Dealspwn

We've been covering the Gears of War 3 public beta since its explosive opening, and ever since we've been diving into the fray, emerging bloody and bruised but victorious. We've always been big fans of Gears, especially the multiplayer, but Epic had it all to prove the third time around. Gears of War 2 was plagued with online problems, namely sluggish network code and unwieldy balance issues.

But even its in beta stage, with more than four months left to go until its official launch in September, we here at Dealspwn have a feeling Epic is on to something bold, bloody and brilliant.

No Lag? No Problem!

Gears of War 2's launch was an absolute mess. The netcode ensuring matches connected and ran smoothly just wasn't intact. I distinctly recall waiting over an hour simply to find a game! Not to mention, once you'd squeezed into an actual match it was almost as difficult to play as it was to wait. Host-advantage was rampant, with shotguns either incredibly inaccurate and weak or absolutely devastating in the host's hands.

Epic took steps to rectify these issues, releasing patches every few months or so which slowly but surely plugged the gaping holes in the netcode. And while sorting out Gears 2 was important, their ulterior motive was testing the waters for the third game. Epic has gone on record in stating if Gears 3 has the same sort of launch as its predecessor, the franchise is doomed. They have to make it work.

So yesterday it was announced that Mass Effect 3 would be pushed back to Q1 2012, and there was much sadness across the interwebs. But there was also an audible sigh of relief from some quarters, particularly here. You see, we suspect that a delay means good things not just for this third instalment in the series but for us gamers too. An uncluttered calendar is a happy calendar! Here are a few reasons why we think it's not such a bad thing after all...

A Q1 Release Worked Fine For ME2

The winter end of the year is traditionally a cluttered deck of big hitters, with November heralding that year's Call of Duty title, and publishers lining their products up for the Christmas frenzy. But EA and BioWare decided against such a ploy with Mass Effect 2, and the thing shipped 2 million copies in its first week! Not too shabby, eh? It's a trend we've already seen this year, with the tail-end of winter and early spring stuffed with big names and hyped titles: Bulletstorm, Dead Space 2, Portal 2, and Crysis 2 to name a few (all EA-related in some way, interestingly) and Brink and L.A. Noire just around the corner.

Moreover, it's not like the early release means anyone forgets about them when it comes to the GOTY awards that spread like wildfire across the internet. Au contraire, X-Play, IGN and BAFTA all recognised Mass Effect 2 as the game of 2010. Looking at that mini-list above (and we've omitted Fight Name Champion and Shift Unleashed 2, which weren't exactly unassuming titles) it looks like EA are going for a big push to take over that early chunk of the year and appeal to gamers flush with cash from Santa's bounty. We'd say it's working for them.

May the 4th be with you! Yes, it's Star Wars day and, after that thoroughly disappointing Blu-ray publicity crash-and-burn that had thousands being directed to the X-Men First Class trailer, it's time to stop whining about the unremarkable news and start reminiscing about what made us love the series in the first place. Tom already put together a Star Wars top ten last year, but with the nature of such lists being all subjective and whatnot, I figured it might be a good idea to pick out five of the forgotten gems from the past couple of decades and highlight a handful of Star Wars games that could use a re-release or a reboot.

Honourable Mention - Star Wars: Rebel Assault

Nintendo seem to have adopted a recent strategy of bringing previously uncool things back into fashion (augmented reality games, fitness titles), and the Wii provided a new lease of life for the rail-shooter genre. Some were still relatively unassuming (Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles), others provided a fresh take on existing franchises (House of the Dead: Overkill, Dead Space: Extraction). Under these circumstances, one might have expected and anticipated a return for Rebel Assault.

...though unfortunately the first game was woeful.

Star Wars: Rebellion

I know what you're thinking. A large chunk of you will think I've gone mad choosing this over Galactic Battlegrounds, but that's where you're wrong. I love that game, it's the only one that does ground combat at all well, but that's not really the point. Rebellion wins  out here just because there are very few games like it around these days. In many ways it's akin to the tactical, diplomatic parts of the Total War series - the Football Manager to Galactic Battleground's Sensible Soccer. It's strategy writ large, echoing the gameplay of Master of Orion more than any of its strategically-minded namesakes.

