Vagusnet

Portal Live Action Video

2011-08-24T13:10:00.000+01:00

We all know and love portal a lot and the chance of any live action movie was next to none as it would be really hard to do that kind of game in movie form however if given into the right hands you never know.

So up steps Dan Trachtenberg to give it a go and as you can tell from what he has done it looks bloody amazing and has the chance to be a really good movie.

Conventions

2011-08-20T13:08:00.000+01:00

We in the gaming world love a gaming convention and during the year we always have the big 3, it kicks off with the daddy of the conventions E3 and ends with the Tokyo Game Show however sandwiched in between them is the new boy in the shape of GamesCom, so for this weeks topic on the VNCAST i asked the nice people on twitter If they had there own games convention which 3 game developers/publishers would you invite and as usual i got some really good response so check them out below.

llcoolchay
Rockstar, EA and THQ - well anything with rockstar is gonna be good, thq got a couple of franchises i like and ea to fill up the place cos they got lots

Bouncybhall
Grasshopper Manufacture (killer 7, No more heroes), Amanita Design (machinarium)and Kairosoft (game Dev story).

MsMaggieJane
Microsoft Gaming Studios, Ubisoft, and Bethesda.

James (VN_James)
Bioware, Ubisoft and mojang

Corporalkitty
Capcom, Id and then it's a toss up between SEGA or DICE.

Grainger games
We've had deep discussions in our commercial team and we'd have to go with Microsoft, Nintendo and Bethesda

Dan91uk
Valve because there awesome. EA for battlefield 3 and Bethesda so I could play skyrim.

Storm360
Activision, EA and Konami

Matt Cuttle
EA, Bethesda and Nintendo off the top of my head. Sorry to anyone I've forgotten

Ahdvd
I would probably invite capcom just to ask them after Street Fighter 2, WTF happened?!

xXx_Fenix_xXx
Off the top of my head I'd say Rockstar, Ubisoft and 2k Boston.The last one not so much to show off games but to talk Bioshock :)

TomahawkTrix
I would on invite bioware as they are very progressive, media molecule reppin small indie devs, undead labs to talk about their upcoming zombie survival mmo - because they are veterans striking out with a new concept and ip.

Greg
Bioware, Ubisoft, codemasters

ScarredStar
Lucas arts. Valve and telltale

Finally my choices were 2K, Capcom and Bioware

A Slight change to VN

2011-08-17T10:45:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since anything has gone up on the site and that's down to me not being able to think of anything new to post up plus I've mainly been concentrating on the two shows i do on spreaker.

So i had to think what the hell am i going to do with the site and a idea sprang to mind why don't i just take VN back to the old days where i just talked about videogames instead of adding movies to it as well, so guess what as of today VN will now only be about videogames and very little else.

I know this is only a small change however i think it's a change for the best seeing as i now have a site dedicated to movies and can be found at www.mondaymovieshow.wordpress.com.

This weekend i will be changing the look of the site just a little bit and i might do the unthinkable and post up another story.

Monday Movie Show 15/08/211

2011-08-16T15:08:00.001+01:00

On this weeks show we have the usual box office and DVD top 10 alongside the news and reviews of rise of the planet of the apes, source code, The extraordinary adventures of Adele blanc sec, wasted on the young, mars needs moms and the DVD catch up is exam.

VN Cast Twitter Response's 15/07

2011-07-16T11:12:00.000+01:00

With me doing a show every week i came across a idea, why don't i post up the twitter response i get from the question i ask every week.

This weeks question was, what state do you think the movie industry is in? and i got some really good responses from the question and you can have a little look at them below.

Bouncybhall
I see the film industry riding the crest of the 3D wave still, it's turned the experience you *can* get at home into something more special. I went to see Avatar in 3D because I knew I wouldn't be able to get close to that experience at home. No matter what your opinion of 3D is, it has had a huge influence on cinema ticket sales. Which is a good thing. Regardless Also - more and more indie movies seem to be getting recognition thanks to Twitter/Facebook etc... Viral marketing made easy.
In summary - cinemas are doing better, Blu-rays are selling better, movies are an 'experience' again... will it last though?
The recession has been a huge help, but as home tech gets cheaper, how long until the 3D cinema experience is no longer unique?

Saucychp
I think the movie industry is doing too much of the same thing. Far too commercial now me thinks.

Neo_Meatatron
I think the movie industry is in a great state. There might be a ton of redundancy in form of sequels, but redundancy has always been a part of any art. It's not like you don't have a choice. In fact there has never been a time w/ more choices then now! You can go and watch TF3 but you can also go and see the new Terrence Malick movie.
Piracy numbers only hurt the dreams of CEO's who think that those numbers translate 1to1 to cash.
3D is debatable though! If it stays the way it is right now it's going to be a fad, b/c it's not a true technical revolution you sacrifice image quality for the 3D effect. A real technical revolution would be the change from 24fps to 48 or 60fps & a higher resolution! Games proof that higher fps do make a difference. If it does on your 42inch imagine what it would do on a giant cinema screen! There is also the question how broadband for everyone will change the media landscape.
de Kerckhove predicted in 1997 that the web will be moving us from an era of replay to an era of remake and if you take a look at youtube I'm sure we're already there. The question is will it be everyone or just a minority?

llcoolchay
i think its doing ok, new movies are still making big bucks at the box office, our local cineworld has cut staff drastically though.

These are just a few of the response i got to hear more go and listen to my show here and also enjoy some of the music i play as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen The Movie Show

2011-07-10T14:37:00.000+01:00

As you might know i do a music show every week where i play some fantastic tracks along with a little bit of chatter and over the time i have done I've really enjoyed myself, however i thought that something was missing and then it dawned on me there is a topic which i love and that's the world of movies so i thought what the hell it's time for a new show that is aimed at the wonderful world of movies.

Starting this Friday i will be doing a dedicated movie show alongside @ahdvd where we will go over the weeks top 10 and also do reviews of movies, go over some news and all of the rest of the good stuff that you hear or see in a movie show but hopefully done much much better.

So please tune in from 8:00 every Friday for this great show.

To listen live you can use the player to the left hand side when the show goes live or you can follow me on twitter @VN_Stuart where i will post the link to listen in live plus information on upcoming shows.

VN Cast Movie Special

2011-06-20T12:11:00.000+01:00

I know that i have neglected this blog over the last few weeks but i want to change that with a weeks worth of post and i know you might think this is a bit of a cop out post but i think you need to know about the movie special of my show that will be happening this Friday.

Kicking off at 7:00pm the movie special of the VN Cast will feature music that have been released on movie soundtracks or scores.
However it's not all about the music this week there will also be 3 movie reviews for Stake Land, The Final and The Loved ones to look forward to.

To top things off i will also have two twitter topics the first one being your favorite movie and what do you think about 3D.

So if you want to get involved in the show send me a tweet to @VN_Stuart before or during the show and i will read them out.

So put this Friday in your diary for a VN CAST movie special from 7:00

VN Cast Special

2011-06-06T10:16:00.000+01:00

E3 is on us and this year i will be covering it however not on my blog instead i will be working with a fantastic site called chattygamer.com, you will be able to keep up to date with what is going on at this years E3.

Part of me helping out chattygamer is that i will be covering each one of the press conferences on twitter, so follow @chattygamer for up to the minute news from the conferences.

However this post is to point out that i will be doing a very special episode of the VN Cast, it will be a E3 special and i will have a guest with me to discuss how we feel each one of the conferences went.

So please tune in at 8:00pm and listen in.

VN Cast

2011-06-01T12:52:00.000+01:00

As you might know if you listened on Monday i have started a new radio show on Spreaker.com where i will play some music tracks and talk about movies and video games however i really do need your help with a few things.

First off i need some music requests so my show goes along nicely, Secondly i need your suggestions as what to talk about and how to make it better and lastly but most importantly i need you to listen to it so i know how i'm doing.

Now the main problem with me using the free part of spreaker is that my show is limited to only 30 minutes at a time however i can do another show straight after it however i have to have a 5 minute break in between it, the thing is i can't afford to pay for the 12 month subscription as i would love to be able to make the show longer without the break but at this time i can't.

So i know this might be a cheeky request if there is any kind person out there who will pay for the 12 months for me i will always be in your debt, if not then i will just have to stick with the way i'm doing the show at the moment and when i can afford it i will increase the length of the show.

So if you want to get involved then tweet me @VN_Stuart or follow me on Facebook which is STUART2509 (stuart miller) and tell me what songs you will like to hear and also get involved during the show.

Movie Review: Stan Helsing

2011-05-08T15:06:00.001+01:00

Plot
Can't be bothered to detail what happens in this piece of crap.

What i Thought
This is probably going to be my shortest review ever as the more time and space i give this absolutely mind numbing pile of excrement the more it does it justice.

The best way i can describe this movie is one simple single word TERRIBLE.

Overall
If you like comedies avoid this, if you like horror avoid this, if you like your sanity avoid this, if you don't want to be bored out of your skull avoid this, if you like your sight and hearing fully avoid this.
By far the worst movie I've not only seen this year but seen in the last few years.
09%

Portal 2 help

2011-04-26T13:26:00.000+01:00

Oh yes you can believe your eyes this is a new post and one for a achievement in portal 2 that might be a bit difficult to get but stick by it as it's worth a huge 75G.

The achievement in question is called Smash TV and to get it you have to Smash 11 monitors in chapter 8, so below is how you do it.

Smash TV - 75G
break 11 test chamber monitors
You must smash the monitors with Wheatley's face on them. Momentum or lasers can destroy them.
*1st monitor can be found in test chamber 1 use momentum to smash it
*2nd one is in test chamber 2 make your way to the button and use the beam to get the cube to the monitor
*3rd one is in test chamber 3 as soon as you enter the room use the beam to get momentum across to the monitor
*4th monitor is in test chamber 4 use the turret to shoot at the monitor
*5th monitor is in test chamber 5 get over to the button and use fire a cube into the beam then shoot a portal on the wall opposite of the screen
*6th monitor is in test chamber 5 next to the button you pressed just follow the route you came
*7th monitor is in test chamber 6 hit yourself off the jump pad as soon as you enter the room
*8th monitor is in test chamber 11 use the fake cube to block off the laser and now find the glass cube and fire a portal on the wall next to the laser and one across from the screen and fire the laser through the portal.
*9th monitor is in test chamber 12 fire a portal on the wall with the laser and then on the wall with the door to get it across the room, get yourself on the platform across from the screen and head to the button to get a glass cube, pick up the glass cube and take it beyond the last fence, fire a portal on the wall from the laser and one on the wall opposite of you so you can use the glass block to fire a laser at the screen.
*10th monitor is in test chamber 15 fire a portal on the ground and one one the celling, drop through the portal and as soon as you exit fire one on the wall across from you and the screen
*11th monitor is in test chamber 16 in the big room make your way to the button and fire a portal on the wall with the beam, press the button for some repulsion gel and go across the beam with the gel, land on the button to reverse the beam, look across the room above the little glass wall and fire a portal on that wall, to take the beam above the turrets and release the gel above the turrets to knock them out, make sure you leave one turret and make your way to it so you can use it to take out the monitor.

Hope this guide helps you out and if you need more help on the game let me know

Movie Review: Scre4m (Scream 4)

2011-04-20T15:38:00.001+01:00

Plot
10 years have passed since the Ghostface killer went on his murderous rampage at Woodsboro and the victim of all of this Sidney Prescott has returned to her home town on her last stop of her book tour however the past is getting ready to strike again and no soon enough the Ghostface killer is back and ready to repeat what happened 10 years ago.

What I thought
Now before i get into anything I have to say that i'm a huge fan of the first two Scream movies they showed that horror wasn't dead and that there was a way of breathing life into it however with the third movie Wes Craven lost the plot as it was just plain terrible so with the 4th one in the movie franchise he is trying to regain some ground he lost with the third one and for the most part he has succeeded.

We all know how the first movie went and it introduced us to and horror icon so with the 4th movie he wanted to bring the Ghostface killer back up to the forefront again as Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers have had updated movies in that time so is Ghostface still as scary as before, well the simple answer there is NO.

You see the main problem i had with Scre4m is that it didn't try anything new at all, instead of it being the reboot of the franchise that Craven was hoping for it turned out to be just a sort of remake of the first one.
Now i'm not going to go into any plot spoilers but i will say that if you have seen the first one then you will probably be able to map out the entire film from how people are killed down to the ending and for me this is a bad thing as the best thing about the original Scream was that you didn't know what to expect and from start to finish you were always trying to guess who the killer was.

It's not all doom a gloom though there are a few elements of the movie that did work, firstly the opening 15 minutes are actually done quite well and while doesn't hit the high that the first one did it's still a very enjoyable opening.
Secondly the humour of the Scream movies is well intact with this one as there are points that you will laugh, one point of the movie that brought a smile to my face was the slight mickey take of the Saw franchise calling it out by saying that it's just torture porn and gory for gore sakes.
Finally the character who i liked through the other 3 movies is on top form here and that's Deputy Dewy who is brilliantly played by David Arquette, plus it's nice to see Gale still having a bitchy side.

So while this is nothing new and fails on some aspects it's nice to see the Scream movies have found there way after the awful Scream 3.
One other thing to quickly point out is that the writer of the movie is credited to Kevin Williamson who wrote the first two however there were a few problems with the script that he did so they got the writer from the third one Ehren Kruger to make a few rewrites and you can probably tell as the part she did was the middle 20 minutes and this is where the movie just gets boring like the third movie.

Score 70%

Movie Review : Source Code

2011-04-20T12:45:00.001+01:00

Plot
An American army pilot played by Jake Gyllenhaal wakes up on a train in a different man's identity and before he can figure out whats going on the train explodes and he wakes up in a machine called the Source Code unknown why he is there and how he got there.
Appearing on the screen of the pod appears another solider who tells him that he has be recruited in a top secret mission to find out who blew up the train that he was on and with the help of the machine that he is in he can find out who did it, unfortunately he only has 8 minutes each time to uncover the truth with each trip unraveling the answers.

What I Thought
The first thing you need to know about Source Code and one of the most important things is that the director of it (Duncan Jones) first movie was the fantastic Moon so you know that you are not going to get a very simple story you are in fact going to get something that feels fresh and unique and it has to be one of the best Sci-Fi action movies since the brilliant Inception.

During each trip that Gyllenhaal makes a trip in the Source Code you find out more about the character who he has taken over and the relationship with his female friend only for him to start liking his friend and this part of the movie adds heart that is missing from most movies these days.
If you have watched the trailer you might have seen that the movie has been done on a big scale however thats not true as very few sets have been used and in my eyes this helps the movie as it doesn't deviate from what it's trying to attempt by adding stupid plot points and useless characters.

Yes there is a couple of problems with the movie, a few people might be put off by the fact that the movie goes back and forth a lot from the world in the Source Code to the really world that Gyllenhaal is in and also the explanation of the Source Code seems a bit simple and pointless but don't let this put you off as i guarantee that these are just minor problems in a movie thats engaging, complex and interesting from beginning to end.

To say i liked Source Code is not doing it much justice lets just say that it is the best movie i have seen since the brilliant Inception and i urge that if you haven't seen it or were on the fence about it get to the cinema now and watch it, that's an order.

Score - 85%

Movie Review : Sucker Punch

2011-04-20T11:15:00.000+01:00

Plot
When a girl is sent to a mental asylum by her abusive stepfather for killing her sister she hatches a plan with four other girls in the asylum to get out however things don't go according to plan when the only way for her to get out is to find 5 items but it will not be easier than she thinks.

What I thought
Now I'm a huge fan of Zack Znyder as he has done some great movies in the past with Dawn of the Dead remake being one of his best so it was probably about time that he made a bad movie however when i saw the trailer for Sucker Punch i never thought i would say that this was going to be his stinker but unfortunately this is and what a stinker of a movie.

First off you expect a movie that features lots of explosions, gorgeous girls in skimpy outfits, nazi robots that look like they have come out of Killzone and dragons to be a entertaining roller coaster ride of a action movie however i was bored throughout as each section of the movie where the girls are looking for the items they need just feels like a boring music video.
Secondly you might have a idea on how the movie is like when you have a actress that was in the High School Musical movies, one that made her acting debut in the terrible Ghost Ship and another one who's claim to fame is Dragonball Evolution to turn out and you would be exactly right if you guessed at it being terrible.
Finally if the director of the movie can't even be bothered to sit down and write a script that has even one brain cell then you know that something has gone really wrong.

It's really really hard for me even to recommend this car crash of a nightmare to anybody, the only people in my eyes who should go to see this is those that are blind and deaf or if you want to punish yourself with something so bad it would of been less painful if you listened to even one song from Justin Beiber.

Before i give you my score though i do have to say that the first 10 minutes of the movie where it supposedly sets out the story is actual OK because it feels like the director was going for a really dark and brutal movie but after the first 10 minutes you realise that you are so wrong.
Score - 29%

Something very random

2011-04-18T11:07:00.000+01:00

I was planning to put a movie review post today however with me going to see Scream 4 tomorrow i thought i would wait and see that then post up the movie reviews.
So with me leaving the post for a few days it gave me a bit of a problem as i could think of what i could post up in it's place and then it struck me why not post up something very, very random and i think you will agree that this has to be the most random post i will put up on my blog.

What we have here then are a few animals who seem to like gaming, so enjoy.

There we go something a bit random

Wii Want More

2011-04-16T13:24:00.000+01:00

Over the last few days it seems that the internet has been going mad with rumours and speculation about what to expect from the next Nintendo console so i have looked over all of the rumours and thought why not i tell you what i think.

Speculation 1 - It will be more powerful than the PS3 and Xbox 360
To me i think this is a given because for the next Nintendo console to challenge the other two they have to match the power or be much more powerful, this in my eyes is also one of the main reason why some developers don't want to release some of there games on the Wii.

Speculation 2 - More games will be aimed at the core market rather than the casual.
Again this is another given as the Wii seems to be a hot bed of shovelware games and children games so the best way for them to get more people to play there next console and make everybody happy is to get more adult orientated games on there console.

Speculation 3 - The games will be on Blu-Ray and not DVD
Now the main thing here is that the rumour is that the games will come on a blu-ray disc and not that the console will also have a blu-ray player built in as Wii games run off DVD discs and this is not a DVD player.
This would be the best way for them to have better games and textures in there games if they running off a media that can support more space then this can only be a good thing.

Speculation 4 - The controller with have a touch screen section.
The thing is do we need this, now we know that the controller will be motion based like the Wii and we can guess that they are going to make it much more responsive so the big question is do we need another add on to this and in my eyes i say NO, what we do need is a better control method with motion added to it becuase the Wiimote does work well however it alienates a lot of games and gamers.

Speculation 5 - It will be shown at this years E3 and be out next year
In my eyes this has to be 100% true because for Nintendo to get more people to buy there next console they need it to be out before the other two as there is no sign that Sony and Microsoft are planning to announce a successor to there consoles any time soon, plus the end of next year has to be the latest they can release there next console.

So thats what i think and we should know for certain when Nintendo have there press conference at this years E3

1 minute review Dragon Age 2

2011-04-12T12:19:00.000+01:00

When you are regarded as one of the best gaming developers out there you are given the benefit of the doubt when you make a average game or when you slip up just a little and thank god that over the last few years Bioware have not been one of those as time after time they seem to hit the right notes and release pure quality with every game that come out however it seems that time has come for Bioware to slip up a little and unfortunately it had to be the follow up to what some people call one of the best action RPG's on this generation of consoles.

To kick things off with Dragon Age 2 you have the usual Bioware thing where you get to create the look and style of your character from what their face looks like to their gender, after this has been done it's time to choose what class you will be playing as throughout your journey and trust me when i say this that this is one of the most important decisions you will have throughout the game.

You have 3 classes to choose from, first off there’s the typical warrior who will be able to wield big swords and charge at enemies like they are covered in £5 notes, secondly there’s the Rouge class who prefer to attack their enemies with a bit more stealth and love to sneak up on their enemies before hitting them with some devastating attacks, lastly and by far my favourite class is the mage who loves to use magic and likes to stay in the background attacking from afar with some devastating magic attacks.

