Last Week

Morning folks,
Last week went really well for me in the ways of my gaming, in fact I clocked the story for Hitman Blood Money (PS3) at the start of the week. Then I spent the rest of the week doing all the extra trophies and playing through again to get the difficulty trophies etc so finally on Sunday evening I clocked the Platinum. Wish every week went that well but anyway that's one more game in my pile finished and since it was released at the start of the year it does bring my new release completed percent up to 50%. Also it's game sixteen on my complete list so it's going ok for the year, could be better in that regard.

Anyway it was not just Blood Money taking all my time, I did put some time into Pokemon Black 2 and finally got the fourth gym finished. Spent some time on the multiplayer for Tomb Raider with a friend clocking a few of the achievements. That was pretty much it for the week and oh I did buy some more games, I know I said I would not but when I say they was cheap I really mean super cannot say no cheap. Picked up Sniper Ghost Warrior, Kingdoms of Amalur and Disney's Brave for my collection, I did try Brave yesterday and it's very easy game. Game mechanics are nicely done and the levels are a decent length, plus a few puzzles thrown in and you got yourself a decent enough game.

For this weeks goals and further on in the month I'm aiming to continue to work on the Hitman HD collection, probably Contracts first but we will see. I've also had Lego Lord of the Rings for the PS3 sent as my rental, good game but very long and when I played it on the Xbox I had quite a few game breaking bugs/glitches so I'm praying I will be able to get through it. Other then that I will be just dabbling my game time here and there on a few games, just want to stick with the one game really with all my time.

Trying my best to work through my game collection before the next big rush of games come out, think we only have the Last of Us next in June. In fact it comes out E3 week so talk about making that week even more epic. After that I think it's August it kicks off with the releases, starts with Splinter Cell in my books but of course E3 announcements could change that. But at least got a few weeks/months before then to try and complete a good chunk of my games.
~Iznic

Killzone: Shadow Fall

When the PlayStation 4 was announced they hit the show off with the new Killzone 4 game, also known as Shadow Fall. It looked amazing from they showed off and it was even better that it was a level being played instead of just a cutscene trailer.



Looks amazing right? graphics are stunning and the gameplay looks brilliant, not a bad start for the PlayStation 4. Of course I am hoping this is the game and not just a quick high definition level put together to show off and get people interested. Then to find out it will have nothing to do with the main game, like some past gameplay trailers we have seen. So with high hopes resting on that, I should be picking this up on day one and it would be a great launch title. Still not played the played the past ones yet, well that's a lie since I have played 2 but not finished them yet.

So will you be getting this game if you pick up a PlayStation 4?
~Iznic

150,000

Not sure what time I hit it but on Saturday evening I clocked the 150,000 gamerscore milestone finally!

I did realise I had done it until Sunday morning when I loaded up Xbox Live to play some games and noticed my score flash up. According to my blog it was back in July 2010 when I hit 100,000 so it's took me nearly three years to get the 50,000. Talk about a slow progress but to be fair I do play other consoles and plus I don't chase achievements as much as I use too. I'm trying to play games for the story first, achievements last but of course now and again I do play a game just to hunt achievements. For example I finished Rise of the Guardians yesterday for the full 1,000 gamerscore, I did pick up the game for the story hoping for something good like Spiderwick Chronicles or Meet the Robinson's. Turned out to be a flop but the game play was not too bad so I stayed with it to get the achievements, takes about 4-5 hours easily since it's pretty much finish every level and collect a lot of stuff.

So my next goal? well I don't have one really since I would like to say I'm going for 200,000 but I'm not really. My main purpose now is to try and finish some of my games in the Pile of Shame that I've created over the years. Especially now with the new consoles on the horizon, I do wonder though if the next Xbox will continue with achievements and gamerscore. If they do will I still be able to use my profile on both consoles, food for thought and hopefully will get some answers soon.

Anyway so onto with what I'm up to, well with my rental game now finished I've decided to jump back onto the Hitman HD Collection. I'm currently playing through Blood Money on the PS3 and god did I forget how good this game was. I'm over the half way point now since I had a huge four hour session yesterday and once I've done the story then I'm going for the Platinum trophy. As to be done, it's Hitman! it deserves the Platinum. Not really playing anything else on the side yet, there are few games I would like to clean up and finish but I think I'm just focusing on Hitman for now.

That's it really for this week, work on Hitman and after that not sure but I will post up once I know so until then have a good one.
~Iznic

P.S. Woot!!! 150,000!!!

Batman Arkham Origins

I'm still shocked about this being announced since I was just not expecting it, I know there have been rumours of a new Batman Arkham game for a while now. Especially after a load of domains where registered with different titles, my favourite was Batman Arkham Universe but I was not expecting a new Batman game until next year. Thought they would save it for the next generation consoles to be honest, never would I had guessed they would announce for current and a 25th October release date.

So folks we have a new Batman game coming out and it's a prequel this time, starts off earlier on his career so expect first introductions for most of the super villains. Set on Christmas eve as well it seems Black Mask has put a bounty on your head and now everyone his out for your blood. Of course since it's earlier in Batman's career the Police force don't trust him and he's not got his skills 100% yet. This sounds so awesome for a storyline and if they pull it off right, could be the best game in the series by far.

May Issue of Gameinformer

The May issue of Gameinformer is meant to be jam packed with Lot's of details about the game plus screenshots, plus check out CVG's (Computer and Video Games) full article just here since they go into full detail about a preview demo they saw.

Another surprising bit about the announcement was that on the same day they will be releasing Batman Arkham Origins Black Gate for the PSVita and 3DS. That's right folks for the first time ever a handheld game for the series and it's events take place after Origins. Finally some love for the Vita, was really getting worried about the lack of games being announced. Hopefully we will see more information about the handheld games at E3, hoping they do something amazing with them.

So before I wrap this post up I do have a few worries, first of the fact it's getting release in Quarter Four with all the other new releases and possible new consoles. There is way too much coming out over those few months to keep adding more, I know it's the Christmas period and the best time for sales but come on! the consoles alone could kill peoples budgets. I hope the publishers know they might not be getting the best figures this year. although at the same time since everything is coming out on current generation it makes the choice of switching over harder. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 graphics are not that bad, yes the PlayStation 4 is amazing but when it's going to cost £300+ then £50 per game it really does kill the budget. Or you could save the money and use it on the lower priced current generation versions and get a lot more games for your money.

As I keep saying to everyone it will be a interesting year that's for sure, anyway that's it folks so have a good one! Really cannot wait for this game to come out now.
~Iznic


Sources:
Image - Gameinformer
Details - CVG

Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag

It came to me last week that I never did a post about the full reveal for this game, I remember doing the rumour post for it and the confirmation that Ubisoft are in fact making it but when they did put up the details and the trailer I forgot to post. Since then there as been two trailers, information, collector editions and pre-order bonuses. So I've decided to go with a huge blog post dedicated to everything I missed about this game, you probably have read it elsewhere but who cares! Assassin's Creed rocks!.

So let's start with the announcement CGI trailer that came out on the Monday after the rumours.



Looks awesome right? I've been wanting a proper Pirate game in ages, well one that works anyway and this looks like it will hit the nail on the head. I love the fact we will be treasure hunting as well, soon as I saw the scene with the diving down to the sunk ship it was a must buy. Although to be honest it was a must buy soon as they said new Assassin's Creed game. Anyway it will be interesting how it will play out, I love the fact we have two cutlass swords and four pistols. Should be some amazing fighting combos with all those weapons, I bet the reload times will be a pain in the ass though.

