If you are planning to buy this on Blu-Ray or DVD, then you can use code VD1 to get £1 off. This code is valid until Midnight 31.08.2010

About Zavvi

Zavvi Website : http://www.zavvi.com

Zavvi Blog : http://blog.zavvi.com

Zavvi Twitter : http://twitter.com/zavvionline

Zavvi Facebook Page : http://www.facebook.com/#!/zavvionline?ref=ts

How To Enter

There are two ways to enter this competition that are listed below, make sure you double your chances of winning by using both methods!

Entry  One – Twitter

To make this entry you will need a Twitter account, if you don’t have one then sign up here. You will need to be following the Twitter accounts of both @FrugalMovies & @Zavvionline then all you need to do is copy the blue message below and paste it into your Twitter “What’s Happening” bar and then hit the Tweet button….simples!

Vampire Diaries S1 Blu-Ray up for grabs. Follow both @FrugalMovies & @ZavviOnline & RT to enter T&Cs http://bit.ly/9VLn25

Entry Two – Facebook

To make this entry you must have a Facebook account. You then need to check out Zavvi’s Facebook page and hit the “Like Button” at the top of their page profile. Once you have done that, we need to know who has entered the competition, so simply finish the phrase below and then paste it on the Zavvi Facebook wall

Hey Zavvi, if I was a Vampire like the ones in The Vampire Diaries I would like to get my teeth in to [Enter Celebrity]

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open worldwide to people aged 18 and over only (Please check that Zavvi delivers to your country to avoid disappointment). You can place an entry via Facebook once and once only. You can enter on Twitter no more than twice per day, this is to avoid spamming the Twitter time-line. The competition ends Midnight 24th August 2010, winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. Frugal Gaming / Frugal Movies reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time.

We have teamed up with the lovely people at The Hut to bring you a new competition to give away 3 copies of Fantastic Football Fan Party for the Nintendo Wi. We will pick 3 winners, each winner will recieve one copy of the game

About The Game

10 hilarious football party games, based around the most popular sport in the world.Explore the action as a top scorer with spectacular volleys and acrobatic overhead kicks or act as a fan drummer to hype up the crowd.

• 3 multiplayer modes for up to 4 players. Tournament, Free play and party mode.
• Compete in 10 fun, football based mini games. Penalty shootout, celebration poses, keepy uppy and more!
• Create your own players and kits with the editor tool.
• Unlock cool new items for your character as you progress.
• Fun for all ages, with several difficulty settings.

About The Hut

Website : www.thehut.com

Twitter :  www.twitter.com/thehut_com

Facebook : www.facebook.com/TheHutOnline

How To Enter

Simply follow The Hut on Facebook by hitting the “Like” button on their profile page. Once you have done that, all you need to do is finish the sentence below and paste it on The Hut Facebook wall

The coolest video game character ever is…..

Terms and Conditions

This competition is residents of all countries that The Hut ships to, and that are aged 16 and over only.  Please make sure The Hut ships to your country before entering to avoid disappointment. The competition ends Midnight 23rd August 2010, the winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. Frugal Gaming reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time without notice.

The two young studs from Frugal Gaming return after a 6 month break from podcasting. As well as chatting about what we have been up to, we also talk about the changes to Frugal Gaming since we recorded the last episode. We also take the opportunity to do a mini review of 2010 so far, chewing the fat about which games we think lived up to the hype and those games that have died on their proverbial arses.

Warning

The audio quality of this show is below what you would normally expect from one of our podcasts as some numpty (Daz) accidentally recorded the entire show on a cheap webcam mic that was running in the background, instead of using the mic on his headset which was strapped to his chubby bonce at the time! We debated whether or not to release the show due to these problems, but decided to give it a  punt. To combat these audio problems, you may want to reduce the volume slightly whilst listening.

Follow Daz on Twitter

Follow Nory on Twitter

Unified Gamers Network

Warning – Strong language and humour of an adult nature from the very start

Subscribe Via iTunes

Listen Direct

]]> http://www.frugalgaming.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=24167 1 http://www.frugalgaming.co.uk/?p=23661 http://www.frugalgaming.co.uk/?p=23661#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:05:40 +0000 Darren http://www.frugalgaming.co.uk/?p=23661

We will be hosting a Battlefield Bad Company 2 Game Night on the Xbox 360 on Wednesday August 11th @9pm GMT. Everyone is welcome, no matter what your skill level is, as it’s just for fun. Our game nights usually last between 1-2 hours, or sometimes even longer if people want to continue. It’s a great way to game with like-minded friendly people.

Game : Battlefield Bad Company 2

Platform : Xbox 360

Date : 11th August 2010 @9pm GMT

Requirements : The game and Xbox Live Gold Membership.

If you are interested in joining us, then please register your interest here or send us a friends request on Xbox live, our site gamer tag is Frugal Gaming. Make sure you have the game on at the time stated above and we will send you a game invite.

Competition Details

We have another great competition for you, this time in conjunction with the nice folks at Sendit.com. We have been given 2 copies of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands to give away, one copy for the Xbox 360 and one for the PS3. We will pick 2 winners, each winner will win one copy of the game for either the 360 or PS3.

We are also running another competition with Sendit.com on our Frugal Movies site, in which there are 2 copies of The Crazies DVD up for grabs. To enter, click here

About Sendit.com

Website : http://www.sendit.com

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/sendit

Twitter : http://www.twitter.com/Sendit_com

About The Game

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is the next chapter in the fan-favourite Sands of Time universe. Visiting his brother’s kingdom following his adventure in Azad, the Prince finds the royal palace under siege from a mighty army bent on its destruction. When the decision is made to use the ancient power of the Sand in a desperate gamble to save the kingdom from total annihilation, the Prince will embark on an epic adventure in which he will learn to bear the mantle of true leadership, and discover that great power often comes with a great cost.

How To Enter

There are two ways to enter this competition that are listed below, make sure you double your chances of winning by using both methods!

Entry One : Twitter

To make this entry you will need a Twitter account, if you don’t have one then sign up here. You will need to be following the Twitter accounts of both @FrugalGaming & @Sendit_com then all you need to do is copy the blue messages below and paste it into your Twitter “What’s Happening” bar and then hit the Tweet button….simples!

Prince of Persia forgotten Sands (PS3) up for grabs. Follow both @FrugalGaming & @Sendit_com and RT to enter

Prince of Persia forgotten Sands (Xbox 360) up for grabs. Follow both @FrugalGaming & @Sendit_com and RT to enter

Entry Two : Facebook

To make this entry you must have a Facebook account. You then need to check out Sendit.com Facebook page and hit the “Like Button” at the top of their page profile. Once you have done that simply finish the phrase below and then paste it on the Sendit.com Facebook wall

Sendit.com is a  great website  for gamers on a budget because………

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open worldwide to people aged 18 and over only (Please check that Sendit.com delivers to your country to avoid disappointment). You can place an entry via Facebook once and once only. You can enter on Twitter no more than twice per day, this is to avoid spamming the Twitter time-line. The competition ends Midnight 11th August 2010, winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. Winners should allow 28 days to receive their prize. Frugal Gaming reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time without notice.



Competition Details

We have teamed up with the nice people at Gamegears.co.uk to bring you a brand new competition and this time there are two prizes up for grabs. We will pick two winners, one winner will receive the £30 credit and one will receive the Starcraft 2 game.

Prize One : £30 credit to spend @ Gamegears.co.uk

Prize Two : Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty (PC/Mac)

Star Craft 2 is only £32.99 for a limited time @ Game Gears Click here to buy

About Gamegears.co.uk

Game Gears was founded in 2008, from our personal love for Video Games. Started as a small side-line business, we have now grown to a full dedicated Video Games online retailer, specialising in all games and accessories for all major consoles like Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and PlayStation.

