Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Genre: Stealth / Action Adventure
Platform(s): PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360
Release Date: November 17, 2009
Compatability (PS3): 2GB Mininum Space | DUALSHOCK 3 Vibration Function | HD 720p / 1080i / 1080p
Compatability (Xbox 360): 4MB Mininum Space | HDTV 720p / 1080i / 1080p
Rating: 9.5
Developer: EA Digital Illusions CE
Genre: First Person Shooter
Platform(s): PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Official Website: http://badcompany2.ea.com/
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was announced at the EA press conference at Gamescom. This game will be the sequel of the previous Battlefield: Bad Company and it will be available for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. As regards to gameplay, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be similar to the original title and this will mainly take place in Russia. Some of the locations in this game will be in jungles, deserts and also mountains. These count for both the single player campaign and the multiplayer mode.
In the original Battlefield: Bad Company, players had the ability to destruct environments. This shall be improved in the new game because now not only walls can be destroyed but even a whole building. In the multiplayer mode there will be four classes to choose from, one less than Bad Company. These are Assault, Recon, Engineer and Medic. The Specialist class was removed and split between the Recon and Engineer weapon kits. Experience points will be acquired online for every killed opponent and completed objective. These are used to level up a number of ranks.
The beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is currently available for PlayStation 3, which started on November 19 of last year. Arica Harbor is the only map available in Rush mode of this beta version. There are various ways to get access to the beta version. Expectations of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 are pretty high because some think that this could be even better than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. As to some differences with MW2, developer DICE announced that Bad Company 2 will have dedicated server support and also party chat enabled for every mode online, unlike MW2. The wait shall be over on March the 2nd, 2010.
| Expectations are High |  |
The winner of the PS3-Xbox-Reviews Game of the Year 2009 award is …
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Genre: Action Adventure
Platform(s): PlayStation 3
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Official Website: http://www.unchartedps3.com/
The action/adventure game wins this annual award after lots and lots of expectations which after all were met fantastically. Nathan Drake returns for his second adventure in the series with another action-packed and thrilling game developed by Naughty Dog. The story stands out perfectly and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves could be the next step in gaming. You are actually ‘playing a movie’. And once you’ve completed the single player campaign there is the all new multiplayer mode which is unexpectedly really awesome. For the full review, please visit this link. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has the whole package and it really deserves the Game of the Year 2009 award.
Other nominees for the Game of the Year 2009:
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Killzone 2
Posted in General
The end of the year is with us and PS3-Xbox-Reviews will announce the Game of the Year 2009 on the 31st of December. The year 2009 had its ups and downs in the world of gaming but all in all a good amount of quality games were released on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The nominated games for this year’s PS3-Xbox-Reviews Game of the Year are (in alphabetical order):
 Batman: Arkham Asylum |
 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 |
| Developer: Rocksteady Studios Genre: Action Adventure Platform(s): PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 Release Date: August 25, 2009 |
Developer: Infinity Ward Genre: First Person Shooter Platform(s): PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 Release Date: November 10, 2009 |
 Killzone 2 |
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves |
| Developer: Guerrilla Games Genre: Sci-Fi First Person Shooter Platform(s): PlayStation 3 Release Date: February 27, 2009 |
Developer: Naughty Dog Genre: Action Adventure Platform(s): PlayStation 3 Release Date: October 13, 2009 |
The winner shall be announced on the 31st of December, 2009.
Posted in General
Developer: Realtime Worlds
Genre: Sci-Fi Shooter
Platform(s): Xbox 360
Release Date: February 20, 2007
Compatability (Xbox 360): 140KB Mininum Space | HDTV 480p / 720p / 1080i | System Link 2 | Co-Op 2
Rating: 8.0
Developer: Infinity Ward
Genre: First Person Shooter
Platform(s): PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360
Release Date: November 10, 2009
Compatability (PS3): 50MB Mininum Space | DUALSHOCK 3 Vibration Function | HD 720p / 1080i / 1080p | Network Players 2-18
Compatability (Xbox 360): 4MB Mininum Space | HDTV 720p / 1080i / 1080p | Online Multiplayer 2-18
Rating: 9.8
Developer: Pandemic Studios
Genre: Action Adventure
Platform(s): PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360
Release Date: December 8, 2009
Official Website: http://www.pandemicstudios.com/thesaboteur/
The Saboteur will take place in Paris during the time when it was occupied with the Nazis. The main protagonist of this game is Sean Devlin, an Irish man who is a regular among the racing groups in Paris. Although initially he ignores the presence of the German Army in Paris, Sean swears revenge on the Nazis after his close friends are all killed. During his quest to gain vengeance, Sean Devlin is supported by French Resistance and British Intelligence.
One of the main factors about The Saboteur’s gameplay will be color. When entering areas which are highly occupied by the German forces, you will note that the area is dark and that the visuals have greyish shades. The only exceptions in these areas are the symbols of the swastika on German flags which will be bright red. This type of area is considered to be “low WtF factor”. WtF stands for “Will to Fight” and the player’s main aim will be to increase this factor in a number of areas. Once you complete a number of objectives and weaken the German forces, the area takes back its color and citizens will regain their hope.
