MasterAbbott is back with another interview. This time we have The Commando from the reality TV Show : The Biggest Loser Australia. AKA : Commando Steve.
If you haven’t heard of the Commando check out his official website here – or start watching The Biggest Loser Australia currently running on Channel 1o in Australia Wed,Thu,Fri and Sun at 7pm. The Commando is without a doubt one of the toughest and fittest people we’ve ever met or seen. Having served in the Australian Special Forces, where he was a Counter Terrorism Team Commander, The Commando gives us an insight into what kind of video games he enjoyes playing, real life war experiences versus video game first person shooters, fitness and his other passions in life.
If you looking to get back into shape, Commando Steve can certainly help you get more out of your life with training tips, workouts and nutritional information. Whether starting from step one or improving an already elite athlete his programming can help you achieve success..
Sit back and enjoy interview… REMEMBER !! … there are NO EXCUSES !!!
These sleek, affordable headphones (The Nokia BH-905i) are designed to produce the best possible aural experience. Constant noise control filters can cut out most background noises including the sound of an aircraft engine, so you can forget you’re on plane, maybe even if it’s crashing? These atmosphere inducing headphones could produce a theory for the plane crash plot-holes in Lost. Unfortunately I won’t be able to test that theory, but I may get the chance to test others on this impressive headset.
Fortunately The BH-905i is compatible with most audio devices , such as music players, laptops, airline entertainment systems etc. and comes with an impressive range of adapters inbox. If my car had Bluetooth, I imagine it may be quite dangerous to test these while driving, but hey it makes the crawl of traffic easier, right?
Crystal clear stereo sound and advanced noise cancelling technology are just some of the standout features of Nokia’s new wireless headset, the BH-905i. Other key features of the BH-905i include:
Wired or wireless Bluetooth operation
Enables voice call clarity even in noisy environments
Ultra lightweight with a compact travel case
Adjustable headband and soft ear pads for a comfortable fit
Extensive battery life lasting all day
It seems like these little gems are the best way to become lost in gaming or music on public transport, it’s very appreciated as people who populate the train are generally something to be desired, so thanks for providing the ultimate escape device Nokia.
The Nokia BH-905i headset is available now in two colours ‘Ice’ and ‘Black’ priced AUD$349.95 from Nokia
On May 31st spring will be in the air and new life will be springing forth from the trees and the ground as plants come back to life. Of course there are no plants when you live on Mars, especially considering the fact that you will be facing a very dangerous foe unlike any you have faced before in a Red Faction game. THQ and Volition announced earlier today that Red Faction: Armageddon would be seeing a release date of May 31st for the U.S. and June 3rd everywhere else.
Players will jump into the role of Darius Mason and will be forced to explore not only the frozen outskirts of Mars but even the molten core inside of the red planet. The completely destructible environment that the series is known for will return but the new feature of being able to rebuild what you destroy has been added. By using something called a Nano-Forge you will be able to rebuild anything that you tear apart which will allow you to rebuild things at your leisure. The game itself will be coming out on the PS3, PC and Xbox 360.
For those of you who can’t get enough rhythm action titles, IUGO are now getting their feet wet in the genre with their latest title, Pricklees. Pricklees is a new title that will have players “jump, duck, and roll” to the beat with in a 2D/3D world with the little characters you see above. This finger rhythm game also will be a FREEmium title, meaning that it will be free to download and more tunes and characters can be purchased for $1.99 in the IAP.
Features Include:
3 adorable characters you wish you could cuddle; too bad about those pricklees!
Unlock more content through IAP
3 levels of difficulty: easy, medium and hard for tons of replayability
Unique rhythm-based gameplay
Dead easy controls, intuitive UI
Dynamic 2D/3D environments
7 Fresh Electronic tracks
Look for more songs in future updates
“We see room for creativity and innovation in the music genre,” states IUGO’s VP of BD Sarah Thomson “What companies like Tapulous have done is incredible. They have proven their formula to be successful time and time again. But we feel there is so much opportunity to create a unique game mechanic and appeal to an even broader market. We wanted to combine the brilliance of music-based games such as the Tap Tap series with the cuteness and personality of broad appeal titles such as Angry Birds.”
I do agree that Pricklees looks to have some broad appeal and charm, and if past IUGO titles are any indication, we very well could be looking at the next big thing for the device. No date for Pricklees has been given as of yet but stay “tuned” as IUGO will be releasing even more information over the coming weeks. For now you can check out the trailer below which shows this addictive little title in full form.