So why is choosing your class one of the most important things well when I created my character I thought I would play it safe and use a warrior however I soon found out that the warrior is rubbish and I was starting to becoming more and more interested in the mage, by the end of the game I don't think I used the warrior that much as i just couldn't get to grips with her.

So after all of that you are ready to set foot on your journey from a lonely poor person all the way up to being the most important person in the game, now I’m not going to bore you with the story as in my eyes it's very week but I will say that for the first 2/3 of the game it's very generic it's not until the last 1/3 when the game comes alive and you fully find out which one of the characters you meet along your journey that you really do care about.

Speaking about the characters there are a few hit and miss ones for me the best character in the whole game and the one I seemed to use the most is Anders the mage, he seemed to be the most interesting character with a story that you want to take interest in.

The same cannot be said for most of the rest of the characters who are just boring and whine a lot apart from the brilliant varric who interjected with a few wise cracks throughout your quest.

Like I said in the opening paragraph Bioware are geniuses when it comes to this type of game so why did I feel like they missed the mark on a few aspects first off it takes ages for the game to become interesting, during the first 2/3 of the game you have the same generic quests that seem to be a part of any of these games it's not until you have gone past the 2/3 line before it becomes more gripping and interesting and by the time you hit that mark you will see that you have been playing for 20 hours plus.

Secondly the areas that your quests are set in get used over and over again so while they do look interesting the first time you see them they just becoming boring and lifeless the more you have to traipse through them.

Lastly throughout the game I came across some really stupid bugs from characters not loading to cut scenes repeating themselves over and over again.

It's not all doom and gloom though there are times when Bioware flexes there gaming muscles with some really interesting quests especially the one called haunted where you have to journey through a haunted house to help one of your team mates.

The graphics have also got a really interesting simplistic look to them which in my eyes work really well for this type of game and the soundtrack does have a very epic movie feel to them.

The best thing though about this game though is that when it gets the quests right and the characters stop being whining moaning arseholes then you are in for a treat as the game becomes something we have known Bioware for and that’s pure excellence.

Overall

There is nothing more worse than when you have the highest praise for a company only for them to let you down and while this is not a terrible game it just doesn't hit the mark like some of the previous games, yes it does have some fantastic elements to it and yes you will be captivated with it for some of the game but it takes so long for it to get it right that you really do have to stick with it and by that time you just think to yourself why bother.

+ Some really Interesting characters

+ When the quests are done right they are really engaging and interesting

+ Some nice graphical touches

+ At it's best the quests are brilliant

- Takes too long to get going

- Some really annoying characters

- Boring and over complicated conversations

- Some of the quests just seem to be to pain by numbers

Rating 75%

VNQ10 Bouncy's Turn

2011-03-20T12:17:00.000Z

Right 2 people have had there turn and so from now on the VNQ10 will be from the people on my twitter friends list or xbox live friends list.

So first up off my list is a great chap who is a little bit insane however in a good way, this chap is a huge gamer and a big movie fan like yours truly.
I hope you enjoy his responses and don't forget if you would like to take part leave a comment in the section below or let me know on twitter @VN_Stuart.

1 - If you could be any videogame character who would you be and why?
Would love to say Sonic the Hedgehog, but no... I would have to be Yusuf from GTA IV - Ballad of Gay Tony (as voiced by Omid Djalili). Just an amazing character with warmth and far too much money.
2 - What does your favourite movie say about you?
My favourite movie changes a LOT, so I guess it suggests that I have fickle tastes.
3 - If you could play truth or dare with anybody from the past who would it be and what truth would you ask them and what dare would you tell them to do?
I almost said Darth Vader then... anyways. Erm... I would say Jesus. I would require him to give me the truth about who his father was and as a dare I'd get him to be a Muslim for a week.
4 - If Videogames were to end what would you like to end it on?
One huge Super Smash Brothers type game with EVERY major character from the last 40 years.
5 - The PS3 has been related to a sandwich toaster, so what sandwich would you toast in it?
Meatball Marinara.
6 - What movie would you like to see turned into videogame?
Battle Royale.
7 - Apart from where you live what country would you like to live in?
Canada or Finland - I love snowy towns that have it almost year-round.
8 - If you had a lot of money which videogame company would you buy and why?
Sega, as I adore Sonic the Hedgehog and that way I would OWN HIM! Also I'd be able to stop any future games having 'Dr Eggman' instead of Robotnik, as well as commissioning Shenmue III.
9 - What is your favourite chocolate bar?
Although not specifically a bar as such, Cadbury's Creme Egg - I can't stand the 'Twisted' Creme Egg bar.
10 - Which famous celebrity would you like to see turned into a videogame character and how would you kill them in the game?
I would rather have a version of Bulletstorm which replaces all enemies with 'celebrities' who have appeared in Heat or OK magazine in the last five years. Then I'd let rip.

Well that's Bouncy's answers and like I've said above if you would like to take part when i get back then let me know

VNQ10 James Turn

2011-03-13T12:44:00.000Z

It seems that i might of struck a little gold with my new idea and i have a few people that want to take part which makes me a really happy bunny.

Todays VNQ10 will see James (Relinquiish) take part so a usual the same 10 questions have been asked and i think that a few of the answers will be a bit surprising to people who know James.

1 - If you could be a videogame character who would it be and why?
For me it would have to be the Eyebot from Fallout 3 as life would be sweet floating around the wasteland all day listening to music.
2 - What does your favourite movie say about you?
Pirates of the Caribbean is my favourite movie and it says that i would like to live life like a pirate, ARAGH.
3 - If you could play truth or dare with anybody from the past who would it be and what truth would ask and what dare would you give?
I would like to meet Winston Churchhill, the truth i would ask him would be how many cigars do you smoke a day and the dare i would tell him to do is to go up to Hitler and kiss him on the cheek to see if he would like it.
4 - If videogames were to end what would you like to end it on?
A new Fallout game.
5 - The PS3 has been related to a sandwich toaster so what sandwich would you toast in it?
Grilled cheese with Worcestershire sauce.
6 - What movie would you like to see turned into a videogame?
Cloverfield.
7 - Apart from where you live what country would you like to live in?
America.
8 - If you had a lot of money which videogame company would you buy and why?
I would buy Bethesda and the reason i would buy them is down to there good quality games.
9 - What's your favourite chocolate bar?
Kinder Bueno.
10 - Which famous celebrity would you like to see turned into a videogame character and how would you kill him/her?
I would like to see the Jonas Brothers turned into videogames characters and i would make them get chased by the Dahaka from Prince of Persia only for them to fall into a pit of lava.

So that's James answers to the questions tell me what you think and if you want to take part let me know in the comment section below and i will get back to you

Goodbye for now

2011-03-13T12:18:00.000Z

Now this post might be a bit early however i just thought i would warn you in advance.

As of Monday the 21st this blog will go on a break as i will be without my internet connection for 4-6 weeks, the reason for this is down to sky/BT as they have told me that it would take that long for them to activate my phone line in the new place that i'm moving into.
I know this is a problem and if i knew any other way to fix this then i would however i don't so when i do get back i hope that you will return to the blog as the time away might be good for me to think up some new a great ideas.

So i will be posting up a new VNQ10 today and one final one for a little while next Saturday so i hope you enjoy them and don't forget that if you would like to take part then leave a comment and i will get back to you.

VNQ10 Greg's Turn

2011-03-06T12:31:00.002Z

So this is it the first VNQ10 and thank you to Greg for being the first person to take it.

I hope that this will take off as i think it's a really interesting idea where we find out what people are really like just from 10 interesting questions and i hope that these 10 question might give you a insight into them.

So without further ado here are Gregs responses to the 10 questions.

1 - If you could be any videogame character who would you be and why?
Ezio from Assassins Creed 2 and Brotherhood, because he is extremely skilful and awesome.
2 - What does your favourite movie say about you?
Well my favourite movie is Saving Private Ryan and i hope that it shows that i will go out of my way to help people specifically my friends.
3 - If you could play truth or dare with anybody from the past who would it be and what truth would you ask them and what dare would you tell them to do?
I would like to meet William Wallace, the truth i would ask him would ask him would be what made you think that you had to lead the Scots against the Brits and the dare i would tell him to do would be to run out in front of the English wearing the colours of the English.
4 - If Videogames were to end what would you like to end it on?
It would have to be Mass Effect 3.
5 - The PS3 has been related to a sandwich toaster, so what sandwich would you toast in it?
I would give the PS3 to subway and ask them to make me a sandwich.
6 - What movie would you like to see turned into a videogame?
Inception.
7 - Apart from where you live what country would you like to live in?
Ireland.
8 - If you had a lot of money which videogame company would you buy and why?
I would buy Bioware because i know i will be in charge of a company that doesn't release the same game over and over again plus there games are pure quality.
9 - What is your favourite chocolate bar?
Yorkie.
10 - Which famous celebrity would you like to see turned into a videogame character and how would you kill them in the game?
It has to be Justin Bieber for me and he has to die from a firing squad made up of every videogames character and when he is dead they have to finish him off by T-Bagging him.

So thats Greg's responses to the 10 questions and i want to thank him for being the first person to take part in it.
If you are interested in taking part in this then please let me know in the comment section and i would be happy for you to take part.

VNQ10 What the hell is it

2011-02-22T17:00:00.000Z

So a friend of mine came up with a idea where he is going to interview everybody on his twitter friends list and this gave me a interesting idea.

So what the hell is it well VNQ10 is something new that is coming soon and it will involve me setting 10 questions each week for people on either my twitter friends list on or my Xbox Live friends list.

Now it sounds a bit vague however i think the description below and a example will solve everything.

First off there will be the same 10 questions asked every week
Somebody new will be answering the questions each week
The answers to each question will go up every weekend
An example of this is that i might ask what is your favourite colour (not one of the questions) and i will put up there answer to this question, so in this case it would be Black.

So i hope this explains it all and if you have any questions about what i'm attempting then let me know and also if you want to take part then tell me in the comment section below or in the shoutbox to the right.

1 minute review (sort of) Enslaved and Dead Space 2

2011-02-20T12:15:00.001Z

So you and i thought this wouldn't happen but guess what i have finally gotten round to doing a new 1 minute review however because i've had very little time to fully do one this one is slightly special.

So why is this special well it's for two reason first off there are two games getting reviewed in this post in the shape of Enslaved and Dead Space 2.
Secondly it will not be a 1 minute review however instead it will be a quick 10 second review where i will tell you why you should buy it instead of just rambling on and on.

So i hope that you will look over the review and i do promise that the full 1 minute review will be back once i have everything sorted out.

Enslaved
So first off is the really good Enslaved and the reason why you should buy this is down to the fact not only are the characters likeable but the story is very engaging and the whole graphical feel of the game is wonderful.
There are a few problems however with the game, firstly it's very generic in the fact that nothing new in this game, secondly there are a few times in the game where you will get frustrated and finally the ending is so strange it goes up there with MGS4 and Halo 2.

If you are after a really engaging game with some fantastic characters that you want to find out more about them on there journey then please go out and buy this game as it's not just your everyday hack and slash adventure, this game has heart.
87%

Dead Space 2
Have you ever played a game where you have jumped so much that you get so scared to sleep in the dark, well i haven't however Dead Space 2 tries it's bloody best to do that and in most cases it works.
You see the whole point of a survival horror is to scare the crap out of you and the original Dead Space did that to me and while the sequel didn't scare me as much as the original i still jumped a few times.

Where Dead Space 2 succeeds is in it's scale because now you are not just stuck on one ship this time you are on a whole space station so this gives a more action feel to the game this time.
The main problem however with Dead Space 2 is that it doesn't have the impact that the first one did you see with the first one the whole point was to be nervous and scared throughout and while there are a few moments in this where it does happen most of the time it just feels like you are playing a action game and not a survival horror.
One other down point about this game is that the difficult curve is silly because one moment you might be able to breeze through sections then you come across a part where it takes ages to get past it because you are dying all of the time.

apart from the few niggles i had with this game it's still a brilliant one and a game that should be played by any one who enjoyed the first one and even people who had slight doubts about it.
90%

Again sorry for the small reviews this will only be a one off for now so next time the one minute review will be back.

Worthless Easter Egg In Black Ops Zombies

2011-02-06T12:37:00.000Z

Now i said i would have a post for you and when you read this you will think thats it's a bit of a cop out however over the last week i haven't had much time to do anything and over the next few weeks things are just going to get a lot worse for me however i di say i would put up something today and i have.

So the post i have for you is a video from the latest Black ops zombie map Ascension which shows you how to get the Death machine and how bloody pointless it is to get.

So yes this post is a bit of a cop out however i promise next week there will be a special 1 minute review that will feature both Dead Space 2 and Enslaved so please check that out now.

What to expect from us

2011-01-16T12:07:00.000Z

So 2010 has been and gone and i have to say for me it was the worst year of my life however this post isn't meant for me to rant on about how shit 2010 was for me it's meant for me to tell you what plans we have in 2011 and what to expect.
Hopefully we can bring most of the stuff that i promise however we can't predict 2011 so we don't know if everything we have said we are going to do we will do but we can only try and to me that's the main thing.

So 2011 is set out to be a big year in the movie and games industry and we hope that we can add a little bit more to it so the first thing i promise is that the 1 minute review will come back and it will be here sooner than you might think as i'm playing a game at the moment that i have to tell you about, so expect the 1 minute review to be back in the next few weeks.

As for the blog i'm hoping to switch from a blog to a proper site so we can get more people to find us so i hope that the blog will end only for something better to come out of it.

As you also know we have somebody on here who loves to make some fantastic montage videos, so in 2011 we know we can expect some great things from him however we are part of a great forum and they have just started a games night once a week so we hope to bring you some great and funny footage from them alongside some of the usual montage stuff.

Podcasts seem to be the big thing still and while i know to make a good one is really hard to do i do think we can try and bring you one that might work so we are going to look into brining you a podcast however if that doesn't work we know a fantastic podcast so i'm hoping to high jack it and appear on that.

So thats a few things you can expect from us, i know i will be able to bring you more things like the usual brilliant trailers and some interesting posts.
Lets hope though that 2011 will be a better year that 2010 which can't be a hard thing can it.

2011 Whats to come in Videogames

2011-01-02T12:24:00.000Z

So another year has come to a end and while we had some really good stuff i for one am glad that it's over as it's been one hell of a year.
Now 2011 is here what in the world of entertainment can we expect well hopefully we get more triple A titles when it comes to videogames and my hope for the movie industry is that they see that movies can be made on a small budget and that you can treat your viewers with a little bit more intelligence rather than the idiots that they think we are.

Videogames
2011 should be a interesting year as we expect the 3DS to take form and maybe even do what Nintendo are good at and that's innovation and fun however there could be a few problems there you see over the last few years people have lost interest in Nintendo as they seem to be churning out basic kiddies titles and the 3DS could be the new home ground for these games, plus 3D technology can be very hit and miss so it's unknown if playing the 3DS for a long time would hurt your eyes.
You see you might be thinking that I'm hitting the 3DS hard however i'm really looking forward to it as i can't wait to see how it works and how it pans out.

It's not just hardware that should be a big hit in 2011 we also have some huge games to look out for including the new Deus Ex, Uncharted 3, Arkham City and many many more however i think i speak not only just for me but for James and Greg when i say that the game we are waiting for the most is Mass Effect 3 as the first 2 have shown how videogames should be made with care,attention and just overall brilliance.

Whether 2011 will turn out to be a great year for videogames remains to be seen however what i do know is that we can expect some grade A titles, a few big surprises and one or two of those little gems that nobody seems to play but make a impact on the people who do play them.

So thats a couple of things to look out for in 2011 however we also have the world of movies to look out for so in my next post i will be pointing out a couple to look out for.
Don't forget to comment in the box below and tell us what games you are looking forward to in 2011

VN Awards 2010 Random Awards

2010-12-22T16:00:00.000Z

So our main awards have been dished out however we have come up with a few little random awards and we also have a special contribution from somebody else in the form of Sean.

So without further here are the random awards of the year.

Best TV Programme
James - Fringe
Stuart and Greg - The Walking Dead
Sean - Family Guy Series 9

Best Revival of a Old Series
James and Greg - Splinter Cell Conviction
Stuart - Lost Boys The Thirst
Sean - The Comeback of Daft Punk

Best App
James - Rage HD
Greg - Prince of Persia Warrior Within
Stuart - Game Dev Story
Sean - Enter Shikari App

Most Disappointing Thing
James - Fallout New Vegas
Greg - Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands
Stuart - Lack of Original IP
Sean - DeadMouse Being Cancelled

Best Box Cover
James - Vanquish with it's Lenticular Sleeve
Greg - Assassins Creed Brotherhood
Stuart - Pandorum
Sean - Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare

Biggest Surprise
James - Assassins Creed Brotherhood Multiplayer
Greg - The Band Enter Shikari
Stuart - How Good Heavy Rain Turned out to be
Sean - The DJ Squellex

Well thats it our awards have come to a end and what a year it has been in the world of entertainment, so lets hope 2011 can top it.

There will be one more post this year and that will go up sometime next week where we choose a few things you should look out for then.
So until then have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS

VN Awards 2010 Ultimate of the Year

2010-12-19T12:49:00.000Z

2010 has been a really interesting year when it comes to the world of entertainment with some really great movies and games competing for our attention, so it's been really hard for us here at vagusnet to pick what we thought the best thing of the year was.

So without further ado you'll want to know what we thought the best of the best is well the winner is.

Ultimate of the Year

Inception
This was a really difficult choice for us as we had a couple of things that also demand your attention however in the end we just thought Inception stood out that little bit more down it being that unique thing a blockbuster movie that treated to you like a smart person and not thinking that you only go to see big blockbuster movies for the bangs.
It's not just down to the intelligence of the movie that stood out though it was the fact that it's just a fantastic movie where it's really hard to find something wrong with it.

Standing out from everything that was released this year is a really hard thing to do as games like Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption and Heavy Rain all pulled you in and the movie Monsters showed us that emotions are a big part of a movie however Inception just had that little bit more that made us pick it as our Ultimate.

If you haven't seen it yet or if you were a bit unaware of the movie itself please watch it as I guarantee this movie will change your mind on how a big summer blockbuster should be made.

So that's our Ultimate of the year, now during the week we will post up some random awards that don't need any explanation.

VN Awards 2010 Worst Thing of 2010

2010-12-18T12:59:00.000Z

It has been a really interesting year in the realm of videogames and movies offering us some really good treats however with the sweet comes the sour and this year has offered us some really big turkeys.

So we couldn't let the bad things lie which is why we have each picked our worst thing of the year and they are a couple of really bad stinkers.

James
Sniper Ghost Warrior
There is one genre of gaming that i love over most and that's the First Person Shooter, it's so nice when you can run around shooting the face off some idiots however there are times when i like to take it a bit slower so it was a joy to hear that a company was making a game out of the best thing about FPS and that's sniping however the second i started this game i knew there was something wrong and unfortunately i was going to be in for one of the worst experiences i have ever had in a videogame.

You see sniping is supposed to be about control and accuracy and when a game that is supposed to be all about this can't pull it off you know that something bad has happened and Sniper Ghost Warrior not only fails in these two areas it fails on nearly everything else.
From horrible A.I to very average graphics Sniper Ghost Warrior deserves to be on the worst of the worst list and if you don't believe me try it out for yourself if you want to put yourself through some pain.

Greg
Metro 2033
Like with James i'm a big fan of the FPS genre and when a game comes along that tries something new you look up as when it comes to something different the FPS genre is not the place to come however it can be a bad thing when a company does try something new and unfortunately that's what has happened with the really bad Metro 2033 and it's a shame as it was looking to be a really interesting prospect.

You see the main problem here is the whole feel of the game, yes you can have great graphics and yes you can have a interesting storyline however when you fail on one of the main are the feel of the game all the good you have done goes straight out of the window.
You see i really wanted to give this game a chance as it looked really interesting however i couldn't pull myself around to playing any more than i have as i knew that i was going to be in for a really bad journey.

I think that if the game was in better hands or the developers decided to concentrate on the game even more then i wouldn't be picking it as my worst of the year however the end product speaks for itself and this is saying that I'm really really bad.

