Image via assassincreed.ubi.com

We have a new protagonist in the shape of Connor Kenway. It’s the first time the game has moved into the ‘new world’ and is set between 1753 and 1783 – the American Revolution. So if you were tired of Renaissance Italy (the setting of the past three games), then this is probably music to your ears.

If, like me, you aren’t up to scratch on the American Revolution, it involved 13 colonies in North America joining together to break free from the British Empire. The British weren’t too happy about them expelling all royal officials, so they sent out combat troops to regain control – war ensued.

Kenway is a bit of an outcast however, being half British and half Native American. He’s been tasked with the challenge of fighting for freedom by joining the assassins as he sees his village destroyed. The weapons in which you have to do so are rather interesting. There’s the usual throwing knives, but tomahawks and rope darts also make an entrance!

Ubisoft claim the settings are pretty realistic, so there’s appearances from a certain General George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. There’s even a gigantic fight scene based on Bunker Hill too. Not only do you have to kill every person you see, you’re also confronted by a bear!

Ubisoft have also been praising the new engine called Anvil Next. It took the team three years to develop from scratch which improves AI, animation and motion capture. Even the weather has been enhanced, so when fog looms large, you can stealth kill to your hearts desire.

From the trailer we can see that parts of the gameplay will feature in the wild. This means having to remain stealthy amongst the woods. I’m not talking about camouflage of course, more like climbing trees and jumping from branch to branch. It’s not an entirely new premise from the game’s predecessors; just replacing rooftops with branches.

It’s not just the wilderness though you’ll be contending with, the cities of Boston and New York are prevalent in game play too. Blending has never been more important. Kenway dresses differently and has a bow and a bunch of arrows; he’s going to have to be pretty good! As Paola once said to Ezio:

Discretion is a paramount in my profession. We must walk the streets freely: seen, but unseen. You too must learn to blend like us and become one with the city’s crowds.

The free running aspect of Assassin’s Creed has picked up a notch when out of the wild. It seems now you can open windows, jump through them and run out the other side. So if you ever get boered of the killing spree, try some parkour instead!

The battlefield scene impresses me; it looks loud, violent and bloody. I think my favourite part of the whole trailer has to be the flying attack on the Redcoat riding horseback – I look forward to replicating that myself. It’s only two minutes of goodness, but already gamers have been raving about what they’ve seen in the trailer.

So often are we duped into amazing trailers to be confronted with the dreaded ‘Not actual game footage’ at the end of the video. If Ubisoft stay true to their word and we get exactly what we see in this trailer, this won’t just exceed previous Assassin’s Creed installments, but possibly any other game released this year.

Assassin’s Creed 3 is set to be released on the 30th October in the US and 31st October in the UK.

What do you think of the trailer? What’s your favourite part of the trailer? Tell us in the comments section below.

Image by: nexthttp

As we roll into May there are many reasons for gamers to be a little bit excited. Among this month’s releases is one which has been anticipated for over a decade!

Let’s start with the biggest release this month: Diablo 3 (released 15th May). It’s been almost twelve years since Diablo 2 was released to massive acclaim and gamers can’t wait to get back into the action. So what has changed? There are new skill runes which allow you to add more control and elemental damage to your attacks including stuns and the ability to altering nature. Instead of the henchmen who followed you in Diablo 2 there are followers who lend a hand during quests. You can also recruit artisans who upgrade armour and weapons. The combat system has also been tinkered with to change the way you can control a battlefield, and specific arenas have been added for fighting other players. The game looks astounding and I fully expect it to reach a massive audience.

Next up on the list is Max Payne 3, released on the 18th of May. Once again we join the adventures of ubernoir private dick Max Payne and he is as tormented as ever, popping pills and taking out bad guys, this time in South America. The original Max Payne brought the idea of bullet time to video games, and Rockstar has worked hard to expand on the idea, aware that a one trick pony won’t cut it in today’s market. From the trailer it looks like it is going to be a roller coaster of gun fights, story line and hopefully a little bit extra to make it stand out from the crowd.

The final game on the list Ghost Recon Future Soldiers. This is not a run and gun kind of game as you’ll know if you have played any of the previous Ghost Recon titles. It is much more about strategy and working with your team to achieve your goals, and its one-hit-kill system ensures less of the regenerating/infinite health that takes the tension out of a lot of big shooter titles. From the trailer below it does look more action packed than before, but still has an emphasis on stealth and taking out enemies silently. As the title suggests the arsenal at your disposal is a huge addition to the game from drones to invisibility to scanners technology.

