G.I.N GOTY Contenders

The year is coming to an end and the games have stopped coming out. It is now time to pick the game of the year. First up I will list the nominees, then later I will post the winner that will be picked by the G.I.N staff. The nominees are:

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum

2. Modern Warfare 2

3. Assassins Creed 2

4. Resident Evil 5

5. Uncharted 2

6. Forza 3

7. Dragon Age: Origins

8. Left 4 Dead 2

9. Halo 3: ODST

10. Demon Souls

There is out top ten candidates. I will be polling the staff for their pick and make a decision based on that. I hope this satisfies many people, and I think it will.

Uncharted 2: Review

The new big purple elephant for PS3 gaming is Uncharted 2. To kick things off, Uncharted 2 is EXTREMELY pretty. Most people will say its on the edge of uncanny valley, I say, "close". When you first jump right into the single player story, you immediately get cast into a hard situation, one of which I will not spoil. The way Naughty Dog presents the Intro of the game is amazing. The story of Uncharted 2 is one of the main points to keep playing. The story is full of twists and irony that just keeps on tying itself into a knot that eventually unfolds into something amazing. The main mechanic is platforming with a side dish of 3rd person shooting. The platforming is done very well and adds a new dimension to combat and level crawling. The shooting needs some work but the upgrade system and boosters really help to go through the game. While in the single player, there is always at least one other person with you, but they really don't help, they just make the enemies hunch over to give you a chance to shoot them. There is a pretty big variety of weapons, in which you can dramatically change the play style. The upgrades and boosters, as I mentioned earlier, really help with...well...killing dudes. Next is the multiplayer. The multiplayer works, that's basically all I have to say. Your boosters also carry over to the multiplayer, and the maps are interesting and work well with the ten player limit. There is also a co-op mode which is pretty much horde mode. There is some objective type stuff, such as; get the treasure to the chest on the other side of the map. Co-op is, in my opinion, one of the reasons to play this game. At the very most, the worst thing about this game is the shooting. The shooting isn't bad, it just isn't on par with the other big third person shooters. Everything other than that is amazing, and the game isn't focused on shooting, so that's ok. Story, multiplayer and co-op are all reasons to get this game, and hey they are the only thing in this game, so that is why Uncharted 2: Among Thieves deserves Game In A Nutshell's very first 10 out of 10.

Wallace and Gromit' Grand Adventures Episode 3...FOR FREE!

To celebreate the 20th anniversary of Wallace and Gromit, Telltale is giving Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures Episode 3 for free. Click the title or go here. Get it while you can, it's not going to last forever.

Boxhead on Kongegate

I just wanted to tell you guys about something I found on Kongregate called: Boxhead:The Zombie wars. It's basically a zombie survival game with little box people, there are weapon upgrades and such, you can place explosive barrels, and the enemies get tougher through the levels. But the mode that really stands out is the defense mode. In defense mode, you have a little bunkered area with turrets, rocket launchers, and grenade launchers. Ever once and a while you will be able to place barricades, and more turrets. The game is extremely fun and it's also free. Go check it out.

'Sup.

Hey, guys.

I'm the new writer in town. My name's Callum, but you can call me whatever you want based on how much you like my articles.

I'm 15, live in Australia, and I've been a gamer for about 10 years now. My first console was a Nintendo 64, and my first game was Donkey Kong 64 (which I still love to this day).

My console of choice for this generation was the Xbox 360. It's the mid-point between the Wii's affordability, and the PS3's excellent specs. I also use a PC, but I'm more of a console gamer. I still have quite a few PC games, and a Steam account that I use every day. I still prefer my 360 for gaming, though. It's just easier.

My top 5 games of all time are:

1. Donkey Kong Country: Diddy's Kong Quest
2. Super Mario World
3. Half-Life 2
4. Donkey Kong 64
5. Call of Duty 4

I'm guessing that this list is going to change once Modern Warfare 2 is released.

When I'm not gaming, I'm either drumming or practicing Parkour. I'm also an actor.

There you go. That's the lowdown on me. I hope the time I spend here at GiaN is worthwhile, and you guys get a kick out of reading my articles.

- Callum

Nintendo Wii Price Drop

Nintendo's already extremely successful system, the Wii, has just got a price drop to $199.99. Now Nintendo can finally compet...I mean make a ton of more money with no discretion. Earlier, Nintendo said that they were not going to drop the price of the console, but look at it now. Still, if you are going out to the store with $200 and looking for a video game system, you could either get the gimmicky Wii that only plays party games, or you can get the Xbox 360 that has a HUGE install base and a great online experience. Not sure why they dropped the price, it's not like they are having a hard time selling the thing. Oh well, less money the soccer moms have to spend.

Halo 3: ODST Review

Halo 3 ODST was not as hyped as Halo 3, it did not have a huge luanch event or a helmet packed in with the special edition. Most of all, some people didn’t even think the game was going to be any good, boy were they wrong.

When you first drop into ODST you experience a little prelude text movie, I have to admit it was not all that great, it made me feel like I was 5, because of all the simple words. But as you get into the main menu screen, you see It is very similar to Halo 3, well of course. The other menus are a lot sleeker, and the games load a heck of a lot faster. There is not much customization that you can do with your character, other than taking their helmet off, and that looks pretty dumb. OK, so into the game. You are introduced with a cutscene where the ODSTs are about to drop into New Mombasa to take over a covenant ship. This game takes place in the events of Halo 2, by the way. As they drop, regret jumps into slipspace, causing an explosion that makes the drop pods go off course, but does not kill everyone. Your drop pod gets stuck in some debris and the tutorial begins, when you finish you jump don into the street, and, you take fall damage! Yes, that is new, so you can’t just jump from 200 yards and not have your legs cave in from under you. Your health is also extremely low, so, when your main health bar gets low, you better run for cover and wait for your “stamina” to recharge. Back to the game; Your first impression is, “Wow, it’s really dark,” until you turn on your VISR. Your VISR is basically your night vision, it puts orange lines around geometry, red lines around enemies, green around frindlies, and lights up objects of interest which you have to find to find out what happened to your squad. The new weapons are extremely effective, and you are never going to want to put them down, but they do run out of ammo pretty quickly. As you first encounter the super intendent you receive uplinks to the city’s navigation (that means you get a fancy world map) where you can place markers to follow. So as you find the objects of interests, or beacons, you trigger a cutscene and then a mission; where you play as one of your squad mates to find out what happened to them. When you get into the mission, it is light outside, which means the game takes place all in one day. The graphics are a bit more refined than Halo 3, and the AI has definitely been improved. The one new enemy is the engineer which is a pain in the but. You don’t get to see Elites (well there are some dead ones, but still). The story is pretty interesting and the characters are funny and you will love them till the end. Firefight is the big purple gorilla in this bundle. Sure it also comes with the Halo 3 multiplayer, and that’s cool at the very least. But firefight is a huge step forward. It basically works like this: There are 5 waves in a round and 3 rounds in a set, if you finish the set, you continue on a different map. Between waves, sets and rounds, there are weapon drops and bonus rounds. The bonus rounds are just tons of grunts pouring in and you have to kill every one that you can (did I mention all the skulls are on). Speaking of skulls, as you progress there are different skulls that turn on to make everything harder. Bottom line; firefight is the new horde.

With everything ODST has to offer I say it’s defiantly worth the sixty dollar price point. And with the new features, modes, and campaign, ODST gets a…9.5 out of 10

ODST: First Ten Minutes

No this is not a Live Play, I will do one of those for firefight. This is just my impression of the first ten minutes of the game.

