Geek of Oz

THE SHORT VERSION While I loved the last two Disney Infinity games, there were parts that felt a little empty. The lack of matchmaking and absence of substance in some of the Playsets made the games, while fun, feel a little cold over time. There's only so much one can build replicas of famous Disney locales in the Toy Box before it becomes a little tedious. Fortunately, Disney Infinity 3.0 has filled the emptiness of its predecessors, and added some more stuff on top of it. It's a damn good game, and most importantly it's fun - which, given what the game's mechanics and aesthetic are themed around, is kind of a prerequisite. Those who felt that the straightforward and rather empty Playsets of the previous game in particular will be pleased to know those problems have been fixed. There's much more to do here, and pretty much everything added to the Infinity experience is an improvement. Plus, now you can have Yoda fight Thor, or team up Iron Man and Bo...

At times, I question how far I've actually aged. Biologically I'm 24 years old, but it's anyone's guess what number the parts inside the brain case add up to. Sometimes I feel the relative youngness of those 24 years, but sometimes I regress into something closer to single digits. Disney Infinity 2.0  makes me regress, in a great way. There are few other ways one can enjoy Thor fighting Elsa from Frozen  in a treehouse, or Star-Lord and Dash from The Incredibles  having a foot-race through New York, or even Iron Man picking up and punting Jack Skellington over a gaping abyss like a flying red-and-gold man cannon, unless you regress somewhat. Last year's vanilla Infinity  (which I guess is 1.0?) was a gaming-cum-merchandising attempt by Disney to make the  Skylanders  lightning strike for them. It was a fairly simplistic but artistically engrossing game that featured a plethora of Disney characters - existing in the real world as wallet-puncturing plas...

I'll be honest, I'm not huge on getting video games as soon as their boxes grace the New Release shelf. Rare is the instance in which $90 nets me a disc that gives the playtime, graphics, gameplay and story that could justify costing the same as around half the Attack on Titan  manga volumes that exist right now. The most recent example of New Releases letting me down was Watch_Dogs. Hype, price and a distinct lack of creativity and innovation condemned it as nothing more than a pleasant distraction; maybe worth $20 or $30, but anything more and it'd better at least come with a hip-flask full of my favourite whiskey. So rather than hang onto an uninspired sandbox I probably wouldn't play again until Christmas holidays (if then), I traded Watch_Dogs  in for that new Destiny  thing those Bungie guys released. Lemme tell ya, irrespective of the trade-in off-setting the price a little, Destiny  would still be infinitely  more worthy of gameplay even without...

Child of Light, the new title from Ubisoft, is a delightfully gorgeous pseudo-indie fairytale role playing game. Not something you'd expect from the team that brought you Far Cry 3. The story is mixture of Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland but with a Studio Ghibli-esque take. You play as Aurora, a girl from 1895 Austria who succumbs to an ailment causing her to fall asleep. While those around her mourn, Aurora seemingly wakes up in the mythical world of Lemuria, a world which has had its sun, moon and stars stolen by the Black Queen. Aurora is tasked with recovering the stolen celestial bodies, ultimately reuniting with her father. As with any RPG, Aurora is joined on this journey by a playable companion and several unlikely allies she meets on the way. Made using the UbiArt Framework engine, previously used on Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, Child of Light is full of amazingly beautiful hand-drawn 2D landscapes which make it feel like an interactive story b...

It's not long now until Ubisoft's next big release and just in case you wanted to know, I'm excited. Watch Dogs promises to be an expansive, open-world adventure the scale of which has never been seen. Making full use of the graphics capabilities of  Xbox One and PS4 hardware, the Ubisoft team recently released imagery of their version of Chicago and believe it or not, it looks even better than the real thing! For those looking to fully immerse themselves in the world of Watch Dogs, Ubisoft have just detailed the contents of their "Season Pass" which is not only cost effective, but chock a block full of additional content. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – April 30, 2014 – Ubisoft has revealed details of the Season Pass for the open-world, action-adventure game, Watch Dogs. The Watch Dogs Season Pass will give you access to a unique single-player story featuring T-Bone, a brilliant but eccentric hacker; a new Digital Trip game mode, Conspiracy; plus new missions, weap...

EB Expo is back and promises to be better than ever!  With only a week until tickets go on sale, EB has confirmed that not only will the Expo be bigger than previous years, physically, but also that the legendary UK TV show Robot Wars will be there in all of there steel shredding glory. Follow on after the jump for the official press release.  EB Expo 2014: Major Publishers + Legendary UK TV Show “Robot Wars” Confirm Attendance The EB Expo is back bigger than ever in 2014 with today’s announcement that all the major Australian gaming publishers have confirmed their attendance. The event will be held October 3-5 at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. Tickets go on sale next Thursday 24 April at 10am AEST – only 1 week to go. The EB Expo continues to be the premiere event for all leading and emerging publishers to showcase and introduce unreleased blockbuster games to the Australian public. Attendees can play, watch, connect and experience gami...

For those unaware of what it means to go "gold" in the gaming world, here's the low-down. Unlike the US record industry in which a gold record accounts for 500,000 sales, a game going gold means that a game has finished its development and bug testing phases it is ready to enter the manufacturing phase. Anyway, onto more important business. THIEF has gone gold and it is looking incredible! With just over 3 weeks until release, this is looking like a legit next-gen experience (on next-gen consoles). If the game is anywhere near as great as the trailer below suggests, we're in for a real treat. On a side note, I can't wait to see some awesome Garrett cosplay! THIEF HAS GONE GOLD WRAP YOUR EYES AROUND THE ‘THIEF - 101 TRAILER’ TO CELEBRATE Sydney, 5th February 2014 - That’s right folks; Eidos-Montréal’s THIEF™ has GONE GOLD and will be in the hands of all would be Master Thieves later this month. To celebrate the news we’re releasing a brand new ‘...

