Rock Band Developer Harmonix has gone Indie | J Station X

Rock Band Developer Harmonix has gone Indie | J Station X

Hidden Gems of the Gaming World : iTunes 12 Days of Christmas | J Station X

Hidden Gems of the Gaming World : iTunes 12 Days of Christmas | J Station X

Hidden Gems of the Gaming World : Tron Evolution | J Station X

Hidden Gems of the Gaming World : Tron Evolution | J Station X

Hidden Gems of the Gaming World – Enslaved : Odyssey to the West | J Station X

Hidden Gems of the Gaming World – Enslaved : Odyssey to the West | J Station X

Debut Trailer of Rockstar Games’ LA Noire | J Station X

Debut Trailer of Rockstar Games’ LA Noire | J Station X

5 Kickass Casual Video Games | J Station X

5 Kickass Casual Video Games | J Station X

I Can Haz Call of Duty Black Ops Single Player Trailer? | J Station X

I Can Haz Call of Duty Black Ops Single Player Trailer? | J Station X

PlayStation Move Review ( Demo Disc, Tech & Start The Party ) | J Station X

PlayStation Move Review ( Demo Disc, Tech & Start The Party ) | J Station X

5 Reasons Casual Games are Better than Hardcore Games | J Station X

5 Reasons Casual Games are Better than Hardcore Games | J Station X

An article giving 5 good reasons why casual games are better than hardcore games.

OPM Talks to Killzone 3’s Art Director On the Game’s New Features | J Station X

OPM Talks to Killzone 3’s Art Director On the Game’s New Features | J Station X

Helghast + Slo-Mo = AMAZING! – Killzone 3 Teaser Trailer | J Station X

Helghast + Slo-Mo = AMAZING! – Killzone 3 Teaser Trailer | J Station X

Is EA’s Sequel Cycle Running out of Steam? | J Station X

Is EA’s Sequel Cycle Running out of Steam? | J Station X

New Site!

It's something that I've been working on for a long time now and I'm glad to say that it's finally here > my new site! It's a proper site with a '.com' name and everything and if you liked the stuff on System Fail News, you'll love the posts on the new site.

Please go and check it out, it's over at http://jstationx.com
and it's called J Station X

Please visit the site!

What's Going On

Wowee! It's been quite a while since I posted anything worthy of reading on the site (about 2 weeks) and for that, readers, I am really sorry. Late Spring/Summer is always rubbish time for blogging, for me anyway, as I end up with thousands of exams and then I have to revise and prepare so that I don't fail them all. Epically.

While exams, revising and just general school stuff has been taking up all of my time, that's not the real reason that I've been AWOL from the site. If any of you reading this follow me on Twitter, you'll know that a few weeks ago, my parents gave me the go ahead for a new site, about video games, just like SFN, that will have a proper '.com' web address and have a half-decent theme! It's going to cost a bit of money, hence the reason I've been asking you all to look at the ads etc. but I've been planning and anticipating the creation of said new blog for quite a while so hopefully all goes to plan!

I know that my About Me page says that I'll never leave the blog but strictly speaking that isn't what's happening, I'll just be making the site a heck of a lot better, as well as making it way more professional. Right now I'm trying to come up with names for the site, with no luck whatsoever as all of the generic names have been taken and my ability to be creative seems to have evaportated like a jug of water on a hot day! :(

The brainstorming process for the new site is going quite well but if you want to see anything in particular on the new site, please check out my Contact page and get in touch!

I'll be keeping you all posted about the new site as I get closer to launching it so keep checking out SFN, but for now,

Keep On Gaming!

From Jasmine :D (Jasmino924)

5 Big Changes in Little Big Planet 2

Little Big Planet 2 Announcement Trailer via me on YouTube

Before you ask, the amazing music in the trailer is Sleepyhead by Passion Pit!

Do you own a PS3? Raise your hand. Do you also own Little Big Planet? Actually, that’s a stupid question, because if you own a PS3, of course you own Little Big Planet! Although it was out way back in 2008, everyone still plays it and as of their May issue, the Official PlayStation Magazine (UK) has titled it the 3rd most essential game for PS3, after Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2, both of which were sequels so it certainly says something that an original IP is that awesome!

We’ve been hearing snippets of info and rumours for months now (oh, those pesky rumours!) but it was finally confirmed the other day by Sony and Media Molecule that the game that all PS3 owners loved and that all Xbox 360 owners were jealous of, is getting a sequel. Not convinced that there should be another outing to the wild world of all things creative? Well, to convince you, I’ve gone to the liberty of rounding up the 5 biggest changes to Little Big Planet 2, a game that will not only be better than the original, but will blow all the other games out of the software sea.

1. Creation On a Bigger Scale

What made most of us buy the first game, was that Little Big Planet allowed us to “Play.Create & Share” and anyone who bought the game could design levels, outfits and even bad guys to go against. We were given full creative reign with people designing levels in which you could ride snowmobiles, get set on fire and I even played a level that was a game show from TV! Obviously LBP (1&2)’s developer, Media Molecule is eager to allow us gamers to be more creative and design even more outrageous things and with an improved ‘Popit’ (Sackboy’s inventory) we will now be able to make our own music, direct cinema masterpieces as well as create bigger, badder enemies to face-off against. Imagine going into an art studio and being given a blank canvas and all of the art tools in the world to work with, that’s what I envision Little Big Planet 2 to be like.

2. Massively Improved AI

The game’s website cites that LBP2 will feature “Intelligent Machines, Bosses,Puzzles & Vehicles” , not so different from the original Little Big Planet in which you could create any gizmo or ‘creature’ (now called Sackbots) each with its own ‘brain’ too. It seems that what Media Molecule has done, is that they’ve taken the system used to create the ‘brains’ as well as the mechanics that went into building vehicles etc. and they’ve simplified it to make it easier for us all to be more creative! This is a welcome change in my opinion because while I, like most people, did try my hand at level building in the first game, I never attempted to build any bots or cars because the whole system of how to do so baffled me. I guess you could say the “System Failed” ha! Do you get it?! Sorry, that was terrible…

3. The Game Itself Is Bigger

The first game was a blank slate. It’s taken up to now, almost 2 years after its release for users to come up with 2 million levels for each other to play but now that the first game has shipped and a sequel is on the way (Winter 2010) we will have not only the millions more levels to be created but we’ll also have every single one of the user created levels from the original Little Big Planet to play too! Not only that, as the announcement trailer above showed, we’ll be able to build whole entire sagas which means that we cannot just create fun but we can create great stories too. The kind of story that you’ll want to read to your child at night “…and then Sackboy jumped up and defeated the evil Sackbot and the entire Sack kingdom was saved!” Or something like that.

