|
We team up and fight giant robots with our bare hands...and stack some colored blocks. 
It's hard to miss the developers donning bright red firemen hats, located off to the side of one of the halls at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo. Indie developer Firehose Games was busy recruiting people to jump in and play their upcoming PlayStation Network title, Slam Bolt Scrappers. Described as a combination of Super Smash Bros. and Puzzle Fighter, you and up to four friends can either team up and play through the campaign, or split off into teams of two and tackle each other.
As a scapper, your job is to punch these colored creeps that come from the sky, which gives you colored blocks to stack on top of one another in order to create weapons. Slam Bolt Scrappers doesn't need much of a premise to get you engaged in some hectic gameplay. In the campaign, you play cooperatively with AI teammates or real people if you can gather them (no online play has been announced yet). There are various different levels but the objective remains largely the same. You must punch the flying grubs that come from the sky and they'll drop colored pieces that makes it feel like you're playing Puzzle Fighter. You're stacking the same colored blocks to create two by two squares or anything larger. The bigger the square, the more powerful the weapon.
You use the X and Square buttons to punch, and you can button mash as much as you like. The circle button drops the piece that you're carrying onto your tower and the triangle button lets you discard it. To rotate, you use the shoulder buttons. It starts to get crazy when you're busy hitting things (or other people) and you begin to forget your main goal, which is to build up those weapons.
Each color determines what kind of weapon you'll get. The game will automatically use that weapon once you've created the square. For example, if you can stack a two by two tower of red blocks, it'll fire off a missile at whatever it is that you're fighting. In our case, it was a giant robot. If you're playing in the competitive mode, you'll be firing at the opposing team, who is also furiously working to build their tower of destruction. You can always fly over and punch them to steal their blocks, but if you die, you're out of the game for awhile but you can press a series of buttons that appear to get yourself back into the game.
Slam Bolt Scrappers is a bright, colorful four-player action game where you pick one of several goofy characters with silly hats, that have the ability to fly all over the screen. There is drop in drop out play, so it's easy for friends to jump in and play with you. There's also a beverage mode, which allows you to play the game with one hand while holding a drink in the other. Be sure to check back on our site for a demo of the game. Slam Bolt Scrappers is currently set to be released early next year.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Full Story: |
|
Sony shows off its arcade style action game for PlayStation Network at PAX 2010. 
Sony is showing off Eat Them!, a new PlayStation Network action game, at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo. The game is being developed by European developer Fluffylogic, who last worked on Savage Moon, and owes a bit to arcade classic Rampage as well as Sony’s own War of the Monsters. We had the chance to try out a very early version of the game which has a nice retro feel to it.
Eat Them! documents what happens when monsters go on a destructive tear in a city. At the moment that doesn’t involve anything too surprising for anyone who’s watched a Godzilla movie. Buildings are smashed, ant-sized people go running around screaming, the military tries to put a stop to things- you know, the usual. You’ll play as one of several monsters, each with their own unique attributes, who have to level everything around them within a time limit. Your arsenal of moves is almost exactly what you’d expect. You’ll be able to run, kick, and smash into the buildings around you to satisfying results. If the basics aren’t good enough for you, you can improvise by grabbing most anything and using it as a makeshift club. Your grab move can also be used to pick up the hysterical masses running at your feet which serve as tasty snacks that restore your health. Your arsenal of moves gets a technological boost courtesy of weapons bolted to your massive frame. While that all sounds well and good, Eat Them! offers the cool twist of a monster lab you can use to create your own unique critter of destruction. While the selection of monsters in the version of the game we played were fine, we have to say the option to create your very own freak of nature has a very special appeal- you can just never cram enough eyeballs on a misshapen head as far as we’re concerned.
We tried a brief sampling of missions in the game which are set in one of four themed environments that are laid out as pulpy 1950’s style comic books. The demo we played let us hop into the different books and choose a mission. We reckon the game will feature a linear progression that has you unlocking missions are you tear your way through the city. Your destructive stroll through the city conveniently yields cash that it appears you can use in the game’s shop to pick up some essentials. While we were only able to try single player in the version we played, Sony rep on hand noted that Eat Them! is set to include online multiplayer for four people which has the potential for a whole lot of fun.
Eat Them!’s presentation helps tie the comic theme together very nicely thanks to a clean cel shaded look. There’s some nice line work on the monsters that helps the unsettling details, such as teeth, eyes, tongues, piping and other parts of their anatomy, stand out. The city and industrial environments we had a look at were laid out tightly, offering plenty of opportunities for smashing and mayhem. The third person camera worked pretty well most of the time but required some minor adjustment when we were trying to line up some attacks on buildings or dealing with a helicopter.
Based on what we played, Eat Them! is funky little arcade-style title that looks very promising. There’s just something satisfying about running around destroying cities as a monster. The addition of custom monster creation, and online play to the classic ’smash everything’ formula makes Eat Them! a game that’s worth keeping a look out for when it releases on PlayStation Network this holiday. Look for more on Eat Them! in the coming months.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Full Story: |
|
We pull on our tennis shoes and take to the court to hit a few balls around in our first look at this motion-driven sports game. 
There is an unspoken rule in the video game development industry. All motion-sensing minigame compilations must include at least one title on the disc that simulates swinging a racket. Interestingly, despite this secret handshake, to date no publisher has stepped up to the service line to bring motion to a tennis game on current-generation hardware.
Virtua Tennis 4 marks the latest return of the long-running and much-loved franchise, and celebrates its 10-year anniversary by making the royal sport more interactive within your lounge room. The game supports both stereoscopic 3D technology and Sony’s Move camera-based peripheral, and you will be able to step into the shoes of some of the world’s biggest stars. Our brief hands-on with the title gave us the chance to take to the court in a match between Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
Walking onto the court--which appeared, at least for demo purposes, to be locked to clay and hardcourt surfaces--we looked around to admire our legions of adoring fans. The game’s 3D implementation looked reasonable, with the net protruding from the foreground. Leaping straight into the action, we spent our first game on the serving side, lobbing the ball into the air with a single wrist flick and using a quick downstroke to indicate we wanted it to rocket towards our opposition. Nothing in the basic service and returning mechanics should be foreign to anyone who has played Wii Sports previously. Faster wrist snaps from the peak of our arm arc put a bit more force into our serves, while an onscreen speed indicator gave us the chance to track how quickly we were getting it down the other end.
Our game included only the primary Move peripheral, with no Navigation (formerly called the Move Subcontroller) attachment present. As a result, we didn’t manually move our character around the screen as we would with an analog stick, but the game did a good job of automatically shifting our character to keep us within striking distance without cramping our style. Returning the ball was as simple as swinging as you would in real life, though we noticed that while late swings were punished by usually missing the ball, early arm extensions were much more forgiving, getting it over the net but missing the crucial power to make the other player really work for it.
Once we had nailed the timing, matches were slugged out from the baseline with neither player venturing towards the net. You will be able to get closer by simply taking steps towards the PlayStation Eye camera. Like in previous games in the Virtua Tennis series, the action is from a third-person perspective, though in this title, when you wind up for a shot, or attempt to return service, the game will drop into first-person mode with the racket becoming your only visible element as it hovers in midair.
Ironically, while the title represents a natural extension of the real-world abilities most people are likely to have experienced at some point in their life, the learning curve on returning balls felt a little bit steep. Advanced players will be able to add slice, backspin, and other tennis stroke mainstays simply by aiming in the intended direction and using the wrist movements associated with the shot
All of the gestures we used to play the game felt natural, though we are concerned about the potential to knock over household items around the lounge room or give doubles partners black eyes with errant flailing. Virtua Tennis 4 is currently slated for a summer 2011 release.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
We do the robot and kick our opponent into itty bitty pieces with a fresh look at the Mortal Kombat reboot. 
It seems like forever ago, but it was only in June this year that the world was given its first glimpse at the return of an old friend with the new Mortal Kombat. E3 gave us the chance to spill out first drop of blood, and what began as a nosebleed quickly developed into a full blown bloodbath. At Gamescom 2010 we got our second chance to pick up the controller and take some old favourite characters for a spin.
Our hands-on began with a presentation, a refresher of sorts for those who had seen the game previously, and a look behind the curtain at the design philosophy for those experiencing the game for the first time. Our guides from developer NetherRealm stressed the importance of them adhering to the look and feel established in arcades all those years ago when the game first launched. Where previously a handful of characters looked, and moved similarly, our demo team explained that each character now includes its own unique set of animations, as opposed to simply reskinning similarly playing characters with a differing model.
Each fighter will have two fatalities at their disposal in the final version of the game, and while we observed some familiar practices, like Johnny Cage ripping the head off his slain foes, new aspects have also been added to the mix to give it a fresh vibe. Publisher Warner Bros. revealed two new backgrounds to fight in front of at this year's show. Desert is a refresh of an old arena and is complete with rocky outcrops and swirling sands. Bell tower, originally featured in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 also makes its triumphant return in high definition glory.
