Hitman Sniper Challenge: weekly winners revealed

By CVG Staff for CVG UK

Square Enix's Hitman Sniper Challenge is in full swing we've got a couple of week's worth of winners to update you on.

Heading up the leader boards from 1st-6th September were PS3 top shooter 'crowravenman' with a score of 2018524, Xbox 360 eagle-eye 'Madmonkeyrtu' who scored 4291555 and PC trigger man 'WorLad' with a score of 4909175.

Following hard on their heels for 6-12th September are this week's shooting demons are 'stinos' on PS3 with a score of 4,828,831, 'CJLox21' on Xbox 360 with a score of 4,544,408 and 'Triplelexx' on PC who racked up a highly impressive 6,322,455

Huge congrats to all those top drawer trigger men who will be scooping those rather attractive Agent 47 figurines you can see pictured on this here page, they'll be winging their way to you as we speak. They're also laying down quite a marker for this month's major prize.

Speaking of which don't forget there's still time for you to get in contention for September's Sniper Challenge with the major monthly prize of an iPad, Sennheisser headphones and a whole bunch of exclusive goodies still up for grabs. Full details through that link above and below.

Don't forget, if you want some expert tips on how to complete the challenge like a true Hitman, then go check out our CVG YouTube channel where our fiendish video team has put together a guide to assist you in the art of assassination.

How do I get involved?

All you need to do is pre-order Hitman Absolution (you can do this here) where you'll receive a code.

You must then visit Hitman Sniper.com where you can enter that code in order to receive the redeem code to download Hitman Sniper Challenge from Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network.

PC owners will be able to download Hitman Sniper Challenge from August 1, so our league table for PC opens next month - you'll just have to have the patience of Agent 47 and wait for your moment!

Once you've signed up... get sniping! Simple as that. Keep checking CVG to find out who wins at the end of July, as well as the winner of our weekly challenge. Best of luck.

But remember... For your score to count, you MUST register your Gamertag/PSN ID at www.hitmansniper.com and you MUST "link your account" at hitmansniper.com/leaderboards in order to be eligible!

We cannot emphasise that enough. If you don't register and link your account, you have zero chance of winning and then you'll be sad.

 

FIFA 13 pre-orders top 875k, demo downloaded 2m times

By Tom Ivan for CVG UK
EA says that FIFA 13 pre-orders have topped 875,000 units two weeks ahead of launch.

The total, which is based on internal sales data, is up 37 per cent year over year in Europe and up 62 per cent in North America, according to the publisher.

EA also says 1.99 million people in 73 countries downloaded the FIFA 13 demo in the three days following its release, an increase of 29 per cent compared to the number of FIFA 12 demo downloads in the same amount of time last year.

The company has confirmed a FIFA 13 release date of September 25 in the US, September 27 in Europe and September 28 in the UK.

EA Sports Season Ticket subscribers can get early digital access to the game on September 21 in the US and the following day in Europe.

GamesMaster gave the footy 91/100 and called it the "best football game ever" in the first FIFA 13 review.

Assassin's Creed 3 dev diary focuses on Conner

Ubisoft has released the third of four parts in its 'Inside Assassin's Creed 3' developer diary series.

The latest entry focuses on the series' new protagonist, the half English, half-Native American Connor, who the movie describes as the "hero behind the war".

The game s set in the latter half of the 18th century, when the war between the Templars and the Assassins escalates and crosses over to the New World of America, where revolution is in the air.

Ubisoft has confirmed an Assassin's Creed 3 release date of October 31 on PS3 and Xbox 360, with a PC release to follow on November 23. A Wii U version will be available at the console's launch.

Tom has been writing about games for websites such as CVG and Edge since 2007. His favourite series include anything with football or Mario in it, Call of Duty, Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell and LittleBigPlanet.Read more

 

Ratchet: Deadlocked Headed to PS3

At PAX today, Ratchet: Deadlocked was confirmed to be headed to PlayStation 3 later this year. Deadlocked will be released in HD as a download on PlayStation Network and will include reworked online multiplayer.

