E3 2012 Overview - Sony

After Microsoft's mediocre showing, it was Sony's turn to flex their muscle, was there enough to impress gamers across the globe?

As usual, Sony started off with the usual thank you to PlayStation fans, and then pushed ahead with the unveiling of Quantic Dream's (Heavy Rain Producers)new IP, entitled Beyond: Two Souls. Beyond looked impressive with great visuals and a great lead character in Jodie Holmes. Her face was almost instantly recognisable as the character is played by Ellen Page. A big scoop by Quantic Dream and a blow to Naughty Dog as will be discussed further along this article.  A cut scene showing Holmes being interrogated by Policeman and then showing her using telekinetic powers by moving a coffee cup and smashing it against the wall. Nothing was given away in terms of gameplay, will it have the same gameplay style as Heavy Rain? Quantic Dream's head David Cage promises that this will be the first time in a video game that you will be "living the life of the character". What does that mean? Will it be as immersive as Heavy Rain was?

Things then got a little less serious, moving onto PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. For those in the unknown, this is Sony's version of Nintendo's highly successful hit, Super Smash Bros, which pit many of Sony's famous faces into one game to slug it out. Characters such as Kratos and Sly Cooper from PlayStation's history are in there, while two more characters were announced at the conference, in the forms of Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series and Big Daddy from Bioshock. Sony also showed off the cross platform capability of the PS3 and PS Vita, allowing PS3 players to play with PS Vita owners and vice versa.

Speaking of the PS Vita, Sony decided to leave the Vita out of the spotlight with only brief mentions of cross platform play, announcement of indie games and a new Assassins Creed bundle. The big announcement from the Vita being a new Call of Duty game in the form of Black Ops:Declassified.

Playstation Move did not get left out, with the unveiling of Wonderbook. Wonderbook utilises AR technology by bringing books to life. Working with many authors across the world, Sony claimed that Wonderbook will reinvent story books. A collaboration with the one of the most popular; JK Rowling is not a bad opening statement for Wonderbook with the Rowling's first book "Book of Spells" to be the first title for the Wonderbook. A demo on stage showed being able to learn and cast spells in front of their TVs and see them come to life.

Sony ended strongly by showing off two of their biggest upcoming titles, first up was God of War: Ascension. Ascension will be a prequel to the first three games. The demo shown had great visuals and as expected from God of War games, massive action sequences and even bigger bosses. With a March 2013 release date, it looks like Sony has a massive hit already planned for the next year.

Ending the show was the highlight from last year's conference, The Last of Us. From Naughty Dog the creators of the Uncharted series, The Last of Us follows Joel and Ellie, two survivors of an as yet unknown apocalypse which destroys Pittsburgh. As mentioned earlier in the article, Naughty Dog has changed the look of their main character. Although Naughty Dog deny that it is because Ellen Page's likeness is being used by Quantic Dream and that they wanted the character to look like the actress who was playing Ellie instead. hmmmm... As with all the games on show in the Sony conference, visuals were superb and Uncharted style game play was prominent, but the violence on this was raised to the max. The game has a very gritty and hardcore style to it which is the main difference from Uncharted, with graphic scenes like the man being shot with a shotgun and an enemy being set on fire with a Molotov showed a move away from the Uncharted tone.

Unlike Microsoft, Sony did not dwell on non-gaming issues. Much emphasis was placed on what was going to appeal to the people watch the conference, the games. Games are what keep people at E3 on their toes and excited. But the severe lack of Vita coverage was disappointing and could be reflecting the lack of success it has had so far in its short life.
The same can not be said about the PS3, with great games like The Last of Us, Beyond:Two Souls and God of War coming soon it could be a great year for PlayStation fans and a fairly successful E3 for the Japanese technology giants.


Next up will be my analysis of Nintendo's E3 showing. With much riding on the Wii U, will it deliver or will it leave gamers disappointed?

Feel free to leave comments below!

E3 2012 overview - Pre E3 and Microsoft Conference

With the dust settling after another intriguing E3 show, it is time to have a look back at the events and happenings from a interesting couple of days in sunny Los Angeles.

