Now, lego wouldn’t be our usual kind of feature. But you know us, we like anything quirky or that bit different. And as we are huge Lord of the Rings fans, we just couldn’t leave this alone. Combining one of the great film series of all time with our favourite childhood toy, then I am afraid you have us!

Recently leaked photos taken by a fan in Germany show just what we can expect when the official sets land later this year. As you can see from one of the shots, this was a very secret display, but they seemed to forget to put a roof on it!

The set seems to feature all of the characters you would expect, as well as various location scenes. Check out the pictures and let us know what you think.

Source: Gizmodo

If you are follower of many entertainment stars or sports personalities on twitter, you may have heard a few people talking about the EA Triple A card – or the EA Black Card as some people call it. The smart people at Electronic Arts have created a members only club that allows the rich, famous or just darn well connected special privileges through triple-a.ea.com. As you can imagine, not alot on that URL, and whatever you click you are asked for your username and password.

A reliable source (we know someone with their mits on one) has informed AJB that it allows the card owner access to free EA games for life, from their extensive back catalougue AND it includes all new releases. Much like the infamous Nando’s black card, the companies themselves are being quite tight lipped on the subject. However where the chicken card owners have kept very quiet on social networking sites. Music Stars Tinie Tempah & Labrinth, cricketer Stuart Broad, footballers Shaun Wright-Phillips & Anton Ferdinand and rugby player Ben Youngs have all tweeted photos of their EA Triple A card quite recently.

Have you seen one in the flesh? Perhaps even have your grubby mits on one? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook or even Google +. And EA, when you find this in your Google Alerts, don’t forget to spread the love….

*pictures from twitter.

Rockstar games have a history of bringing us some of the best and innovative games, as well as those that make all self respecting adults and parents shake their heads in disgust. After an extended period of absence, presumably to give us a chance to work our way through the engrossing L.A. Noire, they’re back with an all new Grand Theft Auto title.

Details have remained sketchy, and a week ago Rockstar games announced on their twitter account that the trailer would be released on November 2nd. #GTAV will likely maintain the tradition of the game operating in an open world environment, with great options for interaction with the city’s inhabitants: the shopkeepers, the pedestrians, the drivers, the mobs, the women… All the things that have been developed over the years since GTA was initially launched way back in 1997. With all things going to plan, GTAV looks like it’ll hit the online shelves in 2012, 15 years after we played the first 2D top-down action-adventure game.

The trailer will go live below at 4pm GMT, with our comments under that.

Having had the chance to watch the trailer, things are certainly looking good from the outset. It looks like we have the pleasure of returning to Vinewood and Los Santos, the locations that most fans celebrate as the best in the series, and hopefully some of those wonderfuly developed characters we know will make a return.

It does look like location and character will be big features of the game. Rather than having a focus on the action, the trailer showed us the city and what at first appears to be a painfully high level of detail has gone in to making it look and feel like a real place. The cars, the women, the jet-skis, the golfing, the underpasses, the less-than-savoury characters to name but a few features. On top of this is a little monologue, a voice-over of who potentally is the character of the game. A family man with an ideal who gets caught up in things GTA style. A shift towards characters with real back story perhaps? Only time will tell, but it looks and sounds amazing already…

Excited much? We are.

From the makers of Rugby World Cup 2011, which we recently reviewed and Zumba fitness (which may well interest the good lady in your life – it’s ok if it’s your mum…) and under the guidance of the talent behind UFC Undisputed 2009, comes Supremacy MMA.

MMA for those of you reading this not yet in the know stands for Mixed Martial Arts, a description of a hybrid fighting style which encompasses a number of different martial art backgrounds. These include but are not limited to Boxing, Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Greco-Roman Wrestling, Karate, Judo, Muay Thai and Kickboxing creating an all round technique epitomised by organisations such as the UFC and PRIDE.

Carry on reading for the full review and a chance to win a copy on Playstation 3 below

Menu

The game is broken up into an easy to navigate menu. First up is ‘Fight Now’ which does exactly what it says on the tin. This one is great if you have to kill 5 minutes either on your own or with a mate while she is doing her make-up: Get in. Get done. Get out.

Next up comes ‘Xbox LIVE match’ where you can play against opponents online. The network play is smooth and with a good broadband it is pretty seamless. Under the tournaments tab you have two options. The first is Battle Royal, where you have a tournament starting in quarter final with 3 bouts between you and victory. The second is Survival Ladder where you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. (Clue is in the title). Within this mode there are 11 bouts separating you from supremacy. You then have a career option known as Supremacy Stories. This allows you to control any of the 12 male characters and play as them through the hardships of the underground scene to reach the big time.
The ‘Femme Fatales’ section looks to factor in, and give greater exposure to the increasing popularity of women’s combat sports, focusing on two ladies with a big rivalry. In the training gym you have the ability to practice your moves ready for the ring without fear of reprisal. Fighter progression shows you how your selected fighters are getting along on the hunt for supremacy.