The first thing you realize is that you walk slower and you jump slightly less high. This is obvious because you are not a super awesome spartan. When you first enter the "Hub World", everything is dark, therefore you have to use your visor. The visor is pretty cool and very useful. The visor puts orange lines around geometry, green lines around friendlies, and red line around enemies, it also lights things up a bit so it isn't so dark. You start out with the silenced SMG and the silenced mag. The SMG is alot more powerful than th older versions, and the pistol is back to it's Halo 1 days where it's basically a cannon in your hand. All the weapons have kickback, so you will have to fire in short accurate bursts, well, you should be doing that anyway. Then finnally, at the last part of the first ten minutes there is the Super Intendent. The SI helps you through your merry way along the huge mege city, he goves you hints to where things are, and every now and then you wll see signs that say: Go This Way or have an arow pointing to the side. Another cool thing it the squad system. The squad system is basicallly this: the enemies are program into squads, which patrol the area every now and then, so you wont be fighting covenant in the same area twice, or, at least, in that same exeact area.

Overall the first ten minutes are a great introduction to the game, the cutscene is awesome and the training part is helpful and well integrated. I cannot give a score based on just this segment, but expect a review up soon, as well as the firefight Live Play.

Halo 3: ODST

Midnight tonight (well the night that I am posting this) ODST will be released. I will only be getting it Tuesday night, so expect an ACTUAL Live Play, and a review up soon for it. This game is going to be great. BTW: Bungie, if you are reading, you know, you can always hook me up with the gae early next time, wink wink.

Fat Princess for the PSP

Yes Sony has announced Fat Princess:Fist Full of Cake for the PSP. Sony says there will be "50 percent more content", I would like to see that. There will be a mode where instead of stealing a princess, you plant a bomb. Sony is calling this one Fat Princess 1.5 (that's more like it). It will feature an extended single player, 1 new mode, and 1 new map. Rejoice all you PSP fans another addition to the great lineup of fall PSP titles.

Halo 3 ODST: Just Goes To Show

Here is a review that I found on Gamestop.com for Halo 3 ODST. This shows that people are pretty uninformed on whats going on,

it is about time that they leave master cheif to fight somewhere else and let the real soldiers in on the field. i love that the next 2 halo games ( odst and recon) are being taken from the halo series which was amazing, shows another part of the covenant war through the eyes of a group of soldiers most of us can relate too. -SavageHornet

HA HA, Fanboys, oh you make me laugh. Next 2 halo game ODST and Recon, no, no, they are the same games, the one game got a name change. And, soldiers most of us can relate to; yup, because most of us drop from a huge flying ship and fight off a bunch off aliens after work. I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but lease, when you review stuff, think about it and get some facts straight before you submit it.

How To Find Good Gaming Deals. 5 Easy Rules

For all of you who are a little tight on money right now, which I know all of you are, here is a couple of easy ways to get more game for your buck.

1. Find places that have games, but usually would not sell games. For instance, I went to H.E.B the other day and they had Prince of Persia for the DS all by itself for 10 dollars, that's half the price of the original.

2. Use clients like Steam. Steam is pretty much the best when it comes to deals on pc, they always have good packs, price cuts, and deals of the week.

3. Try to compare. If you have a Walmart right next to a Gamestop, then compare prices of the two, sometimes Gamestop has good deals, but every now and then Walmart puts out their bargain bin.

4. Use resources. Websites sometimes have a little section where you can find deals of the week, but the best website for tracking that sort of thing has to be; Cheap Ass Gamer.

5. Ask friends. Usually you friend or family may just have bough a game because it was on sale, ask them where they got t and how much was it, you may be completely oblivious, but other people may not be.

Word to the wise: Recommended game price is $20 and under.

PS3 Slim, and PS3 Price Cuts

Just announced, is the PS3 slim, yes you all guessed it, a PS3 slim. What is up with Sony and Slim, do they have something against fat? The price of the new PS3 will be $299, 299 euros, and 29,980 yen. It will have a 120 gig hard drive an not compatible with PS2 games. If you want exact details, go here.

DSi Impressions

Yes, I gave in and bought a DSi with money from selling my broken PSP and Rock Band (also broken). I know I wrote a pretty harsh post on the DSi a while back, but now I kinda take that back. I had a old DS lite that I sold a long time ago, so I can have a say in what Nintendo improved. All the new stuff is actually pretty cool, the camera, first off, isn't that great in quality, but it is fun to mess around with the faces and distortion. Little ones have lots of fun with the camera. Next, the DSi Ware Store is pretty impressive, it's good to know that Nintendo can do stuff that Sony can't. I did get the free points, but I haven't decided on what to buy.The size is pretty much the same as the lite, the only difference is is that it's screen is bigger, and it's lighter...than..the..lite...hmm. Well anyway, the new texture of the skin looks cool but I'm constantly cleaning fingerprints off of it. The one major downside is that it doesn't have the GBA slot, which alot of games require for certain things. It does have better Internet connectivity so you don't have to open your router up to the "Come And Use My Internet" setting. The price isn't too bad either, $169, cheaper than the PSP and it has more variety of games. I defiantly recommend the DSi if you don't have a DS already, and if you want a score, I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.So whenever you look at it you say to yourself, "I've got the newest handhold, and it looks awesome." Here is a couple of pictures I took and edited with the camera. The last two are me and the first is my dad.

Play Games, Heal Kids, Extra Life

Some of you reading this may be from Sarcastic Gamer.com and already know of Extra Life, but this is for the people who don't know. A very good gaming blog called SarcasticGamer is doing a charity for kids with cancer. This charity is called Extra Life. Extra Life is a 24 hour gaming marathon, and all you have to do is get people to sponsor you for a doller an hour, and, well, play games for 24 hours. Last year Extra Life was a last minute idea that raised over $100,000! This year they plan and expect to raise more, alot more. Alot of websites and even developers and publishers are planning to get involved. So let's show them that even a little website like us can raise a bit of money. For more information go to ExtraLife.Sarcasticgamer.com and sign up to contribute to a great cause. And tell them you are from Games In A Nutshell, and join the Games In A Nutshell group, please, show them what a little community can do. Team page

Batman: Arkham Asylum Demo Impressions

I have recently downloaded the Batman: AA demo from steam and this is what I think. First off the demo starts with a basic combat tutorial and the free flow combat works really well. I am playing it on the PC, so the basic controls are; L-Click is punch, kick, basic attack. R-Click is counter, special moves, and batarang. Ctrl is crouch, you can also do Ctrl+R-Click for a take down. Space is run as well as glide and dropping down from ledges silently. Q is randomly throw batarang. F is grapple, ect. and so on. The controls work surprisingly well for the pc, nothing is too cumbersome and far apart, all the keys are easy to get to. The graphics in the game are amazing, as the Unreal Engine would offer, everything is very detailed, and there is somewhat destructible environments. All the old characters are back, the Joker, Gordan, Harley, Zhaz, Killer Croc and so on. Also, characters like Harley have new improved outfits. In the demo you don't get to play challenge rooms and it end with a teaser of a boss fight. There is one room that shows off where the game excels in stealth. There are 5 guys with guns and you have to take them out 1 by 1. I have played this part over and over again and there are still new ways that I can take them all out. If you are a Batman fan, or even just a action/stealth/brawler fan, you owe it to yourself to check out this demo. The demo is available on PC, 360, and probably he lead platform, PS3.

MadCatz New Accessories

Now along with your really crappy COD MW 2 night vision goggles, you can get an equally expensive controller that actually looks like a gun! That's right MadCatz has done it this time, with their gun controller for COD MW 2. This is probably the best thing the company has done in a while. MadCatz has also branded a new line featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr. I can't wait for this controller, we still have yet to see how it works, like how will you go forward. We also have questions like, If people use this, won't they have an advantage over people who don't? We will have to just wait and see. In the meantime visit the source.