The fun started pre- E3 on the Sunday, with Nintendo having an online only stream to showcase their new console, the Wii U. With many expecting more information to be shared by the big N, we were given a sneak peek of what the new console would offer. First off the bat, was Miiverse. Miiverse is Nintendo's big social network where players are able to communicate with fellow gamers using the Wii U gamepad. Miis will gather around icons of the most popular games and enable players to find others and/or friends who have similar game tastes. You will be able to send text messages as well as images, screenshots and even in game tips to friends all across the world.

As with tradition now, Microsoft kicked off the week with their press conference. With many rumours swirling around, would Microsoft show off their next generation console? The answer was No, instead of looking to the future, they looked to the present, but more specifically Kinect. Much of the conference was revolving around Kinect and the many new uses it would have. Gaming wise, EA Sports showed Kinect usage for Madden 13 and surprisingly Fifa 13 while there was some useage in the "Need for Speed"esque Forza Horizon.

But Microsoft's big highlight for Kinect was its partnership with the biggest sports brand in the world; Nike. Nike Plus Kinect Training allows people to find other people online to work out with as well as compare fitness stats with. Not the most interesting thing to announce at a games convention right?

Making this even more like CES than E3, Microsoft showed off SmartGlass. Smartglass is the new technology which enables the use of a tablet as a companion to the TV. The example given was setting up plays in Madden 13. The tablet contained a playbook which the players could use to select plays while the TV showed the action. Sound very similar to another console mentioned previously?
The non gaming presentations continued with the announcement of IE9 coming to the Xbox 360. A browser is finally coming to the Xbox 360 but is it really what gamers want to hear?


Finally moving back to the gaming part of the presentation were demos of Tomb Raider,Resident Evil 6 and kicking off with Halo 4, with the latter two having timed exclusive content for the Xbox 360. Major coups for Microsoft as the two mentioned games are two of the biggest gaming franchises. With teasers for new indie games on the XBLA in the form of Lococycle and Matter showed that Microsoft did have some games up their sleeves.

A highlight of the conference was the introduction of the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone to show off a new South Park titled: South Park: The Stick of Truth which puts you into the shoes of a new kid who has just moved to small town. Not much else was shown but seemed to be a sort of MMO.

Ending the conference was a demo of Black Ops 2, showing off some new guns and showing diversity in the single player mode where players are able to choose between two decisions which could lead to different consequences. Cool highlights included a remote controlled hovering drone and a sort of x-ray sniper rifle.

With so much emphasis on Kinect and not so much on games Microsoft put up a pretty weak showing, but were able to boast timed exclusives for two major titles and showed off the new entry in the Halo franchise. Was it enough to "win" E3?  Find out my views on the two other major conferences later on to find out my verdict.

Is Roy Hodgson the right man to be England manager?

With the end of the Premier League coming to a close and Euro 2012 over the horizon, the debate over who the new England manager would be came to an end on the 1st May 2012, when The FA announced that Roy Hodgson would be the successor to Fabio Capello. Many were surprised as the talk ever since Capello's resignation was that Harry Redknapp was favourite for the job. The FA have made their choice but was it the right choice?

His managerial record is really impressive, managing teams from all around Europe, from Italian giants, Inter Milan to less known teams like Malmo. Hodgson has also managed national teams, taking the helm of the Swiss and Finnish national team and impressing with a quarter final appearance for the Swiss in the 1994 World Cup, whilst leading Finland to a record high 33rd in the Fifa Rankings. With the vast array of managerial experience under Roy Hodgson's wing, it looks a great appointment, as being national coach previously enables him to adapt his coaching style to suit the infrequent times that he will meet up with the players during the year, whilst Redknapp seems to thrive on building relationships with players on a daily basis.

Although one point which many fans will point to is his largely unsuccessful period at Liverpool in 2010/11, which only lasted 31 games; the shortest reign in Liverpool's history. Many Liverpool fans believe that Hodgson is not able to step up to a "top job" such as the Liverpool job, when given the chance and doubt whether his time as England manager will be successful as the media and fan expectation is always high with every tournament England go to. His tactics have also been questioned, with many describing them as rigid and less adventurous, compared to Harry Redknapp's free flowing style which has been expertly put on show by his Spurs team this season.