Bulletstorm may have just hit store shelves today but don’t let that fool you. EA announced today that they already have DLC being worked on for the over-the-top FPS and it will be released this spring for 800 MSP or $10 depending on your console of choice. The DLC will be called the Gun Sonata pack and it will contain three different maps for Anarchy multiplayer mode and two new echo maps.
The new Anarchy maps are the Sewers of Stygia, Hotel Elysium and Villa. These maps range from being wide open areas to broken down ruins and look to provide players with plenty of ways to kill with skill. The two Echo maps are Crash Site and Guns of Stygia which are both brand new additions to Bulletstorm so at least they aren’t just repackaging everything and putting a price on it. Also in the pack will be two new leach attachments, called the Flamingo and Pulp but there have been no further details given about what they will do.
With the Nintendo 3DS coming in just over a month the launch games have been finalized and now you can start putting money away to purchase your pick of eighteen different games when the handheld releases on March 27th. The first-party games from Nintendo themselves will be going for $40 each with the third-party releases varying in price but expected to be around the $40 range as well.
The N3DS will be coming with Face Raiders and AR Games pre-installed so even if you don’t happen to have any pre-launch games that you would put your money down on, you at least have something to occupy your time with. Besides that however you can check out the full list of launch titles below, though unfortunately some of the larger titles will be released at a later date and do not appear on the list:
Looks like if you don’t have the cash at the moment to run out and buy the latest new releases at least the gaming companies are keeping everyone nice and supplied with bits of entertainment to satisfy your gaming need. Fans of Dragon Age II will be happy to know that the demo is currently available now for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace and will be soon on the PlayStation Store. Don’t forget that as long as the demo download count reaches one million then everyone who had downloaded the demo will be getting a couple of free items in the full game.
Also released today is the Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars demo which is nice to see of course. This way you can keep your little brother/sister occupied while you take a turn at playing Dragon Age II. Or the other way around if you fancy yourself some Legos.
Despite the fact that the thought of downloading a demo and the Wii Nintendo Channel usually don’t mix, occasionally a good one shows up to try out. Of course you only have a week to download it before it may disappear forever so as always it is good to jump at your chance quickly. Of course this one requires you to have a Nintendo DS.
The Okamiden demo has appeared on the Wii Nintendo Channel through the DS download area. This will allow players to get a taste of just what the young wolf god can do and hopefully will help boost Okamiden’s sales to justify a full sequel to Okami 2 because the best way to get people on the fence to buy your game is to give them a taste of the full product.
A new trailer has appeared on the US Nintendo Channel showing off PilotWings Resort for 3DS. Obviously we can’t see the 3D effects from the video as you need to view them on a 3DS screen, but you can still see the game running in 2D. The trailer features a Mii taking in the sights of Wuhu Island, flying around the resort in a number of different forms of transports, including jetpack and glider.
Is this one of the launch titles that interests you for the 3DS when it is released in March? Let us know what you think of the trailer below which is also available for viewing via the US Nintendo Channel.
Killzone 3 Platform:Playstation 3 (Reviewed) Publisher:Sony Entertainment Developer:Guerilla Games Genre:First Person Shooter Release Date:February 24 Price: $116 AU BUY NOW – $59 USD BUY NOW
If you’re still looking for a game to convince you to buy a Playstation3, well first person shooter fans look no further. Guerilla Games really have brought out the big guns on this one, constructing a must-have title for PS3 owners. Weather you’re a fan of the franchise or not, Killzone 3 will impress you in ways you didn’t even expect it too. Xbox and Wii owners grit your teeth; this is a game that you should be jealous of!
Presentation
It’s easy to see that a lot of time and effort went into Killzone 3, and it really shows in its presentation. While the storyline isn’t the deepest, emotive rollercoaster ride ever, the way the story is told is done with the most upmost cinematic style. From the camera angles to the voice acting, it is all rather superb. Sometimes the cut scenes are so intense it’s almost as if your just watching a really good CGI film. It really makes the campaign mode very intriguing. The multiplayer excels in its presentation as well, with an impressive class system that is really in depth that Killzone 2 fans should be very familiar with. It’s isn’t that much different, but it is explored a little more which is nice to see. There are a few down sides however, such as the co-op campaign mode. While it runs smoothly with no frame rate drops and is a lot of fun to play, a silly decision of placing the split screens really holds it back. Instead of the typical horizontal or vertical split, the screen is split diagonally with no options of changing it otherwise. With a lot of the screen being unused it seems unpractical and at times annoying, as even reading text on the screens becomes a challenge. However you can’t be mad at the developers for trying something different, it’s just a shame that there weren’t any other options to choose from like there is with customizing controls, which is done so greatly. To salt the wound, you can’t even do co op online, it has to be offline. There are some very rare occasional issues with loading, mostly in the beginning of the game, where everything will freeze for about a second or less to load a room beyond a door, but it’s nothing major and doesn’t take too much away from the experience but it would’ve been nicer to have gone without this. Oh yeah, and for you trophy junkies out there, Killzone 3 is a great fix, your going to be more than satisfied in this department I assure you.
