Ubisoft - a line up to die for!!!

Well it looks like Ubisoft are going to be busier than Tiger woods in a brothel. They have announced a few titles that are coming and one or two might come as a surprise.

Firstly is Assassins Creed 3, no shocker there... but what is interesting is that it is said to have a multi player aspect to the game, sweet! It has been speculated that the game may be set during World War 2 and have us playing a female character... but perhaps the release of Saboteur will change this concept... or not. Either way it is sure to build on the past games success and produce a fresh experience, so looking forward to that!

There is to be a new Ghost Recon game... Ghost Recon 3 perhaps? The first two are of top quality and a new installment can only mean an improvement on perfection. Raving Rabbits 4 and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands are also on the cards but I think the most impressive announcement is that there is to be a new Driver game! Those who remember Driver one and two will have fond memories, it was the grand daddy to gta in many ways but with its later releases it became a terrible franchise, here's hoping that it can resurrect itself like a phoenix from the ashes.
Of course we also have Splinter Cell: Conviction to look forward to on February 23rd which is said to be a solid game and a good co-op/multi player experience.

So good work Ubisoft, keep it up, your making allot of people happy!! All in all a good gaming year to come... so far!

Halo: Reach - New Details

February's edition of US based Game Informer magazine has exclusive details on next Halo installment, Halo: Reach. According to an article, motion capture is being used for the first time in the series. Image Metrics - the company responsible for the highly impressive Emily demo - is in charge of facial animation. You may regcognise their technology from relatively recent games such as Gears of War 2, GTA IV & Assassin's Creed II.

Other notable features of Halo: Reach mentioned in the article include; state changes from walking to running to sprinting should also now look believable, as should pivoting on the ground; a new weather system, and Bungie has made the sky into a real object that ships can descend out of and onto the planet from.

Whereas Halo 3 could handle three or four dynamic light sources on-screen at one time, Halo: Reach can handle 20 to 40. And there are double the amount of enemies on-screen in Halo: Reach, not to mention a greater visual quality both at range and up close.

With regard to changes in gameplay, Bungie has brought mechanics in-line with Halo 1, as Reach is a prequel to it. Health bars again appear when shields are drained, and soldiers must find health packs to keep themselves standing. And flame grenades and spike grenades have been removed. They are also introducing stealth kills to Halo: Reach, which are context sensitive and performed by holding down a button when reaching an enemy undetected.

Halo 3's equipment power-ups been scrapped and swapped with new armour abilities, and these can be altered for the task at hand. The player swapped from a sprint ability to an active camouflage ability in the preview.

Here are some of the major points in easily digestable point form:
 
- Reach will NOT follow the book, Fall of Reach.

- Halo: Reach follows Noble Team, a six-man group of Spartans - mostly Spartan IIIs. Jorge is the only Spartan II on the team, and as a result is larger (heavy weapons specialist).

- You'll be Noble 6, a fiery yet commended soldier recruited when one of Noble Team falls.

- You can customise the appearance of the Lone Wolf by a small degree.

- The game is apparently darker than any of the other Halo games, even more so than ODST.

- A new enemy type, the Skirmishers - cousins of the Jackals - are to be introduced. They'll quickly form groups and attempt to out-manoeuvre you.

- Civillian vehicles are now drivable.

Below are some poorly taken snaps of the magazine article sourced from the net. Hopefully someone will actually use a scanner and upload some decent pics soon.

Well, we'll have to see if it lives up to the hype (already it's been touted as the game of 2010). For me, it'll have to do a better job than ODST, which I found a little disappointing. It was all a bit too repetitive, but apparently I didn't get to the best bits yet. Yes, I know I'm slow. ;)

Anway, if you're in The States you should pick up the Game Informer magazine for the full low-down, otherwise you'll have to make do with the limited news on their Halo: Reach Hub.

Dante' s Inferno - Fraud - The 8th Circle.

It seems that the 8th circle of hell is Fraud, I know a few people who have skipped the other circle's and gone straight to this... Bankers for one, even many in the games industry, including EA themselves... Trying to make out that this is a great game! Id love to get excited about this but since playing the demo I just don't have it in me... never the less here is the latest Dev Diary - Fraud.

Dragon Age - 'Awakening' add on trailer.

Did you like Dragon Age? Blood, monsters, sex and lots of chit chat? Good, cos theres more coming in the form of the new expansion 'Awakening' due the 16th of March (2010). Sharpen the blades and fill my beer cup wench, there are villages that need drunken pillaging!!

XBox 360 Game Room Trailer

Well, here it is, a peak at Microsoft's 'Game Room' and a new way to milk money out of every tit out there willing to pay up. I like the idea of all this I just don't like being charged for it and I'm sure there are many others who would agree...