Hodgson has enjoyed plenty of success sandwiching his time at Liverpool, he was able to transform Fulham from a club on the brink of relegation in 2007 and guided them to a Europa  League final in 2010 where they were narrowly beaten by Atletico Madrid thanks to two goals from Diego Forlan, along that run Fulham provided some excellent performance, most notably the remarkable comeback against Juventus with the Fulham 4-1 down from the first leg and managing to win the tie 5-4 on aggregate. Hodgson enjoyed similar success with his current club West Brom, as he was able to steer them away from relegation, finishing 11th; West Brom's highest league in three decades.

As well as his record on the bench, Hodgson also holds a great influence away from the pitch, Hodgson is a well respected individual in the world game and with the shambles of the unsuccessful bid for the 2018 World Cup, there is no better man than Roy Hodgson to help the FA build bridges with FIFA and its many members again.

Hodgson will offer plenty to the England job,  his vast experience will always be a benefit whilst he has always been able to get the best out of players who have been written off, but his negative tactics and his traditional style has placed doubt into many journalists and fans minds. The fans favourite was Harry Redknapp, he was expected to get the job, but now that Hodgson has it, is he able to step up to the job? Only time will tell. Good luck Roy.

Violent Video Games

Grand Theft Auto: Serial offender of "influencing" young children

On the way back from work today, i noticed in the Evening standard that the grand old debate on the effects of violent video games on children had arisen again, with an article with quotes from teachers saying that children as young as four are "acting out X-rated violence of video games". An example is given with a teacher from a primary school describes scenes of children "throwing themselves out of the window of the play car in slow motion and acting out blood spurting from their bodies".

Whilst the article initially does not lay the blame on the games with the teacher in question; Ms Sheratt, saying that she does not believe that violent video games should be banned but have more research and guidance for teachers to help children, the opposite view is is expressed by the General Secretary of the Association of of Teachers and Lecturer's Union; Mary Bousted, saying that violent video games are having a damaging effect on "tender young minds" of children. I think that cases like this might not be as common as made out by the article in the Evening Standard, giving myself as an example, i am not afraid to admit that I've played games which were over my age rating, but im not walking around streets carrying a shotgun and a knife ready to hurt random people?

As an avid gamer, I really am disappointed of this general view that video games are all bad and that they lead to teenagers/children performing unquestionable actions. It seems that whenever a teenager commits any sort of crime, they are seemingly "copying what they have played in Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty." It gives an impression that video games are being used as scapegoats by parents to find a reason for why teenagers are misbehaving without looking at themselves. Parents blame the influence of these violent video games on their children, but never stop to hesitate to buy them an 18 rated Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto game from their local game store.
Games are given age ratings for a reason and if parents are ignoring them, then they should not blame anyone but themselves if their kids are causing trouble. I have no sympathy for parents who go on national newspapers and are blaming 18 age rated games for influencing their 16 year old kid when they should not be able to play them in the first place.

Whilst violent video games will need to be better regulated in terms of who they are being sold to, they should not be made to be the scapegoat for anti-social/dangerous actions from teenagers and children.



Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/education/children-aged-four-acting-out-xrated-violence-of-video-games-7614796.html 

Resident Evil 6!

A new year means new games and the first big announcement was the reveal of Resident Evil 6! As many who know me, I am a massive Resident Evil fan and the reveal had me bouncing up and down for a while! Along with the reveal came a first trailer which showed Resident Evil series veterans Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield being the main protagonists of the 6th entry into the franchise alongside a new male character which Capcom have decided to keep any sort of information about him quiet. Maybe an E3 reveal? Barely 24 hours after the trailer was released to the world, Capcom held a press event in Japan for Resident Evil's 15th Anniversary and was able to reveal more information on RE6.

With three protagonists comes three different storylines, it seems that the producers have listened to fan feedback and have bought back the survival horror aspect from the first three games, with Leon getting caught up in a Raccoon City-esque incident in the town of Tall Oaks. Leon will be joined by goverment agent Helena Harper.