You probably won’t spend much of your time ogling the backdrops as fists are exchanged, making the announcement of two more characters to the growing roster significantly more interesting than what’s going on behind the brawl. Cyrax and Kitana get in on the action, the former a robotic soldier employing technical wizardry tactics like bombs and nets, while the latter is all about air dashes and slashing with her blade-laden fan. Throwing the fan deals multiple hits and immobilizes the target for a follow up uppercut. Well-timed high and low punches and kicks are enough to take down an attacker, but the new super meter introduced in the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot adds some much needed nuance and micromanagement to fights. Two-versus-two matches allow you to tag in a second character, but does so at the cost of energy from your bar. The bar builds up as you deal damage and can be used sparingly, or dashed on an impressive combo. The brutal x-ray moves--performed by simultaneously tapping the right shoulder button and the trigger-- can easily demolish half a rival player’s health bar in one fell swoop. These moves are some of the most gruesome we've seen in a game yet, zooming right in as you destroy bones and organs from inside their owner’s body with an icy squeeze, or a devastating punch to the skull.
Even if you’re the one dishing out the pain, you’re likely to get dirty as blood sloshes around by the bucket load, drenching both the players as attacks connect. Persistent damage sees clothing rip, and wounds weep as the round continues.
Though we didn’t have the opportunity to see it running during our demo, the team did confirm its plans to offer stereoscopic 3D playback exclusively on Sony’s PlayStation 3 console. Details are still sketchy, but it’s clear that there are plans afoot for post-launch DLC by way of additional characters, so if your favourite isn’t already on the shipping roster, there’s a chance you may get to bring them into the game.
Mortal Kombat will be out on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Spring of 2011 and, at least from what we’ve seen of the title so far, appears to be a love letter to longtime series fans. The reboot marks a return to all the most requested aspects in a single tight package. Stay tuned for more details on this title in the coming months.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
We bowled, threw a Frisbee, and bust open some robotic heads with a ray gun in Nihilistic’s heroic character mash-up. 
If you’ve ever wondered what some of Sony’s most iconic video game heroes might do if they were thrown together in a development mish-mash, then wonder no more. Heroes on the Move takes characters like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper and Bentley, and gives them a colourful world full of Move enabled mini-games to play in. We hopped by Sony’s booth at Gamescom to take a look at the freshly unveiled game modes, and size up how well the motion controls work.
Heroes on the Move will contain a variety of different game modes, though we were only shown four of them at the show; Gun Control, Bowling, Disk, and Melee. Each of uses a different gameplay mechanic and motion controls, which can be applied to different levels in the game. Gun Control is a third-person shooter style mode, which is controlled using Move and the Navigation Controller. The thumb stick moves your character, while the pointer handles strafing and aiming. In the level we were shown, Clank had to destroy towers by collecting crystals, which were dropped by destroyed enemies. The level was timed, so the more towers Clank destroyed in the time limit, the greater the score. A nice touch was the inclusion of the light on the Move controller, which gradually turned red as Clank’s gun heated up, letting you know to ease off the trigger. At the end of each level you’re awarded a bronze, silver, or gold medal, based on your performance.
Bowling and Disk are projectile modes, which require you to destroy robotic heads scattered across a level. In bowling you throw a futuristic looking ball using a bowling motion, and attempt to hit enemies. The ball can be controlled after its been thrown by tilting the Move controller sideways. By navigating the ball through glowing power rings along its path, you also earn extra time and bonus points. Disk works on a similar principle; you throw a metal Frisbee-like disk using a throwing motion, and then control the disk in the air by tilting the Move controller.
The final mode we saw was Melee, which is similar to Gun Control, only this time you’re armed with a short-range melee weapon. In the level we saw, Sly Cooper was armed with his trademark staff, which he used to destroy enemies. His task was to collect orbs scattered around the level and bring them back to a central location. The more orbs you throw in at once, the more points you get. However, holding out for higher scores means more enemies attack you at once, making it difficult to get them back to the scoring zone.
With over 40 missions, several gameplay modes, and characters yet to be revealed, we’re expecting hear a lot more about Heroes on the Move soon. There’s also a story line, which was briefly mentioned in our presentation, involving a well-known villain from one of Sony’s games. Though many of the gameplay modes will appeal to casual players, developer Nihilistic seems keen to keep hardcore players entertained with the inclusion of shooting and melee combat. Heroes on the Move is due out in 2011 on PlayStation 3, look out for coverage from Cologne over on our GamesCom hub.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
Kazunori Yamauchi shows a few more features, including a pair that let players get creative and tactical. 
At this point, there's not really much left to be said about Gran Turismo 5. It's been in development for what seems like ages, but unlike most games with a curiously long production cycle it's not showing any reasons for concern. Quite the contrary, GT5 looks every bit the terrific racing sim that developer Polyphony Digital has become known for over the years. Instead, Gran Turismo 5's lengthy development seems to have resulted in a borderline absurd amount of content to be found in the game. From nighttime racing to NASCAR vehicles, we've seen a lot of what GT5 has to offer over the past few years, and with the impending release (hopefully) right on the horizon, we've just had a chance to see a few more bells and whistles here at GamesCom 2010.
First, there's the course maker. Game Director Kazunori Yamauchi was careful to avoid calling it a course editor, because to him that implies a barrier of entry on par with a 3D modeling program. If you're looking for a tool to lay your own asphalt and design billboards, this isn't it. Instead, the course maker is something that allows players select a variety of course parameters from drop-down menus and let the game randomly generate a track in line with those settings. You start with a theme, ranging from Tuscan countryside to Germany in the spring, and select time of day, weather, and whether you want a point-to-point rally track or a looping circuit. Then you get into the nitty gritty, selecting the number of sections, how many corners each section will have, and everything from sharpness of the turns to the width of the track to each section's bank angle. Then you hit the generate track button and the game spits out a course that fits your specifications. You can hit the button again as many times as you like until you get something perfectly suited to your liking. After all this, you can share your track with friends and race it against other players online.
One of the other notable features Kazunori showed was an expanded version of the B-Spec mode originally found in Gran Turismo 4. If you recall, B-Spec mode is essentially a driving management simulation. It's more or less the direct counterpart to A-Spec, the basic game mode that lets you get in the seat of the car and drive. The idea for this mode goes back to Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. The game was given that title because Kazunori intended to release Gran Turismo 3: B-Spec shortly after, a game that would use the same technology but focus on what it's like to manage your own racing team from the comfort of the pit. Obviously, that game was never released, which Kazunori attributed to a variety of technical hurdles they couldn't overcome. He said that B-Spec was included in GT4 as an experiment of sorts, but it's taken all the way until now for the two Spec modes to become perfectly balanced in terms of quality.
So what does all that talk mean, exactly? B-Spec gives you a fairly impressive suite of controls to manage a team of racers. You start with a single driver, but eventually build up your team to a maximum of six. During a race, you're shown a screen with a window of the live race flanked by a gaggle of meters, gauges, and numbers. There are gauges for your driver's current mental and physical staminas, as well as one that shows how agitated he is. These are factors that you as the manager control by giving him directions to up the pace, lower it, maintain it, or what have you. If he gets really hot under the collar, he might eventually ignore your directions and become more prone to accidents on the track. You can also see information such as current tire damage, and real-time averages of how every driver has been doing on every section of the track so you know when to plan your attack.
While B-Spec and the course maker were very much the focus of our demo, there were a few other features mentioned toward the end. For one, the photo mode we detailed at E3 will offer 3D support. Yes, you can take your cars, position them in a variety of tracks and showrooms, and then snap a photo that you can then gaze upon in three dimensions. We also saw a video of the kart racing in Gran Turismo, which if nothing else boasted the undeniably entertaining visual of drivers fully decked out in racing uniforms, shoes, and tinted helmets throwing their weight around the corners as they race in front of the Roman Coliseum. Kart racing seems like an odd addition to a series so known for supercars that push the boundaries of modern engineering, but it's certainly at least a sign of Polyphony's dedication to further fleshing out a collection of race types that already includes WRC and NASCAR.
Finally, this couldn't possibly be a Gran Turismo preview without revealing a handful of new cars and a track or two. We'll start with the cars. The theme with this batch of rides can be boiled down to one year: 1967. From that year there you'll find a Ford Mark IV, a Ferrari 330 P4, a Jaguar XJ13, and a Lamborghini Miura P4000 Bertone Prototype. Why that year? The 1967 Le Mans was a personal favorite of Kazunori's, as the Ferrari that won first, second, and third places in the Daytona earlier in the year was beat out by the underdog Ford. Rounding out out that list from a more modern era are the Zonda R '09, the Impreza Sedan WRX STI '10, Lexus IS F Racing Concept '08. And in terms of tracks, Kazunori announced Italy's Autodromo Nazionale Monza, or Monza for short. This track features few turns and ample straights, making it a good place for beginners to get a feel for revving their engines.
