Snowblind Map Pack Now Available For Gears Of War 2!

Last week i posted up regarding "Gears Of War 2" new title update, which consisted of various bug fixes and new achievements related to the "Snowblind Map Pack" - well now the map pack is available to download from Xbox Live Marketplace, so put your coat back on , as its cold out there.

The Map Pack features, in my opinion 2 new maps and 2 re-makes, depending if you have played the PC Version of Gears Of War. The reason i say this is because as the Snowblind map pack features "Fuel Depot" which fan favourite from the original Gears Of War game, but not only that this "snowblind map pack" also features "courtyard" which made its first appearence on the PC Version of Gears Of War, so if you have played both versions, or just the pc version, your only getting 2 new maps in this download - however the maps have had a big overhaul on them and look very nice

The Snowblind Map Pack contains the following maps:

* Courtyard (Snowy Remake of the map from PC Version of Gears of War)
* Underhill (Now map exclusive for the 360 version)
* Fuel Depot (Snowy Remake of the classic Gears Of War map)
* Grindyard (New map exclusive for the 360 version)

The Snowblind map pack costs 800 MS Points, and is around 83MB to download, which isnt that big considering the size of the maps - so if your a gears fan, and trying to get the full achievements, then id suggest downloading the maps.

If your still not convinced check out the official trailer for the map pack below:

Nokia 5800 In Pictures! & My Impression

Before i start this id like to apoligise for the pictures, i took them on a Nokia 6500 Slide as i do not have my other phones (N96, N95) on me and not to mention my Samsung Camera broke

My Contract on my N95 has expiered, so i decided to re-new and get a Nokia 5800 - cheaper tariff, more features and a brand new phone, could it be any better?

Until today i have never seen a Nokia 5800 or even touched one and im surprised that the phone is fairly light, considering how big it is, as its bigger than most phones available now (such as N96 , Samsung Pikon etc) - not only that phone has a nice stylish finish to it, which reminds me of the recent "Samsung 6 Series LCD TV" with the shiney black and red trim, ive also seen a blue on the internet, but i prefer the red one - which is the one i got.

The Nokia 5800 also comes pre-boxed with a ton of accessories, such as:

* 2x Stylus Pen
* Guitar Stylus Pen
* 8GB SHDC Memory Card
* TV Out Lead (Composite (Red, White, Yellow))
* USB Lead* Protective Rubber Case
* Charger
* Foldable Mini-Stand
* Headphones
* Headphone Adaptor (With Play/Pause Buttons on)
* Manuals

Using the phone, at first, seems strange but a Stylus pen (aswell as a Red Guitar pic) is included - just incase you didnt want to use your thumbs (ill leave my screen protector on for now) and even when touching the buttons a small vibration is let off to let you know that you have touched the button - it sort of brings the fun back into texting and within a few minutes i was easily getting the hang of it.

As you can guess the phone is completely touch-screen, other than the button at the bottem of the phone which returns you to the main (i.e. Contacts, Messaging, Gallery, Music) and works in a similar way to Apple's Iphone - for example you could be writing a text then decide to work out a calculation, so instead of pressing back / exit just tap the middle button at the bottem of your phone and it takes you to the menu, then tap office and then tap calculator, once you have finished with the calculator press the menu button again and then tap on messaging and it will take you back to the text message you were writing - simple as - not dodgey side-menus and no scrolling around looking on where to go

The phone can also be tilted, for example if you are looking at a picture in portrait style, turn the phone landscape and a few secounds later the picture will turn landscape, same as the phone in general - turn it to landscape and the whole menu etc will turn into landscape mode - its a very nice feature and in my opinion can rival the iphone.


Speaking of pictures the Nokia 5800 comes with a Carl Zeiss 3.2 Megapixel Camera, even though its not as powerful as the latest Nokia or Samsung phones (i.e. 5 Or 8 Megapixels) is does get the job done and takes some pritty decent photographs, not to mention videos - espically for a standard pixel count.

