FEATURE: The Hardest Game Ever Made - Dragon's Lair [NES]

In my own opinion, no game is as difficult as Dragon's Lair on the NES, sure the graphics look actually really impressive for an 8-bit title, but don't let that fool you - this game is insanely difficult

Every little thing is out to kill you, even wooden doors. Yep, wooden doors can kill you.

To demonstrate just how difficult of a game this is, I decided to go out of my way to make a gameplay with commentary demonstrating what I hate about the game and why I'll never be able to finish it, not without cheat codes at least. Enough of my ramblings, now you can listen to my whining on this god awful game below.

May have to turn your speakers up high.

If you have finished Dragon's Lair, please leave a comment or a video response. Feature1

NEWS: Battlefield 4 Open Beta Begins October

Players are to get an opportunity to test out the game before its official release.

Electronic Arts has announced the open beta for the upcoming Battlefield 4 will go live October 1, just sixteen days away from now. The beta will be available for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC users.

However, EA stated back in August that an exclusive beta would be available to current premium members of Battlefield 3, those who are owners of Medal of Honor: Warfighter, and to the people that pre-ordered Battlefield 4.

On the official EA website, this can be seen:

"When will the Battlefield 4 Exclusive Beta Access start?
The Exclusive Beta will take place around October 2013. Stay tuned over at battlefield.com for more information as it becomes available."

It's strange how they say October, the same month the open beta will launch. All of a sudden, this exclusive beta access doesn't seem so exclusive after all. We'll see in due time.

FEATURE: Let's Play: Pacman [NES] & Let's Play: Barker Bill's Trick Shooting [NES]

Gaming Till Dawn plays through one of the most well-known games ever as well as a lightgun NES game...

Pacman is what it is - a brilliant classic video game that is always entertaining once in a while, the NES port is my favourite of the earlier ports of the game, the Atari 2600 version is playable and it's fun but the NES port flows much more and feels a lot like the original arcade code in my opinion.

I always have this memory from high school where I would play a flash version of Pacman constantly, this was for various reasons; 1. I was extremely bored and 2. I wanted to beat all of the scores from fellow classmates, in the end I got caught and was banned from using the computers for a few weeks, either way enough of that, the gameplay can be seen below.

Onto the next game...

Secondly, we have Barker Bill's Trick Shooting - there are quite a few light gun games on the NES, I'm sure you're familiar with the likes of Duck Hunt, but Trick Shooting is my favourite. 

It's not the most difficult game in the world, but it's a lot of fun, there are three main game modes to choose from, each have very similar objectives - to shoot the objects before they leave the screen to gain maximum points, every so often they'll be a bonus target such as a giant shiny diamond, which awards you an extra life.

There is a mode that let's you play all three modes in a row, I imagine this is to see how big of a score you can get through the entire game.  Feature1

NEWS: Fantasy Agito Comes to iOS and Android Devices

The port of Final Fantasy Type-O on the PSP was announced yesterday it would be ported to iOS and Android devices, players familiar with the PSP version won't find the gameplay too suprising, but it's a nice look into what tablet users can expect. 

In fact, the game was originally only available in Japan, so gamers everywhere now can experience this lesser known game in the Final Fantasy series.

However, the game is not a direct port, the tablet edition includes the option to spend real world money on things such as items, health, energy, and so fourth.

It is free to play, but I imagine some features will require your hard earned money to unlock. Watch the Japanese trailer below, which shows the player exploring the world and engaging in battles.

The game hasn't got an official release date, but I expect it to be early 2014.

NEWS: PlayStation 4 - Enough for Everyone...Hopefully

Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony America has talked to FOX Business regarding the PlayStation 4, and one of the most interesting things that came up was the amount of pre-orders and the availability of the console when it comes to launch day.

Tretton said "It's gonna be the biggest launch in history", when he was asked about the amount of pre-orders (1 million globally).

That's certainly a bold statement, but with the hype surrounding it's release, it's kind of easy to believe.

He went on to say "It's everything we can manufacture, we want to make sure consumers have  an opportunity to buy one on November 15th and through the holidays, so we're holding back some inventory to make sure that people have an opportunity to buy one that come in on launch day"

Jack Tretton, CEO Sony America

Even with 1 million pre-orders, the numbers are still rising - as you can imagine, that's a lot of PS4 units to manufacture, but Tretton has spoken and it seems there should be enough for everybody and Sony are doing all they can to get as many consoles out as possible.

The PS4 is releasing November 29th here in the UK and November 15th in North America. More details regarding the release can be found here.

FEATURE: Xbox One - Launch Prices and Games

With the release of the Xbox One a few months away, I'd like to give you a guide on the current prices that are available, along with the initial launch games. The console will be released 22nd November 2013 in the UK, perfect timing for Christmas as well as releasing just a few days before the PlayStation 4 - It will certainly be interesting to see sales statistics, but for now let's get into the prices and bundles.