Stuart
Basement
I'm not going to waste much time on this but i will say that this has to not only be the worst movie of the year by far buy it's one of the worst movies i have ever seen.
Terrible acting, awful storyline and really bad music is the staple of this absolutely terrible movie and should never be approached by anybody unless you want to inflict the worst pain ever on your self.
AVOID THIS CRAP.

That's it for the worst of the year, there is only one more main award to come and that's our Ultimate of the Year.

One quick note thanks to James for the fantastic picture with this post.

VN Awards 2010 Best Album

2010-12-13T12:51:00.000Z

If you visit us a lot you would see that we are well into our videogames and movies however what you might not know is that we also have some great taste in music so that's why we have decided to have a Best Album award this year and in our eyes there was only 2 albums that stood out.

Stuart and James
1000 Suns by Linkin Park
For years now we have been huge fans of Linkin Park a band that shows us that you don't have to stick with what you do best you can try something new and different and if people get it you have something special on your hands and with there 4th studio album they have done just that, throwing out what they do best and going with some unique sounds and songs that shows this band isn't just a one trick pony.

A thousand sons is a album that takes you on a journey through different emotions from the heartfelt track of Iridescent to the usual linkin park brilliance of Blackout right down to the added little tracks that lead us into the next song.

For Linkin Park it would of been a much easier move if they just followed what they had done with there other 3 albums however they decided they wanted to be brave and change things up and we are glad they did that because in our eyes it has made them a better band for it by proving to us that they are willing to try new things.
If you haven't heard the album yet or you are not much of a Linkin Park fan i would urge you to give this a listen because I guarantee that this album will change your mind.

Greg
Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by My Chemical Romance
As you can tell straight away from the title My Chemical Romance 4th album wasn't going to be the same as the depressing 3rd album instead it has ditched all of the deathly tones for a more upbeat rounded album and thats the way i enjoy my music.

Right from the first track i knew that i was going to enjoy the album however the further i got through the more i started to love it until i got to the final track where my mind was made up that this has got to be album of the year material and it definitely is.

You see unlike James and Stuart I didn't find Linkin Parks album to be that good however My Chemical Romances is a whole new kettle of fish, it's more upbeat, it has a better selection of sounds and songs and is just overall a better album.

If you were put off by the depressing tones of the Black Parade then i would fully implore you to seek this album out as the tone has completely changed to a more upbeat happier sound.

Well that's it for album of the year there is only one more standard award to give out then we are down to the main two this weekend.

VN Awards 2010 Best Movie

2010-12-12T12:53:00.002Z

This year has been a interesting year for movies as there have only been a few that really do stand out however out of those few it's been really hard to choose our best but we did and our three choice are the cream of the crop.

Greg
Inception - Christopher Nolan for me has become one of the best directors as he took a franchise movie that was dying a really horrible death and made it into one of my favourite movies off all time that was The Dark Knight.
So for me he can't put a foot wrong in my eyes thats why his next movie Inception turned out to be the brilliant gem that it is because it's one of those rare things where a big blockbuster movie treated the audience like intelligent people and not some dumb ass stereotypes who only go and see these movies just for the big explosions.
If you haven't seen Inception then get down to the shops now and buy a copy as it is one of the best action/intelligent/smart movies of the year.

James
Scott Pilgrim VS The World - It's a big shame when a great fun movie like this gets overlooked by people however thats what happened when Scott Pilgrim came out it didn't do really well at the box office and like i've said this is a shame as Scott Pilgrim has to be the most fun i've had watching a movie this year.
Not taking itself so seriously was the main draw for me as you didn't need to think about anything or worry about anything apart from having fun and thats what i did.

The set pieces were great however the stand out thing from me was the whole videogame aspect of it as most movies of this kind would fail really badly but with Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) at the helm he made it into the gem that it is.

Stuart
Monsters - Like with my game of the year i was torn between two, this and the fantastic Inception however this just pipped Inception to the post by having the emotional aspect that Inception didn't.

It's really hard to believe that not only is this movie from a first time director it's that it only cost £500.000 to make.
Shot with such care and attention that some directors who have been making movies for years would rip off there arm off, Gareth Edwards has shown them that if you do have a limited budget you can still make something that will stand out and grab peoples attention.

You see this year has been really tough for me and lately some movies have hit me more than i thought they would however this was the one that had the most impact on me because i wanted to go on the journey they were going on and wanted to feel everything they were feeling and the way the movie was made thats exactly what happened.

If I could only suggest you see one movie this year then I really do implore you seek out this absolutely brilliant piece of movie work.

So that's our picks for movies of the year like with the games of the year leave us your suggestions on what you think was the best thing you have watched.

VN Awards 2010 Best Game

2010-12-11T13:31:00.000Z

It's that time of the year again where the best of the best is picked and we here at VN have our own little awards where we choose what the best game/movie/album/tv programme of the year.

To kick things off we have the best game and below are mine, James and Greg's picks.

James
Red Dead Redemption - It might seem a easy choice for some people however for me i was torn between two games and this just edged out the other one by short amount.
Taking a open world aspect and putting it into a wild west theme was a stroke of genius by the people behind the GTA series.
The game stands out on numerous aspects including fantastic graphics an engaging storyline and some brilliant character design however for me it was just the whole open aspect of the game that made for me, getting the chance to take my horse on a journey not knowing what was going to happen was such a joy i don't see how Rockstar will top this.

Greg
Mass Effect 2 - The original Mass Effect came and went without me taking much notice of it however when i saw Mass Effect 2 for the first time my interest peaked a little, it wasn't until i got my hands on this game that i realised that i had a gem of a game on my hands and what a game.
Whilst the storyline wasn't the best it was the interaction between the characters and the variety of missions that were on offer that made this game stand out from the rest.
Just to prove how great this game was i went back and played the first one and if this one was released in the same year then i would guess i would have a tie however in my heart of hearts i know that this game would probably be a little higher up for me.

Stuart
Heavy Rain - I think out of us three i had the hardest choice for me it was between this or Greg's pick Mass Effect 2 and the only reason why this edged out the brilliant Mass Effect was the emotional aspect that Heavy Rain had.
You see these days developers don't seem to care about emotions in games all they seem to care about is big explosions and big set pieces so when somebody comes along and says screw it i'm trying something different and i'm so glad i looked up and see what was happening because this game turned out to be more than just another paint by numbers game it turned out to be something special.
I could rant on and on about the technical elements of the game like the graphics and interesting was you play the game however all i will say is that if you want something different and something that will stick with you more than just the usual piece of crap then i urge you to go out and play this piece of exceptional art.

Thats it for best game tell us what you think should of been best game instead of what we have picked.

VN Awards 2010

2010-12-05T12:34:00.000Z

It's that time of the year where we look back and pick the best of the best and this year i will be doing things a little bit more different and more easier.

Instead of having loads of categories like most sites have we will have a few.

So what are the categories then well there will be Best Game, Best Movie, Best Album, Best TV Programme, Overall Worst Thing of the Year and finally the Ultimate of the year where we take the best from each category and choose the best of the best.

Things kick off next weekend where we will tell you our best game, best movie, best album and best tv programme.
A week later the overall worst thing and the ultimate of the year will be picked.

Just as a little bonus on Boxing Day we will tell you what to look out for in 2011.

So as you can see we have a few things to have a natter over for you to find out what we think of this year, so don't forget to check back next weekend to find out our picks.

Fallout New Vegas Snow Globe Guide

2010-10-25T12:48:00.000+01:00

During your time in Fallout New Vegas there are a total of 7 snow globes to collect with each one netting you 2000 caps if you sell them to Jane inside Lucky 38.
There is however something even better than the 200 caps for each one if you find all 7 you will not only recieve a total of 14,000 caps but you will also net yourself a achievement worth 25G.

So below is the location to each one of the globes.

1 - GoodSprings
This will be the first one you come across while traveling the dessert. Located north of Goodsprings you will automatically come across it if you do the full tutorial mission. Once you enter the graveyard go to your left and look for the rectangle grave stones near the water tower. NOTE - The water tower is visible from the town of Goodspring.

2 - Mt Charleston
This snow globe is inside of the Jacobstown lodge lobby. Jacobstown is the western most town on your map. Once you enter the super mutant resort lodge go directly straight and the snow globe will be directly in front of you on the desk.

3 - Nelis AFB
This snowglobe is in a small tent on the side of the airforce base inside the Boomers Museum. When you enter the museum look directly to your right and the snow globe will be on the table. NOTE - Trying to get to the airforce base will be difficult unless you first talk to the man on the road ( You must go down this road to get there it will be visible as the only road there on your map ) to get the clues you could call it to get past the boomers missiles. You will get a quest from all main story lines to go there and do the Volare! mission.

4 - Test Site
This snow globe is in the Lucky 38 Casino and Hotel. Aka the one where Mr.House is. The snow globe is in the Cocktail Lounge. If you have just entered Lucky 38 for the first time you will not be able to go straight there you must first go to the penthouse.

5 - Vault 21
After entering through the third and final gate inside the strip on your right will be the vault 21 hotel. Enter the main doors and go through the port door straight in front of you. After entering the makeshift vault go straight until you go through the pool table room and hook a right. Follow the vault hallways to the right and look for the only locked door on your left. NOTE you will need a lockpick skill of 50 to enter. Once you enter Sarahs room the snow globe will be directly in front of you between two beds.

6 - Mormon Fort
The mormon fort is easily missed. Before you enter the giant blue doors to freeside go to your right and enter the main gate of the mormon fort. The snow globe is on a desk in the back right tower once you are inside the fort. This snow globe can be obtained at any time during the game.

7 - Hoover Dam
This snow globe is on the desk right when you enter the visitors area. When you enter the hoover dam area coming from west of the river it will be the first door on the right. Enter through the main doors and go straight you should see the snow globe on your right. This snow globe can be obtained at any time during the campaign.

So there we have the locations for each one of the snow globes hope this little guide helps you out

Left 4 Dead LOL

2010-10-03T13:03:00.000+01:00

Just as a added extra post today i thought i would put up a Left 4 Dead video that i found on youtube that i thought was very funny so enjoy.

Showcase: Let me in and Dead Space 2

2010-10-03T12:18:00.000+01:00

Its been a while since i did a showcase post and as you know its about me choosing one movie and one game that you should see and play so i thought it was about time for a new one and my picks this time are very important.

Let Me In
Back in 2008 there was a movie that would change the way we would look at vampire films forever (not that bloody shitfest that is Twilight) and that movie was Let the Right One in, this movie was one of those rare gems something that would take a genre that had become a little stale as nobody knew what to do with it and take it to a place that it has never been before.
Fastfoward to now and one of the directors of Cloverfield is attempting to remake the movie and to try and add that american spin on it however instead of just doing a straight forward port of the movie they are trying to do there own take on it and by the trailers and information on the movie it seems that he might of succeeded and in a big way.

Dead Space 2
There is one genre of games that has been overlooked with this generation and thats survival horror yes we have had Resident Evil 5 which turned out to just be a action game and yes we had a new Silent Hill but that was just to watered down so it was up to one company that would change that and surprise surprise it was EA and what a job they did.
The first Dead Space game turned out to be bloody scary and so brilliant it holds a place in my top 5 games of this generation so i have high hopes of a new one and from what i've seen late January can't come to soon as this is my most looked forward to game in the next 6 months (yes that means COD as well).

So when these two gems come out i implore you to go and see Let me in and make sure you preorder Dead Space 2 now

Again a big sorry

2010-10-02T12:55:00.000+01:00

As the title says this is a short post just to say a big sorry for the lack of stuff on my blog as of late, i do promise that i will update the site more often and that there will be a post of some kind tomorrow (you never know there might even be 2).

So a big thank you for everybody who keeps checking out my blog i really to appreciate it.

A Big Thank You

2010-09-25T11:48:00.000+01:00

This is a really short post however it's a very very important one as i just want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to James (Relinquiish) and Greg (Vanquiished) for being 2 of the best chaps i know as this last year has been really hard for me and they have been so supportive and brilliant on Xbox Live by keeping me so entertained that it would of been an even harder year for me.

So again chaps THANK YOU.

Halo Facts

2010-09-12T12:27:00.000+01:00

In only a few days time there will be a big game released called Halo Reach so just as a little tie in for the game i thought i would pepper you with a few Halo facts that you might want to have a little look over just to prepare yourself for the final jaunt into the Halo universe.

Halo 1+2 have sold a combined 14.8 million units worldwide and up until May of this year the whole Halo series has shifted 34 million units.
The original Halo was meant to be a RTS for the Apple Macintosh however when Microsoft bought Bungie the game went through a full overhaul and turned into the FPS that we all love.
A special edition of the original game was released on the PC, called the custom edition it enabled players to create there own content and game types for the game.
Halo 2 remained the most played online game on the Xbox for over 2 years and was never knocked off the top spot until the servers were shut down this year for all original Xbox games.
During its lifetime Halo 2 was played online by more than 5.5 million unique players, however it's crown was taken away by Call of Duty 4.
On it's launch Halo 3 broke records by bringing in $175 million in it's first 24 hours beating any of the biggest movie blockbuster at it's time.
Halo 3 features more lines of dialogue than 20 standard feature films which included 39,000 lines of unique dialogue.
In 2007 Ensemble studio's were planning to make a massively multiplayer online game version of Halo however the game itself was canned straight away.
Bungie studio's were formed in 1991 with Minotaur the Labyrinths of Crete being there first game, however they didn't hit it big until they made Marathon which turned them into a huge PC developer.

Well thats it for my Halo facts post tell me what you think in the comments section below and you never know i might do one for Call of Duty when the new game comes out

Mini Movie Review

2010-08-30T12:32:00.000+01:00

Since i'm a huge fan of movies as well as games i thought it was about time that i cover movies in a better way rather than just keep posting up trailers all of the time.
So what better way to kick off my movie coverage than to bring you a few reviews of movies that i have seen over the last week or so.

Salt
It isn't a very good sign when your main actor who was supposed to play the lead role drops out and it's a even worse sign when you get a woman to replace him even though the role was written for him however in the case of Salt it seems that it was a good idea because the original actor, Tom Cruise went off to make the really bad Night and Day thus giving the role to Angelina Jolie and what a job she has done.

What we have here is the basic thriller where a person for the CIA is outed as a Russian spy and that she will assassinated the Russian president and finally get to the American president however the director hasn't taken a straight route with the story as takes us on a journey where you are not sure whether she really is a spy or infact undercover and only making it seem like she is one.

While the story is not original and it seems to be your straight forward paint by numbers thriller it does seem a little fresh as it's not very usual to see a woman play a role like this and Angelina Jolie makes it hers, there are a few problems with pacing and that it could confuse a few people but if you stick with it then like the Bourne movies it is trying to emulated it is a really good movie.
84%

The Expendables
When your writer and director of your movie is really hard to understand then you know your in trouble, however when that same director wants to be the star of the movie as well and brings a few of his friend along where its even harder to understand a word they are saying it gets even harder for you to understand them, the things is though these stars have been hand picked by the director because they were big in there field of movies and that they needed work and it show.

The main thing to note about the Expendables is that its directed by Sylvester Stallone and that most of the actors he has on board (including Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Bruce Willis and more) have not made very many big screen movies in the last 10 years and it shows as most of them struggle with not only the script but with the action scenes as well.

The storyline is just a simple as the actors as a group of mercenaries are asked to take down a corrupt person working for the government who has happened to take over a island that is one of the best places to grow drugs.
This is your usual straight forward story and it shows as not only is the action very straight forward but the movie is extremely boring as nothing really happens in the middle 30 mins and when it does it's very low budget and so plain it makes you want to watch a episode of the Jeremy Kyle show just to get a bit of action.

There are a few good action scenes but for the most part the movies just bores and becomes just another one of those paint by numbers action flicks.
There are no stand out actors even though it's flooded with ex action stars however if i had to pick one then Jason Statham seems to be the one who is making the best out of a useless script and dull set pieces.
As you can see i wasn't a big fan of it however if i had to recommend it to anybody then if you have very fond memories of early 80's action filcks then there is a little chance to might like this movie however if you are like me and have a little bit of a brain inside your head you would just stay away from this very under average action movie.
47%

Scar 3D
A one word movie review for this one and that is ATROCIOUS avoid this movie like it was genital warts.
7%

That's it for this mini review however there will be another one in a couple of days where i will review Piranha 3D and Scott Pilgrim VS the World

Showcase Halo Reach and Monster

2010-08-28T13:51:00.000+01:00

Showcase is finally back after a little while on Holiday and my picks for this showcase are huge in scale, i will be telling you why you should buy Halo Reach and go and see Monster when it gets released this November.

Halo Reach
Now do i have to describe what Halo is and why you should you buy because if i have to then stop playing videogames this minute because by the looks of things this will be the biggest game of this year (yes Black Ops it isn't you).
Instead of me going on why you should buy it there is only one word that fully describes why you need this game and thats because it's HALO.

So watch the trailer and if you still are not convinced why you should buy this game get rid of your 360 now and buy a Wii.

Monster
Last year we had a bit of a theme running through a few movies and that was survival in a apocalyptic world and those movies worked (The Road being the stand out), however this year the theme hasn't continued however there is one movie that is following suit and by the buzz it seems that it's a special one.

Like i said Monster is set in a post apocalyptic world however this is down to a monster and not us stupid humans.
The movie is shot in the shaky camera style and it owes alot to Cloverfield and I Am Legend however unlike these two it also mixes The Road into it making a hybrid of the 3 and that can't be a bad thing seeing as all 3 of these movies are fantastic.

So i will stop rambling on about it and let you watch the trailer.

Tell me what you think of these 2 picks and if there is anything you want me to cover in showcase let me know and i will see what i can do

What the hell has happened

2010-08-24T11:02:00.000+01:00

As you can see over the last few weeks there has been little activity on the site and thats down to me, i will not give a excuses but i will say sorry and that over the next few weeks i hope to change that by having at least 3 new posts every week.

I do have a few things planned including a new section dedicated to movie reviews and i also plan to bring back showcase as well telling you what movies and games you should look out for.

There are other things planned but at this moment in time i will not tell you but little changes will be happening to the site that i hope will add you to a better look and feel to the site.

So to everybody who has stuck around and keep checking the site a big thank you and i'm glad you stuck around.

Visit thegamescast

2010-08-14T13:01:00.000+01:00

I know this is not much of a post but a little heads up there is a site out there that has a great forum and i want everybody who reads this to go over and register.

Not only is the forum fantastic they also have a great podcast every month and once a week a radio show where the three host takes turns to play some music for you to game to each with there own taste and theme.

So what is this place i'm talking about well get your arse over to here for the site or for a direct link to the forum click here and i will 100% guarantee you will not regret it.

Showcase Special Medal of Honor

2010-08-01T12:18:00.000+01:00

It's typical isn't it when you plan to do a normal Showcase post something big comes along that demands a little bit of attention and that trailer happens to be the new Medal of Honor trailer that features Linkin Parks new track the Catalyst.

Over the last few years Activision has been dominating the first person shooter genre with the Call of Duty series thus leaving the originator Medal of Honor grasping at the left overs and it didn't help that the last MOH game didn't sell that well even though it got good scores from the critics, well now EA are wanting some of that power back and by the look of the new trailer it might work.

Instead of me going on and on about the game why don't you watch the trailer and tell me what you think.

Oh and don't forget that Linkin Parks new track the Catalyst is out in a few days and there new album is due out on the 10th September

Kung Fu Baby

2010-07-28T13:18:00.000+01:00

I know i haven't posted anything up for a little while so i thought just to bridge the gap between now and the few posts coming in the next few days I would post up a video just to give you a few giggles.
So enjoy

Showcase: Super 8 and Deus Ex

2010-07-18T12:37:00.002+01:00

Last week i kicked off a new feature called Showcase where i tell you what movie trailer and game trailer you should watch and this week what i have for you is 2 trailers that i think are two of the most important trailers you have to see.

