All posts by Brendan Griffiths

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Play The Last of Us at Game’s In-Store Lock Ins

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Game are giving you the chance to play The Last of Us up to a month before release at one of their after hours lock in events. This time they’re hosting the game at 75 stores, many more than previous events. There’s a strong chance one of your local stores is running one of them, so when not give them a call, tweet or drop in to reserve a spot free of charge. Attendees must be over 18, so take some ID if you’re likely to get carded.

The demo you’ll get to play is going to be brand new and will be different from the one that will unlock with God of War: Ascension on May 31st. Pizza and soft drinks will be available and any pre-orders will be rewarded with a double-sided poster for the game. Check out the list of stores and dates after the break. Continue reading Play The Last of Us at Game’s In-Store Lock Ins →

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Beyond: Two Souls Tribeca Film Festival Trailer

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Here’s the trailer that was debuted at last night’s Tribeca Film Festival. It focuses on the lead character Jodie Holmes, played by Ellen Page. We see scenes from various stages of the game including her as a child and an adult. Locations are varied too, one minute she’s living rough while possibly on the run and then she’s out in the desert riding a horse in a scene similar to one you may find in Red Dead Redemption.

Willem Dafoe can be heard in the trailer too, trying to convince Jodie to come back. We’re presuming she’s escaped the testing facility/hospital where they’ve been examining her psychic powers. Gameplay is a bit thin on the ground, as the trailer clearly plays to the film-fan crowd at the festival, but there’s no denying we can’t wait to see more. Enjoy the new trailer after the break. Continue reading Beyond: Two Souls Tribeca Film Festival Trailer →

Beat 'em up, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Injustice: Gods Among Us (Review)

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Smashing heads, walls and expectations.


Street fighter IV has held all the glory this generation thanks to a lack of creativity in the fighting genre. Developers NetherRealm hadn’t really managed to reignite brawler fans’ enthusiasm for the Mortal Kombat series either. So, upon learning they were working on a fighting game with the DC character roster it perhaps wasn’t unfair to assume something of a DC cosplay version of Mortal Kombat.

Except this isn’t a reskinned Mortal Kombat. This is a great game. While some of the control inputs bear a strong resemblance to Mortal Kombat, this feels much more responsive and fluid when layering combos and juggling opponents. These may sound like basic things to get right in a fighting game, but they form an essential foundation and grab your attention early on.

Continue reading Injustice: Gods Among Us (Review) →

News, Platforms, PlayStation 3

Beyond: Two Souls Live Stream at Tribeca Film Festival Tonight

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Tune in right here at NoSleepGamer at Midnight UK time (7pm EST, 4pm EST) to see a live stream of Beyond: Two Souls from the famous Tribeca Film festival in New York. The event will last about two hours and will include a 35-minute scene from the game, including gameplay. The game’s official trailer will also be debuted.

After the screening, there will be a live panel Q&A with the game’s lead star Ellen Page, the director David Cage and supporting cast members Kadeem Hardison and Eric Winter.

This is the first time a video game has been selected as a part of the Tribeca Film Festival selection. Geoff Gilmore (a founder of the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals) described the upcoming PS3 exclusive’s inclusion as “a watershed moment in storytelling and media.”

Continue reading Beyond: Two Souls Live Stream at Tribeca Film Festival Tonight →

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Beyond: Two Souls Live Stream at Tribeca Film Festival Tonight

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Tune in right here at Dealspwn tonight at Midnight UK time to see a live stream of Beyond: Two Souls from the famous Tribeca Film festival in New York. The event will last about two hours and will include a 35-minute scene from the game, including gameplay. The game’s official trailer will also be debuted.

After the screening, there will be a live panel Q&A with the game’s lead star Ellen Page, the director David Cage and supporting cast members Kadeem Hardison and Eric Winter.