The Nokia 5800 also comes pre-loaded with a few games, mine included "Bounce" which is also on the N-Gage Platform and a "Guitar Rock" game which is Gamelofts version of Guitar Hero, to play bounce you just tap the screen to make the ball jump and tilt or move your finger to make the ball move, in Guitar Hero however you can use the Guitar Stylus Pen (or even your finger) and hit the coloured notes as soon as they reach the bottem of the screen. Both are very simple games, for a simple fun - but both are rather fun - even for a gamer like me!

So to sum up, if you are wanting a next-gen touch-screen device at a cost effective price you might want to look into the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Edition phone, as the feautres rival the iphone and is alot smaller (but abit thicker) than an iphnoe - plus there is a variety of applications that can be downloaded for it. The Nokia 5800 costs around 250 GBP to buy Sim-Free (Unlocked), but it is also available on a variety of different contract tariffs (18 / 24 Month) from around 15 GBP to 50 GBP - Depending on where you go, I got mine from 02.

Afro Samurai Bonus At Gameplay!

Gonzo's anime masterpiece is set to be released tomorrow as a game on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles and while the game is a basic, but more violent version of hack and slashers such as Devil May Cry a bonus has been shipped with the people who pre-ordered it from Gameplay. Being an Anime fan (and a Game fan) i decided to pre-order Afro Samurai (The Game) from Gameplay - mainly because you always get the game on day of release (if not before) and the price is always right, but not to mention this time when i ordered i recieved a FREE Afro Samurai: Complete Season 1 Directors Cut DVD. As you can see from the picture above the DVD Comes inside a little "Black" slip-case and contains all 5 Episodes, UNCUT in English and in 5.1 Surround Sound - this disc is also the same version that was released a few weeks back on DVD and some websites sell the DVD (Retail Version) for £15 - so £34 with Game & Complete Series DVD & Postage (before release) is a Bargin in my eyes!

For thoose of you who do not know what Afro Samurai is all about then let me fill you in - as Afro Samurai was the FIRST anime to be made by a japanese production studio, this one being GONZO, while at the same time being made for "English Audiences Only" rather than being made for Japanese then dubbed into English - not to mention Samuel L Jackson plays the lead role in a variety of different characters. Story-wise its all about Afro (thats his name) getting revenge on Justice for killing his farther and taking the No.1 Headband - as the person with the No.1 Headband basically rules the world, so Afro goes on his quest to find the No.2 Headband, then stop people taking away his No.2 Headband and finding justice to get revenge for his farther and re-claim the No.1 Headband - so in short its all about Revenge, but their is alot of blood, comedy and violence along the way.

Judging from the Demo on the American XBL and PSN Servers the game remains faithfully to the anime by using the voice talents of Samuel L Jackson, Kelly Hu and Ron Perlman, not to mention the music from the anime which was done by RZA- plus the graphics are anime styled cell-shaded, much like the Dragonball Z Games were, but abit of a darker tone.

Either way if your wanting another hack and slash with lots of violence and kick-ass animation then check out Afro Samurai (Game), not to mention the TV Series as its definately worth a look, but its only for Over 18s! The Game is out tomorrow (27th March) and should cost around 40 GBP, not to mention a Playable Demo is available on the USA XBL and PSN - so check it out! Enjoy!

Gears Of War 2 - Title Update 3 Has Arrived - Big Improvements!

It is not often i post about a patch, even for a game i really enjoy, such as Gears Of War 2 - But since i just downloaded the patch and noticed the changes i just had to pass it on!

From today (24th March) if you are connected to Xbox Live and Signed Onto Live as soon as you put your Gears Of War 2 Game Disc into the machine you will automatically download this "Title Update 3 Patch", this will basically fix various bugs and change a few features, however in this update its rather special.

This 3rd update doesnt only fix bugs and make the rules abit fair - it also makes connections seem more stable and rules of combat have slightly changed, for example people leaving the game earlier will now get experience points deducted from them - which is another thing.

