I have created a blog which will replace my reviews here. My goal is to become a published critic for video games, here in the UK and I need everyone's help. If you want a weekly updated publication that promises to delve into games with a constructive mind and criticism, that is also hopefully amusing to read, click on the link at the bottom.

I want these reviews to be easily accessible and informative without boring the reader half to death. I feel that reviewers in magazines have forgotten their routes and so aim to become published in those magazines to save face. To do that, and make a career out of it, I need your help.

Simply visit the site, look around at my reviews, comment with constructive criticism of writing style and opinions of the game (no flaming or short comments. Shenmue review has taught me that fanboy morons will do this a lot and will be deleted) in question. I update every week, maybe twice and maybe with a mini-review thrown in. Forgive the British spelling and cultural things if you don't understand them, but I think a number of people from other countries should be able to get them. Don't want to think the stereotypes...

Anyway, link is: http://purewaffle.live.spaces.com.

I hope to see people comment on here soon, sorry if it means activating a live spaces account...

Thanks all!

Super Smash Bros Brawl. Quite definitely the most important game to be released on the Wii. Why? Think about it, and you'll find many reasons. I will be pinching from a post I made in a comments box, but I figured it would be the best way to describe the general take on SSBB.

First off is the new features. One would expect a console that goes online would go online. So far, they haven't delved into this much. But with the 360 doing a smashing job at it (*cough * Halo 3, *cough*), Nintendo figured "Lets give the ladies and gents the ability to fight at home with their friends/strangers." Online rocks, thats a fact.

Next, new items. Have you ever wondered what those characters would do if they just went berzerk? No, neither have I, since they're usually berzerk already. But seeing Link go as crazy with his sword as the Star Wars Kid did is great for a laugh, and generally more benefitial, or Wario farting like crazy, or Mario deciding enoughs enough and becoming a saddistic pyromaniac. (You get the picture). There are also less destructive items, which are great for laughs (Ie. Assist Capsules).

There is one factor that is so important, its about as important as Jerusalem is to some major religions. It's as important as DVD. It's as important as the Stock Exchange, even mildly linked to it in one shape or another.

Sales. A poster said "It won't outsell Halo 3". It will. Here's why. Halo 3 was the hardcore FPS that got Xbox users wondering, "Just what happens to the Chief, we don't care about no Arbiter", and playing online games of Slayer and Capture the bloody flag till theres no tomorrow. Its a good game, no doubt, I do enjoy it and do play it and will probably end up finally putting it down on the day of the apocalypse.

But SSBB has a certain familiarity about it. Mario, Link, Samus, etc have been the stable diet of Hardcore Nintendo fans for years, and having them beat the seven cacks out of each other is none short of astonishing. Add in the cuteness factor (ie: Kirby, the Pokemon, etc) and you'll have the ladies squealing when Link decides fur balls must fly and throws a bomb at them. The appeal of this one is simple. Various control schemes that are clever, Online gaming for the first time and a character roster that will even make the market of previously uneasy Sega and Konami fanboys go "My character is in this, lets beat Mario up for kicks!" The fact of the matter is this. Halo 3 appeals to a market. SSBB appeals to almost every market. The only markets it doesn't appeal to are those who don't like games, those who don't like fighting games and those loyal to PS3/Xbox 360. (Though PS3 would probably love the fact Snake's in it.) And no doubt the total sales of Super Smash Bros Melee will be dwarfed compared to the first few weeks sales of SSBB. Even if you don't own a Wii, you have to admit. This will sell about as much as the Wii did on release worldwide. Nintendo's about to make EVEN MORE MONEY

It happened. Nintendo made the shock (not really) announcement today that Sonic The Hedgehog would be joining the Brawl. Don't believe me? Go to the Official Site, he's there, including video!

So whats my take on this? Well as soon as Snake was announced for SSBB, I thought, Sonic would be next. When Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was announced, I thought, Sonic's in Brawl! Today I got confirmation, and some moneys from people who said I was mad! As one person on the boards rightly put it "That solves the question of who beats who from 1991-1995".

