| The Sims Bustin Out of your Mobile Phone |
Electronic Arts have just announced that The Sims will be Bustin Out the Nokia N-Gage some time before the Summer of 2004.
The game, which is already available on Xbox, PS2, GameCube and GBA, is sure to be a big winner on the awesome Nokia mobile which is great news for Nokia.
The N-Gage version is expected to make use of the device's connectivity features in some way, so you'll probably be able to use the bluetooth facility to play against nearby gamers, and may also be able to take on more distant players in N-Gage Arena via GPRS.
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| Vice City gets Censored |
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Rockstar is believed to have bowed to political pressure in the United States and agreed to remove any reference to Haitian gangs from future copies of Vice City. There was concern that instructing players to kill Hiatian crime lords in the game would lead to real-life hatred or violence toward America's Haitians. The news has sparked a frenzy on eBay with fans of the game eager to snap up existing copies of the 'uncut' game for PC, Xbox and PS2 before the new game is released. The precise changes are unknown at this time, but they're expected to be substantial.
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| Xbox Live Going Well? |
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Microsoft recently announced that they expect to hit their target of 1 million Xbox Live users by June 2004. The online gaming network for Xbox users was initially slow to take off, but recently a wide range of broadband multi-user games have hit the shelves including the excellent PGR2 (Project Gotham Racing 2). Many new Live enabled games now include a two month trial subscription for the Microsoft Xbox Live service, so gamers who have ADSL or Cable can easily try out the system for free providing they've purchased an appropriate game.
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| PSP released in Japan |
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Dates for the UK and US releases of Microsoft's PSP handheld console are eagerly awaited. The new handheld is probably going to be priced at around £250 or $400 which is a price point that many addicted gamers are going to be tempted by. In fact some will think it's an absolute bargain if it means they can keep playing their favorite PS2 games when they're away from home.
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| Project Gotham Racing 2 updates for XBox Live users? |
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There's increasing speculation that updates for Project Gotham Racing 2 are going to be available to users of XBox Live in the near future, possibly including access to a whole new city of racing. However, there's also concern that users might be charged an extra fee for the new content, especially following the small, but significant, fee ($4.99) that was recently charged for the new MechAssault modules. It very much appears that paying online for new features, which you're going to have to have if your mates have got them, is going to be the next money spinner for Microsoft and their development partners. These companies need to make money to get a return on their hard work, but an alternative suggestion is that online upgrades should be free to encourage more people to buy into the game in the first place.
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| And the top games gadget of 2003 is? |
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No doubt about it, it has to be the Sony EyeToy. Yes, we know it's a simple USB camera; but it's brought to life by the superb software that allows it to project the image it sees onto the screen alongside the software images - so you can step into the screen and battle with robots or fend off Kung Fu attacks. Not the most sophisticated gaming, but good fun and it provides some much needed exercise for those of us who have been sitting around playing games all day!
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| So what was the best game of 2003? |
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As the end of 2003 drew near, we were forced to consider the big question; just what was the best game of the year? We decided it had to be multi platform to qualify, so one or two of the favorites such as the GameCube only "The Legend of Zelda" and the Xbox exclusive "Project Gotham Racing 2" fell by the way immediately. Shame - either could have won the title. XIII which is now available for PC, GameCube, Xbox and PS2 was still a hot contender though, but after much heated debate, we decided to go for Tony Hawk's Underground which plays so well on any platform you care to mention; well, at least on Xbox, GameCube, GameBoy Advance (GBA), PS2 and on PC. Neversoft's brilliant extreme sports game is guaranteed to keep you entertained for hours, but it's also a game you can pick up when you have 30 minutes spare for some quick skating fun.
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| GT4 delays give XBox the lead |
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When it comes to driving games, Microsoft's Xbox entered the Christmas sales rush with Project Gotham Racing 2 under the hood, giving it the racing line for the first corner of 2004. And it doesn't look like Sony will be overtaking as we head up the main straight because the much anticipated GT4 is still nowhere to be seen. Make no mistake, GT4 will be a great game when it gets here, but it could arrive too late to be the driving game of 2004. Meanwhile, the XBox will soon get another power boost with the arrival of another XBox exclusive in the shape of Codemaster's Race Driver 2. PGR2 concentrates on production cars (from the Mini to the Ferrari Enzo and Porsche Carrera GT), racing on street tracks. Race Driver 2 will be much more track orientated, and will feature the muscle of Ford GT cars and supercars like the Aston Martin DB9. Race Driver 2 also has a host other vehicles that will blow our minds such as the new GT40 and big truck racers. So (for now) Xbox can set off on its lap of honor, with the real racing action being between Race Driver 2 and Project Gotham Racing 2. Serious fans of driving games will simply buy both and enjoy.