Gameplay

Whether you are a new comer or enthusiast Supremacy MMA has something to offer you. So long as you are familiar with the concepts of no holds barred fighting (with an understandable 18 rating), you’ll soon pick it up. MMA incorporates 3 main concepts with which to display your talents. What I would call your “stand up”, “clinch” and “floor” disciplines. With stand up you are mainly concerned with punches, kicks and blocks. The clinch looks at the standing delivery of knees, punches and elbows while in a clinch with your opponent, and also how you get your opponent to the floor, or how to stop yourself being put there. The floor discipline factors in punches, knees, elbows, as well as transitions to manipulate your opponent into submission commonly associated with BJJ and Greco-Roman Wrestling. Within the context of the game these fighting structures are delivered in a graphic and arcade realistic manner.

I found the Easy and Medium settings were not entirely challenging once I had come to terms with the moves, so for a fairly experienced combat gamer I would recommend the hard difficulty. I like the way the game played, and it would be great for a night in with the boys, and I think this is the games strong point. The arcade style ‘fighting frenzy’ game play makes the game hyper addictive. However I found that in the longer term the game was not particularly engaging.

The Battle Royal is a little short, and the survival ladder is longer than the Supremacy Story which I see as the main career mode. When I compare it to other combat games, I feel the career mode doesn’t quite match up as you can’t keep playing and playing with the same character or create your own. This being said, as a straight up short term fun fix, it is great.

Sountrack

The folks at 505 games collaborated with the Chicago label ‘Victory Records’ famed for their roster of hardcore punk and metal bands. This means the soundtrack brings a whole new level of intensity to the game’s atmosphere. Think Korn meets Motörhead for many of the breakthrough acts. Turn it up loud and enjoy the ride!

All in all, thoroughly enjoyable, I’m just a bit disappointed, as it would just have been nice to have the option within the game to play it for a bit longer!

Competition

As we mentioned, we have a copy on PS3 to giveaway. And to win, all you need to do is own a twitter account (who doesn’t?!) and head over to Competwition to win!

If you are like us, you are probably going to bed late or getting up early to follow the Rugby World Cup over in New Zealand. And so far it’s pretty good for the home sides as most are fairing pretty well, including of course, Ireland’s great victory over the Wallabies on Saturday (15 – 6, take note…). Well along with the RWC, they have also released the official game. And to celebrate it, not only have we reviewed it, but we have 4 copies to give away as well!!

Review

If you recall, we gave this a bit of a test a while ago in a competition against some fellow bloggers out there. We didn’t do badly, making the semi-finals, controlling the Welsh team. However, since then, we’ve got our hands on a copy of the game and have finally had the chance to wrack up enough gaming hours, essentially trying every game play combination and option to get a proper impression of the game, as well as got a few of the guys round to give it a whirl in a social situation.

Where to start with the game? That’s is genuinely a great question. Where do you start? You’ve put the disc in, its loaded to some dramatic music and then what? There are a few options for play:

• Full Tournament (with real or randomised fixtures)
• International Test Match
• International Tours
• Online Play

Ok, sounds good – but where are you going to learn the ropes, the basics, the generally simple elements of the game you should build on in order to become a true master and dominate your friends and online? Unfortunately, there is nowhere to learn this or pick it up. In fact, within the game, all you’ll get are a few loading screens with the button commands for guidance. Even then, if your system is a fast one, these are gone before you’ve managed to realise which button does which kick?

However, after a few attempts to learn the buttons and combinations, your general understanding of the sport itself should see you through the early stages of any of the competitions or matches. If you don’t have this most basic knowledge, I doubt you’ll be able to play the game, nor ever play it to its true potential. So if you don’t know the basics around rugby, this might not be for you!

So what is that potential? Well, I’m afraid to say that this isn’t a world beater of a game. Whilst we have waited a long time for a new rugby game, this isn’t going to live up to the hype around its release, and I sense a lot of disappointment on the cards for those looking for a quality, thorough game. It has partially filled that void, but with its released timed similarly to the new Rugby Challenge game, comparisons will be drawn and only one will likely triumph. Anyone remember what happened to Pro Evo after Fifa stepped up its game? Case and point.

