DVD Release Dates - Game Release Dates - Album Release Dates - Film Release Dates

Nathan Drake is back and ready to lead the way on the PS Vita in an all new Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Maintaining the awesome visuals we have seen Uncharted have on the PS3, Golden Abyss is literally like playing the console version. From the way you scale walls using the sticks and buttons, to the way you stealthily sneak around enemies.

Of course since it has adopted the Vita as its new home, you can expect some phenomenal changes. Tilting will be used to jump from wall to wall and a touch melee system has been implemented to bring combat to life! Fighting using the touchscreen feature will basically transform the entire screen into a world of possibilities, allowing you to tap on the enemy to attack, and moving up and down just by dragging your finger down the screen.

Those of you looking to sink your teeth into what the Vita has to offer will benefit from a new change of pace. Yes, as I’ve mentioned you can use the sticks and buttons to traverse between platforms and walls, but you’ll also be able to use the touchscreen to navigate through the game. For example, you can run and jump to another ledge using the traditional controls, but why behave like a caveman when you can simply prod the ledge with your finger and have Drake automatically jump to it. Perks like this will make this game legendary on the console.

Much like other games in the franchise, Uncharted: Golden Abyss will remain a mixture of  all-out shooting, stealth kill, platforming and solving puzzles. It will also come with a promising story set before the events of Drakes Fortune.

Coinciding with the European PSVita release, Drake will return in Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the 22^nd February 2012. You can also pre-order Uncharted: Golden Abyss here.

Video Games

In Abduction we see Twilight’s Taylor Lautner take on a new and more starring role with a bit more action than an over sensitive werewolf. Trying out a bit of “proper acting” Lautner really comes into his own as Nathan, the lead in this stylish and action packed thriller.

Starting out as your typical high school party, trouble with girls and parents teen movie, the plot quickly takes a turn one evening after said girl, his long term crush Karen, comes over to work on a school project. It’s here that things really get interesting! The pair discover a page online that ages the photos of missing or abducted children and as they browse through the pictures they discover a young boy who looks scarily like our hero. When they age the photograph they are even more shocked to find that it is nearly an exact match.

Calling the number on the site to find out more, Nathan finds that he is asked probing questions and very quickly his cosy little lifestyle is turned upside down. Heading out on the run with Karen and not knowing who he can trust anymore, Nathan decides he can trust nobody.  With potential enemies everywhere he turns, he must find out what the secret of his childhood actually is – and who is on his side.

Fast paced and exciting with more twists than you could shake one of Lautner’s dumbbells at, this is one film that will keep you guessing until the end. Not just a film for Twilight fans to indulge in another fix, but rather a thrilling race for survival and the truth of a young man’s history. Brilliantly cast, the movie maintains its pace and particularly seems to be a very effective gateway for Taylor Lautner to head into more serious roles in his life after Twilight.

Abduction will be released on the 13^th February 2012 and is available to pre-order here.

DVD, Movies

Just when you thought you had seen the last of the 90’s, they come back in 2012 and slap you in the face with Top Gun: Hard Lock. Sadly, Tom Cruise doesn’t grace us with his voice acting skills in this game since it is set 25 years on from the original film. That’s okay though because he’s now been replaced with another loose cannon known as Spider and there’s a whole bunch dog fighting aviators fresh out of the Top Gun academy and ready for some action.

Edging away from your traditional flight simulators, Top Gun: Hard Lock’s main goal is to throw you into an up close and personal battlefield and use Michael Bay-esque slow motion camera angles and huge explosions and to wow the pants off you! Forget shooting at little targets in the distance as you’ll be face to face with some of the meanest jets of today.

The game moves away from first person view so players aren’t constantly disorientated and allows you to be immersed in an almost arcade style of game. The right stick takes care of all of your maneuvers such as afterburners, cobras and barrel rolls whereas the buttons take care of cluster bombs and missiles.

Spread out over 15 missions in the single player campaign with a completely new Top Gun story to unfold, Top Gun: Hard Lock is a game that I frankly just can’t wait for. Adding to the excitement is the opportunity to play through 4 player co-op missions as well as go head to head with pilots worldwide in 16 player deathmatches!

The game was initially set to be released February next year, but has since been pushed back with an official UK release date on the 9th March 2012. Top Gun: Hard Lock is also available to pre-order now.

Video Games

The Pines have long been a hidden gem in the American Midwest having spawned from the same pool that created the genius of Bob Dylan. There’s clearly something in the water out there as these Indie rockers are gathering quite a pace in the run up to their new album release in early 2012.  Heading out on an American tour to support its release the album is sure to grab quite a bit of attention from further afield and it’s pretty obvious that soon fans will be clamouring for them to head over the pond to see us here in the U.K.

To be fair to the American duo, labeling them as simply “Indie” isn’t entirely correct. With an eclectic mix of blues, folk and even some country style strumming in there, the band has it all utilizing saxophones and synth in equal measures. Following up from their 2009 release Tremolo,  the new album Dark So Gold goes from the more rocky and upbeat numbers such as tracks like “Rise up and be lonely” to the frankly beautiful instrumental “Losing the stars”. Prepare to make Dark So Gold your new best friend in a relationship that will be sealed right from the opening track “Cry, cry, crow” which chills and tingles the spine in equal measures.

Characteristically dark and yet still an uplifting listen, The Pines are paving the way for new Indie bands to think a little more outside the box and are well known for doing their own thing musically. Listening to Dark So Gold is guaranteed to inspire even the hardest hearts and draw you into the ethereal landscape the band have managed to paint directly over the American Midwest.

Dark So Gold is set for release on 31^st of January 2012 and will be available to download on Amazon.

Music

If there is one thing that’s looking really promising about the new PS Vita, it’s definitely the augmented reality feature. Using this feature to its full potential is the launch title ‘Reality Fighters’. As the name suggests, the aim of the game is to take you the player, and throw you into a world which has done away with your Ryu’s, Ken’s and Jin Kazama’s, ultimately allowing you to be the fighter!

Reality Fighters captures your appearance using the Vita’s built in camera and then allows you to fully customize your character’s physical appearance, right down to the biceps and everything else. After that, you’ll be given the option to choose your own unique fighting style as well as being able to set the stage using augmented reality. Just imagine using your insane drunken master fighting style against your opponent, whilst the stage is set in your very own shopping center, or even in the confines of your bedroom! You decide where the fighting takes place and you decide what your characters look like.

Of course you’ll also be able to seek out new fighters worldwide or challenge your friend’s fighters and see what they’re really made of – all in the palm of your hands. There is even the option to get creative. Why not steal your little sister’s magazine, take a picture of Justin Beiber, craft a character for the “pop sensation” and show him how you really feel about his 3D movie!

Reality Fighters rewards you for your creativity and whilst it might not be on the top of everyone’s PS Vita list, there is no denying that the innovative thought that’s gone into this game will provide you with hours of enjoyment! Reality Fighters will coincide with the PlayStation Vita UK release date on the 22^nd February 2012 and is available to pre-order now.

Video Games