COUNTDOWN: My Top 3 games of 2015!

Good evening guys, how are you all doing today?

As you've probably already guessed, this isn't going to be my usual news update. I've been doing those for a long while now without switching it up. I think the last time I posted something different was around June/July time, after E3.

Therefore, today, I will be giving you guys my Top 3 games of 2015! We're nearing the end of November now, so all the major games have been released. So, I'm going to go over the games I've played this year and give you guys my Top 3 games of the year!

Enjoy :)

3. Rainbow Six Siege (BETA)

Yes, I know this isn't technically out yet (release date December 1st) however, the beta was fantastic! It was a refreshing experience from the usual shooter/FPS games that come out nowadays. Most FPS games are very linear, 'go over hear, pick this up, shoot this guy.' Good job!, however it doesn't actually take much effort or thought to play these.

Rainbow Six Siege however does take some thought, and quite a bit of it too. Well, of course, you can run in, guns blazing and attempt, and probably fail, to kill the enemy. The 'proper' way to play Siege is too think about how you're going to play the situation out.

For example, as a Defender in Siege, you have to defend either a certain area of the building you're in

This is Rook. He's a big guy.
Don't mess with him.

or two sites. You can do this in a number of different ways, and these ways depend on what Operator you choose. For example, there's Castle, who can barricade walls with kevlar barricades, making them very difficult to destory. Another example being Rook (my personal favourite). He's a big, heavy dude running around in Kevlar armour with an LMG, shredding enemies as he goes. His special ability is that he can drop his special kevlar armour for his buddies, so the whole team can be just as big and strong as you!

So, obviously, if one of your team-mates picked Rook and another picked Castle, the Castle dude can barricade all the walls and lock everyone in, and the Rook dude can give everyone armour and buckle down with his LMG. If anyone even attempts to break in and secure the site, they're going to get shredded. 

As an Attacker, you have to do the opposite of the Defender, who knew?! 

You start the round controlling a little remote controlled drone. From there you can drive around the map and find both the enemies and the bomb site. After about 20 seconds, you will gain control of your character and you can go hunt the Defender scum. 

Again, much like with the Defenders, it takes time to think about what you want to do. Again, you can run in and try and kill everyone with no tactics or skill whatsoever. Buuuut, if you want to play the game how it's meant to be played, tactics are required. 

SSSQQQUUUUAAADDDDDD

Again, there are Operators. One example is Sledge. Sledge is a total badass. His special ability is that he has a sledgehammer. He can destroy pretty much anything with his sledgehammer. Cool right? Another example being Twitch. Twitch has a little drone, much like the camera drone that Attackers start with, however, the Twitch drone can deliver little shocks that can, well, shock enemies, as well as disable traps. Tactics can be put into play here. 

The Twitch dude can send his drone in, confuse the enemies, give them a little shock. Then, the Sledge guy can destroy the wall, and everyone else can shred the enemies. 

The pvp gamemode is great. Either protect/capture the objective or kill everyone on the other team. Very simple, yet things can get very complicated, and that's what I like. It has such a simple concept, yet you can get so tactical about how you're going to play each round. It requires thought. Which I like. As I said, Rainbow Six Siege can change the way FPS' are played and made, and in all honesty, I hope things do continue in this way. The future looks bright, and this is why Rainbow Six Siege makes it to Number 3 on my list!

2. Rocket League

Rocket League is one of those games that comes out of nowhere. Nobody had really heard of the game or even knew that it was in development. But when it was eventually released on the PS4, it took the gaming community by storm.

Rocket League is the spiritual successor to Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. A bit of a tounge twister, I know.
Unlike Rocket League, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars scored very mediocrely, only achieving scores of 67/100 on Metacritic and 6.5/10 by IGN. Not really worth talking about...

Broom Broom

Rocket League however is something different altogether though. Well, technically, it's actually very similar. You know, with the whole car football shenanigans and the likes.
What I mean is that the game has been upped. I guess this could be down to the fact that Rocket League has been created on a nice, next-gen engine, meaning not only does it look a lot better than it's predecessor, it plays a lot better too.

