Sunday 31 March 2013

April Fools! No, these are actually the deals for XBLA tomorrow...


    Happy Easter all!

    There's a one day sale on Xbox LIVE to celebrate April Fools tomorrow. I honestly don't know if they're real or fake - because to be honest, it is a pretty shocking sale. Unless you're looking for DLC for nearly 5 year old Fallout 3, then you're in luck! 

    Here are the deals as copied from Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson. Please note that some Microsoft Point prices might differ a tad, as these are the American prices.

    Spring SaleOriginal Sale PriceSavings
    Assassin’s Creed 3 Season Pass 2400160033%
    Battlefield 3 Aftermath120060050%
    Fallout 3 : Point Lookout80020075%
    Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta80020075%
    Fallout 3: Broken Steel80020075%
    Fallout 3: The Pitt80020075%
    Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage80020075%
    Dishonored – Dunwall City Trials40016060%
    The Amazing Spider-Man GonD$49.99$19.9960%
    *Prices and availability will vary by Xbox LIVE region. Prices for Games on Demand titles are show in US $
    Please check your local dashboard or Xbox.com for specific content pricing and availability.



      Here's for hoping that this is indeed an Easter/April Fools joke, and loads of egg-sellent Games on Demand games are on sale for super cheep. Oh no I didn't!

So I realised I've not done enough articles on Comic books or Art...


...So lets combine the two!



I've recently got hooked on a comic book series called Saga. It's an independent series, published by Image comics - so might sadly get overlooked by the casual comic browser. It's written by Brian K. Vaughan (writer and producer for multiple series of Lost, comic series Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man, the latter of which is currently being adapted to film) and Fiona Staples (various art in comics over the past decade).

Saga is a unique epic fantasy/science fiction story, reminiscent of nothing you've ever read as a comic book before, with hints of Star Wars with Shakespearian mystical character design (on drugs). So far, the basis of the story is following that of a child, and their parents Marko and Alana, a pairing of 2 soldiers united by the wars of their species. The artwork is simply flawless, and some of the best I've seen around in a comic book. There are some explicit scenes in the comic books, so mature readers suggested.




I've got the urge to spew loads about this story and the characters it involves, but you really need to find out for yourself why it's so good. After all, there is a race of people with televisions for heads...

You can feast your eyes on the first issue of the comic here, I definitely recommend it!

Also, if you get reaaaaaally hooked off of that first comic, and you're left wanting more, here is the link to the Amazon page. You can pick up the first 6 comics as a graphic novel currently for a mere £6.75.

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Grab your game carts...



If you've got a stack of your favourite SEGA and Nintendo game carts, but no longer possess your old consoles (or don't have the space for them), you can now set your sights on getting the latest Hyperkin development in hardware emulation, the slick-looking RetroN 5!



Recently announced at the Midwest Gaming Classic convention as the RetroN 4, Hyperkin have gone one better and announced a retro enthusiast dream addition in a 5th Famicom slot, and renaming the machine the RetroN 5. This retro gaming console hybrid supports the following formats:

Famicom
Gameboy
Gameboy Advance
Gameboy Colour
Genesis
Megadrive
NES
SNES
Super Famicom

It may be missing out on some retro format essentials, such as SEGA Master System or Amiga, but we're not complaining, since the gadget boasts complete PAL and NTSC compatibility, HDMI 720p and support for up to 4 wireless bluetooth controllers. The console also sports a total of 6 original controller ports for SNES, NES and Mega Drive, with the added function of using any controller for any game - so if you want to use a SNES controller to play Ecco the Dolphin, it's completely possible!


The RetroN 5 also comes with a wireless bluetooth controller, chargeable via a micro USB port to a USB port on the console. There are also 6 facing buttons and 2 shoulder pads, with a microswitch directional pad replacing the traditional directional pad.

If that wasn't enough, it's also possible to save games, and store saved games on the system, with an auto-save feature when the system is shutting down. You can also re-map controller layouts to your own preferred configuration, and control manual and passive over clocking for super-slow or super-speed retro gaming.

This could appeal to uber-fans of retro gaming that want to store parts of their retro collection for safe-keeping, or to the casual player who has a couple of games in their attic and wants to play their friends on their Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninjas NES cart.

Would it ever equal the feeling of the real thing though?

Friday 22 March 2013

It's been a while...

Hey folks, it has indeed been a while since I posted last on here. Infact, this is the first post of the new year! Don't worry though, I will be hopefully posting in abundance in the coming weeks and months.

I have been invited to write for www.twinstickgaming.com, so I'll be writing there concurrently with this blog. You might see some stuff from here work its way onto here if you follow them, and vice versa. Either way - it's all about the games!

Stay tuned folks..