Put the words “DIRT”, “PENTHOUSE” and “CUSTARD” together and you might be thinking of a different kind of ‘specialist’ entertainment….but this was raw, destructive racing. Drifting, ramming, smashing and battling their way to the front, one racer would be regional champion.

Organised by developers Codemasters and local event specialists Punch Records, the evening brought together gamers from around the Midlands, giving them the chance to experience the game and make it through to the national final to be held later this year in London.

JayceStokes & Adamski UK getting some practice

Midlife Gamers JayceStokes and myself stuck our names down for the competition which consisted of a free play session early on followed by an intense knockout tournament to crown the elite DIRT Showdown driver. Jayce had been putting in some practice and me….well, I had nothing to lose.

34 gamers signed up and after spending some time getting ready for the competition on the dozen Xbox Pods in the penthouse, it was time for a random draw for the first round. Host with the most was local artist Andre Hesson who got the crowd warmed up and ready, drawing names from his very fetching hat ready to compete split screen in a game of “8-Ball” (Figure of eight track for maximum carnage).

Jayce and I made it through the first round which saw half of the entrants walking home for an early bath. Next round saw me having my arse handed to me on a plate (no surprise there), but the real battle was with JayceStokes. He’d been draw with an alleged Street Fighter Champion and was on his tail for most of the race until a sideswipe on a cross over put him to the back of the field. Doing his best to make up time, the race and competition was over for Jayce.

The next couple of rounds saw some fierce split screen racing and disappointment whittling down the competition to two finalists.

It was to be a Wolverhampton local derby final between Gore84 from Wendsbury and ActualSp4ceman from Wendsfield. Wishing one another good luck and a final shake of the hands, the final 10 lap race of the evening was underway. Random starting positions put Gore84 on Pole position and ActualSp4ceman at the back of the pack, but the crowd that remained were in for a gripping ten lap final.

ActualSp4ceman & Gore84 in the Final

Less than a single turn separated the two, but it was Gore84that took the chequered flag after an incredibly valiant effort from ActualSp4ceman. It was an exciting end to the evening and once the congratulations and prizes had been handed out, everyone relaxed on the balcony as the sun dipped below the horizon…realising that the champions of the evening had been playing since the days before flat screen TV’s, wireless joypads and disc based gaming…both true Midlife Gamers. Take a look at the recent DIRT Showdown trailer here.

As a lad from the Midlands myself, I’d like to wish Gore84 (Greg) all the very best for the national final in London later this month. We’ll let you know how he gets on.

DiRT Showdown will be released on May 24th on Xbox, PS3 and PC.

Keep up to date with all the DiRT Showdown news here at Midlife Gamer.

What have we been playing?

Matt soldiers on with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, gets all climby & stabby with Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, and plays him some Minecraft.

Daren shares his thoughts on The Walking Dead: Episode 1, goes back to Uno again and dabbles further with Facebook casual games.

In the news

Minecraft breaks XBLA sales record, Rumour of open internet browsing coming Xbox 360, Square Enix bringing PS2 games to the PSN, Bioshock Infinite delayed until next year, EA confirm upcoming Dead Space and Need for Speed titles, Blizzard and Valve agree on DOTA trademark, US launching a subscription based Xbox & Kinect bundle and a new Family Guy title announced.

Soundtrack of our gaming lives

In this episode, Diablos79 selects the intro theme from Streets of Rage.

In addition you get the usual suspects; Retail Roundup, New Releases, DLC and the Sexy Quiz.

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

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

For more podcasts head over to our podcast archive.

Oh yeah before I forget, here’s the photo we discuss…

After Alex Mercer saved New York back in the original title, Prototype 2 has you play as James Heller, a former Blackwatch soldier who lost his wife in the new virus outbreak that ex-protagonist Alex Mercer has unleashed. Having been infected by Mercer, Heller begins to mutate, gaining variations of Mercer’s abilities.

Mercer’s exact intensions are sketchy to say the least, with a large chunk of the narrative having been told through a digital comic that not all players will be familiar with and receives no mention of here. But it soon becomes apparent that the storyline is the least important aspect of the experience, and Hellers quest for revenge against all who have wronged him acts as enough driving force to pull you through the tale.

Fortunately some above average voice acting helps keep you engaged but it’s the script that steals the show, although not necessarily for the right reasons. It’s equal part cringe-worthy and brilliant. It’s over dramatic and clichéd but the odd utterly hilarious line redeems it completely. It’s a shame really that it tries so hard to maintain a serious tone when a Saints Row 3 approach would suit it so much better. It certainly keeps you entertained and looking forward to the next plot point, however Prototype 2’s main focus is with the combat.

Combat is intricate and varied as well as a joy to let loose with. Tearing through humans is child’s play and even the mutants don’t pose much of a threat. Instead you’ll often find yourself ambushed and out gunned, which just gives you more targets and options in dispatching them with.

To begin with you attacks are limited to melee but you soon gain some more interesting moves. Slicing things apart with your claws is a sight that never gets old and is likely to become your go-to attack but as you mutate further and absorb the DNA of other people and mutants, your abilities evolve. The options available to you soon become quite vast and complex, however using them remains simple. You can select which two attacks to have active at a time through a sub menu then you can let rip to your heart’s content. And thanks to a significantly reduced difficulty to the original game, no matter what attacks you’re using you’ll find little can stand toe to toe.

However, your varied move-set may offer some impressive visual results but they are never really utilised to their full potential. You won’t find yourself in a fight that requires any creativity with how you approach it, and as such combat can become very repetitive and mindless.

The missions from both the main storyline and side quests also suffer from repetition and a lack of cerebral engagement. Many ask you to use stealth through the use of your unique absorb ability to turn yourself into a copy of certain people and steal their identity, but if things get noisy then brute force will still get the job done with ease, and often quicker too. It all tends to lead back to combat scenarios, so at least the repetition still remains fun.

