All posts by Brendan Griffiths

News

Tearaway: Behind the Scenes Video

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As trusting Vita owners, we’re really looking forward to Media Molecule’s Tearaway and it looks like the game is shaping up very nicely according to the latest video from Access PlayStation which takes a look around the developer’s office.

The unique platformer will use all of the PS Vita’s control methods to interact with the world. The rear pad can be used to poke your finger out of the ground, blow on the mic to make wind (stop laughing at the back), take pics with the camera and so on. We’re a bit worried that the game will be lost amongst all the big hitters though. It’s already in a niche category thanks to the papercraft-style visuals and its delay from October to late November puts it amongst COD, Battlefield and the next-gen consoles. Perhaps delaying it until early next year would have been better?

Continue reading Tearaway: Behind the Scenes Video →

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Disney Infinity Toy Box Combat Trailer

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Only a few weeks to go now before Disney’s tie-in to end all tie-ins arrives. This latest trailer shows off multiple characters’ attack moves and lots of crazy weaponry in Toy Box mode, where players can create or download new levels. Check out my hands-on preview for more details on this section of the game.

Disney Infinity clearly has the likes of Skylanders and Little Big Planet in its sights and with the huge range of Disney and Pixar characters and worlds to choose from, we think this could be something special. We’re expecting Disney to take advantage of their new Star Wars and Marvel licenses with this too, so you’ll finally have an excuse for filling your house with plastic toys again. Check out the trailer after the break. Continue reading Disney Infinity Toy Box Combat Trailer →

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Creative Assembly’s Aliens Game Not Cancelled

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In 2011, Sega and Creative Assembly announced they were working on an Aliens title and bar one blurry monitor screenshot from a team photo at the CA studio, we’ve seen nothing of it since.

However, in an MCV [print edition] interview, Sega’s European boss Jurgen Post said, “Aliens is still one of our pillars. In May 2011 we announced that Creative Assembly is doing something with that brand – we’ve said nothing else so you have to read between the lines there.” Continue reading Creative Assembly’s Aliens Game Not Cancelled →

Arcade Shooter, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Move, Reviews

Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear (Review)

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Remember Time Crisis? Great fun wasn’t it? Yes, then Namco went a bit mental and attached half a PlayStation pad to the Guncom and we’ve never been able to look it in the eye since.

So why haven’t the Wii or PS Move stepped in to fill the void with imitator shooters? Hell we barely even have any gallery blasters. Step forward young challenger, Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear. May the spirit of Virtua Cop be with you.

We’ll forgive you for not having heard of the game, it was something of a surprise to us until a few weeks ago too. It’s an on-rails FPS, which can also be played with a control pad. But you really shouldn’t, it’s awful with a pad. The aiming is all over the place. It’s so over-sensitive it feels as though the crosshairs are attached to a hockey puck.

Continue reading Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear (Review) →

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Disney Infinity to Allow Cross-Platform Sharing

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For the first time in the gaming industry, user-generated content created on one console will be available to download on the other formats too, thanks to the upcoming Disney Infinity.

As I detailed in my hands-on preview earlier this week, the game allows players to create their own stages, minigames and racetracks in the Toy Box mode to be shared online. The revelation means that from here an Xbox 360 player would be able to submit a creation to the Disney servers and once it has been approved for publication, players on the PS3 and Wii U will be able to download and play it for free. As the game’s Producer John Day told us, “[This] has never happened before in the game industry.” Continue reading Disney Infinity to Allow Cross-Platform Sharing →

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World Rally Championship 4 Coming In October

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Milestone have been giving us a steady stream of quality rallying titles throughout this generation and have kept the focus on traditional rallying while Codemasters have been distracted by an X-games feel over the last few years. WRC 4, or WRC: FIA World Rally Championship 4 to give it its unnecessarily cluttered full name, will be published by Bigben Interactive rather than Black Bean Games in October.

Coming to PS3, 360, PC and Vita once again, you can expect all of the official teams, drivers and event locations. There’s no mention of new features yet, or even a trailer, images or a logo for that matter, but a brand new career mode has been promised which hopefully means they’re scrapping the two career modes from the last game and will re-incorporate elements from the second game where you were able to build your own pit team in RPG-lite fashion. Continue reading World Rally Championship 4 Coming In October →

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Beyond: Two Souls Video Discusses Gameplay

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Part two of Quantic Dream’s series of dev diaries tells us about about the gameplay design choices for Beyond: Two Souls. The simplicity of of the user-interface and allowing non-gamers to get involved seems to be a theme throughout. We also get to see lots of different environments including wintry snowstorms, deserts and warzones.