I was very surprised upon booting up Rocket League at how well it played. I was expecting a lot of lag, screen tearing, etc, etc. It was a new game at the time, so obviously, you would expect some small issues early on. However, it was super smooth! The only lag I experienced was due to other players with a poor internet connection.
The gameplay is also fantastic. Again, it runs smooth and the only kind of lag I experienced was due to other players with poor internet connection.
The premise of the game is simple. The team who scores the most goals in 5 minutes wins. It's football in rocket powered cars. Unlike actual football, you can blow your opponents up, do flips, boost and fly in the air, and most importantly, wear hats...

This car has a shark fin!!

Yes, you can wear hats. The level of customisation available in Rocket League is outstanding.You can also attach a range of different antenna's, as well as change the body, paint and wheels of your vehicle. No two vehicles look identical.
You'll be in a game with your basic van type vehicle, and see a guy on the other team with a vehicle even worse, which makes you feel slightly better about your creation.You'll then see another guy with a snazzy sports car with a sleak black paintjob. At that moment you realise, that's what you want. It gives you something to works towards. The unlocks in the game are completely random, meaning you'll never know what you'll get after completing a game.

And that is why I love the game. It gives it replay-ability, if that's a word? You want to keep on playing. Grinding and grinding, until eventually you unlock that flag or hat you've always wanted. Then you set yourself a new goal. You just want to keep on playing. The fact that it keeps on bringing me back, again and again, is why it earns the number two spot in my list!

1. Fallout 4

I'm pretty sure you guys already knew what my number one would be before you even looked at this post.

Yes, of course it's Fallout 4! What else would it be?!

Fallout 3 came out 7 years ago, and it's been a long wait for another great game from Bethesda (Fallout New Vegas was developed by another company and I'm not overly fond of Skyrim). Fortunately, for both you guys and I, Fallout 4 has not disappointed!

Both Fallout 3 and New Vegas were relatively bleak. Fallout 3 had that green tint, New Vegas had that brown tint, as well as the occasional light show when you entered The Strip. Fallout 4 has completely changed how we see the Fallout series. No longer is it bleak, dark and depressing, the scenery and locale actually has colour! Whether it be in the market of Diamond City or the streets of Boston, you see colour! At first, I wasn't too sure if I liked the colour. I felt that it took away from the desperate atmosphere that the Fallout series is meant to have. 

Instead of taking away from the atmosphere, Fallout 4 has completely changed the way I see the nuclear apocalypse though! The two previous Fallout installments were undeniably bleak. Fallout 4 has somehow made the nuclear apocalypse seem rather appealing...

Trust me, it's not as easy as
it looks!

For example, the new building mechanic added into Fallout 4 has given the game a new spin. Now, not only can you explore and set up shop in the ruins of builidngs, you can create your own settlements and give the people of the Boston wasteland a home. Take Sanctuary for example. The first town you venture into after you escape the vault. It looks, well rather beaten and bruised. Collect a bundle of scrap and other wasteland rubbish, and you can turn the ruins into a bustling town again, with settlers, traders, markets. Whatever you like. You can finally leave your mark on the world, in a more creative and constructive way!

Pre-launch people were worried about the map size of Fallout 4. There were reports that you could walk from one side of the map to the other in around 10 minutes. All I can say is, why would you want to do that?!

The wasteland, much like all other Bethesda games, is massive and filled with a wide array of different locations, loot and surprises. You may start a new 5 or 6 saves, yet it's likely that you won't see everything that Fallout has to offer. That's because the world is so expansive. Not only is it likely that you will create a wide array of saves and characters, it's also likely that you won't ever play exactly the same way twice!

From when you leave the vault for the first time, you have a wide array of different choices. If you want to go to Sanctaury and start the early quests, you can do. If you want to skip straight to Red Rocket and grab Dogmeat, you can do. If you'd rather run around naked and use only your fists as weapons, you can do (although it is not recommended)! 

