From Dust (Xbox 360 Arcade Trial) Impressions

After a hectic week at work i was very pleased to discover From Dust has been released.

From Dust is from Eric Chahi, the genius behind Heart of Darkness on the PlayStation 1, and Ubisoft (Assassins Creed series.. oh and Beyond Good & Evil)

It immediately reminds me of “Populous” the first God-type game released waaaaay back in the late 80’s, from the sadly missed Bullfrog (those immortals behind Theme Park, Theme Hospital.. Syndicate)

You play as “The Breath” the connection between a small tribe and their god, or maybe you are their god.. did not quite work that connection out. You can manipulate the world to help your tribe grow and prosper, or watch as the superbly animated natural disasters wipe them out.

Form land bridges, divert waterfalls and rivers, watch as vegetation springs up everywhere and animals start roaming around. This is a visually stunning game, which makes it more surprising when you find out that this is an arcade title (or PSN/Steam depending on your platform of choice)

The trial has sucked me in, and i will be putting Microsoft points onto my account to unlock the full game.

Battleship… Movie… What The Hell…

Seriously… What the hell is this..
I can remember playing the (video?)board game when i was younger.. and i’m pretty sure it was human fleet Vs human fleet, not Human Vs Aliens.
Liam Neeson what have you done? Taken & Unknown were great films, The A-Team was enjoyable, but this.. im at a loss for words.
I realise the Transformers movies must have been great fro Hasbro, but not everything is destined to be mad in a movie. I would love to have been at that meeting.. what else was brung up in?
Connect 4?, Monopoly? Trivial Pursuit??
I just cannot think of a worse setting for a movie..
Can you?

New Minecraft Video Up

Just a small note, a new video for my Minecraft series is up.

Face to face with my feared enemy, a Rat…

if you missed the previous video, here is the playlist link

Minecraft: Tactixal Play's Yogbox "reloaded" Playlist

Games To Fill The Gaps

It's nearly the end of July and the games drought is in full effect. The next big game release, for me anyway, is Deus Ex: Human Revolution which is released at the end of August.

Dungeons Of Dredmore

I bought a neat little game from steam today, Dungeons of Dredmore.

lots of humour, randomly generated dungeons, quests, a lot of character skills to choose from .. and is a hell of a lot of fun

Big on fun, small on price

It is only £3.14, highly recommended

http://store.steampowered.com/app/98800/

Online Passes, Good or Bad?

Online passes, the current initiative by games companies to get gamers to buy games new over pre-owned is a thorny subject to some people.

99% of the games I buy are new, my pre-owned buys are limited to the games I have a slight interest in but have no intention of paying the £40 price tag for.

Essentially the pass locks out specific gameplay functions, multiplayer in most cases, or added maps. Personally I don't believe it is needed to punish gamers for buying pre-owned, not everyone can rush out and buy the latest games at full price.

I can understand the idea behind it, when a game is bought new a percentage of the selling price goes back to the developers, when a game is bought pre-owned the developers see nothing of the sale.

Obviously developers want to get something for every copy of their game sold, and the passes help towards that.

But if I want to buy a game pre-owned, why should then have to pay out extra on top of that? Why should gamers who buy a game for the online aspect be forced to pay extra to go online?

I'll admit because of this my game collection is at a decent size, the majority if the games I have bought over the last few months have needed the pass for online play, and I could not bring myself to be responsible for causing someone else to pay extra to go online due to my trade in.

Another Reason To Watch Harry Potter..

Going back to This post another reason I will probably come in and watch Harry Potter: & the Deathly Hallows Part 2, seriously can you think of a recent film with a longer name?, is to get a better look at the trailers we have attached to them.

Sherlock Holmes 2: Game of Shadows, and Dark Knight Rises.

Sherlock Holmes is out this year and reunites Robert Downey JR and Jude Law and Sherlock & Dr. Watson. The bits I have seen look fantastic.

Dark Knight Rises, the conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, is out next year. I have caught a glimpse of Tom Hardy's "Bane" and he looks great.

For those that do not know, Bane is the Batman villain renowned for "breaking the bat" literally.. He broke his back.. Over his knee!

I'm trying not to get too excited at this stage, it's only a teaser after all.. but damn... it looks good!

Activision Need A Sense Of Humour

Fusible has reported that Activision have filed a domain name dispute over the www.modernwarfare3.com website.

Previously the site forwarded you onto the official Battlefield 3 but now viewers are treated to the original anti-Call of Duty content that was up before the forwarding began.

