At 12.01 midnight GMT on the 10th November, HMV, Game and select supermarkets opened their doors to the hordes of eager fans aching to get their hands on Activision’s latest block buster Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Sam Gibbs, representing Pixelated Geek, was on hand at HMV in London’s Trocadero to cover the carnage. With just under 1000 people expected, security was tight with a full team of door men were there to keep the piece. Competition winners were also on hand to collect their swag and of course get their hands on the game.

HMV laid on a full squad of military personnel complete with two army Land Rovers with which people, including myself, posed for shots (sorry again I just couldn’t resist).

First in the door was Chris from Surrey who had been queuing there since 1.30 am and managed to get his hands on MW2 at about 12.30 meaning he was one dedicated fan having queued a full 23 hours on the streets of central London. His hearty devotion to the game won him some favour with HMV who took care of him shipping him out with no less than three Prestige kits (a total sum of £360’s worth).

Shout out to Mr. Lai and Mr. Wood for braving the cold with me

 

As all keen FPS gamers should know by now, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 launches tomorrow, 10 November, ending the social lives of a lot of gamers across the globe for a couple of months. Activision, deciding that the follow up to the wildly popular COD4 MW deserved the red carpet treatment and held a launch event with all the trimmings in London’s Leicester Square, the home to many a film premier. The Vue cinema in the main square was the venue with hands on with the game on the big screen, a VIP party and even a surprise concert to entertain a lucky few.

For the hard core fan however, the action was already building at the Trocadero HMV where a massive queue of just under 1000 or so eager gamers had already formed. Check back later for some coverage of the action at HMV including a guy who had queued a full 23 hours on the streets of London just to be first in line and a boat load of military action.

Shout out to Mr. Lai and Mr. Wood for braving the cold with me

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to the discussion at Universal that lead to the formation of the Aliens Vs Predator movie. Here’s how I think it would have gone:

Ideas guy: ‘Dude, what about Aliens and Predators in one movie?’

Producer: ‘Man, that would be sick! But they’re not even in the same story universe’

ID: ‘Meh, so what? They did it in games in the 90s. Two of the best and biggest monsters in one movie, it would be epic!’

P: ‘Yeah but we can’t make a movie without a story can we?’

ID: ‘What about: Predators breed Xenomorph Aliens for sport hunting? Make it some sort of Right of Passage or something’

P: ‘Yep, that’d probably work. Game on, I’ll put a writing team together’

And so, the Aliens Vs Predator movie was born and a reboot to the series was initiated. Two of Universal’s biggest monster franchises, combined together into an all out action fest. Yeah, there was a story, well kind of, but the original AVP movie and it’s subsequent sequels have all been about glorious action. I think of them as the balance to all those period dramas and romcoms, which helps me come to terms with spending money to see a film with basically no narrative.

Of course, both Aliens and Predator have seen game-movie tie-ins that predictably have been a little weak. Probably the best of the lot was Alien 3 back in the 16bit era, but the latest in the long list of  franchise game spin offs, Sega’s new Aliens Vs Predator (AvP) is attempting to change that and it’s multiplayer was on show at the Eurogamer Expo in London for hands on.

Character select screen

Given that the movie that the game is loosely based on was all action, you can rest assured that’s the aim of the game too. What could be better than Aliens, Predators and Marines in one game? How about Aliens, Predators and Marines all in one match you ask? Well if that’s something you’ve been craving for with this generation of consoles you can be at ease, because that’s exactly what’s available in AvP.

On board with a Marine

Each character type has it’s own unique abilities. The Marines for instance can fire their assault rifles, whilst the Predator can roam around practically invisible. The party piece of the Aliens has to be their ability to run up and down on pretty much any surface; walls, ceiling and floor, they’re all game. The each player can take charge of any of the three character types, but I can safely say, after my short hands on experience with the game, no one is going to want to be a Marine. In one match one player playing as a Marine literally died every 3 steps. It’s certainly the weakest character in the game and is often the prey for both Predator and Aliens. Ok, they have projectile weapons, but in all honesty it’s pretty difficult to hit something that’s either invisible or lightning quick.

Predator takes a stealth kill

The multiplayer certainly plays fast. It’s a frantic rush of stealth kills and melee attacks that invariably ends in all parties dying just as frequently as they kill. Thankfully however the controls are pretty simple and responsive. You basically get two types of attack, heavy or light and you can run and jump to different extents depending on your character. The Alien is probably the most difficult to control as it’s incredibly fast and jumps orientation rapidly as you transition from floors to walls to ceilings, however keeping the action simple it’s pretty easy to get into the game and we found after a little adjustment that the Alien was just as easy to control as any other character. That I think shows that the team behind AvP has put some real thought into the potentially difficult task of controlling one of the most agile monsters available. Simplicity is however where the multiplayer element of AvP may come short. In our brief brush with the game it was easily apparent that the death match battles became rapidly repetitive, with little variety in confrontations and kills. Ok, with two types of attacks and no changing of weapons what do you expect? However fast and gory the action is, if it’s boring after a few goes you’re unlikely to come back to it.

