The result – Space Marine. Long standing players of the Warhammer series have spent their days controlling the forces of the Xenos, Chaos and the varied armies of the Space Marine corps for well over a decade. Pushing their model armies against each other day after day, they soon got the chance to digitalize their armies and watch their play decisions animate in the PC real-time strategy games of the last few years. Thrusting the immersion a step further, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine allows those long-time players and anyone else witness the grotesque Xenos orcs up close as a Space Marine of the Emperor and fight 1-on-1 with them to fulfil the mission of the combat experts.

Telling the story of Captain Titus and his group of space marines, your mission is to obey the orders of the Emperor you serve. Leading you to peruse the distress call of the Inquisitor and protect the Forge World against the ever spawning legions of the Xenos. Along the way you’ll smash, gut, pound and shoot the living daylights out of literally thousands of enemies in some of the bloodiest brawls we’ve seen in recent video game memory all the while trying to figure out why the Captain is invulnerable to the powers of the Warp.

From a quick look at the gameplay many would simply shrug the game off as a clone of Gears of War. While it does handle very similarly, Space Marine brings about its own little charms. Did you think the Lancer’s chainsaw/gun combo opened up for violence? Try the Chainsword. Did you think the executions were bloody fun? Space Marine has them in drones, and they’re a lot more satisfying. Space Marine offers up a fine mix of close range melee and long ranged run n’ gun glory to keep you happy. You could spend around 80% of the game simply tearing your opponents to pieces with your assortment of melee combos and ridiculously gory finishing moves while reserving a sniper for those hiding a bit to far from your reach. If shooting is more your thing, feel free to put that sword away and blow them all to bits in a sea of metal. The sheer amount of enemies you’ll face on regular intervals will undoubtedly result in some of the biggest virtual bloodbaths you’ve ever seen.

Space Marine offers the standard 8 hours of campaign play seen in most modern day shooters. Through those 8 hours you’ll be introduced to a plethora of exotic weaponry for you to mix and match often to get the job done any way you want. Head popping sniper rifles, bolt rifles, sticky bomb vengeance launchers, napalm induced shotguns, rapid fire twin barrel sub machine guns and a whole lot more. They’re all a blast to use and all come to their own in every brawl. You’ll never get tired of coming across a weapon stash. Fact. While the level design won’t have you aimlessly spinning your camera around to take in the scenery, the Forge World easy shows itself as a place ravaged by war. Outdoor areas are all rocky, desolate and dusty while indoor areas are cold and dark. Your time saving the Forge World won’t necessarily be a pretty one, but it will be a damn satisfying battle.

Captain Titus and his squad will endlessly announce their loyalty to the emperor throughout the script. Cutscenes are short and do well to push the plot forward and together in a simple way that can be easily followed but the characters never really develop into those you would remember further down the line. The British voice over work is an odd but refreshing change of pace yet not particularly strong. Something we’re putting down to the fault of the self dubbed “nobleman script”. The sheer amount of combat seen throughout the game doesn’t change to much as time goes by. Slowly, you’ll be introduced to tougher enemies intertwined with the weaker ones useful to execute to regain some health should your shield be shot down in the heat, though the feat will eventually become a risk in itself as enemies can quickly smash you down during the dozens of execution animation sequences. So be sure to pick your targets beforehand remember the fact they must to whittled down and stunned for it to work.

In the closing chapters of the game, the brawls become evidently harder. Most of the easier melee-centric enemies get replaced by ranged counterparts while the tougher baddies get even beefier and more dangerous. The sheer lack of cover play here is the key difference between Space Marine and the game is so closely resembles. Boss fights are almost non-existent until late into the story and while the first is probably a harsh endeavour without the right gun, the final is essentially a battle of waves leading to a battle of button mashing. While the final fight seemed a tad lazy and unimaginative. It had a surprisingly satisfying end. Again, not short of blood.

As much as Space Marine isn’t short of blood and violence, it isn’t short of replay ability either. Aside from the achievements needed you to log much more than the 8 hours it takes to finish the story, the multiplayer aspects keep those blood brawls coming. While the is sadly a lack of co-op campaign both split-screen and online, 20 waves of Xenos invasions in the Exterminatus mode should keep anyone happy and offer a challenge even for 4-man Skype squads. Meanwhile the Versus mode and Challenge maps all give the chance to level up your online marine unlocking more weapons and armour customizations as you progress – something Space Marine really isn’t lacking.

Sure, Space Marine may not share the personality of Epic Games’ blockbuster series but ramping up the blood and fury of combat is something Space Marine does incredibly well. The story or the voice over work won’t win any the developers any awards but the sheer amount of satisfaction and adrenaline that comes from activating your fury power and slamming a chainsaw down the throat of an orc is something you don’t get to witness in many titles, And for that, Space Marine’s delicious gore filled gameplay, huge range of weapons and replay value make it a more than worthwhile entry into your shelf of less satisfying shooters.

