I'm more of a pass, pass, run, set up, pass, shoot kind of a guy when it comes to football and as such, love playing FIFA 12.  It's a great game with great presentation that just feels right.  But sometimes I just want to jump in and play something a little simpler, quicker and more fun.  That's what I figured I'd get from FIFA Street.

It's been a while since EA released a Street Football game, and they've been working on a new strategy.  Gone are the cartoony visual of the previous series, and in is a more realistic game utilising the FIFA 12 game engine.

But this more realistic game lacks a little in the visual department and the gameplay is certainly not just a jump in and play style game.  Street Football is played on pitches of varying sizes and locations, but for the most part are small affairs with small teams, but never a huge amount of room to move around in.  This puts more of an emphasis on ball control and tricks rather than passing and setting up shots.

There's even a mode when you build up points and then secure them by kicking a goal.  I lost such a mach by scoring more goals, but with less fancy footwork than my opposing team.  I was suitably gutted.

As with any EA sports game, FIFA Street comes with several game modes, including the all important career mode.  Whilst all these game modes worked well, but for a few visual glitches with collisions and such, the game just didn't grab me.  It left me wanting for wide open expanses and the ability to run and pass.

This doesn't mean that FIFA Street is bad, it's just not my cup of tea.

Even if EA are trying to cash in on the popularity of FIFA 12, FIFA Street in reality is suited to a much different market.  In much the same way that boxing fans probably hate MMA, Football fans may not like Street.  But this doesn't mean that Street isn't a great game, it's just designed for a different audience.

if you want the best football game around, go for FIFA 12, if you want to get back to the grassroots of football, lean a few tricks and play on compact playing-fields, then Street is for you.

I never used to like RPGs.  Magic just wasn't my thing.  Nor were swords.  If a game didn't have guns in it, then I wasn't going to be playing it.  But then Fallout 3 came along. It combined two of may favourite things (post apocalyptic setting and guns) with RPG game-play.  I didn't jump in right away.  I watched and waited, I listened and read.  I slowly fell in love from a distance until I was ready to jump in.  And when I did jump in I wasn't disappointed.  I had a huge learning curve to ascend, but I was in heaven.  Guns and exploration.  This was my world.  By the time New Vegas came along I was about ready to explore a new part of the American Wasteland, and whilst not as good as Fallout 3, I was hooked into the RPG genre.

A few RPG came and went and were for the most part disappointing, one for it's very linear game-play and the other (the most recent Fable game) because it had been dumbed down.  Then of course came Skyrim, and i discovered than you could have fun without a gun.  A Warhammer and dragon shouts ruled my world.

And then Big Huge Games and EA decided to create a brand new RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.  On first impressions, Kingdoms reminded me of Fable, with it's lush, slightly cartoony feel.  But whilst it's look may have bought Fable to mind, nothing else did.

Kingdoms begins with you dead on the battlefield, collected and dumped in a deep cavern on the top of a pile of stinking corpses.  But this world was not done with you quite yet, so like Lazarus you rise from the dead, and start to explore the underground caverns, only to discover that the place is under attack.  Welcome to your training, where you'll learn one of the main strengths of Kingdoms; combat.

Once you've picked up a few weapons, you'll learn that the best way to overcome any situation to to engage your brain first, setting up your weapon choices on the fly, depending on weather you want to go for a ranged attack, stealth kill or run in swinging your sword.

It's more than just swinging however, as you can block, dodge and pretty much dance around your enemy.  Well, depending on who you're facing.  The point I'm trying to make is that the combat just flows.  It's easy to pick up, but requires skills to master artfully.

Once you reach the climax of the first level, you discover that you are someone special, with some very special skills (in case you didn't realise that from the whole rising from the dead act) and their are bad people who want to kill you, people who want to use you, and an honourable quest that is calling you.

Then it's onto the lush open world and the many side quests that are there to tempt you - and to help you level up.

The downside to Kingdoms is that unlike Fallout and Skyrim, the world seems a lot more linear.  Sure there is plenty to explore, but you do get a subtle feeling that you're hemmed in, and there are only certain paths you can go down.  This may be a little harsh, as I have explored quite a bit and it certainly is an open world game, and certainly not anything I would call linear.  But it was just there in the background.

Everything else about Kingdoms is a joy to behold.  You (as you would expect from an RPG) can create a character to your liking.  An honorable swordsman, or a dark thief who has embraced the darker side of magic.  It's up to you who you want to be and how you play the game.

The different environments are all, well, different.  They're all beautifully created, and populated with all manner of creatures, many of whom will only be too happy to kill you!  It's an adventurous person who will start exploring the far reaches of Kingdoms before leveling up enough - trust me when I tell you, there ate some solid beasts out there that will tear you limb from limb if you trespass on their land without having leveled up enough.

