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Category Archives: Review

Available Formats: Xbox 360, PS3, PC & iOS
Price: £17 for the whole season (5 Episodes)

The Walking Dead game is quite a rarity, it is a point-and-click game available on consoles.

Developers, TellTale Games, have created a game with a heavy focus on the narrative and characters.

A bulk of the game focuses on the dialogue and interaction that occur between the protagonist, Lee Everett, and the rest of the characters. This is done fairly well and it is enjoyable to watch the way each character develops.

Your interactions with these characters are said to have consequences, however in reality, there is little variation in consequence in differing choices.

The game uses puzzles and quicktime events, overall, these are implemented well into the story. They don’t feel forced and they help to keep the story progressing.

Overall however, the game is quite underwhelming. It can lack pace, some puzzles feel too forced and there is little truth behind the claim that you can’tailor your own story’

This sucks because without these drawbacks, the game could be great.

Also, just a heads up for any of you achievement hunters out there, this game is a simple 500 Gamerscore; just complete it, simples.

For more information, watch the video review.

Charlie Staples


As Sony finally announced the upcoming Playstation 4, they teased gamers by revealing many different aspects that the ‘next-generation’ console will possess. However, they still left many fans wanting to know more.

Here I explore three major questions that Sony left unanswered:

What will the console look like?

Sony certainly teased gamers across the world with their launch of the Playstation 4 at a press conference in New York on Wednesday. It may look as if they went with the ‘give the fans something, but leave them wanting more’ technique by addressing some of the accessories and gadgets that the Playstation 4 will possess – such as the games, but leaving the question of ‘what will the console look like’, unanswered. Fans were left frustrated by the lack of a physical product reveal – and they were quick to vent their frustrations out on Twitter, with one gamer tweeting: “Stayed up for two hours for the Sony press conference and they don’t even show us the console design?!?! #wasteoftime”

The reason, it may appear, is that Sony does not even know what the Playstation will look like themselves, with Sony’s worldwide studio president Shuhei Yoshida stating: “The console hardware isn’t finished, but we thought this was a really good time to show our games.”

Jack Tretton – the President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America  –  was quick to address the complaints of the fans as he assured gamers that the design is not the most important aspect of the console, and they will care more about “what comes out of the box, not what it looks like. I can promise you that it will be plastic, it won’t be triangle-shaped or round. You’ll see the box in due time.”, he stated.

So, should Sony have waited until the Playstation design was fully completed before setting out a press conference watched by millions around the world; or was this an intelligent ploy to leave games on the edge of their seats – imaging what was described as “the next generation console” might look like?

Although Sony failed to show what the PS4 console will look like, they did introduce what the controller will look like - prompting positive feedback across the globe.Although Sony failed to show what the PS4 console will look like, they did introduce what the controller will look like – prompting positive feedback across the globe.

Release Date

Sony have stated that the Playstation 4 will be released sometime in 2013 – for game consoles especially, it is unheard of to confirm a brand new console will be released in the same year that it was announced.

We have seen over the years with the likes of Microsoft and Nintendo Wii announcing the release of game consoles – they’ve showed segments of what the game will possess in one year; the following year they would show an upgrades version of the console; and then later that year they would show the world the final, completed version with a confirmed release date.

However, Sony have built up the excitement for the Playstation 4 before their rivals could do the same. Now, when Xbox do announce their newest version, it will be compared with the Playstation – and not the other way round.

Price

There have been many rumours regarding the price of the Playstation this past week, with many suggesting that it will be near the £120 mark; whilst others suggest it will be nearly £700. Though we still don’t know the exact price at which the PlayStation 4 will launch, SCEA CEO Jack Tretton assured fans that the price of software will not be rising [above the £450 mark which the Playstation 3 originally cost].

The pricing issue has sparked huge debates worldwide, with Playstation fanatic William Usher predicting that “if the console arrives at more than $400 this holiday season then I can see only core gamers picking up the Playstation 4. If the console launches for anything less than $400, then it opens up for a wide range of demographics.”

With Jack Tretton confirming that Playstation 4 game prices will not be increasing, and stating that games will vary from “99 cents up to those $60 games”, could this pave a way for Sony to go for a higher starting price for the Playstation 4?

Sunveer Sandhu

 Image courtesy of:

Tech Radar – http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/ps4-controller-revealed-introducing-the-dualshock-4-1132650


“INTEGRATE”

“SEAMLESS”

“CONNECTIVITY”

“SOCIAL”

“MOTION”

“INNOVATE”

BUZZWORDS. BUZZWORDS. BUZZWORDS.

Please kill me.

Sony have really made a push towards ‘social connectivity’ for their next generation of console. This is clearly a logical step for them to take. I immediately associate playing games in my smelly man-cave with ‘being social.’ A natural evolution.

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This social integration includes users displaying their real names and faces whilst playing online. I’m sure everyone will be eager to share every facet of their life on the PlayStation Network with Sony’s stellar track-record of user security.

 

You will also be pleased to discover that the library of PlayStation 3 games that you have accumulated over the years will be playable on the PlayStation 4… as long as you’re willing to pay for them again.