Awwwwwwww, look at the Doggie!!!

Unlike most games, the Fallout series, and most notably, Fallout 4 gives you so much choice. Most games nowadays are very direct and linear. You are given a set task, and you must complete it to progress on to the next stage of the level or game. This isn't the case with Fallout. If you want to follow the quests one by one, learning the stories of Boston as you go, then you can, If you'd rather play it your own way, skipping all the quests and bumbling your way through the game, you can do too. Fallout is such a wide open and expansive game, that allows the players to experience the game how they want too, not how others would prefer. 

And this is why Fallout 4 is my number one game of 2015! There have been some great releases this year, however, I don't think there really is any game that can push Fallout 4 off of the top the podium!

So, you've heard my top 3 games of 2015, what are yours? Do you agree with my list, or are there games you'd prefer to see on my list? Let me know in the comments down below!

Thanks for reading! I know this ins't my usual news update, but I thought you guys would prefer to see something a little different!

Again, thanks for reading, and I hope to see you guys next week!

Connor :)

NEWS | Week beginning November 16th | No Steam Flash Sales, Nuketown Advertising Issues & PS2 Emulation

Hello all, welcome back to my blog! This week, we have another video games news round-up! Let's get right into it I guess?!

 No Steam Flash Sales

First up, Valve announced this week that there will be no flash sales during the Autumn or Winter Sale periods on Steam. 

The Steam Autumn Sale will run from Wednesday 25th November at 6pm UK till Tuesday 1st December at 6pm, again UK time.

These dates come from ShackNews, who also believe that games on sale will only get one sale price during the sale period, and these prices will not vary.

All praise Lord Gaben?

Valve has since confirmed this after sending out notices to Steam developers and publishers,
confirming speculation.

"We'll still be highlighting your top games on the front page for 24-48 hour spans, but those products will stay at their most competitive discount, before and after being featured," Valve wrote.

"It's not a major change, but it does make the sale a lot more valuable for customers, and it allows us to build sale features that recommend your product all sale long, instead of just during its front page feature.

"For a brand new release, if you can't get approval for your best discount for the full length of the sale, that's OK and we can work on a plan for that game. But the vast majority of your catalog should be running its best discount for the duration of the sale."

So it looks like we can expect two upcoming Steam sales then, which is always good. The lack of flash deals and such is kind of a disappointment though. I like logging onto Steam during the sale and seeing a game I already own for much cheaper than I originally bought it for. Makes me feel real good...

No, but really, I like Steam Sales, they're great. My bank balance on the other hand may not agree with me though!

Nuketown Advertising Issues

Next up, Activision has admitted that mistakes were made in the handling of the Nuketown pre-order bonus for Black Ops 3.

Ahead of Black Ops' release a few weeks ago, Activision promised players that pre-ordered Black Ops 3 from GAME and Amazon would get Nuketown as a pre-order bonus. However, upon Black Ops' release, only players who pre-ordered the game from GAME were the ones who received Nuketown, even though Amazon were listed as a retailer who would be providing Nuketown to players.

Many players checked the Call of Duty website to ensure that Amazon were in fact a participating retailer in the Nuketown offer, originally, Amazon was listed as a participating retailer, however, shortly after the games release, the wording was changed on the site, removing Amazon as a participating retailer.

Did you miss out?

After all this, the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) has had to issue a response on the matter after they were contacted by a number of Black Ops 3 owners who were unaware that the offer had been changed and they had not received Nuketown.

"They [Activision] admitted that they did not intend for Amazon to appear as a choice of retailer on the website [that advertised the offer] and recognised that this could have caused some confusion among consumers for which they apologise."

"Having been made aware of the issues, Activision confirmed that they amended the UK ad on their website to remove references to the Nuketown offer and that they reviewed all online/social media messaging. They also said they'd been in contact with Amazon and asked that they redirect any consumer complaints to them."

"They assured us that they have reinforced their internal processes with a view to ensure the clarity of future offers of this nature."

