I’ve been a fan of Ghost Recon since GRAW. So when the announcement of Future Soldier came out I was curious as to what it was going to be like. 3 years down the line and it finally turned up. What took so long? Apparently they went back over and started again due to games like Gears of War and Call of Duty which you can see the impact these games had on Ghost Recon. Much like Ubisoft did with Splinter Cell: Conviction they kept the same gameplay style but sped up the way you play it. Which is one of the things I love about Ghost Recon Future Soldier.

The campaign while a little slow at times was very enjoyable. I liked the way you could stay crouched and sneak up on people while active camo is on and the very last mission was amazing. The co-op does lead for more of an interesting experience due to the obvious fact that everyone is a human player instead of AI. This can lead to an exciting campaign if done with people who play in character, then again those out of character just make the game a good giggle.


When the game first came out one thing I would say about the multiplayer is while it can be enjoyable I have found that most of the time people played it more like a Team Deathmatch type going for their Kill/Death ratio rather than an Objective type of gameplay. The other thing I really despise which puts me off the multiplayer (unless jumping in on a friends lobby) is that people will literally "spawn camp" in the spawning area exits pinning your team in. This has still to be remedied. It is the main reason I've given the game the rating it got.

Having now played the game on both systems I cannot really see much of a difference in the two versions ( Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 ) that being said I would say the 360 version has a slight (and I mean slight) advantage over the PS3 version and that is only because of the controller. One interesting part of the Xbox 360 version of Ghost Recon Future Soldier you can use the Kinect system in the Gun Smith. This on paper and in demo does look really cool but when you come to actually use it, much like the Kinect in general, it is just a gimmick that would probably be used once or twice.

Final Thoughts:

Rating: 4/5

Having being an avid Xbox Gamer since Xbox 1 ... I mean Xbox "Original" since Microsoft decided to name their THIRD console One. Anyhow stupid names aside, even XBone (the one microsoft doesn't like) tonight was GAME Lock-in for Xbox One and my Hands-On experience of it.

Obviously there was queues to get on one of the 8 machines but before that the representatives gave us a little welcome speech. Which included

"Please do not touch the Kinect has it is just there so that you can see what it looks like because it doesn't work."

So what did I get on first? Well that would be Dead Rising 3. Well you got 5 minutes on the game.

First thing I noticed with regards to the controller when I picked it up was that it was definitely smaller. Unfortunately I think they have made the controller that bit too small. Also I thought that compared to the Xbox 360 controller it felt like if I dropped it on the floor it would break. Flimsy is quite possibly the word I would use when comparing it the Xbox 360 controller. Talking to other people that played Forza 5 ( which when watching on screen the frame rate would drop or look like the game was about to crash ) they state that when you go over on the track with the right wheels for example only the rumble feature on the right side would rumble. The second thing I noticed about the controller is the sticks, they are still analog and not digital. Even though the buttons seem to be digital.

Anyhow moving on to the game, 5 mins on Dead Rising 3.

Dead Rising 3

First thoughts of this was that it is more of the same that you got from Dead Rising 1 and 2. All you did really was hack and slash at zombies but the amount like you would get on The Walking Dead. Without any direction on the game though of what your supposed to do etc I was quickly getting bored within 5 minutes. I guess there is only so much you can do without any story or direction in a zombie game. What I will say was that the amount of zombies on screen is amazing the fact the controls on the game feel much better than what I remember them.

Then it was back to the back of the queue to wait for my next go on a game. While in the queue the guys from Xbox were wandering back and forth. Every time I tried to speak to them they walked past me has I was wanting to ask some questions but they wouldn't entertain me.

Killer Instinct

One of the games that I was amazed with and over the moon they were bringing back out. For one I had this on the SNES and remember many nights me and my friends would gather round the console doing the whole winner stays on thing. Xbox One Killer Instinct. Well the only thing that is different is that the graphics has the game plays exactly the same as the SNES version. If you want to know what that is like pull out a SNES get a few friends round and play it old school. Game 2 verdict = Still not impressed with xbox one.

