This week:

News (3:19):
Battlestar Galactica Online
Super Street Fighter IV
Bodycount
F1 2010
Rockband 3
XNA 4.0 stuff
Playstation Move
The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest
Crafting Mama
Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse
Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce
EA Sports Active 2.0
Silent Hunter V
Slider
Cing

Paul's rant of the week (29:50):
Master System

Your letters (31:56):
Letters from Nick, Charlotte and Oxslow

Name that game (38:11):
Answer to last week was
Gratz to nobody, more fail

Releases this week (43:39):
MotoGP 09/10
Scene It? Twilight
Metro 2033
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening
Torchlight
God of War III
Combat of Giants: Mutant Insect
Safar'Wii
Machinarium
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight

Reviews and/or previews (55:58):
Final Fantasy 13 first impressions
Starcraft 2 Beta

Download, 34MB, MP3.

The lovely people at Tecmo Koei Europe have decided that they're going to thank their Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce fans over Easter holidays by giving away a new piece of content each week.

On the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game players will have the chance to download these free DLC packs which each contain three new missions along with a new challenge.

‘Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce has been a tremendous success for us at Tecmo Koei Europe, so we wanted to give something back to the fans this Easter’,

Said Will Curley, VP Sales and Marketing.

‘From the Battle of Tong Gate, to the epic Defense of Yi, we want players to engage with Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce over the Easter break, and free weekly content is a great way of saying thank you.’

The packs will be released on the following days on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

Xbox 360

Pack 1 - 4th March
Pack 2 - 18th March
Pack 3 - 1st April
Pack 4 - 15th April

Playstation 3

Pack 1 - 18th March
Pack 2 - 18th March
Pack 3 - 1st April
Pack 4 - 15th April

Information on the packs is being given out slowly on the Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce website to add an element of surprise! If you do own the game, make sure to get your free DLC as a thanks from Koei!

On other news however, as of yesterday the 11th of March 2010 Telltale started taking orders for the boxed copy, full season of the Tales of Monkey Island. Along with a whole host of special items that fans would also be able to order while purchasing the game.

The DVD available to order as well as the five episodes of the game, includes "making of" team commentaries, production art galleries, promotional videos and more.

Telltale are also releasing a special Deluxe package which includes the standard DVD as well as a collection of exclusive extras: a previously un-discovered Voodoo Lady card, a map from Reginald Van Winslow's collection, a piratey piece of eight coin, a drink coaster from Club 41 and a souvenir button from the Trial of the Century. Fans who missed out on the cover art by Steve Purcell with the series pre-order, can now secure this with their Deluxe Edition order. This collection is available for $14.95 for customers who already own Tales of Monkey Island, and $49.95 for new customers.

To celebrate the release, Telltale have added a bounty of new Monkey Island related items on the Store, fans can purchase these items along with their DVD orders: a full deck of the Voodoo Lady's cards, a Tales of Monkey Island Art Portfolio featuring prints suitable for framing, t-shirts, a new series of buttons and a drinking vessel for your piratey beverages!

Currently Telltale are also running a promotion where they have extended free shipping for all orders over $50 for the first weeks of the ordering window.

For more information please visit the Telltale Monkey Island website, and while your visiting don't forget to check out Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse

Our favourite Lagomorph and Doggy team are back with a new series. Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse will premiere with The Penal Zone on April 15th, as usual it is coming to PC, but on console, it has been confirmed as being released exclusively for the Playstation 3.

As usual, the circumstances surrounding the new series is just as bizarre as ever; Max has been bestowed with powerful psychic abilities that he will need to use against what should be The Freelance Police's strangest foe yet! A teaser for the series can be viewed here, and unless Telltale's team have been switched with some intergalatic cockroaches, you know that this will be a great addition to the Sam and Max Universe.

You can pre-order the new series on the PC from today for $34.95, and this includes all five episodes when they are released, as well as a free episode from Telltale's back catalogue, alongside an exclusive membership for the Freelance Police "Elite Forces", that gains you access to a private forums that will host scheduled chats with Steve Purcell and the team, as well as special deals at the Telltale Store. Pre-orders for PS3 users are expected to begin March 18th on the PSN.

I know I've pre-ordered my copy already, so when will you?

Silent Hill Shattered Memories is the newest iteration in the Silent Hill series, developed by Climax Group who decided rather than simply do a remake, they created a reimagining of the original Silent Hill. This is very important to note, as if you are a big fan of the original, you will not see much of it in Shattered Memories, and this is what makes the game so great.

It has taken the series down a completely different route, less like Resident Evil, Shattered Memories is closer related to games like Clock Tower and Forbidden Siren; it’s the monsters v you, not you vs monsters. There are no weapons, instead you rely on running, hiding and knocking over objects to slow your enemies, although I find it far more enthralling by simply running.

Of course, the monsters are only present in the nightmare world, the transition to which is absolutely terrifying, the best way to describe the world itself is to compare it to the Lost Woods. Except instead of Hyrule, you’re in an icy prison, and you are surrounded by tens of skinned 4ft monsters, left to act on instinct, trying to pick out where the light ahead of you is trying to tell you where to go, although you're running so fast you can't concentrate. Now I have played every Silent Hill game, and this is the best mechanic that any of the games has ever had. It has you sitting on the edge of your seat, scared out of your mind, hoping that each door you run through will take you out of this nightmare!

The new controls system designed for the Wii also works very effectively, from simply using the Wii remote as your flashlight, the amazingly simple, but fun puzzles that you are required to work through, to the option to slowly open doors and peer inside rooms, or listening to voicemails on Harry’s mobile phone through the speaker in the Wii remote.

