I’m still battling my way through the alien invasion in 2K’s fantastic XCOM:Enemy Unknown. I’m also still recovering from the XCOM Sydney launch party, which I go on about here).
Whilst I never doubted them, XCOM:Enemy Unknown developers Friaxis (of Civilization fame) have really managed to capture the essence of the old XCOM games, but without the experience feeling like a crusty beards and sandals affair. In this modern age of cookie-cutter first-person-shooters and other safe bets its nice to see a publisher try something a little different.
I’ve been enjoying myself with the game and taking my time with it. But the pressures is now on as 2K have announced not one, but two imminent DLC packs for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. He’s what they have to say (I make no apologies for this mid-week PR regurgitation): Continue reading XCOM: Enemy Unknown content packs are on their way→
It’s almost that time of year again. Later this month Ubisoft will release the next chapter in what must be the most intelligent video game series ever made, Assassin’s Creed III. And this year we are in for a special treat; having concluded Ezio’s story it is time for a new protagonist and a new historic era. The first chronologically numbered Assassin’s Creed game in three years, Assassin’s Creed III, has us witness the violent birth of the United States of America thought the eyes of our conflicted half-English, half-Mohawk hero, Conner Kenway. Continue reading Retrospective: Assassin’s Creed Revelations→
With the release of Medal of Honor Warfighter less than a week away I thought now would be a great time to republish my review of the last game. As a fan of the original WWII based Medal of Honor games (ignoring the OK but nothing special MoH:Airborne), I was a bit skeptical of rebooting the game into the 21st Century.
I’d played the Medal of Honor multiplayer demo and can’t say it did much for me at the time. I couldn’t work where the game sat in EA’s own catalogue. Was it their Call of Duty beater? What about Battlefield: Bad Company? Why where DICE handling the multiplayer; weren’t they busy with their own Battlefield 3 game? Why couldn’t Danger Close do the multiplayer? Medal of Honor just didn’t add up for me. Continue reading Retrospective: Medal of Honor→
I’ve had the craziest, maddest and, without a doubt, busiest couple of weeks since I first started regularly churning stuff out about video games. The EB Expo, game launches and exclusive hands-on with top upcoming games are just some of the delights that have been offered to me since moving across the Tasman to this fair city of Sydney.
Moving from sleepy Wellington, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia has dumped me right in the middle of video gaming central. In a few short months I’ve have a hands-on with EA Games’ fantastic Need for Speed: Most Wanted,and sat spellbound by Ubisoft’s glorious Assassin’s Creed III in the presence of the games creators. You can read about how I got on with Assassin’s Creed III at the hands-on hosted by the game’s associate producer, Julien Laferrière, and mission director, Philippe Bergeron on the Games Console pages of techday.com, here and at Shane the Gamer, here. Continue reading Vic B’Stard’s week in review: EB Expo, XCOM launch party, NBA 2K13, Dishonored and Indiana Jones!→
I was away when the long overdue upgrade to the PlayStation Store went live.
I’ve long lamented on just how rubbish the SCEE version of the PlayStation Store looked compared to its contemporaries. Even the US version looked better (but not by much). As soon as I got in last night I went straight to the PS Store to check it out. Continue reading PlayStation Store upgrade hits ANZ→
I’m done. It’s over. Three days of EB Expo. If you have told me Friday morning that I’d still be at the Expo on Sunday, I wouldn’t have believed you. Between you and I’d had enough by 11:00 on Friday morning.
The combination of a lot less coffee than usual, an early start, the whole “Gamethirst” nametag thing and the, sadly, lacklustre Master Chief unveiling at the crack of dawn was enough for me to prematurely label the entire expo a bit shit.
Day two of the EB Expo is over for me. It was similar to day one, but with a load more people.
There were longer lines for everything (including the EB Games store). But yesterday’s hardcore gamers suitably diluted with more…everyday folks. Don’t get me wrong, the cosplayers were still out in force; of note were the middle-aged Jedi silently enjoying a McDonalds with an x-wing pilot. Hats off go to the chunky Wonder-Woman and the skinny, balding Super-man; you are far less self-conscious of your bodies than I am. Continue reading Vic B’Stard’s state of the EB Expo: day two in the bag→
A late invite to see Master Chief awaken from his slumber at 8am this morning meant that it was a rather long day for me.
Early this morning I joined a throng of representatives of the gaming press to witness a rather petite Master Chief step out of a cardboard “cryo tube”. The 3/4 scale Master Chief posed as dry ice was hastily pumped out by a chap behind a black velvet curtain. After wowing the gaming press mini-Master Chief stepped outside, into the gaze of the assembled great unwashed, to rapturous applause. It was time for the 2012 EB Expo. Continue reading Vic B’Stard’s state of the EB Expo: day one over.→
