From episode 1 to 8, I hosted the Console Monster Podcast but due to lack of time and staff participation we all took a breather. Rob Rymond took over the hosting helm for a while and now we have decided to share the hosting responsibilities between us, so on this latest episode I act as host along with Marty Greenwell and Rob Rymond as guests to discuss the latest Microsoft Xbox 360 console and Sony PlayStation3 news and reviews on the renamed Monster Cast.

Topics include…

• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• Gran Turismo UK Release Date
• Virtua Tennis 4 to support PlayStation Move
• EA Sports announce FIFA 11 ‘Be A Goalkeeper' feature
• Kinect dated for UK
• Rock Band 3 track list
• Final Fantasy XIII advertisement breach
• Realtime Worlds company problems
• Resistance 3 – little news
• Fable 3 and Halo Reach

Paul Jackson, CEO of RailSimulator.com joins me again on my podcast to discuss the RailWorks Train Simulator, which is available predominantly on Steam.

In this audio interview, Paul tells us about many of the exciting updates that have either just released or will be coming to us in the very near future. These include a brand new career system, challenging you to perfect your locomotive skills or feel the pain of losing crucial points and a discussion regarding an upcoming set of interface changes that will push rail simulation far further than ever before.

A devastating war is raging for absolute control of the planet Cybertron, home to the heroic Autobots and their arch enemy the evil Decepticons. Transforming mechanical life forms in a desperate struggle to conquer or save this once peaceful world and you will bear witness to the epic origins of Autobot leader Optimus Prime and the maniacal Decepticon leader Megatron, before they embark to our own Earth.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Transformers War for Cybertron lovingly grabs the very best elements of the original cartoon generation and the more modern up-to-date atmospherics of the latest Micheal Bay movie blockbusters. All your favourite Transformers will make an appearance including Starscream, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Soundwave and even Omega Supreme, all slightly redesigned. The voice acting as you might expect is quite cheesy at times with the inevitable dialogue that creates an uncomfortable sensation within your bones, however Optimus Prime features the wonderful vocal talents, by the one and only Peter Cullen, so fans will certainly recognise the resonating impact of this classic leader.

After watching an impressive introduction video, you hop over to the main menu showing Cybertron in all its glory. Here you select the campaign mode, which begins with Megatron attempting to unleash the power known as dark energon, within the very core of Cybertron itself. This powerful and very dangerous form of energy has the potential to destroy everything the Autobots hold dear and luckily for you, you will be the one who controls both sides of the war. The engaging plot fills in some of the back story of how many of the Transformers first met and how their roles within the entire conflict were forged.

The fairly lengthy chapters are split into two sections, starting with five controlling the Decepticons and a further five with the Autobots. Each individual chapter features a choice of three Transformers. You can quite happily play on your own with two A.I. accomplices, although the A.I. isn't exactly the brightest. There are times when enemies run straight past you and your so called helpers have a tendency to get in your way, but at least they have infinite health, so no need to put yourself at risk, darting over every 30 seconds to revive them. A three player co-operative mode is also available with the option to invite your online friends.

Each Transformer features two modes, which you admire from a third-person perspective. Fighting as a robot offers agility, which is perfect for when you are avoiding those pesky attacks. The vehicle mode will give you speed and very powerful weapons, although targeting is far more difficult. One of the nice features of the game is that both the robot and vehicle modes offer different weaponry, so you will find yourself switching fairly often. As your skills improve, mastering the fine art of what mode works best in your current circumstances is surprisingly easy. Transforming is achieved by pressing the left analog stick and although this can be triggered by accident on occasion, it is a handy method when you need to be moving constantly and dodging bullets and then suddenly transform on request to escape a swift death. Alternatively triggering the right analog stick will unveil an axe or similar weapon, ideal for close range combat.

Watching your health and ammo levels is absolutely crucial. If they begin to run low, you will need to locate and smash crates that are carefully placed around the battle, which are in fairly generous supply. Your fellow team-mates can also give you a health re-charge if they happen to notice your ailments. Weapons are also collectable, including huge stonking ones you can literally transform into and if you wish, detach to avoid enemy fire. That's not all though, as part of your ensemble are the special attacks, which are unleashed with the ‘RB' button. Spin like a crazy bot, raise a shielded barrier or release a devastating pulse, however which attack you feature depends on the transformer you are currently using. There is no cover system, but as you are in the middle of a war zone, finding debris isn't exactly a challenge.

