RudRa Clothing recently launched a new clothing label for gamers. The label is designed specifically by gamers and aims to provide “Overclocked Apparel” at competitive prices.

RudRa, a South African business, was started in September 2006 and initial response to the brand was positive. Whilst their initial product range catered for a broad target market, they noted an overwhelming response from gamers. In response they are proud to announce the new label – Gamer Gear. In conjunction with the new label they offer gamers the GamerTag service, allowing gamers to customize their orders by choosing to have their nick/alias printed on the product for a nominal fee.

“We pride ourselves on providing what our customers want and would like to thank them for their valued support during our continued growth.” - Rudy C, Director of RudRa and avid PC/Console Gamer.

The catalogue is constantly under revision with new designs being released every Wednesday. You can review the catalogue through RudRa’s website and easily place an order online. They currently ship within South Africa but are willing to discuss international orders and can be contacted through their website.

The Gamer Gear T-shirts retail for R100 and hoodies for R200. The GamerTag printing service costs an additional R40 per garment.

Fancy playing in online tournaments and entering competitions but don’t know how to go about it? Well, thanks to the efforts of Devon Stanton, aka koldFU5iON, and his partner DriftZilla they have created The Xbox Lounge to make online gaming easier for you.

The Xbox Lounge started as a community site covering all the usual aspects one would expect like news, forums and such. This was not enough for the tireless duo who wanted to create a unique experience and provide a top-notch service to the gaming community. The goal was straightforward yet a challenging one to solve. Create a site that makes it simple for people to communicate their desire to play a particular game at a specific time. Traditionally matches were being arranged through the gaming forums which could be cumbersome. This frustration presented the opportunity for improvement and after many design iterations they arrived at the “Match Creation” feature you can make use of today at The Xbox Lounge.

How it works?

Well it really is quiet simple to achieve and it all starts by navigating to www.thexboxlounge.co.za and looking for a match on the front page. If you cannot find a match that interests you or they are already full, you can create your own. It is as easy as choosing the game you want to play from a list and filling in some details. Now this is where the site does all the hard work and presents you with a form tailored to the game you selected, helping guide you through the process to achieve a sensible match set up.

Post continues, click to read more…

The difficulty Criterion have had since Burnout 3 is how to top what they’ve done before. For this, the first “build-from-the-ground-up” high definition Burnout, they at least had the power of the PS3 and Xbox to help in that regard. The differentiation they have achieved comes through four main features: no load times, a High Definition graphics engine, exploration and general fooling around as an important game mechanic, and lots of online features including exploration and general fooling around.

You can finally consider loading screens in Burnout a thing of the past. In Paradise the only one you see is the one when you turn your console on and the game loads. The way they accomplished this is by taking a leaf out of GTA and Need for Speed Underground’s book – a streaming, persistent world. Criterion have designed a city from the ground up for you to drive in, and everywhere you go the game is constantly loading up buildings and roads in the distance, in the background so you never notice. This, combined with a much higher level of detail in the environments and cars and a commitment to 60 frames for second, explains why EA are not publishing the game on any platforms other than PS3 and Xbox 360.

Continue reading El33tonline’s Burnout Paradise review.

For other PS3 titles you should check out Testfreaks. They are doing a great job at aggregating reviews from multiple sites and linking in the best price. We like the aggregation, everything in one place means less surfing multiple sites and more time free to spend playing our never ending backlog of games.

If you were playing games in the ‘80s then hearing this news is going to make your day. Arcade junkies will have fond memories of the hours spent playing the 194X’s series of this vertical arcade shooter from Capcom. This new addition to the series is titled 1942: Joint Strike and whilst it will retain aspects of the 194X series, it will be unique in its own right. The game features a 2D appearance with a full 3D engine working behind the scenes to bring it to life in HD. Whilst the HD will no doubt be impressive, listen out for the new score which has been created by Norihiko Hibino, an international composer renown for his work creating music for the Metal Gear series.

The game is set in a WWII like era, with all the relevant vehicles and weapons to bring the environment to life. Fear not, this is not another WWII FPS, 1942: Joint Strike takes places on a world not of our own, with a different history and technological advancements to keep it fresh. Fortunately, bar the technical advances, the winning formula of waves of enemies followed by epic end stages bosses has not been compromised and is sure to deliver the goods. It will support 2 players in a local mode or through online missions. This multiplayer component allows players to employ a new feature called “Joint Strike attacks,” whereby players combine the power of their individual aircraft to unleash massive devastation.

