Thought I would put a little post down for my personal expectations for E3, what I want to see and what I think is little too far out of reach for us to be seeing. Either way the show promises to be a good one, as long as the keynotes come on better than last year we are all good!

What I want to see:

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2: Though I didn’t start playing the first one until a month ago I am strangely drawn to its sequel, the only downside for me is the roster. The characters we are possibly losing without any gain worries me a little, although Im sure they will have something exciting for us.

Mass Effect 2: What can I say? Its the sequel to Mass Effect! I know there were some serious problems with the first game, little glitches that can easily be fixed, I am more than sure that the folks over at Bioware are fully aware and capable of sorting these things for what promises to be a great game.

Alpha Protocol: From screen shots this game looks a lot like how last years game The Bourne Conspiracy should have played, looks like this will be a great roleplaying game within the spy world.

Borderlands: This game could be good, although it really will need to be handled right. Either way the more information we get will swerve my feelings.

Metal Gear...5? Perhaps an announcement?

Assassins Creed 2: Another that will easily overshadow the first, not much they couldn’t improve and make a little more playable. I loved the first but the second will be a hundred times better, something which I have no doubt about.

Other games Im not sure that will be brought up include Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Trek: Online  and Stargate Worlds, all MMO’s that I am not a hundred percent sold on so not worth mentioning. Something mentioned during the entire show would be a bonus.

Talking of bonus’ lets talk about those games I don’t think we will hear about, either at all or in any great detail but I worth a mention that as always I remain hopeful.

Things we deserve and want to see:

Alan Wake: This long awaited psychological thriller continues to be elusive, hiding in the shadows. Perhaps this year will be the year we finally get a confirmation on release or perhaps a little light shone on the development.

Splinter Cell Conviction: Sam Fishers further adventure has been pushed back and even had its development restarted, will we finally be able to see Sam as a fugitive, or has this series finally reached its peak never to be seen again.

Max Payne 3: Need I say more? The atmospheric experience that twisted around the haunted cops life was a favourite game of mine for a long time, cannot wait for a series revamp. Maybe a timeline or even some gameplay!

A New Zelda: Perhaps something designed solely for the the Wii to take full advantage? Hopefully they bring something that is more like the days of Ocarina of Time, rather than the most recent renditions.

Dead Rising 2: Oh Yes...

So there is a quick round up of the games off the top of my head. What are your predictions/expectations? Any thoughts about what we might see and what we might not? I will devoting a blog to my thoughts on InFAMOUS later in the week. Currently 10 hours in and loving every minute so look for my thoughts later when I get a good portion of the game under my belt!

Has been so long since I not only used this blog but visited this site! So many changes since my last visit it has been a little overwhelming catching up on missed blogs and podcasts and stuff, those people whom I usually check up on and pop in to see this blog I am getting round to catching up and loving what I am seeing so far. Anyone else who stumbles across this be sure to check out DBoys Den and JohnnyAvacado’s video blogs, they can provide some good weekend entertainment!

So what have I been playing? Honestly, not much! I’ve been working like 6 days week to earn some time off over the summer to enjoy the sun, sea and sand. Although I did take this Bank Holiday off to enjoy some games that I have been collecting and have had sitting on the shelf for the past few months.

If you follow me on Twitter you will know I have been really sucked in to Dead Space recently, I picked it up months ago and put a couple of hours down at the beginning but after that never really pushed forward with it. Being bored one day I threw it on and hoped it would fill the gap until I had to leave, but to my surprise I found a great atmospheric, shuddering and evil game. I find myself so drawn in to Isaac Clarke’s universe that playing in the middle of the night unnerves me to a point I stop and put something else on. I haven’t had that feeling since back playing the first Resident Evil when I was a teenager so it’s an enjoyable feeling! Currently working on slowly making my way through chapter 10, it has fast become my go to game to fill some space and destroy some boredom.

