THE No.1 МЕ
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12-FAGE WORLD EXCLUSIVE ROCKS VOLU LIKE A HURRICANE KICH
STREET FIGHTER 4
We played it! Will old-school fans embrace their favorite World Warriors?
Plus, more classics From Bionic Commando to Golden Axe, old is the new new!
First screens & info 2D or 3D? You won’t believe the game’s stunning new look!
INARY MAN
(=) a (е) ш Z ©
Prepare yourself for the adventure of a lifetime as modern-day fortune hunter Nathan Drake sets out to find the legendary treasure of El
Dorado. Swarmed by pirates and mercenaries,
Nate must rely on his wits to survive, while trying to unlock the secrets of this fabled prize. He's just an ordinary guy, hell-bent on an adventure that will be anything but.
Blood Language Mild Suggestive Themes Use of Tobacco Violence
www.uncharted-thegame.com
f Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Created and developed py Naughty Dog, Inc. ©2007 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "PlayStation, "PLAYSTATION" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Play B3yond" is à trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "Cell Broadband Engine" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
>
PROCESSING POWER
Utilizing the raw power of the Cell, each frame is generated using doz ens of subtle layered
motions. This creates
fluid character move-
ments and realistic facial expressions, all while maintaining the desired responsiveness
of the controls.
GRAPHICS
With the ability to create sophisticated lighting models, complex pixel shaders, dynamic real-time shadowing and an advanced water simulation, the RSX cre- ates alevelofimmersion and believability in a world unlike any you've
ever experienced
PLAY ЕЗ ore
гыч on PLAYS TATIONS
Animated Blood Mild Language iolence
ESRB CONTENT RATING www.esrb.org
g
Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB.
д Playstation а Gu [SOFTWARE
а XBX 360 ve
ze
t
e e THERE WAS ONCE A WAR
THAT SHOOK THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF VANADIEL.
AND NOW HISTORY IS REBORN,
AS WE RETURN TO THAT AGE OF STRIFE...
ЕИ a
OC NI SE. t N
YYINGS OF THE GODDESS
EXPANSION PACK
IN STORES NOW
ALSO AVAILABLE:
VANA'DIEL COLLECTION 2008
INCLUDES ORIGINAL GAME AND ALL FOUR EXPANSION PACKS
oO WWW.FINALFANTASYXI.COM SQUARE ENIX.
ENIX logo, VANA'DIEL, and WINGS OF THE GODDESS are registered trademarks (box и trademarks of the Microsoft group of companii
ЖҮ;
ER тс oF STEVE
Crude Humor © 2007 Electronic Arts Inc. EA, the EA (одо and S:
Mild Violence registered trademarks of Electronic Arts the U.S. en. ther county
SOFTWARE} Rights Reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective o:
СЕ
C cco, СОО, | Волар DIR {
MONTYLAND (NC
HOW WILL YOU SHAPE YOUR SOCIETY?
For too long, ordinary folks have stood by while the elite few have shaped humankind’s grand societies.
We say, enough! For the love of Steve, Margaret, Monty and the rest of the average Joes, let them build a city from which their own ideal society might come forth!
In Stores Now — simcity.com
38
16 Is this the day we reply to you? Probably not
22 Electronic Arts/BioWare Merge As these two companies become one, find out the fate of the Mass Effect sequels and other BioWare franchises
24 Foreign Object
26 Preview: Lego Batman An exclusive first look at the Dark Knight's blocky return to gaming
34 Online Scene Find out who's not playing Halo 3 online
36 Preview: Burnout: Paradise Take a drive with us through Burnout’s new wide-open, crashtastic metropolis
ZIFF DAVIS
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY
EDITORU Editor-in-Chief
не. intern Executive Editor
DESIGN Art Director
ging Editor Editor ws Editor
Editor
40
42
48
50
52
CONTRIBUTORS
Cover Story: Street Fighter IV Capcom's revered fighting franchise finally returns and we've got the world-exclusive first look. Quarter up, anyone?
Take This Job This month: audio designer
Preview: Devil May Cry 4 It's a battle of the white heads in the next chapter of this demonic action series
Do-It-Yourself Gaming There’s treasure to be had designing your own game, but where should you start?
Coming Soon Endless Ocean, NFL Tour, and more Rumor Mill
The Q dishes some serious dirt on 007’s next assignment
Top Secrets: Afterthoughts Edition Featuring Halo 3, Mass Effect, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and The Orange Box
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Reviews Intro
Nights: Journey of Dreams Soulcalibur Legends Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles Super Mario Galaxy Trauma Center: New Blood Assassin’s Creed
NCAA College Hoops 2K8 NCAA March Madness 08 Rock Band
MX vs. ATV: Untamed Time Crisis 4
Mario Party DS
TERRITORY MANAGERS & ACCT, EXECS,
WOME DECEMBER 2
pa SOLON CATR ШШЩ! ү р MUR
BRING THE RUSH
NEO a BRAC НА aun | 7 БЕШ „ОМ И Баш
| ШИК „ШШ ШШ ШИШ ШИША Он у TU
JM
cue
"FAST-PA, CED, д AND VERY CTION-PA gere iL cken mooo
у" „
REVIEL YT)
95 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike
96 Reviews Wrap-Up
GAME O R
98 Seanbaby’s Rest of the Crap Seanbaby revisits his gift-card hijinks, but did our funnyman make the right choices?
Retro: WTFiction!? We scrutinize Resident Evil's zombie-blasting plot
102 Next Month 104 Hsu & Chan
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14 ° ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • ЕОМ
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Street Fighter IV: Everything but the kitchen sink Check out exclusive videos, interviews with the crew, stories straight from the developers, and more!
Devil May Cry 4
We've got new videos of both lead guys in action
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well before Facebook, text messaging, and Hannah Montana. I'm sitting in
math class at college, listening to the teaching assistant drone on and on about something, presumably math-related. My mind wanders and starts tracing imaginary figures in the air. It's like a Beautiful Mind moment, except instead of formulas
and triangles, I'm dreaming of fat sumo. wrestlers and Brazilian man-animals.
Street Fighter ЇЇ was a videogame phenomenon back then; it was a daily obsession for so many people. The series has been on EGM’s cover on 13 different occasions, for crying out loud.
Welcome to number 14: Street Fighter IV. I'm still rubbing my eyes over the fact that this sequel even exists, much less that we got the world exclusive on it (in case you hadn't noticed, we’ve been dropping hints about this scoop over the last three issues, on each “Next Month” page). The game's extremely early at this stage, but not early enough that we couldn't get some screenshots and playtime.
What's it like? Of course, it's exciting just to be able to say we're playing SF4, period. But the new art style threw me off, and | had trouble grasping the new “Saving” system (read the cover story for more on that), so | wasn't enamored... at first. But two hours later, | didn't want to relinquish my spot on the joystick. When | got used to the idea that this isn't the exact same Street Fighter l've been playing for years (I went through a similar early-adjustment period with SF3), | started really getting into it. It’s way too early to say whether SF4 will end up as legendary as the previous games, but it's safe to say we can see the potential.
