Little Big Planet is a masterpiece online

IF YOU have not already gone out and buy this game - what's wrong with you?!
Little Big Planet is a stupendous game, the one all PS3 gamers have been waiting for, and it really comes alive online, as I have discovered.
This is the first PS3 game that makes it easy to jump in and out of games online, with or without your friends - something I hope all other PS3 game developers will take note of.
But where the game has really come alive is through the support of the online community. Not only does it pick out cool levels designed by other people, but it has a great search facility, so that if you want to play a level about football, you just type in the word, search and - hey presto! See how many people have come up with levels about football! The game really has no limits....
And if you fancy seeing my very own cute (if short!) level - complete with a few goodies for the winners, do a search for 'wheelie good', play it - and let me know what you think!

Emerging from the Fallout

IMAGINE emerging from a nuclear vault, to find a once great city lying in ruins – that’s exactly where Fallout 3 puts gamers.
The game is set 200 years after the global atomic war of 2077, where survivors have flourished in Vault 101 beneath Washington DC.
Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown.
Leaving the only home you have ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth.
This game is visually stunning, giving players limitless freedom to take in the sights and sounds of the vast Capital Wasteland.
Combat in the game is an all-new experience. Vault-Tec engineers bring you the latest in human ability simulation - the SPECIAL Character System.
Using new breakthroughs in points-based ability representation, SPECIAL affords unlimited customisation of your character.
And the freedom of choice doesn’t end there. Players can choose whether to be good or bad. Feeling like a dastardly villain today, or a good samaritan? Pick a side or walk the line, as every situation can be dealt with in many different ways. Talk out your problems in a civilised fashion, or just flash your Plasma Rifle.
Much fun can also be had with V.A.T.S., the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System which allows you to pause time in combat, target specific body parts on your target, queue up attacks, and let Vault-Tec take out your aggression for you.
All this is played out in a stunning recreation of Washington DC, albeit after the harsh realities of nuclear fallout. From the barren Wasteland, to the danger-filled offices and metro tunnels of DC, to the hideous rotten flesh of a mutant's face. Fallout 3 is the first-person adventure shooter you have been waiting for. It is out now on the PS3, from Bethesda.

Packs of three on the PSP

NOW there is even more fun to be found for gamers on the move – with the release of two new games collections.
Out now on the Sony PSP are a pair of new collections containing not one, not two, but three games on one UMD.
The first one is PlayStation Network Collection – Power Pack.
This features Flow, where players explore the soothing depths of a living underwater environment, discover strange new organisms and embark on a journey of evolution.
Next up is Beats, where gamers take up the challenge and enjoy a highly addictive rhythm action game, where your music collection gets the starring role.
Last but not least is Syphon Filter: Combat Ops. Here, players seek out and terminate rogue agents or team up with friends and form a Cell group, then take out other Cells online and engage in stealth shooter action for up to eight players.
For the more quizzically minded, there is the PlayStation Network Collection – Puzzle Pack.
This kicks off with the insanely addictive Lemmings. The Lemmings are on the loose and that can only mean one thing - trouble! Danger is barely a footstep away for the relentlessly marching hordes of cutesy, green-haired rodents.
Next up is Go! Sudoku, featuring the global phenomenon of Sudoku hitting new levels on the PSP. Simple logic is the key to unlocking the number based puzzles.
And this also Go! Puzzle - an easy to play but tricky to master game, which features three addictive games - Go! Puzzle Aquatica, Go! Puzzle Swizzle Blocks and Go! Puzzle Skyscraper.
All in all, there is something for everyone here – and both collections are on sale for a bargain, ideal as stocking fillers this Christmas.

Sackboy rocks!

MY copy of Little Big Planet finally arrived (a day after launch!) and yes, I can confirm - it is as good as we all hoped it would be!

The cute platformer is great fun, and even when you complete the story mode, there is plenty of life left in the game, as the well-publicised level creation side of the game is fantastic. You can build your own levels, post them online and let others play them, or play other people's levels, or even join up online with friends or other gamers to complete the levels together.

I'm just putting the finishing touches to my own first creation - a simple and short level to start with, as I'm just getting the hang of it - but it is great to think you can build a level and then let other LBP gamers play it across the globe.

Fantastic!

The webbed wonder is back!

OUR favourite webbed friend is back – and his adventures are bigger and better than ever!
When a deadly symbiote invasion devastates the streets of New York City, only Spider-Man can seize control and bring the city salvation. From the game's direction and outcome through to Spider-Man's destiny, Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows, out now on the PS3, puts control in the player's hands.
Gamers decide when to switch between the agile Red Suit and powerful Black Suit, whether to ally with Marvel's honoured heroes or ferocious villians, which of Spider-Man's abilities to upgrade and what missions to undertake in order to protect Manhattan from certain annihilation.
This game features an overhauled combat system providing its deepest arsenal ever. For the first time ever in a Spider-Man game, players can take the fight vertically and combat foes on city walls, where only Spider-Man holds the advantage. This is where the game and the action is at its very best.
Players can customise their ideal Spider-Man, earning experience in multiple combat disciplines, allowing them to custom-design their ideal Spider-Man.
And dependant on gamers' actions and decisions, a morality meter will gauge whether citizens cheer Spider-Man on or run away in fear. Spider-Man's actions as hero or vigilante, based on choices at key points in the game, will decide the fate of New York.
And players can side with Marvel's greatest heroes and villians, choosing who will ultimately aid them in the fight to rid New York of its alien symbiote.
This all takes place in a living, breathing New York City, where players can destroy store fronts, demolish vehicles, and pick-up anything along the way to use as a weapon.
This is definitely by far the best game in the Spider-Man series so far, and younger gamers will particularly enjoy it.

Hamilton is the champ!!!

YES, us Brits can finally start celebrating some sporting brilliance as Lewis Hamilton is the 2008 Formula One world champion.
So, bearing in mind this great victory - and that this is actually a gaming blog - how's about those clever game makers come up with an F1 game for the PS3 that is actually really, really good?
Here's hoping - and congrats and full respect to Lewis!

Any spare LBP codes going - pleeaaassse....!

Well, there are just days left for us UK and European folk, waiting to get their hands on the (now slightly amended) Little Big Planet.
But one big detail that most people are discussing is - where can you get your hands on a special promo code to get the extra costumes for Sackboy?
America already have the God of War characters, Europe is getting someone different, and I don't even know if the UK will get the special spacesuit promised for those who buy the game in the first week (especially due to the delay).
So, as I will be getting the game at launch but will not have any codes - if you've got one going spare, feel free to get in touch (I promise I won't pass it on to anyone else!)
Here's hoping.....