve made it an art form here. Your ammo, your health, your damage, and even how well you see the other team are interdependent nuggets of

gameplay shared among the team, with rewards doled out accordingly and nary a frag count in sight. You don’t even get assists. Points are based on how much damage you do, and not whether you got the kill.

Which isn’t worth as much as tossing out a damage buff from time to time or making sure you’re near the thing you’re supposed to be actually guarding. Brink is all about objectives and there’s is no K/D in team.

Although it’s built from the same engine as Quake Wars, Brink is a much smaller game. It’s literally about crawling through or over the level geometry instead of flying above it. It’s more intimate and personal.

It’s almost entirely indoors, fought most of the time in corridors and occasionally larger lobbies. Kills are mostly up close and personal. You’ll be seeing the whites of their eyes a lot. Sniping is something you usually do from the other side of the room instead of the other side of the map.

A new movement system is just one of several ways Brink lets players participate by doing more than just shooting well. Characters are all light, medium, or heavy. Lighter character movement recalls Assassin’s Creed or Mirror’s Edge for how you hold down a button and simply go. Mantle over low surfaces, leap to nearby rails, and monkey around gracefully, reaching places other players can’t reach and getting where you’re going faster. It’s incredibly gratifying once you learn to read the layout of a level. And unlike, say, the scout in Team Fortress 2, any class can take advantage of this movement mode, since it’s independent of your class choice.

The trade-off is that lighter characters are limited to fewer weapons,

which is a tough choice given how cool these weapons are. Brink’s guns have personality, variety, and just enough configurable bits and pieces to make for some sexy fantasy gun porn. I’m not sure I really need the drum magazine on my already amply ammo’ed LMG, but it sure does look cool when I reload. And so what if I’m a fat slow character who has to shuffle down the middle of the map; I can carry a grenade launcher in my secondary slot! Brink also models knockback from certain weapons, which is like suppression, or maybe stunning in a fighting game. This interplay of guns and movement, divorced entirely from class choice and freely swappable, is one of Brink’s smartest design decisions.

Special abilities, on the other hand, are limited to each of the four classes and they’re locked until you’ve levelled up by playing. These unlocks come fairly quickly, and you’ll max out a class or two in a few nights. At which point you might want to start another character for the other classes. It’s not a drawn-out levelling grind, which almost makes the levelling feel pointless. It seems like an odd

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compromise between Quake Wars, where you maxed out your character in three maps, and Call of Duty, where it’ll take at least three weeks.

Along the way, Brink throws into the mix some nifty cosmetic options for dressing up your character. Expect plenty of DLC on this front. This is, after all, the publisher that brought you horse armour in Oblivion.

At first, eight maps might seem anaemic and maybe another cheap grab for DLC money. But they’re densely crafted maps, and some of them are split into sections that only load when you meet a certain objective. They’re neatly different in terms of look and feel, from the open crisscrossing across the airport to the long tunnels of the aquarium to the warren of passages in the shantytown. And I have yet to figure out that city mall level. These eight maps feel like a lot more than eight maps. This is, after all, the developer who never gave us a single blessed additional map for Quake Wars, which never felt wanting for cool places to shoot each other.

Like Quake Wars, Brink has excellent bot support, which makes it a viable single-player game. Or, even better, a game you can enjoy with a small group of friends playing among bots. It’s remarkable how well the AI can handle this relatively complicated game, making use of different weapons, different class abilities, the movement system, and various elements of the maps. In fact, one of the best ways to learn a map is to follow a bot.

When it comes to competent bots making multiplayer more than just multiplayer, medium budget games like Brink and Section 8 put to shame AAA franchises like Halo and Call of Duty.

One of the worst ways that Brink isn’t very Call of Duty is how it doesn’t make a good first impression.

A learning curve this long and shallow needs to open strong. But that’s not really going on here. For starters, there are terrible problems with lag on the Xbox 360 (I haven’t seen the game on any other system). The graphics occasionally stutter and the sound cuts out frequently. These seem like launch pains, and given Splash Damage’s history with this engine if not this platform, I have every reason to expect they’ll be worked out eventually.

But when you couple this with how poorly the game is laid out for new players, a lot of potential Brink players will just as soon stick with their Call of Duty.

An exhaustive but non-interactive tutorial video isn’t a good opening, even though Brink bribes new players with 1000 free xp before they find out how little 1000xp are actually worth. Then comes a wall of guns, followed by some story-based cut scene nonsense before the seemingly labyrinthine maps with vaguely worded objectives. The best tutorial is actually a “challenge mode” to unlock weapon mods by playing on maps you’ll never use.

Why isn’t this mode used to teach players the maps they’ll actually play? Or some of the different weapons? Or various class functions? Splash Damage is good at game design, but they’re not very good at teaching their unique skew.

But if there’s a game worth powering through that initial confusion to get to something special, it’s Brink.

Because if you’ve ever complained about shooters being more of the same, if you’ve ever lamented all the me-too Call of Duty designs out there, or if you’ve ever just gotten sick of how lazy some of the biggest shooters are when it comes to good game design, here is your alternative.

Final Score: 3.5 / 5

Author: Anthony D Motorstorm is a series that was born on the Playstation 3 by the talented team at Evolution Studios. The original Motorstorm was met with great praise as a fun title with edge of your seat racing action. The second iteration also was fairly well received with praise for its lush environments and inventive courses. Apocalypse looks to bring the series back with a twist involving an urban environment and natural disasters awaiting to strike unsuspecting drivers.

