I Am Alive Xbox live Preview

Developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and published by Ubisoft, Due for download on XBLA on March 7th 2012 and PSN Spring 2012

What it says on the tin
One year after a worldwide cataclysmic event that wiped out most of the human race, a man struggles for survival in a desolate city as he tries to reunite with his long lost wife and daughter. In this post-apocalyptical tale, there are no supernatural threats, just an everyman who faces a decaying and hazardous world and humanity’s darkest inclinations. Will you hang on to your humanity and help strangers or are you ready to sacrifice others in order to survive?

Gameplay
Third person view for navigation, and first-person when aiming and shooting,
Gameplay has you dealing with three key elements, stamina management, gathering resources and Combat.

"I am alive" places emphasis on climbing and exploration, managing your stamina will be critical for survival and you'll be rewarded by gaining access to hidden paths, resources and other survivors.

Along the way you'll collect hidden resources and supplies which are scattered throughout the city: water, food, gas, medicine, cigarettes, tools, climbing gear, weapons, and ammo.

Survivors will adopt different behaviors and adapt to your actions. Some are friendly and need assistance, some are scared and others are hostile and will use group tactics to take you down.

Okay you've got my attention.... but then so did the ill fated Amy and I can't help but  ponder why a game that sounds this good didn't make it to disc.  Call me skeptical.

Offcial Website

Alf the Helper: Your skeptical!!! ...cynical !!! and a... a miser!!.... ahem.. 
:(    oops!, sorry I got carried away...

(Alf runs out of the room before Elderly can get a hand on him...)

Mass Effect 3 Game Wallpaper 壁紙 Fond d'écran

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Since November 2007 we've been nursing those save game files, and now the reward, 1,000 variables that will help shape how the final chapter is experienced.  Improved AI, instant melee kills, more conventional grenades, the new femshep, A four player multiplayer co-op,  saving the galaxy from the Reapers for one last time. Please EA don't milk it.

Official Website

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Alf the Helper: So you haven't heard
Elderly: What! haven't heard what!?
Alf the Helper: gulp!.. Game UK won't be stocking the game
Elderly: Ha ha, nice one, very funny.. wait your serious..
Alf the Helper: Sorry Elderly fraid so, here I've got the link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/17210489

Elderly: :(
Alf the Helper: Tea?
Elderly: please.... Alf!?
Alf the Helper: Yes mr.Elderly
Elderly: Any idea if they've shot those sub-prime lenders yet!?
Alf the Helper: ....no mr.Elderly, no they haven't...sorry

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review Summary

It was obvious with a gathering of legendary figures such as Ken Rolston (executive designer) of Elder Scrolls fame, R. A. Salvatore (game lore and universe) author of the DemonWars Saga and Forgotten Realms novels, and Todd McFarlane (artwork) comic Superstar of Spawn renown, we were in for a treat. 

Developed by 38 Studios and Big Huge Games, Kingdoms of Amalur features 5 distinct regions, 4 playable races, and 3 class trees with 22 abilities per tree.  Combat is based on the timing of button press, which won't get you far unless you rely on strategy and "proper" RPG playing.

(drools....)

Prologue:"Your body was left to rot in a pile of corpses, another failed experiment. But you are alive. Unbound by the chains of Fate, you are free to choose your Destiny. And with the Faelands enveloped in the Crystal War, your power will not go unnoticed—by friend or foe"

(drools....)

Currently scoring 80% (xbox 360) and 81% (Ps3) on Metacritic.com, it isn't perfect, but boy has it got lineage and perhaps the finest combat system designed for any RPG.

Quote of the bunch:"Does all the boring, difficult parts of RPG game design very well, and marries them to exceptionally slick combat and a towering stack of stuff to do" Eurogamer

Reviews Summary:
Deep, polished gameplay wrapped around an interesting and engulfing universe
Combat scenarios themselves are painfully pedantic and lose any surprise after the first few hours of play
Immaculately crafted and beautiful, yet still simple and accessible
RPG players craving depth and the ability to make real choices or play a role will be out of luck
KOAR is simply staggering; it's a tremendous achievement and an experience you shouldn't miss.
Just isn't fleshed out enough to be the product of the three visionaries behind it.
The combat is what really sets the game apart rivals Skyrim's scope
A labor of love from creative people with the ways and means to bring their ideas to fruition, and it shows
It's less a world you discover, ultimately, as one you revisit, and that's a failing no amount of fancy footwork can disguise
Reckoning is the first title to offer a legitimate challenge to the Elder Scrolls juggernaut
An arcade version of Skyrim, packed with the visual style of World of Warcraft and an action combat system. 