Ratchet: Deadlocked was originally released in 2005 and focuses on battle as opposed to the platforming elements of earlier Ratchet & Clank games. Sony hasn’t provided specific details about pricing, release date or new features, but we’ve reached out for more information and will update this story when we hear back.

Deadlocked follows HD versions of three other Ratchet & Clank games in the Ratchet & Clank Collection, which was released last week in North America and includes Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando and Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. A new game, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, is set to hit both PlayStation 3 and Vita.

For more on Ratchet: Deadlocked, you can read our original review of the PlayStation 2 version from 2005.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Is The Dark Knight Really Just a Big Mess?

One of the biggest criticisms of director Christopher Nolan is that he can't direct action, that his staging of action is at best pedestrian and at worst messy.

Now one film critic, Jim Emerson, has taken it upon himself to break down one of the most famous action sequences from Nolan's The Dark Knight to show why he believes it's a big mess as an action film.

Check out his video analysis below -- yes, please actually watch it rather than simply scream that he's wrong -- and then sound off in the Comments whether you agree with him, at least see his points, or (politely please) disagree:

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

The Possession Burns Up the Box Office

Proving yet again that America loves itself some exorcism movies, producer Sam Raimi's The Possession did better than expected to win the box office crown this Labor Day weekend, dethroning The Expendables 2 after two weeks on top.

Here are the weekend estimates via Rentrak:

1. The Possession 17.7 million
2. Lawless $9.7 million
3. The Expendables 2 $8.8 million
4. The Bourne Legacy $7.2 million
5. ParaNorman $6.6 million
6. The Odd Life of Timothy Green $6.1 million
7. The Dark Knight Rises $5.9 million
8. The Campaign $5.4 million
9. 2016: Obama's America $5.1 million
10. Hope Springs $4.7 million

The re-release of Marvel's The Avengers into 1,700 theaters earned $1.7 million, ranking it in 14th place.

The worst news this weekend is for The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, the kid flick featuring Toni Braxton, Christopher Lloyd, Chazz Palminteri, Cary Elwes and Jaime Pressly. The $20 million film opened in 2,160 theaters earning just $448,000 or a mere $207 per theater average, making it the new worst ever wide release opening. Yes, even worse than Creature or Delgo.

Listen to Keepin' It Reel to find out how we did with our box office predictions!

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

30 Days Until Resident Evil 6

With only 30 days to go until Resident Evil 6 is released on October 2nd, we count down 30 reasons why Capcom’s latest zombie infested survival horror game has us ready to destroy wave after wave of the bloody undead in terrifying new ways. You rolling with us? Pack a shotgun and never look back, this is the dirty 30 for Resident Evil 6. BRRRAAAAAIIINNNSS!!

30

The Zombies Are Smarter Than Ever Now

Like much, much, much smarter. They jump, spit acid and fight back with weapons. These things don't just grunt and groan. They eat brains and ace math tests. Run, man. RUN!

29

The Special Editions Rock

Why snag just the game when you can get copies of a bunch of classic Evils or even a hoodie? There are a ton of options, so stop being so boring.

28

That Logo Looks Like A Giraffe And A....

Love flourishes in the strangest of places. Sometimes a man loves a woman. Sometimes a woman loves a giraffe. Sometimes two fish smoke cigarettes after an argument. The Resident Evil 6 logo is like the world's most perversely inspiring rorschach test! Watch this Up At Noon bit for even more.

27

The Achievements!

There's an Achievement named "Duty Calls" in case you were worried there wouldn't be enough action to go with that survival horror. Plenty more Achievement spoilers at that link, if you're into that kind of thing.

26

Ada Wong Is Back, Baby

And yes, we missed her too. Don't lie, so did you.

