Dealspwn

Platforms: PS3 (reviewed) | Xbox 360 | PC

Developer: Codemasters

Publisher: Codemasters

This is not a traditional rally game. It’s an important point to remember for fans of Codemaster’s epic DiRT series. What it is though, is fun. Car smashing, exhilaratingly arcadey fun.

While DiRT 3 seemed caught in two minds as to whether to carry on with the impeccable rallying from the near-perfect DiRT 2 or try and turn your car into a demented pole-dancing skateboard, Showdown feels much more focused, admittedly more towards a Mad Max meets X-games mashup.

Gone are A-B timed stages in favour of a full on festival of car on car violence and general, well, pissing about. Think back to games like Destruction Derby and Twisted Metal, but pretend they were never crap.

The handling model has been toned down rather than dumbed down. Cars still drift around corners with an almost obscenely pleasurable grace and only mild taps of the handbrake are needed for the tightest of hairpins. For many races you barely need the brakes at all, just taking your foot off the gas is enough to line up those corners. This would feel too light and simple for a regular DiRT game and serious A-B events, but for what lies ahead in Showdown, it’s just right. A turbo button has also made its way onto the pad and I’m loving the complete pad setup customisation too.

Dust off that Electro Bastard Death Ray, because Carmageddon: Reincarnation is ON! Stainlesshave reached their Kickstarter goal of $400,000 with ten days to go.

Trip Hawkins has announced he is to step down as CEO of Digital Chocolate, instead "transitioning now into a consulting and advisory role" amid rumours of layoffs and office closures.

Capcom's Chairman and CEO, Kenzo Tsujimoto, has told investors that the company plans to "reduce the time needed to develop major titles from the usual three to four years to only two and a half years," during a briefing call reflecting on the previous fiscal year.

The latest characters to emerge from the Anarchy Reigns stable are a giant, green gorilla bot, and a positron blade-wielding cyborg in a jacket that looks like a hobo's blanket. Douglas and Max get to take centre stage in a couple of new videos from the Platinum-developed beat 'em up, which is set for release in Japan this July, but has had some doubt cast over its appearance in the West.

• What: Asura's Wrath
• Where: Zavvi (Xbox 360 | PS3)
• Current Price: £19.95
• Asura's Wrath Xbox 360 Price Comparison
• Asura's Wrath PS3 Price Comparison
• Asura's Wrath Preview

Asura's Wrath is a great looking game that's packed full of action and the story's broken down into an episodic format which makes it seem like a TV mini-series. Unfortunately, there's not as much content for you to enjoy as you might like, but what's present is visually breath taking. Zavvi are parting with Xbox 360 and PS3 copies of the game for £19.95, which should make you a saving of almost £5 on the next best offer coming in from ShopTo. Thanks to superspeedy @ HUKD.

Square Enix's upcoming, Eastern-flavoured, action-packed TPS Sleeping Dogs was, of course, originally the Activision-owned True Crime: Hong Kong, until the Big A let the game go, a move that Square Enix US' boss has labelled "crazy".

It's finally happened! There's not a FIFA game to be seen in the top three this week! Instead Max Payne drops to second as Ghost Recon: Future Soldier takes the top spot, with fellow newcomers Dragon's Dogma and DiRT Showdown taking third and fourth respectively. Mario Tennis Open, the 3DS outing for the quirky sports series, made its debut at 11.

We'll have review for most of the above this week, starting with DiRT Showdown this afternoon.

Ubisoft have dropped another video for upcoming FPS Far Cry 3, taking a look behind the scenes as the dev team preapres for E3, and gives gamers a chance to have a glance at the making of the demo that'll be on show at the expo.

Far Cry 3 launches on September 7 th here in the UK for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, and you can bet we'll have the lowdown on the game for you after the show!

• What: Prototype
• Where: Game
• Current Price: £4.99
• Prototype PC Price Comparison
• Prototype Review

Prototype definitely has it's ups and downs! I found myself skipping through the cutscenes as quickly as possible because I lost all interest in Alex Mercer and his story almost immediately, however the gameplay's great fun as you use your powers to dispatch your foes and zip around the city. Game are parting with PC copies of the game for £4.99, which should make you a saving of £3 on the next best offers out there. Thanks to Syzable @ HUKD.

