TheGamersHub

MMO Mania!

ShadyDevil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:33:14 +0000

TheGamersHub is proud to present MMO Mania. If you like MMO’s we got you covered. Two amazing online PC MMO’s from two amazing developers and we got you beta access to both! Mytheon and Heroes Of The Three Kingdoms!

HOTTK- http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/03/hotkgiveaway/

Mytheon- http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/03/mytheongiveaway/

Remember, some codes will be up in our store and the only way to get them is to participate in the community and earn points!

Like to look into the crystal ball and check out whats coming up for MMO’s? We got you covered there too! Two amazing MMO’s utilizing the Cryengine 2.

ArcheAge- http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/02/archeage-my-most-anticipated-mmorpg/

Project E:st- http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/03/project-est-announced/

Yep, we even got your MMO News!

Mytheon- Bosses And Mythologies http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/03/the-mythologies-and-bosses-of-mytheon-revealed/

Runes Of Magic- In Game Event http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/02/new-runes-of-magic-in-game-event/

Mytheon Closed Beta Giveaway

ShadyDevil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:40:50 +0000

More MMO Madness! The highly anticipated Mytheon Close beta has been underway and we got our hands on 50 codes! You want a chance to win em simply do one of the three things:

1.) Send an email over to contest@thegamershub.co.uk with the subject Mytheon Beta telling us what your favorite Greek God is and we will chose 25 lucky winners until next Friday ( 3/19/10)

2.) Twitter @TheGamersHub will be giving away 10 codes! Dont forget. Free Stuff Friday.

3.) Our store. Simply signup and begin earning points. Theres 15 up for grabs at 200CP each. Get ‘em while they are hot.

Once you get your beta code, you can redeem them here: http://www.mytheongame.com/user/register

For more information on Mytheon check out our other articles on it:

Closed Beta Begins: http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/02/mytheon-official-closed-beta-test-begins/

Bosses and Mythology Of Mytheon: http://thegamershub.co.uk/2010/03/the-mythologies-and-bosses-of-mytheon-revealed/

Soldner X2: Final Prototype Trophies Revealed

ShadyDevil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:51:53 +0000

The game is set to come out soon to the sequel to the hit Soldner X game on the PSN. We managed to get a list from the nice folks over at ps3trophies.com Keep it here for the review of the original Soldner-X and a giveaway as we draw closer to the release of the game for codes to get the original and the upcoming Soldner X2!

Ready for the Junkyard
Complete the first stage (‘Zeus Sector’) at any difficulty level.

Piece of Rock
Complete the third stage (‘Ethia Ruins’) at any difficulty level.

System Liberated
Complete the fifth stage (‘Turady Deep Sea’) at any difficulty level.

? ? ?

Survivor
Clear challenge ‘Survivor’

Collector
Clear challenge ‘Collector’

Action Fan
Clear challenge ‘Action Fan’

Chain Expert
Clear challenge ‘Chain Expert’

Profiler
Clear challenge ‘Profiler’

Rating Expert
Clear challenge ‘Rating Expert’

Lucky Number 7
Collect an accumulated total of 77777 chain rings

Key Explorer
Collect all 35 secret keys

? ? ?

Challenge Master
Unlock and successfully pass 12 or more challenges

Heroes Of The Three Kingdoms Giveaway

ShadyDevil — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:14:51 +0000

Everyone I’m sure is familiar with Perfect World Entertainment and their superb lineup of MMO’s. Jade Dynasty, Perfect World of course, and Torchlight to name a few. Soon they will be adding another amazing game to their lineup, Heroes Of The Three Kingdoms. More information on the game is below.

You want your chance to win some codes for the Beta in April? Well you have come to the right place. We will be giving away codes during our Free Stuff Friday giveaways on our Twitter account along with some will be up for grabs on our store to get with your points!

