Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition for £54.85

Is the Dynamic Duo`s latest game ,   set to topple Assassin`s Creed as 2011`s most collectable collectable? Does Ezio need to invest in a boy ward/wonder/sidekick? We will find out soon enough , but if you want to get in on the game before the prices sky rocket for the collectors edition of Batman Arkham City then click  to get to  Zavvi  and Game who have the best deals at the moment ....

Arkham City is commanding such strong reviews , that this year may indeed be the year of the Bat , Robin and Cat all rolled into one ... and just in time for Chinese new year, kung hei fat choi ! Especially  if you are a member of the Rocksteady crew...sweeet!


What you get with your collectors edition at Zavvi


   The Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition will include the following extensive bonus content:

• Custom Batman statue produced by Kotobukiya
• Collectible art book
• Early access to the Iceberg Lounge Challenge Map and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns skin
• Batman: Arkham City album from WaterTower Music including original songs by hit artists, available via digital redemption
• Bonus DC Universe animated original movie, Batman: Gotham Knight

Catwoman announced as playable character:

As Catwoman, players will have a chance to indulge in their darker side and explore Arkham City as the infamous feline femme fatale. Complete with her own storyline in the main game, Catwoman’s adventure complements Batman’s central role and is seamlessly interwoven with his main story arc. She will also be playable in the challenge maps with her own unique combat moves, gadgetry and signature 'takedowns'.

Features:

• Become the Dark Knight – Batman: Arkham City delivers a genuinely authentic Batman experience with advanced, compelling gameplay on every level: high-impact street brawls, nail-biting stealth, multifaceted forensic investigation, epic super-villain encounters and unexpected glimpses into Batman’s tortured psychology.
• Advanced FreeFlow Combat – Batman faces highly coordinated, simultaneous attacks from every direction as Arkham’s gangs bring heavy weapons and all-new AI to the fight, but Batman steps it up with twice the number of combat animations and double the range of attacks, counters and takedowns.
• New Gadgets – Batman has access to new gadgets such as the Cryptographic Sequencer V2 and Smoke Pellets, as well as new functionality for existing gadgets that expand the range of Batman’s abilities without adding extra weight to his Utility Belt.
• New Story – Five-time Emmy-Award-winner Paul Dini returns to pen a brand-new story for Batman: Arkham City, taking gamers deep inside the diseased heart of Gotham. 
• Arkham Has Moved – Following the closure of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate prison, Gotham’s new mayor, Quincy Sharp ordered the relocation of all inmates to Arkham City - a sprawling new super-prison five times bigger than Arkham Island, enclosing a wide variety of industrial districts, iconic locations and Gotham landmarks.  
• Huge Cast of Characters – Players encounter numerous characters from the Batman universe, including Catwoman, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, Hugo Strange, Victor Zsasz, Calendar Man, The Joker, The Riddler and other iconic characters yet to be revealed.
• Featured VO Talent – Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy reprise their roles as The Joker and Batman respectively.

the standard versions, limited  and collectors editions are available from Game and Zavvi in the UK

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Windows 8 multi tasking playing Crysis 2 in Gaikai whilst playing Deus Ex Human Revolution onlive whilst messing with Metro Apps

It`s 2011 , we play games instantly with onlive , and Gaikai at the same time , on a touch based full multitasking OS , not just any games , Crysis 2 and Deus Ex Human Revolution , from the cloud , 0 discs 0 installs,whilst we play the piano , check out the weather ,and plummeting stocks , and generally mess about with more mundane tasks , all without dropping a frame on the Windows 8 dev preview. 

This is on the Lenovo X220 T , control is using touch , pen keyboard and red thingie , the video is recorded using litecam 3 which records at 30 fps , so you may see some dropped frames as the games , and the OS run far faster than 30fps limit set by litecam to record the desktop.The games are streaming across wifi N and neither GAIKAI nor Onlive drop a connection even though they are running at the same time.

The finest Windows 8 experience will come with your adoption of cloud services of which Gaikai an Onlive are just 2 heralds . Could you ever conceive of running Crysis 2 maxed out in a browser WHILST running Deus Ex Human Rev , whilst doing all the other nonsense in the video above , flicking away one game to instantly play another and then going back to the first? . 