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| Ford Racing Evolution (Ford Racing 2) |
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If you fancy a quick blast in a whole range of Ford cars, then Ford Racing Evolution could be just what you're looking for; that's all you get Fords, and more Fords. Don't expect it to be the greatest driving game ever (unless you really love Fords), but it's priced at a very reasonable level - less than half the cost of the typical top 20 games. And at that price it's well worth a look.
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| PS3, PSP and XBox Emulators in use |
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It's reported that major games companies such as THQ (Authors of the Star Wars Games) are working with emulators for both PlayStation 2 and XBox 2. A PSP (PlayStation Portable) emulator is also believed to be in existence. The jury's still out on when we can expect the first XBox 2 games though - 2004 (not likely), 2005 (maybe) or 2006 (probably). Place your bets now.
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| Gran Turismo 4 Prologue |
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Sony are reported to have shown a taster for the eagerly anticipated GT4 at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show. Kanzunori Yamauchi's Gran Turismo 4 is expected to be the greatests driving game ever, featuring hundreds of accurately modelled cars and over 50 circuits. It's believed the full game will hit the shelves some time in 2004, hopefully in the first half of the year. We're waiting!
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| Halo not going XBox Live yet |
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Alas, information that the Halo Deluxe Guide is simply a manual for the original Halo game turned out to be accurate. Halo fans had hoped that the rumors of a Deluxe version of Halo with XBox Live capabilities would be true, despite the evidence to the contrary.
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| Project Gotham Racing 3? |
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With PGR2 hailed by many as the best XBox game, and the best ever racing sim on any console, it looks as if Creative are already working on the next incarnation of their awesome driving game. Suggestions are that the graphics power of the rumored XBox 2 Console will be ideal for the rendering of cars and environments in even greater detail. Creative are sure to be at the front of the queue to release the most realistic racer ever at the end of 2004 or early in 2005. And you thought that Project Gotham Racing 2 was realistic!
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| XBox winning the Console War? |
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Is Microsoft's XBox starting to win the war against the Sony Playstation 2? With no news of the new Sony PS3, and increasing suggestions that XBox 2 could show its face before the end of 2004, it looks as if Bill Gates could be on the way to winning the contest. But there's a long way to go yet, and Sony's strength in the consumer electronics market means they still have a few aces up their sleeves.
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| XBox 2 will launch in 2004 |
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Rumors that XBox2 will soon emerge are increasing after speculation that there could be a demo ready for the Games Developers Conference in March 2004. We expect to see lots more news about this soon after the post Christmas sales. Right now everyone's playing it down in order to stop people holding off from buying the current XBox, but as the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire.
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| Links 2004 |
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Just when we thought that Tiger Woods was going to have it all his own way, leaving the competition thrashing about in the rough, Microsoft eagle the final hole to set up a tough play off for the master. Links 2004 lacks the sex appeal of the Tiger game, favoring a down to earth approach. But in many respects it's the more honest, more challenging of the two. Our verdict? Hard to say, they're both brilliant, but if you're buying one or the other, you'd better have a good hard look at the features of each and make a careful decision. And if we can just add - how are we expected to ever get any work done now that the world has XBox Live enabled golf games? It's a tough life.
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| NFS Underground |
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We just love racing games, and were so looking forward to the new Need For Speed game from EA. And it lives up to all expectations in terms of the quality of the graphics, and the atmosphere of street racing. If you're a fan of big spoilers, neon lights and amazing color schemes, then this is for you. But don't expect the handling of the cars to be as realistic as PGR2, never mind the eagerly anticipated GT4.
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| Amped 2: A sequel that actually works! |
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With Amped 2, Microsoft show the world that they know how to produce a sequel. Bodes well for the release of the XBox 2 (one day). Everything we loved about Amped is still there (oops, maybe you hated Amped one in which case you'll probably hate this too). But wait, there's more; Amped two is XBox Live compatible; what else did you expect from Microsoft? And Online play makes it not only a much better prospect than the original, it also gives it a substantial edge over the competition. Enjoy.
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| Medal of Honor : Rising Sun. Hit or miss |
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We found ourselves feeling less enthusiastic about this Medal of Honor sequel, than we did about the original which was groundbreaking in its day. It's not that it's a bad game, it's just not the masterpiece we were expecting from EA. And no Online capability either. If this is your thing, then you'll love it, but if you're not a hardened war gamer, then there are better titles to choose for your collection.
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| Deus Ex: Invisible War - raises the bar |
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Already out for XBox in the states, Deus Ex: Invisible War, isn't released in the UK until 6th February 2004. The game gets off on the right foot by dropping your character (Alex D) into a futuristic warzone without any clear indications of who you (or Alex) can trust. Will Billy, your Tarsus colleague turn out to be on your side? What about Omar, The Scientist or The Order Seeker? Publisher Eidos and developers Ion Storm have rendered the new game beautifully, including unsurpassed levels of detail. Our verdict is that this is another guaranteed hit. Bladerunner fans will love everything, except the absence of Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer. Still, at least you can see that the money was well spent on the game engine and the environment, both of which rock.
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