Gotham City Imposters: Causing Havoc on All Platforms Next Week

You’ve flown through the streets of Gotham City with real Batman and you’ve taken on the madness of the real Joker… but are you ready to battle their imposters? If not, too bad! Gotham City Imposters will be coming to the PC on February 7^th and to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 the very next day.

Gotham City Imposters is certainly an interesting take on the Batman franchise. Coming to you from Monolith Productions, the twisted minds that brought you both F.E.A.R and Condemned, Imposters is a multiplayer based first person shooter that provides you with 12 player battles between Batman and Joker wannabes. The game has multiple game modes including Psych Warfare, a capture the flag variant as well as a straight-up Deathmatch. Imposters also house an impressive array of weaponry and homemade gadgets, among them the grappling hook and the jack-in-the-box.

Gotham City Imposters will be available for digital download only and will set you back $15 or 1200 Microsoft Points.

Trials Evolution gets Leaked

In the past, RedLynx has been known to “leak” their own game in an attempt to boost publicity but, unfortunately, this time around it wasn’t the devs poking holes in the boat. Sources state that RedLynx have denied claims that it was behind the recent leak of Trials Evolution. “We want to be clear that is not something we did ourselves,” said RedLynx managing director Tero Virtala.

Virtala goes on to say that those who have pirated the the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade exclusive will have the bare minimum of the Trials experience.  ”Trials Evolution is a game that makes full use of being continuously connected,” he pointed out; online-based additions like leaderboards and online multiplayer are unavailable in the leaked version due to Microsoft’s monitoring of hacked Xbox 360s.

A PEGI rating provided a vague launch time for the full launch of the game. We can expect to see Trials Evolution hitting the Arcade sometime soon. Virtala also went on to tease a “new trailer coming soon which will give people a much better look into everything the game will hold and when they can expect to see it.” We’re especially interested in that last part.

Review: Quarrel (XBLA)

Quarrel is a word orientated strategy game developed by Denki, and is by far one of the best word games to date on any system. The best way to describe Quarrel would be to say that it plays something along the lines of a strategic battle game of Scrabble, where everybody is gunning for your territory and words are the best defence in your arsenal. If you weren’t already aware, Quarrel was originally an iOS title and, having played both versions, it’s safe to say that a game like Quarrel is more suited to a touch screen. However, the Xbox Live Arcade version of Quarrel is by no means less enjoyable, if you’re a fan of word games in general this is a must have. But let’s break Quarrel down shall we?

The way in which Quarrel is played is simple enough. To win, a player must capture all enemy territories by changing them to their colour. To take over a territory you must create a high scoring word from an anagram, or be able to spell the whole jumbled up word. Each letter is given a numerical value, for example the letter “J” is the highest and worth 15 points. The capture of any territory is shown through the use of your own personal minions, though sadly said minions are not customisable. The player is assigned a minion design for the game; Ninjas, Ginger Scotsmen in kilts, Robots, Pirates and many more are up for the choosing. If your attack prevails, your little minions bombard enemy minions with the words tiles, resulting in little ghostly angel figures ascending to heaven. If you earn enough points during a game you’ll be awarded with the ability to call in extra minions to back-up your forces when attacking or defending a territory. One thing worth mentioning is that when backup is called for, it’s signaled by a cavalry-esc fan-fare. When the fanfare is initiated the sound quality drops, arguably something small but it’s also something a little bit annoying.

There are many aspects that set the Xbox Live Arcade port apart from its iOS sibling. For one, Quarrel incorporates the use of Xbox Live Avatars. This adds a sense of personalisation to the game and increases the level of competitiveness through the emotive responses provided when winning or losing a quarrel. Despite having similar art styles, Quarrel on the Arcade is simply nice to look at. Yes, looks aren’t everything but it sure helps. The art style in question is very child friendly and emanates an inviting vibe. The visuals aren’t childish enough to deter the older generation of gamer however, it is a game to be enjoyed by all if word games are your thing.

For the solo gamers, the Single Player aspect of Quarrel offers a variety of game modes to choose from. First off, you have the bog standard Quick Match, no real explanation needed there. As with most games, a tutorial is also made available for those who need a better grasp of the game. The Domination mode gives you the chance to “conquer all 12 islands to dominate the Known Quarrel World”, with each individual island offering a different theme or setting. If a head-to-head play style is more your cup of tea then you’ll want the Showdown mode, beat all nine AI opponents to be crowned Quarrel Master. Prefer objective based play? The Challenge mode offers twelve unique challenges to be completed by only the best Quarrel players. Regardless of what you decide to play, all of Quarrel’s game modes were very enjoyable. If you play enough of them you will even receive a Word IQ level, practice makes perfect and speed can often be the key.