Gears Of War 2 used to have an online badge mode where your first badge icon was a rookie, then private, then sergant etc, well now it done by numbers and everyone now starts off at Level 1 and the only way to improve is to gain experience points (this is where the points when you kill the other team or take a weapon comes in) - the more kills you get or more active you are in a game, the more experience points you get and in over time the higher your online rank will get. This system (from my 2 hour impression) is alot better and more fun than the previous rankings, as you will only get put with people with a similar rank as yourself, for example the maxium ive seen is 10 (out of 100) - but as soon as i get to 10, i see ranks of people form 11 - 20 and so on.

Another thing to mention is that 9 new achievements have been added onto the game via this update, 6 are related to the new "Snowblind" map pack which is due for release next week(apparently) - which means however hard you try you wont unlock thoose 6 until you buy the snowblind map pack - which consists of 4 new maps relating to the snowy moutains. The other 3 achievements however related to the new experience set up.

Either way the game is far more enjoyable and alot of fun - not to mention after every match your always informed of your current status with your experience and how much youve got left to go until you reach your next rank.

For more information regarding the achievements, bug fixes, changes and the new map pack check out epics page here.

Guitar Hero Metallica Demo Now Available On Xbox Live Marketplace

The latest instalment from the Guitar Hero Franchise, Guitar Hero Metallica will be availble to buy soon, however to get your guitar fingers ready Activision have released a Demo for Guitar Hero Metallica on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

I Have only just noticed it myself, so im guessing it was put onto the Xbox Marketplace yesterday, the Demo is 1.02GB in size, which is alot bigger than any other previous Guitar Hero demo thats been available on the Marketplace. Guitar Hero 3 and Aerosmith were around the 600mb size.

Im guessing the extra 400mb will be for the other instruments as the Metallica game will allow players to use all the instruments, such as Guitar, Bass, Vocals and Drums - plus not to mention an Extra Bass Pedal for the Guitar Hero Drum kit will be available for "double bass" action - when the game is released.

Im not sure what songs are on it, but Guitar Hero demos usually include around 6 Tracks, the aerosmith demo had 4 Aerosmith songs and 2 supporting acts, so im guessing the Metallica Verison will have the same.

Either way the Demo is now available for GOLD Users to download off Xbox Live Marketplace (UK ) and is 1.02GB, so if your up for some guitar action then download it now! Also check out the official for Guitar Hero Metallica Below:

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - An Overview Of The Game!

Grand Theft Auto, the one game i did not expect to see on a Nintendo DS, or any other sort of Nintendo Console (even though their was a GBA Version a few years back) is now available to buy in the UK (and Europe) and i have spent the past few days playing the game and its rather good.

The game yet again takes place in "Liberty City" and uses the same map (and Islands) used in Grand Theft Auto IV, except only a little bit smaller - which means there is alot of ground to be covered and lots of space to run around creating disaster for the city.

The game starts off with your character (Yung Chian (if im not mistake)) on a plane heading towards liberty city, his mission is to delivery a special sword, a sword that has been in the family for generations, to his uncle - but as with all GTA Games, the plan doesnt go as smoothly, as soon as he arrives in liberty city another chinese gang guns down his uncles bodyguards and nearly kills you by dumping the car (with your body in it) into the river.

This is where the tutorial starts and when the touch-screen first comes into play, to get out of the car you have to tap the touch screen to break the car's window, as soon as it breaks you will escape into the river and yes you can swim in the DS version of GTA. Afer getting out the reivew you will be welcome by alot of text telling you whats on screen (such as Map, Phone Icon etc) - if youve played GTA games before you'll know what to expect. After skipping through all the text youve got to reach your uncles place and in tradional GTA style you take the car in front of you, but now there is a twist, instead of just getting into the car and driving off you have to use the touch screen, in other words your stylus is a screwdriver and you have to turn the stylus the way it shows you on screen, its mainly a gimmick but works quiet well, as soon as you have done it you can drive off to your uncles place and then this is where the main story of Chinatown wars kicks off - but i wont spoil it for you.

