Free app to track down Cask Ale locally

TODAY sees the launch of CaskFinder, a new iPhone application available free of charge from Apple’s AppStore to coincide with National Cask Ale Week.

CaskFinder is designed to help consumers enjoy and appreciate Cask Ale wherever they may be in the UK!

Combining data from The Cask Marque pub quality inspection scheme and The Cyclops Beer standardisation initiative, both industry sponsored bodies, CaskFinder uses the location-awareness of the iPhone to show consumers nearby pubs, brewers and events.

Finding a Cask Marque quality approved pub couldn’t be easier – there are over 6,000 in the UK and growing all the time – just click on the Cask Marque pub icon on the downloaded app and CaskFinder shows you automatically on a map where your nearest pubs are.

Once you have found a pub, you can click on its icon and find out what beers it serves, based on its Cask Marque quality inspection.

If you are unfamiliar with the beers or just want to try something new, you can click on the beer logo and immediately view the Cyclops Beer database information held for over 1,000 beers. The Cyclops database contains standardised tasting information compiled by trained inspectors, including Head Brewers, so you’ll know they know what they are talking about!

If consumers find a beer that interests them, they can search in reverse i.e. find nearby pubs where the beer is served, using a “Where to Drink” facility. If they like a particular brewer’s beers, they can find out more about the brewer and even see what other beers they produce – and find out which pubs you can drink them in. Or they could just browse through the database and choose any one of the 1,000+ beers at random!

In addition to finding pubs and beers, CaskFinder includes a number of other useful features – a list of Beer Festivals complete with contact details, admission prices and maps to show you where to go – a Beer Blog from award winning writer Pete Brown that gives you an inside track on the beer industry – and Beer of the Week, a featured beer of interest from your region.

The Cask Marque website www.caskmarque.co.uk has a SatNav coordinate download feature so that you will have no difficulty in finding your nearest Cask Marque pub even without an iPhone! Also available is a text messaging service - Text CASK followed by a FULL STOP and your post code i.e. CASK.CO4 9HT to 60300 and within 30 seconds you will be sent details of your 2 nearest pubs.
With a 46% consumer awareness of Cask Marque by cask ale drinkers these new information services will be of great benefit to the Cask Marque award winning pubs and cask ale drinkers.

Download TV shows to your iPhone

NOT strictly a gaming post, this one - but here's a great new app on its way for iPhone and iPod Touch users.
Rewatch is effectively, the iPlayer on the move, letting you download BBC TV programmes to watch on the go.
It is still being assessed by Apple at the moment, but hopefully it will be approved and with us very soon!

Aliens vs Predator demo is live

SEGA will today (Thursday) simultaneously release a multiplayer demo of Aliens vs Predator, for the PS3 (via PSN), Xbox 360 (via Xbox LIVE) and PC (via Steam).

The first-person shooter demo is set on the map "Refinery" in the standard deathmatch mode. Aliens vs. Predator features seven multiplayer maps, and three race classes for players to choose from.

“With the demo now gamers can get to grips with each of the three iconic species so they can hone their skills and be ready for when the game launches and battle commences,” said Jason Kingsley, CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion.

The colonial marine, the Predator and the Alien, your three species to select from, will also have intertwining single-player campaigns. Aliens vs Predator is set to be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on February 19 in Europe.

For more details on Aliens Vs. Predator, visit sega.com.

GTA expansion now coming to PS3 and PC

PUTTING an end to the Xbox 360 exclusivity, Rockstar Games has announced that, for the first time, PS3 and PC players will have the opportunity to experience the last two thrilling chapters of the Grand Theft Auto IV saga.

The release of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City on disc is coming this spring, on March 30.


The two action episodes will also be available in digital forms via Playstation Network and PC. Prices have only so far been released for the US, at $19.99 each.

"Each episode boasts the same detailed and immersive Liberty City we all know and love," says Rockstar on its official website.

New Virtual Console games released

OUT now on the Virtual Console, WiiWare and DSiWare, there are seven new games.

