I’ll be posting my impressions of Call of Duty: World at War when I’ve had enough playtime with it, but until then I have one major gripe with the game that I want to talk about.

I don’t have much money at the moment (plus, with it being close to Christmas there’s no real point in splashing out on loads of games) so I have to be very careful when it comes to choosing which game I want to buy. While there are games that I would rather buy over the new Call of Duty (like Fallout 3 or Fable 2), I had to have my brother in mind when buying a new game since I haven’t bought a multiplayer game (well, one that includes offline multiplayer anyway) since Gears of War (I only bought this back in the summer, so it’s not as long ago as you think). We wanted a game where you could play split-screen co-op throughout the same campaign as the singleplayer one, and the new Call of Duty provides that. Unfortunately you can’t play split-screen online multiplayer like you can with Halo 3, but I can live with that.

Anyway, we loaded up the co-op campaign, ready to fight the Axis forces, and we were both immediately disappointed with what we saw. For some strange reason Treyarch have decided to only use a tiny amount of the screen for spilt-screen co-op. So, instead of a simple vertical or horizontal split you have two tiny boxes in the middle of a dull background placeholder. Why oh why would anyone choose to do this? The Call of Duty series is supposed to be cinematic, but this means nothing if you can’t see anything that’s going on. You literally have to sit incredibly close to the screen just to aim at somebody. We were playing Left 4 Dead the other day and that manages to make use of the full screen when playing split-screen co-op, so why can’t COD:WaW do the same? It just takes a lot of the fun out of the co-op experience.

Apart from that I am enjoying the game, but those impressions will have to wait until I’ve played more of it.

One of the rules of blogging is to never make a post apologising for not posting for a while. Got that? Well, I’m now going to break that rule.

I feel I must apologise for not posting over the last week, as common manners dictate that I should let my readers know when I’m going to take a little break. Unfortunately it was a bit unpredictable, as I came down with a bug that I’m still suffering from now. So, unfortunately, the posts that I have been working onhave remained unfinished - even when I dragged myself out of bed to try and complete them.

Thankfully, even though I still feel horrible, they’ll be no more of that as I’m now back to my regular blogging schedule. Over the next week ButtonSmasher will be helping you gear up for Christmas by posting Christmas shopping guides for all those of you that have absolutely no idea what games you’re going to buy your loved ones. I’ll be bringing you guides to the best games for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, portables and the PC. Most of all I hope it will give you a little relief from the stress we all experience around this time of year.

So, look forward to that!

Batman in Lego form must rock, right? Star Wars managed to pull it off so why can’t a man in a cape that has no super powers what-so-ever? Despite the title of this post Batman’s Lego cousin’s DS game swings both ways. Plus, it’s probably only going to be awesome if you’re under twelve years-old. That doesn’t mean adults can’t play it (and indeed they will when trying to teach their kids, although to be honest kids usually pick up the game better than their parents. Especially mine, as I still have hilarious memories of my Mum screaming her head off while playing Alex the Kidd on the Master System), but they should probably stick to the console versions of the game as the DS version seems to be a kids only affair.

I say that it’s a kids only affair not because of the presentation (although obviously Lego is marketed towards kids, us adults love to relive our Lego moments too!) but because the game is far too easy. I picked the game up while at my younger cousins house one day and managed to get through a fair number of the 15 levels on offer in no time at all. This is mostly because, when the novelty value of playing a Lego version of Batman wears off, the game tends to be the same all the way through, simply changing the environments and enemies every so often. On each level you’ll fight a number of enemies while using your Lego building skills to solve simple problems. Each level will then end in a boss battle that also requires a solution that my Grandma could probably figure it out. Also, as usual, dying won’t mean all that much (you have no lives) so there’s no real challenge to the game.

Despite all this kids will still find Lego Batman: The Videogame immensely fun (if my cousins reactions are anything to go by) and it’s a perfect option to fill that Christmas stocking of theirs. For us adults that are embarrassingly obsessed with Lego then the Xbox 360, Playstation 2 or Playstation 3 versions will suit us better.

It seems like centuries ago when Sony first announced their virtual world experience Playstation Home, but in reality it was only back in 2007. Back then Sony had slated the release for the autumn of that year, but since we’re nearly at the end of 2008 and it still isn’t here we can safetly say that Sony’s original projections were easily over-optimistic. In the last few months a lucky few have been testing Home in the closed beta, but Sony is now saying that Home will be available to all in the open beta coming in the “next few weeks”. Well, if everything goes to plan it will be.

According to Home’s community manager - known as TedTheDog on the official PlayStation forums - Sony will be inviting a number of people into the closed beta pretty soon, before making it available to anyone with a PlayStation 3.

“Finally,” TedTheDog said, “Home open beta is the start of a long journey, not the end of one. I know I’ve said this a lot recently but I see many of you are thinking of Home open beta like a game release in that you’re expecting the final version to be launched with just some patches and maybe some DLC to come afterwards.” - CVG

I was beginning to think that Home would never see the light of day, so it’s nice to see that things are finally moving along. Hopefully the beta won’t last all that long and we’ll all be enjoying the full version by early next year, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Home open beta in “coming weeks” - CVG

Remember when I posted about the possibility of a high-definition Wii? Well, don’t expect those rumors to come true anytime soon as Nintendo currently has no plans to release a new console anytime soon.

Our favourite Nintendo US President - Reggie Fils-Aime - told Reuters that Nintendo “will consider the launch of new consoles when we have got great new entertaining ideas that can only be done with a new console. As we sit here today the Wii console has a long run ahead of it, (the DS too)” and “At some point we will launch the DSi here in the Americas. So as we look at the near term for us its all about maximizing the opportunity with the (Wii and DS)”.