A lot of people have said that Megaman would be next. I'd like to see that, but I doubt it. There are grounds for and against though, which are interesting to contemplate.

Since items from Metal Gear Solid have been announced and a level created for Snake, no doubt there would be stuff for Sonic too. Assist would come in either Tails or Robotnik (I refuse to say Eggman, silly name!) and Shadow/Knuckles would be there as secrets. Items would include Rings (They could half damage taken whilst being carried), TVs, etc. Level, Green Hill Zone, no contest!

Do I like the looks of this game, SURE I BLOODY DO!!! :D

A LAN session took place today, where we were introduced to a game co-developped by the National Guard, namely Prism - Guard Shield. It features an online/LAN Co-Op mode where you choose a map, set the difficulty to easy, make sure everyone's ready, then as soon as you click begin, watch as you and your teammates practically fall over.

The objective is to kill all the terrorists. Trouble is, there are over 70 of them in any map, and the AI is stupidly strong. You can select between weapon types, Light, Heavy, Assault and Sniper. Considering there were four of us, it was two two manned teams, one with Sniper, other with Assault, going down alpha and/or beta sections. The gameplay is very Halo like, only with Armour and Health Bars that are fixed. Oh, and other than what enemies drop, there are NO POWERUPS! We encountered mainly Assault styled enemies with a few Snipers and one or two rocket launchers. Oh yeah, they can all potentially kill instantly.

99% of the time, we were completely slaughtered. Sometimes due to the game's glitches (its a free "demo", so it doesn't seem finished quite yet), mostly due to stupidity, sometimes due to the AI being smarter than humanly possible. However, one map, by the 8th time, we got lucky. We cleared out our runs, met up and cleared out the big factories. Two died whilst clearing the second factory. The last kill was mine, and I personally killed over 25 of the enemy. I wasn't 1st in kill ratings, that honour went to one of the dead. The rest of the team were quite close in kill numbers, so all in all, a good job.

The main thing about the game, is that its so frustrating, its addictive. On single player, I was told it isn't as good, but with a bunch of friends with this game, then it becomes such a decent team game, you can waste an afternoon/evening/day just trying to complete a single mission! So if you want to play the game, just head here.

Continuing on from yesterday, we now look at the next segment of Bioshock.

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN ONE OR TWO SPOILERS, NONE ABOUT PLOT, BUT GAME FEATURES IT MIGHT. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW, SKIP THIS POST!

The main thing today was a new enemy. Remember the Thugs and Leadheads from the demo? They have a cousin, the aptly named Houdini Splicer. These guys are nasty, especially when you realise they've probably been on the same sauce as you have been injecting in yourself since the first hour! They also pack a punch, and are sneaky little things, since they can "warp"! We found a nice explosion filled shotgun Buck was enough to slay these, but others might prefer the Anti-Personnel bullets.

Next, a lot of upgrades. We found a bunch of nice new things, such as the Insect Swarm ability, complete with stings on wasp infested hand. We didn't find this too effective, but imaginative, yes. We also fully upgraded the Pistol, so it packs a punch. I think there's a piston to propel the bullet faster. We also found an upgrade that boosts photographic sight, and realised that new abilities could be invented.

Finally, we came up with a fantastic strategy to fight the "Rosie" Big Daddys. Telekinesis, and cover. Thats all I'll give away. No bouncers yet, but sure to find some soon. Other types of splicers? Who knows!

As the gaming world should fully know, Bioshock has been released for a few days now. Since this was a game that both me and my older brother were hugely looking forward to, we sat down and played it for a few hours. Here's what we found. I will not go into the plot too much (anything from the demo is there), but everything else will be there. Read the disclaimer below (in CAPS and brackets).

(WARNING - THIS POST CONTAINS MANY SPOILERS! IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE GAME UNTIL YOU PLAY IT FOR YOURSELF, I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU DISCONTINUE READING THIS PARTICULAR POST. I'M SORRY IF I CAUSED ANY INCONVIENIENCE.)