It looks like it’s a good month to be a gamer. If you have any games that you think need to be included in this list then please let us know in the comments.

Source: Joystiq

Activision announced this morning the release of 007 Legends in the Autumn for the Xbox 360 and PS3. The game itself will be an ambitious mix of six Bond movies, including the soon to be released Skyfall. Activision Publishing Executive VP David Oxford said:

“To honor 50 years of the world’s top secret agent, 007 Legends offers a collection of his most famed moments in the smartest and most treacherous Bond game yet,”

He continued:

“Creating a video game storyline that ties together six popular, yet very different, Bond movie narratives can be challenging, but together with EON Productions, our developer Eurocom, has pulled it off to create an homage that we think will be a unique and highly entertaining Bond video game.”

In keeping with GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, Mi6 Ops Missions will feature in the single player game, allowing players to compete for top honours on the online leader board. Missions can be played as one of Bond’s allies or enemies as well as Bond himself for the first time ever too. The multiplayer experience includes local four-player split-screen game modes and online gameplay with a host of new additions taken from the last 50 years of Bond.

Tell us what you think of the latest addition to the Bond franchise below.

image by: garlandcannon

What is Scrabble Day?

National Scrabble Day is celebrated on April 13th every year. In case you haven’t been around all your life lately, Scrabble is a word game whereby 2 or more players create words on a board out of randomly selected letters to form an intertwined word map. It was invented in 1938 by Alfred Mosher Butts – whose birthday was April 13, 1899.

Ways to play Scrabble?

We just created a Get Vega list on ‘5 ways to play scrabble‘ so you should check that out but nowadays there are 3 different ways to play Scrabble:

The old school Scrabble: You can get a Scrabble kit on line for fairly cheap and you can really make a rainy day in one to remember with endless games of this favorite word game by the fire and with friends.

Make sure you all know the rules, all are far away from each other’s scrabble plates -no cheating- and have brushed up on your vocabulary. Vo-cab-ul-ary… that would have been a 19 point score!

The mod-con Scrabble: Get out your tablet or computer and make sure you have a superfast fibre optic broadband connection so that you can play Scrabble either by Scrabble app or by playing Scrabble on Facebook.

You can play against people or against a computer, either way we see this as a great way to practice before a big game the old school way. Like a treadmill regime before a big outdoor marathon!

Image by: Windygig

The alternatives

There are a few alternatives to Scrabble like Bananagrams but if you need one for your work PC over lunch then Scrabb.ly is recommended according to the Plusnet Community blog who blogged about Scrabble day recently too:

“Scrabb.ly – or Word Squared, as it’s now been dubbed – is a must-try for crossword-fans looking to play a souped-up version of Scrabble with other wordsmiths on a super-size board.

You play Scrabb.ly by making words from letter tiles and placing them on a scoreboard – like Scrabble. But with Scrabb.ly, you get three lives. If you swap out your rack for new letters, you lose a life. If you form a word over a star-marked tile, you gain a life. You play until you run out of lives and then your score’s calculated for you.

You can drop in and out of play whenever you’ve got time and your browser will remember your score – so it’s great if you’re looking for a distraction to jump in and out of while you’re at work.” Plusnet Community blog

Rules of Scrabble

You can find all the rules of Scrabble on line but in this video you’ll learn a few that you should know as a matter of course:

Tell us what your highest word score is and how often you play Scrabble below. Or Tweet us or write on our Facebook wall!

Image by: wlodi

There is a storm brewing in the gaming world. It is not about price or quality of games being produced but about the downloadable content (DLC) that is being added on to games after release. There are, as always, (at least) two sides to this, as some see the DLC content as expansion upon the existing games while others consider it a very cynical move from developers to exploit gamers’ wallets.

THE PROS

Expansion packs are nothing new, they have been around for a while and in many cases add more to the game, from new levels to new characters. These expansion packs are generally aimed at the die hard fans who want to completely empty every single avenue of game play available to them. From this perspective gamers can continue to play new challenges in their favourite games, developers can continue to produce new content for games and the people at the top can watch their business keep ticking over for a longer period of time. So perhaps it’s a win/win/win?

