J4MES OX4D

Thief is currently £26.99 on Steam as a pre-purchase. I'm kinda on the fence with this reboot; it'll either be very good or painfully average. Eidos Montreal really need to get the stealth elements right for this game to work satisfactorily along with the core engine. They struggled with these factors in Deus Ex Human Revolution and with Thief being a forward-port onto the next gen and PC; I am fearing this could just turn out to be a decisively average old generation game. Only one month to go so we shall see...

Here's the PS3 patch notes released on the same day; Various fixes for improving general stability Fixed a player feedback timing issue where blood was appearing before other damage indicators, and before damage was actually done Fix for bug where it looked like soldier was dying with 1 health instead of 0 Fixed a bug where players’ rank icons on the scoreboard would not be updated Normalized repair rates across all vehicles. Vehicles with lower health points, like aircraft and transport vehicles, now repair more slowly than before Fixed problem with killer health in kill card not being correctly updated (showing 100% health even though he was just hurt) Fix for friendly marker not always showing when needed to, resulting in players shooting team members Fixed a bug where the M1 Abrams Coaxial HMG ammo box was occasionally blocking the driver’s camera Increased damage by 25% for the Stealth Jet 20mm cannons Stealth Jets now have more similar handling attributes to eachother. F35 & J-20 are slightly more agile, Su-50 is less agile Attack Jets now have more similar handling attributes to each other, and all 3 are now slightly less agile than earlier Fixed camera glitch when switching weapons while moving in crouch Fixed an occasional bug where players could experience intermittent engine sound dropouts when driving wheeled IFVs China Rising: Fixed animation glitch for motorbike passengers ocuring when aiming Fix for first and third person soldier animations being out of sync while doing transition changes. This could potentially make the player get hit while in cover behind a wall or other obstacle

I haven't a clue about LoL but I have found news of a patch that a few of you on here may find helpful http://uk.ign.com/wikis/league-of-legends/Patch_4.1

If you're planning to get it on PC jordie, DON'T! Apparently the PC version uses the old engine whereas alike FIFA 14 on the PS4, the next gen version has a completely new overhauled engine and is totally different. I was gonna pick it up in the Steam sale for £15 a few weeks back but there were quite a few negatives communicated so I didn't bother in the end. Looks bloody brilliant on the PS4 though!

All Levolution events within the core maps Caspian Boarder (Second Assault DLC) Kinda puts this shit to shame

Watch Dogs

DLC Pictures http://www.charlieintel.com/2014/01/14/9-new-official-screenshots-for-ghosts-onslaught-dlc/

What has made the series stale for me apart from the in-game issues is just the 'in you face' aggressive promotion and marketing strategy that Activision have adopted along with the substantial media interest and with gamers alike. The annual release has taken its toll but the way the timeframe works in terms of playing the latest game and a few months later being swarmed with the build-up to the next title; I just feel you can't escape the franchise. The DLC packets help keep players engaged but I just find the process a bit desperate now and it doesn't seem to grab me any more. I loved Black Ops 2 but I followed the development so closely and the leaks that when the game arrived; I felt like I had been playing it for months already and that I'd seen it all before. The game was fresh, innovative and original for a COD but it was marketed too strongly in my opinion. I'd love them just to have a break and spend a little longer developing a new game. I know it would cost Activision hundreds of millions in profits but just escaping the franchise and having a cooling period could generate a gradual interest over time to reach high anticipation. The franchise will have a bit of extra time to get into the growing generation and gamers will have a bit of peace to recuperate.

Jedi Knight Collection £5.55 Darksiders II £6.24 or franchise for £12.49 from £49.99 Hotline Miami £1.74

January 14 Battlefield 4 PlayStation 4 Patch Notes Various fixes for improving general stability Fixed flickering in map and minimap on Rouge Transmission and Operation Locker Fixed issue with player spawning under the map in Lancang Dam Increased damage by 25% for the Stealth Jet 20mm cannons Normalized repair rates across all vehicles. Vehicles with lower health points, like aircraft and transport vehicles, now repair more slowly than before Fixed a bug where the M1 Abrams Coaxial HMG ammo box was occasionally blocking the driver’s camera Fix for friendly marker not always showing when needed to, resulting in players shooting team members Fixed problem with killer health in kill card not being correctly updated (showing 100% health even though the soldier was hurt) EU Players: Fixed bug where game wouldn’t start when when the console was running in any of these languages: Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Czech, Brazilian Portuguese Fix for bug where it looked like soldier was dying with 1 health instead of 0 Fixed a player feedback timing issue where blood was appearing before other damage indicators, and before damage was actually done

Fog could be another Prison Break grass-campathon. Agree with Techno about the thermal and tracker sights potentially being rife

I don't think even the most perfect potential COD could generate my interest back in the franchise. A good game for me would surround: - Black Ops inspired maps with differing sizes and terrain - Pick 10 from Black Ops 2 - Scorestreaks that emphasize objective play as opposed to kills - A wealth or scorestreaks either in strike packages or from a wall where you can choose between support and assault - Proper scenery destruction and not lampposts falling over and doors blowing off hinges - Score limit modes as opposed to time-limit based games - Search and Destroy with alternating rounds as Euan mentioned - Better presentation in terms of visuals, the HUD and the menu - A decent and memorable campaign and not one-dimensional characters in a piss-poor story that lasts 4 hours - A detailed theater mode with direct upload to YouTube available - A combat record to the tune of Black Ops 2 and not some shitty barracks bollocks - Gimme fucking Headquarters again you wankstains - No French people

I think gun combat is more of a last resort in Watch Dogs from what I've read. The emphasis is more on technology, running, driving, stealth and a general adventure. I think there is typical fisticuffs fighting also!

