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What movie is that song from ?

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No idea. The video was leaked, apparently, and shows something in its early stages.

It looks to me like the boy from Ico running round the castle with a mini Colossus and, at a guess, would say it's a platformer where the creature can help in certain situations. Or something.

I'm just chuffed that one of the classic PS2 developers is working on the PS3.

EDIT - the tune is from Miller's Crossing.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Oh sweet Christmas, I have to play that. Those guys know how to make games that suck you in and make you care, and this latest one looks absolutely wonderful.

And it doesn't hurt that the gameplay and art direction is some of the best around.

I know something that may surprise you boys and girls...Batman: Arkham Asylum is set to be an contender for game of the year. People are comparing the scope of the game and it's environment to that of GTA 4! I've read a couple of previews and early reviews and it sounds like it's going to be pretty excellent. I think it's averaging on a 9.5. I didn't have high hopes for it when I heard about it, but it seems like it's succeeded all expectations. Also, the PS3 version comes with with an exclusive feature in which you can play as The Joker

Game looks and sounds sick. Apparently you feel like Batman when playing.

Here is a link to some video footage of the game. Can't wait.

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/bat...m-asylum/10111

I dunno, the last movie tie-in game I truly enjoyed was The Great Escape on the flippin' Spectrum!

Was playing the "Canda-only" beta last night for a couple hours - it's a lot of fun , can't wait for it to actually come out for the U.S.

I've spent most of the bank holiday rebuilding my PC - It was beginning to crash regularly when the graphics card was under heavy loads (got GRID and Burnout Paradise a few weeks back and it didn't seem to like them). Swapped the card, the PSU and the RAM from the spare - same problems.

Turns out (I think) to be a heat issue with the CPU. A squirt of Artic Silver and things seem fine now.

I'd spent yesterday budgeting for a Phenom processor and new Mobo but a £1.99 tube of thermal paste sorted it out.

GRID is fantastic fun. It's flawed (daft rubberbanding meaning your 5 second lead always seems to be eaten up in the final few corners) but terrifically presented.

Quick question: which Splinter Cell game would you guys recommend. I've plowed through the recent CoDs and can't really get into Farycry 2, but from what I've read the Splinter Cell series is mostly stealth-oriented, which is generally my favorite part of the CoD games.

My question is, since the series is something like 7 years old, and I can jump in the middle as a result, where should I start? From what I've read, the second game is significantly better than the first, and the third sort of treads water and is similar to the second. Should I start with the second, then? I think that was released in 2005, so it might be Vista-compatible.

Anyway, any insight as to the ups and downs of starting here or there would be helpful.

Never been a fan, so I'm not one to have his opinion listened to, re: Splinter Cell.

I love the Thief series, though, and if you up your skills in the right places you can play Oblivion and Fallout 3 as straight stealth titles.

Yoda, I think you're right about skipping the first Splinter Cell. It's great, but the others eclipse it in range of gameplay and control variety. The only reason I would consider checking it out is because it includes one mission that requires you to infiltrate CIA Headquarters in Langley.

Pandora Tomorrow is leaps and bounds better, but I actually thought Chaos Theory was a small step above that. Double Agent is also worth playing because you're infiltrated into a small terrorist cell, making for some nice variety in gameplay (and there's a snazzy sneak mission on a cruise ship in the middle of the day!).

Chaos Theory is definitely miles ahead of all em , even the 360 one. The online co-op is awesome.

I'm probably not going to play much multiplayer; just looking for good single-player missions, really.

So, sounds like Pandora Tomorrow (the second one, yeah?) is far better than the first, and that Chaos Theory (the third?) is even better. So I could start with the second (assuming it's Vista-compatible), but starting with the third is worthwhile, too.

I've read that the second and third are similar, and if so, I'd just as soon play just the better one.

Anyone play the more recent entries like Essentials or Double Agent? I'm a total newbie to this series so I'm trying to make sure I start in the right place. Appreciate the opinions, everyone.

Well, the multiplayer was interesting because it operated on "spy versus mercenary" scenarios. Mercenaries were first-person, and had various abilities and handicaps. Spies were third-person (like Sam Fisher, the main character), and had abilities and handicaps of their own. Game modes were smart and varied, and games were kept pretty brief to keep your excitement up.