4. Hugely Game-Changing Power-Ups

To quote the song ‘Oh My God’ by the Kaiser Chiefs - “come back faster than a powered up Batman” it seems that that’s exactly what Little Big Planet 2 is aiming to do, with actual power-ups! So far, Media Molecule has announced that LBP2 will feature : a grappling hook and jump pads, to give Sackboy a spring in his step! The Little Big Planet 2 website says, on the subject of power-ups, “We’ve also got a few surprises up our fashion-conscious sleeves, so watch out!” which is a confirmation, straight from the MM team that LBP2 will feature even more nifty power-ups which shall be revealed soon. Personally, I am eager as ever to find out what other power-ups the MM team have in-store for us because with these cool in game tools, we can really change the way a level plays out as well as what our fellow gamers can do with it. Unlike some power-ups that just feel tagged on at the end of development, it sounds like LBP2 will actually bring us some awesome things to play with that actually make sense!

5. Colossal Amounts of Potential!

As the trailer that is posted at the top of this post says that Little Big Planet 2 won’t just but a ‘platform game’ but will actually be a ‘platform FOR games’. In the video there’s footage of a few in-game, in-games (!) that the MM team have created to show us the types of things that we’ll be able to make in LBP2. With the knowledge that we'll be able to create OUR own games, it suggest that there’ll be a massive amount of potential as not only will each game created have a story, it will also be unique, as created by the player. Even if you get bored of Little Big Planet 2 (which is not likely to happen) you’ll still be able to create your own fun, just the way you want it. Plus, the level designer in the original Little Big Planet, was said to be ‘an open door for young developers’ in which young people, like myself, who are interesting in the games industry could try their hands at level design. Well now, budding game developers, have a go at building your own games too!

By Jasmine Henry (Jasmino924)

 

*NOTE* – would you like to see more cool trailers and more great features like this one? Please look at (and possibly click on) the ads on the site to help SFN become even better and to keep it alive!

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1. What did you love/hate in the first game?

2. What power-ups would you like to see in LBP2?

Call of Duty : Black Ops Teaser Trailer , I Was Right!

COD Black Ops Teaser Trailer via me on YouTube

For any regular readers of SFN or those of you who’ve read my About page, you’ll know that I’m 14 years old, which means that I am still in school and at the moment I am studying my backside off trying to prepare for all of my exams. As a result my schoolwork takes up most of my time which equals a lot less blogging but never fear (!) as I am still here ready to bring you gaming content that will knock your socks off and rock your world!

Today, I bring you the teaser trailer for the game that everybody, including me, is talking about, Call of Duty : Black Ops! This trailer wasn’t released too long after my article revealing the game’s plot and I hate to be big-headed, but I think it was all down to my investigating and all that… I’m very glad to see that this isn’t just another ‘generic 1940…’ game because we all know how fun they are! Seriously, if a developer releases another WW2-era shooter in the next 12 months, I’ll probably buy it, however, I will promptly smash it to pieces, burn the fragments and throw whatever’s left out the window! Ahem , mini-rant over, it will be really interesting too find out if Treyarch can become the new ‘Alpha-Dog’ and take over the huge incredi-sized gap that Infinity Ward left behind.

*NOTE* – As I’ve already said on Twitter, I have great idea for a gaming website. It will be even better than SFN and will be community driven (it will help gamers and ask for your input etc…). My problem is that I don’t have enough money to set up the site, so if you want to see more excellent gaming videos and read some more awesome articles on gaming, please look at (and possibly click on) the ads on the site. Thanks!

Written By Jasmine Henry (Jasmino924)

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April Poll Results, Competition Winner Announced & More!

(<— Look, it’s me, Jasmine, in cartoon form!)

Here’s a thank you note before I kick off this post: I’d just like to say thank you very much to anyone who entered the Modnation Racers competition or voted in the monthly poll, I love it when readers interact with the site, it’s nice to know that some of you care enough to participate!

Last month I asked you avid readers of SFN whether or not you’ll be buying Nintendo’s latest handheld gizmo, the 3DS, which is set to be like the original DS but with some super special 3D graphics that will make our jaws drop and put money in Nintendo’s pocket. April’s poll got more votes than March’s which I was glad to see because I was really curious of the outcome of this one, and I have to tell you that I was rather surprised.

Since 2004 Nintendo have released the original Nintendo DS, the DS Lite, the DSi as well as the DS XL all of which have left more than enough holes in our pockets, you know that space where money should be but isn’t? Most of us have bought at least one DS in its 6 years of release, maybe even more if the screen popped off (which was prone to happen) and I had thought that you’d all be eager to buy the next instalment of the console but as the poll results showed, more than half of you (60%) voted ‘NO’ to say that you wouldn’t be buying the Nintendo 3DS though the other 40% of you who voted ‘YES’ to say that you would be buying a Nintendo 3DS can have fun with your terrible 3D-induced headaches and your blurry eyesight!

This month I’m asking you “What do you think about Sony’s Motion Controller?” You’ve probably read about ‘Sony Move’ everywhere, on Twitter, on TV and maybe even in the newspaper! Vote on your opinion of it in this month’s poll, over there –> –> –> –> –>

Next up I’m announcing the winner of the contest I held on SFN to win a Modnation Racers (PSP) Demo Code! Basically, I got sent an ‘early access’ code for the demo of  Modnation Racers on PSP, however, I couldn’t redeem it because I live in the UK. Being a good sport, I offered readers (and Twitter users) in North America a chance to win. After using Twitrand (a very useful website) to randomly choose a winner, @koone23 won! Congrats, I shall be DMing you the demo code shortly and for everyone else who entered and didn’t win, I’m sure that more codes that are useless to me will show up in my E-mail inbox soon!

