Survivor’s Dilemma: Being Disadvantaged by Morality in DayZ

At the end of one of my uni subjects this year, we had to write an essay about a topic related to a game of our choice. We were only allowed 1,500 words (give or take 10%, not including citations, captions or footnotes), and were told we could write it in the style of 'New Games Journalism', but were warned that this would be harder to pull off well. I decided to take the risk because I felt this was a lot like my natural writing style, and it paid off as I ended up getting a High Distinction for the course :) I was really happy with this essay, especially given the strict word count which forced me to cut out a lot of it, and made it harder to word myself properly. I wrote about DayZ, and how it made me ponder about why we act according to real life morals (or don't!) inside virtual worlds. Hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think! :) And forgive the formatting, Blogger's a bit poopy in that regard :P

5 PlayStation All Stars Rivalries That Need to Happen Through DLC

The launch of PlayStation All Stars is just around the corner, and Sony have confirmed that the game will most definitely be getting stage and character DLC, revealing the first pair of characters to be Kat from Gravity Rush on the Vita, and Emmett Graves from the PS3’s Starhawk. The best bit is, that for two weeks from their release you can download these characters for free, even if you don’t have the game. So I got thinking about who would be good to see as DLC using both my personal wants and the wants of the fanbase, and decided on 10 characters that would be cool to see and at least semi-plausible because that sounded like a nice, even number. People make lists like these all the time but I figured I’d do something different and come up with pairs of characters that seemed like a good fit together, and come up with a rivalry like in the game, giving them a reason to fight each other. And because I could, I chucked in a mashup stage of the two characters’ franchises. So without further ado, let’s begin!

Guild Wars 2: Lost Shores Event Key Giveaway

From November 15th-18th Guild Wars 2 will be having a Refer-A-Friend trial period in celebration of the Lost Shores update and event running from the 16th-18th. This allows people who've purchased the game to invite three of their friends to play the game for free during this period. But, luckily for you, if you've got an access code you can still join in on the fun! And I have 3 of those very codes to give away! :D

Origin Partnering with Twitch- In-Game Streaming!

In a surprise reveal today, EA have said that their Origin service is partnering up with streaming service Twitch in order to provide in-game streaming of your Origin games to your Twitch.tv account with the upcoming beta update for Origin rolling out this week to those who have opted in.

Final Boss of PlayStation All Stars Leaked?

Update (9/11/2012): The final boss has been confirmed to be Polygon Man. Much more fitting, I believe.

It seems everything about this game has been leaked, so it was only natural that someone would discover the game's final boss, who up until now has been kept secret. GameFAQs user rumbalumba seems to be that person. Rumba has uncovered various files from several of the latest betas for PlayStation All Stars, and in the latest beta, he has discovered audio files linked to a 'Boss Arena' stage, that seem to reveal the game's boss. This is your last chance to back out from spoilers. You've been warned.

PlayStation All Stars Revisited

Battlefield 3 Map Pitch: Blood Sports

So the winners of the Battlefield 3 map pitching contest have been announced, and unfortunately I wasn't among them. And like any loser of a contest I'm a bit sore because I think my entry was a bit better than some of them (not to mention the fact the judging wasn't actually handled how the terms and conditions outlined it would be!), but what's done is done, I'm not gonna cry about it. Publicly. But I figured I'd post my pitch here for all to see so that all the effort I put into my pitch wasn't for nothing. I think you'll agree it would actually make a pretty cool map :) If you like you can just grab the pdf file here.

Josh @ EB Expo

I was lucky enough to be able to go to the EB Expo on Saturday, and got to play some really cool new and upcoming games. I wasn't allowed to record footage of them all, but I'll be posting the footage I did get over the next couple of days.

