The much awaited Quantic Dream release, Heavy Rain, has finally hit the shelves. Written and directed by the company’s founder and CEO, David Cage, this game received much publicity and hype before its release, due to the realistic graphics and multiple playable protagonist angle, but does it live up to all the talk?

The game commences with playable character, Ethan Mars, awakening to a picture perfect day in his ideal suburban home. Straight away the graphics have an immense impact. As Ethan walks around the house; showering, dressing and generally investigating, it all looks very real. It actually feels like you are somehow playing a movie. From the running water in the bathroom basin to the dust particles and dandelion flowers flying through the air, the game looks good, there is no denying that. This aspect of Heavy Rain continues for its entirety, with the copious amounts of rain and various settings. …read more

Death Knight is the latest offering from Tokyopop and Warld of Warcrafts collabaration. I details the story of Thassarian, whom Alliance players in World of Warcraft, will be very familiar with, and for the Horde players out there, Koltira, your Thassarian is also present in the manga.

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2K Games have just announced the first of their post-launch downloadable content for the hugely popular BioShock 2. March will see the the release of the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, the first of several planned downloadable packages, which will include “a number of customization features that will allow players to further their character’s development in BioShock 2’s multiplayer modes and provide a deeper multiplayer experience”. Sure to be music to the ears of those BioShock fans out there.

Sinclair Solutions Test Pack includes a rank increase to level 50 with Rank Rewards, new playable characters and a third weapon upgrade for each weapon.

The Hurt Locker sees an American Army’s elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad in some very intense situations. Staff Sergeant William James takes over the team and he’s not what the other members are used to. His cavalier attitude has them fearing that, in the last few weeks of their tour, he will kill not only himself but them too. At times, it’s hard to tell if he’s incredibly brave or just a bit mad and this seems to be the issue his team has too.

While it’s obviously and American film about American soldiers during the beginning of the current Golf War, to its credit, The Hurt Locker doesn’t take sides. It doesn’t follow a clear narrative either. Sure, there’s a new guy in town and you have the feeling that it’s not going to end well, he clearly has issues and these have to be addressed, but the film is essentially a series of highly intense situations, most of which involve the handling of home made bombs or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). There also isn’t a great deal of character development but there are moments throughout the film where certain characters are shown in a very vulnerable light. This definitely helps the audience make a connection with them and offers a shift in mood from the edge-if-your-seat stuff of bomb disarmament. …read more

So, finally a bit more news on the upcoming Lionhead Studios’ Fable III. To get the information straight from the horse’s mouth, check out the first Fable III development diary.

The game has you playing as the child of your character from Fable II and the ruler of Albion, and while Fable III will have much the same gameplay as its predecessor, there does seem to be a few key differences. No health bar will be present on screen, which could be interesting. Your character will be able to indulge in more contact with other characters in the game: reaching out and touching your partner will be possible. And weapons will also morph depending on how you play the game, much the same way as your character will depending on the levels of good and evil. …read more

Little is known about La Noire - Rockstars gritty detective tale. But this months Gameinformer magazine will be taking an in-depth look at the game that is based in Los Angeles.

February’s Gameinformer will go on sale at Newsagents and EB Games stores on February 17th.

The first issue of Gameinformer was a bit hit and miss for me, the second though, really picked up the pace and really captured my interest so I’m really excited to see what issue three comes out with!

2010 looks like it is going to be a good year for fans of post apocalyptic first person shooters. With games like Metro 2033 and the newly announced Fallout New Vegas, gamers should have some hopefully high quality titles in their hands this year.

Details of Fallout New Vegas are still rather slim, but THQ have just released a new trailer and new screen shots for Metro 2033. I was lucky enough to get a brief look at Metro 2033 earlier this year and the game was dripping in a depressingly bleak atmosphere that anyone that like the Fallout universe should love.

Here are the screenshots: …read more

LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 is the latest movie franchise to be converted into LEGO video game fun. Like it’s predecessors (Indiana Jones, Star Wars etc) it promises to provide entertainment and amusement for the whole family. As the name would suggest, LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4, focuses on the first four Harry Potter books and films: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. …read more

Bioshock in many ways redefined how people looked at the FPS as a genre when it was released back in 2007. The way the story was implemented into the game, how the game constantly showed you the progression of the story through the characters eyes. Bioshock was a genre defining game and as soon as the announcement of a sequel hit the internet, the buzz and at times the concern was voiced by gamers. …read more

I love Fallout. Anything to do with Fallout, I love it.

Now that this is out of the way Bethesda have sent out a press release in the early of the AM, announcing the release of the first teaser trailer for the next installment of the Fallout series, Fallout New Vegas.

As stated in the press release: …read more