Weekly Special - NHL 2K9 for Xbox 360

Another weekly discount for Xbox 360 owners and three days earlier than usual! I'm not sure why, but who's complaining? Maybe the last weekly special sold out too quickly. Anyway, sports game fans have something of a bargain this week with NHL 2K9 on Xbox 360 for the super duper low price of just $14.90, that's around 70% off the marked price of $49.90! I'm not joking, check it out right now. No need to purchase any extra stuff, such as hockey sticks, pucks, protective gear or an ice rink, just the game will do. You can play the latest and greatest NHL game for under $15, so get buying! I'm assuming that the extra three days and five copies per person limit change means there's plenty available, but as always with a bargain like this, the copies fly off the shelves and you'll need to get in early to secure a copy or three. Makes a great gift no?


As with the previous NBA 2K9 game special, NHL 2K9 is also region free and will work on any Xbox 360 worldwide. The game also contains a wealth of language options, which includes: English, Spanish, French, Dutch and Italian. NHL 2K9 features many new improvements and additions over the previous versions. Apart from the usual things such as updated stats and new commentary, 2K9 also features new crowd and play animations and a new control scheme which is meant to put the fun back in hockey games. It also looks like 12 different consoles can join up online to play one match, that sounds pretty cool and another reason to buy some extra copies!


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Marvel Vs Capcom 2 Demo - WTF?

If anyone else downloaded the Marvel Vs Capcom 2 demo for PS3, you might (like me) not have been able to play it and been very annoyed with Capcom. In the description on PSN, there is no word that it only includes local multiplayer and nothing else at all. That's right, no single player. If you don't have two controllers, you cannot even get into the character select screen, let alone the fights, to see how good the port is. PSN multiplayer is disabled in the menu and so is any form of single player, but options are left intact. Very useful...NOT.

Was it really so hard to include one single player level? What is the point of this demo anyway? How many PS3 users will have two controllers and two people ready just to try a demo? And a port of an old Dreamcast game at that! Maybe I'm being unfair here, or maybe I'm not. Capcom, you fail, plain and simple. The Marvel Vs Capcom 2 demo is the stingiest and worst demo I have ever downloaded and I've downloaded teaser trailers with no ingame footage and been less frustrated. At least they have a purpose, this demo I can't get past the menu screen and it just makes me angry. Anything would have been better than this, even just being able to do training mode or something.

Weekly Special - Wheelman for Xbox 360

Lucky you, Xbox 360 gamers! This week you're treated to another tasty bargain. You can grab yourself some Vin Diesel action this week, with the gruff voiced action man starring in his own videogame (well, his second one) as the Wheelman. Join Vin Diesel, no, I mean Milo Burik (that's his name in the game, I kid you not!) in an open world adventure full of high speed chases and fast women for the 50% off low price of just $24.90! That's right, you can play as Vin Diesel in your very own home for half the regular price. Grab it now before someone else drives off with your copy! Only one per customer and stocks are limited.

Note: "Fast women" not guaranteed.


You'll be happy to know that the game on sale is region free and will work on any Xbox 360 worldwide. If you're worrying about languages, fret not! Even though it's the asian version, the game still contains English, Spanish, French, German and Italian. That should cater for most buyers I hope!

Wanting to know what I think of the game? Tough, I don't own it, but I'm sure it's worth the bargain price and I'll have to get it myself. The game is also available on PSN and Xbox Live as a playable demo, so you can try it out for yourself. Don't take to long, you might miss out!


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Games to Own #7 - Folklore on PS3

Like the #3 of Games to own before it, Folklore is an excellent game which didn't take the world by storm, probably due to it being released early in the PS3's lifespan and being held back by some factors and some of them being flaws. But make no mistake, it is a game you should own in your collection and the reason I have the Korean cover of the game I will reveal to you shortly.

Let's start with the basics. Folklore is a third person RPG, you'll play the game with two characters with a different perspective as they attempt to unravel just what the hell is going on in the village where they find themselves in. You'll spend time talking to the locals as well as entering a fantasy world in which you capture and use Folk "creatures" to attack other Folk as well as defending yourself. This is done by weakening the enemy Folk until it's soul pops out and then you latch onto it and use the sixaxis to yank out the soul and absorb it for yourself. I guess you could say it's kind of like Pokemon meets Ghostbusters and boy is it fun, especially the boss battles.

On some of the more complex Folk, you'll need to capture a few of the same kind to be able to summon them to fight or defend for you. Capturing as many different Folk as possible is helpful in the boss battles and against some of the bigger Folk. That's because each Folk belongs to a certain element (fire, water, electriciy) or style of attack (slashing, piercing, spiky). Each Folk is immune and weak to certain types of other Folk and using the right combination leads to massive damage. Also, exploring the map will help you find pages from a book showing you which Folk you need to beat the boss without struggling.