The Controls for the game and simple enough and are mapped out exactly like they are on the PS2 / PS3 / Xbox 360 versions of the game, for example the D-Pad moves your character, which to start off with felt abit fiddly as i am so used to Analog Sticks, For example X (on the Nintendo DS) is used to get into cars (which is the eqvilant to Y or Triangle on a 360 / PS3 Pad) - so the other buttons on the DS (Y, B and A) are mapped out similar to that of the other Grand Theft Auto Games.

The Graphics, as you can see, are not absolutely amazing, however the cartoon / anime-styled graphics do the game good, espically since its releating to the chinese and the triads, the cutscenes are mostly 2D Drawings (with a Hint of 3D Style) that hardly move, but the game is in 3D - the easiest way to explain it is that Chinatown wars is the original GTA Game (with birds eye view) but in 3D and to be honest it works, only problem is trying to see whats ahead of you because you can not.

To Put it simple i was not really interested in Chinatown Wars, but now that i have played it on it is a really great addition to the Nintendo DS Catalogue, which yes it does have alot of games but not all of them are premium titles such as this, good job Rockstar Leeds! If you love GTA Games and own a DS i recomend you getting this game as soon as you can, as it will bring hours of entertainment, even if you just want to run people down! Enjoy!

Location Based Games Heading For N-Gage

Mobile gaming website pocketgamer.biz has posted up that "location based" N-Gage Games will be heading to the N-Gage platform shortly and that early demos will be shown at the upcoming GDC Event in San Francisco.

"We're working on two pre-productions in location-based games at the moment, looking at playing with maps," Nokia's Mark Ollila tells PocketGamer.biz.

"The question is the scale of it. Is the fact that the player is in London all you need to know, or do they actually need to be running around the streets and interacting with people? We're certainly exploring that on the games publishing side."

To me this all sounds rather interesting and i can't wait to see the results when its shown in GDC in less than a week. You Can read the full interview here.

N93 and N73 Officially Get Dropped From N-Gage Platform

After over a year of debating, discussion and waiting Nokia, well more accurately the N-Gage Arena Administrator Redrum, has announced that the N-Gage platform will drop support for the highly popular N93 and N73.

The N93 and N73 were the first two main devices to announced as official N-Gage Devices and N93 was the most "tech-guy" phone around and seemed perfect with its moveable screen for gaming and was also often shown in videos. The N73 was a phone for basic people who liked the game so both phones were perfect for N-Gage, and over the year of discussion both grew a huge fanbase and userbase - mainly because of the low prices and high specifications.

Well now that TA (Team Arena) has confirmed that the N-Gage will not support the N73 and N93 this means the users who have these devices, and are currently waiting for N-Gage to become available, will now have to upgrade to a newer more advanced handset.

However if this was announced a year ago this would have been even worse news then than it is now, mostly because the other devices, such as the N95 and the N81 were still heavily priced and were harder to get hold of in certain countries but now there is a variety of different devices to choose from including newer Xpressmusic edition phones.

This also means that people caught playing N-Gage games on N73's and N93's will most likely get banned from the N-Gage Arena as this would mean they have a modded application (or device) which of course is illegal.

Anyway if you want to check out the full statement from Redrum you can read it here.

Outrun Online & Banjo Tooie Confirmed for Xbox Live Arcade Release In April

The News that the official "Banjo Kazooie" seqeual, Banjo Tooie was always a "rumoured" or "hope so", however with Achieve360points.com recently uploading the Achievement list for Banjo Tooie that confirms that the game will be released onto Xbox Live Arcade, not to mention that a few days after it was announced that Banjo Tooie will be released onto Xbox Live Arcade in all its High Definition goodness sometime in april.

Banjo Tooie will be fully re-mastered, much like the previous Banjo Kazooie game and will feature the "Stop N Swop" egg feature that was so "rumoured" in the xbox 360 version, so if you collected all 900 Notes and 100 Jiggies and then collected the 6 Eggs and Ice Key you will be able to transfer them to Banjo Tooie - not idea if anything happens, other than an achievement unlocking - but it sounds fun to me!