I do have a few worries though, one is the story tying with the assassins. The new character has been trained by assassins and you do see a scene at the end of him taking someone out but I get the feeling he's more rogue then working for the Brotherhood. I'm just worried they will focus too much on the Pirate theme and forget that this games about the Assassin's vs. Templar. Anyway the second worry is that the game is coming out on current generation and next generation. I'm hoping the PS4 version is not just a current generation game with a patch job, especially with the rumour prices starting at £50 for the next generation games. If I'm paying £10-£15 over a current generation version it needs to be worth the money. Will have to see how things turn out over the next few months, expecting to see Lot's at E3 this year.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that was the announcement trailer and since then a lot of information has been announced, few weeks back they put up the Collectors editions for the game and just like Splinter Cell there are plenty to choose from. Before I go into this folks just a reminder that I will be listing the editions for the UK market, other countries might have different editions or being support by different retailers. Check out your local stores for information for your country.

To start with there is a special pre-order bonus with the retailer GAME, placing a deposit in store and you can get a Treasure map poster. Check out the picture below to see how awesome it is, the poster is nearly A3 in size and shows the in-game map off with four treasure locations. When you place the pre-order and get the map you also get a DLC code for the four treasure locations in the game, one of which is exclusive to GAME.

Andreas Island
Cage Island
Florida
Havana (GAME Exclusive)

Just an heads up the treasure map poster is for the local stores and if you order online you will receive a PDF version instead. With that out of the way let's talk special editions and collector editions, starting the basic one which again is a GAME Exclusive.

GAME Exclusive Special Edition

The Exclusive Special Edition is pretty much the same as the past years where you get a copy of the game with the cover slightly altered to say that comes with a few extra bonus DLC. In this case you are getting Captains Kenways Legacy which is bonus items for both singleplayer and multiplayer. Plus the mission Sacrificed Secrets where you chase after Captain Drakes treasure which includes a golden cutlass and flintlocks (pistols).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Skull Edition

Say hello to the first collector editions which is the lowest price, this is the Skull Edition which most retailers will be stocking. You get a copy of the game of course plus a Jumbo steelbook with the new Pirate Assassin Logo on the cover. Still trying to find out what the Jumbo steelbook is meant to be, I'm assuming similar to the Mass Effect one that came out on the Xbox 360 but unsure at the moment. You also get the soundtrack and artbook like most collectors editions plus an art envelope containing two Lithographs. Finally in the ways of the DLC content you get the stuff from the Exclusive Special Edition (Sacrificed Secrets and Captains Kenways Legacy) plus a bonus singleplayer mission Hidden Mystery which takes you on a journey following Stede Bonnet's path to find his secrets when he adventures in St Lucia.

Interesting enough right now this edition is the same price as the Exclusive one above on the GAME website, so a bargain to be had here folks. Unless of course you want more in which case check out the next two editions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next up is the Buccaneer Edition which is a GAME Exclusive collectors edition and one of the most coolest I've seen so far.

Buccaneer Edition - GAME Exclusive

So first you get a outer chest collectors box which looks awesome, reminds me of the AC3 one they did. I like it when Publishers put the extra effort into the outer box as well, shows me they do care and you know the product will be good quality. Anyway again you get everything that is in the Skull Edition well except the steelbook which is a shame really. This time though instead of the steelbook you get the awesome looking Captain Kenway statue, it's meant to measure at 45cm tall. I love the detail gone into it, the swinging pose and the Pirate flag on the mast is a nice touch. Instant buy for me soon as I saw it, I prefer the figurines with more of a diorama then a simple standing facing front.
Anyway one extra DLC mission is also included in this edition, the Black Island which has exploring the island to find Captain Morgan's sunken ship that contains legendary sailing equipment. So one nice looking collectors edition right? tempted no? price is currently set at £79.99 on the GAME website so not a bad price really since all the past big editions have been that price. But before you go running off to order let me show you one more edition.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Say hello to the Uplay exclusive Black Chest Edition...

Black Chest Edition - Uplay Exclusive

This edition will cost around £120 depending on what format you have it on but you can see why the cost is so steep. The figurine is one of the best out there and my god do I want it for my collection, it stands at 55cm tall as well so don't expect a small thing to arrive. I love the detail gone into the front of the ship, this how all figurine should look. Anyway you also get the same DLC as the Buccaneer with several extra items, "Pride of the West Indies" "Trove of Mystery" and "The Castaway's Prize" which I cannot find any information about yet. Although if you read the image it says all pre-order bonuses so I'm assuming these are unannounced pre-order bonuses for other retailers.

Anyway you get a cool chest collectors box, world map, the same two lithographs again but this time you also get two canvas prints as well. Check out the top right corner of the image to see them, they look amazing and I've got to find some space on my wall for them. Steelbook as well is included but does not say anything about being a Jumbo one, but looks to be the same design though. Soundtrack and artbook from the other editions is also in there and finally you get Assassin's Logo flag! as I said earlier this image is one of my favourite new designs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

So there you have it folks, a ton of collectors editions to choose from again thanks to Ubisoft spoiling us. Are you tempted by any of them? myself I have both the Black Chest and Buccaneer edition on order since I want both figurines, yes I know the Buccaneer is just a cut out of the Black Chest one but if you look it will be bigger version of Captain Kenway. Plus it looks like there are slight changes to the design but anyway you know me for my Collectors Editions, want them all! I also want the Skull Edition but waiting for more information to see what Jumbo Steelbook is. Anyway that's it for this post folks, thanks for reading and don't forget to drop a comment if you getting this game or any of the editions above.
~Iznic

P.S. one last thing, here is the game play trailer for your enjoyment!

Morning Thought's

Morning folks,
Thought I would pop on for a quick post before I start worrying about getting ready for work. Sunday was amazing in the ways of gaming, I finally got the last plant I needed mid afternoon so I'm now the proud owner of the Platinum trophy for Plants vs Zombies on the Vita. Second Platinum trophy for the year so getting there slowly.

On top of that I started back on God of War just for a level or two, which turned into just one more and then one more level until four hours had passed and the game finished. So that was game number fourteen for the year and also means all my new releases for March have been completed. Very happy with myself but now it does leave the question of what to play next, got plenty to choose from just not sure where to start.

From lovefilm they have sent me Rise of the Guardians based on the movie, now normally I hate movie tie-in games since they usually suck but there have been a few exceptions. Anyway I loved the movie so I thought I would give the game a chance, well so far it looks good and plays great. It's over the top camera with a four member team, reminds me heavily of Marvel Ultimate Alliance in the ways of controls. It's also pretty much following the film so it's not too bad with the story either and the achievements seem easy enough since the map shows all the collectibles and side missions.

Will be working on that this week but I do need another game to work on along side it, cannot let my rentals take over all my time. Thinking I could do with finishing off Pokemon Black 2 so I'm up to date for when Pokemon X & Y come out later this year. Also got the Assassin's Creed Anthology to work on, thinking start from the first and going all the way through the series. Plenty of choices and no idea where to begin, I will get back to you guys on what I pick.

Apart from that not much to say really, I still have plenty of posts to do it's just getting the time to sit down and write them out. Anyway on this note I do have to run or else I won't have time for breakfast, so have a good one folks and don't forget to drop a comment with what you been playing this weekend.
~Iznic

P.S. Don't forget the PS4 poll on the right, could do with some more feedback folks.

Easter Thoughts

Afternoon readers,

It's been a busy few weeks for me and I've not had really much time to blog or even game in most cases but fear not since it's my day off!. Now before I dedicate the whole day to gaming and blogging I cannot since I've got a lot of jobs to catch up on, no rest for the wicked that's for sure but I am determined to least get two blog posts up today. Plus hopefully a rough draft or two for this weeks posts that I have planned.