Want your chance to win one right now? Well we have one thousand! Yes, 1000. To give away right now for the upcoming beta. Simply email us at contest@thegamershub.co.uk with the subject line HOTK Beta and in the main body name a random ancient Chinese Dynasty for your beta code. Simple as that.
Note: If you do not have the subject your email will be IGNORED.

Instructions on How to Redeem

1) Go to www.perfectworld.com

2) Log in using your Perfect World Entertainment username and password

3) Click on the “My Account” link

4) Click on “Redeem Beta Keys”

5) Enter your closed beta key

Known as the Chibi in China, Heroes of Three Kingdoms is based on one of history’s greatest battles and not only gives players the opportunity to experience the chaos first hand, but also the chance to rewrite pivotal moments in Chinese history.

1. Motion Captured Combat – Using advanced motion capture technology; combat is brought to life martial arts specialist, making the action exciting and realistic. Experience in-game combat as if it were real life.

2. Eighteen Weapon System – With a unique cool down system, players will have eighteen types of weapons available during the Three Kingdoms era in China to choose from.

3. Weaponry Crafting System – Following an ancient Chinese proverb goes “before you send out your troops, prepare your supplies” Heroes of Three Kingdoms features a unique, free-flowing production system that allows players to obtain key technological advancements to help aid them on the battlefield such as stronger bows, catapults and other siege weaponry.

4. Kingdom War System – Join the Wei, Shu or Wu and choose to wage war or create alliances against one another.

5. Historic Instances – Go back in time to experience historical battles and pivotal moments that helped shape the Three Kingdoms era and modern China.

6. Legion System – Come together to create Legions to help aid or conquer players in battle. Conquer one or multiple cities together to gain more troops and become their leader.

7. PvP Battlegrounds – Test your fighting abilities against other players to prove who shall lead the kingdom to victory.

8. Title System – Hundreds of different titles and occupations are available to earn in game. Each title comes with different outfits, skills and rewards.

9. Achievements – Explore everything the game has to offer and reap the rewards.

10. Reputation System – Gain reputation with the various factions in the world to gain access to new areas, better equipment and powerful skills.

Games Master Set for TV return

Starfox118 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:17:46 +0000

Some people may remember the many awful games related television programming that seemed to come and go from TV channels faster than a cheetah on speed, such as Game Guru, Gamezville and VideoGaiden to name a few. One highlight however was GamesMaster, running from 1991 to 1998 on Channel 4 its gamings longest running television programme and also the most popular having also spawned a long running and still hugely popular magazine. Along with a new image re-hash to re-shape the magazine to more modern gaming standards, the publisher has also considered rebirthing the television franchise; could we finally have a decent television programme that takes games seriously back on air again?

For more details read the press release from Future Publishing

Resident Evil 5: Desperate Escape Review

DeathsNightmare — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:38:44 +0000

With the launch of the first DLC for Resident Evil 5 Lost in Nightmares comes a new DLC for Resident Evil 5 called Desperate Escape. This downloadable episode stars Jill Valentine former STARS and North American BSAA Branch agent and Josh Stone of the BSAA African Branch. This episode is more straightforward like the last episode Lost in Nightmares, but with a twist and much more action that comes along with the DLC.

With the name itself Desperate Escape, both Jill and Josh have to escape the Tricell facilityand get out of there to rescue Chris and Sheva. Both will have to fight unlimited hordes of Majini and will have to solve simple puzzles to get where they are going. The action is pretty much solid with loads of intense sections because with all the Majini running around along with Chainsaw Majini, and Big Man Majini, it can really be hard at times even on lower difficulty levels. Areas within the DLC are pretty much the same, from the closed-off mine/railroad to the outdoor of the research facility, also along the way you will have to find your guns just like Lost in Nightmares and each play through will be in a different location for everything. The final part of the DLC was a little disappointed because the final fight was just an arena fight with unlimited Maijini, Chainsaw Majini, and Mini-gun Majini pouring out all over the place where your helicopter comes to rescue you. This DLC will last you about 2-4 hours depending on difficulty levels and if you are having to much fun with a friend. Overall the DLC is pretty much worth the $5.99 because it will add pretty much the action and intense moments when the Lost in Nightmares DLC did not.