I tried to pick up UFC the other day, but to my surprise it was completely sold out everywhere. The guy behind the counter informed me it would be two weeks until they get more stock. Since when do fighting games run out of stock?! Looking around the shop I found a gem, a game I have heard very little about but knew it had only just come out. I knew a couple of people around here were quite hyped so I decided to spend my cash on a whim and pick it up, this game is obviously Infamous. Got it home yesterday and literally struggled to put it down when I had to, everything feels extremely polished and fun, Sucker Punch have even found a way to make the Parkour aspects fun and engaging something I see as a big step up from games like Assassins Creed. The Combat just works, the different powers make for some pretty interesting combat scenarios and I find myself trying things differently with every encounter. I have played through and ‘freed’ most of the neon district, doing side missions before story and I have just been introduced to the characters nemesis so I am interested to see how these things will play out in the long run.

 There appears to be a whole host of mission types that I am unlocking all the time which will make the play through much easier. Currently playing on the good side of Karma choices, but I am certainly enjoying the fact these decisions aren’t made through decision trees or cut scenes but in game and in the middle of the action. You want to destroy that gate, killing all those citizens? Then you charge the power up for it! An interesting take on a very tired and over used concept!

As for the story I love how it plays out, comic cuts with some pretty good cut scenes. I was surprised that this has a feel of the TV show Heroes, not sure though, whether that a good comparison to make or not considering what’s happened to it.

You will have to forgive the lack of proper structure in this blog, I had planned to say so much more but I am tired and my lunch break at work is almost over. More to come soon and I won’t leave this space empty as long as I have been...

Just a small update from me to let you all know I finally caved and ordered myself a PS3 yesterday, thought I have been fighting it for a while now I just felt the games coming up were looking good and the  urge to play through Solid Snakes final mission was getting to strong to resist!

With it I have got myself MGS4, Little Big Planet, Madden 09 and Saints Row 2 as well as an extra controller and a few bits I went out to buy today. Was going to buy myself a headset but preordered SOCOM Confrontation instead which comes packaged with it (Not released in the UK for almost 2 months!). So really I wanted to know what you guys think of the PS3, and what games should I pick up for it?

I have to say I never thought I would like LBP but having played it for a few hours over a friends house I quite enjoyed the charming mechanic and I am really loving User generated content games right now.

Another great factor in getting a PS3 was the fact I still have a few of my classic PS2 games sitting on a shelf that I am hoping to break out soon. (Final Fantasy 7-12, Driver games, All Metal Gear Solid Releases, Gran Turismo 3 - All games I played constantly way back when!) 

So all in all I am quite happy, I think I waited long enough for the games to be a bit better priced and could have waited a little longer for the console to go down in pricve later in the year but hey, I still love my 360 and dont think anything Sony has to offer on the online multiplayer option has anything to come near to the great Xbox Live releases that are around, so my Xbox wont get forgotten!

Ill post a longer blog in the next couple of days. Letting you all know what I am playing.

Stumbled across this story, thought it worthy of sharing..

Video games are poised to "eclipse" all other forms of entertainment, according to games studio boss Mike Griffith.

The Activision chief made the bold call during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

He said video games were prospering as interest in almost every other category of entertainment declines.

Mr Griffith said social gaming, more interactivity and better technology would help gaming dominate the entertainment landscape in future.

He said: "Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors."

40% growth

He quoted US market statistics which showed that between 2003 and 2007 sales of movie tickets fell by 6%; the number of hours of TV watched dropped by 6%, sales of recorded music slumped 12% and purchases of DVDs remained flat.

Over the same four-year period, said Mr Griffith, the video game industry grew by 40%.

"Video games are poised to eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the decade ahead," he said.

The success of Guitar Hero, said Mr Griffith, showed how influential gaming had become on many other entertainment sectors.

He quoted Nielsen SoundScan data which showed that artists whose music featured on Guitar Hero had seen a rise in download sales of 15-843%.

The game had proved so popular that some bands, such as Metallica and Aerosmith, were bringing out a version of the game that only features their music.

"Music has a history of evolving through technology and we are at the beginning of the latest chapter in that story," he said.

Technology, community and interactivity were the three factors that would help the video game industry become the driving force in entertainment, said Mr Griffith.

'Story telling'

The powerful processors in consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox 360 meant that games were getting ever more realistic and immersive, he said.

"Games are no longer pre-set trips through linear mazes," said Mr Griffith. "They are becoming a legitimate story-telling medium that rivals feature films."