Also around the same time, SEGA'S popular OUTRUN racing game will also be heading to Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Store (PSN). Outrun Online will sort of be a port of Outrun 2006 (PS2/ PSP / PC Game) and Outrun 2 (Arcade / Xbox) as it will feature tracks, Music and cars from both games and it will also include a variety of different "ONLINE" modes - the graphics will also be crisp 1080p High Definition and judging from the videos i have seen its going to be one of the best "Arcade" style downloadable games in a long while!

Both games are expected to be released next month (April). im also guessing that both games will cost 1,200 MS Points (as Banjo Kazooie was 1,200 MS Points) on Xbox Live and Outrun Online Arcade will cost around 12 GBP - this is not the official price but my own estimation, espically since both games look absolutely amazing!

Here is a recently released "promo" footage of Outrun Online Arcade on the PS3 / Xbox 360:

Need For Speed: Undercover Speeds its way onto the N-Gage Platform

Its Tuesday again, and yet another new N-Gage game has been released onto the N-Gage platform, this time being EA's "Need For Speed Undercover".

I cant exactly say too much about the game (i.e. gameplay, graphics etc) or even explain what the game has to offer (as the game-page on the N-Gage Website is not up) and as i havent had chance to play the game - but once ive got it installed on my device i will give it ago and possibly post a review (on symbianworld).

A Fair few people, just like the fans of Prince Of Persia, have been waiting for this game, so for them the wait is over and hopefully they will be enjoying the game, ive heard a few good things about the game from other people around the forums aswell.

The game itself (download and installation wise) is around 3mb to download and 3mb to install, so im guessing EA are starting to use the SDK (Software Development Kit) that Konami and Capcom used on Resident Evil Degeneration & Metal Gear Solid Mobile, as they were great games in such a small space, and just like thoose two games Need For Speed Undercover costs 8 GBP, which is one of the more expensive titles available on the N-Gage Platform, which is to be expected since it is a 3rd party title.

Either way Need For Speed Undercover is now available for you to download onto your N-Gage compatible device via the N-Gage Application on your mobile phone, or via the N-Gage Website here. Happy Racing!

The Limited Edition Blood Red Xbox 360 has Arrived!

Well its Friday the 13th March and that means that the latest instalment to the Resident Evil Series gets released today (Resident Evil 5), and not only that the Limited Edition "Blood Red" Xbox 360 Console (wth Resident Evil 5 Bundled Inside) is also released today!

The Console is limited to 3,000 Units in the UK, 1,500 units were sold by Gamestation and the other 1,500 units were sold by Game - i do not think any other UK Retailers have been stocking this console and once it is gone, its gone!

Majority of the consoles were sold to Pre-orders and the rest can be sold as free stock but their wont be around for long. I picked mine up this mourning from my local gamestation,and while i was there 3 other people collected their consoles aswell.

The Console itself is not exactly a "Dark Blood Red" like it shows on the pictures on the box (and on various websites) - its more of a "Light Blood Red" or just a plain red, but the machine kind of does change colour - if sunlight shines on it (or any other form of light) it looks a standard red colour, however when no light is shining on it it looks like a dark red seen on the cover of Gears Of War 2 (Limited Edition Sets) - still the machine is alot lighter than previous Elite consoles and looks awesome!

As i said a few days ago the console package itself includes the following things:

* Blood Red Xbox 360 Console
* Blood Red Xbox 360 Wireless Pad
* 120GB Hard Drive
* Resident Evil 5 Game
* Resident Evil 5 Dashboard Theme (Code to download off Xbox Live)
* Super Street Fighter II HD Remix (Code to download off Xbox Live)
* HDMI Cable
* AV/SCART/COMPONENT Cable
* Ethernet Cable
* Black Headset

You can see from the pictures below that its a very nice machine and im glad i bought one, except i will be calling it the "Gears Of War Console" rather than the Resident Evil Console. If you still want one i would try your local Game or Gamestation (or even on their websites as they still had stock when i checked earlier). The machine (in the bundle) costs £230 to buy, but dont get mistake by their other offers where you get a standard elite + 2 controllers and 2 games for the same price - as this is just a normal black elite and not the special red elite console, anyway Enjoy the pictures!