I Jumped the Gun with PlayStation All Stars

Update (18/10/12): I'll be posting my thoughts after the new public beta. I'm really conflicted about it at the moment but I'm trying to not judge it as rashly as last time. Edit: Check out my thoughts of the new beta here

I’m more than happy to admit I was wrong about something. And my experiences with PlayStation All Stars are making me do just that. It’s a game that I really didn’t like at first, but after giving it some time I’ve realised it’s much better than I first gave it credit

I Admit, I've Slacked Off

So yeah, haven't posted in a while, not that anyone's a frequent reader that would notice, lulz. I've got a job writing for a games magazine (LevelUp Times, you should totally check it out when it releases ;) ) so I guess it's made me not really bother with posting stuff here. I've posted news on my Twitter pretty frequently though, so make sure you check that out too.

Ubisoft Reveals Playable Wii U Games at EB Expo

It was rumoured for a while that the Wii U would be showing up at the EB Expo in Sydney this October, but there was no official word on it. It had been teased by EB higher ups saying to wait for future announcements, but now it's official. Well, not technically official since this is more a leak than anything, but the Wii U is going to be playable at EB Expo! I checked my emails this morning and found an email from Ubisoft, showing the games that they'll have playable at the Expo. Awkwardly, it shows Wii U games that hadn't been officially announced for the line up yet. Have a look:

Darksiders II Tops Australian Charts, DLC Details

The NPD Group Australia have confirmed that Darksiders II topped the Australian sales charts in its launch week beginning August 16th! Congrats to THQ, it's a great game that really deserves the attention it's getting. Sequels that actually change and improve upon their predecessors should be commended. If you haven't bought it yet, check out my Darksiders II review which should hopefully convince you ;)

And We Are Monetised!

Long story short, I fixed up some problems with my bank account and now I've monetised my blog and Youtube account :D

Just making this post to say that if there's a particular ad that's offensive or causes some sort of trouble with the layout or something, just let me know, and I can add it to the block list :)

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Footage Shows Exclusive Content

The Tekken Youtube Channel updated with this video today, showing off some of the exclusive content in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2. This includes a mode in which Mario mushrooms are scattered across the fighting arena, causing effects to those who bump into them, for example the Mega Mushrom makes them gigantic while a Poison Mushroom shrinks them. In one section of the footage a Starman is also bouncing around the stage, which will presumably grant temporary invincibility.

The Wii U version of the game will also include Nintendo inspired alternate costumes for the playable characters, including Mario Bros. costumes for the Mishimas, a Bowser costume for Alex the raptor, and a Zero Suit Samus costume for Anna Williams.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a launch window title for the Wii U, meaning it will launch sometime before March 2013.

Nintendo Direct Europe/Australia Stream + Live Blog

Live broadcasting by Ustream

Check back here at 12am tonight AEST for my live blog of the Australian/European Nintendo Direct! Can't wat! :D

Tweets by @Mario__Bones

Australian R18+ Games Rating Guidelines Released

Update: People more knowledgeable than I are saying that the guidelines for R18 are basically the old MA15 ones with different wording. If the government have gone and relabelled the MA rating to R and just weakened MA, then that's just wrong, and they've totally missed the point of why the rating was needed. Kinda wishing I didn't speed read these in class now!

The Australian Government has released the new guidelines for the classification of computer games in Australia.

Options Aren't Always a Good Thing

Yay, another opinion piece! I was meant to write this one a while back when the Dragon's Dogma patch was announced and it would have been a bit more relevant, but the points are still important and 100% fact, so don't you dare disgree. I tried as much as possible to not have this come off as an elitist piece talking down to people who like easy games, because that's not what was intended at all. Rather, difficulty levels aren't needed for every game, or can at least be toned down so there isn't a night and day difference between Masochistic Game Overs A-plenty Mode and Enemies May As Well Not Even Be There Mode.