Does the racer live up to the series or has this Motorstorm run out of gas?

Motorstorm Evolved

Motorstorm has come a long way since its times racing in the desolate desert and a dangerous island retreat. Apocalypse takes place in a city filled with skyscrapers, subway tunnels and bridges. The major plot element is that the city is in the midst of a massive earthquake and all the population has evacuated.

A group of adrenaline junkies have decided to run a Motorstorm tournament for kicks in the deserted city. The story takes off from this point where you play a few pre-Motorstorm races to familiarize yourself with the new controls and refresh your memory. The environment is as alive as ever in this title, water cools down your engine and fire will heat it up just like Pacific Rift and require tactical use of hitting the watered areas. The courses themselves, without warning will come alive and the ongoing tremors from the quake will change the course entirely either closing off routes or opening new ones. I personally never found this to get old at all

From falling skyscrapers, bridges and debris you will not only compete with other races but with the city itself.

Choose Your Weapon

Now, it being a Motorstorm game, by weapon I am referring to a vehicle. There are thirteen different types of vehicles in Apocalypse. Super Minis, Dirt Bikes, ATVs, Buggies, Super Bikes, Rally Cars, Muscle Car, Super Cars, Choppers, Big Rigs, Racing Trucks, Mudpluggers and of course Monster Trucks. It adds for a variety on the course in the single player and online. The storyline is an actual story this time not just a no name face. You progress through the tournament as one of three racers, Mash ‘the rookie’, Tyler ‘the pro’ and Big Dog ‘the veteran’. Given their titles the difficulty will ramp up as you progress but also they have their own unique perspectives of the two day Motorstorm event and will see different events unfold. New to the series is air cooling which is what happens when you cool your engine down as you get big air, you simply let go of the gas and boost and it will happen naturally. A cool new feature that adds even more variety in ways to keep your engine maxed out without exploding when you need to.

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Storm Online

Motorstorm Online Multiplayer has been a staple for the series and Armageddon looks to reinvent the way it does online. layers are now able to join in sixteen (16) player races and elimination races. The online system has adopted a Call of Duty approach with rankings and perks that players can unlock. Players will earn experience points for drifting and taking out

other drivers on the course as well as finishing in a good position and earning accolades, like reaching highest top speed. You can also earn experience which are referred to as ‘chips’ by completing medals which range from wins to racing with a specific vehicle.

Every race players are allowed to choose their vehicle of choice out of the cars available in singleplayer as well as choose a driver and a player icon. Drivers and player icons can be unlocked through leveling of the online mode on your way to reach level 40. .

To give the game longevity on top of the already high max rank, they have included Part Challenges which has you complete specific feats to unlock new parts for each vehicle type which you will then be allowed to customize and make each vehicle unique to you. Another addition to the online mode is the ability to bet your ‘chips’ on the race against a rival, it adds a more competitive spirit to the races. It is easy to say that Motorstorm has a very robust online this time around that is jam-packed full of hours of fun for every racing fan.

Storming Modes

The story mode and the multiplayer are just the beginning of this Motorstorm package. As you play through the Festival you will unlock the races for Hardcore Festival mode which is an even more difficult challenge against faster and more aggressive opponents. Time Attack in all thirty-three race tracks to score the best time, both types can be compared against your friends in leaderboards. Quick race is still there which allows you compete in an offline four player race and even add in some AI opponents to intensify the carnage. The amount of content in this package is simply an amazing bang for the buck.

Apocalyptic Entry

If you are a fan of the Motorstorm series or you are a fan of high octane racing titles this is a wonderful addition to your library. The races are intense; the story mode is a great size, clocking in at around 8 or more hours depending on difficulty chosen. Perfectionists will love the collectible cards, the hardcore mode, the customization online and offline. The multiplayer is simply one of the simplest yet meaty content filled racing titles I have ever seen. This is how racing games should be.

Final Score: 4.5/5

Let the Credits... Get Some Credit!

Author: JustaGamer ** Spoilers may be included ** Call me crazy, but I love Credits OK, Gamers are crazy. There you go, I said it. We are crazy. Why? Because we are passionate about our games. We not only care about characters, the music, the sometimes painful stories but we also laugh at their dialogue and cry at their despair.

OK maybe I’m the only gamer that actually cried at a game. Once, it was just once.

I promise, honest, OK! Well, it was difficult. He was dying. The music was perfect. It was the end of an era for this great franchise.

I waited 4 years to play this game. It was at the end of one of the best gaming experiences I ever had. It was just put together so well. It was... unique.

Right, let’s get back on track. Excuse me… OK, that’s better.

Thanks for that. Phew, nearly lost composure.

Heavy Rain (PS3) Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

Solid Snake’s infamous ‘War has changed’ speech introduces the player to future of the battlefield, the economic state of the MGS universe, and helps players hit the ground running. Credits start from here and continue through this long game intro, enabling the player to not only take control but get a good feel of the atmosphere. In my personal opinion, this was the best game intro I ever played so far. Close to the heart.

Firstly, if you have not yet played this. Please do.

Secondly, there are many things I could say about this game. But to keep it quick. Heavy Rain begins with a Prologue. A window into the life of Ethan Mars. At the end of that Prologue, stuff happens, and the start credits begin to roll. Not only do these start credits introduce the player to the illusion of Heavy Rain. It perfectly sets up an unbelievable marvel of a video game. From start to end, Heavy is an experience. But nothing could’ve kicked it off better then this credit segment. From the music, to the facial animation.

This world becomes truly believable.

I simply have no more to say.