Alien with a Predator in its sights

Graphically the game looked quite detailed but suffered from a flat looking textures that left something to be desired. Each of the characters were quite detailed, especially in the kill and death sequences. Sneaking up on someone from behind enabled a ’stealth kill’ prompt which when executed launched you at your opponent and played a small in-game animation sequence of the kill. For the Alien it was the traditional, grab the guy and ram it’s tail through their back and out their stomach. For Predator it was the invisible force holding the character before an invisible spear was thrust through their bodies and outlined in their blood. The animations were both satisfying to watch as well as frustrating in the time they took. They are one hit kill type strikes but often in the time it takes to do the animation sequence some opportunistic player can come up behind you and do the same manoeuvre to you whilst you don’t have any control. So I guess it’s something to be savoured and only used when there’s no one around.

Predator take a fate strike from an Alien

Having not had a chance to get any face time with the single player experience, which I understand has three separate story-driven campaigns that intertwine, I can’t say for sure what the whole game is going to turn out like and whether it will best previous offering in the franchise. What I can tell you, baring in mind that this is still a ‘work in progress’, is that the multiplayer has both good points and bad points. It’s obvious that the speed and frantic nature of the game play adds to an exciting multiplayer experience, but that highly repetitive kill sequences and limited combat options makes the multiplayer somewhat boring. If you were taking on some mates, I can see it being a really exciting and competitive experience with lots of trash talking and owning opportunities. Whether playing against randoms across the internet will keep you entertained for long remains to be seen.

[Photo credits to Ben Smith]

The follow up to the wildly popular Xbox 360 and PC game Mass Effect is set to hit the streets in January 26th in America and 29th 2010 in Europe. Mass Effect 2  is set two years after the conclusion of the original having stopped the Reaper invasion, Commander Shepard must join forces with Cerberus, recruiting some of the galaxy’s most dangerous operatives in a bid to find out what’s causing the miraculous vanishing of entire human colonies.

So what does the game handle like? Well it’s unsurprisingly more of the same so fans of the original should be happy. The textures and character models look a little more detailed and the cut scenes look great with highly detailed pre-rendered quicktime events in which you can chose what your character is going to say. What struck me about my time with the game was that the graphics looked really smooth, almost cartoonish in a way, but it might have been the setup they were using, only experience on a familiar system will be tell truthfully. The control scheme is similar to Gears of War with the cover system and firing very similar indeed. Most of the demo was spent sprinting from one piece of cover to another. Accuracy with the weapons in the game was also difficult to achieve, except the targeted rocket launcher that let you paint a target and then fire at them from any angle whilst the rocket was guided to it’s target.

Will Mass Effect 2 top the highly successful and critically acclaimed original, only time will tell, but from our limited hands on, fans of the series won’t be disappointed.

We apologise for not giving you any decent shots of the action but the EA reps were blocking photos and certainly weren’t happy when we tried to capture a few frames.

[Photo credits to Ben Smith]

So you’ve heard that the God of War 3 collectors edition is going to steam roll you wallet ($100 for the privaledge) and you’ve noted that the demo will be available on the District 9 Blu-Ray (available 29th December) if you’re not too keen on buying the first two games again on Blu-Ray with the God of War Collection, but what does God of War 3 handle like? Should it have been an FPS? Is it more of the same? Does it deserve your hard earned rent money? Well Pixelated Geek is on hand to find out.

Well as you might expect GOW3 handles a lot like previous instalments in the series but with more interactivity and action. The power behind the PS3 has allowed up to 50 enemies on screen at anyone time and it’s obvious when you get into the think of it. Some of the original combos are there along with several new ones for the non-button mashing types among you.

Graphically the game looks great with really pretty textures throughout. Character models are highly detailed and well animated even when up close and personal. Pretty realistic looking blood also emerges on strike points on both Kratos and his enemies. There’s even more gore when you face up against some of the larger foe with blood and guts pouring out as you finish them off. Most of the cut scenes look fantastic but are in-engine making you feel still in the action. They also include the now pretty common quicktime events making you press buttons at the appropriate time in the cut scene to progress. So they’ll be no napping between fights whilst the cut scene plays through.

The combat itself is also engaging and fluid. Both button bashers and combo players will be happy, as there are times where both are called for. You enemies can be finished off quickly with fast and frantic bashing or you can trigger more gruesome finishing moves. Kratos is even able to pick up his enemies and either use them as a shield, rip off their heads or hurl them at other enemies.

If you liked the previous instalments in the series I have no doubt that you’ll love God of War 3. If you’re a fan of action games I’m pretty sure you’ll find something to like here and if you’re yet to be a PS3 owner, then this might be a system seller for you.