For a heads up on all of the latest SFN happenings as well as lots of ReTweeted, gaming goodness, you can follow me @Jasmino924 on Twitter!

Ok, ok, I’ll admit it, the “&more” featured in the post title is that I need your help! If you want to see more awesome posts about gaming and if you’d like to have the chance to win more cool gaming prizes, I’m going to need you to look at the ads on the site. The ads keep SFN running and while I love writing for you all, it may become difficult if I don’t have ‘.com’ web address instead of the’.blogspot.com’ site that I’m working with. By looking at and clicking on the ads on the site (if they catch your eye) not only can you help me to improve the layout of the site as well as motivate me to write even more great articles, you could also ensure that your favourite video game blog (is it?) never goes away (at least, not for a while) as I’ve heard about ‘.blogspot.com’ websites being randomly deleted for no reason! I would really appreciate your help readers, even if you only click on one ad, it would still mean a lot to me, I mean for crying out loud (!) it makes me happy when you leave comments! (<—the way to my heart if anyone cares ;D )

Keep On Gaming!

Written by Jasmine Henry (Jasmino924)

*NOTE* – Don’t have a Twitter page but want to contact me? Go to my Contact Page to find out how!

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Modnation Racers Demo Code Competition!

 

I buy a red car. Hmm, wrong shade of red… How about a more rosy colour? Aah that’s better! Now what about me, I need to change my hair, my clothes and even my accessories! The chances are that none of you have conducted a whole wardrobe change just because of the colour of the car you’re in, for a start, most of us don’t have the time. It takes me 15 minutes just to pick a pair of shoes! Which is worrying because I only have 3 pairs to choose from…

With Modnation Racers, the new racing sim for PS3 and PSP, you get the chance to customise everything. It combines the best of Little Big Planet’s customisation and level design with Mario Kart's weapons and wackiness. It has the same old boost pads and jumps that you might see in any other cartoony kart-racer and then just turns it up to 11 (maybe even 12 on a good day!). If Gran Turismo 5 isn’t for you and you’d rather play a more laidback game, then Modnation Racers is for you.

It was officially announced for PS3 but it has been confirmed for release on the smaller-screened PSP too. I got sent a beta code from Sony for an early access code the the demo, though being in the UK, the code doesn’t work for me so I thought that I’d host a competition for any readers in the US of A to get a chance to win it!

All you have to do is first, follow me on Twitter @Jasmino924 and ReTweet this message:

“RT @Jasmino924 ReTweet this for a chance to win a Modnation Racers demo code! Visit http://bit.ly/6VyntS for more details! #SFNComp”

I’ll be announcing the winner on the 7th of May and I’ll DM the winner the code so remember to RT before then.

US Readers only! Sorry folks :(

Get ReTweeting!

 

*NOTE* – Modnation Racers will be released for both PS3 and PSP on May 25th, you can pre-order it from Amazon using the widgets in the sidebar –> –> –> –> –> 

 

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SFN EXCLUSIVE : First Details of the New Call of Duty!

As I have stated both here and here, I am always on the hunt to bring you the latest and greatest info from the wonderful world of gaming, as well as all of the hottest exclusives that I know you all dream about! Today I have the biggest exclusive that you awesome readers of SFN have ever read : the very first details of the new Call of Duty! Rumours about COD games float about more frequently than the cold, but this time I can bring you this bit of juicy gossip that I am 85% sure is correct. I know, I know that leaves a 25% chance of error but my knack for investigative journalism as well as my gut, tells me that this is a bona fide piece of news that you will love!

If you’re a frequent reader of the site or if you follow me on Twitter (if you do, thanks!) then you’ll know that I read the Official PlayStation Magazine (@OPM_UK on Twitter) every single month and the very first games that I ever played were demos on PS1 which came with the magazine plus, I’ve been buying the mag for years. In this month’s issue which features EA’s Medal Of Honour on the cover (now on sale!) they have a full page poster ad stating that they’ll be revealing the new Call Of Duty, which will be developed by Treyarch, next month. Not wanting to wait until next month for the info, I scoured every page of the mag, from cover to cover, hoping for a tidbit of news about the new game. However, my search was unsuccessful until I went right back to the ad for next month’s issue.

The ad shows a simple image of a grenade, with no other suggestions about the game. So, using my instincts I headed to Forestle (an eco-friendly search engine) and did a few searches for “Grenades” , just to see the look of similar grenades. As expected, my search came up with tons of grenades that looked just like this and so I refined my search to “Vietnam Grenades” (because I’d heard the rumours) and by George, did I nab this exclusive!

My searching turned up an image form the site ioffer , which was offering a lot of war memorabilia for sale, including guns and grenades. The grenades that were shown were described a being used “during the Vietnam War” which, if you didn’t know was one of the battles fought during the Cold War between 1959 – 1975 and took place in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. You can see that the grenades form the mag and the site are almost identical and they both have long ‘scratch-like’ indentations going from the top to the bottom which only helps to prove my point even further. Also, these types of ‘lemon hand grenades’ were used by the US Army at the time which could indicate the chance to play as a US Army soldier for the umpteenth time (!) when Treyarch’s new take of the Call of Duty series is released.

Thank you for reading this, and if you’d like to support the site and encourage me to search for even more awesome exclusives, please take a look at the ads on the site (above the heading). I really do appreciate it!

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Skate 3’s Improved Hall of Meat is Brutal!

