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Back to familiar (and cheap) territory this week as the PS2 collection gets another substantial boost. Capcom’s feudal Japan slash’-em’up series Onimusha gets represented with the first two titles, along with Naughty Dog’s Jak II: Renegade. Rounding off the PS2 titles this week is Dark Cloud, developed by the team responsible for the Professor Layton series, and rather more topically, the latest Dragon Quest games, VIII and IX. The ol’ cube gets an update with everyone’s favourite nemesis Wario, in the Treasure-developed Wario World.

You may have noticed the general lack of posts on the site recently. This is only partly down to the intense heat here in the UK reducing me into a sweaty puddle – in actual fact, it’s more because I’ve been busy getting our new home ready. It’s almost, almost ready. I’m very excited to be able to share it with you very soon. Watch this space, and get ready to update your bookmarks. Full IC Collection update details after the jump.

Update #12

Dark Cloud (PS2) – £9.01 from eBay

Jak II: Renegade (PS2) – £1.04 from eBay

Onimusha: Warlords (PS2) – £2.20 from eBay

Onimusha 2 (PS2) – £0.99 from eBay

Wario World (Gamecube) – £6.55 from eBay

The PS1 and PS2 collections have been receiving the lion’s share of attention recently, so this week’s update focuses on the more neglected consoles, although one PS2 game, Shadow Of Rome, still snuck in. This time round, the original Xbox gets some love, with Halo, Halo 2 and RPG Jade Empire injecting a splash of vivid green on the shelf. As it turns out, I am not a fan of Bungie’s much-loved franchise, but I recognise that it’s still an enormous franchise and one that needed some representation.

Elsewhere, Killer7 gets added to the Gamecube library, a title that I’ve been after for a long while now, and finally snapped up at a reasonable price. To continue the Suda51 theme, I also snapped up the Flower, Sun And Rain DS remake too.

Update #11

Flower, Sun And Rain (DS) – £3.21 from eBay

Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox) – £1.04 from eBay

Halo 2 (Xbox) – £4.01 from eBay

Jade Empire (Xbox) – £4.19 from eBay

Killer7 (Gamecube) – £16.00 from eBay

Shadow Of Rome (PS2) – £2.99 from eBay

The big cheese of Shining Gate Software, Fredrik Westlund (who we interviewed about Decay – Part 1) got in touch with infinitecontinues last week to let us know that the second part of the episodic XBLIG horror title, aptly named Decay – Part 2, should be hitting your Xboxes soon. From the horse’s mouth: “Decay – Part 2 will hopefully hit the Marketplace during the first two weeks of July.”

Westlund is promising much more gameplay in Part 2, which will dig much deeper into the plot of Decay, one of the most intriguing aspects of the first episode, which we found short but sweet; well ‘sweet’ might be the wrong word… With Johannes Rae again on board to supply the eerie music and sound effects and its grim colour palettes, Decay – Part 2 looks set to be every bit as good as the first. Feast your eyes on the screenshots below, and keep an eye on Shining Gate Software’s YouTube page, where a trailer will appear sometime this week, according to Westlund.

Gathering greater pace since last week’s dismal showing, the IC Collection update this week is still a modest affair, with only a trio of PS2 games and a pair of PS3 games being added. Survival horror makes a swift return with Forbidden Siren 2, even though the original is still missing from the Collection. Also in tow are Gregory Horror Show (pictured) and Blood Will Tell, an obscure SEGA title in which the collectibles are your own organs. Yep, you heard.

For the PS3, new release Singularity gets added, as does an extremely cut-price Bionic Commando. Expect a review for Singularity sometime in the near future.

Update #10

Blood Will Tell (PS2) – £2.21 from eBay

Forbidden Siren 2 (PS2) – £1.70 from eBay

Gregory Horrow Show (PS2) – £6.25 from eBay

Bionic Commando (PS3) – £3.00 in-store from HMV

Singularity (PS3) – £39.99 in-store from HMV

You’ve heard of Street Fighter: Hyper Fighting, but check out these fantastic Hyper Real artworks of Street Fighter characters by artist Kode Abdo, based on real life models and manipulated digitally in Photoshop. I bet you’ve never seen bendy Dhalsim look so frightening, have you? Suitably impressed by his talented endeavours, infinitecontinues snatched a few words with the creator to find out how these works came about.

infinitecontinues: Hi Kode. Who are you and what do you do?

Kode Abdo: Hey there, my name is Kode, creator of BossLogic. I am a freelance graphics artist from Melbourne, Australia .

ic: So, we’re talking about your incredible Street Fighter pieces today. Tell us what inspired them, and why you went for such a mature art direction for a franchise that’s classically very ‘cartoony’, for want of a better word?

