Teh Gaming News Episode 2

Its that time again folks! Its gaming news, and a rather late one at that. This is because of

Fable 2, Geometry Wars 2 Evolved (Expect to see a lil review for that soon). On the news side of things however its been a bit quiet. Well, compared to last month anyway. Anyway enough banter and lets going with this months news!

Zombies!

Yes thats right. The gaming industry is flooding with them thanks to Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty: World at War's zombie Nazi mode (Which involves you and three other people trapped in a house while an endless waves of zombies attack you. Its also co-op!) Zombies were pretty big last month too with World of Warcraft's zombie day and Grand Theft Auto's zombie multiplayer. It seems like the worlds infected!

Halo 3: Recon is no more

Well to some extent. Halo 3: Recon has got a name change. It is now called....... Halo 3 ODST! The new acronym stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper.

Nintendo to Wii-make Gamecube games. Now with extra waggle!

Nintendo once again is trying to sell us something which we have already. Pikmin 1 and 2, Metroid Prime 1 and 2 and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat all will be 'Wii-made' for the Wii with enhanced graphics. Hopefully, these will be more than just straight forward ports and add something new to the mix. So far it has been confirmed that DK Jungle Beat will be controlled by holding the Wii controller horizontally like you hold it when you are playing Super Paper Mario. This shows how they are going for a more retro style. While Metroid Prime on the other hand will be remade with the controls of Metroid Prime 3. How Pikmin is going to be controlled however is a mystery.

Fable 2 Downloadable Content!

And no we do not mean the new skin/background for your dashboard! On the 12th of December we will see the release of a brand new island to explore in the world of Albion. The packs called Knothole Island pack and will cost 800 points. In Fable 1 a place called Knothole Glade was featured and now we get to see what happened to it. If you download it on the day it comes out expect to get a few free gifts. These include Knights Boots, Assassins Gloves, a weight loss potion and a sliver book. You may however be able to buy these on the island anyway seeing as the pack will include new items to buy.

Banners! And wallpapers soon aswell (hopefully)

My good friend Jacob7869 (also known as Jacob) has made us at Triforce Games a couple of banners to help make our blog look so much better. Hopefully some wallpapers will make there way on here soon aswell. So fingers crossed!

Thats all for this months issue! See you all next month!

pokemon:giritina and the sky warrior

Well it's almost here the next Pokemon movie to be released Pokemon: Giritina And The Sky Warrior.
The movie was officially anounced in a teaser clip at the end of Pokemon: The Rise Of Darkrai. Now it's unlucky for us but for those who live in Japan were able to get a level 50 Shaymin and a level 100 Regigigas. Obtaining theese two pokemon means you can get all 3 Regi's and you can acess Shaymin's sky form but this is only able in pokemon platinum.
The film features Giritina, Shaymin and Dialga. This film is a follow up of Pokemon: The Rise Of Darkrai and there is another film following the story of the last two films. In an interveiw with the director revealed that Ash and an Electric Pokemon will be the key characters in the next film.

Signing out, Callum

pictures from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon:_Giratina_and_the_Sky_Warrior#

Gears Of War 2

Hey guys! Sorry about not being on in a while and not doing a review last month, I'll make sure to double my efforts this month though :)

Anyway, it's that time of year again, the locust have returned and they're angry, yes I'm talking about Gears of war 2!

Taking place a few months after Gears 1. Winters coming and the war with the Locust is still going. Marcus Fenix must once again lead delta squad through hell and back to end this war.

The game plays just like Gears 1, the two are very alike, Gears 2 uses the Unreal engine though and you will tell. The weapons are bigger and more badass and it has a decent story line.

The story is fun to play through, at times it is unique, with different enemies at different times and different weapons. However it can get kinda dull if you keep dying, or just keep failing your objective, as the checkpoints come at the most annoying points. The story is further explained in Gears 2 and it sheds some light on the situation.

The game also features 5 vs 5 team matches online and there are many modes from the previous game. People can jump right in and got for a 5 V 5 team match or you can try the new game types. Meatflag is a new game in which you must capture the flag and bring it to a required weapon spawn. However the flag is an angry Stranded with a shotgun who doesn't take too kindly to people grabbing him and forcing him away, so you must down him and carry him there. There is also a Wingman mode, which is 2 vs 2 vs 2 vs 2 vs 2 with partners being the same character. The online is a great reason to buy this game though.