Users affected by this have said that they have had success obtaining the map if they missed out by contacting Activision directly and making them aware of the problem. So, if you missed out on Nuketown due to the Activision blunder, go talk to them! They should give you the map you deserve!

PS2 Emulation

Finally, Sony announced earlier this week that they are working on an 'emulation technology' that can bring games from the classic Playstation 2 to the PS4.

Sony emailed WIRED early in the week and said that “We are working on utilizing PS2 emulation technology to bring PS2 games forward to the current generation."

 

Currently, there are a few classic PS2 games already out on the PS4 using this emulation software. The original Star Wars Battlefront and a selection of Star Wars mini-games is being included in a bundle with a PS4 console.

Emulation is the process in which a specific computing environment is replicated, allowing older software to function on newer hardware. 

So simply, this emulation software creates an environment similar to the Playstation 2 so the game can function properly. The PS4 then handles upscaling the graphics and resolution, so the game looks and runs better than it would have on it's original console. Simple stuff right?

The Playstation 2 was unarguably the best console of it's generation, bringing us classics such as

Did you own a PS2?

God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Gran Turismo, etc, etc. I think Sony trying to bring these games back from the dead is move to counter the Xbox One's recent backwards compatability update, allowing owners to download select Xbox 360 titles onto the Xbox One's. 

If Sony manage to successfully emulate all those PS2 classics, it would not only increase the library of games available on PS4, it could also give them a slight edge over Microsoft. I mean, being able to play the classics all over again at a higher resolution is cool! Right? 

Just don't get your hopes up yet. We have only heard what Sony has told us, and nothing more. We haven't had any details, like when it'll be available to the public, the pricing of the service, etc, etc. For all w know, it may not even come out at all. Don't hold your breathes!

Annnnnd that's it for this week! What video gaming news stood out for you this week? Are you disappointed that there will be no flash sales during the Autumn and Winter Steam sales? Did you miss out on Nuketown? Are you looking forward to seeing this emulation technology? 

Let me know in the comments down below!

As always, thanks for reading!

Connor :)

NEWS | Week beginning November 9th | Extra Life, Fallout 4 Launches & XBOX Backwards Compatability

Goooooooood Evening everyone! How are you? Well that's great! Enough small talk, let's get into the news!

Extra Life

We begin with some good news! My faith in humnaity has been slightly restored after video gaming event 'Extra Life' finished up for another year earlier in the week.

For whose of you who are unfamiliar with Extra Life and what they do, Extra Life is an organisation that "unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals."

Gamers all around the world can either join a team or become a single fundraiser and help raise funds for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. All you have to do is play games for 24 hours! Sounds like a win/win to me! 

Much like previous years, this years call to arms was very successful, with a total of $6,775,102 raised for childrens hospitals all across the US and Canada. Top teams include Rooster Teeth and Mindcrack  and the top individuals include Rooster Teeth's Jack Pattillo and Noah Cohen. Good job guys!

If you're a gamer, much like me, in the UK, who's wondering why nothing like this is happening for

Did you watch any of the
Extra Life streams?

charities in the UK, well, now there is! Kind of.

Macmillan Cancer Support has announced that they will be working with Twitch to broadcast a 24 hour gaming marathon, where viewers can either watch the main stream, featuring 17 streamers including Spamfish, LeahLovesChief, and LTZonda. 

Macmillan fundraising boss Ben Welch said: 

"The idea for Game Changers for Macmillan came about when one fundraiser last year, raised over £40,000 for Macmillan in under a week doing a similar thing."

"Whether with friends or going solo, people can set up their own Twitch channel and ask viewers, followers, friends and family for their support. We want our gaming marathon to be a fun and easy way for people to help raise vital funds to support Macmillan's aim of ensuring that no one faces cancer alone."

By the time you're reading this, the stream would have ended, however, I am sure the stream was a huge success and I'm sure if you go on Macmillan's Twitch you'll be able to watch the full stream there!