After being at the back in the queue for 10 mins I was back on the final game I wanted to have a "bash" on.

Ryse: Son of Rome

Microsoft's new IP Ryse the last game I wanted to play test at the Lock-in. I was told by Xbox guy to not to touch the console controller till he was there. When he came over he stated what each of the buttons did, then it was onto the game. Apparently according to the Xbox guys everyone loves Ryse. Me I thought it was a mediocre game that was nothing to boast about being a must have IP. What it did feel like was something like what people would call an old school side scrolling beat'em'up but extremely repetitive.

Final Thoughts

Going into the Lock-in with an open mind with regards to the Xbox One and being an Xbox fan (having owned Xbox 360 all this generation) I was hoping that the negativity surrounding XBox One would be washed away with the Lock-in..... Sadly this was not the case. The controller has been shrank too much which I don't get when all they had to do was have the 360 controller with the improved things like the way the have done with the digital buttons ( which are great by the way and more responsive ) and the rumble feature works.  I found that the loading screens seem to be longer than the ones on the PlayStation 3. My thoughts are that it must be down to that DDR3 Ram that is in the machine. Getting a look at the Dashboard first hand I could clearly see how much advertising is going to be in it. The 360 dash is littered with Advertisements and locks or freezes quite often because of this. Yet another negative to Xbox One. Watching Forza 5 frame rate drop dramatically to the point where it looked like the system was about to freeze up is also another negative point especially since it is supposed to be a First party title.

So I leave you with these thoughts IF Microsoft can make such a good GAMES machine with the Xbox 360 then go into the Next-Gen completely blinded by arrogance. It didn't work with Sony and PlayStation 3 so what makes them think it will for them. XBone IS an entertainment machine first and GAMING seems to of been made second.  Their slogan or selling point:

Being a big Batman fan and the first 2 Arkham games played through several times already on Xbox 360 and now going through on PS3, I have to say I got my pre-order in for Batman: Arkham Origins in asap although it is coming from Santa so have to wait for that to turn up.

I was lucky to get into a GAME Lock-in when they had one recently for Batman Arkham Origins. After a little chat with a few people there a console was free.

On I jumped. First off the first thing I noticed was how much the game continued to feel the same as the previous games from Rocksteady. Warner Bros. Games Montréal have done an amazing job with this. So on with the thoughts. Picking up the game and playing a very small section of the Demo (turns out it was what was out at E3 this year) I got into several fights with general thugs, a bit of detective work and from what I could tell tiniest bit of story (which I made sure not to pay attention too has didn't want to spoil it).

First of the fighting mechanics in this while still being the same seem more fluid. Also found the actual combo system much better and easier. While adding in the gadgets into the fighting to build up the combos and mixing them up they have also made batman a lot faster than in previous games.

The detective work in Arkham Asylum which was carried on in Arkham City is carried on even further in Batman Arkham Origins by piecing several parts of the incident backwards. In the Demo I played you had to locate the pilot of a downed helicopter then trace it backwards up in the air via the roof, to find out what caused the crash.

In all I really enjoyed the experience that I had with Batman Arkham Origins. I know it is set in the past  before the previous games, which had Joker voiced by Mark Hamill and Batman by Kevin Conroy, but you can barely tell. Yes I agree Conroy is and has been the Best voice of Batman for well over a decade now and the same can be said for Mark Hamill as the Joker.  Roger Craig Smith in my opinion has captured Kevin Conroy's Batman voice very well while making it his own. As for Troy Baker my jaw actually hit the floor at his version of the Joker. I picks all over Mark Hamill's intensity and quirks on the Joker then added some to it. Batman Arkham Origins is one of the earlier times that Batman meets many of the villains including the Joker. The monologue that Troy Baker did at the New York Comic Con 2013 was outstanding (video can be seen here).

