REVIEW: The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

What could have been a quality game full of real survival scenarios you might expect in The Walking Dead universe, Survival Instinct doesn't deliver whatsoever.

Developer: Terminal Reality | Publisher: Activision | Genre: First-Person Shooter

PS3 | Xbox 360 | Wii U | Windows PC

It's always a shame when an idea as ambitious as this is completely ruined through lack of key features and gameplay mechanics, which if done correctly, would have made Survival Instinct a game worth playing. Unfortunately, there's practically no substance and leaves you more than disappointed.

Set before the events of The Walking Dead, Survival Instinct follows the story of Daryl Dixon as he comes to term with the recent zombie outbreak, all whilst trying to locate his brother Merle. Obviously, there's a few hick ups along the way as well as encounters with fellow survivors, but nothing so intriguing you'll be itching to carry on playing. The core narrative is nothing to boast about, leading to skipping cutscenes all together. review1

Right from the start, you'll be tested on your survival skills by taking out a few zombies here and there, making yourself familiar with the simple game mechanics and such. Zombies are generally slow, but can be a nuisance if they're in a pack and chasing you relentlessly, which they do - you might find yourself dying more times than initially anticipated. Of course, you can choose to sneak around, check corners before proceeding, and crouching.

Zombies unaware of your presence can be approached from behind, in which you'll be able to pull of a silent kill - this involves impaling your trusty knife through their skull. Rule #1 of zombie survival: destroy the brain, right? This is a nice touch but the novelty soon wears off. There are zombies literally everywhere you go, but there's no real satisfaction from killing them - there needs to be more incentive such as an XP/level up system or just more of a reason to keep on mowing down the undead.

The entire game plays out like this: get in vehicle, travel through the 'world map', break down, scavenge car parts and supplies, go back on road, rinse and repeat. It becomes boring very quick - perhaps Terminal Reality themselves got a little tired of making the game due to the fact environments are re-used for the breakdown sequences. If you break down near the start of the game, you explore the area for whatever is required, but further into the game you might find yourself doing the same in the exact same environment you were in earlier. That's physically impossible - it just goes to show how much this game was rushed and not thoroughly tested.

If you're going to play a game based on The Walking Dead, do yourself a favour and get stuck into Telltale's games. Survival Instinct offers a weak storyline with predictible and boring gameplay, giving a bad name for licensed games. So much could have been done to make Survival Instinct something truly special - perhaps an open-world game with genuine survival mechanics, instead we have a hugely disappointing cash grab.

3/10

REVIEW: Child of Light

Ubisoft have gone all-out with this incredibly artistic RPG, complete with a cast of unique characters and a narrative that will keep you wanting more.

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal | Publisher: Ubisoft | Genre: Platformer / RPG

PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita (Coming Soon) | Xbox 360 | Xbox One | Wii U | Windows PC 

Whilst this game is filled with often challenging battles complete with grotesque enemies, it's easy to get lost in the beautiful atmosphere, especially with a soundtrack full of ambience and relaxing tones. REVIEW1

After mysteriously falling asleep, a young girl known as Aurora, the protagonist in this story finds herself in a bizarre world known as Lemuria, which has strangely enough had its sun, moon, and stars stolen by Umbra the Dark Queen. Aurora is given the challenging task of retrieving what has been stolen so she can return to her own world and greet her father once again, who is the king in all of this. The narrative is played out in a storybook style with themes of good and evil, what it is to "grow up", and so forth, complete with spoken narration here and there.

Even before beginning the game, you'll be able to notice the incredible art style, a unique combination of what looks like hand drawn/painted pieces fused with a constant bombardment of visually striking environments and backgrounds, often making you forget you're actually playing a game at all. But this is a game (obviously), a 2-D platformer RPG featuring multiple layers and lots of enemies to keep you busy whilst exploring the vast world of Lemuria.

During the early stages, you'll encounter lots of generally easy enemies in order to give you room to learn the game's mechanics in terms of how to navigate the field and basic battle commands. Enemies can be seen in real-time, however once you interact with them you'll enter a battle mode featuring the active time battle system, which is a mix of the battle mechanics you'd get if you combined Grandia and Final Fantasy X, meaning there is a certain amount of time you must wait before utilizing your command but you are also given an infinite amount of time to consider what your next move should be. Although a single enemy can be seen in real-time, there may be up to three in actual battle, which keeps you on your toes as you might not have expected that to happen at all when initially stepping into combat.