Fallout 4 Launches

Next up, Fallout 4 has finally launched! After months and months of waiting and wondering, we finally have it. I must say, it's brilliant!

The graphics look amazing, a real step up from Fallout 3 and Skyrim. The new Workshop system where you can tear buildings apart and create your own base of operations is also a great new addition. You enter a special mode where everyhting around you can either be moved, stored, or scrapped for parts, then you can create other resources from the leftover scraps. Admittedly, it can be difficult to move and place objects. Beds and such are easy, it's just the walls that are a problem! It's so difficult to get that perfect angle where everything lines up! There always seems to be a slight gap! That's probably just me though...

War. War never changes...

However, as with every game, it does have its problems. For example, the loading times from place to place seem to take ages. You could be waiting a good 10-20 seconds before the game finally loads up the next location. Also, I find the game to be very stuttery. Whether I am walking through the wastes, minding my own business, or battling Raiders with nothing more than a tire iron, I always seem to experience some sort of stuttering. It can be pretty distracting at times unfortunately...

You may also see the odd Fallout-esque glitches. NPC's clipping through walls, companions disappearing from reality, that kind of thing. But hey, it wouldn't be a Bethesda game if it didn't have these quirky faults!

Onto the stats. Although Bethesda has not officially announced the numbers, Bethesda shipped around 12 million copies of Fallout 4 to players all around the world, which equates to around $750 million (£490 million)in revenue.

Fallout 4 also broke some Steam records, most notably the highest amount of concurrent players record, with around 470,000 concurrent players last week. Also, around 1.2 million people owners on Steam on day one.

To compare, Skyrim shipped 7 million copies when it launched in 2011, as well as having 280,000 concurrent users on Steam.

It's safe to say that Fallout 4 is doing well then...

Happy hunting!

XBOX Backwards Compatibility

Finally, this week, Microsoft announced that the first 104 games that came out on the 360 will be playable on the Xbox One.

Any games you'd like to
see added to the list?

On November 12th, Microsoft released the new update, which not only included a fancy new dashboard, but also released the backwards compatibility feature, meaning you will now be ale to play the first 104 games that ever came out on the 360. 

Games like Mass Effect, Halo Reach, Bioshock Infinite all make the list, as well as classics such as Gears of War and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas. 

I do not own an Xbox One, but I think it's cool that so many great games and classics have made the list, the temptation to get an Xbox One now is definitely there! I will leave the full list of games available on backwards compatibility below!

A Kingdom for Keflings	Lode Runner™
A World of Keflings	LUMINES LIVE!
Alien Hominid HD	Mass Effect™
Assassin’s Creed II	Metal Slug 3
Asteroids & Deluxe	Metal Slug XX
Banjo Kazooie®: Nuts & Bolts	Might & Magic Clash of Heroes™
Banjo-Kazooie®	Mirror’s Edge™
Banjo-Tooie®	Missile Command
BattleBlock Theater	Monday Night Combat
Bejeweled 2	Monkey Island: Special Edition
Bellator: MMA Onslaught	Monkey Island 2: Special Edition
Beyond Good & Evil HD	Ms. Splosion Man™
Blood of the Werewolf	Mutant Blobs Attack!!!
BloodRayne: Betrayal	N+
Borderlands	NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
Call of Juarez® Gunslinger	NiGHTS into dreams…
Castle Crashers	Operation Flashpoint™: Dragon Rising
CastleStorm	Pac-Man: Championship Edition™
Centipede & Millipede	Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX+
Condemned: Criminal Origins	Perfect Dark
Crazy Taxi™	Perfect Dark Zero
Deadliest Warrior: Legends	Phantom Breaker:Battle Grounds
Defense Grid: The Awakening	Pinball FX™
DiRT 3	Plants vs. Zombies
DiRT Showdown	Prince of Persia
Discs of Tron	Putty Squad
Doom	Rayman 3 HD
Doom II	R-Type Dimensions™
Dungeon Siege III	Sacred Citadel
Earthworm Jim HD	Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
Fable II	Sega Vintage Collection: Golden Axe
Fallout 3	Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World
Feeding Frenzy	Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown	Shadow Complex
Gears of War	Sonic CD
Gears of War 2	Sonic The Hedgehog
Gears of War 3	Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Gears of War: Judgment	Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Golden Axe™	Super Meat Boy
Halo: Spartan Assault	Supreme Commander 2
Hardwood Backgammon®	Tom Clancy’s RainbowSix Vegas
Hardwood Hearts®	Tom Clancy’s RainbowSix Vegas 2
Hardwood Spades®	South Park: The Stick of Truth™
Heavy Weapon	Torchlight
Hexic HD	Toy Soldiers
Ikaruga	Toy Soldiers: Cold War
Jetpac Refuelled	Tron: Evolution
Joy Ride Turbo	Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon
Just Cause 2	Viva Piñata
Kameo™: Elements of Power	Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game	Wolfenstein 3D
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga	Zuma

