Please note: This article is a reflection on the North American version of PlayStation Plus, and the features or opinions mentioned here may not necessarily apply to its counterparts in the various other PSN regions.

Last year at E3, after many rumours and much hype, Sony debuted its new premium membership program: PlayStation Plus. PlayStation Plus was to be Sony’s answer to Xbox Live, promising premium content to subscribers for a nominal yearly fee. Many gamers balked at the announcement, loudly wondering what the point of the service was. "Multiplayer is already free," they said. "What else could they possibly have that you would want to pay for?"

After subscribing to PlayStation Plus for the past nine months, I’m here to offer up some impressions of Sony’s much talked-about stuff service.

Sony’s largest bragging point about PlayStation Plus was its promise of free games, and this is perhaps the most value-centric aspect of the service. Every month, PlayStation Plus offers its subscribers a free classic PSone game to download, akin to a book-of-the-month club. The initial selection was pretty shaky (2Xtreme? Seriously?), but the selection has expanded to include a fair few gems, such as the original Syphon Filter, Crash Team Racing, and all three Spyro the Dragon games. As a gamer who missed the original PlayStation entirely (my Nintendo 64 was just fine with me, thank you very much), PlayStation Plus' monthly game offers a decent way to catch up on some of my history. Each game normally costs between six and ten dollars, making PlayStation Plus a decent bargain for folks who want to build their library of digital classics.

PlayStation Plus isn’t only about classic games, though, and also offers a new service called Full Game Trials. PlayStation Plus subscribers are given the ability to play through the first hour of certain games in Sony’s 'Games on Demand'-style distribution service. This works better on paper than in practice, however, because while it’s cool to have the option to play through the first hour of Assassin’s Creed, the time required to download its 7.7GB of game data is ridiculous, and takes away much of the appeal of casual browsing.

Perhaps the coolest weapon in PlayStation Plus' arsenal is the ability to download open betas for games like Killzone 3 and DC Universe Online. Goodness knows if the feedback gathered from the beta actually makes any difference to the final build of the game, but the betas are certainly effective as advertising units; my roommate upped and bought DC Universe Online after immensely enjoying himself during the beta, and I’m sure a healthy taste of Killzone 3’s online component urged many a player into adding the title to their game repertoire.

PlayStation Plus also offers a series of discounts on digital content, slashing prices on items like downloadable games, multiplayer maps and certain PSOne titles. The discounts can be fairly paltry, but sometimes the service goes nuts (for example, when it offered Stacking as a free download during its first week of release). Sony offers several of its 'Minis' for free, too, though these are often underwhelming, get-what-you-pay-for PSP puzzle titles. Still, they’re another bit of free content to throw onto the stack, and I’m sure there are many who do enjoy them.

In addition to discounting games, PlayStation Plus offers price markdowns on avatars and PS3 themes. Again, I’m sure there are folks out there who appreciate saving a few bucks on a ModNation Racers avatar picture, but they’re a drop in the content bucket for me, and I rarely bother with them.

Media is the definitive reason why I purchased PlayStation Plus. I don’t have cable in my apartment, and after E3 Sony announced that PlayStation Plus subscribers would have first access to Hulu Plus, Hulu’s new premium content service that - amongst other things - lets users watch their programs on an actual television, as opposed to a computer monitor. Being the old fashioned, curmudgeony sod that I am, I leapt at the chance to no longer crouch over a keyboard in order to catch the latest episode of 30 Rock. Since then, Hulu Plus has opened up to all PSN members, but I still used the hell out it during the six months that it was a PlayStation Plus exclusive, and I am not sorry I did.

PlayStation Plus subscribers also get access to Qore, Sony’s monthly 'digital magazine'. Like a typical magazine, Qore features exclusive looks at new games and interesting developers, but all the content is presented through videos. I’m not sure if it’d be worth the $12-per-year subscription fee it normally costs, but as a free download, it’s reasonably satisfying.

There are a few other features that round out the PlayStation Plus experience. The first, and probably least deserving of fanfare, is PlayStation Plus' ability to automatically download patches and updates for games you own. In my experience, this works most of the time, but there have been a few instances where my roommate has fired up DC Universe Online and, after being notified that the system automatically downloaded a patch for him, found himself staring at another update download screen. Some, like Patrick Klepick (formerly of G4) have wondered why this isn’t integrated into the regular PSN functionality, which is a view I share. It is what it is, though, and I’d rather have automatic patch downloads on PlayStation Plus than not have it at all.

The newest feature to grace PlayStation Plus is online, cloud-based storage for game saves, which gives players the ability to save their games to the cloud and resume their progress on another PS3. I cannot, for the life of me, think of an instance where I would want to commute between two different PlayStation 3s and continue to unlock cars on another person’s copy Burnout Paradise, or something to that effect. This says more about my own social life than the actual online storage feature, but I do have to wonder how easy it is to access said game saves. Retrieving a GamerTag on Xbox Live is a royal pain in the rear, and I greatly hope that - if I do decide to continue my progress in Darksiders while visiting a friend’s house - I won’t have to jump through too many hoops.

Ultimately, the value you get from PlayStation Plus depends on how often you use your PS3. Gamers who use their PS3 as their primary game system will find plenty to love about PlayStation Plus; the multitude of free games, discounts, and other amenities make it an attractive option, and the savings can easily outweigh the initial cost of entry. Multiplatform gamers or players who don’t use their PS3 that often may want to stay away, though, as many of PlayStation Plus’ features reward gamers who invest a good amount of time into their system, and casual gamers who barely find time to use their PS3 at all may not be able to take advantage of everything PlayStation Plus has to offer.

Still, for what it’s worth, PlayStation Plus is a far cry from the redundant, money-driven service it seemed to be when Sony first announced it last June, and whilst it’s far from an Xbox Live-esque necessity for the system, it’s a great value for those who put in the time.

Labels: 2011, Andrew Testerman, Feature, PlayStation Network, PlayStation Plus, PlayStation3, PS3, PSN, Review

Stacking is a simplified and more casual version of the adventure games of yore. To me it was particularly evocative of the Monkey Island series, titles known for their quirky, humourous stories and esoteric puzzles. Despite only being Double Fine’s second foray into the downloadable game arena, Stacking is a delightful game for anyone pining for a classic adventure game.

The player controls Charlie Blackmore, the smallest (and perhaps most adorable) doll in a family of Russian nesting dolls. Charlie can stack into, and 'unstack' from, larger dolls to solve puzzles and save his family, who have been captured by the evil child-labour propagator, known as the Baron. Charlie explores a larger-than-life, early 20th century Britain, as he quests to save his family from the Baron and undo nasty child labour laws once and for all.

In the same way that Monkey Island was about finding and combining items to solve puzzles, Stacking is about applying the correct item to the correct situation. The only difference is that your items are characters, the dolls, spread out across the environment and full of such personality and quirkiness that they colour the game a strikingly unique, enjoyable puzzle-playground. What would be static, menu-based inventory items in most games turn into a circus of charming dolls scurrying around the playable field. Each doll has one ability that it can perform, ranging from generally useless actions (breakdancing and flatulance) to uniquely applicable ones (vomiting cookies and playing pied piper). The flavour provided by these character-items makes puzzle solving much more visual and friendly to those not well-learned in the obscurity of adventure game logic.


Stacking actually does a lot to circumvent much of the frustration which adventure games can inspire, most notably the tendency for visual puzzle-solving to become repetitive and irritating. Take Monkey Island, or even more modern adventure games, like Sam & Max; it’s easy to get stuck or lost in the game’s language, which is often impractical or humourous rather than logical. Who knew that a rubber chicken could be used as a zipline trolley? A pot can double as a helmet? There’s a certain out-of-the-box abstract logic to adventure games that takes a conditioned mind to recognise, and that invites some negative frustration. Being able to see the dolls' abilities in Stacking helped me to understand how a particular doll could aid in a situation. Even though the puzzles are rarely brilliant, elegant, or even all that complex, the impressive visuality of it all is a nice design choice that cuts through a lot of that nebulous misunderstanding and frustration that adventure games have forced players to wallow in for years.

Every puzzle has multiple solutions, but usually it only needs to be solved once to proceed through the game. If you were to just go find one solution to every puzzle, Stacking wouldn’t take you very long to complete, but there’s fun to be had in discovering every solution: they’re usually clever and make use of an unfamiliar doll. The real upside of multiple-solution puzzles is that, chances are, you’ll be able to figure out at least one of the solutions without much trouble, which goes a long way in removing the dissatisfaction of getting stuck on a particularly tricky riddle.

A trend in modern iterations of adventure games that I really appreciate is the hint system, and Stacking has a three-step hint system that begins vaguely and ends by directly outlining how to proceed. This mechanic can help anyone along at any time, during any puzzle, only augmenting how ideal Stacking is for adventure game fans of any calibre.


