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Good News Everybody!

It would seem that irreconcilable differences between videogame distributor Game Group and publishing behemoth Electronic Arts (cunts) has resulted in GAME no longer having exclusive rights to distribute Mass Effect 3.

At the moment it's not clear what the rift between the two actually is, but Edge reports that the problems may stem from the loss of GAME's credit insurance earlier this month, forcing it to pay upfront for future releases. This could well be the beginning of the end for the retailer, after EA also admitted that "the financial position of one of our major European retail partners...could lead to both increased bad debt and lost sales". 

In a memo to staff released by GAME this morning, obtained by IGN, Northern Europe MD Tom Devine confirmed that the largest videogame retailer in the UK will not be stocking Mass Effect 3, or indeed any other EA games after the release of SSX this Friday. Consequently, all pre-orders of Mass Effect 3 made through GAME have been cancelled, and customers have been refunded the full amount plus £5 worth of GAME credit.

So what does this mean for those of us who weren't so lucky to pre-order the Mass Effect 3 Collector's Edition in time? Well, we've been given a second chance as EA were quick to list all their new distributors including Amazon, Play and ShopTo, who now have copies of the Collector's Edition available for pre-order. As soon as I heard I scooted over to Amazon to get mine, but I have to say this still doesn't alleviate the rage I feel toward EA's behaviour regarding exclusivity pacts and downloadable content debacles.

The fact that EA/Bioware had included vital content to Mass Effect 3's story in the Collector's Edition (which had a bunch of other neat stuff), but expected those of us who missed out to download it for an extra $10 made my blood boil. Indeed, the exclusivity deal with GAME meant you couldn't even be extorted by purchasing the Collector's Edition even if you wanted to. Certainly, there was no way I was going to buy a standard edition and pay extra for the DLC while those lucky enough to get a Collectors Edition got it included, albeit at a higher price only with extra goodies thrown in. As a principle I fall into the camp that games should be released in their complete form, not sold in bits and pieces as a way to generate more moneyz. Actually, this guy actually sums it up far better than I.

In many ways I suppose things have kind of worked themselves out in the sense that there is now a choice of distributors from which one can preorder the Collector's Edition. But that still doesn't change my animosity toward GAME, Bioware, and that motherfuckin' evil entity, EA.

At least I suppose that in the end I'll now get my Collector's Edition, but probably at the cost of my soul.

World's Oldest Battlefield Player

At 66-years old, "Wacko Jacko" claims to be the World's oldest 'Battlefield: Bad Company 2' player. And he's looking for friends!

Video Game Review: Fifa 11 (PS3)

Another year, another Fifa. Cynics among us might urge you to refrain from buying EA's latest outing, arguing it is merely the same game as last year only with updated squads and marginally shinier graphics. But they would be wrong. Very wrong.

Back in the mid-90s there was only one football game worth having, and that was Fifa. No other football simulation managed to supplant it. That is until those clever folks at Konami came up with Pro Evolution Soccer. Pro Evo became so popular that it evolved into a social convention in itself. Men would invite their mates over, break out the beers and spend the entire evening in front of the television as if it were a normal social event whilst the women folk incredulously huddled in a corner bemoaning their boyfriend's lack of attention to them. As Fifa regressed, Konami year after year gave us the most well-oiled gameplay for any football game ever created, until EA hit back with Fifa 09, forging the most realistic football simulation to that point. However, even though Pro Evo had become lazy and stagnated on its own success, the masses unwilling to change from its easily-accessible arcadiness. It took Fifa 10 to sway them. Brilliant would be an understatement. Fifa 10 was nigh on perfection, introducing 360-degree movement, meaning your players no longer ran in eight directions like Lego footballers. Passing became wonderfully fluid and scoring goals took on new levels of finesse. Ridiculous 10 - 0 score-lines became a thing of the past as Fifa 10 effectively replicated the real deal.

In that sense then, the naysayers may have something of a point. If last year's rendition was 'perfect', then how would it be possible to improve on it? Well, somehow the EA team based in Canada have managed to do so. Boasting a completely revamped passing system and the new 360 jostling for possession, Fifa 11 brings hoofing a piece of leather around a field even more into your living room. There have been some big changes based on fan's feedback of Fifa 10, as manager mode, questionable goalkeeping and laser passing have all been refined.