Final Score:  4.5/5

A lot of DLC has been reduced, including the ‘Missing Link’ DLC for Deus Ex: Human Revolutions and is now down to 600 MSP. The full game of Just Cause 2 has been reduced by $8 down to $22.49, which is a fairly decent bargain. You can find the entire list of games and DLC for sale in the picture below.

Source: Joystiq

The adverts in question reveal that the studio is planning an open world game. The two adverts, which I mentioned above, that seem to be causing the speculations are for a Gameplay Programmer “ready for the challenges posed by large scale open worlds with complex AI and physics” and also an AI Programmer “who is ready to help us create the best open world experiences, and push the limits of Artificial Intelligence in areas such as path-finding, combat, and decision-making”.

But who knows. This could be for any game, but surly Rockstar can’t shy away from the fact that Red Dead Redemption was a major success after it sold over 8 million copies.

The map in question, Overwatch, will be available on February 21st to Xbox 360 users and takes place on top of a big oul’ skyscraper in New York.  No word yet as to when PlayStation users will be getting the content, but keep your eyes peeled. As for when the people who have not subscribed to the Elite premium service, you may need to keep your eyes peeled for even longer and save your money because you will no doubt have to shell out your hard earned cash for those maps.

Have a listen in as the developers answer questions submitted by TGH as well as media from all across the gaming industry regarding next weeks Darkness II. Let us know what you think or if you plan to pick up Darkness II next week.

The realistic warfare that is in Spec Ops: The Line along with the smart use of sand that is displayed in the trailer look to make this third person title a real contender when it releases. Oh and the graphics look perty too. Check out the gameplay below.

Not only will the game be releasing but the limited edition console will too. The game will sell for the normal price of €49.99 and the console will come in at a respectable €399.99.

The game now has five dynamic modes, which will help bring the game to Star Wars fans of all ages, and they are:

• Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising
• Rancor Rampage
• Galactic Dance Off
• Duels of Fate
• Podracing

In addition to all of this the limited edition console will include an exclusive C-3PO unlockable for Dance Mode (if this is anytime to do the robot without looking like an idiot, then this is it).

If you are picking up either the game or the console let us know in the comments below. May the force be with you.

Reckoning drops the player (literally) into a world that is set on a certain path and determined by destiny. Through the storyline the player discovers that due to their re-animation and second chance at life they now have the ability to write their own destiny and mould the future. So it is up to the player to decide their path, and their own choices, in this giant world of Amalur that has been created by New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore (Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms series of novels) and art direction by Todd McFarlane  (creator of Spawn and owner of Image Comics). The game starts out with a simple bare bones character creation system where you choose from one of four races in the world of Amalur; Almain (human), Ljosofar (light elves), Dokkalfar (dark elves), and the Varani (nomadic humans). Once you choose your race you customize your tattoos, hair color, accessories and facial hair, however there are no body types to choose from which is disappointing, however since you will be wearing armor ninety percent of the time, it does make sense. Once you choose your character you also must chose a Patron to worship out of  five which will grant you bonuses from extra fire or physical damage to more mana or health. You can also choose not to have a Patron and gain an experience bonus.

Players are quickly introduced to the fundamentals of the game and the various weapon types that are available from longswords to greatswords and bows to daggers this game has them all. Upon leveling up players will be able to distribute their points across a skill tree across nine different skills that help players throughout the game. From alchemy, blacksmithing and sagecrafting to become better at those skills. To lockpicking, persuasion and stealth, players will be able to raise their abilities in all these skills easily but cautiously. Your class abilities tree has three main sections with twenty two abilities per section. Sorcery for mage actions, Finesse for rogue actions and Might for warrior like actions. Your distribution of the three points you get everytime you level up in the game will determine destinies available to you. Each time you earn a new destiny based upon your stats they will give you enhancing stats that will help your play style, like a warrior gaining extra melee damage and block efficiency. Players can choose however they want to distribute and create their own playstyle. If they want to create a perfect all-around class they can and your destiny will reflect this. Progression through the story will unlock Twists Of Fate which are bonuses that are awarded to you like a permanent experience bonus or picking up more gold from bodies and other abilities that just add to the gameplay.

Amalur is rich world with over 10,000 years of backstory. Players will be able to see this as they travel across the five unique regions of the world all with a distinct artistic flair that sets it apart from another. As you travel you will find quests and meet people that you may want to befriend or just kill. Traveling around the first town in the game you are easily able to pick up five quests right there and the number keeps growing as you progress and discover the wonderful world. You discover new locations, which you can fast travel to if you are like me and sometimes are just that lazy and want to fight. Sometimes you will run across tall floating stones called lorestones which you can interact with and discover more info about the world. Each one you find will also grant you experience, if you manage to find a set of lore it will give you a permanent reward to your character, like a permanent health boost or armor. Some players will love to create and create you can, simply run around picking flowers, looting chests, caves and steal (if you heart desires) to find all the components, shards and alchemy materials you can get your paws on. Depending on your skill and components you will be able to create different grades of armor, potions and gems. Gems are created using shards of different powered crystals and can be combined by the player at Sagecraft booths for weapon, armor or utility purposes and put into weapons and armor for different effects. Potions are created at alchemy booths for potions using alchemical Reagents (ingredients/flowers). Players can simply pick and choose and mix and match and create their own potions or buy recipes for a price. Be warned if you create a useless potion sometimes its poison. Blacksmithing is great to break down unwanted weapons your inventory and create new weapons from the parts of the old. In the beginning it might just be cheaper to create your own stuff instead of buying the expensive stuff.