THE CONS

There is no rage like a gamer’s rage. And one thing that gets gamers’ goats is DLC. From this side of the argument DLC is seen as a sleazy scheme that forces gamers, who have already shelled out upward of £40 for a game, to open their wallets once again to get additions that some view should have been in the game to begin with. This thought that companies are releasing unfinished games only to add in the final touches at a later date and at a charge is what is getting peoples backs up. But the final straw that broke the gamers back? Is this kind of behaviour. In Soul Calibur 4 you had the option of downloading a new character from Star Wars that you could play as depending on which console you were using, Yoda for the 360 and Darth Vader for the PS3. It was then found that there was data for Darth Vader on the 360 disc, and by paying around $6 you weren’t actually downloading anything, simply opening up a fenced off part of the disc. This was also seen in BioShock 2 when “downloading” new multi-player levels and weapons people were given a download screen but the only thing that was being downloaded was a key that opened up information that was already on the disc.

The video below is pretty long but it looks at both the good and the bad of DLC, if you have the time you should check it out.

DLC can certainly be very beneficial for a game: it can add new depth and lifespan and players would be willing to pay for well-thought-out DLC. They will not stand for DLC that should by rights already be part of the game. Surely if the data is on the disc it is part of your original purchase and shouldn’t be exploited for profit further down the line.

Have you found any examples of excellent or terrible DLC? What do you think of the DLC debate that is going on? Please let us know in the comments.

All that is known for certain is that the game will be set in the Los Angeles-alike city of Los Santos and surrounding countryside. Also the game is set in the ‘present day’- after the financial crash, and not set in an earlier era as with 2002′s Vice City.

The latest rumours were part of a now deleted post on a forum and claim to be sourced from a former Rockstar staff member. As of the time of writing the post can still be accessed through the Google cache.

According to the supposed ‘leak’ GTA V will boast a map that is roughly five times as large as the Liberty City map used in the previous instalment. Of this roughly a third of it will be taken up by the city of Los Santos. With the new larger map it is claimed that player flyable aeroplanes will be making a return to the franchise.

In Grand Theft Auto conflict with the police is frequent and violent. The leak alleges that this is being given a thorough overhaul in the new game. Police will try to stop you for blatant speeding for example. Crashing at speed will also damage health.

When the higher ‘wanted’ levels are reached and evaded police will continue to hunt for persons matching the description of the player character for either 24, 48 or 72 in-game hours.

As far as the player character is concerned, the source revealed a few details. Firstly they announced that – contrary to earlier speculation – there would be only one playable character, and also that the character would not die at the end of the game.

The name of the supposed playable character is Albert De Silva. The character is glimpsed in the trailer – the “rich guy”. He is a half Hispanic former member of a Vice City crime family. He has a lazy video game-obsessed son named Kevin.

In game radio and TV stations are expected to make a return, and indeed to be much expanded. The will be more TV channels according to the leak, and the radio stations will carry accurate traffic reports, enabling the player to find routes around congestion and other problems.

Finally a release date of May 2013 is predicted. This is much later than some had thought – and will be an agonisingly long wait for the fans of the series. It is claimed that a playable demo will be on show at the E3 expo in June. It is likely that we will have to wait until then to discover whether the rumoured details are genuine, or just informed speculation.

Are you a GTA fan? How do you feel about these latest rumours, and what features are you hoping for? Hit the comments below to tell use what you think.

Image via simcity

In almost a decade long wait, the SimCity franchise is finally being resurrected. Possibly the daddy of all sim games, it is expected to get a dramatic makeover. First appearing on computer screens way back in 1989, the franchise is one of the best-selling computer games of all time.

Perhaps riding on the crest of similar social network and mobile games, EA has decided to show others how it’s really done.

It’s such a simple concept, build and create a city however you like, but you become engrossed with your little made up city and its even tinnier civilians.

While the trailer only shows concept art, you can expect EA and Maxis to ply their trademark for excellent graphics to the new game. The major features EA and Maxis are touting are 3D graphics and bendy roads. Hmm, these are kind of humdrum in today’s gaming world are they not?

From the sounds of things so far, it appears there will be major push towards broadening possibilities for multiplayer modes and landscape boundaries. The social and multiplayer culture has amplified significantly since SimCity’s last outing; therefore it has to move with the times.

There’s also a move to more realistic situations to reflect today’s environment. There will be finite resources and you will have to balance between ease of living and saving the planet. How you run your city could affect others. For example, if your city is surrounded by black smog from pollution, this could filter to neighbouring cities.