Actually getting to mission locations is a joy. Traversing New York is easy and hugely enjoyable, as you dash up buildings and leap tremendous heights with no effort before gliding through the sky. The open city is your playground for you to enjoy, and as you unlock the abilities to hijack tanks and helicopters, getting around and engaging people, armour and creatures in combat become even more enjoyable.

Indeed, Prototype 2 is a simple idea with excellent mechanics but a weak and ineffectual plot. It falls short of realising its full potential but it does successfully tap into what makes it fun: the mindless spectacle of the combat and traversing an open city.

MLG Rating: 8/10 Platform: PS3 /Xbox 360 Release Date: 24/03/2012

Disclosure: Midlife Gamer were provided a phtsical copy of Prototype 2 by the promoter for review purposes. The title was reviewed over the course of two week on a Xbox 360. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

It turns out Gillian isn’t dead.

You can catch the whole Let’s Play: Snatcher series here.

Assassin’s Creed III is scheduled for release on the 31st October 2012

Keep up to date with all the latest Assassin’s Creed III news here at Midlife Gamer.

“Sesame Street: Elmo’s Musical Monsterpiece gets children up and dancing and encourages music creation,” said Rosemarie Truglio, Ph.D., Vice President of Education & Research, Sesame Workshop. “The game also explores emotional expression through music and dance, introduces instrument names and sounds, and helps children to practice early math skills through music.”

All of the music in the game is performed by Ozomatli, and includes some original songs by the popular Los Angeles-based band, whose music is a combination of hip-hop, salsa, dancehall, cumbia, samba, funk, merengue, Jamaican ragga, and Indian raga influences.  The upbeat score will appeal to kids and parents alike.

Developed by Griptonite Games, Inc., the games are entertaining and intuitive, enabling preschoolers to play by themselves with minimal involvement while offering ways for parents to help.  The game features a “Parent’s Page” where parents can review games their child has played, and review curriculum goals.  Parents can also customize up to three profiles, set limits for number of games played and more.

Keep up to date with all the latest Sesame Street: Elmo’s Musical Monsterpiece news here at Midlife Gamer.

Enjoy the trailer here, WARNING contains graphic violence! Its beautiful.

Keep up to date with all the latest Darksiders II news here at Midlife Gamer.

Set in a parallel world resembling Japan’s Taisho period, the people have discovered the powerful Blood Swords. Requiring human sacrifices to unleash their immense destructive power, these swords have been used by the empire to crush neighbouring countries. However, all the bloodshed and power gained through sacrificing close family members has made some of the swordsmen reconsider. With new fighter planes and the powered up swords at their disposal, this small band of rebels now fight back against the tyrannical empire.

Created specifically with the Xbox 360 in mind, Akai Katana is the first CAVE release to feature horizontal combat in sumptuous HD and eye-watering full 16:9 support.

Prepare for a new definition of ‘bullet-hell’!

Features:

Gorgeous hand-drawn artwork and lovingly rendered sprites
Full HD 16:9 support
Three gameplay modes: Origin (Arcade) Mode, Slash Mode and Climax Mode
Fully animated UI
Original Arcade settings optional for authentic experience
Online leaderboards and replays
Local 2-player co-op (Arcade mode only)

Keep up to date with all the latest Akai Katana news here at Midlife Gamer.

It comes supplied with 22 devious levels, a dynamic worldwide top 50 leaderboard system and a comprehensive level editor for the creative types amongst you. The object of the game is to navigate each level by judging angles, distance and velocity to propel and swing our sneaky little slab cracker towards the diamonds he so desperately craves.

Initially all seems fairly generic but in an interesting deviation from the standard, the tutorial process highlights your inability to die. Instead of loosing health, pressure is applied, as the interaction with bad guys, lasers or missiles results in a reduction in time to complete the level. The difficulty curve is reminiscent of Super Meat Boy who’s relentless restarts quickly drove me to submission, but Ten Ton Ninja’s lack of instadeath really helps mitigate frustration and maintains the motivation to press on and try again.

The presentation is excellent and the game feels very polished. Graphics are colourful and sharp, with enough variety from stage to stage to keep you wanting to see what comes next. Menus are functional and controls feel tight and precise, this becomes especially important with pixel perfect targeting of the grapple hook becoming essential as the difficulty level ramps up.

A comprehensive level editor is included with the Windows download and feels immediately intuitive to use. There are very few restrictions on what you can do and in twenty minutes or so I had generated a fairly simple stage. With enough time and a little experimentation you can create some genuinely interesting puzzles which can then be shared with friends.

In summary I have to say Ten Ton Ninja took me by surprise. I don’t mean it tried to violently penetrate me as I picked up soap in the shower, but rather that trial and error puzzle platformers are not really my thing, yet I found myself really enjoying the challenge it delivered. It looks great, the soundtrack is first class, the challenge is firm but undeniably fair and the mechanics of the game are delivered wonderfully. Above all though its freeware. You can download the full game now and it won’t cost you a penny, so whether you like the genre or like me it’s not your usual tipple, it comes very highly recommended and is well worth a try!

MLG Rating: 8/10 Platform: PC Release Date: 14/03/2012

Disclosure: Ten Ton Ninja is a free-to-play game available here. The title was reviewed over the course of two week on a PC. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.

What have we been playing?

Dragon’s Dogma, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Trials Evolution, Fez and Logos Quiz Game.

In the news

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and New Super Mario Brothers 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Joyride Turbo announced, Skyrim DLC detailed, further details for Wii U, Portal 2 free update brings user generated content via Steam and Happy 30th Birthday to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

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

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

For more podcasts head over to our podcast archive.