Follow Game Gears on:

How To Enter

You can make three entries for this competition, to maximise your chances of winning make sure you use all three methods

Method One – Comment Box

For this entry all you need to do is let us know what your favourite game of 2010 is and then post a link to that games page on the GameGears website along with its current price. Please post you entry in the comment box at the bottom of this page.

Example : My favourite game of 2010 is Lego Harry Potter which is £27.55 here http://www.gamegears.co.uk/xbox-360-c5/xbox-360-new-games-c13/warner-brothers-lego-harry-potter-years-1-4-1-to-4-xbox-360-p1361

Method Two – Twitter

To make this entry you must have a Twitter account, if you don’t have one then sign up here. Once you have signed up, simply copy the blue message below and paste it in to your Twitter “What’s Happening” bar and then hit the “Tweet” button. You must also be following the Twitter accounts of both @FrugalGaming and @GameGears

For a chance to win £30 GameGears credit follow both @FrugalGaming & @GameGears & RT to enter-Rules http://bit.ly/aMGqEI

For a chance to win Starcraft 2 (PC) follow both @FrugalGaming & @GameGears & RT to enter-Rules http://bit.ly/aMGqEI

Entry Three – Facebook

To make this entry you must have a Facebook account. You then need to check out the GameGears Facebook Page and hit the “Like Button” at the top of their profile. Once you have done that simply let us know what you would spend the £30 GameGears credit on if you won and then paste it on the GameGears Facebook wall. Please, make sure that you include the current price for your selected game, plus a link to the product page on the GameGears website.

Example: If I win the Frugal Gaming / GameGears £30 credit competition I would buy Sniper Ghost Warrior which is £27.50 here http://www.gamegears.co.uk/xbox-360-c5/xbox-360-new-games-c13/city-interactive-sniper-ghost-warrior-xbox-360-p1454

Terms and conditions

The competition is open to people age 18 and over from THESE countries, please ensure that Game Gears ship to your country before entering to avoid disappointment. Competition ends at Midnight 4th August 2010, winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. You can make an entry via Facebook and the comment Box once and once only. You can make and entry via Twitter no more than once per day, this is to avoid spamming the Twitter time-line. The winner of the £30 credit will need to create an account on the Game Gears website to enable them to receive the credit. Frugal Gaming reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time. Winners should allow up to 21 days to receive their prize.



About The Competition

We have once again teamed up with the nice folks at The Game Collection to bring you a new competition. This time we have 2 copies of the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 game on a console of your choice. We will pick two winner who will each receive one copy of the game.

About The Game

Despite all his off course problems EA have stuck by Tiger Woods and the world’s favourite golf game returns with its first ever simulation of the Ryder Cup tournament. Lead your team to glory in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11.  Fight for honor, fight for country in the all-new Ryder Cup Challenge on The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales in 2010, which is the course of this year’s Ryder Cup.

The addition of the Ryder Cup to Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11 means big changes for the online options, with a brand new 24 player online mode where you can recreate the whole tournament and earn your place on the online leaderboards. Or you can play offline and swap matches at any time for full control at all times.

About The Game Collection

“Established in 2005 thegamecollection.net offers great deals on games and accessories for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PSP and PC. We pride ourselves on our excellent customer service and quick delivery times – don’t forget that delivery is always free in the UK.

Website : www.thegamecollection.net

Twitter : www.twitter.com/game_collection

facebook : www.facebook.com/thegamecollection

Tiger 11 Prices @ The Game Collection

Xbox 360 £29.99

PS3 £29.99

Wii £28.99

How To Enter

There are two ways of entering this competition, one via Twitter and one via Facebook. Make sure you double your chances of winning by making an entry using both methods.

Entry One : Twitter

To make this entry you will need to have a Twitter account, if you don’t have one then sign up here. Once you have signed up you then need to follow the twitter accounts of both @FrugalGaming and @game_collection , then just copy the blue message below for the console of your choice and paste it in to your Twitter “What’s Happening” box and share it with the world…..Simples!

Tweet for Xbox 360 copy :

For a chance to win Tiger Woods 11 (360) follow both @Frugalgaming & @game_collection & RT: Rules here http://bit.ly/cEgLh8

Tweet for PS3 copy :

For a chance to win Tiger Woods 11 (PS3) follow both @Frugalgaming & @game_collection & RT: Rules here http://bit.ly/cEgLh8

Tweet for Wii copy :

For a chance to win Tiger Woods 11 (Wii) follow both @Frugalgaming & @game_collection & RT: Rules here http://bit.ly/cEgLh8

Entry Two : Facebook

To make this entry you must have a Facebook account. You then need to check out the Game Collections Facebook page and hit the “Like Button” at the top of their profile. Once you have done that simply finish the phrase below and then paste it on the The Game Collections Facebook wall.

Thegamecollection.net is a great website for gamers on a budget because……

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open to EU residents aged 18 and over only . You can place an entry via Facebook once and once only. You can enter on Twitter no more than twice per day, this is to avoid spamming the Twitter time-line. The competition ends Midnight 20th July 2010, winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. Frugal Gaming reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time. The winners must allow up to 21 days for the prize to arrive

If you like this competition and want to see more in future, then please take a second to hit the “Like” button below.

Whether it’s the big hitters like Amazon or the independent UK retailers such as The Game Collection, we would like to know which retailer has provided you with the best overall on-line shopping experience, both in terms of value for money and service. Who is the retailer you can depend on to get your games delivered cheaply and on time?

Please take a second to vote for the store that you think deserves this title, you can also leave comments at the bottom of the page if you would like to let us know what factors made you vote for your chosen retailer.

We have once again teamed up with the lovely people at Zavvi to bring you more competition goodness. This time we have been given £30 of Zavvi credit to give away, which the lucky winner can then use to buy stuff off the Zavvi website. You could also put the credit towards the pre-order of the new Xbox 360 250 GB which would bring the price down to a handsome £164.95

About Zavvi

Zavvi Website : http://www.zavvi.com

Zavvi Blog : http://blog.zavvi.com

Zavvi Twitter : http://twitter.com/zavvionline

Zavvi Facebook Page : http://www.facebook.com/#!/zavvionline?ref=ts

How To Enter

There are three ways to enter this competition that are listed below, make sure you triple your chances of winning by using all three methods!

Entry One

For your first entry all you need to do is let us know what you would buy if you won the £30 Zavvi credit. Just post the name and price of the item along with a link to it’s page on the Zavvi website. You can post the details in the comment box at the bottom of this page, we have made a sample entry just to give you an idea.

Entry Two

To make this entry you will need a Twitter account, if you don’t have one then sign up here. You will need to be following the Twitter accounts of both @FrugalGaming & @Zavvionline then all you need to do is copy the blue message below and paste it into your Twitter “What’s Happening” bar and then hit the Tweet button….simples!

£30 of Zavvi credit up for grabs. Follow both @FrugalGaming & @ZavviOnline and RT to enter T&C’s http://bit.ly/awmSfg

Entry Three

To make this entry you must have a Facebook account. You then need to check out Zavvi’s Facebook page and hit the “Like Button” at the top of their page profile. Once you have done that simply finish the phrase below and then paste it on the Zavvi Facebook wall

Zavvi.com is great for gamers on a budget because………

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open worldwide to people aged 18 and over only (Please check that Zavvi delivers to your country to avoid disappointment). You can place an entry via Facebook once and once only, the same applies to the comment box entry. You can enter on Twitter no more than twice per day, this is to avoid spamming the Twitter time-line. The competition ends Midnight 8th July 2010, winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. To claim the prize you must have a Zavvi account which will be credited soon after we have contacted the winner. Frugal Gaming reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time.