For a brand new RPG, Kingdoms has sure been paying attention, which isn't surprising really.  It's certainly not a game where you'll come away thinking "I can't wait to see what they do with the next installment," rather you come away feeling like you've just taken part in something epic.  It's not going to replace Skyrim, or make me any less excited about another Fallout game, but it is a game that solidifies my fear that my beloved FPS genre has become stagnant (and dare I say, obsolete) and Kingdoms shows that there is much much more excitement to be found in games than just carrying a gun.

Grand Slam Tennis was originally a game created and released for the Wii back in 2009.  XBox and PS3 version were promised later in 2009, but were then delayed indefinitely.  Now however these missing editions of the game have re-surfaced as Grand Slam Tennis 2, and a Wii version is (not surprisingly) no where to be found.

I say not surprisingly because EA have given the game a overhaul and it's doubtful the Wii could do it credit.  The overhaul is more than just graphical, and rather than mimicking the original Wii version and bringing out the Kinect and Move, um, moves, EA have taken the focus back to armchair gamers with total controller, control.

But in true EA style, they've decided to go one step further and invent a new control scheme, handily called Total Racquet Control which allows you better control through using the thumb-sticks.  It's not an easy road mastering this Total Racquet Control, but well worth it, though you'll want to combine both the sticks and buttons to play an effective game.

Grand Slam Tennis 2 pretty much has everything we've come to expect from a sports game, from character creation to career mode and famous matches.  The licensing deals mean that there are plenty of real life players to play with and sports brands to wear.  But the real coup for EA, and any raving tennis fan, is the inclusion of Wimbledon, the home of tennis.

The standard settings will have you breezing through your first few matches, and the more skilled players will want to immediately change up the settings to give them selves a challenge.

Visually the game is spot on, and takes a leave from other major sporting games in packaging it up like a live televised event, giving it that instant feel of authenticity on your TV screen.  The game looks stunning and the animations are great.

John McEnroe and Pat Cash provide the commentary, and whilst their banter is really good to begin with, a couple of games in and you'll be quietly predicting to yourself, what they will say next as repetition kicks in.  And repetition is the curse of any sports games, and unless you're a die hard fan, you'll probably find Grand Slam Tennis 2 a little repetitive after a while.

On the plus side however, it's an easy game to pick up and play, so even though the repetition may want to make you put it down after a while, the game is strong enough an easy enough to get into, that you'll be wanting to pick it up again and again.

One of the many titles that have been made available for a launch on the PS Vita is EA Games' FIFA Football. As a adaption of the FIFA Football franchise this addition to the family does a very good job at showing off some of the unique hardware built into Sony Playstation's latest mobile offering.

Its fair to say that EA Games have delivered universally aclaimed football titles (or soccer if your from certain parts of the globe) and so in taking on the PS Vita's unique hardware they have mashed the proven with the leading edge.

FIFA Football is typical of the franchise, allowing the player to test their skills in a range of gaming modes. It feels like every major and minor global football league has been represented, even allowing alternative mash ups such as the World XI (a list of current top players)  versus the Classic XI (a list of football greats).

You can choose to play in team mode, where you float between players or as either a set position (including goal keep). Camera angles change depending on the mode, with team mode giving you a side on view and the other as more of a floating third person view. Its great fun trying different modes however in either the games focus and attention to team work (sprinkled with individual brilliance) is quite evident. You generally sink or swim as a team. Online, Tournament and Online modes are available to further extend your playing adventure. 

PS Vita Comes to Life.

OK so the PS Vita brings a couple of new elements to the game. While the touch screen is not so unique (FIFA is available for the iPad) the ability to share the load across the familiar PS controls, touch screen and unique rear touch pad makes for both an interesting and sometimes challenging environment.

Touch screen controls can be used to place passes or arc corners/kicks across the field.

Rear touch pad functions allow to place (or fake) kicks into the net. The rear touch pad is quite a nice touch. However in the heat of battle (or shall we say mid game) you can end up easily getting finger tied and twisted. Many times i've found myself wondering why a wayward pass occurred, only to find my big fat fingers on the edge of the touch screen.

There is however very little fault to be found with this game. It presents well on the PS Vita, its fun and above all really shows off the control pssoibilites with the PS Vita. Definitely one game you must have in your Vita library.