So where to begin well I've bought some more games again since there have been some awesome deals and sales going on. I think I posted up about Darksiders 2 and Skyrim Premium Edition PS3 both being £10 a few weeks back, well this week I picked up the Halo 4 Collector's Edition since GAME had knocked it down to £28 finally. Could not resist once I saw the steelbook inside which is one of the nicest steelbooks I've ever seen, plus having the season pass as well was the cherry on the top.

Of course trying to save some money this money went right out the window, especially when Amazon knocked the price of the Assassin's Creed Anthology Edition down from £99 to £48. All five games plus all the DLC for each game in a collectors box, steelbook and artcards. So I picked up the PS3 version since I've wanted to go through them again for trophies. Also means I've got plenty of Unboxing blog posts to do now, although I was already swamped with all the collector editions I picked up in March.

Anyway thank god it goes quiet for the next few months so I can start saving for the end of the year, it's going to kill me with all these new games being announced plus having new consoles as well. There is so much I want! I really have no idea where to start but I cannot wait! but enough about that let's talk gaming and what I've been up to.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well you will be happy to know that I've clocked Gears of War Judgement at the start of the week plus the Aftermath campaign was done as well. Was really pleased with myself since that means only God of War is left out of the March new releases, think that's the first time I've ever clocked all the new releases for a month. I'm also half way through God of War and so far I'm not seeing this really short game everyone was complaining about unless the next half goes real quick. I am disappointed with the game though since the camera is horrible in it, I know the game looks beautiful and the boss fights are meant to look epic but having the camera keep zooming out to show it off is a pain. Plus throw in the combat system that seems only want to work when it feels like it, well it's a recipe for disaster.

I'm hoping to put some more time into today so I can wrap it up but I do have a few games I'm currently working on. I picked up Defiance at the start of the month, so far I've only put a hour or two into it and well...it's kinda boring right now. The story is not dragging me into it and the quests are just repeating them selves, there is only a few different types that are just repeated over and over. Plus everyone looks the same! there is no really customisation to it yet at the start you spend ages making your character the way you want but once you in-game everyone is the same. 

Not going to condemn the game though yet, I'm only at the beginning and I need to pump some more time into. I picked up the Collectors edition so I really want to get my money's worth before I decide to give up on it, hopefully some patches will come out to spruce it up and with the TV show launching in about a week's time that might make it more interesting.

So yeah I will be putting more time into that this week and the final game I'm currently playing is Plants vs. Zombies on the Vita. Last time I posted I only needed one more trophy to clock the Platinum which is the Zen Garden, to get it I need all the plants in my garden is pretty much luck. I was annoyed because when I first checked out the trophy guide it just said that I needed to loot the plants and don't need to keep them but now it says all the plants have to be present at the same time in the garden for the trophy. So there's a lesson for you my readers and that's to keep checking any achievement/trophy guide for updates, it can cost you a lot of time if you don't.

Anyway I was down to eight plants left to get and yesterday out of no where I got six of the missing ones, then this morning the seventh one dropped finally so now I just need one more and that will be my third Platinum for the Vita. I expect to see me on this a lot the next few nights as I attempt to try and get it, fingers crossed it will drop in the next few days. 

So that's it folks for me now, I'm going to go and do some gaming then I will be back to write up another post I've been wanting to do. Until then have a good one and don't forget to comment with what you been up to.

~Iznic

P.S. to the right is a poll for the PlayStation 4, if you can spare a minute I would be very interesting to seeing how many of you will be getting it or not.

 

Xbox Live Sale

Tomorrow See's the end of the Xbox Live Spring Easter sale that has been running for the last week, so last chance to get some of those bargains. Why do I mention this? well the Skyrim DLC is currently 50% which is a bargain and must get if you have Skyrim. I've barely scratched the surface of the game but could not resist the discount so I've finally picked up the missing DLC.

Dragonborn was 1,600 Microsoft Points - Now 800 Microsoft Points
Hearthfire was 400 Microsoft Points - Now 200 Microsoft Points
Dawnguard was 1,600 Microsoft Points - Now 800 Microsoft Points

You can get the full list of sale items on Major Nelsons blog which is linked here for your convience. Other good discounts to mention is Walking Dead Episode 1 is free again and the rest of the episodes at 50% off (200 Microsoft Points each).

With the Spring sale ending tomorrow there will be a April's Fool Sale for one day only like last year. Again Major Nelson has posted a small tease of some of the things on sale tomorrow, mostly Fallout 3 DLC at 75% off. If this tease is correct the 33% off the Assassin's Creed 3 season pass is a good bargain and the 60% off Dishonored Dunwell Trials DLC.

Will be on Xbox live tomorrow to see what will be discounted and should be a interesting day to see what April fools jokes go up, I'm expecting lots of consoles pictures going around and crazy games.
 ~Iznic





Source: Major Nelson Blog

Battlefield 4 Reveal

Evening folks,
Happy Easter readers! sorry for the lack of posts recently but I've been very busy and not much time to do anything really (including gaming). Anyway I've got plenty to post about it so expect plenty this week as I try and catch up with everything. So to start things off let's talk Battlefield 4, for the last few weeks EA as been teasing with mini clips and images that a big reveal was coming. Then the website went live last week (or was it the week before, cannot remember) with a date marking the release of the trailer.



Well I was shocked that the trailer would be 17 minutes of game play footage, I was just expecting a mini thing saying the the launch window and consoles. The graphics look amazing but it as come out they was playing on a high-end spec PC but still should be good on the consoles. What did shock me though is that it's coming to the current generation consoles. Slight worry there because if they do announce it for next generation as well will it be just a port with a slight improvement on graphics yet a new console game price tag (extra £10-15).

Guess only time will tell and they probably holding off announcing the next generation versions since the new Xbox as not made an appearance yet. This game will be on my list to get since I love the Battlefield series, it's one of few games I actually like playing online. Lost count how many hours I poured into Bad Company 2 although to be fair I've not put the time into Battlefield 3 but the matches I did play was awesome.

Need to rectify that soon and start having a session every week, especially since I bought the premium service to get all the extra maps and modes. Anyway back to Battlefield 4, graphics look nice and the new story could be interesting so fingers crossed there. It's the one thing that usually fails for me is getting into the singleplayer story, Battlefield 3 was ok but could had been a lot better and the Medal of Honor series...well let's not go there.

Anyone else picking this up or is it not your cup of tea?
 ~Iznic

Minecraft Update 9

4JStudios have released a trailer for the upcoming update 9 which finally brings the Ender Dragon and "The End" to the game



You can find a patch note list just here on the Minecraft Wiki but of course this could change sine the patch as not been released yet. Most of the changes are bug fixes or improving new features, interesting to see the End since I never had chance on the PC to try it yet. Also it looks like they will be doing some changes for the console version, thing that stood out to me the most was an exit portal so I'm guessing you can still go back into your game once you done with the Dragon.

Anyway I really could do with jumping back onto Minecraft, got plenty of projects that I wanted to work on and I've not really been on since Update 8 which had creative mode. Plus seeing the Assassin's Creed and Claptrap skins just makes me want to go play right now, shame my TV has been taken over by the girlfriend.
~Iznic

Gears of War Weapon Skin

Evening folks,
Hopefully got a few posts for you tonight but will see how things go since so far everything I've planned this weekend keeps getting cancelled. This is a quick post about a free weapon skin for Gears of War Judgement, it is limited so don't delay it too long to try and get one.