So that's it for this week! How do you feel about this weeks video game news? Did you tune into any of the Extra Life streams? Did you get Fallout 4 on Tuesday? Are you looking forward to playing any of 360 classics on your Xbox One? Let me know in the comments down below!

As always, thanks for reading!

Connor :)

NEWS | Week beginning November 2nd | FALLOUT SPECIAL

Sooooo, if you've been following my blog you'll know that I am a HUGE Fallout fan. Even if you're new here, or if you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Fallout 4 is coming out Tuesday. Therefore, to celebrate, I will be covering all the major Fallout news of the week, and believe me, there has been some big Fallout related stories this week!

Yet another GAME blunder

First up, UK video game retailer GAME has yet again, had another blunder, however, unlike last time, LOADS of people are furious.

As you all well know, Fallout 4 is coming on Tuesday (omg), so, much like me, most gamers are hyped. Today, GAME may have ruined a lot of peoples plans for next Tuesday...

Early on Friday morning, GAME sent out emails to a huge number of people who had pre-ordered the Pip-Boy Edition of the game, telling them their order had been cancelled. Unfortunately for us in the UK, the Pip-Boy Edition of Fallout 4 is only available through GAME, meaning if you wanted it, GAME was your only option.

Customers received an email in the early hours of this morning stating that:

"We have tried to process your order and have hit a few issues," 

"Unfortunately your bank has come back to us and they have not allowed the payment to go through. For your security and privacy they do not share the reasons with us.

"We do know that they usually reject payments for some of the following reasons: Billing address does not match registered card address. Sufficient funds not available. Card expired/out of date.

"What this means is that we cannot collect payment or ship your order right now. Please contact Customer Service on 02088270099 and we will replace your order for you."

As you can probably imagine, A LOT of people were p*ssed. Here are some angry comments that the GAME twitter account received when the emails were sent out (comments collected by NeoGAF:

As you can see, everyone is mad.

GAME has recently come out and stated that the issue was caused by an error within the company's own ordering system. Hundreds of unhappy customers have been trying to contact GAME Support to see what is going on, with some people waiting over 90 minutes for a response. When people did eventually get a response, they were told that GAME would be contacting affected customers and will arrange a new order - with no delivery time given.

UPDATE: GAME has come out and said that anyone who has pre-ordered the Pip-Boy Edition of Fallout 4 will still get their order and no Pip-Boy Editions will be put up for general sale. All is good then!

Fallout gets a launch trailer

Next up in this Fallout Special, the game received a shiny new launch trailer late last week.

With the game being two days away, it was only right that we celebrate the soon to be release of the game with a nifty trailer. 

Now, as the trailer contains some potential spoilers for the game, (no one has the game yet so who knows) I'm not going to go through it and talk abut every little detail. I will however pick out my three favourite things from the trailer and talk about them a little! (I will add a link to each of the clips in the header of each paragraph).

