Tag / PlayStation 3

by Henry Hunt

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dawnguard review

 

After not too long a wait, Bethesda has graced us with yet more dragon vampire killing fun in the form of the first DLC pack for our best game of 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, best known as the source of repetitive internet jokes which have prompted numerous angry blog posts. Under the title of Dawnguard, this add-on not only gives an extra 6 hours of gameplay but also makes a number of slight additions and improvements to an already great game.

On the whole, Dawnguard’s storyline is not fantastic but it’s still a good addition to one of the best games out there. The quests are fun, with a good mixture of murder, carnage and even the occasional puzzle, the new characters are interesting and in all honesty fun to interact with and, most importantly for an RPG, the storyline is good.  My major complaint with Dawnguard is the fact that there is no variety in what you have to do. Just like the rest of Skyrim, each quest is simply run here, kill/steal/Fus Ro Dah this, come back, repeat, and while this can be fun for short periods, I found that after about an hour of gameplay I began to become bored. It would have been nice for a Bethesda to make at least a little differentiation between Skyrim and Dawnguard, but alas no.

While the main storyline is at worst disappointing, the rest of the DLC is far superior. There are numerous minor changes to the general gameplay which make the whole experience feel much better than it did before. My favourite addition is that of horseback fighting, as nothing feels better than charging through battle, firing slow motion arrows from the back of your horse. This, along with dragon bone weapons, werewolf and vampire perk trees and other such improvements makes for a significant improvement for an already superb game.

Overall, Dawnguard is decent. While the storyline and quests are not what they could have been, everything else that comes along side the questline makes Dawnguard in my eyes worth the money, despite the high price tags. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dawnguard is available now for 1600 Microsoft Points (£13.71) from the Xbox Marketplace and for £13.99 on PC via Steam, while Bethesda is said to be ‘not satisfied yet‘ with Dawnguard’s performance on PlayStation 3, and have decided to hold back its release until they can ensure that it will not worsen users experiences in the Skyrim world.

 

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Codemasters finally confirms much-anticipated GRID 2 with début trailer

 

 

Since its initial launch way back in 1997 on the OG PlayStation, the ToCA Touring Cars series from Codemasters has remained a favourite of racing fans for its unrivalled realism and graphical prowess. To coincide with each new generation of console the series has undergone a pair of major revamps, first to ToCA Race Driver and then to 2008’s Race Driver: GRID. In the 4 years since the latest iteration was released to unanimous critical acclaim, rumours have constantly swirled regarding the development of a sequel. Codies staff have been quoted as having mentioned it on numerous occasions since 2009, and CEO Rod Cousens told Eurogamer in late 2010 that DiRT and GRID games would have alternating release years, starting with DiRT 3 in 2011. Despite all this, details have been relatively scarce, but that all ends now.

With a trailer posted on YouTube, Codemasters finally confirmed the existence and title of GRID 2. The guys over at GamesRadar have had a chance to play it and put together a massive preview, and they have confirmed that street racing is in and destruction derbies are out, as crash-lovers have DiRT Showdown for all that stuff. Also, and possibly most irritating, the helmet camera is no more as constructing car interiors would push the current-gen consoles beyond their limits. While this is a disappointing omission, GamesRadar also reports that there is a lot of new science and possibly even a Ferrari license involved, so Codies seem to be more than making up for it.

The game is set to launch on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 during 2013, and you can watch the début trailer below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yKCS8B6_SA]

Source YouTube

 

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

Codemasters teases F1 Race Stars for a November release

Codemasters is famed for its racing simulations such as the Colin McRae Rally (now DiRT) and Race Driver series, but the company seems set to take an uncharacteristic shift towards the arcade style with the announcement of F1 Race Stars. Designed as a spin-off to their Formula 1 series, Race Stars provides motorsport with a Mario Kart-esque twist, gifting gamers officially licensed F1 properties with a multitude of power-ups and circuit modifications along with caricature graphics. The game is set for release across PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in November this year, while F1 2012, the latest simulation entry to the franchise, is still looking forward to a September 21st launch.

Watch the F1 Race Stars trailer below.