As an RTS fan I like mixing it up on a more hands-on level, but Rebellion provided something different, something rather more tactical. Instead of single units, you amassed fleets. Instead of taking over bases, you took over sectors. Instead of building construction yards (well, you could pretty much still do that), you could build a Death Star. And a fully operational one at that. it deserves a reboot, or at least a re-release. GOG, I'm looking at you. pretty please?

PSN will be back online any day now (well... fingers crossed), but we need a back up plan for how to cope in-case this happens again. Ten important steps to safeguard us from making crazy decisions like going outside, getting sunburnt, or even staying home pressing the 'sign-in' button, hoping it works for so long that you forget to get your girlfriend an Easter egg and end up getting a kitten from the farm down the road because it's closer than Sainsbury's. Her name's Kairi by the way.

1: Create something awesome

We're all guilty of it. Having amazing ideas leading up to the release of games like Little Big Planet 2 and ModNation Racers, then not bothering because we're overwhelmed by the creations of other players. Well, why not take some time out to get used to the creation tools and really put some effort into creating something you'll be proud to publish online once normal service resumes? There are plenty of online guides out there to simplify everything and the forum community are always welcoming. ModNation in particular is very user-friendly with a neat track-editor and an even simpler car or racer creator.

2: Finish Final Fantasy XIII

If it wasn't for the fact that Final Fantasy XIII is getting a direct sequel, not to mention numerous spin-offs, I'd probably say we should just let it go. But we are, so I can't. Sure the Stagger metre is a complete shit of a creation and the world is overly linear. But remember the story and my god this game is incredibly gorgeous and sometimes the Paradigm system clicks beautifully when you get it right. I feel like a bastard right now for only putting about 30 hours into it. Alternatively, if someone could point me in the direction of somewhere to watch a compilation of the story cutscenes I might settle for that. Don't judge me.

The Gears of War 3 beta is awash with new stuff, from the viscera-splattering awesomeness of the Sawn Off to the dozens of executions available to enact bloody humiliation. And along with the newfangled Team Deatmatch - which is fantastic, by the way - Epic have added another brand spanking new mode for us to muck around in; Capture the Leader.

Death and Duty

The objective is simple in Capture the Leader; two teams of six, with one member of each team designated as the titular 'Leader', either Chairman Prescott for the CoG, or Queen Myrrah for the Locust. You must protect your leader whilst attempting to capture her oppositional counterpart. If you successfully capture their Leader for the set duration of time - either 30 of 15 seconds depending on the time - you'll win the round.

As the Leader, you're not stronger or better equipped than your brethren. Sure, you're sporting a fancy new outfit - Myrrah, in particular - but you're still leaping into cover and rattling away with the same old weapons. However, the normally useless Tac-Com feature is now, well, pretty useful, as it allows you to glimpse friend and foe alike across the map. While it's of great help, it can also be incredibly terrifying when you watch your enemies converge on your position and can only spot your allies as little dots slowly growing as they rush futilely to your aid.

Capture the Leader is a decidedly team-based affair. While you can rush off to you heart's content in the likes of Team Deathmatch and - yes - even King of the Hill, leaving your Leader exposed and alone will simply lose you the match. Their location is pinpointed on the map, so its wise to designate a few runners to capture the opposition while the remaining others gather around your own and fend off attackers.

Tactics

How you set out to succeed in Capture the Leader is entirely dependent upon what map the game has thrown out. Each location has its own chokepoints and strangled niches to hide in or drag an enemy Leader to, so as Joe Wright's Hanna enforces, adapt or die. For example, on Trenches - my favorite map - each team spawns beside a raised platform on wooden legs. Nearby, you can grab a Boomshield, and hightailing it to the wooden platform and planting one at the ramp ensures a makeshift blockade against any would-be heroes.