Filing a dispute over a domain name, a domain name that you failed to think ahead and register yourself, is laughable to me.

Ok it was linking to your competitor, EA in this case, but just be the bigger men, hold your hands up and say "yep, we cocked that right up" then start handing over the cash to buy it.

I am firmly in the Battlefield camp in the upcoming battle when Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 are released, which side are you on?

100 Posts, Nearly 3,000 Page Views

I have just realised, The last post I made was my 99th blog post.

Which makes this one, my 100th.
To me this is a important milestone, when I started this blog back in February I didn't think I would keep at it.

I generally have a short attention span for anything I try out, well except gaming, so to actually still be excited to write and post something is an accomplishment for me, throw in the addition of my YouTube channel and the fun I'm having making videos to upload, I hope this lasts for another 6 months.

Which leads me to this, I would be very to happy to hear from anybody reading this,

What can I do to improve the blog?

What would make you recommend my site to others?

Would you like to see giveaways?

I want to hear from anybody reading this, you can comment anonymously if you wish to.

So, what do you say?

Harry Potter, I May See It After All

As loathed as I am to admit this, I may have to actually sit down and watch the last Harry Potter movie.

During the morning show today, I checked on the screen, I have to make sure the picture hasn't gone funny, or upside down & back to front.. Don't laugh I've seen it happen.

From the moments I have seen, I'm intrigued, I want to know what happens, I'll admit I have read most of the books, Order of the Phoenix was the last one I think, and have seen all the movies so far.. So I will inevitably see this one. Just for completions sake..

LA Noire Reefer Madness Case… Finally

It only took 318 Minutes, but my video playthrough of the latest DLC case for Rockstar and Team Bondi’s, 3rd Person Point & Click adventure, LA Noire is finally up on YouTube.

I didn't read up on this case, I never watched the DLC trailers, didn't read anything written on Kotaku, IGN, or Gamespot. But from the title i could tell this was going to be a vice case, and that meant teaming up with Roy Earl again… and I cannot stand the guy.

No spoilers here though, I will admit that I don’t think the case went as well as it could have, Interrogation has never been my strong point… but then again neither has driving… shooting though…. well I'm pretty average at that.. my death at 7 minutes is proof…

Overall I just didn't feel the love for this case, Rockstar & Team Bondi have both stated that this isn't the last DLC we will be getting, so I am hoping out for a good old fashion homicide case to finish it all off.

Future UK Publishing Redundancy’s Looming

Over on the MCV website there is an article up stating that Future Publishing will be making "around 100" staff redundant, Future are the publishers behind the Official Xbox 360, Official PlayStation, PC Gamer, GamesMaster and EDGE magazines, also Hi-Fi Choice, Home Cinema Choice, PC Format, and a wide selection of Hobby magazines including, Cross Stitch Collection, The Knitter and Your Family Tree.. Not that I Have ever read any of that last lot…

The move comes after a trading statement showed that the sales of printed media (magazines) was down. a fair point, pretty much all information released in magazines nowadays is available on the internet at least 2-3 weeks before the monthly magazines are printed, and are old news by the time the latest issues hit the newsagent's.

The article states that they will be transferring to a “predominantly digital model” which to me sounds as if they will be transferring over to app like editions for the current tablet generation.

I do not like this, as much as I love technology, I do not want to be permanently glued to a PC, tablet or games console to read up on news's and events. I would dare take a Tablet PC with me for a bath, like I do with magazines or books.. at least with a magazine the worst you have to watch out for is dropping it and ending up with a couple of soggy pages.. I wouldn't want to think of the repair bill for dropping an Ipad.. nor would I want to explain to whoever was repairing it..

Redundancy is never a happy experience, I've suffered it before, and I wish the staff at future publishing well & good luck for the future.. no pun intended..

The Only Reason I'll Watch Harry Potter 7 Part 2

Is the fact that the new teaser trailer for Batman : Dark Knight Rises will be attached to it.

I'm not a big Harry Potter fan, I've got the first 5 books, but they were given to me by an ex.
I've read them, I'll admit that, but they just didn't grab me.

But Batman, I'll pay to watch a film just to watch that trailer, the film itself isn't due out until next year.

MineCraft Let’s Play, YogBox Edition

I have just started a Minecraft Let’s Play series, featuring the YogBox compilation mod.

One thing I love about minecraft is the amount of mods, texture packs and maps available for download. While some do not necessarily improve the game, but it will always be different and fun to play.