However, Rugby World Cup 2011 is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. The graphics, whilst not blowing you away, are pretty solid. This is HB Studio’s first attempt at a next generation console, and it is certainly an admirable foray. The stadiums and characters have had quite a bit of time spent on their features. Should these be slightly off, or wrong, then feel free to customise them since the game provides ample room for it. Plus, the commentary options are very good, even if there is the potential to tire of them quickly.

I will say this though, after rolling the game out one evening when relaxing with some of the guys and having a few drinks, the game was a good bit of entertainment. Its easy to pick up and play and get going, so the guys were having some good battles. They did find the defence hard to get a handle off, and attacks were quite basic and standard pass and run, kick and tackle, pass and run. They enjoyed it briefly, but I don’t think it would have lasted the night. One particular criticism was that the lowest setting was 5 minutes a half – meaning a full 10 minutes per game. Considering the game’s attempt to match the fast flowing pace of the way rugby is played in the southern hemisphere, you’d have thought that this would have been considered?

And what about playing people who aren’t in your living room with you? Online play is essentially the same. Of the games I have played, there aren’t many out there in the world who have mastered the game, and I think a lot are still trying to get to grips with it. If I try this again in a month or so, or during a break in the actual Rugby World Cup, I expect the standard will have improved.

Overall, it is a good first attempt. I hope that it is built upon, moving forwards with feedback from testers and purchasers. If one thing is for sure, there will be a lot of comments on the game. I think if you’re looking for a game that will play quickly and be enjoyable from a rugby perspective, this is a good purchase. If you’re looking to recreate the world cup at home, this game is your best option, as you can play all the games with almost all of the real teams and players thanks to a wealth of license deals.

And don’t forget the Rugby World Cup Game playing tips video below:

Have you played it, or want to know more? Get in touch below, on twitter or via Facebook.

Competition

Competition closed
Now, as we mentioned at the start, we have 4 copies of this game to give away and you can even choose which format to play it on. To win one, all you need to do is head over to the Average Joes Blog Facebook page, answer the simple question with your email address so we can notify you and that’s about it!

Terms and Conditions
Must ‘like’ Average Joes Blog on Facebook at time of draw
The competition is for 1 copy of the game per person only
Only 1 Entry per person
No cash alternative offered
No person associated with AJB may enter
Entrants must submit a correct and valid email addresses
Closing date is 7pm GMT on Tuesday 27 September 2011
And we may add you to the newsletter (don’t worry you will love it, and if you don’t just un-subscribe!)

Was a little unsure about posting it as I don’t want to give away all my new found knowledge, but I am sure you will agree it is pretty cool.

I believe the original is from chacha.

The rugby world cup is coming! It’s close enough for you to smell the combination of the middle classes, beer and good natured banter. For those that don’t have the physique of brick out-house that want to get in on the action, the official rugby world cup game seems like a good outlet for all that kicking, malling, and take downs.

This time last week, a cross-section of sports bloggers, gaming bloggers and yours truly got together at the legendary Cabbage Patch pub, a stone’s throw from Twickenham, to have a first play of the official 2011 Rugby World Cup Game. Hutch from therugbyblog, Nick of rugbymedia.co.uk, Tom from SinBin Rugby, Gareth from Rugby Spectator, as well as representatives from thunderbolt games and the averagegamer (no relation) turned up to give the game a once-over, talk to the developers, and play a tournament to see who would come out on top.

It was all done in a rather official manner, with teams being drawn from a hat before a similar draw selected who would play whom in the group stages. We were the penultimate team to be drawn from the hat, and lo and behold, we got Wales. Not too shabby, but hardly the likes of some of the greats on the world stage that my competitors had been handed (and the colour red scares me…). The group wasn’t the greatest either. Fortunately, sheer ignorance of the current world rugby stage, and a better understanding of the fundamentals of both rugby and gaming played right into our hands.

Before we began playing, Matt, a developer from HB studios, was at hand to introduce his baby that has been in development for near a decade. After outlining some of its key features, we ate a hasty dinner before getting the game underway. Of the first round of games, we were up last, and it gave us time to take in the game, and some of its more general points before getting a real hands-on experience.

Firstly, it struck me as a very well designed game simply from the graphics point of view. This is the first rugby game on the latest generation of consoles, and the time spent developing its aesthetic features has clearly paid off. One of the players event commented that, for someone just passing by, the game could quite easily have looked like it was a live game – not a video game. High praise indeed, and although perhaps a little over the top, it’s not far off. A great deal of effort has gone in to recreating the licensed team details, the kits and the stadiums to ensure a very realistic looking experience is to be had. Speaking of licenses, we can’t say what teams have been announced yet and what will be – it’s looking likely that the vast majority of the best teams in the world will be included in the game, their exact details mimicked in the virtual world. And between us, if they’re not, the editor is so comprehensive you could easily create your own imitations. And what about kits and details updated after the release of the game? Matt said that the game will have unlock codes for these items, so keep your ear to the ground still.