Super 8
J J Abrams was a unkown director until he made one of the biggest dramas ever Lost, so when it was time for him to make his first big feature movie he decided to play it a little small and release the excellent Cloverfield a movie that was shot on digital cameras about a monster threat taking over America, well now it seems that the director wants to expand on that by doing the same idea but on a even smaller scale.
What we have here is the first trailer for the supposed follow up called Super 8 where a tape surfaces about a alien threat that happened in the 70's and all of this is shot on the title of the movie Super 8.
So check out the trailer and tell me what you think.

Deus Ex 3 Human Revolution
Warren Spector is known to be one of the godfathers of games and in the year 2000 released what is to be known as one of his greatest games Deus Ex a cyper punk action role playing game that mixed RPG elements with first person undertows.
In 2003 a follow up was released called invisible war and it took the same elements of the original however it didn't sell very well and was received very well with the critics so all hope for a third game in the series was all but dead, until GDC this year where hints were dropped at a new Deus Ex game however it wasn't until E3 where it was finally confirmed that a new game will be coming out and that it will stick to its original roots however take more of the FPS elements and hit us really hard with them.
The trailer shown off was amazing so instead of me babbling on about the trailer why not just watch it and find out for yourself why this is going to be one of the biggest games coming out in the next 12 months.

So thats it for this weeks showcase check back next week for a new one

Real 360 Acievements

2010-07-14T12:17:00.000+01:00

I was trying my bloody hardest to think of a quick post to put up and then it struck me why don't I have a quick look to see if Youtube has anything to pass a couple of minutes and guess what I think I might of found a funny little video that shows you what could happen to you if you managed to get achievements in real life.
So enjoy

Showcase Bear Attack

2010-07-10T13:09:00.001+01:00

Right as you can see VN has had a little bit of a face lift and this is just a start of things to come, over the next few months I'm hoping to bring VN back to life by doing and adding new things but more on this when I decide to tell.

As you can see however this post is to kick off a new weekly section called showcase where i will be picking the best movie and videogame trailer you should see and tell you why it's so important.
To kick things off though i have something special from James who helps out on the site.

What we have here is not your typical bear attack in the game of Red Dead Redemption instead it shows the 3 of us under attack from numerous bears and they are hungry for more than just our blood.

So check out the video and tell me what you think because I will 100% guarantee that there will be more of this great stuff coming soon plus Showcase will be back next week in it's original form

Worst Videogame Movies

2010-07-03T12:57:00.002+01:00

While watching a really bad movie last night a thought entered my head has there ever been a really good videogame movie and that answer to that question is no, so that must mean that any game that is turned into a movie can only be bad however there are levels of bad and the following 5 movies not only scrape the bottom of the barrel but they dig so far down they hit the middle of the earth and cause a earthquake of crap so big the whole world is obliterated.

5. House of the Dead - Uwe Boll is known to be the master of crap when it comes to movies and most of his crap is based on videogames and if you watch this you will see why.
Trying to take a first person shooter and turning it into a movie can be a hard thing however when you give Uwe Boll the chance to shine you get a movie that is so bad you'd rather player the game itself blindfolded while getting your nuts trampled on by a horny elephant.

4. Bloodrayne - The second of Mr Boll's films in the top 5 and by far his worst one as not only did he choose a really bad game he made a movie that turned out to be even worse than the game itself.
What was on display over the 90 minute running time was reel after reel of pure crap as it showed that the director not only didn't play the game he hadn't a clue on what he was doing as the movie made no sense at all.

3. Dead or Alive (DOA) - This was the movie that made me come up with this list as i have just watched it and i couldn't believe how terrible it turned out to be.
I heard that it was bad however it was one of those times that you had to see it for yourself to see how bad it really is and i can 100% say that this not only deserves to be at number 3 in my list but it should also be put in a crap movie vault and dropped out at sea so nobody has to witness it ever again.

2. Double Dragon - This is the oldest videogame movie on my list and one of the first videogame movies ever to be made and what a way to start.
I wasn't that much of a fan of the videogame itself so why did i even think that they would make a good movie out of it was beyond me however it turned out they didn't as they made it so child like that even a baby would be disgusted by it.
It begs to question though if this was the best they could do why would directors still think it was a good idea to make a movie out of any videogame.

1. Street Fighter the Legend of Chun Li - out of the many videogames that have been turned into movies why is this one the worst, well the simple answer to that question is that it was made when nobody wanted it and it just stands head and shoulder above the rest when it comes to terrible movies.
Like with a few of the movies on this list you have to see it to believe why this is one of the worst movies ever made, however i will give you a warning if you do watch it make sure nobody is around you because you might end off throwing your DVD player at them.

So that is my top 5 there was no room for other crap like the Super Mario Bros movie and Alone in the Dark but that doesn't mean they are not bad movies.

Review Roundup

2010-06-06T12:31:00.000+01:00

Over the last few months i have played a lot of games and to try and write reviews for each one of them would take to long as E3 is coming up so i have a quick review roundup for a few of them where i will tell you what i think and not go into to much detail like storyline etc.

Alan Wake
When a game has been in development for so long you get a little scarred as you don't know how it will turn out and most of the time these games end off being crap at best, so it was a joy to find out that Alan Wake bucked the trend by being a really decent game however not a brilliant game.

The game follows a writer who is has gotten a bad case of writers block so his wife takes to a small town called Bright Falls however on arriving he knows that things arn't going to go so well and when his wife disappears and strange people called taken show up Alan's writters block isn't the only thing that's going to go wrong for him.

The game is a very good one on a technical point of view and a sound one however it does fall apart a little because it can become a bit repetitive as you have to go through a lot of forests and battle against same looking enemies however for the first half of the game this isn't a problem it just starts to grate the further you go through the game.

With this being a survival horror/thriller game you would expect to be scared however you don't get that feeling but it's always there in the background wanting to creep up on you, it's a shame that it doesn't.

Overal
A very good game on it's own Alan Wake does have enough to keep you playing until the end to discover a really good ending however it has it's problems which can mare the game itself a little.
If you are after a survival horror/thriller game and were pissed off that the last resident evil or silent hill didn't provide this then Alan Wake should satisfy a little, however don't expect anything big.
81%

Split Second Velocity
Racing games are one of my weak points when it comes to videogames as i can't get my head around them little, so the only racing games i can stand are ones that are not your straight forward ones and ones that feature some kind of explosion or power ups and it's a joy for me to hear that Split Second is one of those explosive games and explosive is a understatement when describing Split Second.

Having some great cars at your hands isn't the biggest selling point of this game it's the huge explosions or power plays as it's know in this game that is the main thing.
Drifting or drafting behind other players adds power to your power play meter at the bottom of the screen and as soon as it fills up 1 or 2 blue segments you can unleash a level 1 power play that will either knock the other drivers for six or blow them up in an explosive fashion however it's the level 2 power plays that cause the most damage.
As soon as your meter hits red when you get the the chance you can either change the route of the track or unleash a power play that will guarantee you to get a few drivers in a big massive explosion.

I could go on and on about the power plays and the impact of the however the joy of this game is to experience them yourself instead of me ranting on about them.

It's not just the power plays that create an impact on this game it helps when a game like this looks nice and sounds nice and Split Second doesn't fail as it's a really nice looking game with some impressive explosions and some eye popping tracks.
The sound doesn't disappoint either as you do get some roar from the cars and the noise of the explosions just adds some meat to the sound track.

The game isn't all just roses though as some of the challenges can be a bit annoying and a lot of the cars are useless as you find yourself using some of the early cars, but these are just a few niggle in a really good game.

Overal

The game is enjoyment from it's start to the end and will provide so much fun whether you play it online or offline.
There are a few problems but these don't spoil much of the fun that you get from Split Second
88%

Well there is 2 of the games i've played there are a few more however i will do a separate post for these after this years E3 is over

Coming Soon

2010-06-05T12:51:00.002+01:00

Now i know very little has happened on here as of late but i have been going through a lot of things (which i won't go into) which have limited my time, however i'm nearly fully back and what a time to come back.

So the whole point of this post is to let you know about 2 things that are coming up.

Firstly there have been no reviews as of late and i've played quite a few games so tomorrow there will be a mini review post put up with my thoughts on a few of them i have played.

Secondly and most importantly E3 begins next Sunday and this year i promised that it will be the best coverage i have ever done and i'm not going to disappoint as i will have a whole new site just for E3 coverage.
Kicking off this Tuesday the new site will be up and running and will feature as much content from E3 as me and a few friends can put up.

The address will be www.VNE3.blogspot.com (don't go there yet it's not ready) so i hope that you will visit us for your E3 fix.

Well thats it for this quick post check back tomorrow for the mini review post and don't forget www.VNE3.blogspot.com from Tuesday for all of your E3 needs.

Help me with Lost Planet 2 Achievements

2010-05-13T13:19:00.002+01:00

If you are playing Lost Planet 2 now you will know that there are alot of secret achievements and while some of them are straight forward there are a couple that you will have to search around the internet to find out about.

Well i thought i would pick a couple of them and tell you how to get them.
So have a look at the few below and if there are anymore you need just let me know and i will try and post them up for you.

Me Against the World (10g)
with this achievement you have to play 93 areas online but on your own.
To get this start a game over Xbox Live and set the other slots to private and just play away until you unlock this.
One quick note each chapter of each level feature 3-4 areas so you will have to play it alot to get the achievement.

Two is Better than one (10g)
Unlike with the last achievement you need to have at least 1 friend to get this and instead of doing just 93 levels you have to trek through a huge 386 areas to get it.

Death Wish (10g)
A bit of an easy achievement here but a strange one at that, to get this you have to die 444 times over the course of the game.
You can play the game numerous amount of times to get this as they all add up.

Honeymoon Period (20g)
The last one i'm going to detail is the strangest one out of the lot to get it you have to load up Lost Planet 2 in 6 months to get this special achievement, however there is a quicker way to get it and if you follow these simple steps you will unlock it within minutes.
- Disconnect from Xbox Live by taking out you ethernet cable or disabling your Wi-Fi connection
- On the dashboard go to System Settings, then to Console settings, and click on Clock and finally find date and time and change the date to 6 months later (i.e todays date is 13/05/10 so change it to 13/11/10)
- Finally load up the game but make sure you are still signed out of Xbox Live and load up your game save/profile, as soon as you have done this the achievement will unlock.

So thats a few of the Lost Planet secret achievements for you like i said if there are anymore you are unsure about let me know and iwill see what i can do.

One last thing there will be a 1 minute review coming up for Lost Planet 2 for you to have a look at.

Old Vagusnet

2010-04-29T13:09:00.002+01:00

I have a friend on twitter who use to be in charge of the old Vagusnet and he has post a link to a real treat so i just thought i would post up the link here for you to have a look at to see where Vagusnet came from.

The link is here and you can thank G_Williams on twitter for this

Review Roundup

2010-04-27T12:39:00.004+01:00

It's been a very long time since i've written a review for the site and in that time i've played so many games it would take me forever to type up 1 minute reviews for each of them.

So below you will find mini reviews for a few of the games i have played just to give you a heads up on what i think.

Heavy Rain
These days it's really hard to find a game that has a story that will stick with from the start to the end credits however there is a few exceptions and this game is the king of it.
Not only is the story gripping from beginning to end but it has fantastic character developments, some of the best motion captured graphics ever seen in a game and overall you will have not played a game like this before so it makes it one of those rare things by being unique.

If you have a PS3 and want to play something that will make you see games in a different light then go out and buy the brilliant Heavy Rain now.
94%

Bioshock 2
The original Bioshock game came out of nowhere and became one of the best games on this generation of console so it was a bit of a headscratcher when 2K announced that a sequel was going to come out.
It turned out though to be a good and bad thing.

Instead of controlling a basic character you are in the shoes of a big daddy which makes the game a bit more easier because you don't have the fear of being a human instead you are a man in a big metal suit.
It's not just the character change that hampers the game it's the fact that it feels like you've played this before but better and that game turned out to be the original.

It's not all doom and gloom there is still a great game under the surface, you still have the sense of terror because you never know what or who is around the next corner and the graphics still are a joy to look at.

One last thing to mention is that it has multiplayer added to it a it's completely pointless as the game didn't need it.
So to sum things up take a brilliant original screw with it a little and add multiplayer and you have a sequel that falls short of the original but still remains to be a good game in itself.
82%

Other quick reviews
Saw - Take the movies and stuff it into a videogame and you might think you have a disaster however the game turned out to be ok with a few interesting elements.
It's not the disaster you might think it will be but it's not a brilliant game as well, it's just fine.
71%

Ratchet and Clank a Crack in Time - I've always been a huge fan of the R&C games as i've found them to be Sony's answer to Mario and the latest one doesn't disappoint.
Brilliant graphics coupled with some really funny humor and some fantastic set pieces you have a space and time adventure that you will enjoy from beginning to end.
90%

Dantes Inferno - A very straight forward hack and slash adventure with a few interesting elements is the best way to describe this paint by numbers game.
82%
Chime - I had to mention this little Xbox Live game as not is it a great little puzzler but if you download it some of the money goes to charity so go download it now.

Thats it for now i will do another review round up at the end of the week so check back then

I'm Back

2010-04-25T12:22:00.002+01:00

Just a quick little post here to inform you that i'm back after the events that have hit my life.

I plan to update the site more often now with a wide range of post and hopfully by the end of the end year i would of moved this from a blog to a proper site and also have a podcast up and running.

There is a lot more planned for this year including our best E3 coverage we will ever had and you never know a few more surprises as well.

so keep coming back and check on us because you never know what you might see.

A few things...

2010-04-09T23:15:00.002+01:00

I will try and update this blog as much as possible as i dont think stuart will be able to. I am also trying to fix our other site on wordpress. meanwhile thanks for visiting.

-James

Videogame facts 101

2010-02-08T12:17:00.003Z

It's been a long time since i posted something on VN and thats down to two things, firstly i haven't been feeling well over the last week so i couldn't be bothered to do much and secondly i just couldn't think of anything to post about.

So instead of just typing up some crap i thought why not tell you a few videogame facts that you probably didn't know.

By exploiting a series of glitches, it’s possible to complete Super Mario 64 after collecting just one of the game’s 120 stars. Normally, you’re required to collect 70 of them.
Max Payne’s face is modelled on the face of Sam Lake, who wrote the game’s story and script.
Throughout the creation of Forza Motorsport 2, the development team racked up a total of 41 speeding tickets. Two licences were also revoked.
Metropolis Street Racer was released a total of three times on Dreamcast, thanks to various game bugs.
Remember the Resi 4 Chainsaw controller? A katana controller was also released for Onimusha 3, and was nearly a metre in length.
In Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, one of the levels contains pizza boxes sporting Danish text that translates to “Real pizza with shit on it.”
Tom Clancy initially rejected Sam Fisher’s triple-eyes goggles in Splinter Cell, due to the implausibility of goggles capable of both thermal and night vision.
Possessing a copy of Manhunt in New Zealand is a criminal offence.
In the UK, Rayman is the bestselling PlayStation 1 game of all time.
Capcom is short for ‘Capsule Computers’.
“Nintendo” translates as “Leave luck to heaven”.
The development team responsible for porting Resident Evil 2 to the N64 went on to become Rockstar’s San Diego studio (that made Red Dead Revolver, Midnight Club, Table Tennis).
Steve Downes, the man who provides the voice for Halo’s Master Chief, is a DJ for a radio station in Chicago.

So i hope you enjoyed some of those facts and the next post i make i promise will be a better one.

50 Movies of the last decade

2010-01-10T12:48:00.002Z

So we have gone through a full decade already and we have had a great 10 years of great movies with some standing out as some of the best movies ever made.

So i thought why not tell you 50 movies what i thought were some of the best of the last decade.

What i've done is choose 5 movies from each year with some honourable mentions thrown in for some good measure.
Oh yeh one more thing before i tell you some of the best movies these are in no order and while some of them might be a strange choice these are movies you should watch from the last 10 years not the overall best movies.

So without further ado have a look to see if any of these catches your eyes.

2000
Pitch Black - Bringing Vin Diesel to the screen for the first time in a really tense and smart Sci-Fi action horror we were shown how a movie could be made on a small budget with unkown actors.
X-Men - Superhero movies always got stick for treating the audience like kids however when the first X-Men movie came out it showed you that a Superhero movie can also be for adults as well
Final Destination - It wasn't until the year 2000 until we started to get good old fashioned edge of your seat thrillers like this one again.
American Psycho - Who would of known that a small horror movie would give us the future Batman, well American Psycho brought Christian Bale to the forefront by showing us in a light that you have never seen him in since.
Tigerland - Again this movie was a debut for a future huge actor in the shape of Colin Farrell however this would still remain as his grittiest role and a one that will surprise you.

2001
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - 2001 was the first year that the boy wizard hit our screen and who would of guessed thats his movies would be one of the biggest franchises ever.
Lord of the Rings the Fellowship of the Ring - Just like Harry Potter who would of guessed that the Lord of the Rings trilogy would be huge however unlike Harry Potter this for me was one of the best movies ever.
Sherk - In 2001 a big huge green ogre in the shape of Shrek shot on to our screens and thank god for Dreamworks it turned out to be a brilliant kids/adult animated movie.
Battle Royale - Not on for the kids Battle Royale is a really brutal and harsh movie and it shows the world in a different light (The movie by the way has subtitles).
Ginger Snaps - If Twilight had came out the same time as this movie it would of pissed all over it as this is a fantastic werewolf movie that shows how well one can be done.
Honourable Mention - Session 9.

2002
The Bourne Identity - I really do hate the Bond movies and this for me showed you how a spy thriller should be made, it also showed me that Matt Damon can act.
Donnie Darko - If you are not in the mood for a thriller that makes you think however if you can watch them tehn this has to be the top of your list and it also made a name for Richard Kelly (who hasn't done anything as big as this yet).
Lord of the Rings the Two Towers - The second of the trilogy turned out to be just as epic as the first and made our mouths water for the third and finally part.
Spirited Away - I'm a huge animation fan however i never heard of Studio Ghibli until this masterpiece had crossed my eyes and i've loved every one of the studios movies since.
Dog Soldiers - Who said the brits couldn't do a horror movie needs to slap themselves in the face after this brilliant werewolf movie came out, it also kicked started the career of the brilliant Neil Marshall.
Honourable Mention - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

2003
Finding Nemo - I couldn't leave this brilliant heart warming animated movie off my list as ever single time i see it i have a big smile on my face at the end.
28 Days Later - Trying to do a zombie movie with a bit of a difference is a hard thing however Danny Boyle managed to do that and more by not only making a smart movie but brining new life into a genre that was dying.
Pirates of the Caribbean the Curse of the Black Pearl - If you wanted to give yourself a hard task try and make a movie based on a theme park ride and make it a good one well guess what this turned out to be better than anybody expected by being a 100% pure entertaining ride in itself.
Lord of the Rings Return of the King - The final part of the trilogy turned out to be the best and most epic, plus i'm not ashamed to admit that i cryed at the end of it.
Wrong Turn - Not only do i love animated movies but horror is my true genre and this was a fantastic straight forward story of survival against evil that you never thought exsisted.

2004
Dawn of the Dead - Remakes are always a hard thing to do especially on a movie that a lot of people loved however this showed you how a remake can be done but it also blasted the original out of the water in every shape and form.
Hellboy - Who would of thought that a big red superhero with horns would make a really good film, well he did but also having a master in the form of Del Toro behind him made him even better.
Shaun of the Dead - If i left this off the list then i would of been killed by a few friends so it's a good job that i loved the ZomRomCom as well then.
Team America World Police - Everything that Matt Stone and Trey Parker do to me are gold and this turned to be just as good as most of there stuff that they do, oh and it also gave us some fantastic songs that stick in your head.
Saw - Do you want to play a game became such an iconic saying and this was the movie that started it all and it's surprising to hear that it cost under 1 million pounds to make.
Honourable Mentions - The Borune Supremacy, Mean Creek.