Not every map is as suited to Capture the Leader as Trenches, though. For instance, Checkout is a pretty small, pretty open map. It has a few hideaways, like the stalls where the Boltok or Gorgon spawn, but otherwise its quite exposed. As the Leader, you can't simply hide and hope for the best. You have to be affirmative and lead by example, rushing into the fray with a few badass wingmen.

Communication is vital, too; if you're the Leader, calling out enemy locations can swing the tide in your favor, whereas orders amongst the team can ensure your Leader is adequately protected while your attack force is deployed. A variant on Submission and Guardian, fans of those early Gears of War modes will find a lot to like in Capture the Leader.

What do you think of Capture the Leader? As always, sign off in the comments section below!

It might have a crazy and potentially offensive plot (allegedly, according to people who read Japanese) but that doesn't mean the less than originally named Tetris-inspired Brain Breaker should be avoided. Taken out of context, a game where old people are beaten to death with baseball bats if you fail a level should be a winner.

The objective is merely to drain all the blood from a thug that's threatening the elderly, or something close to that. You do this by going through the Tetris motions, although I couldn't actually find a way of rotating the pieces as the controls aren't immediately obvious. Once you've noticed the 'how to' button on the main menu, you can piece together how you're meant to do things, and the elusive rotation keys should be found via trial and error.

Occasionally you get huge blocks or long rectangles to make things slightly different to usual and there are also syringes to watch out for. These turn all white blocks they point at into red ones, which isn't what you want to happen, but it can be useful for filling in a gap that you might have created all the way in the middle of the cluster.

There's not much else to it, other than that there's some... interesting music and sound effects in there. There are also only three levels, so it doesn't take long to get to the end.

A few days ago, Dealspwn ground to a halt as us writers clustered around the warm, colourful glow of Rocket Riot. You might have expected us to have been enjoying the anarchic multiplayer modes of Codeglue's spectacular XBLA debut - or collaborating in a tense cooperative attempt to get ourselves its coveted You Can Handle The Riot achievement. Hell, you might have just expected my colleagues to be admiring how crap I am at the rugby challenges.

But no. We were listening to the Rocket Riot theme tune. Over... and over... and over again. Whilst dancing around like idiots.

Let me explain. Rocket Riot boasted an impeccable nu-retro style in every aspect of its presentation; including lavish sprites and destructible cover made from thousands of independent pixel blocks (bloxels?). But when it came to the soundtrack, SonicPicnic worked their little dutch socks off to create a truly exceptional set of musical interludes. Mixing classic chiptune vibes with pumping electronica was a great fit for the game - but when it comes right down to it, the theme is one of the most impressive pieces of videogame composition we've ever heard.

Check it out (and legally download it) here. Hey, Jack Wall? Marty O'Donnell? You know that new sound you've been looking for? Well listen to this!

It's royal wedding day. As Catherine Middleton ties the knot with Prince Willy and becomes a member of the Royal Family, we take a look at some of gaming's nobility and make a list of ten of the best examples.

And no, Peach is not the list, for pandering to unhelpful stereotypes.

10. Bowser

Bowser's pretty much everything you'd expect from a king. He's a giant amongst his people, he can breathe fire, drives an awesome car that looks badass, his tennis serve will knock your head off and he has a penchant for kidnapping beautiful princesses. In spite of no wife to be seen, he's managed to father a whole bunch of kids, which we can only assume is due to his omnipotent charisma. And Peach's Stockholm Syndrome.

Of course, he does get beaten up quite a bit...

9. Hilde (Soul Calibur IV)

Sod your stereotypes, here comes Hilde. Eschewing the wonderbra for a Joan of Arc outfit, the knight princess is one royal you wouldn't want to mess. A dab hand with a spear and a sword, she's no wilting flower or simpering damsel. Not only does she kick Nightmare's butt, but she then nobly spares Siegfried's life and knights him, having led the Kingdom of Wolfkrone to victory as her dad slowly went insane.

Suda and Mikami, sitting in a tree. D-E-V-E-L-O-P-I-N-G.

