Dirt Showdown Trailer Explains The Destruction

That's a lot of talk for a formula as old as Destruction Derby.

Max Payne 3's MP Has Bullet Time

Clever Rockstar, figured out how to implement bullet time into mp. Kudos for that.

11 Reasons To Get Prototype 2

Seeing that video I remembered that there has been a similar one for the first game. Realizing that to this day, years later, I still haven't played that game (and a huge load of others like Just Cause) I am more convincend than ever that I can play my Xbox 360 for at least five more years with just the games I didn't make it to yet.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Prototype 2 - Top 11 Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Darksiders II: The Scale of The World

Fuck yeah, bring back action adventures big time. I love that genre. Darksiders is one of the best examples why. But I found that Cel shaded Prince of Persia game also really good. The Assassin's Creed series also comes out as one of my favorite series in that genre and in this generation in general.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Darksiders II - Guardian Trailer Part I, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Movies: Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Trailer

What a nonsense, but an entertaining nonsense it seems.

Latest Far Cry 3 Trailer Shows Drugs And Guns

That's fine for me. Seems to be a rollercoaster ride of a game.

Darksiders 2: Death Strikes CGI Part 1

Not sure what this is about. It seems out of context to me.

Max Payne 3 True To The Formula

Played the first two and found them to be really good action games. The movie was okay, but not more than that. Max Payne 3 really looks decent. They keep it traditionally which is good.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Max Payne 3 - Developer Diary: Visual Effects and Cinematics, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Dragon's Dogma's Dungeons LOTR Inspired

They don't say it officially but it is very clear that someone watched the Moria scence from Fellowship of The Ring a few times too often. Who can blame them? LOTR, book or movie, is to this day the fantasy reference number one.

Mass Effect 3: Lesbian Sex, MP Classes And Fem Shep Takes Earth Back

What a game. Really need to get it asap.

Bioshock Infinite: Boys of Silence

Bioshock Infinite, upcoming best game of all times, introduces new heavy hitters types of enemies called boys of silence. They look weird, but that's alright. Trust in Ken Levine. Check out last week's heavy hitters here.

SSX Gets Big Heads. And Hands?!

Okay, Big Head Mode, a nice mutator one knows from the likes of Unreal Tournament. But what the hell is Big Hands?

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City - Launch Trailer, Gameplay, Review

Pure action, that's the direction Resident Evil is going to. And I don't really like that. But from the character cast this seems to be fan service at least.

The Witcher 2 On 360 Is The Most Mature Game Ever

So says this trailer. No, really, it looks like we have an incredible package here.

First Look On The Tech of The New Sim City

Sim City is a great game, especially for the sociologists among us, like me. This video focuses on the tech behind the game.

Modern Warfare 3 Elite Content DLC Trailer

 
Today comes a collection of DLC for Modern Warfare 3 to Xbox Live. For those of you still interested in CoD.

The World of Darksiders II

Whoa, one last posting for the upcomind days since I'm on the road. Darksider II comes June 26th and having a look it this video I must say it's a worhty sequel. Goddamn, how I loved the first game. In case you haven't played it yet, grab it for a budget price and have fun with it. You won't regret it, I promise.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier - Believe in Ghosts Part 3

The Ghost team continues its work in this video diary.

Dead or Alive 5 - Ayane VS Hitomi Gameplay

Gameplay shows how dope this game is. Can you believe DOA 4 is already close to 7 years old??

Dirt: Showdown Destruction Trailer

Oh, Dirt, what has become of you? It looks fun, like Destruction Derby back in the day, but still I liked the style of Dirt 1 (Colin McRae's Dirt) the best.

Bioshock: Infinite - The Heavy Hitters

Okay, so from the debut trailer I expected the Handy Man to be a kind of new Big Daddy, but it seems like he is just one of a range of mid bosses. In any case, this game is just super hot. I can't wait for it.

Ninja Gaiden 3 Launch Trailer

Looks fun. Should play the predecessor. But heard it's super hard. So maybe play other games first. Eventually will never play it. True story of my life.

Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Trailer

It's the return of that light gun Resi.

Kid Icarus: Uprising Medusa Trailer

Might be interesting for my little sister since she owns a N3DS, the lucky one.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Signature Edition Trailer

As always pre-order and get some extra stuff.

Ridge Racer Unbounded Behind The Scenes

I was a big fan of Ridge Racer on the Playstation 1 with Ridge Racer Type 4 being my absolute favorite. Since then the series went downhill. I hope this game will reverse the trend despite the strange title.

Journey: Accolades Trailer

So artful and crafty.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter Preview

By Xplay. I still wonder about this incredibly random title.

Mass Effect 3: Complete Galaxy Scanning Guide

By Computer&Videogames. Might come in handy.

Silent Hill: Downpour Reviews And Gameplay

Is Silent Hill: Downpour a new kind of Silent Hill game? Find out in these video reviews.