Now that we're done with our cover story, our hands-on access to Street Fighter IV is temporarily on hold. But the game's got us excited again about seeing Ken, Ryu, and the rest of the gang. So until we can next do a preview, we'll be busy “quartering up" on the oldies-but-still- goodies (and not studying for math finals).
—Dan “Shoe” Hsu, Editor-in-Chief
Senior Technical Analyst, Ви Schmelzer
Desktop Administrator,
All content copyright © 2007 211 Davis Media Inc. Reproduction, ‘modification, ог transmission, in whole or in part, by any means, without written permission from Ziff Davis Media Inc. is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.
ив
m NETWORK
Meet Vann.
eMusic ———— — — CE TY
Vann digs the West Coast sound. But when he wants something completely different, he's all about eMusic. Because with over
2 million indie songs — and the ability
to download them over his phone —
he's always got the perfect track.
Sports If he's not texting, Vann is checking
his MEdia™ Net page for scores and updates - he’s a full-on fanatic who's always up to date with what's going down in
the league.
This is Мапп'ѕ digital world.
MySpace Mobile Vann's got a lot of friends, So he's always getting
texts when one of his friends posts something on MySpace. Or he's posting a pic from his
phone. It's nonstop
You've never met him but now you know what he's like.
лед. AT&T. the АТАТ logo.
What can AT&T do for your digital world?"
Video Share Sometimes Vann shares a live rendition of
his / Am So Great dance with his boy Jimmy while they catch up
over the phone.
att.com/digitalworld
Сет =к=
the death of game writing, the life of landstalker, and trouble with the undead
> TRIVIAL ISSUE
This month’s EGM question:
Capcom's classic Final Fight started off as a different game—
what was it called?
E-mail the answer to EGMGziffdavis.com (subject head:
Trivia: EGM #224)
for a chance to win something potentially awesome.
Es
For writing this month’s LOTM, Rob gets a copy of cult classic Madden 06.
Le of the Month
Striking distance
Now that movie- and TV-show writers
are on strike, we’re gonna be stuck
watching Heroes reruns and crap-
Flava reality shows until God only
knows. But will games suffer the same
fate? Are game writers also involved
in this strike? It’s not like games are
known for having great writing, but |
felt like we were seeing the start of a
new trend with smartly penned games
like BioShock and Portal. It'd hate
to see that trend end because game
writers won't cross the picket line. —Rob Robertson
Fear not, Rob. We got the story straight from a game-biz scribe, Pandemic’s Tom Abernathy. He says game writers do not have their own union and are not currently covered by the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA), the folks striking.
“Gamers needn't worry that the 2008 holiday-buying season will find them agonizing over whether to buy The Littlest Groom: The Game for 360 or Р53," Abernathy says. "Their friendly neighborhood game scribes continue to toil on their behalf."
But all that might change in the future. Abernathy explains that the WGA's New Media Caucus has a long-term goal of persuading game publishers to use only WGA writ- ers, just like the film studios and TV networks do. "This is a complicated issue,” Abernathy adds, “fraught with anxiety for game writers, who make far less money than those in traditional media and whose legiti- macy is not yet fully embraced by our industry.”
Meanwhile, the writers’ strike might actually benefit the game biz. All those crappy reality-TV shows and hack movie plots are going to send folks looking for fresher forms of entertainment. Why watch a sea- son of reruns when you can play brand new games instead?
Land of the lost
Can you please let me know what the details are surrounding the release of Landstalker for the PSP? Landstalker is still my favorite game of all time, and | just wanted to see if it was can- celed or what.
16 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
Can | keep my hopes up, or should | stop dreaming? —Adam McDonald
Keep hope alive, Adam. We've not heard anything about the game being canceled, and a recent re- design of developer Climax's web- site—featuring a very Landstalker- esque interactive menu—seems to indicate the project is still in prog- ress. Check out www.climax.co.jp and see if you don't agree.
Meanwhile, don't forget the origi- nal game is available for the Wii's Virtual Console.
A/S/L?
I'm a girl gamer who enjoys shooting people up in Halo 3 over Live. What sucks is that | can't play a single match without some smartass either
Your proudest gaming moments
и Game writers like Pandemic’s Tom Abernathy here are still on the job.
a) making sexual remarks (demanding sexual favors included), or b) making accusations that I’m actually a 10- year-old boy. | can’t understand how guys can complain that there are no girl gamers, but when they actually meet a girl on Live they feel like they have to denigrate her. | certainly hope guys don’t do this when they meet a girl in person. Then again, no wonder so many gamers are virgins. —Kimberly Mauchley
Testosterone injections should help with that voice problem.
Vae Victis
Has the world seen the end of the Legacy of Kain series? They were all great titles, with a wonderful, epic sto- ryline. Oh, the torture! | need to know: Is there anything new coming to
The next contestant in our monthly harder-core-than-thou competition arrives!
In the manual for [The Activision] Decathlon on the Atari 2600, David Crane promised he would send free Decathlon patches and T- shirts to anyone who could beat his scores and send pics of the times. At the age of 5, 1 took up Mr. Crane's challenge, and in a few weeks | had beaten all of his scores. | even smoked his 100-meter dash time by three seconds! Did 1 ever receive anything from that lying jerkoff? No! —David Tyler Harmon
AcniVisioN
Ó катна
Better late than never, right?
n з bul
GO НЕАП ТО нее"
ul —
ти, Move your feet or be defeated in an all new race with 8 Rivals, 12 new | А and unlimited speed. Battle your friends in Б — multiplayer modes or take off and explore the courses via Free Play mode. To stay ahead of the pack, upgrade your [ушне Rival with 150 new cards. Пп т mark, get set, spin! — :
BACKBONE
Dee
rks of SEGA Corporation. SEGA. Developed by Bac! uter Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be requi
www.sega.com
ntertainment, a (sold separately).
tered trademarks or trad 'ademarks of Sony Со
Office. SEGA, the SEGA logo, Sonic Rivals 2 are either r erved. "PlayStation", "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are regis
istered in the US. Ра of Foundation 9 Ent
Б Rex Ronan: Spreading truth before truth became all hip and urban.
continue the storyline left open at the
end of Defiance? Or should | just go
lock myself in my closet and cry? —"LordMicro"
Weep, goth dude. Weep. With the lackluster performance of the most recent Kain titles, and the 2003 departure from developer Crystal Dynamics of series mastermind Amy Hennig (now at Naughty Dog), we doubt we'll see more time- traveling vampires anytime soon.
Besides, Tony *Elder God" Jay passed away in 2006. The games just wouldn't be the same without his stentorian voice.
An imperfect world
1 couldn't disagree more with the stance [Editor-in-Chief] Dan Hsu has taken to defend his Halo 3 score.
He says that Halo 3 deserves a 10 because "it's incredibly fun" and
has lots of replay value. Now, while that may be true, is that justification enough to award it the highest possi- ble rating a game can get? Not really. There are plenty of games that meet [those] criteria but don't deserve a 10.
The reason why so many people have a problem with Halo 3's score specifically is because EGM sends a mixed message. What are you telling your readers when a review rewards a game [with] a perfect score (even if it doesn't literally mean perfect) while simultaneously criticizing its “going- through-the-motions gameplay" and essentially admitting that the score is really just for sheer value?