You couldn't ask for a more epic alliance. The industry's two most flamboyant producers share over thirty five years of third-person adventure experience - and their collaborative project, Shadows Of The Damned, is set to play to their respective strengths. After extensively trying it out at a recent EA Showcase, I'm convinced that it delivers the best of both worlds... and that it's the most balls-out, batsh*t crazy, snooker loopy experience you'll have played in years.

Shadows Of The Damned tells the story of Garcia Hotspur, a leather-clad latin heart throb who has to descend into a nightmarish demon world in order to rescue his girlfriend from the clutches of an evil fiend. Once there, he allies himself with Johnson: a shapeshifting devil whose skittish, matter-of-fact demeanour puts him at odds with the rest of his nightmarish peers. Put simply, Johnson just wants to be normal- but the duo will need to do an awful lot of killing first.

Hotspur's adventure takes place from a third person perspective, and initially, everything is exactly as you'd expect. You'll control his actions with the left thumbstick, rotate the camera and reticle with the right and aim by holding the left trigger, with melee attacks mapped to the B button. It's a familiar setup that lets players get straight to the murdering, but with a number of considerate touches to make things more interesting. When approached from behind, a simple context-sensitive tap will cause Hotsput to wheel around to face his would-be attacker, and downed enemies can be finished off with a hilariously graphic body slam. Or a swift kick to the demonic balls.

Johnson, however, is infinitely more than a standard NPC . He's a shapeshifter, and since human weapons can't harm demons, he's willing to transform into any firearm that Hotspur desires. His floating, leering skull becomes the barrel for a powerful revolver (known as the Boner since it spurts out... well... bones), a machine gun that fires concentrated bursts of demon teeth and a shotgun powered by skull fragments. He'll also shift into the form of a flaming club for melee attacks - and this is where the bipolar darkness mechanics kick in.

One of the best games of all time came out in 1997 and it's a safe bet you've probably never heard of it. It was intensely atmospheric, had (for the time) good, hardware-intensive visuals and used FMV sequences to good effect. It also had Marvin the Paranoid Android in it.

It's name was Realms of the Haunting, a first-person point-and-click game set (initially) in an abandoned mansion house. Plot-wise, it's not too much on paper – you're the Chosen One, you've got to stop the end of the world. It's much more than just that simplistic summation, of course.

For a start, there were three forces of evil working towards a similar goal, while the forces of good also had their ulterior motives too. What it did very well was slowly unfold this world for you, not relying on big twist moments. Slow-burning, oppressively tense and decidedly intelligent, there was depth here that belied the initial set up.

The Gears of War 3 public beta is in full swing now, as thousands upon millions of Marcus Fenix's and Savage Theron's do battle across a variety of soon-to-be-very-messy stages. Gears has never shied away violence, and the game is so profusely blood-soaked it's a wonder no-one slips over in all the muck and viscera.

We've been covering the beta for a week now, and with our mettle truly tested, we've returned from the front-lines to bring you the definitive recap on the best ways to finish off a downed enemy. So, without further ado, may we present The Top Ten Gears of War 3 Beta Executions!

10. Gnasher

It's not particularly elegant, but the Gnasher's execution is decidedly satisfying. With your victim crawling at your feet, you swing the Gnasher round to grab the opposite end, then club off your downed enemy's head! Skulls have a habit of exploding in Gears of War - namely if you're last name is Carmine - and the cranium-splattering doesn't stop in the third iteration?

9. Hammerburst

The new and improved Hammerburst is our favorite weapon in the Gears of War 3 beta thus far, with its precision aiming and fearsome stopping-power. And once you've pumped an enemy so full of lead they fall to their knees in a pool of sticky blood, it's time to execute your plan. Standing over them, you proceed to bash, bash, bash their head in until it explodes. It's almost painful to watch, actually.

Ni hao everyone. Yes, you can stop chiselling pieces of your flesh off your bodies, I'm back from my extended vacation/holiday/new relative-meet in the … interesting land of China and the first thing to do, naturally, is find out just what interesting freeware games have been released. The bags are still packed and the jet lag is furiously biting at the back of my eyelids, but I've got a job to do and by crikey I'm going to do it.

