What have we been playing?

Matt sounds like he’s done with inFamous 2 and even boots up a game on his Mac!

Daren reaches the end of Halo Reach, swaps a steering wheel for an iPad and blows his own mind with Solar 2

This week’s news topics

Could we finally be getting a cloth map with Skyrim?  Team Fortress 2 going Free to Play, Master Chief gets his wave on with Kinect, your one stop pass for all Mortal Kombat DLC, major EA release dates, possible micro transactions coming to an Xbox 360 near you and LA Nior finding its way to the PC.

Soundtrack of our gaming lives

This week: Listener Dippy Dolittle selects the Theme from Tales of Monkey Island.

This weeks MLGQ: Come dine with me! You’ve invited 4 game characters to your house for a 3 course dinner & drinks. Tell us how the night unfolded.

In addition you get the usual suspects; Retail Roundup, New Releases, DLC, Twitter Section and the sexy gaming quiz.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes & leave us a sexy review. Download direct or listen here.

We really appreciate feedback so tell us what you thought of the show or expand on the discussion points raised by leaving a comment.

Stealth vaping, air rage, banging headboards, indecent proposals and some holiday gaming.- its all go for Daren as he suns himself up.

Real life, crashing cars and working hard – Matt keeps it real.

Enjoy this brief catch up.

Its great to hear that Sony are working day and night to re-establish the network – I really do believe them and hope they can implement some hard learned lessons.

If you are a Playstation 3 owner, it might be worth taking a deep breath and focus on what’s important at the moment – your compromised data.

From reading todays update on the Playstation Network blog I get the feeling that someone pulled a WarGames and got themselves a little more than they bargained for.  I don’t care if you’re a university drop out or a highly skilled mathlete who’s only part of the problem – but that sort of data is worth a lot of money to the right (or wrong) people.

All of those adverts you see about identity theft is big business to a lot of people, so lets get to work seeing if we can’t do something to protect ourselves.

Lets break down the advise given in the blog post and see what we can do.

We believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate…

Okay, I’m not going to move house and judging by the amount of junk I get through the postal system, I don’t think this is the biggest problem.

PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID.

This I must admit is something which (either rightfully or wrongly) concerns me more.  I for one haven’t manually logged into my PSN ID in a long time, so can only guess at which of my email address / password combinations was used.  If your concerned enough it probably isn’t a bad time to spring clean your password chain.

If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained

I’m not a parent, so I can’t comment on the moral ramifications of this, but like with the above suggestion – get those passwords reset.

While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.

This is where things start to get more concerning, but lets hope it isn’t the case.  While no expert, I have been involved in service security testing and know how much thought goes into encryption – but there is no certainty.  Thankfully I didn’t purchase from the store, if I had I would seriously consider voiding my current card.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number

I’m always on the look out for scam emails, often from fake Blizzard and Paypal accounts, the easy spot was always “Dear customer” – if anything official makes it your way, you better believe they refer to you by name.  However with names also out to match the email addresses, you can always hope your web broswers picks it up.  So that said, its probably about time to make sure all firewalls, spam blockers and browser security are up to date.

So there you have it… its a pretty sucky day to be Sony.  While its easy to point the finger and make a lot of noise about the service, it might be worth taking stock of the situation first.

The 8th Silent Hill game title conveniently named “Downpour” promises to bring a completely original storyline with an all new haunting soundtrack and is due for release towards the end of 2011 on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

While we wait to see if 8 is the magic number for Konami – enjoy some foggy screen shots.

That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy these puzzle games, I just know I’ll never quite master the harder levels.  Kahoots can now sit along with the likes of Braid and Lumines, great games to play even though I suck at it.

For the past year Kahoots was only available as a PSP Mini title, but now iPhone and iPod Touch users get themselves a piece of the action.  The London based developers Honeyslug have been knocking titles out across a bunch of platforms for a few years now and for a small team have a lot of talent and experience in this genre.