After having a good watch, I finally managed to get my hands dirty. After taking a few minutes to get used to the controls, it became relatively straightforward. Understanding the game of rugby was important, but equally so how games work. Standard tackling was rather easy, in fact you just ran at people and the game does the rest. Diving tackles, and hand offs, etc. required a little more thought and planning. Before I knew it my time was up, I’d secured an emphatic win for Wales, and moved to the top of the group. It was surprising how free flowing the game was, given how break downs in rugby are potentially the most complicated part of the game.

The break downs work very simple in fact, this is in contrast to Challenge Rugby, which is due out at roughly the same time. When the ball is taken to ground, you can ramp up your intensity meter by button bashing, to try and retain the ball, or get it turned over. The statistics of the team you are playing as are crucial here, and the bigger and stronger teams are more likely to retain or win the ball with less intensity, and it’s worth remembering this as the harder your ramp it up, the more likely to concede a penalty. It is a little disappointing about the lack of tactical control you have at this point, but this has been sacrificed to ensure the game keeps flowing, akin to the way the game is played in the southern hemisphere.

As the tournament progressed, it became clear that those with a better understanding of the game were coming out on top of those who weren’t big gamers. This may be a sensible strategy to attract those disillusioned fans who have forgotten that rugby games even existed, and want to get them involved again. We only made it as far as the semi-final, where we lost to England (no better team to lose to, of course). But it was still good to get that far and get playing the game.

After talking with Matt from HB for quite some time, it became clear that there were certain elements that the developers are extremely proud of and what these to be the points the game is judged on:

• Ease of picking the game up and simply playing it
• The fluidity of the game
• The realistic appearances of the players, kits, and stadiums
• The new online feature for challenging your friends
• How comprehensive the editor is within the game
• New in-game controls, particularly the kicking aspect of the game

Where do we stand?

Picking up and playing the game is easy if you know a thing or two about rugby or a thing or two about gaming. Put those two together and you won’t have trouble being fairly mediocre, although excelling at one or both will obviously put you ahead of the pack. It looks good, great even, and it felt intuitive, with our games finishing without realising how much time had passed.

If I had to voice any concerns, it’d be that lineouts seem rather rushed, with more handed to AI than to the human, that breakdowns aren’t as tactical as I’d have liked, and that there aren’t any tutorials for new players to be able to get to grips with the game.

Something that was a concern but isn’t anymore is the sound… We played without commentary, but a recent release has stated that there will be commentary from three teams, and it looks like they’ve bagged a real winner here as it seems this is going to be the closest we can expect a game to coming to echo the real Rugby World Cup!

Stuart Barnes & Miles Harrison
Philippe Sella & Eric Bayle
Greg Clark & Sean Fitzpatrick

I’ll certainly shell out for the game. I’ve waited too long for a rugby game. Would I expect others to do so? Most definitely. Take my word for it. In fact, go and try the demo and see for yourself, it has literally just been released… 02/08/2011 for Xbox Live, and 03/08/2011 for PlayStation Network. Then come back and tell us what you think.

The game is launching on 26th August 2011. To keep abreast of news and developments, check the official Facebook or Twitter pages.

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Gaming and Movie Fans get ready! Microsoft have delivered on their promise to give us a limited edition Star Wars Xbox 360! Designed around everyone’s favourite droid, R2-D2, the latest release is sure to be a huge hit!

It is probably one of the best customisations on the planet, and not just the official ones. It oozes class and geekyness and will look good in any living or gaming room known to man. It also seems to feature LE gold controllers which we can only assume is is our boi C3PO!
The Xbox itself features R2′s eye an arm, a hidden inscription in the CD tray “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”. You will also notice the top is chrome is bead-blasted so it looks and feels very much like solid aluminium.

Expect the limited edition console (with an increased 320GB hard drive), controller and a ghost white Kinect to hit stores later this year for around $450. And it’s already on our Christmas list…

Original from Gizmodo.

A few weeks back we popped along to the launch of the DiRT3 computer game which is due out this month on Xbox, PS3 and PC. This wasn’t your standard computer game launch party. Gone are the days of a few journalists standing around a monitor ooooing and ahhhing as a ‘representative’ from the company talks you through it (yawn). This was somewhat different. Featuring appearances by the game developers Codemasters, car suppliers Ford and the worlds craziest driver Mr Ken Block himself was there to tear around an exact replica of the game at Battersea Powerstation, London.

