The Round-up: Gamestop encourages second hand sales, Wii UK pricing announced, FIFA 12 knocked off it's perch...

A few days later than expected, and with a throat that feels like it's been coated with sandpaper, here's your weekly Video games round-up.



Starting off today's round-up there's news of two seperate legal wrangles currently making their way through the court systems. First is the news that Rocksmith's European release will be delayed into 2012 after it emerged that there is a band with the same name who aren't happy with being fobbed off by Ubisoft. According to Chris Ford, the percussionist for the UK group Rocksmith, the band even took the first step and contacted Ubisoft regarding their concerns over the naming of the new Music game, and trying to sort out a solution moving forward.

Eurogamer quote Mr Ford as saying that "there's nothing I've said that can't be backed up with absolute fact. I've got documents proving that I registered the name." Seems fairly cut and dry to me...

Next up is the news that Mojang have won an interim injunction against Zenimax/Bethesda and can continue to use the Scrolls title for their new game until the action goes to court. In a tweet on his official @notch account, Markus Persson said "We won the interim injunction! We can keep using the name "Scrolls". Zenimax/Bethesda can still appeal the ruling, but I'm very happy :D" Frankly it's ridiculous that Bethesda could even contemplate suing over any concern that the Title "Scrolls" infringes on their Elder Scrolls property, but i guess lawyers will be lawyers...



In happier news it appears that Blizzard have been raising money for charity while giving their rabid MMO fanbase a keep sake of their gaming past. On October 17th Blizzard began auctioning off server blades that used to house their long running World of Warcraft MMO. All in all, four seperate auctions were planned with all money raised going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. With around 2000 blades up for sale, each with their own special presentation case, that's a lot of money for a very deserving cause.



Good news for all UK Sony fans now, it was announced by Jim Ryan who explained "PlayStation Vita is an incredible device that offers the best possible portable gaming experiences." That's fancy talk designed to make the price sound reasonable, in case you didn't know. To be fair to Sony, the price for the PS Vita is actually reasonable compared to other tech out there right now. At £229.99 for the Wifi only and £279.99 for the 3G enabled models you get plenty of technology for your money including the now famous rear touch screen, front touch screen and massive horse power the processor affords it. February 22nd is the official release date for PlayStation's latest hand held, and with only a £50 gap in price it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people end up going 3G.



While we're talking Portable Sony devices it would be remiss of me not to mention the ever expanding roster of double packs making their way to PSP. For $15 US gamers can pick up the Mega Man Maverick Hunter X/Mega Man Powered Up or Monster Hunter Freedom Unite/Monster Hunter 2 packs. Absolute bargain right there.



More HD remake goodness is heading our way sometime next year, with Capcom confirming that they are working on a remastered HD bundle containing Devil May Cry 1,2 and 3. Not only that, but it will be available on PS3 and XBox 360. That's right, Microsoft fans can play it on their console too. Not happy to leave it there Capcom have also confirmed a RRP of just $40 for the collection!



Everybody knows that the best kind of shit is free shit, and thanks to Zen Studios you can download Pinball FX2 absolutely free of charge between October 26th and November 2nd. Not only that but you can also get the new Paranormal table layout for free at the same time. A round of applause for Zen studios please ladies and gents.



This next item may not be free, but it is awesome. On the heels of the Portal 2 knee socks (see what I'm doing there) comes one of the cutest little plushies I've seen (at least since Kon of Bleach fame). Seriously, take a look. Turret's never looked so cutesy.



Right, we have a shed load of Arkham City stories this week. First up is the news that Gamestop might be giving away Catwoman DLC with every used copy of the game that they sell. Obviously this benefits the retailer as their overheads on used games are much lower than new software, but from the developers point of view this is the worst thing that Gamestop could possibly have done. Kotaku report that an anonymous tipster sent them an internal memo detailing plans that all used copies sold would have a code for the Catwoman downloadable content printed on the receipt. This has since been confirmed with a retail branch by the Video games site.

