From Wednesday May 22nd, the GAME store in Kingston will be giving rugby fans the opportunity to get their hands on the upcoming Rugby Challenge 2: The Lions Tour Edition weeks ahead of its worldwide release. From 2 – 5pm next week, the new rugby title developed by Sidhe (due for worldwide release on 13th June) will be available to play ahead of release.

Gamers heading to Kingston’s GAME store can expect refined and expanded gameplay, as well as a range of new features including quick taps, quick lineouts, mauls from lineouts, interceptions, contesting ball at the breakdown, removing players from the ruck and number 8 scrum pickups.

Rugby Challenge 2: The Lions Tour Edition boasts a variety of modes to play in, single player and multiplayer, as well as over 110 teams and 50 stadia, with official team, competition and special licenses. It will be released on 13th June. GAME Kingston can be found in the Bentalls Centre, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 1TP

Persona, or Shin Megami Tensai as it is better known around the world is an insanely successful Japanese RPG series. The series has been running rampant for years, so when Arc System Works and Atlus announced that Persona 4 Arena would be a fighting game, many were perplexed as to whether the game would even be worth making. Well I can silence the murmurs now, not only is it a credible fighting game, but it’s pretty damn good by fighting game standards.

Now the game has actually been out for a little while. It came out in March of 2012 on arcade machines as well as July and August on consoles in Japan and North America respectively. But due to some publishing issues here in Europe, we could not yet get our hands on the title. But Zen United stepped up and took the game on so that us EU folk could finally have a go and see for ourselves what this fighter has got up its sleeves.

So let’s finally kick things off. What with Persona being a well-known RPG series, it was almost a requirement that the story mode in the game had to be worthwhile. It’s a deep experience that follows on from the storyline in Persona 4. You’ll find yourself scurrying through battle after battle just to read the in-depth dialogue boxes in between. So for the uninitiated, the story will play out with four protagonists all being sucked into a strange television world where a fighting tournament known as The P-1 Grand Prix is being held. From there on a deep storyline that intertwines and meshes together in the style of a Guy Ritchie movie. All in all, the entire story is very good. It’s very well done and absolutely does justice to the stories of its RPG predecessor.

As well as a full story mode, there are also classic modes such as Arcade mode and Score attack mode to keep you busy. These are pretty bog standard and are featured in almost every fighting game to date. They will serve as a nice distraction as you move on to other characters and hone your craft.

So as any avid player of fighting games will tell you, the first thing you do when you turn on a new game is jump into training mode or a trial mode to get the hang of the game. Upon doing this, it is easy to see that the game handles just as well as any fighter. It has a 4 button system very similar to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and BlazBlue and plays just as smoothly as the mentioned fighters. The X and A buttons are assigned to light and medium attacks. Whereas the Y and A buttons are assigned to Persona attacks. A character’s Persona is a sort of giant beast that accompanies them to the battle. Almost an astral projection of the character’s fighting spirit. Upon jumping into the challenge mode, you will see that the game will be just as fast paced and intense as BlazBlue and the like. The combos are fearsome, long, and they take a hell of a lot of execution. Once you’ve got it down, this is definitely a game that you’ll warm up to.

The tutorial mode shows that the game is actually very unique in certain ways. It has an auto combo system where each character has one specific combo assigned to simply pressing the X button a number of times. Much like all the anime fighters, there is a lot of super jumping and air dashing as well as air throws, throw escapes and such. But the game has also adopted the hop system from King of Fighters. This is just a simple short hop that will allow you to extend your standing combos to air combos. All the regular mainstays are here, such as guard cancels and instant blocks. But a new innovative (and god damn beautiful) thing has been implemented into the game. You actually get a negative penalty for running away from your opponent and attempting to turtle. The argument could be made that it kills any kind of strategy, there could also be a counter argument to say that it opens up a whole new level of strategy. That’s something for the fighting game community to holler over for a while.