If you like this competition and want to see more in future, then please take a second to hit the “Like” button below.

Here at Frugal Gaming we know how costly buying a new console can be. To help you save your hard earned cash we have scoured the internet looking for the best console prices on-line. All prices include delivery and are correct at time of publishing.

Nintendo

Wii (White) £134.85

Wii (Black) £149.73

DSi £119.99

DSi XL £143.86

Microsoft

Xbox 360 Super Elite 250GB  £209.99 (Forza 3 Limited Edition Bundle)

Xbox 360 Super Elite 250GB £209.99 (Final Fantasy XIII Bundle)

Xbox 360 Elite 120GB £184.97

Xbox 360 Arcade £119.99

Sony

PS3 250GB Slim £259.99

PS3 120GB Slim £239.99

PSP 3000 Slim £129.99 (Includes Camera & Invizimals Game

PSP Go (White) £189.99 Delivered

PSP Go (Black) £174.15

Competition Details

We have teamed up with the lovely people at The Hut to bring you a new competition to give away copy of the highly anticipated Split Second : Velocity for the Xbox 360. The Hut has also been kind enough to give us two Split Second t-shirts to give to the runners up.

About The Game

Split/Second, an intense action racing game set within the world of a hyper-competitive reality television show. Competitors vie to be the first across the finish line in a made-for-TV city built for destruction, with the ultimate goal of becoming the season champion. Competitors in Split/Second don’t just collide with other vehicles to knock them from the track – they can also trigger explosive events that drastically alter the dynamics of the race. Players must use strategy and pinpoint timing to derail opponents, tactically alter the track or create entirely new routes.

About The Hut

Website : www.thehut.com

Twitter :  www.twitter.com/thehut_com

Facebook : www.facebook.com/TheHutOnline

Price (Xbox 360) : £39.93 @The Hut

Price (PS3) : £39.93 @The Hut

How To Enter

There are two ways to enter this competition that are listed below, make sure you double your chances of winning by using both methods!

Entry One : Facebook

To make this entry you will need to have a Facebook account, if you don’t have one you can sign up here. Then all you need to do is visit The Huts Facebook fan page here and hit the “like” button at the top of the page, then simply copy the blue message below and then paste onto their Facebook page “Wall“.

I would love to win a copy of Split Second : Velocity thanks to The Hut & Frugal Gaming

Entry Two : Twitter

To make this entry you will need a Twitter account, if you don’t have one then sign up here. You will need to be following the Twitter accounts of both @FrugalGaming & thehut_com then all you need to do is copy the blue message below and paste it into your Twitter “What’s Happening” bar and then hit the Tweet button….simples!

For a chance to win Split Second:Velocity (Xbox360) Follow both @FrugalGaming & @thehut_com and retweet (UK16+ Only)

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open to UK residents aged 16 and over only.  The competition ends Midnight 6th June 2010, winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. Frugal Gaming reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time.

If you like this competition and would like to see more in future, then please hit the “Like” button below.

We have teamed up with the nice people at Gamegears.co.uk to give away two copies of the upcoming racing game Blur, one copy for the Xbox 360 and one for the PS3.

About Gamegears.co.uk

Game Gears was founded in 2008, from our personal love for Video Games. Started as a small side-line business, we have now grown to a full dedicated Video Games online retailer, specialising in all games and accessories for all major consoles like Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and PlayStation.

Follow Game Gears on:

About The Game

Blur is the ultimate racing experience, dropping you into heart-pumping, electrified in-the-pack action with 20 cars targeting the finish line and battling each other as they trade paint. Intense power-ups, including the ability to blast other cars out of the way with huge bursts of energy, as well as defensive shields, nitro speed boosts, and landmines create realistic damage and destruction. Featuring 4-player split-screen action that offers you a new kind of racing experience, one that allows you to race with your friends and as part of a network of players in high intensity competition and fun. Blur is non-stop racing competition, intense and neck-and-neck action ensuring you’re always in the race and battling for position.

How To Enter

You can make two entries for this competition, to maximise your chances of winning make sure you use both methods

Method One

Simply answer the following question : What price are Gamegears.co.uk selling Blur for on the PS3 and Xbox 360?

You can find all the details you need here. Once you have found the answer, please fill out the competition entry form at the bottom of this page and hit the send button.

Method Two

To make this entry you must have a Twitter account, if you don’t have one then sign up here. Once you have signed up, simply copy the blue message below and paste it in to your Twitter “What’s Happening” bar and then hit the “Tweet” button. You must also be following the Twitter accounts of both @FrugalGaming and @GameGears

2 copies of Blur up for grabs (PS3/360) follow both @FrugalGaming & @GameGears & retweet this message to enter

Terms and conditions

The competition is open to people age 16 and over from THESE countries. The PS3 game is region free, the Xbox 360 games are UK (PAL) region locked, so please make sure that your console can play these games before entering. Competition ends at Midnight 30th May 2010, winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. Frugal Gaming reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time.

Competition Entry Form

If you like this competition and would like to see more in future, then please hit the “Like” button below

Dragon Age: Origins is an epic fantasy role playing game from the makers of Mass Effect and Knights Of The Old Republic. It also happens to be just £12.93 on the 360 and PS3 which is a phenomenal bargain for as huge a game as this.

The game starts with a character creation tool allowing you to choose between the human, dwarf or elf races and then an appropriate class of warrior, mage or rogue. Your ‘Origin’ story then begins and will follow one of 6 possible opening acts. Once the initial segment of the game has been completed, the story arcs come together and you are recruited as a Grey Warden. This ancient band of skilled warriors have defended the lands for centuries.

Dragon Age feels like a proper RPG. With recent games like Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy XIII dumbing things down to make them more accessible, this game certainly does not! Everything you’d expect is here – looting, levelling up, party management, crafting … the list goes on. There’s a heavy amount of dialogue and like Mass Effect, a lot of your choices affect how your character will respond to certain scenarios. This ties in with the party loyalty system, and some decisions will not go down well with all members of your team.

The graphics do seem a little dated for such a recent game and it seems a little crazy seeing that Mass Effect 2 (and even the original Mass Effect) look so much better. Look beyond the visuals and you’ll find a really great game with a great story that draws you in. With many hours of gameplay and plenty of extra DLC available, Dragon Age: Origins is a fantastic way to spend £13.

Benjo321

(360)

(PS3)

The Humble Indie Bundle is a pretty unique little offer, it comprises of 5 independently developed PC games in a limited pay as little or as much as you like deal. Be quick because this offer ends at 8pm on Tuesday 11th May. The games included are World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD and Penumbra Overture and all come in the way of a DRM free downloads for Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.

World of Goo

Probably the highest profile game in the collection, World of Goo is a unique physics based puzzle game that received a great deal of critical acclaim. The aim of the game is to build structures out of your balls of goo to get to the level’s exit. Levels can have different challenges in obstacles to overcome and you’ve always got to making sure you meet get the required number of goo balls to the exit. For the older gamer out there this feels like a cross between Lemmings, and some sort of bridge building simulator.

This game is undeniably cute and the various types of goo present some great challenging levels.

Aquaria

Aquaria is a beautiful underwater adventure game. Imagine Ecco the Dolphin  combined with elements of Meteroid and Castlevania and you’ll have a pretty good idea what to expect. The player takes control of Naija, an underwater creature in search of her family. Throughout the game you’ll unlock different magical abilities that are brought to life by singing. Don’t worry though, there’s no mic input that you have to sing along to, it’s all done through unique mouse gestures.