2005
Sin City - Frank Millers work is really hard to bring to live as it has such a unique style that it becomes hard to copy how ever Sin City managed to bring his style to the screen in such a brilliantly violent way that the directors need a pat on the back for it.
Jarhead - Until Jarhead came out i wasn't a huge fan of war movies however this tackled the subject in a different way and it worked 100% by being all about the characters and not just about war.
The Descent - Neil Marshalls second movie turned out to be better than his first by giving us a really dark a claustrophobic move that hadn't been seen for a very long time.
Batman Begins - The first outing of Batman under Christopher Nolan not only added breathe to the franchise but injected some new and even darker that what had been seen before.
Serenity - Basing a movie on a TV programme that had been cancelled is a risky thing to do however this turned out to be a fantastic sci-fi action comedy movie that might of shown why the TV series should not of been ended.
Honourable Mention - Haute Tension (High Tension/Switchblade Romance), Howls Moving Castle.

2006
Children of Men - A post apocalypse drama that was all about the characters and not about the special effects thats what this movie was about and it turned to be a brilliant and raw epic of a movie.
Crank - A completely insane of a movie thats all about having a great time over anything else and it turned out to be just that.
Hostel - Probably the movie that started the horrible named torture porn genre turned out to be more about survival and how people cope in a really bad situation.
Severance - A comedy horror is not a bad thing and this movie showed you why that sometimes they work by being just as entertaining as it is gory.
Slither - Just like Severance this was more about the comedy than the horror however Slither also had some scenes of pure blink and you'll miss it moments.
Honourable Mentions - Evil Aliens, Isolation, Reeker, The Hills Have Eyes (remake), The History Boys.

2007
30 Days of Night - A Vampire movie that is all about survival of a small town sounds boring however if you add buckets of gore and some tension then you have a fanatstic movie and this is that movie.
Hot Fuzz - A buddy cop movie sounds boring however when you take the team behind Shaun of the Dead and make a buddy cop movie then you know you are going to hit gold and hit gold they did.
The Bourne Ultimatum - The final part of the Bourne Trilogy turned out to be the best by being tense very tense and having some great set pieces, plus it showed bond more than a thing or two.
The Simpsons Movie - Who would of thought that 20 years ago a yellow skinned family would turn out to be the most important family in history so when a movie was announced it had to be something special and it turned out that the Simpsons Movie is that good.
Zodiac - I love movies that make you think and during 2007 there wasn't a movie that made you think more than this one so it was a good job that there was also a brilliant movie behind everything.
Honourable Mentions - Ils (Them), Tales from Earthsea, Die Hard 4.0, I am Legend, Planet Terror, Superbad, Transformers.

2008
Cloverfield - 2008 was the year when there was a lot of movies that was shot on handy cams however Cloverfield turned out to be the best one by keeping you involved in it from the start all the way to the end.
El Orfanato (the Orphanage) - Del Toro is a master in my eyes and this movie shows you why by being beautiful and poignant all in one and like return of the king this was the only other movie of the last decade that made me cry.
Hellboy 2 : The Golden Army - The second of Del Toro's movie this year and a sequel to a fantastic movie turned out to be justy as much fun as the original.
REC - A small Spanish zombie movie that is shot on a handy cam and for a very small budget showed up the big boys this year by being really really scary and gory and also one of the only movies this year that kept me on the edge of my seat.
The Dark Knight - The second Batman movie that feature Christian Bale also turned out to be one of the last ever movies for Heath Ledger as the Joker and for me and like many others he stole the show by being utterly insane and adding even more darkness to a very edgy comic book movie.
Honourable Mentions - Wanted, Donkey Punch, Doomsday, Frontiere(s) (frontiers), Quarantine, The Children, The Waiting Room.

2009
District 9 - Not only a movie that was all about the survival of a unknown race but also a eye opener to how people treat other people, District 9 turned out to be a breathtaking and striking movie that keeps your eyes glued to the screen.
Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tranatino has always been a director that could give a damn what people think of his movies and is always on bored to try something new and this turned out to be one of the freshes takes on WW2 thats ever been shown on the movie screens for a very long time.
James Camerons Avatar - Released at the end of last year Avatar not only was one of the best movies of last year it's one of the best of the decade.
After taking 14 years off Cameron came back with a huge bang by brining us his magnum opus that has to been seen to be believed.
Let the Right Ones In - By taking a beautiful love story between two 12 year olds and mixing a bit of a vampire movie in might sound like another Twilight rip off but this turned out to be more than that it was one fantastic and heartwarming movies i have ever seen.
If you don't mind subtitles then this is the movie you should see as it is one of the best of all time and not just this decade.
Star Trek - How do you take a series that was becoming stale and make it better, simple give it to the man that has reinvented drama on TV and you have a Star Trek movie that not only makes Trekkies/Trekkers proud but also shows those Sci-Fi doubters that this genre isn't just for geeks it can be for everybody to enjoy.
Honourable Mentions - Zombieland, Doghouse, Drag Me To Hell, Role Models, The Hurt Locker, Watchmen, Moon.

Well thats it for the 50 movies and more you should have watched from the last decade if i've missed any of the list let me know what you think should be there.

VN Awards 2009 : The Ultimate Award

2009-12-30T10:27:00.004Z

So this is it we've had all of the awards so it must be time for the big one the ultimate award for the overall best game of the year.

It's been a mixed year for games this year as 2008 was always going to be a big act to follow and unfortunatley for us there were'nt that many big games out this year however the ones that were big shone through.

So what were the biggest games of this year we had Modern Warfare 2, Batman Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2, Wii Sports Resort, Left 4 Dead 2 and many more but which game managed to stand out from the rest as being the best game not only in just graphics, gameplay or storyline but also managed to stitch them all together to make the whole package.

So now it's time to announce the VN Ultimate Game of the Year.
The Nominees are
Batman Arkham Asylum
Dead Space Extraction
Professor Layton and Pandoras Box
Killzone 2
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Uncharted 2

And the winner is - Uncharted 2 / Batman Arkham Asylum
Now this might seem like a shock to you but i just couldn't choose between either of them as both games had it all, fantastic graphics, brilliant storyline, amazing set piece, some of the best voice acting i have ever heard and much much more.

Uncharted 2 shone out because i loved the first game so much that i though that it would be really difficult to better it and naughty dog did just that and the reason why Arkham Asylum deserves it is down to the fact that it is the best comic book game ever and it showed just how fantastic a Batman game should be.

It's really easy to go on and on about both games but i won't all i'll just say is that if you have'nt played these two games get out to your local game store now and play them as these are the prime example of how a game should be made.

So thats it for 2009 on VN we will be back in 2010 hopefully much better than this year, so i will see you in 2010.

VN Awards 2009 : Best of the Rest

2009-12-22T12:21:00.003Z

So I've posted up all of my consoles of the year awards so now it's time for some random awards just to get you ready for the game of the year on the 29th.

So have a look at the winners below and don't forget to tell me what you think.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year
This award goes to the game or game related item that had an interesting concept but turned out to be a piece of crap.

The Nominees are
Tony Hawks Ride - An interesting idea that turns out to be broken from every aspect.
PSPGo - Even though a downloadable console sounds a good idea it only works if it had games and was cheap enough.
Hero Franchise - It seemed that Activision wanted to milk it's music game cow until it was completley dry.
Nintendo - For not releasing anything of note on the Wii or DS all year

And the winner is - Tony Hawks Ride for being a complete and utter fail.

Best Looking Game
Graphics seem to be the main thing for games over the last few years so this award goes to the game that had the best visuals.

The Nominees are
Uncharted 2 Drakes Fortune - Never has a game made my jaw drop on the floor and this managed to succeed that
Batman Arkham Asylum - Taking a dark comic and putting it on screen is hard however RockSteady managed that fully.
MadWorld - I know it might be a shock to see this but it's black and white style was so different it needed a mention.
Assassins Creed 2 - I know i haven't played this yet but it doesn't stop me from thinking that it s a great looking game.

And the winner is - Uncharted 2 Drakes Fortune, i know that it seemed obvious but if you've played it you will see why.

Best Original IP
In a world where games are just a carbon copy of each other it's hard to find a great original IP so this award goes to the game that wasn't just another carbon copy sequel.

The Nominees are
Madworld - For being a ultra violent game for the Wii that tries something different
Prototype - Even though there are a lot of games like this at least this tried something different by being completely insane with it's violence.
Scribblenauts - The DS seems to be the console of choice for unique games and this stood out from the rest by being utterly charming as well
Boarderlands - Taking elements from the fantastic Fallout 3 and adding a cel shaded comic book look can't be a bad thing can it

And the winner is - Scribblenauts, by becoming utterly charming as well as try something different this could only be the winner.

Best Atmosphere
For me to get yourself fully engrossed in a game it needs a great atmosphere so these are the games that shone above the rest.

The Nominees are
Batman Arkham Asylum - Listening to the joker making wise cracks at you in tense sittuations only added to the brilliant atmosphere of Arkham Asylum
Left 4 Dead 2 - The original L4D had a brilliant atmosphere so it was really difficult for the sequel to live up to it and in my eyes this exceeded it.
Uncharted 2 - By mixing and fantastic music score with some tense situations Uncharted 2 had it all.
Dead Space Extraction - The 360 version of this game had the best atmosphere of last year so it was always going to be difficult for the Wii version to live up to it and boy did EA try it's hardest.

And the winner is - Baman Arkham Asylum - Even though this went up against Uncharted 2 this till managed to have on of the best atmospheres in any game this year.

Why was this game released award
Sometime it's really hard to see why developers or publishers release a game that is of low quality that it makes you cry to be a game so the 4 games below are the cream of the crop of crap.

The Nominees are
Tony Hawks Ride - Activision decided to take a year out to make a brand new experience for the Tony Hawks games and they came back with this piece of crap.
Wanted - Just to cash in on a film that was released in the cinema at least a year before this lost everything that was great about the film and took the bad aspects and made them worse.
Sonic and the Dark Knight - Sonic games over the last few years have been a pile of crap however this took the biscuit by being the worst since Sonic the Hedgehog on the 360.
Need for Speed Shift - Even though i've never played it (only the demo) i have word from a few friends that this game is awful and EA should take a little time off from the Need for Speed games for a few years and come back with something much better.

And the Winner is - Tony Hawks Ride - Even though Activision took a year off for the Tony Hawks series they only came back with one major broken game.

The Best use of the F-Bomb Award
Now we know that mature games like a bit of swearing in it however this year it turns out that few games love to use as many swear words as possible, so i though fuck it lets have an award for the best uses of the F-bomb.

The Nominees are
House of the Dead Overkill - Now Wii game Arn't supposed to feature swearing they should all be kiddy friendly and feature cuddle things well the guys at SEGA thought fuck this lets have the most swear words in any game and this was the outcome.
Grand Theft Auto Episodes from Liberty City - Not only are the GTA game known for there storyline they feature some of the most colourful language in any game and with this disc containing the 2 episodes from GTA 4 it was obvious that it would have a lot of swearing in it.
Madworld - The second of the none child friendly games on the Wii not only had obscene amounts of violence but it also was littered with a selection of interesting swear words.
GTA Chinatown Wars - The second GTA on this list is also a DS/PSP game so it had to have a mention for Rockstar having the balls to release a game with copious amounts of swear words in it on a handheld console.
And the Winner is - House of the Dead Overkill - For freaturing the most swear words in any game and laso for SEGA to have the balls and releasing it on the Wii.

Worst Character
Some characters can get on your nerves and some just make it completley unberable for you to play as them so this award goes to the character that makes you want to scream

The Nominess are
The cast of Left 4 Dead 2 - Why oh why did valve think it was a great idea to make us control 4 characters that we knew we were going to hate seeing as the cast of the original game were such brilliant characters.
Sonic - Every time a new Sonic game comes out i want to hate him even more and the release of Sonic and the Dark Knight didn't help him one bit.
The Rookie from Halo ODST - Now i know that the characters in Halo games are a bit of a pain in the arse however it doesn't help you if you don't speak a single word and end off becoming part of a game were the single player sucks.
The Cast from Killzone 2 - I couldn't think of one bad character from Killzone 2 so i just though i would nominated them all, even though the game is great the characters are so dumb you just want to hit them over the head with a hammer just to see if they get any of there brains back.

And the Winner is - The cast of Left 4 Dead 2 - The original had great characters the sequel had terrible ones enough said.

So thats it for the random awards the main award the overall game of the year will be announced on the 29th so check back then for that.

I hope you enjoy the random pic i put in this post.

VN Awards 2009 : Best Games on Each Console

2009-12-19T11:14:00.002Z

So the movie of the year has been announced and the album of the year has been picked so now it's down to the main stuff the videogames of the year.

I was supposed of put these up in a separate post however because of time i've decided to squash them into just one post.

So without further ado here are the games of the year for the DS, Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

DS Game of the Year
The DS this year hasn't had as many big games out for it unlike 2008 however there have been a few big games so the game of the year was an easy choice for me and thats Professor Layton and Pandora's Box.

Just like last years Professor Layton game this has everything that makes a great game, not only does it have a very engaging storyline but the graphics are still really charming and the puzzle range from easy ones to get your brain going to ones that will make you scratch your head a lot.
If you have a DS and want something that will not only challenge you but also leave that warm glow on your face that some games do then you should go out and buy this now.

Wii Game of the Year
Like the DS the Wii hasn't had much of a great year as nothing huge has came out so it was really hard to choose a game of the year but i have to so my choice is Dead Space Extraction.

Now the original Dead Space was fantastic because it not only had the scary atmosphere that games like this should have but it had fantastic graphics and a brilliant storyline so it was going to be really hard to transform that into a Wii game and just to make things a little bit worse EA decided to make it into a on rail shooter however it seems to have worked.

The game manages to have the scare tense atmosphere of it's big brother but it manages to add a little more for the Wii version as the game is played out in a FPS view so that adds a little more to the scare factor.
It's not just the atmosphere of the game it also turns out that it's fun as well and finding a game that has a a lot of adult elements that can also be just about fun so it must be named game of the year for that alone.

Xbox 360 Game of the Year
Unlike with the Wii and DS the 360 has been graced with some fantastic games this year so it was a really hard choice for me just to pick one however i have to and in the end it turned out to be a bit easier than i thought, so the 360 game of the year is Batman Arkham Asylum

It's a really hard thing these days to find a game based on a comic book character that works however when one does come along it can be a great game little did we know though was that Rocksteady not only had a great comic book game but they had a fantastic game full stop.

Arkham Asylum had everything from a really interesting storyline, to a great dark look and fantastic voice over work but above all of that it had the charm that is needed to make a comic book game come to life.

The main stand out moment though for Arkham Asylum for me were the brilliant Scarecrow moments not only were they from a twisted imagination but they were also some of the best moments in gaming this year.

So what else is left to say about how great this game only that a sequel is in the works hoping to be better than the original however if the first game is anything to go by then it has it's work cut out for it.

Playstation 3 Game of the Year
The PS3 has had a great year and like the 360 was graced with some fantastic titles however there was one that was always going to rule them all and that is Uncharted 2 Among Thieves.

Now i could go on and on about how epic this game is but i won't but i will say that if you are a PS3 owner then you have to have this in your game collection as it would be a crime if you haven't played this.

The first game for me turned out to be the best game ever on the PS3 however the sequel turned out to be not only better than the original but it also turned out to be the best game on any console this year.

Never have i been impressed as much as i have with a videogame than i have with this one not only are the graphics the best ever in a game but it also had a fantastic story, a really first class voice over but it also had the set pieces that this kind of game needs.

Every turn of a corner had something that would make your jaw drop not only because of the vistas on show but also that it would make you question whether you were playing a game or interacting with pure genius.

So thats it for the console games of the year check back in a few days for a few mixed awards of the year to sink your teeth into then on the 29th the all important overal game of the year

VN Awards 2009 : Best Movie

2009-12-13T11:10:00.003Z

Ah it's been a really interesting year for movies, not only have we had a few reinventions of some classic films but the summer blockbusters turned out to be even worse than last years and thats no mean feat.

Even though the summer produced some really crap movies there were a few that shone so here are my top 5 movies of the year plus like with album of the year there is also contribution from a few friends as they have chosen there movie of the year.

5 - Role Models
Normally i wouldn't go to see comedies at the cinema as lately they have been terrible however Role Models turned out to be really funny even though it had nothing new to it.
The movie follows a basic formula as two friends have to do community service by becoming best friends with kids who find it really hard to get friends and comedy insues but in a good way.
Stretched over 90 mins the movie is like a paint by numbers however the acting is really well done and all of the characters bring something a little different to the movie.

4 - Inglorious Basterds
Now Quentin Tarantino is one of those directors where you either love his movies or hate them and I'm of those rare ones who fall somewhere inbetween as i've liked some of his movies but others I've found really boring and just to contrived however Inglorious Basterds has turned out to be one of his best movies.
Tarantino decided to do a war movie slightly different to how they have been done before by adding his own twist to it and it seems to have worked thanks to some really great set pieces and some fantastic acting.
Even though Brad Pitt got on my nerves and Mike Myers appearance and the running time seems to drag the movie a little the rest of it is a really great popcorn movie and i think thats how Tarantino intended it to be.

3 - Star Trek
The Star Trek franchise has always been just for geeks the best way to describe it is that it's like marmite you either love it or hate it, so when director of Lost J J Abrams said his was doing the next Star Trek movie and making for everybody the people who hates Star Trek laughed and the people who loved it started to hate the idea of what Abrams was going to do however he not only churned out a fantastic Sci-fi action movie he also made it very accessible to everybody.
Now i'm a huge fan of Star Trek but the last few movies in the series i have found to be crap however this one turned out to be a fantastic movie that not only had me gripped all the way through but also made me believe that Star Trek is now not only for geeks but that anybody can watch them without feeling so ashamed.

2 - District 9
Unique movies are really hard to come by however when one does come along you have to grab it with both hands and never let it go and District 9 turned out to be one of those movies as the movie not only had originality but also had heart and warmth even though the subject on show is about survival.
I'm not going to tell you the plot of the movie or anything that happens in it but i will say that you will not regret watching it as each character has there own complex lives in a world that shuns anybody who is different.
The lead Characters journey from being a normal human who is trying to move the aliens into a new setting into one of the aliens himself is a fantastic one and it will keep you engrossed in the movie from start to finish as you want to find out how he copes and survives with what is the scum of the earth to everybody who is involved.

1 - Let the Right Ones In
Thanks to the big pile of shit that is Twilight people now think that vampire movies are all about whining people who just moan about not being loved etc (makes you want to vomit doesn't it) but one movie this year took Twilight by the hand and threw it into a volcano never to be seen again and thats the brilliant Let the Right Ones in.
Instead of going with the normal vampire movie the story sees a 12 year old boy coping with life in which he gets bullied at school and has no friends whatsoever until a new neighbour moves in that has a little secret (clue: shes a vampire).
What follows is not only a fantastic movie but one that will keep you thinking about a long time after it.
The movie is very bleak and dark however there is warmth from the relationship of the 2 main characters which keeps you gripped throughout.

so thats my top 5 of the year but what did a few other friends choose as there movies of the year well check them out below.

James - District 9
Reason - There wasn't a movie out this year that kept me gripped and engrossed all the way through.

Greg - Fast and Furious
Reason - After the really bad Tokyo Drift, Fast and Furious redeemed itself by being a really good old entertaining movie.

Sean - The Taking of Pelham 123
Reason - From the start to the end of the movie i was totally gripped plus it has a really great soundtrack and score

VN Awards 2009 : Best Album

2009-12-09T22:50:00.004Z

You can tell it's Christmas when every single website decides to have an end of the year awards so you can guess we are following suit however this year i've decided to do things a little different by not just having awards for gaming there will also be awards for movie of the year and album of the year and it's album of the year we will kick off with.

So without further ado here is the top 5 albums of the year including a selection of best albums from a few friends.

5 - Dead By Sunrise - Out of Ashes
When Chester Bennington the lead singer of Linkin Park announced he had a side project there was doubt about it however people didn't predict that his side project Dead By Sunrise would have such a strong and direct album.
Even though some of the songs on offer take some getting use to Chester has poured his heart and sole into them so that should be enough of a reason for you to listen to them, go on give it a chance.

4 - The Blackout - Best in Town
Even though this is the bands second album they were pretty unknown to almost everybody, however early this year they released there second album and it shot this unknown band into the limelight.
What we have here are a collection of strong powerful upbeat songs that shows there range and scale so if this is what they can do then they have a really bright future ahead of them.