Another awesome mode is Horde mode, which pits 1-5 people against 50 waves of the Locust horde on the multiplayer maps. It is great for friends or to just play on your own as it is very addictive and fun. Some maps are easier than others though and seeing as you only get one life and the Horde get stronger every 10 waves you'll have your hands full whether your with orwithout friends.

Overall Gears 2 is a awesome game and is better than than Gears one in almost every way and is a very decent game. It has come back with more and it truely is "Bigger, Better and more Badass" Sometimes though I think it can get frustrating on harder difficulties and sometimes repetitive though.

Rating: A

Pictures from Videogamesblogger.com

an apology and Fable 2 review

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of an update till now. I caught a virus you see. It hit me hard. I couldn't leave my bedroom for weeks. Yes, I brought Fable 2. I did ask some of my fellow writers but none of them have posted anything so I thought I should leave the world of Albion, to write about it..

So settle down and I will tell you a tale of the most hyped up game of the year......

It all starts out with the iconic opening video with the a birds feces landing on our young hero's head and thats about as good as his day gets. The time spent as a child is the games tutorial and a rather good one at that and doesn't take to long to sit through once you've done it once(which is good because you will likely have multiple saves), then after you are taken away from your home to Castle Fairfax and meet the main villain Lucien your sister is shot and so are you, but luckily you survive and a magical gypsy finds you. The game fast forwards into the future when you are a grown man and ready to make a name of yourself in the world of Albion.

Form here on in its up to you what you want to become. Do you want to be a goody two shoes and help everyone to live a happier life? Or do you only care about yourself and do anything to get to Lucien and get revenge? If none of those catch your fancy maybe you want to be a business tycoon and become King/Queen of Albion. Its all up to you. There just a few things which you may choose to become. Not only that you get yourself a dog as well which is yours to treat as you please. Hate dogs? Well when yours gets hurt don't heal it and let it limp around Albion after you. It will catch up with you eventually but for the time being your life will be dog free, although he comes in handy when finding treasure and fighting.

Speaking about fighting, the controls for attacking your enemies are so pick up and play. With X to use your melee weapon, Y to use you long ranged and B for magic even your sister might be able to kill a bandit or two. The controls do have a lot of depth though and are needed to be taken into account when you progress with the game. Thats not to say the game is hard. In fact it's to easy. This leads to my biggest gripe about the game. The length of the main story. As soon as the action heats up the story is over and your left feeling sad that its over already. Now thats not say there isn't anything to do once the games finished but you don't have the same sense of direction or motivation to get revenge.

Another problem with the game is the amount of glitches to be found. Our fellow author of the site Mark couldn't play Fable 2 for ages because it froze at the starting screen. Thats the worse case scenario. I have had many smaller glitches like my dog turns green, my looks change and stuff like that. These usually fixed with a quick reset of the 360. My advise is not to download the Fable 2 update as that seems to cause it. I haven't and have not had any serious problems yet.......

As I haven't got the update I have not witnessed the online play at all but me and Callum spent a whole night playing the offline co-op and its okay. The game plays exactly the same as if it was one player which has its both highs and lows. The highs are the fact the gameplay isn't changed, nor do the endless options and also any money or experience you gain can be taken back to your save. but what does change is the frame rate (which during our session sometimes dropped below par and the game seemed to be running in slow motion) and the camera. The reason the co-op isn't split screen is beyond me. Instead both characters must stay on the same screen and the camera is very much like on Lego Star Wars. Now its okay on LSW but on Fable 2 where its all meant to be about choices, having to follow each other about can be a little annoying.

Closing Comments

Fable 2 is brilliant game. The graphics are stunning and the AI are realistic and I would reckon mend it anyone who likes fantasy/action/adventure games. But on the other hand if you wanted it for the online co-op you will be more than disappointed because it feels so much of an after thought.

If you can see over the glitches and block your ears from all the hype this game will be amazing. Just play it slowly and enjoy it while it lasts!

