Detailing the system further, he admitted that the player’s dog and weapons will also be available in co-op. “When you come into my world, you come in as your hero, with your dog, with all your unique weapons, self-crafted weapons. I heard you — you don’t wanna be tied to my camera, you wanna go off and do your own thing in my world. Fine, fair enough.”

That said, he warned about “consequences” from bringing in said friends to your own version of Albion. “It means careful who you invite in, ’cause they can screw the whole thing up, man!” And then, when the possibility of using the new “touch” functionality came up, things took a turn for the weird. “Yes you can use touch with your co-op partner. Yes you can walk down the street hand-in-hand. Yes you can drag your co-op partner to your dungeon and see what happens. Absolutely.” Keep in mind, folks — what happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon. Rawr!

If this sonic game really does bring back some hard core memories, then you probably know that since sonic 2 or maybe 3, you’ve not really had anything to wet your appetite for a really long time. Most sonic games since then, have failed misserably when compared to the early ones however one or two may have done ok in their market. The game that probably done the best was sonic and the olympics on the nintendo wii.

With sonic going back to basics with the latest games atleast sega have finally realised that they need to bring back the older generation interest in order to get the younger generation wanting to buy their games.

Back to what I was talking about, sonic & sega all star racing, is this really a good idea? Well I think so, lets face it, if we have sonic along side a whole host of other stars, then kids will associate these fantastic modern gaming stars with sonic, keeping them intriugued for the release of sonic 4.

Sonic racing is a fantastically fun game to be played with the family but I feel its probably better played on the wii instead of one of the next gen consoles.

The online game by the Middlesex London Health Unit gets a player to choose a character and answer true-or-false questions about sexual activity.

Players can either be a man wearing a condom on his head named Captain Condom; a virgin named Wonder Vag; a boy named Willy the Kid who believes size doesn’t matter or Power Pap, a sexually active gal, who says sex isnt a game?

Each character will have to fight the game’s super villain, the Sperminator, a muscular man wearing a red wrestling mask with penis arms, by correctly answering a number of questions. If they get an answer wrong, they’ll get shot by sperm, maybe a bit harsh but if it happens during sex it has to happen in the game.

If a question is answered correctly, the character will be able to block the sperm with a condom.

The game also has links to health clinics, videos, contraceptive information, and posters. It will be promoted at some public schools across the region in order to teach kids about sex, the dangers and positives of sex.

The game can be played at www.getitonlondon.com and is recommended for young people aged 15 to 24.

Well there are a number of websites that I used in order to play free online games and it all depends on what mood I’m in and what sort of game I want to play. Do I want to play a sports online flash game, or a shoot em up free online game?

Sometimes I actually don’t know what kind of free online game I want so I’m basically stabbing in the dark as to what to pay. When I’m like that I have a website that usually takes care of it all, freeonlinegames.com has a good range of free online games to keep you occupied when boredom sets in. Don’t let yourself be bored, there are places out there that let you play free online games without having to worry about registering, or paying a “donation” in order to have free access to all the games.

Don’t forget, if your bored, play free online games where ever you can find them, we even have one to keep you entertained here, if you use the search function for street fighter, then you should be able to play street fighter 2 turbo free.

Only…well, it’s virtually impossible to resist the lure of a return visit to Rapture. As rusting leaky crumbling undersea dystopias go, Rapture has it all and I convinced myself at the start of my play through that I wouldn’t let my disappointment get the better of me. If nothing else, I’d enjoy being a virtual tourist in Andrew Ryan’s twisted undersea kingdom once again.

With no pomp or ceremony you find yourself once again emerging into a barnacle-encrusted world of decay and human debasement, only this time rather than being a fleet-of-foot mystery man, you’re cast as a lumbering Big Daddy. Clad in your armoured diving suit with all the grace and flexibility of an arthritic hippo, you may feel a little encumbered at the start of the game and extremely frustrated that just about everything left in Rapture can kill you with inherent ease.