Ubisoft, one of the most consistently gaming publishers, have just announced the release of the collected Far Cry works in Far Cry Wild Expedition. Upon its release in 2004, Far Cry was one of the most graphically advance games on the market. Never before had landscapes looked so lush and realistic. Add to that some fantastic gameplay and an increasingly creepy story line and you had one of the best gaming experiences of the generation. Thankfully, Ubisoft have decided that current gen gamers should have the opportunity to experience all the fun for themselves.

Just like any farer of the turbulent oceans of the internet, I too have a tendency to be a sizable cynic. However, this Ubisoft promotion (yes, I realise it is still promotion) has warmed the cockles of my heart. Across the 3 days of EB Expo, Ubisoft Australia commissioned artist Gary Donnellan to create a massive painting based on the upcoming Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Now that the painting is done and dusted it's being hocked off for charity on eBay with all proceeds going to the Starlight Children's Foundation. 

At this years EB Expo in Sydney, the Warner Bros Games pavilion was chockablock with goodies and punters lapping it up. From the terrifying Dying Light and post-apocalyptic Mad Max to the delightful and family friendly Lego Marvel Superheroes and Scribblenauts Unlimited, WB has something for everyone ESPECIALLY if you're a Batman fan. With the imminent launch of WB Games Batman: Arkham Origins, we had the chance to chat with WB Games Creative Director, Eric Holmes. A big thanks go to the fine folks at WB Games for organising the interview.

Being a lifelong Trekkie, I get excited by any extension to the Trek universe. From The Original Series to JJ Abrams' franchise reboot and even Star Trek Enterprise, I've loved it all. Needless to say, the chance to play an all new video game has me ridiculously jazzed, especially because it bridges the gap between JJ Abrams' first and second film in the series reboot.  Follow on after the jump for a behind the scenes, making of featurette with Executive Producer, Brian Miller.

It's only a fistful of days until the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us, NetherRealm's DC smack down which promises to bring the EPIC. Thanks to the good folks at Warner Home Entertainment we have FIVE copies of Injustice: Gods Among Us to giveaway on either PS3 or Xbox 360. All you have to do is follow on after the jump and fill out the form and you're in with a chance to win a copy of Injustice: Gods Among Us on your choice of console! Don't forget, you can score yourself an extra entry just by  following us on Twitter  or  liking us on Facebook!

Injustice: Gods Among Us is only weeks away and the air is thick with anticipation. Add to the the pending GRAND FINAL of the Injustice Battle Arena and you have a DC smack down of epic proportions. Follow on after the jump for the semi-final matches with Batman vs The Flash and Superman vs Green Lantern PLUS some super good news regarding the impending release of the Injustice playable demo! Also, check back TOMORROW for a SUPER giveaway thanks to the good people at Warner Bros!

The Injustice news just keeps coming! This time we have confirmation of a SPECIAL EDITION which will be available exclusively from EB Games. Containing a range of content based upon fan-favourite Mark Millar's (Kick Ass) Superman: Red Son story. Check out all of the details after the jump!

With less than a week until the release of the latest instalment in the phenomenally successful HITMAN series we get a look at the ICA file for Agent 47, the original HITMAN. Check out the all new clip and details on how to join the HITMAN community after the jump!

Dragon Ball Z fans are spoiled for choice at the moment. At almost the exact same time, Madman released their super (saiyan) Dragon Ball Z Complete Collection while Bandai Namco Partners have just released Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection, encapsulating the original Budokai from PSOne and Budokai 3 from PS2. Players are able to engage in battles of epic proportions while in control of their favourite DBZ characters. Kamehameha to your hearts content with two fighting games that hold up pretty darn well, even by todays standards. Check out the full review after the jump!

Although not due for release until 2013, the latest incarnation of the Naruto Ninja Storm franchise, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, has an all new gameplay trailer and details on what you can expect. Keeping in step with the manga series our eponymous hero, Naruto, will do battle with "The Masked Man" and defend Kanoha from Nine Tails himself.  If you have any idea of what that means, you should have just wet your pants a little. If you don't know just rely on the fact that this is going to be an anime styled action epic based on one of the most successful manga franchises of all time, 'nuff said. Check out further details and a gameplay trailer after the jump!

News recently broke that the first episode of Arrow, a brand new series featuring DC's Green Arrow, has pulled in the highest ratings on The CW in 3 years.  In a stroke of good luck and timing, Warner Bros Interactive have announced that everybody's favourite archer (Marvel fans excluded), will e a playable character in the upcoming and much anticipated InjusticeL Gods Among Us from the makers of Mortal Kombat. To say that the Geek of Oz crew are excited would be a MASSIVE understatement! Check out the all new gameplay trailer after the jump!

Just when you thought that you couldn't be any more jealous of those lucky folks at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment release some all new screen shots and revealed another 2 playable characters, Nightwing and Cyborg. Just to poke the green eyed monster even further, fans at SDCC even get the chance to play the game at the DC Entertainment booth! (jealousy RISIIINNNG!) Check out the all new screen shots after the jump!