This is the first time a video game has been selected as a part of the Tribeca Film Festival selection. Geoff Gilmore (a founder of the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals) described the upcoming PS3 exclusive’s inclusion as “a watershed moment in storytelling and media.” Continue reading Beyond: Two Souls Live Stream at Tribeca Film Festival Tonight →

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Bidding Ends on Remaining THQ IPs

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Most of THQ’s game brands or intellectual properties (IPs) were snatched up in January, with the likes of Saints Row, Homefront and Metro quickly finding new owners, mainly due to development for the next titles in the series already being well under way. However, a few IPs were unsold, meaning a secondary auction would be required. Bidding has just ended with 17 bids to be offered to the courts.

Names of bidders and what they bid on are yet to be revealed, but Polygon have dug out a few details. The IPs were bundled into six different lots as listed below: Continue reading Bidding Ends on Remaining THQ IPs →

Features, Platforms, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, PSP, Wii, XBLA, Xbox 360

The Sunday Seven: Most Wanted Gaming Crossovers

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After looking at the insane mashup that Sega, Namco and Capcom have put together for the upcoming Project X Zone on the 3DS, it got me thinking about other gaming brands I’d like to see pushed together. These could be games pitting legends against each other in a fight to the death or something involving them working together. Publishers and IP owners can be very protective over their brands, but here’s a selection I think would work well together given half a chance.

Continue reading The Sunday Seven: Most Wanted Gaming Crossovers →

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Star Trek Dev Diary: An Original Story

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Namco Bandai’s latest making of video for the upcoming Star Trek game goes into detail about the story. This includes information of a female vulcan (possibly a former love interest of Spock) and a rift machine that rips space a new one and allows the lizardy Gorn to fly in and attack anything without scales. The game is going to be set in-between the 2009 movie and the upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness. It’s released on April 26th, two weeks before the new movie, giving fans plenty of time to lap up the first proper Star Trek game in years. Don’t forget to check out Matt’s preview too. Continue reading Star Trek Dev Diary: An Original Story →

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Play Grid 2 Early at Game’s In-Store Lock Ins

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If you’d like to play Grid 2 a month early you should get yourself down to one of the Game stores listed below. It’s lock in season again and Game have teamed up with Codemasters to let gamers get their hands on the eagerly-anticipated racing title pre-release. There will be a fastest lap competition at each event too, with the winner netting themselves a copy of the game when it’s released.

A member of the Codemasters dev team will be on hand to answer questions and offer hot tips to shave seconds of your lap times. Soft drinks and pizza will also be available. Good times. Places are limited, so visit your store, phone them or tweet them to reserve your spot. Venue details and dates follow after the break. Continue reading Play Grid 2 Early at Game’s In-Store Lock Ins →

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Confirmed: Sega Are Remaking Castle of Illusion

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Last weekend we posted a teaser trailer that had us believing (hoping) that Sega were going to answer our demented fan mail and remake the classic Mega Drive game, Castle of Illusion, starring Mickey Mouse. Well, the big teases have finally confirmed that they are working on a HD re-imagining of the game for PSN, XBLA and PC platforms.

Sega Studios Australia are handling development and they are also working with the original game’s director. From the screenshots released so far, it seems that they are sticking with 2D gameplay, which is something of a relief. Sega’s Senior Digital Brand Manager, Mai Kawaguchi, supported this by saying, “If you have played the original game, you will also see that we have kept intact many of the major iconic elements of the game that helped define this groundbreaking game at the time of its original release.”

No pricing details are available at this time but we know the game will be released this summer. Check out a few new screenshots and a trailer after the break.

Continue reading Confirmed: Sega Are Remaking Castle of Illusion →

Features, PC, Platforms, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Why We Love… Single Player Games

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Recent news has seen gamers lash out over the launch fiasco surrounding EA’s latest SimCity title. The game requires an always-on internet connection, which meant it broke as soon as it went live as thousands of enthusiastic gamers tried to play at once.