Thankfully those of you who played through the first game will know that Bioshock doesn’t leave you defenceless for long, and Bioshock 2 doesn’t either. Soon you will gain your first plasmid powers (with various items common with the first game, plus a few new ones to keep you on your toes). Your main armament at first is the Big Daddy arm-drill, but eventually you’ll find other weapons dotted around the rotting corridors and access tubes of Rapture, and again like the first game these weapons can all be upgraded turning you from Splicer-fodder into a hefty killing machine.

I’m purposely avoiding giving too much away plot wise, because I know how annoyed I’d be if I read a review that spoiled plot and gameplay elements too much. Suffice to say that Bioshock 2 is very much more a shoot-em-up fan’s game, eschewing the intelligent character interaction and puzzle solving of the first game and focussing more on fighting your way out of trouble. On the “normal” difficulty level, I found the game unjustly punishing and seemed to spend way too much of my time staring at the glass doors of a revival booth.

Ammo seems to be scarcer than the first game, though you can spend a lot of time searching nooks and crannies, and various containers as well as dead bodies for useful items.

New characters and locations abound in the previously unexplored sections of Rapture and it’s these that make the game worth playing, even though you’ll probably play the entire game just waiting for that inevitable twist in the tale (again I’ll emphasize, no spoilers here, go and play it and you’ll know what I’m talking about). Your character seems easy to empathize with and like the hero of the first game, a character that’s been used and abused by nefarious villains in positions of power amongst Rapture’s higher echelons. But expect the unexpected. I will say no more than that.

Reiterating the point that Bioshock 2 is more for first person shooter fans than RPG fanatics, there’s a tacked-on multiplayer mode to compliment the single player stuff. I say “tacked on” because despite having some superb alternatives to the usual standard multiplayer “capture the flag” or “team deathmatch” fare, there are several custom modes that bond firmly with the game’s core elements. Adam hunt is one such mode, tasking players with gathering more Adam than their competitors. Of course it goes without saying that plasmid powers feature heavily in multiplayer too, and at times the gameplay is fast and frenetic. But it still feels like an entire game mode that wasn’t really necessary, and was just thrown into the mix to keep FPS fans sweet.

All told, Bioshock 2 suffers from having extremely large shoes to fill (and you don’t get larger shoes than those lead-lined clompers the Big Daddies wear). So much is carried over from the first game without much enhancement or change, and though that’s not necessarily a bad thing it feels a lot like the minimum effort was put in. That said, technically there are some superb spot effects and some impressive set pieces, particularly when your character gets trapped in a rapidly flooding chamber. The way the scene swiftly changes to a submerged particle-filled room full of floating debris is indeed extremely impressive.

Inventory and plasmid handling is much the same as in Bioshock 1, as are the weapons and upgrades and of course the moral choice of helping or harvesting Little Sisters, though this time you can escort the little darlings around to gain even more Adam for your own means.

The tedious pipe-puzzle hacking elements have been replaced with an equally tedious swinging needle “game” (which incidentally could end up being nigh on impossible if you’re colourblind). Other than that, there are minor changes to some of the HUD graphics and a tighter look and feel to the game engine. Rather nicely, you also have the option on consoles to lock the framerates (sacrificing a little visual clarity here and there).

The star of the game though is undoubtedly the setting, and though I’ve enjoyed Bioshock 2 a lot less than the first game I am pretty sure that if 2K have got a third game in mind, I’ll be unable to resist the temptation to go back to Rapture once more.

But while business is booming at Zynga and other social-game developers, not everyone is excited about growing virtual crops or running a fictional organized crime business used on facebook.

A new group has popped up on Facebook bluntly titled, “I dont care about your farm, or your fish, or your park, or your mafia!!!” At the time of this post, more than 1.5 million people have become a “fan” of this page, with more than 2,000 people joining this group per minute.

Dozens of messages per second are being posted to the facebook group’s wall, and most people aren’t shy in expressing the annoyance felt after reading about a friend’s adventures in farming. Here’s a sampling:

“i hope your lost cow wanders in to burger king.”

“I don’t care if you play it, but when it asks you if you want to publish click NO! Because, quite frankly, no one gives a damn.”

“Hope your barn burns down! The mafia hitman has you sleeping with the fish! and Your park has a hostile takeover by a big rabid mouse!”