Stacking bookends puzzles and levels with stylised cutscenes that mimic the silent films of the game's era: bouncy piano music plays whilst the dolls bounce up and down to indicate who's talking to whom, and after a second or two the screen shifts to text and dialogue. It's part of the charm, but the scenes come up often and run slowly, and none are skippable. If anything, their use highlights how antiquated the idea of a cutscene can be in a game, but given Stacking’s late 19th/early 20th century motif, the antiquation feels almost appropriate.

There’s a strong aesthetic in Stacking that’s both charming and cohesive. Dolls scuttle and wobble about with an almost stilted animation that feels very appropriate for they way they look. The garbled grunts and chubby faces of the dolls provide just enough enjoyment to make me fine with being stuck in puzzles momentarily, because at least the experimentation was still visually fun. Environments in the game range from a high-class train, to a cruise boat, to an ominous zeppelin. Each feels decorated and is populated with a cast of new dolls and puzzles that fit the setting. In one level of a train car I found a crowd of humongous dolls wearing monocles and top hats, feasting on piles of golden coins served to them by lowly child labourers, as a fire - fuelled by hundred dollar bills - roared behind them. Much of the reason to play this game is to enjoy the art style and the embedded humour.

Adventure games are definitely a 'certain type' of game, one that hasn’t changed much since their inception. Stacking is fun, and its design breathes some simple ingenuity into the concept of puzzle solving in game design. Fans of adventure games will certainly appreciate Stacking, though it is slightly skewed to be more accessible and inviting to the young or uninitiated. It works perfectly as a downloadable title, with satisfying length and plenty of replay value for those who like unexhaustive solutions. In short, Stacking is no breakthrough, but it takes the adventure genre and gives it its own unique twist. I’d be remiss to not encourage the unique.

8/10 [?]

Labels: 2011, 360, Double Fine, Parker Scott Mortensen, PlayStation3, PS3, PSN, Review, Stacking, THQ, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE

A lone, mourning violin heralds your arrival into the world of Killzone 3, greeting you with such a beautiful but sorrowful soundscape that, were it not for the Helghan writing, one might well wonder if they’d accidentally wandered into entirely the wrong piece of software. It’s an oddly serious, sombre opening to the latest in a series renowned for its straight-up shooting and un-shying goriness. The deceptive simplicity of the opening score inspires a straight-faced, somewhat austere feel that makes at least one thing clear from the very start. Guerrilla’s baby has grown up into one of that very rare breed: a serious first-person shooter.

Where Killzone 2 was a loud, egocentric teenager, flexing its not-quite-fully-developed virtual muscles with testosterone-fuelled bloodiness and shouting you down with a range of obscenities that even criminals on North London estates would struggle to recognise, its successor is a solemn, straight-faced adult, stoic and businesslike, getting on with whichever tasks are necessary with unfaltering professionalism. Whilst understated, the effort that has been put into giving Killzone 3 – or at least its online functionality – such a refined and developed feel is ultimately its saving grace; it turns a good game into something that could potentially reserve Killzone’s place in the history books of gaming.

Killzone 3 is simply a more mature game all-round. Amongst first-person shooters, for the grimness of war to be effectively put into game form is both a rarity and a pleasant surprise (a complete antithesis considering the gravity of the subject matter). Throughout my time on the beta, however, I’ve found Killzone 3 to continually surprise me with its adult, mature approach to the overdone war-game format that serves only to increase the feeling of immersion one enjoys when playing it. Small details like the bodies which litter the map during a game, the brutal mêlée animations, the increased sense of teamwork and tactic and the lovely interjecting cut-scenes in Operations mode make Killzone 3’s online mode feel more grown-up and – despite the fact that the horrors of war still aren’t quite accurately or fully portrayed – make Killzone 3 feel generally more involving that its predecessor or, indeed, other first-person shooters.


The quality is evident throughout the beta, but there are drastic differences between the three game modes. Whilst Guerrilla Warfare and Warzone mode are fantastic for a twenty-or-so minute blast, providing some fast-paced shootouts and the typical Killzone online action that series connoisseurs have hitherto enjoyed, it is the new Operations mode that is the star of the Killzone 3 show. Operations (and Warzone, but to a lesser extent) both boast a real sense of tactic and teamwork that is largely missing from modern first-person shooters, and it is this tactic that is key to taking objectives and winning matches. Whereas Guerrilla Warfare feels like a free-for-all, with every player gunning for themselves and for the top-spot on the leaderboard, Operations and Warzone have a sense of team cohesion that increases the game’s engagement of the player, and requires a level of skill and intellect in order to effectively win over your objectives (be that defending as the Helghast or attacking as the ISA). This sense of combined effort and unity is ultimately what makes these modes more rewarding than Guerrilla Warfare; in Operations, covering frontline infantry as a marksman from far behind the lines, to go on and successfully gain ground or an objective is hugely satisfying, whereas whilst Guerrilla Warfare is a speedy blast of fun there is never the same sense of satisfaction. In this lies the issue with Guerrilla Warfare and the winning factor for Operations and Warzone: Guerrilla Warfare provides no reward and therefore no incentive to continue playing, whereas Operations and Warzone provide rewards in the forms of won objectives, and so will ultimately end up being the more popular game modes.

The key thing with Operations is it provides new aspects that haven’t been seen before in Killzone and are still largely novel across the online gaming world, no matter what your console of choice. The intermittent mid-match mini-cutscenes are a lovely touch that give some sense of a story or situation to an online match, something that barely any other games hasten (or even bother) to add. Guerrilla ought to be praised on the idea to feature the best players from each operation are the characters featured in the cutscenes; it is a reward which not only increases your sense of involvement in the match, but also serves as a nice way to quench the thirst for bragging rights and recognition, and encourages clever, tactical play so one can be featured in these miniature scenes. The mode’s system of completing objectives to push forward, unlocking new areas of the map, will be familiar to players of EA’s recent Medal of Honor reboot, as they use a similar system; it works well as not only does it provide an impression of progression through the level, but it also means the game can end at any of the objectives depending on whether or not you play well, and so you have a real drive to play well to maximise the game length (and therefore your chances of winning the most experience points).

Broadly, however, there isn’t a mode which is unenjoyable, due to the smooth-flowing, much-improved combat and game mechanics. The trademark ‘heavy’ feel of previous Killzones has, for the most part, been dumbed down and lessened, largely through smoother movement animations and the increased speed with which one can aim, reload and take down an opponent in battle. Whilst this makes the action much speedier and smoother, due to the less labourious and unfamiliar style of movement compared to other FPS titles, it does make Killzone 3 feel different to its predecessors. And whilst I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, it will be something that die-hard fans of Guerrilla Games’ series will have to get used to.


In some ways, the changes that have been made enable the game to be more accessible to newcomers. One of the major problems that I found with Killzone 2 was that, whilst it was by no means a badly developed game, the way that it handled and the foreign-feeling control scheme meant that those uninitiated with the original Killzone were much less likely to find the second title an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. With the Killzone 3 beta, however, this seems to have been addressed. Old weapons return in order to ensure those migrating from Killzone 2 don’t find the experience entirely detached from its foregoer, some new weapons have been thrown in to increase variety and the weightiness of the weapons has been highly varied in order to bring the feel of the game more in line with recent and upcoming games in the same genre (Killzone 3’s shooting mechanic, for instance, has a similar aura to Splash Damage’s Brink, and regular readers will know how much I enjoyed that). The controls have been made more approachable for new players, with it being much more obvious how to use various functions than in the previous game. All the small tweaks to the gameplay serve to make Killzone 3 an all-round easier-to-play game than Killzone 2, and whilst veterans might not like that, it is certain to boost sales and chart rankings when the game releases later this month.

Matches themselves are more varied. The new brutal mêlées increase the hardened ruthlessness of the games new, more adult feel, and the XP reward (alongside the savage animations, none of which are overdone) make you as the player want to use mêlée function more, which makes for a more vibrant combat experience. The range of weaponry is much increased, with the new class- and skill-based system making for more choice when deciding on your killing tools; and the roster of side arms is more fully-featured than before. Furthermore, weapon choices have to be made carefully, as the balancing of the weapons has been very well done, meaning certain weapons are more suited to some situations or uses than others, and put together these few new additions make for an overall more tactical experience. My only gripes with the combat were that occasionally, (particularly at the beginning of a match, and most noticeably when playing as the ISA) the enemy tends to respawn far too close to your original basecamp, which prevents the battle from effectively spreading across the map; and that grenade aiming and throwing was largely hit-and-miss, and the system could do with tightening up in order to make it more intuitive and effective.

On some basic points, the single map which is playable on the beta is quite extensive – much larger than the average FPS map you might have played on before – and is well designed, with some lovely little nooks-and-crannies to hide in, some semi-secret passages and action over (at one point) five storeys. The game feels more brutal and is gory (if not as much as Killzone 2, then more so), but sometimes the gore effects can feel unrealistic and superfluous, less a well-considered component of the overall experience and more a mere party popper once the birthday banners are up (if you’ll excuse the metaphor). The game automatically puts you into an open match slot using the evermore-popular matchmaking mechanic and, whilst it is (for the most part) quick and efficient it can also mean you are sometimes allocated to a game that is late on in proceedings, meaning you’re destined to end the match with little XP and an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction. Killzone 3 is graphically nice: the visuals have been improved on since Killzone 2, and whilst the visuals on a large scale are still a little underwhelming, the small detail such as the slight blur effect of the reflex sight’s crosshair when changing your angle of aim is what is most striking. Lastly, ranking up is quick if you play the game for extended periods, particularly if you’re a regular of games where XP is gained for completing objectives, and despite the fact that there are many ranks players may find that they reach the top ranks with little difficulty and with minimal effort.