Skate 3 Hall of Meat video via me on YouTube

Just when you all thought that you’d got lucky and I’d abandoned the blog, here I am back with a kick-ass trailer for Skate 3’s improved (and upgraded) Hall of Meat mode which is back from the original games. I’ve been playing a lot of Skate 2 recently as playing the ‘prequels’ is something I like to do before a sequel is released, just to remember why I loved (or hated) the series in the first place! What I’ve noticed from some footage I’ve seen of Skate 3 not just in my, admittedly poor quality videos, but in the screenshots floating about the interweb too, is that the graphics have improved from the 2nd game by a heck of a lot. It frustrates me that EA does this quite often, release a game with pretty rubbish features, release a sequel the following year with everything from the first game miraculously fixed but yet the sequel has brought with its release a whole host of new problems that can be fixed with another sequel. It’s what me and some of my fellow gamer buddies have labelled as the “sequel cycle” (patent pending) where publishers release sequel after sequel and so on. EA have a history of doing this with games such as the Need For Speed series but I feel that with Skate 3 everything has improved, the graphics, the physics and the career and multiplayer modes in which you have to sell loads of your own skateboards and create teams of skaters with your friends, these are all drastically ‘redone’ and the game looks all the better for it. The Hall of Meat is practically a different mode all together though the bails and the bone-cracking madness are still at the core. I really like what they've done, creating designated areas for Hall of Meat challenges as well as the option to rearrange your skeleton with a friend. I’m planning on writing a 7 questions review later in the week for the demo which I am downloading as I write this (a review that I might not get round to) but at the moment it looks like Skate 3 is going to be a recipe for delicious skating mayhem as opposed to just, plain, mayhem.

*NOTE* – at some point over the week (maybe next week) I will be posting a HUGE REVEAL about the upcoming Call of Duty game. You seriously don’t want to miss it. Keep visiting SFN for the next week to find out more.

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Have You Voted?

This is just a quick reminder, nothing big, but I just wanted to post this so that if you haven’t already, please vote in the poll over there –> –> –> –> –> –> –>

This month, in SFN’s monthly poll I am asking you whether or not you plan on buying the Nintendo 3DS. I am really looking forward to finding out the results to this one so please go and vote!

Also, I have now put up both an About page and a Contact page for the site so now, if you want to find out more about the blogger behind the blog (that would be me, Jasmine) or if you want to ask me a question or have any feedback, you now have a way of getting your thoughts across.

I recently asked you all to take a look at the new ads that I have recently put on the site as they will help me to make the site into a real ‘.com’ website. By looking at the ads you can help keep the site running so I would really appreciate it!

Thank you so much for being such great readers, for now,

 

Keep On Gaming!

Jasmine (AKA Jasmino924)

[SITE LINK] Red Redemption Multiplayer + Online Guitar Hero

Okay readers, once again, it’s that time of the week where I post links to some of the Internet content that I think you’ll find of interest. Posted for you today, I have a video detailing the awesome-ness that is Red Dead Redemption’s seriously,ridiculously, good-looking online multiplayer , which is, of course in glorious HD. I have also linked to an extremely fun, online version of Guitar Hero. Only it’s way better than GH and it’s everything that Guitar Hero should be. I must say that if you do decide to visit the sites, be sure to come back to SFN, I’ll be waiting!

The first link is to a YouTube video from GameZone (Online), which shows off why Rockstar is (one of) the best developer(s) of our time. Is it not enough that they’ve already created loads of fantastic Grand Theft Auto games? But now they’re making another great game that we already know is going to be excellent and on top of that they’ve now gone beyond all of the footage we’ve already seen by showing off RDR’s superb online multiplayer too? Damn, I’m running out of adjectives. Now, I’m going to steal a phrase from an advert I once saw : if Rockstar was a dinosaur, it would be an Awesomesaurus!

Red Dead Redemption Free-Roam Multiplayer Reveal - YouTube 

The last link I’m going to give you is to my favourite game on the internet. Ever. It’s to JamLegend, a Guitar Hero themed music-rhythm game that I’ve spoken about in the past…

I love the site to be honest, and I think it’s miles better than the actual Guitar Hero games. JamLegend features songs from the well-known band All American Rejects as well as some other famous bands such as the (god-awful) Tokio Hotel. There are also some incredible covers to rock out to, for example, electro-pop sensation SuperPowerless does a really cool cover of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face. If all of that musical goodness isn’t enough to get you to visit the site then how about the fact that you can upload your own MP3 tracks to play? I think you just found your new favourite music game, didn’t you?

Go forth and rock out! - JamLegend

Have fun watching the video and being a legend, I’m off to take a look at the first official edition of First Play, but for now,

Keep On Gaming!

By, Jasmine (Jasmino924) :D

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My Predictions : Infinity Ward Staff “Situation”

The other week I mentioned some of my goals in life (it was a little off topic but you should read it anyway) but one thing I forgot to add to that list is that I never want to be sued. Please take note of this if any of you reading this are lawyers! This same goal is the primary reason why I haven’t posted anything about this ridiculous Activison/Infinity Ward thing that’s going on. You see, me and you just like to play a little Modern Warfare 2 online, just to chill out, but behind the scenes at Infinity Ward a whole host of things have been going on. People have quit, some have been fired and a lot of poop has hit the fan. That Video Game Blog (TVGB) which is a favourite site of mine has got some pretty good coverage of the situation if you want to read up.

The big debate is whether or not another Modern Warfare game will ever see the light of day. IW were already rumoured to be working on a “top secret” Modern Warfare MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) which I suspect was going to be revealed at E3, but the question on everybody’s minds now is ‘what will happen to the Modern Warfare brand?’ Activision have all the legal rights and all that jazz but I wonder if they would ever make a new MW, with no input from Infinity Ward whatsoever? You can talk about that in the comments but for now I want to put my 2 cents in and say my predictions.

• A lot of Infinity Ward staff members have left the company, including one member who’d been working there for 8 years (TVGB have got the details) and a couple of CEOs have also left (read : been fired) and I predict that because so many people have left IW, most will go on to create a brand new studio with a great FPS as their first game. There’s no doubt about it that they could get a big company such as EA to work with them because which company is dumb enough to turn down an opportunity to publish a game made by the team behind the totally awesome, badass and as I’m a girl, hunky (!) ‘Soap’ Mactavish?

 

• Another idea in this big ol’ brain of mine is that the ex-IW staff members will join the team at EA who are working on Medal of Honour. It’s blatantly obvious that EA only chose to develop MOH to take a slice of Modern Warfare’s delicious, gazillion dollar pie and so it would make sense if the ex-IW guys wanted to get back Activision by creating a game to rival theirs!