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Set in 2069, Syndicate takes players into a dark world where corporations are vying for market dominance. With no government to question their intentions or actions, the three mega corporations – Eurocorp, Cayman Global, and Aspari – are at the forefront and Business is War.Taking on the role of Miles Kilo, Eurocorp’s latest prototype agent, gamers have the latest bio-chip technology implanted in their head. Through this technology, known as the DART 6 chip, gamers can dilate time, see through walls, and breach the digital world and your enemies by using a variety of upgradable hacking mechanics. Syndicate blends fast-paced action and innovative chip breach gameplay to deliver a unique and brutal sci-fi shooter experience.

Electronic Arts have announced that the cinematic 2D action brawler, Shank 2, is now available on the PlayStation Network and PC for $15.95 (AU) and 15.90 (NZ). The highly anticipated sequel earned an 8.5/10 from IGN.com, who called the game, “…One of the best action games in recent memory.” Shank 2 will be available tomorrow on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points.

Shank 2 drops players into a stunning pulp fiction world as Shank, an ex-mob hitman who is forced down the road to redemption after his village comes under brutal attack. With precise and fluid controls, tons of new weapons, stronger enemies and the most advanced combo system of any 2D brawler, Shank 2 delivers a dynamic and evolved combat experience. Players have access to a diverse arsenal of guns, knives, chainsaws, baseball bats, and more as they move through Klei’s beautifully drawn environments that earned the indie studio IGF’s Excellence in Visual Arts nomination in 2010, and the Canadian Animator of the Year award in 2011.

Shank 2’s all-new multiplayer Survival mode drops players into fast paced and action-packed interactive environments where they tactically take down hordes of goons and mini-bosses in an arcade-style fight to protect objectives and stay alive. Teams of two can play locally or online as they battle wave after wave of smarter, stronger enemies and use fallen weapons and on-the-fly purchases in gory brawls.

In a series known for delivering one of the most cinematic experiences in all of interactive entertainment with an emphasis on high quality digital acting, BioWare is aiming to once again set a new bar with Mass Effect™ 3. Today, BioWare, a Label of Electronic Arts Inc., unveiled the cast for 2012’s first blockbuster game, Mass Effect 3. The ensemble will see the return of fan favourites, including Martin Sheen as the Illusive Man, Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale as Male and Female Shepard and will introduce Freddie Prinze, Jr. as James Vega, a marine who will help Commander Shepard take Earth back.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the passion and emotion the entire cast brought to their performances in Mass Effect 3,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series. “In a story where Earth and the entire galaxy are at war, we needed to take the performances to a level of dramatic power and intensity that we’ve never previously attempted. This extremely talented cast delivered.”

The star-studded cast for Mass Effect 3 includes the return of Golden Globe winner Sheen (“The Departed”, “Apocalypse Now”), Seth Green (“Robot Chicken”, “Family Guy”) as Joker, Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica”) as the Normandy’s A.I., Yvonne Strahovski (“Chuck”) as Miranda, and Carrie-Anne Moss (“The Matrix”) as Aria T'Loak. Other returning fan favorites include Meer and Hale as Male and Female Shepard, Ali Hillis as Dr. Liara T’Soni, Keith David (“Platoon”) as Captain Anderson and Lance Henriksen (“Aliens”) as Admiral Steven Hackett. Prinze, Jr. (“24”) and Jessica Chobot (G4 TV), as news reporter Diana Allers, are the newcomers to the series. 

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Tim Coman and Sean Murray explain how deep lore and a signature style transport you to Amalur.

Mar-T and Chip are two robots stranded on a plant by the Krofax, and alien race The planet is a veritable junkyard of parts and during their journeys they find a spacecraft with an exeedingly helpful shipboard computer called Con-Rad. Con-Rad helps them discover parts to get the ship working again and ultimately escape the planet. As they run around the maps Mar-T and Chip discover other robots to free, many parts for the ship and upgrades for themselves.

Another characters, Krung, is fighting against them as he desires to capture Con-Rad for his own purposes. As the story progresses Mart-T, Chip and Con-Rad are faced with even more challenges as Lord Krung fights back.

Ladies & Gentlemen, this is Spare Parts - A quirky platform game for the PS3 and XBoX 360. One of the more notible features of this game is its celebrity voice over for Con-Rad in Simon Pegg. (Yeup Shaun of the Dead). The game looks good, sounds good and has a storyline thats not entirely cheese and pickles on toast. Being a platformer this does suffer a little from the usual 6 year old with a handycam syndrome, but its by in large fine and not the worst camera handling system around. The fight sequences are ok too, not too mind boggling, yet enough to keep kids happy and pottering along.

And thats just it, this is not a bad kids platformer. The game does support multiplayer cooperative mode, however with out any players online i couldnt test it. Apparently the game really comes into its own with alot attention to detail paid in the co-op modes.

All up this is a fun little platformer that wont break the bank, and will provide the kids (under 10) a bit of fun on a rainy day.