The goal of each level is to guide your Kahoot to the exit with the option to collect slices of cake for the completionist within you.  Now between your Kahoot and the exit are a bunch of environmental hazards and monsters to avoid, achieved by manipulating blocks which make up the environment itself.  Using the touch function individual blocks can be selected and swapped with a connecting block, essentially allowing you to slide under your Kahoots feet as he continues on this constant path.

New gameplay features such a trap doors and jump pads are introduced by the star of the show, the Peg Beast who sings catchy and funny as hell songs to you before levels.  Don’t believe me? See for yourself

Brilliant eh!

For the most past, the touch controls on my iPhone very well, even my chunky digits were able to grab desired blocks and move them with ease.  My only gripe would be how tricky it can be at times to scroll or zoom the camera.

MLG Rating: 8/10

Platform: iPhone / iPod Touch  Release Date: 30/12/2010

Disclosure: The title was reviewed over the course of 5 days on an iPhone. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

Brotherhood is a continuation from last year’s Assassin’s Creed 2 which continues the journey of Desmond replaying memory sequences of the Renaissance assassin Ezio Auditore through the power of The Anamus.  Although the bulk of your time will be spent running through Rome with Ezio getting up to his usual tricks, this time more focus and story has been dedicated the true protagonist, Desmond.  This is a great choice as the world of Ezio is so rich and wonderful that it is easy to lose sight of the true threat facing the modern day assassins.

The whole gang are still at large and on the run from the Abstergo Corporation and things are as tense as ever.  Actually it is worth noting that only a mere 2 weeks have passed since Desmond was originally captured and forced to live out Altair’s memories.  Taking up their expected roles, see Lucy who’s still obviously falling for Nathan… I mean Desmond (sorry Nolan but you weren’t really pushed to play it any differently).  Oh and the other two are still around, Rebecca the ‘sassy’ tech head and Shaun the cynical, but now funnier and more likeable British research guy.

Once your jacked into The Anamus, there is little reason to leave even though the option is there for those who want to delve deeper into the rich back story by checking emails or talking to the team.  So the real meat of Brotherhood is told through the day to day life of Ezio.  If you’re a fan of the series then there is no reason why you won’t fall back in love with the tried and tested gameplay mechanics we’ve come to expect from Assassin’s Creed.  What I found is that everything has been ever so slightly tweaked, where in the past I felt forced by design to approach platforming at 90° angles.  Now though I feel confident in my ability to take a slightly less digital approach to my parkour.  Another noticeable alteration has been to the counter-attack system, not only has the window of opportunity been slightly increased but after a successful kill Ezio is able to chain together one hit kills making short work of any situation.

Other than improvements, Ubisoft have given us some new gameplay features to play with including a satisfying assassins’ guild.  As Ezio frees Rome from the grip of the evil and sinister Cesare Borgia by removing occupation from regions of the city, grateful citizens will pledge allegiance and do your bidding.  Using carrier pigeons Ezio can send trainee assassins around Europe on missions, each time bringing back additional money and improving their skills.  The player has no direct involvement in these missions, there is a big brother feel to watching them grow into trained killers.  When not out on assignment your dedicated back up team are only a whistle away to leaping from the shadows to assist, either to take out a key target or alter the odds in a tight battle.

As expected Brotherhood is a completionist’s wet dream / nightmare (delete as applicable), on top of the 9 story driven memory sequences Ezio can undertake a whole host of additional challenges.  From building up his assassins’ guild as mentioned above to destroying Leonardo da Vinci’s military weapons and renovating Rome’s stores and landmarks.  The map is littered with available waypoints that it can be difficult to focus on the story line itself, just remember it is all optional and can be completed after the final credits.

As with all Assassin’s Creed games so far, the world looks wonderful and the character animations and transitions are stunning, but this time around the music stole the show.  Even though the voice acting is top notch (more so in Ezio’s time, than in Desmond’s) but this is the first of the series which has made me stop and just listen to the ambience around me.  It doesn’t stop there, the orchestra swells just at the right time in tense situations allowing the player to fall even deeper in love with the time period.

