Gadget Show first play of Playstation Move

Assassin's Creed 2

I recently borrowed this game, having played the original, and one word springs to mind when playing it... Improvement!


The first Assassin's Creed was visually impressive but the game play was repetitive to the point of insanity.


Ubisoft have paid attention and changed things up. All for the better.


Movement is better. Tasks and challenges are better. You can swim!


It's just nice to see a game sequel that learns from it's past mistakes.


Thumbs up for this one!


M

New Playstation Goodies

So, payday came around once again and I decided to treat myself to some Playstation 3 goodies.

I had notice last week that Burnout Paradise had some DLC (downloadable content) on sale on the PSN, so I went for it. Only after I bought it did I realise just how much I had saved! (Buying individually, £65+. Sale price, £14.99! Bargain)

So now I am working my way through Big Surf Island and it's many jumps, races and hidden treasures. Woo!

Also, I took up another sale offer and finally bought Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix!!!111oneoneoneOMGOMG

Hoping to relive the days of first getting my Super Nintendo and spending hours kicking the crap out of whatever was standing next to me!

I get the feeling it's going to be a productive weekend!

M

(PS - Thanks to Wikipedia, my unofficial link sponser on this blog post)

Playstation Customer Care...

...are brilliant!

So, back in November my PS3 died (A geek's day of mourning), and I had to get it replaced. When I called the helpline I was expecting lots of waiting, moving round to different people... Basically all you'd normally expect from support lines where you want something delivered to you.

But to my shock, I spoke to one guy and he sorted me out with a delivery for 2 days later.

Jump to now, the replacement PS3 I got decides that it should be make more noise in the flat. It's fan is horrendously loud! So loud that I can no longer watch blu-rays without having a window open and the PS3 right next to it to cool it so the fans aren't needed in overdrive.

So, just now I called the wonderful people at Playstation Customer Care, explained the problem, gave them the reference number from my previous dealings with them, and after a 13mins call (which included the time to get through to someone in the first place) I've got a delivery date of tomorrow!! Now THAT is service. And best part is that because I'm still within the 3 months warranty of the replacement model, it's all free. Can't ask for more than that.

Also, I had a concern that some content that is obtained from the Playstation Network only allows downloading onto 5 PS3s... This was slightly worry, considering this was to be my 3rd. But once again PCC come to the rescue and tell me that by decativating my PSN account on the console I'm replacing, it take it out of the pool of 5 consoles allowed.

Is there anything that can't be solved by these people?!

Staff of PCC... Your next assignment... Cancer. I'm expecting it done by the end of the month.

M

A geek's day of mourning

Today, my Playstation 3 died.

On the day I am kicked from one club (27) and I am thrown into the group of people that have suffered the YLoD (Yellow Light of Death).

All my data, game saves that I have been creating for the last 2 years are now stuck on the hard drive that I can only access with MY Playstation, which I cannot turn on. So basically, I'm throw back to square 1.

While I get to enjoy older games all over again, the more recent games that I worked hard to accomplish different things in are wiped clean. PSN trophies are stored online, which is something at least.

The moral of the story: BACKUP YOUR GAME SAVES.

You might not think you need to, just like I always thought, but you never know when you will never them the most.

M

Saturday of success

Had my alarm set for 8.15am so I'd have plenty of time to wake up, get up, get onto the computer and wait for 9am. Why? Bon Jovi tickets for June 2010 were going on presale and I had an O2 code. This make for a happy me. So, 9am comes, I click on the link, go to ticketmaster and add 2 tickets to my basket (best available for £65 each), (I know!). For this price you'd expect to get really good seats and you'd have a night to remember... You'd be wrong. Row U in the back section! Total price... £149! Rip off!! Now I know it's not Bon Jovi that set the ticket prices, but it still pisses me off and puts me of seeing them in the future.

Anyway, on with the rest of the day, ticktless.

Home alone on a Saturday, what to do. Obviously, play PS3. Batman: Arkham Asylum. With only 3 tropies left to get (all connected, so I get one, I'll get the other 2 as a bonus) I played my ass off. And, you guessed it, I got the 3 trophies, completing the entire game and all achievables. It's both awesome and sad when this happens. Great because it's the culmination off my hours "hard work", but sad because there isn't anything new to do. I guess it's time to go back to Guitar Hero. Not a bad thing.

The gym followed the PS3 win. 10 minutes on the treadmill, 20 on the weights, 5 on the treadmill. Got through most of a Pendulum album (good music for the gym!). Not bad work out, now aching like a... really... achy thing.

Now home, showered, writing this (unexpectedly long) blog post, with an Oz on my lap (one of my two cats), watching Halloween (2007, Rob Zombie) and feeling hungry. Lunchtime.

M

PSN Portable ID

I am such a geek!

I found out about the "Official PlayStation website: My PlayStation®Network" and I had to set it up, me being a gaming/PS3 fan and all. So here it/I am:

This is not static either, this will change the more I play/achieve. Which is nice.

M

EDIT: After posting I've noticed that my layout doesn't allow it to be shown in full... Will investigate.

EDIT: Changed the layout of my blog to take full advantage of the width of the browser window. Temp change? We shall see.

Review - Batman: Arkham Asylum

So, the latest Playstation 3 game to take up too much of my time is Batman: Arkham Asylum. In a word, it is... Awesome!

To pick up and play this game is really very simple, kind of like all those years playing Street Fight II Turbo, button mash until you learn that you can do much more damage if you actually take care in what you are doing. It is very fluid moving, easy to learn the techniques and tricky to perfect them. After all, you don't want it being too easy to fight off 20 guys all hell bent on beating the crap out of you.

The story progresses through Joker's 'escape' into Arkham Asylum, with a little help from his friends, if you can call them that. It is up to Batman to restore order and bring down Joker. As you progress you will meet different characters, both good guys and bad, picking up characters bios as you go. These I found very interesting as I didn't know half of them! You can even listen in on patient interviews conducted within the asylum. The ramblings of Joker, The Riddler, Scarecrow, Killer Croc and more can prove a nice little break from the game.

If/when you complete the story mode, there are a number of challenges for you to complete. These are split into free fighting and predator (stealthy take-down style) modes. Both of which help hone your techniques to be used in the story mode. There are set levels of completion for each of the challenges and an online leader board to compare your efforts against.

The PSN offers some free downloadable content (which is always nice) for you to check out too. These are more challenges and the chance to play as Joker, which is well worth a go.

Throughout the game, both story and challenge, there are a number of trophies to be earned. These range from completing part of the story to performing a set number of moves in combination when fighting off Arkham crazies. Keep your eyes open for 2 in particular though, if you miss them during the story mode, you'll have to start all over again. But then again, that is not a bad thing with this game.

M

So many thing, so little time (right now)

Right first thing, training. Did a solid 13 minutes of the treadmill last night, average speed 8.9km/h, distance 1.92km. This is good. It had been 5 days since I last went to the gym, I don't want to be leaving it so long between sessions.

I finished American Psycho today, good book. Will go on my in-mind book shelf next to The Diceman. Great book, if you can handle the random ramblings of a guy who take note of what everyone around him is wearing while thinking about his last victim that he has massacred. Random, extreme violence that isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it. (See previous blog about dark side of personalities, A Line Through Cross)

My next book is going to be Cross County. Getting back to Alex Cross and his dragon slaying. Yay!

Still got to review Guitar Hero 5 and now Batman: Arkham Asylum (my new obsession), and comment on the whole music file sharing thing that might be going on, not really sure. Then again, if it's not in the media, swine flu doesn't exist/isn't a threat anymore either.

But for now, it's back to the trenches with me. Ta ta for now.

M