[Photo credits to Ben Smith]

Yours truly will be reporting from the London leg of the Eurogamer Expo this Saturday 31st October, bringing you the latest news and previews from one of Europe’s largest games exhibitions. The Eurogamer Expo, London, is a total sell out with 16+ different publishers showing off over 50 different titles, many with a 2010 release schedule including the first UK showings of:

• Aliens vs. Predator
• Assassin’s Creed II
• God of War III
• MAG
• Heavy Rain
• Left 4 Dead 2’s Scavenge Mode
• Mass Effect 2
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii
• Red Steel 2
• Split/Second

All of which will be playable.

So if you’re unlucky enough not to have snagged a ticket for either Leeds or London, then don’t worry because we got your covered.

All coverage of the Eurogamer Expo on Pixelated Geek can be found here.

WHO
Reformist candidate (Iranian presidential election)

WHAT
Claimed that protesters were savagely raped while in custody

WHEN
Announced yesterday

WHERE
Iran

WHY
Wrote a letter to the former president

FTA
They were revealed as the head of the police admitted there had been mistreatment of prisoners detained in the aftermath of the election.

More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6004274/Iran-prisoners-were-savagely-raped-after-protests.html

WHO
13-year-old Somalian girl

WHAT
Was stoned to death by militant Islamists

WHEN
Last fall

WHERE
Somalia

WHY
Tried to report three men for rape

FTA
This child suffered a terrible death as demanded by the armed opposition forces that control Kismayo, says David Copeman who is responsible for Amnesty’s Somalia-department, to the news office, AP.

More: http://www.aftenbladet.no/english/940794/13-year_old_stoned_to_death_in_Somalia.html

WHO
30-year-old man

WHAT
Died during a fight when he threw a woman through a window. Was impaled by a shard of glass.

WHEN
Today

WHERE
West End in London at 2am

WHY
He threw the woman against the window and it broke

FTA
After several blows, the glass shattered and the pair fell through, leaving the man fatally wounded.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/aug/11/window-shard-kills-man-london

Hit the read link for more on this time saving app.

Where the exit is located is something that those that use the tube for their daily commute have already worked out for their route to work as it can make a huge difference not only to reduce the amount of walking but also reduce the volume of people walking up the stairs/escalator or packing into the lift. The problem comes when you’re on your way to a place or station that you’re not intimately familiar with. It’s not like the exits have a uniform distribution among the different stations, which means if you pick the wrong end of the tube you could be in for a battle getting out of there. Tube Exits allows you to look like a pro without needing to remember where each exit is for each station. I’m not going to say it’s useful for those who travel every day on the tube to the same destinations. By now it’s not going to be able to tell you any more than you already know, but if like me you make the occasional excursion into the city or to events across the capital, Tube Exits can be a true time saver.

With a pretty intuitive interface that essentially just lets you input your route into the app it will show you which tube carriage to be in to be opposite the exit from the platform. It will even differentiate between exits from the station and exits to other lines, all of which may not be accessible from the same point on the platform. If you happen to have a lot of shopping or luggage this can be a real boon allowing you to literally step of the train opposite the required exit with absolutely minimal effort. The app works off network so you can work out your next route from within the underground and also features a convenient route reversal button (because both ways may not be the same) for your journey home. Your regular journeys can be bookmarked in favourites for quick access. The app also includes the ability to download the latest London Tube map into the app for easy access underground. Finally on the main screen there is also a panel for Links to information about the app and enabling you to write a review or send a link to the app to a friend. Think of it like the normal about screen you find in apps.

Considering how many stations there are on the London Underground there’s bound to be stations that you might visit that you can’t remember where the exit is and Tube Exits is precisely for that purpose. You may think that knowing precisely where the exit is located along the station is a little extreme but a couple of journeys in rush hour with tourists or shoppers everywhere in a packed tube, having to fight your way through the masses to the exit because you’re the opposite end of the platform from the exit will certainly make Tube Exits seem like a godsend. For that reason I whole heartedly recommend the app to all Londoners or people that visit London and use the Tube even given the comparitively high price tag of £1.79.

Tube Exits is available on the App Store for £1.79. A lite version is also available limited to the top 12 busiest stations on the network.

To celebrate the launch of Red Faction Geurilla, THQ set up a public smash up in the streets of our fair city, London. Parking a car filled with copies of the game with a sledge hammer chained to the side in Covent Garden, passers by could take their rage out on the hapless auto-mobile and claim a copy of the game for PS3 or Xbox 360 for themselves. I think it’s a pretty fitting time to do this kind of ‘out there’ promotion what with one of the most infuriating tube strikes just ending last night here in London, a lot of Londoners would have had some pent up aggression and displaced anger to let go. Let’s just say if I’d have seen it yesterday there might not have been much left after I’d had at it!

[Via Kotaku & Guardian]