As much as you’d probably like to see a HD version of the world’s favourite console there’s absolutely no point in releasing one now, especially as Nintendo seem to be raking it in with the Wii. Plus, the casual crowd don’t really seem to care about HD right now, so it will take a far greater penetration of the technology for people to start demanding that Nintendo catch up with Sony and Microsoft.

Of course, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that Nintendo are still working on something new behind closed doors. In fact, it would be pretty strange if Nintendo wasn’t thinking about the future.

Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime: “Very Optimistic” - Reuters.

Hot on the heels of the news that Rockstar may not be able to release GTA IV’s downloadable content until next year comes the news that the GTA DS iteration - GTA: Chinatown Wars - will be pushed back by Rockstar. Originally expected in January the game will now be released sometime between February and April 2009.

Rockstar also gave a little more information on the release date for the GTA IV DLC, saying that they were still “aiming” for the November to January quarter. However, the publisher was quick to mention that the DLC was “close to completed”.

For more information on GTA: Chinatown Wars check out my post on the controversy that may arise from the presence of a drugs mini-game.

Chinatown Wars gets temporary cease-fire - Gamespot

If you’ve just picked up Sega’s Football Manager 2009 today then you may find that, upon rushing home and ripping open the case, the game will refuse to authenticate when trying to activate your CD key online.  Since the game requires you to complete this process in order to play then, understandably, people are annoyed. Sega has responded to complaints with an apology and a possible solution:

“SEGA is aware that there have been some problems with the activation of Football Manager 2009 today. This has been due to a combination of issues relating to the printing of keycodes and the huge demand for the game,” reads a SEGA statement.

“A solution is in place and is starting to clear the problem, we are confident that the issue will be solved today. The chances of successful authentication are increasing hourly. At this point consumers still experiencing difficulties are advised to leave a 10 minute gap between authentication attempts.

“SEGA apologises for the disappointment caused by the problems with activating the game and asks for Football Manager fans to remain patient,” - Eurogamer

Technical difficulties and incomplete games seem to be the norm these days, and it’s getting a little worrying. I understand that things can happen which developers didn’t originally foresee but gamers not being able to play the game they paid money for is really unacceptable. Also, has DRM really combated piracy? It seems that piracy on the PC is as strong as ever, which doesn’t look well for the future of PC gaming. Developers/publishers need to come up with something new that doesn’t infuriate (such as Valve with Steam) if the future of PC gaming is to be stable.

Update:

There’s been a somewhat overwhelming response to this article, so I’d like to point out a few things.

I do not have a fix for your Football Manager 2009 problems, nor can I give out CD keys (which is, by the way, illegal). If you are coming here to find a fix then I direct you to the Football Manager 2009 website where you can contact Sega support, or ask in the forums there.

Hope that helps!

GoNintendo brings news that Nintendo are preparing to release an updated version of the Wii Opera web browser. It will reportedly hit this December, with a bunch of new features and tweaks.

Version 2.0 will add new buttons, compatibility with the upcoming Wii Speak (which comes with the new Animal Crossing), the ability to check your Wii mail and (as pictured in the top right) a tab cube with support of up to 6 tabs.

The updated browser will cost 500 Wii points, but those that already own the browser will get the upgrade for me.

So, valued readers, do you any of you actually use the Wii browser? I can’t see the point in browsing the Internet on a console, as that’s what my PC is for.

Wii Opera Browser 2.0 details - GoNintendo

Gears of War 2 has only been in shops since Friday but the weekend saw sales sky rocket to over 2 million worldwide.  Of those 2 million more than half - 1.5 million - logged onto Xbox Live while playing the game, racking up 15 million hours and a record for concurrent players on Xbox Live. If you still haven’t had enough big numbers then ponder the fact that 19 million Achievements were also gained.

While bears that crap in the woods could have figured out that Gears of War 2 would have incredible sales you still have to give a nod to Epic Games’ idea of launching the game on the same day worldwide. Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski (who, I may add, is a legend) had this to say:

“We were so excited to launch Gears of War 2 on the same day all around the world, something virtually unheard of in the games business. We wanted our fans, no matter where they live, to have a shared experience on day one, and that’s exactly what’s happened.” - Eurogamer

With Christmas coming up you could be forgiven for expecting those numbers to double over the next month or so. I’ll be one of those buying the game at Christmas as I have enough games on my radar making my wallet suffer. Why not compare prices here on Pricegrabber and pick a copy up yourself?

Gears of War sells 2 Million Units (and we unlocked over 19 million Achievements) - Major Nelson

If you’re a World of Warcraft player then you’re probably aware that that it’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, hits shops on November 13th. If you’re not a WoW player then, well, move along swiftly! Myself? Well, I used to play WoW but gave up when I realised I wasn’t getting any free time. However, I can’t move on as I want

Anyway, Blizzard has kicked off opening events for the hotly anticipated expansion with an attack on Horde city Orgrimmar by Scourge forces. The attack is on a loop of 20 minutes, so don’t worry if it’s nearly over by the time you get there. WoW Insider has the full list of events going on in Azeroth, so you’ve no excuse not to check any of them out.

Gamestation, Tesco and HMV will also be opening up stores across the country for midnight launches tomorrow night. Tesco is 24 hour anyway and, knowing supermarkets, you may actually be able to pick up the game before midnight if you’re lucky.  The flagship launch event will be taking place at London’s Oxford Street HMV store, so get down there if you want to revel in the atmosphere and possibly see some cos play costumes.

The expansion will raise the level cap to 80, give you a new continent - Northrend - to explore, the new Death Knight class and a tonne of other features. Basically, WoW just took up even more of your life.

Check out the official site for more details.