TheGameCow

Back from the short hiatus, too caught up by the recent Elections frenzy.

Ok poor excuse, but honestly, there hasn’t been that many good new games for us to recommend over here.

But no worries, that has stopped. The reason? L.A. Noire.

The game is created by Rockstar, which if you didn’t know by now, came up with great single player games such as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. And if you still didn’t know by now, those games were Games of the Year for 2008 and 2010, not a small feat. So expectations are high for L.A. Noire, which if you ask me, seems like a contender for Game of the Year 2011 already.

L.A. Noire is set in the 1940s in good old L.A., home of Hollywood. In the game, you play as Dectective Cole Phelps (picture below, handsome like f), cruising through the streets searching for and getting rid of crime, of course. Cliche, but always marketable storyline.

Cole pairs up with several partners along the game, and each partner has his own set of skills and characteristics which are able to help Cole solve crimes in different ways. Hmm, sounds like the storyline might get more interesting along the way, my kind of game.

Expect to see lots of resemblance to the actual L.A. monuments in the game, such as the classic HOLLYWOODLAND sign, the County Art Museum, and the Union Station. How is that for realistic gameplay? Not much on the reviews yet, since it will only be out late next week.

More to come soon, as I get my grubby hands on this game.

- If you wish to pre-order this game, drop us an email with your name and contact number at sales@thegamecow.com, we will contact you shortly. –

You probably couldn’t access the Sony PSN over the past few days.

You probably cursed and swore.

And you probably wrote an email to complain to Sony.

What you didn’t know, was that PSN was hacked, and your details might have been leaked now.

All together now… OMFG.

According to the official report:

Sony says it believes an unauthorized person has obtained the following personal information that you provided:

- Name
- Address (city, state, zip)
- Country
- Email Address
- Birthdate
- PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID

While there is no news of any credit card details being lost to this hacker, personally I would think that it is very much possible that credit card details have also been compromised.

To our readers:
1. Forget about logging on to PSN for the time being
2. Please monitor your credit cards are report any mis-use accordingly (mis-use via excessive voluntary spending does not count)
3. Try changing the password/email address which you previously supplied to PSN
4. Vote wisely in the upcoming Singapore Elections
5. Drink more water and eat more fruits
6. Buy more games from us

Love you all.

I was browsing through Forbes (how intellectual, I know), and chanced upon a report on latest ‘must-have’ video game.

What?! A video game recommendation on Forbes? I had to check that out.

So this game is called Portal 2. Ring any bell? Nah, me neither. So I had to fall back on good old Google.

I did a look up on Wikipedia (how convenient), and in the most concise summary, the game is about teleporting yourself and objects…. err.. yea, that’s about it.

Ok forget it, let the video do the talking.

Worth the hype? Maybe, but to be honest, it doesn’t seem like my kind of game. Seems too confusing and brain-straining for me.

Not that intellectual afterall, I guess?

In view of the recent Japanese earthquake, eSega has delayed the release of the next installment of Yakuza to June.

Understandably so.

Originally slated to be released in March, the game will feature the protagonist Kiryu fighting against…. zombies. Yes, you read it right. Zombies.

The past versions of this game franchise has never failed to deliver, so I was a little shocked to be seeing Kiryu fighting against zombies? Well personally, I think that zombies are a little overdone in gaming. Just look at Red Dead Redemption zombie edition. Trying too hard to be like Left for Dead. It shouldn’t even have appeared.

A positive note though: A portion of sales will go to the victims of the Japan earthquake!

Such a valid excuse to buy a game, don’t you think?

From football, we now move on the other most popular game involving a ball- basketball.

Usually orange, rubbery, and very bouncy, it is a game involving 5 players…. what? Oh, of course you knew that already.

NBA 2K11 has been quite a big hit when it launched last year, and now hot on the heels, IGN is already running a poll on who people think should be on the cover on NBA 2K12.

(Why do people bother naming it 2K12?! How much different is it from 2012?! 2K12 sounds pretty stupid, in my humble opinion).

Anyhow, here is the list of nominees shortlisted by IGN:

Blake Griffin
Carmelo Anthony
Chris Paul
Derrick Rose
Dwight Howard
Dwyane Wade
John Wall
Kevin Durant
Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Manu Ginobili
Rajon Rondo

My vote?

Blake Griffin – this guy is a monster. Even Looks like one.

Full IGN article here.

When the going gets tough, the tough turn back to familiar comfort zone.