Windows 8 finally gives us what we really want all the benefits and comforts of a touch based OS like iOS and Honeycomb/ICS married to a full operating system , and one which for me is the killer reason that Windows 8 will succeed allows you access to ALL the upcoming cloud based evolutions of how we work , rest and play . Flash you got it , no need to wait for an App , or Steve to send a imessage from heaven , browser based work and games , you got it . Want to take advantage of your 20 core dual cpu set up you got , or the pen and touch screen on your Thinkpad you got it ..And for those who still believe computing began when someone invented the App , there will be plenty to obsess over as the store kicks in , and you or I can get in on the act which is the point of the developer preview ... not withstanding highly serious and technical  multitasking gaming tests like the one above ! 


I still cannot get over the detail and speed of GAIKAI , the one caveat of course is whether you make it past the queue for a server and the likelihood of java playing up in your browser. Onlive is well into full swing even in the UK , all consoles selling out , and weekly offers kicking Steam in the nuts and bolts..


What I really need is an ultrahigh res tablet screen , maintaining the 12 inch ultraportable screen size but with a 2500 by 1600 res , roll on next year....


More Windows 8 Cloud tests to follow....

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Onlive VS Steam: The ballad of The Two Deus Ex Human Revolution Missing Links.

Well howdy pardners , long promised DLC has been readied by the makers of Deus Ex Human Revolution , now do I opt for the Steam version and have to wait to download/to and update every PC I have? Or do I just click on the onlive version and play instantly on every device from tablets to tvs to PC? Over on onlive you can view people playing the DLC live which gives you a uniquely raw view of the game you are about to invest your money and time in,very different to trawling through all the canned and pre recorded professional and fan based reviews.


The convenience of onlive and the changes it brings could quite feasibly cure thegameveda of all Steam addiction, it really is an evolutionary human revolution in gaming and one that I am sure future Deus Ex games and DLC will exploit , some day Steam will be streaming games too or at least offering joint deals with onlive , which cannot come soon enough for I would like to be able to own both the Steam and onlive versions ,and that fellow gamers will be a true human gaming revolution....

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2011 the year you start paying a subscription for your FPS and get your MMOs for free!

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Elite recently showed up as a pre order on PSN , and is supposed to be launching for PC post the game`s release. Not long to go before the year`s biggest release , and the buzz is focused not on the game but more on the subscription service the first of it`s kind for a First Person Shooter.This is 2011 and the FPS genre is now bigger than the JRPG, RPG, MMO, or any other game genre,even miraculously displacing the FIFA and PES hegemony.


Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Hardened Edition  has Activision forgoing the toys and trinkets associated with past special editions of the franchise . As every COD fan knows the cost of DLC hit`s you like  a misthrown Flashbang only adding to the anticlimax of a 3 hour single player campaign that consititutes your Michael Bay leaning  Modern Warfare experience....So all in all the £75 for a year`s worth of DLC and your very own Founders seat in your very own COD Elite members club does not seem too bad...Wait one....


The irony of it all is that we are now subscribing to play our FPS games and getting our MMORPGS free in increasing numbers .... 

The makers of Modern Warfare 3 feel the need for you pay a subscription to get all the features of their game and in doing so Activision/Blizzard are trying to socially monitise  the humble FPS  the same way Blizzard managed to with it`s MMO subscription model 
There is a cloud on Mr Kotick's silver pressed latinum lining , as a FPS is not an MMO , the social interactions are completely different  ,at present the height of social interaction in your average console FPS is the traditional  expletive contest..usually in the lobby whilst waiting for the next level to load .Further casual gaming people , the ocean in which Call of Duty fishes, actually play in short bursts ( with some noteable lethal Korean /Chinese exceptions..correction ... those marathon gaming session actual fatalities occurred whilst games players were engaged in RTS and MMO games ..not FPS games) , generally do not care outside 3 or 4 friends who they play with ,  have no friends,and the many actually play because the online aspect of FPS games are  FREE !   

Monetisation is why Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 are getting jiggy with the "social network" , and for that matter so is Assassin`s Creed Revelations.


