Over the last seven months, MSN Video Player has been developed both in terms of content and features to enhance the overall user experience. Further content deals have been signed with Endemol, Digital Rights Group, RDF Rights (part of the RDF Media Group), Shed Media, Raw Cut and ContentFilm in addition to the launch partnerships with ALL3MEDIA and BBC Worldwide.

Making the coming together of MSN Video and MSN Video Player to form one single offering: MSN Video Player will enable viewers to watch both TV shows and movies along with music videos, movie trailers, news and TV clips. The service will provide over 1,000 hours of free long-form video content with the number of titles and hours continuing to grow over time. New titles include: Skins, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Embarrassing Bodies, Waterloo Road, Doc Martin, Secret Millionaire, Wife Swap, Faking It, Bad Girls, Footballers’ Wives and Kingdom.

The new MSN Video Player also sees the addition of new features added to strengthen the quality of the user experience. These include:

• HD with Silverlight Smooth Streaming – users will be able to watch video at the highest quality their broadband capability will allow – this can be right up to 720p HD. Smooth Streaming leads to less buffering and enhances the viewing experience

• Personalised Playlist – users can be created and queued to automatically play

• Social media integration – users can point friends and followers to MSN Video Player videos via Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live, MySpace, Diggit and other social media tools

MSN is continuing its long heritage of innovation to create engaging services that connect with often hard-to-reach audiences of strong appeal to advertisers. As the UK’s most popular news and entertainment portal, MSN attracts 23 million unique users every month (comScore, December 2009) making MSN, alongside bbc.co.uk, one of the UK’s favourite web portals.

Ashley Highfield, MD of Consumer & Online, Microsoft UK said: “MSN Video Player has been developed with rapidly changing consumer media behaviours in mind. The continuing rise in demand for online professionally produced video has enabled MSN to launch a service that has strong appeal to our users and advertisers. The latest comScore figures show that we are averaging at 25 minutes per viewer, per month on MSN Video Player, a figure that is significantly higher than many of the UK’s existing online TV services which suggests we are hitting the mark with our choice of content for the service.

“MSN Video Player will evolve and grow as a premium online destination for high quality video content over the coming months. We will continue to innovate in this space and work with advertisers, content owners and distributors alike to deliver a service that is highly valued.”

Mark Lesbirel, Director of Publishing at RDF Rights (part of the RDF Media Group) commented:

“It is exciting to be part of this next stage in the MSN Video Player story. Since the launch of the pilot it has gone from strength to strength with a clearly captivated audience. We are committed to producing popular and innovative programmes across various entertainment genres and partnering with an innovative service like MSN Video Player provides us with a platform best suited to consumer demands and advertising needs.”

MSN Video Player is available from here: www.msn.co.uk/video

There are 5 different tower types in total and each of them can be upgraded several times, increasing their destructive force. The 3 attack towers are a Blaster (gun), Laser and Missile, there is a Stun tower that slows the Creeps down and finally, the Vortex, which you can link to other towers to power them up further.

The levels start off nice and simple, getting you into the flow of the game, then they start to get harder and harder.
The developer, David Whatley, likens the game to Chess, stating;

“There is your opening moves, which are setting the stage for how you will win the level. The middle game is where you do your busy work of getting built-up for the final push at the end. The end game is where it gets completely crazy! If you didn’t have a strategy up until this point, no amount of fast fingers will save you.” – Follow link at bottom.

He is of course, completely correct, if you don’t plan from the start, you can’t work fast to keep up in the end. He then throws in a few nasty “Creeps” long the way, laughing at you as your well thought out plan goes horribly wrong when your towers you have placed and speedily upgraded become totally useless! You hear your brain going, “What the hell is this, and why can’t I…damn, right, restart and plan again!”

You must take a look at this game if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, download the Lite version, have a play, then when you can’t stop playing it, show your respect to Mr David Whatley (and Emma) and purchase the full version. It is currently priced at £1.19 (03/09/2009) and is well worth every, single, penny!

Game information can be found at Critical Thought Games (http://www.criticalthoughtgames.com), as well as videos and more screen-shots.

We are looking forward to new levels, towers and unfortunately, Creeps! (Please hurry David!)

With the caped crusader in his rightful spot and all the reviews putting this game above all other, we asked ourselfs, is it really that good?

The game starts with you taking the Joker to Arkham Asylum, once he’s there, you have control through the first long cinematic. But as with everything that the Joker is involved in, it goes wrong for Batman and the Joker, along with other familier faces, takes control of Arkham Asylum.

Your thrown straight into the action as the Joker runs off, facing a few thugs to get you into the fighting action. You notice from this point that the graphic are, stunning, as you create a new floor with your foes! The next section gets you exploring the dark, slient and sneaking side to our friendly Bat, being able to swing and hide on objects high above the enemy, then swoop down the way that only Batman can.