For a moment, though, forget everything about the tweaked feel and the combat and the graphical prowess that I’ve already imparted because, although they certainly all make Killzone 3 the beautifully-formed package that the Killzone franchise was always going to naturally form into, for once they’re largely unnecessary in summing up what makes this beta so awe-inspiring. Killzone 3 – or at least the beta – is the turning point for the series, because it is drama, not melodrama. When you enter the beta, right from that very first bereft, quavering violin chord to the moment you leave the console, there is such a striking sense of thought to the whole thing. Where Killzone 2 was a good game, this is an excellent experience. It has the depth, the foresight and the development of the detail that Killzone 2 just didn’t have enough of. You can be walking the alpine expanses of the dam base one moment, the silence almost deafening when combined with the omnipresent danger, when suddenly gunfire explodes from nowhere with a roar like a wild animal. It is a refined, perfected, perfectly-glossed product that, if the single player mode and the final online functionality are as good as this beta has been, will be one of the titles best-recognised for its achievements this side of the next console generation.


You can download the Killzone 3 Open Beta now from the PlayStation Store, through 15th February. The Killzone 3 single player demo will be released onto the PlayStation Store on 16th February.

Killzone 3 is released in the United States on 22nd February, and in the United Kingdom on 25th February.

Labels: 2011, Beta Impressions, Brink, Feature, Guerrilla Games, Killzone, Killzone 2, Killzone 3, Linford Butler, Medal of Honor, PlayStation Store, PlayStation3, PS3, Review

Media Molecule have made us all gods.

Think about it: when they're not smiting, plaguing, blessing, rewarding, canonising, or speaking with Tom Cruise, gods are creating various aspects of our world.

All Odin or Ra need to do is throw down a tree, magic up a few million animals, and clap an avatar made in their image into existence and - voila! - there they are, standing proudly in their very own world. In time, a god's avatars will most likely use the intelligence and free will bestowed on them to improve said world, but because they were created for this purpose, their heavenly father still gets 100% of the credit. All good things are made but by the will of god, brother. Testify.

Replace trees with decorations or in-game objects, animals with non-playing enemies or sackbots, and avatars with sackthings, and you've got yourself a piping hot, fresh-out-of-the-oven sackworld, just like Jehovah used to make.

Here are, in no particular order, twenty-five LittleBigPlanet 2 levels worth diving into sack-first. All the level names given here are exactly as they appear in-game and on LBP.me, so if you want to play any of them, searching for the name should provide results (but don't hold me to that).

The Seven Deadly Sins of LBP2 (funny movie) by ettevroc

Seems like a good place to start. This short film educates LittleBigPlanet neophytes (like myself) on the seven annoying actions that they should avoid at all cost during their adventures in the sackiverse. Full of fire, brimstone, and judgment from above.

Super Little Big Planet Fighter 2 Turbo by Hymanator

If by 'Turbo' you mean 'the awkward speed and physics of rock-'em-sock-'em robots in low gravity" then yeah: this is definitely turbo. Beware, though: you will be forced to endure (and dish out) face-sits, fondle-punches, and crotch-kicks. A lot.

Rogue Panda Rescue by JackofCourse

A herd of energetic pandas have escaped the zoo, and are hiding out in what I assume is a local Chinese man's ridiculously complicated house (apparently Chinese architects don't believe in stairs). The stage is both fun and challenging, and can be completed either solo or with an ally. Further proof that pandas are the wildest and most excitable of creatures.

Little Big Olympics with Water by Nicolas0664

Hurdles, diving, the long-jump, mountain biking, and no sack-shrinking performance-enhancing drugs. Half the fun is the level's happy-go-lucky, often goofy presentation. Great with friends.

HACKER (arcade shooter) by PeteyPirahna128

A bit difficult for my taste, but classic kill-the-aliens-before-they-descend-past-this-arbitrary-line fun you grew up with (if you're old enough to remember He-Man, the Thundercats, and/or the forgotten past-time now known as "hanging out at the arcade"). Don't feel bad that you just destroyed the last fleet of a dying race just trying to find its home in the 'verse. They were different to you, and therefore had be shot down in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire.

The gnome cave by ManiaColus

Fun and visually striking, but if gnomes really live in this cave then, god damn, they hate outsiders. A fairly difficult platformer with some unique tricks.

Die, Zombie, Die! by Senfglas-Josh

Really, Die, Zombie, Die! shouldn't even be on this list until it's had some serious improvement. It's easy, predictable and somewhat uninspired, but hey: you get to decimate sack-zombies (sackbies?), which is a great way to kill two minutes.

Dani California Song - Red Hot Chili Peppers by LucidSummit

Not a jawdropping rendition, but still better than 90% of the remixes floating out there in the LittleBigPlanet community, perhaps because the Red Hot Chili Peppers are just that good a band.

Fireflies by Owl City by RyanJonny

Personally, I hate this song when it's sung by its actual artist. Take out the vocals (and the distracting pseudo-hipster stage Halloween costume), and it's actually kind of soothing. The starry-night aesthetic of the stage adds to the effect.

Music Archive Menu Screen by cortster12

Our friend 'cortster12' is pretty good at using the LBP music box to give classic songs a makeover. This level incorporates Pokemon, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gerudo Valley, and a few others worth checking out for any fan of retro gaming.

LITTLEBig Basketball by Halocomander1

This game with one player? A picture of loneliness. This game with four players? A full-on, courtside fiesta of good-natured competition.

Lady Gaga - Pokerface Music Box/Sequencer by Mike0_O

Yeah, that's what we need: more Lady Gaga to burrow into our memory cortex and drive us slowly but utterly insane. The best part of this level is definitely the three-way dance party involving Gaga, your sackthing, and Antoine Dodson of YouTube fame.

Bed Intruder Song by mfc50

It's exactly what you think.

Omicron - Neon City by UrbanDevil

It's just a two-minute teaser of a full game to come, but this appetiser to UrbanDevil's upcoming RPG does a ridiculously good job of manipulating the LBP level editor. The setting - a rainy, noir cityscape that makes you imagine private detectives in trench coats putting out cigarettes to wailing saxophones and electronica - is a mix between Gotham and Tron.

No Peg's Island by Shris and clarkdef

Pirate No Pegs wants to loan you his ship, but he can't - at least, not until his chores are done. Help him out by fishing, recovering lost treasure, discovering a lost city under the ocean, and recovering a message in a bottle floating at sea. You know, everyday humdrum pirate stuff. Very well designed, with scallawagish music and a buccaneer-ey setting.

Bad luck...(FILM) by allu199

Hilarious, well directed, and short enough to hold the attention span of even a schizophrenic toddler on a sugar high in a carnival fun house. Be sure to check out allu199's second film, The Chase, as well.

Jaws! by PinkPoeticAngel

You are chased by a giant, god-hating shark until you are either:

a) eaten, or...
b) ...I'm really not sure if there is a B.

The most exhilarating thirty seconds you'll spend all hour.

Batman - the Joker's escaped (now copyable) by BentheBomber1

A must-play for any Batman fan. It's a little long, but in its own cartoony way it does the caped crusader justice.

The Adventures of Cyclops! Bounty Hunter Chaos! by GodofPlum

Cyclops, meet the great state of Alabama. Alabama, Cyclops. You two are gonna do fine.

Dragon Slayer by Jaeyden

A six-part fantasy epic that, like the Lord of the Rings before it, involves a lot of walking. Overall a fun, generally well-crafted story with sections that are relaxing, exciting, and just plain fun.

Bounce Race in Space! by Sanji101

A simple racing level to try out with your friends, boasting veritable oodles of bounce pads. Get ready to yell with fury at your cheerfully-trampolined competitors.

Classic Zelda 1-1 by BlueTonBerry

I'm not sure how Blue pulled this off, but he's recreated the first Zelda dungeon with skill and ingenuity. It lacks music, and the color scheme is an oppressive Van Gogh blue, but it's impressive nonetheless.

Rio Dance Off by Wexfordian [From LBP2 TV Ad] [2-4 Player] by wexfordian

A basic combo game, in which a column of different buttons on your controller scroll downward, and hitting the requested button causes your specially-chosen dancebot to shake his or her 'groove thang'. I say 'groove thang' because all the characters look as though they were pulled from a 70s disco flick, or perhaps John Travolta's subconscious. It's a simple concept that can get boring fast if played alone, but - like all versus levels - becomes exponentially more fun when competing with friends.

Incredible Hulk! (FILM) by ArnieBoy74

Featuring more plot than in both Incredible Hulk films to date.

