SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square
Hold on to your squarepants for the ultimate in game from SpongeBob and his friend. OK, so, it’s meant to be for kids but adults love it as well. SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square is in celebration of the tenth anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants and offers fans a chance to relive some of the best moments from SpongeBob’s life.
When Mr Krabs and his friends plan to celebrate the eleventy seventh anniversary of the Krusty Krab, Mr Krab asks SpongeBob to guard the top-secret recipe for the Krabby Patty but… surprise, surprise… SpongeBob loses it. He enlists the help of Plankton to find it whose ulterior motive is to keep the formula for himself. The only way SpongeBob can find the recipe in time for the anniversary party is by using Plankton’s memory machine for him and players to relive the ten happiest and hilarious moments of his life.
Kids (or you) can play as SpongeBob on their own or with a friend playing as Plankton as they run, jump or spin through twelve exciting levels. Each one takes players back in time to one of SpongeBob’s memorable moments from the show i.e. when he became a fry cook or met Sandy for the first time. There may be a bit of strenuous battling involved in order to fell some of the supersized opponents which include legions of Plankton’s robots, but with SpongeBob’s amazing new morphing abilities including the Sledgehammer Smash, Spatula Slam, Waterbob Sponge or Explosive Cannon, he’ll be able to whack, hose, stun or blast ‘em out of the way. Visiting some of SpongeBob Squarepants favourite locations from Jellyfish Fields to Rock Bottom and downtown Bikini Bottom, there are plenty of stimulating puzzle challenges to play on the way. For ages of three and over SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth or Square retails at £29.99.
Assassin's Creed ll
Assassin’s Creed ll is Ubisoft’s follow up to the fastest selling new IP in video game history, Assassin’s Creed, and is available to buy at prices from £39.99.
The game uses the same gameplay style as its predecessor but now there are added features with a stronger emphasis on open-world exploration, greater interaction, nonlinear gameplay and more variety in missions. There’s also a new improved in-game economy. The protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young Italian noble come assassin, is also more clearly delineated as a character. In fact he’s a bit of a lady’s man who possesses a certain panache and some endearingly human traits.
The location is new too, set against the beautiful backdrop of Renaissance Italy in the 15th century, the action follows an epic story of corruption, conspiracy and brutal murder as Ezio strives to exact revenge for the deaths of his family members.
As in Assassin’s Creed, the story revolves around the Animus, the machine that views the memories of the ancestors of Desmond Miles in 2012, who comes from a long line of assassins. The action features some challenging experiences as through Ezio, the player becomes a master assassin and learns how to brandish weapons, disarm enemies and use their weapons against them, helped or hindered on the way by real-life historic characters. These include Machiavelli, Pope Alexander Vl and Leonardo da Vinci, who acts as a kind of Q figure from James Bond, providing miraculous inventions such as flying machines to assist Ezio to use on his mission.
There’s a welcome return to free running with added swimming and flying. With a more deeply and finely tuned combat system players roam through Venice, Tuscany and Florence using a host of new weapons created by Leonardo including swords, poison blades, miniature firearms, cutlasses, maces, spears and daggers. There’s even a database that gives information on historical figures and landmarks. It’s a game that combines an absorbing storyline with superb graphics and thrilling action and it’s waiting to be played by you.
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
With very adult content, the brand new Grand Theft Auto has two games in one box – The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and the Damned, neither of which requires the original Grand Theft Auto to play.
Set in the depraved Liberty City, a world of money, beautiful women, luxury cars, bikes and boats, the Ballad of Gay Tony features the story of the assistant to the nightclub owner Tony Prince, who becomes involved in an orgy of guns, violence and crime as he struggles to ascertain who he can trust in a fake world. With a good story line and voice acting and new activities such as Drug Wars, Club Management, Dancing and Drinking Games, the action is even more fast-paced than before with the chance to pilot military helicopters, parachute onto skyscrapers and moving trucks and take part in realistic fight scenes.
The Lost and the Damned takes a new angle on the storyline begun in GTA lV and players will recognise some characters and events. Johnny, a former member of the notorious biker gang, The Lost, has built bridges and organised truces with other local gangs. When his brother, Billy, the out-of-control president, returns from rehab in a violent mood, Johnny attempts to create order out of chaos. Players won’t be disappointed by the action, power graphics, lighting, new vehicles and arsenal of heavy weaponry. The game can be played as a single player with the addition of new activities like Gang Wars and Bike Races or as a multiplayer.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
The loveable chipmunk and his friends are back in a hilarious Squeakquel to be released on 11th December 2009 with a RRP of £24.99.