Rating: A

signing out, The Triforce Fighter

Second Opinion

Well I've always liked Fable 1 and thought it was one of the best RPGs on the xbox, you can do whatever you want, you have complete freedom. So I naturally had to get Fable II when I heard it was coming out. I thought it was good at the start, it reminded me of the first fable quite a lot though. You have a sister and gotta get gold to get a special box to grant a wish.

In ways it is much better than the original, the world is bigger, theres more to collect and do. But in some ways i prefer the original because in that the story can't be completed in about 4-5 hours.

I do think this is a decent game worth getting though but if got do NOT accept the update at the start as it can mess up your game or worse your 360 (it had given me the red ring before) Hopefully Lionhead will release a patch to fix this

In other news (might as well put it here) I've ordered Gears Of War 2 and I'll put a review of it up as soon as I've played it =D

pictures from:

consolenauts.com

Star wars the complete saga

This is the third Lego star wars game to be released but the big difference is you can play through all 6 episodes in one game and play as all 160 characters.

The controls for this game are fairly simple but there is one fault with them, the lack of interactivity. People will buy this game because of the thought that the use of the wii remote as a lightsaber would increase the enjoyment of the game. It didn’t. A simple wave of the remote was enough to send your character whizzing around the level so it was a rather pathetic use of the wii’s motion sensors.

The game overall has good graphics for the Wii although the 360 and PS3 one has like got even better graphics (I can't really say seeing as I haven't played them!)

The bonus additions you get on the game are great. In my opinion the disguise is the best one because even the vehicles get a mask. You even get nice little bonus levels. Lego city is the best bonus level in the game but I have never completed it even after spending one whole hour on the game.

The collectables in the game are annoying yet brilliant at the same time. During the course of the game you collect golden bricks, which give you nice little rewards. In the levels you can find mini kits, these collectables are found hidden in nooks and crannies through out the level and you often get them by completing a puzzle of some sort. These mini kits are used to help obtain golden bricks to help you unlock collectables.

Overall this game is good with good features and keeps you playing for hours even when you have finished the story mode. The game does have a lack of interactivity with the Wii version and is disappointing. The music can get annoying as there is no speaking it is all just noise it can start to get on your nerves. The game has good graphics as the wii goes the story mode sticks closely to the films and is a good family game as I have sat down for many hours playing with my family. This game good has good gameplay through out. This is a good game to get you used to the controls of the wii as it uses most of the buttons on the wii remote and the nunchuck.

Rating:B

Second Opinion:

Lego Star Wars : The Complete Saga can be seen as a brilliant buy or a waste of money depending if you have the first two, because really all what Travellers Tales (the creators of the Lego Star Wars series) is stick to games togather and added a few extra characters. Okay it is nice to see little Lego Star Wars characters running around in HD but its not worth buying it if you own the other two. If you havent got a Lego Star Wars game (seriously where have you been for the past few years?) then buy this because its filled with chrisma and charm which will keep you smiling till the end.

Rating: C

Pictures from
wii-games.nnm.ru
ecoustics-cnet.com.com

Teh Gaming News

Yep thats right folks Teh Nintendo News has had a make over!
Since the last episode I decided to change it to Teh Gaming News and make in monthly!
To get the ball rolling we will start of by introducing our new Author here at Triforce Games.





Callumthesalmon aka Callum is are new author here and is are resident Pokemon Guru. He will be reporting on Pokemon related news and an odd review here and there.





In game related news TGS (Tokyo Games Show) has given us a wealth of new information to report from Nintendo such as.....

• The new DSi! Which does NOT have two touch screens, but it does have two cameras (but its very likely that your mobile phone one will be much better) and also will sport a bigger screen. It will also include a hole to plug in an SD Card and will have a bulit in web browser.



• DS Ware was annonced aswell which will be much like Wii Ware but how we access DS Ware hasnt been mentioned yet and if we can use it with older DS versions hasnt been made clear either.



• A new lot of Wii games called 'Play On Wii' are being made. These are remakes of Gamecube classics. Seems like just another way for Nintendo to make us buy something we already have.



• New Wii games sighted! Punch Out!!, Another Code and Sin and Punishment 2 have all been confirmed to be in the making! Looks like we may have some good Wii games coming are way yet!