One thing we noticed immediately in the first hour or two was the fact that elements from the demo, namely the Incinerate plasmoid and Security/Bots/Turret were no longer there. They do appear later on, but their location in the demo probably means that 2K games tried to introduce as many factors as were physically possible, without spoiling the game fully. For those who didn't play the demo, this wouldn't matter too much. Since the game is out now, only download the demo if you're really not sure about it.

We had fun with glass. Beating the daylights out of a window outlooking the ocean and it surprisingly not breaking or fading was remarkable. We came back after injecting the character with Electro-Bolt and it was still there! We also had fun with the dead splicers. Sometimes, the splicers twitch, looking like they're either waving, or scratching his/her face. One even did a kind of salute when they died. We found it offensive, so we beat his face with a wrench. Good times...

Technicalities over, we then ploughed through. One thing of note, Telekinesis is fun. What's that? Big Daddy's thrown a grenade at us? Yoink! I caught it in mid-air, with my MIND! Whoops! Bye Bye Big Daddy! The little sisters are really weird. You have an option when Big Daddy's not around. Save or Kill. Hmm, morale dilemma. Well, except for the gamerscore people. Its their mission to save the little sisters! Killing them does offer more ADAM, kinda like Dollars, only a little more disgusting. On another note, the Big Daddys can also be seen on their own! One instance we missed a Little Sister, then saw a Big Daddy on its own. Not seeing the point, we continued only to hear a bang. Turning around, the Big Daddy was banging on a wall, summoning a Little Sister! A few seconds of mayhem later and we got the missing little sister! They even appear if the level says there are no more Little Sisters to deal with!

There are a bunch of powers that are awesome. There are ones like Incinerate, which can do things like create Cyclone Traps, Freeze Enemies only to shatter them, Make them fight each other, Make the security go after them, and Create Distractions. There probably are more, and upgraded versions of the mentioned ones too. There are also abilities which affect your other actions, such as damage given/recieved, hacking ability, inventing ability and recovery. Each has a slot, which only a few at a time can be equipped. You can buy a maximum of around five or six for each catergory. There are also a large variety of makeshift weaponry, and they can be equipped with customised ammunition, such as the Electro-Shell for the shotgun or Armour-Piercing bullets for the pistol. Upgrades are also possible, such as the self loading Pistol clip which looks a lot like a chaingun's ammo case.

Another thing that interested me was that you can gain abilities via research. You get specific advantages by taking photos of enemies. There are grades involved, with A being the highest we've obtained so far. The fact Big Daddys don't react to cameras on their own is a bonus, and Little Sisters will stand there when their Daddy's dead makes documenting the hardest enemies so easy. You also get told which bullet type is most effective. Oh, for best results, photograph them lots of times alive. Especially if theres multiple numbers of them. You can also gain unique abilities from these methods. One such ability we saw was the ability to search again. It's a gamble, since you lose the first set of lootable items, but sometimes it really pays off. Just don't do it too much.

This all leads to two questions. Will I be seeing more tomorrow, and when will I review it properly? Yes to the first, almost no doubt. Second, well I want people to see for themselves before I review. Mainly because the game deserves the hype and doesn't need some amateur rookie intenet journalist saying things without properly experiencing the city of Rapture. And yes, I will want to fight the Bouncer varieties of Big Daddys. They look awesome!!!

I noticed a vid online, which really does summarise the situation in the gaming world. Check it out!

[video=cHIzkjOt5b8IvzDc]

If you think I was making a spelling mistake, then take another look. I'm not only 21, but now have a Wii to enjoy. As everyone knows, a Wii comes with Wii Sports, which will be reviewed when I can stop playing it! I also got one of the Virtual Console games: Paper Mario. I have one or two thoughts on both to share, so bare with me.

Now, onto the most anticipated game of the year so far, Bioshock. The US has had it for days, and is enjoying it tremendously. I hope the same can be said when I am able to play this game. I loved the demo, which a lot of people did, so I'm more than eager to play the game in its entireity.