And if Halo 3 deserves a 10 just for value...why would The Orange Box get anything less than an 11?
Maybe the question, then, isn't why so many people want Halo 3 to fail, but why so many people are willing to ignore its flaws.
—Thomas Ella
18 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
You breeze over this in your let- ter, Thomas, but you don’t seem to understand it: A score of 10 does not mean a game is perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect game. Of course Halo 3 has flaws. The point is its strengths far, far out- weigh them. That’s how a game gets a 10 without being perfect. Because there’s no such thing as a perfect game. And a score of 10 does not mean a game is perfect. Because there’s no such thing. Would you like us to repeat that?
Hello, Clarice On pg. 59 of EGM #222 [“World War True: See "Ет Coming”] you incor- rectly identified a soldier as wear- ing a set of AN/PVS-14 night-vision devices. | have been in the military for 10 years and have had the oppor- tunity to use both the PVS-7 and the PVS-14. The soldier is in fact wearing а set of AN/PVS-7s. The AN/PVS-14 is a true monocular device that only covers one eye, and can in addition be mounted on the M4 to give it night- fighting capability. The AN/PVS-7 cov- ers both eyes, but is filtered through a single lens so depth perception is lost. This is the one the soldier is wearing in your photo. Just wanted to clear this up.
—Wil Pagan
We're a little creeped out by how much you know about night-vision goggles, Mr. Pagan. So let us pre- emptively say: We will happily put the lotion in the basket. We do not want the hose again.
You gotta get a gimmick | have noticed that, over the last year or two, more and more media has been released with a cardboard sleeve over the case. I’ve noticed it more on DVD-based things like BioShock or 300. | admit | think they are cool and usually try to get the media with the sleeve, but what is the significance of having a sleeve that looks just like the case beneath?
—Devon Pieper
It’s just a matter of differentiation. Shelf space in retailers is always at a premium, so publishers will often try gimmicks like the cardboard sleeve to make a game or movie stand out from the other boxes it’s wedged between on the shelf.
It also lets the graphic designers stretch a bit beyond the confines of the traditional plastic-sleeved case. In the case of BioShock, for example, it allows for that nifty embossing that makes us want to
stroke the game lovingly with our fingertips. What? Is that weird?
How edutaining Way back in the day, around 1996, | borrowed a game from a friend. It was a silly SNES platformer. | remember a level where you went into a body, and you had to fight germs and viruses and so on, and the boss was some kind of germ. I’ve looked online and I couldn't find the name anywhere. What is the name of this game? —Trevor Jansen
Sounds like you're talking about Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon. This 1993 game from publisher Health Hero Network (also known for such classics as Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus and Captain Novolin) puts you in the role of a scientist who has to enter the body of a tobacco salesman to fight off the effects of a life of smoking the evil cancer sticks.
Invalid page fault You advertise high-end PC gaming systems and games for them, so why don't you review PC games? Do you think they're not worth your time? Yes, lots of people think consoles are better— just don't forget the people who like computer gaming better. This year, games like Crysis, Far Cry 2, and Hellgate: London will dominate, not to mention StarCraft 2 coming out in August 2008. You would also appeal to a wider audience. | do like con- Soles, but PCs are just plain better.
— Eric Ball
We had a really great response pre- pared for this, but we got a driver error before we could save it and had to reboot.
Maybe someday After browsing the Wii's Virtual Console lineup, | have one question: Where is EarthBound?!
—Geonathan Sena
On a whole lot of wish lists, that’s where. ќа
ONTACT EGM
EGM@ziffdavis.com
EGM Letters 101 2nd Street, 8th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105
Web: www.zdmcirc.com Phone: (800) 779-1174
1 Do Blu.
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PRODUCTS RANGE FROM RATING PENDING то MATURE
== ЕЕ ЕЕ God of War @/@ Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. All games featured are trademarked and copyrighted properties of their respective publishers and/or licensors. "PlayStation the "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “The Only Place to Play" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
pex p
PlayStation Portable
[2
5 features, previews, a suspiciously shaped microphone, and other stuff
ЕА5 package deal: BioWare and Pandemic formed a partnership in 2005. Pandemic brings to EA its own original IPs: Mercenaries (EA was already going to publish the sequel), Saboteur, Destroy All Humans!, and Full Spectrum Warrior.
The first is the
massive publisher that scoops ир the charming independent developer, plucking a few glittering gems of intel- lectual properties (IPs) that EA can put its substantial resources behind to transform into commercially suc- cessful sequels and new franchises that encapsulate everything the little developer stood for. (This would be the story of Maxis—it brought SimCity to EA, developed superfranchise The Sims after joining, and now has cre- ative juggernaut Spore in the making.)
The other face is much darker—that of a devil luring the unsuspecting indie developer into an unholy bargain. The studio believes this route is the best way it can support its IPs. But its role as branch office in a big videogame chain never quite jells, and eventually
22 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
the megaconglomerate absorbs and ruins its prey, destroying franchises
by rushing sequels or by simply КИ- ing them altogether. (The buggy
and unfinished Ultima IX from Origin Systems is an infamous example of an EA acquisition and franchise-milking gone terribly wrong.)
So, when EA swooped in recently to buy independent developers BioWare and Pandemic for an impressive $860 million, it was hard for gamers not to feel a slight sense of dread. Would BioWare, beloved developer of Mass Effect, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire, thrive like Maxis or become another victim of EA's sequel-factory mentality?
Clearly, it’s too early to know—the deal hasn’t even closed yet. But look at the roster of titles the company has in the works, and one thing becomes
By Jennifer Tsao
certain: A couple more sequels—done right, naturally—wouldn’t be such
a terrible thing. We check in on the developer's presale works in progress and past hits’ chances for а sequel....
LucasArts The first
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic set a new standard for console role- playing games, and its way-before- the-movies Star Wars story was way better than anything spit out of George Lucas' word processor. Part two came out a year and a half later, made by another developer while BioWare focused on Jade Empire and other original IPs. Until recently, publisher LucasArts had been surprisingly quiet on the KOTOR front,
but the question’s inevitable: Now with EA’s money potentially behind it, will this fabled franchise ever fulfill its true destiny and become another classic Star Wars trilogy? Is it gonna happen? Just weeks after announcing the acquisition deal with EA, BioWare and LucasArts announced that they were jointly developing and publishing an “interactive entertainment product” together. This wording, it turns out, is intentionally vague: A LucasArts representative says that the announcement's goal was to emphasize the collaboration between the two companies, and that “regardless of EA's acquisition, the LucasArts and BioWare project is moving full steam ahead." In fact, EA is not involved at all with this game, which LucasArts will publish. Meanwhile, BioWare's Austin studio is known to be working on a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It seems highly likely that the result of the collaboration could be the Star Wars game—KOTOR3, or Star Wars Galaxies done right—that everyone has been waiting for.
