Originally posted at YourHealthisLow

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood arrives This November

Posted by Sharon on June 17, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Ezio’s adventures in Rome begin November 16th 2010.

During Day One of E3 Ubisoft gave a long, and somewhat unimpressive, presentation of their upcoming projects. One of the highlights of the Ubisoft conference was undoubtedly the sneak peek into the next Assassins Creed iteration created by the Ubisoft Montreal team.

Most notably the graphics were slick and environment rich, even during the gameplay portion of the demo the game seemed polished and action packed in the Rome setting.

While we watched the presentation Ubisoft informed us that in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood you will find both new fight mechanics and more aggressive A.I.

“Strike First – Strike Fast!” they told us.

Available November 16^th 2010, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood will be released for your 360, PS3 and PC. You can pre order from Ubisoft’s website in time for the 2010 holiday season.

“Live and breathe as Ezio, a legendary Master Assassin, in his enduring struggle against the powerful Templar Order. He must journey into Italy’s greatest city, Rome, center of power, greed and corruption to strike at the heart of the enemy.” – Ubisoft

To preorder you copy of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood visit Ubisoft

If you haven’t already, check out the trailer:

Originally posted at YourHealthisLow

DS Gamers Breaking World Records in London

Posted by Sharon on May 31, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Armed with a DS Londoners took to the record books at the May London MCM Expo.

This past weekend London gamers gathered at the Excel to participate in the world’s largest Handheld Game Console Party using their DS consoles.

Beating a 3 year old record of 381 held by Australia, 586 patrons of the London MCM Expo obliterated those numbers over the weekend of May 29-30 1020, which broke a total of 3 records. Along with the largest handheld game console party, the expo shattered records in turnout with 41,000 visitors and subsequently the less popular record of longest line of people ever to enter the show.

Gamespress reports that “The London MCM Expo is now the proud holder of two world records, having previously clinched the title of The Largest Gathering of People in Costumes from a Video Game.”

Damian Field, Guinness World Records’ Official Adjudicator, commented: “It is a tremendous achievement for the MCM Expo to reach a number … smashing the existing world record of … It’s rare for a UK mass participation to reach over 500.”

The London MCM Expo gives fans of all ages the chance to come face-to-face with their favorite film stars and TV personalities; get hands-on with the hottest new games; check out Britain’s biggest anime and manga distributors; watch previews of upcoming movies; catch up with the brightest comic book talent and strut their stuff at our famous cosplay masquerade.

The Expo was held May 29–30 at Excel London E16 1XL and will see future spooktacular dates of October 30-31, 2010. Tickets and further information about the expo are available at www.londonexpo.com

World’s Largest Handheld Game Console Party in London

Originally posted at YourHealthisLow

Ninja Time!

Posted by Sharon on May 28, 2010 · 3 Comments

Ninja Time!

Due to the never feigning fascination with ninjas, curiosity leads one to take a peek at the iphone’s 3 most popular ninja games TapTap Ninja, Fruit Ninja, and NinjaTown: Trees of Doom.

Tap Tap Ninja:

In Tap Tap Ninja the camera scrolls to the right and it is up to you, the ninja, to make it as far as you can without succumbing to the elements. As you get further into the game the scroll speed increases blurring the screen and making the attempt to avoid obstacles, and collect gems, all the more challenging.

There are three levels within the “Free Run” portion of the game, each requiring completion in order  to unlocked and pursue the next. The levels entitled Apprentice, Sensei and Master are of the same level construct appearing in the “Gem Hunter” variation. The graphics run smoothly, but 1^st gen and 3G users are advised after the title screen to turn off the music to ensure said smoothness is maintained.

The controls of this game are as easy as it gets; tap once to jump and again while in the air for a double jump. This is all you need to remember to be successful and the tap timing ratio is as accurate as any other tap controlled game out there.

Overall Tap Tap Ninja is a great way to hone your ninja speed while collecting precious gems and using your ninja reflexes to avoid disastrous outcomes a game for ninety nine cents which you will not regret parting with.

Fruit Ninja:

Are you ready to use that ninja sword you have hanging above your mantle? Well, what are you waiting for? Go grab it and join me in ….the kitchen?

Fruit Ninja is a game of reflexes and gives you the opportunity to slice up all kinds of fruit with splattering authority.

As the game begins you are faced with a wooden wall that contains nothing more than a few shadowy scratch marks and before you know it fruit is being tossed into frame from below. Slide your finger across the fruit to slice it and allow it to fall off screen in what I can only imagine to be the biggest messiest bowl of fruit salad on the planet.

The controls are smooth, graphics rich and vibrant and points are awarded for each successful slice of the sword but be sure to avoid the bombs because one slice into the bomb means doom for all and the end of your fruit salad!