The End Devil May Cry 3 (PS2)

‘You’ve heard of it haven’t you? The legend of Sparda’ Lady (Mary), briefly narrates her knowledge of the Sparda family, whilst white credits come and go, music slowly rises and falls, rain drops fill the screen and the Video Game Credits. I always watch the credits at the Sons of Sparda do battle in the background. end of a game. Not only because most games supply This duel is just the taster for bigger battles n DMC3, us with a hidden unknown cutscene after the credits and in my opinion, was well waiting for. The end finish. Yes, Kratos, you know who you are, but also credits for this game also allowed you to fight a horde because video game soundtracks are highly under of enemies, and if you managed to kill 100 or more rated and some of then are pretty damn good. by the end of the credits, you get treated to a hidden Credits give me a chance to wind down and reflect cutscene. Devil May Cry 4’s end credits continued this upon my achievement (completing a solid single trend. player campaign and hopefully top rank movie style story), and are a great tool help express the tone and scale of the tale.

Here are a few example of starting and ending credits, that made a difference to me as a gamer. Trust me, there are more, but here’s a few :

Pure (PS3 ver)

I loved Pure. The gameplay is unrivalled in handling and execution. Each turn felt real and each jump felt amazing. After you race through a healthy campaign of beautiful, roaring, challenging races, it was the cherry on the cake hear a soundtrack reflecting everything this game stands for and much more while watching the credits roll and feeling like champion.

Portal (Macbook Pro ver)

I was recently very sick and am still recovering, hence my absence from TGH and everywhere else, and wasn’t in a position to do much with a console.

Luckily, Portal 2 had just released and my drive to one day play the original Portal floated to the top, and I purchased the Portal Bundle from Steam.

Alan Wake (Xbox 360) So without a mouse in hand, I set off to see what’s so Out of all the games I have played on the 360, mostly exclusives too, this is by far my favourite. It’s special re this environmental puzzle based icon. Now, sometimes difficult to leave a game fully satisfied. not only did Portal impress, but it gave me the smile I The better the experience, the better the game, the needed. That smile came at the end of Portal when the more I want to play it when it finishes. But when I credits begun to roll. I seriously did not expect to hear finished Alan Wake’s main campaign (end of Episode GLaDOS singing ‘Still Alive’.

This song, the lyrics and the presentation represent 6), and then completed the 2nd dlc to complete the entire game (end of Episode 8), the old school track that rare stroke of genius that sometimes shines like a ‘Space Oddity’ by David Bowie just blew me away. It star in the industry of gaming, and these credits were was perfectly picked for the Alan Wake send off, and the ones that prompted me to put this article together.

Seriously, if you have not played Portal, please do, sounds as if it was made for this game. and then play the sequel.

Satisfacion guaranteed.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3, grew to be the largest videogame and technology exhibition in the world. 2007 saw a massive scaling back of the show to a bare bones conference approachand 2011 seemes to have brought a reversal of this strategy. This years E3 was jam packed with big reveals and trailers, tidbits of juicy gaming news and some surprises too.

On the fllowing pages you will find just a smattering of the immense amounts of content released from the doors of the Los Angeles Convention Centre.

Hopefully you will find something that gives your stomach butterflies and get you pumped for the sheer amount of new releases flying their way into your home in Q4 2011 and Q1 2012.

For more coverage on the events of E3 check out the website: www.thegamershub.co.uk/catagory/e3-2/

Above: Exploring the vast spaces found only in

thatgamecompany’s beautiful PS3 title Journey.

Below: Pitted against the same waves of identakit enemies can Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII-2 turn out any better than its predecessor?

Opposite: Irrational Games Bioshock series takes a lighter look, but still keeps its very dark tone in Bioshock Infinite.

General E3 Coverage

Hitman: Absolution Screens and Info

Mirrors Edge 2 on Frostbite 2

With the Hitman: Absolution trailer getting leaked just hours before it was supposed to be shown by IO Interactive, we thought they would keep a lid on anymore information about it, however that was not the case.

Gamesmint came out with massive amounts of information about the game and also five brand new screenshots. Reading the information below, I was excited for the game but now I cannot even contain myself.

For a while now we’ve been hearing quiet whisperings about a Mirror’s Edge 2. The rumoured sequel has been confirmed and unconfirmed a few times now but this week at E3, EA Games Label boss Frank Gibeau claims that they are working on ideas for a sequel and it will likely be running on the Frostbite 2 engine (the engine developed for Battlefield 3). Apparently the studio is just trying to find a way to bring it back, something worthy and notable. They don’t want to just rush out a half assed sequel, which makes perfect sense.

“We haven’t killed Mirror’s Edge, we’re actively looking at how to bring it back in the right way, he said. We love that franchise, the DICE guys really created something special the first time round and you’ve got to have a big idea to be able to do the next one and that’s what we’re working on.”

Author: -Andy-

Ninja Theory’s DMC Gets A Gameplay Trailer Devil May Cry fans began to form an angry mob last year when Ninja Theory and Capcom unveiled the new series reboot. It showed a younger Dante in what appeared to be a different world. As we later learned, it’s an origin story for the beloved anti-hero. Today a new gameplay trailer was released and, as a fan of the series, I can say my heart is at rest once more.

One major point of interest: You’ll notice about halfway through Dante seems to activate Devil Trigger, where his hair takes on the more familiar white appearance. Since it’s inception, fans have secretly wondered why the protagonist’s hair was white. Surely it has a deeper meaning or cause, right?

