Battlefield 3 HD Comparison

You know what week it is? It’s Battlefield 3 week. Send the cat to a shelter, divorce the spouse, board up the house: We’re going in. For some silly privileged reason, the Xbox 360 version of the game comes packing an HD textures install option that purportedly allows for much-improved graphical zing throughout. Yeah yeah, talk’s cheap and gamers get a lot of it. Does it really make a difference? Check out this handy comparison video and decide for yourselves.

Batman: Arkham City's Official Map App

One of things I neglected to mention in our review of Batman: Arkham City is that yes, it’s an open-world environment but no, it doesn’t have a mini-map down there on the right to help you along. This is something I really liked, because I hate having to fixate on the GPS when I could be enjoying the road and scenery. However, the lack of a mini-map has annoyed some gamers, so here comes iOS to the rescue with Arkham City’s Offical Map App. Pretty good if you’re busting your butt hunting down all those fiendish Riddler quandaries.

EA Caught Pressuring Publications Over Battlefield 3 Reviews

It’s an ugly thing, and one that sadly rears its head from time to time when big games are released: the practice of a publisher exerting a little too much pressure on gaming press.

Of course, pressure is applied all the time! That’s the people in marketing and PR’s job, to try and make sure their game is well-received. But there’s a point where that pressure stops being a mild annoyance, one easily shrugged off, becoming something obstructive and distasteful, and some EA reps in Europe seem to have crossed that line when it comes to Battlefield 3.

Scandinavian outlets requesting review copies of the game were asked for their mailing addresses. Standard question! They were then, however, asked a bunch of other questions, like:

This Could Be The Prettiest MMO In The World

all Jeremy Clarkson on you for a second, but after seeing this trailer for upcoming MMO Bless, that’s the first thought that popped into my head.

The game, developed by Korean studio Neowiz, has teamed up with Epic to bring us one of only a few Unreal Engine 3-powered in existence, finished or otherwise.

Massively Multiplayer Online games normally have to make concessions in terms of visual detail for two reasons: so everything runs smoothly, and so more people with shitty computers can play. Bless obviously doesn’t give a damn about concessions!

Aonuma Felt ‘Intense Pressure’ To Use Wii MotionPlus In Skyward Sword

The latest episode of Iwata Asks focuses on the development of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and has thrown up some very interesting details about the early development of Skyward Sword. Perhaps the most interesting detail is just how much internal debate went into the inclusion of Wii MotionPlus into the game.

Blizzcon 2011: day one round-up

Pandas Oh My God! World of Warcraft’s fourth expansion has been announced. It will let us play as Panda warrior monks on the back of a giant sea turtle. It will open up the new real of Pandaria to the Alliance and the Horde. It will introduce a pet battling system in which you must catch wild monsters, level them up and make them fight for your own amusement. It’s just one announcement of many in a brilliantly, stupidly hectic first day at Blizzcon 2011.

It’s not all been about World of Warcraft, either. New units have been revealed for StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, new trailers have appeared for Blizzard DOTA and Diablo 3, and we’ve learned something new about each one of Blizzard’s upcoming titles. Below you’ll find our guide to day one of Blizzcon. Get all the latest at a glance.

Saturday Crapshoot: Bikini Karate Babes

Every week, Richard Cobbett rolls the dice to bring you an obscure slice of gaming history, from lost gems to weapons grade atrocities. This week, prepare to see beat-em-up action like you’ve never seen it before! With women fighting in skimpy, ridiculous costum- waaaaaaaaait…

Karate translates as ‘Empty Hand’. Damn, no easy joke opportunities there! But is Bikini Karate Babes the gaming equivalent of Ronseal – primarily aqua and potassium tripolyphosphate? There’s only one way to find out, and we’re going to do so by trying something roughly 98% of online write-ups of it have never even dreamed of… actually installing the damn thing, and playing for more than ten seconds.