NEWS: L.A. Noire Coming to PC

When Red Dead Redemption failed to materialize on PC most gamers assumed that Rockstar had abandoned the platform in favour of concentrating on consoles. As such few gamers expected L.A. Noire to make an appearance on the PC but any fear of a no show were swept away today when Rockstar officially announced that L.A. Noire would be arriving on PC before the end of the year.

Rockstar Leeds are handling the port which will include improved graphics, 3D support and will run on a wide range of PCs.

NEWS: Child of Eden on PS3

Looking at the marketing for Child of Eden you could be forgiven of assuming that it was a 360 exclusive but coming this September is the PS3 version which promises a whole hose of added features.

The reason for the delay is that developer Q? is doing everything in house with a staff of just 30 and as such it’s taking a little extra time to get everything up to scratch.

Q? Entertainment producer James Mielke told the 8-4 Play podcast “it will definitely be worth the couple months that people have to wait for the PS3 version to get finished. People with PS3s, people with nice TVs, people with all kinds of control options… it’s going to be really cool.”

Move and 3D support are the most obvious additions but there is also scope for a whole slew of other additions.

NEWS: Xbox Kinect Will Put Ads in Video Games and TV Content

Microsoft have announced a new avenue for advertisers to reach prospective clients through their Xbox. Using the Kinect, gamers will be able to use voice and motion commands in order to interact with ads while they are playing/watching their content.

The new initiative will be know as natural-interface ads or NUADs for short. The NUADs will allow gamers to interact with various advertisers through ads embedded in content.

VIDEO: Shadows of the Damned

Shadows of the Damned, from Grasshopper Manufacture and Electronic Arts is shaping up to be one of the years most impressively demented looking titles.

The trailer is all kinds of awesome promising a truly inspired level of madness when the game is released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on 24 June.

NEWS: L.A. Noire Rockstar Pass Deadline Extended

Rockstar Games have announced that they are extending their limited time offer for the L.A. Noire Rockstar Pass until June 21st, the same day that the Nicholson Electroplating case will be released. The limited time offer allows gamers to purchase both the Nicholson and Reefer Madness case which is released on July 12th as well as all pre-order bonus content which was previously only available to those who pre-ordered the game in certain stores.

The offer will cost 800 Microsoft points or 9.99 on PlayStation Network.

REVIEW: MotorStorm Apocalypse

Developer: Evolution Studios | Publisher: SCEE | Format: PS3

Reviewer: Craig Jay Gallagher When it come to truly jaw dropping spectacle, MotorStorm Apocalypse is up there with the best of them. The sheer amount of insanity on display is for want of a better word mesmerizing, it’s the gaming equivalent of the greatest balls to the wall summer blockbuster you could hope for. The sheer amount of destruction on offer as you race around an entire city is at once breathtaking and distracting. While sheer spectacle is the order of the day for many recent titles when it comes to racing games the last thing you really need is to be constantly distracted by jaw dropping scenes of destruction especially with such a fidgety control system.

The first thing to remember when playing MA is that this is not your traditional racing sim, no this is all out insanity as you find yourself competing in races taking place in a earthquake raged city. You play as Mash, a newcomer to the world of racing and must compete in a series of races which are each designed to showcase the different vehicles on offer. Once these mandatory vehicle races are complete you can then decide which vehicle suits you for each race.

With most racing titles playing up the realism on offer its refreshing to find a game which is more about not crashign into falling rubble than gracefully gliding around the same corner three or four times in a row. Even more impressive is how natural disasters can occur mid race and you can find yourself taking advantage of the latest tremor in order to secure first place through use of a shortcut which moments ago did not exist. Its an interesting take on a tired genre and while it doesn’t always succeed its never less than entertaining.

Vehicles are broken down into cars, trucks, bikes and quads, with each having their own pros and cons. The controls for each class of vehicle reflects their size and maneuverability though the frigidity control system can make even the trucks feel as if they are made from some form of light alloy filled with air. Smaller vehicles such as the bikes suffer far worse than the trucks as it leads to a sense of constant unresponsiveness leading to over steering which results in repeated crashes. Much like in the first title way back in 2006, the psychics engine is at fault here and while it doesn’t render the game unplayable it certainly adds to the difficulty.

Lets be honest though, players picking up a title called MotorStorm Apocalypse are not going to be disappointed considering the manner in which an apocalypse is so superbly rendered. There’s something truly breath taking about racing through a ravaged city as before you giant cracks open up as buildings collapse upon you. This is an arcade racer and all the better for it, though make no mistake it is the city not the vechicles which is the star. Hopefully for the next entry in the series a new psychics engine will be in play and we can truly enjoy the apocalypse free from a constant fear of crashing at the next turn.

VIDEO: Arkham City: Catwoman Trailer

When it was announced at E3 that Catwoman would be a fully playable character in the upcoming Arkham City there was quite a bit of head scratching as after all this was a title which features the word Batman in the title and after the debacle that was the last attempt at a Catwoman game gamers have a lot to worry about. Thankfully the latest trailer which highlights the role of Catwoman is pretty bad ass and armed with a whip, bola and sharp claws she appears to be a formidable character.

It has also been confirmed that Robin will be a playable character available to those in the US who preorder the title from Best Buy. No word on how Irish gamers will be able to play as the boy wonder but expect an announcement soon.

Batman: Arkham City will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on October 21.

VIDEO: Far Cry 3

Far Cry 3 is one title which FPS fans have eagerly been awaiting. Following on from the quite frankly astonishing good second entry in the series Far Cry 3 follow Jason Brody who finds himself trapped on an island where it seems that everyone is out to kill him.

VIDEO: Dead Island Begins

Dead Island caused quite a stir when it was unveiled through a truly breath taking trailer a few months back and with E3 in full swing it was only a matter of time before we got some more information on the game. The official release date for the title on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 is September 9th and alongside that good bit of news we have another look at the title thanks to the trailer “Dead Island Begins” which was unveiled at E3.

As you may expect from a game featuring the walking undead there’s a lot of the red stuff on display and those of a squeamish nature may find themselves skipping this one.

NEWS: Metal Gear Solid HD Dated

The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will be released in November and will include to remastered HD versions of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

MSG creator Hideo Kojima is personally sheparding the remaster for each title which will be released on one disc for the PS3 and two for the 360.

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