Xbox is having a competition on their facebook where you given a chance to win a console, a Kinect and of course a copy of the game. You will need to login with your Facebook details but just for entering you do get the Window Web Skin for your lancer in multiplayer.

Link is here for the site or just check out xbox 360 on Facebook.

That's it for this post folks but stay tuned for a few more in a minute of too, by the way as anyone played the game yet? I loaded up mine at the start but had to rush out. Seemed ok but I'm not expecting anything amazing from it. Hopefully the game will surprise me and be great, anyway drop a line with what you think in the comments or on Facebook.
~Iznic

Meloetta Pokemon Event

Morning folks,
Just a reminder to any Pokemon fans out their in the UK, the Meloetta event will be starting tomorrow across the country. Pop into any GAME store with your DS and a copy of either Pokemon White 2/Black 2/White/Black to download Meloetta to your game.

As far as I am aware it will be the same one that America is currently doing so it should be level 50 with a PP Max. If you take it to Castelia City in your game it will be able to learn Relic Song which will allow it to change into it's Pirouette Form. Also been told in the versions White 2 and Black 2 it will unlock a FunFest Mission to play.

Check out serebii.net for all the details on how to do these unlocks and missions.


So don't miss out folks since the event will end April 19th 2013 so you have plenty of time to do it, for those in America the event is being run by Gamestop right now and ends on the 24th March 2013. Australia will be getting the event at EBGames starting April 19th with no information yet on end date, check your local store for information.

Will be popping in myself with all my copies of Pokemon tomorrow, still need to finish Pokemon Black 2 so really could do with adding it to my must play list. Oh by the way if you live in America did you see the good news about the Pikachu 3DS XL? yes you will be getting it finally, not information yet on which stores will be stocking it but I would have chat with your local retailers.
~Iznic



Source: GAME / Serebii.net / Official Nintendo Magazine (Picture)

More Collector Edition's for Splinter Cell Blacklist

Morning folks,
Last week Ubisoft announced several more collectors for their upcoming Splinter Cell game Blacklist, if you remember a few months back I did a post about two editions that had come to light which can be found here.

Well it seems the Paladin Aircraft Edition is looking to be a exclusive to North America now but the UK/Europe have their own edition now, The 5th Freedom Edition. Before I go into that let's start with the basic editions and move the way up, heads up folks this information is for the UK and I'm not sure on other countries but check out your local retailers to see if they have information for you.

GAME Exclusive Upper Echelon Edition

First up is the Upper Echelon Edition which is an exclusive to the retailer GAME, this is a basic standard edition with a few extra goodies. Of course you get the game it self with an edited slevee plus the extra bonus map Dead Coast for singleplayer and co-op mode. Gold nightvision goggles and the upper echelon suit for Sam, HK416 Assault rifle for the game as well. There is also one more item "Elite Digital Ghillie Suit" but as you can tell from the picture there isn't an image of it yet.

So not a bad edition if you not into your big collector editions but you will have a tough choice between this and Amazon pre-order bonus with the steelbook. Anyway onto the first big collector edition for us which is the Ultimatum Edition and every retailer should be stocking this since there is no exclusive rights on it.

Ultimatum Edition

How cool does the digital watch look? I love the fact it's based on the signature nightvision goggles, my only worry is if it's cheaply made but I've pre-ordered it anyway so hopefully I can check it out before I buy. Anyway back to what you get inside this edition, well first a collectors box to hold it all in. The watch itself of course plus a 96 page graphic novel which is meant to lead into the story of the game. Bonus content for the game includes two bonus maps for singleplayer and co-op, Dead coast again and Billionaire's yacht (Bourne Identity anyone).

Of course you also get the golden goggles and upper echelon suit which seems to be in every edition so far, plus an extra set of ghost boots. So there you have it for this edition and I like the looks of it, I like how much effort is gone into the outer box because normally means they have put the time into the rest as well. As I said before though I am a little worried about the watch but have to wait for August to find out.

So we have one more edition but it comes in two variants, this it the Europe version of the Paladin Aircraft Edition also know as the 5th Freedom Edition.

GAME Exclusive 5th Freedom Edition

This bad boy is another GAME exclusive in the UK market, you get the same graphics novel and two bonus maps. Different collectors outer box and you get the steelbook this time (funny since it was meant to be a Amazon exclusive), plus the awesome looking figurine for your collection. The digital content as also been increased with five different goggles, suits and weapons.

Now there is a second variant of this edition which is only currently being stocked by Ubisoft themselves on their site. The 5th Freedom Silver Edition which is pretty much all the same stuff except the figurine is silver with just the goggles being green, the steelbook is also lost most of it's colours and gone for the silver look as well. Also if you look closely at the image you can see the collectors outer box as a silver effect as well.

Ubisoft Exclusive 5th Freedom Silver Edition

So that's it folks for Splinter Cell BlackList and any of you tempted for any of these editions? I've got an order down for both the Freedom and Ultimatum right now but I am tempted for the Silver Edition as well. Doubt I can afford all of them since I would love to get all three, trade the extra games of course and just keep the collectors stuff.
~Iznic

March Boss Fight

Afternoon folks,
Well my boss fight is going...well I'm going to say ok because it was terrible but yesterday was good, anyway I bet you wondering what the title of the post means and what boss fight. I've been treating this month games as a video game boss fight, each release being a new stage in the fight. So phase one was Tomb Raider so I was up against Lara Croft herself, very tough fight thanks to the awesome graphics in the game that make you stop to take in the beautiful scenery. Then lets not forget the collectibles add more time to the game because you just want to go looking for them. A very difficulty phase in this epic boss fight and it went badly for me since I was only 36% completed when Phase Two started.

Phase Two saw Kerrigan joining Lara (Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm), strategy game means long times especially for me since I like to take my time to build my base up before charging in. Of course the story is pretty sweet and plenty of side stuff to do so this phase would be tough since the amount of time it would take to win.

Unfortunately for me lady luck was both on my side and not, Phase Three started several days early since I was not expecting Amazon to deliver God of War last Saturday since they had quoted this Wednesday to me. So now I've got Kratos joining the fight making it 3v1 and the odds are not in my favour, especially with the God of War franchise being known for long ass games with tough boss fights at the end.

But not all is despair folks since I was granted the awesome power up "Day Off" yesterday which allowed me to duke it for five hours with Kerrigan and it ended with me winning. Another game for the completion list finally, been a while since I had clocked a game and I really need to start catching up.

Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm is pretty sweet but I did find it a lot easier compared to Wings of Liberty, not sure if it was me improving my skills since when I played Wings of Liberty that was the first time I've ever tried a Starcraft game. Story was not bad either but it did feel slightly like a filler in some ways since this is the second game in the trilogy, felt like a bit more of the story could be focused on the main story arc instead of the Kerrigan revenge arc. But still I would give the game a solid 8/9 out of the 10 if it was to grade it.

So where does that leave me now? well I'm around 60% done with Tomb Raider and God of War Ascension is sitting sealed by my TV. Going to take some photos when I unpack it for a unboxing blog post since I picked up the collectors edition. Fingers crossed I can take down Lara Croft before the weekend since Phase Four will begin and Gears of War Judgement hits.

Don't worry folks my posts will turn normal again soon and expect two unboxing blog posts in the week, God of War and Starcraft 2 HOTS.
~Iznic

Games, Games and More Games

Good Morning Folks,
I know it's been a while since my last post but last week was nothing short of being chaos for me and what little time I had spare went to playing Tomb Raider and World of Warcraft. Currently sitting on 58% complete according to my save file for Tomb Raider and I got to say it's one of the best games I've played in a long time.

