Left 4 Dead Crash Course incorrectly priced - Published @ Video Game Reviews

The new downloadable content for Left 4 Dead, Crash Course, has been released today on the Xbox Live Marketplace but has been incorrectly priced. Crash Course is available for 800 Microsoft Points when it should be 560 Microsoft Points. The price should be rectified at some point in the next hour or two.

Major Nelson and other Xbox personalities have been warning their followers on Twitter not to buy Crash Course at 800 Microsoft Points and wait until it is priced correctly.

As with almost all items on the Xbox Live Marketplace there are no refunds for this downloadable content so if you have paid 800 Microsoft Points for it then there you are probably not going to be able to claim the 240 Microsoft Points back. As seen in this previous article on VGR (aptly titled ‘Microsoft wants your money’) Valve didn’t even want to charge for the DLC but it was Microsoft’s decision that they had to.

http://www.videogame-reviews.co.uk/news/left-4-dead-crash-course-incorrectly-priced/

No Modern Warfare 2 demo before launch - Published @ Video Game Reviews

There will be no Modern Warfare 2 demo before its release on 10th November, Infinity Ward has said. As more and more developers are doing these days, Infinity Ward made this announcement via their Twitter page. Infinity Ward tweeted: “No plan for a Demo before launch. The entire team is focused on polish all the way up to ship of the full game.” However this doesn’t rule out a post-launch Demo as we have seen with Call of Duty: World at War. This news comes after last month’s news that there are no plans for a public multiplayer beta either. But why does this matter, you’re all going to buy the game on launch day anyway, aren’t you?

Modern Warfare 2 is released 10th November and is available to pre-order now on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows.

http://www.videogame-reviews.co.uk/news/no-modern-warfare-2-demo-before-launch/

FIFA 10 Demo this Thursday - Published @ Video Game Reviews

The FIFA 10 demo will be available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store this Thursday (10th September).

The demo will include one exhibition match and allow the player to choose from Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Marseille, Accrington Stanley or Chicago Fire. This means that we’ll all be able to try out the new 360° dribbling system, the first of its kind in any football game. EA have also announced that for the first time in a FIFA demo the player will be able to upload created in-game videos to EA Football World.

FIFA 10 is released 2nd October and is available to pre-order now on PlayStation2, PlayStaion 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and Microsoft Windows.

http://www.videogame-reviews.co.uk/news/fifa-10-demo-this-thursday/

New features for WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 - Published @ Video Game Reviews

The Smackdown Vs Raw series of games has been running for quite some time now and in recent years has not included many new features with each release. However Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 is set to change all that. With the tag-line ‘it’s your world now’ you will now be able create and customize almost everything within the game.

The most exciting new feature is that you can now create your own storylines with an extremely high level of customisation. For example you can create cut-scenes with different superstars, animations, locations, camera angles, emotions and write your own scripts. You can create the match card for every show with the matches, match stipulations and interference etc. To me this sounds like a largely improved version of the GM mode that we saw in previous editions of Smackdown Vs Raw.

The create-a-superstar feature has been completely re-designed (includes a paint feature!) and now for the first time in franchise history you can edit and create new attire for WWE superstars. Any creation, like created storylines, superstars, entrances, finishing moves and highlight reels can all be uploaded over Xbox Live or PSN and then downloaded by anyone. ‘Road to WrestleMania’, the popular story mode that was introduced last year also returns with all new storylines, the first ever diva’s storyline and a create-a-superstar storyline. Gameplay will be improved with a smaller HUD, a new reversal system based around timing and the pinfall kickout mechanism used in WWE Legends Of WrestleMania.

The Nintendo DS version of the game has had a massive overhaul with new gameplay controls (with no use of the stylus anymore) and a completely new story mode. There will also be a collectible card system where collectible cards can be earned by winning matches etc. These cards offer in game power-ups, arenas, superstar profiles amongst other things, they can then be traded with other players wirelessly. Also added to the DS version are backstage brawls and ambulances matches.

WWE Smackdown Vs Raw is released 23th October and is available to pre-order now on Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.

http://www.videogame-reviews.co.uk/news/new-features-for-wwe-smackdown-vs-raw-2010/

Thoughts on the leak of Brand New's new album, 'Daisy'

So Brand New's new album 'Daisy' leaked onto the internet this past Saturday night (August 29th), almost a month before it's actual release (September 22nd).

It has been well documented how Brand New feel about leaks as in January 2006 nine untitled demos leaked onto the internet before any announcement of a new album or anything. They had been away for two years then out of nowhere these demos found their way on to the internet. Everyone was eager to hear what they had been up to and so these demos proved to be very popular. Jesse Lacey (lead singer of Brand New) is quoted as saying "No one likes to show their creation in mid-process, and those songs weren't done. They were like blueprints. Just the plan, right? It put me in a state where I was under the impression that those songs had been wasted or something—that we had to go and write new things because those had been heard. Now, in retrospect, I want those songs to be on the album and many of them aren't, and I'm probably more to blame for that than anyone. This record already feels incomplete to me without those tracks and probably will forever." That quote is from this interview – an interesting read for any Brand New fan. The album ‘The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me’ was then finally released on November 21, 2006, featuring only two of the leaked demos.

With the 'Daisy' leak at least this time the finished product has leaked, not demos. Therefore this album will not be affected the same way the previous album was as it is already finished. I saw Brand New this past Sunday at the Reading festival and mid set Jesse Lacey said "We're going to play some songs off the new record now, which you've probably heard on the internet as of last night." He did not seem happy about the leak at all and was pretty negative for the whole set and I’d assume this is why.

Brand New are my favourite band, as with a lot of people, I find that Brand New are not a band that you can just casually like, you either really really like them or you don’t like them at all. A lot of people have been waiting for this album for so long and when I heard that it had been leaked I just had to download it because I wanted to hear it so much; I'd assume a lot of other people did the same. I felt bad that I was downloading it but when everyone else is downloading it, I’d thought just be missing out if I had waited for the album to be officially released and then bought it. Nevertheless I will still buy the album when it is released just because Brand New are my favourite band and I already love the album. It would be very naïve to think that others will do the same, but because of the type of band Brand New are I think a lot of people will still buy the album. The leak may also attract new fans who may buy what they hear if they like it.

At the end of the day ‘Daisy’ has leaked and there’s nothing Brand New or anyone can do about it. Also it really is a truly incredible album. There was always going to be people that would just download the album anyway and people will still buy the album, the leak just means that they’ve been able to listen to the album a little bit before they were meant to.

Review of 'Daisy' will be up soon!