Risen Banned In Australia

Risen, a new RPG, has been banned in Australia for supposedly "teaching kids to do drugs and have sex". This may not be as explicitly true, but i the game does have some references in it, such as buying "wood reefer". Seriously?! Wood reefer? Come on. Anyways, the game's Aussie distributor was concerned by "sexual activity and drug use related to incentives or rewards." If you're a Australian reader and you were excited for this game (personally I don't know how you could have gotten excited, because I haven't even heard of this game) then I'm sorry, you will probably just have to import it.

Delays For 2009

This year has been a confusing year for video games, there are so many delays that is was hard to keep up with. So for all of you who want to know when that new game is coming out, or if you're not sure if it is coming out this year, then here is a list of delayed games;

Delays:

Red Steel 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction- Q14 2010

Ghost Recon and I am Alive- Rumor, Q3 2010

Bioshock 2 and Heavy Rain- Q4 2010

Bayonetta- Q4 2010

Dark Void- 2010

James Bond- 2010

Rumor of Mag- 2010

These are all the confirmed, and 1 rumor, delays I could find, there may be more in the months to come but it looks like nobody wants to compete with Modern Warfare 2. This may be a slow holiday season, but we will have a packed Q1 of next year.

The New Generation Of G.I.N Is Near!

We have been talking about doing many things for the site for a while now, such as doing a podcast that features all the staff, and upgrading this blog to a full-fledged site. We haven't really gone to the extent of doing these things because we are all students and we have work to do. But now the new generation is near! When we hit the 101th post (101th because this one wont count) I will upgrade the site and we will start an official podcast. So I am now challenging my writers to write so much in the next few days, that they catch me off guard and the site not ready at the time, then I will look like a fool, or I'll just work extra hard to make the site very well made. This is a challenge, Go! Also we are looking into recruiting new people for the upgrade, if you would like to write send a message to corgon67@gmail.com or gamesinanutshell@gmail.com. I am not officially paying anyone yet, but, if we step it up a notch and get recognized as a press site in the next couple of months, then I will look into it. Farewell for now, and expect many posts....hopefully...

Another Wii Shovel-Ware Title? I don't think so. Here's Epic Mickey For You.

Wii has a sort-of bad name when it comes to good games, when you think of Wii some of you may think; Shovel-Ware. But a project form Warren Spector has been leaked called Epic Mickey. The concept art looks quite amazing.This has been leaked via a resume. There has been rumors of what style this game will be, some say you will have to paint your way through levels, and some say that it will be a "steam-punk style platformer". Not enough information has been released to make a proper assumption. It is also a rumored to be a Wii exclusive. Let's just hope the game looks as good as the concept art.

EA Working On Another Sports Arcade Title

Confirmed by Peter Moore, EA is currently in develpement on another small arcade title, like NHL 3 on 3 Arcade, but with the madden franchise. There was no confirmed release date, but a hope for "this holiday". Be ready all you sports fan for the Xbox port of the Wii "All Stars" game.

Weekly Recap

Another week has gone and past and here we are once again. I'm going to make this short and simple for I'm going on vacation yet again. Josh started off the week by giving us all a overview of the RTS franchise and who and what started it all. After that, one of our writers wrote about his displeasure with the RTS Franchise. Then, Josh told us about how the infamous Resident Evil 5 will be coming to the PC this September. Finally, the week was ended with an article about the new and exciting arcade games coming out this summer on the Xbox Live Marketplace. And there you go, everything that happened this week in bite-sized form. Until next week remember, if you cant convince 'em, confuse 'em.

Summer of Arcade Lineup

This summer will be a very good time if you want some small downloadable games. Last years Summer of Arcade had a little bit better lineup, but this year isn't far behind. Here is this years Summer of Arcade lineup.

July 22nd: Splosion man-from the developers of the Maw, Splosion man lets you manipulate a character who..well....explodes.

July 29nth: Marvel vs. Capcom 2-some of you wanted it, and now who have it. This is a 2D fighter featuring characters from both the marvel and capcom universe

August 5th: TMNT: Turtles in Time: Re-sheld-Umm...ya....thats turtles for you.

August 12th: Trials HD- Everyones favorite flash game is coming to Xbox live. Comes with 50 awesome levels, and if you get tired of them, make your own with the level editor.

August 19th: Shadow Complex- Supposedly the quality of a full retail game (we'll see about that) using the Unreal 3 engine, this game will have amazing visuals with a classic sidescrolling gameplay.

Resident Evil 5 creeps Onto the PC, Septembe 15th.

The critically acclaimed zombie survival game, Resident Evil 5, is scheduled to be released on the PC on September 15th. The only really new additions to the game is a couple of new costumes and an improved Mercenaries mode. Yes, alot of stuff. Personally, I will not pick this game up because the RE franchise never really did anything for me, but if you are an only PC owner, and you were jealous of the consoles for getting such an elusive RE title, Now is your Chance to pick it up, and brag to your console owning friends about how good the game looks on your PC that you spent $2000 on.

Overview of the Strategy Genre

The very first Strategy game was created in 1992 by by a couple of geeks named Louis Castle and Brett Sperry. Their studio was named Westwood Studios. The game was called Dune II: The Battle for Arrakis.The game has up to six players, select a race, build a stronghold and attack your opponents for resources and power. Since then Strategy games evolved into more complex and fun games. Games such as Starcraft, Warcraft, and Civilization, were the games that finally defined strategy as a Genre. Finally strategy games moved out of the turn based ways and evolved into, what we call now, an RTS. The RTS had no turn just you rushing your opponents with as much units as you possibly can. Strategy games now are considered hardcore games, and not easy for a casual gamer to pick up and play. But now games like Halo Wars and Civ. Rev, are made for easy console play. This has been the first of many posts for strategy day, stay tuned for more opinions and retro reviews.

Weekly Recap

There was not much going on in gaming news this week, but there was a few nice additions to the blog. First, I stated that our new G.I.N event, Strategy Day, will be happening this Monday, that's tomorrow. Second, I introduced our new creative segment for reviewing games, called; Live play. Live play is basically us playing games and highlighting the important parts as they happen. Last, but certainly not least, is Games In A Nutshell Livestream channel. Which you can find here. Be ready for Strategy Day, and hopefully an eventful week in gaming, including my Live Play of Red Faction: Guerrilla.

BTW; If you are wondering where our infamous Joey Davis has gone, don't worry, he is on a well deserved vacation. Joey will be back shortly doing what he does best.

G.I.N on LiveStream!

Games In A Nutshell is now on Livestream! You can find us here. Well be on every once and a while, we will also notify you if we are doing a live podcast, so you can ask question and chat with cool people.

New Segment!

G.I.N staff will now be doing a segment where they live blog any new game they have received or bought. By this I mean highlight any cool moments or disappointing moments (without spoiling anything) and share their thoughts about the game and tell why they said what they did.

Example:

2 hours and 24 min: The cinematics are amazing but the controls of the game don't feel too tight. I may just have to get used to it.

This, along with the review of the game, will give more in depth description, helping readers get more of an opinion of the game.

Monday Monday Monday!

This coming Monday we are having our new annual Strategic Day *music*. Yes, Monday, July the 13, we will write abou everything strategy. Our favorite strategy games, our least favorite strategy games, and why we don't like stragtegy games (your not getting out of this one, Joey). So be looking forward to Strategy Day!