KA: Well, I wanted to show all the fans a different side to the characters they have grown up with, just like I have. I have been a fan of Street Fighter since the first game came out; I fell in love with Street Fighter ever since that day. So, one time I was in Photoshop and I noticed one of the model photos I had looked just like Sagat, so I went ahead and manipulated it to look like him. The payoff was great from all the fans – they loved them so much – so I decided to do them all. Watch out for some new ones soon.

Sagat started it all.

ic: Take us through exactly how you would create one of these pieces. Let’s take Dhalsim for example – what steps did you go through in order to create this image?

KA: For Dhalsim, I used four images of a skinny figure to get it looking just right. I use a lot of the ‘Liquify’ tool in Photoshop to bend and manipulate the human body. I was able to push the boundaries a bit, since it was Dhalsim after all – Mr. Stretch! After it all looks right, I start with the color toning so it all matches up, then I blend the skin to make it look just right, and then it’s on to effects to add that sense of energy to the image.

‘Mr. Stretch’ – absolutely terrifying

ic: Do you have any plans to complete the entire set? I suppose with the latest Street Fighter boasting a roster of 30 characters, you have your work cut out for you!

KA: I’m trying to do sooo many characters now. If I have the models for them, then yes I will do them all.

ic: Which is your favourite piece, and why?

KA: I haven’t made a fave yet, but the closest to being my fave is the Guile one I made last.

Guile – Kode’s fave.

ic: Are you a big gamer? If so, what are you currently enjoying playing? Any other videogame series’ we can expect to see made into such realistic art pieces in the future?

KA: Yes indeed. I play SF competitively – right now its SSFIV – and I’m waiting for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, and can’t wait for the day of Capcom Vs. SNK 3! I’m thinking I might make some hyper real Devil May Cry or Metal Gear but we will see what happens.

You can check out Kode’s BossLogic website here.

Guess what? Wrong! There are no RPGs or survival horror games in this week’s update. In fact, there are hardly any games in this week’s update, full stop. You’ll find only a single, lonely Gamecube title after the jump this time, but it’s still a classic. Excited by the resurrection of several key IPs in Nintendo’s E3 2010 keynote, I decided it was time to welcome Pikmin into the bosom of the Collection once again, having been owned and subsequently discarded back in my fickle University days, where Virtual Boys were spontaneously purchased and sold again just as quickly. Before we fall headlong into nostalgic reverie, I’ll cut this short and hit up eBay to make next week’s update a more substantial read.

Update #9

Pikmin (Gamecube) – £1.24 from eBay

We featured Jason Poage’s initial creations for PS3-exclusive 3D Dot Game Heroes last month, and he’s not been resting on his pixellated laurels. He’s gone all retro and produced a new range of characters based on the FPS classic Doom. Here’s what he has to say on his continued fascination with the game and its associated online editors:

“I’m not sure what it is about 3D Dot modeling that makes me so drawn to it. I guess that I just enjoy working with limitations and constraints, using them to do an impression of the subject I’m trying to portray. Or maybe I spent too much time playing with Legos as a kid, I don’t know.”

You can read more about Poage’s (aka @zi11ion) inspirations over on his blog. Hit the jump for images of his Doom set, or head over to his Q-Block page to see the actual models.

After oscillating wildly between RPGs and survival horror titles over the past few weeks, Update #8 consists of a pair of RPGs… and a survival horror title. Joining Lost Odyssey and Infinite Undiscovery on the ol’ Xbox 360 are similar efforts Enchanted Arms and Eternal Sonata. Meanwhile, the PS1 gets a further shot in the arm with Resident-Evil-with-dinosaurs, Dino Crisis. Full prices after the jump.

Update #8

Enchanted Arms (Xbox 360) – £3.41 from eBay

Eternal Sonata (Xbox 360) – £5.70 from eBay

Dino Crisis (PS1) – £1.25 from eBay

The tips posts on Vehicle Warfare and Rush Mode for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 are still proving very popular here on infinitecontinues, as people continue to invest time and effort in becoming better at Dice’s COD-killer. Although I haven’t played it very much recently, I still sank dozens and dozens of hours into Rush mode (easily my favourite play type) and noticed enough patterns emerging to put together a little guide for getting a lot of points on the vast desert map, Arica Harbor. These tips are for the Attackers – I find it easier to score points as Defenders by just staying close to M-Coms or being aggressive and pushing forward into the Attacker’s base. As Attackers, however, a little bit more strategy is needed. Should this guide prove useful and there are requests for more, I’ll consider writing more guides for the other Rush maps. For now, though, hit the jump for detailed analysis on how to dominate Arica Harbor.

Clicking on the map above will open the graphic full-screen in another tab, large enough for you to make out the key markers. The numbers and letters in the yellow circles correspond to the tips below. Apologies in advance that the map isn’t any bigger – this is the highest resolution that Dice supplied the assets in.