Ken Block’s job is basically to arse around in a car doing insane drifts and handbrake turns, not bad eh? The crowd at the event watched as Ken burned around the purpose built course that included a high speed drive under a lorry, driving through a narrow garage structure and driving rings around tyre walls. The American did many runs of the technical course and not once did he lose control of his car. He displayed an unbelievable ability to drive a car sideways, backwards and any which way he wanted really whilst looking unbelievably cool at the same time.

All of this was of course to promote the new computer game DiRT3. Ken Block has co-designed and collaborated on a new driving discipline called Gymkhana (you must have seen it, but if not check the video below) which is featured in the game. We had a quick play on the new game and we were very impressed. The gymkhana mode is difficult at first as you do end up completely trashing a shiny new Ford WRC car and leaving it with no doors, windscreen, boot and anything else that can fall off. Once you get to grips with the game it is great fun. A new online multiplayer mode where 8 drivers compete to be the last car standing is a great concept for a driving game. Seriously worth a look when the game is released on the 24th May and as soon as we have our advance copy expect the full review!

Want to see Ken in action? Take a look at the video below.

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A huge thanks to Ford UK, Codemasters, Monster Energy Drinks and of course the man himself @KBlock43.

After Burner (1987)

Taking control of an F-14 Tomcat jet is every boy’s dream, and we were no different. Originally Arcade only, with such huge success, Afterburner was ported across to many platforms including all SEGA systems, the Commodore 64, Amiga and Amstrad amongst others.

Dizzy (1986)

Designed by two brits, and distributed by Codemasters, Dizzy was a true classic and one we had actually forgotten about until we stumbled upon it! Available for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum you must negotiate Dizzy through a number of levels using various items to overcome potential pitfalls. Originally 8 games make the core series however many more were made as spin offs.

International Karate + (1987)

Originally appearing on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad this has to be the first computer games I have memories of. Hours waiting for the cassette to load for three players to be on screen (1 or 2 user controlled) fighting to the death! The winner is the first to score 6 points, and then plays against the bouncing balls (or bombs depending on platform) to get the highest score.

Golden Axe (1989)

Released in the late 80′s on the Megadrive, Golden Axe bcame an instant hit all round the world. Take control of one of the three characters, axe-wielding dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead, man mountain, Ax Battler, and the blonde Amazonian Tyris Flare to fight against Death Adders army of henchmen, skeleton warriors, and knights. You can attack using your standard weapon, or cast a spell on all enemies. After defeating the end boss Death Adder, you are then confronted by a higher level enemy, the aptly named ‘Death Bringer’ which you must defeat to complete the game.

Streets of Rage (1991)

The side scrolling beat em up was an instant hit on the Sega Megadrive. It was also converted to the Genesis, GameGear and Master System and was the first in three titles, creatively named 1, 2 and 3. Choose from 3 characters, Adam Hunter, Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding to battle through various locations which make up the 8 ’rounds’. With the final 8th round against the final boss. You can play in either 1 player, or 2 players co-operating. Though on the final round, one player does have the option to turn against his friend and side with the big boss!

You can also grab it in the Apple app store at present!!

Paper Boy (1984)

A true classic if ever there was one. Take control of the paperboy and deliver papers to the selected houses. Make your way up the street for 7 in-game levels (representing 7 days) and dodging the obstacles such as fire hydrants, cars, skateboarders and cats. Available in the Arcade and for the Atari.

Golden Eye – 007 (1997)

I lost count how many hundreds of hours friends and I wasted (well not wasted) playing mutiplayer Golden Eye on the N64. Battling through the multiplayer levels of Temple, Complex, Caves, Library, Basement, and Stack with weapons such as the rocket launcher, pistols and of the course, the one shot kill Golden Gun.

Golden Eye has actually been re-developed and was released exclusively for the Wii and Nintendo DS on the 2 November 2010. We are sure it will never live up to the original hype, but time will tell.

Outrun

Outrun really was one of the first popular racers that defined todays games such at Gran Turismo and Need for Speed. Blasting your way through various roads and scenery in a drop top Ferrari Testarossa (though no license was ever granted) with your girlfriend by your side. Trying to beat the clock and your best ever times, every checkpoint you could then choose which type of scenery to drive through next. Originally released in 1986, the game was a huge hit both in the arcades and on consoles alike and probably has one of the iconic soundtracks of a 1980′s computer game.

There you have it, a selection of our favourites, most of which I am sure you can still play through a flash emulator online or on your smartphone! Disagree? Want to add your own? Comment below or hit us on on twitter.