The game is gorgeous with some really lovely background art and an atmospheric score. High production values all round make this a wonderful little game.

Gish

Gish is a strange little game, a bit similar to World of Goo in many ways but this is more of a straight forward platformer. I say straight forward, but what I mean is very difficult! Gish is a blob of tar and must battle through numerous levels to rescue his girlfriend who has been kidnapped by the game’s mysterious bad guy. The game relies heavily on a great physics system where you’ll have to use Gish’s unique jumping and sticking abilities to get through the different challenges.

The game can get quite tough very quickly, but it’s a unique platformer with a really cute look to it.

Lugaru HD

Lugaru is a 3D fighting game featuring ninja rabbits and wolves. Yes, you heard that right, NINJA RABBITS! It’s not quite up to Super Street Fighter IV standards but it’s a fun little time sink. The game comes with a campaign mode and a series of challenge modes of ever increasing difficulty. There are many ways to attack your opponents which are nice and easy to execute and most are context sensitive based on whether you are running, crouching or are still.

There’s no getting over the fact that the game feels a little dated – with low polygon character models and pretty bland scenery I’d say it’s the weakest of the games on display here.

Penumbra Overture

Penumbra is a first person horror adventure game and is episode one in a three part story. Being an episodic game, this is quite short but is cram packed full of creepy atmospheric action. There’s some nice visual filters, while obviously masking some limited graphics they do a great job of making it feel a bit scary. It feels like a point and click adventure game, but has a few unique elements being in a 3D space. You have to use the game’s physics to manipulate some of the objects (like picking up a rock and swinging it against a frozen hatch to break the ice). Things like this make it a bit more interesting than a run-of-the-mill inventory system.

This package is a great collection of some superb independent games and this is a great chance to give them a try without breaking the bank. The fact that part or all of what you choose to pay gets donated to 2 charities is reason enough to give this bundle a try.

Find out more about the two charities here: Child’s Play and Electronic Frontier Foundation

Benjo321

Please Take A Moment To Rate This Deal, Thumbs Up Or Thumbs Down?

We have teamed up with the nice folks at Zavvi to bring you a new competition to give away two copies of the highly anticipated Zavvi exclusive version of  Red Dead Redemption, one copy for the Xbox 360 and one for the PS3.

About The Game

America, early 1900’s. The era of the cowboy is coming to an end. When federal agents threaten his family, former outlaw John Marston is sent across the American frontier to help bring the rule of law. Experience intense gun battles, dramatic train robberies, bounty hunting and duels during a time of violent change. Red Dead Redemption is an epic battle for survival in a beautiful open world as John Marston struggles to bury his blood-stained past, one man at a time.

About Zavvi

Zavvi Website : http://www.zavvi.com

Zavvi Blog : http://blog.zavvi.com

Zavvi Twitter : http://twitter.com/zavvionline

Red Dead Store : http://www.zavvi.com/shops/red-dead-redemption.list

Buy This Game : Xbox 360 £36.95 or PS3 £36.95

How To Enter

There are two ways to enter this competition that are listed below, make sure you double your chances of winning by using both methods!

Entry One

Simply answer the following question:

The Zavvi exclusive edition of Red Dead Redemption comes with an exclusive guide, what is the full title of that guide? You can find the answer in just a few clicks HERE. Once you have found the answer, just fill out the Competition Entry Form at the bottom of this page and hit send.

Entry Two

To make this entry you will need a Twitter account, if you don’t have one then sign up here. You will need to be following the Twitter accounts of both @FrugalGaming & @Zavvionline then all you need to do is copy the blue message below and paste it into your Twitter “What’s Happening” bar and then hit the Tweet button….simples!

2 copies of Red Dead Redemption up for grabs! follow both @FrugalGaming & @Zavvionline & retweet to enter (UK18+ Only)

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open to UK residents aged 18 and over only.  The competition ends Midnight 19th May 2010, winners will be picked at random and announced shortly after. Frugal Gaming reserves the right to end or amend this competition at any time.

Competition Entry Form

If you like this competition and would like to see more in future, then please hit the like button below.

(Thanks for the 80+ people that rated this competition using our old rating system, if you get a second please rate it again using the new “Like” button below)

We have been hearing rumours of price cuts by UK supermarkets for the Fifa World Cup 2010 game  for over a week. Not being one to trust these rumours we ran a competition for people to confirm the Fifa prices if they were one of those people that liked to queue up for games at midnight hoping to bag a bargain.

Thanks to those brave little soldiers, we can now confirm the following Superstore prices for this game, we will update the list as soon as we get confirmation for each store.

Asda

• Xbox 360 £39.71
• PS3 £39.91
• Wii £31.97

Tesco

• Xbox 360 £39.97
• PS3 £39.97
• Wii £31.71

Morrison

• Xbox 360 £39.99
• PS3 £39.99
• Wii?

Sainsburys

• Xbox 360 £39.99
• PS3 £39.99
• Wii?

If you can confirm a price for any of the Supermarkets listed above, then check out THIS as you could win a £10 Amazon Voucher. If you see a change in any of the prices above then please get in touch.

We know lots of you are going to do the midnight run or get up early to try and get a bargain, so all you have to do is get in touch with us and let us know what the prices are for the individual formats at the supermarket you have visited and we will enter you in to a draw to win a £10 Amazon gift voucher.

The game is available on the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, for every format you can confirm a price, you will get one entry. You will get a bonus entry if you can supply pictures of the game that include the price, that’s a possible 4 entries in total.

You can send us your price confirmations to any of the below, just click on the titles.

Twitter

Email

Forum

Facebook

The competition will close at 12pm 30/04/2010, the winner will be picked at random

Happy bargain hunting, a don’t forget we are giving away 3 copies of this game here

We have teamed up with the nice people at 365games.co.uk to give away 3 copies of Fifa World Cup South Africa 2010 to help celebrate the launch of the newly redesigned 365games.co.uk website. We have one copy for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, so no matter which console you own you can join in the competition fun.

About the game

Celebrate the single largest sporting event on the planet with the only official and exclusively licensed video game for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Experience all the emotion and passion of the world’s fiercest national rivalries as you live the dream of competing against fans from around the world for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Take on the challenge of leading your home nation from qualification right through to a virtual re-creation of the FIFA World Cup Final and feel what it is like to score the goal that lifts a nation.

About 365games.co.uk

“365games.co.uk provides excellent value video games and accessories delivered quickly to your door.

We are based in the UK and deliver worldwide. All our games are PAL or region-free and are fully compatible with UK consoles. Save up to 50% off the retail price of many games”.

How To Enter

Method 1 – Simply answer the following question: How many teams can you compete as in the Fifa World Cup 2010 game? We like to make things easy here at Frugal Gaming, so just click here to find the information you need. Once you have got the answer then CLICK HERE to submit it along with your preferred console.

Method 2 - You need to have a Twitter account to make this entry, if you haven’t got a Twitter account you can sign up for free here. Then all you need to do is follow both @FrugalGaming & @365Games and then copy the message below and paste it in to your Twitter update bar and Tweet it to all you friends.

We Have 3 copies of Fifa World Cup 2010 up for grabs, simply follow both @FrugalGaming & @365games and retweet to enter

Feel free to maximize your chances of winning by using both methods of entry

Terms & Conditions

The competition is open to people in UK, Australia, USA, New Zealand, Canada and EU countries only. The games are PAL region coded and may not work in all the countries stated, please check to see if your country is able to play these games HERE. You must also be following both @FrugalGaming & @365games on Twitter. The competition ends midnight 05/05/2010 and winners will be picked at random

If you like this competition then please take a second to rate it thumbs up.