Gran Turismo 5 is currently scheduled for release on November 2. We've got our fingers crossed it makes that release, but in the meantime expect to see more coverage at next month's Tokyo Game Show.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
Crytek unveiled two multiplayer modes at Gamescom, so we went hands-on with them to see how long we could survive against the developers. 
While we’ve already seen New York city torn apart in Crysis 2, we’ve yet to get some hands-on time with the futuristic first-person shooter. However, at this year’s Gamescom developer Crytek let us loose on a new multiplayer build, allowing us to get a feel of the shooting, and experience humiliating defeat at the hands of the developers.
Before we were let loose on a map, we given some details about the multiplayer. The team behind it consists of over 70 people at Crytek UK, containing many of the same people that worked on the acclaimed Timesplitters. There will be six game modes, though we were only able to get our hands on two were unveiled; Team Instant Action and Alien Crash Site. While Team Instant Action is standard team-deathmatch fare, Alien Crash Site is a new twist on a capture-the-flag style gameplay. An alien ship fires a drop pod onto a location on the map. The two opposing teams then try and clear the drop site of hostiles, and then defend it from the other team.
Like the single-player, the multiplayer maps are set in a post apocalyptic vision of New York. The first is Rooftop Gardens, which is set on top of a skyscraper, giving you plenty of room to jump around and snipe enemies. The second is Impact, which is set in two buildings that have crashed together, creating a mish-mash of of stairwells and concrete rubble. Before each match you can choose to play as one of five preset classes, as well as build up customs ones. There are 80 ranks to work through, which Crytek estimates will take around 80 hours to unlock. You can also use nanosuit modules to customise your character, improving attributes such as agility and stealth.
We jumped into an Alien Crash Site match, playing as a regular solider. The first thing that struck us was the detail in the environment, with piles of rubble, broken walls, and a distant New York skyline line all visible from the rooftop. An marker let us know where the alien drop ship was about to deploy, which we could also see in the sky on the rooftop level. We headed down to the drop site, only to be greeted by a mass of aliens, ready to send us swiftly back to where we came from. Though AI controlled, the aliens acted intelligently, hiding behind cover, and flanking us to gain the advantage. Though we were able to dispatch them, the opposing team then appeared and promptly laid waste to our team.
After respawning we attempted to exact our revenge and headed back to the drop site. We took advantage of our nano suit’s special abilities, which were armor and stealth. Armor increased our defenses, allowing us to withstand long barrages of bullets, while stealth activated a Predator-style cloaking device. Both were powered by a limited energy supply represented by a small meter at the bottom of the screen, which recharged slowly as we played. As we made our way to the drop site, we how fast the game felt, allowing us to quickly spin around and take out multiple enemies. Shooting felt satisfying, with our rifle having a nice amount of recoil, requiring us to shoot in short bursts. The usual shooter mechanics of aiming down the sight, crouching to steady our weapon, and pistol whipping melee attacks were all present and correct, as well as an enhanced jumping ability which allowed us to jump higher and climb up ledges. None of this mattered though, as the superior abilities of the developers left us in constant pools of blood on the floor as we suffered the humiliation of defeat. Crysis 2 is our March 22 2011 in North America, and March 25 2011 in Europe. Check gamescom.gamespot.com for more of our coverage from Cologne.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
This "cover-based dungeon crawler" was playable at Gamescom 2010, so we headed behind closed doors to go check it out. 
Hunted: The Demon's Forge has progressed well following this year's E3 in Los Angeles, where a co-op section of gameplay was on show at the Bethesda booth. Today, just over two months later, the game is now entering its internal beta phase and is starting to come together, content wise. To celebrate, developer InXile brought a level to Gamescom and allowed us to play it first-hand.
The level in question takes place halfway through the game, as we took control of the warrior Caddoc while the AI took care of the elf archer E'lara. Running straight into combat, we found our weapons would quickly degrade, with impacts on the standard sword and shield meaning we had to replace our sidearms quickly. We also used Caddoc's magic to suspend enemies in mid-air while E'lara fired arrows at them.
Caddoc and E'lara are both played by what sound like British thespian actors, and the delivery is often quite tongue in cheek. E'lara, who herself is dressed in a ridiculously skimpy outfit, comments on one of her enemies' 'sluttiness'. InXile's Maxx Kaufman was on hand to explain how the developer is keen to turn the relationship between the two characters on its head, with E'lara keen to run headlong into combat while the more traditional warrior character Caddoc is much more cautious.
The other part of our short demo concerned the new side quests, which are completely optional, but will allow you to explore the back story of the game and improve your characters. You'll be able to find death stones scattered around the world, and when you find them, you can press a button to reach into the spirit world. In the one we saw, a ghost told us to collect the remnants of its bones, which had been scattered in the surrounding area. In this instance, we found them relatively quickly, but Kaufman told us it will be much trickier in the finished game, so you'll have to work to level up your characters.
Hunted: The Demon's Forge is being released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in spring 2011. For more on the game, be sure to check out GameSpot's existing coverage, including a preview from the recent QuakeCon event in the US.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
We went hands-on with a multiplayer build of Criterion’s cops and robbers racing game. 
Constant one-upmanship is the basis of Criterion’s first stab at the Need For Speed licence. Its Autolog feature tracks your friends’ progress, showing you their high scores and in which events they’re beating you, allowing you to challenge them in a constant battle for superiority. In a system similar to the news stream of Facebook, you can see what your friends are up to, pictures of cars they’ve uploaded, and videos of their best racing moments. The system even intelligently recommends what races to play based on this activity, creating a custom career experience for each player.
Though the social gameplay integration is intriguing, what matters most is how the cars handle on the track. We went hands-on with a multiplayer race against five opponents, without any police interference. To begin we picked a car, going for a rather splendid bright yellow Porsche Boxster. The race kicked off with the cars already at speed, with our opponents scrapping for first place. The car handling was arcade-style, with an an extremely satisfying drift mechanic that made it easy to slide round corners. Our car was equipped with a boost, which was charged by driving dangerously. By swerving round cars, drifting, and ramming our opponents the boost charged quickly, allowing us to make our way up to second place. Using the boost resulted in requisite motion-blur, which gave us a great feeling of speed as we sped along the track.
Though there were no cops around to hamper our racing efforts, we still had to deal with our rivals constantly ramming our cars and attempting to wreck it. We noticed bits of our car fly off when we were hit, with panels and paint work becoming more damaged. Fans of the Burnout series will recognise the ’wrecked’ animation, which shows your crash in horrifying detail in slow motion. While we weren’t able to race against cops, we were shown a demo which featured many an epic chase along a highway. This showed off more Criterion-style touches, in particular the slow motion and camera zooms which highlighted when the cops set up road blocks, or dropped stingers across the road. Other police tools we saw included helicopter units, and the police interceptor which was a supercar decked out in cop colours.
The final race Criterion showed us highlighted many of the graphical effects in the game. It started off on a rainy track, with realistic looking spray flying from the back of the tyres. This soon gave way to sunshine, and we could see reflections along the bodywork of the car. The race then transitioned to night time, with street lamps and moonlight creating a neon glow across the road. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is due for release on November 16 in North America, and November 19 in Europe. Head over to gamescom.gamespot.com for more of our coverage from Cologne.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
The game formerly known as Project Dust takes shape and reveals more of its god game mechanics. 
If you saw the Project Dust--now called From Dust-- trailer at E3, you were probably left scratching your head wondering what exactly it was that you were looking at. It was evident that the game had roots in the god game genre but to what extent wasn’t exactly clear until our demo of the game at this year’s Gamescom. We’ve seen how you’ll be able to manipulate the environment by grabbing and transplanting different elements of land, water, and fire scattered across an island. We’ve seen how indigenous tribes factor into the game and how you can use your powers to help, or seemingly hinder, them. But most importantly, we’ve seen what the ultimate goal is for this downloadable god game that will be released on XBLA, PSN, and other downloadable gaming services like Steam in March 2011.
Our demo started with a look at some of your basic abilities as a powerful entity capable of manipulating the very earth that people walk on in a tropical-like setting. By simply moving a circular icon over a stretch of sand and pressing the trigger on an Xbox 360 controller, producer Guillame Brunier picked up a massive ball of sand and moved it around the environment by pressing the analog stick in various directions. He did the same with water (where he glided over the ocean with a massive ball of sea water) and with lava (by venturing to a nearby volcano). Later, we got to see him pick up some vegetation and then coat a nearby barren hillside with trees and bushes. The point of all of this was to show us how actions can physically change the environment. If you were to pick up a ball of sand near an area that was acting as a small dam between two bodies of water, then the water in the higher area would come spilling out. If you take a ball of lava and drop it in the water, it cools and becomes rock. Likewise, if you take lava and drop it on some vegetation, then nearby trees will catch on fire.