Amazon UK - £429.00
Zavvi - £428.95
Play - TBA
Argos - £429.00 (with FIFA 14 digital download)
Game - £429.99 (with FIFA 14 digital download)
ShopTo - £499.85 (with Forza 5 and 12 month Xbox LIVE subscription)

There are many other bundles on ShopTo and Game, including various games with each console, be sure to check them out ShopTo Various Bundles and Game Various Bundles. Most retailers are accepting pre-orders.

It's safe to say the average price is around £429.00 - practically every bundle will include the Xbox One console, a Kinect sensor kit, a HDMI cable, a 500GB hard drive, a Blu-Ray drive, and an Xbox One controller. I'm sure some sort of Xbox LIVE subscription will be thrown in too, if you are currently a Gold member, your account along with your gamerscore will be carried over to the Xbox One.

Let's get onto the initial launch titles, keep in mind these are based on UK release, so other countries may differ.

Launch Games - Available Day One (Total: 19)

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Battlefield 4

Crimson Dragon

Dead Rising 3

FIFA 14

Fighter Within

Forza Motorsport 5

Just Dance 2014

Killer Instinct

Lego Marvel Super Heroes

LocoCycle

NBA 2K14

NBA Live 14

Peggle 2

Powerstar Golf

Ryse: Son of Rome

Skylanders: Swap Force

Watch Dogs

Zumba Fitness World Party

Personally, I'll be laying off buying the Xbox One upon release due to the lack of games that generally interest me, although Dead Rising 3 and Killer Instinct are definitely games I want to play eventually.

Retail games will cost around £45-50 at most known retailers, whilst I imagine the Xbox Live Arcade games will be around £5-20, depending on the particular game. Feature1

NEWS: Grand Theft Auto 5 Map Leaked - Absolutely Huge

The official map of Grand Theft Auto 5 has somehow been leaked on the internet, and it looks enormous.

It's rumoured the image was leaked from the strategy guide for the game, which obviously hasn't been released yet as the game isn't even out yet. The map was originally leaked on Reddit by GeENiE.

Either way, take a look at the leaked image below.

From what I can see, there are two major counties - Blaine and Los Santos, and it seems that the country side easily outweighs the urban city-type areas, however we already know that the size of San Andreas is generally large, so you have to wonder how big the world actually.

On the map, there are numerous placemakers, I can make out the following:

• Tennis events
• Parachuting events
• Clothing stores
• Gun stores
• Hairdressers
• Banks
• Racing events

There are others on there but I can only guess what they mean at this point. It seems players will have a massive amount of exploring to do in this game, whether it be in the city or in the rural areas - I'm sure they'll be a lot to collect like previous GTA games, and I for one can't wait to get stuck into this seemingly gigantic game. 

PREVIEW: Child of Light - Ubisoft's Promising J-RPG

It's strange to think that the creative force behind Far Cry 3 have been working on this what looks to be an incredible game - Child of Light. 

The very first thing that really struck me was the visually striking art direction the game has taken - combined with that beautiful music, this game seriously gives me goosebumps, I want to play it. Right now.

With the narrator talking through the reveal, it almost seems like I am being read a book but eventually I'll be able to play this fantastic story.

In terms of story, from what I can make out from the video, players take on the role of Aurora (also known a the Child of Light), and it is her quest to journey through the lands of Lemuria to complete various tasks whilst fighting obstacles along the way.

In order to save the kingdom, Aurora must seek out the three lights and defeat the Black Queen, who is possibly the final boss or definitely a significant enemy in the game. 

The gameplay makes it obvious that the battle sequences will be turn-based in true J-RPG style, along with the use of spells, weapons, and so fourth.

The game will also contain a co-op mode, which allows the second player to control Aurora's fairy/firefly friend, but it's unclear how this will play out just yet. 

No exact known release date yet unfortunately, but I can say Child of Light will be available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U and PC sometime in 2014. Share your thoughts below.

NEWS: PlayStation 4 - Japanese Release Date Pushed Back

Japan - the origin of all things Sony and PlayStation, will in fact probably be the last country to see the release of the PlayStation 4.

Instead of it's original plan to be released in November, Sony Asia announced at the Tokyo Game Show that the console will instead be releasing February 22nd of 2014.

Why is this? I honestly don't know. It could be that Sony as a whole want to focus their efforts on the North American and European release in terms of maximizing profits, and then dedicate themselves purely on the Japanese release, but like I say - I really don't know why this is.

I'm sure a lot of Japanese gamers are angry about this news, but time will tell why Sony decided to make such a strange decision, especially this close to the original launch date.

Comment with the possible reasons below.