Zavvi are running one one the best Mega Monday sales we have seen in some time, it includes some really great prices including Modern Warfare 2 and Resonance of Fate for £17.95 each

If you are planning to spend over £20 then don’t forget to use the codes below to get even more money off.

Code APRIL2 gets £2 off when you spend £20 or more

Code ApRIL4 gets £4 off when you spend £40 ore more

Just add the codes at checkout, they expire 31/04/2010 so you still have some time left to use them

With a whole bucket load of games coming out at the start of the year, it’s very easy for some great games to go unnoticed. Darksiders is one of those little gems, vastly underrated and an absolute steal at £14.98 on both 360 and PS3.It’s also worth mentioning that this game belongs to a new ‘Under £15‘ section of the website, a nice easy way to find some really amazing bargains.

You take on the role of War, one of the the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse whose duty it is to bring balance to the forces of heaven and hell when things go a bit pear shaped down on Earth! Needless to say the Earth is is a bad way when we start the game as War is given one chance to find out who brought about the Apocalyspse so that balance can be restored. Darksiders is a third person action adventure game that fuses button-mashing brawling, platforming and puzzle elements.

There are some pretty obvious influences and it’s easy to think that this is just another God of War clone by the way the game sets off. With the likes of Bayonetta, God of War 3 and Dante’s Inferno all coming out within the last 3 months the opening couple of hours of Darksiders just feels like more of the same. Stick with it though, and you’ll soon discover that the game has a lot more in common with the Legend of Zelda franchise. Collecting numerous special weapons and abilities will help you unlock new areas and find weaknesses in the bosses. Boomerangs and grappling hooks will become immediately familiar to Zelda fans. Call it a blatant rip off but it’s a formula that works and it’s nice to see a darker take on this sort of game.

The combat is primarily sword based but offers many options for flexibility with a wide range of moves available to buy for the sword or secondary weapons. ‘Wrath’ power can be collected from enemies and used for special magic based attacks. Much like the physical attacks these can be bought by using the collected souls from your defeated enemies and upgraded to become more powerful.

The game’s a solid 15 – 20 hours in length with a whole host of collectible magic, health and armour items to discover beyond the main story. It’s a real surprise how deep this game is, sure the graphics aren’t amazing and the art style is of an acquired taste, but it’s a damn fine game for under £15.

* This deal is currently out of stock on the PS3

Benjo321.

Please Take A Moment To Rate This Deal, Thumbs Up Or Thumbs Down?

I’ve never really liked doing deal of the week posts on pre-order titles because a few retailers have a habit of incorrectly pricing their titles and not honouring them (grrr). There have been some amazing pre-order prices lately, so it’s hard to ignore them completely.
Luckily Super Street Fighter IV (out on 30th April) has an unusually low RRP and is currently just £22.45 on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. This version even includes a free Blanka t-shirt if you’ve always wanted a ginger hairy chest to show off! Add to this deal a £2 off voucher and it’s very hard to ignore (Enter the code APRIL2 at checkout).

Super Street Fighter IV is the follow up to last year’s phenomenally successful iteration of the long running fighting series. The ‘Super’ edition is not so much a sequel, but more just an updated version of the last game with a few nice extras. There’s 10 new characters which now brings the total roster to 35 fighters. Favourites from past games such as T-Hawk, Dee Jay, Cody, Guy and Dudley make a return as well as a couple of newcomers. There’s also a wealth of new stages to battle it out on and it’s likely we’ll see much loved bonus stages make a return.

Some of the more advanced players will be glad to hear that the fighters have all been rebalanced which should make things a bit more interesting. Each of the characters will now have 2 Ultra Combo moves and it’s up to you to decide which one to take with you into the fight.

The online component has been reworked with a much improved lobby system supporting up to 8 players rather than the baffling decision to include only 1 vs 1 on the original Street Fighter IV. This will allow for some great winner stays on battles with friends.

Street Fighter IV was a great return to the series – beautiful 3D graphics, but it still had the feel of the classic 2D versions. Simple to pick up and play, but if you’ve got the skills you’ll find that under the covers, it’s a very technical fighting game. If you have any interest in playing Street Fighter online, then this is the version to get. Sure, you can get Street Fighter IV for under a tenner now, but pretty soon everyone will switch over to play Super Street Fighter IV.

Don’t forget to enter APRIL2 to get this for £20.45, valid on purchases over £20 until 30th April 2010.

Benjo321.

2 Voucher Codes:

Save £2 when you spend £20 – code: APRIL2

Save £4 when you spend £40 – code: APRIL4

Until 30th APRIL

We have always been given a brilliant amount of support by other gaming communities, bloggers and podcasters, so we thought it was about time we got off our lazy backsides and done something about it. Lot’s of sites have been kind enough to add us to their friends pages, so we have just created our own to return the favour.

So if you are one of those kind people that have a link on your site that leads to Frugal Gaming then please let us know so we can reciprocate and add you to our friends page. All you need to do is write a quick one paragraph bio that can be added to our friends page letting everyone know what your site is all about. You will also need to supply a thumbnail image of your website logo, no smaller than 80 x 80 px, along with a link to your site so that we can verify that you have a link to Frugal Gaming.

We often get asked if it is OK for people to use our RSS feed to add to their site so they can keep their followers updated with the latest gaming bargains. We are happy for people to do this, you can use the following feed http://www.frugalgaming.co.uk/?feed=rss2&cat=1 which will list all the latest deals added to our site. If you use Blogger or WordPress you can get widgets to add to your site that seamlessly displays this information on your blog.

So if you already link to our site, or will be interested in participating in a link exchange with us then please email advertising@frugalgaming.com with full details of your website.

You can check out our friends page here

Thanks again for all your support

Darren

Frugal Gaming

Mass Effect 2 has been one of the stand-out games in what’s been a very strong start to 2010. Managing to improve on the original Mass Effect in just about every way, £21.98 seems like an absolute bargain for this great title.

The game follows on directly from Mass Effect, seeing the player take on the role of Commander Shepard once more to save the galaxy. This time round the Collectors are the big-bad, they’re a race of insect like creatures that have been attacking and abducting human colonies.

It’s up to Commander Shepard to bring an end to this by recruiting a team of scientists, warriors and convicts to join him (or her) on a suicide mission. The first half of the game is all about finding and recruiting people to join you, and perhaps more important is a series of loyalty missions to gain the trust and respect of this rag-tag bunch of rogues.

This game is quite different from the first, yet still feels like the same kind of epic sci-fi adventure. Gone are the tedious planet exploration sections with one of the worst handling vehicles known to man (the Mako). Instead, your squad is flown straight into the action to get straight on with the mission. This makes the game a lot more focussed and keeps you in the action all the time. The weapon and armour upgrades have also been significantly simplified, which does make this feel like less of an RPG and more a straight action game.

The element of choice is still as strong as ever, with some really great dialogue that can change the course of the game based on your choices. Speaking of choice, one of the great additions to the game is the ability to import your character from Mass Effect. This really makes the adventure feel unique to you, as decisions made in the first game have a visible and lasting effect on moments in this game. Even seemingly minor characters make a return and it’s great to see how  your earlier actions have affected their future.

This is also one of the first EA games to feature exclusive free DLC that’s only available to gamers who buy a new copy of the game. It’s a shrewd move by EA to dissuade gamers from buying used copies, and gives current owners more reasons to keep hold of the game.

This game is a science fiction masterpiece. As great as the first game was, it had a lot of issues. Mass Effect 2 goes a long way to fix those. Hardcore RPG fans may be a little put off by things being dumbed-down, but as a straight out action adventure this is one of the very best.

Benjo321.