There seems to be some great fun in just messing around with the world in From Dust, figuring out how to change the landscape with a few button presses. But it all becomes a bit more serious when we see a message on the screen that tells us a shaman in a nearby tribe predicts the arrival of a tsunami. The only way this particular tribe can save itself from the massive tsunami is by sending someone to a shrine that will protect this particular village--only problem is, the tsunami is close (as indicated by a meter at the bottom right side of the screen that’s getting shorter) and the human running to the shrine may have trouble getting there.
This is where the god game aspects of From Dust really come into play. You can make it easier for the island resident to get to the shrine by creating small land bridges out of sand that you can take from the dunes. On her way back from the shrine (as the tsunami draws even closer), it’s possible to speed things up even further by basically flooding the land underneath the islander and having her float her way back down to the main village. Of course, doing so seems to risk potential catastrophe with the islander drowning and then the tsunami taking out the entire village, but for the purposes of this demo, she happens to make it.
Once she’s back, the islanders place the shrine down in the center of town as they begin playing musical instruments and start dancing in place. Just as it seems the massive tsunami is about to obliterate the entire village, it begins to circle around, avoiding it entirely, but causing massive ripples of water throughout the rest of the environment. The village is spared and you’re allowed to mess around with a new power--one that gives you the ability to freeze water. Every time you discover and save a shrine, you’re granted a new ability in From Dust, but just what those other abilities are at this point isn’t entirely clear. Shrines (and other objects) can also be found by digging for them in the sands or uncovering them through other methods.
Ultimately, any powers you earn will come as a result of engaging in the games main objective--the safe migration of tribes to other islands and their survival when faced with natural disasters. But it’s worth pointing out that all natural disasters aren’t necessarily a bad thing in From Dust. That tsunami that nearly wiped out an entire village would prove useful against a massive fire that might appear later in the game. Similarly, animals you come across in the game might prove useful to the villagers, but then again, they might start attacking them too.
Clearly, there’s more to From Dust that what we’ve seen so far, but what we’ve seen has already roused fond memories of games like Populous. Ubisoft says the game is essentially a simulation of life and therefore little changes can affect things in profound ways, but we’ll be interested to see just how non-linear that makes the experience. We’ll have more on From Dust in the coming months before its March 2011 release.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
We check out the new Guerrilla Warfare and Operation modes from Guerrilla’s futuristic squad-based shooter. 
Yes, Killzone 3 is a great looking game, but what does it feel like to play? Developer Guerrilla was showing off two new multiplayer modes at Gamescom 2010, both of which add a unique twist to familiar gameplay ideas. A host of improvements have also been implemented under-the-hood, with Guerrilla promising a re-written matchmaking system, better bots, and improved integration with Killzone.com.
The first of the new modes is called Operation. Its a story driven affair, which promises to give ’five minutes of fame’ to competitors online. Our hands-on began with a short cut-scene, which explained the premise of the match. In our match we had to defend the entrance to a silo, which had two highlighted areas for planting explosives on it. The opposing team came at us in full force, so we had to take tactical positions on a rickety looking staircase to see them off. Though we were unable to try it in our demo, Guerrilla promised an improved voice chat system, which intelligently prioritises team talk, allowing you to easily get the upper hand on the opposition.
During our firefight we noticed that the controls have been tuned considerably, with character movement feeling faster; it’s not Modern Warfare fast by any means, but it does answer some of the fan feedback that called out the sometimes sluggish feel of the characters. Our match was suitably actions filled, with the opposing team throwing grenades, wrecking all kinds of havoc on our defense. Sadly, we lost our battle and the silo doors were blown wide open. Interestingly, any destroyed objectives remain that way for the remainder of that match, so you always have visible evidence of your success or failure. Once an objective has been completed, a new cut scene begins highlighting your new tasks, which features the top individual player’s characters from the previous round.
The second mode we played was Guerrilla Warfare, which is a form of team deathmatch. The emphasis is on close quarters combat, and a new spawn point system has been implemented. Scattered around each map are way points indicating potential spawn points. We were able to run up to these and capture them, allowing us to spawn much closer to the enemy when killed. Of course, these easily be captured by the enemy as well, so there is an element of strategy involved in deciding which points to take and which to defend. This mode also allowed us to check out some of the improved character classes. There are five in total, with six weapons and abilities on offer for each class. They are Tactician, Infiltrator, Engineer, and Marksman. We tried our hand at Field Medic, which has been substantially overhauled. One of the Field Medic’s new abilities is the Minidrone, which is a small that you can launch in a match. It follows you around, helping to defend your character while you heal others. It also has the ability to revive you when on the verge of death, which proved extremely useful during our play through. However, it only works for a limited time, so well timed Minidrone launches are key to making though a battle alive.
Though we weren’t able to try them out, exoskeletons and improved jet packs are now available to use in the multiplayer. In a video were were shown we exoskeletons being used to mow down several enemies with ease, firing off hundreds of rounds of bullets at once. They’re not entirely infallible though, and we saw some well placed sniper shots take out the pilots of them swiftly. The jet packs have increased vertically, allowing you to fly much higher and pick off enemies from afar. Other additions included an increased ranking system to level 45, over 100 medals, and a round-based ribbon system. The often brutal melee kills from the single-player have transitioned over to the multiplayer, allowing you to stab your opponents in the eyes, or slice their throats at will.
Killzone 3 looks great, and the Phyrrus City map we played was full of detail. The destroyed urban environment was littered with open roads, wrecked buildings, and plenty of tight corridors for close encounters action. Killzone 2 was a graphical showpiece for the PlayStation 3, and even at this stage its sequel is looking to live up to the same standards. Killzone 3 is due for release February 2011. Keep reading GameSpot for more Gamescom coverage over on our dedicated hub.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
Cole MacGrath makes his first public playable appearance at Gamescom 2010 in Germany, where a new demo also shows him facing off against a huge enemy in a new section from the game.
Gamescom 2010 is the first chance that the general public will have had to go hands-on with Infamous 2, in a section from E3 in Los Angeles. Behind closed doors, Sony was also offering members of the press a glimpse at a new section of the game. The section, which takes place in the game's new location of New Marias, sees Cole starting out in the city swamps, before fighting a barrage of enemy reapers and ultimately meeting the monstrous revenger, a huge new enemy for Infamous 2.
The new section of gameplay we saw was finished by developer Sucker Punch just a few days ago, so it's the latest build of the game yet seen. It showed Cole wielding his new melee weapon, the amp, which is a pair of metal batons that he electrifies by transferring his super electric powers to them. After beating off a procession of reapers and demonstrating the game engine's impressive new level of destructibility, Cole faced off against a giant new enemy called the revenger.
The revenger is a mutant enemy borne out of New Marias' swamps, which have mutated their victims to a hideous degree. The revenger charged at Cole and threw cars at him, so it was good for Cole that he now possessed the ability to fling cars back using his electrical powers. This was just one of the new super powers that Cole will possess in Infamous 2, with more being revealed in the run up to the game's release.
Following a somewhat negative response to the revised look of Cole from fans, developer Sucker Punch has changed the design of its lead character to make him much more recognisable. That said, Cole will be voiced by a new lead actor, Eric Ladin--a performer so versatile that he's also providing the motion capture for the character. The resulting revision means that Cole is looking both reassuringly familiar and more agile than ever, and we can't wait to find out how Cole 2.0 handles.
The demo we saw was only on show behind closed doors at Gamescom, but it will be revealed to the public at this year's Penny Arcade Expo. For more on Infamous 2, be sure to check out all of the previews on GameSpot, and to see it in action, watch the multiple trailers for the game on the site.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
Insomniac guides us through a demo of its newly unveiled co-op Ratchet game. 
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One was unveiled last night at Sony's Gamescom 2010 press conference. There are two big features that separate this Ratchet from previous games in the series. For one, it's the first title to come from Insomniac's offshoot North Carolina studio, which the developer opened up in early 2009. But more importantly, All 4 One will give you the chance to play through a Ratchet game with co-op supporting up to four players. We just had a look at this new spin on the series courtesy of Insomniac, which gave us a chance to learn quite a bit more about it than what we had gleaned from last night's press conference.
All 4 One's playable cast of characters includes Ratchet, Clank, Quark, and Dr. Nefarious. The story does its part to explain why these four need to team up with one another, but according to studio director Chad Dezern, they also want to play up the tensions among this motley crew based on their past conflicts. Dezern describes the result as "cooperative with a competitive edge" and a friendly level of "spite and mean-spiritedness" underscoring the basic theme of working together.
Taking a look at the game for the first time, the most visible change, aside from four player-controlled players on the screen, is the new camera system. The action is framed using an isometric view that will move along in pre-scripted pans and sweeps as you progress through the game. Dezern describes this as a sort of director camera that lets the development team merge story moments more seamlessly into the gameplay by focusing the shot on what they want to show at any given moment.
