J4MES OX4D

Don't worry; it's still on course for its 2019 release date

They're doing a reboot of that too!

Well I managed to get in a few matches of Titanfall just now so I thought I'd deliver my initial impressions of the extremely hyped game. Firstly; you complete a training mode which allows you to experience the controls, general feel and the overall combat mechanics. It comprises of 14 or so mini-missions and lasts around 15 minutes. It is extremely well implemented and very helpful before going into battle. The first thing you notice whilst getting to grips with the features is how good the engine is. It is silky smooth and the combat is very satisfying. I have never experienced such an impressive feel to a FPS ever. This absolutely top of the range production in how to produce a quality build. I opted to use my 360 pad to start with and the controls are pretty straightforward with an input binding similar to that of Call of Duty. The only difference really is a cloaking feature on L1 which is the same as what we saw in Crysis 2. The Titan is easy to use also and has rockets and a shield on the shoulder buttons. You can also dash from side to side and forwards in place of the jump function. My first match was Attrition (TDM) on Angel City which is a urban city based location. You begin by getting air dropped into the map with your team. The map felt pretty good and even the highest buildings could be reached by almost a parkour manner by easily navigating off walls using the jump button. The guns look and feel brilliant also. Unfortunately the AI on the bots has to be called into question; they seem clueless and useless and don't really offer any input into the match. Reminded me of combat training in COD using recruit bots! Fortunately the battle with the opposition is much more trickier and intense. It's a real shame that it's only 6v6 as the NPC units discredit the gameplay but when you have numerous Titans on the map; you can understand why the 12 player count has been sensibly reduced. You seem to get your own mech every few minutes and when you do; the action becomes pretty chaotic and you mow down the bots and battle with players on top of buildings and on the ground along going toe to toe with other Titans. It's pure old-school carnage. If your Titan is on its last legs; you must eject which sees you shot up into the sky and come down to get right back into the action. The pace is fast and furious and very enjoyable although the mode seemed to lack meat which perhaps is expected as it's only team deathmatch. In terms of gameplay balancing; perhaps it would have been better if they had limited the amount of Titans available; lets say one on a team at a time and allowed for more human players in place of the bots. It feels like this game is ideal for 9v9 or 12v12. At the end of a match; the team that scores 250 wins and to add a twist; the losing team must reach the evacuation point on the map and the winners must prevent them getting there. Why? I don't know but if you're on a streak; you can grab some last ditch kills. I assume this game ending event is connected to the story or something. I next played on a very good map called Fracture. It was a much more open setting than Angel City and there were less high buildings so I saw quite a bit of action on the ground. I was initially concerned that there wouldn't be much diversity between the maps but Fracture certainly adds a different dimension to the gameplay in terms of how you approach battles. In Angel City; you were playing off the buildings and trying to work into clear lines of sight but on this map you desperately seek cover from buildings against Titans whilst getting into open areas hunting bots and other human players. It will be interesting to see what other maps will be on offer and how they vary. Visually Titanfall isn't overly-spectacular and the colour pallet is quite drab but the gameplay is fun, frantic, fun and at times spectacular. The general feel is magnificent but the balance between human and AI players along with the Titans could drag the gameplay down. The AI needs drastic improvements also to make the game a viable challenge throughout matches and to keep players engaged. If you like old-school titles like Quake and Unreal Tournament; this game is a pretty astonishing reconstruction of the classic frenzied arcade shooter compiled with the impressive Titan battles. I will delve into the other modes later to see how the gameplay copes with objective play thrown in but overall this game is a pleasant surprise from what initially looked quite a generic shooter. The menu presentation and statistics is extremely polished and the ranking system and unlocks mirror that of the typical COD games. Familiar but nevertheless fresh and interesting going forward. I will also give it a try using the M+K but so far, so bloody good yeah!

EA have finally sent me a working PC code! I'm currently installing the beta and will let people know what I think of the game in due course

Titan in BF2142 was a mode where each team had to defend their floating aircraft carrier (Titan) by capturing missile points on the ground to destroy the opponents craft. The more missiles you controlled on the ground; the more firepower you had to destroy the enemies Titan by depleting its shield and eventually destroying it. I am really looking forward to the remake of this for BF4. The Titans will probably be replaced by an aircraft carrier ship for each team and the capture points for the missiles could possibly be inland. Hopefully the more destruction you do to the carrier; the less vehicles they have available on the ship to counter. This is gonna be an objective-heavy mode but it could be a real blast! Oh I thought I'd attach this video for further clarity:

Our GB Curling birds ain't bad and the blonde on is pretty fine actually! I don't really understand the sport too much but it seems like it's bowls on ice

EA sent me a new code. It was another Xbox One code; not PC! They have to be the most fucking useless people on the planet. Wankers

If you've been given an Xbox One code instead of a PC one; follow these steps: On EA Help - Search for Titanfall and select Contact Us. Select PC as the Platform, and click Next Select the Topic - Demo/Beta and type in Eligibility Issue in the subject line, and click Next Click on Email Me. On the next screen, when asking for What type of Demo/Beta issue you are having, select Eligibility Enter the Titanfall Beta code that is not working as the description of the problem. Select Submit. You will receive a new PC code within the next two hours.

I got into the TItanfall beta after applying for the PC and it sends me a code for the Xbox One version. Fucking useless arsewipes! Edit; it's a known issue and they're hoping to fix https://twitter.com/_Jiggsy/status/434201017815535617

Same with me really. I don't know whether I've just outgrown the franchise or if COD has become really dumbed-down and being aimed at a younger audience but I am just not pumped like I used to be not so long ago. COD has been a marmite series for years but with Ghosts; I feel the hate for most aspects of the game completely justified this time around. I remember when it used to be a serious shooter with a decent community but now it feels really cheap and cheesy and all these microtransactions and piss-poor small DLC packets leave no appeal to even the casual gamers.

@Dave Engineer is just an absolute blast of a class - blowing shit up has never been so much fun!

The Witcher 2 £2.99 Rome 2 Total War £14.99

PS4/PS3 and 360 pads are compatible with BF4 on PC although there was an issue with the sprint button - on the console you press down on L3 to click which enables sprint but when you do this on PC; you actually have to hold down the sprint button all the time which can hurt your thumb, damage the controller and seriously piss you off! I don't know if it has been patched though. I'd highly recommend getting this on PC as many of the issues have been fixed and the only other outstanding niggles are prevalent on all systems. I would think twice about picking up a PS4 at this time also as there isn't much in the way of games at this present time. I picked up mine a couple of weeks ago and whilst I love FIFA; having BF4 and Ghosts on PC; there isn't much else on the console that interests me yet. BF4 also has the biggest community and some excellent ranked servers on offer and the overall experience is pretty great now.

A tenner says Tmartn has a boner 24 hours a day Anyway; here is more info on the super exciting and incredible DLC http://www.charlieintel.com/2014/02/13/activision-officially-announces-new-micro-items-coming-to-ghosts-on-feb-18th-on-xbox/ Wonder if this news has made our very own UK Ali-A jizz in his undies?

It's flooded where I live and I am sick and tired of fucking water and now the BF4 DLC is trolling me Ah screw it! Bring it on

Make your own minds up on this one http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26162408

Some nice bums there. Worth a watch and not a listen

Win. Fail. Bigger fail. Owned.

http://mp1st.com/2014/02/13/incoming-battlefield-4-pc-patch-sneak-peak-battlelog-loadout-presets/#.UvyvUvl_vKe Edited for size - Dids.

We're a bit flooded where we are and I heard a couple of people talking on the bus and one guy said 'we're gonna have to move home tomorrow' and the other chap said 'how can you leave so quickly' and the guy responded; 'we'll hook up the caravan to the Astra and drive to higher ground'

Player skin, weapon camo, reticle, playercard and patch personalisation pack on the way next week it seems. This could be the groundbreaking feature that Ghosts needs http://mp1st.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-12-at-10.03.47-AM.png

Great last gasp win for Liverpool! Arsenal game was pretty poor and Spurs ran riot against a morale-shot Newcastle. The Premiership is wide open now

I have the PC version and it's the dogs bollards now most of the issues have been ironed out. I've also played the PS4 version which is also of a very high standard. If you're toying about which version to get; it depends if you prefer FPS games on PC or on console. Either way it's a brilliant experience

I think it's EA who signed the one game exclusivity with Microsoft just days after they said they were fully supporting the PS4 after the BF4 exclusivity u-turn debacle. Respawn are merely puppets like DICE on EA's books and even Vince Zampella was fuming at the move towards Xbox. Fair enough EA get a big payday pre-release but they've lost a market of potentially 5m+ gamers in doing this whilst alienating Sony and siding with cash-whores. The only system to get this game on is PC for sure The hype is insane but this could just be a Crysis 2 type game where everyone was mesmerised at the beta and then bored of the game a week after release