25

This Mysterious Man

What is he doing? Maybe he's READING THIS VERY ARTICLE!

24

You Probably Have Better Skin Than This Guy, So Cheer Up!

23

Leon, Chris & Eminem In The SAME GAME!

22

That Title Screen Guy Will Totally Yell "RESIDENT...EVIIIIL. SIX!" When You Press Start On The Title Screen

He did it for every other Resident Evil game so why fire him now?

21

Resident Evil.Net Keeps The Game Going FOREVA AND EVA

Regularly updated new content and events? This makes us very happy.

20

We Couldn't Wait So We Did Awesome Break Downs Of The Resident Evil Games Leading Up To RE6

Our homie Lucas M. Thomas has been doing amazingly detailed breakdowns of all the Resident evil classics. Join us in celebrating our old, withered nostalgia.

19

The Amazing IGN Wiki Means You'll Never Get Stuck

We'll keep updating it with backstory, cheats and full walkthroughs but we'd love if you helped us, too.

18

That Whole Zombie Infection Thing? Yeah, It's Global Now

(Although once again, Greenland is safe from the rest of the world's problems)

17

It Has A Naked Human-Spider Boss Woman Thingy That We Can't Even Show You

We would probably get arrested for throwing a picture in here but that won't stop us from talking about it.

16

DAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!!

SO CUTE!!!

15

It's F***ing Legit!

Or so says @GenaMarini and she's probably right.

14

This Game Has Some Weird-Ass Enemies, Man!

Zombie mutant prize claw people? What the hell?!?! Well, it's not like being populated with freakish weirdos is new for the series or anything.

13

***ZOMBIE CAT BREAK!***

Hey look, it's Albert Whisker! We're so, so sorry.

12

Multiple Story Campaigns

Oh, you want branching stories and entire campaigns with different lead characters? Here are three to start you off:

And that's not even all of them...

11

Some Crazy, Talented People Are Working On This

Just watch our making-of video for proof!

10

The Bio Ball

Hypodermic fun for the whole family!

9

It Takes Place In The Same Universe As Sleeping Dogs If You're A Fan Fiction Writer Or Crazy Conspiracy Theorist

It doesn't really, but we can pretend.

8

It Comes With An Umbrella Corporation Umbrella If You Pre-Order It

Never heard of an Umbrella Umbrella? Let our resident (see what we did there?) video hostess Naomi Kyle show you one in action.

7

The Game's Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi Is No Slouch

From classics like Dino Crisis, Resident Evil 2 to Killer7 and Devil May Cry, this guy is a legend.

6

It's Not Resident Evil 5

Nuff' said.

5

It's The Only Game This Year With Crossbows

OK, so that's bullsh*t. There are thousands of games this year with crossbows. But we like this crossbow the best.

4

It Reminds Us Of Resident Evil 2...

3

...And The Village From Resident Evil 4

2

That CRAZY Plane Crash Scene

1

And Finally? Zombie Party Time!

Excited for Resident Evil 6 as we are? Well you absolutely should be by now. Be sure to let us know just how excited in the comments below.

Source : ign[dot]com

30 Days Until Resident Evil 6

With only 30 days to go until Resident Evil 6 is released on October 2nd, we count down 30 reasons why Capcom’s latest zombie infested survival horror game has us ready to destroy wave after wave of the bloody undead in terrifying new ways. You rolling with us? Pack a shotgun and never look back, this is the dirty 30 for Resident Evil 6. BRRRAAAAAIIINNNSS!!

30

The Zombies Are Smarter Than Ever Now

Like much, much, much smarter. They jump, spit acid and fight back with weapons. These things don't just grunt and groan. They eat brains and ace math tests. Run, man. RUN!

29

The Special Editions Rock

Why snag just the game when you can get copies of a bunch of classic Evils or even a hoodie? There are a ton of options, so stop being so boring.

28

That Logo Looks Like A Giraffe And A....