Most of the demo we saw, which was set in a level called Planet Magnus, featured the co-op quartet running around blasting enemies with a variety of new and familiar weaponry. There's the vacuum gun that lets you pick up and launch enemies or teammates, and melee combat is unique for each character (so, for example, Quark's Fists of Justice will feel different from Ratchet's wrench). But every so often the team would encounter a scenario that made them work a little more closely. These included the four-man rope swing you can pull off with the slingshot gun to cross gaps; the four-man jump into a cannon to launch across the level; and synchronized skydiving in a wind tunnel.
After the demo concluded, we asked Dezern a couple of questions about issues that typically go hand-in-hand with co-op games of this nature. One was about the issue of griefing your own teammates. If you've ever played New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you know that co-op platformers have a tendency to make other players feel like enemies just as often as they feel like teammates. Dezern said that they definitely still want to let players have fun with each other, including picking people up and throwing them from ledges and racing toward rare weapons that pop up from time to time, but the game still heavily incentivizes teamwork in a number of ways. Among these is a point system that rewards you for helping each other out with new unlockables.
Then there's the issue of visual clutter. We asked Dezern what they're doing to minimize the amount of visual chaos that could crop up when you take a colorful game and quadruple the number of players. He said this is something they've definitely been keeping an eye on, and the main solution they've settled on is making sure the characters stand out from the background. This has been done by specially tuning the series' usual visual flourishes for fast-moving objects, adding a color outline to characters, and even redesigning the character models a bit to make them more easily identifiable from one another.
Altogether, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One is definitely looking like an intriguing step forward for the series. But like any co-op game, it's hard to really get a good sense of what to expect until you pick up that controller and become one of the team. Hopefully we'll have the chance to do that soon.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
We played around with the latest version of Sony's free-to-air TV application to find out how it's going social.
Sony's PlayTV is just one of the many ways with which Sony has broadened the appeal of its PlayStation 3 in Europe. Alongside Vidzone, the music video streaming platform, BBC iPlayer, the British broadcaster's catch-up service, and the upcoming indie cinema portal Mubi, PlayTV offers owners the chance to view and record television programmes from services such as Freeview in the UK. Now, the next step is for the makers of the device from Sony's Cambridge studio to take the software into the social space.
The latest version of the PlayTV interface will allow you to share your thoughts and recommendations with the world right from the PlayStation 3. When you're watching a programme, you can create a private, public, or invite-only chat room and use text chat to air your thoughts on the current show to up to 63 other people. You can also recommend programmes to your friends either on the PlayStation Network or over Facebook. It's the logical next step for consumers who post their thoughts online during live programmes such as the X-Factor, only this removes the need for a laptop or mobile phone.
We got a hands-on with the new interface at Sony's pre-Gamescom press conference, and while the closed network at the event limited the scope of the new social features, we were impressed with what we saw. Sony project manager Anja Liebl walked us through the new options in the familiar PlayTV menu system, which she stressed will only be accessible to those aged 16 and older. If you start a chat session, the current programme is shrunk to about two-thirds of its original size so that messages can be displayed down the left of the screen. You can, however, go back into full screen at any time, and if the idea of typing a message on the DualShock 3 pad turns you off, you can also plug in a standard USB keyboard.
You can also recommend anything you've enjoyed within a couple of button presses. If you recommend an episode of a show to friends, they'll receive a message in their PSN inbox with an attachment, and if they click the attachment, PlayTV will start and they'll jump right into the show. If they get the message late, then they'll have the option to set up a scheduled recording of the next episode of the show. You can also shout about your great taste on the social network Facebook. Sadly, no Twitter support will be built into the first version of the Live Chat software, but it's something that Liebl admits Sony is looking into.
One of the other cool social features is being able to crowd source the most popular programmes using the data from the network. There's an option in the main menu to check out the most watched programmes, so you can get a feel for what people are enjoying right now, as well as the programmes with the most scheduled recordings, so you can see what they're looking forward to. Of course, it then only takes a couple of seconds to watch the current most popular content or schedule in recordings of your own.
On top of this, a new series link feature will be enabled for UK users of the new PlayTV software, meaning that you can automatically have the PlayStation 3 record every episode of your favourite show. This is a big deal for Sony, as it satisfies one of the most requested features for the device since its launch. Sadly, the UK won't be able to receive high-definition broadcasts thanks to Freeview's decision to use satellite transmission technology, but HD will still be watchable on PlayTV in Spain, France, and Australia.
PlayTV Live Chat Edition won't be free, sadly. You'll have to pay a small premium for the update, according to Liebl. It will be compatible with all PlayTV hardware already out there, but Sony is considering whether it will issue a new bundle to herald in the first major revision to the software. We can't wait to check out the upgraded interface in action on a wider network, so check back with GameSpot toward the end of the year when Play TV Live Chat edition is scheduled to go live.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
These adorable blocky-headed characters take to the skies in the latest entry in the MySims series. 
MySims has made quite an impression on the Nintendo Wii and has now made the leap forward to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This series has taken what people love most about sims (customization) and placed the wide-eyed, goofy characters into a setting that is suitable for a younger audience. Previous games have focused on exploration and gathering clues and items, and MySims Skyheroes continues that trend, but what has changed is that it is now a full-fledged action game. You'll be responsible for piloting your own customizable plane, doing barrel rolls, and firing at other MySims in the skies. We went to visit EA in Redwood Shores to see how this new entry into the series is shaping up.
The MySims games have always looked good on the Wii, but now on the Xbox 360, the game is much more vibrant. With all the action happening onscreen, it is also much more hectic than what you may have been used to. In the single-player campaign, you play as a pilot who has crash-landed on an island and lost his memory. Luckily, you're picked up by fellow pilots, and you learn that these people are part of a rebel group that is waging a war against the evil Morcubus (the nefarious villain in all MySims games). Morcubus is trying to take over the skies to prevent anyone else from flying, so you and your band of merry men are trying to recruit others to join your cause and fight back. Through 42 missions in 12 different environments, you'll soar through the areas collecting power-ups and trying to complete the mission with the best score possible. The game is also set up so that you can't really fail, but you will be rewarded for better performance. There are plenty of things to unlock, such as upgradable parts for your plane. Depending on your playing style, you can add parts that extend the range of picking up power-ups, upgrade your machine gun, or boost those power-ups. Part of the fun is experimenting, and there looks to be plenty of pieces and paint to make sure that your plane is the most unique one out there.
Familiar MySims characters will also return, like DJ Candy and Buddy, but EA has also thrown in some special guests, like Isaac Clark from Dead Space, Morrigan from Dragon Age, Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem from Army of 2, Commander Shepard from Mass Effect, and many others that you'll encounter through the game. Since your MySim will be sitting in a plane for the majority of the game, you are limited to customizing the head gear and facial features. Don't worry, though--there's a wide assortment of fun hats to choose from, so there's plenty of room to experiment.
In Quick Play mode, there are two styles of play: dogfighting and racing. There is split-screen multiplayer so you can play with a friend on the same console and face up to eight other AI opponents on the Xbox 360 and PS3. On the Wii, the maximum number of players is six. If you're on your own, you can go online and play cooperatively or against other players. EA wanted the game to be cross-generational, so parents can team up with their kids to play cooperatively. For those looking for a challenge, there are three difficulty settings to choose from. In these dogfighting or racing arenas, you'll have plenty of power-ups to pick up to try to wreak as much havoc as possible. Portable boost pads, radar jammers, and giant laser attachments are just some of the things you can pick up and use temporarily.
MySims Skyheroes looks to bridge that gap between kid-friendly games and action games that require a bit more coordination. Skyheroes is very forgiving, since it comes with autolocking and there's no damage taken when you plow straight into a volcano. It does give younger players a chance to do fancy maneuvers and shoot down other planes in a fun environment. Look for MySims Skyheroes when it is released on September 28.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
id Software shows off a bit more of its upcoming action game and confirms a release date for September 2011. 
The 2010 QuakeCon event is still going strong in the spacious halls of the Dallas Hilton Anatole, and that means panels, special presentations, and lots and lots of cheap applause in exchange for free T-shirts. One of the most exciting presentations at the show so far has been today's special demo of id Software's Rage, which was shown in the grand ballroom not only on three distinct monitors, but on three different platforms. The leftmost monitor ran the PS3 version of the game, the center monitor ran the PC version of the game, and the rightmost monitor ran the Xbox 360 version of the game (which, incidentally, crashed once).
The idea behind the simultaneous triple demonstration was to show the level of visual quality on all three versions of the game as being comparable while id staff played through the exact same areas, and to the game's credit, all three versions looked virtually identical on a big screen from a seat several rows back, even though we know there will, in fact, be real differences between them (in John Carmack's keynote address this year, the technical officer cited that the console versions of Rage won't have antialiasing on the level of the PC version, for instance).
The demonstration briefly touched on desert exploration--very similar to the content we covered in the press demo at last year's QuakeCon--as well as a visit with the inhabitants of Wellspring and also a sewer battle against the Ghost Clan, a faction of pale-skinned, acrobatic bandits, both being areas we covered at Bethesda's press event this past May.
