Button Basher

Those who dont know me wont know that I am addicted to my Xbox 360 and before that the original Xbox, being a woman its completely unheard of in the faboy universe for a 39 year old woman to be equally at home playing Halo or Fallout 3 with the next guy. I hate being brandished as the kind of player who would only be interested in Barbie Horse Adventures or Viva Pinata, in fact those games whilst favourable for the younger generations of gamers are the kind of games that should burn in Hell where Im concerned.

I dont fall into the female gamer demographic and why should I? Xbox Live was a six month waste of time, constant berrating from 13 year old American young boys is no fun, I dont mind good old fashioned berrating but not when it results in language most 13 year olds shouldnt even know existed until way into their 20’s.

Why, in this day and age do mostly female gamers still do not get taken serious by their male counterparts especially in a multiplayer environment where assault weapons and spec-op tactics are concerned? Why does it have to start with…”No, we dont want you in our game, you’re a girl, you don’t know how to play, go away and play The Sims”?

I dont like The Sims.

…..or fanboys.

Its nice to see females used in main leads in games, a step in the right direction only t0 take two steps backwards to find the woman semi clad and with a bulging chest. Still, games I am looking forward to and hoping the bank balance recovers from after wondering which of these lovely games to choose from:

OPERATION FLASHPOINT 2 – DRAGON RISING

Operation Flashpoint 2 will mark the long-awaited return of the total conflict simulator, which won international acclaim. Now in development, it is Codemasters Studios’ most extensive R&D project to date. With the studio’s largest development team ever assembled, Operation Flashpoint 2 has already benefited from over two years of pre-production on a closed set basis and will use a new FPS variant of Neon technology, the studio’s proprietary middleware.

ALPHA PROTOCOL

Developed by award-winning development studio Obsidian Entertainment, makers of smash hits including Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II The Sith Lords™ and Neverwinter Nights 2™, Alpha Protocol is slated for an early 2009 release for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Windows-based PCs.

GTA – EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City will include both episode one The Lost and Damned, and episode two The Ballad of Gay Tony together on a single disc exclusively for Xbox 360.

CALL OF DUTY – MODERN WARFARE 2

This, I am looking forward to! Developer Infinity Ward brings you Modern Warfare 2, the long-awaited sequel to the best-selling shooter of all-time, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Next year releases to look forward to and some you hope will be released sooner rather than later:

Gaming News – August 2008

Tactical third-person shooter Gears Of War 2 will carry a family-friendly parental control function when it launches on November 7 in the UK.

As well as the graphic visuals on offer, the title will also carry strong swear words and has been given an M or adult rating in the US due to its “blood and gore, intense violence and strong language”.

In an attempt to appease concerned parents, developer Epic Games has announced that a parental control option will be featured in the game that turns blood into sparks and swear words into mild curses.

The Xbox 360 exclusive, which picked up two awards for best shooting game and best graphics technology at this year’s E3 show, uses a “heavily upgraded” version of the Unreal Engine to produce blood-filled battlefields.

Publisher Microsoft also confirmed a limited edition boxed set of Gears Of War 2 will be released, complete with a 48-page ‘making of’ hardback book.

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Gemma Atkinson is to appear as a military officer in Electronic Arts’ forthcoming game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3.

The former I’m A Celebrity star features in the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC title as Lt. Eva McKenna, described as a “military officer with a sexy twinkle in her eye and a British stiff upper lip, Eva is a communications officer for the Allied coalition in their fight against the Soviet and Rising Sun superpowers”.

Discussing her role in the game, Atkinson said: “I’m a gamer and the chance to act in one of the best loved video games was an opportunity I was really keen to explore – especially as Eva is such a strong female character.

“The worlds of gaming and film are getting ever closer and as an actress I wanted to explore this exciting new area of drama, broaden my acting skills and continue the active, outgoing side of my personality that I showed in I’m A Celebrity.”

The game, which takes place in an alternate timeline and imagines what would have happened if time travel had been used by both Albert Einstein and the Soviet Union, features a global confrontation where gamers will take control of their favourite faction.

A release date for Red Alert 3 has yet to be announced.

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Rockstar’s controversial Grand Theft Auto IV will be released on PC this November, the publisher has confirmed.

The game, which became the most successful entertainment launch of all time after taking $310 million worldwide on its first day, was first released on Xbox 360 and PS3 in April.

Rockstar founder Sam Houser said: “We are very excited to be releasing the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV.

“The whole team is dedicated to bringing an amazing gaming experience to the PC. The game looks and plays beautifully on PC and we can’t wait for people to play it.”

Grand Theft Auto IV will launch on November 21 in the UK on PC and will contain an expanded, PC-exclusive multiplayer mode.

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Next week’s Edinburgh Interactive Film Fesitval is to host an exclusive screening of Ubisoft’s forthcoming Tom Clancy game EndWar.

The French firm’s editorial content director Julian Gerighty and game content manager Laurent Malville will both be on hand to showcase what it describes as a “revolutionary real-time strategy game”.

The title, which is due for release next year on PS3 and Xbox 360, puts the player in control of either the US-led Joint Strike Force, the European Enforcers Corps or the Russian Spetsnaz Guards Brigrade in a single-player campaign or online against friends.

A key feature of the game is the “revolutionary” voice command system, allowing gamers to control their units using verbal orders.

“We’re delighted to be able to show Tom Clancy’s EndWar at this year’s Edinburgh Interactive Festival” said Julian Gerighty, editorial content director at Ubisoft.

“EndWar is a revolutionary new war game for consoles and a major new brand in the Tom Clancy universe. It is the result of four years hard work and dedication from the talented team at Ubisoft Shanghai and we think people are going to love it as much as we do.”

Tom Clancy’s EndWar screening will take place on Monday, August 11.