Story
Killzone 3 takes place right where Killzone 2 left off, with our protagonists from the ISA have been left abandoned on Helga and are desperately trying to escape their enemy’s home planet. The story allows the player to explore more of the planet unlike the previous title which only really showed off the capital, which is nice to see. Players will see the story go from an artic landscape to a jungle not so much unlike the movie Avatar, to the ruins of the Helgan capital and various space stations among others, creating a lot of diversity and constantly keeping things fresh. The story constantly jumps between time frames which do create a few Hollywood-ish moments. The story has some emotive cut scenes which are nice to see, however it is a shame that the physiological sides of the characters aren’t explored as much as they’ve could’ve been with this plot, as it does touch base on these every now and then which are pretty entertaining. It does show a nice political side to the war, which is interesting as well. The story could’ve used a little more character development in some parts, which may have helped players feel more for the characters but cut scenes make up a lot of it in great direction and cinematography, as well as outstanding voice acting. Characters are mostly likeable, and should have players rooting for the good guys against the evil bad guys they’ll encounter. A nice feature added to cut scenes is a simple but an effective one: being able to just pause cut scenes. It doesn’t improve the in anyway, but it can help one appreciate it. You also have the option of skipping them as well, but if you’d want to do that on your first play through you’re an idiot, because these are some of the best you’ll see in the FPS genre.
Gameplay
Killzone 3 is a blast to play. It’s one of those very rare first person shooters that actually feel like you’re a solider in war, not just a camera with a hand and gun attached to it. Ranging from the way you walk and run, to how you look at your gun when it’s being reloaded, it all just feels right. The physics and weight of the weapons are pretty believable too, making the game to feel more realistic, without it playing to slow. Blindly running into combat is highly discouraged by the impressively intelligent AI. Prepare to be flanked and hunted down like a dog, in the true dirty sprit known as war. You’ll need to use a lot of duck and cover tactics, which the tutorial at the beginning of the game explains quite well, complimented by easy-to-use controls, and if you have any problems with them, their customizable, making it even more of a pleasure to play. Even using the Playstation Move is an option. It’s not as easy to recommend, but it’s a nice option to have and worth checking out, although using the standard controller is far superior. The choice in weaponry is spot on as well. You know those moments in a FPS game when you get a crappy gun and you get pissed off and you go looking for a better one? That won’t happen much here as they are all pretty fun to use. Sure having the right gun for the right job is a lot better, but you aren’t going to want to choke your PS3 over a gun for the majority of your playtime.
An awesome feature is the brutal close combat system, which is a beautiful highlight of Killzone 3. It works the same way how you would knife someone in a typical first person shooter, except it works more like an ‘instant kill’ button. The kills are gory and brutal, ranging from slitting somebody’s throat with a knife, to bashing an enemy soldier’s head into a wall, to my personal favorite: crushing someone’s eyeballs into the back of their skull! However the AI is usually pretty smart (and your friends that your fighting too!) and will most likely shoot you before you can pull off these type of kills, so you really have to earn them. Sure these can feel a little gimmicky at times, but who cares? They look awesome and are fun to pull off!
The pacing of the campaign needs to be commended, something I can see many gamers will most likely overlook and take for granted. Killzone 3 has one of those very rare campaigns in its genre that never feel repetitive or stale. Everything is constantly kept fresh to mix things up, weather if it’s a rail-gun styled level, to a stealth level, to riding around in a tank or other vehicle, to gun turrets and mini guns to what we all have been waiting for: epic jetpacks. Oh snap! Level design is also done with excellence as well, and not just in the campaign. Multiplayer maps are also a lot of fun, and you’re going to love them.