• On the DS front we have new Mario and Luigi which I can safely say sticks with the same style and hopefully the same laugh out loud moments.

On the Xbox 360 side of things not as much was annonced because unlike Nintendo they had relatively successful E3 but one thing that they did annonce which has put a smile on all those Halo fanboys and that is...........

Halo 3 Recon! Which will be a standalone game and an off shoot of the Halo series. You will NOT be playing as the Chief this time round but instead as a ODSTI (That stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper.......Basically someone who gets sent straight to the action but isn't an ordinary marine... Very much like a Spartan.) It will give a whole new perspective of the action on Earth just before the start of Halo 3. It will be a stand alone game and hasn't been confirmed if it will be downloadable from Xbox Live. My opinion is that if they are bothering to make discs put the game on why stick it online as well.

Over at camp Sony however not much was annonced at all, apart from a new exclusive PS3 game called Quantum Theory which star's a character which looks much like Marcus Fenix from Gears of War.

And that raps up this addition of Teh Gaming News. Release dates will be posted in a separate article and now over to Callum to tell us about the latest Pokemon game hitting our shores in late November!

This is the new Pokemon game called Pokemon Ranger Shadows of Almia. This story starts with you entering the ranger school as a student ranger. When you graduate you are officially know as a Pokemon ranger and as of then you start your work as a Pokemon ranger.
This new game features all new partner Pokemon such as Chimchar, Cranidos, Croagunk, Gible, Hipopotas, Kricketot, Machop, Mime Jr, Misdreavus, Munchla, Pachirisu, Piplup, Sheildon, Sneasel, Snover, Starly and finally Turtwig. So there is quite a lot to choose from so you’re not stuck for choice.




This game features the evil team Dim Sun (and yeah it sounds like a type of Chinese food) trying to put the whole world to sleep with the aid of a Pokemon and I’m not going to tell you so you have to buy it yourself.




The European release date is November the 21st and the USA release date is the 10th of November so it is out just in time for Christmas. This looks like a promising game so saving!



pictures from

ign.com

gamepro.com

4colorrebellion.con

pokefarm.com

The World Ends With You

Hey guys! Spartan here. haven't done a review all week and so I decided to do The World Ends With You. Also called It's A Wonderful World in Japan this RPG was made by Square Enix and is for the Nintendo DS. I borrowed it off Josh when he told me it was an awesome game and I see why he said that

You play as Neku, a boy who wakes up in the middle of a district in Tokyo with no idea how he got there or who he is. He gets a text message saying he is in a game and has to do a mission every day or else he will be erased by people called "The Reapers" He then gets attacked by monsters called "noise" and forms a bond with Shiki, a girl who is also in the game and...well it kinda gets hard to explain after that. It has a great story though and has loads of twists that will entertain you for ages.

The game uses the touch screen for almost everything from moving around to fighting. The combat uses the bottom screen to control Neku and the top screen and the directional pad controls your partner. You can equip and unequip Pins that you collect, these give Neku powers to help him fight the Noise.

The game is in Days, each day being like a mission. You wake up, do a mission then the next day begins. You can wander around the distict but some routes are blocked off on certain days by walls that stop players from leaving. The area is pretty big, and remembering where to go can be hard, but usually you know when your going the right way because your partner will say something, or you'll see something helpful.

There are hidden unlockables in each level so the game is quite replayable. There is also another day where the games minigame "Tin Pin" is used loads. So it is quite replayable.

Closing Comments

Overall this is my favourite RPG on the DS. It combines great gameplay and a great storyline and is very original. It is very simple and anyone can play it. It is addictive and super awesome. Hoping a sequel or some game similar to a sequel comes out in the future. Awesome!

Rating A*

Second Opinion!

I gotta say when I heard that Mark was going to review TWEWY I thought the world has quite literally gone mad and that he liked was even weirder. But what can I say. It just goes to show how good this game is. Square Enix really did pull out all the stops for this under the radar RPG hit. With deep heart moving story line and something different other than the usual TBS (Turned Based Strategy) its brilliant. It even encourages to stop playing so that your character levels up. Which is good for people who struggle to put all that time RPGs need.