The easy answer is: It’s a videogame, plus, Sparda and Nero both have white hair as well. Hopefully this question will get a more fleshed out answer alongside Dante’s rise to power when the game launches... eventually. Meanwhile, check out the trailer at :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GixCzw9vjek Author: Ipfisher

.47 is more agile and easier to control, he’ll be able to grab on ledges and balance around edges. .The game will feature an integrated cover system integrated, human shields will also be making a return. .Hiding in dark corners makes 47 invisible to suspecting enemies. .Silent Assassin rating can be achieved by killing targets only, optimally the cause of the death should be accident. .The game will have a film-noir flair to it. .Dynamic music, expect it to keep changing every time you play a level. .Environmental objects can be used to dispatch enemies; Good examples are: strangulation with electrical cords, the good old chandelier and even a Bong. .Glacier-2 engine returns once again, using a crowd system to showcase dozens of people on screen. .Detailed graphics, fantastic lighting, fluid indoor/

outdoor transitions will be on offer. .“Instinct” mode for casual players which can be turned off on higher difficulties.

So what is “Instinct”?

.X-Ray vision .Orange glow highlights position and routes of nearby .NPC’s .Highlights usable objects and special actions .Enhances certain abilities (for example makes it harder for enemies to see through disguises) .Using Instinct costs energy that can be replenished by performing “Hitman” actions like stealth killing foes. .Sounds good doesn’t it? But we have more for you, check out the brand new screenshots at the site now!

Hitman: Absolution is expected to release in 2012 on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Author: Dylan365v

Dance Central 2

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition Announced secrets of Halo.

The game will include seven maps, online co-op over Xbox Live and multiplayer. They are not skimping as the title is fully remastered from the ground up. Get ready to re-live the fight.

No better way to start off your trek back to Halo with the original soon to be available on Xbox 360, Halo: Combat Evolved.

Just announced at Microsoft’s conference is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition. Time to take the story on from where it all began. Halo: Combat Evolved has been re-mastered for a new generation telling a story that launched a universe. Halo: Combat Evolved takes players to the 26th century where they control Master Chief a cybernetically enhanced soldier with the aid of his AI Cortana. Take Master Chief on his first adventure to discover the

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition is set to release on November 15th exclusively on Xbox 360.

Microsofts E3 press conference is currently taking place and people are expecting big things, 2 of the main things Microsoft need to show off is exclusive games and more Kinect games that are actually worth your money, well they just did that as they announced Dance Central 2 will be coming to Xbox 360 and of course will be used with Kinect. The game

will allow you to import songs from Dance Central 1 and will release with over 100songs!. There will also be simultaneous multiplayer and there is a new redesigned Break It Down mode,and voice control.

Dance Central 1 is considered to be one of the best Kinect titles to date so Kinect fans should be happy that a sequel is in the works. Dance Central 2 is scheduled for release sometime this winter.

So who’s excited to play some more Dance Central?, I never bought a Kinect but Dance Central 1 looked like one of the stronger Kinect games, and went on to sell 200,000 copies in the first 10 days of Kinects release.

Author: Anthony D

Author: Rob95

Minecraft coming to Xbox 360 (Exclusive to consoles) The news just keeps coming out of Microsoft’s conference and this announcement is one of the best yet, that’s right Minecraft is coming to Xbox 360! It’s coming out this winter exclusive to Xbox and it will also feature Kinect support. So far Microsoft have announced some great Kinect titles and more will be announced hopefully.

In other news...

The rumors are true and it is time to break out the energy sword. Halo is back in Halo 4, just revealed at Microsofts E3 conference.

Halo 4 will bring players back to the Halo Universe in an all new story that will be apart of a new trilogy on Xbox 360. John is back and from the looks of the trailer Halo 4 will rock your world. A brief description

is simply Cortana yelling at John to wake up and he busts out of cryostasis and narrowly escapes his burning death.

Look for more information throughout the year on this new entry in the Halo Franchise.

Author: Anthony D

This is huge news for Microsoft as Minecraft is an amazing game. Anybody else excited? I am!

(Also of note is that Minecraft will be coming to SonyErricson’s Experia Play Android mobile phone.)

Author: Rob95

25 Years of Zelda: Nintendo Celebrate in Style

Nintendoannounced a ton of details about the 25th Anniversary of The Legend Of Zelda during their E3 conference. Nintendo said that they will release Links Awakening DX on the new 3DS shop, they also said that the Legend Of Zelda 4 Swords would be releasing in September on the store also for FREE! But that’s not all

Nintendo a l s o announced that they would be releasing a limited edition Goleden Zelda Wii r e m o t e that would released around the same time as Skyward Sword.

After that Nintendo announced even more news and said early buyers of Ocarina Of Time 3D could get a free soundtrack for the game if they register it on Club Nintendo straight away.

The last details given were that Skyward Sword will be releasing this Holiday for Nintendo Wii. To top off their celebrations they brought in an orchestra for the conference to play some great memorable songs to the crowd and to accompany the news they were releasing.

Author: Rob95

Super Mario 3DS Details Emerge

Starfox 3DS Arrives Soon

Nintendo released the first details of there upcoming 3DS Super Mario game at their E3 press conference.

Nintendo showed gameplay of the game and it seems to be a mix of side scrolling Mario and 3D Mario like we seen in Galaxy and 64, another detail giving away in the video was that suits are back as Mario had on the racoon suit,so expect more to be shown soon. We expect more details to be announced soon and Nintendo also said the game will release Holiday 2011.

At E3 Nintendo made the announcement that there will be a brand new Starfox game coming to 3DS this September.