Mass Effect 2 Who owns the IP? BioWare Does it deserve a sequel? Mass Effect was planned as a trilogy from the start, and there's little doubt we'll see parts two and three in a reasonable amount of time. The first game was published by Microsoft, and since the IP is wholly owned and created by BioWare, it's now an EA property and is likely to be developed and marketed as such, right? Is it gonna happen? Mass Effect's buzz and acclaim has ensured it will remain an important franchise for both BioWare and Microsoft. The question is whether EA will fight to get the game to go multiplatform like all the company's other published titles—and whether Microsoft has any say in preventing that from happening. Microsoft Game Studios’ Phil Spencer recently told UK-based Develop magazine that Mass Effect will continue to be an important franchise for the company. A source close to the game was more to the point, telling us that Microsoft will publish Mass Effect 2 and 3, while
Preview: Toys for batboys
BioWare and EA will be listed as the sequels' developers.
Jade Empire 2
Who owns the IP? BioWare
Does it deserve a sequel? The commercial success of KOTOR proved that the previously PC-oriented BioWare was a contender in the console arena, and it allowed them to embark on projects that might
not have seemed feasible before. The martial-arts epic Jade Empire was not only the company's first original intellectual property—it was, according to the founders, one of the games they created the company to make. But while Jade was critically acclaimed, its sales were anemic in comparison with the Star Wars games. Is it gonna happen? BioWare obviously invested significant resources into creating the Jade Empire universe; the game was richly detailed and gorgeously executed. EA could benefit from tapping into
Preview: Nero, our new hero
the non-cookie-cutter concepts that exemplify Jade. (It doesn't hurt that EA CEO John Riccitello is a self- proclaimed fan of the franchise.)
Sonic the Hedgehog
Who owns the IP? Sega
Does it deserve a sequel? If anyone can breathe life into the franchise that hasn't entirely aged gracefully, it'S a company like BioWare. It's exciting see what they'll do with their first handheld effort, and to see how they'll turn this action game into a DS role-playing title. (Of course, neither of those statements would be true if the company didn't have a sterling reputation for shipping polished, high- quality games.)
Is it gonna happen? "BioWare and EA's partnership...in no way impacts or changes the development of the Sonic RPG," says Sega PR Director Charlie Scibetta. "[It's] on track to ship in 2008." In fact, we hear the game might arrive early this spring. $h
> Microsoft will publish Mass Effect 2 and 3, while BioWare and EA will be listed as the sequels' developers.
—An insider close to the Mass Effect franchise
PAGE
d=
Feature: Just do it... yourself
Bi Clockwise from top left: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Jade Empire.
ELECTRONIC G,
AMING MONTHLY е EGM.1UP.COM • 23
> FAR-OUT FANS
Pinata proposer: through games—or in
David Rosowski's case,
win a wife with the push of a but- ton. But that's just what the pro Viva Pifiata player did—using developer Rare's cutesy рїйаїа game, Rosowski proposed to his then-girlfriend. Since we didn't find this sexy strategy in the strategy guide, we tracked down Rosowski to find out how he won over his woman.
It's easy to fall in love with videogames, but it's difficult to find love
ЕСМ: So why propose over а con- sole game? Too cool for World of WarCraft (PC) weddings?
David Rosowski: | did a lot of research on online proposals— World of WarCraft has had weddings, Second Life (PC) has had weddings, but no one has done a proposal over a console game. And we've been get- ting crap for it. Like, “Oh, these guys must be losers." Well, [the haters] are the ones in their parents' basements at 35 and I'm the one who has a fian- cée, so who's the loser?
EGM: Were you at all worried your fiancée would think the whole thing was a joke?
DR: Well, she did. 1 mailed the pro- posal to her [in the game] and she was like, "Why did you send me a rock?” And | responded, “It’s a dia- mond—did you read the note?” She hadn't seen it at first... Then | walked across the room and | got down on one knee and she started crying and said yes. But she really thought it was a joke at first.
EGM: So can we expect you to pur- chase Viva Pinata: Party Animals for
her wedding present?
DR: Yeah, | actually bought it for her birthday.
EGM: Oh, snap.
ш Aww, what a sweet pic.
24 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
Platform: PSP
Likelihood it'll come here:
We don't get to say this very often, but we recently learned this one's actu- ally coming to America.
150/ 150}
> FOREIGH OE.
Whoa, R-Type is back for the attack? Indeed. After R- Type Final was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, it was widely assumed that the end of the galaxy had come for arguably the most hardcore (and certainly the weirdest) of side-scroll- ing space shooter games. But now it has actually been reborn...as, well, a PSP strategy game. Yeah,
it sounds strange, but at least the developers at Irem stuck to their roots in converting the concept over to the strategy genre—the battles are laid out horizontally like any tra- ditional R-Type, and your units and weapons are largely based on past games in the series.
R-Type
TACTICS
For those with bad reflexes
So how’s it work? Simple—imag- ine playing some old R-Type game, except instead of pressing a button to fire your R-9's cannon, you're directing a dozen R-9s to do the same thing at once. The charge beam and detachable option thingie (the twin hallmarks of the R-Type series) are both vital tactical acces- Sories here, and the whole thing's really easy to get into. Hmm, won- der what other doddering Japanese series will get turned into a strategy game next? Crazy Climber, maybe? Or how about a Dance Dance Revolution sim where you must take over the entire arcade with your sick arrow-stepping moves?
Honor is his code. Vengeance is his mission. Bloodshed is his only option.
JOHN WOO PRESENTI
strangleholdgame.com
Qoo eu: : OED SNNT se ' for Windows
PLAYS TATION =
MATURE 17+ Blood MIDWAY TIGER HILL Intense Violence
Drug Reference
Platforms: Wii/PS3/XB360/ PS2/PSP/DS
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: Traveller's Tales
Release Date: Fall 2008
The |
IF TRAVELLER’S TALES BUILDS IT, gamers will come...to connect the pieces. The developer has proven that constructing a crazily success- ful series is a cinch when you com- bine two things people love: Star Wars and Legos. But with George Lucas’ faraway galaxy behind them, Traveller's Tales is looking to make the next big building-block money- maker. And boy, are these men hard at work—-not only is the developer whipping up Lego Indiana Jones (due cut on multiple systems dur- ing '08) for LucasArts, but it's also working on a blueprint that doesn't involve a Harrison Ford trilogy. This particular design features one of DC Comics' most beloved costumed crime fighters: Batman.
Batter up
Bruce Wayne's alter ego couldn't be a better superhero for a videogame: He's got wonderful toys, love-to- hate-em villains, and enough fancy rides to rival Jay Leno's collection. Which is why it’s ironic his gaming track record is worse than Batman & Robin director Joel Schumacher's love of nipples. Fortunately, this one is off to a strong start, capitalizing on the Caped Crusader's rich uni- verse while adding the simplistic feel of Legos. Yeah, it’s basically Lego Star Wars brushed up with a batty makeover, but we’re not complain- ing. In fact, we're embracing it. We just love the idea of playing as a pint-sized Batman and Robin. Plus, the game looks like it belongs on
the PS3 and Xbox 360 (visually, it's a definite upgrade from the developer's previous Lego efforts). So if you're thinking, “been there, built that,” don't—Lego Batman is offering up just enough new features to keep both tykes and adults happy.
