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Just Cause 2 Release Goes Head to Head with Final Fantasy XIII & God of War 3 This March

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:24:34 +0000

The original Just Cause was an overlooked but pretty decent game, and with a March release date announced for the sequel, pitting it against the sure to be blockbuster releases of Final Fantasy XIII and God of War 3, I’m going to cross my fingers and hope that history doesn’t repeat itself.

Just Cause 2 will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. It hits store shelves in the US on March 23rd and will be available in Europe on the 26th. If you haven’t seen much of the game yet, check out the developer demo video we posted a few weeks ago.

London MCM Expo next weekend, attempting cosplay world record

Sam Naylor — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:34:27 +0000

The London MCM Expo is growing in size every year, and so its previously poor gaming section is finally becoming at least worth a look. It has a decent line-up this year, including Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Tekken 6, and a lot more: Ubisoft, Capcom, Koei, Rising Star, Ankama, Eidos, and Atari are all supporting the show. I’ll be attending the show, so even if you can’t make it, my impressions will help you to imagine as if you were.

The expo is trying to get a gaming cosplay world record- that’s people in fancy dress as characters from games (they have to be proper games characters, not ones that went from movie to game, etc). If you can make it, see if you can dress up and add to the record. More info is on the expo’s site. That’s May 23-24, London’s ExCel centre.

In related news, a proper gaming event is going to happen soon afterwards. GameOn! is essentially a huge Lan party and gaming event on 20-21 June, £8 a ticket. There are loads of exhibitors going, and it seems like it should be a decent event for gamers. See you there!

The Eurogamer Expo 2008

Sam Naylor — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:25:21 +0000

Prince of Persia Art at the Euogamer Expo

The London Games Festival 2008 is drawing to a close, and the last of the events will be happening soon. Undoubtedly the highlight of the Festival was the Eurogamer Expo, held on Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th in a large brewery building near central London. Ripten was of course present at the event; and it was certainly worth going. The UK has not exactly been renowned for its quality of gaming events, but Eurogamer put on a great show for us this year, with plenty of big-name games ready to play. Hit the jump for the full list of games, as well as Ripten’s account of the show.

The games we saw at the show:

*Street Fighter 4
*Resident Evil 5
*Call of Duty: World at War
*LittleBigPlanet
*Mirror’s Edge
*Killzone 2
*Left 4 Dead
*Prince of Persia
*Tomb Raider: Underworld
*Far Cry 2
*Fallout 3
*Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
*Resistance 2
*Gears of War 2
*Bionic Commando
*Street Fighter 2: HD Remix
*Socom: Conforntation
*Red Faction: Guerilla
*Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
*Mushroom Men
*Tom Clancy’s Endwar
*Shaun White Snowboarding
*Many more

As you can see, it was an extensive lineup. The show itself was busy, although not as much as you might expect; it’s a shame this wasn’t advertised that well, as it really was the highlight of the London Games Festival. Playing the games at the show was, surprisingly, a fun experience. Most of the games, especially the ones set up on PS3s, were displayed on huge 40″ HDTVs, some even with large sound systems, and almost all had seats (for a most comfy experience).

Killzone 2 at the Eurogamer Expo

Outside the venue, the event had been decorated with a plethora of videogame memorabilia- a Gears of War tank, a Motorstorm truck, and a graffiti mural to Prince of Persia. The show was mostly focused upon XBox 360 and PS3 games; there were Wiis, DSs, and PCs, but most of them were deserted a lot of the time, usually due to the fact that the games being displayed were already released. The busiest sections were on the Street Fighter 4 arcade machines and the Gears 2 stand- unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to play on those games.

You got Resident Evil 5 in my Eurogamer Expo!

It was a fantastic surprise to see some of the games at the show- not only were they great games, but they weren’t even on the lineup released before the show. We had no idea a playable build of Killzone 2 would be there, and likewise with Resident Evil 5 and Gears of War 2. You’ll be glad to hear that we’ll be featuring some previews of a few of the biggest games we saw. Spoiler alert: they are really good games.

The London Expo 08: Games, Queues and Stormtroopers

Sam Naylor — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:45:09 +0000

The MCM London Expo has grown incredibly in size since its first iteration, and this year was no exception. I attended the Expo last year, and it was the biggest exposition I had ever been to, and this year it was at least three times as big. ‘MCM’ stands for ‘Movies, Comics, Media’, but don’t tell the legions of people who go every year– over half of the people that attend, including sellers, are only interested in anime and manga. Nevertheless, since this year was so huge, there were a number of videogame stalls, some of which I managed to barge my way over to and have a go.

I’ll stick to tradition and start my story with the beginning of the day. During the train ride into central London, since I seemed to be the only one who knew the way to the Excel Centre, I managed to gather a troupe of what I can only describe as weirdos. You’ll never know public shame until you’ve had someone with pink hair, someone with a full ball gown, and about 20 others follow you into a tube train.

