Bullet Witch (xbox360)

Official Website, set for release in Japan.............June 29th, being developed by Cavia the team behind the Drankegard games

A desperate fight between man, who is on the verge of extinction, and demons.
You play as a witch named Alicia, following a "Homicidal virus, leaving 320 million people dead" "Humanity's dusk is coming" (?)
A witch with a broom shaped gun (?)

On-site screenshots don't inspire confidence and you'll need a magnifying glass to see them plus the trailer is practically unwatchable due to lag, but the ever resourceful smelly old person has found the following 13mb downloadable copy on xboxyde (applause!)

It's early days (I hope)

elderly tags xbox360 xbox 360 bullet witch official website trailer Japan

LOTR Battle for Middle Earth 2 (Xbox360 )

What an enormous title and judging from the images we hope an enormous game.

Latest screenshots from Oh sure IGN, ..........who else?

Official PC site with game art featured above

elderly tags xbox360 lotr middle earth 2 Lord of the rings screenshots website game art

Guilty Gear XX Slash (ps2)

Coming soon (in Japan, that is, but no doubt available from an import store near you real soon),

lick image for sull fized ticpure
(.........bloody false teeth)

Character art

Official Website


elderly tags ps2 guilty gear xx slash character art

Halo 3 for March 2007

Ahead of April Fools Day, Anonymous sources, second close sources and general sources sparks IGN to confirm they are now happy that Halo 3 will launch in March 2007, ahead of the expected Summer release of the movie. Microsoft remain tight lipped and Bungie advertise for an Environment finishing artist. Beleive it when you see it.

Full Story IGN

elderly tags halo3 halo 3 xbox360 xbox bungie release date

Shinobi: Heart under Blade, the Movie

Directed by Shimoyama Ten, the dazzling 2005 film Shinobi centers on the drama resulting from the war between two ninja clans in the early part of the Tokugawa era. Ninja-fied Romeo and Juliet with breathtaking cinematography.

"Tak Sakaguchi's Yashamaru shoots razor wire cables from his flowing sleeves, wires he can use either to sever limbs or launch himself from place to place. There's the shape shifter, the feral beast, the poison woman, knives attached to chains, metallic claws, flying needles, spinning discs, all manner of mayhem. Each shinobi has a very specific skill and each of those skills are put to excellent use at different points throughout the film. The action sequences are plentiful, very well choreographed, and perfectly executed."

Now licensed for Western Release

Full Review from Twitch

Official Website

embedded flash movie (low res)

elderly tags shinobi heart under blade review trailer dvd wallpaper

Fantasy Art #2

A selection from the talent of Kari Christensen
who began graphic art work in the games industry in 1993 contributing to titles from Activision, Interactive Magic and Warhammer 40k trading cards.
Top to bottom Assasin Queen, Prayer Dragon.

elderly tags fantasy art graphic artist

Contra arcade lest we forget

Update! 15th MayWell what do you know, not forgotten at all it seems, Contra is heading to Xboxlive Arcade
Full story on Kotaku

Well if proof were needed that despite the ginormous shift in game graphics, game marketing hasn't changed drastically since 1987. The poster above advertised Konami's Arcade hit Contra Irresistible force, The player controls a commando battling waves of enemies including humans, machines, mutants and aliens to reach his ultimate goal.

Much of the game's popularity came from its two-player simultaneous gameplay which was an uncommon feature in video games at the time of Contra's release.

Better still is that all these years later, the spirit of Contra is still alive an kicking. Visit innit.ukgamer for the detail. (Image click for larger pic..........as yoda might say)

footnote: How the model got into the gaming arcade wearing two grenades and a disembowler is unclear!, security was obviously much more lax in those days.


elderly tags contra arcade fansite

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter button cheats

All levels, Full Health, Invincible Scott Mitchell, Unlimited Ammo and the fairly pathetic music tip.

