Mature Scot improves anger management to take deserved spot in gang of four

By Paul Newman, Tennis CorrespondentSunday, 30 November 2008

Empire: Total War hands-on previewPublisher:SEGA
Platform:PC Exclusive
Release Date: 6th February 2009

If somehow you’ve not yet heard of the Total War games, you couldn’t be coming in at a better time. The time in question is the 18th Century, which sees the Industrial Revolution, George Washington’s American War of Independence and the French Revolution; it’s the time of Napoleon’s European conquest and the rise of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington.

Tomb Raider: UnderworldPublisher:Eidos
PlatformsPC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, PS2
UK Price (as reviewed):£24.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$39.99 (ex. Tax)

Lara Croft has been called a lot of things over the years. First she was a ground-breaking step forward for the way women are represented in games, then later she began an inevitable decline to being just a sex symbol and icon of Eidos’ past successes.

Tomb Raider: UnderworldPublisher:Eidos
PlatformsPC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, PS2
UK Price (as reviewed):£24.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$39.99 (ex. Tax)

Lara Croft has been called a lot of things over the years. First she was a ground-breaking step forward for the way women are represented in games, then later she began an inevitable decline to being just a sex symbol and icon of Eidos’ past successes.

Tomb Raider: UnderworldPublisher:Eidos
PlatformsPC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, PS2
UK Price (as reviewed):£24.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$39.99 (ex. Tax)

Lara Croft has been called a lot of things over the years. First she was a ground-breaking step forward for the way women are represented in games, then later she began an inevitable decline to being just a sex symbol and icon of Eidos’ past successes.

The Nuvifone from Garmin is still due for an early 2009 release despite being delayed earlier this year. It will be a carrier-exclusive offering, though the company is not revealing its choice of partner network to the public. As Garmin is traditionally a portable navigation device manufacturer, the Nuvifone will bring many of the company's technologies to its GPS mapping functionality, as well as access to high-speed 3G data networks.

The Nuvifone from Garmin is still due for an early 2009 release despite being delayed earlier this year. It will be a carrier-exclusive offering, though the company is not revealing its choice of partner network to the public. As Garmin is traditionally a portable navigation device manufacturer, the Nuvifone will bring many of the company's technologies to its GPS mapping functionality, as well as access to high-speed 3G data networks.

Need for Speed UndercoverPublisher:Electronic Arts
Platform:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, DS, Wii, PlayStation 2
UK Price (as reviewed):£39.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$58.99 (ex. Tax)

There’s a lot to be said for a game that understands what it is and doesn’t try to hide it; games which don’t try to over-reach themselves or are content to refine a specific formula without ever trying to push the boundaries of game design.

Shaun White SnowboardingPlatform:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
Publisher:Ubisoft
UK Price (as reviewed):£38.00 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$55.24 (ex. Tax)

We’ve always found it weird that PCs and consoles, despite being a form of home entertainment commonly associated with all the negative aspects of being a geek have always played host to such a large number of sports games.

After all, computer games could be used to let you experience

Shaun White SnowboardingPlatform:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
Publisher:Ubisoft
UK Price (as reviewed):£38.00 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$55.24 (ex. Tax)

We’ve always found it weird that PCs and consoles, despite being a form of home entertainment commonly associated with all the negative aspects of being a geek have always played host to such a large number of sports games.

After all, computer games could be used to let you experience

Shaun White SnowboardingPlatform:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
Publisher:Ubisoft
UK Price (as reviewed):£38.00 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$55.24 (ex. Tax)

We’ve always found it weird that PCs and consoles, despite being a form of home entertainment commonly associated with all the negative aspects of being a geek have always played host to such a large number of sports games.

After all, computer games could be used to let you experience

Tom Clancy's EndwarPublisher:Ubisoft
Platform:Xbox360, Playstation 3
UK Price (as reviewed):£37.73 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$59.79 (inc. Delivery)

Predicting the future is a difficult thing – according to the comics that I read as a child, we'd all be flying around in hover cars, be waited on by robots and living on Mars by now. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am that none of this has come true yet.

