Games
BAFTA Video Games Awards 2011 Nominations – Part 1
February 20, 2011
With the film BAFTAs just gone it’s time to turn our heads towards the BAFTA Video Games Awards 2011 which will be hosted in just under a month from now on 16th March, and will be celebrating some of the best games from the past year.
You may remember the BAFTA Video Games Awards 2010 in which Batman: Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Assassins Creed 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 all featured heavily in both the nominations and the awards, and whist there does seem to be more variety this year it is Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood that looks to be the one to watch.
As we have in previous years here at Zath we’ll look at the categories one at a time (in, for no other reason than custom, alphabetical order) and have a look at which six games have been nominated and who we think could be walking home with the award. It’s worth noting that again the categories have been slightly changed and the ‘Use of Audio’ and ‘Story’ awards have gone so we are down to just 14 categories this year including the ‘GAME Award‘ which is decided by a public vote.
Continue reading »Worms Merchandise Incoming! – T-Shirts, Plush Toys & Books Heading Our Way From Team 17?
February 18, 2011
We’ve all heard of them and most people will have played at least one Worms game in their lifetimes, but Team 17′s worms are finally going to be hitting the physical world.
The UK based games developer who are well known worldwide for their massive Worms franchise has recently struck a deal with AT New Media to release Worms merchandise to the masses. Items such as plush toys, books, clothing are all now real possibilities and who wouldn’t want one?
Continue reading »BAFTA Video Games Awards 2011 – GAME Award Nominations For The Public Vote!
February 16, 2011
Since the 2011 Film British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards aired over the weekend (our heartfelt congrats to The King’s Speech), it now seems like the perfect time to discuss the Video Gaming BAFTA Awards, which will be held on 16th March 2011 – amazing to think that it’s already nearly a year since the BAFTA Video Games Awards 2010.
The nominees for the GAME Award 2010 were announced last week. 10 games are shortlisted by a BAFTA panel and the winner is chosen by public vote. It’s worth remembering that the BAFTAs also aim to reward innovation and excellence, not just entertainment value. Here are our thoughts on this year’s shortlist:
Continue reading »Can The Sony NGP Be A Handheld Gaming Success?
February 15, 2011
The Sony NGP (PSP2) has been announced, but will it end up being successful? When the original PSP-1000 hit the market in September of 2005, the world let out a simultaneous gasp of excitement as to the future of the portable gaming industry.
Never before had anyone actually provided a viable gaming alternative for those who aren’t buying into Nintendo’s ever present novelty take on how gaming should be. Never again would mobile gaming just be about 2D horizontal scroller titles, such as Mario or Sonic, is what we thought, at least. And to be fair, the original Sony PSP, and the subsequent refresher models, the PSP-2000 and 3000 were a runaway success, selling 62 million units worldwide as of late 2010.
Continue reading »Activision Continues To Focus On Strengths – Guitar Hero & DJ Hero Games Scrapped
February 10, 2011
Having never really been a huge fan of the title, I can hardly say that I am devastated by this news. But I know that out there, there are millions of fans who literally worshipped (and totally mastered) the Guitar Hero franchise.
However, clearly they didn’t love it enough, because a sharp decline in sales over recent years means that now, it is no more. Activision have killed it.
It’s not the only news either, Activision has also been forced to lay off a nasty slice of it’s employees as a result, which I suppose is a given considering one of the biggest projects is now dead, but on top of that, cuts are likely in the DJ Hero division, meaning more job losses no doubt, and maybe the loss of another favourite.
Continue reading »HTC Investing $40 Million In OnLive – Cloud-Based Gaming Platform To Go Mobile?
February 10, 2011
We have covered much of the rise of the OnLive cloud gaming platform over the last year or so, and in truth it probably hasn’t taken the world by storm as much as the people behind it would have wanted.
However, it’s hardly unsurprising, it wasn’t likely that the gaming populace of the world would ditch their high-powered consoles over night and take up the offering of an unproven competitor which relies on a high-performance internet connection for all aspects of gameplay.