From xbox360cheats

elderly tags xbox360 xbox 360 Ghost recon advanced warfighter button cheats hints tips graw

PSone production ends

From next gen biz announcing the demise of the great console, available till stocks run out.

sniff! blubber!

elderly tags psone production sony

Radiant AI explained

Radiant AI is Bethesda proprietary software which scripts NPCs (non playing characters) with a predetermined list of goals, eg what time they will wake up, the route they walk to work, what work they will do, what tools they will use, when to break for lunch, where they go to eat lunch, drink, rest etc. nothing unusual there, and only five or six types of tasks that could be assigned to each NPC.  But where Radiant AI excels and where the fun really starts, is how they achieve these tasks and how they react if their routine is disturbed.  Again a predetermined script assigns characteristics to each NPC eg. their aggression levels, fighting skills, and the really really innovative bit, ..........decision making script routines. 

For example during game development one NPC was given a rake and the goal "rake leaves",  another was given a broom and the goal "sweep paths," and this worked smoothly. Then the dastardly Bethesda programmers swapped the broom and the rake, so that the raker was given a broom and the sweeper was given the rake. Result!?, one of them killed the other so he could get the proper item to complete his goal. The murderer's aggression level was so high,  it was a logical decision (set by the software routines) that giving his fighting skills, murdering his counterpart was a scripted necessity to continue his assigned overiding goal.

Skyrim:
For the upcoming "Skyrim" Bethesda went back to the drawing board and rewrote every major system powering the gameplay experience. The result is the newly dubbed "Creation Engine and Kit" characters having much more defined individual personalities, more attuned to your presence and more inclined to help depending on your relationship with them.  This time around if you're good friends with a particular NPC and barge into their house during the middle of the night, they may offer you lodging rather than demand you leave the premises.

elderly tags radiant ai oblivion bethesda elder scrolls iv

3d model #10 Motoko Kusanagi

From the Anime film Ghost in the Shell, Motoko Kusanagi suffered from a medical condition which necessitated that her brain be transplanted to a cybernetic body at a very young age. Although her proficiency with the artificial body is highly advanced, she is still haunted by the childhood memories of her own inability to master the more subtle intricacies of its operation – emotions she hides beneath her stoic demeanor.

Now a cyborg operative with Section 9 of the Japanese government (security police) and possessing an incredible amount of cybernetic augmentation, including a built-in thermoptic camouflage, which renders her invisible to the eye and most security devices, in addition her brain has be adapted for information download and remote communication.

In the film she is seen to philosophise over the human condition wondering whether she is still 'human' given her extensive cybernetic modifications. Consumed by self doubt she uses diving as a safety valve for her probing thoughts. The name 'Ghost in the Shell' refers to Major Motoko Kusanagi's self doubt as to whether, with all of the modifications she still retains a soul, a 'ghost' in the shell of what she has become.

model from heavy armour studio
ghost in the shell DVD review
Kiss doll again don't ask
Wikipedia (all you'll ever need to know)
Ghost in the Shell official website

elderly tags ghost in the shell Motoko kusanagi character profile 3d model doll figure wallpaper playart cosplay

Oblivion Character portraits #1

One enthralling element of Oblivion is it's the extensive portrait creation tool. While I've ended up with a cross eyed troll some of you have managed quite well indeed. So as a regular feature we'll be showing some of the extraordinary talent that proves that beauty dosen't only rest in the eye of the beholder. First up is Amye from Kirel on the Oblivion forum.

Portraits #2

If you've got a photo of your own favourite character, post a link in the comments section and we'll display it here next outing.

Character creation tips from telefragged

Oblivion Plugin and patch notice

Oblivion characters thread

Oblivion 360 dashboard themed backgrounds (2)


elderly tags Oblivion game character profile portraits photos images

Oblivion the Elder Scrolls IV The Review

Having spent 14 captivating hours closing my first of 16 Oblivion gates (and missing my regular blog post) a score of 94% based on 10 reviews from Metacritic is hardly surprising.