Top 10

1. Just Cause 2 – £33.89 Delivered
2. God Of War III – £36.94 Delivered
3. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – £34.49 Delivered
4. Modern Warfare 2 – £27.98 Delivered
5. Heavy Rain – £37.73 Delivered
6. Final Fantasy XIII – £34.91 Delivered
7. Prison Break: The Conspiracy – £27.50 Delivered
8. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – £29.85 Delivered
9. FIFA 10 – £21.98 Delivered
10. Aliens Vs. Predator – £22.98 Delivered

Budget Top 10

1. Grand Theft Auto IV – £12.99 Delivered
2. SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection – £10.99 Delivered
3. Resident Evil 5 – £14.99 Delivered
4. LittleBigPlanet – £15.00 Delivered
5. Mirror’s Edge – £5.85 Delivered
6. Assassin’s Creed – £7.99 Delivered
7. Infamous – £14.75 Delivered
8. Eyepet – £11.86 Delivered
9. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift – £14.52 Delivered
10. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 – £15.99 Delivered

Despite the fact that the Nintendo DSi XL has only been available in Europe for 3 weeks, and only just went on sale in North American on 28th March 2010, Nintendo Japan has announced a new handheld gaming device which will be procurable in Japan by the end of the fiscal year (March 2011). The device, titled “Nintendo 3DS” (for the foreseeable future ), is being billed as the successor to the DS series of handhelds and, as such, will feature 3D gaming alongside backwards compatibility with DS and DSi games.

The intriguing story behind the announcement of the 3DS is that whilst it will feature 3D gaming, it will not require the user to wear those ever so attractive 3D glasses. Quite how Nintendo will achieve this feat was not included in their initial announcement, along with any images of this new device, but the press release did mention that the 3DS would be making an appearance at this years E3, where more details will be made available.

Of course, an announcement of a device such as the 3DS garnered several interesting responses from people within the gaming industry. Speaking to Destructoid, EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich believes the reveal of the 3DS is “unfortunate for the Nintendo DSi XL”, as it may “impact consumers’ willingness to purchase old hardware that may be “obsolete” in less than a year”. Divnich cites the growing amount of piracy on the DS as one of the reasons behind announcing the new hardware, and does not believe that it’s “success will come into question”. John Koller, SCEA’s Director of Hardware and Marketing, believes the move by Nintendo into the 3D realm is “interesting”, but thinks that “8 and 9 year-olds playing 3D is a little bit of a stretch given where some of our research is right now”. In an interview with IGN, Koller stated that Sony’s “focus on 3D right now is on the console”, and that they know they “have a hit with 3D on PS3” and so will be prioritising their efforts there.

In other news, last week saw Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announce a tax break for UK based game developers as part of the 2010 budget. The tax relief will be similar to the one already available to the UK film industry, and will be provided on “qualifying expenditure for productions that pass a Cultural Test”. TIGA, the trade association which represents the UK games industry, was very supportive of the move by Mr Darling. TIGA CEO Dr Richard Wilson said that the tax break was “an inspired decision”, and that the tax relief would “increase employment, investment and innovation in the UK video games sector”. Colin McDonald, Studio Manager of Realtime Worlds, said that the announcement meant it was a “great day for Scottish and UK-wide developers”.

Finally this week, 24th March 2010 saw the launch of Game Room on XBox Live and Games For Windows. The title, which replicates the sounds and look of a retro video arcade, allows you to purchase classic arcade titles such as Centipede and Super Cobra and play them using your Avatar. The game also includes universal leader boards, Achievements, and local play for up to two players.

Alex Wozniak

Have you been hiding under a rock for 4 months?

If you have, then Modern Warfare 2 may have passed you by. Due to the phenomenally successful multiplayer modes, the Modern Warfare games tend to hold their price pretty well, so £27.98 is a great price. It’s already out of stock on the PS3, so be quick if you’re interested in the 360 version.

Set a few years after the first game, Modern Warfare 2 follows on with the same story and again lets the player take control of multiple characters during the single player campaign. The game plays out like a big Hollywood Blockbuster, full of massive action sequences set all over the globe. One minute you’ll be sneaking about in the snow with a heartbeat sensor, the next you’ll be chasing down bad guys through the slums of Rio de Janeiro. The story is very over the top, but is a great fun ride (if a little short).

The real focus of Modern Warfare has to be the multiplayer. It’s been tweaked since the first outing in many ways but still feels as great as ever. There’s a generous total of 16 varied maps to battle it out on. Added considerations like killstreak rewards make your weapon and perk loadout as important as ever. Ways to gain experience are many and varied, so the temptation to keep playing to level up is massive.

Another great addition to the game is an online or split screen co-operative mode. Unlike other games, this is not the same single player campaign, rather a selection of unique ‘Special Ops’ missions. Very challenging, Spec Ops mode requires a great deal of teamwork and good communication to succeed, but is ultimately very rewarding. If you can find a good player to go through this with then you’ll probably find this the best addition to the franchise.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is one of the biggest entertainment releases of all time and is a great game too. The single player story may be lacking something truly special and the reliance on controversial scenes seems a little unnecessary. However, the various multiplayer modes are the real winner here. With the release of the Xbox 360 exclusive map pack this week, now is a great time to pick this up.

Benjo321.

DS

Emergency Rescue – £12.19 Delivered
Infinite Space – £23.77 Delivered
How To Train Your Dragon – £21.98 Delivered
Peppa Pig 2: Fun And Games – £14.73 Delivered
Pokemon Heart Gold – £27.99 Delivered
Pokemon Heart Gold: 3D Case Edition – £29.73 Delivered
Pokemon Soul Silver – £27.99 Delivered
Pokemon Soul Silver: 3D Case Edition – £29.73 Delivered
SpongBob: Boating Bash – £14.99 Delivered

PSP

-

PS3

Batman: Arkham Asylum [Game Of The Year Edition] – £29.73 Delivered
How To Train Your Dragon – £29.73 Delivered
Just Cause 2 – £34.73 Delivered
Just Cause 2 [Limited Edition] – £34.73 Delivered
Last Rebellion – £27.99 Delivered
Prison Break: The Conspiracy – £24.73 Delivered
Resonance Of Fate – £32.73 Delivered

Wii

How To Train Your Dragon – £28.99 Delivered
Racket Sports Party – £14.99 Delivered
Racket Sports Party Camera Bundle – £29.99 Delivered
Red Steel 2 – £26.99 Delivered
Red Steel 2 With Motion Plus Accessory – £29.73 Delivered
SpongeBob: Boating Bash – £14.73 Delivered

Xbox 360

Batman: Arkham Asylum [Game Of The Year Edition] – £29.73 Delivered
How To Train Your Dragon – £29.73 Delivered
Just Cause 2 – £34.71 Delivered
Just Cause 2 [ Limited Edition] – £34.73 Delivered
Prison Break: The conspiracy – £24.73 Delivered
Resonance Of Fate – £29.93 Delivered

Dead Space Extraction (£9.95) is the Wii exclusive prequel to one of 2008′s finest games. Set in a time beforeIsaac Clarke boarded the Ishimura vessel, this game is set out in a way that you don’t necessarily have to have played the original Dead Space to be able to enjoy this.

Dead Space was a science fiction survival horror game, much the same vein as Resident Evil 4 or 5, but Extraction is an on-rails shooter (much like a House of the Dead). Now this isn’t like the old light gun games you may remember, it’s a remarkably well directed experience with some great camera motion that really feels like you are in control of the action. The same elements of precision-shooting limbs off scary looking beasts are still here, and the Wii allows for some interesting control in this area. Twisting the Wii remote 90 degrees activates the secondary fire for the chosen weapon, so gives the player a more varied range of attacks without having a massive choice of weapons available.