Love flourishes in the strangest of places. Sometimes a man loves a woman. Sometimes a woman loves a giraffe. Sometimes two fish smoke cigarettes after an argument. The Resident Evil 6 logo is like the world's most perversely inspiring rorschach test! Watch this Up At Noon bit for even more.

27

The Achievements!

There's an Achievement named "Duty Calls" in case you were worried there wouldn't be enough action to go with that survival horror. Plenty more Achievement spoilers at that link, if you're into that kind of thing.

26

Ada Wong Is Back, Baby

And yes, we missed her too. Don't lie, so did you.

25

This Mysterious Man

What is he doing? Maybe he's READING THIS VERY ARTICLE!

24

You Probably Have Better Skin Than This Guy, So Cheer Up!

23

Leon, Chris & Eminem In The SAME GAME!

22

That Title Screen Guy Will Totally Yell "RESIDENT...EVIIIIL. SIX!" When You Press Start On The Title Screen

He did it for every other Resident Evil game so why fire him now?

21

Resident Evil.Net Keeps The Game Going FOREVA AND EVA

Regularly updated new content and events? This makes us very happy.

20

We Couldn't Wait So We Did Awesome Break Downs Of The Resident Evil Games Leading Up To RE6

Our homie Lucas M. Thomas has been doing amazingly detailed breakdowns of all the Resident evil classics. Join us in celebrating our old, withered nostalgia.

19

The Amazing IGN Wiki Means You'll Never Get Stuck

We'll keep updating it with backstory, cheats and full walkthroughs but we'd love if you helped us, too.

18

That Whole Zombie Infection Thing? Yeah, It's Global Now

(Although once again, Greenland is safe from the rest of the world's problems)

17

It Has A Naked Human-Spider Boss Woman Thingy That We Can't Even Show You

We would probably get arrested for throwing a picture in here but that won't stop us from talking about it.

16

DAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!!

SO CUTE!!!

15

It's F***ing Legit!

Or so says @GenaMarini and she's probably right.

14

This Game Has Some Weird-Ass Enemies, Man!

Zombie mutant prize claw people? What the hell?!?! Well, it's not like being populated with freakish weirdos is new for the series or anything.

13

***ZOMBIE CAT BREAK!***

Hey look, it's Albert Whisker! We're so, so sorry.

12

Multiple Story Campaigns

Oh, you want branching stories and entire campaigns with different lead characters? Here are three to start you off:

And that's not even all of them...

11

Some Crazy, Talented People Are Working On This

Just watch our making-of video for proof!

10

The Bio Ball

Hypodermic fun for the whole family!

9

It Takes Place In The Same Universe As Sleeping Dogs If You're A Fan Fiction Writer Or Crazy Conspiracy Theorist

It doesn't really, but we can pretend.

8

It Comes With An Umbrella Corporation Umbrella If You Pre-Order It

Never heard of an Umbrella Umbrella? Let our resident (see what we did there?) video hostess Naomi Kyle show you one in action.

7

The Game's Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi Is No Slouch

From classics like Dino Crisis, Resident Evil 2 to Killer7 and Devil May Cry, this guy is a legend.

6

It's Not Resident Evil 5

Nuff' said.

5

It's The Only Game This Year With Crossbows

OK, so that's bullsh*t. There are thousands of games this year with crossbows. But we like this crossbow the best.

4

It Reminds Us Of Resident Evil 2...

3

...And The Village From Resident Evil 4

2

That CRAZY Plane Crash Scene

1

And Finally? Zombie Party Time!

Excited for Resident Evil 6 as we are? Well you absolutely should be by now. Be sure to let us know just how excited in the comments below.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

PAX: Gears of War: Judgment -- Free-for-All Madness

Normally, playing a match of Gears of War’s multiplayer involves taking a lot of cover. But in the recently announced free-for-all mode for Gears of War: Judgment, it just doesn’t work for me. When nine other players barrel down on me from every angle I find I become paranoid, constantly spinning around and looking for the next chaotic gunfight.