There’s a reasoning I often see thrown around to justify an addition or possible addition to a game, and that’s “It’s optional, you don’t have to use it!” It sounds like it makes sense, right? Adding as many features and options into a game (like difficulty settings) in order to make it accessible to everybody. So why then, do I disagree with the logic? My line of thinking here was prompted by two recent happenings: co-op mode being announced for Dead Space 3, and an easy mode being patched in to Dragon’s Dogma (though there’s a few things I can say about this topic in relation to this game).

Buyerhazard- Stolen Copies of Resident Evil Being Sold in Poland

Apologies for that awful, awful pun.

Capcom have come out today and said that a couple of stores in Poland are selling 'stolen' copies of Resident Evil 6, much earlier than its release date. One of the buyers of the stolen copies has even put in on eBay, with the current bid being 478.78 Euros, and a Buy It Now price of 1,196.71 Euros.

"Capcom is currently undertaking a thorough investigation into reports that Resident Evil 6 is being sold ahead of its official October 2 release date," Capcom have said in a statement. "At this time, all we can add is that it would appear this unfortunate incident is limited to a small quantity of stolen copies of the German USK PlayStation 3 version of the game."

I'm a bit unsure what they mean by 'stolen', whether they mean the stores somehow got their hands on illegal copies, or if they were just shipped really early and the stores put them on the shelves, breaking the street date by an entire month. I highly doubt that would be accidental.You could say that once Capcom's lawyers get a hold of them there will be No Hope Left. Ah? Ah? Thankyou, I'm here til Tuesday.

Battlefield 3 Armored Kill Assignments, Trophies and Achievements Detailed

The Australian spell-checker inside my head pains me to spell it this way, but the upcoming Battlefield 3 expansion pack Armored Kill releases this week for PS3 Premium users, and next week for PC and 360 Premium players, and DICE have revealed all the assignments, trophies and achievements that the DLC will introduce, including 5 Premium exclusive dog tag assignments. These assignments unlock a black and gold dogtag much like the class specialist ones released previously, except these ones are basic dog tags, meaning they're the ones that appear on the left of your tags. They have designs based on the various vehicles of the game, and are listed with their requirements below.

Skyrim's Hearthfire DLC Launches September 4th, Details Within

Earlier this month Bethesda filed a trademark for an upcoming Skyrim DLC, Hearthfire, and a supposed leak suggested that the DLC will revolve around home-making. It was confirmed today that this is in fact the purpose of the DLC. The description reads:

First Impressions Are Everything, Make Your Announcements Count

The internet erupted in a fiery explosion of hate this morning, all of it directed at game developers Square Enix. What did they do to deserve this hatred? They announced an iOS port of a much loved game. ‘Wait, what?’ you think, ‘that’s it?’ Well, there’s certainly a lot more to it than that.

The World Ends With You Countdown Was an iOS Port After All (Gameplay Footage Inside)

Square Enix had a teaser site counting down to something related to their hit DS game 'The World Ends With You'. It was leaked that TWEWY would be ported to iOS, and it was assumed that this is what the reveal would be. However, the game's translator tweeted that people should wait until the countdown is actually over first. The way they worded their tweet had me cautious, it sounded more like there'd be more details on the port rather than details on something new. Unfortunately, as the countdown came to an end this morning, it turned out that this was in fact the truth. The launch trailer for the port is below. Update: Commenting on the trailer on Youtube has been disabled, I take that as Square Enix knowing people were going to be... 'disappointed' by this news, which I personally find hilarious.

Yet More GTAV Screenshots, More On The Way

In addition to the other 6 screenshots posted in the past few days, Rockstar Games have posted the last four Grand Theft Auto V screenshots for this week, promising more in the next few weeks. These screenshots appear to show crimes and side jobs in the game, including the crop duster shown previously, a rifle with a laser scope and some sort of garbage disposal/freighting business.

New GTA V Screenshots Showcase Leisure Activities

Rockstar have just updated their site with three gorgeous new screenshots of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V, which show off some leisure activities which players can presumably partake in in the game. These activities being dirt biking, tennis and parachuting.

