There are three big game releases this week, and I’ll start with the latest chapter in the GTA series from our esteemed and highly talented neighbours at Rockstar North in Edinburgh. The Ballad of Gay Tony is the last expansion for GTA4, exclusive to Xbox360, featuring a new storyline, 20+ hours of new missions and expanded multiplayer. They’ve even sorted some of the gripes people had about the first instalment, such as the infamous lack of mid mission checkpoints. It’s available for Download, or as a stand alone boxed product in which it comes bundled with the last add on too, The Lost and the Damned. I don’t need to tell you that it will simply be quality in a can.
DJ Hero is a new peripheral based rhythm action game from FreeStyle Games in Leamington Spa. Much Like Guitar Hero, but swaps the axe for a pair of decks, which you use to scratch instead of shred. Like Guitar Hero, it backs up its physical controller with licensed tracks and well observed visuals to further immerse you in the scene.
And then there’s Tekken 6, on Xbox and PS3, which is as good a beat em up as you’re likely to find if you’re into that sort of thing. Peppered wih familiar characters as well as some new features which have become standard practice for the genre now, such as character customization and a comprehensive online element.
9 is out in cinemas this week, which is 3D animation about a band of rag dolls who find themselves fighting for survival in a post apocalyptic world populated by robots. It’s the directorial début of Shane Acker, who was talent spotted by Tim Burton after he saw his short movie of the same name.
Finally if you fancy something weird, Colin, out on DVD, is an award winning independent zombie movie told entirely from a zombies perspective, and was reportedly made with a budget of £45. The director gathered extras to play zombies by recruiting on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Might be worth a look!
– Stew (@Chicknstu)