Continue reading »Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Coming to Three (Four) Major Networks in the UK
February 8, 2011
There has been a sort of muted excitement surrounding the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, otherwise known as the Sony Playstation Android mobile phone. Not so much because we are waiting with bated breath for the next major commercially successful smartphone, more because we’ve been concerned for a slightly new take on what a smartphone should be.
There have been several examples of apparently quality devices not receiving the backing they might deserve from carriers here in the UK, most notably the Palm Pre 2.
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Nintendo 3DS Preview Event Review – Is This Handheld 3D Console A Game-Changer?
February 6, 2011
This weekend has seen a number of preview events for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming console in cities around the UK and I had the opportunity to attend one (thanks to Dom “The Hodge” Hodgson), so I went along to one of the Manchester sessions.
The Nintendo 3DS has been long-anticipated ever since it was first announced and will be the latest in the long line of handheld gaming console updates from the iconic gaming company, some of which include the Game and Watch LCD games, Gameboy(s), DS, DSi, DSi XL – they even had a few of these historic gaming devices on show at the start of the event.
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Little Big Planet 2 Review (PS3)
February 1, 2011
In the wake of the roaring success of Little Big Planet, Media Molecule stated that there was no need for a sequel, only content updates through DLC, due to the extensive toolset offered in game. Nevertheless, last week saw the release of Little Big Planet 2, which we were assured, was in fact worth the effort, and not simply developed at the behest of the money men at Sony HQ.
Having exhaustively fiddled, tweaked and tinkered with MM’s sequel since before Little Big Planet 2 was announced, I can safely say that this is no cash grab (not that such thoughts usually enter the mind when thinking of Media Molecule regardless), rather that under the surface, this is a whole new kettle of tweedy, cuddly fish.
Continue reading »5 Most Wanted Games of 2011 – It’s Going To Be A Great Year Of Gaming!
January 30, 2011
2011 looks to be a massive year for games following on from 2010′s impressive performance. New hardware such as Nintendos 3DS and Sony’s newly announced NGP are already making my mouth water. But what about the games? Well, where to start.
Everybody’s list of their top 5 games for 2011 are going to be different. If they weren’t the world would be a dull place. So I have a look around to see what tickles my fancy for the year ahead. So why not check out my top 5 list below to see which games I’m most looking forward to getting my hands on in 2011.
Continue reading »Sony NGP (aka PSP 2) Announced – Impressive Handheld Console Features!
January 28, 2011
Nobody can say that they were surprised at this announcement. But it’s now official, Sony’s new handheld is coming and will be called NGP (Next Generation Portable).
Many thought that it would be called Sony PSP 2 from previous rumours, but maybe they moved away from the PSP name to distance the NGP from the under performing sales of the PSP. Whatever the reason, it looks bloody fantastic.
There were rumours of the NGP being as powerful as the PS3 which had people scratching their heads as to how it could be. Well it looks like it so far! So what can we expect from the NGP, what games are going to be released and what’s the price going to be?
Continue reading »Robox Review (WiiWare)
January 25, 2011
Robox is a WiiWare action platform game developed by Dreambox Games. Dreambox Games are a new Spanish development company and Robox is its debut game.
The game offers retro style shooting with the best visuals the WiiWare has to offer. The game has a variety of different environments to explore and will take an average gamer a long time to complete this game.
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Goldeneye 007 Review (Wii)
January 23, 2011
Goldeneye 007 on the Nintendo Wii is a reimagining of the Goldeneye movie and the N64 game, which many people considered to be the best shooter game of all time. This version of the game was developed by Eurocom, who originally created the fantastic Dead Space Extraction game for the Wii, and published by Activision.
Being one of the most loved shooter game of all time, Eurocom had a huge job to please all the fans who had played the N64 version, however, at the same time modernize the shooting elements of the game which we all expect in this generation. They have done this by reimaging Goldeneye and rewriting the whole script to today’s Bond, played by Daniel Craig, with less emphasis on gadgets, cheesy lines and more on physical action like Daniels Craig’s Bond movies.
