VIDEO: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Animation of Skyrim

With just days to go till the release of which is arguably the most anticipated game of the decade, Bethesda have released the final video for the frankly astonishing looking Skyrim.

Skyrim will be available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on the 11th of November.

NEWS: Capcom X Namco Christmas Fight Club

Nothing gets one in the festive spirit quite like some violence and to cater to those blood thirst fight fans out there Capcom and Namco have joined together to present the Capcom X Namco Christmas Fight Club which takes place on the 3rd of December and will feature an appeared by Harada-San who is the producer being the Tekken series..

Read on for the press release:

At Namco Station, from 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm on 3rd December
2011, Fight Club is back! But not as we know it. For one day only, over
two action packed sessions, Capcom X Namco are throwing their
differences aside to bring to you; the UK fighting game enthusiasts, the
biggest most illustrious fighting game event of the year: Christmas Fight
Club!

You’re probably asking yourself what makes this event so special? It’s just another Fight Club, right?
Another chance for you to show your peers that you’re the best at Street Fighter X Tekken, Tekken
Tag Tournament 2, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Tekken 6, Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom
3, SoulCalibur V and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike? Well yes it is, we’ve got all that and more but we’ve
also got a very…special…guest:

HARADA-SAN! – Producer of the Tekken series

He’ll be there to witness your superiority, your infallible technique and your unerring desire to be the
best. We’ll have an eight person, single-elimination tournament running in each session for Tekken
Tag Tournament 2 Arcade and SoulCalibur V, of which selected matches will be streamed live with
prizes for the tournament winners. In addition to this there will be numerous exhibition matches
where the UK’s top players will face off in live streaming matches. This is your opportunity to meet
the creator of Tekken and witness the cream of the UK fighting game community go head to head!

On top of all that, there will be free bowling, free pool and refreshments, a DJ, break-dancers and all
manner of free-play arcade machines just in case you wimp out of the tournament early.

How do you get involved? All you need to do is turn up on the day, entrance is free, and we have
room for 300 people in each session (first come first served). Upon entry you’ll be issued with a
wristband and asked to leave at the end of the session. You’re welcome to join the back of the queue
to gain entry to the second session, but we can’t guarantee we’ll be able to accommodate everyone.

For further information please visit:

www.uk.namcobandaigames.eu/news

or www.capcom-europe.com/blog/

NEWS: Dead Island Console Patch Available

Dead Island has been one of the years more memorable and inventive titles but like many others it had it’s fair share of bugs. The latest console patch will remove these bothersome bugs and result in a game which runs smoother than ever.

The patch will be available on the PlayStation Network tomorrow the 9th November and on Xbox Live on the 10th November

Here is the complete list of fixes which the patch will contain.

1) Gameplay improvements
Level cap raised to 60
New blueprints for weapon mods added
Infected damage reduced
Infected no longer interrupt player attacks
A series of improvements to subsequent playthroughs implemented:
quest XP rewards adjusted
XP rewards for challenges adjusted
in subsequent playthroughs XP is awarded for all quests completed in co-op
Purna’s ammo carrying capacity increased by 50%
Character state from a save game can now be loaded when using the Start from Chapter option
New balancing option added: enemy levels can now be adjusted independently for each co-op player
Players respawn with more health
Picklock skill level required to open a lock is now clearly indicated
Improved rewards in weapon crates
All weapon crates now contain rewards
Kick ability balanced, now requires stamina
Items can now be picked up instantly; this is reflected in adjusted animations

2) Fixes and interface improvements
Fix: players are no longer left without a weapon after dropping the equipped item and healing with a medkit.
Fix: equipped items no longer swap mysteriously after drinking an energy drink
Tweak: healing with medkits from inventory works better, makes smarter choices of medkits
Fix: loot from dead enemies is now always identical for all co-op players
Fix: Purna no longer finishes her Fury with fists equipped
Fix: map tracking after death
Fix: zone info in the quarantine zone (City of Moresby)
Tweak: respawn point selection is now smarter

3) General
Improved stability and network performance in co-op
Quest and reward fixes implemented

VIDEO: Saints Row The Third – Pimps, Gimps, Dildo Bats & Burt Reynolds

The latest trailer for the upcoming Saints Row the Third is rather quite extraordinary featuring as it does some of the oddest sights to ever grace a video game.

