lost in games

It’s a fighting week here at Game Releases.In the Blue corner for the HD console generation there is UFC 2009: Undisputed on the PS3 and 360. I didn’t even know about UFC until a few months ago when i visited a friend’s place and he was watching a fight on satellite (aka dreambox) with some friends. When i suggested that it reminded me of WWE i was immediately verbally attacked and told “This is the s…man!”.

Well, the s… has been made into a videogame and a quite competent one at that.

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About a month ago i linked to a news story about the French parliament trying to pass a bill which would disconnect people suspected of downloading illegal content.

“The new legislation operates under a three-stage system. A new state agency would first send illegal file-sharers a warning e-mail, then a letter, and finally cut off their connection for a year if they were caught a third time. ”

As this is the first time a country introduces a specific law to combat piracy i am really interested where we will go from here and how successfully can such laws will be enforced.

Read the full news story here at BBC.

E3 is in June and therefore a lot of companies are holding off from announcing new games or other major news until then. There are rumours of course but i think it’s best to wait until we have the official announcements. So let’s have a look at some trailers and short previews of upcoming games instead.

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The videogame world has its Halos, Guitar Heroes, Metal Gear Solids and Super Marios and we are grateful for them. But it also has those small budget games and which are usually developed by one or two persons. A lot of them are not any good but there are some that deserve our time. I stumbled on a handful of these games which i have thoroughly enjoyed and i hope you do too.

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Sanctification - The religious ceremony in which something is made holy.

Now you can’t say that there was nothing worthwhile in this week’s Game Releases post. At least you have learned a new word.

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As the world holds its breath and moves to contain the swine flu, one question is on everybody’s mind. Which game will earn the game of the week title for 27 April to 1 May 2009? In contrast to the vaccine for the swine flu we have found the answer.

Read more the rest of the post at OnThisIsland - Link

Professional Gamer returns with some news and time wasters this week. Again, let me remind you that if you find anything game related which you think is worth sharing feel free to email me (costas.taliadoros@gmail.com) and I will try and include it in a future post.

NEWS

Gfk Chart Track released the UK Lifetime Hardware figures as of 31 January 2009. Link

Wii    4.9m
360   3.2m
PS3   1.9m
DS    8.8m
PSP   3.2m
PS2   10m

The PS3 is lagging behind its two competitors (launched later than both consoles) but it’s believed to be ahead of the 360 in the rest of Europe. While the Wii appears to be the new leader in the current console generatio, and not just in the UK, some dark clouds are starting to appear in the horizon. Japan has traditionally been the country where the console cycle is ahead of the rest of the other countries. Bill Harris at Dubious Quality has an excellent analysis of the lifetime sales in Japan and why Nintendo should be worried. It seems that the financial crisis, lack of good Wii games and the expansion of the market to less hardcore gamers are starting to take effect. Not to mention that the Wii has not had a price cut yet since it’s launch. In Cyprus the Wii is more expensive than the 360.

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The nominees for game of the week are:

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena is the sequel to the critically acclaimed xbox exclusive Escape from Butcher Bay. One of those rare games which were actually better than the movie they were based on. Starbreeze, a talented developer team (makers of The Darkness), has included in the package a remake of the original game. So anyone who has not played the original game is purchasing 2 games. If i had not played the demo a few weeks ago this would definitely be my game of the week choice. Unfortunately, i did not enjoy the demo as i found it to be your typical run and shoot in corridors type of FPS. There is a significant stealth gameplay element but i just did not experience it. However the game has received relatively good reviews so i may be wrong (again) and is definitely worth a look if you have not played the original game.

Here’s what Eurogamer thinks. “Assault on Dark Athena certainly isn’t the next-generation sequel it deserved, and compared to the cream of the current shooter crop it’s an average effort.” Link.

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I have started a new weekly series of blog posts at OnThisIsland where i will be providing you with information on gaming events, interesting articles, videos and my views on games i am currently playing.

This series will complement the Game releases posts which can sometimes be handicapped by the quality and quantity of what is being released. If any of you out there stumble upon any stuff you find exciting feel free to email me (costas.taliadoros@gmail.com) and i will try to post them in future Professional Gamer posts.

Videos

Starting off this first post are three videos on Halo. You can say what you like about the quality of the Halo series but the Halo fan community is one of the most loyal and creative groups out there. If you like Red Hot Chili Peppers you will love the first one, Halo ((All I Play-Oh)) . The next video can be true of any multiplayer game, The Clan . If your gaming affects your relationship, then you can always Blame Halo 3!

Finally two non-gaming videos which are worthy of your attention. A fantastic promotional video for the Asics shoes brand (Link) and a video on how dolphins make their bubbles! (Link).

Read more here

After reading Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar i took a much needed break by reading a few comic books. Now its back to reading about tyrants. I have just started Dinner with Mugabe, by Heidi Holland. Once again, as with the book on Stalin, i encounter the same conclusions. The people perpetrating some of the most horrific acts in human history are just that, people like you and me.

“According to British Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who over a career spanning 40 years has brought to life monsters of every epoch from Iago to Rasputin: ‘One of the few lessons i have learnt from studying people who do terrible things is that they are all too human. And that we are all capable of doing almost anything.’”

It’s when i read such statements that i realise i should not take anyone’s actions or behaviour for granted. Including my own.