 

• What I most likely suspect will happen is that Activision will be all like “oh crap, what have we done letting these guys quit (or get fired) ,however will we pay for our golden toilet paper now without a third Modern Warfare game? (said Bobby Kotick, Activision CEO) < See this is how I’m going to get sued! Anyway, Activison will pay a chunk of money to get the ex-employees back at Infinity Ward and so, peace will be restored. Or at least until IW piss Activison off again…

*REMEMBER* – Please take a look in the sidebar –> –> –> –> –>

to vote whether or not you will be buying the Nintendo 3DS.

 

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Hands-On : First Play (The New Interactive Service for PS3)

 

So you’re probably all going to start asking “what is First Play?”. Well, readers, if you’re too lazy to click this link and read up on my post for when First Play was originally announced, I’ll quickly summarise it here. Basically First Play is a brand new interactive service that will be coming to PS3s in the UK on April 8th (that’s this Thursday folks!) First Play will provide screenshot galleries, HD reviews & previews as well as featured downloads, which will be handpicked from the PlayStation Store by the First Play team plus there'll be network highlights featuring the best things the PlayStation network has to offer. This could range from the best LBP level, the best PSP Minis or even the best content in the video store. Simply put, First Play is pretty awesome.

I was one of the lucky people who got sent a beta code because I signed up for updates via their website which is how I got to do this hands-on article before Thursday’s release date. Anyway, read on and find out exactly why you need to download First Play!

When I first found out about First Play I was unbelievably excited. I knew that it was being led by the team behind the Official PlayStation Magazine (OPM_UK on Twitter) and that’s a magazine that I’ve been reading since I was 8 years old! Needless to say I’m 14 now and I’ve spent countless hours being captivated in OPM’s glossy pages full of bright pictures and well-written articles. Articles so good, I’d like to say, that they can even rival the quality of mine (gasp!) My time with First Play started yesterday after I’d spent even more hours downloading the 1GB+ file from the PlayStation Store and I have to say that it was well worth the wait.

What stood out to me most was the interface. Slicker and glossier than any of the pages in the mag, the ‘home-page’ of First Play is easy to use and easy to navigate, I had no problem searching through the heaps of gaming goodness that the First Play team had put together. From the main interface of First Play I headed straight to the most appealing part of the service and probably the best ; the HD Reviews & Previews. On offer they had previews for both the upcoming titles, Lost Planet 2 and Super Street Fighter IV (SSFIV), a chance to look at the ads (more on those later), a review of the film Cracks on Blu-Ray as well as a HD video review for Battlefield Bad Company 2. I found all of these pieces of content particularly amazing because not only are they in beautiful and rather stunning HD, they highlight one of First Play’s key features. Insider info. I know that many journalists do have access to exclusive knowledge but First Play takes this to all new heights. Because they are so closely affiliated with Sony they get news and other content before anybody else. Now I’m not saying that you should stop visiting the likes of SFN because frankly, who else will give you these great tips for MW2’s online modes? However, what I am saying is that they can help you to get a lot of gaming gossip before the whole world has even caught the slightest whiff of it! Anyway back to the content…

After marvelling at the impressiveness of First Play’s logistics for a little while, I selected the Lost Planet 2 preview video. I had tried to get into to the LP2 multiplayer beta myself so to see footage of the game in action was pretty cool. The OPM team have always had a knack for knowing what their readers want. What makes this video so special is the quality of the footage, all in crisp HD, as mentioned, but it’s also the voiceover work. Everything in First Play from each and every screenshot to the main interface is all voiced over by Lucy Porter, a comedienne with masses of funny things to say. In the LP2 preview vid she explained the back-story of the game, explained why the climate had changed between the first and second games from frosty snow to a more jungle like atmosphere and she even talked about the set designers interesting use of HDMI cables! All of this was very funny and her voice brings something extra to the already jam-packed table.

Next on my list of things to visit in First Play was the HD screenshots. Remember how I mentioned that all of the images were voice captioned? Well, they were, and it was pretty cool, I tell you! Images from Brink, Mafia 2 , 2010 FIFA World Cup and Red Dead Redemption were some big games to choose from but having already jumped on the RDR hype rollercoaster I selected those images. One example of an image was of the main character, John Marston, shooting at a buzzard. A seemingly uninteresting picture don’t you think? That’s what I thought too until Lucy’s voice started playing with something to say about Red Dead Redemption's hero/rebel choice system (something I talked about here). Her voice added something more to the image and wasn’t just a humorous little caption, it was something that actually expanded on what we already know about the game and it really does help if you don’t know much about a particular game.

As I headed to the Network Highlights section of First Play I was greeted by an advertisement for Assassin’s Creed 2. Now I don’t mind ads at all because they help to keep a service (or website) cheap or entirely free. Plus these ads are particularly great because they’re not full of the worthless crap that you find littered between TV show breaks and they’re also skippable (that’s a made up word by the way) and (yes there’s more) if you really take a liking to the ads, you have the option to press select and visit the product’s website, another useful feature. I really like the Network Highlights section because it will feature content made by users such as kills in Uncharted 2, awesome Sackboy costumes, or, as the beta showed, the 10 best Singstar videos. I thought that these videos, showing user input, are what sets First Play apart form Qore, a similar online magazine-like service available to PS3 owners in the US. Well there’s that and the fact that First Play is way cheaper too…

Featured downloads are also one of the things featured in First Play, a great round-up of the other things that PS3 owners in the UK should download. Besides every episode of First Play that is! Though there’s not much to say about it despite the fact that it’s a great addition to First Play’s already excellent list of features.

And so, readers, I shall leave you with this… First Play is a must download. No doubt about it. It’s released on April the 8th (this Thursday) and is 99p for one episode or £8.99 for 12 EPISODES which is 30% off the usual cost (bargain!). The service is currently only available in the UK (for once we get something first!) but will be made available to other countries in the PAL region (Europe) soon. If you live in the US you can download Qore instead.

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Comment Questions

1. Are you angry or annoyed that First Play isn’t available in your region?
2. What do you think could be added to First Play to make it better?

System Fail News (New Feature) > Topic Round-Up!

(Hi, I’m Jasmine!)

First things first in this little round-up of sorts : HAPPY EASTER! I hope you all had fun celebrating the miracles that are, of course, chocolate and bunny rabbits! Just kidding… Second things second (secondly) here’s a list of all the posts that I lovingly created for you dedicated readers this week.(Counting from last Sunday)

• I posted an exclusive article uncovering a (possible) feature in the Western/Spaghetti shooter, Red Dead Redemption.