Official Website
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Game Wallpaper

Alf the Helper: ah you want me to get a tissue?
Elderly: A tissue? why would.. oh the drooling! yes unfortunate that, no no I'm fine
Alf the Helper: So... well... are we getting this?
Elderly: Yes yes no doubt...
Alf the Helper: :) really why that's just excellent
Elderly: I'm glad your happy, now you won't feel half so bad without your wages
Alf the Helper: :) ...?  !..wait... hold on... mr. elderly.. what did you say about my wages... mr.elderly

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Game Wallpaper

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Just released, a single-player action role-playing game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.  From the minds of bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston.  Currently breaking the 80% average review rating on Metacritc.

Official Website

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Final Fantasy 13-2 wallpaper 壁紙

Okay so I've spat out the feathers from the opening scene, already gotten stuck in a temporal time thingy,  and I'm still coming to grips with the overly convulted battle system and yet it holds me, with it's opulent elegance, it's haunting musical score, it's glorious glistening eyecandy... .sorry (cough...)

Final Fantasy xiii-2 desktop wallpaper for your delectation... stop me when I become obsessive...

4 more official issues on Rendered Beauty
6 more on Just Walls
3 more official issues on Beauty Re-rendered

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What is Friv?

Friv.com

Frivtown.com

You'd imagine FFXIII-2 or SoulCalibur V would be creating a buzz on the search engines around now, but we'd be wrong. 

No, the gaming search buzz at present is for "FRIV" a website featuring 250+ free flash games, all in one place with no sign up!. Though you'll spend some time finding your favourite on friv.com. An ad version, "frivtown" has selectable categories  e.g. Most popular, Top Rated, Strategy Games, Car Games etc.

Friv is constantly rotating it's game list and improving on popular ones, so when a new game is added it simply replaces the least popular one. 

Friv

Frivtown

Most popular Friv games

Panda Tactical Sniper 2
You need to prepare for a serious work and to do that you have to pass the panda training. Shoot the targets and then get to the serious missions

Bloons Tower Defense 4 - Expansion Online
Next instalment of Friv's popular tower defense game

Dibbles
A game created to entertain all the lemmings lovers

Xeno Squad
You are a squad leader and the only one who can take his team to the winning spot with the least casualties

Super Mario Strikers
Mario plus Soccer what's not to love?

Elderly: 8( Alf! for the love of all that's holy, WHAT!? are you doing?
Alf the Helper: I'm ... erm... giving ...ahem....lady Gaga a makeover on Friv
Elderly: ....Alf!... step away from the computer
Ald the Helper: But.. I'm nearly done with her eye makeup....
Elderly: 10...9....8....7..
Alf the Helper: Okay okay! i'm going I'm going....... zheeeshhhhh!

NeverDead Review Summary xbox 360, Ps3

Having taken the time to cover this with a preview, I had high hopes that a game directed by Shinta Nojiri, a former  disciple of Hideo Kojima, would be a rare treat.  If you passed it on your way to the FF13-2 queue, don't worry you haven't missed much.

Scoring 52% on Metacritic.com my expectations have been dashed.

Quote of the bunch

"NeverDead sways between boring, frustrating and painful" IGN

Reviews Summary

NeverDead is a cool and solid hack'n'slay like the good old Devil May Cry games.

An amateur effort that redefines the boundary between bad game and flat-out punishment.
An idiosyncratic (and often one-legged) dance through entertainingly outlandish territory
The game feels more like a grind than an epic adventure.
The Creators gave up on it half-way through.
Neverdead will satisfy those willing to try something different
The art direction is quite good, in a lowbrow, pulp comic book kind of a way.

Aside from the premise and dialogue, NeverDead does little else right.

 

Elderly: Alf why have you put your Arcadia Maximille poster up, I thought it was your favourite?

Alf the Helper: Don't want it anymore!!

Elderly: But you said it was your favourite game character poster

Alf the Helper: I changed my mind, it's not!

Elderly: Your upset aren't you?

Alf the Helper: Nope....sniff!...

Elderly: You had a crush on her hadn't you?

Alf the Helper: She... she.. she let me down.... :(

Elderly: I may regret this, but grab your jacket we're heading to the pub

Alf the Helper: kay :(

"Outrage" Way of the Yakuza DVD Movie Review Summary

A 2010 Japanese yakuza film directed by and starring Takeshi Kitano.  One myself and Alf have been keeping an eye on for a dvd release, sadly we may have been better bird watching.  Now we're just waiting on a price drop.