The man behind Kingdom Hearts has out done himself again.

A must buy: A*

Box Art From IGN.com

Screenshot from Dashroms.com

Sonic The Hedgehog for the 360

Now I am no Sonic hater. Infact I grew up playing Sonic in the playground back when I was in Primary School. The idea of running really fast was great and the games were just as good as the idea..... Well the Sega Mega Drive ones anyway. My first console I owned (which was a Playstation) didn't have any Sonic games so I missed out all his 3D games till Sonic Heroes. Now I look back and I am happy that happened. Sure, I wish I got an N64 instead of a Playstation but thats not the point. The point is I wasnt going to be dissapointed by the dodgy camara and bad controls of 3D Sonic games and Sonic the Hedgehog Next Gen for the 360 doesn't change a thing. Infact its very much like Sonic Adventure.

1. The first level is on a beach and at a point a big killer whale chases you.

2. A hub world which is so damn confusing which will have you running in circles

3. A Snowboarding level very much like the one in SA

4. A creature who has many different forms getting stronger and stronger. Very much like Chaos.

5. Adds to the ever growing rooster of un used Sonic Characters. For Instance I doubt we will be Sliver again.

And to make matters worse it also adds something which is so bad it would make Iblis (The new Chaos like creature but this time fire instead of water) go crying to his mummy. Thats right, the dreaded loading screen. Now if there was one way Sega could ruin Sonic is this. A fast paced action platformer is now broken up into 5 minute sections with reallly long loading times. It got to a point where I would read a book while waiting for it to load. Thats not right! Especally a Sonic game.

The storyline (as with most 3D Sonic games these days) is stupidlly deep and confusing. You think Final Fantasy is bad? You haven't seen nothing yet. It all involves Eggman wanting to take over the world using a firey god called Iblis. Then theres a Sliver hedgehog (Called Sliver believe it or not) who is from the furture and with Blaze the Cat (Yes the emo cat from Sonic Rush who is from a parreall Diamention..... Well not according to Sonic Next Gen anyway) wanting to go back in time and stop the Iblis Trigger. Now if ya confused already I can safely tell you it gets worse.

The graphics are pretty good and can easily fool you into thinking this game could be worth your money. Well its not. I know it deffently fooled me.

I am so happy I just borrowed it from Mark.

Now you guys out there may think I have been a little to harsh on the blue 'hog. Well once you've fallen to your death a thousend times when its not your fault and is because of shody controls and a bad camara you'll know what I mean.

So take my warning. If you are a Sonic fanboy rent the game out. Otherwise dont even look in this games general direction. Its good graphics may hypnotise you into buying it.

Rating: D

Second Opinion

I'm one of those people who really liked Sonic growing up, I remember going to my uncles loads to play on Sonic on his mega-drive. I was pleased when Sonic made his jump to 3-D and really enjoyed Sonic Adventure it had a unique storyline, fun levels and awesome bosses. I never got Sonic adventure 2 so i don't know what that was like. But basically i was on Sonic's Side in the Mario vs Sonic debate (Sonic won by the way =D) I've liked the 3-D sonic games for Xbox though.

I thought Sonic next gen was good at first, Sonic running around, being awesome as normal. The Storyline itself is kinda bogus and full of plotholes though. I also thought parts were stolen from Sonic adventure 1. But otherwise controls were okay for a 360 game. I did notice the game had loads of loading screens and got annoying fast. It also added Silver, who i thought was kinda annoying and it took me ages to work out who he was, what he was doing, and why Sega would let me down like this :(

I also noticed a few annoying glitches, like when i was fighting a boss and i flipped through the floor and got stuck in some black world where the boss could still hurt me >:(

Overall i think Sega have had better 3-D games (Sonic heroes). I'd say if you wanted a 3D sonic game, wait for Sonic Unleashed, that looks good (Don't blame me if its bad though!)

Second Opinion Rating: B

pictures from gamershell.com and sega-universe.de

Legend Of Zelda- Phantom Hourglass

Hey guys!

I haven't done a review for a while because i haven't got any majorly exciting new games to review but i borrowed this off Josh and decided to review it.