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Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Review (DS)
January 22, 2011
Several years ago I picked up a game called Golden Sun. I played through, collected all of the Djinn, became emotionally involved with the storyline, and giggled with demonic glee after killing the last boss despite watching Felix get away. Shortly after my conquests, I heard news of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. I waited for its arrival and learned the other half of the story as I played as Felix’s crew of Adepts. I actually became so absorbed in the story that I cried at the end (My girliest gamer moment).
Years passed, I occasionally replayed these games while wondering if there was more to the story than what I had been given. Something didn’t seem right in Weyard. My suspicions were proven correct last year when Golden Sun: Dark Dawn was released. I was immediately excited and wary at the same time. Would a third sequel with a nine year time gap really fulfill my childhood expectations of a perfect RPG?
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No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Review (Wii)
January 22, 2011
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is a third person action game developed by Grass Hopper Manufacture and directed by Suda51. You play as an assassin named Travis Touchdown whose goal has always been to be the best assassin. However, Travis is now motivated by revenge.
If you have played the first No More Heroes and Killer 7, you will probably think that the way Suda51 has directed this game is a little strange. However, on some level it makes the game more unique and enjoyable.
Story
No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle picks up three years after the original No More Heroes. Travis Touchdown had simply vanished and left the number one rank behind him. He is now a retired hero.
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World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, New Playable Races & New Starting Zones Review – Where To Begin?
January 21, 2011
The new WoW: Cataclysm content has arrived after the previously released WoW: The Stattering content patch literally changed the world – now with the latest expansion pack, there are two new playable races in the World of Warcraft!
The dilemma that many players are now facing is whether they want to be a vicious Worgen or a cunning Goblin. Here’s a quick overview of the races and their starting areas to help you decide.
Worgen & Goblin Character Creation Screens
Worgen have the most unique character customization screen that I’ve seen. You get to design both a human and a Worgen, a change to one alters the other. The only complaint that I have about the linked changes is that some of the alterations don’t make complete sense.
Continue reading »Final Fantasy versus XIII Trailer Released
January 19, 2011
Looks like Square Enix are releasing them thick and fast now. Following the announcement of Final Fantasy XIII-2, a trailer has been released for the PS3 exclusive (for the time being) Final Fantasy versus XIII.
From what I’ve seen in the trailer, I’m quite looking forward to seeing how different this game will be. As part of the FFXIII umbrella, it’ll be interesting to see what direction they’re going to take and if it will link up with the FFXIII story and come to one climactic game.
Continue reading »Final Fantasy Type-0 With Dual UMD’s Announced
January 19, 2011
It feels like Final Fantasy day today, what with the announcement of Final Fantasy XIII-2 and the new gorgeous looking Final Fantasy versus XIII trailer. So what’s one more. Square Enix has announced that the previously named Final Fantasy Agito XIII will be re-named to Final Fantasy Type-0.
The reason for the name change was apparently because Square Enix say FF Type-0 isn’t like Final Fantasy XIII. Not only that, but this will be the first PSP game to be spread across two UMD’s which makes me think the size of the game is going to be huge.
Continue reading »Final Fantasy XIII-2 Announced With Teaser Trailer
January 19, 2011
Now this was something of a surprise. Square Enix has announced that there will be a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII which is aptly named Final Fantasy XIII-2, the second time that a Final Fantasy game has been given a sequel with the last being Final Fantasy X-2.
SteelSeries World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse – For Online Gamers Everywhere!
January 13, 2011
A full two years ago we brought you the first incarnation of the SteelSeries’ World of Warcraft Mouse which we really enjoyed here on Zath and since then the company have been taking in feedback and doing a bit of R&D to come up with the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse which aims to not only match, but exceed the benchmark left by the first one.
It doesn’t really take a genius to see that they have done a pretty good job: whilst the aesthetics clearly resemble the previous mouse (especially in the amour-like top) they have been improved to offer a slightly more rounded appearance, and the gold colour certainly makes it look that bit more exciting and lively and certainly looks the part as it ties in with the recent World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion pack.
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