At the Excel Centre, we were greeted by what could be the longest queue I’ve ever seen. Here’s an idea of how big the Excel Centre is:

Well, the queue was the length of the hall, and at one point was doubled back on itself.

About an hour later, we were in. Obviusly, I went straight for the games. First thing I played was Prince of Persia. Despite the unskippable cut-scenes, I held on to my sanity long enough to play a little. The animations of the Prince are great, and the stylised graphics are pretty, but the game is sluggish; it feels like the Prince is a dead weight. He can run across walls and jump about like in the other games, but the controls aren’t as natural as you might think.

From these early impressions, I’d say it won’t be able to compete with PoP:Sands of Time in terms of playability. The section I played was pretty repetitive, too. Perhaps it’ll improve later in the game, but for now I’m passing on Prince of Persia.

Next, I headed straight for the Dead Space booth. As you can see, it was set up like a futuristic container, just like something from the game. On the inside, there were two rooms– in the first, there were a couple of trailers, nothing special (besides the severed foot hanging from the ceiling). When they had finished, Issac himself burst through the door to the other room and beckons for you to go through and play the game. As you might be able to tell, this was awesome. I played the game for a bit, but I’ll direct you to Roly’s review for impressions.

Capcom had a Street Fighter IV arcade with about five machines set up, and as you might be able to tell, it was intensely crowded all day. Regrettably, I wasn’t able to play it, and likewise for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (although from the latter I did get a free T-Shirt). I did however play the incredible Monster Racers DS. I held down ‘right’ on the D-pad for 30 seconds and won. Now that’s what I call gaming.

Before I move on, a word of advice: don’t piss off a bunch of Stormtroopers.

After the shenanigans with the games, I moved on to witness a Guinness World Record: the most people dressed as videogame characters in one place:

The usual Marios and Dantes were of course present, but there were some really awesome characters, too:

Finally, I met with two people I have grown to admire: Jim Sterling and our very own John “Wardrox” Kershaw. A good time was had by all. The London Expo may pale in comparison to the likes of PAX and even the now-defunct E for All, but it is almost all we have over here in the UK. Thankfully the London Games Festival seems to be promoting bigger and better events; those of us in the UK can look forward to decent shows in the future. If you’re attending any gaming events in the future, UK or US, why not start a thread in the forums? Hey, you might even get to meet one of us!

SEGA Announce Summer of Sonic: World’s First Sonic Convention

John Kershaw — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:19:12 +0000

The first ever Sonic convention is to be held this summer in London, UK. The event will combine the efforts of the two largest Sonic fan sites; The Sonic Stadium and Sonic Wrecks, with support from Sega Europe.

Taking place on Saturday the 9th of August, Sega have said that the event will have “competitions for big prizes, interactions, special guests” as well as a chance to play the upcoming Sonic Chronicles a good two months before it’s released.

Summer of whaaaa? Yes, SEGA has teamed up to give some backing to a fan venture for the first full on Sonic Convention which will be taking place in London on Saturday August 9th. It’s a creation of the Sonic online fan base and its arguably two most involved websites The Sonic Stadium and Sonic Wrecks – whilst we’re still confirming details, the event is scheduled to have competitions for big prizes, interactions, special guests (tbc) and the chance to look at how Sonic as a brand has diversified over the years and the output of both fans and the company behind the gaming icon. There’ll also be some surprises in store, Sonic in attendance and the chance to get a play on Sonic Chronicles a good couple of months before it comes out. Anybody intending to come will need to register their interest on the website. Find out more details at http://www.summerofsonic.com.

If you fancy spending a day running round with blue face paint on (if they don’t have blue face paint, I’m going to cry), make sure to get yourself registered with the Summer of Sonic website and we’ll see you there.

Meet MGS4 Creator Kojima in London

Patrick Steen — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:27:27 +0000

Hideo’s coming to good ole’ Blighty! Naturally not for a holiday, but to please all the Snake fans. On Monday 2nd June, Metal gear fanatics will be able to meet Hideo Kojima and series’ artist Yoji Shinkawa at HMV’s Oxford Street store in London’s West End.

Hideo and Yoji will be in the store from 12 noon to meet fans and sign HMV’s exclusive MGS4 pre-release sleeves. Sadly this will be an exclusive affair. Only those who have bought one of only 300 sleeves (via an MGS4 preorder) will get the chance to meet Snake’s creator. If you want to try your luck, the sleeves will be available from 9am on the day.

London won’t be Kojima’s only stop. On June 11th, he’ll be signing copies of MGS4 at the Times Square Virgin Megastore in New York.

In other MGS4 news, PSW magazine is reporting that some (yes, plural) of the cutscene’s will reach 90 minutes in length. That’s a collection of full length feature films tucked into your Metal Gear. Thankfully they can be paused, skipped and even interacted with.