One of the big selling points about this game is the 2 player co-op mode. At any time, a second player can pick up a controller and jump right into the action. There’s some really neat puzzle mini-game sections that require co-op players to take turns in either completing sections of the puzzle and holding off the onslaught of enemies.

As far as on-rails shooters go, this is a really great example of how they can be done well. There’s some really impressive graphics and sound for the Wii, and this is something a bit more mature that can be experienced on the console.

The price point of Natal has been one of gamings best guarded secrets, click here to be informed of the price and date of release as soon as they become available to Play.com

Details

Introducing Project Natal, a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required! See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. Unlike 2D cameras and controllers, Project Natal tracks your full body movement in 3D, while responding to commands, directions, even a difference of emotion in your voice. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak, you and your friends can jump into the fun – the only experience needed is life experience.

DS

Combat Of Giants: Mutant Insects – £17.73 Delivered
Food Coach: Healthy Living Made Easy – £17.99 Delivered
Safecracker – £17.73 Delivered
Scene It? Twilight – £17.95 Delivered

PSP

-

PS3

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger – £32.89 Delivered
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger [Special Edition] – £29.95 Delivered
God Of War III – £37.73 Delivered
Moto GP 09/10 – £28.85 Delivered

Wii

Fragile Dreams – £22.99 Delivered
Scene It? Twilight – £22.99 Delivered

Xbox 360

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger – £32.99 Delivered
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger [Special Edition] – £29.95 Delivered
Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening – £23.99 Delivered
Metro 2033 – £32.93 Delivered
Moto GP 09/10 – £29.73 Delivered

Top 10

1. Final Fantasy XIII – £34.85 Delivered
2. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – £34.85 Delivered
3. Modern Warfare 2 – £29.99 Delivered
4. Aliens Vs Predator – £31.80 Delivered
5. Bioshock 2 – £23.99 Delivered
6. Forza Motorsport 3 – £19.38 Delivered
7. FIFA 10 – £22.99 Delivered
8. SonicAnd SEGA All Stars Racing – £27.85 Delivered
9. James Cameron’s: Avatar: The Game – £14.99 Delivered
10. Mass Effect 2 – £32.60 Delivered

Budget Top 10

1. LEGO Batman The Videogame – £10.51 Delivered
2. Grand Theft Auto IV – £11.99 Delivered
3. Pure – £10.47 Delivered
4. Gears Of War 2 – £11.93 Delivered
5. Resident Evil 5 – £12.98 Delivered
6. Fable II – £13.49 Delivered
7. Halo 3 – £9.85 Delivered
8. Halo Wars – £13.99 Delivered
9. SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection – £11.85 Delivered
10. Assassin’s Creed – £11.99 Delivered

March 9th 2010 saw the start of the 10th annual Games Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. Whilst the conference is more focused on game developers rather than the fruits of their labours, several key announcements were made throughout the week.

First up was the official reveal of Sony’s motion controller for the PlayStation 3. Whilst many believed the device was to be called ‘Arc’, the true name of the peripheral was shown to be ‘Move’, as rumoured earlier in the week. The controller, with it’s colour changing sphere, is to be accompanied by a second, nunchuck-style controller which Sony is calling the ‘sub-controller’ (as for the Fat Controller from Thomas the Tank Engine, no mention was made of him). During the promotional video for PlayStation Move several pieces of software which were supported by the controller were shown off, including: a fist-fight game; table tennis; a bowling game (a bit like Wii-bowling, but with enhanced graphics); the soon to be released SOCOM 4; and title updates to both LittleBigPlanet and EyePet. Sony is aiming to retail the Move, which requires the PlayStation Eye to operate, as both a standalone product, and as a starter pack which includes the controller and PlayStation Eye as well as a game. In terms of pricing, Sony is hoping to release the starter pack for under $100.

During a keynote presentation at the conference, the game streaming service known as OnLive announced a U.S launch date of June 17th 2010 for both PC and Mac. The service, which allows people to play PC or Mac games via streaming instead of locally installing the titles, will have a monthly subscription fee of $14.95. On top of this, gamers will have to purchase or rent the games which are available through the cloud-based service. During the presentation, OnLive revealed that titles from publishers such as THQ, Ubisoft, E.A, 2K Games and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will be made available to subscribers.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves from developer Naughty Dog was the big winner at the Games Developers Choice Awards, where the developers themselves vote on what they believed to be the great titles of the past year. Uncharted 2 picked up the Game of the Year award, alongside Best Writing, Best Technology, Best Visual Arts and Best Audio. Other winners included Batman: Arkham Asylum for Best Game Design, and Flower for Best Downloadable Game.

A slew of titles was also revealed at this years Games Developers Conference. Firstly, from Telltale Games, is the third downloadable season of the Sam & Max series, titled “The Devil’s Playhouse”. The first part of the new season is scheduled to launch on April 15th 2010 on PC, Mac and, for the first time ever, on the PlayStation Network.

Also announced at GDC was Deus Ex 3: Human Revolution from developer Eidos Montreal. The game, which is a prequel to the first Deus Ex, launched with a teaser trailer, and is set to be released for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Eidos Montreal said that more information on their upcoming title will be made available at this years E3.

Joystiq managed to secure an interview with THQ’s executive VP of Core Games, Danny Bilson, at this years GDC. During their chat, Bilson revealed a few details about the upcoming sequel to Red Faction: Guerilla, which now has a release date of March 2011. According to Bilson, the game will be akin to the original Red Faction as “about 80% of it is underground”, and will be an open-world third-person shooter, although the game will be more “structured”. As long as the game gives me the opportunity to create tunnels as in the original then I’ll be a happy guerilla fighter.

Alex Wozniak

inFamous was one of the big PS3 exclusives last year and £9.99 represents a fantastic deal for this game.

The game is an open world ‘sandbox’ action game set in the fictional Empire City. You play the role of Cole, a messenger who gets caught up in the centre of a massive explosion that sends the city into chaos. As a side effect of this explosion, Cole gains some electricity based special powers to help bring some order back to the city.

The game employs a Karma system, whereby the player is rewarded for being either a good or evil player. Being a good guy results in power-ups to increase precision and non lethal takedowns, while the evil path has upgrades of a more destructive nature. There are other key moments in the game where the player is forced to make some moral choices that help clearly define the path of the protagonist. The difference in Karma leads to 2 quite different playing styles, so this is one of those games that you may wish to go through again when you’ve completed it. Playing as a good guy is difficult but rewarding, while evil is easier and much more chaotic (and fun in my opinion).

As far as free roaming action games go, inFAMOUS is great fun. There’s a great sense of movement in the game, from climbing buildings to gliding across power lines and train tracks. If there’s any complaints it’s that some of the moral choices do feel a bit signposted and the side missions tend to lack variety as the game goes on, but it’s still a game that’s well worth playing. If you enjoy the Grand Theft Auto style games, but want something a little less serious, then give this a look.

Benjo321.

