Enjoy it while it lasts Zumba Fitness, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is just around the corner
As some of you will know Football Manager 2012 was announced yesterday, what follows is an interview between the director of the game Miles Jacobson and the Telegraph’s Tom Hoggins. Discussions include new features, advanced formats and the new tutorial mode. Enjoy!
The silliness continues as Zumba Fitness stays top and even Duke Nukem Forever Raises it’s disappointingly ugly head.
DiRT 3
Review by Toby Elliott
The ultimate off-road (Ken) Block-buster…
How they’ve managed it I’ve no idea but Codemasters have somehow dug into my inner consciousness and examined everything that appeals to me about cars and racing them. Whether it’s the iconic 60’s rally cars, pelting it down a dirt track faster than I thought possible, or simply pissing about in a disused car park smashing into stuff. Even the almost blindingly bright visuals make it look like I’ve stumbled into a dream world…
It would have been so easy for DiRT 3 to just have been an imitation of what has come before, and judging on recent form, it still would have been pretty awesome. Instead though, they’ve given us so much more, providing a load of new ideas and easily 2011’s best racing game so far.
Pay DiRT
It’s also exciting to see that some problems people have had with previous games have not been overlooked. Although sometimes it is still a tad unnerving seeing classic 60’s rally cars tearing around Monaco advertising modern energy drinks, the over the top ‘Whoa, that’s totally awesome!’ approach has been toned down somewhat to make way for an increased level of maturity.
This of course all adds up to the incredible rallying experience. Although trucks and buggies – in my opinion the games weakest feature – still occur in part, they have a much reduced role and are replaced by some much more standard rallying, including Head 2 Head races and Rallycross which are available to compete in using a greater range of cars that we actually want to drive. Where DiRT 2 was made up of mostly modern motors, DiRT 3 allows for an amazing variety of cars, and the speed at which you jump from event to event doesn’t give the game a chance to get boring.
Block ‘n’ roll
Also impressive is the amount of new rallying locations, events will now take place on tracks in Michigan, Aspen, Monaco, Kenya and Norway, while also featuring snow and night races. There could possibly have been a few more however the locations are – as you may notice in the screenshots – incredibly done, constantly making me gasp in amazement. Nowhere in sight are 2D backdrops or cutout trees, just truly stunning views across environments such as African Savannas, American sawmills and Norweigan forests. The game is B-E-A-UTIFUL.
It goes without saying that is a dream to play on top of that. Combining the experience of Ken Block and Kris Meeke – IRC rally champion – means that it feels brilliant caning a Group B rally car round any track, and some of the true speed machines feel insanely quick. It still probably veers more towards easier handling than being a true to life simulation, but there really isn’t anything like this game anywhere.
Block rockin’
After all of this, I finally reach DiRT 3’s boldest new feature: The Gymkhana events coupled with the DC Compound. This arena basically encourages the player to do to a car what should never be attempted in real life. Feel free to practice donuts, jumps, spins, and drifts without worrying a jot about any potential consequences, before diving into official Gymkhana events as part of the career mode. The only way I can think of improving the awesome fun is by introducing a Gymkhana track editor, and who knows, that could be a possibility.
Although some purists may complain that it is not a pure rallying experience, but I think these people are missing the point. DiRT 3 is an absolute and total celebration of the rally car.
FORMAT: Flash game
PRICE: Free
FROM: newgrounds.com
Mr Potato seems to have landed himself in a bit of trouble: he’s sleep driven to Transylvania and you’re tasked with helping him get home in this point-and-click adventure game. Gorgous sillhouette styling and catchy music mean that Transylvania oozes with character and provides an utterly charming experience. Great stuff for a free game.
The workout title Zumba Fitness retains the No. 1 spot for the third week in a row, I still can’t figure out why.
It’s been out since April, but Zumba Fitness has bounced back to No. 1 – dethroning the King and keeping the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D from the top spot
The long-awaited release of Duke Nukem Forever has finally happenned. But where will it figure in the charts? Read more…
The Spec Ops mode was one of the best things about MW2 – a number of individual co-op missions based around maps from the campaign.
It looks like they are going to build on this for MW3, shown this week at E3 as Infinity Ward and Sledge Hammer presented a new spec ops mode, similar to GOW’s Horde mode where two players must survive a number of escalating waves of enemies.
There are apparrently many Survival environments contained within this mode, one on show at E3 was ‘Dome’. It’s set on the location of a dome shaped satellite station, which is flanked on one side by a large garage building and on the other by a steep rising incline.
There are a few cover points in the centre of the map from which to try and pick off the enemies, who spawn in several different locations, including inside the station.
Each wave has a different theme and is more difficult than the previous, beginning with a couple of grunt soldiers, which is followed by the same with dogs etc.
Later on you can come face to face with Spetsnaz forces and even later attacks from helicopters which you will have to shoot down, watching out for their powerful and deadly twin minigun attacks.
Favourites being talked about at the event included soldiers and dogs who were strapped with C4 which explodes when shot, I have a feeling it’s best not to let these guys get too close!
Fortunately as well as the escalating difficulty of enemies, you also get to reap the rewards of making it safely to later waves. Starting with a basic handgun, you earn cash for every kill which you can use to purchase more advanced weapons in the armoury, or upgrade your current weapon.
Alternatively, you can use this cash at the equipment store to buy armour, gun sights, or even automatic turrets. Your pile of cash is seperate to the other player in the game, however cash can be transferred between the two players if one of you is a more skilled player. This even includes helping revive your fellow player, however if both soldiers are downed, then thats game over.
Not wanting to miss out a single detail, the developers have also included a ranking feature to this mode, which is seperate to the multiplayer ranking system, another reason to give Spec Ops some of your attention.
I cannot wait to be able to experience this for myself, and see what some of the other maps are like. May I reccommend a co-op mission featuring survival on the streets of London? This looks like it is shaping up to be a blast!
Rumours had been circling the internet on Monday afternoon of a Halo sequel, after an advert inadvertently appeared on xbox.com. These rumours were then confirmed later that evening, when Microsoft ended their press conference by unveiling a trailer for the 360 exclusive currently set for December next year. This was perhaps a shame, as the trailer could have been a nice surprise in a conference severely lacking in announcements.
The trailer does not reveal much, but does confirm that players will return once again to the bulky boots of every 360 fan boy’s favourite Spartan, Master Chief. Who makes a reappearance after entering cryo-sleep at the end of Halo 3.
You can see the trailer for yourself below, courtesy of videogamer.com.
StudentGamer 