Reviews Summary
Utterly brilliant, more than a game, an entire world for the taking
The only single player game that could give World of Warcraft a run for it's money
Painstaking attention to detail, outstanding Worldcrafting, inspired AI, a stunning game
Takes it's predecessor (morrowind) and leaves it for dead
A premier visual showcase for the 360 and great fun to play
Game of the year candidate, staggeringly ambitious, immersive and intoxicating
The best single player RPG to come along in years
Your $60 will go further than it ever has
Fuses the best elements of RPG, adventure and action

Official Website
Screenshots from IGN

elderly tags xbox360 xbox 360 oblivion elder scrolls iv review screenshots website

ps3 music video montage

Complied by Karl Mattson an awesome collection of ps3 clips set to Paul Oakenfold's "Ready Steady Go".



elderly tags ps3 music video montage collection

Godfather the review

Scoring an impressive 80% from 12 reviews on Metacritic and eventually available on every format except your writstwatch.

Reviews Summary:
Gives gamers an experience worthy of the film, landmark music.
Bland, you rarely feel a sense of power, uneven mishmash of fighting, driving, shooting
20 plus story mission lasts about 10 hours, but another 30 to reach 100% game completion
Solid gangster experience, Tony Soprano not Brando
Mission are great, but side missions aren't that exciting
Satisfying, lengthy adventure faithful to the film
Action is bloody and satisfying (??), plays like exceptionally written fan fiction
Taking over businesses and rackets became an obsession

Official website
Screenshots from gamespot

elderly tags ps2 xbox the godfather review website screenshots

Bummer of the month March

HMV record store in Ireland charging €82.99 ($99) for the standard xbox360 edition of Oblivion the elder scrolls on the day of release. BOO!

elderly tags hmv record store oblivion elder scrolls ireland bummer xbox360

Cosplay post #11

elderly tags cosplay

Just Cause coming to a console near you

EA have announced their (sounds like) GTA meets Far Cry game will be ready for Fall 2006. Available for pc, ps2 and xbox and ..........shock horror xbox360

Developer Blurb

"The player takes the role of an undercover agent, sent to a tropical island to put an end to a corrupt government. The game world is very large and would take 40 minutes to cross. The full game features over 300 missions.

“We are proud that Just Cause will be available on Xbox 360 as well as current generation platforms,” said Christofer Sundberg, Founder and Creative Director of Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios. “Our aim has always been to deliver a next-gen experience and with the power of Xbox 360 you are going to see something really special.”

At the extortionist price we're being charged for 360 games which should certainly bloody hope so.

Screenshots IGN

Official Website ( not much to see yet) registration is required for updates. Which means old cranky pants here won't be getting any updates.

May I remind Eidos once more they are in the business of selling games not harassing potential buyers for their email addresses and marketing information. If you've got exclusive screenshots well post em, so we can all get a gander.

elderly tags ps2 xbox xbox360 just cause website registration screenshots

Gamer Tattoos #2

from mattjonesowns

more on the sidebar

elderly tags tattoo tattoos game gamer gaming Zelda

Driver: Parallel Lines Review

Needing a better than average score to redeem some respect for the series, Metacritic have awarded a score of 68% based on 12 reviews. Verdict? scraped through by it's teeth.

Reviews Summary
More depth than GTA not as many options
Impressive physics and city hides repetitive and languid gameplay
Great story makes you care about the characters
Mostly competent GTA clone, but with a dull storyline and remedial (ouch!) gameplay
Gets the series back on track, but lousy on foot controls and ai restrictions mar fun factor
Decent offering, watered down GTA
Much better outing that Driver 3 (? which wouldn't have been difficult)
Parallel bleeds style and gameplay is actually fun.

Official Website

Screenshots and trailers from the Atari website

More elderly pages tagged PS2 xbox Driver parallel lines review Driver4 screenshots

Bubble Trouble Buzzlisted Game

Shoot bubbles into groups to increase your score, more game modes than an A listed next gen game. A buzzlisted freebie from LINK EXPIRED sorry 

Google search for "bubble trouble"

elderly tags bubble trouble free games buzzlisted fun