Online Multiplayer consists of a selection of familiar game types, including the customary Deathmatch and Team deathmatch, plus others that include carrying a bomb into enemy territory and so on. Here you can also create your own Transformer, well to a point at least. Selecting different abilities you unlock by playing online, weaponry, customising the two colours that are covered over your instrument of destruction and a few other little niceties. There are also four classes ranging from a simple soldier right up to a leader and this offers some incentive to continue levelling up all of their individual statistics.

Another mode available is ‘Escalation', which is wave after wave of enemy A.I. that come crashing down on you and a few friends, until you are all vanquished or you somehow manage to reach the end. You can also revive fallen comrades, but be quick as the time will soon run out.

Transformers War for Cybertron uses the Unreal 3 engine and by golly it certainly shows. There are times when your jaw will literally drop at the on-screen wonderment and transforming animations. With a well known shared heritage, there are certainly times when you for a moment feel like you are instead enjoying Gears of War. The same dark surroundings, lack of colour and texture loading are indeed prominant, but if you are going to compare graphics with any title, hey why not be one of the greatest Xbox 360 titles of all time. The sound is equally impressive, with many of the auditory cues copied over from the latest films and of course the more faithful transforming samples.

Conclusion

I don't mind admitting to everyone that I am a Transformers nut and although Transformers War for Cybertron may not be the finest example of gaming excellence, it does achieve one very important thing. You actually enjoy transforming and kicking serious metal backside from start to finish. It isn't a faultless experience and there are certainly issues with the sometimes questionable A.I., yet you can forgive many of the failings for what it offers in return.

If you are a fan of either the original cartoon series or the latest cinema blockbusters, this title will be sure to delve straight into your passion zones, tickling them with ease. It is a wonderful nostalgic trip harking back to the 1980′s, while also strapping on the modern sound effects and atmospherics we are used to today. Can you really ignore this chance to take control of Optimus Prime in this amazing backdrop of Cybertron itself? No I didn't think so.

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

If you would like to read reviews of this game for PS3 console, make sure to check out TestFreaks.

From episode 1 to 8, I hosted the Console Monster Podcast but due to lack of time and staff participation we all took a breather. Rob Rymond took over the hosting helm for a while and now we have decided to share the hosting responsibilities between us, so on this latest episode I act as host along with Marty Greenwell as guest to discuss the latest Microsoft Xbox 360 console and Sony PlayStation3 news and reviews on the renamed Monster Cast.

Topics include…

• Pretty shoddy E3 Microsoft presentation
• Natal now known as Kinect
• Kinect official price still not totally confirmed
• Kinect launch titles
• Kinect concerns
• New slimmer Xbox 360 S
• No rings red of deathhhhhhh
• Very few games…
• Sony presentation
• 3D gaming with glasses
• PlayStation Plus
• PlayStation Move
• PlayStation Move pricing
• No PSP2 announcement
• James and Marty agree on almost everything!
• Nintendo 3DS
• Xbox Live Family Pack
• New Downloadable Content

Nearly a year ago, I played the Simon the Sorcerer theme on the Yamaha Tyros3 keyboard. Recently I taught myself another piece of gaming music nostalgia, this time from the classic puzzle game Lemmings. Using a bank of registration memory settings that I created, a Premium Style accompaniment, multipads, a range of voices and even a couple of Lemmings sound clips that I trigger with a foot pedal. I really hope you enjoy my latest performance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are a few details for Yamaha keyboard enthusiasts…

• Style: MallorcaDiscoBeat (A Preium Style available from www.yamahamusicsoft.com, with a slight voice change adding a pad sound)
• Voices: Right3 – PWMLead (Lead voice), Right2 – ButterStrings, Right 1 – BrightPadBell, Left – BigOctavePad, Left (Last chorus) – HahPad (from the Choir and Vocals Premium Voice Expansion Pack
• Multipad: TechSeq1
• Tempo: 122
• Left Foot Pedal: HDR playback trigger, playing a couple of *.wav sound clips from the Windows version of Lemmings (Also triggers Harmony/Echo on registration 4)
• Right Foot Pedal: Style Fill Self trigger

All of this performance is live with no audio altered or added after recording.

In my latest podcast, I chat with Jon Fox who is the co-founder, mastermind and code monkey of IntenseDebate.

With IntenseDebate, you can let your readers post comments using services like Facebook, Twitter, and OpenID. They can also sign up for an IntenseDebate profile or simply comment without one as a Guest. E-mail notifications alert you and your readers of new comments, encouraging return visits and additional commenting. You can reply to and moderate comments via email, while threading makes it easy to follow the conversation and many more features that are described in this podcast.