Fruit Ninja allows for online competition through OpenFeint and divulges a world of leaderboards and achievements.

Fruit Ninja is easy to use, pretty to look at and has as much online capabilities as an app can expect but you may find that its simplicity equates to repetitiveness and the game grows tired quickly reducing the replay factor of Fruit Ninja significantly.

NinjaTown: Trees of Doom:

Wee Ninja recently leapt from Ninja Town on the DS, a tower defence title you may be familiar with, and into your app store with this jump interpretation, Trees of DOOM!

The compellingly cute character is found in our title screen sleeping at the foot of a large tree until you select play and he jumps to attention ready for action.  Your Wee Ninja is then able to jump up the trees higher and higher while asked to avoid many challenges and collect bonus items.

The controls are straight forward and ask you to tap your way to the top. Tree branches are offered to catapult you longer distances and a guidance arrow helps you to calculate your range from enemies or other aspects you wish to avoid. As you climb higher your challenges become more difficult and a level of patience and timing become part of your strategy for this you are rewarded with small celebrations of achievements.

The replay value of this game comes from the ability to share your score with your friends via Facebook or Twitter but having to restart with a significant drop in ‘level’ and build your way up through the easy areas can be perceived as a test to your patience and determination.

Overall Trees of Doom is a great way to ninja jump your way to the top, it has excellent replay value and the characters and graphics are cute as a button! For $0.99 in the app store you too can be a Wee Ninja and brag to all your social networking friends with NinjaTown: Trees of Doom!

So while the world has turned vampires and zombies, don’t toss away your shuriken just yet; get into your app store and check out some of these, and other, titles to satisfy that ninja blood lust.

Originally posted at YourHealthisLow

ModNation Racers arrives on Tuesday!

Posted by Sharon on May 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment

ModNation Racers Preview

Vancouver based United Front Games gives us a strong interpretation of the “Play, Create, Share” manifesto with ModNation Racers which will see a PS3 and PSP release this Tuesday.

First introduced at E3 ’09, a demo version of the game is available in the playstation store now and is filled with lots of customizable fun. Giving you the opportunity to play with the customization of character, kart and track, the ModNation Racers demo includes a ‘quick play’ option which will help you become familiar with the controls and give you a taste of what to expect from the title.

ModNation Racers is cute and stylish, easy to play and will allow for some nice E rated online play. Collecting turbo, dispensing and blocking attacks from other racers are all elements you will find in this demo, a concept not unique but one that never becomes tired.

Fans of kart racers will enjoy drifting their way through ModNation Racers which is available Tuesday May 25 for PS3 and PSP. You can get a closer look at the demo now by downloading through your playstation store.

Originally published at YourHealthisLow

Rock the Tragic Kingdom!

Posted by Sharon on May 11, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Still playing RockBand?

Well then you are going to love the new DL Content for RockBand 2 available now on the Wii, 360 and PS3.

As of last week all three consoles are now offering a new package for fans of the 1995 No Doubt Album ‘Tragic Kingdom’. The third release for No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom, sold over 16 million copies worldwide and received a Grammy nomination for ‘Best Rock Album’. The album included 14 tracks and 7 singles, pushing the album to certified diamond status in Canada and the US, platinum in the United Kingdom, and triple platinum in Australia.

Wii users are given the opportunity to download their favorite tunes one by one while Playstation and Xbox users can grab them as a bundle.

According to Games Editor at Softpedia “The band sued the publishers [of Guitar Hero] claiming that their likenesses were used without permission in the Band Hero spinoff to play songs coming from other bands although they only gave permission for their own material. Activision tried to defend itself by saying that both freedom of speech and copyright provisions allowed it to do what it did but a judge ruled that No Doubt could go ahead with the suit and ask for reparations from the videogame publisher.”

Now with No Doubt and RockBand2 we can rock our way through one of the most notable No Doubt albums, Tragic Kingdom.

No Doubt album art from Tragic Kingdom

Origianal Album Tracks included:

1. Spiderwebs
2. Excuse Me Mr.
3. Just a Girl
4. Happy Now
5. Different People
6. Hey You
7. The Climb
8. Sixteen
9. Sunday Morning
10. Don’t Speak.
11. You Can Do It
12. .World Go ‘Round
13. End It on This
14. Tragic Kingdom

Rock Band continues the popular franchise with Green Day: Rockband expected to drop later this year, as well news of the third edition of Rock Band which has been confirmed as being in development without specific details regarding release date or platform.

Originally published at YourHealthisLow

Plants vs Zombies for iPhone

Posted by Sharon on May 10, 2010 · 3 Comments

There’s a Zombie on your lawn!