The game will play out over 15 years of Jodie’s life, so we’ll see her as a child, bratty goth teen, a homeless person and as an adult. If you missed part one of the series, you can see it below the new video after the break. Continue reading Beyond: Two Souls Video Discusses Gameplay →

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Call of Duty: Ghosts Coming to Wii U

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Other Activision IPs Coming Too

The Wii U has been thrown something of a lifeline by Activision. The likes of EA and Warner Bros may be losing faith in the console, but the recently self-bought company has pledged their support to Nintendo’s machine by confirming the year’s biggest shooter, Call of Duty: Ghosts will be coming to the Wii U in addition to other current and next-gen machines.

The Wii U will also be getting another five Activision titles this year, the most noteworthy of which is the next installment in the Skylanders franchise, Swap Force. Angry Birds Trilogy, Angry Birds Star Wars, SpongeBob SquarePants: Plankton’s Robotic Revenge and Wipeout Create and Crash (based on the TV show rather than Sony’s anti-grav racer) are also on the release slate. Continue reading Call of Duty: Ghosts Coming to Wii U →

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FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Updates Explained

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With the new season getting ever closer, we’re beginning to get excited for FIFA 14 again. Or maybe you’re just waiting to pick up FIFA 13 for dirt cheap as soon as the  new one comes out? If you do that though you’ll miss out on all these new changes to Ultimate Team mode.

In addition to team chemistry tweaks players can look forward to the return of online single matches in UT mode along with an expanded seasons mode. Check out the press release notes after the break, or keep scrolling for a quick video instead. Continue reading FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Updates Explained →

Action, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Deadpool (Review)

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The spandex-sporting shooty, slicy, shouty scamp

The superhero barrel gets another scraping for yet another video game tie-in. This time, for Marvel’s Merc With a Mouth, Deadpool. The dude hasn’t even had a movie yet. But hey, that might work in his favour.

Newcomers to Deadpool’s universe should know that he’s known as a character that frequently breaks the fourth wall in comics. Essentially, he knows he’s a comic book character even though everyone else in the Marvel Universe has no idea. This allows him to constantly talk to the readers and share jokes with them, often at the bewilderment of the likes of Wolverine who can’t fathom why he’s so laid-back all the time (he’s already skimmed through the script of this game for example). Continue reading Deadpool (Review) →

Hands-on previews, Interviews, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Previews, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360

Disney Infinity (Hands-On Preview)

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Skylanders makes millions. Serious millions. So it was only a matter of time before other companies decided to get into toy/video game hybrids and names don’t come much bigger than Disney. When we learned that the biggest name in animated movies was stepping into the fray, we knew things were about to get interesting in the war for a spot under Christmas trees.

Like Skylanders, Disney Infinity is going to sell toys that are placed on a docking device (the Infinity Base) which makes them appear in-game. These characters will be sold in ‘Play Sets’ based around specific film franchises. These sets will include a couple of toy characters along with single-player stages/missions based around that film. Pirates of the Caribbean, Monster’s University, The Incredibles, The Lone Ranger and so on.

Continue reading Disney Infinity (Hands-On Preview) →

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Dead Rising 3 Dev Diary Shows Sick Skills

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When Dead Rising 3 debuted at E3 we were of the opinion it was a bit on the brown and ugly side. And it still is. But thanks to this latest dev diary we’re a little bit more optimistic as we get to see lots of different ways to dismember the undead masses and a few glimpses of humour along the way.

Dual-wielding triple barrel machine guns, nail guns, axes, exploding baseballs and more will be at your disposable. Taping together ridiculous combinations of items will also once again be actively encouraged. You’ll also get a better look at some of the different zombie classes you’ll come up against. Charging football jocks, trigger happy cops and inmates. All fairly vulnerable to a chainsaw to the guts it would seem though. A luchadore outfit dresses you for the occassion of wrestling zombies in the ring too, just in-case you were thinking the series was looking a bit ‘normal.’ There’ll have to be a severe financial incentive involved to get us to fight them dressed in a banana hammock though. Continue reading Dead Rising 3 Dev Diary Shows Sick Skills →

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PS4 Creator Wants to Bring Mobile Gamers to Consoles

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Lead architect of the PlayStation 4 Mark Cerny, has been chatting about bridging the gap between the billions of people playing games on mobile devices and those playing on consoles. In an interview with MCV he said:

“I look at the world and I see two billion people enjoying games on a smartphone, and then a few hundred thousand on a console. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could bring that larger audience into consoles?” Continue reading PS4 Creator Wants to Bring Mobile Gamers to Consoles →

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Everybody’s Golf Returns to PS3. Next Week!