Vile Anchorage by Lockstitch

My favorite community level to date. It boasts a beautiful setting, complex gameplay, an entrancing soundtrack, and even a little story. If you own LittleBigPlanet 2, seek out and play this game, then heart Lockstitch a thousand times so he knows he's done well.


All these levels and more can be found at the LittleBigPlanet community website, LBP.me.

Labels: 2011, Feature, Greg Mengel, LBP, List, LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2, Media Molecule, PlayStation3, PS3, Sackboy, user-generated content

Why does the Assassin’s Creed series keep pulling me back? It is a question that I pick my brains attempting to answer. By rights, I should be disillusioned with the series by now, as after the second game in a series subsequent sequels don't usually interest me, instead passing me by. With Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, the third title in Ubisoft's series, however, I’m still drawn back as though by an invisible hand. There’s something unexplainably enamouring about everything that Assassin’s Creed is.

Therefore, it was with both that question and a sort of reckless confidence that I tore the cellophane packaging from my copy of Ezio’s latest adventure. Brotherhood, a direct sequel to 2009’s Assassin’s Creed II, picks up the plot on the nail biting cliffhanger provided by the previous title. As the prequel's protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, you spend your time largely in Rome, where the Borgia - under the order of the Pope and his son, Cesare - oppress the city's people through their military presence.

The gameplay mechanic is essentially identical to Assassin's Creed II, and whilst those who have played the previous game will find this wonderfully familiar (it allows immediate access into this new iteration), players may find themselves questioning the £40-50 price tag for what, at first glance, seems like a large-scale expansion pack to its prequel. Whilst not enough is changed from Assassin's Creed II to win any innovation awards, after a few hours with the game players will realise that both the technical and interactive aspects of the title are polished and refined compared to the previous title, and those issues which were present in ACII have been (for the most part) solved. The similarity of the controls and mechanic to ACII means that combat can pose very little challenge to veterans of the series. Brotherhood is undoubtedly more than an expansion pack - it's everything ACII was and more, bundled into what definitely qualifies as a sequel.


Along with the return of Ezio as main protagonist, the entire cast of Assassin's Creed II make their second appearance in Brotherhood. Caterina Sforza, La Volpe, Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Mario Auditore (and the Auditore family, except Ezio's younger brother) and the 'enemy' family of the Borgia all return from the previous installment. Fans of Brotherhood's prequel will feel immediately at home with this familiar cast, meaning that Brotherhood forgoes the character development sequences at the opening of the story which Assassin's Creed and ACII both used, instead jumping straight into the action. Although excellent for series veterans, newcomers to the series may struggle to understand the characters, as the explanation afforded in previous games is ommited.

Ezio isn't the only leading man here either, as his modern-day counterpart, Subject #17 - or, as we know him, Desmond Miles - is more prominently featured than he was in the previous installments. Whilst periods out of the Animus (the machine used to tap into ancestral memories contained within human DNA) are still rare, they serve more of a purpose in this latest game and actually involve some level of compelling gameplay. Far from being limited to walking about a single room, Desmond gets to explore outdoor, indoor and even underground locations, including some explored by his ancestor, Ezio, in the main campaign. He also exhibits many of the athletic and combat-based abilities of Ezio - gained through the 'bleeding effect' - which allow him to scale structures and buildings much as Ezio can. The balance of the game is much less biased towards the historical aspect (instead there's more of an equality of distribution between the historical and modern-day sequences), and the more prominent sections in the modern world allow players to relate more to Desmond as a character whilst increasing realism, engrossing players further. The juxtapositioning of the modern-day technology and characters in the ancient Roman ruins creates a truly fantastic atmosphere, and gives a feeling of adventure distinctly similar to the ruin-exploration sequences in series such as Uncharted or Lara Croft.

The ability to enter and leave the Animus at will through the (newly redesigned and very slick) pause menu, however, is largely superfluous and serves very little purpose. Leaving the Animus will provide the player with very few options other than to get right back in; other than where forced to by the storyline, players should avoid leaving the Animus and stay within Renaissance Italy. Whilst the story-based modern sequences are effective, returning to the modern day through the pause menu without reason yields very little reward.


The campaign is immersive and exciting for the most part, and the addition of specific achievements in missions to gain 100% synchronisation adds replay incentive. Missions are fun but there are still ocassionally issues with repetition, and some missions can be too easy whilst some can be incredibly difficult (particularly missions in which you must not be detected). It can be much more tactically demanding than ACII at times too which, whilst not necessarily bad, may drive some away. Outside missions, the aim is to liberate areas of the city from Borgia influence by assassinating a Templar overseer before destroying that area's 'Borgia Tower'. This process varies in difficulty depending on the military prowess and capacity of the troops and their overseer, and the overseer's tactics vary too: some will stay and fight whilst some will flee, and the player must vary their approach to each overseer in order to compensate. Combat is slightly improved on that in ACII; it is as streamlined as ever, but with a larger, much more satisfyingly brutal range of moves which makes swordplay much less repetitive and much more exciting, and the addition of the 'kill streak' feature is very welcome. Weaponry can once again be purchased through the game's economy system (which is also improved on and is effective as ever) and the range of weaponry is great too, with the welcome addition of a better, faster-firing pistol and a crossbow. The new weaponry doesn't fit in with the canon of the game, though; in ACII, pistols, rifles and crossbows were almost non-existent, whilst in Brotherhood (a direct sequel, remember) they're about as common as the horses (more on that later).

Rome, centre of power for the Borgia and the Templar Order, has a major role in Brotherhood, being the major locale for the game's action. Whilst previous locations are playable, such as Monteriggioni and Florence, they're only featured very briefly. The single setting limits the game's variety somewhat, but it is a flaw which is made up for by the sheer size of the city - it is three times the size of the largest city in Assassin's Creed II, meaning that travel between objectives or landmarks on foot is largely replaced with a horseback commute. The city is also more vibrant and varied, with different areas having entirely opposite personalities and appearances. Some areas are ruined, some are run down and others - particularly those around Borgia strongholds - are more lah-di-dah. Whilst there's enough uniqueness to each area to make you feel that the map designers haven't just copied and pasted a small area a thousand times, the many unique cities of Assassin's Creed II were better at avoiding the overwhelming feeling of déja vu that pne can get when riding around Rome.

Rome looks wonderful, principally due to the marked graphical improvement on even last year's title. The characters no longer look like poor plastic recreations of human beings, but instead are far more believable and three-dimensional. Facial animation and rendering is far improved: the first facial closeups are enough to wow players who experienced ACII's dismal faces. Cities are much improved and the colour range seems to be wider, helping to make the game seem much more vibrant. Simply put, Brotherhood is nicer to look at than its younger sibling. Howbeit, in spite of the graphical improvements in some areas the draw distance for scenery is surprisingly short, and gamers should expect to experience a fair deal of 'popping' scenery whilst exploring Rome. Other technical areas are slightly lacking, too: I experienced sound issues during playing, lip-synch is quite obviously out at various points and loading times, where they occur, are lengthy.


The 'brotherhood' of the title refers to Ezio's campaign in the game to collect together a band of Assassin recruits to counter the army built by Rodrigo and Cesare Borgia. It's an interesting plot point and the Assassin recruits can come in useful in battles (due to the ability to call them in as extra reinforcements). However, the process of recruiting new Assassins is far too simple; kill a few relatively unskilled guards and the new recruit is yours. It poses very little challenge at all. Furthermore, the ability to send recruits off on missions across Europe through pigeon coops is an interesting concept but it isn't fantastically realised: there isn't any real incentive to send recruits on missions as it isn't tied into the main plot. Really, the brotherhood could be far better implemented to both be a part of the campaign's plot, and give some incentive to use the recruits via the pigeon coops rather than just as human killing machines in a fight.

Horseback riding hasn't just been further implemented in terms of commute, either. They're much more common, and horses can now be taken inside the city walls, which is both a much welcome improvement on Assassin's Creed II and a necessity considering the outright enormity of the game world. You'll often find yourself calling your horse to get to your next objective, as going on foot would take far too long. Horses are also classified now; citizens might ride common horses, Assassins ride white ones whilst guards and other Borgia members ride dark armoured horses. Whilst this is a nice addition in terms of the game's depth, and helps the game to be even more immersive, the different horse types are only for aesthetic and have no impact on the outcome of a horse chase or mounted battle. Horseback combat has also been greatly improved; targeting on a horse is now possible, meaning the player can use the pistol or crossbow for long-range kills, whilst horseback swordplay is much more enjoyable and much less hit-and-miss than it previously was in Assassin's Creed II. Additionally, guards will also mount horses to aid on-foot infantry troops, making fights more varied and unpredictable.