Time was when a major FPS game released  effort was devoted to developing it`s graphics engine , in today`s post social network and App happy games verse  , more time is now devoted to developing a social network based /App gaming revenue engine .  The aim is to make money after all in a market with spiralling diminishing returns , and aged console hardware that barely coping with yet more Unreal 3 engine skinned games.


iD`s 20 hour single player RAGE campaign may have more than Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 put together , but it is the latter two that have led with the promise  of a post social network gaming experience that are generating and have generated the most the most hype and fan frenzy.

3 is a magic number.....

Thus the thing that hits you about this years  new batch of threquels  to last years sequels , apart from the magic number 3 ...and a funny feeling that you are paying for the same game over and over , is that they all invest the player heavily into  this feeling they are socially gaming . But for 40 odd years videogames have been antisocial and proud ,right down to the solemnly lonely chore  of making that boot disk, installing the game and then maybe just maybe making it past the menu screen .Unless you are going to somehow promise to improve this shy set of gamers Mojo with the fairer sex, your FPS pay to play model is going  to be as effective as paid for porn in a Google world where  your target audience is used to getting  all its virtual kicks free.And that includes fragging.


Of course as a games fan I will contribute to Mr Kotick`s pension fund , through the purchase of MW3 hardened edition,purely through the kindness of my heart , but this pay to play model has to provide sufficient content.

Has Mr Kotick missed a beat as gaming revenue returns  models have also adapted , whilst he has been adapting his to reap maximum returns...?

The  new kids in town, iOS ,Android ,Browser based games have been leading with freemium models . This year they have been joined by the genre that draws most revenue and  the highest number of gamers the the Facebook gamers , potentially 500 million of them . Add to that the traditional millions of players that play MMOs. Lord of The Rings , Dungeons and Dragons , Conan , and soon  Star Trek Online , Battlestar Galactica online , are just a few examples that have gone FREE. World of Warcraft on the other hand has seen declining subs and has responded with a limited free to play version. 


And there`s more : The  biggest name in PC game distribution , (no ,not Zynga !)  but  Valve ,purveyors of Steam are moving big time into Free 2 Play gaming, and with the likes of Counter Strike , TF2 , and the coming Counterstrike GO ,with more added weekly, all based on free to play or 0 sub models , not to mention EAs Battlefield Online , Battlefield Heroes and the rest of that series .


The Flash is about to hit the fan....
Recently Epic  showed the Unreal Engine running in Flash , now that brings a world of FPS games closer to running from your Facebook Page , or browser , or tablet or tv... a world of FPS games , to gamers choice always beats out  dictated games playing schedules ... can DLC really extend and hold interest on one FPS game , over the space of one whole year , a year in which sooooo many games across the vast array of formats that we have access to: every thing from phones to tablets and pcs to tvs will taking up our time ? 


Did not an Angry Bird and Farmville outshine all last years AAA multimillion $ gaming franchises? At least they did according to the number of live TV sketches on US chat shows.. 


Thus ,unlike Modern Warfare 2 which launched in a world yet to be enslaved by Freemium games  , MW3 is swimming against a tidal change in the way we game . But there is yet more potential doom and gloom.


How many players can actually play at one time? MMOs have seriously large numbers of players playing at any one time from PCs , consoles cannot compete , and certainly cannot compete in the FPS genre , the current console game with the largest number of online players is MAG , a PS3 exclusive that is a riot to play , but hardly taking the world by storm . And it is of course FREE of a subscription fee. MW3 and Battlefield 3 on consoles are going to have significantly smaller in game player counts , on the PC though they will shine .  To feel this you have to have been around when Battlefield 2 was at it`s height with 64 player battles , once you are part of those you never want to go back to sparsely populated  console FPS games .  Do you see the server problems coming ? Millions of players vying for a small number of play slots in each MW3 game , you may actually spend more time in the MW3 lobby ,than on any of it`s maps .




£70 to £90 or so for MW3 Hardened edition   , there are going to have to be a hell of a lot of maps and upgrades to justify that cost , and considering you will only get one year or so free , so next year you will also be paying £90 for Modern Warfare 4 or Treyarch`s latest . And really do FPS gamers have the devotion that even MMO players of late have been lacking which has led to all these great MMOS being free to play . 