A lot of this comes in the form of the new addition to player stats. Now players are assigned specific skill sets based on their personalities, affecting how they perform and look on the pitch. For example, Steven Gerrard has a 'long shot' attribute which sees him more likely to score from distance than a player without this skill. The way the game is played is greatly affected by these attributes, and can also be seen in the way individual players pass the ball. Where in Fifa 10 passing was merely a case of movement and timing, Fifa 11 is far more intricate. Passing must now be weighted with the new power bar and you need to be aware that your passes are subject to going astray or being intercepted this time. Indeed, ball trajectory and pace are more random than before, turning passing into an art.

Other new features include the option to now be a goalkeeper in the 11-vs-11 online games, or to take on the role in the refurbished career mode. While it may seem daunting, the game actually helps you by showing a little graphic on where best you should be positioned and a line showing the ball's trajectory, making for a surprisingly intuitive system. However, being the goalkeeper involves a lot of tedious standing around and after the first couple of tries the novelty wears off somewhat.

The new 'Career Mode' amalgamates Fifa 10's 'Be-A-Pro' and 'Manager Mode' into a single entity, making for a more streamlined experience. While not commanding the depth of say, Football Manager, it doesn't pretend to either. It's Fantasy Football at its finest, with the same ridiculously improbable transfers. There are also a plethora of little tid-bits which add a welcome touch. The Fifa theatre allows you to save highlights from any match, including online, which means you can now indulge over and over your 30-yard rockets against that bloke in Singapore. The new creation centre is also a fantastic idea, allowing you to control your team's tactics and formation from the internet anywhere, any time. It also enables you to craft new kits, crests and teams and share them with your friends. Finally, the custom audio centre is a great idea that allows you to import your team's chants and anthems, as well as to have the stadium announcer echo your virtual pro's name at the Santiago Bernabeu or San Siro.

Where football games really excel however is the multiplayer as you compete for pride and bragging rights among your mates. If your mates aren't at hand however, you go online. While it's great to play randoms from around the globe, there have been some server problems since the game's release. All too often I have found myself unable to log on. Perhaps it is the sheer volume of traffic, but EA's servers have also been problematic in the small hours of the morning when it claims only to have twenty-thousand people actively online. What's even worse is trying to set up a custom game with another friend. About 80% of the time I try to connect with one of my friends it doesn't work, even after numerous attempts. This really is an issue that I did not expect from a company of EA's resources.

Fifa 11 is essentially a finely refined Fifa 10, adding a great big wallop of realism. Yet, nothing at its core has changed, which might be a sign of some stagnation. Whilst still leaps and bounds ahead of Konami's Pro Evo, it will be interesting to see how they respond to the bar set by Fifa.

Medal of Honor Multi-Player BETA

When this was first announced and I saw the trailer I immediately thought "Modern Warfare 2 rip-off". However, murmurings and press releases later, coupled with the discovery of DICE's involvement gave me hope that this wouldn't just be a poor man's Call of Duty.

Now, I hate Modern Warfare 2 for several reasons. It is a mindless game where you run around blasting people in the face. That's it. It is unbalanced. There are 12 year old kids calling you a faggot from half way across the world, and most annoyingly it has the 'instant win' button in the form of being able to call in some variation of aerial bombardment. All this means you have a life expectancy of 20 seconds before you're forced to respawn again. I know I'm bound to come in for criticism from the the fanboys for this view, with accusations of "you suxorz" and what not, and yeah, maybe I do. But then, I also prefer a little more tactical depth to my shooters.

Developers DICE who are working on the game, famed for the Battlefield series, might lead one to believe that this would not just be another Modern Warfare 2. Boasting a heavy emphasis on infantry combat, I looked forward to thoughtfully making my way around in a small team, being able to take out the enemy unabated by the 'super win button'.

So today I downloaded the BETA multiplayer, and what do I find? A Modern Warfare 2 clone. I swear, I died three times in a row within 30 seconds of each other through people first calling in a predator drone, then a cruise missile and just to make sure, a Taliban MiG strike before I quit. I wasn't even aware the Taliban had access to any of these assets!

As you may be able to tell, I am not amused and highly disappointed that this wasn't the game I was eagerly awaiting. It might still be worth a gander if not only for its single player campaign, but the multiplayer appears from the BETA to be just as ridiculous as Modern Warfare 2. Here's hoping they balance it out before its October release.