Online multiplayer brings a new component to the series which was previously missing from the Assassin's Creed series but has been long demanded by long-time fans. The concept of the online multiplayer is impressively creative: stealthily hunt down your target whilst avoiding being assassinated yourself. The amount of points gained from each kill varies according to how stealthy you've been. You also have to escape your own pursuers: if you spot the person assigned to kill you, you'll be told to flee and either hide from, or outrun, your pursuer. It's cleverly implemented and the stealth and parkour aspects of the main game are well carried over from the campaign mode. Due to the high level of stealth it takes real tactic to play well, and it's not uncommon to see the players with the highest points in a game playing very, very tactically, instead of running in, all blades... blading.


The amount of game modes, however, are very few, with only four available to play. Not only that, but at the beginning of your online campaign, only two game modes will be available to you, with the others becoming unlocked as you progress through the online campaign. That said, the ability to choose your character at the beginning of a game is a really nice touch, and the online maps are nicely done and feature some locations which aren't playable in the main game (Siena being a personal favourite). The same few levels seem to crop up alot, with some only being played very rarely, though (at least in my experience). Players aren't allocated to games in terms of skill either, which can cause matches to be extremely one-sided, particularly if a level eight player tries to take on a level fifty Assassin.

The multiplayer function is interesting and works better than some online systems. The servers are stable and, though it often takes a while to find players, you barely ever experience the 'host disconnection' problems which other onlines offer up in large quantities (ahem, Call of Duty). The online is enjoyable and is a departure from the unoriginal internet-based play of late, giving something which is likely to be an experience entirely dissimilar to those players are used to. The only issue is that the online function just doesn't give that same feeling of military badass which the main game offers - you have only one weapon and the online is very much killing one target after another, with nothing to split it up or offer any sort of context for your actions. Whilst I know that online modes rarely have a plot - and I'm not asking for Asassin's Creed Brotherhood's online to have a storyline - somehow the blend of narrative and combat which is so polished in the main game is Assassin's Creed's hallmark; without it, you have a fun renaissance combat experience, but it loses that feeling of being everything Assassin's Creed is.

On a side note, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood's soundtrack - composed by the excellent Jesper Kyd - is as wonderfully immersive and vibrant as his previous work on Assassin's Creed II, and really helps give the player a sense of atmosphere and immersion.


So, as I asked at the beginning: why does the Assassin's Creed series keep pulling me back? With Brotherhood, at least, I put it down to the fact that I just wanted more Ezio. The story just wasn't finished, and Brotherhood offered me a plot which is posed just on the line between a good, compelling mystery and hours of ridiculousness - it's the perfect balance between being immersive and fun. Brotherhood is exactly what a sequel should be: it improves on its predecessor whilst retaining the familiarity of the previous title. Whilst previous Assassin's Creed players will feel right at home with this iteration, and should be struck by the combat improvements and additions to the game, there's no doubting that for those new to the series there should be very little difficulty in enjoying this as a stand-alone experience.

I would say, though, that perhaps the Ezio experience is coming to a close now, and when Assassin's Creed returns I'll be looking for a new character, a new setting and a new timeframe blended with the same trademark Assassin's Creed feel. Whilst I'm all for a feeling of familiarity, for me another Ezio storyline would begin to make the series feel bland. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood has been a fantastic way to spend my time over the last couple of weeks, but if Ezio returns again I think that - as with other sequels - I'll allow it to pass me by. Bring back Assassin's Creed with a new innovation and compelling storyline, however, and I'll be right back like a dog with a stick.

8/10 [?]

Labels: 360, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood, Linford Butler, PC, PlayStation3, PS3, Review, Ubisoft, Xbox 360

The last few years of videogame football have pretty much perfectly mirrored the game in real life. Think of Pro Evolution Soccer as Arsenal: in the early 2000's it was simply unbeatable, but here in 2010 it's struggling to keep pace. FIFA, however, is like Chelsea; a sudden influx of power, thanks to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, has seen EA's footballing behemoth soar above the competition. Last year's FIFA 10 was arguably the best football game ever made. It was hard to know how it could get any better, so I'm left scratching my head when it comes to FIFA 11.

Scratching my head in a good way of course. FIFA 11 is bloody brilliant.

For a start, pretty much every problem you may have had with the gameplay engine in FIFA 10 has been fixed. And let's be honest: there wasn't that much wrong with it anyway, so it's quite astounding how the gameplay has become so much better. The floaty heading has been fixed, the goalkeepers now have an ounce of intelligence which is a nice change, and the passing has lost its 'ping-pong' feeling, all of which make FIFA 11 even more realistic. In fact, the new 'pro' passing system is probably one of the biggest improvements on the gameplay side. Now, one really has to take into account power, position, angle and plenty of other parameters if one wants to pull off a perfect pass.

This new system works in tandem with the new Personality Plus mechanic, to give FIFA 11 the most realistic gameplay engine of any football game to date. Unlike in prior games, in which player individuality was somewhat lacking, FIFA 11 now divides players into body types to give them a unique feel. A lanky skinny feller like Peter Crouch will win everything in the air, but might be pushed off the ball more quickly and easily compared to a human tank like Didier Drogba or Michael Essien. A shorter, more dainty star like Andrei Arshavin or Lionel Messi will be able to keep perfect balance as they dribble around defenders, but they'll be more inclined to hit the deck when coming up against someone like Richard Dunne. The system has also been extended into specific traits, so you can expect David Beckham to deliver a far better set piece than most players, and Marouane Chamakh will be more successful when attacking a cross with his head than someone like Paul Scholes. It even includes things like long throws and goalkeeper kicking styles: it's crazily detailed.

The uniqueness among the players means that matches are far more unpredictable, and player skill becomes all-the-more important. A word that is banded around a lot when reviewing sports titles is 'organic', but here it's really justified. Pick up the controller and you really do feel like you're watching a Sky Sports broadcast in which all the players have had chips installed in their bodies to allow you to control them; the physicality of matches is incredible. Playing with Premier League teams is a vastly different kettle of fish than controlling the cloggers of League Two, and the game is incredibly immersive because of it.

Other improvements to the gameplay include the penalty system, the trick stick and user controlled celebrations. The penalty system will be familiar to anyone who played 2010 FIFA World Cup, and whilst it takes some time to get used to it is far more rewarding than it was in prior games. Using a power bar, an accuracy needle and aiming in conjunction can be tricky but it makes for much more tense shoot-outs. The trick stick has been beefed up with new moves, and has also been enhanced by the Personality Plus system, as have the user controlled celebrations, which now include group celebrations and trademark celebrations for individual players.

Another big improvement on the pitch is the AI of both your teammates and the opposition. It uses all the same passing and personality systems as you do, meaning that even when you're playing alone, matches are unpredictable and even more fun than in FIFA 10.

One completely new element of the on-pitch action is the ability to take full control over your team's goalkeeper, allowing you do dive, catch, charge off your line, flap, punch and whatever else real goalkeepers get up to on weekends. It can be dull, as much of the time the ball is nowhere near you, but there's no denying the satisfaction you get from making a fantastic save when you're 1-0 up in injury time. You can also bring your keeper up for corners, allowing for some truly dramatic moments, especially online.

FIFA 11 also looks and sounds great. Player models and likenesses are much improved, although they still lag behind Pro Evolution Soccer in some regards. The animations, however, are far better than PES and look incredibly realistic. The stadiums look great even though there aren't as many as you may like, and the commentary from Martin Tyler and Andy Gray is still excellent (albeit largely unchanged from FIFA 10). The overall authenticity is, as you've come to expect, superb, and has been beefed up with better camera angles, more broadcast-style touches (stats appearing on screen, more interesting cut scenes between substitutions) and even a nifty highlights reel at the end of the match.

On the pitch, FIFA 11 is pretty much perfect. Off the pitch, it can be a bit of a mixed bag. For a start, the menu system is becoming a bit clunky compared to Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and EA should probably redesign it for next year's game. It can take an age to navigate and even finding options can be a labour on occasion. Once you get past that, though, there are some enjoyable modes for you to play around with.

Obviously everything you'd expect is present and accounted for - exhibition games, all the same online game types, tournament mode, lounge mode and plenty else besides. What's interesting is that EA have decided to combine the Manager Mode and 'Be A Pro' Seasons Mode into one Career Mode. This allows you to play as a player, a player/manager or a manager. If you're a player, you play through 15 seasons and can then become a manager. Other than the setup nothing much is different, and the transfer market is still completely ridiculous. You know William Gallas just joined Tottenham on a free in the summer? On FIFA 11 he had moved to Stoke for £11,000,000 within 2 weeks. It's truly mental.

Other new modes are focused on customisation: you can still create your Pro and can use the creepy (but cool) Game Face feature to stick your ugly mug on your virtual guy. You can also create teams by using EA's new web-based Creation Centre: using the service on the EA Sports website, you can create players, teams and kits which can then be bookmarked and downloaded into your game. You can also (rather amusingly for those of us who are a bit immature) import your own chants into the game. As I'm sure will be the case for many of you, my copy of FIFA 11 is now probably more deserving of a 16+ rating rather than a 3+. You can also import music for the menus, although the soundtrack on the disc is actually rather good so it may be a feature which you find you don't use as much as others.