The initial stage of a battle can depend on how you approach an enemy, for example if you manage to sneak up behind them you'll start off in a surprise attack state, meaning you have the opportunity to quickly use your attacks, spells, and skills to win the fight. Or an enemy can ambush you, ultimately leaving you to take a lot of damage early on, resulting in you having to wait longer before you can fight back. This keeps battles fresh and promotes different trains of thought when deciding how to take on the many monsters in the game, which there are a lot of and vary in skill sets, difficulty, and distinctive appearances. 

One of the main themes you are reminded of throughout the entire game is that of light versus dark - practically every enemy has a weakness against light-based attacks, but more notably is Aurora's firefly companion; Igniculus. This ball of light is a fantastic tool to help you along the adventure as he has many abilities such as being able to shine his vibrant glow on enemies to slow them down in battle or use his skills to heal Aurora and the rest of her party. Although his abilities are useful, they quickly consume a lot of 'wishes', which are essentially power to keep him going - these wishes can be found in real-time as well as within battle and are advised to collect if you are running low on energy.

There are various puzzles throughout which are way too easy and feel as if they've been put there to shamelessly extend the gameplay, but are a nice addition if you want a break from grinding for experience. No matter where you go, there are plenty of items to collect, whether it's coffers (treasure chests), stardust orbs, which are used to permanently increase stats, or confessions - a less common collectible that give an insight into the world of Lemuria. Not massively important but are worth finding as you'll be able to explore the vast world in detail, rather than heading straight to the end of the game. This is a game that needs exploring properly.

Along the way you'll bump into a whole host of other playable characters, in battle at least. These include Rubella, a Jester who specialises in healing and defence boosting, Finn, a spellcaster who can use his spells to effectively deal with element-based enemies. There are more characters to find but I'll let you do that yourself - each will offer a specific range of skills which are hugely helpful in some way or another. Only two characters can participate in battle at a time, however everyone will gain experience regardless of their involvement.

Like most RPGs, Child of Light is no different in terms of character development - you gain experience from enemies, more from bosses, allowing you to level up and gain skill points, which are used to unlock new skills, abilities, spells, and stat upgrades on a special grid which sort of resembles the sphere grid from Final Fantasy X. Two Final Fantasy X references in one? I really don't mean to. The bosses are visually amazing, and can provide a challenge which will make you thankful you spent the extra time levelling up, or you might end up disappointed at the depressing game over screen if you rushed past potential battles instead of engaging in them. One of the bosses takes its own head off and throws it at you, causing massive damage - it's things like this that make you look forward to fighting the next boss as each is unique in their own way.

Eventually, you are able to fly through the skies, allowing for much faster travel and makes it easier to find those hidden coffers or stardust orbs. Although it's tempting to hastily navigate your way through some parts of the game, it's not advised as there are plenty of environmental hazards such as falling spikes and lava pits, which can cause a lot of damage in a small amount of time if you're not careful. 

It needs to be highlighted just how impressive the overall visual style is and the amount of thought and attention to detail put into the environments and sound design. For example, you could fall down a simple well and find yourself in a complex and beautiful underground structure or a basement in someone's house which ends up being a fiery cavern full of lava and undead enemies. Sometimes you need to stop and simply take in the art style because it's rare games are this stunning, but still provide excellent gameplay.

The music is often peaceful and ambient, which is nice to hear when you're flying through the clouds, but it's also nice to hear the environmental audio heard when travelling through a town, for example a busy market town will promote the sounds of people talking in a crowded environment much like a real market. This adds personality and a sense of atmosphere to the already colourful world.

Child of Light is an incredible story that holds its own with a brilliant battle system - that combined with the gorgeous world of Lemuria will keep you engaged for a lengthy amount of time, something which a good RPG should always do. 

9/10

REVIEW: Hotline Miami

Hotline Miami takes the desire for casual gameplay, rips it apart, and throws you straight in the deep end.

Developer: Dennaton Games / Abstraction Games | Publisher: Devolver Digital | Genre: Action 

PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Mac | Windows PC | Linux |

A lengthy single player mode will keep you playing for longer than you might have expected due to the sheer amount of fun to be had, even whilst replaying the game over and over. A healthy challenge is guaranteed, although the level of difficulty could put off casual audiences.

It's the 80's and not much is going on aside from the fact our nameless protagonist is constantly being bombarded with anonymous phone calls from mysterious individuals who want you to fulfill questionable tasks including violent murder and rescue missions. The narrative does eventually get more interesting the more you play but generally it's not an important feature in a game such as this - Hotline Miami is all about arcade-style action at its finest.