“I dont care about your farm, or your fish, or your park, or your mafia!!! I have a life ”

“ARGGHHH I don’t care that you are building a freaking stable and need help”

“I am getting sick of having to click “ignore” all those posts. Let ‘em start their own website and leave us alone.”

To be fair to the social game developers, most of these people seem to be directing their displeasure at Facebook for notifying them of their friend’s activity, more than at the games or players themselves. But these games depend on viral growth, relying on notifications that encourage people to follow their friends and play along.

One person even started selling bumper stickers with the group’s title for $3.95 on Zazzle.com.

In response to this group, someone else started up a rival page today called, “I care about your farm, fish, park, & your mafia! Those who don’t R Haters!”

Only 36 people became a fan of that page as of this posting.

Gamasutra resources confirm reviews at consumer weblog Kotaku that some 90 employees have been let go at Radical. Leaving production of Guitar Hero 6 to go rather slower than expected.

Source purportedly from former employees confirm information from our sources suggesting Neversoft — currently finishing Guitar Hero 6 — is also affected, and Gamasutra sources also claim LA-area studio Luxoflux will close as part from the layoffs.

Separate reports from multiple resources also confirm layoffs and claim potential closure at Bay Area-based Activision studio Underground Development, latterly the developer of titles like Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

Activision announced yesterday that sales for its third quarter fell 5 percent year more than year to $1.56 billion, with losses widening to $286 million thanks to a soft casual market and also the rapid decline from the music genre.

As towards the latter, analysts say category sales fell 26 percent last year, and Activision says it plans far fewer music SKUs than in current years.

Prototype, Vancouver-based Radical’s most current release, launched in June 2009 to strong critical reception and sales performance. It was acquired by Vivendi in 2005, and became 1 of Activision’s studios when the publishers merged in 2007.

As for Neversoft, it’s been owned by Activision for a lot more than a decade. The studio is greatest recognized for producing Tony Hawk games — however, the most current Tony Hawk title, dubiously-received Ride, was developed by Robomodo. Neversoft has also developed major installments within the Guitar Hero franchise.

Luxoflux has recently concentrated on game tie ins for films like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, all of which have apparently noticed only modest critical reception and revenue performance.

For a short period of time it was cool to play Sonic and the chubby, overall-wearing Italian plumber was nearly forgotten by some as Sega was arguably winning that generation’s console war. The company’s aggressive strategies, deemed madness by some within the company, amounted to achieving a 55% market share against Nintendo which had been considered impossible.

The fall of Sonic was largely due to the rise of 3D gaming. Unlike Mario, most of Sonic’s allure was in the speed of the experience and it did not translate well into 3D. The new Sonic games were poorly thought out as the gameplay was weak at best. It became apparent that Sonic was reliant on what I like to call the “cold beer effect” where once the 2D structure was abandoned it, it was clear that the games were hollow and could not succeed without it much like the way Coors Light in unbearable without the mind-numbing cold wave shocking your palate and brain.

Repeated attempts to modernize and stay competitive with games like Mario 64 left Sonic loyalists disenchanted to a point that they would condemn their beloved rodent unlike any other protagonist in gaming. “Improvements” such as adding characters, which worked in the past, were seen as cheap tricks and the Sonic series became known as a product for suckers and petitions against the company could be found.

A return to the 2D tradition finally came about with Sega bowing to the Nintendo DS with Sonic Rush and a sign of hope could be felt. Overall, the game was received well by critics and scored an 82% on Metacritic.

Most recently, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was announced for summer 2010 for multiple platforms and so far it appears that the children of the ‘90s will be pleased. The side-scrolling environment and the feeling of speed seem to be replicated well as these are paramount for a good Sonic game. In the trailer Sonic is running through a corkscrew loop while off in the background rest buildings in the game’s familiar art style.

