I now have a total of 3 platinum trophies and very close to getting another in Modern Warfare 2. All I’ve got to do on Modern Warfare 2 is get all 69 stars in the Special Ops mode and the level I’m trying to complete is rock solid!

I will post a more informative update during this week. Stay tuned!

The latest games I have are:-

• Dirt 2
• Modern Warfare 2
• FIFA 10

I’ve obviously been playing those recently, trying to get the most out of them before I get the games I want for Xmas. The games I want for Xmas are:-

• The Saboteur
• Assassin’s Creed 2
• Operation Flashpoint 2

Now I know these aren’t exactly big hitters apart from maybe Assassin’s Creed 2 but that’s ok because at the beginning of 2010 there are some massive hitters being released exclusively for the PS3 and this is where the PS3 can flex it’s muscles once again. Afterall, they did it with Killzone 3 when that was released February 27th 2009.

The big hitters are:-

• Gran Turismo 5 – March 2010
• God of War III – March 2010
• Massive Action Game – January 2010

Looks like i’m going to have to spread them out as I don’t really like having too many games on at once, you start neglecting the older games. I’ll have to wait and see.

So i’ve completed Grand Theft Auto IV now, i wanted to before MGS4 came out because i’d probably not have gone back to GTA IV.

I have 3 game currently on pre-order and these are…

1. Metal Gear Solid 4 (released June 12)
2. Top Spin 3 (released June 20)
3. Battlefield: Bad Company (release June 27)

So thats 3 games, week after week from each other. I think when i’ve got the above games i won’t be buying a game for a good while.

I’m enjoying the PS3 and has some great games ahead that are exclusive to the console.

Anyway, online play in MGS4 will keep me occupied!

Dear David Parkinson,

We are pleased to inform you that your order has been dispatched by our team in Basingstoke.

Thank you very much for ordering from us here at gameplay, you should receive your package in 1 – 3 Working Days.

This dispatch contains the following:

Qty Description
1 Grand Theft Auto IV [PlayStation 3]

If it was posted yesterday theres a chance i might get it on Monday! I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on this game, i’ve been waiting for this game for a long time and had to go through a number delays, it was meant to come out back in October. The online mode looks brilliant, the way you and your friends can just walk around the city causing mayhem or just play cops and robbers!

Dear David Parkinson,

Grand Theft Auto IV is nearly here!

Thank you for your order ********** for Grand Theft Auto IV. The highly anticipated GTA IV game is due to be with you on Tuesday 29th April. To make sure that we get this title to everyone who ordered it for release day we have had to start our picking and packing process earlier than we would for our normal pre-orders. As a result, we may look to authorise and charge your credit/debit card from tomorrow.
Kind Regards

Customer Service Team
Gameplay.co.uk

Well well, that means i’ve secure my copy because GTA IV is almost guaranteed to sell out day 1. GTA IV is expected to make around $400 million in it’s first week! thats crazy money!

Take a look at some screenshots HERE and HERE.

• Liverpool (me)
• Blackburn (colleague 2)
• Manchester United (colleague 3)
• Barcelona (colleague 4)

Manchester United came first, Liverpool came second, Blackburn came third and Barcelona came last. Manchester United and Liverpool made it to the cup final where Manchester United beat Liverpool. Not to worry though because i said i want to use a team i’m good with and that’s Barcelona. So in league 6 i used Barcelona.

We have played league 6 and it’s the last league, we are giving Fifa 08 a break for now. League 6 looked like this:

• Barcelona (me)
• Chelsea (colleague 2)
• Manchester United (colleague 3)
• Arsenal (colleague 4)

What an interesting league this was. The two best players (me and colleague 3) drew against the two worst players in our first games. However, we won against the worse players in the rest of our games. Now then, the hardest part is playing potentially the best player, colleague 3. The first game Manchester United beat Barcelona with a lucky injury time goal. BUT i’m glad to say Barcelona THRASHED Manchester United in second time around by not 1-0, not 2-0 but 3-0! This gave me the lead and won on goal difference by 3 goals.

So the competition has ended and altogether i won: £55 which isn’t bad at all. All i can say is that i were the best at Fifa 08 and no one could come close to me apart from colleague 3 who i tactically outclassed him in our last game.