This week's games are as follows:

On DSiWare is Dark Void Zero (Capcom, 1 player, 500 DSi Points), Starship Defense (Nintendo, 1 player, 500 DSi Points), Chronos Twins (EnjoyUp Games, 1 player, 500 DSi Points), and Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever (Gameloft, 1 player, 800 DSi Points).

Dark Void Zero takes Capcom's recent game and using the franchise turns in a side-scrolling NES adventure.

Starship Defense is the newest DSi download from Q-Games and is a tower defense-style game set in space. Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever is another puppy simulator for DSi owners.

On WiiWare, there is Muscle March (Namco Bandai, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) and The Amazing Brain Train (Wahoo Studios, 1 player, 600 Wii Points). Muscle March is the latest strange game to come from Namco Bandai, in which bodybuilders chase after a thief who stole their protein drink. They have to pose in the correct positions to navigate through walls and other obstacles. The Amazing Brain Train is an indie brain training game.

There is just one game on the Virtual Console this week and it's Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi for the Sega Genesis (Sega, 1 player, 800 Wii Points).

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi came out last week on the PAL Virtual Console and in December 2006 on the Japanese Virtual Console. It, along with Muscle March and The Amazing Brain Train, is available for download off the Wii Shop Channel, while Dark Void Zero, Starship Defense, Chronos Twins, and Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever are available for download off the DSi Shop Channel.

New PSP mini games launched

LEADING Indian game developer GameShastra has just released three new PlayStation Portable (PSP) Mini games onto the PlayStation Network (PSN), bringing its total number of games available through the PlayStation Network to five.

The new games draw from the developer's heritage, bringing two titles based on classic Indian Strategy games to a global audience, alongside a game which takes players on a trip along America's most famous highway.

With origins dating back to 4AD, Pachisi is Indian's national board game. GameShastra's version is steeped in heritage, offering a perfect recreation of this absorbing Strategy game equally playable on PSP and PlayStation 3. Simple to learn, yet difficult to master, the fact Pachisi remains one of India's most popular strategy board games over two thousand years since its introduction speaks volumes about its core mechanics - perfectly recreated here, with sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) offering a challenge to players of all abilities.

Tiger Trouble, also available for PSP and PlayStation 3, is another strategy board game recreation - though this time based on a Nepalese pastime. The game offers two perspectives: playing as tigers, the objective is to kill seven out of fifteen goats; when playing as goats, players must trap the three tigers. Offering unique strategies depending on the side being played, it's a game of limitless possibilities, and one which has been developed with obvious affection for the original board game.

Finally, Route 66 offers a change of pace. A hidden-object game set along America's "mother highway", it's a game best played casually, with ample time to admire the stunning artwork and historical facts whilst hunting for the items deviously-placed within each lavish scene.

MAG beta out now - for everyone!

THE MAG Beta is open to the world today - but catch it now, as it only lasts a week!

Sony has announced the MAG beta which will be available worldwide to everyone starting from Monday. All you need is a PS3 and a internet connection. The MAG Beta will be available to everyone from today until the end of the testing phase on January 10 at 11.59pm.

The beta will come with two different game modes: 64-player sabotage and 256-player domination!

What you’ll need to do to get the Beta:

1. Log on to the PlayStation Store, Select “View All By Title -> M Titles -> MAG” and download the MAG Beta file like you would any other freely-available PSN video or demo (298 MB)

2. Launch the MAG Beta program from your XMB to download a special patch that will restart MAG once the update has been received (another 37 MB)

3. After the reboot, the Beta will reconnect and download the actual game data so that you can play (1.8 GB – 2.3 GB depending on your region)

Sneak preview of God of War III

I AM one of the lucky few who have been sent a special code courtesy of Sony to download the early demo of God of War III - and it rocks!
I have been a big fan of the God of War games on the PS2 and PSP in the past, and have been eagerly awaiting the HD versions that are on their way to the PS3 in the form of HD-updated version of the PS2 God of War I and II games, plus the eagerly-anticipated number three due out next year.
After playing the demo, I can honestly say that the game plays as well as ever, but the graphics are stunning - everything you expect from a current PS3 game.
You should not be disappointed - and here's a clip from youtube of the demo to tickle your tastebuds....