Bethesda Files 'Hearthfire' Trademarks for Skyrim DLC

Bethesda has filed a trademark for a new Skyrim DLC, titled 'Hearthfire', along with the description "Computer game software for use with computers and video game consoles; downloadable computer game software offered via the internet and wireless devices." This is consistent with a supposed 'leak' from Redditor derptemp6698 who correctly leaked details of some of Mass Effect 3 DLCs. The description he gave for the pack was as follows:

Darksiders II Review

IMPORTANT: A run-down of how my reviews work:
http://marioboneyard.blogspot.com/2012/03/review-overview.html

The much hyped sequel to THQ's cult classic Darksiders is finally here. Does it bring Death to a franchise, or sow seeds of life for its future? And will these review descriptions continue to have awful puns and rhetorical questions? Josh answers one of these questions in this review, you'll never guess which one it is.

Secret Games to Be Announced for EB Games Expo?

I was one of a few people who thought there were some games suspiciously missing from the games announced for the EB Games Expo a week or so ago. I thought The Last of Us and Watch Dogs may have made an appearance, but wasn't too shocked when they weren't on the list. However, I was really surprised at the total lack of Wii U games. With the console coming out before the end of the year, you'd think Nintendo would be wanting it to get as much attention as possible.

More Mass Effect 3 DLC Leaks

A few months back, details on Mass Effect 3's Leviathan DLC were leaked, including a script. It was revealed that a rogue reaper named Leviathan could be recruited in the fight against the Reapers, and used as war assets, which made me think it could somehow affect the ending. Turns out it will in a way, as it will add more dialogue in the game's ending sequence. Eurogamer found discussion on the Bioware forums about new script leaks, which divulge some more dialogue added into the game's final sections. So as to not ruin the experience for people I won't be posting details of the leak, you can read them for yourselves if desired at the linked pages (though you may want to stop reading after the trailer, there's some potential spoilers there).

A trailer for the Leviathan DLC can be seen below

Also, in the new Firefight weapon pack DLC for the game, a list of unreleased weapon mods seems to suggest future DLC will involve a return to Omega from Mass Effect 2, due to the locations the mods are assigned to use the same location code as Omega assets in Mass Effect 2. Combined with the fact there's cut dialogue in the game suggesting at a re-take Omega mission of sorts, this seems rather likely.

Mass Effect 3's Leviathan DLC will release later this year.

Resident Evil 6 No Hope Left Edition Announced

The No Hope Left Edition of Resident Evil 6 has been announced, and is exclusive to EB Games. This special edition of the game is exclusive to Australia and New Zealand so ANZ Resident Evil fans won't want to miss this deal. You'll be sure to REgret it *sitcom laughter*. The name is in reference to the game's tagline of sorts, which is also used in its quite literally viral advertising.

Final Darksiders II Pre-Release Trailer

With about a week until its US release, THQ have given us the final pre-release gameplay trailer for Darksiders II. Its narrated by Death, giving insight into his quest, and shows off some more boss fights, and a rideable golem-like creature.

Editable Gun Rotations May Be Coming to Battlefield 3's Gun Master Mode

Daniel Matros, Global Community Manager at DICE, posted on Twitter today that DICE are looking into giving admins of Battlefield 3 server some control over the guns used in the Gun Master mode introduced with the Close Quarters DLC for the game released earlier this year. This is by no means confirmed, but I'll keep you posted.

LittleBig Planet Karting Launches November 6th, Pre-Order Bonuses Announced

The Playstation Blog has updated and revealed the US release date for LittleBig Planet Karting to be Tuesday November 6th. The European blog also updated with the European release date (November 7th) and the UK/Ireland release date (November 9th). No Australian release date though :'( This news was announced alongside an Olympic-spoofing trailer, showing off the varied levels the game offers.