Since this game isn't based on any specific Batman comics or mov- ies, Traveller's Tales has a lot more freedom to fiddle around with the story. Don't expect a gripping nar- rative akin to a Frank Miller graphic novel, though. The premise is actu- ally simple: A bunch of Batman's worst enemies escape from Arkham Asylum to...well, we think you know the rest. But here's the cool part:
In addition to playing through the game’s four chapters as a hero,
> It immediately became apparent that bad guys such as the Penguin and the Joker deserved а greater share of the gameplay stage than mere opponents.
26 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY e EGM. 1UP.COM
—Development Director Jonathan Smith
Animated Blood Mild Suggestive Themes Violence
ESRB CONTENT RATING —_wwwwesthorg : \ х » WWW.sega.com
© SEGA. All rights reserved. SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SEGA, the SEGA logo and GHOST SQUAD are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. TM and the Wii logo аге trademarks of Nintendo. ©2006 Nintendo.
LEGO ЕНТНИН cont)
you'll also have the option to assume the roles of the franchise's famous villains. “Batman and Robin are spectacular heroes, of course, but a great deal of the color and flavor of Gotham City comes from the energy and inventiveness of its great vil- lains,” says Development Director Jonathan Smith. “We set out to give players the full range of characters to play with, as we did in Lego Star Wars, and it immediately became apparent that bad guys such as the Penguin and the Joker deserved a greater share of the gameplay stage than mere opponents.” So while Lego Star Wars teased the idea of letting us tour the dark side, Lego Batman gives us what we really want: the ability to play through the actual story as the bad guys. So far,
we know that Catwoman, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Joker, Harley Quinn, and Penguin will appear in the game. And after playing all the Lego Star Wars titles and seeing its massive amount of characters, we imagine this is only a sampling of the foes that'll show up here. They may even be able to beat up Batman for good, too. “Will Batman and Robin lose in the end?” asks Smith. “Ah, you'll have to play the game to find out...”
‚ We sure hope they lose. Not because we're dicks (we swear!), but rather, it’s not often you get to play as bad guys and actually come out on top. Yet we bet Batman won't get thwarted so easily...at least when you're playing as him or his side- kick, Robin. During our demo, we only witnessed Batman enjoying the
Tired of being a tights-wearing features lots of missions where you'll play as a bad dude.
28 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UPR.COM
ооду two-shoes? Lego Batman
WHEN ALLIES BETRAY YOU, METAL GEAR SOLID гр
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© 1987 2007 Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. “METAL GEAR SOLID" and "METAL GEAR SOLID PORTABLE OPS" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. Developed by Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. Published by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. KONAMI is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. "PlayStation", "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Internet connection and Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately).
LEGO ЕНТНИН con)
protection of the Boy Wonder, but we wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Batgirl and Nightwing joined the fight, too. Or even heroes outside of the Batman universe—when we
` asked if additional DC characters would drop in here, Warner Bros. Producer David Abrams seemed to suggest other “supermen” might lend a hand.
Biff! Pow! Zap!
Though Lego Batman may share the same blocky look as Lego Star Wars, the combat will sport some change- ups. For starters, you won't see Batman and Robin swinging around a silly laser sword—these guys are all about using their hands, feet, and toys. “Batarangs—which can target a variety of objects or enemies on a Single sweep—are one of many new gameplay elements for Lego Batman players,” explains Smith. Obviously,
this is just one of the fancy gad- gets in your arsenal. And while the fighting we witnessed in our demo seemed pretty basic, Traveller’s Tales plans to incorporate various com- bos, finishing moves, and even team attacks over the coming months. So even though things may look kinda shallow now, Batman and Robin’s repertoire should be much more impressive by the time of the game’s release next fall.
Oh, and if you’re wondering how Batman and Robin will get through levels and solve puzzles without fancy Jedi powers, remember: These guys are pros—and, apparently, master tailors. Throughout each level, you'll be able to switch into dif- ferent superpowered tights for both Batman and Robin. For instance, Robin can dress up in a magnet outfit that will let him walk on metal walls, and Batman gets a demolition
30 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
Not laugh
atthe Joker has some serious consequences.
“KKK!
THE MOST EXCITING MOVIE
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AT HAPPENS IN VEGAS... IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Available together for the first time all 3 Resident Evil movies |: in the Blu-ray™ High-Def Trilogy! i:
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getup that gives him the ability to toss little batbombs. Just in the one level we saw (which had Batman and Robin traversing through Gotham City’s enemy-ridden rooftops and gritty alleyways), our two heroes switched into several different suits. So it seems the Dynamic Duo will do just fine without the Force.
Hey, completists—prepare to freak, as you're going to find (or attempt to find, that is) a crapload of differ- ent collectibles in Lego Batman. All the coveted goodies from Lego Star Wars will be returning: bolts, gold bricks, and even some canister-like items. Factor in the free-play mode for each level and you'll be spend-
> TAKE IT...AND LEARWE IT
Lego Batman may not be based оп any of the Dark Knight's movies, but that doesn't mean it can't borrow from "ет. Неге are five things we'd like to see make it into the game...and five we hope stay on the cutting-room floor.
What we want:
ing a whole lot of time searching for secrets. Yet unlike in the previ- ous Lego outings, you'll be heading to more than one place to unlock extra content. Here, the good and bad.guys have their own respective hub hideouts: Wayne Manor for the heroes and Arkham Asylum for the not-so-humble villains.
It's no secret the folks at Traveller's Tales have built themselves up as developers that can transform plastic into gold. Now let's just hope they stick to licenses that aren’t totally lame—if we see Lego Aquaman or Lego Howard the Duck, we're gonna bust out the dump truck.
ЕСМ Extras:
ее the teaser trailers for Lego Batman at EGM.1UP.com.
€ Joker dance party (Batman): Visiting a museum is kinda boring...unless you're the Joker and:you decide to deface the place while listening to Prince like he did in director Tim Burton's first Batman flick.
Bat-on-cat action (Batman Returns): Sure, Catwoman is technically a bad 1 gal, but we can't help but get hot for the sexy scene in this movie when she
и L pounces on Batman. Meow!
Rocket penguins (Batman Returns): Danny DeVito is a scary slob
here, yet we dig his little killer penguins.
Bank heist (Batman Forever): The third batfilm starts out with a bang. Or a bust, really—Two-Face's bank heist would make for a dastardly
fun villain level.
Training bat (Batman Begins): Even batmen need to start some- where—that's why it'd be cool to see the hardcore training sequences
from this series reboot end up as the tutorial.
What we don’t want:
ux S
Tankmobile (Batman Begins): Cars are cool, especially ones that Batman drives. Well, except for the hideous tank-looking
ride he sports in this movie.
High octane (Batman Forever): Speaking of the Batmobile, it belongs on the ground, so none of Batman Forever's physics- defying wall driving. Uh, isn't that what the Batwing is for?
Lame dames (Batman, Batman Begins): Batman is really at his best when he saves cities, not rescuing annoying broads such as Vicki Vale in the first movie and whoever the hell Katie
Holmes played in the last Batman flick.
The rest (Batman & Robin): We want nothing from this movie. That means no Bat Cards, no hockey team from hell, and no subzero Arnold Schwarzenegger. Let us say it again: We want absolutely nothing from Batman & Robin! жа
32 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UPCOM
ти X Mr. Pink (Batman Forever): Nobody wants to fight a version of Two-Face who looks like he's been dipped in Pepto Bismol. We prefer a darker Harvey Dent like in the comics.
