Civilization 2 was probably one of my favourite games of all time, I spent a good few years of my life taking over the world via various means and the experience keep my megalomania at bay. I’ve since lost interest in the franchise, I found 3 a bit blah and 4 a highly specced yet poor man’s cop-out of Total War. After all, grid based warfare is so 1990’s, isn’t it?
This game has had the most mixed reviews we have seen for a long time (if you exclude Bayonetta’s post-release ethical rinsing). Some are heralding the game’s epic story-driven narrative, where others are slating the game’s linearity and “15-hour tutorial.”
Either way, it looks like Square-Enix has performed a good deal of reinvention to the franchise with Final Fantasy XIII’s new streamlined approach. We have stripped out the scores from the reviews below, as many did not seem to match up to the written review that accompanied them.
As marketing for the thirteenth instalment in the Final Fantasy series reaches its climax, we’ve been treated to a bucket-load of commercials for the game – most of which feature Leona Lewis (love her or, in our case, loathe her).
The specifically Leona-focused one is quite a shocker, she explores her in-depth knowledge of gaming and explains her close connection to the lead character Lightning’s story. Who needs the embargo for the game’s reviews to lift at midnight tonight when you have this definitive line: “I just wanted to like run around the land all day.”
Jetpacks?!
What?!
Just Cause 2?
No! It’s Halo Reach.
According to a Halo Reach beta trailer posted on Taiwanese site GNN, jet packs look like an all-too-real feature of the final instalment in the Xbox franchise. But it’s not just about jet packs, there are also new modes including ASSASSINATIONS.
MyVoucherCodes caused a stir last week around their claim that the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII will outsell the PS3 one by 2:1 – and it now looks like that stat is becoming a reality.
Log onto Games for Windows Live and you’re sure to be disappointed by its lack of…er…games.
Microsoft’s answer to Steam is certainly the poorer party in the game download neighbourhood, however Rockstar have decided to add GTA IV to the service’s offering, which currently hosts the grand total of Bethesda’s Fallout 3 and 2K’s Bioshock 2 as AAA games. It’s a shame really, especially seeing as though players are able to earn XBL gamer points.
In the same absurd way Sony felt as though the general public would be happy shelling out north of £450 on a console at the launch of the PS3, the company now has a ‘feeling’ that it will have more motion controlled games than Microsoft’s Xbox 360 when both consoles go head-to-head in the Wii’s arena later this year.
SCEA’s Senior VP of Publisher Relations, Rob Dyer told IndustryGamers today that “My feeling is that we’re going to have a lot more games, a lot more innovation.” So what does Dyer base these predictions on?
Joining the crazy three-dimensional hype bonanza, Konami has created a 3D online installment of the Metal Gear series exclusive to Japanese arcades.
Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky has kindly provided the internet with some of the first screenshots of the gaming element of the new Windows Phone 7 Series mobile OS. Pulling in elements of Xbox Live such as avatars, game/friend requests and Xbox Live Marketplace updates, the platform looks well-equipped for gaming, even though no titles have officially been announced yet.
Check out some of Engadget’s first photos below:
The tech/gadget world has been flustered today around a sneak peak of a possible upcoming Microsoft phone at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress.