Along with the DLC came a playable Josh Stone and Rebecca Chambers from Resident Evil Zero and One. They are both playable in MercenariesReunion and both having unique taunts and moves that are pretty much enjoyable to see and how the Majini head just pops off. Another DLC was launch and it was the costume pack for Chris’s Heavy Metal costume and Sheva Bussiness costume at the cost of $1.99.

With all that said and done, this will be the last DLC for Resident Evil 5 and it’s sad to let it go but, there will be bigger and better projects that CAPCOM will be making and hope we can see a Resident Evil 6 in the near future.

Pros: intense moments, longer then the first DLC, Open environments

Cons: None

Developer: CAPCOM

Publisher: CAPCOM

Last Rebellion Review

ShadyDevil — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:48:34 +0000

This time of the year seems to be the IT time for gaming and RPG’s across all platforms. Final Fantasy XIII, Star Ocean International, White Knight Chronicles International Edition, and now Last Rebellion. There is certainly no shortage of amazing RPG’s on the Playstation 3 right now so the real question is how does this one stack up against the competition.

Like many JRPGs, this game has a heavy impact on story. You play the role of Nine, a Blade (one who has amazing powers to destroy things physically) who was adopted by the king to help restore order from the Belzeds in the kingdom. Very early on in the game, you gain another party member, Aisha, who is a Sealer (one who has great powers to destroy the souls of enemies) that you find out has amazing strengths. I could tell more but it would give away a lot of key points of the story. The story has its twists and turns but the real meat of the story is built up to the end.

Onto the gameplay, it has a very steep learning curve but it rewards players with a very streamlined campaign that is fairly short (14 hours). The battles can be difficult and it is tedious to level up. The real fun is during the boss battles that can (depending on your level) last some length of time. They are your typical turn based battles. However, the amount of strategy you need to use is almost ridiculous, in a good way. It makes every battle virtually different in the sense that there are so many options as you switch between characters. The downfall is you can easily be overwhelmed. Try sticking to just hitting the opponent where you need to, and try different combinations of body parts to find the weak spot in the correct order to deal the most damage to your foe. The system itself is flawed, but the conception is genius. You level up your magic skills by collecting sheets of magic paper that can be distributed throughout your various abilities. The graphics are nothing to write home about sadly. The graphics had potential at one point but it seems they took all the development time focusing on the battle system.

Presentation is key, especially in an RPG. As for the ‘cutscenes’, they are simply referred to as ‘events’ which are just simply hand drawn watercolor images of the characters who are interacting with each other in the foreground with simple text below. I know it was an artistic choice, but most stories are better told through cinematic interaction, not watching a slide show. However with all the bad things I am saying about this game you would think I hate it. It’s quite the contrary, as it is my duty to point out the flaws. I must also let you know that for hardcore RPG fans this is most definitely worth at least a rental, primarily because, again, the story is very short. The combat system alone is something to witness, along with the story and the art. The game nears the end when your character reaches around level 50, depending on how much grinding you do. The game is far from polished or perfect, but what is here is a great RPG that can be enjoyed by fans of the genre at the very least. So give it a try, at the very least it is worth a rental for its simple straightforward RPG elements and linear story. Here’s hoping they improve with the possibility of a sequel hinted at the end with high end cutscene elements that really show what it means to be a Playstation 3 exclusive.

Metal Gear Solid Rising: Accessibility Issues?