а а 2^ RN,
WHOSE TEAM ARE YOU U ON?
`w a Ë \
s Fantastic unlockable stages асари дуо ивица including 10,000 meter diving
°! featuring three modes of m] and more. V S TUA чыкар w, иш ыг MN; 5m uu mac, Мал ВО ЧИИ UNE — Does Mario red гип in your veins? Or are you а true-blue Sonic fan? The match-up the world's been waiting for will finally happen at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 20 different events mean 20 different Wii Remote™ moves to master. What's in the cards for Ju team? Suit up and find out.
the action.
К» `
чи COMING m? 2008^
Б xd a Ш ај, E
TM USOC 3649022050 "Copyright © 2007 Intemational “Olympic Committe& (^100"). All setts reservad РЕВ MARIO characters ©) NINTENDO, "Nintendo;] rm and Wii a i are trademarks of Ка SONIC THE HEDGEHOG harécters © SEGA. All Rights Reserved. Séga is istered in the U.S. Patent and Trademan е. SEGA; uw 'SEGA logo arid/Sonic The eliadgetog are wither registered PARE uteri of ‘SEGA Соога TM and the Wii are trademarks تاا © 2006 Nintendo.
у zêf < حح * Зр Р а d РА. CET n
OFFICIAL VIDEO GAME
e a Tl
Alternate Shot
Find out why some aren’t playing Halo 3
Quick! These videos will only be on the Internet for a limited time, until civilization as we know it ceases to exist, and then you'll have to watch them on space microfiche. See 'em now at GameVideos.com/EGM.
ZOMG: Mass Effect Lesbian Love Scene
It's Mass Effect's special moment, in case you didn't see it from the com- fort and privacy of your Naugahyde couch. Lady/lady alien edition.
Why Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare players aren't hot for Halo 3:
IceViper777:
HellBlazerUSA:
Why Team Fortress 2 players aren’t hot for Halo 3: Bukster:
ORLY?: Manhunt 2 Uncensored Comparo
See grisly kill scenes from Manhunts 1, 2, and the uncensored, unreleased version of 2. Makes you think. About playing games other than Manhunt.
Hobbess253:
Why TimeShift players aren't hot for Halo 3:
dead box 102:
Ш
V3gasBall3r:
<3: The Hitoshi Sakimoto Interview
The famed game music composer invites us into his home (and studio) to chat about Final Fantasy, Vagrant Story, and the creative process.
Why Medal of Honor: Airborne players aren’t hot for Halo 3:
SSP Steved400:
SSP Trailer:
Why ЕЕ.А.Н. Files players aren't hot for Halo 3:
FireStarta316:
1337: Portal “GLaDOS Sequence Break”
How to out-think Portal’s final boss in seconds, by Groobtube. Visit mycheats.com for more Portal strategies and videos.
Zombie a gogo:
34 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
YOUR NBA DESTINATION
WEDNESDAYS FRIDAYS
ALL SEASON LONG
FOLLOW ALONG ATESPN.COM ALSO AVAILABLE ON REITA
©2007 ESPN, Inc.
HD
Platforms: S К PS3/XB360, mo i Е ти Publisher: =~ 1 On the hills and turns of Crystal
{EA Games ^^ Е Summit, you'll find plenty of opportuni- Developer: ties for jumps, spins, barrel rolls, and Criterion other automotive acrobatics. Use your
boost to link tricks together into com- bos and rack up the really big points. And check out the railroad tracks to the east for some truly amazing jumps.
Release Daté:* January 2008
ЈЕ: It’s just you, the road, апа a timer ticking away. Burning Route requires concentration, skill, and the ability to maximize boost while minimizing any risks that could lead to а clock-eating crash. That's twice as hard out here in twisty Lone Peaks, but go ahead and let loose the horses—just watch those hairpin turns.
ай 36 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EG
= ROAD RULE Here on the Eastern Shore you'll find lots of first-to-the-finish race events. But did you know that you can go for time records (and | crash-focused Showtime records) on any street? You can even collect mug shots (these pics are taken using the console's camera peripheral) of players whose scores you beat.
Every stoplight in Burnout Par hos! nother event—simply spin heels and the thrills begin. in Palm Bay Heights, you'll find
urself a Marked Man: Make a mad dash to the finish line (in this case, somewhere down south by Paradise Wharf) before your host of pursuers takes you down for good.
If the vast expanses of Paradise City aren't enough to keep you busy, get online with a group of friends and go after one of 50 Freeburn challenges. (For exam- ple, you could try doing barrel rolls off the handy split ramps here at Big Surf Beach.) You don't even need to race—just roam, experiment, and have fun.
Scattered all over Paradise City are Super Jumps, special breakable bill- boards, and "private" areas behind flimsy chain-link fences—almost 600 in all, each one painstakingly tracked by the game. Hit this Super Jump in Harbor Town and you'll be treated to a slow-mo shot of your car majestically leaping the river.
The series' famous Crash mode is now dubbed Showtime, a free-form orgy of destruction you can trigger anytime. Downtown Paradise is the perfect place to bust it up, with its traffic-clogged streets and nice selection of mutliplier-adding buses. You need to see the ridiculously detailed damage modeling. It's absurd. жа.
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY e EGM.1UP.com * 37
> PLAYING POLITIC
Back to Jack
For the nine years that | ran the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, the retail trade body that represented game sellers, | subscribed to the same thinking as my counter- parts at the other game-biz groups: Ignore Jack Thompson and he'll go away. It was the biggest mistake that the industry has ever made. By walk- ing away from counter-point interview opportunities, we left Thompson—the Florida attorney who's built a career around his crusade against violent games—as the only person at the mic when the media came calling.
Doug Lowenstein, the former head of the Entertainment Software Associa- tion—and in many respects, my men- tor—gave a historic farewell speech last year at an industry summit. In part, he blamed the enthusiast media who covered Thompson as the reason for his popularity and advised them to stop covering him. Many did. So while the gaming media was largely ignoring Thompson, the mass media wasn't.
Audio Designer Turns out that the "ignore him and
he'll go away” strategy backfired. He „ыу. Our monthly look at the industry's most got even more exposure and became Н n " ñ more influential and more powerful. i interesting gIgS By Evan S атооп And so the games business built its own worst nightmare with Thompson. He is intelligent, articulate, passion- ate, and camera-ready. You may not subscribe to his philosophies or appreciate his liberal interpretation of the facts, but you should respect him, as should we all. And while you may know that his version of the facts isn’t the same as yours, your parents, grandparents, teachers, or friends who are just casual gamers don't. One of the major strategic changes we at the ECA undertook was to stop ignoring Thompson. We all just need to be smart about it to avoid enabling him. Don't avoid the discus- Sion; engage it head-on. Don't jump on a forum thread and flame the man; doing so demeans your argument and empowers your detractors. Instead, voice your opinion, become involved, and speak out. It's time to fight back!