VIDEO: CoD Modern Warfare 3 – The Vet & The n00b

We at gamestoaster are big fans of both the Call of Duty series and of Sam Worthington so you can well imaigne that Christams came early with the release of the latest video for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 which features Worthington and Johan Hill.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is in stores now.

REVIEW: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Developer: Naughty Dog| Publisher: SCEE | Format: PS3

Each console has it’s own selection of exclusives and have over the years been the main reason for many gamers to pick one console over another. Nintendo has Mario, the Xbox has Gears of War and the PS3 has Uncharted.For many the series has been the main reason they picked the PS3 over the others and as such there’s a lot riding on the latest entry in the series.

Once again our hero Nathan Drake finds himself in search of another lost treasure in another land of mystery. Filled with deception and more twists than you can keep track of the plot is hardly the most original or well written but it sure is gripping. Where the game does excel is in the realistic depiction of the characters and their relationship to one another. They trade jokes and banter back and forth amongst themselves in a manner which is as realistic and believable as we’ve yet seen. listening to Nathan and Sully interact and it’s easy to get lost in their world.

Drake’s Deception kicks off up in a good old fashioned bar room brawl in London where Nathan and his trusty side kick/mentor Sully find themselves at odds with the locals. This opening scene establishes a number of things, first and most noticeably being that the level of virtual in-game acting is the equal of most Hollywood films and secondly that the hand to hand combat engine has received a substantial overhaul, it’s perhaps the most impressive hand to hand combat engine in existence.

Once the game leaves the confines of the pub the combat becomes far more thrilling given just how many different ways in which you can deal with any given situation. You can engage in hand to hand combat with an assault rifle wielding villain or you can sneak up behind him and break his neck or even give him a slight nudge, sending off the top of a building. For times when a stealth kill isn’t an option you can use weapons to take them out from afar or race up and beat them to a pulp with your fists.

The most thrilling aspect of Uncharted’s combat system is the manner in which you can see the environment around you. Rather than hunker down behind some cover and take pot shots at an enemy wielding a rocket launcher you can quickly leap out of cover, climb up a wall and race across a roof top before dropping down on the rocket launcher wielding villain and taking him out. Or you could simply ignore the him and race through the environment climbing over obstacles like a hyper active monkey till you find the way out. It’s a beautifully realised system which lets the gamer deiced just how they want wish to react to any given situation.

Uncharted 3 is never going to win any awards for innovation as at hearts its a very traditional game and goes out of its way to make its self accessible to casual gamers. That said it is one of the most refreshing and fun to play titles in a long time and feels for want of a better word ground breaking. There’s nothing that hasn’t been seen before but the game does it in such a fashion that everything feels as if its the first time we’ve seen it.

Graphically the game is without equal. It is quite simply put the most beautiful looking game ever made. Featuring vibrant environments which live and breath, cities which feel real and a sense of realism that is leagues ahead of most titles. It’s easy to get lost, not int game but rather in just how realistic it all looks. The voice acting and performances are equally as impressive. And lets not forget the score which is one of the most thrilling and rousing to ever grace a game.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is beyond a shadow of a doubt this years most impressive titles. It’s a thrilling, globe trotting odyssey which is the equal of any major Hollywood production. To put it simply, Drake’s Deception is gaming perfection without equal.

REVIEW: Mercury HG

Developer:  Ignition Entertainment |Publisher: Eiconic Games | Format: 360

It’s hard to believe that one of the most memorable titles in the long history of the PSP involved the player controlling a blob of mercury which they navigated through various levels. It sounds absolutely ridiculous that such a concept could result in one of the most compelling puzzle titles ever released. The franchise didn’t end on the PSP and in the years since its debut it has appeared everywhere from the PS2 to the Wii and now with Mercury HG it lands on the Xbox.