If you not picked up it yet then go buy it right now, this is one of those rare moments where I will recommend this game to everyone. The graphics, gameplay and story just work perfectly, it's like Batman Arkham Asylum meets Uncharted with a tiny bit of Assassin's Creed 3 all blended together to make this game great. I really want to finish it soon so one I've not got too many games on the go and two I really want to write out a review for it, I know shocking right? me writing a review. So I will go into more details about the game when I do the review, soon as I finish first and played some of the multiplayer. Not expecting anything great from that part and not really sure why they put in a multiplayer part.

Anyway other then Tomb Raider I have been doing the new daily quests in World of Warcraft for the Island of Thunder war effort. Phase two unlocked yesterday afternoon to my great annoyance, wanted to play Starcraft more but I had to get the quests out of the way first. As you can guess I did pick up Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm yesterday, so far it's brilliant but trying to get use to playing the Zerg since my play style is usually build a base then make a small powerful army to crush my foe. Zerg is more like making a huge army and swarming the enemy with numbers while their base engulfs the land. Think I'm getting the hang of it so far anyway, will post up a unboxing for it soon since I picked up the collectors edition which is very sweet looking.

So yeah my plans for this week will be those three games, Starcraft, Warcraft and Tomb Raider. God of War Ascension is out on Friday but Amazon won't be delivering mine until Monday-Wednesday due to the fact I picked the free delivery. Seems I have to pay extra to get it on day one, shocking since everyone will post it early to make sure it arrives in time. Shame Amazon was the cheapest for the collectors edition, got it a bargain price of £61 instead of the £80+ marker that it went too later on.

On that note I better go get ready for work since I only wanted to do a quick update for you folks, I promise I will try and get some more posts up soon but you know how it is with all these new games coming out. Hard to stop playing them but I will try my best for you and until then have a good one.
~Iznic

Patch Day

Morning folks,
It's been one of those week's so far but I'm thinking today will change that, well after I get out of work first since I got a huge list of jobs to do when I go in. Anyway you not here to read about that, your here for games! well welcome to the start of the March madness. How is everyone? did you pick up Tomb Raider? what a game and I've only spent two hours on it last night. Seriously folks this is a game you need to pick up, think of it like Uncharted meets Batman with a hint of Assassin's Creed 3. The game really does get to you and you cannot help but feel for Lara and this very bad day, poor girl should not had got out of bed that morning.

I am annoyed though because this morning I checked out the achievement list which is quite poor to be honest for such a great game, 50% multi-player, 30% collectibles, 25% kill x with Y, 4% other secret and only one achievement for the game it self which is finishing the story. Anyway I'm annoyed because I found out there are seven achievements miss able meaning having to redo the game again and I've missed the start of one already. With the others if you miss them you can just restart and not play the full game but this one seems I would have to redo pretty much the entire game. So I am thinking of restarting now while I'm still at the start, not sure yet but we will see later.

Apart from that not much to report in the ways of games, oh wait actually that is a lie since I did not come back on Sunday. Remember I planned that huge gaming day with lots of games, well the plan was scrapped. I decided to start with Star Wars Old Republic to give it another try since the time is running out this week, thought give it an hour then go onto World of Warcraft. Yeah well that hour turned into three, no idea what happened but I just could not stop playing. Was really getting into my Bounty Hunter with the main story, was amazed when I realised the time spent on it. So yeah I will be renewing the time card well if I can find one, if not I will just buy a month from the site. I checked out the difference between Free-To-Play and premium, it's not good. XP is halved, character slots down to two, loss of one of the crafting professions, no high end loot, restrictions on messaging and so on. It's like you only get 10% of the game and the rest you have need to buy, thought the Free-to-Play was meant to tempt people into the game but all that would scare me away if I've never played the game before.

After that I did do a small session on Warcraft then continued with two levels on Hitman Contracts HD, working my way through on Professional difficulty and getting Silent Assassin Ranks. Probably going to be shelving that for a few weeks since I suspect Tomb Raider will keep me busy this week then next Tuesday is Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm launch. I knew I hard forgot something this morning, it's patch day for World of Warcraft so 5.2 is going live. There is a huge quest based island being added where players take part every day with daily quests to help unlock further stages in the war effort, so for example first week you start the invasion and land on the island. Quests will be based on making a beach head, then after a week or until a certain criteria is meet the second stage starts which is the beach head made and progress into the island and so on.

I love these kinda of quests so I will be making sure to spend a session each night to do the daily quests and help out. Oh wow there is a single-player scenario added that lets you loot a tomb for loads of treasure, of course plenty of traps and a timer but sounds awesome. Second island nearby called the Island of Giants, lots of quests there to get awesome new mounts. Oh man this patch sounds awesome, think Tomb Raider will not be hogging all my time this week.

Reading through the patch guide on wowhead.com and I got to say there is too much to take in, so many changes and new things. It's like a whole new game as been added and I just realised how much there is to do at level 90, I had no idea there was legendary quest line and I had forgot about the pet battles (think Pokemon). Lot's of new achievements have been added as well and looks like some of the holidays will be upgraded for the new expansion which is good. Professions have a lot of new stuff as well, could do with working on those soon.

Right I better stop with this post now since I need to have breakfast and go to work, safe to say I will be busy gaming when I get back. Hope you all having a great week and enjoying all the new games, catch you soon!
~Iznic

March Weekend

Afternoon folks,
Well it's my day off finally so I'm planning to game all day with a few blog posts thrown in when I have a minute spare. Thinking it will mostly be a multi-player day today since I don't want to really get into any game right now since Tomb Raider should arrive tomorrow or Tuesday. Really excited to play it which I am shocked about since I've never really been a huge fan of the Lara Croft series. I only got into by playing Legends a few years back and Underworld which I still say is one of my favourite games.

So since I don't want to get into anything new today I will be focusing on games I need to clean up and playing multi-player matches later. Currently working on Hitman Contracts HD the last few days trying to get all the achievements, I just need two more Silent Assassin ranks on Professional and I will get two achievements for that (difficulty achievements stack). Will then continue my second run through on professional to unlock the last difficulty achievements and then that just leaves me with collecting all the weapons achievements. So I will be focusing on that at some point this afternoon plus I might jump onto Saints Row the Third for the PS3, last time I went on I had finished Act One and was part way through the second act plus working on the challenges.

For the multi-player games this evening I'm thinking some Battlefield 3 and Black Ops 2 matches for some fun, been a week or two since my last session. Very tempted to pick up the Black Ops 2 season pass lately since I was really enjoying myself and having some more maps would be great. Plus I've heard Microsoft are giving Microsoft Points away when you buy the season pass, 400 back so you could say it's on sale right now. See how tonight's session goes anyway before I decide to buy it.

Finally the major games I want to play today is the MMO's, World of Warcraft and Old Republic. Last week of my time card for Old Republic so if I don't get into it then I will not be renewing it and let it slip to free-to-play. I have picked up a new card for Warcraft so my plans for that today is to focus on the zones I've not quested in and start looking into upgrading my gear, plus I could do with levelling some of my professions.

It's safe to say I've got plenty to keep me busy with today so on this note I'm going to head off and start, oh by the way did any of you catch the Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flags trailer yesterday? yeah it got leaked for like an hour. Really feel for Ubisoft right now since pretty much everything has been leaked about the game. But on the positive side the trailer was awesome and it's going to be a great game from the looks.

~Iznic

Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flags

Morning,
Well I was not expecting to come home from work yesterday to find Ubisoft had confirmed the rumours was true and that Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flags is the next game in the series. The box art shown yesterday morning in my rumour post is the real box (see below) and that the full details will be out on Monday 4th March.