You can play as the chipmunks themselves; Alvin, Simon and Theodore or as rival girl-group; The Chipettes – Brittany, Jeannette and Eleanor, in a cool storyline that takes you across the world and back to different concert locations in cities like New York, London and Sydney where you can perform music tracks that feature either band with their different characteristics or warble a duet with both.
In the main game you can prove that you’ve got rhythm by using your musical skills to master the award-winning songs from the Alvin and The Chipmunks back catalogue. These are judged in varying degrees of difficulty based on tempo and complexity with two global modes of difficulty; Normal and Expert that can be changed anytime during the game. If you manage to fill the stadiums with your fans, there are attendance records to be earned too to boost your score. In a gripping finale that takes place at Hollywood’s Super Duper Dome anything could happen.
Three micro-games use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk or there’s a Multiplayer Party Mode so you can compete with up to two friends and have a ball or you can watch music videos of your favourite songs in the Jukebox Mode while you squeak away to your heart’s content.
Resident Evil Archives:Resident Evil Zero now in Wii
Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero is an epic story that follows events leading up to the incident at mansion in a game that was previously only available on the Nintendo GameCube due for release on 22nd January 2010.
Some people have said it’s one of the most frightening games they’ve ever played. Following the format of Capcom’s survival horror films, we go back in time to discover the story behind the infernal Umbrella Corporations as players uncover the origins of the T-virus and surprise, surprise a few rampant zombies on the way.
Action follows Rebecca Chambers, the newest member of the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team who comes to Raccoon City to investigate a series of grisly murders. When she discovers a military transport truck filled with corpses, the horror begins. She is accompanied on her journey by Billy Coen, an ex-marine who was convicted of murdering 23 people – fortunately the evidence was purely circumstantial. With flesh-eaters, ghouls and the undead making unscheduled appearances, you’ll be on the edge of your seat with your heart pumping throughout. Graphics heighten the sense of fear in the spooky mansion with odd camera angles and dark shadows. You can use the standard Wii remote, classic controller or GameCube pad. There’s also a whole arsenal of weaponry to choose from with the ability to shoot anything from a pistol to a rocket launcher.
You can play as Rebecca and Billy simultaneously by using the Partner Zapping system, solving some cryptic puzzles along the way, as you help them in their desperate bid to escape from Raccoon City.
The Saboteur is set in 1940s Paris
Pandemic Studios invites you to enter the covert world of the saboteur in a stylised 1940s Paris as you attempt to overturn the Nazi occupation and track down your mortal enemies in this revolutionary new game released on 4th December.
You will play in the character of Sean Devlin, a tough, Irish racing mechanic based on the real-life war hero William Grover-Williams seeking personal revenge after his friends have been killed, one by one, by the Nazis. With a bit of help from the French Resistance, British Intelligence and a full arsenal of weaponry, you’ll use your wits to track down high ranking German officers and officials, blowing up zeppelins, derailing trains and exploding bridges on the way.
Features of the game include The Vertical World which takes you up on to the rooftops of Paris; the perfect place to initiate surprise attacks, plus gameplay systems called Climbing, Sneaking and Stealth Kills to help you infiltrate the Nazis.
Will to Fight combines visual style with gameplay as the environment of Paris changes around you according to the success of your missions. In order to make the district brightly coloured and “happy” you must weaken German forces occupying the area. In doing so, the district’s citizens will also regain hope and assist you in your fight. Areas with low WtF will be dark with the exception of brightly coloured German flags.
You’ll be fighting your way from the top of the Eiffel Tower to the banks of the Seine, taking in the whole panoply of the city. With a RRP of £49.99 The Saboteur is not only a great game, it’s a great way to see Paris.
SteelSeries Zboard Limited Edition Keyset release dates
Now you can get a customised keyset for your AION game with dedicated short-cut keys, stunning graphics and increased actions per minute that will enhance your playing experience and sharpen up your game. It includes a removable standard keyset for everyday use plus the specially developed gaming keyset for AION.
For those not in the know, AION is a multiplayer on-line role-playing game set in a world of epic adventure and celestial beauty seen through the eyes of a winged character with devastating powers and abilities.
The keyset has been developed in cooperation with NCsoft and incorporates a layout that features in-game commands on 69 colour-coded and dedicated action keys, group leader specific commands, and menus that are intuitively designed to speed up reflexes in battle. There are also 24 emote keys that can be quickly accessed to interact with friends or used to taunt or intimidate enemies.
SteelSeries Z Engine software means that the entire keyboard can be customised by dragging and dropping macros on to specific keys. Guaranteed to increase the user’s actions per minute with 7 simultaneous keystrokes as opposed to the industry standard of 2-4 you are destined to become the master of the Aion universe and it’ll only cost you £21.73 exc. VAT.