You'll hate Watch Dogs then

Trailer up I never thought I'd be so happy to hear the words 'small' and 'medium' come up again. Still not entirely blown away and this may not be enough to persuade me to hop back onto Ghosts but the DLC looks pretty reasonable.

Arsenal 2-0 up at Aston Villa. I think this would be a good time to flog Benteke as he's looking a shadow of his former self this season. Villa continue to look complete shite at home

Thanks for the info Jordie! Great to hear your thoughts on the game.

Teaser http://www.charlieintel.com/2014/01/12/infinity-ward-posts-a-teaser-for-the-new-extinction-map-coming-with-the-onslaught-dlc/

I didn't mind reskinned maps but at the expense of new ones disappoints me. Black Ops 2 saw Nuketown, Firing Range and Summit reintroduced and the latter two at a price. I think Treyarch's maps in that game weren't of the standard of the likes of WaW or the original Black Ops but bringing back the classics after a massive online campaign from a minority of the community gave them a get out of jail free card. I don't really want to see any 'classics' now. It would just be further embarrassing. If they want to delve into the past for nostalgia; just give us the map for free as a gesture to the community instead of replacing potential new map slot and putting a hefty price on the package. I have no interest in Extinction either so that part of the content is worthless for me. If they reskin any MW maps for Ghosts; it would be ridiculous.

Agree Spectre. If you lay everything out without being blinded by their official promotional videos or YouTube puppets like Ali-A; you can see that everything 'new' is just a twist on the existing formula or has been renamed to seem 'fresh'. Some players may think the 'create a soldier' is an amazing addition but it's actually just the standard CAC with the option to add a few helmets or clothes. This does not constitute to revolutionary in my book. The destructible environments is incredibly embarrassing compared to the scale of destruction in BF4. I am not one of those wowed when a lamppost falls over or a door gets blown off its hinges. Blitz is just CTF without the flags and is badly implemented with unbalanced maps and favorable spawns. There is also no incentive for the objective so players tend to camp out the defence portal to sacrifice a win for the sake of their K/D. In terms of visuals; this game is not of the standard expected. The campaign which was raved about for months is also just a 4 hour scripted bore which is also extremely pathetic for such a large franchise in this day and age. It's the stuff that has been eliminated that I find really disappointing for this game. Omitting the likes of Hardpoint was a surprise but not as much as HQ which was a very popular gametype in the series. As mentioned; the removal of scorestreaks is gameplay suicide and I will never understand why they have done this. The lack of a detailed combat record and theater mode is yet another example of a depleted product. I wish that someone heavily tied to the franchise on YouTube regarding early-access would just be honest instead of painting the game as a groundbreaking next gen title. I know the likes of Ali-A are tools for free advertising for Activision but surely someone has to be man enough to get the publishers hand out of their arse and just deliver a honest and damning preview of the title instead of glorifying false promises and expectations. I don't know whether the franchise has clouded people's hopes and acceptance of games these days but Ghosts has fallen extremely short for a videogame in today's market and for the franchise as a whole. I for one will not be blinded by gimmicks but it's a shame people on YouTube and IW dressed the game as something that it wasn't.

I think the way the product is produced has made the community play less effectively. They have eliminated scorestreaks which has had a detrimental effect on the way some players in certain modes play. KC was brilliant in Black Ops 2 with tags counting towards the killstreak ladder. Now they have removed this; it's brought the killwhores out of the woodwork and combine this with some of the poor and oversized maps; the games don't flow as tidily or enjoyably in my opinion. Treyarch introduced gameplay incentives - rewards for playing the objective which expanded on the traditional gunplay elements which was a very welcome addition and helped boost weaker plays also. I am still wracking my brain as to why Infinity Ward didn't take this essential concept forward. I enjoyed Ghosts at first but for me; they have omitted too many features and the game hasn't moved on in what was supposed to be a next gen outing. On PC; this game looks as poor as MW2 and worse than BFBC2 from 2009 and it just doesn't have the nice design touches or innovation Treyarch has brought previously. The removal of gameplay elements has brought this game back into the 'noob' generation which I thought we left behind years ago.

What an interesting day particularly at the bottom of the Prem; excellent win for Sunderland and West Ham did well away to Cardiff also. Leeds losing 6-0 at Sheff Wed was incredibly funny too!

Well said! Stonehaven isn't on the rotation along with Siege, Whiteout, Chasm and Freefall. I'm playing on PC though but I believe it's the same on all the systems.

Cranked was pretty much the only game mode I really enjoyed and didn't experience too much camping but you are playing on a limited map rotation and eventually it all begins to get a bit tedious. The other game modes have been dreadful and camper-friendly particularly on a host of maps. KC probably being the worst mode and not having scorestreak incentive; it really has gone to shit from the highs of Black Ops 2.