Straight off the bat, you might realise the amount of retro influences put into the game, whether it's the incredibly well done music that came straight from an 80s dance club or the visual representations of that specific era in terms of character and level design. It reinforces that retro revival the gaming industry has taken in recent times and it's nice to see that retro ideologies and concepts haven't died out in a world obsessed with the best graphics and so forth. 

The entire game is played in a top-down point of view, and puts you in numerous environments usually set within multi-storey buildings. Each of these levels are generally packed with enemies who are able to kill you in a single hit and they hold no mercy - once you are in the enemies line of vision, they will come after you fearlessly with all they've got. That is, unless you manage to find a hiding spot and wait until they're gone so you can plan your next course of action. 

In the earlier parts of the game, enemies wield simple melee weapons which makes it easier for you to take care of them without having to worry about bullets and other projectiles, however later down the line practically every enemy will hold a gun of some sort, whether it's a double-barreled shotgun, an uzi or a carbine - they will aim to kill you if you cross their paths, so sometimes it's advised to use stealth tactics and kill off the enemies in a discreet and clever manner.  

Of course, you are also welcome to take advantage of all the available weapons, whether it's a baseball bat, a knife, a pair of scissors, a powerful magnum or a machine gun of some sort. Most of the time, you'll be picking up weapons from corpses on the ground, so you'll get the chance to experiment with a varied range of weaponry throughout the game. Additional weapons can be unlocked by racking up your score, which can be increased through killing enemies and stringing together a series of combos - by the end of the game, if you played well, you'll most likely have all the weapons unlocked.

Between each chapter, in which there are 20, you'll experience a series of interludes allowing you to soak up the 80's atmosphere - a nice reminder of the themes played on throughout the game. No matter how you dispose of the enemy, lots of blood and violence will play their parts, whether you rip someones head off or blast a few shotgun shells into the stomach - this is the kind of violence that's needed in a game such as this. Don't worry Jack Thompson, it's only a video game.

Within the levels, there are masks to collect - each one contains different traits, for example the Tony (the Tiger) mask grants you strong fist attacks, making it easy to pick off enemies without the hassle of loud gunshots and so forth. Another notable mask is Carl (the Grasshopper), which gives you a drill at the start of the level - Driller Killer, anyone? After eventually making it through a chapter, you'll be given a grade based on how well or how bad you did in terms of combos, creative killing, etc.

You will die a lot in this game, there is even an achievement/trophy that is awarded once you die 1000 times, which is almost a slap in the face as you're being praised for not being able to stay alive, but it's all in good fun and even though you will repeatedly die at times, you'll find yourself wanting to carry on anyway as the game is ridiculously fun and addictive. 

Whilst Hotline Miami may initially seem like a straight up fast-paced action game, there is plenty of room for tactical thought before taking on a level, for example there might be an open window you can sneak in through before entering a building, allowing you to take out enemies using stealth. Or you can simply blast your way through hoping that you don't get shot along the way - it's up to you how you play it.

Hotline Miami has enough hints at the final conclusion to keep you wanting more, but its biggest strength lies in the gameplay, which will keep you occupied for a long time, whether you want to gain the best grade on each chapter for bragging rights or collect all of the weapons and masks. This game deserves to be played due to the sheer amount of thought and detail gone into creating one of the most enjoyable games this generation has to offer. REVIEW1

8/10

REVIEW: Toy Soldiers: Cold War

If you ever used to play with toy soldiers (or still do), this game shows what they probably get up to when you're away.

Developer: Signal Studios | Publisher: Microsoft Studios | Genre: Action / Strategy

Xbox 360  | Windows PC | Windows Phone

Fusing together a blend of well-balanced gameplay with a high level of replayability makes Toy Soldiers: Cold War a pleasure to play.

Taking influences from the escalating differences between the USSR and the United States during the 1980's, Toy Soldiers: Cold War pits players in a brutal battle filled with plastic, batteries, and toy helicopters - not your run of the mill war by any means. There isn't really a narrative so to speak, but it doesn't matter at all - this game is pure fun and total destruction at its best. The whole idea is hilarious - a bunch of toy soldiers coming to life just so they can blow each other up with any means necessary, it's like a part of Toy Story that wasn't allowed to be in the final cut.