Fans of the Batman Beyond TV series will be able to download a free skin of the futuristic not-so-caped crusader if they drink enough NOS energy drink. Although the skin will be available as regular DLC later on, fans of the Fast and Furious styled energy drink will get the attire once they complete the single player or play any of the challenge maps. To be honest i always thought that the Beyond version of Batman was a bit lame, but then, I love impractical capes.

PC gamers will finally get hold of Arkham City on November 18th, the delay is apparently due to the team working on the PC port wanting to fix some bugs before they ship the final product. Good for them i say, patching post release is something i really detest, but it's a growing trend as developers look to meet release schedules.

While players on the console versions of Arkham City might not have many bugs to contend with they are having trouble with DLC, namely the free DLC included in the box. Reports range from codes not working at all, to doubling up on certain pieces of DLC and in some cases Code cards included being completely blank! The Warner Bros twitter account has promised news as soon as they work out a solution, with a cryptic message pointing towards Catwoman being the first to be solved, claiming that players "will get to play as the sexy thief,"



Now then, PS3 owners out there, and i myself am included among your numbers, will know only too well how annoying it can be to turn your console on for a quick session, only to be told you need to run a firmware update before continuing. Sony seem to have finally realised this inconvenience and as a result Firmware Update 3.73, which fixes software stability issues will be completely optional. No doubt other firmware updates will be mandatory depending on what they address, but it's nice to have a choice on this one at least.



What news of EA? I hear you ask, okay i didn't physically hear you, but you must be wondering surely? well the pre-order figures for Battlefield 3 are in, and they're mightily impressive. EA have stated that pre-orders currently stand at over "a couple of million" while participation in the Beta has apparently topped 8 million users according to a graphic on the Battlefield 3 blog. wowzers.

Also hot off the presses from EA is the news that they have filed 2 trademark requests for the title "Prison Kings". Trademark applications for an Online game, as well as downloadable computer game software have both been made but any other clue as to the type of game it will be aren't forthcoming at the moment. Personally I enjoyed the prison sections of Fight Night Champion, so a re-imagining of the Knockout Kings brand set in the prison system would be an interesting take on the fighting game genre. Either that or we're going to get a bully style prison game with online components.



Finally, here's your UK top ten selling games on all platforms for the week ending October 15th

1. Forza Motorsport 4
2. FIFA 12
3. Just Dance 3
4. Rage
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 12
6. Gears of War 3
7. Dark Souls
8. Zumba Fitness
9. F1 2011
10. Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge

The might of FIFA 12 has finally been vanquished! After two weeks in pole position EA's football sim has been outsold by Turn 10's ode to the motor vehicle. What makes this even more impressive is that Forza 4 was released on Friday the 14th, meaning that in 24 hours it sold more copies than FIFA did in an entire 7 day period. True enough most people that wanted FIFA would have bought it inside the first two weeks, but no other game on the top ten this week, including Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, has managed to beat EA's sales.

Good to see once again that Dark Souls is in the top ten, while F1 2011 and GoW3 also hang around the list. Surprise surprise, Zumba fitness is still selling well. I'm beginning to think that Wet wet wet had the right idea when they withdrew Love is all around from sale after they got sick of being number 1. Take note Majesco entertainment...

Right, that'll do for today, I'm going back to bed to die quietly.

Later days.

Six of the Best - Game Intro's

I wrote recently about the intro to V Rally 3 and how it introduced me to the band A. That got me thinking, over the years there have been many games that utilised music and video to great effect when introducing the games I've played. Namco's Tekken series has always had excellent intro videos, Tekken 2 especially does an excellent job of introducing each fighter while utilising a brilliant energetic piece of music. It's a real shame that i can't find a video of Eidos Interactive's All Star Soccer, a game that for my money was one of the funniest sports related releases on the original Playstation with an Intro to match.

In essence i think a good game intro should get you amped up to play the game, it should represent everything that the game is about and make you enthusiastic to get stuck in. In my opinion each of the intros I've picked out here do just that.