The second story revolves around RE5 main lead Chris Redfield, who looks like is leading a BSAA assault in China. The reason for Chris being in China is not revealed but seems to be more action-oriented than Leon's story. As with Leon, Chris is paired with a currently unnamed  BSAA team member.

The third part and the most interesting part of the trailer was the third main character, which Capcom currently would not release any details for. From the trailer, the only information given is that he was a mercenary and his blood is what everyone is looking for. Rumours are flying around that this is HUNK, the gas masked wearing soldier working for Umbrella from Resident Evil 2 fame. The woman with the mystery man in the trailer is said to be Sherry Birkin, the daughter of Resident Evil 2 villian, William Birkin. But this has not been confirmed officially by Capcom.
 
 The press event also gave the chance for Capcom to talk about a new enemy which our heroes will be facing. Capcom has revealed its name to be Javo and has described it as having a " greater impact than the zombies."

With a 20th November release date, Resident Evil fans will not have that long of a wait to get their hands on the game, and with the release of Resident Evil Revelations and Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City fans will have their hands full of Resident Evil goodness in the game series' 15th Anniversary.

January Transfer Window 2012

Hi all, has been along time since i have blogged about anything.

Seeing as it is January, lets talk about the January transfer window, at the time of writing, we are 21 days into the January transfer window and there have not been any "big" transfers, with the total amount spent in this window at a meagre £18.4m. The two eye catching deals which have gone through is Gary Cahill heading to Chelsea to help shore up the surprisingly leaky defence, and Papiss Demba Cisse joining Newcastle to link up with Senegal international teammate Demba Ba. But why has there been a lack of movement in the transfer window? Has financial fair play finally made its mark on big spending teams? Are there no players who are good enough to strengthen teams like Man United; who many believe are in need of a central playmaker, and Arsenal; who have their yearly defensive injury crisis?

The answer is, as many of the top manager have put it, you can not find value in the January transfer window. Many of the top players will have been cup-tied for various European and domestic competitions while asking prices will rocket up as teams will not want to lose their prized assets during the middle of the season.

This has led to many teams turning to temporary solutions by loaning players with the current trend being to loan players from the MLS in the US. With three of the MLS' biggest stars; Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, returning to the Premier League for a short period this has become very popular with Premier League teams who need that extra boost in the lead up to the final months of the season.

We have already seen the impact that they have had on their respective teams, Henry's delightful goal against Leeds in the FA Cup and Robbie Keane's double for Aston Villa against Wolves whilst Donovan returning to Goodison Park adding another dimension to Everton's attack. But will this persuade more teams to turn to players in the MLS in the January transfer window to give their team that breath of fresh life in the lead up to the final make or break months of the season?

The January transfer window always brings up great intrigue regardless of what managers say, it gives us fans something to get excited about, glued to our television screens watching Sky Sports News and grasping onto the hope that the manager of your team will be able to sign that one player who can change your team's fortune for the second half of the season. Over £200m was spent in the last January transfer window, Will we see a Torres-esque transfer before the transfer window deadline of 1:00pm on 31st January 2012 which would significantly increase the totalaliser on the Sky Sports website? Maybe not, but it would be great if it did happen.

The Arsenal summer of uncertainty

As it has been for the past couple of of summers, Arsenal have been one of the clubs at the forefront of transfer gossip this summer. First of all, the Cesc Fabregas saga which has gone on for a couple of years has cropped up again this summer, but the more worrying news is the potential departure of Samir Nasri as he is in his final year of his contract. With many expecting Fabregas to finally leave this summer, losing Nasri would be a massive blow. Whilst many are expecting big things from Wilshere and Ramsey in the coming season, Nasri offers that special something, which can turn games, as demonstrated in the home league game vs Fulham in December 2010 where his spectacular double won the game for Arsenal. If Wenger did buy a ready made replacement like Juan Mata from Valencia then selling Nasri would not be too big of an issue. But as many Arsenal fans know, Wenger is not willing to spend the big money on established world class players.  As a supporter it is pretty hard to believe what the papers say, as the club is linked with many players throughout the summer, with the number enough to form a completely new first team. With so many of Arsenal's rivals spending big to strengthen their team, will Wenger spend the money needed for the two or three players needed to push the club across the line towards a trophy? Only time will tell.