At its core, Cold War is a defense game featuring a combination of third-person gameplay as well as strategic thought and tactics. Each level has a base to defend (rather a toy box), which when fully depleted of health, will end the mission, resulting in failure - so it's your job to deploy various defenses around the map to ensure that doesn't happen. These include the likes of a very basic unit such as the machine gun turret which is handy when a group of opposing troops are headed towards your base, it can quickly and effectively dispose of them through rapid firing. However, more advanced units include an anti-aircraft gun, which is practically pointless against those pesky land enemies but can deal massive damage to incoming enemy aircraft. REVIEW1

Other notable weapons include the roman candle, which is essentially a firework that spins in all directions all whilst spewing out bursts of explosions - especially useful against a group of tanks. This weapon is the result of numerous upgrades though, you are able to upgrade every unit, often taking up a lot of cash, which is earned by defeating enemies. A simple machine gun can be upgraded so it fires more rapidly and is able to zoom in further, making it easy to kill off any incoming soldiers at a moments notice.

Each of the units can be controlled or you can let the game do the work for you, although its advised to actually take control for yourself so you can effectively direct bullets and explosions in a particular direction instead of hoping the game will do it for you - it also feels much better as you get a certain sense of satisfaction. You are also able to control a selection of vehicles both land and airborne - these vehicles will appear on a number of stages and are powered by batteries, reinforcing the idea that you are actually playing with toys. These include a tank and a helicopter, which when used can be extremely powerful and effective against the enemy - always a good idea to take advantage of these playable vehicles when a boss appears.

Cold War isn't a difficult game, you are able to see the next wave of enemies before they depart from their base, giving you the tactical edge as it leaves a lot of time to strategically think about which type of units you are going to place or how you should spend any money in order to upgrade particular weapons. However, there are some challenging aspects, particularly the numerous bosses you'll encounter throughout the short campaign - they typically have lots of health, which when attacked appropriately shouldn't take too long to deplete, but without the right preparations, you could be in a lot of trouble.

Something called a barrage plays an important role in terms of achieving victory, a barrage is a mix of powerful rewards including the bombing run, which spreads a number of rockets over a bunch of enemies - others include the commando, an obvious Rambo clone, who is invincible and able to destroy any enemy that gets in the way. Barrages are only available once a certain amount of combo score has been accumulated, this is done through defeating a high amount of enemies in quick succession.

If you are stuck for something to do after the campaign, there are a range of mini-games that include various challenges and scoreboards, giving you that sense of competitiveness as well as being able to have a lot of fun at the same time. These include 'Dolled Up' - a continuous onslaught of enemies make themselves known and it's your job to gun them down all whilst trying to maintain a large combo to attain the highest score possible. Another example is 'Thread the Needle', in which you must navigate a rocket through various obstacles without colliding with the rest of the environment.

Each level feels like you're inside a world where only toys exist, the environments look like set pieces from a packet of toy soldiers, whether it's the plastic trees and landscapes or the cardboard cut outs of various houses and other buildings. It has a nice visual appeal, one that would generally only work in a game such as this.

Toy Soldiers: Cold War is a fantastic little game that promotes a lot of fun and entertaining gameplay, and whilst it could be a little longer, there's enough content here to keep you going for a while, whether it's trying to finish the in-game challenges or beating your friends scores within the mini-games. A reminder that games can sometimes just be fun and nothing more.

9/10

NEWS: EA Giving Away Free Games

Whilst just one title is currently available to download free of charge, more games are to be added eventually.

A new promotion known as On The House has launched, which has an initiative to provide free content on a regular basis via the Origin webstore. Origin claims:

"There's no catch. Grab full games, expansions and more at absolutely no cost. Just make sure to act fast because On The House specials can appear and disappear at any time."

This could be an attempt to ease the frustrations of many PC gamers as recent criticisms against EA and Origin has emerged. Currently, the 2008 survival-horror Dead Space is available to download - the original price stands at £9.99..

NEWS: Murdered: Soul Suspect Achievements Revealed

All of the achievements have been released today, making up for a total of 1000 GS.

Xbox Achievements has posted all 48 achievements which are available to obtain in Square Enix's upcoming detective thriller; Murdered: Soul Suspect, which is to hit shelves June 3 in North America and June 6 throughout Europe on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows.

See below for a complete list of achievements and the gamerscore to be awarded, but be warned - spoilers may be included in some of the titles and descriptions.

Collector 1 (10G)

Collected an artifact.

Collector 10 (10G)

Collected 10 artifacts.

Collector 25 (10G)

Collected 25 artifacts.

Collector 50 (10G)

Collected 50 artifacts.

Collector 75 (10G)

Collected 75 artifacts.

Collector 100 (10G)

Collected 100 artifacts.

Collector 150 (10G)

Collected 150 artifacts.

