Hidden Gems of the Gaming World : Syndicate

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

Hidden Gems of the Gaming World is a new post series here on J Station X that talks about the games that you should buy (though will most likely overlook).

“Syndication for the nation!”, the heralds will cry.

“Corporations, criminals, television shows!”, “Syndicate ALL the things!”, Internet meme posters will bellow from behind their laptop screens.
Meanwhile, you are sat there thinking ‘how on Earth is any of this relevant to my gaming interests?’.

Back in the ancient times of 1993, a game called ‘Syndicate’ was released. It was an “isometric tactical squad” game that put you in charge of four agents with the task of killing, escorting and persuading various high profile figures.

The last game in the franchise (Syndicate Wars) was released almost two decades ago but EA are starting from scratch, rebooting the series and throwing out the clunky, block-like graphics of old, giving it a futuristic look and a myriad of gameplay options to boot for its upcoming 2012 release.

Click ‘Continue Reading’ to find out why Syndicate is worth your time.

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MLB 12 : The Show First Look Trailer

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

As far as first looks go, this one is at the premier end of the scale. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that this new trailer for MLB 12 : The Show takes the scale, destroys it, thwacks what’s left with its baseball bat and then pitches the remnants into the stands for good measure.

In true trailer fashion, it boasts “enhanced realism”, but that really didn’t need to be stated as our first taste of in-game footage looks (and even feels) incredible. (Apparently the game also has “full PlayStation move controls” too, which isn’t necessarily something to be proud of so you know, yin and yang).

It’s not the “#1 Rated Sports Game” for nothing.

Click ‘Continue Reading’ to see MLB 12 : The Show in action.

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UFC Undisputed 3 Hits Hard with a Demo, Trailer

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

I’m fairly sure that the other day, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson told us a pack of lies in that trailer for UFC Undisputed 3’s career mode. A fighting game that makes you feel actual feelings?

It must be a load of baloney. The game already has near-perfect gameplay in the ring so to fuse both elements together would be simply ludicrous.

I suppose the only way to test whether or not you’re overcome with emotions handing either Wanderlei Silva or Quinton Jackson’s ass to him, is to download the demo for the game which is out on Xbox 360 and PS3 today – though I suspect that the only mushy-ness you’ll witness is that of either competitors body tissue once you’ve beaten him to a pulp.

Click ‘Continue Reading’ to watch the trailer for the demo.

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‘Will there be a Fallout 4′?’ and More of Your Questions, Answered

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

There are idiots on the Internet. You know it, I know it and *most* of the people on Yahoo Answers prove that statement to be true. Though once in a blue moon these idiots stop typing out words in L337 speak and ask some pretty thought-provoking stuff.

I’ve rounded up a few of the gems I’ve seen this week, complete with my own answers (note : I’m considering making this a regular feature so please tell me what you think of this post in the comments!)

Click ‘Continue Reading’ to read the full list of questions and answers.

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Travis Rice is a Modern Day Explorer in this New SSX Trailer

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

Less than an hour ago, I was providing you with all of the links to cheer up an otherwise rather dismal Monday morning and now I’m here again thrusting images of snow covered slopes and depictions of brisk, Winter weather into your retinas.

I apologise for the temperature reminder, I really do, but what I have for you is definitely worth it. Wrap up arm and feast your eyes on this brand new trailer for EA’s SSX, featuring the alpine daredevil himself, Travis Rice.

Click ‘Continue Reading’ to watch the video.

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Monday Musings #1 : SOPA, Skyrim and Max Payne 3 Contests

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

We live in treacherous times. There’s no money in the bank for most, no food in the cupboards for some and for a good few of us, the Internet is being slow!
That last one’s a horrible beast.

Cold, hungry, or enraged by poor bandwidth, you should always set aside some *me* time ; indulge in a light spot of reading, or perhaps try and win some free stuff just because you can. Especially on a Monday, the only average day of the week that is directly on par with Doomsday.

Below is a round-up of gaming-related links that will hopefully put a smile on your face, make you laugh or give you something to think about on this Winter’s morn. Enjoy.

