Are you ready to take flight? Microsoft are...

It may have escaped your notice, as it did ours, that Microsoft’s diligent efforts in refreshing it’s dominant flight simulator offering are begining to bear fruit. Namely in the recent appearance of beta testing applications for the new package.

If you have any interest in flight simulation on PC then this is big news for you if only in that it shows definite progress is being made. It’s also a great value (free!) way to sample what they have in store, as the released software will certainly not be cheap, if past efforts are anything to go by!

For more details, or to apply for the beta itself directly, visit the relevant bit of the official website by clicking here.

- Richard “Rax” Burley
@Raxous

Battlefield 3 Beta... but only for the lucky few today..

Today sees the launch of the Battlefield 3 Beta, currently available only to those who pre-ordered via Origin or purchased the Medal of Honor Limited Edition.

Beta keys & instructions for these lucky few will start arriving in inboxes later today (13:00 to 15:00 CET) and then the fun will really begin.

All the rest of us grunts will have to wait till the 29th when the doors to this theatre of war preview performance begin in earnest.

See you on the field soldier!

- Richard “Rax” Burley
@Raxous

From September 3-11, PlayStation Plus members and Uplay members will enjoy exclusive access to the multiplayer beta on PlayStation 3. The multiplayer beta offers access to nine characters (The Sentinel, The Vanguard, The Guardian, The Vizier, The Thespian, The Deacon, The Bombardier, The Trickster and The Champion), three maps (Knight’s Hospital, Antioch, Constantinople) and four playable modes (Wanted, Manhunt, Deathmatch *NEW*, and Artifact Assault *NEW*), which are only a sample of the final multiplayer content.

In Assassin’s Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of the legendary Altaïr on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.

Assassin’s Creed^® Revelations will be available on November 15, 2011 along with the Collector’s Edition, the Animus Edition and the Special Edition. Stay tuned to newbreview.com for more info over the coming weeks.

“Thank you for purchasing the Medal of Honor™ Limited Edition, which included access to the upcoming Battlefield 3 Beta! We are making great progress on Battlefield 3 and can’t wait to share it with you. We will be rolling out the Beta during the month of September and you are still on our exclusive list to enter this Beta early. We are currently running internal tests and a tech-focused closed Alpha Trial. We will be sure to notify you when the Battlefield 3 Beta is available to you. In the meantime, check out some of the latest Battlefield 3 videos and related news at the official site.”

Battlefield 3 is due to be released on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 28th. Stay tuned to Newbreview.com for more coverage of this game in the coming months.

We’ll keep ‘um peeled for more on this, and let you know as soon as anything else is leaked, but if you’d like a chance to be involved in the early access, we’d advise you grab a PlayStation Plus membership, if you don’t have one already, or look out for specially marked copies of Infamous 2.

Betas! Get your betas here!

Gears of War 3 will be hitting our consoles on the 20th of September 2011. Confirmed.

Also confirmed is the availability of the beta, in April, to ALL XBox live “Gold” members, despite what Epic Edition Bulletstorm owners may have thought! Anyway, regardless of that, we’ve also learnbt that;

- This time round we get dedicated GoW 3 servers, which should significantly improve the online experience for all!
- The demo will feature 3 new multiplayer game modes and 4 new maps. (including the already confirmed “Stadium” and “Supermarket”). The final 2 beta maps will be picked by us fans, via facebook, so keep an eye on the GoW3′s Facebook  page! (The choice will be from; Mercy, Old Town, Overpass and Trenches).
- What will we do with 4 beta maps! Well, any of the following new game modes; King of the Hill, Capture the Leader & Team Deathmatch.
- Cole’s “Thrashball” outfit will be unlockable by playing 70 online matches, and you will get to keep the outfit if you manage to fit in 83 matches before launch!

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is due for release on Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 on 19th November in Europe, and a PC version is scheduled for release early in 2011.

Stay tuned to The Newb Review for our hands on impressions of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood’s multiplayer very soon!

Stay tuned to The Newb Review for our hands on impressions of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood’s Multiplayer soon!

Looks pretty good dunnit?

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is available to preorder now (lucky UK PS3 owners that preorder the title will gain access to a free multiplayer beta from October 4th), and is due for release on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 19th. A PC version is due for release a short while later.

The Publisher went on to explain further details of the beta: “In the Multiplayer beta, players will have the opportunity to choose from nine different characters such as the doctor, the priest, the executioner or the courtesan, try their unique deadly weapons and discover their signature moves.

The beta will allow players to play as a variety of characters

Up to eight players simultaneously will be able to use new ways to assassinate their targets in two different modes:

Wanted – challenges players to get the higher score by killing their assigned targets and escaping their hunters in clever ways.
Alliance – allows players to compete cooperatively in teams of two, fulfill contracts and confuse enemies in tandem.

Both modes will be playable on two different maps located in Rome and Castel Gandolfo.”

Players will be given an early taste of strategically planning out the demise of a friend.... online obviously

Sounds pretty exciting, and quite a coup for Sony.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is scheduled to release on November 18th 2010 on Xbox 360 and PS3. It will be available on PC in Q1 2011. Stay tuned to The Newb Review for more coverage on Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.

Simply copy and paste one of the two following codes into www.blurthegame.com/beta and they will email you a code to download the online multiplayer beta straight to your Xbox 360 harddrive. We only have four codes right now, and they’re only available on a first come first served basis. So good luck, and get downloading. Here they are:

G79R-KVE4-NQZZ-T9EM
RGWJ-JKRV-33CP-6A9K
G7QE-7QQE-ZZDP-RMDK
RHKZ-QWTE-4QGQ-4VRW

Good luck, and don’t forget to post a comment at the bottom to say that you’ve got one.

There's more to this game than just pretty looking cars.

For those not in the know, Blur is made by Bizarre Creations, makers of the Project Gotham series. After having expressed boredom with “realistic” driving games, Bizarre have gone down a different path to breathe life into the racing genre. Rather than focusing on pure realism, Bizarre have instead created a game that blends real world cars with fast paced arcadey controls, chucking bright neon coloured powerups into the mix.

"You absolute SHUNT!"

Stay tuned to The Newb Review over the coming days for our coverage on this great new racing game.

Like what you see? How about preordering the game, due out on 28th May 2010, from The Newb Review store?

For Xbox 360 click here, for PS3 click here and for PC click here.

Can the game live up to its hefty billing: a cross between Little Big Planet and Mario Kart?  It’s early days yet, but read on for Kamiza’s thoughts on the story so far.

The game falls under the banner of Sony’s Play, Create, Share mantra which was so expertly realised with Little Big Planet.  For the uninitiated, this is basically a system whereby players can generate game content themselves and make it available for other players connected to the PSN to further enhance their experience with the game. The way this is implimented in Modnation Racers is through the ability to create your own character, karts and tracks.

Before I go into any real analysis of the game, it is important to understand that this is an unfinished beta version, and as such the game can change significantly between now and release.

Modnation Racers is a cartoony kart racing game with an emphasis on fun.  When loading up the beta we are introduced to the world of the MRC (Modnation Racing Championship) by a couple of TV commentators who fill in the back story of the game with some amusing chat. We then appear in a generic kart at the Modspot - an area that resembles something like the “backstage” area of an F1 meeting. The Modspot serves as a kind of lobby area where you can whizz around in your kart, meet other racers online and share your own created content.

One of my creations - The Stig - checking out the Modspot

I really can’t emphasise enough just how good this system is. For one, it’s a big, wide open area where you can practice your drifting and powerslides (important in the actual gameplay). But you can also drive up to any online player and with one or two button presses you can challenge them to a race, start a chat or download any of the published creations. This area also shows the top rated Karts, Tracks and Characters at the time, also making them easily downloadable.

So where do all these downloadble goodies come from? Why, the Creation Station of course. In this area you can generate and customize your own content using preset building blocks. In the beta version there is a relatively tiny amount available to use, but there is still a staggering amount of unique content available. You create your character in a similar fashion to Sackboy’s customization in Little Big Planet. You chose skin colour, stickers, facial features, clothes, accessories and also voice style.

The Karts are just as flexible with the design. There are many body styles to choose from as well as engine types, suspension, wheels etc. I’m not sure if any of these actually effect the performance of your vehicle though, as one of my creations; The Stigmobile, is powered by a Hamster in a wheel (Top Gear Fans will appreciate that) and still puts in a good race.

Hamster in the back as usual

The track creation tool is quite simply a piece of small genius. As it currently stands, it is insanely easy to create amazing tracks in just minutes. You drive what can only be described as a piece of farm machinery around a blank piece of terrain which automatically lays the track as you go. The right stick controls the height of the track, so you can lay steep, towering inclines followed by a plummeting helterskelter which tunnels under the track you’ve already laid.

There is a limited length available, but its more than enough to build a decent track. Any mistakes can be easily fixed with a hit of the reverse button (L2) to rewind, erasing some of the track. If you get bored half way through (you won’t) you can hit the triangle button and the track will automatically finish itself off. It really is quite special.

Once you’ve created your masterpiece, it can be published to the world in just a few button presses. Anyone can then download and race around your creation. In fact, I took some time to put together some Newb Review creations, so feel free to take a look and download them.

Newb Review branded clothing - coming to a clothing outlet near you!

So once you’ve put it all together, I suppose you want to actually race huh?  Well, the gameplay is solid and those familiar with Kart racers will have no problem getting to grips with the racing. A central aspect to the race is drift. Drifting (or powerslide) fills the power meter, which then unlocks turbo boost, shield and sideswipe abilities to help take out surrounding racers. Weapons also drop throughout the game; each with three power levels. To increase the potency of a weapon you collect several powerups. The high-end weapons can be quite devastating and fun.

Of course this is just a beta, so as I’ve already said, a lot can change between now and release. The current code isn’t without its problems. I’ve noticed times on created tracks where the road doesn’t quite join up the way it should, so you can get stuck on the join if you’re not paying attention. Also the loading times are quite bad at the moment and at times have even caused my PS3 to lock up.

Steve loved the pimp job on his Cadillac

These are the sort of problems you expect in beta games though and if United Front Games continue the stellar work they’ve done so far, this will be eliminated before release. Overall I am really impressed. This could well be a launch day purchase for me.

If you’re in the beta and are interested in getting a few races or want to download my created content (The Stig or Newb Review stuff) feel free to add me – kamiza989

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Game: Battlefield Bad Company 2
Format: PS3
Developer: EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE)
Publisher: Electronic Arts

Our good friends over at EA invited tom01255 to jump in on the multiplayer Beta for the upcoming Battlefield Bad Company 2 (affectionately called BFBC2). BFBC2 is the second first person shooter for the next-gen consoles. Whilst its predecessor certainly didn’t redefine the genre, it provided an enjoyable alternative to the genre dominating Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

The Beta level available to us involved a simple attack and defend mission; the attackers seek to set charges at two primary locations, with the defenders struggling to fight them off; disarming the charges before they blow. Once the primary targets, labelled A and B, are dealt with, the map expands to show two more targets. The attackers must then advance whilst the defenders drop back to defend their remaining bases.

Character advancement is fast paced; the beginning will see your chosen class gaining several upgrades before the match is even finished. Whilst this advancement slows once you rank up, there are still plenty of unlockable items and perks as you progress; giving you the ability to mould your character to match your play style; whatever class you choose.

The four classes: Assault, Engineer, Recon and Medic, display fundamental differences that add that extra tactical element to your play. As with many other FPS games; you have the ability to chop and change between classes mid-level if you are killed, or you can simply commit suicide to respawn if the chosen class really isn’t working for you.

Whichever class you choose, you're still going to look badass

Destructibility is a big part of the gameplay in BFBC2. Almost every structure is destructible; walls will crumble and bullets will punch holes through your chosen cover so that constant movement is a necessity. This makes the multiplayer matches more frenetic than other FPS such as Modern Warfare, as you can’t simply camp behind a structure and wait for your opponent to run out of bullets; eventually one of them is going to find you.

Vehicles litter the maps and there’s a great variety available; from tanks and armoured cars, all the way down to the somewhat flimsy but cheek-clenchingly fast quad bike. The tanks, for example, are solid and present the opportunity for some easy kills, but they are destructible enough to provide the right level of frustration; you shouldn’t find yourself throwing the controller against the wall after being wiped several times in a row.

The tanks look and feel believable.

Vehicles are also something of a necessity because the multiplayer maps are a little on the large side. Whilst you can sprint over short distances, it will take you an inordinate amount of time to get back to a battle site if you’ve chosen the standard respawn point. There’s also the handy option of respawning next to anyone in your squad that happens to still be alive; this comes in handy when attacking the enemy bases some way from your respawn point.

With the disillusionment many PC gamers are feeling over the lack of server support for Modern Warfare 2, I can see this new offering being a really big hit. BFBC2 is shaping up to be a fun and in-depth multiplayer experience. It’s due for release in March 2010 on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Keep it locked to NewbReview for a full review as soon as we get our grubby little hands on a copy.

So I’m one of the few (thousand) who have been called up to the ranks of the Massive Action Game (MAG) beta trial and as far as I can tell, I’ve not signed a non-disclosure agreement, so I thought I would share my initial impressions of this much hyped game.

Before we go any further, it is incredibly important to understand that as this game is an unfinished product, much could change between now and release. The purpose of beta testing is to find faults, bugs and glitches before release. Also, the beta version launches with no help or instructional documentation, so most of what I have experienced is through trial and error.

MAG is a first person shooter, exclusive to the Playstation 3 that should be deploying sometime in early 2010. The “Massive” part of the name refers to the fact that games can have up to 256 players in the same battle at any one time. The game itself is set in the near future where three military factions are at each others throat. Each faction comes from a different point on the rainbow of modern warfare. S.V.E.R represent the rag-tag, almost guerrilla-style warriors who fight with whatever weaponry they have available. Raven are the guys with the shiny, state-of-the art, shoot your eyebrows off without collateral damage, type weaponry. The final corner of this warring triangle is Valor, who represent the middle ground.

You start off by picking your faction and going through a small “create your character” section, that lets you adjust some basic character features. Once created, you can choose your weapons/gear pack (called loadout) before each battle. This loadout will determine the type of role you will play be it medic, sniper, etc. The more you play the game, the more experience points you gain. These experience points unlock important abilities and character facets. These can be managed through the “Barracks” menu option before deployment. Overall, the presentation is quite slick and clear.

So, what about the “Action”? Well, there seems to be plenty of it. Because there are so many people in the one battle, it becomes very clear, very quickly that structure and order are required to be successful. The game has a chain of command. Each faction has an Officer in Charge, who has, under him, four platoon leaders. These platoon leaders each command a group of four squad leaders who in turn bark orders to their team of eight grunts. Wow, that’s some hierarchical chain. But that is exactly where the strength of MAG seems to lie. If you want a run-and-gun, Rambo-esque shooter, I don’t think this will be for you. If you want a more tactical shooter, the early signs points to something that will tick that box in a big way.

There look to be different game types available in the full version but the beta currently only allows the “Acquisition” game type. In this one faction must steal two transport vehicles from the other. Simples no? Well, not quite. You, as a lowly soldier may get nowhere near these vehicles. In fact, what I’ve discovered is that its actually a good idea to forget all about them. The chain of command is key. The Officer in charge will specify tasks for his platoon leaders designed at achieving the ultimate objective. For example, Platoon leader A may be tasked with taking out the anti-aircraft defences, whilst Platoon Leader B is given the objective of taking down the front gate. Platoon leader A will ask Squad Leader 1 and 2 to approach the AA guns from opposite sides, whilst Squad Leader 3 and 4 provide sniper and heavy weapons cover. Squad Leader 1 may ask you to run around in a circle like a headless chicken drawing the enemy fire whist the other 7 squad members sneak up and kill the defending forces. Phew. That’s just one way of laying out how this game looks like it wants to be played. Yes, you can run around on your own shooting people, but you will progress much quicker and achieve more by sticking with your squad and obeying orders.

I love the theory behind this game and the general gameplay is heading in the right direction. I have some small reservations though. The on-screen display that shows you current objectives can be a little confusing at times. If you have a vocal squad leader, its not a problem though as they will tell you exactly what they expect. There are a couple of other areas I’d like to see tidied up as well but that’s what you should expect in a beta. This game is a way off completion but everything I’ve seen so far suggests that this could be a really well executed strategic FPS. It does rely on people following the chain of command though, so consider that before making your purchase in the New Year.

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