Fifa 98 - Road to the World Cup



This was the last FIFA game that i owned, partly down to the 5 a side option and partly because Pro Evo kicked it's arse in the years that followed. The highlight of EA's world cup edition of the FIFA franchise was Blur's visceral anthem Song 2, a song that would be good enough to get into this list on it's own. If there's one tune that's guaranteed to get your blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing it's this one. Add to that the fact that the accompanying FMV follows all the rules of video game intro 101 and you have a great sports game introduction package. The cinematic shows you exactly what to expect in the game, the stadiums, the player animations, the gameplay and it even sums up the truly international nature of a world cup, It's all here in a perfect 90 second video package

Pro Evolution Soccer 2



There's only one song that can top Blur's song 2, there's only one band that could create a better football anthem. Maybe it's the stomp-stomp-clap backdrop to We Will Rock You that makes it so right for a football game, whatever the reason, there hasn't been a better Football intro since. The video follows the same rules as FIFA 98 with footballers from different countries all playing, scoring and getting booked. While there was no actual game play in this intro it didn't matter because this was all about telling a story and getting an emotional response from those who watched it.

It worked, They rocked me.

Gran Turismo 5



This intro tells such a fantastic story, the first half shows us the life of a car before it's a car, the ore is dug out of the earth, it's turned into metal, it's made into body panels etc. The piano accompaniment to all this is perfect, it has a sense of organisation, urgency and natural power, something that really compliments the educational material you see in front of you. It's like the soundtrack to a well oiled machine. It's also a welcome change to have a car racing game use a piece of classical music instead of going straight into a hectic piece of rock/pop.

That's not to say that a more energetic piece of music isn't welcome, My Chemical Romance's Planetary Go! kicks in at the start of the second half and it suits the racing portion of the movie down to the ground. It's a well implemented change of pace and shows that game designers don't have to choose one type of music over another when putting together an intro, they can use as many genres as they want.

This is another of those occasions when a game intro has made me go out and buy an album, and a very good album it is too.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater



This is Hideo Kojima's tribute to the countless Bond intros that have become as much a part of the franchise as Aston Martins or Vodka Martinis, and it's beautifully executed. Just like Bond the intro actually comes after a short amount of game play, it really is just like playing as 007.

The song Snake Eater, sung wonderfully by Cynthia Harrel is classic Bond fare, trumpets punctuate the sweeping strings and snare drum arrangement at various points giving it a real On Her Majesty's Secret Service feel.

The video is abstract art at its best, but while being great to look at it also serves a function. It sets up the time frame in which the game takes place, in seconds we know that the Cuban missile crisis and US tensions with the Soviet Union form a part of the back story. Credits in the video snake across the screen accompanied by a few real but curiously skeletal snakes. Bomber planes flying over camouflage patterns give it a military feel while you get a few shots of Snake in-game to remind you who the star of the show is.

Every time i watch this intro it makes me smile, not only is it a great tribute to a certain British Secret Agent but it's also one of the finest video game intros ever.

Final Fantasy VII



Come on now, if you've read this blog for any length of time you'll know that i have a massive hard on for FFVII but it's for good reason. Since first watching the intro video for the game in dumb struck awe way back in the late nineties I've been a fan of it's cutting edge (at the time) graphics, brilliant use of FMV, and amazing score by Nobuo Uematsu.

The intro to Final Fantasy VII crystallises everything that was great about the games audio-visual presentation, but more than that it introduces us to the characters and the universe in which the game takes place in such a way that we're instantly immersed in it. It doesn't just show you characters, but the world they live in, it shows the hustle and bustle of the streets, the dingy alleyways, and then zooms out to reveal the sprawling city in all it's gigantic glory. it gives the whole game extra depth.

This game also led me to buying the OST, Uematsu san's stuff really is that good.

V Rally 3



The game that inspired this column to begin with. I was pretty excited to play the game when i first got it anyway, so imagine how amped for it i was after watching the intro posted above!

