LANCOZA Blog

The only thing that could kill Duke Nukem Forever was the global financial crisis. 3D Realms has closed its doors which will finally bring an end to the DNF saga.

And for those die hard fans, and I count myself as one, here is a final bit of nostalgia .

<Insert favourite Dukism here>

For those old enough to remember the original Operation Flashpoint and it's expansion, the good news is that there is a new addition to the franchise. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will be out by the end of this year. I was scheduled for mid 2009 but has now slipped down the calendar. I enjoyed the original incarnation and judging by the trailer , the new addition looks great.

The great selling point of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis was the huge levels and the realism. You could wonder around the map for extended periods of time hiding away from enemy forces, the flip side was that you could also be picked off by some enemy sniper without having the faintest idea where the shot came from.

I am keen to see how it translates to the console platform.

 On a side note, it's interesting too see how the world has changed from a Cold War in which Russia was a super power to the present where China is a rising power.

DJ Hero has been confirmed by Activision. So for all wannabe DJs, this may be your chance to wreck the decks in the safety of your own home.

The controller in the pic has not been confirmed. Although it looks pretty authentic it may just be a concept or artist/fanboy rendering. Nothing beats the Intertubes for rumour and innuendo.

 I will post information about the  local release dates as soon I receive an update from the distributor.

Xtival weekend was a bit of a damp squib. I did not find much to hold my interest other than the free Live Gold upgrade for the weekend. The competitions were only valid for UK residents and the other content took far too long to load.

I ended up playing Call of Duty Nazi Zombie mode until 3am on Saturday which was great fun. We managed to make it to level 11 but at that point our hideout became overwhelmed with berzerk zombies and we did not progress any further. Although the Zombie level is quite basic it is still quite challenging. You have to combine tactical offense and defense in order to progress. Keeping your barricades intact is critical as is managing your cash and weapon upgrades.

As you unlock different areas of the map , you have access to better weapons but the more areas that you unlock , the more access routes the zombies have to get at you. So far we have found the BAR and Trench gun to be the most useful. The BAR has good stopping power but the magazine is small and the reload time is a bit slow. The Trench gun also has good stopping power but also suffers from a slow reload time.

On the higher levels, the bayonet is useless and should have been made upgradable. There is a lucky draw gun case which has a few, very powerful weapons in it but so far I have 'won' a mixed bag including a snipers rifle, ray gun and revolver. At 950 a draw, the guns are not cheap and added to that, once the ammunition is depleted there is no chance to replenish it.

I am keen to check out the new zombie levels. They have been upgraded to include perks which improve reload time, accuracy and healing. The first map pack has been released which includes a new German zombie level and the second map pack will be released with a Japanese zombie level . With the good exchange rate, now is an ideal time to stock up on your Live points and get your Zombie on.

From 1 - 4 May Xbox Live will provide free Live Gold membership as part of their Xbox Live gaming festival . If you have not registered for Live, simply register via your Xbox and use Google to find a valid UK street address.

In order to download content from Live you may need to make use of a UK based VPN service and I will provide more information on how to do this shortly.

I am very excited about getting some Free Gold live action. I plan on getting my Nazi Zombies on , Call of Duty style.

Guitar Hero World Tour has finally been unbundled. The drum kit and guitar will be available in our store soon. Keep an eye on this space for more information as regards pricing and the release date.

Aplologies for the lack of updates recently. I have had to deal with a serious family emergency which has taken up most of my time.

 Things should return to a semblance of normalcy in the next few days.

So in order to unlock versus mode in Resident Evil 5 you have to pay for the DLC. Capcom said that the download had to be paid for because the patch was "beyond the initial scope of Resident Evil 5" .

The problem is that the DLC is so small that it is more than likely simply software that unlocks content that is already on the disc. So you buy the game then pay for "additional" content that is already there.

The gaming industry is a business like any other and it is driven by profit but lets be honest about it and not resort to linguistic gymnastics to defend a business decision. Yes, I'm looking at you Capcom.

The guys at Penny Arcade  have a gift for calling it as it is. As regards their opinion on the PS3, I really could not agree with them more.

At the moment the PS3 is an over priced Blue Ray player with too few compelling titles. With format exclusive titles fasting heading for the exit, only a price cut is going to help them gain any market share.

With the global financial meltdown, consumers are even more price conscience and they will be compelled rather than be inclined to the best value offerings which definitely excludes the PS3.

Well almost. My fridge is trying to rebuild the polar ice caps. In the process it tripped all the plugs in my house. This in turn caused my PC to reboot and my Xbox to go into ring of death mode. It was easily remedied by a reboot but I do think that I lost a few years in the process.

I think that I should send my fridge to the Arctic, it may do more to help the environment than CSS .