For those with a more competitive streak, Quarrel’s multiplayer aspect is nothing to be sniffed at. The benefit of Xbox Live Arcade over iOS is that the Xbox Live service provides a much better online experience. Like most games, you’re given the choice to play either a more competitive Ranked Match or a friendlier Player Match. You have the choice to play with a maximum of three friends online or simply hop into a random game; it’s a fun experience whichever way you decide to play and for 400 Microsoft Points you really can’t go wrong.

In short, Quarrel is a great game. If you like word based games or you’re simply looking for a game to relax with then this is the game for you, hats  off to Denki!

Overall score: 9/10

The Witcher 2, Coming to a 360 Near You – Release date Confirmed

Warner Bros. has finally announced the official launch date for the Xbox 360 port of the highly anticipated CD Projekt Red sequel, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. That’s right, it’ll be coming to an Xbox 360 near you on April 17^th. Excited? You should be!

Originally announced last summer, the title was originally planned to launch on Xbox 360 in 2011, but had to be pushed back to early 2012 before Warner Bros. signed on to publish. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve waited long enough.

Fifa Street to Kick Off March 13th

Previously slated for a vague March release, Fifa Street has finally received a solid release date. EA’s next entry into the series will be hitting on March 13th, 2012. The series reboot will take to the streets with 35 locations, street challenges, tournaments and new dribble controls. Gracing Fifa Street’s cover will be Lionel Messi.

Rumour: Microsoft to Rid Themselves of MS Points for Real World Moneys

A rumour has surfaced that, sometime this year, Microsoft plan on scrapping their traditional Microsoft Points for real world currency. If the rumour is true, is it a step in the right direction? For the more wary, purchasing content from the Xbox Live Marketplace has always been a real pain. The need for spending physical money on a little bit of plastic that somehow contains Microsoft Points is probably a system that should have died out a long time ago. So the time for change could be nigh (apparently). If the rumour is true, is this more convenient method for you? Many will have had a credit card attached to their account since the beginning and probably won’t be all that bothered, but let us know what you think.

The Latest UK Video Games Chart

Well I’m back again with the Latest UK Video Games Chart and I’m still tweaking that pesky layout, below is last week’s list.

January 15th - 21th

Minecraft for XBLA to get Frequent Updates

Microsoft may be about to end its limit on content distribution and speeding up its approval process, with the XBLA version of Minecraft, the first ever title to get such treatment. In a recent interview, the developers behind the port say the plan is to catch the Xbox version up to the 1.0 build.

It is clear that Microsoft understands that a big part of Minecraft’s appeal is its ever-evolving nature and long list of Mods. While the constant updates of the PC version aren’t feasible at this time, the developers do say Microsoft is “keen to move towards that – they do see it as the future.”

However, it has been confirmed that Microsoft won’t be stepping out of the way completely. The plan is to just speeding up the notoriously slow testing and approval process. “I think that there will always be Microsoft testing involved… But the whole turnaround of that testing they’re hoping to speed up, so we can maybe roll out very two months.”

It is a possibility that Microsoft may be using Minecraft as a test case. There are certainly other games on the Xbox 360 that could benefit from frequent updates; Valve’s Team Fortress 2 comes to mind. Hopefully the XBLA version of Minecraft will usher in a new era of updates when it releases this spring.

Syndicate Demo Incoming

As if we didn’t have enough demos to content ourselves with, the co-op demo for Syndicate, Starbreeze Studios and EA’s latest business warfare simulator, launches on Xbox Live January 31^st. With regards to the PlayStation Network, their version drops the same day in North America but will be available in Europe on February 1^st. The demo covers the “Western Europe” co-op mission, in which you steal blueprints from Cayman Global and assassinate Colonel Enrico Gabron, one of nine co-op challenges in the full game.

Fenix Rising Rises Today

Today, Microsoft and Epic released “Fenix Rising,” the third major game add-on for Gears of War 3. Featuring five brand new multiplayer maps as well as four character skins and a new experience system that allows players to rank up through level 100 four times to unlock exclusive emblems and weapon skins, a bit like Call of Duty’s Prestige Mode.

If you decide to buy the DLC on Xbox LIVE for 800 Microsoft Points or you’re a Season Pass owner, players who attain level 100 will have a choice to “Re-up” for another tour of duty to showcase their valour and dedication as elite Gears of War fan. Their experience and rank will be reset, but all other progression (including TrueSkill rating) will remain intact. Players can “Re-up” up to three times, earning new wings colours each time: Red, Green, and Gold. The rank number will also be coloured Red, Green, or Blue. Each “Re-up” level also awards the player an exclusive, custom weapon skin that cannot be obtained by any other means.

As you know, “Fenix Rising” expands the multiplayer battlefield with five new maps – Academy, Anvil, Depths, Escalation, and the Slab – that will be available for Versus Multiplayer, Horde and Beast Mode. Additionally, players who purchase “Fenix Rising” will gain access to four new character skins (Recruit Clayton, Thrashball Cole – Limited Edition, Savage Marauder and Savage Kantus – Limited Edition) for use in Versus Multiplayer and Horde Mode.