1A – As Attacker’s you will start off with an extraordinary fleet of vehicles, including several tanks, humvees and quad bikes. It’s pretty tempting to roll the tanks straight into the Defenders’ base and begin causing havoc, but reckless abandon will quickly see your vehicles reduced to scrap metal. A skilled tank driver, preferably with the Optics vehicle spec enabled, should be able to park where the 1A yellow circle is, or just a little further forward, and rain down shells on the building containing M-Com ‘A’. After a steady bombardment, it wont be long before the building collapses, taking the M-Com with it. Further advancement down the road runs the risk of being targeted by one of two Stationary AT guns, which are always, always manned, even if you’re lucky enough to get a defending team that don’t really know what they’re doing.

If you like using tanks, then either start with this tactic, or man the machine gun for someone else who is comfortable performing it. Pick off any soldiers that are trying to man the first Stationary AT gun, so that you aren’t sitting ducks for incoming missiles. Once ‘A’ is down, you should be free to move off to the right and around the side of the base to ‘B’, taking care that the machine gunner continues to take out any AT-manners or any Engineers that are setting up camp behind the first barricade. Be aware though, that this is the most common place for the enemy to manouver their tanks, more of which later.

1B – For those uncomfortable with manning tanks, or who just prefer to cause havoc solo, there is a ploy I’ve used to good effect on many occasions on this map. Jump on a quad bike and make your way up the green line marked on the map to the mountains on the left-hand side. This is usually a veritable sniper’s nest, as marked by the scope icons. If you are clever, and quiet, you an take them out without them knowing you are there. Just watch out for them peering over the rocks and plug them with headshots. There are also usually a few more snipers further back. Flank them and take them out. Be aware of any further soldiers working their way up the sand dunes from the base however. Don’t leave yourself out in the open for too long.

1C – From 1B, I usually try to make for here on the map, by slowly making my way from hut to hut until I find myself in the corner. This is where the enemies’ tanks will spawn each time, and a clever player can cause misery by getting there first. Assault and Sniper classes may want to plant C4 on any unoccupied vehicles for easy Destroy and Kill points when Defenders clamber in. As I mostly play Engineer or Medic, I like to tag each vehicle with a tracer dart (I always have the Tracer Pistol as my secondary weapon, regardless of class), or jump in one and cause mayhem. Try blowing the walls alongside M-Com ‘B’ – from here you can either shell the station or jump out to arm it. You will be public enemy number 1 as soon as you steal a tank though, so keep your wits about you and try not to panic.

A third option is to hide behind the barricade where the Stationary AT weapon is in the corner, and take out tanks with one missile as soon as somebody jumps in one. I imagine nothing enrages the Defenders more than their precious tanks exploding around them as soon as they move. From this position, you can also cross the road and arm station ‘B’ if you are worried that you’ll become too conspicuous tampering with enemy tanks. Either way, attacking the Defenders from right behind their lines is extremely effective when done right, and should net you a lot of points.

2A – Once the first two M-Com stations have been destroyed, the action falls back into the town. This phase can potentially be pretty tricky, with soldiers hiding in buildings either side. Pay particular attention to snipers on top of the building with the Stationary AT and Heavy Machine guns which overlooks M-Com ‘B’. I usually tend to try and sneak my way in again, following the green route marked on the map. This takes some practice to get right, as Defenders are starting to wise up to these tactics. If you keep your wits about you, you should be alright. Once you find yourself towards the right-hand side of the map, you’ll almost certainly escape unnoticed, as Defenders often don’t lie in wait here. Bold players can climb the building and knife the snipers and AT-manners they find there. Otherwise, go for M-Com B from the back entrance.

2B – Again, another sneaky tactic. Defenders quite often will forget that tanks spawn at this location, and a forgotten tank can be an enormous advantage to an enterprising young Attacker. After making your way along the green route, check to see if a tank is parked here and then go for it. Once inside, your first job is to take out the Stationary AT gun at the back of the road, which should be immediately to your left. This causes a lot of Attacker tank deaths, as it is very easy to get a shot off from this as soon as the Attackers tanks make their way into the town. This is even more effective if one of your squadmates has come along with you and can man the tank’s machine gun.

From here, I tend to drive back up the street towards M-Com ‘A’. It is protected by a steel gate which can only be destroyed by explosives. Fire the main cannon at it and run straight in and arm the M-Com. A good player can crouch in the corner and take out any Defenders rushing in to disarm, especially if you are Medic class and sit on your own Medkits.