Interesting thing is the full box artwork that they put up did show the PS3 version will get an extra 60 minutes of game play like last year with AC3. Also they have confirmed it's for current generations since both artwork going around is for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Anyway the official Facebook page for Assassin's Creed confirmed late last night there will be a trailer on Monday for the new game.

So thing's will be exciting on Monday, cannot wait to see the new game. I've been wanting a great pirate game for a long time and the Assassin's Creed 3 naval combat features where the best around so this could be awesome on a new level. Any of you tempted yourself for it?
~Iznic


P.S. Rumour Alert - VG24/7 Just posted up saying there was a slip up on the official website giving a release date for the game as 29th October. But here is the interesting point though it says "Coming to next-generation consoles October 29th", so this could be on next generation consoles and we could be seeing the new consoles in late October? time will tell.

Check out the full story on VG24/7 right here.

Rumour: Assassin's Creed 4 Box Art

Just about to leave for work and this beautiful picture appears up on twitter thanks to CVG.

Image belongs to CVG

Rumour is this is the box art for the latest game and was leaked on the Ubisoft forums, looks very legit to be honest. I love the new Pirate Assassin's logo on the flag in the background, anyway not much else as been leaked since my post yesterday. Hopefully everything will be clearer next week since the embargo is meant to be this Monday coming up, well if we are to believe all these rumours anyway.

Check out my yesterday post here to see the other leaks/rumours about this game.
~Iznic

Sources:
CVG - Box Art leak

Warcraft and Starcraft

Good Morning,
Last night the official trailer for the new World of Warcraft patch went live, say hello to 5.2 The Thunder King.



Shame I'm not in a guild because I would love to have ago at that raid, the bosses shown look amazing and fun. Got to love the part where the army of trolls march along with the giant dinosaurs, anyway the patch is meant to be huge and adding entire new zone with plenty to do. Think it's hitting next week if I can remember right.

Speaking of Blizzard as well a new trailer went up for the upcoming Starcraft game, Heart of the Swarm. Nicknamed Vengeance it's once again showing hints at the continuing story but this video is a little different, included is a developer talk where they talk about the game and answer questions from fans. Then at the end is a showcase match showing off Heart of the Swarm multi-player between Grubby and Crazymoving two famous pro players. It's a pretty sweet match to watch and gives you an idea of things to come, check out the video below.


Watch live video from Starcraft on TwitchTV 
So plenty to keep you busy with you are a Blizzard fan, to me it's brilliant but I am worried with so much happening at once how am I going to play it all.
~Iznic

Rumour: New Assassin's Creed Game

Evening,
Interesting rumour going around last night about the new Assassin's Creed game, it was confirmed a few weeks back there would be a game this year. Shortly after the title of "Black Flags" was making the rounds and saying it would be a pirate theme setting for the game. I loved the ship battles in Assassin's Creed 3 and would love a pirate game using the features.

Well Kotaku last night put up a post with a picture of a so called leaked photo of the promotional poster for the game. Now normally I'm not that big into rumours but this looks pretty impressive and if it is a fake then fair play to them.

Image Belongs to Kotaku

So there it is and I really hope it is true, according to the article which can be found linked here, that it will be announced next Monday (4th March) since the posters are meant to be up on store walls then. I will be glued to my Twitter feed waiting to hear the announcement to see if it's true.

Whoa I just accidentally clicked my MCV uk link on my browser and there as been another leak with more details and a screen shot? looks like this is getting more real by the day.

The new character is Edward Kenway who is the father of Haytham and Grandfather to Connor from Assassin's Creed 3. Caribean looks to be in the game thanks to the screen shot map and the embargo meant to be lifted on Monday which ties in with the Kotaku rumour. Wow this is getting silly, each post I'm reading is linked to another with more information and it looks like Ubisoft is having a Assassin's Creed Press Conference today. Wonder what that could be about lol

Image Belongs to Kotaku

Think I would be more shocked if this game was not real to be honest at this point, anyway check out the source list below for the full stories. Hopefully next week all will be revealed and expect to see some excited posts from about it.
~Iznic



Sources:
Kotaku Poster Leak
MCV Leak Information
Kotaku Map Leak
Examiner.com Screenshot and game details

Gears Season Pass Revealed

Morning folks,
Last night EPIC posted up the details of the upcoming season pass for Gears of War Judgement which is out on the 22nd March (less than a month to go! cannot wait!). The following as been confirmed to be included:

• Two Add-on packs consisting of:
• Six multi-player maps
• Two new modes
• New weapons
• New armour skins
• Early access to the new multi-player maps
• Five exclusive weapon skins
• Four exclusive armour skins
• Permanent double XP

This will cost 1,600 Microsoft points so not a bad price but in a way I do feel like this was just rushed to be put together. Was a bit shocked to hear the price last night since I thought it was a lot cheaper then the Gears 3 one then I saw the list of content. Only two packs? how fast will they come out? will there be more after? and I really hope the maps are good ones and not just generic ones with a new skin.

I loved the maps in the end packs for Gears 3, especially with the Easter eggs in them like finding elemental cleavers. Anyway they say it will save 20% if you bought the packs separate and I do love the Gears multi-player so I will be picking this up, The double XP is a really nice bonus and makes me wonder how long it will take to level up if they offering that.

Roll on March!
~Iznic

Start of the Week

Monday morning, I should hate it being the fact it's the start of another week but I usually get today off so it kinda gets balanced out. Anyway hope you all had a fun filled weekend of gaming, I really did not get up to much myself, had a small session of Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires and one game of League of Legends. Was too busy tiding up and doing odd jobs, plus had a small movie marathon last night since I spend way too much time on my gaming and neglect my movies and books.

Had a bit of a shock loading up Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires though, it's subtitled this time around so I need to try and get use to reading the notification messages during battle. Before I would just listen out and still be able to pay attention to what was happening, now I keep having to glance to read which is costing me in a fight. Need to learn to balance that out but it's a fun game anyway, seems more in depth compared to the last ones so I think this platinum trophy will be a lot more challenging. Worth a check out if you into these type of strategy/action games.

So as I said not much this weekend for gaming, did do a lot of thinking and planning though. Oh actually before I go into that I did find something amusing during my tiding. My HD DVD player for the Xbox 360, picked up one last year really cheap, think it was something like £2.50 and when I got it home found a copy of Van Helsing left inside the disc tray. Bargain of the year that was and such a shame the format did not kick off, if they had put the drive into the Xbox like Sony did with the Blu-ray and PlayStation 3 it might be still here. Nothing really different between the two formats except HD DVD are all region free, that was the massive positive in my book. Anyway wonder if we will see a Blu-ray player in the new Xbox this year, hope so since they need to take advantage of the bigger disc space.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway back to the original subject of me thinking, well I was thinking about of multiple things. First MMO's and more specifically the ones I'm currently playing, World of Warcraft and Old Republic. If you been a long time reader of my blog you know one of my bad points is wasting money on time cards that I do not get my worth out of, one three hour session for a 60 day time card is not a good thing. Well the end of the time is coming up for Warcraft and I'm sure Old Republic will be soon too, so I was wondering is it worth reinvesting into another card for each. Of course this will all depend on did I get plenty of time out the current ones. World of Warcraft I would say without a doubt since I hit level 90, was on every day for the last two weeks doing the Valentines dungeons and spent quite a few sessions levelling up and questing. In fact I will just check out Raptr to see what the time was and it says in the last month I've clocked twelve hours, well the time card is two months so not bad. Especially when you fork out £40 for a console game and get around six hours game play.

