Looks like that time of year is on us already so I’m sending along my Christmas Wish list to you nice and early with the hopes that you can help me out. Last year I asked for some new controllers because I’ve had a problem with them becoming airborne – I can safely say that it wasn’t as much an issue this year as it has been previously, however, I admit that recently I’ve experienced them feeling the need to once again spread their wings while I play Call of Duty: Black Ops. At any rate, here’s my list – I look forward to your visit in just a few short weeks.

1.) This year at the VGAs on December 11 a Mass Effect multiplayer game is being announced to tide gamers over until Mass Effect 3 comes out – Please don’t let this feel like Halo: ODST where it could have been told and done through a series of downloadable chapters. The Mass Effect series is one of my favorite and I’m hopeful that this isn’t the beginning of them creating a more “multiplayer experience” for subsequent Mass Effect games unless we get the ability to make sweet sweet love to another user’s character…perhaps a Krogan could be fun?

2.) Resident Evil 2 is one of the best in the series and soon we’ll all know about a new Multiplayer game during the events of Resident Evil 2 according to one of my sources. My source also told me that SlantSixGames, the guys responsible for 3 Socom games are developing this title. I hate Socom (they’re brutal and very poorly made) and am more than a little concerned that Slant Six is going to destroy my favorable memories of RE2 – I want this title to succeed so give them the ability to create a good game – by and large, they don’t make very good games and tend to be a little on the lazy side.

3.) Recently Call of Duty: Black Ops came out and it’s chock full of gaming goodness except when it comes to matchmaking. There is so much fail in that aspect of the game that often I find myself in a room full of people who are ranked much higher than me that my controllers feel the need to fly. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring Treyarch programmers who are capable of building a proper matchmaking system. Not only would I enjoy it, I’m sure millions of others would benefit from it as well and you could save many controllers lives from being unjustly/prematurely ended from botched flight attempts.

4.) I love my new NetFlix account – I would like their selections to be more current and up-to-date listings. Releases from Vivid Entertainment are also welcome! =)

5.) This was a good year for DLC. Mass Effect 2 had some incredible chapters, Dragon Age was more than a little active because of DLC and Red Dead Redemption had some incredible content. I love well designed worthy DLC – More epic DLC for “Triple A” titles would be greatly appreciated.

6.) I’m really enjoying my Kinect and think there are some real interesting concepts or ideas that could make this “the must have peripheral” for hardcore gamers like myself. Have someone make an awesome game that doesn’t require me to stand up but will allow me to use my hands to control something as well as my voice and maybe throw in the actual controller in there for good measure. Please stop making games that tell me I’m fat and/or overweight. I’m well aware of what I need to do to fix this and am well on my way despite the complex I seem to be developing.

7.) We’ve had a breakout year here at Feed Your Console with tremendous growth and readership. I love interacting with our readers and would very much like to have the opportunity to play games and have discussions with them more than I do now even if they do call me names or think ill of me.

8.) On the topic of the website, could you please give Jay more time to write for us? We kinda miss the guy and sometimes worry that he’s fallen off the face of the planet much like some of the other “reviewers” seem to have done. I guess we could use some contributing reviewers but let’s make sure they don’t just up and disappear on us.

9.) My Xbox is now 5yrs old and my PS3 is 4 – I know they still have a lot of life left in them but I’d like to get real concrete evidence of the new systems that we all know are well into the R&D stages but, I still want the games released on media. I’m not good with the whole “streaming”, “cloud” or “digital download” gaming concept. It’s fine for DLC but for some people like me with extremely limited internet bandwidth, this just won’t work with my affliction to downloading… AHEM – “Cuddle Films”

10.) Lastly, everyone seems to be all over the 3D craze and I can honestly say that I love it. More and more games are coming out and supporting 3D but I don’t ever get the chance to enjoy them in that format due to my lack of 3D viewing options. So if you could find the room, I’d love to get a 47” or bigger LED 3D television and a set of shutter glasses – I don’t care how dorky some of them look.

That’s all I got for now Santa – Thanks for taking the time to read my list as I know you’re very busy at this time of year.

From your friend,

KanedaGallon

One of the hottest games coming to a portable system near you – ModNation Racers – is finally here with two demo tracks and tons of customizable features.