3A – This phase of the map is a strange one in regards that it usually goes one of two ways. Either the stations are blown extremely quickly, or the Defenders win the game through a good defence. I find the best tactic for this part, especially if you are interested in racking up points, is to skirt around the edge of the water as marked by the green line. This will be risky, as Defenders will sit up near the train at M-Com ‘B’. From here, you can go one of two ways. Either clamber up the dunes near ‘B’ and go directly for the station, or head along the side of the train carriages and climb over to the other side, as far back as the map will allow. From here, you’ll likely see a fair few soldiers. There will be one manning the AT weapon for certain, and also the Heavy Machine gun on the other side of the trench. Take them both out. I’ve found some good success by then blowing a hole in one of the carriages (with an RPG or 40mm grenade) and hiding inside. Once your squadmates spawn on you, you should have enough firepower to take out ‘B’.

Once ‘B’ is down, you can all go for ‘A’ simultaneously, which in my opinion is the hardest M-Com station to blow in the entire map. Not only is the bus that houses it in a wide open area, its also really difficult to get inside if you are moving towards it in a hail of bullets. Coordination with your teammates and squaddies and sheer luck will score you this M-Com.

4A – I’ve experimented with a few tactics for this phase of the map. I used to skirt around to the left, cut through the wire fence and go the long way round, picking off soldiers as I went. However, crossing the yard to get to station ‘B’ is then extremely difficult – you will almost certainly get gunned down. Now I prefer a more direct approach, gathering together a large force and going directly for ‘A’, hidden in a derailed carriage (I believe). Lob grenades to clear the area and then head in as a group. Make sure Medkits are liberally scattered around the station and make sure you have people covering both entrances of the carriage. Bear in mind that the Defenders are more likely to come in the entrance that leads out to ‘B’, but keep an eye out on both ends. Enterprising Medics who are good with the defibrillator can amass a huge amount of points here by getting in the thick of it, especially if they ‘spot’ the M-Com station as well (press Select or Back when your cross-hairs are over the ‘A’ icon).

After surviving that, you should have a clear path to ‘B’ for eliminating the second M-Com, although you may have to go round the side to enter, unless someone blows a hole in the wall. Be careful, as many Defenders will be crouched down inside the containers that run parallel with the station building, ready to pop a cap in yo’ ass as soon as you make your way for ‘B’.

5A – The final assault on the last two M-Coms is an extremely manic, frenzied affair, where Defenders who are being slaughtered can suddenly turn the game in their favour with a well-marshalled defence. Bear in mind that a great portion of the enemy team will likely take up residence in the large multi-storey building that houses both M-Coms, as there are several mounted weapons there, as well as a lot of barriers from which to snipe behind. Again, this is where it pays to be good in a tank. A driver with the Optics spec and a skilled machine gunner can literally sit on the bridge and take out all the soldiers they see in that building, as well as the two-storey cabin immediately behind it. Make sure one of the crew is an Engineer, as you will be the prime target for Mortar Strikes. As soon as you hear or see the first Mortar shell land, get the driver to back up all the way to the beginning of the bridge, repair the tank, and go again. I’ve amassed a tonne of points on this map using this tactic alone many times before, but it does take a well-oiled duo to pull it off without getting the tank destroyed very quickly. It is impossible, to my knowledge, to destroy the M-Coms with tank fire using this tactic, however, so once you are satisfied with the large points haul, I suggest advancing the tank along the right-hand side of the map, all the way to the back. Behind the barriers here, you’ll usually find snipers, and also the Stationary AT weapon next to the cabin. Destroy them all.

5B – The best way to get to the M-Com stations without being mowed down prematurely is by swimming. There are ladders all along the side where the ship is, and it’s a rarely used tactic, from what I’ve seen in the matches I’ve played. It is advisable to take a largish force if you are going to attempt this tactic, however, as the final ladder brings you out between two steel containers, which is an area usually watched by soldiers sitting on the first floor of the M-Com building. Once all are ready, surge in for M-Com ‘A’, which is the easiest to destroy. As soon as it’s armed, make your way to the back of the building and up the stairs for B. You will almost definitely meet Defenders scrambling down the stairs to disarm ‘A’, so make sure you mow them down. Keep the Medic at the back of the pack to pick up the front line should they fall. It shouldn’t be too difficult to arm ‘B’ whilst the alarm for ‘A’ is still sounding. The difficulty in this last stand phase is to get close enough to arm one. It usually follows that both of them then fall within a short time of each other.

Using these tips as an Attacker on Arica Harbor usually nets me a very strong haul of points and oftentimes the Gold Squad pin and the Ace pin. I hope my sneaky tactics also help you do better on what I consider one of the best maps in Rush mode. If you think there are better ways at scoring good points in Arica Harbor, I’d be interested to hear your tips in the comments section. Should there be demand for them, I’ll create further tips for each specific map.