          System Fail News EXCLUSIVE! New Feature of Red Dead Redemption Uncovered?

• System Fail News got its own ‘promo post’ when I posted what would be on the site this week

  This Week On…System Fail News

• As promised in the ‘promo post’ (damn alliteration!) you could watch a cool dev diary from the makers of Skate 3 (EA Black Box) of why player creation is so darn important! (You totally read the word “darn” with a country accent didn't you!)

          Skate 3 = Skating + Creating , This Dev Diary Shows Us Why

• I then went on to post the (maybe shocking) results of last months poll where I asked you (totally awesome) readers “Which Technology is your favourite” as well as informing you about the upcoming April poll (now up)

           The Results Are In (March Poll)

• Today I posted the potentially heart-stopping, amazing, and of course EXPLOSIVE live action trailer for Ghost Recon : Future Soldier

           Ghost Recon : Future Soldier , The Movie?

 

Ok, recap done and the next piece of business is this > the ads…

Please do keep reading because I have something else to ask you but what I want to say now is this. I feel that SFN isn’t like any other site on the net that just provides video game news. SFN also provides helpful tips and features that not only give gamers good advice but makes you think too. However, I don’t have the funds to make SFN an established site with a real “.com” web address or a cool layout which is why I’m asking you to help me out and take a look at (and possibly click on) the ads I’ve recently put up on the site. Please help me out, I would really,really,really appreciate it!

And finally, the April poll. This month I’m asking you if you will be buying Nintendo’s recently announced ‘3DS’ (or 3D-DS). I’m really keen to get your opinion so please vote!

Thanks folks and once again…

Keep On Gaming!

From Jasmine (Jasmino924)

Ghost Recon : Future Soldier , The Movie?

Ghost Recon Future Soldier Live Action Trailer via me on YouTube

I absolutely love movies. If I haven’t spent all of my money on the latest video games (of course) I’ll go to the cinema or beg and plead with my parents to rent me a film from Blockbuster. After reading that you can probably guess that 2 of my favourite things are films and games, and together they go hand in hand (have you seen the awesome Resident Evil films? Just saying). Sometimes I am strongly against making films out of games, (in fact, I once signed a petition against making a Guitar Hero film) though I give a big thumbs up to video game developers who can make a game so good that it runs like a movie (though less scripted). E.g. Quantic Dream with Heavy Rain.

Ubisoft have released a new trailer for their upcoming title, Ghost Recon Future Soldier that is set to feature some futuristic technologies such as an invisibility cloaking device and an exo-skeleton for soldiers (to help them carry heavy accessories etc.), the entire trailer is live action, using real actors and some wicked special effects, which is something they tried out with Assassin’s Creed 2. I am pronouncing this trailer as the greatest trailer of all time, Super Mario Galaxy 2 trailer imma let you finish but the trailer for GR:FS is amazing!

The main hook for the game is that the game features tech and guns that are being created RIGHT NOW and I recently read that someone who is working on the game said that with the last Ghost Recon game they featured really hi-tech gadgets and weaponry but about 5 years later all of that stuff in the game had become a reality.

Modern Warfare 2, prepare to get knocked off the top spot because Ghost Recon Future Soldier is about to become the most realistic shooter that we gamers have ever seen.

You can pre-order the game now from Amazon for Xbox 360 and PS3 using the widgets in the sidebar –>  –>  –> 

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Comment Questions

1.Do you think that more developers should use live action trailers?

2.Are you looking forward to Ghost Recon Future Soldier?

The Results Are In (March Poll)

This month I asked you what technology you readers are most looking forward to. The choices were between 3D TVs , Microsoft’s Natal and Sony’s Motion Control device, which, after many months of debate we now know is called ‘Arc’. Well the month of March is now over and we are into April, thankfully past the horrible “April Fool’s Day” traditions! The final results of the poll are this > both 3D TVs and Sony’s Motion Controller only received 20% each, which was the same as 1 VOTE! Surely you guys want to experience your games in crisp 3D with surround sound? Or was James Cameron’s Avatar too much for you? Anyway, I digress, the overall winner, the top dog, the champ of the 3 tech choices was *drum-roll* Microsoft’s Natal! Congrats to Microsoft, Bill Gates you shall be receiving your prestigious “SFN Polly Award” on the 15th of well… Never.(hehe)

To vote in April’s poll keep visiting System Fail News where I’ll also be posting some great gaming articles!

 

Keep On Gaming!

From Jasmine (Jasmino924) :D

Skate 3 = Skating + Creating , This Dev Diary Shows Us Why

Skate 3 Dev Diary - User Creation video via me on YouTube

I love to skate. I haven’t picked up my board in a while though because I’ve been too busy playing Skate 1 & 2 to recap before the 3rd game is released. Plus, skateboarding video games offer all of the tricks with none of pain, or the pressure to ‘own that sick gap’ (bro’!). Most skaters skate for the thrill of skating and for the community as skateboarding is classed as one of the most social sports in the world, I mean, it really is no fun to bail by yourself, especially when you can hang around with a bunch of mates who’ll laugh at you when you (literally) break a leg! See, you’re having fun just reading about it! (Eww…)

The Skate games have often encouraged users to team up with the multiplayer modes being a lot of fun to play as every match was never the same but the multiplayer modes were just there. This time around, with the sequel, it really feels like EA Black Box are forcing players to team up with friends. Frankly, if you don’t have online available on your console you’re going to be quite disappointed with this game as you’ll miss out on some excellent and maybe even key features.

*NOTE* – The graphics in Skate 3 are looking a lot better this time round, with noticeable improvements. Also, the skating seems to be more refined and flows more freely throughout the new map of “Port Carverton”.

NOTE #2– The demo for Skate 3 will be released on Xbox 360 and PS3 on the 15th of April – mark your calendars folks!

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Comment Questions

1.What creation feature do you like the look of the most in Skate 3?

2.Do you think the game has improved a lot since Skate1/2?

This Week On…System Fail News

Don’t you just love the things at the beginning of TV shows that say “This Week On…” , yeah me too, they’re so helpful because those little ‘mini-promos’ tell me exactly what’s coming up on the show and whether or not I should keep my eyes glued to the screen. Hence the title for the post. This week on… System Fail News!

