As Christmas draws near, the release schedule finally calms down, giving us time to go back and play some games without deadlines crushing our faces into our keyboards. Well, almost, we tortured Jon with the terrifying ZombiU and made him play Assassin's Creed 3 on his Wii U. Before we kick back with eggnog and a case of Pringles though, we decided to bring you a grand selection of hands-on write-ups for the games you'll be playing next year including, Strike Suit Zero, Defiance and Ni No Kuni. Our other features include some fond memories of City of Heroes and some of the team's individual picks for Game of the Year. A slow news week -aside from the slumping sales of anything with a Wii U label on it- was livened up with some new trailers for South Park: The Stick of Truth, Metro: Last Light and Metal Gear Solid 5 (sort of). As always, keep an eye on our Deals section for the cheapest games on the net for those last-minute Christmas pressie purchases.
News
- Nintendo Explain Mature Content Restrictions On Wii U: Blame Germany.
- UK Games Charts | 8th December 2012: The Wii U continues to bomb.
- Diablo III Console Builds "Up And Running": Don't tease us, just announce it.
- REPORT: Wii U Sold 308k Units In Japan In First Week: A Slower start than the Vita. Ouch.
- Dark Souls II Will Be More "Straightforward" & "Understandable": It's a trap! Don't believe them.
- Microsoft Announce More Than 40 New Apps For Xbox LIVE: Starts with Karaoke.
- Naughty Dog: The Last Of Us Multiplayer Won't Be "Tacked On": We're more bothered about SP to be honest.
- SimCity Trailer Shows Us Multi-City Strategies: Dealspwnia is coming. You're all invited too!
- Metro: Last Light Trailer Gameplay Trailer Accompanies Metro 2033 Giveaway: Biblically bleak depressing trailer.
- Up To 16 Cities In A Region For SimCity: Busy busy times ahead.
- Nintendo Europe Wii U & 3DS Launch Schedule: 3DS looks strong, the Wii U looking a little thin.
- The Secret World: Subscription No Longer Required: The ftp trend continues.
- The Humble THQ Bundle Ends On $5 Million: A financial boost for the troubled publisher.
- See Gears Of War: Judgement In Action With Half An Hour Of Uncut Footage: Anyone else keep forgetting this exists?
- Microsoft & Sony Rivalry Blocking Defiance Cross-Platform Multiplayer: Unsurprisingly, the two big kids can't play nice.
- PSN Store Website Now Live: Sort your PSN shopping while at work.
- South Park: The Stick of Truth Trailer 2: Laughs aplenty in the new trailer.
- The Phantom Pain Trailer Fools Nobody, Reveals Metal Gear Solid V: Excellent viral marketing video from Konami?
Reviews
- ZombiU Review | The Horror: Great, but only for the hardcore.
Features
- A Humble THQ | Desperation or A Glimpse of the Future?: In THQ's case it would sadly seem like desperation.
- Assassin's Creed III: The Wii U Verdict | Nice Pad, New Problems: In short: get it on PS3, PC or 360.
- A Time For Heroes: How A Community of Thousands Was Abandoned And Still Fought On: Matt looks back at his first and last MMO.
- Ni No Kuni Extensive Hands-On Preview | Oliver, The Boy Wizard: I can't decide whether to adore or strangle this (not a Ghibli fan).
- Defiance Hands-On Preview | The Most Ambitious Cooperative Shooter Ever?: Jon gets to play the game / tv show hybrid.
- Defiance Interview | Building The Next Big Thing: Jon interviews the ambitious team.
- Dealspwn Playthrough | Strike Suit Zero - Hands-on Impressions: Carl plays with mechs in space. Everyone goes green with envy.
- Game of the Year 2012 | Editor's Highlights – Matt Gardner: The first of the team's highlight pieces for 2012.
- Game of the Year 2012 | Staff Highlights - Jonathan Lester: Highlights from our News Ed.
- Game of the Year 2012 | Staff Highlights – Chris Hyde: Highlights from the new blood.