Via MCV

by Xavier Voigt-Hill

The Last of Us gameplay video steals the show at E3

In Sony’s E3 press conference, Naughty Dog, the studio behind the Uncharted and Jak & Daxter games, unveiled the first gameplay video of their new IP, The Last of Us. The game is set in a post-pandemic world destroyed by a plague, and players take control of Joel, a ruthless survivor, and Ellie, a brave young girl, as they try to survive across America. The gameplay video, created live at the keynote from a PlayStation 3, shows Joel and Ellie treading through an abandoned hotel, before death ensues for many enemies. At the end, an assailant sporting a rifle enters a derelict room, before getting stabbed and losing his head to the gun. Watch the epic 7:23 video below (18+) and take a look at the previous trailers and a few screenshots, and prepare for the PlayStation exclusive launch in late 2012 or early 2013.



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by Xavier Voigt-Hill

E3: The Preview

E3 is just around the corner, so we thought we’d give you a peek at some of the stuff that we’re looking forward to this week.

The Last of Us

The Last of Us is the latest title from Naughty Dog, famous for the Uncharted and Jak & Daxter games. This PS3 exclusive is set in a post-pandemic world destroyed by a plague, and players take control of Joel, a ruthless survivor, and Ellie, a brave young girl, as they try to survive across America. Think Dead Island but better.


Tomb Raider

Lara Croft is back, and she’s determined to get her crown back as queen of action games.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dawnguard

Skyrim came out late last year to almost universal acclaim, including our own game of the year award. Now, Bethesda is set to give us more information about the recently-announced Dawnguard DLC.

Lego Lord of the Rings

Lego games are always awesome, and the minifgure take on Lord of the Rings promises to be no exception.

Hitman: Absolution

The Hitman series returns with death, death and even more death.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes

Despite being an obvious attempt to cash in on the ongoing Sherlock fever, this LA Noire-esque detective game seems intriguing.

Far Cry 3

The Far Cry series returns to an isolated island, and this time you get crazier the longer you stay there.

Assassin’s Creed 3

With a new protagonist and a new continent, AC3 promises to be epic, but can it differ enough from its predecessors to make gamers happy?

Have we missed anything? Let us know in the comments, and get ready for the biggest week of the gaming year. E3 here we come!

by Jasper Edwards

Why Battlefield 3 is awesome

Since October last year, half of my life has been devoted to one amazing creation that is Battlefield 3. Getting mostly 9’s from the critics, the only real competitor to this huge FPS is obviously the CoD series. Since both series have been going on for over half my life, they both certainly have the experience and knowledge to nick £40 out of your pocket and make you feel good about it, but Battlefield 3 does it in a way that nobody would’ve ever imagined before. Using the Frostbite 2 engine and the multiplayer element of the Medal of Honor reboot as a warm-up, DICE made this game the most epic and awe-inspiring game of, well, ever. With 5 million sales in the first week, I am going to explain to you why you should get this game if you haven’t already.

I will start with the part of shooters that is dying a slow and painful death: the campaign. Having completed it in a day on hard difficulty about 4 months ago, it remains a sweet memory in the heart of my mind. You start off as a foot soldier in the middle of some war-torn Iranian city as part of a small squad of soldiers. After a short while of the atmosphere consuming you, quick fire-fights and realistic situations begin to steal your mind and eyes from the real world. You are quickly shown the amazing destruction engine and realistic sounds as well as things like suppressive fire which makes killing the enemy a lot harder. With all the realism intact, you are still left feeling like you are a super soldier, until of course you get cocky and take a bullet to the face. Skipping on a bit as, although I’d love to, I can’t take you through the whole campaign, you are put in the shoes of an F-18 pilot, an M1A2 Abrams (i.e. a big tank) and a Russian guy trying to help the world – for once. After the mind-blowing good lengthy missions that lead up to the finale, some good twists and revelations give that grin a widening and leave you feeling as if you’ve just completed the BF3 campaign because there’s nothing really that compares to it.