The demonstration ended with a brief visit to a brand-new area called Dead City, which has been overrun by vicious mutants and from which no one has ever returned. According to lead designer Tim Willits, you visit the area in the game as part of a mission that requires you to scour the zone for some sort of evidence, though as we saw, you'll be in for a fight here. The entrance to Dead City looks like a bombed-out business district, with flattened skyscrapers bent around a shattered freeway overpass, and the rubble offers many places for nasty monsters to hide.
At first, we were attacked by the scrawny, club-wielding mutants we'd seen in last year's demonstration in the Mutant Bash TV area--these weren't much of a threat, and a shotgun shell or two put each of them down rather easily. However, a new group of these little nuisances popped up from another pile of rubble, supported by a much larger mutant carrying what appeared to be an enormous backpack-mounted grenade launcher, which was carried two-handed like a minigun. We kept our distance from the brute, which worked out just fine for it, since it periodically lobbed an explosive round in the air to come raining down on our head. We watched the id staffers skillfully dispatch the lesser mutants and then pull out an assault rifle and shred the grenade launcher mutant with concentrated fire.
Just when we thought it was safe to take a breath, an even bigger mutant the size of a high-rise came marching out from behind a fallen office building and let out a fearsome roar. The screen then faded to the Rage logo, but the crowd at the presentation apparently liked what they saw and erupted into thunderous applause, second only to the applause they let out when Willits again took the stage and announced, for the first time in id Software's illustrious history, an actual final release date for one of its games: a US ship date of September 13, 2011, and a European ship date of September 15, 2011, for Rage.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
Codemasters is promising to improve Operation Flashpoint across the board in Red River, as we found out on a visit to the studio.
Last year's Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising was a success for publisher Codemasters--released in a busy end-of-year period, it still managed to score a number two position in the UK charts. Now, the same team is back with Red River, which is currently halfway through development and being prepped for release on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011. Though it will still be a faithfully realistic shooter, the team in Leamington Spa, UK, is taking a slightly new direction with this entry in the series, applying a cool new visual aesthetic to the game while also aiming to make it more accessible. We found out how it was all coming together on a recent trip to see the studio, meet the talent behind the game, and see it in action.
Our session started with Red River's Creative Director Sion Lenton laying out his plans for the game. "We want to offer a personalised vision of conflict," he said, before demonstrating his vision by showing clips from The Hurt Locker, Generation Kill and Jarhead. Lenton, who also worked on Dragon Rising, is keen to reinterpret the word 'realism' with this game, moving from the clinical sterility of what you'd see in a Jane's manual to the dusty, broken-down reality of the modern battelfields of Iraq and Afghanistan. This means that guns, vehicles and clothing in the game have been modified by the soldiers, who are fighting against the degradation of their equipment caused by the environment. Magazine clips will have tape wrapped around them, vehicles will have posters of girls adorning their walls, and vests will be modified to carry iPods and other consumer electronics devices.
Dragon Rising's fictional open world of Skira was a technical accomplishment, but this time around, Lenton and his team are placing the theatre of war in a more realistic light. First of all, it's a real location in the form of Tajikistan-- a country in Central Asia close to China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. As with other Operation Flashpoint games, Red River will take place in the not-too-distant future, with a number of Afghani insurgents having made their way into the country. The US move their forces in to try and control the problem, but with the conflict happening on their doorstep, the Chinese People's Liberation Army begins to take notice. You once again play as an American soldier caught up in the conflict, and the single-player campaign will focus on three acts that see you first entering the country and holding the insurgents, "getting your arse kicked", according to Lenton, and then launching a counterattack that "levels Tajikistan to the ground".
The location itself may only be about the same physical size as Skira was in Dragon Rising, but it promises to be much more varied in terms of scenery. The country declared independence from the Soviet Union in the early 90s, but much of the architecture remains, giving the buildings a striking look against the dusty desert backdrops. The country is also surrounded by huge mountains, making an imposing background, with some of them snow-capped as well. "Our engine loves this kind of s**t," boasts Linton, nodding to Codemaster's own in-house Ego engine that's powering the game.
The entire campaign will be playable co-operatively, with each player able to pick one of four classes. The Rifleman has a tool for every job and acts as the best all-rounder of the group. The Grenadier was described as a "brick s**t house" who carries the first shotgun seen in an Operation Flashpoint game. The Scout is able to pick off targets with his long-range weaponry. The Auto Rifleman is able to support the other classes by laying down suppressive fire. All four players can theoretically play as the same character class, too, and though that might not make for the most balanced team, it means you're not forced to perform a specific role.
Our time at the studio also allowed us to see individual departments' additions to the game. The visual aesthetic that's being applied to Red River is particularly interesting, in that the team is looking to recreate modern warfare as captured by the people on the ground, and then consumed by people back home through platforms such as YouTube. This has resulted in menu screens that will have intentional visual artefacts such as hot pixels and lens abberations, while close proximity explosions will damage the picture, almost as if they've ripped a cable out of the back of your TV. It doesn't appear as if Codemasters is going to go as far as IO Interactive has with Kane & Lynch 2, but Lenton admits, "we want it to look glitchy".
On the multiplayer side, Lenton wants to expand on what the team achieved in Dragon Rising and include as many different modes as possible. He talked about a defensive mode called Last Stand, and Combat Sweep, where you and your team have to flush out all enemies from a defensive location. There will also be a Convoy mode where you have to escort a moving target, as well as simple Search & Rescue. Rather than re-using locations from the single-player game, the multiplayer will have its own dedicated area of Tajikistan in the bottom right of the map. The progression, however, will be consistent between single and multiplayer, meaning you can always be earning XP to upgrade your soldier.
The Operation Flashpoint series has made a name for itself as one of the most realistic on the market, and Red River promises to be the most brutal game in the series yet. One big improvement is in the human damage model--we were shown a technical demonstration of wounds that can be applied to soldiers. They can have separate parts of their body blown off, with the flesh becoming charred right down to the bone. Thankfully, the team is also aiming to make this the most accessible Flashpoint ever, with a new command tree system that groups orders by type and is context sensitive depending on where you're looking. So, if you're aiming at a target you want to attack, it should be easier than ever to tell your teammates exactly what you want them to do.
It's still relatively early days for Red River, but already it's looking like an improvement on last year's game. The development team employs what it calls an 'agile sprint' development system, which means that art assets are regularly delivered from a dedicated team in Kuala Lumpur, and builds can improve dramatically in the space of a few short weeks. The game is currently scheduled for release in 2011 on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and we'll hopefully be able to bring you an updated look in the run-up to release.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
We get cleared for takeoff (and our clocks cleaned) in co-op and competitive multiplayer for this upcoming flight combat game. Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
Defend Little Sisters in the latest downloadable content for BioShock 2. 
If you liked the parts of BioShock 2 where you defend the Little Sister from a swarm of splicers as she attempts to harvest ADAM from a corpse, you're in luck. The next round of downloadable content--called the Protector Trials--focuses exclusively on these encounters from BioShock 2, forcing you to outwit and outlast the Little Sisters' assailants in six confined environments. Each of these environments is based on an area from the original game, such as the Adonis Baths, and each has three trials that are denoted by a different number of stars. When you successfully complete one of these trials, you earn the corresponding number of stars, which can then be used to unlock additional trials.
[ Watch Video ] Watch a Big Daddy fend off splicers in this demo of the Protector Trials.
Naturally, there's one caveat for these trials--you must complete them using predetermined loadouts that are customized around a certain type of gameplay. For example, one loadout might focus on hacking, which in turn won't give you much in the way of raw firepower. Another loadout might focus on traps, giving you access to proximity mines, the rivet gun (with trap rivets), as well as the cyclone trap and electro bolt plasmids. You'll even encounter a trial that focuses specifically on your skill with a Big Daddy drill. At any rate, there are icons that show what you have access to before the start of the trial, so you know what you're getting into before it starts.
The idea behind these predetermined loadouts is to change and adapt your play style to what's available, so if you rush into these trials thinking you can rely on a single strategy that got you through BioShock 2, it'll be tough. One way to make it easier is to not place the Little Sister down at the corpse to start harvesting right away. This gives you an opportunity to scout the layout of the level, checking out potential splicer entry points as well as getting an idea of where the ammo and health vending machines are located. This is absolutely vital, because the last thing you want is to run out of ammunition or health in the middle of a splicer rush. Once you feel comfortable with the setup and you're sure that you have all of your defensive measures in place, you can set the Little Sister down and start the party.
In the trial we experienced in the Adonis Baths, the preparation time was crucial. We took a few minutes to place trap rivets along a path we thought the splicers would take to get to the Little Sister, found an optimal defensive position, and then began harvesting. Aside from making effective use of plasmids and weapons, we observed--for this trial--that it was a better idea to maintain a defensive position close to the Little Sister. All too often we were tempted to run off and continue killing splicers on the other side of the area, which then left our Little Sister vulnerable to attack. This not only increased our chance of losing the trial, but also hurt our score.