After far too many intense, story-heavy, gun-toting RPG games, I have decided to take a short hiatus, and turn back to the familiar.

YOU GUESSED IT! FIFA 11.

For me, this seems to be the game I always fall back on when I need a short spur of entertainment. 10 minutes a game, no need to follow any plot, great graphics, what’s not to like?

Call me a laggard, but I have just started on Career Mode, using Manchester United (duh). Presenting to you my team so far:

GK: Shay Given
LB: Patrice Evra
RB: Rafael
CB: Nemanja Vidic
CB: Rio Ferdinand
LW: Nani
RW: Antonio Valencia
CM: Darren Fletcher
CAM: Timo Kroos
ST: Wayne Rooney
ST: Alexandre Pato

Seems like a good team? On paper, yes. On a semi-pro FIFA 11 game, no. Not at all.

Biggest win so far? 1-0. GOD DAMN IT 1-0!!!! Initially I thought I was the one who sucked, but I did a quick check on Google at there are truckloads of discussion going on, on the difficulty level of this game. Sample comment:

This is my first fifa game and Its really hard so far.. I can only play on semipro and I do ok If I use a good team that is.. I was playing as Everton and I played a match against Inter and got killed.. Stats seem to be SUPER important.. and its really hard to score goals.. Though that might be the point its really hard to score goals in real life. Though I use the Pro camera angle so that might have something to do with it but imo it makes the game like 10 times more fun.

DAMN YOU FIFA I MUST OWN YOU.

Did I say FIFA is the game to destress?

Ok guys, it’s official.

I have now given up on playing Prototype.

It’s funny how the demise of it actually stems from the same reasons I was sooooooo wanting to play it – the insane array of superpower upgrades.

Let’s see, you have:

1. Stealth
2. Air Hammer Toss
3. Air Dash
4. Power Bomb
5. High Flying Body
6. Air Tendril Barrage
7. Uppercut
8. Shield
9. Snapkick
10. Ground Shatter Drop
11. Devastator

ZZZZZZZZZZ…. and obviously the list goes on. Way on. It would actually be easier if the controls are simple, but for every power there is a special combo of buttons to press?! Like for example: R1 + Circle followed by R2. W.T.F.

I think it’s actually easier memorizing the moves for the King of Fighter characters than the controls for Prototype.

And so with that, and numerous number of failed missions, I am officially a loser at this game.

Dear Prototype, you are too cool for me.

FAIL.

Can someone teach me how to play FIFA 11 like this please?

After so many months I still suck.

Boohoohoo

Sorry guys, was away for a week or so due to a vicious cycle of fever, flu, and cough.

But we are now back, fully recovered, with a new game offering, Killzone 3!

If you have played the previous Killzone, you would know that it is an awesome first player shooting game, and like all other first player shooting game, makes me dizzy. So… I have to admit that I have not touched it yet. But well, everyone seems to be raving about this game, so we decided to do some research on it.

Killzone 3 pits the ISA (good guys) against the Helghast (bad guys). You play the hero of ISA, fighting your way out of the Helghast grip. I won’t delve into it much, but I will allow you to see it for yourself in the below Youtube video, with a great scope of the PS3 Move vs the classic controller. (Disclaimer: Ultra long video)

Our thoughts?

Don’t get it without having the Move.

Fresh of God of War 3, I’ve started a new game.

Yes, people call me a workaholic, I give up so much time to do game research and reviews. Well, what can I say, a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.

Wait, did that last sentence even make sense?

Anyway, Prototype is not a new game, having been released in 2009. But it fits the criteria of RPG, good storyline, special powers-enabled, upgradable via experience kind of games that I like. Did you get that criteria? Once again, its RPG, good storyline, special powers-enabled, upgradable via experience.

Having played the game for a grand total of 3 hours, I can share some preliminary snippets:

- Cut scenes are a far cry from God of War 3 (understandable since GoW3 is newer)
- Amazingly large playable area, even the top of every building
- Slightly confusing storyline (Hero loses memory and has to go around locating pieces of his memory. WTF?!)
- Amazing skill which allows you to morph into anyone on the streets. Cool shit.
- Huge-ass array of upgradable skills and weapons (sounds awesome but it’s actually quite a pain to remember how to activate them all)
- No XXX scenes (hey come on, even GoW3 had some! Um, anybody wanna rent?)

That being said, since I do extensive research before dedicating my time to any game, I still think that there might be potential for it to turn out better than I have experienced so far.

More to come as I progress!