This happened days after Crytek CEO, Cervat Yerli, said, “I think the notion of a single-player experience has to go away.” Instead, he believes there should be more integration with the online world with “online single-player.” So, while keen to plug his upcoming online game, Warface, he’s stupidly kicked his other game –Crysis 3– in the stones. Guess we know why Crysis 2 and 3’s single-player modes can only muster a rental recommendation then.

Continue reading Why We Love… Single Player Games →

Platforms, PlayStation 3, Puzzle, Reviews

Voodoo Chronicles: The First Sign Review

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Hidden object games are something of a rarity on PSN. I haven’t played any since a range of PSP titles in 2010 including Route 66, The Mystery of the Crystal Portal and Actual Crimes: Jack the Ripper. Sanuk have returned though with another detective puzzler to test your peering skills.

The game has already seen a mobile/PC release, so it’s unsurprising to see the game using a mouse cursor to navigate. The analogue stick or a Move controller can be used to point at objects with ease, although your arm will get tired using the Move. Continue reading Voodoo Chronicles: The First Sign Review →

Features, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360

Games at Retail: Adapt or Die

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Last week finally saw HMV find a new buyer, ensuring one more traditional bricks and mortar business would enable gaming to have a high street presence alongside Blockbuster and Game. With most of us using online retailers to buy and pre-order games nowadays, you may wonder why we still need video games to be represented on the high street.

As this console generation winds down, we’ve seen a steep decline in game sales across the board. In 2012, retail sales were hit the most and dropped by over 20%. Game, Blockbuster and HMV barely survived, as gamers’ attention wavered. The original Wii’s bubble burst and there was a lack of any serious mass appeal products to renew lapsed players’ (read: more casual than you and I for example) interest. The numbers for Call of Duty are down and we’re repeatedly hearing of sequels selling only a shadow of what the previous game did – hello DMC.

Continue reading Games at Retail: Adapt or Die →

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Road Redemption Kickstarter Ignites Road Rash Memories

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Seeing as EA seem like they’re never going to do anything with the Road Rash license, an indie team, DarkSeas Games, have launched a kickstarter to help fund their own Road Rash-inspired title, Road Redemption. Road Rash was a motorbike street racing game that had its heyday during the 90s on the Mega Drive where gamers could use chains, bats, kicks and punches to get to the finish line first. Frankly, we’ve missed it a lot.

Development is already well under way, but don’t expect to see the game until July 2014. The game will be released on PC, Mac and Linux. Console versions are likely to follow as stretch goals. The team say 360 development would be easy for them, as they have experienced staff in that field. They also hope to bring the game to the PS4.

The video shows a decent amount of gameplay with lots of weapon-based motorcycle combat to enjoy. The use of firearms seems like a strange choice as the Road Rash titles never bothered, but we suppose the times have changed. There will be a GTA-esque story involving joining a biker gang and taking out rival gangs. Mission types will involve violent races, escaping the cops, assaulting convoys and more.

More details along with the various amounts you can pledge for various rewards can be found at their kickstarter page. Continue reading Road Redemption Kickstarter Ignites Road Rash Memories →

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Ridge Racer: Driftopia Announced as Free-To-Play Racer

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Namco Bandai have surprised us this weekend with not only a new Ridge Racer game, but also with the news that it will be a free-to-play downloadable title on the PS3 and PC. Ridge Racer: Driftopia is coming later this year and looks similar to last year’s Ridge Racer: Unbounded, albeit with less building destruction. The tracks may well feature some of the same ones from that game as they look very similar in the trailer.