Maybe your more of a designer, pickup and build your ultimate race track, place power-ups and obstacles – Just the way you want them.

I recommend you head over to the ModNation Website for one of the most interactive web sites I have seen in a years. Fully customizable backgrounds, designed and built just for you the visitor. Change the background, the colours and the images shown – just the way you want them.

ModNation Racers Features:

• Draft, drift, and boost your way into 1st place in 25+ colorful obstacle-filled tracks
• Drive through a fun storyline to win the ModNation Racing Championship
• Beat the competition with crazy upgradeable weapons like Sonic Bombs, Electric Bolts, and more!
• Play with up to 12 people online, or 4 people offline in Split Screen mode
• Download additional content on the PSN for special creations

ModNation Races Launches May 25th for the PlayStaion 3 and on both Physical UDM and Digital formats for the PSP.

Obviously the game starts with Kratos standing on the shoulder of Gaia a titan, who urges her fellow titans to climb Mount Olympus and kill the gods for once and all ending the rein of all mighty god Zeus. The camera pans around and shows this mere molecule (Kratos) enjoying the ride. Kratos main job is here is to protect Gaia from the relentless attacks from Poseidon with most the battle taking place on the titan herself. A confrontation with Gaia ends up with Kratos arriving in the land of the dead where he must battle Hades and defeat him. I personally had such a hard time battling Hades the game recommended I switch difficulties.

Next up it was time for Kratos to make his way into the City of Olympia and track down Helios during the course of wandering through the city you poised to help a titan by shooting down Helios using a ballista. This was like target practice, quite challenging at first but shooting him down provided me with instant gratitude. Using the head of Helios to light the way it’s time to head down the path of EOS. Later on you’ll battle your bitter rival Hercules and after disposing of him it’s time to check out Poseidon’s chamber where you speak to the goddess herself Aphrodite.  Next it’s time to make for the Pit of Tartarus and look for the Omphalos Stone. Remember Crono’s from God of War 2, he’s back and it’s time to rumble.

After that it’s Time to return to Daedalus’s workshop, escape Hera’s Garden, then head into the hidden passageway to find Pandora and to escape the Labyrinth before it’s too late. Finally you arrive at the Chain of Balance where you must break it and return to Pandora. It has arrived time to Battle the mighty Zeus.

There isn’t a whole lot changed in terms of combat, it’s the same formula just polished up from previous versions. Of course there is a bunch of new weapons like the blades of exile; the army of Sparta is one of my favorites. These Spartan Warriors surround Kratos with shields and spears, these warriors attack those who cross Kratos path. You also are immune from taking damage during the casting of this spell. The Claws of Hades are cool but you have the blades of Athena and I haven’t found much use for them.  One of the favorite new items is the head of Helios this allows the Kratos to shine a light and kill enemies.  The finishing moves are just over the top, gratuitous, fun to execute and enjoying to watch. One of the big things I’ve noticed over its predecessors is that the level design and the variety is quite noticeable and makes the game a lot more enjoyable. The boss battles are challenging, fun and cross between fighting the Gods and the Titans is a good mix up. I wish I could battled more titans.

Sony Santa Monica has developed a visual masterpiece, the sense of scale of is incredible, the way the camera pans out to show everything and you see Kratos this little spec on screen. One small noticeable improvement all game developers should take notice of is during quick time events placing the buttons on the side of the screen. This draws the player’s attention to focus on the quick time event so they can enjoy the action. The camera, I loved how the camera pans to show the incredible sense of scale, detail and just awe dropping moments throughout the game. However, I wish I had more control of the actual camera at times. I’d love to be able to look out the titans or gods from Kratos point of view.

One of the biggest dislikes in the franchise I’ve noticed and still isn’t rectified in God of War 3 is there is no HUD system on screen. This is more of a personal preference rather than a fault of the game. I am not a great puzzle solver at any game and the lack of “hint” system in place has caused me great frustration at different stages of the game. Sure when you get to a puzzle the camera pans around showing you where you start and where you end.  If you half way through solving a puzzle and get stuck why not implement a “help” button similar to Uncharted 2? It’s simple, easy and if you don’t want to use it don’t press the button.

