Cigol

I don't actually know whether this constitutes a 'deal' or not, but it's the cheapest I've found the game going for and it was cheap enough for me to bite; video gamesplus.ca is selling the God of War Collection on the PS3 for £18 which comes to about £24 with postage to the UK. I've used them in the past to buy MLB 09: The Show and had no problems (either with the site or customs) and they also accept paypal if that's a consideration. As big a fan as I am of the newer titles, the only problem I see with the pack is how it doesn't contain the original (and in my opinion best) of the series. Shogun had a charm and simplicity that the sequels have seen fit to complicate and make increasingly unwieldy.

Just being 2D isn't enough and I'm a miserable cynic at the best of times, so I'm not hopeful.

Oh right, I thought you were talking about the demo - guess that scene isn't in it. juv3nal already posted the method for getting it above, doesn't take more than a few clicks if you read that.

I actually thought the first scene in the demo was extremely realistic myself. Not sure how to describe it exactly, but the characters had a weight and roundedness to them that was very lifelike. It seemed to lose some of that once you'd switched over to the FBI guys sequence, where it became very muddy and of a lower detail (presumably because it was raining and in a larger outdoor area), but I'm not sure about the scene in your youtube link as I rushed through the first part of the demos FBI sequence and my guy just drove home I also thought the quick-time-events (which are a constant source of criticism here and elsewhere) were brilliantly executed too! I never enjoyed them in the original Fahrenheit but Heavy Rains implementation was very effective in making you feel a part of the action, and it flowed seamlessly from one sequence to the next. I suppose if you're just watching it as a spectator or going out of your way to intentionally break it then the illusion is diminished but as someone playing the game as intended it was both exciting and involving. Okay so the dialogue wasn't perfect, and neither were the controls (which are something of an abomination) and I can see that they haven't done enough to shake off the demons of the past (which means a torrent of criticism is incoming)... there also doesn't appear to be any real gameplay innovations outside of the graphics and QTE's... but as someone who mostly enjoyed the original Fahrenheit and found the demo of Heavy Rain reassuring I'm pretty stoked. It's just disappointing it looks like it's going to be another serving of marmite.

Finished the game in just under 30hrs. Was fantastic from start to finish and I couldn't put it down. I suppose you could complain about a whole host of little things but it doesn't get in the way of the overall experience so it's not important for me. Was a little annoyed that I lost one of my team members at the end. Oh well, great game. What do you mean by this? It's not going to be another timed exclusive or something is it

You had to manually script it to a button but the Soldier of Fortune games (complete with glorious gibbing) were awfully good in slow-motion.

Okay it's not game related this time, but as some of the freebies so far have been a music video by JLC and a live performance by Robbie Williams I'm not creating a sepearate thread for it. It'll just have to go here. The latest freebie is the full film 'Lesbian Vampire Killers' starring the fat guy (James Corden) and the Joaquin Phoenix-alike (Mathew Horne), and it doesn't look that bad really. Especially when it's absolutely free. Go here; http://www.itunes12daysofchristmas.co.uk/

I never liked Perfect Dark when it was released, I liked elements of it - the guns, the multiplayer bots and so on - but I wasn't sold on it and the framerates on my non-expansion pack'd N64 obviously didn't help... but I've replayed Goldeneye a number of times (native and emulated) and I've always come back to the same conclusion that it's one of the greatest games ever made - and I'm not even talking about its hilariously fun multiplayer. The controls take some getting used to (as they did back then), but once you've gotten over that it's plain sailing and I honestly don't feel like I'm wearing rose tinted glasses when I say that either.

Trivial Pursuit for the iTouch/iPhone is free on iTunes in the UK (and possibly other regions as well) right now... and apparently some other freebies to come each day. Just noticed it whilst charging me iPod. Dunno if it's any good, since I don't have either an iTouch or iPhone, but it's free so might as well download it.

Check the Luminees portion of STEAMs forum before buying. Don't want to spread misinformation so I won't, but there was quite a lot of complaining the last time I was tempted to buy it.

I found the game surprisingly easy actually, so clearly you're doing it wrong. [/fanboy comment to validate your criticism and polarize your opinion even further] ...but if you're not enjoying it I wouldn't bother. It's not going to make you cry (like Heavy Rain), it's the Video game equivalent of a popcorn movie - and although there are some great setpieces to come the gameplay itself is going to remain more or less the same. You could always come back to it later (you might have to force yourself to put it in the PS3) and see how a hiatus affects your perspective on the game.