SimCity has never really had an objective. I guess after 23 years, it will now. I’m sitting on the fence as to whether this is good or bad. I like a challenge in a game, but I’m wondering whether this will kill the fun nature of being able to create how you like. It may be a little too serious for me. However, they have suggested you never know when a giant lizard might attack. Maybe the giant robot from previous series will make an appearance too? One can only hope.

There’s a long while to find out, the game is being tipped to be released sometime in 2013.

What do you think of the new features? Tell us in the comment section below.

1. Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker

If you’re looking for a video game that incorporates bad synth versions of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits and combat that involves a lot of dance moves and hat throwing, then Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker is definitely the game for you.

I owned this game on the Sega Master System…well I say owned, I still actually have it. The main aim of the game was to open doors or car boots and find all the missing children that the bad guy had kidnapped. It might not sound all that difficult, but I swear I never got past the second level.

2. Alex the Kidd in Miracle World

This game has to have one of the best game theme tunes in history, and nothing quite strikes fear into your heart like punching the wrong box and getting a tiny grim reaper chasing you for the rest of the level.

The game is actually built into my Master System, so was always a good option if your other cartridges were too dusty to work. Sometimes no amount of blowing them out was enough.

3. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Why, you may ask, have I picked Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and not 1? I have much fonder memories of Sonic 2, as it was the game that game with my Mega Drive when I was given it one Christmas. Plus, I was a big Tails fan as a child, and as you could sort of play him in this game, I loved it.

It also had the best bonus levels of any Sonic game, though I suggest playing them as just Sonic, as guaranteed Tails was never quick enough to miss the bombs!

4. Crash Bandicoot

This is one of the first games I remember playing on my PlayStation 1 and I loved it. I’m a sucker for cartoonish platform games, so I loved all the Crash Bandicoot games.

While the later games came to have a whole host of characters, the first one was just a plain old bandicoot, trying to rescue his sexy girlfriend from an evil animal tester. As you do. Plus it had a level where you get to ride a wild pig. What more could you ask for?

5. Bishi Bashi Special

I’m not going to lie. Bishi Bashi Special is one of the most insane games I have ever played, but I will still set up my PlayStation 1 just to have a shot of it. It’s a great game to play at a party or with friends, as it’s made up of some of the maddest mini games I have ever seen.

If you fancy growing the biggest afro, or trying to throw a pie as far as you can into a crowd of wedding guests, this is definitely the game for you.

6. Tekken Tag Tournament

I love arcade style fighting games, and Tekken Tag Tournament is the best I own on my PlayStation 2. I spent an insane amount of time playing this was I was around 17, as completing the game with a different character every time meant you unlocked a new character.

I also liked the Tekken games so much because they had so many girl characters to choose from.

7. Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead makes me so happy that I own an Xbox 360, and I considering it more training for the zombie apocalypse instead of just a game.

The game follow four survivors of a zombie attack as they try to make their way to various safe houses. The great thing about Left 4 Dead is the zombies never appear in the same place twice, meaning you can play it a lot, and never get bored and know what to expect. And it still makes me jump when a tank comes running out of nowhere.

This is the newest game on my list, meaning you’ll still be able to buy it on the high street, probably unlike the others. Keep an eye out for any Comet deals on the internet, and you might be able to get it for a bargain!

8. Mortal Kombat

Now parents seem quite worried about their kids playing games like Call of Duty, but when I was like around 6 years old, no one seemed to mind that I was playing Mortal Kombat. I had the first Mortal Kombat on the Mega Drive, and while there were only 7 characters, I remember playing it a ridiculous amount with my Dad.

Even though I think I am yet to be able to hit the correct buttons fast enough to actually manage to pull off a fatality, it’s still one of my favourite games ever.

9. Guitar Hero 3

Again I’ve skipped a couple of games in the series, but Guitar Hero 3 is still the best Guitar Hero game for me. Because it came out on the X Box and the PC, as well as the PlayStation 2, a lot of my friends had it, so I seemed to spend a lot of time playing this one over the first two.

The guitar that came out with this game looked less like a kid’s toys guitar; it was a lot easier to do things like hammer ons and it lead people to spend hours listening to Dragonforce’s Through the Fire and Flames. It was awesome.

10. Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider was another game I have on the PlayStation 1, but it scared the hell out of me as a kid. I don’t cope well with wolves running at you/scary music combo, which lead to me getting eaten quite a lot of the time.

While the games got slightly more sophisticated over time, the first one will always be the best one for me, even though I don’t think it’s one of the games where you can lock her butler in the freezer.

What are your favourite video games of all time? Let us know in the comments below!