So without further ado, the first game for your perusal this week has been around for a while, but that doesn't stop Straw Hat Samurai being of interest. It's not quite China-related, but if you pretend you're controlling, say, a Shaolin monk instead of a samurai, it links to my first paragraph quite well.

Anyway, as the aforementioned Asiatic antagonist, you've got to battle ne'er-do-wells using a relatively novel mechanic, which usually only gets used in games like Cut It and such. That means you'll be drawing lines to indicate a slash of your sword instead of mashing buttons to attack, while using the arrow keys to scroll the screen left and right.

You're given the task of preventing the enemy building up fortifications that will make them impossible to drive from your lands. The gameplay is split into two parts, one on a map that allows you to choose your path forwards, each spot taking you into a combat situation.

Combat takes place on a 2D plane with enemies coming at you from both sides. To kill them, draw a sword slash and your guy will move swiftly to that location swish his blade about. If there are no enemies there, he'll miss and might take damage, so you have to predict the movement of your foes before striking.

Along the way you'll grab items that improve your hit points, your chance to dodge and so on. After a little while, you'll get a bow, which allows you to change up your tactics if the sword is going to be too dangerous a weapon to use in a given situation. Once archers come into play, it gets tougher to stay alive, as at first it does seem a bit too easy. When guard towers start to appear, you'll know you've been in a fight.

Since April the 20th, last week, the Playstation Network has been out-of-action. What appeared at first to be routine maintenance or a low-level bug soon to be fixed has now erupted into a four day-long issue, with Sony at a loss to explain how it happened or when it'll all be over. At first, it seemed like the work of hacker cabal, Anonymous, who'd been threatening to attack Sony since the latter's law-suit with George 'Geohot' Hotz reached a not-so-amicable end.

And while Sony works night and day to repair the situation, Microsoft has rolled out a free weekend of Xbox Live. For the bank holiday, of course, but the timing couldn't have been better. The crash is a serious blow to Sony's efforts to usurp Microsoft from the online stage, who'd argue their service is paid-for to avoid situations just like that. It begs the question, though; what can Sony do to recover?

Conker's Bad Fur Day is packed full of meaty goodness from a constant barrage of movie references, hilarious toilet humour, tricky tasks, and awesome characters. When you're not cruising around the environments looking for Berri, jumping on big breasted sunflowers, avoiding Scouse dung beetles, or fuelling yourself so full of alcohol that you have to piss on everything in sight, it's more than likely that you'll be dealing with one of the numerous villains who stands in Conker's way, and there's one who's literally the s@*t!

When it comes to scenarios for a boss battle, pretty much everything about this one is set to 11 in the ridiculous department! First of all, it's set inside poo mountain, an area that no character wants to be trawling around in, let alone Conker, who has to whip out a gas mask to avoid the smell.

Once you've gained access, an unfortunate piece of corn falls into a pool of raw sewage and if that wasn't enough of a nightmare an homage to Jaws ensues, whereby he's dragged around before disappearing below the surface of the liquid. He then rises up in the clutches of an infamous villain, who seals his fate by inserting the corn kernel into his mouth, thus completing his ghastly golden grin, before going on to win our affection with some superb singing. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, The Great Mighty Poo, or Sloprano to his friends!

His introduction leaves you with your mouth agape, "Can they really put something like this into a video game?", but once he clears his throat and begins singing, you're rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter. When it comes to comedy perfection in a video game his lyrics certainly come close to hitting that target.

Defeating him's no mean feat either, you have to navigate across some pretty treacherous terrain, whilst avoiding the poo balls he's hurling at you, before catching him in a stationary position whilst he's blasting out a loud note or two at you; can you imagine the smell Conker had to put up with! Then you've got a brief period of time to launch a carefully aimed toilet roll into his mouth, before his next tuneful masterpiece. Eventually though, he hits a high note that shatters a glass screen within his lair, revealing a carelessly placed toilet chain! Well you know what comes next; run, jump, flush, and down he does with a quick nod to the Wicked Witch Of The West!