As expected Mercury HG involves the navigation of a mercury blob through a series of puzzles but rather than moving the blob you are in control of the terrain upon which it rests. Using the analogue sticks you can tilt the stage upon which the blob exists and send it to where you need it. It all sounds rather simple but like all things in life it’s not quite as easy as it seems. Tilt too far and you can send the blob into the dark abyss from which it can never return, well that is id you ignore the fact that you can easily restart the level.

Starting out simple enough the game grows more and more difficult as you progress. Different terrain affects how you control your blob and on many levels you find yourself using a variety of devices to alter the colour of your blob or to split it. It all sounds rather easy but with each level offering 4 goals Mercury HG is one of the more packed download titles around.

With each level offering 4 goals its easy to imagine that the game could quickly become frustrating but thankfully this isn’t the case. The four goals to fully complete each level are, reach the exit point, complete the level with 100% mercury, collect all the pick-ups and finish a level within a set time limit. Successfully completing each task will reward you with an atom, these are needed to open up later levels. Gaining all four atoms is quite easy early on but as things progress don’t be surprised to find yourself completing the level once before opting to move on to the next returning later on to finish the remaining goals as players find themselves frustrated (in the good way) by the challenge on offer.

It’s always nice to find at tile which has no shortcomings to speak of and Mercury HG is one of those. It’s challenging, well designed, will have you return time after time and best of all it’s cheap. For not much more than the change down the back of the sofa gamers can get their hands one one of the best puzzle titles out atm and one which will keep them entertained for months to come.

VIDEO: Michael Bay Need for Speed: The Run Behind the Scenes

When it comes to crafting bombastic, over the top, ridiculous action sequences there is only really one name that comes to mind Michael Bay. He has built a career on crafting Bayhem the likes of which us mere mortals can only dream of. Is it any wonder that when crafting the trailer for the upcoming Need for Speed: The Run trailer they turned to Bay to come up with something truly jaw dropping.

The trailer can be seen here.

NEWS: Naughty Dog Responds to Aiming Issues in Uncharted 3

There has been a lot of talk in recent days of problems with the aiming in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Many critics and players have claimed that there is something off about it and that aiming just feels wrong.

Arne Meyer posted on the official Naughty Dog blog relayed information from the games director Justin Richmond. “Aiming is identical to Uncharted 2 – we took a look at the values side by side. We did adjust the sensitivity to be MUCH higher in Uncharted 3 to give you a more precise feel. With Uncharted 2 it was pretty much guaranteed you would aim in one of the 8 directions and it was hard to deviate from that (imagine it being almost like a traditional 8-way arcade stick).”

According to Richmond, “With Uncharted 3, you can deviate from the straight path from each of the 8 directions much easier and more precisely. However, enemies also change positions faster now, “which changes the flow of gun combat as well, from what you were used to if you’re coming off fresh from Uncharted 2.”

The statement went on to discuss how Uncharted 3 fixed the odd manner in which bullets would fly, something that I don’t think anyone ever noticed. “In Uncharted 2 the bullets would leave the barrel at a pre-set deviation when you were aimed in. What this means is that the bullets would not fire straight out of the barrel all the time — they could come out at an angle. Therefore, you could have a target clearly in the reticle and still miss it by a wide margin.” In Uncharted 3, “bullets now fire straight out of the barrel 100% of the time,” though you need to adjust for recoil.

NEWS: Modern Warfare 3 Sold Early

As with most eagerly anticipated titles it appears that some stores have broken the release embargo and offered Modern Warfare 3 for sale early. US store Kmart have been selling copies of Modern Warfare 3 nearly a week prior to it’s official release date. As you would expect many of these copies have wound up on eBay where listings for the game have been appearing on site before being quickly pulled down. One listing even includes a picture of the receipt to prove the authenticity of the purchase.

If you do find yourself desperate to get a copy early and end up buying one of the listings on eBay which gets through be warned that Activision are not authorizing pre-release play of the game and playing early may have repercussions on your account which is quite unfair on those who have legitimately purchased the game from an authorized retailer.

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