Thursday, January 28, 2010

And... I'm back.

I have returned from my dual holiday to La Reunion/Japan, and will now get back to playing games and talking about them. This is more just a heads up than anything else, but I will just add that the reason the site has had.. limited content recently is also due to Michael, Mark and I's inherent laziness. As we are teenagers, we cannot be blamed for this.

I also said I would do a BF:BC2 Beta preview, but unfortunately I only played about 2 hours before having to leave to Reunion. As such all I can really say is that it's pretty similar to the first Bad Company; if you liked that you'll probably this.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

BFBC2 Beta Release Imminent!

If you're anything like me, you're more than interested in the new Bad Company game being released in March. After all the problems associated with the "hack proof" and "user friendly" IW.NET *cough* Bullshit *cough*, many players from MW2 are interested in the game which will offer a graphically awesome experience, intense online multiplayer and dedicated servers for PC users.

A beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on PC will be released on the 28th of January (US Time) which is the 29th for Australians. If you've pre-ordered BFBC2 then you'll be able to get access to the beta. If you're Australian, Steam is selling it for $55 Australian which is damned cheap for any game over here. PS3 users have already experienced a beta and with a PC beta coming up, we'll be providing you with a preview of the beta soon.

For more information see the BFBC2 blog here.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

We're [Not] Dead.

Exactly what the title is implying. NeonTurtles hasn't been giving you guys a good dose of gaming news recently for a number of good reasons:

- Mike and Dennis (Possibly Mark as well) are all having a vacation in Japan, last time I talked to them they told me they were going snowboarding.
- I've just come back from visiting Hong Kong and Macau.
- I'm staying in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia where traffic stands still and internet is scarce.

On behalf of the team, I humbly ask you (The reader!) to pardon us for the lack of activity.

Now with that aside let's look what's coming up in what is possibly one of the greatest years of gaming we have ever known.

With ground breaking sequels such as MASS EFFECT 2 and BIOSHOCK 2 being released very, very soon; you guys can expect Michael, Dennis and Mark to do whole hearted reviews of them once they get back.

Titles such as Halo: Reach, Dead Space 2, Alan Wake and Dead Rising 2 and many more are going to make us all dive our hands into the depths of our pockets in order to keep up with the flurry of excitement that will eventually hit the shelves sometime this year.

On a side note; Valve has launched its Team Fortress 2 Contribution site. This is where all the ideas submitted by the community regarding new weapons and hats will be checked by Valve to see if they'll make the grade to be used in the game. So if you have a niche for modelling, concept art and game design; make yourself heard now!


2010 is going to be a significant year for gamers, so it'll best for you not to miss out.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Game of the Year, 2009

Hey guys,
I'm currently sitting at a laptop in a random house in Reunion, a small French-owned island near Mauritius, off the coast of Madagascar. The keyboard I'm using looks like this, so it's taking awhile to type this out. Anyway, as a result of my current geographical location, I won't be involved in anything possibly until February comes around, apart from this; my top 5 games of 2009. Enjoy (or don't).

5- Plants vs Zombies
Popcap was introduced to me through this game. I now own, in one form or another, every Popcap game, but only Peggle is as good as this. I spent countless hours on Plants vs Zombies, growing my Tree of Wisdom higher than I would like to say. I have no idea why this game is as fun as it is, or as addictive, but there you go.

4- Dragon Age: Origins
Mark and Michael love the shit out of this game. And despite what may seem, so do I. I've always enjoyed RPG's, and Dragon Age is a fine example of a traditional video game refined and turned into something extremely enjoyable. A nicely original story and a brillantly realised world combine with challenging and enjoyable combat, and the best party interaction I have ever seen, to create what may well be the most replayable RPG of all time.

3- Flower
Many of you may not know what Flower is. A downloadable title put out on PSN by thatgamecompany earlier this year, Flower was on release heralded as a brilliant example of how the Sixaxis could be used well as a control device. It is also, however, a brilliant game. I recommend you go and watch a video because it will explain it far better than I do. Flower really wins the award for best experience with a game I've had this year, and also the award for most beautiful.

2- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Nathan Drake is fucking awesome. The first chapter of the Uncharted franchise was, in my humble opinion, an excellent game, but it really doesn't compare to Among Thieves. I enjoyed every minute of Uncharted 2; one could say it's a rollercoaster ride in digital form. Uncharted 2 also sets the bar for story telling in video games, and it raises it pretty high. Finally, it looks quite pretty.

1- Assassin's Creed 2
Somebody always calls each and every year the ''Year of the Sequel'', but I would bestow upon 2009 a different title; the ''Year of the Sequel that is really fucking good''. Assassin's Creed 2, in my mind, is the perfect example of just what I sequel should be. In every way improved over the first game, AC2 wins my game of the year because it not only does a lot, it also does everything right. I don't really feel like I need to say anymore; Assassin's Creed 3 will have to be really good to keep up.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Valve News, Medal of Honor and Halo Reach

Some exciting news that has emerged this week regarding Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Medal of Honor and Halo: Reach.

Valve’s marketing director Doug Lombardi has announced plans for the first batch of Left 4 Dead 2 DLC which will collide with the 360 and PC on (American) Spring 2010. Said to contain a new campaign dubbed ‘The Passing’ it features Left 4 Dead 1’s original survivors meeting up with the cast from Left 4 Dead 2 in one big zombie slaughter game set in a small rural town of Georgia. Full co-op, scavenge, survival and versus compatibility will be included along with a brand new melee weapon, firearm and uncommon common infected. The exact pricing details for the DLC is to be decided but it is assumed to be free for the PC as an update and available as a download from the Xbox Live Marketplace... For a price. Aside from the DLC, for all those modders out there who have been living under a rock; the Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring tools has been seen undergoing a private beta test by several users in the steam community so expect seeing the full release sometime near the abridged future.

The ‘War’ Update is finally here for Team Fortress 2 that gives the Demoman and Soldier more gear and you the ability to craft weapons and hats from blueprints with all those spare items that have been littering your inventory. The new gear includes new shoes for the Soldier, a more defensive sticky bomb launcher, new achievements and even a SWORD AND SHIELD for the Demoman. Pay the TF2 Blog a visit for full details and be sure to check out the comics they have posted. Now the only class that’s left without an update is the engineer.

TF2 Blog War Update: http://www.teamfortress.com/war/part1/index.htm

Medal of Honor has a new game and trailer! It is now following in the footsteps of its Call of Duty predecessor by shifting from the war torn country sides of Europe to the conflict in the middle east. Looking like a Hollywood blockbuster movie; it is worth checking out the trailer via YouTube and might be of interest to all those folks who unnaturally get bored with Modern Warfare 2. Let’s just hope you don’t have to play as an undercover CIA agent.

Watch the Medal of Honor trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsOUMavabM4

In case you have missed it, Halo: Reach has a world premiere trailer that looks so ever sweet and showcases Spartan team Noble; the supposed main characters. It is a must-see for Halo fans and is one of the best trailers I’ve seen this year.

Watch the Halo: Reach Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9ez7iNjoVg

Sorry for the late news.

Internet Censorship FTL?

The Federal Minister for Communications, Stephen Conroy recently announced that the government would go ahead with its controversial introduction of a mandatory internet filter for Australia.

I for one, believe that the internet speed in this country is pathetic at best, and we don't need to have a political point scoring filter being introduced to slow it down any further.
This filter is said to block 1 in 10 legitimate websites. The only other countries that censor the internet in the world are: China, Iran, Burma, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Egypt, Vietnam, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. That is not a list Australia should be added to. Furthermore I'm a little irritated that the government needs to tell us what we should and shouldn't be able to see, when we're all capable of putting a filter in place if we want one. On top of that, cyber crime devisions of the AFP would no doubt benefit much more from the money that would be spent on this filter.

If you're as pissed off/biased/internet loving as I am, head to this website; the GetUp Campaign is letting us e-mail Senator Conroy, so he can experience the power of people complaining over the internet (it's a beautiful thing, isn't it?).

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

BFBC2 Beta

I got in it. Preview to come.