Weekly Recap

Well once again it’s time for a recap of all the gaming news that ensued here at Games In A Nutshell. Slow would be a good word to describe the gaming industry as a whole currently, and it reflects in the news that we can create here at our fantastic website. We; however, did manage to write about a few things during this “Video Game Drought.” Josh began the week by writing about the announcement of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars being released this fall on the PSP with all-new game enhancements coming along with it. He then continued on to write about Jon Black and his unique music style in which he incorporates video games. After that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was previewed along with the hopes of a good movie-based game. Finally we ended the week strong with Fallout 3 news. First Josh wrote about the upcoming Mothership Zeta downloadable content coming out this July which takes place on a, you guessed it, alien Mothership…yay! To conclude the week, Brian reviewed the newest Fallout 3 downloadable content, Point Lookout. He said that it was a very unique experience that is highly replayable and he ended up giving it an eight out of ten. So there you, this week’s gaming news in a nutshell. Until you hear from me again remember, you’re unique, just like everyone else.

Id sofware bought by Zenimax

Id software the developers of Doom,Quake and the past Wolfenstein games have been bought out by Bethesda's parent company Zenimax. Bethesda having made Oblivion as well as fallout 3. The buyout will not affect any of id's current projects (new Wolfenstein) or their pubishing deal for Rage with EA.

I for one think this will be great partnership between the two developers. Since Bethesda is an great RPG developer and id are amazing FPS devs this could be a matchmade in heaven for Fallout 4 or any other IP comming out of the company.

What are your thoughts on the merger? What do you want to see out of the newly formed company? We want to hear what the readers think so don't hesitate to post in the comments section.

Fallout 3 Point lookout DLC review

This dlc is by far the most interesting of all the fallout downloads released, maybe not the most helpful but the story for this adventure and the setting it takes place in is amazing. The whole thing is just a scary and exciting thrill ride. Its about a fifth the size of the Capital Wasteland so it's a very large area for you to enjoy. Basically it's worth every cent and is highly replayable. If I had to compare it to anything the setting reminds me of the movie, "The Skeleton Key" because of the southern feeling along with the element of mystery. I really liked the story of this addition it was probably my favorite of the four because of how intrigued I was by the scenario you're placed in. This expansion adds many side quests, weapons, and enemies to the game. Everything in this dlc is refreshing and new which makes it so enjoyable to look at, the region you're in is mysterious and strange but very interesting to explore. This DLC is a must buy if you're a fallout fan. As a dlc it gets an 8 out of 10.

Fallout 3 DLC; Mothership Zeta

A new DLC pack for Fallout 3 is coming this July. The name: Mothership Zeta. This DLC will take place on the alien (you know the ones that you got the alien blaster from) mothership.The Mothership answers a distress call from the crashed ship, hence, abducting you. The enviornment is supposed to be drastically different from the regular post apocalyptic world. There will most probably be more alien weapons to wield and fire, like the alien blaster (the main concern is how powerful it will be in the hands of the enemy). When asked about the main story of Mothership Zeta, Jeff Gardiner responded-"The general plot starts out as an escape attempt until the player figures out what the Aliens are actually up to. There are a number of other abductees for the player to interact with, and from whom they can solicit help." This DLC will be available before and after finishing the main quest. Price-800 MS points or $9.99. This will also be available on the retail disc of the Fallout 3 Game of the Year addition.

Source

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Yep, it's coming out tomorrow. Gamers around the world are praying that it's better than the first, and so far, it looks like it actually might be. Every self-respecting gamer knows how so many movie based games suck, but every once in a while, there is that jewel.

Tomorrow, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is released for just about every console in the form of a third person shooter. Luxoflux, the developer of the game, has supposedly taken all of the criticism from the first game, and used it to make the sequel better. In the game, you decide to play as either the good Autobots, or the evil Decepticons, I of course will choose the evil. Revenge of the fallen will feature hub-like, non-linnear mission progression, which will allow the player to choose which missions to complete.

Also, it will support multiplayer between, guess who....yep, the Autobots and Decepticons. The multiplayer will feature deathmatch, team-deathmatch, control points, and capture-the-flag, along with some other modes.

Jon Black

If you listen to the Joystiq podcast, you may know who the new indie artist, Jon Black, is. For those of you who don't know him, go here. Jon Black is an extremely good indie artist who loves video games and tours around with his band. Jon made the into song for the Joystiq podcast, which is called Gravity Don't let me go. Jon Black was inspired to write this song from Justin (podcast member for the joystiq podcast) and Halo Wars. Gravity Don't Let Me Go is about an experience form an ODST. Jon Black also has a variety of different songs that you can listen to on his website. He is really good, give his music a try, if you like it, contribute to his funds.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars coming to PSP This fall

The critically acclaimed DS GTA game, GTA: Chinatown Wars, has been announced for the PSP and is scheduled for release this fall. The game will be available for both UMD and digitally distribution. The game "will take full advantage of the power of the PSP system." Such things are; enhanced widescreen graphics, better lighting affects, and additional story missions. No new information has been released on this game, even the Official Gta:Chinatown Wars website says that the game is still exclusive to the DS. We should be looking forward to this great new addition to the psp line-up this fall.

Weekly Recap

Part of my duties as the News Director for Games In A Nutshell is to recap everything that all my fellow writers and I have talked about this past week, so here goes nothing.

Last Monday was a big day, with a lot happening on the site. We kicked off the day with our very first giveaway winner. The contest was the first person to make Josh laugh wins and EvenK93 accomplished that goal and won himself an Uncharted 2 beta key. Brian then reviewed Red Faction: Guerilla, giving it a stellar score of 9 out of 10. After that, we welcomed Nuclear Ninja to our family where he continued on to write about the possible new console coming out in unison with Project Natal.

A couple days later, Brian educated us about the downloadable content coming out for Fallout 3 entitled Point Lookout. Shortly after that three of our writers discussed their favorite game and announcement of E3. Next, Josh informed us about the exclusive pre-order only playable character, Sergeant Johnson, in the upcoming Halo 3: ODST. I then continued on the write about all of the new changes in Assassin’s Creed II and the hype surrounding the game. We then announced our Official G.I.N. Grifball Tournament where you can battle it out against none other than our staff (If you are interested in signing up email gamesinanutshell@gmail.com with the gamertags of the people participating). Subsequently, Josh released some info on Hitman: Blood Money being free on Gametap. I then previewed Bioshock 2 with it’s new gameplay involving Big Daddies, Little Sisters, and the all-new infamous Big Sister. After that, I reported on the more less-known game Singularity, where you can control the personal timelines of the things around you. Finally Brian wrapped up the week with his article about how music can basically make or break and games and then subsequently followed up with an article about the new Brutal Legend game from the mind of Tim Schafer.

All in all this was an exciting and news-packed week for all of us here at Games In A Nutshell and we hope you’ve enjoyed everything that you’ve read. Either way, we’d love to here from you with any comments, suggestions, complements, or even, dare I say it, complaints. You can contact me at JoeyDeeee@gmail.com, Josh at corgon67@gmail.com, Jordan at jordanthehobo@gmail.com, or Brian at Thatchilldudewiththehair@gmail.com. Until next week, remember, anything worth taking seriously is worth making fun of.

The land of ROCK!!!

I've been interested in Brutal Legends ever since it was announced. The game looks really cool. The ideas are new and funny and I am incredibly pumped for this game. One of the things that really made me excited was the fact that Tim Schafer and his studio Double Fine are making this game. If you're unaware they made the ps2/xbox game Pshychonauts. Which was critcally acclaimed to be one of the best games of the generation. Also one of my favorite actors/comedians is the voice of the main character *drum line please* Jack Black. He is going to be the character Eddie Riggs whom is the main charater of the story. The narritive of this game is about rock mythology and the history of metal, Basically a Riggs somehow finds himself in the land of Rock (due to a magic belt buckle) and becomes a rock legend.