At this point, you are also introduced to “Discover Mode”, which enables Batman to highlight the enemy and see secrect areas. I would say, this is the only flaw of the game. If you play the game in “Normal Mode”, the game area can be quite dark, and as Batman should be, but the “Discover Mode” allows you to see through walls, and makes the game to much easier, you then end up spending most of your time in this veiw, missing the beautiful visuals.

As you work your way through some of Batman’s well known rivals, there are some interest, very well planned twists. For example, when facing the Scarecrow, the game transforms into a 3D, side scrolling platform game, that completely and seemlessly jumps between 3D fighter back to side scrolling.

The game feels very linier at first, but as you start opening up the areas, you are able to wander where-ever you like. You have to head to the way points to continue the story and unlock all your equipement, but this then enables you to get to new locations and areas that you could not get to previously. With the experience you gain, you are the able to get upgrades, to your fighting style, armour and equipment.

I can not tell you much more on this game, as it would be unfair. This is a fantastic game that ticks all the right boxes, the extra challenges give you the chance to play your favourite parts of the game over and over again. I can only pick two faults with this game, the first being the “Discover Mode” and the second being, there is no multi-play. I think teaming up with a friend (hopefully playing Robin!) would have made this game UNBEATABLE.

A must buy/play, you will be far from disappointed!

Graphics: 9
Game Play: 9
Controls: 9
Multiplayer: Soon maybe?
Overall: 9

We had to have a play to find out!

The opening sequence sets you up with a bit of a glimpse of what is ahead, with movie style animation your thrown right into the game. A meeting with a couple of top guys then sets you on your way. For you who have played the likes of Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny and even Doom, your thrown straight into the game and all you have to do is work your way through, killing everything you find! This new Wolfenstein is not quite that sort of game, you have to keep heading towards way points (fare enough!), but then you’re presented with a character that you have to then follow to another way point (who usually gets killed the moment you turn the first corner and your back to following your compass!).

The AI on the “good side” doesn’t seem to be all that, “intelligent”, the AI on the “enemy side”, is getting towards perfect. What I mean but this is, the AI will hide behind objects and take cover as soon as they realise you are there, they will make your life difficult. The only flaws I found with the AI are that, they shout at you every time they are about to fire, they can see you even though you’re in the shadows and have the attachment to your weapon so you can hide in the dark! They don’t seem to try and flank you either, if you wake/activate them and run through a door, even though there are 3 doors to the room, they will only come through the door you went in!

Once you’re into the game and taking in the beautiful surrounding, which there is limited time to do as you always seem to end up in fire fights, there comes the “Vail” to keep you company. The Vail gets it energy from the dark parallel universe, which you get a glimpse of every now and again, this gives you the chance to highlight the enemy and secrets, slow down time, produce a shield around yourself and even upgrade your fire power for s short period of time. Energy leaks into the current universe allowing you to power back up the Vail powers and glowing blue pods left around the place.

The first level takes place in a train yard and give you a fantastic effect with the physics engine running overtime, as the train explodes and sends everything spinning into the air as it reverses gravity, allowing you to fight as you float. This effect is not used heavily in the game, except in a couple of automated sequences, which is a really big shame, but the glowing blue pods and be picked up and thrown, sending the objects around the explosion into the air, fantastic for groups of enemy!

The weapons are well thought out, not too many of them, but as you go through the levels, collecting gold, you are able to purchase upgrades to all weapon and to your Vail powers at the market traders. Giving the extra firepower, scopes and the ability to “freeze” nearby enemies when activating your time slowing power.

They could have used the Vail to greater effect throughout the game as well as the physics engine, a game that springs to mind when talking about the Vail is Soul Reaver, where going between the realms allowed the surroundings and landscape to change. This could of had more of an effects for puzzles and secrets, but was sadly missed.

Trying to play the multiplayer side was, to say the least, horrendous! After about 10 minutes of trying to connect to game, I was about to give up. Then I managed to connect to a game and jump in with 4 other players. Slow paced and quite a lot of lag, did not make the experience enjoyable, may be this was down to the connection speeds of the other players, but I managed to play two games online and didn’t enjoy the experience at all. A real shame as I was looking forward to trying the Vail powers online, but I think I’ll stick to other games for that.

The overall impression of the game is that it is, ok(ish). I think from playing the older Wolfenstein games, I was expecting more from this, and it just doesn’t arrive. There are a few moments in the game that make you go “Now that’s cool!”, but they are few and far between. Most of the time you are just plodding through the game, doing what is required, only so you can get to the bosses to find out what they are like. Once you find their weakness, the rest is easy!

Due to the ending video (the one after the credits!), it looks like we are in for another instalment, hopefully this time, they will do something to stun us.

Graphics: 7
Game Play: 6
Controls: 6
Multiplayer: 4

Overall: 6