It's definitely one of the more memorable encounters that I've had in a video game and I'm not sure that we'll come up against a boss consisting of excrement and indigestible corn pieces, who's happy to sacrifice another sentient being for his own aesthetic beauty despite having a vile visage, and can carry a tune with enough style and comedy precision that he wins the hearts of an entire generation of gamers ever again, unless of course Conker's Bad Fur Day 2 comes up on the cards at somepoint in the future (oh please let this come true!). And on that note, I'll leave you with a video of the dastardly villain doing what he does best, because lets face it he'll demonstrate things a hell of a lot better than I could ever write them. Enjoy!

With all of the rumour mills spitting out endless mutterings regarding whatever Nintendo are planning, not to mention a number of industry luminaries having practically come out and begged for a generational jump in the past month, Josh Clark asks if we really need another generation of consoles right now.

As dedicated gamers, there are few things more exciting to us than getting our calloused fingers on a shiny new console. Scrabbling at cardboard flaps, throwing styrofoam packaging over our shoulders, discarding hefty instruction manuals just to get to that block of plastic and solder at the bottom is one of life's finest pleasures. And it seems that leading game developer DICE share in that sense of giddy anticipation, urging hardware manufacturers to usher in the next generation of home consoles. As Matt reported earlier this month, DICE's Patrick Bach has stated that Battlefield 3 would scale onto a next-gen console, pushing current PC technology as it does to the very limit of what it can do. But are we as gamers really ready to dig deep into our pockets and shell out for another console?

Bach's statement was made with the best intentions, of that I have no doubt; DICE have developed a product they are excited about, and want gamers to experience it in its best possible state, but the truth is that Battlefield 3 will be released on current generation consoles, to the detriment of nothing but cosmetic value. So the sound of that rocket-propelled grenade screaming overhead might not be as crisp as it would be on Microsoft's next machine. So the bloom effects might not be as ambient as Sony's Playstation 4 could make them. What will undoubtedly remain in tact are the asssuredly chunky controls, the excellent set-pieces, and the game-changing multiplayer DICE are famed for. And really, what more do we need?

By now, I expect quite a few of you have hopped on to the Gears of War 3 beta, whether with precious access codes of because you plumped for Bulletstorm: Epic Edition. However, if you're patiently awaiting the beta's official launch next week, maybe you'd like a heads-up on what you can expect from the first few maps to muck around in, and the slew of new weapons at your disposal?

What's that, you do? Well then, read on for a detailed overview of the new maps and weapons available in the Gears 3 beta!

Checkout

First off, maps; namely, Checkout, one half of the two available in the beta. Set in an abandoned convenience store, replete with tills, shelves, and a particularly random sofa, the classic Gears motif wafts from invisible speakers like haunting elevator music. Checkout is a tight, dense map with ample cover and numerous vantage points, with each team spawning on either side.

Release date: June 3rd
Pre-order price comparisons: PS3 | Xbox 360 | PC
Previous coverage: Single player hand-on | Ruin mode hands-on

Red Faction Armageddon's multiplayer is going for a co-op angle this time around, similar to the Horde mode in Gears of War. Teams of four players will face off against 30 stages of enemies for each of the eight maps. Expect lots of tighter arenas compared to the last game's open multiplayer deathmatches on the surface of Mars. We're going to miss those epic jetpack battles.

The main map we got to try out was the underground Black Market. For the most part this level was made up of fairly narrow tunnels with low ceilings, making for some claustrophobic chaos. There's a small square decorated with lots of neon signs which all too often distracts you from looking out for the alien's bioluminescent glowing parts. The area of play seems to loop around in a circle. With the terrain including slopes and staircases.

Magnet guns can be used to pull panels off walls or even send whole concrete pillars towards enemies. The heavier the object and the faster moving it is, the better. As that all affects how much damage it will inflict on the Martian knife-jawed horrors. In a different level, set in a cave, you can throw huge rocks ripped from the walls or even throw the sharp stalactites at them. The geo-mod engine is going to be huge in the single-player game, but you'll have to be very quick with the magnet gun playing Infestation if you don't want to get swarmed while choosing anchor points.

Click here to read the rest of Brendan's hands-on preview.