The average life in free-for-all Judgment match is short. With no teammates around to chase off a would-be executioner, you’re dead when you get downed (and in the case of the PAX build, you died immediately). Free-for-all matches thus end up making you feel much more vulnerable than you do in other Gears gametypes. No one is there to pick you up when you fall, and the other nine people are out for blood as much as you, so they aren’t going to watch your back or protect your flanks.

Maps have specifically designed for Judgment’s free-for-all mode as well. Unlike past Gears games, where they basically adapted various maps to whatever game mode you were playing, these maps have been tailored for 10 player insanity. If the match at PAX was any indication, they're also a bit smaller than you’d expect. The result is that you never go more than a few seconds without running into someone to shoot, and more often it’s the third player who rushes in to clean up two wounded fighters than scores big.

If you want to play team-based matches Judgment has those too, but free-for-all looks like the most approachable option for someone looking to learn Judgment’s mechanics. Anyone who’s hopped into an older Gears multiplayer match knows how hard it can be to get into. What often happens is that you queue up, you finally join, you run to cover and then you’re summarily blasted into pieces by a super-skilled player with a shotgun and get to be a spectator for a few minutes before repeating. In free-for-all, though, you can respawn a few seconds after being killed. Thus you can play a bit more reckless and experiment more, learning to use weapons you might normally try, or even going for melee kills just for the heck of it. Sure, you might not be the one who comes out on top in the end, but you’re not going to have to wait for long respawn timers or let down a team.

Even if you're a super seasoned Gears player you'll have a few new control changes to get used to in Judgment. While Epic hasn't messed with the now-iconic Active Reload, they have basically eliminated the need for you to use the D-pad. Switching between your two weapons has been moved to the Y button, and throwing grenades is now as simple as tapping the left bumper. As obvious as these changes sound to anyone who plays other competitive shooters on the Xbox, it's a bit odd to never reach awkwardly with your left thumb to switch beween your gear. It makes Gears combat feel a lot more flexible and makes reacting to different situations much easier, and fits perfectly with the amped-up pacing of free-for-all mode.

With many more modes yet to be announced, Gears of War: Judgment already looks like it has something for longtime fans and newcomers alike. Judgment releases March 19th, 2013.

Source : ign[dot]com

PAX: Gears of War: Judgment -- Free-for-All Madness

Normally, playing a match of Gears of War’s multiplayer involves taking a lot of cover. But in the recently announced free-for-all mode for Gears of War: Judgment, it just doesn’t work for me. When nine other players barrel down on me from every angle I find I become paranoid, constantly spinning around and looking for the next chaotic gunfight.

The average life in free-for-all Judgment match is short. With no teammates around to chase off a would-be executioner, you’re dead when you get downed (and in the case of the PAX build, you died immediately). Free-for-all matches thus end up making you feel much more vulnerable than you do in other Gears gametypes. No one is there to pick you up when you fall, and the other nine people are out for blood as much as you, so they aren’t going to watch your back or protect your flanks.

Maps have specifically designed for Judgment’s free-for-all mode as well. Unlike past Gears games, where they basically adapted various maps to whatever game mode you were playing, these maps have been tailored for 10 player insanity. If the match at PAX was any indication, they're also a bit smaller than you’d expect. The result is that you never go more than a few seconds without running into someone to shoot, and more often it’s the third player who rushes in to clean up two wounded fighters than scores big.

If you want to play team-based matches Judgment has those too, but free-for-all looks like the most approachable option for someone looking to learn Judgment’s mechanics. Anyone who’s hopped into an older Gears multiplayer match knows how hard it can be to get into. What often happens is that you queue up, you finally join, you run to cover and then you’re summarily blasted into pieces by a super-skilled player with a shotgun and get to be a spectator for a few minutes before repeating. In free-for-all, though, you can respawn a few seconds after being killed. Thus you can play a bit more reckless and experiment more, learning to use weapons you might normally try, or even going for melee kills just for the heck of it. Sure, you might not be the one who comes out on top in the end, but you’re not going to have to wait for long respawn timers or let down a team.