What’s happening next is we are switching game to Project Gotham Racing 4. The colleagues have the advantage over me because it’s on the Xbox 360, they all own one and i don’t, i prefer the PS3.

We’ll have to see what happens.

The other game i’ve pre-ordered is a game i think everyone should pre-order and thats Metal Gear Solid 4 – only available on the Playstation 3. I’ve completed all the other Metal Gears and can’t wait for this one, the graphics look stunning along with the new gameplay features. I pre-ordered MGS4 at the weekend because i think it will probably sell out like GTA IV.

Also, one last thing is that buying games online is a big bonus as i’ve mentioned before because you can earn cash back from Quidco.

I played online against 15 other players, it was mad. The best part was that it was virtually lag free. If you have a Playstation 3 and want a racing game, this is the game to get. It’s very cheap too, good value for your money.

I took some pictures of it running on my T.V and these are actual in-game graphics. Many people didn’t think the graphics would be this good, but they are:

League 4

Well, i didn’t win this league like i said i would, but i came second which i’m happy about.

• Hamburg SV (me)
• Chelsea (colleague 1)
• Sporting Lisbon (colleague 2)
• Barcelona (colleague 3)

Chelsea finished top, Hamburg second, Sporting Lisbon third and Barcelona fourth. The cup was a different story. I got knocked out in the first round and so did Sporting Lisbon. Guess who won the cup? Yes that’s right the colleague who has never won anything won the cup!

I have a few excuses to why i didn’t win the league or cup – i didn’t have a 5 star team so i didn’t have the pace of strength like Chelsea and Barcelona do.

We agreed that whoever comes top has to pick a 4 star team, second 4 and half star team, third and fourth 5 star teams. This makes it fair.

Anyway, i warned all colleagues that in league 5 i will be using a 4 and a half star team and i choose Liverpool.

League 5

League 5 will be an interesting one. It currently looks like this:

• Liverpool (me)
• Blackburn (colleague 2)
• Manchester United (colleague 3)
• Barcelona (colleague 4)

I’ve played a game and beat Blackburn 3-0.  Blackburn (colleague 2) gave me some stick when he beat me in the previous league and i just warned him that i used the wrong team – 4 stars! I thrashed Blackburn – enough said. Carrying on, Manchester United beat Barcelona 3-0, which leaves us joint first.

I might be able to win this league, i think i will struggle against Manchester United – Anything can happen in football.

Graphics – 8/10

The graphics in Rainbow Six Vegas 2 are nice, while they aren’t as good as Call of Duty 4, but still are eye catching. Graphically, they have improved over the first Rainbow Six Vegas game; they look crisper in comparison. The graphics won’t disappoint you in anyway unless you are running the game below 720P.

Sound and Music – 7/10

The sound and music in Vegas 2 is exactly the same as the first game. While there are bug fixes such as the constant gun fire, where no one is shooting but all you can hear is gun fire. The explosions sound nice, the voice acting is way better than the first which is good to hear.

It’s best to play with a surround sound system because of its tactical ability you need to listen out for where the foot steps are coming from.

Gameplay – 8/10

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is not a run and gun type of game. Here you will require the use of tactics and stealth at the same time. You cannot simply run and shoot, you will get taken out in no time. One of the best features Vegas have is the cover system. Vegas contains one of the best cover system i’ve ever witnessed and its back for Vegas 2. You can use the cover system to move tactically from room to room.

The controls are easy to pick up and no different from the first game. It’s just annoying to get used to after playing Call of Duty 4 so much. You will be pressing the wrong buttons for the first few games you play.

In terms of controls Ubisoft have added a spring button which enables to run from location to location – something that was missing from the first game.

The single player campaign is pretty short, and won’t take any longer than 10 hours to complete. But once you have completed it on your own, you can go through the exact same campaign but with a friend. This is called Co-Op.

In Co-Op you and a friend can go through the whole story mode, the same story as you played it on single player. You can do this online and offline split screen or over LAN. Other co-op modes include terrorist hunt so there is plenty to do.