Mass Effect 3: Hijacking A Mech + Liara Sex Scene

More Mass Effect 3 videos for your viewing pleasure.

FEZ - 2D Platforming With 3D Effect

You got to love the Xbox Live Arcade for all those nice small games that would have never made it as 60€ retail game.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier: Believe In Ghosts Part 2

Well, entertaining series, but advertising with Osama Bin Laden? Questionable.

Street Fighter X Tekken: The Devil Within Short Movie

Always good to see fans extending the fiction.

GDC 2012: CryEngine 3, Unreal Engine 3 Tech Demos

See and decide for yourselves which engine you like better. To me both look more than great.

Journey: Dev Diary

What a nice game. Meet the makers.

GDC 2012: Awards And GameSpot Live Show

All the madness of GDC in one convinient place thanks to GameSpot!

Medal of Honor Warfighter: Where's The Beards?

I don't really like all those war games, maybe because they glorify war, maybe because this one lacks beards. Edit: Sorry for the inconvenience. The hotlinked image turned out to show some genitals. People get meaner and meaner these days.

Street Fighter X Tekken: Ryu/Ken Vs Kazuya/Nina

What a nice game. Also the reviews say it's a blast. Tekken X Street Fighter will never be that good, but let's wait and see for that a little longer. However there is one thing that is pissing me off about it. People found out about 8 DLC characters on disc including my favorite. While I can see the technical reasons it feels like they are selling an incomplete game. Well, it might be the best idea to wait a few months and pick up the next iteration with more characters and levels like the did for Street Fighter IV twice.

Mass Effect 3 Reviews: It's Damn Good

Reviews for Mass Effect 3 are out and it is, as expected, extremely good. GT below gives 9.5/10 and Gamerankings is at 93% with 24 reviews. So go get it.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Mass Effect 3 - Review, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Mass Effect 3: Gay Relationships And Ending

Go on and spoil yourself.

Journey For PS3: Another Proof Games Can Be Art

Amazingly beautiful!

Assassin's Creed III Reveal Trailer

It comes October 30th. Looking forward to see some ingame material after they announced it to be a 2.0 version of the engine.

A First Look On Halo 4

Never really understood the hype for Halo, but the first one was quite entertaining. Maybe I should finally give Halo 3 another try?

Mass Effect 3: Launch Trailer, Normandy Tour, Interview

Release is nearing this week and I am excited. Won't make it too soon, but here are some vids for all the lucky ones of you anyway.

Thoughts On What I'm Playing: Arkham Asylum, Dead Space 2, AC: Brotherhood, MW3

Another entry in the What I'm Playing category here on PG!

Don't we live in wonderful modern times? When it comes to videogames there are more brilliant games than you can possibly ever play. I know there are always some people being more geek than I, finishing games like Skyrim on Day 1 and stuff, but I'm not in that fortunate (? ;) ) position plus I realized it is way more economic to wait a few months with price drops banging in just a few weeks after release. All I'm saying is don't blame me for being "late" on following titles. With the girlfriend out of the house for a certain timespan I could clock in a decent regular time in front of my 360 in February. So what will follow are some personal views on the games that became my after studying-relaxation.

Batman: Arkham City
 

This was my christmas present (to myself) but I really just found the time to play it thoroughly in February. And I am so satisfied with this game, it is beyond imagination. Having played Batman Arkham Asylum and being a big fan ever since, I had high expectations for the title. When the first reviews dropped in, giving the game highest scores I knew it was something to look forward to. When it won Best 360 Game of 2011 over at Gametrailers this feeling got stronger. Now, that I finished the main campaign I am still thinking about how amazing the whole experience has been.

Batman: Arkham City was like a rollercoaster ride in a spook house. The characters, the story, the gameplay, the graphics, the whole presentation was pure gaming excellence at its finest. I don't know about you, but I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins/ The Dark Knight movies and Arkham City, just like its predecessor, catched exactly this feeling of authenticity to the matter. Sure, movie and game are different in their own rights, but the sincerety both approaches show are comparable. The story continues where the first title left off, Joker is sick and Arkham Asylum was expanded to a Snake-Plissken-like urban prison of Arkham City, under the direction of madman Dr. Hugo Strange, who found out about Batman's real identity and kidnapped Bruce Wayne to Arkham City. Why exactly he did that and what advantages he expected won't be spoiled here, I'm just stating that you don't fuck around like that with Batman.

Probably the most immersive thing about Arkham City was the intense story. The great cut scenes were very well crafted, like directed by an actual movie director. Outstanding voice work did its part: Especially the contrahents Batman (voiced by the guy who voiced him in the animated series, kudos to him) and Joker (voiced by the amazing Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker) really breathed life into this fictious world. The gameplay (FreeFlowCombat is back) with leveling up and unlocking skill possibilities drove you to battling all kinds of crime gangs (there are different factions in Arkham City, from Two Face's gang to the Penguin's gang to Joker's crew), most of the time beginning the assault from above, coming flown into the rumble like a real Dark Knight.