The game will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade and through the PLAYSTATION Network. It is currently targeted for release in summer 2008.

Post continues, click to read more…

If you fancy yourself to be a FIFA guru and are keen for the opportunity to travel to Berlin, then this competition is for you. The South African leg is taking place between the 28th and 30th March at the Fountain Court in Sandton City, Johannesburg. You need to go to www.agasa.co.za and register to secure your place.

The prize is a trip to Berlin where you would compete for the title of FIFA Interactive World Player 2008. If you manage to outplay the competition you could walk away with $20 000 in prize money and that sounds even better when converted to rands. To top it off the winner gets an all expenses paid trip to the FIFA World Player Gala to meet your heroes in person.

More information about the event is available at the www.FIFA.com/FIWC site.

Thanks to the efforts of Core Group, South African men finally have an incentive to venture out into the wild malls with their partners. The DS Lite is back in the country and really is coming to a mall near you.

Core will be running these events at the malls between 9am and 5pm daily. So check out the venue dates below and make sure you get there on the day and make the most of the opportunity.

These events provide an ideal opportunity for you to try Nintendogs (Labrador, Dachshund, Chihuahua and Dalmatian), Brain Training, New Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart DS before you take the plunge and purchase them.

The Wii will also be on show with the amazing Super Mario Galaxy stealing the limelight on that platform.

I had the pleasure of spending my Friday evening at Spur endeavoring to outwit, outplay and outlast my fellow gamers over dinner.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen we took our DS’s out into public and unsheathed them in plain view of the general public. We had Phat ones, finger printed Lite ones, pinks, whites and blacks too. It was a scandal second to none and naturally this exhibition did not go unnoticed. Waiters and patrons alike stopped dead in their tracks to ogle and quiz us on their way to the salad bar.

The amount of interest generated by the nine of us playing Mario Kart whilst chowing down between races was quite phenomenal. The men were naturally polite and let us get on with our “hardcore” gaming session however the ladies were darn outspoken. What is it that you are doing? Are you all playing the same game? Fortunately I was more than happy to share the joys of the Nintendo DS to them. In summary it went like this…”It is called a DS Lite which just launched in South Africa! Lots of fun with games for kids and adults.” I am not sure they believed the adults part and I didn’t have time to share the joys of Brain Age or Nintendogs.

Post continues, click to read more…

Capcom is releasing the PS3 multiplayer demo for Lost Planet: Extreme Condition on US PlayStation Network today. The demo is limited to a single multiplayer map titled Pirate Fortress and it supports 8 players. The full game which is due out on the 26th February will allow 16 players.

In the demo you are able to try out two of the four multiplayer modes. The first being Elimination which equates to your typical deathmatch scenario and the second being Team Elimination. Post Grab and Fugitive are two additional modes which will be available in the retail version.

Check out our prior coverage for more information on the modes available in Lost Planet: Extreme Condition for PS3

According to Japan-Game Charts here is a list of the top 10 Wii titles in Japan based on first week sales.

Source: Japan-Game Chart

Like Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports and Trauma Centre, Zack & Wiki pushes the boundaries of the Wii and makes use of the Wii Remote as it was no doubt meant to be used.

Read our review of Zack and Wiki

So, you’re thinking about getting a Wii, or perhaps you have one already and are wondering what to buy for it now that you’ve worn out your Wii Sports disc. We’ve put together a list of games available locally that we can recommend. Without Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption and Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition out in South Africa, this list is mainly populated with multiplayer minigame collections, but that’s just what’s needed for the holiday season - the Wii is the perfect family console.

Read our Wii shopping list here

I have been trying to decide what games to purchase this month and thanks to a fantastic mate I managed to get myself a NTSC copy of Super Mario Galaxy this weekend. I played it for a good 7 hours today and it is beautiful beyond description.

This is one of those occasions when the “a picture is worth a thousand words” saying does not even do the game justice. The music alone is sufficient to move hardened criminals to tears; combine that with fluid gameplay, beautifully rendered worlds and imaginative art and you are going to need CPR.

The most astounding aspect for me is the sheer innovation at every turn. Nothing is repeated and you are constantly in awe at how this game makes 3D worlds a pleasure to play in. There is nothing jarring, annoying or even mildly irritating for me to have a go at. Watch for the review later this week and do yourself a favour and order it now. A must own title for any Wii owner!

It was a bumper weekend for me with Zack & Wiki and Battalion Wars 2 arriving at the same time as Super Mario Galaxy. Whilst they huddle in the shadow of the magnificent SMG they look to be true gems. Understandably I didn’t have much spare time after SMG to put them through their paces but here are my initial thoughts.