Hal Halpin is founder of
the Electronic Consumers Association, a nonprofit orga- nization dedicated to watch- dog gaming legislation. Join its cause at
38 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
How’d he get the gig? Owen actually graduated from col- lege with a marketing/business degree and got a job at EA Sports, his first dream gig. “But | had other paths | wanted to travel using my audio and music background," he says (he's been in various bands and has a degree in music pro- duction and jazz piano). Owen
> TOOLS OF HIS TRADE
8 Audio designer ог L.L. Bean model? Owen records the great outdoors in style.
eventually started working closely with EA's sound-production depart- ments and was asked to join a team as an audio producer, writing and recording dialogue and work- ing with music licensing. Eventually, he moved to Vancouver-based Propaganda, where he often finds himself in Mother Nature recording animal sounds. $h
The real world
“We had to get beeps and blips, so we record- ed [ourselves] pushing buttons on our micro- wave,” says Owen.
Sound design Owen uses Nuendo 4, Logic Pro 7, Roland
V-Synth, Cakewalk Dimension Pro, and other software.
Gearslutz.com
“So many people [who] are doing postproduc- tion work for big com- mercial stuff are on their forums,” he says, “talk-
ing about the different methods they're using.”
Send in the clown “When things are crazy, | look at the accordion- playing clown,” Owen says of his absurd desk toy. “It brings me back down to earth.”
Photograph by Ingeborg Suzanne
enough for Konami. The publisher recently confirmed its snazzy PS3 stealth title Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns
of the Patriots — originally slated to sneak into stores around January or February—is delayed yet again. Now it will arrive sometime this spring.
for the Unreal Engine lawsuit. In case you forgot, Too Human developer Silicon Knights originally sued Gears of War developer Epic for apparently providing an incomplete version of its Unreal Engine. The latest: Epic was recently unsuccessful in dismissing its case, mean- ing the battle isn't ending any time soon. Nice try, Epic!
> OVERHEARD
*So although it was important to try and release [Super Mario Galaxy] simultaneously with Wii’s launch, we also felt that it was much more impor- tant to make a game that the customers would feel was really worth buying. We were so deter- mined that we even thought of closing down the Tokyo office if Super Mario Galaxy received poor reviews."
—Can Super Mario Galaxy Director Takao
Shimizu be any more modest? It's almost as if he makes Sonic games or something.
Devil May Cry
The tale of the tape on these two demonic superstars
As Capcom brings its slash-and-shoot-em-up action series to the new consoles, the publisher feels it’s also time for a fresh face. Enter Nero, who joins DMC veteran Dante as a playable character. Find out why these guys ain't exactly BFF and much more....
Platforms: PS3/XB360
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: February 2008
EGM Extras: To see these two guys stylin’ and profilin’, head to EGM.1UP.com for some exclusive Devil May Cry 4 videos.
РОСА
40 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • ЕОМЛЏРСОМ
Š 3 ; :
„” says Producer Hiroyuki Kot play roughly 60 percent of the : j n
Why he hates Dante: Because he put Nero's boys down for the dirt nap. “While Nero is protecting Fortuna from demons that suddenly appear, Dante shows up and he kills some of Nero's comrades,” says Kobayashi. “So he’s given the task to track down Dante and make him pay for what he’s done.”
Personality: Even though Kobayashi describes Nero as “more of a straight shooter than Dante,” the producer is quick to admit that пе ain’t exactly a model citizen, either. “[In one scene], Nero doesn't want to sit through all this religious stuff, so you see him sitting there listening to his headphones instead,” he says. “Nero can be a bit of a wiseass."
Weapon collection: Nero will come packin’ a revolver (dubbed Blue Rose) and a sword (Red Queen). The latter also sports a motorcycle- esque handle, which you can rev (via continuous presses on a shoulder button) to increase the potency of your blade attacks.
Fighting style: While his arsenal is extremely limited when compared
to Dante’s wide assortment, Nero—with the help of his demonically enhanced right arm, the Devil Bringer—still looks awfully good on DMC4's battlefields. Nero’s limb causes all sorts of destruction, from literally tear- ing enemies in half to grabbing foes and using them as shields. It even acts as a grappling hook for the game’s limited platforming segments.
Demonic streak: In addition to the Devil Bringer, Nero can call upon his Devil Shadow, which temporarily beefs up attack power and adds some nasty moves to his repertoire.
e
_ _
* — ј ao
_ DMCs on the PS2.
г Nero: OK, maybe the word “hate” is too strong in Dante’s case, as the source of his dislike for the game's other leading man and crew remains a mystery. "Dante is given a mission to head to Fortuna and do something that we're not ready to talk about just yet," says Kobayashi.
Personality: In the past, sarcastic and corny is probably how most people would've described Dante. Yet it seems he's finally starting to show signs of maturity. “In DMC3 he was very young and a wiseass,” says Kobayashi. “But in this one, he's more experienced as a demon hunter and [has] grown up a little bit. He's still as interesting as he used to be, but now he has a wider view of the world."
Weapon collection: Dante returns to the scene with his Rebellion sword and trusty pistols Ebony and lvory (as you can tell by now, it's basically a requirement for every weapon to have some ridiculous moniker). DMC4 also introduces two new toys for this character to play with. The Lucifer shoots exploding roses, while Pandora—depending on what fighting style you're using —transforms into a number of powerful firearms (bazooka, machine gun, crossbow, etc.).
Fighting style: How you deliver a beatdown is totally up to you, thanks to the return of the Trickster, Gunslinger, Swordmaster, and Royal Guard fighting styles. But unlike in DMC3 (where you chose a style before mis- sions and could only change it at save statues), you can now switch
between them on the fly, which makes for some sweet-looking combos.
Demonic streak: As in every other DMC, transforming into a demon brings out Dante’s uglier (not to mention much more powerful) side. $
ËB Devil May Cry З too difficult for ya? Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi promises that this installment will be a much more balanced offering. It'll even feature a tutorial, which takes place during Nero and Dante's first encounter.
W Aside from some yet-to-be revealed Sixaxis motion controls, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Devil May Cry 4 will be identical.
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY « EGNL1UP.COM • 44
Get personal advice for kicking off your own basement- brewed-gaming gig next month when we feature Everyday Shooter creator Jon Mak in our Take This Job series.
> ЕН IHY
But the one thing that could top it: creating his own. "That's the thrill of game development for me,” he says. “! want to make something I'm really proud of." While he’d made some games for comput- ers, what he really burned to do was code for consoles. “It was like the holy grail,” he says.
Using Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express, a set of game-development tools that anyone can download for free, Silva created a gleefully violent side-scrolling shooter called The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. And he got the ultimate score—a contract from Microsoft to distribute the game on Xbox Live. This marked not only the start of his life as a professional game developer but a new chapter for the console industry: homebrewed gaming for profit as well as fun. “What we really want to do is unlock the cre- ativity not only in the indie market, but in the homebrew crowd as well,” says Chris Satchell, manager of the Game
42 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM. 1UP.COM
Do-it-yourself games like LittleBigPlanet and Halo 3’s Forge are turning players into designers, but
Huy
whats in it for them?
Development Group at Microsoft. "People who aren't professional game developers have great ideas that stay locked up in the head."