• What: WWE ’12 Wrestlemania Edition (Platinum / Classics)
• Where: Zavvi ( PS3 | Xbox 360 ) | The Hut ( PS3 | Xbox 360 )
• Current Price: £14.95
• WW ’12 Wrestlemania Edition PS3 / Xbox 360 price comparison
• WWE ‘12 Review

Well, this one manages to trump the recent deals we posted (as long as you can get over the Platinum / Classics casing.) For £15 you get the game along with 16 extra DLC characters to play as, including The Rock. This deal from Zavvi and The Hut will bag you a saving of a fiver, and with the standard version costing about the same this really is a good bargain.

So was it the grappling revolution Yuke's and THQ were promising with its new Predator Engine? Sadly not, and this isn’t helped by the fact the campaign mode was disappointingly restricting. However, the creative modes were even more involving this time round, and it manages to provide virtual wrestling fun for those that need it. Thanks to Syzable @ HUKD!

[Pixel Joint]

Trawling through blogs can be time consuming, so we thought we’d make it even easier by rounding up the hottest headlines, ripe reviews and fantastic features each week in a handy, low-fat look at the previous seven days.

This week, after rummaging around a couple of rumours from the week just gone, we take a look at maturity in games, and ask if adults are being short-changed. We look at how the industry often panders not only to teenagers, but to the lowest cultural denominators, how money and the bottom line have fuelled an unbalanced demographic. Fianlly, we look at David Cage's suggestions that gaming really hasn't evolved much over the last couple of decades, and ask what this means for next-gen.

PWNCAST | Season 1: Episode 14, Recorded: May 17th, 2012

Some of the things that get covered this week:

• Gravity Rush
• RUMOUR: Sony and Cloud Gaming
• RUMOUR: LucasArts' unannounced title
• The Ninja Button
• Are games ruining male youths?
• Are adults being shortchanged?
• How the VGAs are ruining everything
• Irresponsible marketing
• How far has gaming actually come?

...and much, much more.

Parental Advisory: We've tried to keep it as conversational and informal as possible, and you should be warned that there may be quite a few instances of strong language.

Click below to play the file, or right click on the banner at the top, and select 'Save Link As' to download the file onto your hard drive.

Want more? Check out the rest of our PWNCAST posts onsite, hit us up on iTunes, or subscribe to the PWNCAST Feed here.

You can find the likes of Samus, Link, and Mega Man as samurai by the same artist here.

• What: FIFA Football
• Where: The Hut | Zavvi
• Current Price: £23.95
• FIFA Football PS Vita price comparison
• FIFA Football Review

The Vita’s first footballing effort has managed to retain its price rather well, so this deal from Zavvi and The Hut is a welcome one. The reduction means there is a saving of just over £3 currently available.

Despite lacking some features from the latest home console instalments, FIFA Football demonstrated that a fully-fledged version of the franchise is possible on the Vita. Precision shooting with the rear track pad is incredibly useful once you get used to it, although flailing fingers may make you scream as you unintentionally shoot from the halfway line. Thanks to LJF21 @ HUKD!

Never invite Link to your picnic...

[OMOCAT]

ExpelliARGHHHH! Considering that the last Harry Potter game to feature Kinect proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the studio involved, we're eyeing this with a little bit of scepticism. Nonetheless, Eurocom and Warner Bros. Interactive have announced Harry Potter For Kinect, which will be out this autumn.

“Harry Potter for Kinect will engage Harry Potter fans old and new by bringing them into the wizarding world as truly active participants,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Kids and parents will enjoy recreating their favourite Harry Potter adventures, from flying a broomstick in a Quidditch match, to battling pixies and duelling other wizards.”

The trailer's above.

Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Zone of the Enders series, has revealed a smattering artwork pointing towards a proposed, fully-fledged sequel to the fantastic Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner.

The more we see of this game, the more we want it. Killer punk rock zombie that can stitch himself back together? Yes please! A morbidly obese Viking, spewing laser beams of death metal from his decapitated noggin? Yep, we'll have that. And what about the funky undead lovechild of Baron Samedi and Bootsy Collins, who literally drops bombs?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Ahem.