Now I'll say there arn't many decent RPG games out on DS (I'm probably wrong) but I generally like the legend of zelda series and found twilight princess for the wii quite fun so i had high expectations for the DS legend of zelda game.

Lets try to work out whats going on first...

If you've played Wind Waker you'll fit right in with the story and jump right into whats going on... However if you've never played wind waker (like me) you might get quite confused on whats going on just like I did.

I managed to gather most of it then so... Link gets washed up on a beach and has a fairy and meets an old man. You basically have to go into a dungeon, sneak past some phantom knight things and get a map/"Clue" then go, find the island on the map, do the dungeon, then return to the first dungeon and sneak past the phantoms...AGAIN- this might not seem bad but when you have to do it about 8 times and theres about 13 floors...you catch my drift...

The game has good controls and uses the touch screen well and puts it into the gameplay, it has an addictive feel to it as theres always something to do. It has quite a few good puzzles and can leave you confused at times, having to consult a walkthrough to work out how to advance.

The game has good graphics, it looks just like Wind waker (as it should) and explains the story in cutscenes, however the text comes and goes so slowly you'll probably end up skipping them in boredom. It has quite a few funny moments (i find LOZ humor very funny in the games)

Overall this game features some very unique moments and is good, it also features online/ multiplayer play which is good sometimes but can also be kinda boring. It's a really good game for the DS. However if your looking for a LOZ game specifically I'd recommend Twilight Princess for the Wii

My Rating A

Second Opinion

To me Phantom Hourglass is the best  adventure/RPG game you can get on the DS. The game follows the generic route of Legend of Zelda games which for fans is good but for people who don't like Zelda this isn't going to change your mind. With brilliant controls, some brain aching puzzles and a brilliant multiplayer mode (Which Mark only doesn't like because I constantly beat him on it) you can't go far wrong! 

Second Opinion Rating

A

Screenshot from Gamejunkie.com

Box art from Zeldadungeon.net

Halo 3

Right, I am about to review Halo 3 but before that lets just re cap on how Halo 2 left off....

The Master Chief is hurtling to Earth, while Cortana is left with Grave Mind in that big Covenant ship. Now Master Chief needs to rescue Cortana, stop the Halo's (yet again) and save the galaxy.

Halo 3 is just like Halo CE and Halo 2. It controls the same. Same bad guys and even same places!

But dont let that put you off. Halo 3 is a great FPS, mainly because everyone can play. Campaign is up to 4 players. 16 player matches online and you can go online with three of ya mates sitting next to you. If you have friends and more than one controller then you will have a whale of a time no questions asked. Even if you suck at FPS games you will still enjoy goofing off with your friends. Meleeing them in the back to take there ammo. That sorta thing.

Now for the few people out there without more than one 360 controller you may be saying to yourself 'Well why should I waste my money on something which only sounds worthwhile in multiplayer?' Well the campaign mode is okay in 1 player. It's hardly something special. Hold down the R trigger button and away you go. Tap L trigger to lob a random grenade and your sorted (That applies for Normal mode. I can't say I have been mad enough to try Legendary from start to finish). Then there's online multiplayer which can be just as much of a blast as normal multiplayer (as long as you have some Halo loving fans with Xbox Live) you can do campaign or pit yourself against harden veterans.

Closing Comments

Halo with friends is brilliant and in my books the best multiplayer FPS money can buy. On the other hand if you live in the middle of no where without Xbox Live then I would recommend something like Bioshock for 360 and Metroid Prime 3 Corruption for the Wii.

Rating: B

Second Opinion

I've personally loved the halo series so expect a pretty good review from me =D

Halo 3 is a good FPS on the 360, it shows clearly what the 360 is capable of. The storyline is pretty good, a few plotholes here and there but it's not as bad as some games *Coughs* Sonic Next Gen.

There are a arsenal of new weapons for you to blow up enemies, friends and yourselves with as well as some old ones. It has a good campaign for 1-4 players. Legendary mode is fun if you have friends or if you want to do it on your own.

Online is great as it uses a ranking system that makes you want to play more to gain levels and experience.

This game will make you want to play again and again and so you can get better and better and the fun is doubled if you get your friends to play with!

Rating: A

pictures from ign.com