The anime style of graphics is nothing new to this genre. Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, and countless other have utilised it. It comes as no surprise since Arc System Works are the people behind the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series’. They all look fantastic and this game is no exception. Every brightly coloured sprite is captured in beautiful form here. The stages are a unique blend of 2D and 3D that I haven’t seen used in this way since Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on the Dreamcast. Every stage is so detailed that it is hard to keep your eye on the action. As you fight, certain pieces of dialogue and comic storyboards will pop up, very much akin to manga television shows. The television show presentation of the fights adds to the battle and can actually go as far as to rile you up.

Now no fighting game would be complete without online play. It is upsetting to state that the netcode leaves much to be desired. The majority of fights will have minor input lag. It’s not enough to break the game, but it is definitely enough to put you off. Online has already withered to a rather small amount of people, however. So if you plan on being an online warrior, you’d better be prepared to make some friends and some enemies, because you will be playing the same people over and over again.

Overall, Persona 4 Arena is a very good game. Fans of the series can rest easy with the knowledge that Arc System Works and Atlus have done them proud here. Not only have they made a game that can reach out to fans of the series, but they have also made a viable competitive fighter that hardcore players can really get into. The story mode will keep you going for a few hours, it has many twists and turns that will keep you going. It is truly a shame about the poor netcode, however. It’s about time that developers realised that poor netcode in a fighting game is quite literally a death sentence. Because once you’re done with the initial glitz and glamour, the online is what will keep you playing and what will keep you interested. It’s certainly the biggest reason that Street Fighter IV is the dominant fighter on the scene, and has been for four years now.  Digressing from that, Persona 4 Arena is a very good game that I would recommend to any fan of fighting games or Shin Megami Tensai.

The Verge has reported that Microsoft plan to release a dashboard update this year for the Xbox 360, STOP THE PRESS! Whilst a new update to the dashboard is a pretty obvious assumption all round since there has been at least one every single year since the Xbox 360 release; the big news here is that The Verge claim to know its features:

• Refreshed UI
• Smaller LIVE Tiles as per the free Windows 8.1 update soon
• Theme Tweaks
• Microsoft Points replaced with ‘Real’ currency
• Xbox 360 to New Generation Xbox Messaging

How about as we wait for the new Xbox reveal we take a little look back at all the dashboard updates since the original dashboard waaay back in the day! Who can remember their first browse through the original Blade style dashboard?

We’ll detail the next dashboard announcements when they drop…possibly on May 21st during the new generation Xbox reveal?

Via The Verge

Hey readers, this is a reminder post to let everyone know that next Tuesday 21st May, the new generation of Xbox is going to be revealed to the world for the first time. ThisisXbox will be covering news about the event as it happens, although we expect you to be watching on live stream also.

The event is going to start at 10am Seattle time (18:00 BST UK Time, 19:00 CEST) and will last for an hour. The #XboxReveal Tent has a Twitter feed that you can follow, @XboxRevealTent

Also should you start tweeting about the event as it’s live – lets get this news trending and make sure to include #XboxReveal as your hashtag.

Now the long 4 day wait begins!

We’ll see you in the new generation hype from next Tuesday…

CI Games, has today revealed the first official Alien Rage teaser which can be viewed above. The Polish studio will showcase its new intense arcade FPS during E3 2013 in June this year.

Alien Rage (previously known as Alien Fear) is a hardcore sci-fi shooter. It has the DNA of the best classical FPS games together with stunning graphics that will provide long hours of satisfactory gameplay. It also includes a rich arsenal of weapons, various firing modes, 21 types of enemies including 8 bad-ass bosses – Alien Rage is true arcade FPS in a big way!

Alien Rage will hit the Xbox LIVE Marketplace later this year

For those of you looking forward to the new Zombie Survival title from Undead Labs - you will be interested to see the following:

Got a little contest running right now. Help us celebrate a milestone! ow.ly/l6Jtl

— Undead Labs (@undeadlabs) May 16, 2013

What milestone you ask? Simply put State of Decay has now entered final certification which means VERY soon we’ll be getting not only confirmation of a release date – but a TiX review and (fingers crossed) a competition for you Zombie killers to get your own free copy of this awesome looking title.