After playing the PlayStation 3 Demo as you've just read I thought I'd give a quick go on the PS Vita since I have one.

I was amazed by how much the controls felt in the handheld version that and the fact it has the feeling of an old school beat'em up. The fighting is pretty much the same as the console version. I don't know what the sound was like has this was turned down but graphically it looked liked it used the same models from the console.

Final Thoughts:

In all I have to say that Batman Arkham Origins both on Playstation 3 and PlayStation Vita are amazing. The developers continue to make an amazing game but also the slight improvements/deviations from the previous versions just make the gamem to be well ... Awesome. I've now got the PS Vita version pre-ordered too :D I'll be a happy Bat-fan this year!

Not that I watch much in the way of TV these days because I spend more time gaming than anything else. Ones that I do watch is normally something I've read about or seen trailers of. It's around about this time of year that everything I enjoy to watch seems to start around the same time. Some of the shows have been around a few years now and others have recently started.

The Walking Dead

With season 4 now starting on TV the show that kicked off the zombie crazy all over again is back. Still kind of sticking to the story of the comics but also taking deviations from it so that fans of the comics don't know what is coming. If you haven't seen it before I'd suggest picking up season 1 box set which can be found around £5-10 these days and get yourself hooked on it. 

Sleepy Hollow

Just starting is Sleepy Hollow. This is more like a Sherlock Holmes crossed with X Files type of show mixed with the supernatural. Basic premis on the show. A man from the American Civil war years awakes in the future (our Present) to take on the headless horseman alongside a female lieutenant. I'm very much enjoying this and since it is in the early part of the show then my suggestion would be to pick it up now while it is fresh.

Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Yet another new show for this year. Taken after the events of the Avengers movie, Agent Coulson is back and putting a team together to help deal with superheroes/villains as well as tracking down objects of significance. At the moment the only reason to watch this is Agent Coulson (has he's such a cool character) but I will say I have enjoyed the show so far and I just feel like they haven't found the footing for all the characters yet.

Arrow

DC may have Batman and Superman on the big screen but on the small screen Green Arrow rules the roost so to speak. With a very successful first season last year, the second season picks up several months after the first. Obviously I'm not going to mention what happens in the first series only that you should go watch it. You wouldn't think your watching a Superhero type of movie.

Once upon a Time

A comparison of the consoles online modules that being Xbox Live, PlayStation Network (PSN) and PlayStation Plus. This is not a "Fanboy" post but my thoughts on the differences and which I feel is value for money. I understand that other peoples thoughts and feelings on the topic is likely to be different to mine.

Since Xbox 360 has been out longer and the Xbox Live being even longer than that I'll start with:

• Silver - Which contained Gamerscore tracking and sending text messages free to friends. You can now actually Private Chat with friends on a one-on-one basis.
• Gold - Everything you can do in silver plus it let you play online as well as party chat. Even if your friends were in different games.  Also download demos and trailers free and eventually it let you have access to netflix and lovefilm (you had to pay extra subscription for this). What gold also got you from time to time was a Free Game. Usually the type no one would usually play.

Launched alongside PS3 firmware 3.40 and PSP firmware 6.30 on June 29, 2010, the paid-for subscription service provides users with enhanced services on the PlayStation Network, on top of the current PSN service which is still available with all of its features. These enhancements include the ability to have demos, game and system software updates download automatically to the PlayStation 3. Subscribers also get early or exclusive access to some betas, game demos, premium downloadable content and other PlayStation Store items. Sony expanded the features list for its PlayStation Plus service with the addition of online game save storage. As part of the PlayStation Plus subscription, subscribers are given 150 MB of space in "the cloud" for up to 1,000 save files. Sony later expanded the online game storage to 1 GB.

Members of PlayStation Plus receive 12 games instantly as part of their membership in what is called Instant Game Collection, with a new game rotating in and out of the collection. Members would be able to keep the games in their collection as long as they are a member of PlayStation Plus. If their membership lapses, the games will become locked and unplayable. However, once the membership is renewed, the games will become unlocked again. The longer a user is a member, the larger their game collection will become.