Shaun White SnowboardingPlatform:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
Publisher:Ubisoft
UK Price (as reviewed):£38.00 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed):$55.24 (ex. Tax)

We’ve always found it weird that PCs and consoles, despite being a form of home entertainment commonly associated with all the negative aspects of being a geek have always played host to such a large number of sports games.

After all, computer games could be used to let you experience

Tom Clancy's EndwarPublisher:Ubisoft
Platform:Xbox360, Playstation 3
UK Price (as reviewed):£37.73 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$59.79 (inc. Delivery)

Predicting the future is a difficult thing – according to the comics that I read as a child, we'd all be flying around in hover cars, be waited on by robots and living on Mars by now. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am that none of this has come true yet.

Left 4 DeadPlatform:PC, Xbox 360
Publisher: Valve (digital), Electronic Arts (retail)
UK Price (as reviewed):£19.97
US Price (as reviewed):$44.99

Zombies. Co-op. Steam. For those of us who like our action geeky, gory and varied, it’s like a dream come true.

Ever since the pre-order demo dropped onto Steam two weeks ago our lunch times, our evenings and our weekends (and in Joe's case his girlfriend's entire life) have been filled with zombie blasting, flash light flailing mayhem, and despite only featuring one and a half levels from the full game,

LittleBigPlanetPublisher:Sony
Platform:Playstation 3
UK Price (as reviewed):£29.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$59.99 (inc. Delivery)

Physics is a funny thing. In games, I mean, not in real life. In real life, physics is a very serious thing, and should only be studied by serious people in lab coats, pocket protectors and thick glasses. Probably.

In games, though, physics is usually a take-it-or-leave-it affair. After all, modelling physics to make a completely realistic game environment requires a lot of computational power, even if you use something like a PhysX enabled graphics card.

On Our Desk 14Another month, another rising pile of bits and bobs in the corner and another burst of spring cleaning for us here in the office as we sift through all the things that slipped through the cracks and give them some coverage.

So then, what have we got to amuse ourselves with this time around?

Well, as ever we’ve got a USB drive to kick things off with. Round-ups like this just don’t seem to work unless you’ve got a thumb drive to fiddle with and dunk in water, but this time we’ve chosen something a little special. The Earthdrive 4GB from ATP is part of a project to create green tech made from recycleable material.

007 Quantum of SolacePublisher:Activision
Platforms:PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo DS
UK Price (as reviewed):£29.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$47.99 (inc. Delivery)

Believe it or not there was actually some hope for the Quantum of Solace game – a possible light at the end of the tunnel which hinted that maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t be the feeble movie cash-in we were all expecting.

Call of Duty: World at WarPublisher:Activision
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii, DS, PS2
UK Price (as reviewed):£31.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$69.99 (inc. Delivery)

Normally, we’d start a review of a game like this with an explanation of the story – but today we’re not going to. There are two reasons for that.

Firstly, this is World War II (again) and if you need the plot of that explained to you then you’d probably be better off using your time to learn something useful like how to tie your shoelaces. There’s really no excuse for not knowing the basic structure of World War II – especially at this time of year.

A newly-leaked document has elaborated on earlier reports that Verizon will be removing the choice of low-end data plans for smartphones. All new smartphones sold on or after November 14th should indeed require a $30 data plan, the principal exception being Verizon's government clients, who will be able to continue on as normal. The restriction is expected to expand in 2009, when "Mobile Web 2.0" phones with a full HTML browser will be expected to have either a Connect or Premium Plan, or else the $15 VCast add-on.

Hercules has unveiled the XPS 2.150, the latest addition to its line of multimedia speakers. The system features two eight-watt compact satellite speakers and a 16-watt wooden subwoofer. The magnetically-shielded satellites feature a gloss black finish with orange driver cones and a back-lit control knob. Users can adjust the ported subwoofer separately, with bass controls and an on/off switch.

Mirror's EdgePublisher:EA
Platform:Playstation 3, PC (delayed), Xbox 360
UK Price as reviewed:£39.99 incl. Delivery
US Price as reviewed:$53.99 excl. Delivery

Video games and violence go together like...well, Jack Thompson and disbarment proceedings.