1. The airship - Now as a Fallout fan I have watched every trailer that has come out for the game since it's reveal in the summer. We've seen the airship before, floating around in one of the early trailers,  I believe this is the first time we have seen it up-close. The clip only lasts for around a second, however, it's cool to see it up close and moving around. You can see some sort of crane moving around on the left side of the airship, as well as some people moving around on it. To what purpose the airship has or what the people are doing on the ship I don't know, however, it looks cool none-the-less and I'm sure it will feature in a big way during the story of the game!
2. Settlements in action - Settlements! One of the big additions to Fallout 4. Many speculate that
   
   the idea to add settlements came from the Skyrim DLC Hearthfire, and honestly, I think it is a good idea! In Hearthfire, you could build you're own house, but it looks like Bethesda are going to take it to another level in Fallout 4! Yes, Bethesda showed settlements off before in other trailers, however, it looks as if the settlement in the trailer is under some heavy fire by a Behemoth! You can also the female variant of the Sole Survivor, as well as some other guards. In my opinion, I think that settlements could be a very important part of the game, and the fact that this particular settlement is under attack suggests that you could be spending a lot of time at your settlements upgrading them and ensuring they can look after themselves while you're out exploring the wastes!
3. Androids - Yes. Androids. They are scary looking, and by the sounds of it, they will be playing
   
   a big part in the game. Hopefully they all don't look as scary as this guy, with the bright yellow eyes and such, cause' that guy is scary. In Fallout 3, you may remember a quest called 'The Replicated Man' where a character going by the name of Dr Zimmer asks you to hunt down an android aboard Rivet City, who has had his memory wiped. This Dr Zimmer goes on to talk about the Commonwealth and 'The Institute'. Both of these come up in the lauch trailer, suggesting that these androids will play a big part of the game, so look forward to androids. Great.

Yet more leaks

And finally, to wrap up this Fallout Special, we end on leaks. No not the vegetable, I'm talking about things being revealed that shouldn't be revealed by people who shouldn't have these things.

In a way, leaks are both great and not great. They're great because us eager fans who are desperate to play the game can see a glimpse of what to expect. Also, leaks get people hyped. If people aren't so excited for something, leaks can get people hyped and ready for the game. 

However, if you helped create the game, a leak will suck. You've worked so hard to create something then some random guy on the internet comes and spreads it all online. That sucks big time.

As a consumer and a fan of Fallout, these leaks were, in a way, exciting. Both gameplay footage and images were leaked, and you can view the images by clicking here and the footage by clicking here, just don't by surprised if they've been taken down. Also, both the images and the footage may contain spoliers, so be careful.

Anyway, as a fan, I obviously wanted to see some stuff from the game. I looked at the images, just to see what I could expect. You could see some scenery, some buildings, a car, etc, etc. In all honestly, there isn't much there. In a way, it's just a ltittle tease. The ganeplay however, if you want to go into Fallout blind, then stay well away. I can't say anything about the footage as Bethesda could well hunt we down and remove this very post, but as I said, if you don't care about spoilers or anything, click the links.

It's unfortunate that these leaks have happened. In a way, it can ruin the game for some as people will find ways to pick apart the game and crap on every little thing wrong with the gameplay. However, there is hype. We all love hype. Right?

Anyway, that's it for this Fallout Special! There's been the GAME blunder that they've now fixed, the great launch trailer and leaks. It's been an eventful week! From when this post goes up, we'll only have another day to wait before we have Fallout in our hands!

Are you excited and looking forward to it, or has it been over hyped? Let me know in the comments down below!

As always, thanks for reading!

Connor :)

NEWS | Week beginning October 26th | Games being blamed yet again , Ratchet & Clank PS4 & NUK3TOWN

Heeellllllllllllllooooooooooooo wonderful people, it's that time of the week again! Let's get right into it!

Games getting the blame again...

First up, we have a bit of a frustrating story. Earlier this week, UK broadband and telephone provider TalkTalk we hacked, meaning thousands of people had their account information and payment details stolen.

Now of course, as soon as the Media discovers a teenager is behind it, they automatically assume that the crime committed was due to video games.