Alf the Helper: No need mr.elderly i've just found it on a torrent site
Elderly: You've just done.... WHAT!!!?
Alf the Helper: I've just found it on this here torrent site, all I've got to do is....
Elderly: Have you seen how the chopstick clip?
Alf the Helper: oh yes, that was pretty gruesome....
Elderly: And what do you think mr.Kitano would do if he found out you were downloading his film for free...
Alf the Helper: ...... am perhaps I'll... gulp! delete my browsing history.. !?
Elderly: And?
Alf the Helper: :(  sigh!...wait for the dvd to drop in price....

The plot:
In a ruthless battle for power, several yakuza clans vie for the favor of their head family in the Japanese underworld. Long-time yakuza "Otomo" has seen his kind go from elaborate body tattoos and severed fingertips to becoming important players on the stock market. Theirs is a never-ending struggle to end up on top, or at least survive, in a corrupt world where there are no heroes, but constant betrayal and vengeance.

Reviews Summary:
A beautifully staged marvel that confidently reasserts Kitano's considerable cinematic gifts.
Compelling to watch until it becomes exhausting
Kitano's sense of pacing is so precise, that the film becomes a vortex, pulling audiences in deeper and deeper.
A meat-and-potatoes look at an age when battles of honor and humanity are AWOL in yakuza society
Like one of its yakuza bigs, Outrage commands respect but no affection.
Even when a guy is getting stabbed in the ear with a chopstick, Outrage is so controlled you're liable to go mad watching it.
The filmmaking is cool, watchful, and ultimately too distanced.
Outrage isn't outrageous enough, and it hurts.
Official Website
Official Japanese Website
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Final Fantasy Xiii-2 Reviews Summary

Release Dates For Xbox 360 and Ps3:Japan Dec 15th 2011
US Feb Jan 31st 2012
Aus Feb 2nd
Eu Feb 3rd

Fantajī Sātīn Tsū or Final Fantasy XIII-2, is the eagerly awaited sequel to the 2009 RPG, Final Fantasy XIII, taking up the story three years after the original.  Lightning has gone and got herself disappeared and her younger sister Serah Farron and newcomer Noel Kreiss must find her. Shimple! well not so shimple as you would imagine.
A new combat system has been designed to counter criticism levelled at the original. In addition a new feature to control the difficulty of battles has been included plus the ability to  tame monsters and add them to your party. And if that wasn't enough to contend with there's the Mog Clock, Live Trigger, Temporal Rift and the Historia Crux System.

Enough already! is it any good? An  overview of the current reviews suggest that whilst the story may be a bit laclustre, it appears we've finally got the 13th edition of final fantasy we had hoped for.

Japanese Games Magazine Famitsu gave the game a perfect score, a pretty rare achievement, but it appears us Western folk weren't as captivated, with some of the review scores looking generous when compared to the review content.

Scoring 80% (xbox 360) and 79% (Ps3) respectively on Metacritic.com , FFXIII-2 still musters up a punch and  a must buy for us die hard Final Fantasy nuts.

Reviews Summary

Quote of the Bunch: Progression is player-driven, combat is even more entertaining, and an array of other adjustments makes it one of my favorite RPGs from a mechanical perspective. I just want all of that integrated with a story that isn't laughable and borderline insulting, and that's where Final Fantasy XIII-2 falters. Game Informer

Despite its disappointingly open ending, FF XIII-2 surpasses the original in every way.
Does very little to stand out on its own merits
It isn't a timeless adventure in the grand tradition of the beloved series
A great J-rpg, with an amazing amount of content.
A mishmash of interesting systems and bold ideas that never quite gel
A very enjoyable return to more familiar grounds
Substandard combat and unrefined level replays. Good, but not good enough.
It can conjure a feeling that's a combination of love, hate, derision and awe.
It isn't just a sequel, as it carves out its own tale to stand among the Final Fantasy pantheon.

Official Website

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Wallpaper on Rendered Beauty
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Wallpaper on Beautry Re-Rendered
Final Fantasy XIII02 Wallpaper on Just Walls

Alf the Helper: If Lightning has disappeared, then how will they know when they've found her?
Elderly: I don't catch your drift, which isn't a surprise to me, but where are you going with this?
Alf the Helper: Well let's say they do catch up with her, then how would they know? if she's invisible?
Elderly: But she's no.... wait she's disappeared.. not... Alf please... find something to do
Alf the Helper: I could stay here and look out for the leprechaun :)
Elderly: Something to do... a long way away from here, preferably somewhere dark and sound proofed.
Alf the Helper: :(