Podcast topics include:

• What is IntenseDebate?
• How did it all begin?
• Features of IntenseDebate
• Customisation
• Any slowdown when adding so many features to your own site?
• Rating comments
• Facebook and Twitter integration
• Reputation system
• The dreaded SPAM
• Additional plugins for IntenseDebate
• Automattic Inc. purchasing IntenseDebate and the effect of this transaction
• IntenseDebate future on WordPress.com blogs
• What can IntenseDebate offer over any rivals with a similar feature list?
• Looking to the future…
• IntenseDebate on Mobile devices
• HTML5 and VP8

Every four years, our hearts are constantly broken as each time we dare to sit down to watch the latest and possibly greatest sporting event to appear on our televisions. We raise our expectations oh so high and far from learning our lesson from previous tournaments, we repeat our silly footballing traditions by standing up every time when we think our team have scored, shouting at the manager's poor choice of substitution and wondering how on earth the goal keeper saved that magnificent shot, denying your team victory.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We are creatures of habit after all and it would appear EA Sports are no different as they release yet another football title covering a major event. FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa may be considered a short diversion in between the typical yearly FIFA releases, but it isn't quite as simple a decision as you may think.

FIFA 10 owners will notice very little change in terms of gameplay. Passing, throwing, crossing, tackling and shooting remain pretty much untouched except for a few minor tweaks here and there. You will notice a few more animations and a slight adjustment elsewhere, but actually FIFA 10 had it pretty much nailed anyway and these tournament releases often stay very close to their yearly counter-parts.

The clincher though for considering FIFA World Cup 2010 is not so much the gameplay, actually it is the overall presentation. You can't beat stadiums full of fans dressed up in silly hats sporting their team colours among a deluge of excitement and confetti. If you were ever looking for a tug into the wonders of the World Cup, well this title has it all and it is absolutely plastered with atmosphere, oozing from the size of the stadiums, the roar of the crowds and the hype surrounding the event. It is impossible not to be caught up in it all.

Usually I find myself only glancing over the single player modes in World Cup based games as they more often than not feature very few enticements, which is why a lot of people will prefer a rental. At least here though you will be pretty satisfied with the selection on offer. By pressing the ‘Start' button you can jump straight into a game with little fuss, however you will want the full experience by selecting the '2010 FIFA World Cup' option. 199 national teams are available obviously from all over the world, but only if you decide to head right back in the calendar playing all the far earlier qualification matches. If your team did make it into the finals though, you can jump straight past this section and hopefully into the knock-out stages.

‘Captain your Country' will give you the opportunity to take control of an individual player on the pitch and prove your worth to the onlooking manager. Will you create your own player customising the look, weight, height and attire or select a well known footballer instead? If you have already created a ‘Game Face' on the EA Sports website, you can even download this to the game so you can see your wonderful facial features applied to your character.

During a match your successful plays will give you an increased overall rating which are shown permanently on the screen. If you complete a pass, stay in position or score a goal, you will notice your section turn green and your rating rise from the ashes. You can just as easily lose these vital improvements though if you start to be a little sloppy, letting the opposition nab the ball right from under your nose. If you manage to continually impress the decision makers, you will eventually captain your country, but you have a lot to prove before you get to this stage.

It can be a little lonely wandering around the pitch, chasing the action while trying to remain in position, but you can encourage your team mates to pass to you if you hit the appropriate button when you don't have the ball. The computer will then at least attempt to bring you into the manoeuvre, but do make sure you are in space first unless you want the pass easily intercepted by your opponents.

‘Story of Qualifying' is a set of scenarios emulating World Cup matches, where you may find yourself jumping in at a certain point in the game a few goals down with various national teams. There will be a clear set of objectives to complete ranging from simply winning the game to scoring more than a few goals. What really makes this area exciting though is the currently locked section that will only open during the real-life World Cup tournament. Why relive past events when you can enjoy changing the fate of a real match that happened only days ago.

OK so the single player selections although interesting aren't as in depth as FIFA 10, however online there is a couple of modes that may just swing it for you…

The appropriately named ‘Online FIFAWorldCup' has you progressing through the finals again, but rather than playing the computer, you actually confront real people participating in the online gaming masses. If you can reach and then win the World Cup by competing against the often more masterful opponents here, you are doing very well indeed. Secondly you can compete in ranked head to head matches, where you start in a very low division, slowly progressing to the higher levels tracking your results every step of the way.

Both these modes offer a lot more incentive to play online and congratulations to the developers for embracing it the way they have. It doesn't stop there though as your matches online will also earn points for your country. On the main menu you will notice the top three country ranks and you yourself can make a difference by winning games and elevating your entire nation up the leaderboard. You can't get much more patriotic than that or worse feel the huge burden of a defeat knowing it affects so much.