Old Republic is another story in it's self and in fact Raptr as no data for the last month of me playing, if I did it would be less then an hour. Found it! Raptr blog activity last post was 11th February for 44 minutes, I will admit I don't think I've got my moneys worth. I started off well but the last few weeks I've not been on, the game is good but I don't know it's like I don't have a reason to sit down and play it. It's not gripping me I guess and I really don't know, I have wondered if playing a different class might help since they all different stories and game styles.

I've just checked and I've got twelve days left of my time card so I'm going to try a different character, the thing is that the game is free-to-play now of course you lose a lot of bonus for not being a premium member (cannot remember what). So I could still technically play it after my time runs out just with lots of penalties, see what happens with the next twelve days anyway.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that was my thoughts on the MMO's and I did think about console games as well with the same subject line of moneys worth. My pile of shame is huge and now with possibility of seeing the next generation of consoles this year the pressure is on really. I do feel like kicking myself for not playing some of these games, there are lot of amazing games this generation that I've not touched like Heavy Rain, Dark Souls, Demons Souls etc and plenty of games I've started and not finished. Over the last few weeks and in fact since the start of this year I have realise with so many games coming out and buying so many at the same time it does become hard to decide on what to play. A lot get shelved and a lot of time is wasted trying to decide on what to play, in fact I can say I've spent at least one night trying to decide on what to play then giving up for a film because there was too many choices.

In the old days when I was kid I barely bought any games, but when I did my god would I get my times worth out of them. I would love to see how many hours was spent on Ages of Empires 2 and Jedi Knight 2, I would easily say 200+ hours if not more. Now I be lucky to give them one hour so yeah I was thinking about that and of course the costs. In fact with the PlayStation 4 announcement I wrote down all the titles I wanted and rough guessed the price plus the console price. Guessing at £400 for the console and £50 per game, my want list came to nearly £1,000! so as you can imagine I nearly spat my drink out.

This is where this thought started, say all those games came out on the launch day how would I play them all? some would get pushed to the side or even shelved. So why buy them all if I'm not going to play them and that was it, I started with all this thinking and started to look at the Pile of Shame. You probably wondering where I'm going with all this rambling, well I don't know really. I think I need to cut back on my spending, maybe just buy one game at time and I don't buy the next until I've finished the last. Would make life simpler but then I only have to look at my challenge to see I cannot even do that right.

Food for thought anyway and on this note I'm going to go get ready because I suppose to be leaving soon for the Cinema to see Die Hard 5. I did not realise the time and spent way too much time writing this so take care all and I will see you soon.
~Iznic

PlayStation 4

So it's finally been announced! all that waiting and secrets they have finally confirmed it but no pictures of the console. That was the only thing that annoyed me at the conference last week was not seeing the actual console itself but I can understand they want to hold some things off for the E3 event, plus the main thing a gamer should really want to know is what it can do.

They answered that quite well, I was like a kid in a candy store or on Christmas morning bouncing off the walls as they told us about it and showed off game trailers. I don't know what I was expecting to be honest but it was not that, I'm very impressed with what they doing and I will get the console on launch day.

So before I start talking about what I like here is the conference video itself, if you not had chance to watch it then I recommend you do so now.



Right a lot of the specifications announced I have heard are not final but I bloody hope they stick with it, especially the 8GB of RAM. It will need it or even more to run all those lovely new features they talked about, and thank you Sony for finally putting a separate chip in for downloaded. Instant downloading and play while downloading should had been put in the PS3 a long time ago, this was one of the things I wanted changing and they did it.

I love the idea of the new social stuff like the video capturing, I've been wanting to do it for a long time now but the price of some of the capture cards put me off. Plus the fact only a selected few will work with HDMI really kept me away, so the idea that a click of the Share button and my game play session is ready to be shared is awesome. I will be using it a lot for my blog here folks, so many times I've done something awesome and wish I could had shown it. Also it would be great to add into reviews once I got back into writing them again.

Also I do like the idea of allowing friends to watch you playing games, bit like eSports streaming and the options of them able to post messages into the game to help. I know quite a few friends asking where certain items in a game so now I could just show them, or if they ask what a game is like I can send them a video or let them watch me play. So that's all brilliant to me and I really do hope they stick to their guns and actually do all these features.

Very gutted to hear that it's not backwards compatible with retail or digital PS3 games but in the end I do have to agree with people, I don't buy a new console to play the past console games. Just means I won't be saving any money by trading my PS3 in since I will be keeping it, might need a few new shelves under my TV.

I'm not going to go into the games in this post, going to do each one separate so expect a few more posts in a bit. But anyway Yes I'm going to get the console (as long as they stick to all of this that was announced) and it probably will be day one and I really, really, really hope the UK See's it for the Holidays as well and not delayed. Don't ruin Christmas for us Sony and be a scrooge, a world wide launch should be your aim or within the same week.

It's going to be interesting to see what Microsoft has up it's sleeve for their console, every one is saying April announcement. On that note I'm going to go work on the game posts, don't forget to comment with your thoughts on the new console. Plus I have a poll running on the facebook page to see who will be buying on launch day, so far it's four yes and three maybe's.
~Iznic

Plants Vs. Zombies Free

Afternoon folks,
Thought I would start the day off with a quick small post and what better then with a free game. Do you own a iPad or iPhone or even a iPod Touch? well any iOS device. Then you can get Plants vs. Zombies for free over the next few days.

One of my favourite games which I currently own on the Vita/PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, you can get the normal version for the smaller devices or the HD version for the iPad free right now for the next week (until the 28th February I'm hearing). If you never played the game then what cave have you been living in? well check out the trailer for it.



Lost count how many hours I've spent on this game, it's amazing how such simple games can keep you hooked and I've just learnt the reason this is free right now is because Plants vs. Zombies 2 is in the works for this year. No images or trailers just yet for this but I'm already excited to play it.

Anyway that's it folks, I did say this would be a quick short post and I'm now off to starting writing about the PlayStation 4 event.
~Iznic

4 Years and 10,000 Pageviews

Afternoon folks,
So I'm finally home and no work for a few days, Sunday and Monday is my weekend to me and I will be celebrating with gaming and Die Hard on Monday. Now I've got quite a few things to talk about today, first up going to start with the new PlayStation 4 announcement. Yes I know I did not post after it happened or in fact the last few days, that's because if you not already noticed I've been changing the blog slightly.

I'm cleaning up the pages (links above) and sorting out new ones, so for example so far you will notice 2011/2012/2013 Gaming Progress as gone and now just says Gaming Progress Stats. Here you will find this year stats with a set of links for the past few years, looks a lot more tidy this way. Next up I've got rid of the E3 2012 since I never did get around to finishing it, but I have put up the E3 2013 ready for this year. I'm determined to be on the ball this year so I will have the games I loved post up and linked there, plus this year I will do some kind of post with my thoughts as each announcement happens during the conferences.

The last thing which I've not added up yet is the Next Generation page, this will be exactly like the E3 page but instead contain links to all the posts to do with all the announcements of the next generation consoles and games. That is why the PlayStation 4 stuff is not up because I'm trying my hardest to get this sorted ready, I'm still in two minds if I will be including the Vita/3DS and Wii U on this page since they are technically next generation. Anyway I'm hoping to get it finished today or tomorrow then you will see my PlayStation 4 posts up shortly after.

Now onto some good news about the blog, I did not realise but I hit 10,000+ page views in the last few days. I have no idea I was that close since the last time looked was last year and I was just about to hit the 9,000 marker. Thank you ever so much my readers for taking the time out to read about my gaming life, I have no idea how you put up my random rambling nonsense. I still cannot believe it's been four year's since I started this blog up properly and in fact I missed the blog's birthday as well since it was on 29th January 2009 when I did the first post.