Combat is an easy way to pull you into the storyline; the adversarial nature of most games is a way to engage you and provide a challenge and sense of progression – whether it's with bigger better weapons or improved skills. Playing

Seagate on Monday announced it has teamed up with virus-protection software developer McAfee to develop its self-encrypting notebook PC hard drives from its Momentus Full Disk Encryption (FDE) line, in both 7200RPM and 5400RPM versions. Both are now available in 320GB capacities, or the highest of any FDE drive on the market, and Seagate promises to introduce even larger, 500GB versions soon.

Keeping the good-post bad-post Google Android theme alive, today we bring to your attention the news that an enterprising hacker has successfully installed the Debian distribution of Linux on his jailbroken T-Mobile G1 handset.

The hack, reported over on Engadget yesterday, is the brainchild of Jay Freeman – perhaps best known for creating the Cydia third-party App Store clone for the iPhone – who wanted something a little less restrictive than the default Android platform supplied with the handset.

In a furious internet rant on his work blog Infinity Ward community manager Rob Bowling has called for sites to stop interviewing Treyarchs Noah Heller, who he feels is drawing nonsense comparisons between Call of Duty 5 and Call of Duty 4.

While COD 5 is being developed by Treyarch, COD4 was created by Infinity Ward and the two entirely separate teams have traditionally divided the franchise - with Infinity Ward creating the superior titles in the eyes of many fans and critics.

With the news that Google's Android shipped with an embarrassing security hole being followed by a simple two-step method to 'jailbreak' the OS, you'd think that the company had ironed out most of the remaining bugs – but you'd be wrong.

According to ZDnet's Ed Burnette, the open-source Linux-based smartphone platform recently shipped in T-Mobile's G1 handset contains a real doozy of a back door: it would appear that absolutely

Dell on Tuesday silently released the XPS 430, the latest incarnation of its mid-range media desktop. The new update to the glossy black tower system pushes it past 4GB of RAM for the first time and gives even the base XPS 430 a full 6GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 RAM (up from 800MHz DDR2) in stock trim. Also new are recent-generation Core 2 Quad processors at the baseline that trade some Level 2 cache for a faster 1,333MHz system bus.

Novatel Wireless over the weekend announced the upcoming release of a new USB modem, the Ovation MC760 Micro Modem. Calling it the world's smallest EVDO Rev. A USB modem, Novatel goes on to reveal the MC760 provides both its wide-area Internet access as well as the added benefits of an on-board GPS receiver and a built-in microSD memory card slot. The MC760 weighs less than one ounce and is just slightly longer than two inches.

After repeated leaks, AT&T today finally but quietly launched the HTC Fuze. The carrier's adaptation of the Touch Pro brings a customized version of HTC's TouchFLO interface with an AT&T icon as well as support for several of AT&T's services over its tri-band HSPA Internet access, including HBO Mobile video as well as Napster Mobile and XM Radio for music purchases and Internet radio streams.

Apple's recent MacBook lineup and the iPhone may make it one of the better-positioned companies to survive a likely steep drop in spending during the holidays, according to new data from ChangeWave. The analyst firm says that a full third of all studied US notebook buyers, or 33 percent, plan to buy some form of Apple notebook during the season or within the next 90 days from the start of November. The number represents a slight boost from 29 percent in September and puts Apple's demand on par with Dell; HP continues to significantly trail behind at just 22 percent.

V-MODA today broke cover to launch the Vibe II with Mic, the successor to its long-serving Vibe Duo. The iPhone-oriented but not exclusive in-canal earbuds carry a new, machined metal design which V-MODA calls eco-friendly and should also have improved audio. A new 8mm driver is said to have a more organic sound than most and is tuned in favor of the bass response needed for electronic, rock and urban music; the company estimates frequency response at the very low end between just 12Hz and 22Hz.

Gears of War 2Publisher:Microsoft Games Studio
Platform:Xbox 360 Exclusive
UK Price as reviewed:£34.99 with free delivery
US Price as reviewed:$51.99 incl. Delivery

After our initial preview, this was always going to be a difficult review to write. That first article didn’t exactly prove all that popular, nor were we in the initial aftermath.

