Damnit, I really was hoping this game was going to be good and I was even okay with the demo because EA still had time to improve the imbalances. However it seems that they haven’t done that and have released a horribly flawed game. IGN has just released their review and given it a 5/10 which is fantastic since EDGE …

Bruce Everiss, the veteran games industry marketer of BruceOnGames.com has asked the question: Is the Xbox 360 reaching the limits of its capabilities? While he discuss how all consoles go through a similar development cycle, he makes an interesting point. The Xbox 360's architecture has been pretty straightforward and easy to use from the word go.... With this in mind we can only assume that developers will be able to squeeze all that the console has to offer out a lot sooner than usual and actually peak way earlier.... Bruce quotes Rod Fergusson, the senior producer for Gears of War at Epic Games from his in depth interview with website Gamasutra, where he said that " …with the two to three more years of optimization that we’ve had, we’re much further along than I think, three years ago, we thought we were going to get. So I think we’re certainly approaching the upper end of it, as far as what developers are able to do with it, but just looking at all the demos we saw today — ours and others — it’s clear that all the games just keep improving, and keep pushing that bar.” There is no doubt that the Gears of War games look absolutely stunning but it begs the question of whether or not we will see anything better ever released on the Xbox 360. While there are a lot of elements, such as artwork, that work towards the final presentation of a game we still have to wonder if we are already reaching the pinnacle of the 360's graphic abilities. The PS3 left developers struggling to squeeze all the power out of the Sony console at first but as time is going by they are most definitely starting to deliver mind-boggling visuals.... Spend nothing more than 5 minutes with Metal Gear Solid 4 and you will be blown away. This makes you wonder how much more is still possible as developers learn new and interesting ways to utilise the PS3's cell processors. Both HD consoles still have quite a long life ahead of them and it's going to be quite interesting to see if the 360 is capable of more than its current offerings and whether or not the PS3 is going to still forge ahead. Bruce states that "Just like previous generations the absolute limit of capabilities is never reached, these systems are very complex and there is only so much time that can be put into wringing that last ounce of capability out of them. However it must be true that now the developers are nearly getting the most out of the 360 and that further improvements will be slower to come.... If he is right then it will mean that the Xbox 360 will probably improve as time goes by, although the development will be a lot slower and less dramatic as what we have seen over the past two years.

Microsoft has serious problems trying to keep things secret with their latest big secret being released about two weeks ago by Internet sites all over the planet. Well Major Nelson has now come out and confirmed that the $199 Xbox 360 Arcade is in fact arriving and it is arriving 2 days earlier than expected. As of the 5th of …

September is upon us and has not only brought us the first signs of spring, but also the beginning of what is to be 3 months of wallet-burning, credit-card pwning mayhem in the form of a heavy onslaught of gaming awesomenisity (real word, I promise cough).

So then, what does September have to offer. We have all the releases for the PS3, 360 and the Wii and its looking pretty damn good, especially with the release of Rapala Fishing Frenzy, that game is so gonna be a 10.

…* Rapala Fishing Frenzy… * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed… * Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway… * Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2009

…* Baja: Edge of Control… * Baja: Edge of Control

…* Star Wars: The Force Unleashed… * Brothers in Arms: Hell’s HighWay… * Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2009… * Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2009… * Brothers in Arms: Double Time… * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Brett posted yesterday about the upcoming Death Tank, or scorched Earth to us older folk. Well it got me intrigued so I went on a mission to find out more about it and stumbled across this video. I can’t decide if I am excited about this game or worried that it’s going to be a complete failure. I devoted many …

Many developers will go out of their way to try and pull gamers into their worlds. From artwork, graphics, sound and animation there are tons of different ways to make the player feel like he is actually running around in the virtual world that is laid out in front of him. This video of Far Cry 2 explains a few of the ways that the developers have tried to do all they can to keep you feeling completely immersed in the experience. I have played a few games over time that specifically kept you in the players head, even when cutscenes or animations are taking place and it really makes a difference. The latest of which is Condemned 2, by keeping the player inside the head of the character almost 100% of the time you really feel a certain physicality in the world, which helps that much more when something scary happens because it makes you really want to run for your sorry life. No need to mention how good this game is looking, it is quite apparent.

While we initially gave a review for Soul Calibur IV a short while back, we were unable to review one of the games new and anticipated features, online multiplayer. As usual, we at Lazygamer do things slightly different, so with that in mind, we bring you the review of Soul Calibur IV's online component. We are also going to be looking at the game not only from an online perspective, but a South African online perspectice. So, Is it a step forward in the world of fighting games, or is it just a lag fest that South Africans can happily ignore.... While both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game have full online multiplayer, we had the chance to play it over Xbox Live, although we are not aware of any differences between the two.... If you haven't already brushed up on a few characters and their moves, I suggest you do so before jumping online. While button bashing and random acts of cheapness may help out a little, your friends will be beating you to a pulp consistently if you aren't clued up with at least a few characters.... The game doesn't run quite as perfect as the offline modes, so a little bit of time is needed to adjust your timing for blocks, counters and special moves.... Jumping straight into a game with friends is incredibly easy, the lobby puts you altogether, matches up the next two players and only requires that they press one button to get things going. From there you will be able to select your character but more importantly, any of the custom characters that you have created in the character builder. The game supports 4 players online, so two players will always be spectating with the one of them taking on the winner in the next match. The spectating is actually quite fun as you can watch your friends beat each other to a pulp as you support or harass the one that you want to win.... The human element adds a lot to the game though, being able to complain at someone when they beat you, mock them when you win (doesn't happen to me often so I wouldn't know...)... It really is a good laugh and becomes just as great as those memories of having a bunch of friends over at your place with a few drinks and some controller swapping.... Soul Calibur has been the first fighting game in years to spark up my interest again and with the great online multiplayer modes added into the mix I can suggest that even if you think you may be remotely interested in this game, you should check it out.

One of my most anticipated games of the year is just about to be released and this is the moment that I get to breathe a sigh of relief. The reviews from the big guys are starting to come in and it looks like Rare has managed to add in some new features while keeping the simplicity and elegance of …