Anyway, you get the point that this game has made an impression on me. The good thing is that replay value is high as well. Having finished the campaign in estimated 15 hours there are still waiting hundreds of Riddler-trophies to be found, sidequests to be finished, challenge maps (both beat'em up and Predator maps) to be highscored and new game + (all your progress is imported, enemies get tougher and help lesser). Yes, I am really thinking about giving this game a second playthrough, something that has been reserved to Mass Effect 2 and the first Bioshock in the past and that's something from my account. Also I am thinking about getting the DLC characters Robin and Nightwing. This should add even more fun.  

Dead Space 2
 

Dead Fucking Space 2. I was really excited for this one, calling the first one the real Resident Evil of this generation and then I somehow never found the time. Happens with a lot of games for me sadly but eventually I got this game. And? Well, it is a masterpiece. The gameplay is stepped up through new terrifying enemies, amazing new weapons (found the mine thrower especially valuable) and the ability to navigate freely through gravity free areas. Story is one thing and though it is not too complex (good thing for such a type of game) I really like the new Isaac. The first Dead Space's Isaac has been a mute necromorph stomping machine, but this one has a character (and some serious mental problems). Though the game might not be that scary like the first title, which felt more like Deep Horizon, it is still a game I like to play in the daytime. Think Dead Space to Dead Space 2 comparable to Alien and Aliens. More action, bigger scale, widening the story's universe. The presentation is just insanely good from moments where you control Isaac to smooth transition into jaw dropping cutscenes and some of the most brutal execution scenes that the craft of gaming has ever seen.

I'm not totally done with this one yet, meaning I didn't finish it yet, but might well be on a good way to achieve that. There's certainly some replay value here with the New Game + mode, but I am not sure if my nerves will allow me to go through that nightmare again. Well, Dead Space 3 should be announced soon with rumors hinting at Isaac being on an ice planet, so maybe we will see some The Thing influences in the next one? I'll be hyped anyway.  

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
 

Ouch, now it gets really "old".

 Yep, there are first screenshots of Assassin's Creed III (which I am hyped up for), and I just managed to finish AC: Brotherhood. But anyway, a good game is a good game and AC: Brotherhood certainly is a good game. Having spent about twenty hours with AC: Brotherhoods campaign (and having finished all Lairs of Romulus just to get an ugly rotten armor that could not live up to my upgraded armor) I am satisfied about the game. Sure there was a lot of micro-managing with buying all those shops and burning all those Borgia towers down and building up your league of assassins. Well, especially the last point seemed to be quite fun. It really was a game changer to get into a difficult combat situation with 12 assassins to back you up, some even on horses. And I really liked the game's scenery, renaissance Rome. Also the character of Ezio Auditore da Firenze is one of the most memorable characters for me this generation. I think it is really cool, that Ubisoft is giving him three games to cover youth, his 30s and an older age approach in AC: Revelations.

Having said that I must say that I am also very much looking forward to AC: Revelations, to finish the cycle and stuff. Just hope there's fewer Desmond in them, really don't like these parts very much.  
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
 

Played the campaign and found it better than Black Ops, but that's about it.

Since the first Modern Warfare Call of Duty just gets down the hill if you ask me. Sure commercial success might prove me wrong, but it's still my personal opinion. The second Modern Warfare had some great moments like the snowmobile chase, but the third was just too over the top for me. I found the story just idiotic. Since when are the Russians an active thread to world peace (I'm writing this on the day Putin cheats himself into presidency again, though), that's just too Cold War for me. When making a game where showing off the American military strenght why not just fight against muslim extremists? That would've been more entertaining to me. Sure that might arouse some suspicion but don't tell me Activision wouldn't welcome this scandal for their promotion sake. Plus I hopped into Multiplayer for a few minutes. Seems to be okay, but why are the graphics so much comparably worse to the campaign? As you see, this just hadn't been my game. I found Rage the better shooter in all aspects, to be honest, but that might be an unpopular opinion.

So much for now.

What's coming for the future? Well, Mass Effect 3 is released coming week, alongside with Street Fighter X Tekken. Since I'll be on a vacation until end of March I won't get those games too soon. I still need to finish my 2nd Mass Effect 2 playthrough anyways and have another bunch of games laying around unplayed for a way too long time anyway.

I will continue the blog as regular as possible. As some of you might have noticed I now post more often again, which should be a good thing even when there is no doubts that the days of 100+ postings per month are most likely over. I'll try to blog about the important stuff at least when that is just for my personal blogging's sake. Still everyone who read this long entry to this line is given a bigh thank you from me, please come back in the future.

Best wishes, H.