Playable by using the 3DS motion sensors to control the movement of your ship in Starfox, or the traditional slider pad. But that is not all, there will be online play!

With the camera’s on the 3DS they will capture all your reactions while playing online and you will get to see your friends reactions in real time while you are flying around in spaceships together.

Author: Rob95

Author: Dylan365v

Project Café Finally Revealed

Many people were excited about Nintendo’s press conference, for many their excitement came about because of one thing in paticular. That thing was Project Cafe. Nintendo unveiled the offical name of their new console as the Wii U. They also shared some details on the new controller by demoing a video of it.

The controller has a screen in it where you can play your games on

3rd Parties Sign Up for Wii U Alongside the Wii U announcement Nintendo also showed a demo reel of some 3rd party titles coming to the console.

They named:

.Darksiders2 .Alien Colonial Marines .Metro Last Light .Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge .Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online .DIRT .Batman Arkham City .Assassins Creed .EA Games .Tekken They also announced support from a ton more companies including THQ, EA and Ubisoft and hinted at co-operation from Bioshock Developer 2K Games.

Nintendo didn’t give any dates or prices for the Wii U so maybe at Gamescom we may hear some more on their upcoming console.

Author: Rob95 Top: Darksiders 2 looking more grand than ever before Middle: Aliens: Colonial Marines doing what it does best.

Bottom: Codemasters’ Dirt3 but it will look similar on Wii U

when you are not playing on the TV. The screen also doubles as a touch screen, and the controller itself has motion-sensor capabilities. The Wii U can also be used in conjunction with Wii controllers providing backards compatability as well as opening new avenues for multiplayer sessions.

Take a look at the new controller to the left.

Author: Rob95

NGP Gets a New Name

Sony Apologises for PSN Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entetainment America (SCEA), kicked off Sony’s E3 press conference by addressing the elephant in the room.

He gave a complete formal apolgy in regards to the company’s most recent PSN outage.

He referred to the media coverage of the news, and how the internet likes “bad news,” according to Tretton.

“Nothing pleases the Internet like bad news. So, press outlets: you’re welcome,” he said.

Tretton also thanked third-party partners, before addressing the biggest audience PlayStation has directly: its consumers.

“Without you, there is no PlayStation. I want to apologise personally and on behalf of the company.”

PSN went down on April 19 due to an external intrusion, which seen personal data of 77 million PSN users compromised. The service, following a partial return last month, was fully restored last month.

Author: Henry M

Bioshock Infinite Gains PSMove & PS Vita Rumblings Sony’s press conference contained many a surprise, and many expected points too.

One surprise that nobody had expected came from Bioshock Infinite. Creative Director Ken Levine shown off the game and announced, after having to eat his own motion control hating words, that the game would now feature Move support!

After that he revealed an even bigger surprise. A game set in the Bioshock universe will be coming to the PS Vita (formerly NGP) in the future.

This will be the first Bioshock game to feature any kind of motion

control and Bioshock Vita will be the first Bioshock to appear on a handheld. This is pretty big news.

Hopefully you are all excited for move support in Bioshock Infinite, or the new Bioshock on PSVita? I’m excited for both! Move needs some hardcore games and Bioshock is a addition for move support to and should help make the PS3 version much better.

Author: Rob95

One of the main things at this years Sony conference is without a doubt the NGP. We all expected the official name to be revealed and it was.

The system’s name is now Playstation Vita (which is Italian for Life).

As mentioned in the past the PS Vita will feature a touch screen, a rear trackpad, front and rear cameras, 3G and much more. Sony also also announced they would be partnering with AT&T, which brought much dispair to the crowd, and there will be over 24,000 AT&T hot spots in the US. No details on EU or AU 3G subscription services yet.

Big news about the PS Vita, and more, will most likely be revealed in the months leading up to launch.

Pricing was announced alongside the console. The US market is looking at $249.99 for the Wi-Fi model and $299.99 for the 3G model (unsure if subscription is included in that). The EU can look forward to paying €249.99 and €299.99 respectively. UK pricing has also been revealed by GAME and looks set to be around £229.99 and £279.99 respectively.

No offical date has been given to the PS Vita however they state that they are aiming for a Holiday 2011 release in one territory and to be launched by the end of the fiscal year.

Author: Rob95

Sony Offer Playstation Branded Goods Sony announced during its E3 press event that due to the more than 100 3D games on PlayStation,the firm plans to release two new 3D hardware products: a PlayStation branded 3D monitor and 3D glasses.

The monitor has a 24-inch display, developed specifically for the PS3, in HD and 3D. It allows two people playing a game to see separate screens each, meaning no more split-screen gaming as your both looking at the same screen but seeing different images.

The new 3D glasses contain active-shutter technology and are priced at a budget level.

The products are designed to appeal to those who can not afford to enter into the 3D gaming market with a full price large 3DTV. It’s ideal for bedroms or Student dorms and all will be available this autumn in the US in a bundle with Resistance 3 for just $499.

Author: -Andy-

Author: JoeTyler Downloadable content is big business these days, giving fans even more game to enjoy, elongating the experience with new missions, map packs, and sometimes even entire new experiences that lead into the next game in the series! The Call of Duty franchise has long been a constant source of output when it comes to map packs, and Black Ops looks to be no different.

For Black Ops however, Activision are also releasing new content for the much-loved Zombie mode. In the case of Escalation they have assembled a star-studded cast, including the master of horror himself George A. Romero and cult favourites like Danny Trejo. But at 1,200 Microsoft Points, is the Escalation add-on worth your money? Let’s find out.