There's very little that you need to worry about when it comes to FIFA 11. Quite simply, if you consider yourself a fan of the beautiful game then you should most certainly buy it. I'll probably say this again next year, but this is definitely the best football game ever.

9/10 [?]

Labels: 360, EA, EA Sports, FIFA, FIFA 11, PlayStation3, PS3, Review, Tom Acres, Xbox 360

During my holiday to Florida a while back, I was handed the unexpected opportunity to try out the new technology that everyone's talking about: 3D.

Now, I've experienced it before in the cinema. I was impressed with its use in Avatar; depressed by its use in Clash of the Titans; and unimpressed with its use in Toy Story 3. I had little expectation when I noticed the TV in a Sony Store and thought about trying it out. I thought that a forty-six-inch screen was too small to give the effect. I thought the glasses would be a nuisance and dim the colours of the screen as they do at the cinema. I thought the 3D effect might be too much or too little.

Yet, against all my expectations, the first word that I came out with when I donned the glasses and switched them on was: "Wow."

The first use of 3D I got to experience was live sport, something which may not interest gamers much but something that certainly interested me. I was curious to see how live, fast moving images would be shown. I got a glimpse of football and American football, both of which were surprisingly incredible, and then golf (which, as much as I hate the sport, completely blew me away). The level of depth is simply astonishing; the layering effect as you see the golfer lining up a putt, with the wind blowing the flag in the background, is amazing.

I then got a look at a couple of film trailers for How To Train Your Dragon and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. They looked better than I remembered when I had seen them at the cinema, and I think that had a lot to do with the quality of the glasses. The Sony 3D glasses used for these TVs are of superb quality; they look and feel expensive but are perfectly comfortable and I forgot I was wearing them after a while. What impressed me most was that the brightness and clarity of the screen wasn't lost at all. Having seen Toy Story 3 in 3D and on a normal screen, the difference in clarity, brightness and colour definition was noticeable, as 3D usually badly affects those things. With 3DTV, though, these problems don't exist; the screen is beautiful 1080p HD and the glasses don't dim the screen at all.

Then the moment came. The moment I had been hoping for - a chance to try out some 3D gaming.

Having seen me say "wow" about forty times in the space of a few minutes, the store attendant asked me if I'd like to check out the PlayStation 3 in 3D. He took me through into their 'theatre room' at the back of the store, and booted up a game of Motorstorm: Pacific Rift in 3D.

The effect was simply incredible.

The mud coming off the track from the wheels of the vehicle flew out at me, and the depth of the effect made the feeling of overtaking an opponent even more thrilling. The crashes and wreckages were even more incredible, with the close-up and slow-motion angles really aiding the 3D effect.

The effect 3D is having on films has already been felt, and with the approach of 3DTV becoming available all across Europe and the US, I think it's going to be big - bigger than HD was when that first came out, anyhow. The technophiles that I know always said, and some still do say, "I can't see any difference". With 3D, that reaction just cannot be possible, as it's impossible not to see the difference.

How much were the best HDTVs when they first came out? I'm talking Sony BRAVIA models - the very best. Maybe £2,000? Expensive, yes, but the cheapest BRAVIA 3DTV due to be available at the end of September is £200 more. Add to that the 3D emitter for £50 and a few pairs of £70 glasses and you're probably looking at £2,500.

The thing is, as much as we accept HD as the norm now, the fact is that it still hasn't been widely adopted outside the gaming and techie markets. The biggest videogame console on the market, the Wii, doesn't even support HD. Yet their next handheld, which will no doubt be huge, is 3D. The PlayStation 3 already supports 3D, whilst the Xbox 360 will support the technology very soon with the release of Crysis 2.

The potential is just huge. Imagine the incredible depth of the tropical environments in Uncharted, or the stunning alien battles of Resistance. It sounds pretty good, eh? The immersion that could be provided by 3D in conjunction with PlayStation Move is very exciting indeed.

Apparently, at the moment, only 2% of Brits are interested in 3DTV. If everyone in Britain gets their arses down to their local Sony shop and checks them out, then I think that number could increase rather a lot. I'm making this prediction with confidence: 3D will have a quicker adoption rate than HD.

3D gaming is going to be huge.

Labels: 3D gaming, Feature, PlayStation3, PS3, Tom Acres

Was I harsh in my beta review of Medal of Honor? Yes. I was cutting, scathing and wounding. But rightfully so, as even developers and EA staff seem to have agreed that the first public beta was 'pretty damn rubbish'. So, they did what very few companies seem to do these days: they went back, and they made the game better. And to prove it, for four days, everyone with a PC could jump in and check it out.

But the revamped gameplay wasn't the main focus; there was something much more pressing. The Taliban. Oh, no, wait - the 'Opposing Force', as they're known now. After public backlashes from every direction, EA decided to remove that word. Why? Was it to protect free speech? Was it to honour those who gave their lives overseas? Was it to milk every last piece of publicity and free advertising out of this 'scandal'? Who knows. The only thing you need to know is that this removal is possibly the biggest public victory in the history of gaming.

Let's go back to the start. Medal of Honor features the Taliban as your cannon-fodder in the single player. In multiplayer, you could play as either the United States Marine Corps, popping heads from twenty metres, or as the Taliban, capping knees from point-blank range. This went largely unnoticed by most due to the fact that, in their minds, it didn't really matter. But then the press got hold of the story.

And boy, did they have a field day.

Fox got involved, inviting a 'gold star mom' to speak out on why she thinks Medal of Honor is a horrible and sickening piece of 'entertainment'. In the UK, Liam Fox, a Conservative polititian and the Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom called for it to be banned, labelling it 'un-British' and 'shocking', comments quickly revoked by the coalition Government (and resulting in a sharp slap on the wrist for Mr. Fox). EA remained strong, saying: "Most of us have been doing this since we were 7; if someone's the cop, someone's got to be the robber, someone's got to be the pirate and someone's got to be the alien. In Medal of Honor's multiplayer, someone's got to be the Taliban."

Let's not get bogged down in those claims and arguments that blocked out the gaming sun like oh-so-much controversial ash; you have an opinion on each of them, and each of them are valid in some way. The most important thing was that EA had no plans to remove those 7 letters.

Of course, as we now know, hell yeah they did. In fact, after the last straw fell (MOH being banned from various on-base Gamestops in the US), EA decided to remove the feature to play as the Taliban from the multiplayer. "We are making this change for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice," said Greg Goodrich, the game's executive producer. Gamers were confused, opinion was split, and EA were either shouted at or praised, seemingly in equal measure. What was lost on people was the fact that, now, Medal of Honor was lost on the press.

I played the PC beta. It makes no difference whatsoever. The OPFOR look like the Taliban. They fight like the Taliban. They speak, shout, move and shoot like the Taliban. The only thing missing are those 7 letters. It changes absolutely nothing; every single facet of this 'Opposing Force' screams Taliban, and ask anyone over the age of about three to give the team a name, 'Taliban' would be used 90% of the time. For all intents and purposes, I played for much of those four days as a member of the Taliban, shooting and killing American troops. So why has gaming won?

Gaming is at one of those incredibly pivotal points in an entertainment form's life, an echo of the times when comic books were banned due to being too violent, when Rock n' Roll was attributed to teenage rebellion, when moving pictures were 'useless' and destined to fail. The Medal of Honor scandal proved gaming has pushed into the mainstream. EA have removed 7 letters from the multiplayer aspect of a video game. In this video game, you kill and kill and kill, blowing up American soldiers or plugging PKM rounds into oncoming insurgents. It's bloody, violent, morally questionable and startlingly accurate in detail. Yet, now that the word 'Taliban' doesn't feature, it's totally fine. Little Jimmy can rack up headshots all day long, and millions around the world can pump lead into each other as they please; the media don't raise an eyebrow over the gruesome or morbid nature of the game's focus.

EA removing the Taliban option was the best choice they've ever made; free advertising, appeasing the masses and proving a point. Are Fox inviting a 'gold star mom' on the question the blood and gore? Are politicians going red in the face over the huge number of deaths you'll cause? Hell no. Now that the headline-grabbing element has gone, these people, who called for the game's ban in the hope that no man, woman or child would ever play one second of the game couldn't care less whether Medal of Honor flops or hits big. You may think it hypocritical, but these people did honestly believe they were right in attacking EA over this matter - they thought they would protect society as a whole, something that should, on some level, be praised. But something like Medal Of Honor, with the removal of a single word, is now a totally valid form of entertainment.

It's a testament to how far along games have come, and how socially accepted they are now, that no fuss is kicked up over the graphic nature of a title sure to sell by the millions. Medal of Honor proves that gaming has finally reached mainstream status.

Soldier, by now you know the drill; follow our Twitter for lulz and the latest articles, and have your say down below in the comments.

Labels: 360, Chris Hawke, EA, Medal of Honor, PC, PlayStation3, PS3, Xbox 360

"What's this?" I hear you ask. "This guy has actually bought a game based on the Toy Story 3 film? Is he mad? For one, movie licensed games are rubbish and Pixar games have one of the worst reputations..."