Ok, so thats the Assassin’s Creed we all know and love.  But hang on a minute, for the first time we’ve got a new ‘Multiplayer’ option on the main menu.  I’ve been keen to see how multiplayer would work in the Assassin’s Creed world.  Part of me was disappointed that it wasn’t a free roaming co-op experience, but it turns out Ubisoft really put some thought into the competitive side of things, which makes a lot of sense considering the game is full of fantastically brutal assassinations.  So imagine if you will a small, very dense map, you’re playing as one of several character skins and you have a target to take down and a clue to their location. However, at the same time you’re also being hunted by another player.  It is all about trying to blend into the crowd and picking your moments to strike.  This mode really makes you feel like an assassin!  I’ve been known to spend the best part of an entire match waiting for that one perfect kill which yields more points than several sloppy ones.

Although the lobby system is a little clunky and matchmaking can be slow, this is forgiven by the depth of play.  As is becoming standard with multiplayer modes now, there are levels to gain with perks, abilities and custom classes to unlock along with a handful of different game types.

Even without the inclusion of multiplayer, I would have been more than happy with the amount of quality content delivered in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.  However as it stands, this is a stunning title which deserves to be played.  Judging by the incremental improvements across the series, I think the best is still to come from Ubisoft!

MLG Rating: 9/10

Platform: Xbox 360 / Playstation 3 Release Date: 19/11/2010

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a physical copy of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of 14 days on an Xbox 360. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

Hell yeah its the season to buy some more games!  After some of the biggest releases in history the whole family will have something new this week.

First up you could always get off your ass with Get Fit with Mel B on the Wii and Game Party in Motion for Kinect.  Or for those who want to go all out (white glove and all) there is Michael Jackson: The Experience…. yo.

Oh and lets not forget the ultimate driving experience finally hit shelves this week in the form of Gran Turismo 5!

For those who want to sit back and enjoy the ride can go super sleuth with CSI Unresolved before painting the town red with Epic Mickey or saving the world with Ravings Rabbids Travel in Time.

Finally for those with the ability to speak fast and in time, grab a mic and Def Jam Rapstar or even relive your youth my delving back into the world of Tron Evolution

Let us know in the comments what your plans are and please remember – no spoilers!

With the story being relegated to text within the menu’s, this near future shooter will feel mostly familiar with its mixture of assault rifles, SMG’s and sniper rifles.  However as this is the future, each soldier is equipment with a Hyper Reality Visor (HRV), allowing players at the click of a button to view all friendly and enemy units along with health and ammo stations.

Other than a featureless co-op mode, the bulk of this game will see you matchmaking through a number of competitive modes including objective scoring rounds and Team Deathmatch.  When the sides are split and the match starts, Blacklight Tango Down maintains a familiar control style to other popular FPS titles.  However like all new games, expect to have your ass handed to you a lot when you first start.  This is the games major fault, the only way to learn is to go up against other human opponents, something that can be off putting.  However if you’re willing to man up and learn the old school way, then keep reading.

Within a few rounds I started to realise that this game rewards carful consideration on how you traverse the environment and pick your battles.  Players are also very vulnerable, think Hard Core modes from Call of Duty.  Part of the learning process involves knowing when to pull your trigger as there is no indication that shots are making contact, but after a few rounds it starts to make sense.

The near future setting and the players HRV do make for some interesting gameplay features.  With a quick tap of the button your vision turns into a detective mode, allowing you to quickly scout the arena before making your move.  Traditional smoke grenades have been replaced with Digi-greanades, does the same job by blurring all of the areas pixels.  Plus a grenade with the ability to force a reboot of an enemies visor leaving them temporarily blinded.

Blacklight: Tango Down stands its ground against the competition at the moment by being something a little different but still retaining the long term player aspect with XP and its obligatory unlocking and upgrading system.  I did experience some unplayable lag issues mostly in objective modes, but nothing a new game search wouldn’t solve.