The next part of the game to explain is the ground-breaking multiplayer that wins most people. The multiplayer has been patched and tweaked and added to constantly to maintain its beauty. From DLC’s to sounds that literally are real, I bow to DICE for giving this brilliant game the upkeep it needs, as any good game does. Analogy alert: nice cars cost a lot to run. The multiplayer is for pretty much anyone. If you are an adrenaline junkie crazy guy you can enter the close quarter maps and game modes which allow simple quickly changing games, but if you like a tactical teamwork inspired game that includes vehicles for land, sea and air then jump into Conquest. As well as the game mode you’re looking for, the type of player you are is taken into account as well. From mounting bipods and massive scopes and keeping your gun on semi-auto to using nothing but your fully auto side-arm and fear to kill your enemies, you can pretty much do anything, use anything or be anything you want to. With plenty maps, weapons, attachments and vehicles the multiplayer is almost flawless. However every game has its bad points and Battlefield 3 is no exception. On large maps against a skilful enemy you may find yourself spawn-trapped with no escape apart from the AA gun that’s being hogged by Brian Peppers’ downy brother. Another problem that may occur which has happened to me twice in total (in my 100+ hours of game time) is when your guns or menu do not appear so you find yourself useless and stuck. The last problem is that you find hours of your day vanish in front of your eyes, although I’d rather that than watch parts of your controller sprinkle across the room after your latest venture on to Modern Warfare 3. Another small part of the game for extra fun is a co-op mission strand consisting of 6 missions that you complete with your friend to unlock some extra guns for online games. The co-op does not need much explaining apart from that it is fun and fulfilling.

A problem however that people have with the game however is that it constantly wants your money to rent a server, buy a new map pack or get access to online features. First of all, most of these are avoided if you preordered or bought a limited edition (which costs no more than a regular copy), both of which give you codes for online play and free DLC. Secondly, you cannot blame DICE or the game for this as all the previous stuff was originally going to be free until EA stuck their big, money sucking noses into it and persuaded DICE to let them charge for it. No wonder they’re the worst company in America.

Overall Battlefield 3 is a great game and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone that is a new gamer, an FPS fan or just anyone with a PC or console. With things like a never-ending achievement list, upgrades to get, people to shoot and wallet-melting DLC combined with other things like dozens of maps, completely customisable weapons and orgasmic sounds and graphics, for me this game couldn’t be better.

Cue epic BF theme tune.

by Eddie King

Birdwatching: Fus Ro Damn I’m bored

Birdwatching is a column by Eddie King. Views expressed are not necessarily those of Digixav.

I didn’t manage to impale a sharp projectile into my patella but regardless I have managed to lose my sense of humour over Digixav’s favourite game of 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Yes, the small red flying feathered ball in the sky is going to be taking the big, scaly, fire breathing monster that is Skyrim. It was one of the most highly anticipated games since the release of Oblivion back in 2005 and when it arrived at school on a November morning even the quietest and most reasonable students became national standard rugby players and managed to barge past most of the school to play it. I did observe and despair, and this is why.

A game should stimulate you mentally. It should make you think and feel and it should be an experience. Skyrim is just a way to waste time. The mechanics of the game are repetitive and there are enough side missions to get lost in. Replay value? I think not because the chances are you will never finish the entire game before your mind is reduced to a whimpering mass at the back of your cranium. You play as a violent oaf who can somehow swing some stupidly large piece of some unknown element at some impossibly alive bag of walking bones which can absorb more damage than a Nokia. I guess what I am so angry about is that it claimed to be so good; it claimed to be a vast, open world to lose yourself in. Well yes, I certainly did lose myself in it, the problem being that I didn’t manage to find a way out. The story is just too big and there needs to be an end. An infinite story should not be allowed. I want to be able to enjoy understanding the various intricacies and twists instead of having huge amounts of nonsensical myths and obscure cults that everybody I meet seems to want me to join dropped into my lap and let me wonder what the hell I am supposed to do with it all. This is prominent when you get into the game and you check your mission catalogue, only to find about three pages worth of objectives that you have no intention of completing. Then when finally you do get round to starting AND finishing a quest the formula is the same every single time. Namely go here and talk to this person, pick up another two quests, go there and enter a mildly scary looking cave, wait at loading screen for too long, go inside and navigate a complex array of tunnels, encounter a few enemies which you can get rid of by button bashing which results in the same three moves until they die and finally collect your reward which is the ability to talk to some stars which help you in some practical way. Because stars now control how good we are at stuff, don’t you know.