He cited the video game of the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace (QoS) as an example of how games were taking over.

"The moviegoer is passive whereas the gamer is active and part of the game itself," he said, adding that anyone who played QoS would spend more than 50 hours in the company of James Bond compared to only 106 minutes if they watched the movie.

The communities growing up around titles such as Guitar Hero World Tour also showed how entertainment was changing, he said.

Owners of the game had created 141,000 tracks of their own using its in-built mixing studio and uploaded them to the Guitar Hero community site, which now has more than 600,000 members, he said.

More interactive controllers such as the guitars and drums in Guitar Hero and the Wiimote on Nintendo's gaming console were also helping encourage more people to take up gaming, said Mr Griffiths.

"Those new controllers are encouraging new ways to become more socially active in gaming," he said. "They are bringing in a whole new group of consumers that have never before been involved in gaming."

He concluded: "The one thing that is for sure is entertainment is changed forever with gaming."
 

Because my game of the year post was all about my top game, I thought I would dedicate a blog to those that came close and sucked a whole lot of my time on the 360 up.

Battlefield: Bad Company completely took me by suprise, when I picked it up it seemed like another Cally Of Duty clone, I picked it up because I wanted a good military shooter and the explosions and the enviroment destruction looked like a nice addition to the genre. Much to my suprise I was sucked in to the story of 4 rag tag soldiers who are thrown together in a fight for money, rather than glory with often hilarious consequences. Although the mechanics seemed stiff after coming from Call of Duty 4 the explosions and pure comedy value definately made a game that stands out from the usual First Person Shooter.

Burnout Paradise was a game I took my time in picking up, I have quite a few racing games in my collection (Forza 2 and Grid etc..). And to be honest really wasnt in the mood for another track racer, alas I got it for my birthday and havent really looked back since! Definately the best racing game on the 360 and a great step for the Burnout Series. Along with all the additional content I am sure I will be revisiting Paradise City in the near future!

Fallout 3 is obviously a recent purchase, I delved in and gave it 50 hours doing as much of the side quests as possible and completed the main quest. Excellent game, just excellent. But now I feel as if I am done with it for a while, maybe I will revisit it at some point who knows..

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts was an impulse buy because I loved the first two games.  Although it took me a couple of weeks to really appreciate what this game is I ended up really enjoying every minute of it. The vibrant colours and slick gameplay along with the User generated content aspect was all in unison to create a fun experience that is worth revisiting to see how differently you could finish tasks!

Guitar Hero World Tour was something I fought over with myself for weeks before it came out, being quite a big purchase I wasnt sure if I would get my moneys worth, luckily the set list is something I really enjoy and drumming was a completely new experience so, this is a game I visit when I need to chill out and listen to something while playing. I know people had problems, but I could never get in to Rock Band so this game seemed like my logical choice.

Lost Odyssey is something that must have sucked up weekends of my time, a very enjoyable RPG with a great in depth, touching story with a new idea on story telling that makes everything a little more touching and deeper. Mini stories along your quest which sometimes have deeper meaning, and some are there for a bit of comic relief.

Finally GTA 4 is an obvious one, After completing the main story I was left feeling as if there was something missing. The game in general didnt feel like a Grant Theft Auto, it was serious with its morale choices and Niko is a character that had depth and really worked in the role. All good things I know, but it just isnt how GTA of old was. I remember flooding weeks of my time in to San Andreas to get all the stupid extras, the car collections and side missions were all good fun and made the experience complete. I never felt the want, or need to do that with 4.

 This game took itself a little to seriously for a GTA, by any other name this game would have been awesome. I guess its just me and my expectations going in to the game that made me come out disappointed, although I did love the game and it was awesome and the graphics were immense.. So I guess I love it and I loathe it at the same time.

Just so you know, I like to play games when I get them and give them a decent try before going on the the next. These are the games I am still waiting to play that sit on my shelf all wrapped up Gears of War 2, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Left 4 Dead, Bully: Scholarship Edition, Saints Row and Saints Row 2. (I picked them both up on sale, excellent deal as I hear they are very similiar to San Andreas!)

Hope you all had a great Christmas and Have an excellent New Years!