Even if you're a super seasoned Gears player you'll have a few new control changes to get used to in Judgment. While Epic hasn't messed with the now-iconic Active Reload, they have basically eliminated the need for you to use the D-pad. Switching between your two weapons has been moved to the Y button, and throwing grenades is now as simple as tapping the left bumper. As obvious as these changes sound to anyone who plays other competitive shooters on the Xbox, it's a bit odd to never reach awkwardly with your left thumb to switch beween your gear. It makes Gears combat feel a lot more flexible and makes reacting to different situations much easier, and fits perfectly with the amped-up pacing of free-for-all mode.

With many more modes yet to be announced, Gears of War: Judgment already looks like it has something for longtime fans and newcomers alike. Judgment releases March 19th, 2013.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

PAX: Halo 4 Updates Grifball and Oddball

If you've ever wanted to throw your skull before, you'll enjoy the changes planned for several multiplayer modes in Halo 4. 343 Industries announced today that players will be able to pass and catch the ball/skull/bomb in both Grifball and Oddball during its Halo panel at PAX.  This news comes a day after the announcement of Capture the Flag (CTF), and a new War Games map, Exile. Similar to allowing the flag carrier to carry a Magnum in CTF, you'll also be able to weild a pistol while carrying the ball in Oddball. Assassinations are also possible which apparently vaporzize your enemies.

Here's the two modes in action.

Both modes themselves are carry-overs from past Halo games, Oddball featuring classic "earn points each second you control the ball" gameplay, while Grifball arms players with Gravity Hammers and Swords in a bid to score points by carrying the ball to the other team's goal.

Including a weapon in CTF makes enough sense given how wide open t=most CTF-ready maps are, but I wonder about adding a pistol to the ball-carrier mix given the typically smaller-sized arenas best suited for Oddball. There's something about relying solely on melee attacks that's always balanced out the gameplay, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays (343 only showed the mode off via its presentation, it wasn't playable).

In case you missed it yesterday, here's what we thought of the new CTF mode.

Casey Lynch is Editor-in-Chief of IGN.com. Follow his non-sequitur ramblings about video games, '80s films and Protest the Hero on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

PAX: Halo 4 Updates Grifball and Oddball

If you've ever wanted to throw your skull before, you'll enjoy the changes planned for several multiplayer modes in Halo 4. 343 Industries announced today that players will be able to pass and catch the ball/skull/bomb in both Grifball and Oddball during its Halo panel at PAX.  This news comes a day after the announcement of Capture the Flag (CTF), and a new War Games map, Exile. Similar to allowing the flag carrier to carry a Magnum in CTF, you'll also be able to weild a pistol while carrying the ball in Oddball. Assassinations are also possible which apparently vaporzize your enemies.

Here's the two modes in action.

Both modes themselves are carry-overs from past Halo games, Oddball featuring classic "earn points each second you control the ball" gameplay, while Grifball arms players with Gravity Hammers and Swords in a bid to score points by carrying the ball to the other team's goal.

Including a weapon in CTF makes enough sense given how wide open t=most CTF-ready maps are, but I wonder about adding a pistol to the ball-carrier mix given the typically smaller-sized arenas best suited for Oddball. There's something about relying solely on melee attacks that's always balanced out the gameplay, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays (343 only showed the mode off via its presentation, it wasn't playable).

In case you missed it yesterday, here's what we thought of the new CTF mode.

Casey Lynch is Editor-in-Chief of IGN.com. Follow his non-sequitur ramblings about video games, '80s films and Protest the Hero on IGN and Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Doctor Who: "Asylum Of The Daleks" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

With a hero, plots and a series mantra that's all about unstable, unpredictable change, it's remarkable that Doctor Who has always been quite so consistent when it comes to punching above its weight.