I also got Inglorious Basterds on Blu-Ray... except mine came with a special christmas surprise in the form of a security tag which shattered the case and prevented access to the all important disc. Nnnargh.... don't suppose I can blame the shop assistants since it was shrink wrapped (definitely not stolen) and very subtle, but damn that was annoying.

I like to think I'm fashionably late in coming to the same conclusions, but damn this game is good. I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying it actually, as I only rented it on a whim. I'm really liking the voice acting and cut scenes this time around as well, they've got a lot of mannerisms in the animations that liven it up.

My picks for this year; Uncharted 2 MLB 09: The Show Dragon Age ArmA II iRacing And (the cop-out) honourable mentions for Flower, PixelJunk Shooter, Football Manager 2010, Empire Total War, Left 4 Dead 2, Noby Noby Boy and Men of War. The Mount & Blade: Warband online beta is also fairly awesome.

Grand Theft Auto (San Andreas + GTA4 tech) set in the Wild West? In Freezer's signature. I'm assuming it's tongue in cheek...

I haven't gotten very far as of yet, but I have to agree. Like Mercenaries 2 it's a proper sandbox game with actual stuff to do, although like the latter it can be pretty rough around the edges at times. Still, so far so good, and unlike Mercenaries it's pretty easy to get invested thanks to the WW2 atmosphere. You don't tend to need much motivation to shoot Nazis in the face for example. Also, I'm pretty impatient with these types of games in wanting to get to the 'freedom' part of it as soon as possible (something that annoyed me with the aforementioned-many-times Mercenaries), but I have to say I really enjoyed the prologue in this game, particularly the race sequence. It was sort of Mafia-esque, if cartoony.

'thanks'. Oh, don't mention it. Really. I'm not sure why you take such a downer on the games difficulty to be honest. The levels are so small that I found any nasty surprises or mistakes I had made were easily forgotten with a simple press of the retry button. I found myself playing cautiously the first time through a level just to find out where everything was and how it worked before doing the proper run a second time through as fast as possible. That wouldn't be feasible if the individual levels were all strung together, but seeing as they are in nice bite-size chunks it's easy enough. I also have to say that I looked forward to enemies popping up out of previously explored scenery as well, to the point I'd anticipate it.

Do a spin by rotating the right analogue stick 360 degrees, like the enemy spinners who create tunnels. It's not that obvious a mechanic actually, I was just lucky to have read someone else explain it. Other than that it's pretty straightforward. Completed the game myself, and think it's pretty awesome, but did anyone else get a weird Sonic the hedgehog vibe from some of the enemies. Or am I just being silly?

The levels are so small, hit retry?

I'm in love with its logo more than anything... ...the game is not bad either. Started off a little slow but once it got going I couldn't put it down. I do wish there were some sort of level editor though, especially as the physics seem so flawless, it seems suited to a LittleBigPlanet play/create/share thing.

It's basically Knights of the Old Republic in a fantasy setting. All of the special Jedi abilities and such are replaced with spells and so forth. If you liked KOTOR (everything from characters, plot, gameplay) you'll like this. Based on your previous posts you'd want to stick it on easy, and download the 'respec' modification so that once you've become accustomed to the particular special abilities you'll want or need you can easily fix it later on, correcting the mistakes you'll inevitably make. There was an article on RPS about this not long ago in fact. You will pick shitty spells/skills and waste points on your first run, so keep it in mind at least.

It comes with some other stuff of course but it also has an extra bit of DLC (the Wardens Keep) which the standard version doesn't - and you could argue it's the only proper DLC of those available. I've not bought it myself, as I see no point for the time being, but I have to say I'm tempted. I'm with you, but it's more like Mass Effect and KOTOR (in particular) than Baldurs Gate. As with Fallout 3 there's all this talk of spiritual succession but it's not true. One day someone will make those games, but not yet. ..not, yet.

The ending doesn't kill it, but it was disappointing they went down that route on the first viewing. I must have watched it a billion times since so it's obviously not got in the way of my appreciation, but then I also happen to like Event Horizon, so yeah... I'd watch it in HD if you can.

Knights of the Old Republic for £1.74 on STEAM, and for those that don't have Left 4 Dead 2 yet it's at £22.49

Well I haven't got to the end myself, but the beginning of the game has me hooked. I know it got a lot of rave reviews but I always had doubts, so count me as another surprised by just how good it is. A wholesome cross between NWN, KOTOR and Mass Effect. Bad pathfinding, a painful to read UI and hilarious blood splatter aside, anyway. [/token criticism]