Worried if it’s all style and no substance? Never fear, journalists who have played through the game have reported it to be 30 hours in length, with two thirds consisiting of pure gameplay. New screenshots can be found in our gallery.

*Update* - Sid Shuman of Gamepro is reporting that the “90 minute cutscene” comments from PSW are greatly exaggerated:

Like the other MGS games, MGS4 definitely has a cinematic quality. And yes, some of the cut-scenes in the game are elaborate and occasionally lengthy. But not a one, to my recollection, even approaches 90 minutes.

6th May Big Playstation Day: Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Mirror’s Edge and More

Patrick Steen — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:10:42 +0000

Playstation Day. Tomorrow. London. Be there or be round. Sadly we weren’t invited, but much of the top tier European press will be getting a lucky look at Playstation’s exclusive 2008 titles. Resistance 2 is confirmed, and the slight promise of a new Killzone 2 demo should make tomorrow a day to remember.

The potential was always there for a storm, with Sony’s new worldwide president Kaz Hirai flying into the capital to give a keynote speech. Appearances of Playstation Home, Play TV and even LittleBigPlanet are expected, but further surprises might be waiting.

Insomniac have confirmed the first playable demo of Resistance 2, but only excited press previews and screenshots will exit closed doors. The first gameplay footage will have to wait until June 13th. However, everything appears to be set for Resistance 2 to impress tomorrow, as expressed by Insomniac’s James Stevenson on Neogaf:

We are off to dinner, but rehearsals went well, Resistance 2 is up and running on its three kiosks and we had a nice game going with the boys in Burbank.

It’s Insomniac’s podcast host who also lifts the curtains on a possible Killzone 2 showing. In response to a pessimistic neogaffer who said Killzone 2 won’t make an appearance tomorrow, James Stevenson simply says:

Wrong.

Consider us intrigued. So what do we get out of all this? Well, tomorrow will see an early European Playstation Store update, with a HAZE demo at top billing. That’s not all. Two more demo’s, The Bourne Conspiracy and Race Driver: GRid, will take their place on the store this Thursday, along with footage from tomorrow’s event. Interest rising…

*Update* - Here’s the list of content to be shown at Sony’s Playstation day held in London’s O2 venue (the failed Millennium Dome to you and me):

Music:
* Guitar Hero 3
* SingStar PS3 Vol. 2
* SingStar Summer Party
* Dancing Stage Supernova 2
* Movement

Film and Art:
* Blu-ray / BD Live – Sphe
* Lego Batman
* Wall-E
* Kung Fu Panda
* Ghostbusters
* Siren: Blood Curse
* Photo Application
* Movement
* Sponsorships – FWIC Video

Travel:
* Go! Explore
* PlayTV – PSP
* Buzz!: The Master Quiz
* Everybody’s Golf 2
* Secret Agent Clank
* Echochrome
* Crisis Core
* Space Invaders Extreme

Sports:
* MotorStorm Pacific Rift
* Everybody’s Golf: World Tour
* GT5 Prologue
* Euro 2008
* Beijing Olympics
* High Velocity Bowling
* WipEout HD

Friends and Family:
* Buzz!: Quiz TV
* Buzz!: Master Quiz
* EyeToy: Pom Pom Party
* EyeToy: Heroes
* PlayTV
* Echochrome
* Go! Messenger / Skype
* Buzz! Junior Jungle Party
* Elefunk
* PixelJunk Eden
* PlayStation Network
* Folding@Home

Creation:
* LittleBigPlanet
* My SingStar Online
* PlayStation Eye

Intense Action:
* Killzone 2
* Mirror’s Edge
* Super Stardust HD Team

Clan:
* Resistance 2
* SOCOM Confrontation
* Haze
* Warhawk Operation: Broken Mirror
* PlayStation Home

Source: Eurogamer

More Hints At Orange Box PS3 Patch

Kev Lochun — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:42:28 +0000

Yep, Valve has finally broken its silence over the reportedly glitch-ridden Orange Box port to the Playstation 3, which has seen some of the most serene gamers embed their pad in the nearest wall in frustration.

In response to a barrage of vitriol from one less than happy chap on the Steam forums, a Valve rep had this to say:

I am sorry that you are unsatisfied with your game. I hope that we will be able to correct any major issues in the future.

A prelude to Valve forcing EA London – who were responsible for developing the PS3 port – to pull their finger out and release a patch perhaps? It looks more likely when, in another thread over on Steam about The Orange Box’s poor audio, a second Valve rep weighs in with:

We’re working on getting the optical cable support into an update. I’ll post when I have details.

No details as to what ‘an update’ means as yet, but improving those Half Life framerates and actually letting us into the Team Fortress 2 lobby, certainly would be a good way to enter the New Year.

Check out the rant and the other thread.