DayZ Stand-Alone Being Developed By Bohemia Interactive

Dean 'Rocket' Hall, creator of the DayZ mod for Arma II just confirmed over Twitter and Tumblr that the stand-alone version is on its way, and being developed by Bohemia Interactive (the developers of Arma II) with him taking the role of project lead. 'This is the fairy-tale outcome for a mod that many would have said impossible four months ago' says Hall.

What Do You Want to Know About Darksiders II?

So, thanks to the lovely people at THQ Australia, I'll be getting my hands on a review copy of Darksiders II later this week. While I'm under embargo on coverage until the 15th of August (Aussie time), I'll be running a Let's Play of the game, and writing/recording a review which will be going up around that time. Now that's where you guys come in!

Who, me?

Um... sure, I guess. But I want to know which features of the game you want me to go into detail about. Do you want to know what the RPG elements are like? Do you want to know about Death's acrobatic abilities? Do you want to know more about the different areas of the world?

I want to know what love is! I want you to show me!

Oh, Death *sitcom laughter* Anyways, either comment here or tweet me @Mario__Bones and let me know what you want me to focus on in my review and Let's Play. Of course, I'm aiming to have my review be as in-depth as possible, but if there's areas you want me to focus on in more detail, let me know. And for my Let's Play, let me know whether you want me to scour the world for secrets and collectibles or just stick to the main storyline.

There's all kinds of skills and weapons to unlock and use, and they can't all be obtained in one playthrough!

If I get enough questions I might even have a Q&A post here answering as many as I can, so feel free to ask me whatever you like. This will be my first big, official review, and I'm really looking forward to it! Here's some more screenshots to tide you over until the 15th ;)

Death faces off against a Scarab Hulk in the Online 'Crucible' mode

It's a little known fact that Death actually mentored Darth Vader

Death uses his mask to cheat at staring contests

The Maker's Realm was the setting of my hands-on preview of the game #SelfPlug

I love me a huge boss battle

This screenshot's filename has 'Boss Rush' in it. Interesting...

Darksiders II releases 16th of August in Australia, and on the 14th in USA, so my coverage will be out around the time of the US release if my knowledge of time zones is correct.

Could This Be Real Wii U Game Box Art?

NeoGaf member Hero of Legend has pointed out that amazon.ca is showing what seems to be the actual box art for a few Wii U games, including Assassin's Creed 3, Avengers: Battle For Earth and Just Dance 4. The box art is shown below.

The Effects Leaks Have On Fans' Reactions to Games

It seems that a lot of developers lately, especially those working on fighting games, have problems with their metaphorical plumbing. Leaks are becoming more and more frequent during the pre-release periods of hyped games, hell, while I was typing this piece this link appeared on my Twitter feed. There are three kinds of leaks- inside sources getting info out, companies goofing up and accidentally releasing information somehow, and fake leaks that are made purely to get attention. With potential customers desperate for information on upcoming games, it’s only natural that people would try to leak out information (or pretend to), either to be a ‘nice’ person or to just get some attention. There’s plenty to talk about on the subject, like whether leaks are ethically right or looking into why people would leak information, but what I want to talk about today is the effect leaks have on hype towards a game. I’m going to reminisce on three relatively recent leaks for games I’ve been following, and have a look at what I noticed on message boards during the pre-release period, and my own personal feelings.

Site Design Updated

You might have noticed I've changed the fonts around on the site to try and make it more readable, let me know what you think. Please, I never get comments as it is :'(

Hands-On With Darksiders II and WWE 13 and a Preview of Company of Heroes 2 and South Park Stick of Truth

Now that's gotta be the longest title ever. I was lucky enough to be invited to a Darksiders II event held by THQ on Wednesday, and got to have a look at some of their upcoming games, and do some stunt work. Yes, that’s right, actual, genuine stunt work, it was a lot of fun. I felt comically out of place, because there were people from serious publications there, like Dan Chiappini (Editor of Gamespot Australia) and writers from the Daily Telegraph, and I’m just some random guy with a humble blog and Youtube account, but it’s great that THQ support little guys like me and give us a chance to report on things and give our opinions.