This game appears even at its early stage to be extremely funny. It looks like it will have good gameplay and will be quite enjoyable. Personally I can't wait because it's been years since a game has made me laugh a deep belly laugh like Psychonauts.

Another thing that makes me want to play this game is that it's all about the rock/metal genre and that's my favorite genre of music so they can't go wrong there. If I had to compare this game to something other than the essence of awesome I'd say it'd be the video game for the movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny because it's about rock awesomeness and Jack Black two wins in a row.

The art style looks amazing like like it'll be one of those games where you enjoy just walking around and enjoying the scenery. Most people agree that gameplay can make up for graphics but I'll take it a step farther and say that in my opinion graphics can make up for gameplay. My reasoning is that this is looking to be a fun as hell game experience combining gameplay,story and an intriguing world together into one metal showing.



Here's some gameplay

www.youtube.com/v/N0VRHqrwAK0&hl=en&fs=1&">

Time Manipulation and Babies

• Release date: September 15, 2009 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC



• Singularity is game that you’ve probably not really heard that much about. I’m really excited but I have a tendency to draw things out, so I’m going to try to keep this short, sweet, and simple. The gameplay video will basically show off mostly everything that I’m explaining.



• Singularity is game in which you control the time of other objects and people. You have four different actions that you can perform with the TMD or Time Manipulation Device:
  1. Age – Causes objects and people to move along their own timeline, making materials rust or crumble and people to become piles of ashes and bones.
  2. Revert – Causes objects and people move backwards along their own timeline, repairing equipment and reconstructing passageways. You may be thinking well I’m going to turn those pesky soldier into tiny little babies and then kill them; well for one that’s terrible and second, that won’t ever occur in the game. Instead, when revert is used on a person, they are changed in to a “placental revert”. In this stage they squirm around screeching in their tortured state until they perish a few minutes later.
  3. Stasis – Pulls an object out of time, freezing its personal timeline, to be thrown similar to Half Life’s gravity gun.
  4. Impulse – Violently pushes an object or person away from you, stunning them.



• Some ways that time bending is utilized in the game are:
  1. Aging oil cans, pulling them through a small space, and then reverting them back to normal size to throw at a wall to destroy it.
  2. Standing on tree stumps and then reverting time to raise yourself to new heights. You get it new heights; you see what I did there? Haha?
  3. Age an enemy’s cover to make it crumble and expose them.
  4. Revert an empty can of soup, making it full, to regain health.
  5. Revert your own cover after enemies has caused it to crumble.
  6. Revert a chalkboard to read everything that has been written on it in the past.
  7. Throw back an enemy’s grenade with the stasis power, holding it in its current state, so it won’t explode until you want it to.



• So there you go, as short and simple as I could make it. Now that you’re saying wow this game really sounds good, watch the gameplay below.

Music in games.

For a while in my gaming career I never noticed music and it didn't bother me. But as of late I've taken a liking to the music in many games like castle crashers, prototype, and a few other games. Most of the time music in games makes the setting, for instance in Call of Duty the music is mostly shots being fired and noises of warfare. Some games however Castle Crashers being my focus at the moment have excellent music, I'll find myself at times just stopping to listen to the soundtrack playing at the time. But I also find that music enhances the experience of the game like the music in prototype which enhances the intense feeling of the game.

Whilst relistening to music in many of my games I find that the music really complements the situation at hand, enhancing the feelings associated with whatever is going on. For instance while replaying the darkness I was running from the undead nazis and the music was a spine tingling tune and I was genuinely afraid of them catching up to me. My conclusion is that music in games really helps to make the game either a success or and utter failure and I'm sure everyone can agree with that.

Bioshock 2

I suggest watching this first because it'll get you all antsy. ;)

• After the conclusion of the first Bioshock, Rapture was left in ruins. The splicers were trapped and forced to fight savagely over the disappearing supply of Adam remaining in the underwater utopia. The Big Daddies wandered through the ruined place fruitlessly searching for the little sisters that had been destroyed or saved from the wretched place (depending on how you played the game and the ending you got). Then everything changed, she made her long awaited return to Rapture; the Big Sister. With her she brought her little ones and Adam is flowing through their veins. There’s no need to attack these “innocent” little girls anymore; however, because you’re part of the family now; you’re a Big Daddy.


• Ten years have passed since you were last in Rapture and you play the first Big Daddy prototype. Unlike in the first installment where Big Daddies were slavishly ordered around by their little sisters, you have a choice and you can make your own decisions. You might say, well I got to play as a Big Daddy in Bioshock 1 and it wasn’t all that, and you’d be right. This time around; however, you’re the real deal, drill, rivot gun, and plasmids all within your control. The drill replaces the wrench from the previous games as you primary tool for melee attacks. This weapon; however, is much more powerful and only has the one setback of the drill overheating after certain amount of continuous use. Plasmids have evolved in the ten years that you were gone. Now, instead of just upgrading the power and range of the plasmids, the plasmid itself is changed. For example, the first stage incinerate plasmid stays the same as before, then the second stage of the sizzling plasmid changes from lighting enemies on fire to shooting fire balls at them, and finally in the third stage, your hand is transformed into a flamethrower to easily scorch all those who oppose you. Plasmids have also evolved in the light of option of plasmid combination. In the original Bioshock the cyclone plasmid was very weak and basically useless for it only threw enemies into the air; but, when the cyclone and incinerate plasmids are combined, it makes for a deadly booby trap, sending enemies flying into the air whilst on fire.


• No matter what weapons you use or how powerful your plasmids are, Big Daddies are nothing without their Little Sister and vise versa. The lacking interaction with little sisters in either rescuing or harvesting them has had a major overhaul. The harvest option still remains as a choice but it wouldn’t make sense to harvest a little sister that only has a small amount of Adam and if “you have a heart” you know you’ll rescue them, or adopt as it is called in Bioshock 2. The adopt option allows you to use the Little Sister to lead you to Adam so she can harvest while you protect her from enemies trying to get the Adam all for themselves. Once she has completed getting all of the Adam from the “angel”, as the Little Sisters call them, she will give you a portion of it and hop back onto your back.


• You may be thinking that you’re basically an unstoppable force that can’t be defeated; that’s where you’re wrong. There is someone more powerful than you in Rapture, and that is the Big Sister. She is an extremely quick and agile opponent who has metal-plated reinforced suit just as you do. Where did this strange woman come from you say, well The Big Sister was in fact a Little Sister ten years ago and she’s back to set things straight. She has an Adam needle implanted into her arm that sends the Adam she collects directly into her bloodstream; this creates for more powerful plasmids than ever seen before.


• A huge complaint from Bioshock 1 was the lack of multiplayer integration, but this won’t be the case in the second game. The multiplayer in Bioshock 2 takes place one year before the start of the first Bioshock. The story behind the multiplayer is that the company, Sinclair Solutions, is using ordinary citizens to test their new plasmids and weapons to find the best of the best for use as home security. The civil war that is going on during the time gives the motivation for the citizens to go to war against their fellow residents. The multiplayer would be empty without Big Daddies, so Big Daddy suits can be found in the world and equipped. This makes you a force to be reckoned with, but also a bigger target. Finally, the two modes that have been released are Survival of the Fittest where, every man fends for himself, and Civil War, where two opposing forces go against each other.


• This game is planned to be released on November 3, 2009 and will be available on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3.