3 - 30 Seconds to Mars - This is War
Even though this album only came out it shows you how fantastic the album is.
To be perfectly honest i find the lead singer Jared Leto to be a complete cock however my mind has changed a little about him as This is War is a very strong and heavy album.
Featuring a heavy dance influence the album sounds very different from what they have done before but in a captivating and engaging way.

2 - Friendly Fire - Friendly Fire
There was one genre i was getting sick of and thats Indie music however when i first heard this band i had to hunt down there album and I'm glad i did.
On offer here are some fantastic strong songs that range from some simple beats down some complex sounds and they meld together to form a very rounded and whole album.

1 - Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
Up until a month ago i would of picked Friendly Fires album over anything however as soon as i heard Biffys Only Revolution i said no this is the best album this year and I'm completly 100% correct.
Biffy Clyro has always been a band that i've always been a fan of and when i heard this album each song not only stuck im my head one or two of them hit me really hard, the best song in question has to be Many of Horror which is such a simple yet strong song that it shows how great this band is.
Each song could easily be released on there own and there is no other album out this year that has made me think this.

So those are my picks however what did a few friends choose as there album of the year.

Greg - 30 Seconds to Mars - This is War
Reason - Because they have tried something different than they have done before and it's turned out to be very powerful and unique.

James - The Blackout - Best in Town
Reason - It's a testament to how great an album is if you can listen to it over and over again and it will still remain fresh.

Dan - The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
Reason - I have listened to it more than 500 times and unlike most dance music this doesn't get annoying and stale it just gets better and better.

Sean - Twin Atlantic - Vivarium
Reason - Because it is the most original and catchy album i've heard all year, they even sound the same live..... amazing band, amazing album.

So thats the albums of the year check back soon to find out our movies of the year.

It's Christmassss!!!!, Again? Oh Crap!

2009-12-01T11:57:00.003Z

Yes it's that time of the year again when we all get in such a happy mood by handing out presents and putting up stupid decorations (Bah Humbug), but for us gamers it's the time of the year when we decide what was the best and worst game of the year and this year we here at Vagusnet have have a bumpers year of awards to hand out so check below for the schedule.

Splitting it up into 3 categories this year we will be handing awards out for music, games and movies but we will be handling things a little different in some of the categories.

Firstly on the 10th December me and a few friends will each be choosing our best album of the year then on the 12th the same thing will be happening but this time with movies.

The main stuff starts on the 16th where we will start to hand out the best of awards for each of the consoles, then on the 20th there will be a collection of little strange awards and finally on the 21st there will be the main award for game of the year.

So thats what you can expect over the next few weeks out of us so don't for get to check us out everyday

1 Minute Review : Modern Warfare 2

2009-11-22T10:23:00.005Z

A few years ago the FPS genre was really stale as all we were getting were world war 2 shooters however there was one developer who decided to try something different and set everything in a modern day time, that game was Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare and it turned out to be one of the best FPS games ever, flashforward to now and we have a sequel to that fantastic game so can it live up to its big brother.

Single Player
Now I'm not going to blab on about the storyline as this is the Call of Duty games weak point but i will say that the game is set 5 years after the events of Modern Warfare and very little as changed so much so you could copy and paste the storyline from Modern Warfare and just stick it in this game as they are very much the same.

As i said the storyline isn't it's strong point however what the Call of Duty games do best is its set pieces and we have a shed load of them here.
Kicking off after the first basic normal mission we are thrown straight into a icy tundra where you are given the task of infiltrating a base before escaping on snowmobiles in an all out chase sequence, it's not just arctic bases we have to contend with there are shoot outs in a shanty town, infiltrating a submarine with an interesting twist to it, trying to stay alive in an airfield while both sets of enemies are trying to kill each other and finally an epic over the top fire fight on American soil.

Like I've said there is a lot of interesting mission here with some fantastic set pieces however these are knitted together with some of the weakest strands of a storyline that it feels like you are playing a collection of set pieces and not through a storyline.

Multi Player
Like with COD4, Modern Warfare 2 strong point is it's multi player and we have so much to deal with it's a bit of an over kill.
First off we have the usual game modes from team deathmatch to headquarters and search and destroy but we have a few new additions like capture the flag and even a 3rd person mode where we can play all of the standard multi player stuff only this time we can see our character.

It's not the game modes that will that will cause your brain to melt it's the amount of customization that you have at your finger tips instead of them going for the much more easier approach like they have done they have given us so much that it boards on the insane.
The amount of challenges have been increased so much so that ever weapon, add-on etc has it's own challenge for us to earn XP.
It's not just the challenges that have increased there are much more weapons, attachments, perks and even kill streaks have be pumped up so much so you have over 15 to choose from instead of you using the standard few that COD4 gave us.

Now if you think that multi player ends with the standard fair your wrong as ever game these days have to have some king of extra co-op attachment and Modern Warfare 2 is no exception.
You and a friend can challenge yourselves with a selection of hand picked mission that will see you controlling an AC130 helping out your friend to get to en extraction point, to having a race on snowmobiles down to the standard killing wave after wave of enemies.

Overall
The single player side of Modern Warfare is full of fantastic set pieces and some really nice graphics however it's not a very long campaign and the storyline is so weak even a 5 year old could of wrote it, this is not to say that the campaign is bad it's not but so much could of been done with it oh and as you have noticed not once did i mention that there is one scene that can be a bit controversial the reason is the fact that the game just doesn't live up to it and it ends of shooting it's political load to quickly.

The multi player is the part that will bring people back to MW2 again and again however with the amount of challenges and extras it can cause a little bit of confusion and make you wonder what was wrong with how COD4 did the multi player.
There is one big thing that has not been fixed with multi player and will never be fixed is how stupid other people can be thus making it feel just like another FPS game.

Modern Warfare 2 is a really really great game however i was expecting a little more and i didn't think i would hate the multi player as quickly as i have, i know it will grow on me over time and that will show how well it can be but for now it just feels like the same thing from COD 4.

The biggest saving grace is SPEC-Ops mode and i hope that they release extra content for it as it would be a shame if they forget something that really does lift the game a little.

Rating
+ Fantastic set pieces in the single player mode
+ Graphics are the best in any COD game
+ Spec Ops is a brilliant addition to the Multi Player side
+ Multi Player can become addicted
- The single player storyline is very thin
- Single player campaign is very short
- Multi player can be frustrating because of the usual idiots
- To many challenges makes it a bit complicated
Score = 92%

1 Minute Review : Uncharted 2

2009-11-14T12:21:00.009Z

Back when the PS3 came out everybody thought that Naughty Dog would have a new Jak and Daxter game ready however they were preparing something a bit different for them and that game turned out to be one of the best PS3 games around.
Fast forward to now and Naughty Dog have a sequel to that fantastic game in the form of Uncharted 2 Among thieves and the sequel betters the original game in every shape and form, just.

Single Player
Just like the original game you take control of Nathan Drake a treasure hunter who is hired to find a mythical lamp for a fellow archaeologist that is supposed to lead the way to a ultimate treasure that Francis Drake hid however things don't turn out that simple when Drake is betrayed by one of his best friends only to find out that the lamp would not only show them to this fabled treasure but it would also lead them to one of the biggest secrets in human exsistance.
On your journey you are treated to some of the best vista's and sites ever to be seen in a videogame, unlike the first game where you spent most of your time in a jungle this time you have to contented with snow storms, huge villages overlooking massive drops, ancient temples that have been there for centuries dilapidated and covered in greenery and many more.

The single player campaign keeps you moving at such a high speed that you are glad when its time for a little breather as you know you are going to have to deal with another huge set piece and Uncharted 2 is littered with them.
The big stand out moments from me are the huge fight you have to do with a lot of henchmen on a moving train, the helicopter fight sequence that was shown off in the E3 demo so i don't have to describe it for you and finally seeing the lost city of Shambala for the first time.

Multiplayer
Unlike the original game Uncharted 2 has a couple of multiplayer modes, first off there is co-op where you and up to 2 other friends are given the chance to play through a select few mission taken for the game that are designed for a multiplayer experience, each mission does get harder and harder thus making it a huge challenge and adding extra life to the game.
Secondly we have the standard multiplayer modes that we normally see in this type of game, from team deathmatch to the standard capture the flag every base is covered for you and your friends to have a good time.

Like the single player the graphics and style of the game don't suffer as you are given maps straight out of the single player campaign thus giving you more time to gawp at how fantastic this game looks.

Overal
Like the original game Uncharted 2 is one of those rare things that the hype for a games is very just and critics are not wrong this time.
With some of the best graphics around Uncharted 2 has raised the benchmark for this genre of games.
I know that graphics aren't the be all and end all of a game thats why Uncharted 2 also has one of the most engaging and brilliant story lines i have ever seen in a videogame let alone a movie.

If you have a PS3 and want the whole package i couldn't recommend Uncharted 2 enough, go out and pick yourself up a copy NOW.

Rating
+ Best graphics you will ever see in a game
+ Amazing and engaging storyline
+ Brilliant voice over cast
+ Plenty of multiplayer modes to extend the lifespan
- Cover system can get on your nerves slightly
- Puzzles are a little easy compared to the first game

Score = 95%

Coming In November

2009-11-09T11:46:00.004Z

I know its a bit silly to have a post about what to expect in November however i have been absent from VN for a little while so i haven't been able to tell you what to expect however i now have the chance to so have a look at what i will be doing and if there is anything you would like to see let me know.

The big thing that i will be doing is 3 new 1 Minute reviews for Uncharted 2 (coming this weekend), Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (coming next weekend) and Left 4 Dead 2 (Coming by the end of the month).
I will also try and have at least 2 new features up, now i know it doesn't sound much but i am doing everything on my own so you have to give me some space.

The trailers will also get updated more often so you can check out some new games coming your way.

Finally i still haven't decided if i want to still do the chart as it's becoming a bit pointless for the site and the news will not be coming back as i update my twitter feed with the news so it's a bit pointless.

Well thats what you can expect so keep checking back for those updates and hopefully more.

Where have i been and whats happening?

2009-10-20T11:58:00.004+01:00

I guess you are thinking where the hell have i been and what the hell is happening, well over the last few weeks i haven't been feeling very well plus my mother was rushed into hospital so i've had a lot to think about but now i'm back.

So the second question what the hell is going to happen with VN well below i will tell all

First off I'm dropping news from VN unless it's something really big and important like E3 or any other big gaming conventions.
I'm going to try and do more reviews with a quick review catch up this weekend (hopefully)
Demo'ed is staying and will be update a little more when some good demo's are released.
I will try and get more features up on the site.
The top 10 i'm not sure about as i can quickly update it on my twitter feed.
Finally over the next few months i might make a few more changes and additions.

Well now you know where I've been and whats been happening, so stay tuned to VN for more updates soon.

This Weeks Chart 22/09/09

2009-09-22T10:29:00.002+01:00

It's typical the chart has been gone for a few weeks and over that time it looks completely different to what it was, over the last few weeks there has finally been some new games released which has changed the look of the chart.

This weeks chart however has a new entry at the top in the shape of Need For Speed Shift which has shaked up the chart a little by knocking last weeks number 1 Guitar Hero 5 down to number 2.
There was another new entry with Wet going straight into the number 6 spot.

In other chart news 5 games dropped from there position, 2 games climbed, there was 1 non mover and like i've said above 2 new entries.
So without further ado here is this weeks chart.

10 - 11 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 - EA
9 - 5 - Wii Fit - Nintendo
8 - 8 - Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare - Activision
7 - 4 - The Beatles Rock Band - EA
6 - NE - Wet - Bethesda
5 - 6 - Wii Sports Resort - Nintendo
4 - 3 - Batman : Arkham Asylum - Eidos
3 - 2 - Colin McRae : Dirt 2 - Codemasters
2 - 1 - Guitar Hero 5 - Activision
1 - NE - Need For Speed Shift - EA

So there we go tell me what you think and check back next week for another new chart

3 Weird Consoles : R Zone

2009-09-13T10:36:00.003+01:00

Our third choice is not some much of a console but a sort of handheld that came with a headset that had to be worn if you wanted to play the games.

Released in 1995, the R-Zone was a largely unsuccessful handheld console and would only be manufactured for a short period of time. Although the R-Zone was not designed to compete directly with any other handhelds, it marked Tiger Electronics' first multi-game entry into the portable electronic game market.

The original R-Zone unit consisted of a headset and a separate controller containing batteries. Each game cartridge contained its own transparent LCD display screen which was projected onto a mirrored surface held in front of the player's eye. It is thought that this original design, including the red color scheme, was designed to capitalize on popular buzz for the Nintendo Virtual Boy at the time.

Games were a bit strange on this console with most of them being the same as it cost to much money to create brand new games all of the time considering that each cartridge had it's own transparent LCD screen.
This was the main reason why it failed as there was very few big titles on the console with only Star Wars, Batman and Virtua Fighter being the biggest games out for the system.
Oh yeh and one other main point about this stupid system it never let you save your progress so you had to play thought the whole game again no matter where you left it.

3 Weird Consoles : Pioneer Laser Active

2009-09-13T10:15:00.005+01:00

Our second console is in my opinion one of the ugliest console i have ever seen and you will agree with me when you see it.

The Pioneer LaserActive was a short-lived laserdisc based game console released in 1993. In addition to LaserActive games, separately sold add-on modules (referred to as "PAC" by Pioneer) expanded the hardware to include compatibility with the SEGA Mega Drive/Master System and the TurboGrafix 16 games cartridge.

There were a few main factors why the console itself failed first off it had so many stupid add-ons that there weren't even games made for them including the stupid 3D goggles where not even one game was made for them and the Karaoke add on that was huge in the first place however it cost a whopping $350 to by.

During it's life span only 44 games were released for it worldwide however a lot of them could only be bought in the two countries that they were released in which were the US and Japan.

If the above was not a sign that it was going to fail just think to yourself that Pioneer now make really high end TV and sound system so it proves that not every company should release a game console

3 Weird Consoles : Playdia

2009-09-13T10:02:00.004+01:00

On the 9th of September one of the best consoles had it's birthday the Dreamcast and while it was a fantastic console it only lasted for 16 months so a lot of people never knew about it however over the next few posts i will show you 3 console that are even more rare and strange than the Dreamcast and i'm starting off with the Bandai Playdia.

Released exclusively in Japan the console came out in 1994 and it was intended to be used by children only.
The only software that was made for it was Edutainment and Anime quizes and it only came with 1 infrared red control pad with it only having simple buttons hence why there was only edutainment games and anime titles.

During the consoles life span only 33 games were ever released for it including Dragon Ball Z - Shin Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku Chikyū Hen, Ultraman - Hiragana Dai Sakusen and Elements Voice Series vol.5 Mariko Koda Welcome to the Marikotown.

There were two main factors that killed the console first off it didn't sell that well of the time with it only aimed at one small type of audience and secondly Bandai were the only company that was making games for it.

So there you go the first out of 5 weird console that you probably didn't even know about

Demo'ed : Wet

2009-08-30T10:42:00.005+01:00

I don't know if you have noticed but over the last few years there hasn't been much in the way of action games that are all about fun instead they strive for a realistic nature thus making them feel more like reality then taking you on a madcap journey however Wet attempts to try and been a game were it's all about madcap fun and from the demo it's having one bloody good try.

You take control of Rubi Malone a gun for hire where in the demo she has to try and catch up with a mob man that has ran off with a case that contains something that is needed for her main quest.

The first thing you notice from the opening of the game is the very 70's grindhouse look with film grains on the screen and the El mariachi style music that blends with the Chinatown style look, you can tell that the developers wanted to make there game feel like you are not only playing a 70's style movie but that you are watching one.

Controls seem really slick with every single time you jump, slide or run on walls the game goes into a slow mo style feel thus giving you more time to concerntrate on blowing peoples heads of than worrying about how you are going to take them down.

In the demo we have the chance to try out the 3 main elements of the game, firstly we have the standard gunning down enemies section where noting is very original just you your gun and sword having to take down waves of enimes just so you can build up your combo meter.
Secondly we have a section thats taken out of a Quentin Tarantino movie that sees Rubi getting sprayed in the face with blood then going into some kind of rage mode that changes the look of the game into a over the top stylistic look, this part of the game for me was the best as the screen change from it's standard 70's feel to a red,black and white style comic book feel thus giving it an original look, it's also the section that is well over the top with blood and combos flying everywhere.
Finally an action game would'nt be one unless it featured some kind of on rail section and in the demo we are going down a highway hunting down the enemy jumping from car to car while taking down as many of the bad guy's as we can, now we can tell this is well scripted as every now and again we are given button prompts where if we press it in time it starts off an animation that enables us to jump from moving car to moving car.

So did the demo do anything for me well the answer there is yes it felt like fun and in an era where most developers wnat to go for more of a relistic feel it's nice to see that once in a while we get a game where everything is over the top and that the whole purpose is cause as much carnage and death as you possible can.
If the feel of the demo can transfer well into the finished game without it feeling the same all the way through then this could be a fun action game however if it falls into the pitfall of being all about style and nothing else then we can kiss originality goodbye.

Verdict - A over the top action trip that will mess with your mind as well as release your action demon

Demo'ed : Batman Arkham Asylum

2009-08-25T11:45:00.009+01:00

Poor poor Batman he has never done well in the world of videogames as most of his exploits have been dire at best so this time it was up to RockSteady to try and make at least a decent game to match up with the high quality of the recent movies and from the demo they haven't just gone and done that they have pissed all over the other games and made possible one of the best superhero games.

In the demo we are told that the Joker has finally been caught by Batamn and taken to Arkham Asylum however something is troubling our hero as the Joker just gave himself away so easily, well his fears are right because after a few minutes in the Asylum the Joker breaks free from his shackles and starts to run wild and free through the corridors, rooms and cells of Arkham Asylum.

In the demo we are treated to 2 different aspects of the full game, firstly we are shown the basic of the combat system where we have to take down the Jokers henchmen with an easily accessed combat system that flows from standard combat to a really good defense system.
Secondly we have a chance to try out how stealth works in the game and for me this is the major highlight of the demo as not only does it proves to be tense but it also gives you the chance to control Batman in a way that he has never been controlled in previous games, going form ledge to ledge is done so well and so slick that it not only enhances the game but also increase the tension as you have to plan out you route so quickly as to not get spotted because if you do then your dead really quickly.

The demo not only impressed me from it's combat and tension it also showed a batman universe in a more adult setting just like the previous 2 movies and to me this is how the Dark Knight should be shown in videogames as the style suits him.
If you also add on top of that with some really good graphics then you have a demo that should be downloaded right now, however there is one thing that puts a little dampener on the game and thats the size of Batman on screen, to put it mildly he is freaking huge taking up nearly half of the screen however this is the one and only gripe i had with the demo.

Verdict - Creeping through the shadows and smacking you on the head with a fantastic demo, download this now or i will send the guys around to kick your arse

This Weeks Chart 24/08/09

2009-08-24T12:37:00.003+01:00

After an interesting chart last week this weeks chart however has gone back to being a little bit boring with last weeks number 1 Ashes Cricket dropping from the top spot and handing it back to Wii Sports Resort.

There is however 1 little glimmer of hope in the form of Wolfenstein which is the only new entry this week going into the number 2 spot.
In other chart news there were 4 games that went up, 5 games that have dropped from there spot last week, no game decided it wanted to stayed in the same spot it was in last week and like i've said only 1 new entry.

So here is this weeks chart for you to have a look at.

10 - 11 - Prototype - Activision
9 - 12 - Fight Night Round 4 - EA
8 - 5 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 - EA
7 - 6 - Mario Kart Wii - Nintendo
6 - 4 - Call of Juarez Bound in Blood - Ubisoft
5 - 7 - Call of Duty World at War - Activision
4 - 3 - Wii Fit - Nintendo
3 - 1 - Ashes Cricket 2009 - Codemasters
2 - NE - Wolfenstein - Activision
1 - 2 - Wii Sports Resort - Nintendo

So there you go this weeks chart check back same time next week for the updated chart.