DiRT-2 plus DLC is on the shelves now
Codemaster’s exciting new driving game is the ultimate off-road racing with superb handling, exceptional visual and audio detail, exciting new locations and driving situations that can be played with multiple players or solo.
DiRT2 follows on from Colin McRae: Dirt and is the first video game in the McRae series since the Scottish rally driver’s untimely death in a helicopter accident in 2007. This time the game offers more in the way of graphics with details like water splashing on to the windscreen, slick vehicle handling and realistic crash sequences as with the screech of twisted metal, handbrake turns and roaring engines, you’re thrown from one event to another. One minute you may be in a rally cross event, the next you may be racing monster trucks or negotiating a point-to-point rally with a co-driver.
Taking place in real-world environments of Asia, Europe, Africa and North America, DiRT2 includes five different events: rally, rally cross, trailblazer, land rush and raid requiring mastery of different driving styles with canyon racing, jungle trails and city-stadium based events. Players can test their skills against the likes of Ken Block or Travis Pastrana – all the other drivers on the track respond to your driving method – ie if you play dirty and drive them off the course, they’re liable to hold that against you and give you a rough ride in future events. A flashback feature allows you to return to the scene of a crash up to three times so you can rectify your driving mistakes and difficulty levels can be altered before every event.
Codemasters have also released multiple downloadable content packs for DiRT 2 which can be used by players to customise and add features to the boxed game; the Access All Areas Pack for £3.19 which gives VIP entry to 100 events set on 41 tracks with access to X-Games events and their courses and The Trust Fund Pack at £3.19 means you can download and experience 35 killer rides and upgrade liveries.
With positive reviews from major gaming companies, DiRT2 is a white knuckle ride and a genuine test of your driving skills and you can buy it now.
Mass Effect 2 is being released on 26th & 29th January
The heroic Commander Shepard is back for the second installment of the epic trilogy Mass Effect and will be on the shelves on 26th January 2010 in North America and 29th January in Europe.
Leading games developer BioWare has also announced pre-order incentives to be released at key retailers in North America and across Europe with codes for downloading being provided on the release of the game. Described as “awesome bonus content” by co-founder of BioWare, Dr Ray Muzyka, these incentives include special in-game armour and weaponry to boost skills and abilities.
Having fought off the threat of the invading Reapers in Mass Effect 1, Commander Shepard now faces an even more terrifying enemy that lurks on the edges of the known universe and is responsible for the disappearance of entire human colonies.
Assuming his role, you have to assemble the crew of elite operatives and command the most powerful ship ever built. Then you have to train and equip the team to survive and choose from a powerful arsenal of heavy weaponry that can end a battle in seconds. The team members are potentially dangerous and a new recruit who has a tattoo for every person she has killed, there could also be a threat from within the team, or maybe not…
With intense shooter action and cinematic effect, you’ll be transported to a vast universe filled with alien life and mysterious planets as you embark on what is described as a “suicide mission” to save humanity. Have you got what it takes to prove them wrong?
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David Bowie features in new Lego Rock Band
Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment has announced that the legendary rock star David Bowie is being immortalised in a Christmas edition of the blockbuster video game LEGO Rock Band, to be released in November 2009.
The chameleon-like performer has reinvented himself several times, but never previously as a mini LEGO figure and now, sporting a dapper shirt and 1980’s style mullet, he joins the illustrious list of stars and performers who’ve featured in the interactive family music action game in the past including the father of punk rock Iggy Pop who also provides the voice-over in tutorials.
The game is compatible with the existing Guitar Hero and Rock Band equipment and allows up to four players to use instrument controllers to play lead, bass, drums and vocals on well-known rock songs. Players can use Lego bricks to customise their mini-figurine avatars and notes are represented by coloured Lego bricks.
The whole family can metamorphose into rock gods as they as they attempt to play guitar, drum or provide screaming vocals on classic rock songs like Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love a Bad Name,’ Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ and of course, Bowie’s cool 80’s classic ‘Let’s Dance’ as well as favourites selected with the younger audience in mind including Elton John’s ‘Crocodile Rock’ or Ray Parker Jr’s ‘Ghostbusters’. The idea is to successfully complete the songs to earn Lego studs which may be used to enhance players’ avatars, vehicles, entourage and “rock den”. There will also be a chance for competitors to demolish buildings and summon up storms with their demon playing and vocal prowess. With a new Super-Easy mode added for young players the game works across the generations and unites families.
LEGO Rock Band will be released on Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and DS on 27th November 2009.
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