Collector All (125G)

Collected all of the artifacts.

Ronan's Story (10G)

Learned about Ronan's life.

Baxter's Story (10G)

Learned about Baxter's life.

Rex's Story (10G)

Learned about Rex's life.

Cassandra's Story (10G)

Learned about Cassandra's life.

Julia's Story (10G)

Learned about Julia's life.

The Bell Killer's Story (10G)

Learned about the Bell Killer.

Salem's History (10G)

Discovered Salem's history.

The Witch Trials (10G)

Discovered information about the witch trials.

Codex (10G)

Discovered the meaning of the supernatural graffiti.

A Watery Grave (20G)

Uncovered the Watery Grave ghost story.

The Bell Tower Banshee (20G)

Uncovered The Bell Tower Banshee ghost story.

The Stalwart Specter (20G)

Uncovered The Stalwart Specter ghost story.

The Heirloom (20G)

Uncovered The Heirloom ghost story.

Man in the Box (20G)

Uncovered the Man in the Box ghost story.

Terror on the Tracks (20G)

Uncovered The Terror on the Tracks ghost story.

Ashes to Ashes (20G)

Uncovered the Ashes to Ashes ghost story.

Eternal Flame (20G)

Uncovered the Eternal Flame ghost story.

Discover Remove (10G)

Used Remove for the first time.

Discover Reveal (10G)

Used Reveal for the first time.

Possess the Cat (10G)

Possessed the Cat.

Mindreader (10G)

Used Mind Read for the first time.

Poltergeist (10G)

Used Poltergeist for the first time.

Interrogator (10G)

Interrogated a ghost for the first time.

Exorcist (20G)

Defeated a demon.

Investigator (10G)

Completed the first investigation.

Teleporter (10G)

Teleported for the first time.

The Missing Body (20G)

Helped Ingrid find peace.

Amnesia (20G)

Helped Julie find peace.

Carnage (20G)

Helped Brad find peace.

Scorned (20G)

Helped Katy find peace.

10 Secret Achievements

9 X 25G

1 X 150G

NEWS: RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Coming To PC

Atari has reassured players there will be a PC release of RollerCoaster Tycoon 4.

With the recent announcement that RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile will be arriving on iOS this summer, many dedicated fans of the franchise have had their concerns regarding an actual PC release - Atari has since eased any anxieties, promising the PC version to be a "completely different game".

Speaking with Digital Spy, Atari's Senior Director of Marketing Anthony Chien has discussed the PC release, saying:

"We can't share that much, but [PC] will definitely be a complete different game."

Chien then goes on to talk about fans of the series and Atari's priority of working on mobile before PC:

"There's a lot of diehard RC fans that want a PC experience, they want all different sorts of things. It's trying to deliver as much as we can. First is the mobile version, then it's the PC experience."

"I think a lot of people are vocal about wanting to see the PC version first before the mobile, but our strategy is mobile first."

RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 will be available on iOS during the summer with no specific date yet set, and will be priced at $2.99 (£1.80 / €2.15 approx).

NEWS: Rocksteady Discuss Arkham Knight's Villain Redesigns

Whilst memorable villains are taking part in Arkham Knight, they might look a little different.

In a feature with Game Informer, Arkham Knight's Art Director David Hego, has discussed redesigns of three very well-known villains within the Batman universe, including Penguin, Two Face, and The Riddler.

When speaking on the Penguin, Hego said:

"We took the coat off, and the concept of Penguin was more of a dirty dude. Obviously his shirt is rolled up and sweaty, and he food stains on it. But still, he's really powerful. He's got a golden chain, as well. We had to be a bit crazy with this character, and working with his design. And we shaved his head. He's proper filthy, you know. It makes you want to punch him even more."

It seems not much was altered with the appearance of Two Face besides giving him a new next-gen sheen:

"We just rolled up his sleeves and made him look really next-gen. We took some references of really filthy, burnt flesh - which is what we do most of the time, which is quite cool - and tried to make him look as badass as we could."

Finally, Hego speaks on the infamous Riddler, who has a habbit of constantly changing appearance:

"If you had to work overtime, for example, you would start the night with your jumper on and everything, and as the time went by you'd probably take your jumper off, open your shirt, take your tie off, have a coffee. The Riddler is a character who has a cool framework, and we didn't want to change it too much - we like his shirts with question marks and silly glasses and greasy hair."

Batman: Arkham Knight is to hit shelves October 14 on Xbox One, PS4, and Windows.

NEWS: Child of Light Developer Diary Released

The first installment in the Child of Light development diary shows off artwork inspiration and gameplay.