Final Thoughts:

The inclusion of the Instant Game Collection is certainly a boost to PlayStation Network's Premium service for the same price it would cost for Xbox Live Gold. The inclusion of this is fantastic especially if you don't have the money to buy games every month. PS+ allows for you to have at least one free game a month.  In regards to the differences between the two, you would have to look at what is value for money. Paying to play online (this generation) against not paying for something that is as stable as each other, to getting free games each month, even though Microsoft have Games with Gold which in my opinion is very very poor version at what PlayStation Plus is. Especially since the same month PS+ had Assassin's Creed III on the Instant Game Collection and Microsoft put Assassin's Creed II up. Both pretty good games but to me it looks like Microsoft are not putting the effort in to keep up with Sony.

At the time of writing my preference of the two is PS+ has I feel it is more value for money than what Microsoft are offering. The only thing that I miss on PSN to XBL is the Chat system. If PSN had that on PS3 (like PS4 is to have) then would say I cannot fault it.

On the initial look at Playstation 4 nothing really grabbed me as amazing if I am honest, but it was more due to the fact I didn’t really know the Playstation exclusives bar from Uncharted, Killzone and Little Big Planet.


To begin with I wasn’t impressed with what Microsoft were offering with the Xbox One and the policies they had in place at the time. Also none of the games the showed interested me that much.  Watching Sony pull out developer after developer showing game after game. The other thing that I took notice of was that Sony had learnt from their mistakes with the PS3 and was making the Playstation 4 all about Gaming and for gamers.

What nailed the Playstation 4 in my opinion and swayed many gamers ba
ck to the Sony brand was the issue around the pre-owned games. Even though Sony developed the pre-owned game blocking system they opted not to use it. The other thing that impressed me was the fact that PS Vita was able to be used in much the same way as as the Nintendo Gamepad for the WiiU.

Since the above happened Sony have showed more and more games. Yes a lot are from indie developers but that is where most of the creativity is. Playstation Plus is just getting better with time and worth more. One of the biggest plus’ with with Playstation 4 is that they will include party chat and cross game chat.

[Please note I have not played neither xbox one or playstation 4. My thoughts are based on information provided.]

What is there to say about Grand Theft Auto series? It is one of the biggest franchises in the gaming world and has put the sandbox genre and Rockstar on the map.

With the disappointment that was GTAIV I had big reservations on the sequel. Seeing the multiplayer trailer showing what could be done changed my mind. The pre-order went and as did standing in line at the local GAME store at midnight for the GTAV Launch. Got the game. Got home. Game installed. Went to bed. Up at 8am next day and played constantly over 12hours.

First of I want to just say graphical and sound wise this game pushes everything the current gen consoles can do to their fullest. How Rockstar were able to fit in the shear scale of the map with it being the size of GTA4, GTA: San Andreas and Red Dead Redemption combined as well as the amount of attention to detail and amount of NPC on screen at the same time is no doubt amazing.

With regards to the story, that in itself is amazing. The differences between are huge and being able to switch between each of them any time you see fit makes you feel more involved with the game. Plus it has 3 endings so that can't be that bad can it? But the story arc from beginning to end feels more like a huge hollywood blockbuster rather than a video game.

I found myself hugely addicted to playing the game and after the first 12hours still did not want to put the game down.  My thoughts are that this game is likely to be game of the year for 2013 and a must play for anyone over the age of 18.  Has I wouldn't let anyone under that age play it even if they were 17 1/2 years old due to the nature of certain very graphical scenes in it.



When it works GTA Online is fantastic and it cannot be faulted. But at launch it suffered. Massively. People unable to connect or connecting and not able to do the first tutorial mission. Characters/money/cars disappearing as well as high hospital bills that are in the free roam and the Teamdeath match (TDM). Partly due to the cloud servers not being able to cope and or glitches with the programming. What I will say is though that Rockstar have been fast on reacting to the problems and issues considering what happened. Although they could of prevented this by stress testing the servers properly given that GTAV made $800 million overnight which should of been a good idea how many would be online.