The Wtf factor will also affect the gameplay so if the area has low WtF, a large number of German soldiers will be found patrolling the area. In areas with high Wtf factor, the German soldiers will be found in strategically important areas only such as police stations and military bases. Help will also be available when for example Sean gets in a fight with German soldiers and in this case allies in the French Resistance and sometimes even French passersby will act for your support. Mainly the game’s objective is to assassinate high-ranking German officials and gain revenge. Release date of The Saboteur is set to the 8th of December, 2009. Even though expectations are low on this game, the following trailer in high definition confirms this will be an interesting game to look at.
| Expectations are Low |  |
Have you ever played a game and when you complete it, you just go back to the main menu and select new game once again? Well, this happened to me after I completed Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. And it already happened twice.
Once I completed the game for the first time on normal difficulty, I felt that the game had much more entertainment to offer. By saying this I’m still not including the multiplayer mode. The first run is generally completed for the story and to see how it ends (and this game is one of the few that has a great story). You rarely go after every treasure and medal when playing Uncharted 2 for the first time. There is a big amount of medals to get in the game, which may vary from collecting a couple of treasures to killing a specified number of enemies with different styles and guns. Some of these medals give you a trophy when acquired, and of course getting all trophies means that you will obtain the platinum trophy for Uncharted 2.
Some of these trophies are very challenging to obtain. These include killing 75 enemies in a row without dying, collecting 100 treasures including the strange relic, and completing the game in Crushing mode. Maybe the latter difficulty mode is a bit frustrating at times, but completing certain challenging parts gives you a sense of satisfaction. And when you get the platinum trophy, there is the multiplayer mode waiting for you.
Before the release of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, a free Beta version of the multiplayer mode was available for download. And guess what, when the game was released this Beta version got expired. So I became more anxious in getting the full title. The multiplayer mode has various game types to suit everyone’s needs. Some of these are the deathmatch mode, capture the treasure, elimination (no respawn) and you can also team up with two more players to play against the computer AI to complete a set of objectives and missions. Doing all of these things online will make you better and a leveling system is also included. You will level up accordingly depending on how you do in the multiplayer modes. Money is also acquired which is used to buy items from the store. The more you level up the more items become available for purchasing.
It’s a pity that Uncharted 2 is not available on other consoles because this is a must play for gamers from all generations. If you have a PlayStation 3, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves must be in your collection and you will spend loads of hours playing it. For the review (rated 9.8), you can check it here. It is an almost perfect game. One of the best around. In my opinion this is a big contender for the Game of the Year. Simply amazing.
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Genre: Stealth / Action Adventure
Platform(s): Xbox 360
Release Date: February 23, 2010
Official Website: http://splintercell.us.ubi.com/
Sam Fisher is back in the fifth game from the Splinter Cell series. Splinter Cell: Conviction is the sequel to Splinter Cell: Double Agent, which was also developed by Ubisoft Montreal. Originally Conviction was set to be released on November 16, 2007, almost two years ago. A couple of lengthy delays took place because of various reasons, even though Ubisoft never confirmed anything. Some say that the game was re-designed because it was too similar to another of Ubisoft’s titles, Assassin’s Creed. This entailed blending with a crowd.
More than two years ago, precisely on May 23, 2007, Ubisoft released the first trailer for Splinter Cell: Conviction. This included the protagonist, Sam Fisher, interacting with various objects like chairs and tables to disable enemies. This first trailer took place in Washington D.C. The game was put on hold a year later and announced for release in the first quarter of 2010.
According to a Ubisoft community development manager, the gameplay of Conviction has really evolved and visuals are a big improvement on the previous installment. On May 13, 2009, Ubisoft launched the official website for the game and two days later, the first of three teaser trailers were also uploaded on the game’s website. In this teaser it seems that the game is going to take place and/or involve the small island of Malta found in the Mediterranean. The second and third teasers released in the second part of May show satellite imagery of Washington D.C. and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Just like Gran Turismo 5, Splinter Cell: Conviction has high expectations because of a lot of delays in its release.
| Expectations are High | |
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Genre: Racing
Platform(s): PlayStation 3
Release Date: March, 2010
Official Website: http://www.gran-turismo.com/
The fifth installment of the Gran Turismo series is scheduled for release in March 2010 and it will be an exclusive title for the PlayStation 3. Gran Turismo 5 will be an expansion of Gran Turismo: Prologue released in December 2007. This latest game will have a number of improvements on its predecessors. For the first time an online mode will be available, playing with up to 16 players simultaneously. Series producer and designer Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed that cars will have both mechanical and external damage, which is much more realistic than in previous games.
Different weather conditions which affect races are still to be confirmed if these will make part of the final release of Gran Turismo 5. Again for the first time WRC (World Rally Championship) and NASCAR will feature in GT5. The game will cost $60 million, 50 times more than the original Gran Turismo released for the PlayStation in 1997. Polyphony Digital has been working on this title for the past three years.
Apart from using the racing wheel, players will now have the ability to move their heads around the cars’ 3D cockpit by using the PlayStation Eye. Gran Turismo 5 will also be compatible with the PSP (PlayStation Portable) by actually exporting cars (which will feature more than 1000) from one version to another. After a couple of delays regarding the game’s release, Sony announced that Gran Turismo 5 shall be released in March 2010 in Japan and another date will be announced for the European and American release. The following is a debut trailer of the game shown at E3 2009. Expectations for Gran Turismo 5 are very high.
| Expectations are Very High |  |
