However, Shienryu does offer some challenges as you must reach the end with only a few lives, although pick-ups will help you along the way by giving you lives, increased ammunition, faster shooting or being able to shoot lighting!

At the end of the game you can record your score on a local leaderboard to see all your scores. Shienryu can be played on both PS3 and PSP.

Although it isn’t the number 1 shoot’em-up around, it is worth a go for anyone looking for a bit of cooperative madness, and is well worth every penny of the price- £3.99.

Buzzin’ Games   5/10

The Sims 3: Pets

The Sims 3: Pets enables anyone to play as they want, whether it’s the builder who creates the ultimate pet sanctuary, the achiever who solves all the mysteries in town, the experimenter who has a lone Sim and a house full of cats, or the storyteller who expresses himself through the adventures of his Sims and their pets.

Create perfect-or imperfect-pets for your Sims, from loyal dogs to daring kitties, as you determine their looks and personality traits. Then take control of these pets and experience the world from their perspective. Enjoy a little mischief by destroying furniture or impress others by mastering new skills like hunting. Lead your Sims on adventures, like uncovering relics and solving mysteries.

Players take creativity by the reins and play out the stories they want to tell whether it’s the single guy in the dog park picking up women or the criminal overlord and her evil cat. Across all platforms, The Sims 3: Pets players will be able to create, customize and control over a hundred different kinds of cats and dogs like the Australian Shepherd and the Maine Coon, and can breed and share them with friends providing endless possibilities to create new and exciting breeds.

For the first time ever, The Sims 3 Pets allows you to play as truly unique and customisable animals with personalities and looks all of their own!

Explore a new town, solve mysteries, unleash new Karma Powers and more in The Sims 3 Pets for console. With over 100 hundred breeds of cats and dogs to customise, there are infinite possibilities for creating the designer pet of your dreams. From loyal tuxedo cat to playful Chow Chow, explore the world through your pet’s eyes.

Whether the player prefers to customize the newest designer breed or be mischievous with their dog or cat, The Sims 3: Pets gives them the tools to play with life and create the perfect pet.

Free to Enter Competition to win The Sims 3: Pets for PS3

In association with Electronic Arts, Buzzin Games has 5 copies of The Sims 3  Pets for PS3 to giveaway.

To enter all you need to do is answer the following easy question:

Q: What is the title of the top latest EA football (or soccer) video game?

Submit your entries to comps@buzzinmedia.co.uk with the subject line: ‘Sims 3’ (other subject lines will not be entered) with your full name, address & contact number.

This Buzzin Media Competition ends has now closed

The editor will randomly choose five winners from the correct answers. The editor’s choice is final.

The Sonic Wings Special story is enjoyable to play through over 9 missions; and there are 17 different levels altogether you can select. The game can also be played in a two player cooperative mode and the other player can join at any other point through the game. This obviously makes the game more manic; with bullets flying everywhere, but it means you can both enjoy the game at the same time.

Each stage has its own unique touches with varying enemy ships which gives you something new to look forward to on each mission. You can also interact with some of the scenery. There are different characters available to use, each with their own unique warship which all come with special moves to really wreak havoc on the enemy. As you progress through this 2D computer game your ships’ guns will improve with increased quantity and quality of missiles to aid you against the more challenging boss battles at the end of each round.

With different game modes, a good selection of characters (including unlockable ones) and a multipath story this game is definitely a worthy purchase for fans of the retro style shoot’em-up genre.

Sonic Wings Special is released on European PSN & PSP by MonkeyPaw Games Inc price £3.99.

Buzzin’ Games  7/10

GaiaSeed - Japanese Retro PS One Game

MonkeyPaw Games Inc. announced today that GaiaSeed is now available on the recently launched Japanese PS One Import section on the European PlayStation Network.

The release marks the first time that European gamers will get the chance to play the addicting horizontal shooter in its pure, un-touched form.

As with most games in the Import section, the release marks the first time that many gamers will get to play the direct-from-Japan import.

GaiaSeed is one of the greatest shooters that never made it to Western markets. The classic is currently available at the affordable price of EU €4.99.

“We’re gradually bringing back Japanese classics without the need of paying a premium price because of their rarity. GaiaSeed is a great example of a classic shooter that simply needed to be shared with the masses. The silky smooth gameplay has definitely stood the test of time and still remains as one of the most addicting space shooters ever,” said John Greiner, president and CEO of MonkeyPaw Games.