Prince Of Persia Now Available On N-Gage Platform - My Impressions

Its the game most N-Gage gamers (that are not regulars) have been waiting for and its now finally available on the N-Gage Platform, yes "Prince Of Persia" has arrived on the N-Gage Platform

The Java & Symbian versions, let alone the Xbox 360 and PS3 Versions, of the game were already released a few months back - now the N-Gage Version is here, but the same old question applies yet again, is the game any good?

Well to start off the game costs 8 GBP for a full license or 1.50 GBP for a day trial, so its one of the more "expensive" N-Gage games, also the game is 24mb to download but 33mb worth of storage is used up on your device when it has been fully installed - which is a alot more than the previous action games such as Resident Evil Degeneration and Metal Gear Solid Mobile.

So far everything sounds great - alot more storage is required, so the graphics should be better than Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid and the game should be longer, well its not. The graphics are worse than those two titles, the gameplay is standard Prince of Persia (run up walls, jump and attack enemies - simple Platform gaming) and the controls are buggy - for example instead of jumping upwards, then moving forwards, your character just jumps in a diagonal line - which is kind of annoying when trying to get to certain areas in the game (like at the very start).

So to sum up Prince Of Persia could be worth the 8 GBP if your willing to play the game, as the N-Gage Points seem easy enough to achieve - however people have been saying on the N-Gage forums that the Java / Symbian version of the game seems to run alot smoother than this new 3D Version - Maybe a 2D Prince Of Persia, in Anime style would have been better than a very pixelated 3D Version, Who knows? - however for the POP (Prince Of Persia) fans and achievement whores then this game is definate buy, for the others Try it before you buy!

Prince Of Persia is out now on the N-Gage Application or you can download it on your PC from here. Happy Gaming!

Blood Red Xbox 360 Elite Bundle - Confirmed "Very Limited" Stock

Earlier in the year rumours were flying around on the internet, mostly forums, that a special "Red" Xbox 360 Console was going to be released in the UK and USA.

Well last month, Microsoft & Capcom confirmed that a "Limited Edition" Blood Red Xbox 360 Elite would be released and not only that the console will come bundled with a copy of Resident Evil 5, the latest game in the long running Resident Evil Series, A resident evil dashboard theme and a Super Street Fighter II HD Remix code (which costs around 10 GBP to buy off Xbox Live on its own).

Well i can now tell you that the machine is "VERY" limited stock and that only 2 places in the UK will be stocking and selling it, which are GAME and GAMESTATION.

The console package itself includes the following things:

* Blood Red Xbox 360 Console
* Blood Red Xbox 360 Wireless Pad
* 120GB Hard Drive
* Resident Evil 5 Game
* Resident Evil 5 Dashboard Theme (Code to download off Xbox Live)
* Super Street Fighter II HD Remix (Code to download off Xbox Live)
* HDMI Cable
* AV/SCART/COMPONENT Cable
* Ethernet Cable
* Black Headset

Ive been told by a microsoft rep that this Red Xbox 360 package is very limited and is only available for a small amount of time and once they have sold out they wont be getting any more in stock, if i remember correctly he said that only around 5,000 Units (if not less) are being made, so if you want one - PRE-ORDER IT NOW! I Pre-ordered mine last week and will fetch it on day of release, so expect pictures when i get it, till then Happy Gaming!

Monopoly Arrives Onto N-Gage Platform

The latest N-Gage game "Monopoly: Here & Now Edition" is now available to download from the N-Gage application, and to celebrate its release EA have lowered the price for one month only.

The original price of the game should be 6 GBP or 8 GBP (usually 8 GBP for an EA / 3rd Party Title) however for the 1st month of release the game will only cost 4 GBP, so thats a saving of 4 GBP (or 2 GBP) depending on how much it is when released.

I Cant say how the game plays or whether or not its worth the money as i cant download it via the N-Gage App Showroom (doesnt work for me and hasnt ever since i got the phone - which is kinda strange). Anyway - if you can download it via the N-Gage application then do so now and enjoy a classic board game on your device.