Win an Xbox 360, game vouchers and some premium class headphones courtesy of Rockstar & Max Payne 3
‘Children playing video games : a sign of neglect?’ asks @RocketMinx, a point that will hopefully quieten a few of the gaming cynics.
As well as running this little ship (the S.S JSX, woo!), I am also a writer for grouvee, a fabulous video game site (me? Biased? Never!), here are some words I done wrote about SOPA (this bit of news also doubles as a excellent rebuttal against supporters of the bill, fyi).
Ever wondered what Skyrim would look like given a touch of modern paint? Wonder no more dear reader! YouTube user GroBroPros has uploaded an ingenious video depicting what the game would look like should Bethesda choose to drop the Nordic feel with a sequel. Click here to see it.
The lovely folks at the Official PlayStation Magazine (@OPM_UK) have got a timetable of every single 2012 PS3 release, which will be constantly updated if a new game is announced/a release date is change. I’d bookmark that one if I were you.

BONUS : to keep you entertained until next time, have a go at the browser version of Cut The Rope. It’s fun, it will kill time and unlike the iPhone/iPod Touch version, it’s free!

Scroll down to find out how to subscribe to JSX so that you will never have to miss a post again.

What Everybody Ought to Know About Resident Evil 6

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

The Internet was a flutter yesterday when Capcom dropped the massive (if not slightly obvious) bombshell that Resident Evil 6 is in full development but not only that, they also revealed that it will be out in just a matter of months.

Tweets were tweeted, exclamations marks were posted in their thousands and keyboards were smashed furiously in excitement over the news and there’s a strong likelihood that you were one of the many millions of rabid undead enthusiasts who flocked to YouTube to watch the trailer.

However, only so much can be expressed in a 3 and-a-half minute video which is why I’ve put together a round-up of the need to know facts about the game (and yes I’ve included the trailer just in case you want to watch it again!)

Click ‘Continue Reading’ for all of the info.

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Quinton Jackson Introduces UFC Undisputed 3’s Career Mode

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

What’s the only thing better than a fighting game with more realism than Attenborough’s BBC documentaries? A fighting game with…heart?

I thought you might say that.

THQ have just released the UK trailer for UFC Undisputed 3’s career mode, presented by the UFC’s own Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, (I suspect that’s not his real name) who seems to be trying to convince you that the story of the game is just as important as knocking the snot out of your opponents’ faces.

Mr Rampage isn’t very convincing, we all know the game’s foundations are that of knuckle pie but the video still offers up some ground-(and pound)-shaking gameplay footage.

Click ‘Continue Reading’ to watch the video.

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STOP SOPA

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

As you may have heard, the American government are considering passing one of two laws (SOPA and PIPA) that could violate our rights on the Internet.

The laws are designed to help copyright holders put and end to online piracy, allowing them to shut down any site that they believe is violating copyright.

But congress left out one important thing – they can shut you down, even if you’re innocent.

SOPA and PIPA are bills made up by people who do not understand the Internet and are supported by people with more money than sense. They take away our rights to freedom of speech and we cannot allow that.

Today J Station X will be taking part of the SOPA Blackout to show that we here at JSX are against these ridiculous bills.

If you’ve made it this far and are reading this post, I strongly suggest that you go to https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/ to sign Google’s petition and help to defend our Internet.

Thank you.

A Pre Skyrim Lag Interview – in which Bethesda Make Themselves Look Silly

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Jasmine Henry

On Friday, when I was writing up my HGGW feature for NeverDead, it occurred to me to look through my on and offline reading archives to see what other people were saying about the game. Whilst filtering through my collection of last year’s gaming mags, I stumbled across the November issue (#212) of ‘PLAY’ – “the UK’s best-selling independent PlayStation magazine”.

I absolutely love developer interviews, there’s something about the spewing of memorised marketing jargon that just warms the cockles of my heart, but what I found when I read their interview of one of the guys from the Skyrim dev team wasn’t a collection of PR-written answers at all, and was actually an entirely different strain of conjured up bullshit altogether.

(Before you read on, I should say that this isn’t entirely a fecal-themed rant about the game, but gamesradar’s David Houghton’s has got a brilliant rage-fuelled-post on Rimlag that is exactly that – here)

Click ‘Continue Reading’ for the full post.

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