I hear you. And I agree with you. I found myself saying exactly the same things when I allowed myself to get dragged in to the hype of Pixar's latest masterpiece. Having just come out of the cinema, having seen the excellent film, and immediately popped into my local games shop and picked up Toy Story 3. I'd heard some good things about it, with the open-ended nature of the 'Toy Box' mode being singled out for praise on a few game sites, but it's still a movie game - and worse than that it's a Pixar movie game.

Colour me surprised, then, because here I am (over two weeks later) and I'm still playing it and having an absolute blast.

There are two very distinctive parts to Toy Story 3, and one is notably better and far more interesting than the other. First, you've got the story mode: a series of eight or nine levels loosely following the plot of the film, but not to the extent that you'll spoil the film if you haven't yet seen it. In fact, if you haven't seen the film yet then you'll be scratching your head trying to understand what's going on. The story mode will only take most people around four or five hours to complete, and if you play it in co-op then it will probably take you even less than that.

However, the story mode itself is still varied enough to stay interesting, thanks to the variety of environments and gameplay; you'll be doing some basic platforming, solving puzzles, swapping characters constantly LEGO style, doing a bit of on-rails flying with Buzz and some third person shooting, a bit of melee combat and more. It's actually surprisingly varied.

The level variety is definitely what makes Toy Story 3's story mode worth playing. One level is made up of some fun little mini games in Sunnyside Daycare, and one is an on-rails flying combat game which later turns into a third-person-shooter, based on the terrific videogame sequence from the start of Toy Story 2. There's even a 'My First Splinter Cell' stealth mission!

The co-op also makes the story mode more enjoyable, even if it cuts as much as up to an hour off the total length of the game. Co-ordinating with a friend to complete puzzles is far more enjoyable than switching characters around yourself, and a fully controllable camera as well as splitscreen means that the co-op is never frustrating as it can sometimes be in other games of this type.

As you can play the story as either Buzz, Woody or Jessie, the co-op is even more advisable as each one has their own special moves. Buzz can throw the other two characters to otherwise unreachable areas; Woody can use his pull-string like a rappel gun and Jessie can jump further and balance on small objects in the environment.

The one big issue that left me with a sour taste in my mouth after playing the otherwise-enjoyable story mode was the ridiculously frustrating final level. It's unique to the game (being only implied in the film) and is actually a pretty cool idea, but I won't spoil it for you here. The problem is the number of cheap deaths I suffered in this level: it was incredible. You know those annoying enemies in games with their annoying knockdown attacks? You know games when your character takes ages to get back up and proceeds to be knocked down again before he can stand? That happens a lot in the last level.

Overall, the story mode is solid if a little unspectacular, but it certainly has some neat ideas and fun moments.

The real bulk of Toy Story 3, though, is the fantastic Toy Box mode. Here, you're thrown into a Wild West environment as either Woody, Jessie or Buzz, and are appointed as sheriff by Mayor Hamm. From then on you can run around a pretty big open world environment, taking quests from the townsfolk as well as the main Toy Story cast (Slinky, Rex, etc). And of course there are, like in the story mode, plenty of collectibles to find.

So far it sounds a bit like a cross between World of Warcraft and Red Dead Redemption in a fluffy coating, but what really sets this apart is the customisation. You can change the appearance of all of the buildings and characters in the whole area, therefore adding a bit of The Sims style personality to the game. A lot of the customisation is inspired by other Pixar films, so you can paint a building to like a giant Nemo or dress up some townsfolk to look like The Incredibles.

As you complete missions and find collectibles, you'll gain gold to spend at Al's Toy Barn. Here you can buy toys that completely alter the world. Stunt parks, cars, a rideable Bullseye, aliens in a variety of costumes, weapons, buildings and more are all available. The three biggest investments though are Sid's Haunted House, Lotso's Enchanted Den and Zurg's Spaceport. These three buildings open up completely new areas of the world, themed differently to the standard Wild West setting, and also unlock even more missions and collectibles. However, you can also choose which one you want to be 'active', meaning that the chosen building will then be able to affect the Wild West zone. So if I chose Sid's Haunted House to be 'active', ghosts and other nasties would invade my town and terrorise the townsfolk. The Toy Box mode is completely dynamic and always changing, meaning that you can sit there for hours playing it whilst still having a blast.

Another great feature about Toy Box is that the co-op carries over. It's also splitscreen, so both players can do different missions and explore different parts of the world at the same time. The unique special moves of each character don't carry over though, and thus your choice of character is purely for cosmetic reasons or preference.

That is unless you're playing the game on PlayStation 3, in which case you can play as The Evil Emperor Zurg in the Toy Box mode. Playing as Zurg gives you access to specific missions and also allows you to use a unique Zurg-style super-car, resplendent with mounted turret, and also use your own personal gun to blast foam balls at your enemies. It's definitely a significant enough extra to warrant buying the PlayStation 3 version if you have more than one console to consider.

Another thing worth noting is that the PlayStation 3 version will have access to exclusive bonus levels, which will be compatible with PlayStation Move when the peripheral is released in September. These missions will be free to download from the PlayStation Store around that time. So, basically, if you're debating which version to buy, get the PlayStation 3 version.

Toy Story 3's gameplay mechanics are simple but effective. The platforming can be a little bit finickity, but is fine for the most part; whilst the shooting, flying, sneaking and other gameplay styles work reasonably well too. The driving can be a bit of a pain, but overall Toy Story 3 is more than enough fun to play through without significant problems.

The game's presentation is also one of its big strong points. The game looks fantastic with its varied environments, and they all exhibit fantastic attention to detail; they almost look like they were ripped straight out of the film. The characters look great as well thanks to great animation, and they also have a fine attention to detail. When entering a dark area, for example, Buzz's suit will glow in the dark - it's these fine touches that really make you feel as though you're playing the movie.

The voice acting is very good as well, although it's a shame that the only two actors not to reprise their film roles are Tim Allen and Tom Hanks. Their sound-alikes do a decent job, though, and the rest of the cast are great. I did however notice a distinct lack of Mr Potato Head and his missus, and I really don't know why. The most prominent NPC is definitely Hamm, and he does have some pretty funny lines here and there.

The music is all straight from the film series as well, and any game with 'You've Got A Friend In Me' as a menu tune is an automatic win in my books.

Toy Story 3 completely bucks the trend for movie licensed games. It has a tonne of content, the gameplay is fun, the co-op is well designed, it looks fantastic, sounds great and is overall a very enjoyable game. If you're a fan of the film then don't think twice.

8/10 [?]

Labels: 360, Avalanche, Disney Interactive Entertainment, Film tie-in, PlayStation3, PS3, Review, Tom Acres, Toy Story 3

Seemingly intent on capturing a share of both Mario Kart and LittleBigPlanet's market, United Front have set the bar quite high for themselves with ModNation Racers, the latest game in Sony's new genre of Play, Create, Share. I'm happy to report that ModNation excels at all three of those things; it's the best kart racer outside of Nintendo; it's even easier to make cool stuff than in Media Molecule's LBP and the online community is fantastic. ModNation Racers is a quality title and could well be the sleeper hit of 2010.

At the centre of all that is good in ModNation Racers is the ModSpot. This is basically the hub of the game in which you can drive around with other online players and access all the content available to you. You can, if you prefer, press the Start button and access everything from a traditional menu screen but the interactive hub is far more interesting. From here you can drive up to all the features in the game; the online multiplayer, splitscreen multiplayer, the single player mode, the Creation Station and also the Sharing Station. Everything is displayed as an interactive object - even the leaderboards have a plinth next to them with the top-placed Mod or car. It's intuitive, easy to use and a lot of fun too.

Before we delve into the more unique aspects of the game design, let's start with the gameplay. ModNation Racers is very much a kart racer in the Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing mould. You can drift, hop and pick up power-ups such as lightning bolts and rockets which you can level up by collecting more of the power-ups on top of the one you already have, in a way similar to that seen in Diddy Kong Racing. What makes it more original and also adds a layer of depth is the boost bar. It's quite simple on the face of it; you hold down the cross button to boost. However, you can also use the boost meter to deploy a shield over your kart by pressing circle. Saving your boost, or deploying a shield perfectly, can be the difference between winning and losing and the dynamic works well.

The game is fantastic fun to play, but there are one or two problems with the racing itself. The handling is very loose and can take a while to get used to which can make your first few races quite frustrating. The computer AI is also a pain; obviously this problem is only prevalent in the single player gameplay, but they use cheap tactics and save all their boost which can also make the gameplay somewhat frustrating and unfair. Overall though, the 'Play' aspect of ModNation Racers is actually far more fun and refined than that of LittleBigPlanet.

The gameplay mechanics work exceptionally well in online multiplayer for up to 12 players, and splitscreen play for 4. There is a real emphasis on the multiplayer here and it's more fun that way. There are two single-player offerings as well; time trials and the campaign. The campaign is fairly standard but it's interspersed with cutscenes which actually use your custom Mod and kart, which is quite cool. Really though, multiplayer is where it's at in ModNation Racers.