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Tired of putting up with tired Tiger Woods updates every year? We’d thoroughly recommend ordering your caddy to get over to PSN on July 24th to pick up Everybody’s Golf then.

Sony are being a little bit sneaky as this is actually a PS3 version of the Vita launch game. On the plus side, that was a great game, which I awarded 8/10 in early 2012. The game is going to sell at £11.99 which, given the huge amount of content, is a solid deal.

Owners of the Vita game will be able to port across their save file too along with any DLC they picked up along the way. Also, Vita and PS3 players will be able to play online together. The PS3 version does get a new feature in the form of PS Move compatibility. I’m not sure how well that will turn out as EA and Tiger haven’t nailed motion control yet, John Daly also failed, and most players use the old-school ‘three-click’ method to gauge swing power anyway.

For our American readers, the game will launch a day earlier for $19.99 under the title, Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational. Have a launch trailer after the break. Continue reading Everybody’s Golf Returns to PS3. Next Week! →

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Conversations with Creators – Infamous: Second Son

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In the latest of Sony’s Conversations with Creators series for upcoming PS4 projects, we get to hear the thoughts from some of the Sucker Punch team as they work on Infamous: Second Son.

There’s a quite a bit of waffle in there if I’m honest, but they caught my attention by talking about an immersive use of the new controller’s touchpad that does sound like a cool inclusion instead of a regular button press.

Second Son is going to be set in the new location of Seattle, a few years after the last game and with new characters, meaning it’ll be very newbie friendly story-wise. With everyone’s new favourite go-to voice actor Troy Baker (Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us) in the lead role, we’re expecting a character with a bit more personality than Cole in the PS3 games. Thankfully, Sony have opted to release the game in 2014, rather than let it get lost amongst the wave of launch titles around Christmas. Take a peak at the video after the break. Continue reading Conversations with Creators – Infamous: Second Son →

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Square Enix Explain Why Final Fantasy XIV Is Sticking With Subscriptions

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With many MMO games with a monthly paid subscription service making the transition to a free-to-play model and supporting themselves via DLC and microtransactions, we were thinking that Square Enix may join the likes of Star Wars: The Old Republic and DC Universe Online and bring the revamped Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn out with similar pricing models next month.

Well, don’t hold your breath. In an interview in this week’s copy of MCV, the game’s producer Naoki Yoshida, defended the game’s need for regular income. Continue reading Square Enix Explain Why Final Fantasy XIV Is Sticking With Subscriptions →

Hardware, PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Aftershokz Bluez Bone Conduction Headset (Review)

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We love a bit of innovative gadgetry here at No Sleep Gamer, and ‘military bone conduction technology’ on the side of the box of Artershokz’s new Bluez Bluetooth stereo headset is certainly a good way to get our attention. Mainly because we’ll need all the help we can get when Battlefield 4 rolls out later this year.

This open ear headset isn’t like ones you’ve used before (shh, you military types, it’s new to us). Instead, the earpieces rest near your ears on your ears bones (see above image), leaving your ear holes free and still able to take in sounds around you.

Continue reading Aftershokz Bluez Bone Conduction Headset (Review) →

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Gaming TV Channel Ginx Launches on Virgin Media

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UK TV is a bit rubbish for gaming content, but maybe that’s all about to change thanks to Ginx TV. The new channel, which has a sole focus on video games, will be freely available to anyone with a Virgin Media TV package.

The channel will be on the air 24 hours a day with lots of different shows catering for all sorts of gamers. The First Hour does what it says on the tin by walking you through the first hour of the latest titles. Games Evolved tracks the history of the biggest franchises and genres. The Blurb is a magazine show covering news, reviews and interviews. The Quest has you covered for RPG and MMO titles. The Ginx Vault rolls back the clock for retro titles. Even apps get a show in Planet of the Apps. At the moment there are 12 shows on the channel, also covering sports, FPS titles racing games and so on. Continue reading Gaming TV Channel Ginx Launches on Virgin Media →

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Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix Introductory Trailer

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Kingdom Hearts III is going to be ages yet, so why not see what all the fuss is about with a nice HD version of the original. Actually, you’re getting even more than just the first PS2 game. For the first time in the UK, we’re also getting the console version of Chain of Memories. The disc will also include HD cutscenes from the 3DS game, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Most HD re-releases of PS2 games are usually only a visual upgrade, but seeing as the code from the original game was lost, everything’s been rebuilt from scratch. This means the devs have had a chance to go back and fix the shoddy camera, which can now be fully controlled with the right stick. Enjoy the trailer after the break, then feel sad that it won’t be out until September 13th.

Continue reading Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix Introductory Trailer →