Excuse me, but are you one of the Grey Wardens?

A while ago I watched a video of a recent advertisement for a game called Dragon Age: The Awakening, which was meant to be one of the best sequels this year. I was confused, since I had not seen any game called Dragon Age. So I went into my nearest Gamestation and asked about the previous game. The cashier told me that it was called Dragon Age: Origins, she told me that it is a worthwhile game to buy, since it uses an all new game engine named Eclipse, for which a toolset for creation of fan-made content is available to owners of the PC version.

Once I had got home, I opened the box and a card fell out. On one side there was a code for a extra quest and a valuable character, who is a Golem, and on the other side there was a code for some extra special armour, which could be used in Dragon Age: Origins and in the up-coming game; Mass Effect 2. I thought that this was a really good idea for marketing, since if people cannot buy any of the DLC for a while this gives them a real boost, since they start off with a really good one. (And you would have to pay 1200 Microsoft points for it otherwise!)

In the beginning of the game, you get to choose one of six origins stories to start off. There are three races, Human, Elf and Dwarf; and each of these can choose a type, which includes: Warrior, Rouge and Mage. (However a Dwarf cannot be a mage.) The order of Race, Type and Story includes: A Human Warrior or a Human Rouge will start as a Human Noble, A Elvin Warrior or an Elven Rouge will start as either a Dalish Elf or a City Elf, A Dwarven Warrior or a Dwarven Rouge will start as either a Noble Dwarf or a City Dwarf. Last but not least either a Human Mage or an Elven Mage will become one of the Magi.

As you progress through the game you can recruit some characters, they will interject into the main story line, for instance a Dwarf called Oghren, and a Warrior called Alistair. However most of the characters will have to find yourselves such as, a Warrior called Sten and a Rouge called Leliana. One problem that I find annoying is the fact that you cannot change your party in an area where a battle will take place.

However this is a game that you cannot only play once, since at crucial points in the game, you can choose sides. So for instance you can either side with the Elves or the Werewolves in the Quest “The Nature of the Beast”. Each choice will have its own achievement, so unless you are an avid gamer and saves before the choice, so you can go back and get the other achievements.

A Kingdom for Keflings

Help! Help! My Keflings need a Kingdom!

Quite a while ago I bought a game called “A Kingdom for Keflings”. The plot of the game is you come across a collection of tiny people called “Keflings”. (A sort of Lilliput Moment) You have to help them rebuild their kingdom so they can live happily again.

You start off by choosing a giant to use, you can either use a pre-made giant or you can use your Avatar, of course it is better to use your avatar because anything that your Avatar wears, your game character will wear.

At the beginning, you start off with no resources, and few Keflings. You can put a Kefling on to a point of resource, Rock, Forest, Crystal and Wool, and they will automatically start to collect it. Also if you put a Kefling onto a pile of resources and take them to wherever you need them, they will instantly begin to carry the specific pile of resources to wherever you told them to go.

To increase the number of Keflings you have to build Houses. For each house you earn two Keflings. The House is one of the only buildings that you can upgrade, so for instance, you can turn the House into a Cottage. Later on instead of a House or a Cottage, you can build a Manor House. They are nothing really special except that they look really good in a posh area of your land. However you cannot just build Houses as you please, to complete the building you need an item called Love. Every house needs love; otherwise no-one would live there. (My little joke)

At about half-way through the game you have to make a choice on which is more important, Logs and Gems or Rocks and Wool, if for instance you think that Logs and Gems are more important, then you would do the mission “Curios of Fortune” after building the necessary components needed, your Keflings will collect Logs and Gems quicker.

There are also two map packs for it. I believe that they are worthwhile!

I also believe that this is a must buy!

Assassin's Creed II

Join our Creed, and become an Assassin!

I am writing this review for gamers who are interested in this/or who have never have even heard of it.

I recently purchased Assassin’s Creed II from Gamestation. The cashier was rather jolly, and even gave me a personal review on it, which was a nice touch.

Once I started to play it, I got hooked. You play as a young italian boy called Ezio Auditore de Firenze. It is such an involving game, since there are 100 story missions and over 100 side-missions. After a while of doing the story missions you become the owner of an enormous Villa, with a Blacksmiths and a Doctor. As you go on, every twenty game minutes you earn Florins (Money) depending on how well tourism is going on. With this money, you can add new shops or upgrade them. You can also renovate places to increase profitability. I believe that the most important places to renovate/upgrade are the bank so you can earn more and the Blacksmiths so you can get better equipment.

There are a number of other good things about this game including, jumping off really tall towers into hay bales, assassinating guards from up above/down below/ hay bales, searching for the hidden Codex Pages and the mysterious elusive Glyphs, and the hidden loot everywhere.