The game lies to you, and after a few hours you have seen everything you are ever going to see. The combat systems are overly simplistic and movements are very slow. Now at this point those of you who are still reading and haven’t taken offence will note that I admit that Skyrim isn’t all bad as the graphics are insane and certain parts of the story are pretty epic. It is also a very good addition to the Elder Scrolls series and the people who have grown used to this style of game will have no qualms where I was tearing my hair out. Also, despite me claiming that it is a mindless game, some of the puzzles are quite challenging but the end is always inevitable. The slow and unrealistic fighting and repetitiveness of the gameplay unfortunately mean that this game becomes boring by the time you are in desperate need of a pee in front of laptop. Skyrim is a good game but is let down by being hyped up far too much and it isn’t the completely free universe it claims to be.

by Jordan Davis-Bernier

PS3 vs. Xbox 360: The final battle

Now, before you can say that I am biased towards one console I just want to point something out. I have BOTH consoles. I will obviously include my opinion where necessary. The way this will be working is that I will be using a scoring system out of 10 on each category as follows:

  • Controller
  • Game quality
  • Online play
  • Online features
  • Durability
  • Costs
  • Size/power comsumption
  • Units sold
  • Technical problems


Controller

To be honest, you can’t really say which controller is better, as you can easily get used to either one. For example, I had a PlayStation for about 10 years before I got an Xbox, and, within about 2 weeks, I was easily able to pick up the Xbox controller and use it and vice versa. After using the Xbox for 2 years, I went and got a PS3 and I was easily able to switch between the two.

Xbox 8/10
PS3 8/10

Game quality

Without boring you with all the techy stuff (sorry), the Xbox and the PS3 have virtually the same graphics card. The processor on the PS3 is better, but it is extremely hard to make a good game for it (from what I’ve heard) while the Xbox has a slightly worse processor, but it is much easier to program for (again, from what I’ve heard). That would explain the higher game count on Xbox.

Xbox 9/10
PS3 7/10

Online play

Let’s start on a bad point for both consoles. Xbox has this stupidly annoying feature called region lock, which is literally what it says. You can’t play some games hosted in other countries. I have come across countless hackers on the PS3 as in, one in every 20 games will be hacked or modded in some way. Now this thing with the PS3 might just be me getting unlucky, but I truly doubt it. Now on to the good stuff. PSN/SEN is FREE! I love it. I can make countless accounts, go and use the first gun and go and pwn some of what I consider the ‘easier’ opponents or ‘n00bz’. On the Xbox, however, you have to pay, but it is a measly £39.99 per year. For actual connectivity I would say that it is the PS3, but for security I would say that without a doubt the Xbox.

Xbox 7/10
PS3 8/10

Online features

I’m going to make this clear. By online features I actually mean chat and the online store ie. the Xbox Marketplace and the PlayStation Store. Regarding chat, Xbox is definitely the winner. With cross game and single player chat it is superior. When you do get to finally talk to people on PS3, I don’t think it is of as good a quality. That is my own opinion, but don’t say anything unless you have actually experienced both consoles. Now onto the Xbox Marketplace and the PlayStation Store. I find that downloading from Xbox is significantly quicker than PS3. However, trying to find things on the Xbox is a nightmare. Do you want the DLC? No. The demo? No. How about the trailer? NO! Then you will – eventually – find the game. On the PS3, I think that the Store has a significantly better layout, but poorer download speeds.

Xbox 7/10
PS3 7/10

Durability

I know this may sound like a stupid category, but I think it is important. I am not going to give this one a rating however, because the two consoles were designed for a different audience. The Xbox, with its tougher design, means that it is more suited to a family environment. The PS3, with its sleek design, is more designed for the careful gamer. Sounds stupid, but it’s true. I have dropped both my Xbox and PS3 (like a boss) and the Xbox definitely fared better. Anyways, enough of this stupid topic on to the next.

Costs

I’m going to do this in a HDD capacity to Amazon cost ratio. I will take the highest capacity of each that is currently available, and not include the prices of motion controllers ie. Move and Kinect.

Xbox = £160 ÷ 250GB = 64p per GB
PS3 = £229 ÷ 320GB = 71p per GB

As you can see, the PS3 is marginally more expensive per gigabyte, which is probably due to the Blu-ray, but what can you do about it?

Xbox 8/10
PS3 7/10

Size/power Usage.

The PS3 is definitely the bigger model and this is because of the massive power brick that sits outside the Xbox is actually inside the PS3 which essentially makes it sort of portable. Microsoft decided that the Xbox’s power brick outside. This makes the model smaller than its counterpart. All of this said, you may be surprised to hear that the PS3 uses 30W less energy than the Xbox.