Now let's talk about the creation tools in the game; they are, to put it simply, excellent. You can make your own Mods (characters), karts and tracks and it's super easy and fun to do any of the three. Creating Mods starts you with a base template from which you can add facial features, clothing, change materials and colours, add a voice and also apply stickers. The depth is phenomenal and you only have to look at the top downloaded creations to say what's possible: there are dozens and dozens of Spider-Men, Jokers, Iron-Men, Pudsey Bears, Stigs, Mickey Mouses, Mr Ts, and many more. Creating karts uses the same feature suite as the Mod creation but you can apply car specific parts like headlamps, or custom engines such as a hamster wheel. Again, the community have been on top form here with unbelievably detailed renditions of The Mystery Machine, The A-Team Van, The Batmobile and plenty of other famous 4-wheelers. Let's hope the copyright man doesn't get involved or the community will undoubtedly suffer.

At the centre of the creation tools though is the track editor. These have been a part of racing games for years but never has it been so easy and fun to make one. I've never had the patience to indulge in map editors in any type of game (even LittleBigPlanet was to finickity for me after a while) but ModNation Racers just makes it so easy. There are video tutorials but they're not even needed to be honest. First you choose a setting; jungle, field, beach or urban. Then you can use a brush to easily edit the terrain by adding mountains, water, chasms or whatever you want. Creating the track itself is just as easy, you just drive a steamroller around the environment and a track appears behind it. Then you can decorate the track with boost pads, power-ups and the like and also the environment with trees, animals and more. In fact, you can even get the game to decorate it automatically for you, and it does a great job of it too. It's super easy to use and you can make a pretty good track in 15 minutes or less.

The Share aspect of the game is also handled exceptionally well. It's even easier to find Mods, tracks and karts than it was to find levels in LittleBigPlanet. There are plenty of sorting options and, as I mentioned earlier, the top downloaded Mods and karts are displayed as statues on plinths in the ModSpot which is a really nice touch. At the moment there are giant versions of Mario, Spider-Man and The Stig looming over the hub which is damn cool, and I can guarantee you won't see those three standing next to each other in any other game.

ModNation Racers is, unfortunately, let down somewhat by it's presentation. It looks nice and is bright and colourful, but doesn't really have much in the way of personality despite the fact that it's got Iron Man driving around in the Monopoly car. The sound effects and music are similar; they're perfectly fine but don't stand out. The real killer is the amount of time it takes to load stuff - it's atrocious. These are definitely the worst load times I have ever experienced in a PlayStation 3 game and they're very frequent as well. Every time you enter a different area or start a race it takes a good thirty seconds at least to load. Sometimes I found myself going to get a KitKat or check my email as it was so slow. I don't know if they can fix it with a patch, but it's a major issue at the moment. The servers have also buckled under the weight of the community on more than a few occasions since I bought the game. It's a real shame that such a fantastic game is being dragged down from perfection by some sloppy presentation issues that are not even prevalent in the worst games out there.

It's sad to finish the review on such a downer because ModNation Racers is a fantastic creation tool, a great kart racer and it's got one of the best online communities on any console. It's really fun so if you can get past the scruffy presentation you'll have an absolute blast.

9/10

Labels: ModNation Racers, PlayStation3, PS3, PSN, Review, Tom Acres

By this time, we've all become pretty used to seeing EA Sports release a UEFA Euro Championships or FIFA World Cup game every two summers to complement their annual FIFA offering. We're also pretty used to them being pretty much identical to the previous FIFA, just with touched up presentation and perhaps some new commentary. Whilst there are no considerable jumps forward with 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, the gameplay refinements, the new modes and the absolutely top-draw presentation make it an improvement over FIFA 10 (and let's not forget that FIFA 10 was the best footy game ever). Are the improvements worth existing FIFA 10 owners laying down an extra £40 for, though?

The biggest change is obvious - no club teams. Instead, there are 199 international teams to play as - yes, I said 199, which is a huge range compared to the mere 40 or so nations you could play as in FIFA 10. Obviously, you've got all the teams involved in the World Cup Finals this summer, but you are also able to play as any of the other teams that were involved in the qualification rounds. You can play out the most unlikely games in the history of the world, from Israel vs. Palestine to Iraq vs. USA. All of the teams are fully available to play as in any of the modes, unless you decide to jump right into the World Cup Finals mode which only features the 32 teams actually going to South Africa. However, you can play a full qualification campaign with any team you like and all the fixtures, squads, dates and managers are authentic and take place in the same stadiums and on the same dates as they did in real life. So far I've taken Morocco and the Solomon Islands to the finals and, most unlikely of all, won the World Cup with England.

Captain your Country returns from Euro 2008, but is only a beefed-up version of FIFA 10's Be A Pro mode.

Other modes include the Story of Qualifying mode which allows you to take control of matches from the qualification phase at key points during the match. The best example is taking control of Ireland just after Thierry Henry's infamous handball gave France the lead in their qualifying play-off game. There are over 60 of these scenarios to play as well as scenarios from the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. EA Sports are also promising scenarios from this year's finals which will be free to download and play throughout the tournament. Obviously I couldn't test this out because the finals don't kick off until June 11th but it sounds like a great initiative from EA and something that I don't think has been done before.

Captain Your Country returns from the Euro 2008 game and is basically a beefed up version of Be A Pro from FIFA 10. In fact, you can even import your Pro direct from FIFA 10, but it falls a bit flat - only your appearance is carried over, not your stats, records or attributes. If you used EA Photo Gameface to import your photographed mug onto your player in FIFA 10, then that too can be imported into the World Cup. My guy looks rather uncanny, in a zombie-ish kinda way. One improvement upon the mode is the ability to play with 3 friends locally in 4 player co-op, similar to the Become A Legend mode in Pro Evolution Soccer 2010.

Subtle improvements to the on-pitch gameplay make 2010 FIFA World Cup a better gameplay experience than FIFA 10.

Online is relatively uninspired with the usual bunch of modes, although the one new and interesting one is the 2010 Online FIFA World Cup. It works just as you'd expect it to and is a bit of a glorified attempt at covering up a plain old online tournament that we've seen hundreds of times before.

On the pitch, EA Sports have made some subtle but vital improvements to the FIFA 10 game engine to make this the best playing game of virtual footy around. Players are even more physical than their FIFA 10 counterparts, and it's not uncommon to see them tussling for control of the ball or just getting in each other's way. Never has having an opponent run at your defence with Didier Drogba or Wayne Rooney been more terrifying; they can just knock defenders out of the way. Dribbling has become more responsive and refined, making it a real joy to skip past fullbacks with Lionel Messi or Theo Walcott. The shooting also has a lot more power and weight behind it which is more realistic and makes scoring speculative screamers with Gerrard a more realistic opportunity. Goalkeepers are vastly improved; they don't come charging off their lines stupidly to be chipped as they always do in FIFA 10, they're better at recovering from initial saves and readjusting themselves after deflections and rebounds.

Custom controls and new touches make the game better and more accessible than ever.

A cool gameplay element that affects the way the ball moves is altitude levels. The idea is that after the famous 6-1 defeat of Argentina by Bolivia on a stadium thousands of metres above sea level, gamers will now have to contend with these difficult situations too. Players will fatigue quicker and the ball will move slower through the air. It's a bit gimmicky, but a nice touch all the same.

The controls are extremely responsive, and customisation options include different button layouts, assistance settings for specific actions (passes, shots, crosses), and a simple two-button setup for newcomers to the series. This new two-button setup allows newcomers to control the play using just the left analogue stick to move and then two buttons to pass and shoot. Holding them down longer will affect whether a long ball or a through pass will be played and if shots will be hit higher or lower. It's simple and, being a FIFA veteran, I haven't used it other than as a test, but it's a nice addition if you want to play with your dad.

Presentation has been improved with a real sense of atmosphere.

EA Sports have also made massive strides forward when it comes to the games presentation. The sense of atmosphere during a match is unbelievably realistic with 3D crowds and managers, authentic chants, drums and vuvuzelas playing, full stadium announcers and more brilliant little touches like that. It's a massive leap from FIFA 10. Players also look better than ever, but likenesses up close are still leagues behind Pro Evolution Soccer; from the zoomed-out view during gameplay though, the game looks stunning. Commentary is also top notch with Clive Tyldsley and Andy Townsend replacing Martin Tyler and Andy Gray for what I assume is a one-off. Their commentary is especially impressive during the Story Of Qualification mode where they will make references to what has happened so far during the game.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is not a huge step up from FIFA 10. Casual fans of the series are unlikely to notice the gameplay tweaks as much as the hardcore fan but they certainly make this a much better gameplay experience than FIFA 10. There is a tonne that can be built on here for FIFA 11, and it would make sense to wait for that if you're not keen on dropping any more cash on a game that will be irrelevant quite soon. However, if you're a hardcore FIFA fan or a casual gamer wrapped up in the hype of the tournament, then 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is certainly worth a look.

8/10

Tom

Labels: 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, 360, PlayStation3, PS3, Review, Tom Acres, Xbox 360