• I have a brand new dev diary from the team behind Skate 3 highlighting the massive effect that user creation will have in the game >>> (You can find the post here).
• A live-action trailer for Ghost Recon : Future soldier. The game looks amazing and the trailer plays out like a real hi-spec movie trailer. Great work Ubisoft.
  You can witness the awesomeness that is the trailer now
• The results to March’s monthly poll where I asked you wonderful readers “Which technology is your favourite”. (Just posted the results!)

Also, because I have a few days off from school this week (as well as an extra 2 weeks holiday for Easter!) I will be able to post some other fabulous gaming goodness, provided that I find it!

So stay tuned to, err… I mean keep reading System Fail News for some of the totally awesome (must-read) posts that I’ll be posting on here soon!

 

Keep On Gaming!

From Jasmino924 (Jasmine) :D

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System Fail News EXCLUSIVE! New Feature of Red Dead Redemption Uncovered?

For a little site like System Fail News, exclusives only happen every one in a million posts (rough estimate) but I’ve been doing some digging and I’ve been scouring every inch of the gaming world to bring you a new bit of 100% EXCLUSIVE info about Rocktar’s upcoming Western-shooter, Red Dead Redemption.

Red Dead Redemption is one of THE hottest upcoming games right now because it has been titled by some as a Grand Theft Auto/Western hybrid and holy mother of Kratos does it look good! So good, in fact that recently, when I was watching the brand spanking new trailer for the game (which can be found here) I may have discovered a brand new feature that will be included in the game.

For a moment, please direct your eyes to the screenshot I took of the trailer which features a tiny bit of text (enlarged underneath) that for you glasses wearing readers like myself, says “you are now an enemy to both sides” . As there’s action in the screenshot it does suggest that this is part of a mission however, I have a hunch that making friends and enemies could be a huge part of the game.

We already know that the main character, John Marston will have a moral compass that will affect the game, e.g in one side mission a police chief needs help rounding up some escaped prisoners; you can either be a good guy and round up them baddies or be a rebel and aid their escape. Perhaps by being a hero or a rebel you will indeed be able to alter which groups of people you will be involved with i.e will you hang out with the “Gentlemen” or the “Vagabonds” ? (the homeless people). I would just like to point out that “Gentlemen & Vagabonds” is the very title of the game's latest trailer.

Do you have a bit of exclusive gaming gossip? E-mail me at GamingLowdown@hotmail.co.uk with “SFN” in the subject line to tell me what you know :D

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Comment Questions

1.What do you think about this new feature?

2.Are you looking forward to Red Dead Redemption?

You can pre-order Red Dead Redemption from Amazon using the widgets in the sidebar today, ready for its May 18 (North American)release date 

[SITE LINK] F1 2010 + Coolest Video Game Character…

 

It’s starting to become a recurring theme here on System Fail News ; me ranting on about how SFN isn’t a big,well-name blog and to be honest if you guys are anything like me, you’re pretty fed up with my ranting! To be honest I really don’t care, although I’m  a little bit jealous, that larger sites like That Video Game Blog (TVGB) are more famous than mine and I don’t even mind linking to them. Earlier this week they posted a hands-on article for the Xbox 360 version of Codemasters’ upcoming Formula 1 racing sim, F1 2010. Words can’t describe how excited I am for this game so I definitely think that you should visit the site.

Hands-on / F1 2010 (Xbox 360) – Via That Video Game Blog (TVGB)

 

The other excellent post is from the blog that SFN is partnered with, Split Screen. It’s a big world here in the blogosphere so it’s good that all of us bloggers can be friends. Recently the guys have kicked off a series of posts called “The Coolest Game Characters of All Time” featuring some of the most awesome and well-respected video game characters of our time. They always write excellent posts (we have that in common :D) but these posts really show how great a blog Split Screen really is. And I’m not even biased, despite the fact that Split Screen is the first site System Fail News has been partnered with…(See the note in the sidebar about them)

The link to the latest entry in the series is posted below.

The Coolest Game Characters of All Time: Gordon Freeman (Half-Life series) – Via Split-Screen

 

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Are you fed up of me ranting about SFN’s popularity? Use the Share This widget below (the little green button thing) to tell your friends about System Fail News! Please?

Dr Jasmine’s Surgery : 5 Must Have Downloads

 

I’m always looking for new ways to improve my (mad) blogging skill(z) and so I always read up on how to do so and one of things I read recently was that I need to be more “personal”. WTF?! I write about video games for crying out loud I could post awesome gameplay videos with a tiny,tiny description and you guys would still watch it! Anyway I like to stay true to my blogging roots so here’s something to kick off this new post.

My 2 main aims for the future are to

1. Become a doctor (hence the pic of me as a cartoon doc…)
2. Become a successful blogger

Let’s just say that I’m working toward no. 2 but no. 1 is a long way off as I’m only 14 and my name’s not Dougie Howser (brownie points if you get the reference :D ) however while I can’t sew up your cuts, mend your broken bones or diagnose you like a Dr.Gregory House (bonus points again!) I can recommend a healthy dose of download-a-rama!

Download 1-Heavy Rain-(PS3 Only)

First off, the cream of the download crop. Sorry non-PS3 owners! In the demo you get to play as Private Investigator and asthma sufferer Scott Shelby, experience the incredible graphics and see exactly why I love the game so much. If any demo showcases how great the final product is, it’s this one.

Download 2-Splinter Cell Conviction-(Xbox 360 Only)

 

Get your own back now 360-only owners, this one is only available from the Xbox Marketplace and is highly regarded as a must-download. That’s right, as if brutal executions, over the top action and getting to play as Sam Fisher, the original badass (after Chuck Norris of course!) weren’t enough to make you download the game, tons of video game journalists (like myself) recommend it :D

Download 3-Just Cause 2-(PS3 and Xbox 360)

Here’s a game for all of you people who have finished GTA IV and are looking for a game in between to quench your gaming “thirst”. JC2 lets us run around attach EVERYTHING to your grapple hook, blow stuff up and jump off cliffs.