Finally, what I love about Blacklight Tango Down is less credit to the game itself but more how it positions itself within this very competitive genre.  At a very reasonable and deserved price of £10 this game will live on your hard drive as long as you want it to.  It may not be a shooter you grind through, but as a change of pace and perfect palate cleanser then for me it will sit nicely next to Battlefield 1943.

MLG Rating: 8/10

Platform: PlayStation 3 (Xbox 360, PC) Release Date: July / October 2010

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a digital copy of Blacklight Tango Down for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of five days on a PS3. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

Break out your special gaming pants and let’s get to work – what are you playing this weekend?

Its still a big weekend for new games, even after last weeks mammoth one. Would-be assassins across the world will be rebuilding Rome with Ubisoft’s Assassins Creed: Brotherhood.

EA and Criterion bring you the newly refreshed Need For Speed Hot Pursuit. With record breaking demo downloads, will you be taking to the streets or busting fellow racers?

Harry Potter fans who can’t get enough of that world are also going to be delving deeper with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Get your wand action on with the 3rd person cover based shooter version of the young wizard.

But we here know that its not all about whats new. Bizzard have kicked off another 7 days free re-activation for World of Warcraft accounts as we get closer and closer to the release of Catacysm, so will anyone be getting their grind on?

Let us know in the comments what your plans are and please remember – no spoilers!

For those who need a little more convincing, imagine the top-down sliding feel and controls of Micro Machines, the weapon and boost pickups of Wipeout along with the visuals and sounds of Geometry Wars. I hope by now you’re downloading the demo! This top-down future racer combines all that is great about those games into one excellent value for money download.

Your typical single races are available as 4 different events including a straight race to the finish, Elimination and Survival modes. Or take on all 4 courses of one of the 6 categories in a tournament (total of 24 different tracks) with a number of different difficulties each time earning medals. The initial few tracks are simple enough to navigate but as things get more tricky you’ll see branching paths, some with additional risk or rewards. One interesting thing the tracks do is present you with the boundaries of the course, but also give you a narrower line to follow, going out of that line will slow you down, but again can be beneficial depending on environmental hazards.

It is these boundaries of the track which make the weapons of the game a little more interesting and sometimes devastating. Take lasers for example, you may miss the craft ahead of you, but the beam itself will continue bouncing off the walls of the track for a few more seconds.  With a 3-way laser and the complicated track layout, even the most random of shots can result in chaos for all around you. Keeping with the weapons, along with lasers you’ll be laying mines, dropping bombs, firing cannons and even deploying a tractor beam. Only one weapon can be held at any one time, so if you don’t use it fast, it might be worth just ditching it for something more suitable based on your position in the race.

To add to the insanity of races, you’ll be pitted against 11 other opponents. Each one controlling a unique craft which not only have their own colourful and wonderful design, but also have different statistics depending on how you play including acceleration, steering and shield. Now your shield can be your best friend, as each time you are hit by a weapon your craft will take damage and lose control, take too many hits in one race and its game over. Thankfully there is a shield recharge you can fly through each lap which sometimes is needed but will cost you valuable seconds.

The audio for the game isn’t going to be to everyone’s liking. The music is similar to Geometry Wars with ambient scores combined with fast drum samples filling it out, very Orbital (you can trust my music knowledge). However the sound effects can become a little repetitive and the collision sound is far too familiar to clashing lightsabers.

There is a multiplayer mode within Super Laser Racer which supports internet and LAN play. However at present this is still in Beta testing for the Mac version, so I am unable to comment on how this works. Rounding this experience off is a track editor allowing those with twisted minds to take the track design to another level.

With a demo that really sold me on the fun that could be had and a price of £2.99 for the full game, you would be doing yourself a massive disservice if you don’t check our Super Laser Racer

MLG Rating: 8 /10

Platform: Mac / PC Release Date: Now

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a digital copy of Super Laser Racer for review purposes by the promoter. The title was reviewed over the course of four days on an iMac. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.