Bioshock 2 gameplay:

Hitman:Blood Money Free On Gametap

Thanks to Rebel FM Hitman is now free on Gametap. Hitman:Blood Money to be exact. Hitman is a game where you are an assassin and you do stuff like, well, kill people. There are Many different ways to play Hitman, such as a silent assassin, or a crazed gunman. So what are you waiting for, heck! it's free, and worth the time. BTW, if you run a 64-bit windows operating system, it will not work, unfortunatly.

G.I.N Official Halo 3 Griffball Tournament!

Many Halo fans out there know what Griffball is, right? Well, whether you know about it (which you should) or you don't, we are having a tournament. It will be a 4v4, standard map and rules apply. Sign-ups start now through next week Friday (that's the 26th of June). All you have to do is send an email to gamesinanutshell@gmail.com or post in the comments here the Gamertags of your team. Remember, 4 people in a team, you may also have a runner up if one person can't make it. There will be no specific time to play your matches, just a time period, and you and you opponent will have to work out the rest. Once I get all the entry's in, I will put up a post that explains more on the 26th. If you can work your way to the top, you will be challenged against my Griffball team, if you win then you win something cool (we still haven't figured out what, it's just going to be cool). If you don't win, you'll still get something cool, but you will have the pity of losing to my team. Good Luck.

Assassin's Creed II

Before Words

Ubisoft had a terrific lineup at E3 this year including two of my most anticipated games, Assassin's Creed II and Splinter Cell: Conviction. Obviously, since I have a picture of the Assassin's Creed II cover art I'm going to be talking about said game.

A Change In Setting

The 12th century Holy Lands are now out of the picture in this installment. The games opens in 1476, the setting now being Renaissance Italy. What an odd time period to choose Ubisoft you say, well shut up and I’ll tell you why you’re stupid. First off, the compact nature of the Italian city-states make for an entirely new world to explore. The interconnected system of waterways in Venice make for a stunning backdrop and a great aid in assassination. The architectural marvels of Florence serve as beautiful and useful way to run, leap, and escape from your enemies. Unlike the first game, these city-states are not connected by empty wilderness but they are seamlessly linked together. So there you go, now you look stupid for thinking it was dumb for a game to be set in the Renaissance.

A Change In Character

This time around your old bff Altair is long gone and has been replaced by Ezio Auditore de Firenze (someone went a little bit overboard on the name), a Florence Nobleman. Ezio and Altair are linked in their ancestry, but their lifestyles are worlds apart. Ezio has grown up in life of privilege, educated in swordplay, poetry, art, and even seduction and charm. This provides for a quick and witty character unlike Altair. Ezio’s family is like much of the nobility of the time, with alliances with other houses and endless competition to one-up others. We’ll have to wait until the game comes out; however, to find out how such a distinguished nobleman is transformed into a cold-blooded assassin.

A Change In Gameplay

One of the great things about Ubisoft is that they actually listen to the gamer. There were many complaints after Assassin’s Creed I and they took the criticisms and built off of them. Assassin’s Creed II completely abandons the idea of the very simplistic get mission from the bureau, investigate target, assassinate target, and escape back to bureau game structure. Instead, an expansive network of contacts, that provide hints to Ezio, move him into cites, out into the countryside, and through ever-changing objectives. The more laid-back missions such as eavesdropping and pick-pocketing are now gone and replaced by more active missions like chasing characters through crowded streets which, in many cases, leads to a seamless transition into a race through the countryside. The game is planned to have around two hundred missions total.
Free running paths have been implicated into Assassin’s Creed II and are marked with a white flag to more easily escape from Ezio’s enemies. Another new feature is crowd blending. In the first game, blending was mostly useless because you could only blend with the monks, which you encountered practically never. Now for the second game, Ezio can blend with any crowd, which allows for new tactics of escape. Yet another new implication is notoriety. As Ezio assassinates and causes havoc in the city-states the people and soldiers will respond by becoming more suspicious of him. This will also allow for more missions for Ezio to complete, such as assassinating witnesses of crimes and taking down posters of himself. The biggest innovation would probably be with the combat. A new disarm feature has been added to the game which allows Ezio to use his enemy’s own weapon against him. Furthermore, each of the weapons that can be stolen all have their own unique special move. Finally, one of the most simplistic but most bad ass innovations is the use of two hidden blades. Now two targets can be assassinated at the same time in one go, just as stealthy as before, enough said.

After Words

As you can tell I’m pretty freaking excited for Assassin’s Creed II. Everything about the game seems pretty much epic and even better than before. This game is planned to hit selves in the fourth quarter of 2009 so make sure to keep an eye out and pick this game up when it comes out. To check out the E3 Assassin's Creed II video follow the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVWhWsgHzKM

Halo 3: ODST Pre-order Goodie

Listen up all you Halo gamers! If you pre-order Halo 3:ODST right now, you will get an exclusive-to-pre-order playable character, SGT. Johnson. Yes your favorite black sarge from all the Halo games, but, you can only play Johnson in the new game mode, Firefight. Firefight, if you don't know, is basically Gears's Horde and Left 4 Dead's Survival mode put together. Throughout the waves there will be random skulls activated to ramp up the difficulty. And you have an unlimited time to fight off the waves of Covenant. So, you Halo adcicts, go out and pre-order you teh Halos. Source

G.I.N Best of E3

E3 has come and gone, so the G.I.N staff have put together their favorite games and conference for you to see.

First up is me. My favorite game coming out of E3 is Sony's MAG, or Massive Action Game. The sheer size of this game is enough to get me excited, not to mention no lag, and features such as a communication block that actually makes the opposing team not able to speak to each other for a certain amount of time. 256 players, no lag and, plenty game modes, makes MAG, undoubtedly, my game of the show. I also think that Microsoft's press conference was the best overall with games, technology, and the best presentation ever out of a company at E3. They showed game after game after game, and revealed, probably the best thing that came out of E3, Project: Natal.

Now, Jordan The Hobo

As someone who watched all of he major press conference and extended coverage on E3 it may become a surprise as to the game I pick. But my favorite game of E3 is . . . .Scribblenauts. What the F you say is that. Well shut up while I tell you. Scribblenauts is a Nintendo DS game coming later this year by the developer 5th cell. The basic concept is that you can type or write just about any noun you can think of to achieve an objective. Whether it be to solve a puzzle or chop down a tree. I know it sounds lame when I say it but don't take my word for it. Go to youtube and look up some previews from E3. And for all of you that are too lazy I did the work for you. As for the conferences, I have to go with Microsoft just by a hair. With their showing of Metal Gear: Rising as well as project Natal. It shows that is really trying to change the way games are played and not just a gimmick like the Wii.


Next up, Brian.

E3 is a while back but we never covered it so I'm just going to announce my favorite game and favorite conference. Well my favorite game was of course Call of Duty; Modern Warfare 2 because 1. I love Cod 4 2. It looked great, graphics are good and gameplay looked sweet. The Microsoft conference was of course the best with the announcement of project Natal which had my mouth hanging open in anticipation. The complexity of the camera and it's recognition abilities is amazing. Also a lot of exciting games were announced and I'm quite excited for this years games.

Fallout 3 New DLC; Point Lookout

Well fallout 3 is my favorite game so I'm excited to announce that it's got new dlc coming out this month on the 23rd. This dlc looks expansive and it'll probably add a lot to the game. But don't take my word for it, watch the video. When it comes out, we'll have a review up the day it comes out or maybe the day after.

New Xbox Console Coming?

1up's Sam Kennedy's sources says that Project Natal will be an add-on for the current 360's AND will be a part of the new Xbox system.