Demo'ed : Lost Planet 2

2009-08-24T11:41:00.004+01:00

Dropping onto Xbox Live last week the Lost Planet 2 demo was the one that was shown off at this years E3 and it see's you and up to 3 friends tackling a huge ass monster in any way you see fit.

Sounds easy doesn't it well the monster is so huge that it can be a difficult task however you do have some fantastic weapons at hand to help you out including the standard rocket launcher, to a small dart style gun that shoots a bolt out and explodes after a few seconds and finally a plasma launcher that shoots a purple electrical bolt that looks a little bit like a mini big bang.

Like the original game you also have a few huge mechs to give you a hand that come equipped with the standard gattling gun or you have the option of attaching a huge rocket launcher to it that fires off 4 rockets at a time or one of the biggest shotguns that you will ever see in a game.

There a 3 things in this demo that will blow your socks off, firstly is when you see the monster for the first time (it's called the AK) it's absolutly jaw dropping as its one of the biggest boss monster you will ever have seen and it will make you say how the hell do i kill that thing, secondly the graphics are amazing for a demo this really does show off the scope of the game and if a demo looks this good whats the full game going to look at.
The last thing and most important thing thats great about the demo is the demo itself every single time you play the demo it feels slightly different with you taking a different method each time thus stretching the demo from the basic thing that it is to something that should be twice the size that it is.

The demo really did impress me and if the finally retail verison of the game looks and feel just a third of the demo them i'm going to be a really impressed bunny.

Verdict - Time to kick one big ass in one big way

What the hell is Demo'ed?

2009-08-22T12:18:00.003+01:00

Well it's a very simple question with an even simple answer Demo'ed is a new feature that will be going live as of this Monday (it was supposed to go up today but a few problems have cropped up).

What it entails is simple other websites have gone down the basic route where they either preview or review games the normal standard way and while thats all well and good i was trying to think up a new kind of review hence Demo'ed, with Demo'ed i will be have a basic look at demos that come out on either PS3 or 360 and cast a simple eye over them with a verdict at the end to say if the game will be any good.

Now i know you might be thinking that it sounds a bit strange however when the first Demo'ed goes up on Monday you will see what i'm talking about.

So check out this Monday for the first Demo'ed where we will have a look at the Lost Planet 2 demo and also cast an eye over what Dirt 2 is like.

News Blast GamesCon Special

2009-08-19T16:26:00.002+01:00

Yesterday it was time for europe to have its big games conference in the shape of GamesCon and Sony were there to start things off and they had a few announcements, however Microsoft wanted a little bit of the pie and sent Peter Molyneux to rant on about two games only.

So here is a special news blast with quick details on some of the stuff coming out of GamesCon.

At Sony's press conference they finally decided to announce the PS3 Slim that we knew that was coming however they were also nice to tell us the price and thats £249.99 plus they said that the PS3 Slim will not just be the only PS3 at that price point they also said that the standard PS3 will also drop to that price.
Sony also announced that they plan to spruce up the XMB with the 3.0 firmware update coming September 1st by making it easier to navigate and also by adding extra animations to the backgrounds.
Also shown off were a new movie service coming this November with Lionsgate, Warner Bros and more supporting it.
The BBC iPlayer will also be making an appearance on PS3 plus for the first time on a console you will be able to download comics (like we care about that).
It wasn't just Sony who announced something Peter Molyneux was on hand to show off Fable 3 for the first time (see the trailer above) and that Fable 2 will be coming out in episodes on Xbox Live, the game will be split into 5 parts and that the first one will be free at the end of the month.
Naughty Dog were also on hand to announce that they want to release a Jak and Daxter game on the PS3 instead of just making new ones for the PSP and PS2.
As well as the standard 120gb PS3 Slim there will also be a 250gb model coming along soon after for people who want to download a shit load of stuff.
Sony aslo said that if you register your PSP Go by the middle of October then you will be getting a free copy of Gran Turismo.

Keep checking our twitter feed for more from GamesCon

This Weeks Chart 17/08/09

2009-08-17T11:18:00.004+01:00

The Chart was gone only one week and strange things have started to happen not only do we start to get some new entries but old games seem to want to come back, that said however the top 3 have not changed since last week.

So what can we expect with this weeks chart well 2 games have dropped a little, 3 games have decided to climb up from there last weeks spot, there are 4 games that don't want to move however there is 1 new entry in the 10 (finally).

So here is this weeks top 10 in full

10 - (LW 6) - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - EA
9 - (LW 9) - G-Force - Disney Interactive
8 - (NE) - Madden NFL 10 - EA
7 - (LW 11) - Call of Duty World at War - Activison
6 - (LW 8) - Mario Kart Wii - Nintendo
5 - (LW 4) - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 - EA
4 - (LW 7) - Call of Juarez Bound in Blood - Ubisoft
3 - (NM) - Wii Fit - Nintendo
2 - (NM) - Wii Sports Resort - Nintendo
1 - (NM) - Ashes Cricket 2009 - Codemasters

So Ashes Cricket has stayed at the top of the chart for a second week but will it be there next week is unknown so check back next week for the updated chart.

One last thing i am looking into ways of making the chart look a little bit better and cleaner than it is.

1 Minute Review: Splosion Man

2009-08-16T11:36:00.003+01:00

During the Summer months we know we are going to have a horrible time of it as developers and publishers decided that they don't want to release anything thus making us so bored, however we might have Microsoft to thank for brightening up our Summer a little this year with the release of Splosion Man on Xbox Live Arcade.

Part of the Summer of Aracde Splosion Man sees you taking control of a thing that is made of Splosions a chemical condition that causes the main character to explode so he can reach higher spots or travel at a further distance.
Trying to explain how the mechanics work for Splosion Man is a really difficult premise so i'm not going to try but i will say that this is probably one of the most unique characters to come into videogames for a long time.

The game is layed out the normal standard way you have platforms that you have to cross and switches that need to be hit to carry on but Splosion Man tackles this is such a different way it feels that it's not just your basic standard platform game it's something different.

Humor also plays a big part in the game with our main hero having such character you don't care when hit a brick wall in some of the level design you just want to try and continue as you know that the humor and puzzles will captivate you.

There is a few problems with the game, like with all platform games there can be times when you just want to scream as it's taking you ages to get past something, plus the level design is a bit bland as you are stuck inside a huge lab with walls and levels all looking the same.
This however isn't the biggest problem with the game the main problem comes from the fact you are doing the same thing over and over again and it can feel really really repetitive.

One last thing to point out there is Multiplayer in this game with up to you and 3 friends tackling puzzles and levels that are designed for how many people who play with you however at the time of writing this review there is so much lag you can barely get past one level but the developers are planning to release an update to fix this.

Overal
Splosion Man is one of those games that will past a bit of time away in a fun and interesting way, the mechanics of the games are so much fun that for a little while you forget that there is a bit of a games drought happening.
Yes it does have it's problems but can forgive them a little as this game will make you smile it's humorous way.
Score - 83%

This Weeks Chart 04/08/09

2009-08-04T11:58:00.003+01:00

How can you tell when there is a bit of a games drought when the top 10 chart is really crap and boring however i have to bring it to you so you can see what games have done what.

Last weeks number 1 Wii Sports Resort has decided it wanted to stay for another week at the top spot however Nintendo didn't want to stop there as there evergreen title Wii Fit went up to the number 2 spot knocking that wizard Harry Potter down a few places.

The rest of the chart was just boring with 2 games not wanting to move, 3 games decided it was time to drop a little and 5 games thought screw this i'm moving up whether you like it or not.

So without further ado here is this weeks chart

10 - (LW 7) - Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood
9 - (LW 10) - EA Sports Active
8 - (LW 12) - UFC 2009 : Undisputed
7 - (LW 8) - The Sims 3
6 - (LW 5) - Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
5 - (LW 6) - Fight Night Round 4
4 - (LW 2) - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
3 - (LW 3) - Tiger woods PGA Tour 10
2 - (LW 4) - Wii Fit
1 - (LW 1) - Wii Sports Resort

Well thats it for this weeks chart check back next time for a new one

Random Movie Facts

2009-08-03T12:14:00.004+01:00

A little while ago i did a few posts where i told you some random gaming facts well because at the moment my mind has gone blank on a new gaming feature i've decided to do a quick random facts post again this time however its for the movies.

So have a look at these facts and tell me what you think.

Christian Bale tried out for the lead role in Titanic, but the director didn't want a British actor playing the lead male role, so it went to Leonardo Dicaprio instead.

Jon Heder was only paid $1,000 to play Napoleon Dynamite. The movie grossed over $40,000,000 in the United States.

No men appear in the George Cukor classic THE WOMEN, even in passing.

In the Lion King, in the scene where Scar was singing his song in his cave, the walk that the hyenas do is a reference to Hitler.

The f-bomb is dropped 186 times in the movie Superbad. That’s more than in the infamous Scarface, which provided the number for which Blink-182 named their band.

During the filming of "Batman Begins", Christian Bale lost his voice three times due to altering his voice while playing Batman.

Sylvester Stallone's first movie acting role was in a porn movie, called Party at Kitty and Stud's. This movie came out in 1970, when Stallone was 24 years old. Stallone was the leading man in this film, and he later acknowledged in a Playboy interview that he was paid $200 for his role.

The movie that features the most swear words goes to a film released in 1995 called Fuck, the film itself features 824 uses of the word in question.The most swear words uttered in a animated movie goes to South Park Bigger Longer and Uncut, with 399 being the magic number.

Well thats it for a few random movie facts just tell me what you think and post up any of your random movie facts as well.

This Weeks Chart 28/07/09

2009-07-28T11:55:00.004+01:00

Last weeks chart was a bit of a crap one as nothing much happened this weeks however is still a bit of a let down but a least we have 1 new entry and that game went straight into the top spot.

The game in question is Wii Sports Resort who in it's first week in the chart has knocked that stupid boy wizard Harry Potter off the top spot.
In other chart news Call of Duty 4, Wii Fit, Tiger Woods and EA Sports active refused to move from there spots on last weeks chart and 5 games decided to drop a little.

So here is this weeks top 10 in full.

10 - (LW 10) - EA Sports Active
9 - (LW 9) - Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare
8 - (LW 7) - Sims 3
7 - (LW 6) - Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood
6 - (LW 5) - Fight Night Round 4
5 - (LW 2) - Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
4 - (LW 4) - Wii Fit
3 - (LW 3) - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
2 - (LW 1) - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
1 - (NE) - Wii Sports Resort

This Weeks Chart 21/07/09

2009-07-21T12:39:00.003+01:00

Well last weeks chart was a bit interesting even though there were no new entries this week however has gone a little bit boring as there still is no new entries to tell you about.

So what the hell do we have well last weeks number 1 Tiger Woods couldn't hold on to the top spot instead that dam boy wizard Harry Potter has cast a stupid spell on the charts to take the top spot.

In other news like i've said there is no new entries however one game refused to move, 4 went up the chart but 5 dropped from there spot they were in last week.

So here is this weeks top 10 for you to have a look at.

10 - (LW 13) - EA Sports Active
9 - (LW 9) - Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare
8 - (LW 7) - Virtua Tennis 2009
7 - (LW 8 ) - The Sims 3
6 - (LW 5) - Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood
5 - (LW 2) - Fight Night Round 4
4 - (LW 6) - Wii Fit
3 - (LW 1) - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
2 - (LW 3) - Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
1 - (LW 4 ) - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Dashboard Update Information released

2009-07-17T12:04:00.003+01:00

Microsoft have been a little bit busy today by announcing some of the stuff we can expect to see in the next Dashboard update coming sometime early Autumn.

Below is some of the details on what we will be getting.

NetFlix Update
Nothing to do with us so it's a bit pointless telling you what to expect.

Avatar MarketPlace
You probably thought that all of these clothes and updates that we have been getting for avatar have been nice of Microsoft for giving them to us for free well they will do what they do best and start to charge us for exclusive clothing from some the games we play by adding a marketplace for our avatars.

Games On Demand
Like they said back at E3 the classic game section is going bye-bye and it will be replaced by the On Demand service where you will be able to download certain 360 titles plus you will also get access to a digital copy of the manual for it.

User Ratings
If you've ever wanted to give a game on the marketplace a score so you can warn people how bad a game is or tell them how fantastic one is well fear not as you will be able to do that come this Autumn as Microsoft is adding a rating system where you will be able to score games out of 5 stars, you will also be able to easily find games by using this stars system as well.

Xbox Live Party
The party system will change a little bit as well with you being able to invite somebody to your party with just one button press and also if they lose connection and get kicked from your party they will instantly be put back into your party without you doing anything.

Video Display Options
If you like to tinker around with the options so you can set things to your standards you will be able to do that as Microsoft will enable you set the picture and sound options to the way you want them.

Other Things of Interest
- If you want to show off how long you have been a gold member then you will be able to get a stamp next to your name telling people how long you have been with Xbox Live.
- The Achievement list will be made easier for you to navigated through when you are playing a game thus making it easier to gloat to all of your friends that you have an achievement that they don't have.
- You will not be able to sent a blank voice message as a little bleep will go off telling you that your message is blank and that you need to say something.
- It seems that they will also be making it more easier for us to redeem codes, recover gamertags, check active downloads and many other things when the update comes out.

So these are a few of the thing that will be in the update coming out this Autumn you will however notice that a few things have not been mentioned including Twitter, Facebook, Last FM and the Sky dashboard add-on that was announced at this years E3 for us in the UK.

If this list changes or there is an added update i will let you know.

One quick note i hope you enjoy the picture of the old dashboard.

Exclusive Prestige and Price for Modern Warafre 2

2009-07-17T11:49:00.003+01:00

The other day Activision decided to show off the three version of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and the version everybody was looking forward to was the Prestige Edition that comes with a pair of real night vision goggles, well it now seems that Activison wanted to drop not one but two bombs for us people in the UK.

After the Prestige version was shown off the price for the US version was also released with a tag of $149.
Yesterday Activison decided to be arseholes by stating that the UK version of the standard edition will retail at £54.99, however it now seems that Activison are going for the biggest twats in the gaming industry today as the price for the Prestige Edition has now been released for us.

Before i get to the price though there is also a little bit more of news to add and thats HMV will be the only place you can buy the Prestige Edition in the UK.

So what about the price well me and a few friends were predicting that it will drop at around £80-£100 but we were wrong as the really price is a huge £119.99, yep you have read that corectly it will cost us a hefty £120 quid.

If you are still interested in it the game is out on 10th November where now i know i will be buying the standard edition.

Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition

2009-07-14T12:46:00.003+01:00

Just in case you cannot be bothered with looking at the video above here is a lovely picture of the Prestige Edition of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

You see Activision doesn't just want to have 1 version of the game they want to be different and have three.

So what are these 3 well the first is the bog standard edition that will feature just the game then there is the steel box version that will come with a art book however it's the Prestige Edition that will have gamers drooling at the mouth.

With the Prestige Edition you not only get the Steel book version of the game but you also get a real pair of night vision goggles, a nice bust to keep the goggles on when you are not using them and finally a code that will enable you to download Call of Duty off the Arcade or Playstation Store free of charge.

The prices have not be released yet however we can guess that the Prestige Edition will not be cheap as rumors have been going round that the standard edition will retail at £54.99

This Weeks Chart 14/07/09

2009-07-14T12:10:00.005+01:00

A bit of an interesting chart this week as last weeks number 1 Fight Night Round 4 has been beaten by last weeks number 2 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 to this weeks top spot.

In other chart news there was no new entries however there was 1 non mover, 4 games have dropped down the chart but 5 games have risen to higher heights.

Well here is the top 10 for you to have a look at

10 - (LW 8) - Prototype
9 - (LW 12) - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
8 - (LW 7) - The Sims 3
7 - (LW 9) - Virtua Tennis 2009
6 - (LW 4) - Wii Fit
5 - (LW 6) - Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
4 - (LW 10) - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
3 - (NM) - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2 - (LW 1) - Fight Night Round 4
1 - (LW 2) - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Well thats it for this weeks chart check back same time next week for the next chart

1 Minute Retro Review : Call of Duty World At War

2009-07-12T13:01:00.002+01:00

The Call of Duty games have always been set during the war however when it was announced that Call of Duty 4 would be set in modern days gamers where happy because we were getting sick of the WW2 setting, after the big success of COD4 you can just imagine what we thought when we heard that the next COD game would go back to it’s old roots and the bastard child of the COD series Treyarch would be making the game i don’t think very many people were happy and it does show in the new COD game.

Again set during WW2 you either take control of the Russians who’s aim is to get to the Reichstag and the Americans who have to survive during a pacific assault.
Now the problem here is that this is the whole story and that the game feels just a disjointed as Call of Duty 3 the last game Treyarch attempted in the series.
What we have here is more like COD3.5 with the COD4 engine and a 4 player co-op mode added in just so it can make us feel happy and this makes us very unhappy as we have played this before and do we want to go through the same crap again, i think we know the answer to that do we.

The multiplayer side of the game remains the same as COD4 but again with a COD3 feel and like the single player this gets really annoying as this is supposed to be a new game not an add on pack and this is how this game feels.

Throwing some new perks and a few added extra things does not make a new game and i think thats how they planned it because they were concerntrating on the new james bond game instead of giving us a new experience like COD4 did.

It isn’t all doom and gloom though because it can suck you in a little and if you loved the multiplayer then this is going to put a big smile on your face plus when you finish the game you do get the fantastic zombie mode where you and up to 3 friends get to face off against wave after wave of zombies.

Overall
Not the step forward that we hoped but instead going back in time with a few added extra bit’s Call of Duty World at War feels like a game that has been done before and done better.
There are a few sparks of excellence but these happen few and far between plus the single player campaign can get so frustrating that you want to hunt down a member of Treyarch and smack him in the face for screwing up the COD franchise.

If you can be bothered to go through a WW2 game again then you might find this game worth your while but if like me and you couldn’t care less then you will be going MEH a lot and i mean a lot.
68%

This Weeks Chart 6th July

2009-07-07T11:49:00.002+01:00

It's a bit of an interesting week on the chart as it's been a while since EA was dominating the chart however they have the most entries in the top 10 with there biggest game Fight Night Round 4 still holding on to the top spot.

In other chart news there were 3 new entries, 3 games that didn't want to move for there places, 3 games going down and only 1 game that wanted to move up in the chart.

So here is the top 10 in full to cast your eyes over

10 - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (NE)

9 - Virtua Tennis 2009 (LW 8)
8 - Prototype (LW 2)
7 - The Sims 3 (LW 3)
6 - Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood (NE)
5 - UFC 2009 : Undisputed (NM)
4 - Wii Fit (NM)
3 - Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen (LW 6)
2 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (NE)
1 - Fight Night Round 4 (NM)

5 More Random Gaming Facts

2009-06-25T12:43:00.003+01:00

As it's been a slow week for news and i haven't posted anything up for a while i just thought screw it lets have some more random gaming facts.

So without further ado here are another 5 for you to enjoy.

All of the voices in arcade hacking-and-slashing game Golden Axe were performed by American prisoners on death row. The dwarf is known in actual life as The Bloodaliser.
In remote Scotch island of Stornaway, only 48 per cent of the population believe the iPhone exists – less than believe in creation theory of human origin. (100 per cent of the people in Stornaway believe in creation theory of human origin.)
The designer of the Xbox 360 controller had a wish to make a controller looking like an animal. After experimenting with many species, he settled with bat, but there is a rare prototype in the shape of a gibbon.
Mario is named after landlord of early Nintendo of America warehouse, Mario Shigali. The original character name in Japan was 'Mr Video Game'. This became Mr Shigali's nickname.
In the 1980s, a service called Gameline allowed users to download games to the Atari 2600 over regular phone lines. It was not a success, but did form part of the foundation for America Online, the world's largest Internet service provider.

5 Random Gaming Facts.

2009-06-15T12:32:00.003+01:00

Trying my hardest to think of something to put up after E3 is really hard then i had a bit of a brain wave for a little feature why don't i post up a few little interesting videogame facts for you to enjoy.

So without further ado here are a few gaming facts for your Monday to enjoy.