With the help of the main character's nifty parachute!

Download 4-Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing-(PS3 and Xbox 360 and Wii too)

This is by far one of the best demos I have EVER downloaded, EVER! What I look for in a demo is something that I can play over and over again. The demo for this is absolutely amazing, I actually played it for over an hour even though only one track was available so if that’s not an indication that this is a fantastic demo, I don’t know what is.

Download 5-God Of War 3-(PS3 Only)

As far as PS3 owners are concerned this is THE demo to download. In fact I already bought the game on Saturday (read about it on my Twitter page) but if my entire PS3 hard drive got wiped, this would be the only thing that I would re-download. Yeah, it’s really that awesome.

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Comment Questions

1. What great demos have you downloaded?

2.Which is your favourite demo on the list?

So, Hey Guys..

So guys, you know that my main aim at SFN is to make the world more awesome one post at a time but that can be a little difficult and my power to make the world totally awesome is runing out. It's been a whole week since I posted anything and you're all probably mad at me. Don't hate, I can't help it. IT'S IN MY GENES! Ok, so maybe not, but I do find it really hard to maintain the site all the time. I'm only one woman so cut me a little slack, love the posts that are already up and I'll add more content when I can, k?

From Jasmine :D

Mafia 2 GDC Trailer, Will Make a Made Man Out of You!

Mafia 2 GDC Trailer via me on YouTube

Ok readers, let’s take a minute to think back to when we were younger…

Some wanted to be an astronaut when they grew up, others wanted to be doctors and well, some, namely Mafia 2’s Vito Scaletta wanted to be in the Mafia. As the Game Developers Conference (GDC) trailer above shows, being a “made man” isn’t all fun, games and enemy shoot-outs (ok so maybe the last one is frequent) and it takes a man with a strong stomach to do the job well. Why have a half-cooked lasagne when it could be belissimo?! Sorry, that was a really bad Italian joke.

From the look of this trailer, the 2K Czech developed game is shaping up quite nicely. I have concerns with the ‘snap to cover’ system that you can see in the video, I think it could be more fluid and could be ‘snappier’ and also where are the guns’ crosshairs? Apart from those little issues I’m really liking the look of Mafia 2.

Pre-order- you can pre-order Mafia 2 from Amazon ready for its release (there’s a link in the sidebar)

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Comment Questions

1. Do you like the look of Mafia 2?

2.What would you like to see in the game?

The Results Are In! (Feb Poll)

Last month, in the monthly poll I host in the sidebar>>>>>
I asked you which console is your favourite and now after a full month of voting the results are in!

It seems that most of you who visit SFN are Xbox 360 fanboys with about 66% of you voting for the console. In second place was the PS3 which recieved 26% (about a quarter) of the votes. And finally, in 3rd place, none of you showed much of a love for the Nintendo Wii which only recevied ONE VOTE, poor guy...

This month the new question is : What Technology Are You Most Looking Forward To?

You've got till the end of the month to choose so go vote!
The poll is over there>>>

Keep On Gaming!

Jasmine :D

Why Heavy Rain Is the Best Movie I’ve Ever Seen

It’s March now. Although I’m writing this and it feels like the very beginning of the year and I’m still a little tired from that killer New Year’s Eve party last night[*see footnote*], I am going to address one of my goals for 2010  > to get out more. It has been said many times that I don’t get out much, I’m the type of girl who would rather hoover up trophies and achievements like nobody’s business than go outside and bust up my knees playing sports, however this year I aimed to go shopping all the time and hit the movies at least once a month. Let’s just say that it’s March now and I have been to the cinema a total of 0 times, though I can be found cooped up inside chomping on Blockbusters bought popcorn, watching a rented Blu-Ray film almost every other week. So all in all, while I may not be a movie expert I have seen my fair share of epic and not-so-epic movies.

Simply put, Heavy Rain is not a movie. Don’t get confused. It plays like a game, looks like a movie and uses drama like a TV show, which exactly why I love it. I sort of rambled on a little bit about my lack of a social-life but I had to do that in order for you to really understand how little I go out and have non-video-game related fun but it will sort of prove my point… Graphics for one, are sort of expected to be at a high standard  for the current generation’s games and anyone who has played Alien VS Predator will know that even in this day and age the animation isn't always up to scratch but the graphics in HR are SO good that I can compare them to a movie. A shot in real-life MOVIE! for crying out loud. Why on Earth would I spend a ton of money going to a place full of frustratingly long lines, foul-tasting popcorn and rude staff just to watch a movie when I could experience the same Hi-Def visuals in the comfort of my own home by playing Heavy Rain? Plus everyone knows that Orville Redenbacher's microwave popcorn is delicious!

Have any of you seen the film Year One? That caveman-themed film featuring Jack Black, Michael Cera and Olivia Wilde? That movie is atrocious! I would rather be put in a human-sized microwave than watch that film again, which needless to say would be rather painful. The film is about as funny as being water boarded and is a prime example of how films SHOULDN’T be made. I don’t care how great or funny the director, Judd Apatow is and I really don’t give a flying monkey about how awesome Olivia Wilde is in House. The movie SUCKED.Big time. What I don’t understand is why a video game is a better representation of what a film should be than AN ACTUAL FILM. The game conveys drama like a conveyor belt of tears and :( faces. Heavy Rain was by far one of the most uplifting and depressing things I have ever played. I felt pure emotion when it came to rescuing Shaun Mars (Ethan’s son) and I wanted nothing more than to rescue him alive. I even found it difficult to babysit a 9 year old because I had just finished playing Heavy Rain (in which Shaun Mars is around the same age). I felt genuine heartache when Shaun was captured by the Origami Killer, joy when I got one step closer to finding him and most of all I felt connected to the characters and to the game, which is something that I have never experienced with a movie.

I admit, I don’t know everything or even a lot about films though I do know this : Heavy Rain is how every film should be made and film makers should definitely take note.

*FOOTNOTE* I spent my New Year’s Eve eating pizza from Domino’s while watching the disastrous Year One. Let’s just say my start to 2010 wasn’t a happy one!

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Comment Questions

1.What game has made you feel emotion?

2. Did you enjoy Heavy Rain? (DON’T POST SPOILERS!)