So in case you haven't heard, Black Ops drops tonight at midnight (a.k.a. tomorrow).  Does anyone plan on picking it up day one? Also, is it just me, or is there considerably less hype for this game than there was for Modern Warfare 2? I mean, I would expect there to be a little less buzz surrounding it due to having no Infinity Ward/Robert Bowling behind it, but it seems like there is even less than that.

As for me, I am still on the fence about whether it will be a day one-er or if I'll wait it out. I'm leaning towards the latter; I still have a lot of New Vegas to play. Either way, the above commercial is totally rad. no comments

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As a way of celebrating Halloween, the nice folks over at Steam have decided to have a Halloween sale, in which they've compiled a bunch of spooky games and dropped them to rock bottom prices. If you're a gamer with a reasonably specced PC (or Mac), then you owe it to yourself to check it out, because in typical fashion, some of the games on offer are absolute bargains!

If you're interested and want to know more, then you can find a full listing of the games on sale after the break.   Alternatively, you can also check out the sale at the Steam store directly by clicking here.  However, if you're thinking of checking the sale out then you'd better hurry, as the sale only runs from October 28th to November 1st.
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Update: In typical fashion, two days after I bought the game, it has just gone into the Steam Halloween sale with a 33% price reduction. I hate Steam already!

A few weeks ago, my laptop broke and, after turning the air blue for an extended period of time, I bit the bullet and shelled out a tonne of money on a new one. However, because my old laptop was starting to show its age a little, and was starting to chug more than an alcoholic frat boy, I wasn't able to try out any new PC games, or get a chance to try out Steam. This bothered me so much that when I bought my new laptop, I was secretly a little bit glad, despite the fact that I was parting with a frankly not-insignificant amount of cash.

Needless to say, as a huge survival horror fan, the first thing I did when I got my new laptop was download the Amnesia: The Dark Descent demo, and let me tell you this; the game has a reputation for being scary as hell, and just the demo alone had me on the edge of my seat.  This game truly isn't for the feint-hearted!

So, after debating it for a while, I finally gave in, joined Steam, and bought the full game.  In order to get the most out of the game, I plan to play it the way developers Frictional Games advise - by playing in a darkened room with headphones on.  I'll be sure to post my thoughts later on.  Until then, wish me luck! no comments

Barry Steakfries is a man I could fall for. He's athletic, he knows his way around a double-barrel shotgun and he's brimming with one liners. Coming back in the form of a twin-stick shooter on the iPhone, Mr. Steakfries must once again save the universe from the hoard of zombies that now infect different periods of history. With 5 different settings, each with 3 levels each (including a stage-ending boss), Age of Zombies does as much as possible to differentiate itself from the equally large hoard of twin-stick shooters on the platform. While it's not as universally charming or original as their Fruit Ninja, the PSP port grabs your attention with deadly efficiency.

Whether it be in the short campaign or in survival mode, you goal is to shoot every zombie in sight. While the on-screen controls make it a painless affair, it's the varying weapons you'll pick up that make it fun. From you everlasting pistol to the spraying flamethrower, it makes saving the world seem almost too easy. While it only took me a couple of hours (if that) to get through the story, the endless survival mode should surely be able to mitigate the abrupt ending. Leaderboards and achievements with Game Center and OpenFeint should incentivise you even further.

Killing zombies will probably never get old, which is fine because Barry Steakfries probably never ages. Halfbrick studios once again keeps it simple and fun but ultimately quick and painless in Age of Zombies. But with the studio's proven track record, it's hard to say no.

Age of Zombies is available now as a universal app (iPhone + iPad) for $2.99. no comments

As of this precise moment, a demo is available for the new Criterion Games developed racer, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit. The demo is available now on XBLA and PSN (although for some strange reason the demo isn't available on the EU Playstation Store until October 27th), so if this seems like your sort of thing, or if you're a fan of Criterion Games' previous entries in the Burnout series, then check this out. You'd better be fast though; the demo will only be available until November 9th.

If you do decide to check out the demo, then I'll see you on the blacktop - sucking my dust. Losers. no comments

Back again with another fine reader submitted review, reader Adam Morris has submitted, for your enjoyment, his thoughts on Double Fine's latest effort, Costume Quest. So read what Adam has to say on the game, and feel free to leave a comment. Alternatively, if you feel compelled to, you too can submit a review and we'll happily post it on the site.

Costume Quest is the kind of game that allows you to re-live your childhood, to extend your imagination past the plausible and into the playful, to remember what it was like to run around your back garden armed with nothing more than a stick, and be the defender of the universe.  With Costume Quest, Brutal Legend and Physchonauts developers Double Fine Studios have managed to blend fun and creativity in an amazing equilibrium of entertaining game play and storytelling, and though Costume Quest brings some baggage with it that was probably best left at the terminal, it's extremely hard to even notice the niggles beyond all of the charm and imagination that the game offers.
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FYI, the hat gives +1 to Perception. no comments

T-Minus six hours and thirty minutes until I'm buttass deep in Fallout: New Vegas. Who's with me? no comments

Here's my console breakdown: my Wii is in a perpetual state of disuse, I use my Xbox 360 to play Xbox 360 games and to watch Netflix, and my PS3 to … play PS3 games that don't come out on the Xbox 360. All that might be changing soon with two wonderful tidbits of news from Sony today.

First off, Netflix goes disc-free starting next week (Oct. 18th for you nitpickers), and will support built-in search, 1080p playback, 5.1 surround sound, subtitles and alternate audio tracks. These are all features that the Xbox 360 interface doesn't have (yet), and if you've also tried to watch The Kite Runner only to realize you don't speak Pashtu, the subtitles/audio upgrade is a welcome addition, too.

Next, Sony is offering a free download/rental of a movie every Saturday night, which is not only a great deal but pushes the idea of a Playstation "community" that much further. Hell, if they pick and choose great movies, it could turn into a little nerd social movement.

Both of these moves are really smart, especially in the wake its occasional blunders like Playstation+ and its lack of backwards compatibility (yes, I'm still sore about that). no comments