I could go on and on about how cool it is to yank out souls with the sixaxis, but I won't, I'll just mention some of the other features. If you have a Dual Shock 3 (if not, why?), then you'll be happy to know that Folklore recieved a patch which enables rumble and makes it even more awesome. The graphics are fantastic and this was one of the early games that wowed me. The orchestral music is great too.

The story is told in bits and pieces in a cool comic book style fashion but lacks voice acting which is a bummer, the FMV on the other hand does contain voice acting. It's hard to understand what's going on until near the last chapter and then there are still many questions, it's all a bit convoluted and hard to follow really, but it is enjoyable nonetheless!

While you play the same levels with each charater, the paths are different and so are the Folk, so it doesn't get boring at all. I don't know what else to say, this game brings me some great memories and was the first game I played on the PS3 when I got mine. Oh yeah, the reason I have included the Korean version, is because the game is also in english, but is much cheaper than the US version. At $24.99, it's a bargain. The more people buy it, the better chance of a sequel and I want a sequel dammit!

9 out of 10

E3 Predictions

It looks like this year, E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is going to be quite interesting and hopefully better than the one last year! There's usually unvieling of cool new hardware and software and I'll let you know some things that have been confirmed and also throw in some predictions of my own into the mix.

I'll start in alphebetical order from the big three (Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony) and add a section for any other bits I think are worth noting. Okay, here we go!

Microsoft

Rumors speculate Microsoft will unveil a handheld gaming system known as the ZuneX. Sorry to dissapoint, but I think there's a very small chance of this happening. Apart from the "leaked" specs being suspicious, I think Microsoft is still focusing everything on the Xbox 360 at the moment.

It's highly likely Microsoft will show off a new exclusive game for the Xbox 360 which will likely be a response to Killzone 2 on PS3. Apart from that, there will be plent of multiplatform games and like last year, nothing really special in the Microsoft presentation. Expect some Gears of War 3 information and a possible announcement of Forza 3.

Nintendo

The winners of most people's "worst presentation" award last year, Nintendo are unlikely to set the gaming world fire this year either. But unlike last year, we will see some quality new titles from Nintendo unveiled and also even more uses for the Wii remote.

A new handheld? Think again! Nintendo is known for milking it's handhelds for all their worth and the DS isn't going to be taken over anytime soon. Maybe if sales would slow down, but that's not going to happen for a while and the DSi was released recently. You can expect a Mario game of some sort and a Zelda sequel to be shown.

Sony

Sony's won't unveil the PSP2 like everybody thinks. It's too early, sorry! While the PSP is steadily losing pace in the western market, it still has plenty of life left in Japan and will still be around for another couple of years at least. I predict however, Sony will release a new PS3 hardware revision. You may have seen pictures of a "leaked" PS3 slim. I have a feeling it's the real deal. The PS3 is big and very heavy, making shipping more expensive. Making it smaller and weigh less will bring down the cost of production and the savings will be passed onto you, the consumer. Yes, I predict a price cut for the PS3 as well of $100USD, which will be for the new slim unit as well as the old stock, which may be discounted another $50USD on top of that. Expect some information about GT5, Jak and Daxter, Sly Raccoon and Trico.

Misc Predictions

There will be some news about Duke Nukem Forever. A new developer or publisher will handle the IP.

Gran Turismo Mobile for PSP will still be missing in action.

Hardly any new PC games will be featured.

GP2X Wiz Bubble Train (like Puzz Loop, Zuma, or Luxor)

Bubble Train was the winner of the GBAX 2006 Coding Competition. It's a great puzzle arcade game along the lines of Puzz Loop, Zuma, or Luxor. When released for the GP2X, the menu input was hacked to account for the lack of mouse input. Now, the Wiz version uses the stylus to control the menus. Check it out. If it looks like your type of game, I think you'll enjoy it.
Download here!

Weekly Special - NBA 2K9 for Xbox 360

Are you a sports fan? Do you love your NBA games? Do you enjoy the 2K9 series of sports games? Do you have an Xbox 360? If you answered yes to any two of those questions, then you should head over to Play-Asia and purchase NBA 2K9 at the incredibly low price of just $19.90! That's right, the latest NBA game at $30 off the regular price. Grab it now before someone else takes your copy! Only one per customer and stocks are limited.


And for all those needing confirmation, the game is region free (will work on any 360 console) and game is in english, so no excuses. Need one more reason? Oh, okay. Did you know NBA 2K8 was the best selling basketball game on the 360 last year? Not to mention that the 2K series has been the #1 rated NBA simulation seven years running. EA needs to lift their game (hah!) with the NBA Live series if they want to ever take back the NBA crown.