About GaiaSeed
GaiaSeed is a horizontal shooter from Techno Soleil featuring solid control, precise bullet collision and a simple powerup system that’s a blast to use. The smooth and silky display of algorhythmic perfection always challenges but never frustrates.

Featuring six stages, GaiaSeed’s massive 2D backgrounds and variable difficulty further increase the game’s replay value for high-score perfectionists. The title’s unique presentation with techno-beat ambiance and fast-paced visual effects also remind gamers today of the uniqueness of past classic shooters.

A rare find that normally sells for upwards in the $150 range, GaiaSeed is a great classic play that fans of other shooter classics like R-Type and Gradius will appreciate.

More Import Classics from MonkeyPaw Games
MonkeyPaw Games plans to import more classic Japanese PlayStation®Network games to European digital markets at a fair price. Fans of import games are encouraged to voice their suggestions on our social networks for their most-wanted Japanese titles. Other released titles courtesy of MonkeyPaw Games include the eye-opening Cho Aniki and the challenging Sonic Wings Special, both classic 2D shooters.

Cho Aniki combines challenging and quirky gameplay with a hilarious cast of over-the-top Japanese body builders. Sonic Wings Special is a critically-acclaimed shooter with tight controls and enemy bosses that overflow with nostalgia.

These games are also available on the European PlayStation®Network at a price point of EU €4.99 each.

FIFA Football was the first football game to receive official licensing from FIFA, the world governing body of football.  Now, 18 years on, EA’s FIFA now includes more exclusively-licensed leagues including the English Premier League & Football League, Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga, the German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, Dutch Eredivisie, Mexico’s Primera División, USA’s MLS, South Korea’s K-League and Australia’s Hyundai A-League.

The official licensing deals means gamers can play as real teams in real leagues, unlike the other great football computer game, Pro Evolution Soccer where team names are thinly disguised – Manchester Reds (Manchester United), North London (Arsenal) and West Midlands Village (Aston Villa).  To some this may not be a big issue.  But for me, it adds to the authenticity.

FIFA 12 (FIFA Soccer 12 in North America) is the nineteenth edition of the game and David Rutter, the line producer for FIFA 12 has promised “a revolutionary year for FIFA … especially in the gameplay department.”

FIFA 12 is due for release on 27th September 2011 in North America followed by a European release on 30th September on PS3, Xbox 360 & PC.

An exclusive version will be available from Game & Gamestation shops.  The “Ultimate Edition” includes four monthly Ultimate Team gold packs, with each pack containing 12 items including players, contracts, stadiums, managers, staff, fitness, healing, footballs, kits and badges. Each pack contains one rare item, such as enhanced player attributes, longer contracts and the most coveted players.

Following the sacking of Andy Gray by Sky for his sexist comments earlier this year, the voice of former Arsenal & England striker and Sky football pundit Alan Smith is included alongside commentary from Martin Tyler. The voices of Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend are also used for tournament modes.

FIFA 12 will include new and improved features such as the “Player Impact Engine”, “Tactical Defending” and “Precision Dribbling”.  The following video shows how the new player impact engine improves the collision variety, accuracy and momentum preservation.

‘Tactical Defending’ offers advanced functionality by employing the ability to defend tactically which allows a team to place equal importance on positioning, intercepting passes and tackling.

‘Precision dribbling’ allows a player to dribble whilst shielding the ball whilst in possession. This allows the player in possession greater freedom while holding players off, whereas before this functionality left the player rooted to the spot.

Furthermore, close control has been included, allowing a player to take smaller, more frequent touches, keeping closer control when in possession of the ball.

All this added functionality will offer better, faster, more realistic gameplay.  I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of EA FIFA 12.

A prolonged four months wait will seem even longer as gameplay and video trailers litter the web in a marketing and gameplayer fest which will stretch the patience of all fans of the bestselling first-person action series of all-time as it returns with the epic sequel to the multiple Game of the Year award winner Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 will be the third instalment in the Modern Warfare series, and no less than the eighth instalment of Call of Duty.  Like the previous versions of this brilliant game Call Of Duty: MW3 will be a First-Person-Shooter game; and to beat the competition in a flooded market of  action war games, Modern warfare 3 will run at a faster 60FPS.