While this map managed to set a slightly creepy tone that keeps players on edge, nothing really managed to stand out. The area and textures looked very bland, especially for a Zoo. The map isn’t bad, it just fails to stand out from the rest of the map pack, or any other map that Call of Duty: Black Ops has to offer.

Hotel:

Hotel, which again is what it says on the tin a hotel. The basic premise is a casino but you start off on the top floor (the roof).

This map is certainly catered to Assault Zoo: Rifles and LMG’s with definite Sniper As you may have guessed, this large map takes place Spots. The Sniper perches on either side in an abandoned Zoo. In this map there are many of the map are very easy to get too, either secret paths and secret areas. Enemies can flank you take the stairs or take the lift. That’s right, from any angle at any given time on this map. The the lift, hard to believe but there is three combination of buildings and wilderness seamlessly of them on this map which make for very blends together in order to create this eerie feeling interesting gameplay indeed. that keeps players on their toes.

The main body of the map is the resting area and swimming pool with the 2 building either side. It may look simple on the outside but is quite complex and you may see yourself turning around once or twice reaching a dead end or having returned to where you started. High-rise is the closest comparison to this map, but that is only

because they both take place on a roof top. The design for Hotel is very well done, the map has a good sense of pacing due to its size, and the added lifts that you can use are very useful for escaping near death situations.

Stockpile:

The Stockpile map takes Black Ops back to the World War 2 era once more as with “Discovery” and “Berlin Wall” from the “First Strike” DLC. There isn’t much on this map that hasn’t been seen before and is one of those generic maps made by the Call of Duty development team.

There is however one part of the map that is interesting indeed, the main control room. The control room lies in the centre of the map and has 2 lockable doors controlled by switches either side of the doors.

However these can be penetrated by rockets. The control room has windows pointing in every direction so which ever team controls that building, controls the battle. Much like Zoo, Stockpile failed to stand out from the rest of the map pack. With the exception of the control room located in the centre of the map, Stockpile comes across as “just another map”.

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Convoy:

Convoy takes its setting south of Las Vegas and North of Los Angeles where an army convoy gets ambushed on a bridge. The map has a Motel, Petrol Station, Restroom and a Diner to accompany the convoy. Snipers tend to camp on the catwalks that look over the bridge and the general battleground surroundings. The bridge is placed in the centre of the map and has a huge crater due to the explosive ambush.

Despite the bridge, most of the battles take place down the sides of the map. On the Motel side of the map players can attempt to make their way around the side of the map which usually ends up in conflict.

I personally really like the design of this map, the layout was well thought out and the environment is well detailed. The buildings on the map provide useful cover from the snipers that will surely dominate the bridge, and the map itself can become very chaotic when playing Domination.

Call of The Dead (Zombie Map):

Zombie maps are beginning to become a tradition in any Treyarch map pack that is released and this one certainly does not disappoint.

With an all-star in cast including; George A. Romero, Danny Trejo (The Devils Rejects, Machete), Robert Englund (Nightmare On Elm Street), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead), Sarah Michele Geller (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), this is by far the greatest Zombie map that Treyarch has created thus far. Call of The Dead is insanely fun but insanely hard at the same time. Like “Shi No Numa� from CoD: World at War, this map does not have Nazi Zombies but Zombies from a shipwreck in Siberia. This map is huge and many different strategies will be needed in order to stay alive. Call of The Dead has several new weapons and perks to keep its gameplay fresh, and with a blood thirsty George A. Romero forever stalking you, you are never truly safe in Call of The Dead.

The Verdict:

The Escalation Map Pack would be considered great value for many Call of Duty fans. Although I still feel that 1200MS points is too high of a n asking price for a map pack, the Escalation maps are good, with the unfortunate exception of Zoo and Stockpile.

The Call of The Dead map is definitely the most enjoyable map included in this DLC and will provide hours of excitement to its community.

Final Score: 4/5

Daggerdale

The Dungeons & Dragons mythos and storyline are a convoluted one for anything less than the die-hard fan of the series.

The overall gist is that it involves magic, different races and a whole lot of fighting, which is basically the elements of any good RPG. he idea of a game would come natural and fit right into the universe. Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale is no ordinary RPG game.

It takes the route of the dungeon crawler, action hack n’ slash RPG, which is quite fitting considering it is a downloadable title on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. How does it stack up against others like Torchlight? Can this dungeon crawler out best the rest or does this end up stuck between a troll and a hard place?

Create A Hero

Author: AnthonyD

The player starts out by choosing a class and race.

Sadly, you cannot mix and match and are limited to the following choices: Halfling Wizard, Elven Rogue, Human Fighter, and Dwarven Cleric. An early disappointment is in the character customization, the inability to mix and match races and class types feels like an oversight by the development team.

From there the player is needed to spend two ability points on powers, and one point on feats, which can be activated by button presses such as RB/R1 or feats that are always active like gaining HP when you kill someone with your melee attack. You also get a brief glance at the ability scores that each character class starts with and their proficiencies and class abilities all of which stay true to the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition rules for class and race.

The story takes place in the campaign setting of the Forgotten Realms in the Dungeons & Dragons universe on the continent of Faerûn in a region of the Dalelands called Daggerdale.

The heroes are summoned to restore order to the Dalelands and protect them against Rezlus and his army of Zhentarim. Throughout the course of the story you will fight against goblins, evil dwarves and even skeletons and many more types of enemies.

