Having reviewed The Sims 3 and its first proper expansion World Adventures I was looking forward to the next instalment. It seems I’ll have to wait a little longer for the inevitable Pets expansion. Design & High-Tech Stuff does exactly what it says on the proverbial tin, this is a stuff pack, no more, no less.

As the contents of this pack are limited I’ve decided to take a slightly different reviewing approach so below are the key features of Design & High-Tech Stuff.

Home Sweet Home – Homes are transformed into cutting-edge spaces with contemporary sofas, sleek coffee tables, and eclectic art.
High-end furnishings – Add to the bedroom, entertainment room, office and patio for a modern look.
Electronics – The latest gadgets are now available including high-tech, ultra-slim TVs, video game systems, stereos and more.
Wardrobe – Upgrade that closet with fashion-forward apparel, tailored suits, and sophisticated outerwear.
Plus Bonus Anniversary Items! This special 10th Anniversary pack also includes three well-loved items from The Sims and The Sims 2 games: the heart-shaped vibrating bed, the electric guitar, and the aquarium.

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I love Bioware. I love Mass Effect. What I didn’t love is waiting what felt like an eternity for this sequel to be released. In reality the wait wasn’t long at all but it felt that way because Mass Effect made such a big impact. When I completed the first game, and that upbeat 80’s style music played out over the credits, I wanted the sequel to be sitting there waiting for me. I wanted more and Bioware, in their infinite kindness, have duly obliged.

The screenshots speak for themselves. This game is blessed with some stunning visuals. In my review of Dragon Age I mentioned how expansive the game felt with, amongst other things, the enormous Dwarven statues towering over your characters. In Mass Effect 2 a similar sense of size is created with the many detailed and busy horizons and is noticeable on the likes of Omega. The soundtrack is once again atmospheric and brilliant. Walking into one of the clubs with your bass turned high is a nice feeling. The voice acting would have been just as good as in the first game but it’s made even better with the inclusion of the mighty Martin Sheen.

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Here’s the new multiplayer trailer for Halo Reach. It has jetpacks.

JETPACKS.

There’s only one acceptable response to that…

Do you like ‘Guitar Hero’? Do you like ‘House of the Dead’?  Then you’ll love Epicenter games upcoming budget Wii title “Rock of the Dead”.  Using your GH controller, you need to play the riffs that appear over each walking undead to kill them in a la ‘Typing of the Dead‘.  The game features a co-op play mode and classical music done in the rock style for the soundtrack.  Epicenter have also managed to rope in the stars of the internet based cult series ‘Dr. Horrible‘, Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day, to lend their voices to the protagonist and his interest.

While I’m not saying that this will be the best game the Wii has ever seen, it certainly seems to have the potential to be a cult classic…  Let’s just hope it lives up to it!

‘Rock of the Dead’ is expected to be a budget title at retail costing  $30 to $40 when it shambles its way onto the shelves this summer.

Source: Fake Plastic Rock

Sony are advising all owners of the old style ‘fat’ PS3’s not to connect them to PSN due to a bug in their clock software that was triggered when it rolled around to 01.03.10.  Sony are hard at work fixing the problem and are hoping to have the issue cleared up tomorrow, but in the meantime they are doing their best to remind everybody that this only effects owners of original PS3’s and not their shiny new slim model.

Here is the full statement from Sony:-

As you may be aware, some customers have been unable to connect to the PlayStation Network today. This problem affects the models other than the new slim PS3.

We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system.

Errors include:
* The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000.
* When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”.
* When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game.”
* When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)”
* Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date.

We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data.

As mentioned above, Please be advised that the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologise for any inconvenience caused.

For the latest status on this situation please check either the PlayStation blog (for SCEE: www.blog.eu.playstation.com/for SCEA: www.blog.us.playstation.com) or PlayStation.com.

Atmosphere is a word which game reviewers love to throw around, and gamers lap it up, without too much thought. An appropriate description is that atmosphere in games is the combination of writing, visuals, and sound to create a living world around the player. Of course, you don’t need all three and sometimes if a game excels in just one of those elements it can be highly atmospheric. Bioshock 2 had a lot to live up to as the first game, which excelled in visuals, sound, and most of all writing, had an abundance of atmosphere. Unfortunately this sequel fails to live up to high expectations.

The format is near identical to the original with your character wandering around Rapture trying to make sense of what’s going on around them. In the original you fought your way through many foes before finally climbing inside the huge metal Big Daddy suit. In Bioshock 2 you are a Big Daddy throughout and this slightly cheapened the experience for me as unlike the first game I didn’t feel as though I had earned the right.
Through most of the game you find yourself alone, apart from the lunatics trying to separate your head from the rest of your body, while various voices guide you on your journey for better or worse. The original title was defined by its great twist and because of this I was paranoid all the way through. I believed everyone was out to get me, including myself. This meant that when the inevitable twist happened, which isn’t as good as the one in the first game anyway, the impact was minimal.

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What do you get when you combine Half-Life 2, the first episode of Pokemon, and a big bucket load of stupidity?

You get Garrymon.

I have no idea what’s going on, so I’m just going to leave this here.

Square Enix have revealed their UK launch event plans for Final Fantasy XIII, the eagerly awaited latest instalment in the award-winning series that has sold more than 92 million units worldwide.  Fans attending the UK launch event on 9th March will be treated to a very rare opportunity to meet both Yoshinori Kitase, the producer of the game, and Isamu Kamikokuryo, the game’s art director, who will be available to sign games and answer questions. High-profile DJ and TV presenter Alex Zane will also be entertaining fans as the MC for the event.

As an added bonus, the first 50 people to attend the signing dressed in Final Fantasy costumes will be given a free Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack and everyone who attends the launch will have the chance to win goodies.

The event will take place on the 9th of March 2010 at the Oxford Street branch of HMV in London from 5.30pm – 7:30pm, with entry being free to all.

Capcom have announced more characters that are to be included in Super Street Fighter IV when it hits us later this year, and this time it’s the turn of Street Fighter III refugees Ibuki, Makoto, and fan favorite Dudley to join the roster. This takes the total number of new characters up to 9 as the new batch join the already confirmed newcomer Juri, Dee-Jay & T-Hawk from SFII and Adon, Cody and Guy from SF Alpha.

The thing is, how often does a company add an odd number of new charcers to a game like this?  So expect a final mystery announcement sometime before the games release, especially as there is an extra mystery voiceover at the end of the announce trailer, along with what sounds like oil being poured. So another big grappler, maybe the legend that is Haggar?  We can only hope!

See screenshots of the 3 new charcters in action after the break.

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