The front page of Wednesday's
Daily Mail

According to The Daily Mail, the 15 year old who was arrested for for hacking TalkTalk was a "violent video game addict" who wanted to be a professional Call of Duty player. The paper also went to look at the kids blog, which was not included in the article, and used it accuse him of being "obessed with violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto".

Apparently, the kid "spent hours playing violent video games such as Call of Duty, Resident Evil and GTA since the age of 10."

Obviously, games like GTA, Resident Evil, CoD, etc are violent, there's no denying that. That's why those types of games are given a 16+ PEGI rating, as well as warnings due to their violent, sexual, etc content. Games like these should be kept away from people who may be considered to be more vulnerable/impressionable.

UKIE CEO Dr Jo Twist told Eurogamer recently:

"There is no link between addiction or antisocial behaviour and playing games as part of a balanced diet of entertainment. Games are played by millions of people safely and sensibly every day and the games industry takes its responsibility towards players, especially younger ones, seriously.

"Just like any other mature medium, games deal with adult themes, but the PEGI age ratings are robust and there to guide parents and children around what content is appropriate for different ages."

Finally, someone who understands! As you can probably tell, stories like this really infuriate me. I am a gaming enthusiast, I have both a blog and a YouTube channel, therefore, I am going to be on the side of gaming. Yes, violent video games can affect and leave an impression on younger and more vulnerable gamers. However, I feel it is totally unfair that video games always get the blame in these sitautions. There are other factors involved too you know! Bloody tabloid newspapers...

Ratchet & Clank PS4

Next up, PS2 classic Ratchet & Clank is having a slight remastering/reboot on the PS4, alongside the release of a Ratchet & Clank movie, and I must say, it looks fanastic!

Sony are currently at Playstation Paris Games Week, and one of the games they were showing off to attendees was the new Ratchet & Clank. Not much footage has been revealed, but the footage I've seen looks great! Reminds me of a simpler time.

The first new clip I saw was Clank traversing the vents in Drek Industries. You see the classic beige boxes that give you bolts when smashed, as well as the nanotech containers. A few seconds later however, you see the bots from Going Commando. The little bridge bots, and the one with the big hammer. Remember them? Just me? Okay then.

The footage ends with a boss battle, with Clank destroying some henchman bots and capturing the antagonist in a magnetic box.

The second clip I saw was back on Pokitaru, the sunny seaside settlement. Again, very reminiscent of the original Ratchet & Clank's, the upset holiday music, bright vibrant settings, and of course, the Omniwrench. We see another mini boss battle early on, facing some giant squid-octopus creature. It then transitions into Ratchet defeating enemies with the new Pixelizer, and it ends with some dogfighting in the skies of Pokitaru. It all looked wonderful. 

I'm personally so happy Insomniac decided to reboot the Ratchet & Clank series on the PS4. Yes, we got a remastering a couple years back on the PS3, but I think it will be cool to see the series in a new light on the PS4! Roll on 2016!

Here are the clips I was referencing earlier. The first is the Clank gameplay:

and this one is the Pokitaru gameplay:

NUK3TOWN

Finally, it wouldn't be a Black Ops game if there was no Nuketown.

During Treyarch's last livestream, streaming, of course, Black Ops 3, Treyarch showed off gameplay on the new Nuketown, appropriately named, 'Nuk3Town'. Get it, because it's the third Black Ops, so, instead of an 'e', they put a '3' instead. Alright then.

Not much else has been said regarding Nuk3Town, not that much really needs to be said about it. Playstation did release a trailer for the map on Friday. I'll leave the trailer below.

Nuk3Town has been confirmed as a pre-order bonus for the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

And that is all for this week. How are you feeling after reading todays news update?
Do you find it unfair that games always get the blame? Are you as impressed as I am after watching the Ratchet & Clank gameplay? Will be pre-ording Blops 3 for Nuk3Town?

Let me know in the comments down below!

As always, thanks for reading!

Connor :)