While I do feel the angst that sadly now comes along with being a Sonic fan, I find it hard to believe that this game can be screwed up – even if it is Sonic Team making it. While many are already panning this game’s release, perhaps we should give the series one more chance to redeem itself and I believe it will. The odd thing about Sonic 4 is that the bar is set so low that it is a win win situation for Sega. If it does well with critics then the developers will be cited as being in tune with the fans and if it doesn’t do well with critics the amount of old fans will likely still make it profitable and will ask, “What did you expect from a 2D game?” However it turns out, I hope there will be a nod to Michael Jackson in the game and if you have not heard about his supposed work on Sonic 3 then I suggest researching it.

The return to the 2D environment demonstrates a change in the company’s strategy, for the better, and shows that they understand what Sonic is. Sonic is a great character that does well in what he was originally made to do but he is also a character that has difficulty adapting to 3D space so until a better way of doing it is found, the side-scrolling method is best as it will bring old fans back to the brand and will attract new players looking for something different.

There are a number of outcomes, one is portsmouth go into administration for a while to see if an administrator can actually help them with their debts. The other is for Portsmouth football club to cease to exist. Now forgive me if im wrong but, I believe either option will kill pompey.

Administration will carry a 9 point deduction this will come into play, either this season or next. So either way they are going down but Portsmouth could be facing a spell where they could go down into Coca Cola League one. This will surely end the club financially and as further debts continue to get called in, they will be under increased pressure to eventually wind up.

It would be a sad day if portsmouth were to be wound up. However my immidiate worry is, what would that do to the football game we know and love, Fifa 10. Would EA sports see fit to remove them from the game? If you are a portsmouth fan, just like pompey or you are just a football fan, we want your say on this.

Would you like to see the end of portsmouth in Fifa 10 or do you think pompey should be kept in as a keepsake of what was once a good club.

One thing that is for certain is, David Moyes was right when he said, clubs like pompey will be introuble in a couple of years for buying players they cannot afford. Now look at them, they’ve gone from playing AC Milan last season to the brink of existance this season.

I have taken some time out to look at some possible items you could buy a loved one for valentines day so that they will be more than happy with your choice. Don’t forget though, my items will only be suitable for hardcore or casual gamers.

1. Assassins Creed 2 - Great game, won game of the year for the xbox 360 so would go down well for both a guy and a lady.

2. Gamers Chair – Have you seen these things? I mean talk about awesome, you plug them into your tv, then before you know it, you’ve got massive bass running through your body with the a 5.1 surround system built into the chair. You can get some good ones for around £50.

3. A Voucher at your local game store – Yes it may be simple but what better than to let your beloved gamer, choose what they want to buy. Let them be happy while at their console.

Tommorow you will find further valentines day articles where we attempt to bring you the ideas of what you can do on valentines day if you are maybe alone and dont have someone special to hold? Either bookmark us and come back for all your valentines day and gaming tips you will ever require.

With more than 4 million users world wide, they are probably in a fantastic position to do that, with systems such as advertising available to all users, and a search feature, they are not far away. They may now just be looking for that last way to beat them and I’m sure the answer is an Email system to rival hotmail and Gmail.

Internally, the project has been named “Project Titan” however there are employees who are calling it “Gmail Killer”. There have been agencies and individuals however, that have been questioning the need for another email system. With so many available, will it get used and will it benefit.

If you use facebook every day, I bet you would want a facebook email account? I know I would, they could help you filter out things such as comments and alerts you don’t want, which is exactly what gmail and hotmail don’t do. They may even totally replace hotmail in the future, lets see if plans materialise and we do finally see a way to bring down hotmail, gmail and the two big internet giants, microsoft and Google.

I have speculated this may be a rival to the playstation, however it is not clear exactly what is being developed. Until the last 10 years nintendo to me, has always sort of lead the way when it comes to gaming technology ever since the early days of Mario Brothers, which was the first game to be turned into a movie. Although it is harsh to say they have fell behind with the wii, they are probably quite a way from the graphics and gameplay available on the other consoles.

Lets face it, the wii may be fun to play with family and friends, however this console will not let nintedo steal hardcore gamers from the next gen consoles.

What would you like nintendo to be working on? Wii HD? Upgraded N64? or the New DS. Let me know your thoughts, I know personally I would like them to be looking at a way to further utilise the motion sensors for hardcore gamers.