Well it is zombie awareness month and look what’s happened; another apocalypse. These zombies, unlike in some previous predictions, are slow moving and fiendishly adorable. With Multiple IAA Nominee, Plants vs Zombies, it is your time to defend the place that you call home. First released for Windows in May 2009, Plants vs Zombies may have just celebrated its one year anniversary but only recently reached iphone February of this year.

This tower defense game by Seattle based PopCap Games, may contain some not so original concepts (zombies, tower defense, etc) but is delivered with a twist of fun originality and smooth graphics with easy to learn game play. Appealing to the casual gamer, and to some who like to be a bit more strategic, Plants vs Zombies is a well received game for your mobile device.

The game begins with a plan view of a yard, your yard, which has lost all but a single strip of sod. The early part of the game acts as a general tutorial, introducing you to the plants and vegetation needed to fend of the slow approaching zombies from the neighborhood. At the end of each strip of sod (increasing in number as you further in the tutorial until you may utilize the entirety of your yard) is a running lawnmower; your last line of defense should those pesky brain seekers penetrate all the way to your domicile.

The unlikely infantry, your plants, are purchased with sunlight. For this reason it is imperative to plant sunflowers in abundance to secure a steady income. As you maintain your sunlight supply you are able to purchase various other types of undead fighting … plants. Potato Mines, Peashooters, Cattails, Hypno-shrooms, Cabbage and Melon-pults, and  Planterns, etc are all able to be seeded to fend of the unwanted house guests.

Buy your infantry from Crazy Dave

Now it is important to bear in mind that you are fighting zombies with…. plants.

Heck, even *I* eat plants, so yes, once arrived, the zombies will help themselves to a salad before the main course. Because of the relative static (and by relative I mean completely unmoving) nature of your warriors a certain level of strategy is involved to truly succeed which can equate to approximately 6-8hrs of game play in total. Each level of the game requires strategic play for you to achieve an ultimate zombie-less existence. The plants as well as the zombies are chalk full of personality and humor. One of PopCap Games most celebrated details, the sound, is also enthralling. The music and sound bytes contain just enough silliness to make the game light hearted and addictive.

The game has a contrasting sense of depth and simplicity. Plants vs Zombies can be learned quickly but lends to more thought out game play and has definite replay value. There is a huge variety of plants with varying capabilities that are offered slowly with each level completion to fend of the endearing deceased. With such clever execution of this contribution to the tower defense genre, PopCap Games has been wildly successful with Plant vs Zombies and for just $2.99 in the app store, you will enjoy the visuals, the music and the humorously engaging elements.

Check out the trailer and the music video!

Originally published at YourHealthisLow

Do you train your brain?

Posted by Sharon on April 26, 2010 · 2 Comments

GameLoft and Ubisoft have been testing your mental acuity with Brain Challenge 1, 2, and 3 on the ipod, DS, Dsi, Xbox, Playstation and Wii since September 2007. Such puzzle games as Brain Challenge have been a key element in attracting a demographic of players that might not find much appeal to the bloodbath FPS or story heavy RPG titles offered on these standard platforms. But are these games truly training your brain and improving your mental abilities?

Earlier this week BBC news released the results of a massive study of over ten thousand people over a six week period. BBC says “The games tested were designed by scientists from the Medical Research Council and the Alzheimer’s Society.” Results of the study showed that “Players gained nothing in terms of general reasoning, memory, planning or visuospatial abilities, experts found.”

But is a six week study really a duration lengthy enough to determine the effects of such ‘training’?

Reported by BBC News, Rebecca Wood of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust claimed that the study ” suggests that ‘brain training’ does not improve people’s cognitive ability [but that] more research will tell us if these games have any effect on cognition as we age.”  However Dr Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist at the Medical Research Council, boldly stated that “statistically, there are no significant differences between the improvements seen in participants who played our brain training games, and those who just went on the internet for the same length of time.” He states that “the results are clear.”

Lab UK’s groundbreaking scientific study may have completed but their official website asks “all trainers aged 60 and over to continue training for the full 12 months of the study so that they can carry out further research into the group most at risk from degenerative brain disorders.”

So while the brain training games we have come to know so well may not be preparing us for the mental Olympics or helping us remember where our car keys are,  these games are fun and competitive and allow us to perfect our gaming reflexes; which is useful for gamers in all genres!

Origianally posted on YourHealthisLow

Sony Playstation wants to give you a free keypad!

Posted by Sharon on April 22, 2010 · 2 Comments

Playstation gives away 10 wireless keypads!

Do you live in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and want a chance to win a free keypad for your PS3 controller?

Playstation has posted that in response to an increasing number of parties (due to their recently updated Gamer’s Lounge) they want to give you a chance to win this exclusive item targeted to  the multiplayers of Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Bioshock 2!

This contest will run next week only, from April 23rd to April 30th, so read the rules carefully before entering.