Doing a grand marketing job in promoting the game, the developers have revealed that Modern Warfare 3 will, among others, feature a new survival mode. Survival mode features one to two players fighting endless waves of enemies with each wave getting more difficult.

Some critics are comparing the game to Call of Duty: World at War played in Nazi Zombies mode.  But with MW3 enemies do no not automatically spawn in fixed places but instead uses a more sophisticated logic allowing enemies to spawn at a position based on the current location of the player.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 has been developed by the American game developer company, Infinity Ward, who have been responsible for three instalments in the Call of Duty franchise.  All of the original 22 developers at Infinity Ward came from the team that had developed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.

The quality of the gameplay looks amazing.  Check out this video.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 will be released on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC priced around £45 for games consoles and £40 for the PC version.  By pre-ordering the game with HMV you can earn 3,999 loyalty points.

PS3 inFAMOUS 2 Lady Gaga Comic-Strip

inFAMOUS 2 – ‘The Fame Strips’
‘The power is yours, how you use it is up to you!’

inFAMOUS 2, the PlayStation 3 fantasy superhero game is back in its second chapter – the best selling ‘comicesque’ franchise is unique in giving game-players the chance to shape the game by the choices they make; be it good or bad, every decision has a consequence.

No-one knows the pros and cons of being famous or inFAMOUS more than those in the fickle world of celebrity (musicians, footballers, models, actors and general guys/gals about town).

To celebrate the launch of the new title inFAMOUS 2, PlayStation 3 is behind a unique collaboration between Howard Marks (Mr Nice) and the Godfather of British comics Pat Mills (creator of 2000AD and key writer on Judge Dredd who currently writes graphic novels for Repeat Offenders Ltd, as well as having worked with both DC and Marvel).

The fantasy comic strips, which bring together seven of the world’s freshest comic artists, explore what would happen if some of the world’s favourite celebrities were integrated into the fantasy inFAMOUS world alongside characters of New Marais, allowing them to hold superpowers and the choice to change the world for better or worse.

Pat Mills says “The moral issues that the game brings up are very much the preserve of comic books, and always have been. That and the super powers of the game characters have something of the classic spirit of comic books about them.  This project has been a really fun way to play with the morality of the celebrity culture we are so obsessed with. Perhaps most exciting for me has been working with this slate of talented young comic books artist that we are all going to be seeing a lot more of”.

Speaking on the artistic exploration & collaboration Fame & Morality Editor Howard Marks commented:

“I’m a comic book fan – and I’m no stranger to moral ambiguity – so my involvement in this project is a no-brainer. I’m also really enjoying seeing the best emerging comic book talent doing their thing! Kapow!”

The celebrities were chosen by inFAMOUS fans, celebrity commentators and bloggers for their impact on celebrity culture over the course of the last year.

The seven fantasy strips can be viewed at www.InFamousthefame.com and explore the central theme of comics and much of the gaming world – morality and the choices we make around it. Check them out and see if you can work out who has the power!

inFAMOUS 2: The Fame Strips

1. Beyonce -  Bootylicious Trouble – ‘It’s tough being part of the world’s most influential celebrity couple especially when your famous friends continue to show you up’: illustrated by Barnaby Richards – contributor to cult comics anthology Sturgeon White Moss; Barnaby has worked with Paul Smith and has works featured in a whole host of newspapers – his graphic novel ‘ the Funeral’ has just been published.

2. Cheryl – Bad Hair Day – ‘We all get them but when you’re in the public eye they are just that bit meaner!’: illustrated by Ellen Lindner;  Ellen has published numerous stories in both the UK & US including her own graphic novel Undertow. She is also editor to the ongoing anthology ‘ Whores of Mensa’.

3. Gary & Friends – ‘Nearly Naughty’ – ‘Temptations of the flesh feature heavily in everyone’s lives – to grab or not to grab that’s always the question!’

4. Justin – ‘ Animal Saviour’ – ‘The UK public are animal crazy what better way to raise your profile than with some pet loving!’: illustrated by Luke Pearson; Luke’s work has appeared in seminal comic book anthology ‘Nobrow’ alongside work for a range of magazines.

5. Pippa – ‘ Empire Building’ – ‘Sibling jealousy can make you do strange things!’; illustrated by Kate Brown; winner of the prestigious Art Foundation prize, Kate has recently published her graphic novel SelfMadeHero.