The main change in the gameplay is the way you tackle the penalties and we all know how stressful those can be. A gauge appears on the screen and by pressing and holding the shoot button when the moving marker rests in the center, you give your player the best chance of shooting where you are aiming. It is not over yet though, as you also need to release in a precise manner to apply the amount of power. By adding a little direction with the left analogue stick, you have your new penalty shootout controls mastered, with a fair bit of practise. You can even add a little intentional hesitation in a bid to unnerve the goal keeper, but this also takes a bit of work. When the roles are reversed and it is your turn to be the goal keeper, you use both the left and right analogue sticks to move and dive. You can wait for the ball to be hit before making a decision, but as ever a lot of it is left to your instincts.

As far as presentation goes, FIFA World Cup 2010 is the business, with amazing representations of the newly built stadiums, instantly recognisable players that represent their real-life counterparts with ease and even the managers are there in all their stressed and cross-armed antics. The crowd chants are sublime and even the commentary seems to have stepped up a gear to match the magnificent graphics. The celebrations are certainly wild and I would love to see any football player attempt the moonwalk.

It isn't a totally perfect story of course. Online matches show far too many cut-scenes, connecting to an online game can be a little bothersome with connection issues and the computer's decision making skills of whom it thinks you are passing to are just bizarre.

Conclusion

It may be only a slight improvement over FIFA 10, however it is hard to ignore the magic that an event like the World Cup can bring to the title. You will feel all giddy with patriotism when you take your countries national team into historic battle, waving your flag and possibly shouting abuse at your virtual players. None of that matters though as FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa strives to push your dedication to its maximum and succeeds where other games have fallen short of the crowning achievement. If you, like many football fans around the world love to be encapsulated with World Cup fever, then look no further as this title shines in every department.

FIFA 11 may be only months away from appearing on store shelves, but can you really put off the chance to show the world your football skills and play for your country? Tough decision isn't it!

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars

If you would like to read more 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa reviews, make sure to check out TestFreaks.

In this video interview, I speak to Jeremy Hague from Netralia as we discuss and explore the new enhance tab features that gives you options to add text, pictures and audio to your final generated video in the Vodburner Editing Console. Vodburner records live Skype webcam conversations combined with an editor allowing you to edit your captured video to then customise the different views, delete segments and add additional features.

I also interviewed Jeremy in my very first Vodcast as we delved into the benefits of the Vodburner software in general.

Enjoy the YouTube video below, download the *.mp4 version for your portable video player or simply subscribe using the RSS MP3 feed or via iTunes…

All the recording and editing seen in this video is achieved with Vodburner, with no additional software required.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From episode 1 to 8, I hosted the Console Monster Podcast but due to lack of time and staff participation we all took a breather. Rob Rymond took over the hosting helm for a while and now we have decided to share the hosting responsibilities between us, so on this latest episode I act as host along with Rob Rymond and Marty Greenwell as guests to discuss the latest Microsoft Xbox 360 console and Sony PlayStation3 news and reviews on the renamed Monster Cast.

Topics include…

• Red Dead Redemption trailer and the bizarre 400 points gift?
• Achievements Versus Trophies
• The godly platinum trophies
• Dings, bings or bongs?
• PS3 Firmware update 3.30 and 3.21
• Halo Reach Editions revealed
• Collectors editions
• The Halo evolution
• Halo 2 multiplayer… Ahhh the memories
• Friends change the gameplay experience?
• Split Second demo impressions
• Bad demo, great retail game…
• Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing
• FIFA overload?
• Scoring a purchase
• Our gaming recommendations

I interview Alex Ford, the Publishing Director from JustTrains.net regarding their rail simulator products plus add ons and also a little regarding their flight simulation offerings as well.

In this podcast we discuss the various rail simulations including Microsoft Train Simulator, Trainz, Rail Simulator and RailWorks.

Just Trains is the sister label to Just Flight, which began life in 1995 as a company named The Associates. The mission (that they had chosen to accept) was to supply the newly-emerging flight simulation enthusiast market with the latest and best software. Within three years the Just Flight name was firmly established as a brand and the company grew into the world’s largest publisher of flight simulation software outside Microsoft.

Also announced during our podcast interview is a piece of free content for Rail Simulator and RailWorks from JustTrains.net.

They will be making available a totally free ZZA snow plough to subscribers of their newsletter. This is a little wagon that has been in use for many years over the UK rail Network clearing lines of snow. When used in RailWorks, the ZZA takes advantage of the ‘Just Trains ActivScript' to supply snow clearing sounds and visual effects. If you want to grab hold of this great free little add-on in roughly a couple of weeks, make sure that you subscribe to their newsletter – just follow the subscribe link on the front of their website.