There was also a co-op component; not sure if this was developed for the PC version. Basically, you and another player were spies, and worked your way through a different single player campaign designed for two people. There were moves you could do specific for two players as well, such as two-man rappelling and helping each other scale walls. Lots of fun.

Yes, see my above. Double Agent begins with you joining a domestic terrorist cell as a (gasp!) double agent, and all your missions come from them. In each mission, you have main objectives, and then optional objectives for both the terror cell and the NSA. So the NSA might want you to swipe some documents, while the terror cell might want you to sabotage a surveillance system. Based on your decisions per mission, your loyalty meter moves left or right.

The meter is mostly inconsequential, because if you go too far one way or the other, you fail. So you just have to manage it. There are also "downtime" missions in which you are free to roam the terror cell headquarters, and espionage objectives you can conduct on the organization itself for the NSA. There are also moments in which you are made to make a hard decision, with appropriate ramifications. The missions are also great fun, including a ballsy spook mission on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean during the day, with lots of people (and guards) up and about.

Chaos Theory is the best in the series, but if you decide you like the games, it's always better to go forward than back. I don't remember too much about how Chaos Theory and Pandora Tomorrow differ, but you're best to start somewhere in there. And if you like the series, you owe it to yourself to play Double Agent also.

Just got all 120 stars in Mario 64 for the first time , now I'm trying to get them all for Galaxy - im at 95 right now. Beautiful game.

Whoops, sorry Sleezy, missed that the first time. Very helpful stuff; I'm looking at snagging a few cheap copies now, though it looks like there could be a Vista-compatability issue that might force me to start with Chaos Theory anyway, though perhaps even later than that. I might be stuck with Double Agent and up, but we'll see. Either way, really appreciate the thoughts.

Re: meatwad. Couldn't agree more. Though I doubt any Mario game will ever be as much fun for me as Mario 64 was, Super Mario Galaxy was a joy to play and see. I wish it had some sort of capture feature, because I did some crazy experiments with the gravity of adjacent planets that I wish I could show everyone. Very cool physics, used to great effect with some very creative puzzles.

I think I'm something like 20 stars short, and most of those are those pesky comet-related/purple-coin stars. Meh. Dunno if I'll ever muster up the patience to get all of those.

We have now been subsumed in GTA 4 completely. It's weird, after taking a break from GTA for a couple of months, when we returned to the game, the driving seemed a lot better. I guess our minds had time to sift out the poor habits we had picked up and extract them while we slept or something.

Having a lot more fun now, and some of the missions are starting to get difficult. I must complain about having just one safe house on the entire map. We have no place to save in the entire Algonquin area right now. Have to go all the way back to Bohan to save, which is damn annoying at some points of the game. I made a mistake, after which the game immediately autosaved, which irked me.

We tried dating Alexandra and when we went to drop her off I thought 'Hmm, I shouldnt ask her up for coffee on the first date, I will be a gentleman first time out, then go after then goods later!' - So I clicked the negative response when we parked without really reading it. OOPS, that dumped her for good.

She got mad, got out of the car and the game autosaved over my last save immediately. I have now lost the ability to date Alexandra at all. Her date link is gone from the Craplist Ad. Oh well, guess that's a part of the game I can never do...unless of course I reload a save that is a good 6 hours back, redoing perhaps 5 missions. No thanks, and so much for 100%.

I see other safe houses in the guide, but they have yet to become available. It just seems odd that the game is having us do missions in South Algonquin with the only save spot open on the north end of a different island completely.

That said - Algonquin is pretty mind-blowing, design-wise.

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You're probably pretty close to getting another safehouse.

Surprised to hear about the troubles with the autosaving, though perhaps I'm just way more pedantic about that kind of thing than most people.

Really glad you're digging the game. I'd love to hear your thoughts as you get through it. I'm just wrapping up some of the little extras. Definitely missing all those missions, though. I couldn't get through them fast enough at first, but now I wish I had more.

Yeah, I just got lazy with my regular saves and ended up in a bind in this one situation. Will Alex ever post another Ad, or she is he gone for good? She was actually the least annoying of the girls so far, I am chuffed off that I messed her up immediately.

I would think another safe house is on the way. I see reserved parking in front of Playboy X's house, and I have done several of his missions. I presume I get his place later, but it hasn't happened yet.