Honestly there isn’t much wrong with God of War 3, the things I mentioned above are small personal preferences I like in games. I understand why there not there.  The facts are God of War 3 does what it does and does it better than the original 2 game’s. Isn’t that what sequels are for? Improving over the original games while sticking to the key successes of the franchise and God of War 3 does that well. If you like Kratos, the storyline, the button mashing and the gruesome finishing moves and oh yea did I mention an artistic masterpiece? God of War 3 will sell a ton of copies, hell it may even sell a few additional PlayStation 3 systems. Why would you miss out on potentially one the best games of this generation.

The Good

• Awe Yeah, the combat is just fun
• Stunning Visuals
• Boss Battles are Challenging

The Bad

• It ends
• No Help / Hint’s during puzzles
• No HUD/ on screen navigation

You can follow updates on the situation on the PlayStation Blog and through their official Twitter account.

I have a 80GB PS3 from the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle and my Critter Crunch game save had disappeared when I tried to play it yesterday. Anyone else care to share the condition of their Spiderman machine?

Update: Joystiq has broken the news that the bug has been fixed. PSN is back online and your trophies should have returned to you. If your trophies are still absent, Joystiq recommends:

If you lost any Trophy data over the past 24 hours, there may be a way to salvage it. Launch the game for which you’re trying to restore Trophies and it should automatically recreate a Trophy data set on your PS3′s memory, which you can then sync with the PSN server (just by opening up your Trophy list in the XMB). Our Heavy Rain Trophies had vanished, but this trick brought them back from the ether.

A quick fix from Sega today surrounding an update on the PSN today to address joining multiplayer game issues in the PS3 version of the demo. Also the new version of the AvP demo now features added functionality for PlayStation 3 games to create their own matches and browse for open slots to join other in session games.

“We are confident that the matchmaking issue has been fixed with this new demo and we will be monitoring community activity closely over the coming days to ensure that it has been fully resolved. We would like to thank the community for all of their valuable feedback and continued patience,” said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director of SEGA Europe.

Interestingly enough our very own SlayerAgamon raised concerns over the multiplayer Deathmatch only options for this demo – and has raised a fuss over other game demos only offering this… In the same Article from Sega, Rebellion clarified the reasoning behind this choice.

“We chose Deathmatch as the mode for the demo as it’s very familiar to all FPS gamers and minimizes restrictions on players while they are getting to grips with the controls of each of the three playable species” said Jason Kingsley, CEO and co-founder of Rebellion. “We have plenty of new modes in the game and players only have to wait a matter of days before they can play them when the game launches.”

For advice on how to discern if you are playing on the old demo please visit http://www.sega.co.uk/news/?n=3939.

Aliens vs Predator is set for release on Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC Games For Windows on February 16th in America and February 19th in Europe.

Dante comes complete with his cross weapon as well as his larger main weapon. Again, freakin sweet! Look forward to an article in the next few days about game publishers changing the scope and lure of pre-ordering. From additional free DLC of episodes to some games as well as exclusive suits and weaponry seen in more recent titles like Mass Effect 2.

Play on players!!

When I first heard about MAG I thought “Wow. 256 player matches? Is that even possible to do properly yet?” I’m happy to report that it is indeed possible and it’s every bit the frag fest you would expect from 256 people running amok blowing the crap out of everything.
There is no real story to speak of in this game outside of the descriptions for the 3 PMC (Private Military Company) groups you have to pick from at the beginning.

Valor: Equipped with more standard-styled gear. Seasoned veterans from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Mexico, believing that knowledge in battle is strength

SVER:  Ragtag military force with personnel drawn from war-torn countries in the Middle East and Russia, prizing sheer will as the power to victory

Raven: A faction with high-tech weapons and armor, comprising of West European soldiers, prizing technological advancement as key to winning

Once you’ve picked your team, you immediately get thrust into the action in the form of training then you can jump right into the actual game. Performance will earn you points and levels which can be used to purchase weapons, weapon enhancements, armor and armor enhancements. This system works really well and it affords you the opportunity to really focus on certain specialties to become a master at one thing or all things.

All that said, the game is not without its quirks. Valor is an extremely strong PMC that seems to always have the advantage no matter what level you’re playing. Zipper has issued a statement saying that they are aware of the unbalanced gameplay and are diligently working at releasing some updates over the next little while to help rebalance the game in a noticeable fashion. This is a welcome thought by all.