Which is a shame because we’ve never been of the opinion that

From Andrew Mullen, PA Sport, Shanghai Monday, 10 November 2008

A below-par Andy Murray kicked off his maiden Masters Cup bid with a sluggish 6-4 1-6 6-1 victory over American Andy Roddick in Shanghai today.

British number one Murray gained the crucial and solitary break in the fifth game of the first set as he was rarely threatened by world number six Roddick.

Murray looked off the pace through the second set, which was won by Roddick in under half an hour, but the world number four looked a different man in the decider and wrapped up the win in 95 minutes at Qi Zhong Tennis Stadium.

By Paul Newman in ShanghaiTuesday, 11 November 2008

GETTY

Andy Murray made a stunning start on his first appearance in the Masters Cup in Shanghai yesterday, overpowering Andy Roddick decisively to win 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

By Paul Newman in Shanghai Monday, 10 November 2008

Fears that Roger Federer's back injury would leave him struggling to make his mark on the Tennis Masters Cup were realised here today when the world No 2 was beaten 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 by Gilles Simon in his opening match.

Although the defending champion can still qualify for the semi-finals, a defeat against the least fancied player in the tougher of the two groups has left him with a major challenge in his remaining round-robin matches against Andy Murray and Andy Roddick. The latter pair met in today's other match, Murray winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

Canadian wireless provider Solo Mobile on Thursday announced it is introducing four new voice plans and two new handsets to its line-up. The Bell sub-brand enhanced its Unbeatable and Solo in the City plans, giving users what it says is better value. It now waives the controversial System Access Fees and emergency 911 charges to new subscribers who sign up for a two-year contract. This represents a savings of about $8 CAD (about $6.75) per month.

We remember a few years ago when Electronic Arts was a publisher known only for endless remakes and clones and Activision was known for making creative new titles like Call of Duty. Now though, that's almost turned around on them and while EA is pursuing more new IPs, Activision is cancelling everything that can't be totally exploited.

Not our words either; those of Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.

Speaking in a conference call yesterday (Transcript at Seeking Alpha) Kotick explained why certain new titles were abandoned when Activision took over Vivendi, namely

Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode TwoPlatform:Xbox 360, PC, Mac, Linux
Publisher: Hothead Games
PC price as reviewed:$14.99, or about £10
XBLA price as reviewed: 1200 MS points, or about £10

Just like the last game, Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two (which from now on shall just be referred to as Penny Arcade Adventures Episode Two

Left4Dead Demo ImpressionsPublisher:Valve
Platforms:PC, Xbox 360
UK Pre-order price:
US Pre-order price:$49.99 incl. Delivery

There’s a credit crunch on, so we’re told, and it’s forcing everyone to be perhaps a little more frugal than they might have otherwise been. So, y’know, it’s OK. Nobody holds it against you that you didn’t just blindly pre-order Left4Dead already, securing early access to the demo.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3Publisher:Electronic Arts
Platforms:PC, Xbox 360
UK Price (as reviewed):£26.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$39.99 (inc. Delivery)

Things have changed with the Command and Conquer franchise over the past few years and it seems that ever since developer Westwood was first devoured by Electronic Arts the series has had a turbulent time.

It’s not all be bad, admittedly;

Prince of Persia Hands-On PreviewPublisher:Ubisoft
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Release Date: December 2008

We’ve had some secret concerns about the upcoming Prince of Persia game from Ubisoft lately, so we’ve been waiting until we’ve been hands-on with the game before we really started to make up our minds about it.

And now we have been hands-on. And the news is good.

Prince of Persia Hands-On PreviewPublisher:Ubisoft
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Release Date: December 2008

We’ve had some secret concerns about the upcoming Prince of Persia game from Ubisoft lately, so we’ve been waiting until we’ve been hands-on with the game before we really started to make up our minds about it.

And now we have been hands-on. And the news is good.

Fable 2 Non-Gamer ReviewPublisher:Microsoft
Platforms:Xbox 360 exclusive
UK Price as reviewed:£36.99 with free delivery
US Price as reviewed:$58.99 with free delivery

Preface by Joe Martin

We don’t normally operate our reviews according to the whims of manufacturers and developers, but this was an option that was far too tempting to ignore.

For those who missed the original news story, the story behind this ever-so-slightly-special review is that the lead designer of