FEATURE: The Backloggery

Through its unique organisation system, The Backloggery offers gamers a way of keeping track with what you're playing.

The Backloggery is a website I have been using since September 2008 and I'm so happy I found it. Sorry if I sound like a salesman, but I'd really like expose the website more and how it can help you beat your library of unfinished video-games. FEATURE1

It's purpose is to let its users add their gaming library, and determine whether each game is either beaten, completed, unfinished, or even mastered. Backloggery defines each status as the following:

Unfinished - No significant accomplishments. What injustice did these poor games commit to incur such neglect? No one knows for sure. They now spend their days sitting on shelves, silently crying out to be played. The most unfortunate are still encases in their shrink wrap tombs, having never once been nestled in the warm embrace of a game system.

Beaten - The main objective has been accomplished Usually marked by the defeat of a final boss and/or viewing of credits. You've stormed the castle, rescued the prisoners, and saved the universe from the clutches of an unspeakable evil. Consider yourself a hero! Some games don't have obvious climax, but you can usually find some goal to reach before it is beaten.


Completed - For games which are 100% done. All extras and modes have been unlocked and finished. All significant items have been collected. Are you a completionist? Spent the extra time so you could say you did everything? Or maybe there just wasn't a whole lot to do outside of beating the final boss. Either way, nothing is more satisfying than a good ol' 100%.

Mastered is a special status for Completed games. Master crystals are earned by challenging yourself beyond a game's usual scope. For example, you could pass up health expansions to limit yourself to the least possible health throughout the game, or you could use the weakest equipment. Speed runs are also a great idea. Be creative and push your skills to the limit!

I personally have six Mastered games, which include finishing Final Fantasy X-2 in one playthrough whilst still obtaining 100% game completion, another is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, in which I finished the game with zero stat points. 

These are prime examples of how mastering a game works, challenge yourself to beat your favourite games in ways you wouldn't normally, it really does feel nice to be able to say you've took on the challenge and achieved what you wanted. 

Currently, the member count stands at 99, 616 - I believe when I joined that number was significantly lower, but it just shows how popular the website has become, and I'm happy for the guys who created it in the first place. 

At first, I simply used the site as a way to catalogue my gaming collection, but when I started to actually determine which of my games, it became clear that I had a lot of unfinished games that I never actually finished, and knowing this made me go back to most of these games so I could label them as beaten and completed, and doing that felt good. 

As you can see, I still have quite a few unfinished games but I am generally proud of the progress I've made since joining the site, it encourages you to play all of your video games, and this is why I only play a few games at a time now. 

Previously I found when I played ten or so games at once, I'd lose track and probably just forget about most of them - but Backloggery makes me want to finish the games properly, and I love that idea a lot. 

The website has every console you can think of, it even has a section for physical pinball cabinets, so no matter what games you have, they'll certainly be a place for them here.

The site even keeps a log of your progress, whether it be the exact date you added a game, finished a game, and so fourth. There's also a yearly breakdown of your progress, and the best thing about it is that this service is completely free, so no gamer should go without this useful tool. 

Below is an example of how the site keeps track of your gaming, as long as you edit the games details yourself, if you feel you've completed a game, simply edit that entry and put it as completed. It's really as simple as that.

After a while once you've added all of your games, you do get to see the benefits of using Backloggery as you get a picture of how you play video-games.

A brief history of the games a user has either beaten, completed, 

or simply added a new game to their library.

I'm not going to lie, Backloggery is also a great way to brag about your gaming accomplishments, I've made a lot of friends on the site and I'm often comparing my progress to theirs, at times I might even get a tiny bit jealous because they've managed to beat a game that I never got around to or simply don't have that game anymore. 

It's a good jealousy though as it encourages me to play games that I probably wouldn't usually, not in a way that it feels like a chore to play a game, but because I find myself wanting to because I can check it off at Backloggery and fulfill that sense of accomplishment in what I love the most - gaming. 

Check out the website here and take a look around, my page can be found here. The Backloggery is an incredibly simple tool that brings out the best in you as a gamer, and as a gamer myself, I really do recommend using it.

FEATURE: Let's Play: Donkey Kong [NES]

This is my first let's play to an extent, I've done a lot of gameplay videos but nothing really like this. It's a quick playthrough of the classic Donkey Kong.

With just three levels, you'd expect this game to get boring really quick but it's definitely the opposite, each level can be challenging enough to keep you wanting to try again because the game is pure fun, but even if you are familiar with the levels, it's such a fantastic game to play over and over. And that's exactly what you are able to do, once you've initially beaten the three levels, you can continue to rack up a high score until you eventually get a game over.

Gaming Till Dawn proudly presents it's first Let's Play. Please note that until I am able to record commentary, only the game itself will be shown. Feature1