Can’t wait that long? Well head over to the official Undead Lab’s forum (right here) for a chance to win 1 of 5 preview codes being given away by Undead Sanya.

I don’t know about you guys – but I cannot wait to get my teeth sunk into State of Decay.

CI Games, has today officially announced Lords of the Fallen, a challenging fantasy action/role-playing game with development being led by Tomasz Gop, former senior producer of the award-winning The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings. Lords of the Fallen is a demanding and strategic third-person action-RPG experience being created for next generation consoles and PC, coming in 2014.

Lords of the Fallen is a hardcore action-RPG featuring an advanced combat systems and robust class skill trees. Set in a richly created fantasy world where the Gods have failed mankind, players will take on the role of a human named Harkyn who sets out on a quest to stand against an apparently unstoppable supernatural force. Players travel across a world that is deeply dived by those that follow and others that resist, the Fallen God. Along their journey they will be faced with a series of decisions that will alter both the world and their character thus dramatically impacting the storyline.

Playable version of Lords of the Fallen will be presented live at the E3 2013 Expo from June 11-13, 2013.

EA Games, John Reseburg has told VentureBeat in an interview that future EA games would not require online passes which we are meant to believe is the outcome of fan-feedback! Since when did fans become more worth than the thought of all that extra cash! It has left us wondering about what EA could know about the online functions of next-gen consoles with this announcement coming within a week of Microsoft’s next Xbox unveiling.

“Yes, we’re discontinuing Online Pass. None of our new EA titles will include that feature,” Reseburg explains. “Initially launched as an effort to package a full menu of online content and services, many players didn’t respond to the format… We’ve listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward.”

I have come to the conclusion that with next-gen looming it might be a decision the company has had to make if Microsoft’s next Xbox perhaps renders the passes useless. EA’s Online Pass would be useless for two reasons; first being if on next-gen Microsoft takes a Sony approach and allows all multiplayer to be free (with paid access gaining use of Apps and messaging/party features). or secondly the long rumoured suggestion that all next gen games require a one-time activation code rendering used games useless anyway.

Are we really to believe EA has done something due to fan-feedback after all this time? Expect all new EA games which includes Battlefield 4 and FIFA 14 to be Online Pass free. Maybe they have done the decent thing in a bid to gain more credibility with gamers – or maybe not?

When next-gen announcements are made, if it does render online passes useless anyway, we’ll keep you updated.

Via Xboxer360 & VentureBeat

Creator of the Tour de France game, the Cyanide Studio team is well-known for having developed the game of reference for all cycling simulations on the PC: Pro Cycling Manager. Every year, a new edition is brought out, incorporating a brand new set of innovations and improvements, to the delight of hundreds of thousands of gamers all over the globe.

With the 100th edition of the Tour de France promising to be a spectacular event, the new version of Tour de France on console lives up to the real thing, with a dynamic and innovative new gameplay that is sure to delight cycling fans. In Tour de France, join forces with one of the official pro teams and pit your talents against the great cycling champions in this exceptional competition. Take your place in the peloton and tackle 21 realistic official stages!

Adopt the optimum strategy, take note of the objectives set by your manager and select the best rider for each stage. Your team mates are on hand to help you fulfil your goals, and they will follow your orders to the letter.

In multiplayer mode on the same console (up to 2 players), challenge your friends in closely-fought battles! In cooperation mode, you and your team mate will be able to break away from the field, relay together, and put some distance between you and your nearest opponents!

So you have seen the screenshots and here is the important info:

• Genre: Sport / Simulation
• Developed by: Cyanide Studio
• Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
• Release Date: June 28th 2013

Kalypso has released a new trailer for DARK, their upcoming vampire-themed stealth/action title for the Xbox 360 and PC. In the new trailer above, you’ll get a close-up look at several of the vampire powers available to you, as the newly turned vampire, Eric Bane. Watch as Eric hypnotises unsuspecting guards to slip past them or deliver a deadly strike. Or, use Regeneration to convert the blood of your enemies to health points!

Watch the new video above to learn more about these and other stealth-focused powers featured in DARK, which Kalypso Media will release this summer.