Scoring in the Protector Trials is determined by how long the Little Sister can harvest without being attacked--the longer she can drain ADAM uninterrupted by splicers, the higher the scoring multiplier becomes and the quicker she extracts ADAM. It's also worth mentioning that you earn money (which you can use to purchase ammo and health) for every splicer you kill. Of course, completely protecting the Little Sister is much easier said than done, particularly when you're reaching the end of the trial and the stronger enemies, like the Brutes, come rushing in and draw your attention away from her. But if you're successful in fending them off and completing the trial, you're greeted with a completion screen that shows you the total amount of ADAM harvested as well as a rating--C,B,A or A+--based on your performance. There are also new pieces of concept art and deleted scenes to unlock as well as new achievements and trophies to earn for completing trials.
BioShock 2: Protector Trials is currently scheduled for release on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and PC on August 3.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
What’s not to love? It’s like Super Smash TV but with zombies.
People never get tired of shooting zombies. There’s just something about these grotesque, rampaging, once-human creatures that make it so easy to kill. Dead Nation is a PlayStation exclusive game that pits you and a friend against the zombie masses. The controls take a little getting used to, but once you have the dual analog stick thing down, it’s hard to pry yourself away from the game.
Who’s Making It: Dead Nation is being developed by the people who made Super Stardust HD.
What It Looks Like: The game is viewed from a three quarter top-down perspective as you run around and fire anything an endless stream of bullets into the undead. The area we played in put us in a dark, garbage infested alley, which was crawling with zombies of all shapes and sizes. Eventually we were led to what looked like a run down gas station with overturned cars decorating the cluttered streets. It’s gritty and what you’d expect from a zombie shoot em up’lots of blood and severed limbs.
What You Do: You shoot zombies with a variety of weapons that can be upgraded. A virus has spread through the human population leaving you and one other friend (if you decide to play cooperatively) to face the horde alone.
How It Plays: You control your character with the left analog stick and use the right analog stick to aim your laser sight. The R1 button is to fire and the L1 button is used to lob grenades, which comes in handy against big clusters of angry undead. You can melee with the R2 button and do a rush attack with the L2 button. Zombies like to come in clumps, so you’ll likely have to fall back when they start to swarm, unless you have enough grenades handy to disperse them.
What They Say: Do you have what it takes to resist this Dead Nation?
What We Say: Yes we do! We enjoyed our brief time with zombie nation and we’re looking forward to teaming up with a buddy cooperatively to reduce the zombie population. There will be online leaderboards and a way to track your kills so you can work with other players across the country to see how well you’re doing against the zombie virus. Look for Dead Nation when it is released later this year.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
We put on our alchemy hats and start mixing things up in Gust's latest role-playing game for the PlayStation 3. 
The Atelier series makes the transition to the next-generation console with Atelier Rorona, a role-playing game that blends turn-based combat with synthesis and is set in a simple world with a cast of quirky characters. It is also the first in the series to feature 3D graphics, so you'll be able to wander the streets of Arland, as well as the lush areas nearby to gather the ingredients needed for your alchemy session. As with previous games, it centers around the use of alchemy, and there's combat thrown in just to make things a bit more difficult when you wander out into the real world.
Atelier Rorona is set in the peaceful kingdom of Arland, which is isolated from the rest of the more "advanced" world. The citizens lead a simple life, at least up until a traveler comes by to teach them how to use ancient relics known as "machines." Life for Arlanders change after that, and the king grants the influential visitor a single wish, which allows him to start his own alchemy workshop. Many years later, the workshop is now run by a young girl named Rorona and her master, Astrid, who has a tendency to nap her days away and neglect anything of importance. You play as the simpleminded Rorona, who is basically an indentured servant, but Astrid treats her as her star pupil. She promptly forces Rorona to take over the workshop when they are given notice that the workshop will be closed if they can't get their act together and run the place properly.
The premise of the game is to keep your shop open, and you have three years to do it. You're given assignments from the palace every three months for three years, so you'll have 12 to complete. In the meantime, you can complete a variety of front quests and friend quests to earn money and build your reputation among the local citizens, which in turn will help you keep your business running. You'll be asked at first to collect items for various reasons, but as time goes on, you'll be able to acquire new recipes and synthesize higher-level items. Ingredients can be purchased or given to you, but when you're low on stuff, you can head out into the real world--which happens to be infested with monsters--to gather the items you need from the fields. Time will pass as you travel and synthesize, so you need to pace yourself and keep in mind how much time you have left to complete your quests and assignments. Your assignments have deadlines, and you'll lose your shop if you don't meet them. If you fail to complete quests from others, your reputation will go down, which won't help your cause either.
You can synthesize items from your workshop or through your menu. Rorona's expressions and comments will indicate the likelihood of success, but just be aware that it takes hit points and time to synthesize too, so you can't drain all of her hit points or your chances for success go down. The quality of an item also makes a difference, so when you're out gathering items, you might want to save space by just grabbing things that are ripe or in good condition. Perishables will deteriorate with time, so unless you put them in a container to keep them longer, they will go bad if you leave them in your basket.
Monsters will appear onscreen when you're outside of the town walls, and if you can afford it, you can hire up to two friends in town to tag along to make things easier. Building trust is important because it also decreases their fee when you decide to hire a friend to watch your back. The battle system is turn based, and there's a support system that you can use once your assist gauge is full. Other party members can shield you from attacks when you activate the system, or you can deal more damage to defeat monsters quickly. Different characters have their own unique abilities so you can pick and choose the characters you want to keep at your side. As you gain experience, you'll earn skill points that you can assign and build up your character's special abilities.
Atelier Rorona's visual design, other than the new 3D graphics, is still relatively simple with character portraits that animate slightly when they talk. The presentation is very clean on the PlayStation 3 and the voice acting brings the colorful cast--many of whom are female--to life. If you've played the games in the series before, you'll be accustomed to the innuendo between the zany characters. Look for Atelier Rorona when it is released on September 28.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
Pointing, gestures, and the light-up bauble have all been integrated in Ubisoft's World War II strategy game. 
While we've already seen what Ubisoft's upcoming WWII-themed strategy game R.U.S.E. looks like when played on a $20,000 touch-screen table, the setup is far beyond the monetary reach of mere mortals. The cheaper alternative is to use Sony's motion controller Move, which Sony announced would be supported at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. We sat down with the game's senior producer, Mathieu Girard, for a look at how the controller handles.
What's New: Though Move support was added to R.U.S.E. long after development was under way, it has been tightly integrated into the game's mechanics. The Move controller acts as a pointer, allowing you to highlight a group of troops, issue commands to them, or navigate menus in much the same way a mouse is used in PC real-time strategy games. Gestures have also been implemented; a swift swipe to right of the screen brings up the menu where you can select your troops with the pointer or via the analogue stick on the navigation controller. Zooming also gets the gesture treatment, where pushing toward the screen zooms into the map, while pulling backward zooms out. The light-up ball doesn't get left out of the action either; it turns red when you're hovering over enemy troops and green when selecting your own. Most commands can be performed using just the main controller, though Girard informed us that the navigation controller makes some commands easier to access, giving you quick shortcuts to the most frequently used ones.
What's the Same: R.U.S.E. still looks as great as ever, allowing you to sweep effortlessly from high-level battle-top views to detailed animations of your troops in the heat of battle. There's also a lot of game on offer, with a 15-hour single-player campaign, 20 maps, online play, and a vast array of unit types from which to choose. Though controls have been simplified and tweaked for the console versions, Girard assured us that R.U.S.E will still be a fully featured RTS, complete with a level of depth on par with the best on the PC.
What Impression the Game Made This Time: Though we weren't able to get hands-on time with the Move, from what we saw, it has been well integrated into the game. The gesture and pointer controls seem like a natural fit for an RTS, adding a level of fluidity that sometimes is lacking when using a standard pad. Zooming, menu, and swiping gestures all appeared to work accurately, without having to repeat motions to get commands to register. It remains to be seen how well the controls will work over long periods of play, particularly given the lengthy campaign matches that can take hours to complete. We asked Girard if Kinect support would be coming to the game, but sadly, it looks like Xbox 360 users will have to make do with the standard pad. He told us that it had been looked into, but given the issues Kinect has with players sitting down, it would be too tiring for them to stand up for the long periods of time matches can take.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
Sparks fly as electric superhero Cole returns in InFamous 2, and we've got some early details about this anticipated PS3 exclusive.
In most game sequels involving people with super powers, the lead character usually goes through some devastating event at the start where their powers are scaled back or stripped, forcing players to build up skills and abilities all over again. Not in inFamous 2. While there is a major event that sets protagonist Cole MacGrath back at the beginning of the game, developers from Sucker Punch Studio say players won't have to start from scratch. If inFamous tracked Cole's journey into becoming a super hero, then the sequel will track his journey into becoming a super-super hero, and from we've what we've seen of the game at E3 2010, this significant increase in power will be one that fans welcome.