Ubisoft has uploaded the first development diary (see below), which gives a behind-the-scenes look into the game's art direction, the narrative, and numerous pieces of gameplay. 

Various people working on the project discuss their own contributions to the game, including Creative Director Patrick Plourde and Writer Jeffrey Yohalem. 

Yohalem has described the game as a "playable poem that chronicles the journey of a  young girl - it's a coming of age story"

Artists such as Edmund Dulac and John Bauer are highlighted in the video as inspirations behind the art and visual style seen in the game. 

Ubisoft has given the game a release date of April 30, and will be available on Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and Windows.

NEWS: BAFTA Games Awards 2014 Winners

Unsuprisingly, The Last of Us won most of the awards, whilst titles such as Grand Theft Auto V and Tearaway also took up some of the limelight.

The Last of Us continues to win even more awards, racking up a total of five at the 2014 BAFTA Games Awards - other highlights include developer Rockstar receiving the BAFTA Fellowship, which was presented by Metal Gear creator; Hideo Kojima.

For a full list of categories presented at the event, along with all the winners, see below.

Action & Adventure

The Last of Us

Artistic Achievement

Tearaway

Audio Achievement

The Last of Us

Best Game

The Last of Us

British Game

Grand Theft Auto V

Debut Game

Gone Home

Family

Tearaway

Game Design

Grand Theft Auto V

Game Innovation

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Mobile & Handheld

Tearaway

Multiplayer

Grand Theft Auto V

Music

BioShock Infinite

Performer

Ashley Johnson as Ellie in The Last of Us

Sport

FIFA 14

Story

The Last of Us

Strategy & Simulation

Papers, Please

BAFTA Ones to Watch

Size DOES Matter

NEWS: Rockstar Sale Hits Steam

Sale to include Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A. Noire, among other well-known Rockstar titles.

Discounts of up to 80% are currently applied to Rockstar titles, and is to last until March 17 at 10AM PST. Bundles are also included in the sale, giving access to various DLC packs - for a full list of what's on offer, included the newly discounted price, see below.

L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition - £6.24 (-75%)

• L.A. Noire - £6.59 (-67%)
• DLC Bundle - £2.96 (-67%)

Grand Theft Auto Complete Pack - £6.99 (-80%)

• Grand Theft Auto III - £1.97 (-67%)
• Grand Theft Auto IV - £5.99 (-80%)
• Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City - £4.94 (-67%)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - £3.29 (-67%)
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - £1.97 (-67%)

Grand Theft Auto IV & Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - £5.99 (-80%)

• Grand Theft Auto IV - £6.59 (-67%)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - £3.29 (-67%)

Grand Theft Auto Complete Edition - £7.49 (-75%)

• Grand Theft Auto IV - N/A
• The Lost and the Damned - N/A
• The Ballad of Gay Tony - N/A

Grand Theft Auto Trilogy - £4.24 (-75%)

• Grand Theft Auto III - £1.97 (-67%)
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - £1.97 (-67%)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - £3.29 (-67%)

Max Payne Complete - £7.19 (-82%)

• Max Payne - £1.97 (-67%)
• Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - £1.97 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3 - £4.94 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3 Rockstar Pass - £3.95 (-67%)

Max Payne 3 Complete - £5.39 (-80%)

• Max Payne 3 - £4.94 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Cemetery Map - £0.26 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Classic Max Payne Character - £0.16 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Deadly Force Burst - £0.16 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Deathmatch Made in Heaven Pack - £1.31 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Hostage Negotiation Pack - £1.31 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Local Justice Pack - £0.99 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Painful Memories Pack - £1.31 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Pill Bottle Item - £0.16 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Silent Killer Loadout Pack - £0.26 (-67%)
• Max Payne 3: Special Edition Pack - £0.26 (-67%)

Max Payne Bundle - £2.49 (-75%)

• Max Payne - £1.97 (-67%)
• Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne - £1.97 (-67%)

Bully: Scholarship Edition - £3.30 (-67%)

Midnight Club 2 - £1.97 (-67%)

Manhunt - £1.97 (-67%)

NEWS: Watch Dogs Minimum PC Specs Revealed

Those planning on purchasing the PC release of Watch Dogs can take a look at the minimum specifications needed to play.