The game is divided into three sections, you’ve got the nightmare world, the real world, and the psychologists office -this hasn’t exactly been explained to me yet- although they do have some very nice knock-on effects to the real game, my personal favourite was colouring in a picture of a house which affected the asthetics of a certain house in-game.

Akira Yamaoka made a reprise creating the music for Shattered Memories, and as always it’s done with perfection, nothing is too in-your-face and there are no rehashes of the original game’s soundtrack, unlike a certain film with the same name.

Oh, and after watching at least an hour of Ethan Mars shouting Jason in Heavy Rain, I was ecstatic when I found that I could shout for Cheryl at the beginning of the game.
There is so many things in this game that I like, and it really is miles better than I imagined it would be, it’s one of the scariest Silent Hill’s in the series, and utilises the Wii’s motion system to its fullest extent.

Definitely 4/5

Avalon Code, a game from the creative minds behind Rune Factory and Harvest Moon launches tomorrow on the Nintendo DS.

The world is coming to an end, and players will take control of Yumil or Tia and fill the Book of Prophecy with a record of everything that's worth saving - people, enemies, flowers, weapons and objects - with these objects saved they will then be able to use these to create a new world with.

In a unique twist on the RPG genre, gamers can also alter the attributes of items listed in the Book of Prophecy as every item, person and monster within the world can be broken down into a simple DNA sequence. And by manipulating this DNA, players can change the makeup of many things - including affecting enemy attributes, changing how objects behave and interact.

At the beginning of the game the player will be guided by four elemental spirits, who will explain how to use the Book of Prophecy and how to fight, and as the player progresses through the game more spirits will join the player in their quest to collect as many items as possible.

Avalon Code boasts over 20 hours of gameplay, a vast, beautiful and technically impressive experience, which is enriched by an orchestral soundtrack and emotive voice acting.

"We're delighted to confirm the launch of Avalon Code on DS," says Martin Defries, managing director, Rising Star Games. "It offers a variation on the traditional RPG experience, while retaining the polish and appeal Marvelous Entertainment's games always guarantee; this is a rewarding addition to our DS portfolio."

Avalon Code is released tomorrow (12th March) only for the Nintendo DS.

First we figured she could only cook, then she proved a dab hand at gardening, now Mama demonstrates she can craft with the best of us. Crafting Mama was announced today exclusively for the Nintendo DS, allowing players to create their own unique crafts, C.E.O of Majesco saw Crafting Mama as the natural addition to the Mama series, with crafting such a popular pastime it’s a surprise that no one has really done it already.

In Crafting Mama, players will be able to create projects across a wide range of crafts, including earrings, candles, birdhouses and even little dolls. You will need to sew, mold, glue, cut and paint your way to crafting success. As an added bonus anything you create in the game can be used by Mama, and multiplayer support will allow you to craft along with a friend.

Sadly there are no images yet for Crafting Mama for us to show, but it should be hitting the shelves this Autumn.

After the announcement of the new Playstation Move Warner Bros. Interactive have also announced that The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest will feature full support for Playstation’s Move system, and will be shipping Autumn 2010 for the PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii and NDS.

The Playstation 3 version will be featuring high-quality graphics and gameplay created especially for the new Playstation Move, utilising its precise intuitive motion-controlled gameplay for weapon strikes in the game.

Also exclusive to both the Wii and PS3 versions of the game will be a two-player motion controlled co-op featuring Gandalf, so that you can fight side-by-side in battle.

The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest is being developed on the PS3, PS2, PSP and NDS by TT Fusion while the Wii version of the game is being developed by Headstrong Games

Sony recently unveiled plans of what they hope will create a new gaming experience "unlike anything on the market". The Playstation Move System is Sony’s stab at the motion controlled market, it’s somewhere between the Wii’s motion system and Microsoft’s NATAL, details at the moment are slightly sketchy as to how it will differ, however Sony did have this to say in regards to Move;

"Through the PlayStation Move system, both fast and subtle motion can be detected, whether the user is swinging a tennis racket or painting with a brush. The system can even capture the player’s voice or image, enabling augmented reality experiences."

Alongside the Move Controller itself, which looks similarly reminiscent of the Wii Remote, players will also need a sub-controller (somewhat like the nunchuck) and a Playstation Eye to use the new system to its full potential.

Sony have promised that players will accomplish complete immersion with the games played, as the system will not only detect movement, angles and positions, it will contain a high degree of accuracy through its advanced motion sensors alongside tracking with the Playstation Eye.

Over 30 developers have already confirmed that they will be building games for the Move system; however no price details have been confirmed, although it is set to go on sale in the autumn.

After being set back a week, Way of the Samurai 3 has been confirmed for release tomorrow the 12th March, published by the great people at Rising Star Games and will be available on both Xbox 360 and PS3.

This will be the third game in the series, and the first to offer such an open world comprised of eight areas, set in the backdrop of the Sengoku Period, alongside the option to side with one of three warring factions, or become a master-less samurai and go it alone in Feudal Japan.

Way of the Samurai 3 allows players to make their own choices; from dialogue that is spoken, to the decisions that you make in regards to certain situations which can result in over 15 different endings. Customization of your samurai is promised, with different styles of heads and bodies, and 50 obtainable titles, I’m guessing that Arseface will not be one of them, however I do hope that it is true to the cultural tradition that the game is set.

Recommended for fans of the series and RPGs alike, I would personally like to give it a go to see if it is a game for fans of historical Japan. It’s somewhat of a shame that they recorded an English voice cast, nonetheless, it still looks to be another interesting game in the series.