Battlefield Premium, One Month On- Is It Worth It?

I bought Battlefield Premium on one of the first few days it was released. It was AUD$50 on PC, and the expansion packs are about $20/25 each, so I’d be crazy not to really. I already had Back to Karkand, and Close Quarters didn’t interest me much, but the savings I’d make on the other packs, the teased exclusive content, and being able to try out Close Quarters should I choose won me over. A month on from its release, is Battlefield Premium worth the money? Here’s how I feel about it so far.

Ubisoft apologies for Personal Info Leak

Late last month, Ubisoft sent out emails related to an ARG promoting their upcoming game Watch Dogs. In a rather ironic twist, a promotional tool for a game revolving around hacking and gaining access to people's personal information leaked out hundreds of people's email addresses. These emails were sent out to anyone who 'inquired about tickets' on the website dotconnexion, and informed people of the death of one of the characters in the game.

Iwata Comments on Power Gap Between Next Gen Consoles; Refuses to Journey Through the Amazon

At Nintendo's investor Q&A earlier this year, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata was asked whether the Wii U will be able to hold up against Sony and Microsoft's future consoles technically, unlike the Wii, which was disadvantaged when it came to multiplatform games.

Company of Heroes 2 First Trailer

The first trailer for Company of Heroes 2 has been released today, after taking away 7 awards at E3, including Best PC Game from G4 X-Play and Machinima, and being nominated for 18 more.

Watch Dogs ARG starting?

At E3 this year, Ubisoft showed off a new IP from out of nowhere. This game had everyone talking, and was arguably the biggest announcement to come out of E3. This game was, of course, Watch Dogs. In case you haven't seen it, here's one of the variations on the gameplay video shown:

Mass Effect 3 DLC Details leaked

About a day ago, Bioware released the much anticipated Extended Cut DLC for Mass Effect 3, in an attempt to make up for the original disappointing endings. However, it has been discovered that hidden away in this DLC was files related to an upcoming DLC pack, including a partial script. Spoilers follow.

Are Video Games a Suitable Medium for War Stories?

Note: This article contains spoilers for Red Dead Redemption and Gallipoli. But if you haven’t finished RDR or seen Gallipoli- REALLY!? Also, it’s talking mostly in regards to FPSes, as they are the most common genre for war games. I don’t play many FPSes, so if there’s anything factually wrong, feel free to tell me, I’d love to discuss this more.

I was watching the Gamespot Australia live stream on Tuesday, and there was a discussion there that really interested me, to the point where I’m actually writing something about it! This discussion was about war and video games, and whether video games really do war ‘justice’. I, myself, don’t play many shooters because I see them as pointless. It’s just mindless killing, with no real goal, no sense of co-ordination of teamwork, nothing. Just killing and more killing for a whole round. And that’s basically what war games are now that they’re focused on the multiplayer aspects rather than creating a singleplayer experience. The games (for the most part) present kills as a good thing you should be striving towards, for which you are rewarded with points, killstreaks or what have you. There’s a clear divide between good and evil. The other team, or the antagonists in the storyline are the enemy. In the case of multiplayer opponents, they have no reason they’re fighting other than it’s fun and they want to win. In the case of singleplayer antagonists, they’re hardly ever well thought out characters, they’re just plain evil, and you need to stop them. And the enemies you kill along the way are just characterless polygons who you have to kill to progress. Everyone in war is a living, breathing human being, enemy or ally.

E3 Conference Wrap-Up

So, the E3 presentations have come and gone, and I think we can all agree it was a pretty damn mediocre show. Not good, not bad, just plain mediocre. No-one really blew us away, in fact some managed to fail to even keep us content. It was easily one of the most disappointing E3's ever. For my live thoughts of what happened during the conferences (except EA's which I accidentaly slept through :3 ) check out this post.