What a game. Some crazy random events have transpired that are really fun to watch, and we tend to stop and hang out in random areas to watch the society. Also, LT and I have taken up the habit of saving up when we want to stop playing, and then just going nuts shooting up Times Square or something. It's fun to get a SecureCar and go on a cop smashing spree until you get up to about 5 stars and driving gets difficult, what with all the swat etc. after you.

I absolutely hated the online for Splinter Cell. I had no idea that one side was third person while the other was first person, it was a big WTF moment for me. I just couldn't really get into it, I seemed to be handicapped no matter what side I chose.

As for the series itself, I find it to be mediocre. If stealth is your thing, by all means. I still prefer Metal Gear over Splinter Cell though.

Downloaded the DEMO of InFamous, played about 3 minutes worth before having to leave the house, I like the parkour style to it, leaps and bounds over Assassins Creed, which I didn't really enjoy that much.

Finally gave in a got Flower as well, hearing good things from Tacitus and friends and Reviews On The Run giving it a good score. Played the first 'level' and found it interesting, my girlfriend thought it looked stupid. Will give a better opinion when I play more of it.

Getting back into NHL 09 as well, the online for it is HORRIBLE though, I don't know if EA has fixed it yet, but it is damn near impossible to get a single game going.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

I think they do a great job with scripting events to make every mission dynamic and involved to balance out the fact that you've got to be patient. The only missions I don't like are the ones where they give you non-lethal ammo.

I've tried playing the Metal Gear games, but they're just too convoluted for me, and the cutscenes are way too long.

Ah, forgot that one was on its way. I liked Assassin's Creed, and would have liked it better if the game didn't get so repetitive.

In other news...



EA Sports Active

I've been using this to work out for a few days now, in addition to my daily running. It's definitely a well-put together product, most notably its 30 Day Challenge functon, which automatically creates daily workout routines for you to follow in 30 day increments. These routines generally last 20 or 30 minutes, and include 16-20 exercises (depending on the intensity you choose: low, medium, or high). The workouts themselves are varied, and flow into each other with little time to stop, so there's no trouble staying motivated. You're also given a choice of music genre to play while you work out, which is cool, but it's all generic (which is probably a good thing; it's enough to keep you moving without diverting your attention).

The workouts themselves are tailored to your profile, which you fill out when you first begin, although it seems they're only dependant on your age and weight. During each work out, you wear a leg strap that measures your movement, and for some exercises, slip the nunchuk into a small pouch on the strap. The exercises themselves mostly work the legs, but there's also an elastic band included that you use to work your arms and shoulders. Some exercises employ the balance board included with Wii Fit, and even add some variety to the moves, but it's not required.

The exercises themselves are easy to understand, and the game always offers the ability to view a short demonstration video for each exercise if you need guidance. In addition to traditional exercises like lunges, curls, and running, workouts also incorporate sports or activity-related exercises, such as basketball, boxing, and dancing. You're also always updated on your current progress, and how many exercises are left in the day's routine.

So far, all of the exercises I've come across have been fun and intuitive. There have been instances where I had trouble getting my movements to register, but a little experimenting is all it takes to understand what's expected of you. Your trainer does a good job of leading your movements and letting you know how you're doing. Even on low intensity, the workouts can get hairy. For example, I had one cluster of exercises that included high knees, running, alternating lunges, and side lunges all in one stretch. My thighs were on fire.

Workouts at all times measure the calories you burn, and tally your efforts at the end of each day. Daily routines are three-fold: your workout; your lifestyle survey (which asks you questions about the day before, such as how many balanced meals you ate, or how many hours of uninterrupted sleep you got); and your activities survey (which asks you questions about what physical activities you did the day before, and for how long). You are ultimately scored on these items, and you receive comments about the progess you are making, nd tips for improvement. You can also receive preset trophies for achieving various marks toward your goal. For anyone worried about over-exertion, your calendar is smart enough to give you rest days, so your body can recover. Of course, at any time, you can still select from a list of preset workouts, or even create your own.

All in all, it's a wonderful program that's designed to keep you engaged and motivated. I can't yet speak to how effective it is at actually getting you results, but if the kind of stuff I've been doing on low intensity is any indication of the game's range, it's safe to say that EA Sports Active will work you hard if you let it. And since it largely does everything for you, why shouldn't you?