Before we go further, here's a spoiler warning--we'll be talking a little about the story of inFamous in this paragraph, so best skip to the next one if you haven't finished (or played) that game. At the start of the sequel, Cole finally goes head-to-head with the mysterious, world-ending entity known as The Beast that the time travelling Kessler had gone into the past to prepare Cole for. But the fight does not go well, with Cole being defeated and realising that despite his powers, he was still no match for his foe. So our hero (or villain, depending on your play style) heads to the New Orleans-inspired city of New Marais, the place where the Ray Sphere (the device that gave him his powers) was built to see if he can get stronger.
Life for a super-powered being isn't easy in New Marais, however, thanks to the city being overrun by The Militia, a group of militants who hate any deviant humans. The group--led by the elderly Bertrand--had been striking up anti-deviant fever in the city, and our demo began at a rally where Bertrand was addressing a large group of people while flanked by heavily armed guards. In the crowd is a familiar face from the first game--the impressively side burned Zeke--who shakes his head at the bile Bertrand is spewing. He's soon joined by Cole, who looks quite unfamiliar thanks to a significant character redesign. Instead of a yellow courier jacket and close-cropped haircut, Cole looks more Nathan Drake, wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt exposing some serious ink on his arms.
As Bertrand speaks, some strange, humanoid creatures attack the rally. These creatures sported what looked like sharp claw-like appendages for arms and legs, and had gaping, sideways-opening mouths with plenty of sharp teeth. Cole leaps into action, and we were shown a new melee weapon that he'll be able to use in inFamous 2. According to Sucker Punch, the move to a heavier focus on melee came from wanting players to get closer tp the action, with many of his powers from the first game deemed much more ranged-focused. This new weapon--which looked like a giant tuning fork with electricity coursing along its two arms--allowed Cole to make some flashy moves, including one where he jammed the weapon around an enemy's neck and swung around it to deliver a huge, slow-motion finishing blow.
With the mutant-looking enemies taken care of, Cole turned his attention to Bertrand, who had fled in a limousine. Cole quickly gave chase, showing off several powers he had in the first game, including the ability to "slide" along electricity lines and hover for extended periods of time. He could also quickly make his way across some horizontal pipes, adding another layer of speed to his ability to quickly cover open ground. Cole's attack powers looked quite beefed-up--his basic electrical bolt and shock grenade attacks seemed to do serious damage to enemies, and his shock rockets exploded with enough force to pick up cars and smash them into buildings. In fact, this showcased another new aspect to inFamous 2--greater destructibility in environments. The streets of New Marais Cole was chasing Bertrand though contained plenty of large balconies on buildings, and these collapsed with plenty of impressive effects when cars were thrown into them.
Cole eventually caught up with Bertrand, landing on his car and threatening the old man with a close range bolt through his open sunroof. Bertrand was unconcerned, however, and with good reason. A low swooping attack helicopter appeared and knocked Cole off the car, before throwing some rockets at the rolling superhero. Cole managed to avoid the explosions, but the helicopter was already in the process of turning around and retargeting. Cole chooses this point to unleash a massive new power--joining his hands together, Cole created a massive, multi-storey tornado infused with bolts of lightning, which travelled down a narrow street, picking up cars and balconies in its wake and eventually taking out the chopper. That wasn't the end of it, however. A gigantic, shadowy figure began to emerge from the dust, throwing out a large tentacle that grabbed a nearby pedestrian before dragging him screaming into the large dust cloud. Cole sighed, and said "It's always something", at which point the demo ended.
With the official game play sneak peek over, the developers at Sucker Punch took the opportunity to reiterate a few key points. Firstly, that the game was still a year or so away from shipping, and that plenty of decisions still had to be finalised--including the final look for Cole. Secondly, while the first game's morality system will definitely be making a return, no final determination had yet been made on whether how you finished the last game would affect the new title (i.e. would being a bad Cole or a good one affect inFamous 2). The answers to this question will be coming in the future, so keep it tuned to GameSpot for more soon.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
The minds behind Flower explore the human heart in their next abstract journey for the PlayStation 3.
Game designer Jenova Chen of thatgamecompany seeks to explore the emotional possibilities that few games have been able to tap. Our final appointment at E3 2010 was with the renowned developer, who talked about his vision for his upcoming game Journey before showing us this beautiful, rapturous game in action. Clearly, Chen wants to make triple-A games, but his "A's" have real meaning: Abstract, Artistic, and Accessible. Using these three pillars, Chen seeks to expand the emotional palette his games have already explored. Chen says that most games explore a very narrow emotional range--and that he aims to elicit feelings few games can. And importantly, Journey is the first time thatgamecompany will be taking its vision to an online space.
Before he showed us Journey in action, Chen outlined his inspirations. He talked about how all of us wield power via modern technology. We use mobile phones, computers, and other technology to exert our will on what is around us. In turn, games focus on giving us further power to wield in their worlds--through guns, superpowers, magic, and more. But Chen felt there was something missing. In a discussion with a NASA astronaut, Chen heard the pilot's stories of how colleagues that walked on the moon returned as changed individuals--more religious, more spiritual. Chen thinks that change is a result of seeing the earth from the moon, which instills a sense of wonder, or as he called it, "a sense of small."
Chen wants to bring that kind of experience to Journey. While most games focus on giving the player power, Chen wants the player to feel that "sense of small." He wants players to feel in awe. And he wants to expand on that emotional gravitas by allowing players to encounter another player within in awe-inspiring, expansive world.
With that, Chen showed us Journey in action. The game begins with a gorgeous cello melody, and we see that we are in desert. The sand stretches in front of us, and we see a close-up of our own character, an abstract form in a hooded cloak. Chen then briefed us on the controls: you use the Sixaxis tilt-sensing to move the camera, move your character with the left stick, press one button to jump, and another to sing. (More on singing to come.) What is most striking at this point is the sense of loneliness and wonder. Chen echoed this idea by telling us that players will be asking themselves: "Who am I? Where am I?" The game is about discovering the answers to these and other metaphysical questions.
The camera zooms in on a mountain the distance surrounded my clouds. It's immediately clear that reaching this mountain is your goal. And with that goal in mind, Chen lithely runs forward through the sand. He mentioned how important it was for players to feel as if they were actually moving through sand. You will slide through the sand from the tops of mesas, and can even surf on the sand in certain places, where the waves ripple through the sand as if it is an ocean. Soon, Chen encounters a series of stones that lit up as he touched them. The glow they produce are beautiful, but Chen remained mum on their purpose.
Soon, Chen finds that the bridge he is traversing has crumbled away, and he must search for a way across. He jumps down, floating as if carried on wings, the cloth of his cloak rippling. We see bits of cloth floating above mesas dotting the sandscape, and Chen heads to one such place. Here he collects the swirling pieces, and tells us that these strands are a form of currency that allow players to fly. To show us, he then flew effortlessly through the air before landing once again in the sand. He continued the journey, pointing out a waterfall of sand (a sandfall?) before discovering a stone adorned with hieroglyphs. These and other discoveries will fill in the player on the world's history, as well as fill us in on the ongoing narrative, such as it is. Journey features no voice acting or language, so all the storytelling is done with visual cues. However, storytelling might not be the best word used to describe the narrative: Chen refers to it as "story digging."
Chen then discovers a large banner attached to a stone. He is able to leap on it, and it becomes a sort of floating platform from which he can jump and float. He then approaches a spaceship-type structure that opens and releases more bits of cloth, which then float away to create an undulating cloth platform to bridge the gap we had first encountered. We see the character glide across a series of these cloth banners, marveling at the fluidity of the movement and relishing the mysterious music and ambient sound. On the other side, Chen discovers a statue that glows, emitting a flurry of runes, and giving us a clue as to the next step of the journey.
Journey is a desolate experience, but you won't be completely alone. You might run into another player--just one at a time--that may join you on your journey. Chen likens this mechanic to hiking: you may come across another, and it is up to you to join each other if you want to. You can't talk with each other by normal means, but you can use the "sing" button to communicate. Chen wants players to develop a relationship with their companion. Perhaps you will ignore this player, or maybe you will join him on his journey. Or perhaps you will see him as an adversary. In any case, while you can finish the game on your own, finding another soul wandering in this forlorn desert is part of Journey's emotional impact.
Journey makes quite an impression. The visuals and sound combined to create a beautiful tapestry of music and color, and it seems clear even at this stage that the game will have its own unique voice in an industry crowded with games that seek to offer players immediate power. Jenova Chen is approaching Journey from a different angle, and if what we saw is any indication, this will be one expedition worth embarking on. This PlayStation Network title won't be available until at least next year, but if you appreciate games that can move and inspire you, this is one you should keep a close eye on.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Read more: |
|