6. Gaga – ‘Down with the kids’ – ‘When is too far too far?’: illustrated by  JAKe is one of the UK’s leading illustrators having worked with the likes of Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy and Star Wars. His recent projects include illustrating The Mighty Book of Boosh

7. Lindsay – ‘Reformed Character’ – ‘Nothing changes if nothing changes but do we ever really change?’: illustrated by Fay Dalton; Fay recently won the Pickled Ink’s Pickled Award and is creating a huge buzz with her very naughty strip ‘Party Girls’ looking at the lives of footballers wives and special friends.

The comic strips are available to view on www.infamousthefame.com.

Child of Eden is the amazing new award-winning rhythm action game created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and published by Ubisoft. Child of Eden is a sequel to Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Rez and has been developed for Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3 and is compatible with both Xbox Kinect & PlayStation Move. The game receives a highly-anticipated Xbox 360 UK release on 17th June 2011 (PS3 gamers will have to wait until September). The music is by Genki Rockets.

Child of Eden integrates sound, vision and touch in one seamless experience. The objective of the game is for the game player to save Project Lumi from a virus attack. If you manage to save the project it will reproduce a human personality in Eden, the artificial intelligence where Rez took place. Child of Eden will be a familiar concept to anyone who has had the pleasure of playing Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Rez, as it too revolves around shooting various objects that come onto the screen, which produce musical effects upon their destruction.

The game has already picked up awards and accolades including ‘Best Motion Sensor Game‘ and ‘Best Rhythm Game’ of E3 2010 from Gamespot and received 86 out of 100 in Xbox World 360 magazine. This game is going to take gaming to a whole new level.

Watch the official Child of Eden trailer shows how cool this game really is.

The following video is from the Child of Eden Experience in Soho, London where gamers including some famous faces can experience the gameplay with Xbox Kinect.

The new game genre known as “rhythm action” are music-themed action video games where the focus is on movement, dance or the simulation of playing musical instruments. For more information visit the official Child of Eden website.

Sponsored Post

Sony expects the PlayStation store to be back online tomorrow, according to a memo sent by Sony to developer and publishing partners.

When the PlayStation store returns, Sony will begin by resuming the scheduled releases that were interrupted by the PSN downtime.

Alongside the store’s relaunch will be content originally scheduled for 26th April and the first PlayStation update affected by PSN downtime. Three days later on 27th May, there will be another store update for games originally scheduled for 3rd May.

The following week, the PlayStation store will update twice on 31st May and 3rd June, covering content that was supposed to release during the past three weeks. At that point, the PlayStation store will be back on schedule and return to a single content update each week.

Though these are Sony’s stated plans for relaunching the PlayStation store, the memo says that the firm is willing to adjust content releases on a case-by-case basis.

Users will also be able to download their free games as part of Sony’s ‘Welcome Back‘ programme once the PlayStation store returns.

The most popular devices are not simply designed for playing games on, although that is of course their primary purpose, but with enhanced multimedia functions like video and music support and web browsing, you have a powerful all-in-one device.

Console graphics have never appeared quite as real as they do right now and along with better video output and improved multimedia functionality, with a stronger emphasis on social media and interactive gameplay, we can pack those board games away forever as video games have never looked so welcoming.

It is the latest Nintendo Dsi that has most recently been grabbing the headlines, due mainly to it’s basic 3D qualities that allow users to play games on an adjustable 3 Dimensional screen without the need for special glasses.

Being portable the previous model Nintendo Dsi has become particularly popular with both the younger generation of school children as well as the older Saga generation, due mainly to its advertising campaigns to keep the brain active.

However it is the Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation and Nintendo Wii that you will find in most households, a stand alone gaming console that can connect to the internet, play DVD’s or Blu ray Discs as well as offering unlimited interactive gaming facilities.

For first time purchasers choosing one machine from the three top sellers will often come down to either price, peer pressure or a particular game availability, as with the Wii Fit for instance.

Unless you are pre ordering the latest yet to be released device, the likliehood is that shopping around the major outlets will get you a cut price machine with a bundle of free games or goodies thrown in. This is particular true once a new generation machine has been announced and the market needs to clear it’s current stocks.

While I can think of a few addicted gamer friends who own more than one video gaming console, the general truth is that there is an awful lot of brand loyalty shown by gamers, so be sure to compare the systems on the market before deciding which suits your needs the best.

Happy gaming!