The other quirk to the game is the utter lack of communication between team mates and squads. In a game where communication and coordination is key – there sure are a lot of people who don’t listen, or have a headset. These people ruin the experience for everyone. I’ve played many games and I can say that it really makes a difference. I’d like to see an option to only find people with active headsets turned on, but I suspect that won’t happen.

Pick wisely though when you choose the PMC you wish to be a part of – This decision is for the rest of your life unless you delete your character meaning you lose all that hard work leveling up your character or you create a new PSN. Neither of those choices sits well with me. This is a big complaint for me. I get why they wanted to do this but I’d really like the opportunity to play as one of the other teams since they’re all so different.

MAG wasn’t quite the major blockbuster experience I had hoped for but it’s really not a disappointment either. With more levels/scenarios to play through, balancing of the teams and more people who actually try playing the game the way it’s meant to be played, I have no doubt that the experience will just get better. At the very least I can hope for the ability to play as one of the other PMCs without deleting my character or creating a new PSN account

Pros:
- 256 player matches
- A well planned out attack/defense
- Level Design

Cons:
- Jackasses who don’t listen or communicate
- Unbalanced teams (change is coming though)
- Inability to easily change teams

Feed Your Console gives MAG 7.5 out of 10

Here at Feed Your Console we like to let every dog have his/her day..a far shake if you will at an unbiased fair review despite how bad a game is labeled out the gates. Enter Rogue Warrior, a title I waited a long time to pick up. The trailers had me hooked months ago. Finally a game I thought that was good for a solid 15-20 hour run of great 3rd person shooting mayhem. Sadly, this was not the case. Whatever you’ve read about this game to date is true. For $60 it’s extremely short, the controls stiff during important firefights and the scenery blocky at times (think N64 block shading with slight shading in some spots). This game doesn’t deserve a full write up even. Through the grapevine I’ve heard some considered this game a cruel personal joke by someone..for someone. I guess, we just weren’t let in on in. 65 bucks later..I feel robbed. With a little more time and a lot of TLC this game had potential..

Rent first..actually..rent only unless you can get this game for $15 or less! You’ve been warned.

Feed Your Console give’s Rogue Warrior a generous score of 4 out of 10.

Pros:

– Reminded me of old school shoot and cover 3rd person shooters.
- Stealth kills are visually cool, but become too repetitive to enjoy at some point.
- Can play this in one sit down…3 hours max..thats with dying a few times.

Cons:

– Can play this in one sit down…3 hours max..thats with dying a few times lol.
- Can a game have too much profanity? Hello..HoD 2&3 on the Wii anyone..
- Being robbed for $65 NOT at gunpoint. Shame on me.

Developer(s): Rebellion Developments, Zombie Studios (former developer)
Publisher(s): Bethesda Softworks

Haven’t heard from SEGA in a while have we aye? Enter the long anticipated and awaited AvP demo on HD consoles. I sat down eager to download and set aside some good quality time to enjoy this quick tease only to find myself slightly vexed. Why is it that a lot of the publishers of games these days feel I want to jump into a multiplayer ONLY demo after I’ve waited months just to play it “myself”?!! This was the case with Army of Two: 40th day as well…just utterly annoying.

Let’s jump to the gameplay. I quick match-up into a lobby (which was fast) and I was in. The system made me an Alien, something I didn’t seem to have the option to change while in the lobby though I looked and pressed every button possible. Minor I guess. The action was swift and I did like the the feel of the controls. I do warn though, there were clearly people in my lobby that have played it for HOURS because I was killed on average every 15 seconds or so, In short, go into this demo knowing your patience will be tested not because the demo is flawed, because I think you’ll not have enough free roaming time to get familiar with it all. To it’s credit AvP looks and sounds really good. It’ll take you back to the first time you heard the Alien’s ‘hsssss’ which there is a separate button for…awesome. You’ll here the Space marines gun discharging throughout, which will take you back even more. Again, freakin sweet. It almost allowed me to forgive there not being the ability to play the demo in solo campaign mode. Mostly, I’d recommend checking it out until your patience gives in…it’s worth it….mostly.

Catch the Bioshock 2 Trailer here.

See you in Rapture.