Creative Director for Watch Dogs, Jonathan Morin, has tweeted details regarding requirements needed in order to play the PC version under minimal settings. Take a look at the specifications below:

Processor: IntelCore 2 Quad Q8400 2.66Ghz or AMDPhenom II X4 940 3.0Ghz

Memory: 6GB RAM

Video Card: 1024 VRAM DirectX 11 Shader 5.0

Sound Card: DirectX9

Hard Drive: 25GB

Watch Dogs has quickly become one of the most anticipated titles and was supposed to originally release in November 2013 - however due to various concerns regarding the game's quality, it will now hit shelves May 27 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.

Ubisoft recently spoke on the Wii U version, describing how it is still coming but at a later unknown date - read more HERE.

NEWS: Titanfall's Installation Differences Explained

Publisher Respawn Entertainment has given reasons why the PC version requires much more disc space as opposed to the Xbox One release.

Following the noticeable differences between the Xbox One and PC versions of Titanfall in terms of how much more disc space is needed during the installation, publishers of the game Respawn has spoke with Eurogamer to explain the reasons why the gap is so dramatic.

Xbox One users are required to use up 17GB of space, whilst those playing on PC need to use up a gigantic 49GB of space. It turns out the primary reason is due to audio of all things - lead engineer for Repsawn, Richard Baker, explains:

"We have audio we either download or install from the disc, then we uncompress it. We probably could have had audio decompress off disc but we were a little worried about min spec and the fact that a two-core machine would dedicate a huge chunk of one core to just decompressing audio."

"On a higher PC it wouldn't be an issue. On a medium or moderate PC, it wouldn't be an issue, it's that on a two-core [machine] with where our min spec is, we couldn't dedicate those resources to audio."

Titanfall was released today in North America on Xbox One and PC, whilst Europe has been given a release date of March 13, and will eventually hit shelves March 14 in the UK. The Xbox 360 version will be available March 25 in North America and March 28 throughout Europe.

REVIEW: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Whilst taking a departure from the core values of most Metal Gear games, Revengeance is an interesting take on the Raiden character.

Developer: Platinum Games | Publisher: Konami| Genre: Action

PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Windows PC

Offering a generally fun overall experience, Rising stands on its own as an action game with some extremely corny one-liners.

Taking place after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (MGS4), a lot has changed - 'The Patriots' are no more due to numerous Private Military Companies (PMC's) destroying the specialist organisation. Now, the world is riddled with PMC groups who have created cyborg technology capable of manufacturing soldiers equipped with superhuman abilities, including Raiden himself.

Raiden is now working for a PMC group known as Maverick Securities consisting of various specialists in certain fields such as military and computer technology. Whilst some PMC's are trying to bring good to the world, many are doing the exact opposite - this is where Desperado Enterprises comes in, who's mission it is to encourage war so they can take advantage of its various rewards including money and further evolution of technology.

Raiden is hired to protect the African Prime Minister N'mani - who wishes to see the world at peace, specifically Africa, this doesn't go down very well with Desperado Enterprises, who eventually ambush Raiden and N'mani. This is essentially where the game starts - you're put in control of Raiden once again who is hell-bent on hunting down the attacker, however this as you will find out, is not the biggest problem Raiden faces by any means.

Right from the start, you're put straight into the action, which is quickly followed by a tutorial if you wish to go over any of the gameplay mechanics - this is advised as whilst this game might seem like a straight up action game, more tactics are involved than initially meets the eye. One of the first abilities you'll come across is the option to utilize Raiden's 'Ninja Run', which is an effective way of dodging enemy bullets and overcoming physical obstacles - ultimately this is a lazy way of maneuvering the landscapes as you won't be required to do anything except hold down a single button.

Expanding on his ways with a sword in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (MGS2), Raiden is now equipped with a high-frequency blade that has the ability to slice through practically anyone and anything that gets in its way. Raiden can enter a trance-like state, in which you are able to slash through enemies at an extremely rapid pace, making for massive damage and long combos - this is a great way of disposing the more difficult enemies and looks visually awesome as splatters of blood shower the environment around you.

Occasionally you'll have the chance to explore the game's very minor stealth elements, which consist of sneaking up behind enemies and taking them down in a quick series of attacks - this is something you should explore as it saves a lot time, making for a better rank at the end of battles and/or chapters. You will be given a rank based on various aspects including damage taken, time spent, the amount of combos and so forth - this often encourages replaying a certain chapter, especially if you're into getting the best possible outcomes, it's also a good opportunity to claim bragging rights if you manage to get an S rank throughout the entire game.