So it's somewhat fitting that as we edge ever closer to the show's legendary 50th anniversary, showrunner Steven Moffat has issued the writing staff a mission statement to "slut it up with big, huge, mad ideas", and to "write each episode like a movie poster".

While we may have the return of the Weeping Angels, the 'there's-no-way-this-can't-be-amazing' "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", a Whovian-goes-Western approach to Cowboys vs Aliens, and the ever-impending departure of the Ponds all all awaiting us before Christmas, Moffat himself came up with the idea big, bold and suitably crazy enough to kickstart Series 7 (or 33, depending on your nerdiness) with a bang.

“

still full of vibrancy, surprises and stuffed full of nods towards the Time Lord's future

For an episode focusing on the Doctor's oldest enemy, The Asylum of the Daleks was still full of vibrancy, surprises and stuffed full of nods towards the Time Lord's future. But more on those - or more particularly, her - later.

This season's movie-esque MO lends itself to compressed storytelling, and so it didn't take long before Rory, Amy and The Doctor found themselves individually Dalek-napped, and transported to a parliament almost as terrifying as our own - an amphitheatre chock full of every incarnation of the Dalek the Doctor's ever seen.

The key twist this time? While exterminating was still on the cards, they needed the Doctor and his companions to do them a little favour first - hop down to The Asylum (an intergalactic prison housing their craziest and deadliest), and save their alien bacon.

In modern Who-terms, The Asylum of the Daleks was a triumph. Witty, crazy and with a heartfelt emotional streak throughout, it catered first and foremost to the characters we've come to love. Matt Smith flip-flopped between ice-cool menace (as 'The Predator') and chirpy, charming freneticism (as 'Chinboy') with now expectant ease, but with just five episodes left, Moffat cast the main emotional spotlight on Rory and Amy.

While the initial melodrama-bombshell of their impending divorce was a surprise enough, the revelation of its cause (damn you Demon's Run and your fertility discombobulating ways), and their inevitable reconciliation was pulled off with sincere, and genuinely moving aplomb by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.

The biggest surprise of all though? It wasn't the divorce, the brief adventures of Indiana Rory, the episode's The Thing-esque transforming sleeper Daleks, or the particularly 'scrambled' spin on the Dalek's catchphrase (we predict a few fanboys/girls ordering tomorrow's breakfast in a whole new way).

“

Doctor Who may be a show edging ever-closer to its TV Quinquagenary, but it's still one of the smartest, funniest and freshest sci-fis around.

Nope - in a world full of spoilers, plot-leaks and internet reveals, Moffat and co magnificently kept the arrival of the Doctor's new companion completely under wraps. Jenna-Louise Coleman's Oswin/Souffle Girl debuted with an electrifying bang - smart, sassy, somewhat of a genius, and mildly bi-curious, she nearly stole the show. Not only that, she had a pathos-driven, super-twist of an end to an origin story that leaves us guessing not only when but how she'll reappear. Oh, and as what. While the thought of a 'Doctor/dead Dalek spirit guide' odd couple dynamic fills us with nerdy glee, even Moffat's not that crazy.

We think.

In fact, the only downside to the episode was that - with so much of the above going on - the much-mooted 'every Dalek ever' smorgasbord was underwhelming in its brevity, and while they certainly seemed the scariest they've been in years, it felt less a tale about the Daleks than an adventure that just happened to have them in it. That said, we're intrigued to see where their mindwipe reboot leaves their relationship with the Doctor going forward.

Doctor Who may be a show edging ever-closer to its TV Quinquagenary, but it's still one of the smartest, funniest and freshest sci-fis around.

Case in point? Bring on the Space Dinosaurs.

Matt Risley is IGN's resident Doctor Who expert. Follow him on Twitter.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com