I know this is a short update, but the novelty of having a Wii is still around. Ergo, I will keep on playing for a bit, and review when I'm done. If you have any comments by the way, do message me. I don't like flaming however, and flamers will be ignored. I also prefer constructive comments to "Yay, you're so cool" kind of messages. They feel in-personal. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

The team at Midway and indeed, the makers of the series: Mortal Kombat have decided to release Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on the Nintendo DS. As a bonus, they've implemented the Puzzle Kombat feature from MK: Deception here too. There are one or two trailers for this to look at.

To be honest, I reckon they imposed images from Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 onto a DS screen in order to make the trailers. In a recent interview, Ed Boon is quoted to have said that the DS version will have online play for both UMK3 and Puzzle Kombat. This is all good and all, and having Puzzle Kombat is certainly a bonus and a half. There is another thing they need to do though.

He also said that they're using the Arcade version of UMK3 as a source. This is also a good thing, but I seem to remember that there was a version, namely Mortal Kombat Trilogy, which has just about every single character in the MK universe up to Mortal Kombat 3. It would be excellent for them to include as playable characters: Goro, Kintaro, Motaro, Shao Kahn, Chameleon (both versions), and the older versions of previous characters. I've noticed that only one character in the whole MK series has never been playable however, and that ironically is Shang Tsung from MK1! (Old Wizard!) If UMK3 for the DS is to be successful, it needs to offer more in the actual game than the 360 version, and more characters, new fatalities/animalities/babalities/friendships, and secrets (maybe via the characters!), are the way forward.

Ok, theres a reason why I titled this blog post what I entitled it.

Firstly, its because of the latest news from Nintendo about Smash Bros Brawl. A new assist and a new challenger. The assist is known as Devil, who from the looks of things acts as an annoyance. The new challenger is interesting though. Meet, the Pokemon Trainer? Yes, though you don't control him, you use the creatures he owns instead. Namely, Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard. Their life totals are linked however, and they have a stamina gauge, which means you can't rely on Charizard all the time.

Onto the other side of the news, as many people would know, Bioshock for the Xbox 360 and PC come out in a few days time. The spiritual sequel to System Shock 2 aims to impress, and judging by the recently released Demo on the 360 (PC demo will follow), it doesn't look as if it will disappoint. To those who have not got a 360, or a decent PC, i'd definitely invest on one of the two, and soon. Those who have played it will know exactly why!

I won't go into any detail about the demo, but it seems like it starts at the beginning. As you wander around, you'll instantly notice the games visuals (impressive beyond belief), and the atmosphere it shows off soon afterwards. No doubt, this game is beyond creepy. Thankfully for me, its more psychological, which I can take. Shock horror tends to make me jump, then shoot aimlessly! The demo does however introduce you to a number of things, like abilities. I found two, and the second one even comes with a slogan. You'll also discover basic weaponry, and what the game's publicised about since the first trailers, Big Daddy, and yes, they're really brutal abominations, but not as creepy as the little girls or the Splicers, but you will more than likely shoot them lots anyway! Oh yeah, one little "spoiler", highlight from -- to -- (next paragraph) if you want it!

-- Yeah, those little girls, they're not little girls. Know the Big Daddy? Know what he does with his time? Thats right, protects his little sister. The girls! It seems that Little Sisters go around collecting ADAM from corpses, then digest it. Big Daddy sees away predators! --

There was another demo recently released, one that will be for a game for the 360 and PS3. Stranglehold, the game by John Woo, seems like a spiritual sequel to one of his films starring Chow Yun Fat. It is apparent through the demo that the game rewards stunts. It has a Max Payne like "Tequila Time/Bullet Time" function, but also has a Gauge, which lets you heal yourself slightly, or focus shoot people, (amongst others not yet discovered) which usually ends in a very nice cutscene of the target getting brutally injured. There are also scenes where you shoot and dodge enemies. These are interesting to play, but don't seem too long. Anyways, I won't spoil any more of the games functions to you. Compared to Bioshock, this is garbage, but thats because Bioshock is beyond imagination. Want something to play before Halo 3, GTA 4 or any of the big games coming soon? Bioshock is your game, and if you finish that, Stranglehold will also suffice.