An FPS however good it is cannot have the staying power of a great MMO , or the mass addiction of a Facebook game. Call of Duty like all FPS games has a half life so to speak , where interest gradually wains. Of course what is left of Infinity Ward could be holding back two thirds of the game to release as DLC  to make the £90 or year long sub worth it.

What may kill Activision Blizzards FPS gamer farming quest is one of  the major criticisms levelled at the Modern Warfare series:brevity  .We have been tuned to the idea that a Call Of Duty games single player length runs at around the length of a Michael Bay film (directors cut). On PC in fact you may actually play through the entire game in a shorter time than it takes to install the 20gb or so... ( note to self ... a worthy challenge) . So maybe I will play through , and pass on the multiplayer , instead playing that other social FPS that is free to play online Battlefield 3 , on my PC and consoles . MW3 with its inflated value will be a good 1 day play through and trade , I kid you not Mr Kotick , later when they release the GOTYR I may get the Steam version to play .. for around £10 like I did with COD Black Ops ... At least I would if I had more sense than gaming addiction...


Still I fear paying a sub for DLC , cannot work , no one is that invested in MMOs as a gamer any more, even the mighty Bioware knows not what the future holds for it`s Star Wars The Old Republic , as you can see by World of Warcrafts recent problems , and the droves of MMOS moving to free to play models  so how will this model work for a FPS game ? The audience for COD is being misread , no one would describe the FPS scene as  socially mature  on consoles , most online console FPS game sessions are expletive ridden , tribal affairs that descend into playground comedy faster than a weekly Priminister`s Question Time session... always .. go on log on an start playing one now ...how long till the game descends into West Side Story with grenade launchers?


In fact why not make one of the DLCs Modern Warfare 3 Expletive Contest ... and do away with the FPS part altogether....


The blind  hope of ActiBlizzard is that MW3 will have such a strong social network component , where friends chose it`s servers as venues to gather forsaking real life and their better halves , and play and keep paying to play. But again an FPS is not a social experience like an MMO or Facebook game , you play an FPS to frag , not sit around in lobbies swapping stories , so where exactly will you socialise in these games , behind the shed whilst the rest of the games occupants go around sniping and fragging to their heart`s content ..? 


The finest example of an FPS game that used post release DLC to increase it`s base audience is Borderlands , but take a quick look at the price of the game now , and most of the DLC was single player . To make MW3 worth £90 the DLC has to be the equivalent of a full game , full single and multiplayer game ... 


Core gamers will pay £90 for collectors editions ,rare games , but an FPS is something different even if it is MW3 . And the slippery slope that you will find yourself on is an annual fee of £90 for the hardened editions of the same game  to play on servers , that will go for the next year or two before the next gen consoles release and they make you pay £129.99 for the update version of the same games or subscriptions to the next . 


COD games are usually higher priced than normal releases , till this point you justified that cost by saying you would play multiplayer for a year ..but that was free ...now if you want it all you will be paying extra , and at a time when there are MANY alternatives not least in the FPS genre with Battlefield 3 , just the Alpha of which I could have played all year ! 


Then factor in all the streamed games , iOS and Android , all the other great genres , and time hogs , a little real life , and a lot of lost life to all those now free to play MMOS ... and soon to be free MMOS and you know what MW3 may be the first COD game where I am happy with the less than 6 hour single player campaign ... 


In the final analysis I find myself totally annoyed by the way Actiblizzard is trying to milk the COD franchise ,slightly amused at the lack of noise against it , and find it absolutely hilarious that in an age where we get MMOS ,iOS , Android, Browser and Streamed games for free , we find ourselves being asked to pay yearly subs by Activision to a now ageing First Person Shooter franchise ... more power to D.I.C.E... and come on Epic , Digital Extremes  and iD come get some!   






this is what you get with the  Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Hardened Edition :  now for £69.99 on Xbox360 and PS3 in the UK

 multiplayer map packs, memberships, in-game unlockables, and a one-of-a-kind book on many of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s untold secrets, the ‘Hardened Edition’ is the definitive experience for the Call of Duty fan.
The Hardened Edition includes:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game disc, featuring unique disc art
• 1-year Call of Duty: Elite membership - includes future Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 downloadable game content (including map packs)
• Special ‘Founder’ status on Call of Duty: Elite - includes exclusive in-game emblem, playercard, weapon camouflage, Clan XP boost and more exclusive benefits
• Premium, collectible Steelbook case
• Exclusive Special Ops juggernaut Xbox Live outfit
• Limited edition, collectible field journal chronicling the entire saga with 100+ pages of authentic military sketches, diagrams and written entries

or get it from Game or Zavvi in the UK ....still no news on a PC version....