"Microsoft will not only release Natal as an add-on for the Xbox 360, it will come standard with the next Xbox console. Yes, there will be a new Xbox console next fall.

However, the new console won't just be an Xbox 360 with a camera, though -- we've heard it will be considered a new platform and carry a new name (Xbox Natal?). It's not clear what sort of upgrades we might see, but some have suggested it will be an slight upgrade of the current Xbox 360 technology. Current Xbox 360 games would be playable on it, but future games would be able to take advantage of the added muscle."

Kennedy's source seems to have a reputation of getting these kind of things right. And it says that the New Xbox system will come out fall 2010. Old 360 games will work with it but new XBox games will get some extra stuff with the extra power.

SOURCE

HELLO INTERNET!

Hey everyone, I'm Patrick (aka Nuclear Ninja) and I'm the newest writer for Games in a Nutshell. Corgon invited me to join (so blame him when you read my crappy writing) and he told me to tell a little about myself.
My Gamertag is:NuclearNinja142. I'm 16, I listen to Slipknot, shooters are my favories type of game, and thats about it. I'm looking forward to writing for this site. So....yeah you can stop reading now.

Red Faction: Guerilla Review

Here is another review by our new writer PooAlOvaUrDream.

I recently got my hands on another game, Red Faction Guerrilla. This game is good, but if you’ve lost interest in most other multiplayer games (Cod 4, Gears 2, Gta 4, and Halo 3) then this game is right up your alley. I’ve got to say the single player story is uninteresting, for one, it’s repetitive and it does'nt give you any sense of obligation. For about an hour I just wandered around because I did'nt feel motivated to attempt any missions in the story. If anything I’d call this a destruction mode because the story is lacking any sort of depth. Next off is the multiplayer, which I might say is the reason to buy the game. The game allows up to 16 players and includes an interesting feature, backpacks, which bestow different powers on you. With purposes of locomotion, destruction, attack, and defense. Another great thing about this game is the variety of the game modes from a simple team death match to my personal favorite, siege, which is a game mode where two teams (attackers and defenders) try to attack or defend a group of buildings. With the usage of backpacks, the game provides a horde of different ways to play it and that’s what makes this game a buy. Red Faction gets a 9.0 out of 10

Uncharted 2 beta key winner. (Important)

Please EvenK93 if you are reading this send an email to corgon67@gmail.com so I can send you the code. Thank you.

[Prototype] Review

Written by our new writer, PooAlOvaUrDream (or just Brian for short), here is his Review for [Prototype] by Activision. *Round of applause*

Of the games coming out this summer that I’d like to focus on is, [Prototype]. It’s hard to describe this game, it takes so many features from so many games and combines them all together to make a wonderful experience that, at the VERY least, deserves a rent. If I had to describe, it I’d put it as a brilliant mix between Xmen Origins: Wolverine and Spiderman 2 (without the silly webs) and the result is insanely fun. What the game lacks in graphics and multiplayer, it makes up for with the sheer excitement the game brings, whether it’s hacking giant mobs to bits (oh you can’t do that in your fancy InFamous can you Mr.Ps3) or messing with the parkour and exploring the city, the game never disappoints. One of my favorite things about the game, is the deep story, the game really gives you the feeling that you’re part of the story and that you fit into the character; Alex Mercer. The game is short and that may mean a rent for some, but if you’re like me you’ll be playing this game long after it’s over. [Prototype] gets a *dramatic pause* 8.5 out of 10.

Milo

Milo is a new, so called "mini-game" that is being developed by the critically acclaimed, Lionhead Studios for the motion sensing, "Project Natal" *Flashy music plays in background*. All this is, is your little e-friend who you can talk and interact with. Milo is the little boy's name. You talk with Milo and "explore his world" (petophile's dream, is it not?). Well joking aside, this could very well be a new step into gaming and technology. Bravo Mr. Peter Molyneux, Bravo.

XBLA Mini Review

I recently got a 4000ms point card (big mistake) and with it I bought a few games, one of which is Flock. Basically Flock is a want-to-be physics based puzzle game. The whole premise of the game is to use your little UFO to flock sheep, chickens, cattle, ect. into the bigger UFO, why they're doing this? I don't know. Early on in the game all you have is your little UFO to scare animals into the big UFO. Later on you get things like a speed boost, a tractor beam, and a de-tractor beam?. The physics are pretty over the top, if you try to pick up a sheep, they explode. And also sometimes the animals get stuck behind trees or fall off the map. The difficulty ramps up as you move along, so it may require you to think. There is a co-op mode, which is kinda fun if you have a partner that you can rely on. Also, the art style is really well detailed and vivid with colors. Flock is a good time waster if you have only 15 or so minutes, but dont expect much. The price point is a bit high at 15 dollors or 1200ms points. But, if youre into puzzle games this is a good buy. Flock gets a 9.0 out of 10.

Project: Natal

Project Natal is the new motion sensing interaction camera. What Natal does is sees what you do and does things according to your body movement. For instance; In the NXE dashboard, there are panels, if you wipe your hand to the side, like you are wiping something (Duh) the panels will move according to where you moved your hands. I move my hand left, the panel moves left. There will also be a set of games the will use Natal's functionality, such as Milo. That's basically all the information that we have right now. Here is a video for a visual image.

HEADCOUNT!!!

Due to traffic problems with google, I can't access our traffic rate. SO anyone who is reading please leave 1 comment so I can get a proper headcount. Yes, it may sound a little bizzare, but this is the only way that it'll work. Thank you.

Winner of the Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta Key Giveaway!

Thanks for all the submissions for the contest, most of them made me laugh, and some of them were just links that said watch (BTW, the link never did anything, I watched them for about 10 min. Nope nothing) So, the first person who made me laugh was........EvenK93! Congratulations, believe it or not, you are the first person to make me laugh. I will be sending you a message over PSN shortly, and have fun...without me. Sad face.

E3 Never Happened...

Since we were caught up in other things, and not paying attention, we were a little late to reporting on E3, and it's too late to do it now because there is just soo much stuff thats coming out. So, because of that we are just going to pretend that E3 never actually happened, we will just report on some really cool things that just so happened to come out of a period of a couple days. So if you're reading this, thanks for sticking with us, we'll have the big news for you sooner or later.

Uncharted 2 Beta key Giveaway!

I'm giving away an Uncharted 2 multipl;ayer beta key for the first person that can make me laugh. Easy right, well good. Just put it here as a comment, or send me an email at either corgon67@gmail.com or gamesinanutshell@gmail.com . Good Luck and make me laugh.Contest ends when the beta starts 6/3/09 the beta ends 6/28/09.

Iphone Reviews: Amateur Surgeon, 5 Fingers

Here is a new segment I'm starting giving a mini reviews of iphone/touch apps. I'm trying to think of a good name for the segment so if you have any ideas let me hear them in the comments (not ireview).

First up Amateur Surgeon: This is made by Adult Swim games and is similar to the board game Operation. You most operate on patients by cutting,burning,and remove pieces of metal or whatever is in them. Like all Adult Swim shows and games its very clever and funny and their are many patients to choose from. Although once you play it through their is no reason to play anymore, It lasts a long time. Last time I checked the game as $4.99 and I find it a little bit hard to recommend for that price. But if you enjoy that style of gameplay then you cannot go wrong with Amateur Surgeon.

Second is 5 Fingers game bundle: This is a collection of 5 games that were very popular in the early days of the app store. They include Blackbeards Assault,Burnball,Sneezies, Up There, and Chopper. Some of these games has their own individual lite versions so you can also check those out.

Blackbeards Assault is a Luxor/Zuma clone with a pirate theme.