Mortiraze — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:38:09 +0000

I’m sure any amateur gamer has heard of the legendary, “Metal Gear Solid” series. In light of the upcoming release, “Metal Gear Rising”, I thought i’d take time out to identify why some gamers may have trouble accessing it. Now, hold a cross against my head and burn me to dust, but I didn’t play the fourth game. However, I’m a true fan of the story, and I definitely know what separates the clones from Snake; but partly because I’ve played every MGS game, barre the fourth, and am actually obsessed with Hideo Kojima. Trust me. I’m so dedicated, I made a carving of his bust…using my eyeball.

"Snake?! Snake?! SNAAAAKE!" - "What?!" - "Do you understand this story?!"

Anyway, my point is that those who haven’t played the other games will simple not understand the fourth. Yes, Yes: so there are elements that make it feature as a stand-alone game. However, not even I can tell you the entire story without sitting down over some steaming food rations, an edible snake, and a guard uniform complete with AK47 that-I-ran-around-for-hours-on-end-trying-to-get-because-they’re-in-different-parts-of-the-Big-Shell-and-I-could-have-been-doing-something-important-like- killing-the-Metal-Gear-or-making-noodle-

I digress.

It’s such a rich and diverse story that it appears the series has perhaps gotten too rich. I have a similar issue with TV shows, like Lost or Heroes. I miss a few perhaps, and suddenly I’ve lost the entire plot. For example, without playing Metal Gear Solid 2, you’re clueless when it comes to playing 4, because the story line is cut by the third instalment (including “Portable Ops” for the PSP. Get it? Portable? Ha!) Having spoken to people about the fourth game, I understand that it retains all the elements of a Kojima game, but also adds tactical logic, such as the automatic camo-suit…thing. This simply pushes MGS further towards it’s purpose: to be real.

Unfortunately, for those who are at this moment playing Forza in a lovely little mini, thinking: “I need a change”, they’re simply not going to be able to access this game with such ease. I’m sure Konami will attempt to fill the player in, but I just can’t see the new-age fan being fully satisfied that they know the majority of the back story, without playing the other games. I mean, I know someone who played Gears of War 2 only, and they had no problem finding what had happened in the first game. For the moment, we shall see what comes out: those cheeky Japanese haven’t announced what exactly the storyline will entail yet. All we can do is hope and pray that people who just want to play the latest game, can do so without being completely baffled.

Toy Soldiers: Review and Competition

Matthew Gildea — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:19:08 +0000

Tower Defense games tend to be a passive affair, leaving AI units to do their job upon being plonked down in the players only involvement in the game. Whilst providing easy to maintain gameplay, you cannot help but feel like the game is playing itself for you. Not very fun eh?

Toy Soldiers rips up the rulebook for this genre of games, instead opting to provide you with an interactive shooter hybrid which sees you take control of your tower replacements in the form of machine guns, mortars and vehicles such as tanks and planes. Rather than watching enemies get taken out by your structures and units, you can instead take control and do the damage yourself.

Set upon a series of dioramas based on the events of World War I, you are tasked with protecting your Toy Box from the onslaughts of enemy infantry, tanks and planes. As usual with Tower Defense games, each of these enemies has a weakness you can exploit, be it infantry susceptible to being toxically gassed, tanks slow and thus easily defeated by mortars or simply planes being quickly taken down by anti-air placements. As well as the various ‘normal’ offense, you encounter a selection of ‘bosses’. These over-exaggerated tanks or blimps or whatever provide a hilarious thrill as a huge Godzilla-esque tank comes rolling down the hall squashing your helpless troops. Whilst a little frustrating at times with their ridiculous health and power, they do provide a cheap laugh as you can’t help but remember the one toy you used to own that used to be massively out of proportion to the others. Yeah, you remember it now!

The game starts off very forgiving, with enemies limited in number and easily defendable objectives. However, fast forward to midway through the campaign and you start to feel a sense of overwhelming annoyance. With the limited ‘zoom out’ function only letting you see some of the map at a time, attempting to navigate the larger maps, defending multiple toy boxes and with limited defensive placements leaves you confused, frustrated and generally not a happy gamer. Losing your bearings in the middle of what can be a lengthy level is frustrating in most games, but as there are no checkpoints in this, the intensified upset is more damaging and I did at times turn the game off with little to no intention of attempting the level again. Whilst challenging gameplay is fun, for an arcade TD title without a mouse it’s best to keep these frustrations to a minimum, as opposed to the majority of the campaign.