The combat in Reckoning is one of the most fluid and easy to pick up and play action I have had the pleasure to witness in an action RPG. The ability to switch between two weapons of your choice is so great and amazing. The ease of the magic system is perfectly balanced with the fighting where it is a risk/reward to using magic during a heated sword fight unless you are strictly a mage. The combat is as fast paced as a God Of War or even Dragons Age. The blood and the bodies that will pile up (since they don’t disappear right away) is great for atmosphere and allowing the player to be captivated in this world. Armor and weapons in most games have no effect on the actual players appearance but in Reckoning every weapon and piece of armor from head to toe will look different based upon its abilities and type. If you take your regular sword and it has a socket for a gem and you decide to put a fire gem inside, guess what. That sword is now on fire at all times. Players can search out different pieces of armor and certain armors are part of set and once the set is worn together it creates certain bonuses which just adds more depth. The possibilities are simply endless with mixing and matching. Once players unlock the Fate ability and full up the Fate bar they can use it by pressing in both sticks and they will do a much higher amount of damage and then be able to finish off enemies with the X/A button. Usually this is good to do in a room full of higher powered enemies or when things are looking bleak. Upon pressing the ‘finishing’ button players will see a brief and gore filled scene and be prompted to button mash for extra experience. It is a unique and satisfying gameplay element that is a neat twist on what other action-RPG titles do. These types of actions are also used to finish off bosses and are extremely satisfying considering every boss battle is fun and unique. One in particular against a one eyed giant is one of the best in the game.

The main story is meaty and juicy but what keeps Reckoning going is the side-quests and all the things you can do. Every town is boasting with new people to meet and discover their stories each with unique conversations and the ability to ask them about their town, themselves and how they see the people and world around them is simply superb. Some people in the world will not only sell goods or give you quests but some will also offer services such as teaching you a technique to raise a stat for a hefty price. This is just another way that the game adds depth and scope to what might have been a simple conversation. Players wont have to just stop at the side-quests if they don’t want to. There are six different factions in Amalur and each wants your help and their own set of missions. Still not enough, well than look for citizens wandering the paths to give you mundane yet unique tasks, like collecting spider venom, animal meat or just delivering death notes to notify families of the deceased. Yeah, this game is not the happy-go-lucky rainbow game everyone is expecting, despite the amazingly beautiful art style.

It is very hard to say something bad about Reckoning as it does many things right that many seasoned RPG’s get wrong. The art style is simply amazing with unique and inspiring draw distance. The graphics do have some pop in every now and then but is to be expected in an open world game like this. However there was some slow down when running for long periods of time (unlimited sprint). The length of the game is extended with the seemingly endless array of things to do from side-quests, story missions to factions and tasks. The combat is top of the line and some of the best in the genre. If players are looking for an engrossing world that will take them away for a long time and not let go than Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning is for you.

Final Score: 4.5/5

Capcom Representative: This Was A Strategy Business Decision.

There you go. Capcom don’t hate you PlayStation 3 owners. And it isn’t a technical issue. Microsoft probably jumped at the chance to bring it to you early with cash in hand, much like Call of Duty map packs.

Capcom have just announced, via their Twitter page that your first chance to get some hands-on time with the newly announced Resident Evil 6 game is to purchase their upcoming game, Dragon’s Dogma come May 25. Sadly though, you’ll only be able to redeem the demo code on July 3, with Playstation 3 owners having to wait a further 60 days, taking them all the way to September 5.

Resident Evil 6 was only announced last week and is only slated to release toward the end of the year, but already we have news of a demo. Will this change anyone’s teetering decisions to buy Dragon’s Dogma?

Those who want to seize the day and pre-order Dogma can enjoy any of the following pre-order initiatives:

-GameStop is offering the ‘Pawn Upgrade Pack,’ which will give players additional Rift Crystals allowing them to “rent” higher-level Pawns from the game’s outset.

-The ‘Armor Upgrade Pack’ offered through Best Buy and the ‘Weapon Upgrade Pack’ from Amazon.com will deliver higher level armor and weapons respectively giving players a real advantage when tackling the toughest of enemies.  Check your local retailers for details.

On top of all this, Capcom will be supporting Dragon’s Dogma post launch with a comprehensive suite of downloadable content including additional quests as well as weapon and armor upgrades.

Finally, the company said to expect more news throughout the day and over the next few months leading to the game’s launch come May 22 for North America and May 25 for Europe.