DS

Avalon Code – £22.49 Delivered
Ben 10: Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks – £22.49 Delivered
Monster Pals – £17.99 Delivered
Music – £14.73 Delivered
Sonic Classic Collection – £17.93 Delivered

PSP

Ben 10: Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks – £13.97 Delivered
Eye Of Judgement: Legends – £14.99 Delivered
Fat Princess – £14.45 Delivered

PS3

Way Of The Samurai 3 – £26.85 Delivered
Yakuza 3 – £32.85 Delivered

Wii

Ben 10: Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks – £22.97 Delivered
Dancing On Ice – £17.93 Delivered
Monster Pals – £14.99 Delivered

Xbox 360

Ben 10: Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks – £22.97 Delivered
Way Of The Samurai 3 – £27.93 Delivered

Nintendo

Wii (White) £134.85

Wii (Black) £154.99

DSi £119.99

DSi XL £143.86

Microsoft

Xbox 360 Super Elite 250GB  £229.00 (Includes Forza 3)

Xbox 360 Elite 12GB £184.95

Xbox 360 Arcade £124.73

Sony

PS3 80GB £199.99 (Includes Little Big Planet)

PS3 250GB Slim £244.75

PSP 3000 Slim £134.95

PSP Go (White) £149.99 Delivered

PSP Go (Black) £174.85

Wii Top 10

1. New Super Mario Bros Wii – £32.86 Delivered
2. Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing – £29.87 Delivered
3. Mario Kart Wii – £26.85 Delivered
4. Mario & Sonic At The Winter Olympic Games – £27.98 Delivered
5. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories – £24.99 Delivered
6. F1 2009 – £20.97 Delivered
7. FIFA 10 – £14.73 Delivered
8. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game – £14.99 Delivered
9. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – £28.99 Delivered
10. Rabbids Go Home – £14.73 Delivered

DS Top 10

1. Sonic And SEGA All Stars Racing – £17.73 Delivered
2. New Super Mario Bros. – £23.49 Delivered
3. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks – £17.73 Delivered
4. Mario Kart DS – £22.98 Delivered
5. Mario & Sonic At The Winter Olympic Games – £17.85 Delivered
6. Professor Layton And Pandora’s Box – £17.73 Delivered
7. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? – £8.95 Delivered
8. Nintendo Presents: Style Boutique – £17.73 Delivered
9. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story – £23.91 Delivered
10. Professor Layton And The Curious Village – £14.99 Delivered

March 1st 2010 will soon be forever known as the beginning of the end, or ‘ApocalyPS3’ for those who enjoy giving the end of all life as we know it a name. In the early hours of March 1st, owners of the non-Slim models of the PlayStation 3, hereby referred to as the ‘Phat’ model, began to notice that they were unable to sign into the PlayStation Network, or play games which were supported by Trophies. Instead of enjoying the visceral delights of Heavy Rain gamers were instead greeted by the error code 8001050F.

This code is of course the harbinger of doom, signalling the start of the machine uprising and the antecedent to our existence as brains in vats. Well, that is what conspiracy theorists will have you believe. In reality the inability to connect to the PlayStation Network and play certain games was due to an internal clock bug, in which the Phat PlayStation 3 consoles believed 2010 to be a leap year, and upon finding this was not the case (I was as shocked as the consoles) they proceeded to reset their internal date to 1/1/2000. Whilst I realise that Sony have been a little behind the times recently, for example bringing motion control into their games, 10 years is an awfully long time for one of their products to catch a version of the ‘Millennium Bug’.

Of course the World didn’t descend into a global meltdown as a result of this bug. Rather, time just carried on in it’s stately fashion, and when March 2nd rolled around the Phat PlayStation 3’s fixed themselves and people were once again able to play their beloved video games. So much for the fabled end of days.

In other news this week, Activision terminated the contracts of Jason West and Vince Zampella; the now former heads of Infinity Ward, the team behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. However, Activision did not simply just hand these two developers their marching orders. Instead the publisher sent over several “bouncer-types” to the Infinity Ward studios, creating a “confused” mood amongst employees. As the day wore on it emerged that Activision had conducted an internal enquiry into “breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward”, the outcome of which appeared to be the firing of West and Zampella.

Of course this is just the beginning of the tale. West and Zampella are now suing their former employers over the substantial royalty payments that they were due to be paid for their work on Modern Warfare 2. As Zampella notes, “After all we have given to Activision, we shouldn’t have to sue to get paid”. In response to this legal action, Activision have stated that they are “disappointed” with the two developers, and that they believe the claims that have been put forward are “meritless”.

Finally this week, developer Valve has given plenty for it’s fans to be ecstatic with. Firstly, there was the title update that was made available for Portal via Steam. The update included several audio files which were accessed by moving a radio into certain locations within the game, as well as an edited ending for the game. Following this, some highly talented people on the Steam forums were able to garner images from the audio, leading some to suspect either a new Portal game was heading our way, or perhaps even Half Life 2: Episode 3 (though the chances of that occurring were about as likely as Gordon Brown cracking a smile). It transpired a few days later that the former was true: Portal 2 is due for release this holiday season.

Secondly, last week Valve released a series of mysterious images to various websites, which can be found here. The images were mock-ups of adverts for Apple products, such as Alyx Vance from Half Life 2 featuring in a parody of the famous ‘1984’ commercial. The images spread rumours that the Steam gaming platform, along with various Valve games, would soon have Mac support.

As this article was being written it was confirmed by Valve that this was indeed the case, and we can expect to see Steam and the Source engine being released for the Mac in the near future. What was particularly interesting, and something which was not hinted at through the faux-pas adverts (if it was I certainly missed it), was the announcement of a feature known as ‘Steam Play’. This feature allows consumers to purchase a product on one system, and then play it free of charge on the other. When used in conjunction with the existing Steam Cloud, Steam Play will, according to Jason Holtman of Valve, allow gamers “playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac”. The dream of combining our work and home gaming lives is slowly but surely coming to fruition.

Alex Wozniak

We loving giving stuff away here at Frugal Gaming and to continue our recent run of competitions we are now putting a copy of Modern Warfare 2 for the Xbox 360 up for grabs.

How To Enter:

There are 3 ways to enter, to triple your chances of winning we will allow you to enter via each method, that’s a total of 3 entries per person.

Twitter:

Simply copy the blue message below and Tweet it to all your followers, you will need a Twitter account to do this and you must also be following our @FrugalGaming account.

For a chance to win a copy of Modern Warfare 2 (360) follow @FrugalGaming & retweet this message T&C’s http://bit.ly/b55ogD

Forum:

You will need to be a member of our fantastic forum, it only takes a minute to join and you can do so here. Once you are a member all you need to do is find a cheap on-line video game deal and post a link to it here

Email

Answer the Following question and submit it using the box below : Which  developer made Modern Warfare 2?

Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 or over, winners will be picked at random on Tuesday 16th March 2010

Hey you! Are you sick and tired of playing those boring real world shooters all the time, fancy trying something a bit different? Well if you do, then give Rhythm Paradise on the Nintendo DS a try as it’s only £6.99 at the moment. We don’t tend to see a lot of DS love on the site so I think it’s time time to pimp out this wonderful little gem while it’s available at a bargain price …

Rhythm Paradise (also known as Rhythm Heaven in the US) is a collection of fun music rhythm games. Each game generally lasts a couple of minutes and is played by using a combination of tapping and flicking gestures using the stylus. One minute you may be making monkeys clap in time to music, the next you’ll be plucking vegetables out of the ground. It can all seem a bit bizarre at times, but that’s the pure joy of this unashamedly Japanese title.  The music and sound play a crucial part and timing is the big key to succeeding in this game.

Don’t let the cute visuals put you off. This can be a viciously hard game, but is one that is very rewarding. It sometimes helps to use a bit of your jedi powers, closing your eyes to help you get though that pesky level. Playing the game with a set of headphones also helps to allow you to focus on this challenging game.

This one may make you launch your DS! *

If you like mini-game collections or music rhythm games like Elite Beat Agents, then Rhythm Paradise is a fine choice. Yes, it can be challenging and a little frustrating at times, but is a really fun and strangely unique little game.

Benjo321.

* Frugal Gaming can not be held responsible for any damage caused to your Nintendo DS, DS Lite, DSi or DSi XL because of this game