Randomised Tweets

So someone showed me this site, which basically splices up your tweets and reassembles them in often legible, always hilarious ways. I gave it a try, and here's some of the ones I got. It's tempting to use purely these randomised tweets to sum up my thoughts of E3 XD

E3 Live Blog

Even though it requires me to pull an all nighter (Aussie time zone) I'm gonna try to watch as many of the E3 conferences as I can this year. I'll be posting what's happening and my thoughts as the night goes on, so be sure to keep checking back! :D

Nintendo Direct- Nintendo has grown up

Create something unique. It's the words Nintendo lives by, and it's why I like them so much. They don't concern themselves with what will sell as much as other companies do. They don't find something that works and stick to it. They're always searching for a way to bring a unique experience to gamers. Of course, it doesn't always work out, but when they do something wrong I feel like they genuinely thought it would be beneficial to us. Out of the Big 3, they're the company that looks out for gamers and tries to make them happy, rather than look out for themselves. They've even looking through people's reactions to the conference to see what the consensus is. And before E3 has even started, their Nintendo Direct conference has shown us just how much they've grown.

THQ Pre-E3 Event + First Look at WWE 13

THQ Australia have recently had their Pre-E3 showcase of their upcoming titles, and while I was unfortunately not able to attend, I've still got a lot of footage and info from it. The footage is in the above video, which you can see in a better size on Youtube, but since I'm generous, have some game info and screenshots as well! :D

My First Hour With Dragon's Dogma

I recorded my first hour of my playthrough of Capcom's new Action RPG, Dragon's Dogma. I figured this game wouldn't be appropriate for a Let's Play because I want to take it at my own pace, which would mean the videos would be very long and uninteresting to watch. I thought an occasional video like this would be much more enjoyable for all of us :)

If you haven't got this game yet, you're really missing out. It's got a huge, open world, which you can explore and hunt enemies in, or just goof off like I did for most of this hour, and has some really interesting mechanics, like Pawn sidekicks that learn from you and other players. The combat is much more engaging than most RPG's, and the game isn't a total cakewalk, either. I'll try to get a full review done eventually.

Enter The Metro released, Armoured Core Heavy Armour demo released, Dragon's Dogma footage incoming

Phew, big couple of days for THQ and Capcom!

First up, the live action short film "Enter the Metro", a tie-in with Metro 2033 and its upcoming sequel, Metro: Last Light.

Darksiders II- Death Strikes Part 2

THQ have released a new promotional video for Darksiders II!

"Last time you saw Death in a trailer he was about to face off a boss 10 times his size. We were evil enough to leave you with a “to be continued…”. Well I’m happy to share the Death Strikes Part II trailer.

Check out his skills as he make little work of a every foe he encounters!

The gaming industry needs to keep kids in mind

Figured I'd take a shot at writing an opinion piece. I have a lot of trouble putting my thoughts into words, so any feedback would be much appreciated! I think the idea of less kid-friendly games these days is a bigger issue than you might think.

Made a few tiny adjustments to my Avengers mini review

Saw the movie for a second time today, and it was just as great as it was the first time, aside from a screaming toddler who was making noise through part of it. As such, I added some tiny bits to the plot spoilery section of my review which people might find interesting, including a potential item of importance for the Avengers 2.

Black Ops 2- War Never Changes

Thought I'd put some footage from past COD reveal trailers beside the Black Ops 2 reveal trailer, and what do you know, it looks almost exactly the same! At some points, it IS the same, just reskinned. Who knew it was so easy to replace humans with robots, helicopters with drones, and skidoos with horses! Of course, not all of it's the same, but it's similar enough to show that the game really isn't going to change much through a new setting.