There are three main chapters, Ruins of Tethyamar, The Depths and Mouth of the Void. It’s sad that there is only three chapters and they each last about an hour and a half to two hours. Granted the gameplay is extended by playing through as multiple characters however some might find this tedious. Most quests that are given to you seem like they are necessary to the story to advance, there are very few optional side-quests. The quests themselves are usually of a go here, defeat these enemies and report back to me with the occasional escort and destroy stationary target X missions. The only real fun and unique missions seem to be the ones that end each chapter, like fighting a large crossbow being pushed by heavy goblins.

The Pain Of Daggerdale There are some issues with the game and a lot of tedious work that some RPG fans might find annoying while others D&D fans may find welcoming. One major issue we experienced with the title is that the difficulty curve is fairly steep. The enemies come at you in droves and hard. They are relentless and seem to follow you whereas your allied AI is fairly dimwitted.

We noticed it takes quite a lot to level up, sometimes a whole chapter to level up a full level unless you are by yourself and even then it takes quite a long time.

The experience sharing is a pain when in co-op, but it is understandable since there are only ten (10) total levels to gain. Each level you gain points to spend on powers, feats, class abilities and your ability scores like strength, constitution, dexterity and more. Many RPG titles like to separate the merchant and inventory so you are not shown things you are unable to use yourself like what was done in Dragon’s Age, if you can’t equip it, it wasn’t shown. Daggerdale doesn’t use this tactic and simply throws them in as if to confuse you to buy the wrong item. There is no real ‘rare’ loot in the game it seems and money is fairly simply to come by, and if you are low on cash just sell what’s in your inventory.

The camera angle is one of two options, by pressing up on the d-pad you are given the default third-person like camera that is fairly close and low to the ground.

Then by hitting down on the d-pad you are given the higher Diablo-esque camera angle that some may find more comforting. The map for Daggerdale is not vry detailed on the HUD and in the map screen. You will find yourself looking at your map often as most areas are set up like a maze and the arrow may show one way on the mini-map but you will end up in a dead end realizing that you have to go the opposite way so it loops around. Something you would only know by either playing it prior or by looking at your map. One wishes that there was some sort of Fable type line to follow on the floor.

>>

Take A Friend To Daggerdale

One strong component that Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale has going for it is the multiplayer. The title offers up to four player online and offline co-op.

The downside, although making sense is rather sad that you cannot have two of the same class in one coop session. So if someone chooses to be the Cleric, there cannot be another. Despite this slight hiccup the online can be fun but it has its drawbacks. There are quite a few doors and they require both players to be almost literally on top of the switches for them to work, there is little to no exploration in the title which as mentioned early leads to less rare loot. The experience that is gained seems to be altered in half to make the title last longer in co-op. Although the coop will only last you anywhere from four to six hours the game is still quite enjoyable with friends. While playing with a full roster of four friends the game can be rather fun as each player will run off the strengths and weaknesses of the other, the mage will stay back and fire away and the warrior will go in for the kill.

Seeing it all in action is rather satisfying.

Warranting A Return To Daggerdale

The whole package can be seen as a great deal, however the only real draw would be the online co-op.

The shortness of the campaign and the lack of any other modes besides Campaign and Co-Op make me wonder if the game is worth the full 1200 MSP ($15). That money can be put towards full retail titles that will give you all that is offered and more. There are too many faults in the game to simply warrant a day one purchase than anything less than a hardcore D&D fan. However for hardcore Dungeons & Dragons fans, Daggerdale is the supposed first chapter in a game trilogy that is set to take place. Let’s hope that the next entry takes more time on polish and quantity than just what feels like a quick cash in with the D&D name.

Final Score: 2.5/5

Windows 8 will ‘Relaunch PC Gaming’ in 2012 Author: Dan CEO Steve Ballmer has confirmed Microsoft will launch the next version of its Windows operating system next year.

Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, Ballmer confirmed that the new OS will be optimised for tablet devices, PCs and “a variety of different form factors”.

Previously an online report has claimed that Windows 8 will “relaunch PC gaming”, and that “gaming will be a key component for the whole OS”.

“We’re obviously hard at work on the next version of Windows,” Ballmer said.

“Windows 7 PCs will sell over 350 million units this year. We’ve done a lot in Windows 7 to improve customer satisfaction. We have a brand new user interface. We’ve added touch, and ink, and speech.

“And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year,

“We’re obviously hard at work on the next version of Windows” there’s a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”

At the same press conference Ballmer claimed the new Windows Phone OS will feature 500 new features.

Personally don’t go jumping for it when its released, everyone knows the pattern Microsoft like to take with their Windows OS’s.

EA Developer Has New Xbox Console Tech in Hand A source close to Developers is claiming that a new Xbox console from Microsoft is currently in the hands of EA developers.

According to the source, the next Xbox is being played around with by an unnamed Electronic Arts studio, which was sent to the firm last month. It is supposedly a very early build, meaning it doesn’t have an official case as of yet, so it is currently stored in a PC shell. Still, there is enough there to get acquainted with the tech, according to the source.

“Quite often when new consoles come around they’re packaged into a PC shell, but actually what’s inside is an entirely new console,” said the person Develop called a “senior, trusted, well-placed,” source.

Develop said that so far Microsoft and EA have both declined comment on the matter, and the source is not employed by either company. However, the person in question is under the assumption the console will be in stores by the end of 2012, and that an announcement of sorts will be mentioned at E3.

So, take all of this for what it is worth at the moment – a massive rumour.