The YogBox however is attempting to change that, this takes some of the best mods around and packages them up into one installer.

Get the YogBox Here, and also check out the contents, it includes a fantastic selection of mods that promise to:

“enhance and improve the minecraft single player experience without distracting from the enjoyment, atmosphere and general awesomeness of the vanilla game.”

While making this first episode I did actually find myself enjoying the opening day a lot more than I previously did. Hopefully this will be a fun learning experience, getting to grips with what exactly everything does, as well as an enjoyable video series to watch.

L.A. Noire, Nicholson Electroplating DLC Arson Case Complete Run Through

I did it, 5 hours of uploading and my complete run through of the arson case “Nicholson Electroplating” DLC is available to view.

See the playlist here

I hope viewers find it entertaining.

L.A Noire, DLC YouTube Videos On Way

I am just putting the finishing touches to my first proper XBox 360 videos.
A mini Let’s Play series for L.A. Noire DLC “Nicholson Electroplating”.
I Found the story quite interesting, if a little shallow, it didn't really have the same pacing, to me anyway, as the main cases.
But if you were wondering if it was worth the time/money/Xbox Live Points take a look at the video and see if that swings your opinion

Burnout Crash… What the Hell Have They Done

This… is not the burnout i know and love, I have spent countless hours playing all the burnout games… and this just looks shocking.

the worst part is that this is also Kinnect compatible.. How? Why? This looks like a damn pinball game.

Burnout has always been about driving like a crazy person in traffic, racing with spectacular crashes. I cant even think who they are aiming this at?

 

/rant

Automatic 3DS Demo Downloads?

GamaSutra has a post detailing Nintendo’s idea for game demo’s to be automatically downloaded onto your 3DS

I sort of like this, I currently have one game for my 3DS, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I rarely buy a new game that I haven’t seen or played a demo for.

Yes, there is always the internet to watch videos or read reviews for but reviews are always one persons view of that particular game being reviewed, and videos are specifically made to make the games look good, I was convinced Brink was going to be fantastic just by watching the trailers and developer diary's. and for 2-3 hours had convinced myself it was a brilliant game.. and then reality set in.

I like the idea of waking up in the morning and finding a new demo already downloaded and ready to play, my 3DS is always in its charging dock next to my router, always ready for a quick session.

Providing the Demo’s are released before or around the titles release dates this could help me save £29-£34 on a game that could very well be rubbish

Hauppauge HD PVR Test With F3AR

I've just finished uploading my test video for my Capture Equipment, I’m really impressed with how easy it is to setup and use.

F3AR

With this setup i can expand my (albeit small) collection of gaming videos to include PC (MineCraft, anything i find on steam, Project Zomboid, Dungeons of Dredmore,) AND Xbox 360 (I have a co-op run through lined up, for F3AR on INSANITY difficulty, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, maybe some Red Dead Redemption)

I would say PS3 as well… but quite frankly i haven't picked up the control pad for that in months

Tickets Booked for Eurogamer Expo

Just booked my tickets for the Eurogamer Expo this September in London, I'm quite excited already, I haven't been to anything like it before.

Random Stuff

I've only gone and ordered a Hauppauge HD PVR, so expect videos of 360 game's to start popping up on here.

F3AR, Well.. Not Really

I bought myself a copy of F3AR (Fear 3) on Friday and decided it was time to take the wrapping off and play last night, this is a standard routine for me, I just never seem to get round to playing a new game the day I buy it.

Decisions, Decisions.. Oh and Money Off Codes For Jinx.Com

I have a decision to make, do I purchase a Gainward GTX 550 Ti Golden Sample 1GB GDDR5 DVI VGA HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card, or a Hauppauge HD PVR?

A new graphics card would mean better quality PC gaming & videos , but the Hauppauge HD PVR would mean I can start uploading Xbox 360 footage to my YouTube channel.

Eventually I will have both, but what to get first? At the moment I Spend more time on my pc due to being able to FRAP most things, so the graphics card would be put to good use.
But being able to record Xbox videos would mean more variation to the Minecraft video’s currently occupying my channel

Any thoughts?

Also those lovely people at J!inx Clothing have supplied me with 2 $15 off codes to use on anything bought from their web store, this works out to be roughly £9 off an order for us Brits.
They have a fantastic range of Gaming & Geeky Shirts, Bags, buttons & wallets to choose from.
If you are interested in a code for an order, just like the TactixalGamer Facebook page & I will send them via a DM to 2 random fan’s by the 8th July