There are a few blank spots, which are due to one of three reasons:

1. It's the sergeant guy talking, which obviously isn't going to be in a past trailer

2. The comparison footage wasn't as long as in the BO2 trailer

3. I didn't focus as much on the generic shooty bits because it's pretty obvious that's the same. In the exception I found footage that resembled it way too much I included it.

So yeah, if you enjoyed this video, PLEASE like it, because I know the COD fanbase will be on my tail disliking this like there's no tomorrow, so if you want the truth to get out, please like it!

For extra laughs, mark this off while you watch the trailer!

And now I need to brace myself for the incoming flames! :D

Ghost Recon Future Soldier Beta Code Giveaway

As it so happens, I got given two codes to the Ghost Recon Future Soldier Beta. Obviously, I only need one, so lucky for you, I'll give the other one away! The code is for the PS3 beta, and I'm 99% sure you'll need a European/Australian PSN account to activate it, so if you have one, lucky you! If not, make one and you might still be lucky enough to be the first to activate the code.

To make it a little more fun, I'll post the three sections of the code out of order, so you'll have to rearrange them in order to get it working. The characters in the three sections are in the right order, it's just the actual sections themselves that aren't. So, without further ado...

H8NT HDDD 39FE

Congrats if you got it working, enjoy the beta! :D

The Avengers Mini Review and Plot Details

EDIT: Saw the movie again today, added a few tiny details to the plot section
Despite what the Internet would have you believe, The Avengers actually opened in cinemas April 25th, all the way over here in Australia, and I was at the midnight screening. Here's my review of the movie, and if you're after juicy spoilery details, head right to the bottom of the post. Keep in mind I'm writing this at 3:30am in order to get it out to you ASAP, so apologies for any poor writing :3

Avengers Mini Review Inbound

Gonna be heading to the midnight premiere of The Avengers in Sydney tonight, can't wait! :D Yes, that's right, the movie starts screening April 25th in Australia, not May 4th in America like the Internet would have you believe. Australia's always forgotten :'( But enough about that, like I did with The Hunger Games, I'll be doing a mini review here once I've seen it and get home, and will probably wake up sleep deprived because I care about you guys <3 Since it's pretty obvious it'll be an awesome movie, I'll try to give a bit of a lowdown on what to expect of the movie, and maybe spoil some plot points for those of you who are into that sort of thing. Anyways, should be a good night!

SoulCalibur V Creations

Uploaded these last night but forgot to post them :3
Tell me what you think, I think I did a pretty good job, and I'm not very artistic. Highly recommend this game, possibly my favourite fighter this gen!

The Hunger Games Mini Review

*Just in case this doesn't go without saying, this contains some pretty big spoilers*


I was lucky enough to go to the midnight screening of The Hunger Games tonight in Sydney, Australia and let me say- it was worthy of the hype. I'm a late boarder of the Hunger Games train, but a fan nonetheless. Here's a quick overview of my thoughts.

Mario Kart 7 Review

You would not believe how hard it was to finally get this working on Youtube. But without further ado, I present my first review (and Vegas Movie Studio video actually), I hope you enjoy it! Mario Kart is a pretty easy game to review, but it'll serve as good practise for me and show you guys what my reviews will be like. I had most of it finished for quite a while now, but got busy and distracted and didn't get it finished until now. Getting a capture card, so I won't just be restricted to handheld games, and I plan to get FRAPS too for PC games. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the video, I've got a very interesting one in the works :) Remember- in China they never grow chilli!

Ahoy hoy!

Hey there everybody, Josh/Mario_Bones/TheMarioBones here, and welcome to my blog!
This will be my main base of operations from now on for news and the like. I'll be posting all my Youtube videos here, and can easily give my thoughts on current events, in more detail than on my Twitter, and without the hassle of having to make a whole video for it.
I've got a few reviews in the works, so look forward to that! My review style is slightly different to the norm, so I'll be posting an explanatory post soon.
Speak to you all soon, mwah mwah, goodbye, auf wiedersen, au revoir.