Final thoughts:

GTAV is fun there is no doubt about it. The online part is amitions a project as ever and once it is patched and working 100% perfectly will be another feather in Rockstar's cap. With arcade feeling mechanics the game is easily picked up and played. It is a Big contender for the Game of the Year trophy.  In my opinion this is one of those games that are a must buy.

So we now know both consoles are out at the end of this year (November to be exact at least), what they look like and the pricing as well as some of the games we can look forward to seeing, but what are the thoughts of Ziggy Mandias regarding these?? Well I shall enlighten you all… If you care to read on.

First we were introduced to the Playstation 4 then 2 weeks before E3 2013 we were shown the Xbox One. E3 comes round and it appeared that one company showed gamers what they wanted the other kind of fumbled still. Read on for the Xbox One thoughts.

For me I’ve never been a Fanboy of any system. Normally by the end of a generation I have both consoles anyway has there is normally games on both that I would like.

At the time Xbox One was revealed I was the owner of only an Xbox 360.  So going into the Xbox One reveal I’m very Pro Xbox (and the fact that I hadn’t even seen the PS4 reveal only read about it) and from what I saw, Microsoft produced the xbox that looks like an old VCR. I mean I’m all for retro things but come on Microsoft it looks like a DVD-VCR for christ sake. The next big fail for me was all this sport and watching TV on my Console which is already plugged into my TV… To me that was just like WTF am I hearing and watching here!!! But then I was kind of impressed at the whole deal with what they did with Kinect (2.0) and the main dashboard. What I mean by this is what they showed did look pretty cool but then they shot themselves in the foot again! Why you ask well at the time of the reveal they pretty much killed the Pre-Owned market by making it non-feasible to buy pre-owned games. No wonder EA made themselves look like they were changing their minds on the Online Pass.

Moving onto E3…  The Xbox One press conference was watched with nothing but silence. I couldn’t believe that Microsoft would not of listen to the backlash of what came from angry gamers after the the XBOne reveal. They continued with pushing forward with the initial plan they already had. Which in my opinion screwed gamers over more than provided for them. As for the Xbox One Games reveal, nothing really took hold of me as “Must Buy” that type of game. I don’t care about some Halo TV project but I did like the Reveal of Halo FIVE even though they want to refer to it as Halo. To me Microsoft have dropped the ball big time with XBOX One. They are repeating most of the mistakes Sony made at the start of the current generation of console gaming in my opinion.

Since then Microsoft have done U-Turn after U-Turn making me think that XBOX One is the wrong name for it… Maybe taking a page from Nintendo call it the Microsoft Xbox U or Xbox U-Turn.

[ Please note I have not played either these are my thoughts regarding the systems from what we have been shown by Microsoft ]

I am Ziggy Mandias and I’m a Video Gamer!

Who am I?

I am an online Identity of some guy from the United Kingdom who does not favour one console over another, that trys to stay impartial to the whole debate of what console is best .

Why you ask?

The answer is simple. I am in it for the GAMES which I believe are what makes a console/tablet/handheld/PC and not the hardware. I know the hardware helps to run the games better in the background but if you look back through the years, you will see great gameplay on lower spec machines. One of the greatest games made (in my opinion) is the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This still feels as good today as it did back when it was first released.

How long have you been gaming?

I’ve been round gaming for as long as I remember starting with the Atari 2600 I think it was …. all I remember playing was some combat tank game and the console had wood round it. Since then I’ve had a spectrum then moved through both SEGA and Nintendo’s consoles…. Sony and Microsoft too haha.. These days I just settle on the Xbox 360 which I’ve had until pretty recently (more like since Sony destroyed Microsoft at E3) and now own a PS3.