You can earn aces points and experience points (xp) in single player modes and the multiplayer online modes. It’s like Call of Duty 4 where you earn points for kills and winning rounds. These XP points can be used to unlock new weapons, gear and upgrades. The unlocks work in both offline and online. This adds an RPG style element similar to COD4.

Multiplayer/Online – 9/10

This is where you will probably spend most of you time – Online. Exactly the same as the first but with bug fixes and a new match making system makes it better than ever. Playing online is pretty much lag free and plays very smooth. There is one annoying thing and that is people playing music down their MICS!

Replayability – 9/10

Replayability is probably the best part of the game. There is so much to do and you will be coming back for more and more. I play co-op with my friends more than actually playing online competing. It’s so fun playing with friends through the story mode or terrorist hunt, discussing tactics over MICS.

Overall – 8/10

Not as good as Call of Duty 4 which many people had hoped. It is better than first Vegas, but doesn’t deliver anything entirely new apart from a spring button. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy this game because if you loved the first Vegas you will love the second. It contains new maps and better graphics. It does feel like a rushed money spinning sequel but as soon as you load the game up you will say to yourself, Vegas is back!

if you liked the first one and its co-op online modes, i would highly recommend you buy this game now!

I think i’m pretty much done and can just get on with publishing new content. I will probably make changes to the layout, for example, maybe add in a top bar like i did for this blog. I’m hoping to attract Playstation fans and feed them with up to date news. I will keep you updated with how things go in the coming weeks.

In terms of work, i am going to write a review for Rainbow Six Vegas 2 which i received on Wednesday through the post. Expect the review tomorrow or Sunday.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater let me down slightly. I didn’t like the idea of it being in a jungle. I didn’t get to completed MGS3 because i had too much going on in my life with college etc.

Now that Metal Gear Solid 4 is coming out for the Playstation 3, i’m really looking forwards for this one. I like the idea of being in the middle of a war, and the way you can camouflage yourself with the surrounding enviromoents. Konami showed a demo at the Metal Gear 20th Anniversary celebration, but it was all in japanese. Want to see it in English? Now you can by viewing it here:

League 3

• Italy (me)
• England (colleague 1)
• France (colleague 2)
• Brazil (colleague 3)

France won the league this time, Italy came second, England came 3rd and Brazil came last. While i lost the league i thought i would be giving colleague 2 £5. We all proceeded with the cup, and Italy won the cup so i didn’t have to give any money out because if you win the cup you don’t have to pay, you keep the £5 you put in the pot.

League 4

We started league 4, we said that the top 2 players in the last league (me and colleague 2) would be 4 star teams and the other rubbish players would be 5 star teams. League 4 looks like this…

• Hamburg SV (me)
• Chelsea (colleague 1)
• Sporting Lisbon (colleague 2)
• Barcelona (colleague 3)

So far we have all played twice. So i lost to Chelsea and beat Sporting Lisbon (the best player next to me). Sporting Lisbon has lost 1 and won 1 and Barcelona has lost both games. Chelsea have won both games up to now. So that leaves Chelsea top, Hamburg SV in second, Lisbon in 3rd and Barcelona last.

I’m confident i will win this league again, i’m currently £45 up, i plan to stretch that to £60 and go on to win the cup.

If i don’t win the league, i might take the money and run.

I pre-ordered Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for the Playstation 3 from Gameplay.co.uk through Quidco so i get 11% cashback. I used to purchase all my games from the high street shops, but it now works out cheaper to buy them online with cashback services and you get the game a day earlier. I also save money on petrol as i don’t have to drive down to the shops to purchase them. Anyway be sure to see a review from me when i get the game.

Gran Turismo has always boasted excellent graphics and real driving experience. I’ve played Gran Turismo HD for the Playstation 3, downloading it from the Playstation Store free of charge, it’s ok, they could have given us a little more to play with. I knew i would be looking forwards to Gran Turismo 5.

Now that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is just around the corner, i cannot wait to get my hands on it. Prologue is like a short version of the full game of GT5, if your a fan of the series, you wouldn’t think twice about not getting the prologue game. Basically it’s like a teaser of the full product and it’s cheap to buy, so why not buy it?

Take a look at this trailer, everything you see is actual in game footage: