Set in post-outbreak America, The Last of Us is a game like no other. It is a perfect blend of near-flawless gameplay and absorbing narrative. From beginning to end you won’t want to leave the world Naughty Dog has created, and that’s not something I say lightly, because this world isn’t a nice one; it’s a lawless world full of danger, fear and silent beauty. The outbreak of a deadly virus has pushed mankind to the brink: humans have survived but humanity hasn’t. Society soldiers on in military run safe-zones, but that ‘safety’ comes at the price of freedom. It’s in one of these walled off safe-zones that we meet Joel, our protagonist.

Joel is a survivor. He does what he needs to do to ensure he makes it through each day, and it’s easy to see that he’s a man who’s desperate to preserve some shred of humanity. There's nothing heroic about the actions he takes, and that’s what makes him such a compelling character. We can root for him because we can see he doesn’t take any pleasure in what he does. He’s forced to do things that many of us might frown upon, but Joel doesn’t have the luxury of choice. In his world it’s do or die, and when you do take gruesome action there’s no glory or victory cheer, just grim acceptance and a begrudging understanding that survival isn’t easy, for Joel or for the player.

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - The Last of Us (PS3) - Review

You can check out a teaser trailer for Fez 2 below. No, we can assure you that isn't a new Tron trailer. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Fez 2 Announced at Horizon - News

This is a preview of a game currently under review and as a result final impressions may change.

State of Decay is a big deal for Microsoft. With more and more gamers getting sick and tired of the lack of exclusives coming from the guys in green, State of Decay presents Microsoft with the chance to show that they are still getting quality, exclusive games to their customers. 

State of Decay is developed by Undead Labs, a studio who clearly have big ambitions. If you’ve seen a trailer for State of Decay then you’ll know that Undead Labs are trying to do what many have found near impossible: create the ultimate zombie survival game. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - First Impressions: State of Decay - Preview

Do you like games? Do you want to play some of the best new PC and Indie games before they hit the shelves? Are you free on the weekend beginning 22 June? 

If the answer to those questions is yes, then you might be interested to know we're giving away three weekend passes to the Rezzed Game Show in Birmingham. The Rezzed Game Show is one of the biggest gaming events in the UK, and whilst there you can expect 'plenty of hands-on time with brand new PC blockbusters and totally new game experiences in The Leftfield Collection, all curated by a pixellated panel of experts from Eurogamer.net and Rock, Paper, Shotgun.'

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - [Closed] Competition: Win a Weekend Pass to the UK Rezzed Game Show - Article

All of the numbered screenshots are now online. Details on how to enter the competition can be found at the Undead Labs website, and you lucky reader have already already got one checked off the list. 

Screenshot Scavenger Hunt #25

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Updated: State of Decay Screenshot Scavenge Hunt - News

Check out the trailer, and let us know if you're excited for Destiny in the comments below. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Live Action Destiny Trailer Unveiled - News

With E3 right around the corner Microsoft have a chance to right their wrongs. Their focus on everything but games needs addressing, and what better place to do it than at the biggest gaming Expo in the world? We heard about some fresh IPs at the reveal and then we were quickly ushered on. I’m not sure why they didn’t tease us some more there and then, but Microsoft need to know that showing us Forza and Call of Duty footage just doesn’t cut it anymore. I’ll be willing to forgive this oversight in a few weeks, but only if they show us some goddam games - I’d even take a montage trailer at this point. You have 15 exclusive titles Microsoft - wield that power well, and you might just win us back. 

Microsoft should also use E3 as a platform to clarify just how dependent on an internet connection the Xbox One is, and how the Xbox One will deal with used games. There are obscene amounts of speculation flying around the internet as we speak, and this only leads to confusion on an unprecedented scale. Microsoft need to come out and clearly state their intentions. Of course in an ideal world they wouldn’t be eliminating the used market entirely, however if they choose to do so, I fear they will only be the first to implement what will eventually become the norm. When the people making and publishing your games want the used market to start sleeping with the fishes, it’s only a matter of time before that wish becomes a reality.  

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Xbox One: It Can Only Get Better - Article

We reached out to some of the most talented composers in the industry and asked them what their favourite piece of gaming music - be it an entire soundtrack or a single piece - from this generation was and why. Here's what they had to say: 

Austin Wintory - Credits include: Journey, Monaco and flOw.

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Videogame Composers' Favourite Game Soundtracks - Article

Giles and I find the whole in-app purchase thing really off-putting. And I think that's the model now for the majority of developers. Release your app for free and hope that people spend within it. I think all of this is a symptom of a larger problem. And that's that the majority of people expect everything on the internet and beyond to be free. Music, newspapers, apps. Fortunately, we haven't had too many critical reviews but there have been some people who have said, 'yep, it looks nice and the music is good but I'd finished the whole thing in under 3 hours or so - not worth the money! 2 stars'. So, you spend the price of a Snickers on something that took two people a full year to make, it occupies you for 3 hours and that's not a good enough return for your money!? Bonkers! 

Chris: If the kickstarter is a success, where would you like to see Sir Benfro in the future? 

Tim: Josh has been involved in two extremely successful animated series. He has high hopes that Sir Benfro could be a TV show. That's a world I know nothing about but he's confident. Obviously, it would be amazing to take the character that far. But for now I'm just concentrating on getting the book out there and building up a Benfrollowing!

Chris: Thanks for your time Tim. 

Sir Benfro’s Brilliant Balloon is free to download for the duration of the Kickstarter campaign, which means you need to get it right now. Go on, off you fly to the App Store now little gamer, fly, fly, fly.

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - The Disappointment of Success - Article

In this review I’ll take you through each of the multiplayer maps included in the Uprising DLC, before taking a look at the celebrity filled Mob of the Dead, the latest addition to the ever popular Zombies mode.

The first map I encountered on my Uprising journey was Magma. I had a lot of hope that this map would offer something truly unique, but these hopes were quickly smothered. Unfortunately, the lava you encounter in-game isn’t the environmental hazard it was initially presented as. Sure, if you somehow manage to fall in to it, you’ll perish in a molten mess, but you’d have to have the hand eye co-ordination of a sloth on cocaine to fall victim to the stationary lava flows. Treyarch have really missed a trick here: while I don’t expect Battlefield levels of destruction, they surely could have done something with the volcanic force of nature.

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Black Ops II: Uprising Map Pack (X360) - Review

 The game will be available on Xbox 360 and PS3 for £39.99 / €49.99 / AU$69.95, and on PC for £29.99 / €39.99 / AU$49.95. What will you be getting for your legal tender? Quite a bit actually. All three DLC packs are included, so you'll get everything that Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn have to offer. On top of that, other features such as combat cameras, mounted combat, legendary difficulty mode and legendary skills have also been included. 

 Of course, if you've already picked up the DLC then there's no reason for you to go out again and buy the game. If however, you haven't downloaded the DLC, or for some strange reason you haven't played Skyrim at all, you might want to mark that date on your calendars. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition Coming Soon - News

The listing, which has since been taken down, stated that the game would release on December 30, which would suggest that the franchise may be giving up it's regular November release date - although I do remain skeptical about that detail. 

The boxart, which was also outed, shows an unknown character pulling down a mask that closley resembles the one worn by ghost in Modern Warfare 2. While there are no concrete details just yet, it's interesting to finally see the Modern Warfare name being dropped. Perhaps Activision are ready to move on to pastures new. 

Now's as good a time as any to speculate, and you can do that right there in the comments section below. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Call of Duty: Ghosts Materialises Online - News

Largely consisting of often jaunty, and sometimes jazzy, piano solos, the soundtrack is overflowing with class from start to finish. Once again, Wintory has shown that he is a master of completely capturing the tone of a game within his music.

You can buy the Monaco soundtrack right this second for a mere $9 at Austin's bandcamp page. For a limited time you'll also get the Gentlemen's Private Collection included with the soundtrack. This collection features reimaginings of certain songs by some of the internet's biggest stars, and they certainly offer a new perspective on the Monaco OST.

Here, I've even posted the trailer below. Just remember, what's yours is mine, but what's mine isn't necessarily yours, unless you ask real nice.  

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Austin Wintory's Monaco Soundtrack Available Now - News

I’m sure a lot of gamers have experienced what I’m currently going through. In fact, I’d wager that every single person who legitimately calls themselves a gamer has been through, is going through, or will go through what I’m currently experiencing.

Unfortunately, I’ve reached that point in my life where gaming for enjoyment has taken a backseat. It’s something I hate to admit, and I fondly remember the days when I truly believed I would never stop playing games on a daily basis. Unfortunately, work and education have mercilessly destroyed that particular naive thought, and now I’m lucky if I sit down with a game once or twice a week (reviewing games doesn’t count, that’s work).

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - How BioShock Infinite Reaffirmed my Love of Gaming - Article

The 'Main Theme' music from Assassins Creed III: Liberation won the award in the category of '2012 Best Original Vocal Song - Choral'. The soundtrack has received heaps of praise since the games release and has picked up other accolades including a Global Music Award, a Hollywood Music in Media Award and a 'Best Composer of 2012' award for Philips from GameMusic.net.

It seems that gamers had something of a love-hate relationship with Liberation, but there is no denying that the soundtrack is a beautifully crafted piece of art. 

If you haven't heard it, do yourself a favour and have a listen to this:

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Assassin's Creed III: Liberation OST Receives More Awards - News

Ridiculous Fishing

Ridiculous Fishing will have you hooked from the moment you start your angling journey. Your aim is a simple one: catch as many fish as possible in order to reap the cash rewards. How do you catch said aquatic creatures? Well, I won’t presume to tell you how to fish, but I like to use a mini-gun.

Yes. A mini-gun.

So you’ve probably guessed that this isn’t exactly an iOS fishing simulator. In order to catch fish, you must drop your line, dodging fish using tilt controls in order to go deeper. When you finally hit a fish, you’ll begin to reel your line in; now it’s time to hook as many fish before the big finale. The finale which consists of flinging all of the fish you’ve caught into the air, before filling them with lead. Then you can congratulate yourself on a job well done and watch your bank balance soar.

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Ridiculous Fishing (iOS) - Review

All episodes of The Walking Dead are now available at half price, with the first episode being completely free. As well as that you can also grab all of the Skyrim DLC at half price. Other games such as Assassins Creed III and Hitman: Absolution get a 33% price reduction. 

The full list of offers can be found on Major Nelson's Blog. It's also worth noting that other offers will be available on April 1, however these will only be live for 24 hours. Hopefully this means that these deals will be mind-blowingly good. I'm probably being a bit too optimistic though. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Xbox LIVE Spring Sale Prices Revealed - News

Featuring adorable retro-inspired graphics and some quality gameplay, FEZ was a huge hit when it arrived on the XBLA last summer. If you haven't heard of FEZ until now, then you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least check out the game's Steam page to see what this ruckus is all about. Unfortunately, there's no word on what FEZ will cost you. However, the Steam page does tell us that FEZ will be available in English, German, French, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese.

Huzzah for language. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - FEZ Coming to Steam on May 1 - News

The image tells us nothing about what Assassin's Creed: Rising Pheonix is, or what part of the franchise it relates to. Yet, with Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag having been announced just this week, it seems more likely that Rising Pheonix could be a handheld title, rather than the next console game. Whilst there is also the possibility that Rising Phoenix has something to do with the upcoming Assassin's Creed movie.  

Assassin's Creed is hot property at the moment, and it seems Ubisoft doesn't intend to stop pushing the franchise. Are you ready for even more Assassin's Creed? Because it looks like you're going to get some anyway. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Assassin's Creed: Rising Phoenix Revealed? - News

You can listen to episode two of Mandatory Install right here:

As always we'd like you to get involved by sending the team your gaming related questions, which will be read out and discussed on the next episode. 

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here - Podcast: Mandatory Install Episode Two - Article