So yeah Happy 4th Birthday and Happy 10,000 Page Views!!!

 

While I was also looking at the total page views I was also checking out some of the other blog stats and was amazed at the changes. First the most popular post on blog and has been for a long while is the Gears of War 3 Beta Unlocks information with 245 page views. This as been number one for a long time now since I use to check quite often on what posts was popular. Now what was shocking is in the last few several new posts have taken the rest of the spots. Uncharted 3 Beta Unlocks was the second most popular but instead as fallen to number six, second most popular now is the World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria Collectors Edition Information. Third with 107 page views is the Pokemon X and Y announcement which is awesome since that's a newish post.

Anyway thought you might be slightly interested in those few stats that or you very bored now and left. Good news though this post is coming to an end since I need to get on with sorting the blog then doing some gaming. Actually that's a point I really should at least talk about my gaming plans for the weekend since this is what my blog was meant to be about. So today I picked up Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires since it's finally out, I've got my eyes on the Platinum trophy since the Empires series is only part I've got 100% clocked.

Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires Xbox 360 - 1,000 Gamer score
Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires Xbox 360 - 1,000 Gamer score
Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires PlayStation 3 - Platinum Trophy
Samurai Warriors 2 Empires Xbox 360 - 1,000 Gamer score

So yeah I'm hoping to add another platinum trophy to that list with this game but we will see how it goes. Other then that I've bought no more games just yet, this game does start the madness though with what I'm calling Christmas 2.0. I have a week off next week from releases then after that it starts with Tomb Raider on the Tuesday, week later Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm hitting on that Tuesday. Then few days later on the Friday is God of War Ascension followed the week later with Monster Hunter and Gears of War Judgement on the same day. Plus let's not forget there are still quite a few games listed to come out any time now but waiting for a solid date.

Speaking of new releases the Monster Hunter demo is out so I will be trying that this weekend to see what it's like, I have been told without the second analog stick it's not good. I'm sure I've got one for the normal 3DS somewhere that I got a few quid in the sale, will test the demo with and without since if I did like it I would want to play it on my XL. Thinking the bigger screen would look nicer for the game which would mean picking up the attachment for that to get the second analog.

Anyway where was I? oh yeah so that's my weekend plans, Dynasty Warriors and Monster Hunter demo, probably throw in my usual of Warcraft and Old Republic as well. Might sit down for a session of Battlefield 3 and Black Ops 2 multiplayer if I have time. Ohhh I know what I did forget to mention, Lovefilm have sent me Battlefield 3 for the PlayStation 3. Gutted about that since I had forgotten that was on my list and it needs an EA pass to go online, might do the singleplayer for a few trophies then send it back. My own fault for not checking the rental list to see what's on there, might have to make a note of that to do that later. So that's finally it for this post folks, hope you all have a great weekend and keep your eyes open for my PlayStation 4 posts soon. Until then have a good one!
~Iznic


P.S. While I was waiting for the PlayStation 4 conference I finally sat down and scanned my AR Kid Icarus cards into the game, I did start collecting them but stopped last year since I was getting the same ones over and over again. Did not realise if I scanned them into the game I get 100 hearts for each one, so it was pretty sweet having such a massive boost for putting my card collection in. Also bringing the cards to life was pretty good, the graphics was nicely done on each one.

2012 Gaming Progress

Start of the Year Stats

Xbox 360 Gamerscore: 124,964

PlayStation 3 Level: 12 (80%)

PlayStation 3 Trophies:

- Platnium 12

- Gold 68

- Silver 195

- Bronze 555

- Total 830

Gamerscore Earned This Year

21,845

Trophies Earned This Year

Level 14 (55%)
9 Platnium

46 Gold

107 Silver

333 Bronze

Games Working On

The Simpsons Tapped Out (iOS)
Lego Lord of the Rings (X360)

Games Completed In 2012

1. NCIS (PS3) - Platinum Trophy
2. Assassin's Creed Revelations (X360)
3. Saints Row the Third (X360) 
4. Generator Rex (X360) 
5. Toy Soldiers (X360A) - Story only
6. Dead Space Ignition (X360A) - Story only
7. Truth or Lies (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score
8. Truth or Lies (PS3) - 100% Trophies (Non Platinum Game)
9. FIFA 06 (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score
10. Gears of War 3 DLC: Shadow of RAAM (X360) - Story only
11. Dante's Inferno (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score
12. Minesweeper (WP7) - 100% Achievements
13. Dante's Inferno (PS3) - Platinum Trophy
14. Welcome Park (Vita) - 100% Trophies
15. Sudoku (WP7) - 100% Achievements
16.  Captain America (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score
17. Costume Quest (X360) - 100% Achievements
18. Marvel Superhero Squad Comic Combat (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score
19. Costume Quest DLC Grubbins on Ice (X360) - 100% Achievements
20. Command & Conquer Kane's Wrath (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score 
21. Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (Vita) - Platinum Trophy
22. Marvel Superheroes Squad: Infinity Gauntlet (X360) - Story only
23. Plants vs Zombie's (Vita) - Story only 
24. Kinectimals (WP7) - 100% Achievements
25. Mass Effect 3 (X360) - Story only
26. Batman Arkham City (PC) - Story only
27. Minecraft (X360) - 100% Achievements 
28. Sniper V2 (X360) - Story only 
29. Captain America (PS3) - Platinum Trophy 
30. Batman Arkham City DLC: Harley's Revenge (X360) - Story only
31. Dynasty Warriors 7 (X360) - Story only
32. Ghost Recon Future Soldier (X360) - Story only
33. Lego Batman 2 (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score
34. Resistance Burning Skies (Vita) - Platinum Trophy
35. X-Men Destiny (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score
36. Uncharted Golden Abyss (Vita) - Story only
37. Resistance 3 (PS3) - Story only 
38. Lego Batman 2 (Vita) - Platinum Trophy
39. Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 (X360) - Story Hardmode
40. Spec Ops The Line (X360) - Story Only Hardmode
41. Pokemon White (NDS) - Story only
42. Dishonored (X360) - Story Only
43. Portal 2 (PS3) - Platinum Trophy 
44. XCOM Enemy Unknown (X360) - Story Only
45. Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (X360) - Story Only
46. Lego Lord of the Rings (PSV) - Platinum Trophy
47. Assassin's Creed 3 (X360) - Story Only
48. The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (X360) - 1,000 Gamer Score
49. Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse (X360) - Story Only
50. Bug Village (WP7) - 100% Achievements
51. Wonderbook: Book of Spells (PS3) - Platinum Trophy
52. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS) - Story Only

2012 Releases Completed

- 21/53 - 39.6% -

1. Welcome Park (Vita)
2. Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (Vita)
3. Plants vs Zombies (Vita) 
4. Mass Effect 3 (X360)
5. Minecraft (X360)
6. Sniper V2 (X360) 
7. Ghost Recon Future Soldier (X360) 
8. Lego Batman 2 (X360) 
9. Resistance Burning Skies (Vita)
10. Uncharted Golden Abyss (Vita) 
11. Lego Batman 2 (Vita)
12. Spec Ops The Line (X360) 
13. Dishonored (X360) 
14. Wonderbook: Book of Spells (PS3)
15. Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse (X360)
16. The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (X360)
17. Assassin's Creed 3 (X360)
18. Lego Lord of the Rings (PSV)
19. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS)
20. Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (X360)
21. XCOM Enemy Unknown (X360)

2012 Games List