It had everything. Cars going at break-neck speed on brilliantly rendered dusty/snowy/muddy courses in far flung countries (including wales) and a thumping soundtrack that instantly made you want to bury your foot into the floor. There's something about thrashy guitar led tunes that suits rally games, it just fits. I bought A's album soon after i first saw the intro for V Rally 3, but to think that if it wasn't for gaming I wouldn't have even heard of them.

Great intros make you want to play the game they front up, all of these intros did that for me and there are loads more out there that do exactly the same. So next time you boot up a new game and it has an introductory video, give it a watch, because sometimes they can enhance the experience more than you might think.

Goodbye Mark Lawrenson

After what seems like an eternity i have returned to the world of the Blog, in the hopes that i can once more be ridiculous for a moment.

Today is a landmark day in my life, for today i have finally turned the corner and realised it's time to make a change. Many a year i have revelled in the creative freedoms that Pro Evolution Soccer has afforded me in the editing suite, but that is no longer enough to keep me faithful to Konami's version of the beautiful game.

Wednesday September the 8th saw a bunch of listeners attend the 50th IGN UK podcast recording and i was fortunate enough to be amongst the lucky few. At this event we were treated to a demonstration of Playstation Move (It didn't work) and also had the chance to play FIFA 11 against each other.

For as long as i remember there have been two camps in the football simulation market, those who play FIFA, and those who play ISS/PES. ever since ISS 98 i have fallen into the Konami camp, preferring how a game played over the official licences it held. When ISS became PES it added something else to the mix which cemented my loyalty to the brand, Full kit editing. Last year i played both games at the demo stage and was sorely tempted by EA's game because for the first time in a long time it was more fun to play and actually felt closer to the real thing. Despite this i maintained my loyalty to Pro Evo more out of blind faith than logical reasoning.

This year will be no different in as much as i will play both demo's to see how they are to play, however there is one big difference that could play a vital role in which game i purchase. This year I'm buying the game i enjoy the most and leaving blind faith at the door.

Now onto my thoughts of the game i played today.

FIFA 11 plays beautifully, the passing is crisp and precise when you get it right rewarding you with a defence splitting pass that puts the opposing goalkeeper at the mercy of your centre forward. That's not to say that the computer does the work for you, you still have to direct the pass and choose how hard to strike the ball with the familiar power gauge.

Tackling is challenging but satisfying, meaning that you'll get as much out of a clean sheet as you will scoring at the other end. When playing with the ball at the feet of Marouan Chamakh or Robin Van Persie i never felt like being barged off the ball as easily as you can be in PES 2010. Trickier customers like Andrey Arshavin were easier to barge off the ball in a physical tussle but nippier and more nimble in and around the penalty area.

Graphically this years FIFA is a definite improvement on last years entry, players looked spot on in the game i played (Man Utd were emphatically beaten by a rampant Arsenal 3-0) The shirts looked as vibrant as they do in the real thing and the Stadiums are painstakingly duplicated in all their majesty. Pro Evo has had the edge as far as looks are concerned for the last few years, but now that FIFA has bucked it's ideas up in that area it'll be interesting to see how PES responds.

Finishing chances off has long been a gripe of mine when it comes to EA football games, but on the limited play time i had with the next one it would appear that the chances of pulling a Chris Iwelumo and skying the ball from 2 yards out have been drastically reduced. Great news for me, less so for my opponents.

Oh and as far as commentary is concerned, even though the game i played had commentary turned off FIFA has always beaten PES hands down in that department so i'll take it as red that Mark Lawrenson is still putting through Konami's own net

So how are we doing for reasons to buy this game?

Graphics - Check
Game play - Check
Official Kits and Licences - Check
Commentary - Double Check

The only thing that has me slightly reserved is that EA have still not really come up with a Master League killer and as i understand it you still can't play as your own imaginary team in FIFA. True, you had to edit PES United or Winning Eleven FC if you wanted to play as Brentwood FC in last years Pro Evo, but you could still design your own shirt, crest and sponsor.

I guess old habits really do die hard...

Robinho.