There are also three factions that can help you along the way. These three are
the Thieves, the Courtesans, and the Mercenaries.

The Thieves will run along rooftops and climb walls with you, and their special ability is to lure guards away from a spot so you can sneak in. They will also fight if they have to. Their specialist weapon is the Dagger

The Courtesans will provide you with cover from guards. Their special ability is to distract the guards so you can walk by. However if a group of guards should happen to walk by while they are covering you, they will instantly distract them, leaving you out of cover. Their specialist weapon is the sword. (Even though they are easier to defeat)

Last but certainly not least, the Mercenaries will walk around with you on the ground, and when you attack someone they will help out. Their special ability is to attack any guards you choose, which will take the guards mind off defending the place that is important. However they are rather slow at walking. Their specialist weapons are two-handed weapons.

As you progress, more items become unlocked such as two capes which makes all your actions irrelevant in a certain area, the guards will still attack you nonetheless. Another fine thing that is unlocked is the dyes that you can use to colour your robes, colours such as Wetland Ebony, and Tuscan Copper.

Most of the achievements are quite easy to get, since each sequence awards you a nice little 30G. However talking of sequences, there is no sequence 12 or 13 which means that there must be some DLC for it in the near future, which means more special editions.

Therefore i believe that this is a worthwhile game to buy. Thank you and Goodnight.

Gaming Console Showdown

Gaming Consoles: The Showdown!

I’m terribly sorry that I have not posted in a while, I have been trying to keep ahead of my Coursework.

My friends and I were having a debate about which console was better, Xbox 360, PS3 or the Nintendo Wii. So we compared our ideas, and arrived at these conclusions!

Terrel’s favourite Console is the PS3, here are his Results.

Good Points

Rechargeable Battery
Free Online Play
High Definition

Bad Points

Rather Large
Hard to Change Hard Drive
Yellow Light of Death
















Joshua’s Favourite Console is the Nintendo Wii, here are his Results:

Good Points

Reliable
Generation Friendly
Can Connect to DS

Bad Points

Cannot play DVD’s
No Decent Games
Expensive Accessories




















Anonymous’ Favourite Console is the Xbox 360, here are his/her Results:

Good Points

Good Quality Games
Cheap
Changeable Hard Drives

Bad Points

Pay to Play online
Unfamiliar Controller
Red Ring of Death




















There We Go. A Public Debate!
Which do you think is best?

Xbox time 2: Defense Grid

I have been a fan of tower defense games for as long as I can remember, because they use both parts of your brain, the intellectual side for working out what tower to put where, and the brawny side for being as aggressive as possible, so you can complete the level easier. I first bought this game after one of my friends said there was a new tower game called “Defense Grid”. I believe that this is possibly one of the best Arcade games on the Xbox 360.

The beginning level is the tutorial, and is very informative, since it tells you lots of information about what will happen. Part of the story line is you activate a security system against invading Aliens, trying to steal your power cores. Almost every two levels, the “system” finds more blueprints for towers. Some levels, are all about strategy, as you can shape the path the Aliens take, by placing towers in certain spots to make them change their direction.

It will cost you about eight hundred Microsoft Points, and very worth it.

Xbox Time: Miner Dig Deep

I recently downloaded this game called Miner Dig Deep for 200 Microsoft points, (that’s about £1.70) and I found it extremely enjoyable. I have always been a fan of digging games such as Dig Dug, and Mr. Driller, since most of them you can play nice and slow, which makes them very relaxing games.

In this version, the further down you go, the more expensive the gems/ores you find. Then when you get back to the surface, you can sell them and buy upgrades such as, better pickaxes, grapple, a bigger bag, and much more! To break through the layer of ice at about 150 meters deep, you have to collect 5 pieces of blueprints for a tool that can break through. Later on in the game, I got tired of constantly picking away at the layers of soil, so I bought an electric drill, it is so much faster, but it requires a lot of fuel. So overall I give this an eight of ten.

The Race for the Crown has begun!

I recently heard from the Gamescom in Cologne in Germany, that there would a third Fable game coming out in foreseeable future. I was really excited since Fable 2 was such a success. I wondered what features could be in this one. From what information I could gather, you are the king or queen of Albion and when you perform an action, be it good or bad, it would not only affect the town that you were in, it would also change your status as king or queen. So for instance, lets say I killed a civilian in Oakfield. Oakfield’s reputation would decrease, and would make you more corrupt, which would make you more of a tyrant! I shall leave you with the link for the advert that I watched. Thank you and Goodnight!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yLYHipNphk