No other details have been released as of yet, but we’re sure microtransactions will be used to support the game. Fingers crossed the handling has been improved and is more in line with the older games as vehicles handled like buses in Unbounded. Vita fans may recall that the Ridge Racer title on the handheld was crippled by a lack of content as Namco thought it would be a good idea to make us pay for DLC that should have been included in the game. Hopefully they’ve learnt their lesson. But seeing as Driftopia will be ftp, you can be sure we’ll be giving it a fair shot. Check out the trailer after the break. Continue reading Ridge Racer: Driftopia Announced as Free-To-Play Racer →

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Project X Zone Trailer Looks Blindingly Awesome

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If only we could see more publisher cross-overs to bring our favourite characters together. Sega, Namco and Capcom have thrown their best stars into an epic battle on the 3DS. Not that the trailer shows it, but the game is supposedly an RPG in a similar vein to the isometric Final Fantasy Tactics. This trailer shows what happens when characters actually attack each other though, as the camera zooms in and goes side on, more akin to something like Street Fighter. Using combos and team-up abilities gives the game a very action-heavy look that appears to be making the best of the game’s stars.

With any luck this will sell millions and inspire Sony and Square-Enix to make a Uncharted / Tomb Raider crossover (OMFG!). Anyway, Project X Zone is already out in Japan and is currently lined up for a Summer release in the West. Which will probably explain a lengthy ‘illness’ from our editors, Matt and Jon, around the same time. Me too, if they release it on the Vita that is. Check out the insane trailer after the break.
Continue reading Project X Zone Trailer Looks Blindingly Awesome →

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Tales of Xillia Battle Showcase Trailers

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European fans have been waiting years for a localised release for Tales of Xillia and here are some new gameplay videos to whet your appetite. Xillia is actually the 13th entry in the Tales series, but just like Final Fantasy, you don’t need to have played the previous titles to get involved. The game received fantastic scores in Japan, so we’ve got high hopes for it.

Japan even got a sequel late last year, so Namco are probably waiting to see how this one does before announcing a Western release too. JRPGs are finally doing well again in these parts with Ni No Kuni and Tales of Graces F proving popular with fans and critics alike. Tales of Xillia lands August 1st, which should give you enough time to finish those other two. Well, one of them at least. Continue reading Tales of Xillia Battle Showcase Trailers →

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New Dark Souls II Despair Trailer

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Despair. Probably the most fitting word to be associated with the Dark Souls games. Namco released 12 minutes of gameplay footage earlier this week, but this is more of a cinematic, although there are a few in-game shots that show off the varied environments. They’re looking great, but will most of us even make it out of the first cave without being scarred for life? It looks like the game’s usual standards of collision detection are there too as you can see the player’s axe pass through a wall at one point (0:44). Why would you include that in a trailer? I don’t understand. Continue reading New Dark Souls II Despair Trailer →

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Castle of Illusion Remake Teased By Sega

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Sega have released a new video simply named, ‘Teaser Trailer.’ The imagery prompts fond memories of the 1990 Mega Drive classic, Castle of Illusion, starring Mickey Mouse. This leads us to believe we’re getting a remake or maybe even a proper sequel.

The sinister figure staring out of a gloomy castle window appears to be Maleficent, the villain of the original who also featured in Sleeping Beauty and more recently, the Kingdom Hearts games. A rolling apple at the end of the video is also another hint as the player collected apples during the original game. The small copyright logo in the corner also says 1990, the same year the original was released.

We’d love to get our hands on a new Castle of Illusion game and it looks like we might in the summer. While you’re at it Sega, feel free to give us a reboot of the co-op antics of World of Illusion too. Continue reading Castle of Illusion Remake Teased By Sega →

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Jet Li Bigs up eSports Gaming ‘Athletes’

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Martial Arts Superstar, Jet Li has made a surprising statement defending the growing world of eSports. Well it’s surprising until you hear that he’s a spokesperson for the Chinese MMO, Age of Wushu.

Translated by MMO Culture, the diminutive star of films like Hero, Lethal Weapon 4 and Once Upon a Time in China said, “If poker card games and chess both have the players sitting down and are considered sports, why not virtual gaming as well? There are two kinds of sports – one physical and one mental. There is no good reason to debunk virtual gaming as a sport, and I believe the participants of such virtual PvP events have the same mentality as physical athletes. Continue reading Jet Li Bigs up eSports Gaming ‘Athletes’ →