Xbox 7/10
PS3 9/10

Units sold

Simply put, the Xbox has sold 65.8 million units and the PS3 has sold 62 million. This may be down to games, or availability.

Xbox 9/10
PS3 8/10

Technical problems

Many people say that the Xbox has the red ring of death, but what they don’t know is that the PS3 has the yellow light of death, which means exactly the same thing on both consoles. They’re screwed. It does have to be said, however, that the PS3 has significantly less reported incidents of the YLOD than the Xbox’s RROD.

Xbox 7/10
PS3 8/10

Conclusion

To conclude, I will count up the points of each console and total them below.

Xbox 62/80
PS3 62/80

Please note: I did not go back and change any of the results, I left them how I thought they should be.

As you can probably see, there really is no clear winner. So you can go and have your petty comment wars, but as Rowan Dinwoodie says:

I don’t give a fuck

by Luke Walker

Why I love the PlayStation Vita

I am a PlayStation fanboy, and, when I heard about the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s new handheld, I knew it would be the console for me. Now I have had a few weeks with one, I love it even more.

As soon as I got it, I was struck by just how big the Vita was. I had seen pictures and renders of it beforehand, but not until it is in your hand do you actually realise how big it is compared to the older PSP models. See these comparisons with the PSP-3000 for a taster.

On older PSP models, only one shoulder button was located on either side, instead of the two that you would find on a traditional PlayStation controller. However, the Vita compensates for this oversight, having a rear capacitive touch panel in place of another trigger. Many people will say that they would have preferred to see two triggers rather than the capacitive panel and I did not feel too enthusiastic about Sony’s choice. However, having actually used the device, it can add greatly to the gameplay experience, providing the developers use all their resources to optimise their games for the Vita. One fantastic implementation of the panel is on FIFA Football, where one has the ability to shoot with quick taps on the rear of the console. To shoot at the bottom right corner of the goal, tap the bottom right. It could not be simpler, especially for penalties. In Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a Vita-exclusive launch title, different gestures result in different actions, such as climbing walls and slicing through the jungle and, as developers learn to take full advantage of what the Vita has to offer, things can only get better.

Furthermore, the the addition of dual analogue sticks to the Vita is also great as it gives you a proper feel of being just like a PS3 controller too. The old PSP had one analogue ‘stick’, but I could hardly regard it as that, due to the fact that it was just a little nub that was uncomfortable to use even for five minutes. Admittedly the sticks do protrude a fair bit, but they are 100% worth the added bulk.

The remote play is a lot better for the Vita and a lot easier to access and a lot more reliable. There are also a load of options to connect your Vita to your actual PlayStation Network/Sony Entertainment Network account to see who is online and talk to friends on party chat, just like you would if you were on your PS3. There are also better online connections to play against other people and, with an 802.11n WiFi chip, internet connectivity is much improved over that of the PSP. Also, with certain games available on both the Vita and the PS3, if you save the game to the cloud on your PS3, one can carry on with a Vita from your previous save point. This means you can play at home or out and about, which is a well thought out new feature to enhance the experience for the hardcore gamer.

The software on the horizon for the Vita is mouthwatering. Not only will great PS3 games such as FIFA 13, the inevitable Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, F1 2012, Grand Theft Auto V and Resident Evil be ported across and optimised for the dual touch panels and analogue sticks by developers, but a number of Vita exclusives are on the way from Sony and third parties, such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Touch My Katamari. Also, the prospect of downloadable PlayStation classics like Crash Bandicoot and Final Fantasy will give another dynamic, not only for the younger ones who will probably never have played the games before to give them a good experience, but also to the older ones who would of grown up playing these games and would probably love to revisit the classics of PlayStation gaming.

The PlayStation Vita is a great device and is well worth its price tag if you can afford it. I feel Sony have taken great time and effort to make it the best portable console ever and it certainly exceeds even my high expectations. The introduction of a new dimension to gaming makes it a better experience for hardcore players, who, up to this point, have been left out in the cold when it comes to gaming on the go. However, as most of us don’t have that sort of money at the moment, I suggest that, when the inevitable price drop occurs, you grab it because it will be a bargain that you can’t miss. I am sure that, if the price was about £169, they would fly off shelves like hot cakes, providing a large boost to retailers. If you do buy it, you will not be disappointed. You can take my word for it.