What makes the gameplay stand out so much though is how organic and natural everything feels. The audio, graphics, presentation and gameplay just flow easily into each other, working as one, creating a believable chaotic battle field. Hearing the aggressive voice acting will intensify everything over epic low-key music and realistic sound effects. The way the camera shifts and the physics of the game will not only feel more real, but affect your judgment. Everything is chaotic and it feels like war. A true masterpiece. Killzone 3 feels as if it is not a game, but rather an experience. You can’t play this for a quick five-minute game, expect to be sucked in and watch as your entire afternoon becomes lost in it.
Multiplayer
Let’s face it, about half the reason anyone buys a shooter these days is for the online multiplayer. And much like the title before it, Killzone 3 will keep players in front of their Playstation3 for a very long time. Killzone 3 contains everything the much-loved Killzone 2 had, whilst expanding on it and going even deeper. New classes, missions and vehicles are available to slaughter your friends with. Which class you select will dramatically change your strategy and the way you play the game, so selecting the right class for your style of combat is essential. Mission objectives change constantly and they’re all a lot more than simply ‘kill this guy’ and ‘go shoot that’, they’re all actually pretty interesting. The maps are constructed perfectly for multiplayer, and are a lot of fun to play. Teamwork is encouraged, and you will more than likely be all over the map within a game rather than being stuck in a particular area-sucked in campers! With experience to be gained for spending on various upgrades as well as skill points, leader boards and the ability to form squads with your friends, there are plenty of reasons to spend many hours in Killzone 3’s exciting multiplayer mode.
Graphics
Prepare to be amazed. These are some of the best graphics on the PS3 system by far. Everything is smooth and textures are great. The details in character models and scenery are outstanding, and there is some epic scenery in this title. There will be moments where you will want to stop, just stare and look around. Heck this game even looks impressive if you play it without using your HD cable, and to make things better Killzone 3 supports 3D televisions which are just even more delicious eye candy for gamers. There are some occasional moments that aren’t as impressive, such as spitting out fire whilst using a flamethrower which is pretty disappointing, but these moments are seldom seen. Many environmental effects and elements look absolutely outstanding, most notably a particular part of the game where players encounter an ocean. The waves are absolutely stunning, and are truly nothing less than beautiful. Animation so equally as great, and everything looks and feels realistic. Great job Guerrilla Games, you’ve truly outdone yourselves and blown us all away. Again.
Audio
The voice acting within this title is none short of amazing. You can really tell there was a high production cost behind this game. Everything sounds and feels believable, and realistic dialogue only compliments the superb voice acting. Same can be said for the sound effects. From the firing of a gun to the explosions and bullets flying past you, everything has been constructed to develop the atmosphere of war and chaos. The soundtrack does its job, and more. A perfect soundtrack for any movie or game is often barely noticeable because it gets you so involved, and that is exactly what happens here. You’ll be so lost in everything you won’t even notice it, a testament for the emotion put behind the score. Musically expect a very Hollywood feel the soundtrack, capturing the feeling of every situation perfectly with style.
Conclusion
Killzone 3 is doesn’t feel like a video game, but rather an experience. It is easily one of the greatest of it’s kind is all aspects. Graphically it is one of the best looking games on the Playstation3. The campaign’s story while not reaching it’s full potential, is still pretty damn good for an FPS game. Cut scenes are presented with impressive cinematography that will amaze you. Voice acting is extraordinary and will exceed your expectations. It has a flawless duck and cover system, and is accompanied by an intelligent AI as well. Campaign is fresh and is nicely paced with a great variety of rail gun and vehicle levels. Multiplayer is deep and will easily keep you busy for a long time, making this a title you’ll easily keep coming back to. Co op campaign’s split screen options hold it back, and the lack of online co op campaign is a let down, as well as not being able to have offline co op, but these things come no where close to taking away from the overall Killzone 3 experience. A game perfect in almost every aspect, Killzone 3 is a must buy for any fan of the FPS genre, or anyone with a PS3. A killer app for the console, pick it up asap. Don’t even finish reading this review, just run to your local store and buy it now!
PROS
Amazing graphics
Amazing soundtrack
Amazing voice acting
Amazing animation
Amazing cut scenes in campaign mode
Great duck and cover game play
Great AI
Great ‘feel’ to the game
Brutal close combat
Varied game play in both multiplayer and campaign
Deep Multiplayer
Lots of trophies
Dude, its just awesome, ok?
CONS
No online Co Op
Co Op’s screen issues are quite off putting
Story is good, but it had potential to be deeper
Killzone 3 gets a well deserved
As always, feel free to leave a comment below and tell us your thoughts on the game, as we’d love to hear your opinions as well about what you like and don’t like about it.