Burnball is similar to Dr Awesome or Jezzball. Where you must shade a certain percentage of the level by using the accelerometer.

Sneezies is a chain reaction style game where you make a fuzzball sneeze and try and hit another with the effect,creating a chain reaction similar to Boomshine.

Up There give you control of a balloon trying to well go up. You tilt your iphone to avoid walls before gettign stuck underneath the screen.

Chopper has you piloting a helicopter trying to rescule people and avoiding getting killed by enemies.

That's it for now. If you have any app suggestions or comments to make please email me at jordanthehobo@gmail.com

Games In A Nutshell Podcast #1

The new Games In A Nutshell Podcast in here! We talk about some news(keyword:some, it's been a slow week). We also talk about downloadable games and how the might effect the video game market. If you have any comments or suggestions, please comment, or email us at gamesinanutshell@gmail.com. Enjoy! http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=152b73b3234fad4d41446e35a78dc463e04e75f6e8ebb871

Halo Wars Review

Yay! Finally, as I promised, the Halo Wars review.

The first thing that people might think when heard the word Halo (other than it being a extremely drawn out franchise) is the story, hence, the thing I'll start with. The story is amazing, you would never think that this story would be for an RTS, because usually with an RTS, the story is the last thing that the developers worry about, but nope not Ensemble.The thing is, there really isn't a twist that you won't expect other than (spoiler maybe?) the contact with the flood, because the first contact with flood was supposed to take place in Halo: CE. This game takes place before Halo: CE, I don't know the exact date, but you get the general time. Next is the Game play ie: controls, feel. The controls are extremely simple, as a hardcore RTS fan going into this game, it was a little bit tough and maybe a little bit too simple. There isn't an extremely strategic element to it, such as in Command an Conquer Red Alert 3, there were tactical things that you can do like move you troops to a spot while they face the enemy so they are going backwards and they have more defense and blah blah blah. No, none of that here. Just get a krapload of money, pump out as many troops as you can, and "Zerg Rush". You can be tactical, such as flanking enemies on each side, and pairing you aircraft with anti-aircraft, anti-vehicle, and anti-troop units to make an unstoppable force, but who does that. This game is all about who can rush who. The controls are, once again, simple (for the layout just look at the Halo Wars demo impressions). It is definitely the console RTS that Ensemble claimed it to be, and probably the best console RTS out there, as of right now. Now the Graphics in-game are not really that impressive, Command an Conquer 3 has better quality in-game graphics than Halo Wars. But, the thing that is un-matched by any game out on the market, in my opinion, is the cut-scene graphics. If you can make a movie jsut with cut scenes from Halo Wars, you just made the best CG Sci-Fi movie in the world. The cut scenes are very deep and detailed. Alot of the story depends on the cut scene quality, because if the cut scenes were just tacked on, the story would seem boring an incomprehesive (I admit I have no idea what that word means, but it sounds smart). The lighting is also something the developer did very well. If you would look closely the lighting effects are very detailed, even down to the shiny hood of a Warthog. One map (I'm not going to attempt to put a name on it) has, not exactly real time, but it does have a day and night cycle. The mutiplayer is also superb for an RTS game on the console. The Co-op campaign is where its at. They do alot of really cool stuff in the campaign for co-op and single player. In co-op you can give your buddy your troops, but you can't in single player. You can also collect skulls, which you can use in campaign and private multiplayer and single player matches. The mutiplayer is very fun. There is 1v1 2v2 3v3 and ditto with deatmatch game type (in which you already have a whole bunch of supplies and a limited amount of unit space, but as you build more bases, your unit limit expands). The objective for multiplayer is; coordinate with you team to , once again, rush you opponent before they rush you. In 1v1 your alone and, you guessed it, rush your enemy before he/she rushes you (remember; a good defense is a good offense (turrets ar'nt good defense though)). Overall this is a high quality game with alot to stand up for, which it has as a good console RTS. The good things are the controls, multi player, and cut scenes. The let downs is the somewhat confusing story, the in-game visuals, camera, and if you are a hardcore RTS player, don't expect to be very good at this game on you first try, it'll take a while. So Halo Wars for the Xbox 360 gets a 8.5 out of 10.

Patapon 2 Awsome Videos!

With the probably only new good PSP game that is coming out (other than Resistance) called Patapon 2 I'd like to put up a little something that I find to be very funny. Also, Patapon 2 will be a day 1 purchase for me, so I'll have a write up on that when it comes out(for sure this time).


EDIT: There may be an error message, if so please enjoy the other Patapon 2 related videos that show up.

OnLive! The Next Generation of Gaming!

We as avid gamers expect all the usual things from GDC such as tech demos and the new adjustments to the Unreal Engine 3. But one thing that came out of this years' GDC was definitely not what some of us expected, at least not for a couple of more years! OnLive, the new revolutionary game streaming service, has been announced at this years' GDC, and it looks amazing. OnLive streams games through your broadband connection to your PC, Mac, or TV with a little box the size of your cell phone. Valve has been trying to do the same sort of thing with information on "The Cloud", but this is gaming on "The Cloud". OnLive works with supposedly any PC game and requires at least a 5megabit down broadband connection (which is a bummer for me because the highest I can get out here is .3megabit down and .5 up, as well as many other people living in small towns). OnLive is also going to require a "low" monthly subscription fee. Once subscribed, users will be able to run any of the service's games, regardless of system requirements -- Gamasutra (Thank you Gamasutra for testing that out) was able to try the system out with graphical powerhouses like Crytek's Crysis and Codemasters' GRID. One of the main concerns is multiplayer games, because streaming a 6GB game is one thing, but connecting with at least 15 other people without Internet and streaming latency will be tough. OnLive will have a closed beta set up hopefully by summer (they better not pull off a Sony and have this like Home) so G.I.N will try to get in that. I really do hope OnLive works, because this will be the future of PC gaming, at the very least.

Happy Easter Everyone

Resident Evil 5 and Muppets?

Well, I saw this on joystiq and just had to post it. It a parody made by Black 20. Its just a hilarious cross between Re5 and Muppets

Click on the headline to view.

The New Nintendo DSI!!!!!(Sarcasm)

Nintendo has just released a new DS called the DSI(Note: The DSI is made by Nintendo, not Apple). The new additions for the "DSI" are few and worthless.

#1: Slimmer and wider

#2: Internet browser

#3: Two VGA .3 mega pixel cameras, one on the outside(to take a picture of your grandma), and one on the inside(to take a picture of yourself, then add it to the picture of your grandma and make it look like you both are connecting.). I mean really your phone has a better camera than that.

#4: 256 MB of internal Flash memory, and removable SD card slot.

#5: DSI ware store, where you can buy even crappier games and store them on an extremely fragile SD card.

#6: No more GBA slot, if you still like to play Guitar Hero for DS(If you just responded to that, shame on you) than just keep your old DS.

#7: Supports WEA,WPA and WPA2, too bad this support is not available with original DS games.

#8:Last but not least, a new type of game media is being made for the DSI, so now you will probably have to buy a more expensive type of SD card.

So the new DSI isn't what real gamers expected, and yet the casual gamers eat right out of nintendo's hand. 2.02 million units have been sold since the DSi has been shipped, which is crazy. Now everyone has 3 skews of the DS, The Original, The DS Lite, and now the DSI. I would not recommend this to anyone due to no GBA slot, because there are so many good GBA games that you have not played. The only good new additions is that it's wider and it does not only support WEP. Final Verdict: If you don't have a DS and you absolutely hate GBA games get it, if you like GBA games and you don't like rip-offs, don't get it.