The aforementioned lack of defensive placements (whereby you place mortars, machine gunners and anti-air among other things) is a mixed bag of exciting heart racing puzzle solving and frustrating nimble fingered favouritism. Whilst it force you to utilize the timeline showing the upcoming enemies, chopping and changing your defenses as needed, it confuses too easily. With many of the upgrades locked until later levels, chopping and changing only to realise you can’t upgrade your units is an annoyance, requiring time and money, all the while leaving your base defenseless. When the game requires key timing and resource management, you have to wonder whether more freedom in placing defenses would of been a better design idea, rather than fixed positions and thus a linear gaming experience.

Arguably Toy Soldiers greatest strength is in its authentic aesthetics and sound. The game is a beautiful looking game, boasting attractive scenery and design right down to the cogs on the tanks and physical gestures of the infantry. Even minute details like your mortars being reloaded or scenery able to be demolished adds even more depth to an already sophisticated game. Seeing every detail from a zoomed in perspective as well as observing the battlefield when zoomed out shows just how carefully every part of the game has been planned, with detail not lost regardless of range.

Multiplayer offers 5 maps for you and a friend (or random Xbox Live member) to contest. However, unlike the campaign, you each are defending and attacking in equal measure. Alongside a random spout of infantry you each are allocated, you can fund the offenses of cavalry, tanks and planes which will attack your enemy after a short ‘loading’ period, used to prevent the winning player from overwhelming constantly. However, the few maps, limited offensive options and lack of variety in modes leaves the multiplayer a fun activity but lacking much longevity.

Toy Soldiers boasts an innovative spin on the classic Tower Defense genre and signals the start of a great month for Xbox Live Arcade. With a lengthy and enjoyable campaign, a fun time wasting multiplayer and replayability in Campaign+ and Survival, this is one of the titles that will be held in high regard with the likes of Shadow Complex and Battlefield 1943.

4/5

Win a copy of Toy Soldiers!

So, do you want to get your hands on Toy Soldiers for XBLA? All you need to do is comment below and let us know your favourite childhood toy. We’ll pick a random winner on Monday 15th March.

Portal 2 Confirmed!

Starfox118 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:49:36 +0000

So on Friday Valve reportedly confirmed what every Orange Box fanboy had been dreaming of; a sequel to the ingenious Portal. For those of you who have not yet experienced the amazing wonder of mind bending, 3D spacial awareness, puzzles that make up Portal then you need to go down to your local game shop and purchase yourself a copy, or alternatively whip up xbox live or steam and buy Portal: Still Alive for a reasonable cost.

In Portal 2 “Players will explore never-before-seen areas of the Aperture Science Labs and be reunited with GLaDOS, the occasionally murderous computer companion who guided them through the original game.” and according to a Gamestop pre-order page “Portal 2 introduces a cast of dynamic new characters, a host of fresh puzzle elements, and a much larger set of devious test chambers.” What is most intriguing about Portal 2’s announcement is that it is scheduled for a release ‘this holiday season’ and will be released on ‘PC, Xbox 360 and Mac’. This confirms the rumours of last week, that were floating about, talking of the Steam Client, with many games already converted to work on Macs, being released later this year. This rumour came about because of a vigilant Valve forum member noticing OSX code in the client, later the same week Valve released suspicious images and adverts hinting at a Mac release. All I can say, as I am a Mac user (I know not a popular front to be on when also a gamer) I can’t wait to start playing some more Steam based games as since I made the switch my PC gaming has just practically ceased to exist.

For more information on the Mac Rumours click here.

To read Valve’s blog and release details click here.