Both games have clean and “cute” graphics with great use of color. The controls are intuitive making it easy to get your characters moving along quests to claim untold riches and bring about world peace respectively. Too early for more than that but I think I am going to like these two games immensely.

Budget, pace yourself and most of all don’t panic! Yeah right, it is that time of year when credit cards expand, leave is finally an option and there are a ton of AAA titles begging for your attention. How is one to cope with all the pressure I ask?

First you need to figure out what to buy and go through all the usual nonsense of am I getting a good deal and can I get my hands on a review copy (do these actually exist?). This is exacerbated by the quality of the titles out at present whereby the cost is a mute point and you start looking at paying a premium to have it couriered within the hour. Sure it is great if you can walk into a retail outlet, sniff the shrink-wrap, cradle the sucker in your arms and make a bee line for the cashier… however in South Africa things are slightly different. Here it is all about planning and patience. If you want a title anywhere around the actual launch date you need to purchase online and have it shipped. The retail outlets are slowly improving but unless you get with a very proactive gaming specialty store you will end up waiting even longer for the title that has already spent years in development.

So that is where I am currently at… planning! Hey, we review games for fun so naturally we have every console which makes it even worse. Sure I love my Wii but there are so many stunning titles out on all the platforms at present. I have a wish list on Play-Asia that could bankrupt a small country and refuses to be reduced any further. So this is what I am aiming to get and after selling a kidney I should be good to go. Wish me luck and let me know how you are supporting your gaming addiction.

• Super Mario Galaxy - Wii
• Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune - PS3 (eye-candy + story = winner)
• Wii Zapper with Link’s Crossbow Training - Wii (necessity to relieve stress after work)
• Rock Band - (tough one, can’t choose between PS3 or Xbox 360)
• Mass Effect - Xbox 360
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Xbox 360 (online abilities)
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - Wii
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games - Wii
• Battalion Wars 2 - Wii
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 - Wii (plunger shooting just doesn’t feel right on other platforms)
• Guitar Hero 3 - Probably PS3, maybe Wii, tough one … does one really need GH3 and Rock Band.

This is a follow-up post on the Wii pricing with the addition of C.N.A. and Look & Listen figures. There is not much in it other than logistics and credit options when it comes to choosing a supplier. Buying from C.N.A. you can make excellent use of your Edgars card, Ebucks if you go with Look & Listen, otherwise the good old Visa/Mastercard will have to do for the rest.

Having had to import a Wii from overseas to review titles for EL33TONLINE.com you are getting a decent price for R2900. Importing is not all it is cut out to be once you add on shipping, customs and long waiting periods. I also had the additional expense of sending it back to the overseas supplier as the cd drive was broken. If you purchase locally you can avoid this pain and be ensured quick service should you encounter a hardware fault.

The Nintendo Wii is also available from these suppliers: Incredible Connection, Toy Zone and Toys ‘R Us. They were not able to confirm prices.

I was in for a treat today with Megarom delivering the goods and having Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer bet, as well as Haze single player demo available to play.

I was immediately drawn to COD4 and jumped right into an intensive multiplayer scrap. There were some serious contenders in the match and I learnt quickly that you need to stick with your squad mates or suffer a quick death. It is beautifully rendered; the map was well sized for the number of players and all in all plenty of action with the necessary eye-candy to please all fans of the series. There was a bit of lag but it was probably one of the 1500 gamers on the LAN causing the issue. Unfortunately it was over too soon and I reluctantly handed over the controller to the next in line. I’ll have to swing by there tomorrow and give it another go.

With the adrenaline still pumping I edged myself into the Haze line and got my turn. The demo version has three scenarios and I got to play the first two. You start off in a jungle and use your Nectar to boost your natural abilities. It makes the enemies glow which is a must in the dense jungle terrain. It also improves your speed, aiming and ability to recover from damage. It looks simply stunning on the PS3 and only time will tell if the frame rate can be maintained in multiplayer mode.

The second section involved a buggy run through a rocky canyon. It took me a while to get to grips with the steering which seemed a wee bit unresponsive. Perhaps I am to blame having spent way too many hours on Excite Truck (Wii). This section reminded me of MotorStorm with added explosions … awesome! Lots of action, bullets and nifty ramps to propel your buggy over. Haze may just bring something fresh to the shooter genre and is due out in South Africa at the end of October 2007.

It was an encouraging sign to find such quality titles at rAge and congrats to Megarom for bringing these beta titles to the public!