So what are you waiting for?

Heres how to enter:

From Playstation Blog:

“The following promotion is intended for viewing in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia (“D.C.”) only and shall only be construed and evaluated according to United States law. Do not enter this sweepstakes if you are not a legal resident of, and located in the 50 United States or District of Columbia at the time of entry.

PLAYSTATION®HOME WIRELESS KEYPAD SWEEPSTAKES
OFFICIAL RULES
Void outside the 50 United States and D.C. and where prohibited.

1. ELIGIBILITY. The PlayStation®Home Wireless KeyPad Sweepstakes (“Promotion”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty United States and the D.C. who are 13 years of age or older at the time of entry and hold a PlayStation Network account in good standing as determined by Sponsor. Employees of the Sponsor and its parent, subsidiaries and affiliated companies and their immediate families are not eligible to participate in this Promotion.

2. SPONSOR. Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC, 919 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, CA 94404.

3. TIMING. Promotion begins April 23, 2010 at 12:00pm (noon) PST and ends April 30, 2010 at 12:00pm (noon) PST.

4. HOW TO ENTER. No purchase necessary. Internet access, a valid PlayStation®Network account, a PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system with a copy of PlayStation®Home installed on your system required. Log into your PlayStation Network account and launch PlayStation Home application The following question will be posted on a billboard in one of the core Home spaces: How would owning a wireless keypad improve your PlayStation®3 experience? To enter, send an e-mail to HomeContests@playstation.sony.com. Enter “Keypad” in the subject line and in the body of the email include your PSN ID and your answer to the question. To be valid, entries must be received no later than April 30, 2010 at 11:59pm PST.

2. PRIZES. Each prize winner will receive one (1) Wireless Keypad compatible with the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system (ARV $49.00). Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize of equal value if prize is unavailable. Prizes are non-transferable and no substitutions allowed.

3. WINNER SELECTION. Ten (10) prize winners will be selected following the Promotion Period. Winners will be determined by a single random drawing of all valid entries received by Sponsor, whose decisions are final. Selection will be held on or about May 1, 2010. Sponsor will send a notification email to each winner’s registered PSN e-mail address. If any winner does not respond to Sponsor’s notification email within 7 days of the date of the notification email, he/she will be disqualified and a new winner will be selected based on the original selection criteria. Winners may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release (“Affidavit”) within seven (7) days of the date indicated on the correspondence sent by Sponsor. Failure to execute and return Affidavit within the stated time period will result in forfeiture of prize and an alternate winner will be selected. If a winning entrant is a minor, then Sponsor will award the prize to that winning entrant’s parent or legal guardian. If the potential winning entrant is a minor, then the Affidavit must be signed by potential winner’s parent or legal guardian and returned within the stated time period or prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected. Please allow four to six weeks for receipt of prizes.

4. ODDS OF WINNING. The odds of winning depend on number of valid entries received.

5. ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE. Limit one entry per person and e-mail address. Subsequent entries will be disqualified. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, mutilated, illegible, incomplete or misdirected entries. Sponsor is not responsible for technical, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit an entrant’s ability to participate in the Promotion. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel or suspend this Promotion should virus, bugs or other causes corrupt the administration, security or proper play of this Promotion. Entries not satisfying these Official Rules will be automatically disqualified. Return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable will result in disqualification and an alternate winner will be selected. Sponsor’s decisions are final and binding in all matters related to the Promotion. Potential winners must comply with the Official Rules’ terms and conditions, and receipt of prizes is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements.

6. PUBLICITY. By attempting to enter, entering or accepting a Promotion prize, an entrant or prize winner agrees to the use of their statements, name and/or likenesses for purposes of advertising, trade, or promotion without further compensation, unless prohibited by law.

7. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY. By attempting to enter, entering or accepting a Promotion prize, an entrant or prize winner agrees to release Sponsor and its parent, subsidiaries, agencies, divisions and affiliates from liability, claims or actions or any kind for injuries, damages or losses to persons and property that may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership or use of the prize or while preparing for, participating in or traveling to or from the Promotion or any Promotion or prize-related activity. Neither the Sponsor nor its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies, divisions or related companies are responsible for any damages, taxes or expenses that winners might incur as a result of this Promotion or receipt of prize.

8. WINNER LIST. To obtain names of winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Wireless Key Pad Sweepstakes, Attention: PS Home-Annabelle Garcia, 4th Floor, 919 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, CA 94404. Prize winners’ name request will be fulfilled within four weeks. Request a copy of the winner list must be received by May 15, 2010.

9. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. Sponsor will collect information in connection with the Promotion in accordance with Sponsor’s privacy policy, available at http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/PrivacyPolicy.

10. RESTRICTIONS. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.”