Enemies range from some pretty simple cyborgs who don't put up much of a challenge at all, more of practice in preparation for the enemies further on in the game, including Metal Gear's themselves - boss fights have a strange learning curve as some of the earlier fights are often more difficult than the later ones. Either way, most boss encounters are both enjoyable to play out and visually striking as most villains are throughout the entire Metal Gear franchise. review1

Whilst Rising is a massive departure from the stealth espionage elements seen throughout the Metal Gear franchise, it shouldn't put gamers off too much - as an action game, it does its job very well offering some over the top sequences, including jumping on moving missiles and taking down a helicopter. If you're a veteran of the series, Rising could come as a shock due to the sheer amount of difference, but once you've seen past that, you'll have a generally good time plowing through enemies, accompanied with a healthy amount of challenging gameplay.

7/10

NEWS: Titanfall Achievements Revealed

The much anticipated Titanfall has had its achievements reach the surface today.

Xbox Achievements - the website dedicated to helping players increase their gamerscores has posted all 35 achievements, making up for a total of 1000 gamerscore points. Titanfall is an online multiplayer first person shooter exclusively available on PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

EA confirmed a release date of March 11 for the PC and Xbox One release in North America and March 13 throughout Europe. The Xbox 360 version is to hit shelves March 25 in North America and March 28 in Europe. See the complete list of achievements below, including the requirements to earn them.

Best in Class (25G)

Finished as the to player on your team once.

All Charged Up (25G)

Killed 5 enemies with one Arc Cannon shot.

Pull! (25G)

Killed 10 ejecting Pilots

Pull Harder! (25G)

Killed an ejecting Pilot with the Plasma Railgun.

All The Cards (25G)

Earned 500 burn cards.

My Robot Army (20G)

Hacked 20 Spectres using the Data Knife.

Refuse (50G)

Survived an evacuation.

I Like A Challenge (50G)

Completed all challenges for a single weapon.

IMC Pilot (50G)

Completed the IMC Campaign.

Militia Pilot (50G)

Completed the Militia campaign.

My Generation (50G)

Became a second generation Pilot.

IMC Elite Pilot (25G)

Won every Campaign level as an IMC pilot.

Militia Elite Pilot (25G)

Won every campaign level as Militia pilot.

Death From Above (25G)

Killed 5 enemies by dropping a titan on them.

Build Yourself (15G)

Created a custom pilot loadout.

Customize Your Ride (15G)

Created a custom titan loadout.

Halfway There (25G)

Reached level 25.

Maxed Out (50G)

Reached level 50

Flag Runner (25G)

Won 50 Capture The Flag matches.

I Wore 'Em Down (25G)

Won 50 Attrition matches.

Pilot Hunter (25G)

Won 50 Pilot Hunter matches.

Captured Everything (25G)

Won 50 Hardpoint matches.

I Stand Alone (25G)

Won 50 Last Titan Standing matches.

I've Seen It All (25G)

Played every gameplay mode on every map.

Ride 'Em Cowboy (25G)

Rodeo-killed a Titan.

Like A Vacation (25G)

Completed training.

Look Around (10G)

Snapped the necks of 10 Pilots.

All The Hardware (50G)

Unlocked everything.

Vortex Volley (15G)

Caught a projectile shot from a vortex with your own vortex.

Frequent Flyer (50G)

Played 50 Campaign matches.

I Killed Them All (25G)

Killed all pilots during the evacuation single-handedly.

Freerunner (25G)

Wallran for 5 killometers.

Gen 10 (0G)

Reached the highest Pilot generation.

Superior In Every Way (25G)

Killed 1000 AI soldiers.

Titanfall (25)

Called in your Titan 25 times.

NEWS: Battlefield 4 DLC Naval Strike Release Date Announced

The next batch of DLC is set for a late march release date, whilst premium members can gain access two weeks prior.

Revealed through the official Battlefield website is a wealth of information regarding what players can expect in the latest DLC, titled 'Naval Strike' - featuring water-based combat set on four new maps taking place in the South China Sea. The blurb describes various ways of taking on opponents:

"Blow open a crashed passenger plane and capture fishing villages across the tropical Lost Islands. Drop a submarine on your foes as you infiltrate a naval base or rush between shipping docks and rocky islands on the massive Wave Breaker map. Wage war across stormy seas in the largest ocean stretch in any Battlefield map yet with Nansha Strike. Storm an abandoned cliff-side resort, or get lost in the breathtaking vistas in Operation Mortar."

Also included is "the fan-favourite, Titan Mode from Battlefield 2142" as well as new weaponry, assignments, a hovercraft vehicle, and various gadgets. It should be noted further that those who carry a premium membership are able to download the DLC two weeks prior before its public release.