Get Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 for 99p when you purchase and then trade in Battlefield 3 online at  Gamestop UK s


  

     

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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 for 99p when you trade in Battlefield 3 : Activision vs EA round 1

Get Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 for 99p when you purchase and then trade in Battlefield 3 online at  Gamestop UK s


It`s 2011 and the Battle of the FPS giants has begun ,  of course by going this route you miss out on the hardened edition bonuses and will have to sign up to Elite for another £40 odd .

A shrewd move on Gamestop UKs part , mopping up significant Battlefield 3 units for resale? Or short sighted as any FPS fan worth their salt will own both of these games , it may have been far shrewder for Gamestop to offer the 99p trade in on other non FPS releases , that could then be traded in for both of these.

Battlefield 3 is simply too sublime an online experience to miss , quite different to MW3 , and for starters it is free to play online if you are an enlightened PC and/or PS3 owner.

True core fans will have limited and hardened versions of these games permanently on their game shelves and not up for trade ...at least not till next years versions .. So epic fail on this .. incidentally  this offer is not for PC fans , only for console heads !thegameveda says synergy is the way if Capcom and Namco can set aside differences and give us StreetfighterXTekken then why not DICE and Infinity Ward with Battlefield vs Call Of Duty Modern Warfare .. that would be worth 99p....and a few trade ins ...

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Warhammer Space Marine for £17.99 on PC

Game have Warhammer Space Marine for £17.99 on PC , registers on Steam ! as part of their Games sale

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The Cursed Crusade for £14.99 on PC

Game have  The Cursed Crusade for £14.99 on PC  as part of their Games sale

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Deus Ex Human Revolution Limited Edition for £14.99 on Xbox 360

Game also have Deus Ex Human Revolution Limited Edition for £14.99 on Xbox 360

Deus Ex: Human Revolution on Xbox 360 includes

• Explosive Mission Pack
• In-game Automatic Unlocking Device
• In-game M-28 Utility Remote-Detonated Explosive Device (UR-DED)
• In-game Linebacker G-87 Multiple Shot Grenade Launcher

Come on get this and you can also get the Missing Link DLC and end up spending half what dedicated fans spent on day 1 !

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Gears of War Epic Edition for £74.99

Game satisfy collectors cravings for Gears of War Epic Edition for just £74.99 , handy if you recently traded in the vanilla version and need a Medallion to go with that chest hair ...


this is part of the Game sale till Nov 1st 

Gears of War 3 Epic Edition exclusively on Xbox 360 comes loaded with:

• A Limited Edition Marcus Fenix Statue – Designed by Epic Games Art Director Chris Perna and expertly crafted by the artisans at Triforce, this fine PVC statue collectible makes the ultimate living room centrepiece for any true “Gears” fan.
• The Art and Design of Gears of War by Tom Bissell - Through unprecedented access to the Epic Games team, acclaimed author Tom Bissell (Extra Lives) gives readers an incisive behind-the-scenes glimpse into one of the most celebrated sagas in video game history with 96 pages of interviews, photos, concept artwork and more.
• Infected Omen Weapon Pack -- Custom multiplayer skins for the game’s five starting weapons; Lancer, Retro Lancer, Hammerburst, Sawed-off Shotgun, and Gnasher Shotgun.
• An Octus Award Box with Octus Service Medal – A 1:1 match in size and weight, this zinc-alloy cog-shaped medal replicates the award given to Adam Fenix in recognition of his work on the Hammer of Dawn.
• Exclusive Unlockable Adam Fenix Multiplayer Character – Each Octus Service Medal replica is engraved with a unique Xbox LIVE code that is the only way to unlock Adam Fenix in multiplayer.
• A fabric COG Flag – Proud colors that once flew above the House of Sovereigns.
• The personal effects of Adam Fenix, including his “Last Will and Testament,” the initial Hammer of Dawn schematic, and other Fenix family mementos

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