That’s right, there is no backwards compatibility with your PlayStation 3 disks unless you download them again  from the PlayStation store.

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But rest assured, not everything that you own will become obsolete once the PlayStation 4 launches. You will all be glad to know that your glow-in-the-dark sex wands will be compatible from the word ‘go.’  I know how much you all love those.

I’m sure you’re able to tell that the announcement was a great success, but there were just a few very minor topics that Sony forgot to address.

Release date?

Price?

The console, itself?

At the event of the PlayStation 4 announcement, it didn’t cross any of the Sony employees’ minds that it would be a good idea to actually bring a PS4 along with them to be shown to the masses. Not a big deal though, right? I’m sure that they must’ve had more important things that they were thinking about.Image

Charlie Staples

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Images Courtesy of:

http://unleashthefanboy.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Playstation-4-Social-Networking.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EvJ0UtL.png


Raheem Sterling:

Liverpool’s biggest breakthrough player over the past decade has shocked the Premier League with how comfortable he has found it to settle in and play at ease in the League. However, whilst fans and pundits from England alike rate the 18-year-old, it appears that FIFA do not. Rated at just 69, Sterling is criminally underrated with his attributes better-suited to a League two-type player.

Recognised by many as one of the most intelligent footballers in his play – and as a “thinking player” by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, Sterling is rated at just 59 in the ‘Reactions’ category with his ‘Ball Control’  and ‘Long Passing’ level rated at a laughable 56 and 68 – which, of course, as many Liverpool fans will surely argue on is the fact that both Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard have created the most chances for Luis Suarez this season – with Sterling adding two goals from just seven league starts this season in a very much struggling Liverpool side.

With the likes of Stewart Downing and Joe Cole rated at 78 and 79, it is incredible that they are rated so highly, whilst Sterling’s rating is so meagrely – especially as Stewart Downing – a £20 million signing from Aston Villa in 2011 is best known as the internet’s favourite person to ‘troll’ with his 0 goals and 0 assists in his first one-and-a-half seasons a Liverpool; whilst Joe Cole has been branded the reason why Roy Hodgson was sacked with his diabolical performances for the club – before he was shipped out to Lyon and West Ham.

So, the man described by Liverpool legend Jamie Redknapp as a “true classy winger” that makes defenders look scared of his electric pace” and has dubbed him as the successor to Liverpool fan-favourite Steve McManaman, it should not be too much to ask for to FIFA to give the 18-year-old more credit for a superb first season at the club.

FIFA rating: 69

My rating: 81

Jonny Evans:

Jonny Evans has established himself as Manchester United’s top centre-half, ahead of the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. His rating of just 77 may have been justified two seasons ago, when he was still very much a fringe player at the Red Devils, and arguably their biggest liability at the back, but his performances in the 2011/12 campaign and this year thus far have gone to show just how far the Northern Ireland centre-half has progressed.

Evans has broken the reliable partnership of Ferdinand and Vidic – beating off fierce competition from the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones whilst he was at it. The partnership between Ferdinand and Vidic has been widely described as the best defensive partnership in the clubs history. Evans’ form has also seen him catapult himself up from being the fourth choice centre-back two years ago, to the current first choice – forcing players such as Phil Jones and Chris Smalling to modify their positions.

Evans’ jumping, strength and stamina are rated just in the 70’s in FIFA 13 – a massively underrated attributes for the 24-year-old who has been capped 31 times for Northen Ireland, featured in 38 games in the 2011/12 campaign and has remained a hugely important figure in the United line-up this season.

FIFA have again done the 24-year-old a huge injustice in calculating his figures for ‘Aggrression’ and ‘Interceptions’ at just 76 apiece – with the likes of Gary Cahill rated at 81 overall.

Evans is nowhere near a 77-rated player in real life. FIFA has massively underrated a British player who has been described by Sir Alex Ferguson as  “arguably the best defender in the country” for not the first time; and probably not the last time.

FIFA rating: 77

My rating: 84

Leon Britton:

Swansea’s Leon Britton can be compared to Barcelona’s Xavi and Andreas Iniesta. In fact, Britton IS Swansea’s Xavi and Iniesta.

Britton controls their midfield – and because of him, Swansea have the sixth best passing accuracy in Europe – ahead of the likes of AC Milan, Tottenham and Arsenal. Incredibly, in a stat analysis created by The Daily Telegraph, Britton has the best passing accuracy in Europe – ahead of the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.

Should he be a paltry-rated 75? The answer is no. Should the likes of Scott Parker, Joe Allen and Kevin Nolan be rated above the Swansea playmaker? Again, the answer is no.

FIFA have again done a massive injustice to a player not well-known throughout Europe. However, his performances and stats alike signify that Britton, should he keep up his stunning performances, may well have a big say in years to come.

FIFA rating: 75

My rating: 83

Who do you think is the most underrated footballer in FIFA 13?

Honourable Mentions: Jack Wilshere, Pedro, John Ruddy, Mikel Arteta

Sunveer Sandhu