Microsoft has said in the past not to expect a new console from the firm until the current lifespan of Xbox 360 reached its tenth anniversary,

“Quite often when new consoles come around they’re packaged into a PC shell, but actually what’s inside is an entirely new console,” meaning it won’t even be released by those estimates until 2014 at the earliest.

However, past sources have claimed the firm could be “pressured” into a 2013 should another new console burst out of the gate first – such as Project Cafe.

Last month, another source claimed a new Xbox SKU would hit in 2013, but it will not be the often rumored Xbox 720, only a Kinectupgraded 360.

The End Of Anonymous:

Anonymous Attacks Eachother

Wii U:

No More Friend Codes

Author: Ryan.p It now seems that there is an internal war happening in the ranks of leaderless hacker group ‘Anonymous’ in which a rogue admin had taken control of two key sites that the group uses to coordinate their actions online In a message to users posted on AnonOps.in, part of Anonymous’s AnonOps network, admins accused a former comrade of organising a “coup d’état”.

The name that seems to be coming up is ‘Ryan’, who is now being accused of stealing IP addresses and passwords of users of two ‘A n o n y m o u s ’ sites. AnonOps. net and AnonO ps.r u were attacked by first getting the precious information, and then getting Denial of service (DoS) attacks directed against them.

The sites provide communication within the members of the group through IRC channels and have been used to launch several attacks, they were also key in organising Anonymous activity in support of the uprising in Tunisia and Egypt and Syria.

Some messages have been appearing in hacking websites from anonymous: ‘We regret to inform you today that our network has been compromised by a former IRC-operator and fellow helper named “Ryan”. He decided that he didn’t like the leaderless command structure that AnonOps Network Admins use.

So he organised a coup d’état, with his “friends” at skidsr.us . Using the networks service bot “Zalgo” he scavenged the IP’s and passwords of all the network servers (including the hub) and then systematically aimed denial of service attacks at them.’

‘We would STRONGLY ADVISE all users to STAY AWAY from AnonOps. net and AnonOps. ru, and they should be considered COMPROMISED. Using or connecting to any service on those addresses may put your computer, and by extension your person, at risk’.

These latest developments come after Sony had accused the hacker group to be more than likely (however w i t h o u t providing d e f i n i t e evidence) involved in the data leak that caused the loss of personal and financial information of over 70 million users of the Playstation Network.

“Using or connecting to any service on those addresses may put your computer, and by extension your person, at risk’”

In what can be the smartest move Nintendo has made this E3, the company has decided to do away with friend codes for the Wii U. Hallelujah! Instead of friend codes gamers will have a single identity online, kind of like a gamertag. This will make building a friends list and communicating online much easier.

Now while this news isn’t coming from Nintendo (Ubisoft is actually the company that revealed it), if it is indeed true, and why wouldn’t it be, this is a very smart move. The friend codes were one of the worst things about the Wii and if they carried them over to the Wii U, once again the console would lag behind the XBOX 360 and PS3 in terms of online gaming. Hopefully with the friend code gone, the Wii U will be seen as a legitimate platform for online gaming.

Author: Ryan.p

First Picture of the Wii U Revealed Author: Dylan365v

With an hour and a half long press conference from Nintendo they did very well not to mention the actual console. All we hear was controller this controller that but nothing about console. That is until now. The people over at Kotaku have managed to get the first picture of the WiiU (Check it out above) Not the prettiest of things, but then again the controller seems to be at the top of Nintendo’s list and not the actual console itself. The WiiU is set to release sometime next year and I really want to see more from it because it looks amazing. Check back daily on TheGamersHub to hear the latest news on the WiiU.

Thanks to the lovely people @MythosEuropewe’ve got a pretty big competition. You can win one of 25 copy’s of Mythos on disk which gets sent to your door and we want to make it as simple as possible.

All you have to do to win a copy is:

Post a comment at http://bit.ly/m8PKY4 saying why you want the game.

Tweet this: @TheGamersHub I want a disk copy of Mythos from @MythosEurope http://bit.ly/kSiurZ You can do both (tweet and leave a comment) to increase your chances of winning. You’ll need to make sure you use the correct email when posting a comment below and be sure to follow us on Twitter so we can DM you if you win. If you win we’ll contact you via the-team@thegamershub.net to get the game on its way.

About the game:

Long ago, four races formed an alliance based on a promise of peace and cooperation, the Cyclops, Humans, Gremlins, and the Satyrs. Possessed by greed, a group of Human mercenaries cruelly attacked the Cyclops village and burnt it to the ground in their efforts to steal a mysterious green gem: the eye of Crom.

After their bloody victory, the human mercenaries proceeded further into

Evergreen Pasture, using the gem’s power to wreak even more havoc.

Little did they know, one brave Cyclops survived the onslaught. He grieved for the once strong alliance which had been so flagrantly betrayed.

Consumed with sorrow and driven by an unquenchable thirst for revenge, he is now determined to hunt down the human mercenaries and avenge the honor of the alliance.

Rules:

It’s only open to people living in EU Don’t comment or tweet loads of times, we’ll just ignore it.

Winners are selected at random.

Sites T&C’s apply as always.

Comp ends 21st June

You can get to the Mythos official website at: www.mythos-europe.com

Win A Copy of Mythos Europe on Disk!

When is the next issue of TheGamersHub Magazine?

The next issue of TGH magazine will be released 4th July 2011.

This will be our fourth 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.

As TheGamersHub Magazine is a new introduction for the site, please bare in mind we are still getting on our feet with it.

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.net For advertising in the magazine please contact Henry at: henry.m@thegamershub.net

Issue: No.3