The first console to have games available in the form of add-on cartridges was the Fairchild Channel F console, introduced in August 1976.
The Sega Mega Drive featured a version of the same Motorola processor that powered the original Apple Macintosh computer.
The Playstation was intended to be a CD add-on for the Super Nintendo until Sony and Nintendo had a falling out.
In Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, KDST radio host is preformed by Guns 'n' Roses lead singer Axel Rose and he wasn't paid for it instead he was given vouchers to spend online.
Nintendo employers who cannot get all 120 stars in Mario Galaxy receive less salary and must eat in a separate canteen titled 'FAIL'

Well i hope you enjoyed these random facts check back some for even more and don't forget to tell me what you think.

E3 Top 5 Games of the Show

2009-06-08T10:32:00.004+01:00

Last years E3 was a complete mess and choosing a top 5 was hard as there wasn't much to choose from this year however has been much better and the selection of games to pick from for this top 5 was easier.

Don't get me wrong though even though this year was much better there were still only a hand full of games to choose from however these were of a much higher standard than last year.

So instead of me just ranting on you want to know what Vagusnet top 5 games of E3 are so here they are.

5. Metroid Other M
Now this was my choice as it came from left field and it shocked the pants off me, never before have i wanted a Metroid game as much as this one and the main reason for this is that it looked freaking awesome.
When Reggie came on to the stage to announce and new mature Nintendo game and that they were teaming up with Team Ninja to do it we weren't expecting it to be a new Metroid game but when that trailer began to run my eyes began to open more and more and as soon as samus face showed up on screen my jaw nearly fell to the floor.
The game itself will take more of a mature 3rd/1st person style however it will still stick to it's standard bright graphics.
There is one other thing that will make this game game even better and thats Samus will talk for the first time and i for one can't wait.

4. Assassins Creed 2
Now i didn't choose this one as i've never played the first game and it hasn't interested me however there are a few friends who think that this is going to be great and like the good person i am i've decided that it should be included in the top 5 somewhere.
The game itself does look great from what has been shown and it has peeked my intrest a little as the stage demo showed off a more rounded game unlike the full on stealth of the first one (if thats wrong then i'm sorry) however it was the graphics that did it for me as this is one lovely looking games.
Even though the stage demo didn't show off much the stuff that was shown and announced makes Assassins Creed 2 more of a rounded game instead of jusr throwing the same thing at you time and time again.
The game itself is out in Novemeber and we should find out more about it before then but already it has a lot of people interested in it.

3. Left 4 Dead 2
Now the top 5 wouldn't be a top 5 if i never included this game as the first one was brilliant but we didn't expect to have a sequel this quickly however i still can't wait for it.
Taking the same premise as the first game you and three other survivors have to kill as many zombies as possible just to stay alive, if that sounds a little basic then you haven't played the first game and you should be shoot for that.
Setting the game in the south this time it has more of a colourful look to it but that doesn't mean that Valve have gone all pussy on us they have however thrown more zombies, special infected, guns and melee weapons into the mix just to make our experience an even better one.
Oh yeh just one more thing thoughs idiots who have signed the petition to stop left 4 dead 2 being made should be lined up and shot as Valve have already said and going by there track record that new things will still be coming out for the first game and that support will not stop for it.
*at time of typing this up the petiton now has over 15.000 signatures.

2. Uncharted 2 Among Thieves
I really really wnated to make this my number one however there was one more game at E3 that just beat it but thats not to say that this will not be special it's completely the opposite if this game doesn't do well then all PS3 owners should hang there head in shame.
I really loved the first game and the first time i saw the second one i was happy that it was going to be more of the same however when it was shown off at Sony press conference i knew that this wasn't just going to be like the first one it was going to trump the first one in so many aspects that only the name of uncharted and the main character will remain the same.
As soon as the stage demo started i knew we were going to see something special and i wasn't wrong the graphics seem much better and the amount of set pieces and explosions seems to be ramped up to that mythic 11.
If you throw in multiplayer as well (i'm hoping to get into the beta) then you have a game that shows what the PS3 can do and that Nintendo and Microsoft fan boys will be crying like lttle school girls as they will not get to experience this game for all its glory.

1 Modern Warfare 2
You can guess that this was going to be number 1 and it shows if you saw the extented demo for it as this game looks amazing.
Now i was saying the smae about World at War last year and i like many thought it was a steaming pile of shit however the buck has been passed back to infinty ward and it shows as what treyarch didn't with world at wars seems like a nes game compared to this.
In the demo we got a little taster of what we can expect and my mouth is watering from that so you can just imagine what the rest of the game is going to be like because they have siad that the demo is taken from and early part of the game and that the rest will feature even more jaw dropping moments.
If there is one game this year that is going to WOW everybody then my money is on Modern Warfare 2 and thats why it's our number 1.

Well that was the last post for this years E3 i hope you enjoyed our little coverage and that we will be back next year with hopfully an even better coverage.
Just incase your interested the show will take place from the14th June 2010.

E3 What i Thought (Sony/Nintendo)

2009-06-06T17:35:00.003+01:00

Instead of just going on and on with the last part i thought i would make it a bit more easier and just do three points each for both Sony and Nintendo.

Nintendo

Even though there press conference was really dull and boring they did have a few announcements that made it better than last years with the first being that surprise announcment that you will be able to upload your photos onto facebook from your DSi.
Now while this is a good thing for people who use facebook there is one big downfall the camera's on the DSi are so crap why would you want to upload your photo's from it.
This year Nintendo decided it was about time they told us about a few games that are coming out instead of just rambling on and on and on.
The games they did announce even though some of them we did know about were just enough to stop us from watching falling a sleep.
Now while this might not seem like a big plus point i see it as one and thats they kept Cammy Dunaway from acting like a total cock and making there press conference more like a school play.
Last year she was so annoying that you just wanted to shoot her wanted style however this year she kept it to a minimum that i did manage to keep my murder lust down.

All in all Nintendo still had the worst E3 but it was much better than last years and they finally did make a few announcements that us gamers cared about instead of just bragging that we have the best selling console.

Sony

The PSP Go was shown off in all it's glory and the best way to describe it is a big fat MEH.
I couldn't care less about a PSP without a UMD drive as it still wouldn't make me buy another one of those pieces of crap, however even though i couldn't care less alot of people could and that makes the GO worth while (Sort of).
Finally the PSP will be getting games and like i've said i could'nt care less about the PSP however it's about bloody time that PSP owners have some games to play.
The highlights included the really nice looking Gran Turismo and the surprise announcment that a brand new Resident Evil will be coming out early next year on the system.
However it was a new Metal Gear Solid game for the PSP that made owners pee a little in there underwear.
The PS3 however was starting to shine thanks to the amount of fantastic games announced for it.
Top of my list was the really nice looking God of War 3 and MAG the game that people still arn't sure about but know that if it works it will be something of a milestone on consoles.
However for me it was in game footage of one of the best looking games for me and thats Uncharted 2, now i loved the first one and when they showed this off i was so excited that they didn't just churn another limp arsed sequel and that they have made a game that will make none PS3 owners jealous.

So thats it for what i thought on E3 tomorrow will be the last post about E3 (thank fook for that) so keep your eyes peeled to VN.

E3 What i Thought (Microsoft)

2009-06-06T12:24:00.004+01:00

So the biggest games convention is over for another year but has this years E3 been a success or has it fallen on its arse for the third year running well over the next two days i will tell you what i thought.

Today we will concentrate on what i thought of the big three and tomorrow will be our pick of the best 5 games at E3.

Microsoft
Now seeing as they had the honor of kicking off this years E3 it the best place to start and i think i say this for everybody when i pick Microsoft for having the best conference even though it did go on a little.
Instead of just throwing facts a figures at us they wanted to show us what we wanted and that was games and they succeded as the games they did show off were of the highest standards.

It's really difficult to choose what the best moments of there conference were but here goes

We knew they had some kind of motion controller to show off however we didn't expect them to show something that was of high standards as there new camera.
With the ammount of software they showed off from the scary Mylo to the fantastic way you can use the new camera to control the dashboard this was more than just another gimmick it was something that did change the way we controlled our games as well as the dashboard.
With Microsoft wanting to show off more than games they did give us a surprise when they said that not only Facebook (I don't touch it myself) but Twitter will be able to be controlled on the 360.
Not only Facebook and Twitter were shown off they also told us that the movie markeyplace will be changed to Zune HD and will offer us full HD movies and that you will also be able to easily stream the movies without having to download them.
Finally though we did get something just for us and thats being able to download Sky programmes and movies if you are a subscriber thus giving us a bit more variety for our 360.
The games that they showed off were of a high standard thus giving us another nightmare on what we should by at the end of the year.
The highlights included Forza 3 which we knew was coming but we didn't expect it to be that good looking and the fact the game comes on 2 disc shows us that there will be enough content to last us for a long time, Left 4 Dead 2 was a big huge shock for us as the original only came out at the end of the year and valve aren't known for releasing a sequel to a game that quickly, Crackdown 2 was also a big surprise as it looks more darker than they slight comic book feel of the first ones, Splinter Cell Conviction was also a big of a shock for me as the first video they showed off for this game looked nothing like what they showed off for us this time around and i'm happy because of that because i'm now looking forward to a Splinter Cell game for the first time and other highlights included Halo ODST and Reach plus Epic announcing that they are going to release there first Arcade game.

So thats what i thought about microsoft later on today i will have my thoughts on Nintendo and Sony and don't forget that tomorrow we will have our top 5 games of E3.

E3 Day 3 News Blast

2009-06-03T11:49:00.003+01:00

Oh my god last night was so busy that i didn't even have enough time fore myself, there were two press conferences and enough announcements that they could fill up an entire year with news.

So as usual i have a news blast for you that will probably be a bit long however it should cover all of the important stuff.

First off was Nintendo and while there wasn't a lot of stuff they did start off announcing that New Super Mario will be heading to the Wii in it's four player glory with update graphics and the usual weapons and pick ups that have become so famous with the plumber.
It wasn't the only Mario game shown off they also showed off a new downloadable Mario game for the DS and a big shock came when Super Mario Galaxy 2 was shown, the latter of the two features the same graphic style of the first one but with more new levels and the added bonus of Yoshi.
It seems it was all about games at Nintendo press conference and the biggest shock came when a trailer came up on screen showing that Team Ninja will be the next ones to handle a new Metroid Game, Titled Metroid Other M the game will put you in Samus boots one more time and will have a darker edge to it.
The game is set for release early 2010 and i can't wait.
It wasn't all about games they also announced that you will be able to upload your photo's from your DSi to facebook, a new add on for the Wii called the Vitality Sensor was also show off that will enable you to check out how your body is doing and finally a new Wii fit will be hitting stores by the end of the year with even more new exercises and mini games to get to grips with.
Sony had the second press conference of the day and they kicked off with the release date of the PSP Go, the new handheld will be out on 1st October and will feature no UMD drive but an internal 16gb hard drive and should cost around £179
Games were also shown off for the PSP Go in the form of Gran Turismo, Motorstorm, Little Big Planet and a announcement that a new Resident Evil will be coming out early next year.
The biggest game announced for the PSP was the new Metal Gear Solid in the form of Peace Walker.
Hideo Kojima came on stage to show it off and he said that it will be a direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3 and will once again put in the shoes of one Solid Snake.
It wasn't just the PSP with some big games the PS3 will also be getting some big hitters including Rockstars exclusive Agent that is another sand box game set during the 70's and a trailer showing of Final Fantasy 14 that will be exclusive for the PS3 and will be a direct sequel to Final Fantasy 12.
Other games shown off were Uncharted 2 where it was also announced that the BETA kicks off that night, MAG was also shown off in its 256 player form and looked a lot like SOCOM, Assassins Creed 2 had more time on the PS3 conference stage than it did at Ubisofts press conference and finally Gran Turismo 5 was revealed for the hundredth time given more of the same Gran Turismo we are so use to.
Finally there was three other big games shown off, firstly Project Trico got a new name entitled The Last Guardian and the same trailer that has already been shown, secondly we have the new game in the play create share genre that Sony is so proud of entitled ModNation Racer it will give the same amount of freedom that Little Big Planet gave you only in kart racing form and lastly Sony wheeled onto the stage the first look at the new God of War game that looked like the last one only with much better graphics.
There was one last announcement at there press conference and that was there motion controller that will work with the Eyetoy and it is going to give you even more freedom than the Wiimote so say Sony.
The wand was just a basic remote with a ball on the top and it is supposed to sense your full movement in 3D space however it looked more like a child's toy than a serious controller and the demo they showed off with it was even more stupid.
In other quick news Lost Planet 2 had just been announced for the PS3 and will come out at the same time as the 360 version
Beatles Rock Band DLC will not work with other Rock Band games so if you want to play anything to do with the Beatles you will have to fork out the money for the separate game itself.
The Games on Demand service Microsoft announced on Monday will allow people to re download games they have to delete because of space and that they will not be over priced.
finally Perfect Dark from the N64 will be coming out on XBLA this summer and will feature update resolution and the standard multiplayer over Xbox Live.

That's it for this jam packed news blast if there are any more big news stories coming out of E3 we Will let you know.

E3 Left 4 Dead 2 Details Spill Out

2009-06-02T12:17:00.003+01:00

Out of all of the game announcements yesterday Left 4 Dead 2 was a huge shock and the trailer that was shown didn't give very much away however i have some nice juicy details of the game for you to sink your teeth into.

First off there will be 5 new campaigns and not the 4 that was icluded in the first game.
The campaign will be set in Southern USA and will be stretch over areas that include New Orleans and Savannah.
Like the first game there will be 4 characters to choose from including a high school football coach, a mechanic, a conman and the usual female character in the form of a cable tv news reporter.
There will also be some new mutants for you to shoot at on top of the usual suspects, the new beats include a wandering witch that will be wandering around the level waiting to be bumped into so she can tear you a new arsehole and the new charger that will scream towards you with his big arm reading to send you flying with it.
The weapons will also get a boost, not only will there be a new shotgun but the sniper rifle is also getting an upgrade and on top of that melee weapons have been thrown into the mix including a chainsaw, frying pan and Axe, so more ways to kill the rampaging horde.
Valve has also said that there will be anew mode added as well alongside the standard versus, survival and campaign but they haven't detailed us on what it is.
The AI director will also be tweaked so instead of it just concentrating on the infected it will also change the weather and rumored layout of the levels.
A new addition to the campaign will be a gauntlet where it will see players running for there lives instead of standing there ground and fighting, the example that was shown off was on a bridge that was full of zombies and the only way past them was to run as fast as you can over the roof tops of cars.
Finally something we all knew is that the game is due out on November 17th on PC and 360.

Well thats it for the details on Left 4 Dead 2 we have the trailer up for you to have a look at as well so tell us what you think.

E3 Day 2 News Blast

2009-06-02T10:32:00.002+01:00

Oh my god if yesterday is something to go by then we have a lot of work to do as the news just keeps flooding in so here is the first news blast of the day that will include details of Microsofts, EA and Ubisofts conference and keep an eye out for a special news story on Left 4 Dead 2 with details of the game itself.

However this is a news blast so lets get started.

Microsoft had the first press conference and didn't dissapoint they had a lot of stuff to show off including some fantastic games.
The games that were shown off include Crackdown 2, ABP, Modern Warfare 2, Alan Wake, Left 4 Dead 2, Forza Motorsport 2, Halo ODST, Halo Reach and many more.
It wasn't just game announcments they also detailed a few upgrades to the dashboard that will include Twitter and Facebook so you can keep an eye out on what your friends are talking about and you will also be able to view photos etc.
Details were also released on the new Sky deal for everybody in the UK and the upgrade of Netflix in the US that will see streaming of tv programmes, football etc for the UK with Sky and 1080p video and instant streaming of movies from Netflix in the US.
They also said that there video marketplace will be getting a new update and name change, from this Autmn it will be called Zune HD and will give you even more choice of movies to watch and you'll be able to stream them in full HD (thats 1080p for people who don't know)
Still sticking with Microsoft they also showed off there new motion controlled camera that will fully detect movement amongst other things.
Along side the camera was project Natal that will us the motion sensing to enable you to control a car without using a pad and also be able to paint by just using simple movements of your arm.
There was also one other game showed off that will use the camera and that was the really scary but interesting Mylo, the game will see you interacting with a virtual kid in ways that have never been seen in videogames.
Being able to fully talk to him with him understanding you and by also handing him notes and pictures makes this piece of software so lifelike that it scared the pants off me during the press conference.
It wasn't just all about Microsoft yesterday EA also showed off some new games in the form of Mass Effect 2, the first fully trailer for the new knights of the old republic, there was also the usual updates to FIFA and Madden etc, also on show was a new mixed martial arts game and finally they announced that they will be releasing RealTime World game APB for them.
Ubisoft also wanted a bit of the limelight with there own press conference where they showed of the new raving rabbids game in the form of Rabbids go Home, there was also a Wii Fitt clone in the shape of Your Shape that will use the new Wii camera (More at there press conference on this), Spielberg was in 2 places not only did he show up at Microsofts press conference he also showed off the new TinTin game at Ubisofts, Red Steel 2 was also shown off using the Wii motion plus and finally a release date for Assassin's Creed 2 was announced with the 17th November being the drop date for it.
In quick news the Gears of War 2 expansion Dark Corners will now only cost you 1200 MSP instead of 1600 and that the all Fronts Collection will also be avaliable on the market place as wella sin the shops, the expansion is out on the 28th July.
It seems that Metal Gear Solid Rising is not just for the 360 the game will also be coming out for the PC and PS3 as well.
The announcement of the 360 version was made at there press conference by Hideo Kojima himself but it was unknown if it would make the jump to the PS3 as well, but now it seems that it is.
One other quick piece of news that wasn't a part of the Microsoft press conference was that they plan to release fully game titles for you to download from the Marketplace.
Entitled Games on Demand the service will enable you to download fully Xbox 360 titles, the first batch of games include Call of Duty 2, Oblivion, Dirt, Crackdown and Sonic the hedgehog.
The price of these has yet to be announced but as soon as we know you will know.

Well thats it for now you know that there will be a ot more to come so keep your eyes peeled to Vagusnet for the latest E3 news.

E3 News Blast

2009-06-01T11:12:00.003+01:00

Seeing as E3 begins today and there is alot of news coming out of it already here is a quick E3 news blast where each story will be smaller as there is a lot to cover.

Microsoft has announced today that there press conference will be starting 5 minutes early as there will be a special big announcment, so instead of it starting at 6:30 (GMT) it will be starting at 6:25pm (GMT).
The big announcment is unknown at the moment but you never know as rumors keep coming in that the next generation of console could be announced sooner than people think.
Even though Halo ODST isn't out yet it looks like there is going to be another Halo project to surface, titled Halo Reach the game looks like it could be shown off at the press conference tonight and it might be the reason why the conference is going to be early.
The game is expected to be out in the Autumn of 2010.
Lionhead head Peter Molyneux will be present at thsi years E3 where he will announce details of his new game, it's unknown at the moment what it is but we don't have to wait long.
The cat might be out of the bag with Nintendo as it looks like they will announce a new Mario for this year however all signs point towards the game getting released in Japan first and we will have to wait until next year for it.
The Nintendo master Shigeru Miyamoto is not going to be at this years E3 for some unknown reason however it might be a big trick from Nintendo just to throw us off the scent of one of there big announcements.
Yesterday pictures and a video was leaked on the PSP Go and it now seem's that Sony will be released by the end of Autumn this year, now i know the turn around is quick however it is needed is Sony wants to challenge Nintendo.
The countdown from Hideo Kojima has ended where all signs will point towards a new IP instead of the Rumored Metal Gear Soild of the Xbox 360.
We will find out more at Konami's press conference tonight at 10:00pm (GMT) and if you want to watch it go over to www.gametrailers.com where they will be streaming it live in HD

Thats it for now but you do know that there will be more.

PSP Go is a GO

2009-05-31T12:37:00.003+01:00

A leaked video from next months Qore shows the new PSP in action so i thought i would post up a pic of what the new PSP looks like.

New features include the slide down pad that does not include a second nub, a brighter screen and finally no UMD drive instead it will run off 16gb of internal memory.

The handheld will be shown off at Sony's E3 press conference so keep an eye out for it.