While industrious geeks have been creating and modifying computer. games for decades, the walls around consoles are finally coming down. Start-up developers can make their own titles on PCs and distribute them via Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Network's store, while average thumb jockeys can express themselves in more and more games that offer in-depth content editors (we'll get to them in a bit). Such DIY gaming will transform the industry, bringing in fresh blood and talent just as, say, garage bands and underground moviemakers have
transformed music and film. “Games are uniquely personal, and now it's starting to get a little more outside the box where you can give a portion of that personal experience to someone else," says Will Wright, creator of The Sims and the upcoming Spore, a PC life-creation game built around com- munity sharing of user-created con- tent. "You're performing in a game not just as a player but as a designer." The YouTubing of videogames is now.
The game industry already owes much to DIY development. Some of the biggest franchises and developers around—Epic, Valve, id Software— hatched from the computer-game underworld. Today, two innovations “
One obvious concern is that someone is going to...paint a
picture of a penis.
—NinjaBee President Steve Taylor on the level editor in one of his games
AVAILABLE HOH
INCLUDES ) CONTROLLER
Ф 4-player simultaneous play guarantees your house is the hottest party on the block @ All-new soundtrack includes smash hits from the last 4 decades
© Use the Wii Remote” and DDR controller for full-body interaction
Mild Lyrics Т
ВЕД ЧҮ N www.konami.com
© 1998 2007 Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. “Bemani”, "DanceDanceRevolution" and “DanceDanceRevolution Hottest Party" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Konami Digital Entertainment Co. Ltd. KONAMI is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. Published by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo.
D.I.MIH*S T (cont)
are bringing the creative rush to console players: digital distribution, which makes it easier to upload and distribute content online at broadband speeds, and toolsets that make devel- opment way easier.
Microsoft isn't the only console maker courting start-up program- mers. Nintendo's WiiWare program encourages developers of every size to create small, innovative games that players will buy and download from the Wii Shop Channel later in 2008. Sony, meanwhile, has been pushing the ability to run the Linux program- ming language on the PlayStation 3 as a means for game development. Eric Lempel, director of PlayStation Network operations, says the com- pany's stoked about the creativity that gamers can bring. "We know this is something users want to do," he says, “and it's important we offer the ability to do it here."
Jon Mak, a 25-year-old coder from Toronto, Canada, got his dreamy action game, Everyday Shooter, picked up by Sony after an execu- tive spotted it at a videogame con- ference. The title was released for download in the PlayStation Store for $10 in October. Unlike Microsoft, which lets XNA developers maintain ownership of their titles, Sony pur- chased Everyday Shooter outright. "Unfortunately, they own it," says
Mak. “At first, | didn't want to sell it, but here's a company wiling to invest time and energy. ГИ reach more peo- ple if | go through that channel. That makes sense to me."
Players don't even require comput- er-science skills anymore to get in this development game. Already, they can handcraft ultracreative play modes— from combat racing to plasma-gre- nade baseball—in Halo 3’s impressive Forge editor. February’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii comes with a level editor and the ability to share custom battlefields online. And next year’s LittleBigPlanet for PlayStation 3 is all about players taking their rag-doll characters and loads of objects and unleashing custom playlands in a world of realistic physics. The payoff: Gamers’ creations can be rated and swapped by everyone else in the community. Creative designers will see their creations rise to the top of the download pile and achieve the same flavor-of-the-moment fame as would-be filmmakers do on YouTube.
Unreal Tournament 3, the latest installment of the multiplayer shooter, is treading similar territory. Its level editor lets players create maps on their PCs, then important the content, using a memory stick, right into their PSs. “UT3 PS3 owners will have as much new content to play as they ever wanted,” says Jeff Morris, pro- ducer of UT3 for Epic. “Additionally, they can start getting their feet wet on their own console ideas without an expensive development kit. All the things that make user-created content exciting for PC users apply to their console brethren.”
Let freedom sting
Giving power to the people comes at a price, however. How can game companies empower players with the
44 ° ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
tools to create while still maintaining their standards? It won't be easy. Just ask NinjaBee, an indie game devel- oper in Orem, Utah. After making two titles for Xbox Live Arcade, Cloning Clyde and Outpost Kaloki X, the company set about making Band of Bugs, a quirky strategy game. For fun, they wanted to include a level-editing program to let gamers make their own maps. But Microsoft wasn't exactly thrilled. *They wanted it, but they knew it would be problematic," says NinjaBee President Steve Taylor. "It's about user-generated content. You're opening a can of worms.... One of obvious concern is that someone is going to take the editor and paint a picture of a penis."
What to do? Microsoft includes an opt-out feature so that players—or parents—can choose to lock out user-created content online. With that solution, Band of Bugs got the green light to put its level editor in the game after all. But NinjaBee felt enough of a Sting from the experience to not want to go back down that road anytime soon. All the back-and-forth cost time and money. "It was painful," says Taylor. "We do plan to do it again—in the end, it's a cool feature—but you have to be careful about it."
Microsoft's more cautious stance on user-created content isn't slowing down the more hardcore homebrew- ers. Coders like Silva, who will see his game Dishwasher on Xbox Live Arcade sometime next year, hope there's plenty more DIY content to come. "This taps a new market for creativity and innovation," he says. “Who knows what will happen if you open up the platform to hundreds of potential developers? Good things can happen, and terrible things can happen— but hopefully, the good ones win out.” ri
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NFL Tour
PS3/XB360 г EA Sports Big
EA steps back onto the arcadey gridiron, ditching the Street moniker and that series' thuggish aesthetic for a backdrop that would definitely please the uptight NFL execs. While we're enjoying the new exhibition-style setup and fighting game-esque reversal system for making and breaking tackles, Tour desperately needs an adrenaline shot (the gameplay is way too slow). Plus, how about making the game look as pretty as EA's other arcade sports offer- ing, NBA Street: Homecourt?
Samurai Warriors: Katana Wii * Koei
Koei is giving gamers yet another history les- son, but at least the publisher is reworking its hack-n-slash ways with this first Samurai Warriors installment on the Wii. This one takes place completely from a first-person perspective, and the developers have done a good job of balancing how much of the action will get your heart pumping (normal attacks are done with simple button presses, while special moves require some Wii Remote and Nunchuk wigglin’).
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
PS3/XB360 • Codemasters
This twist оп World War И (in Turning Point the Nazis actually invade U.S. soil) got pushed into 2008 because Codemasters felt its first-person shooter could benefit from a few more months of development to spruce up the locales and tighten the controls. That all sounds great to us, but we have one more request: Can you give the enemy A.I. some brains? From what we've seen so far, the game's German Soldiers aren't the smartest fellas.
48 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
January's prime-time players
Endless Ocean
Wii • Nintendo
From marine biologists to those simply pretending to be one like George Costanza, Endless Ocean hopes to attract all sea lovers. You'll mingle with lots of marine life, which includes the likes of penguins, manta rays, and humpback whales. But aside from searching for hidden treasure along the ocean floor, this one resem- bles more of an educational tool than an actual game. Too much time is spent reading log books that contain "fun" facts about the creatures here. And by fun we mean absolutely boring.
Bomberman Land Wii/PSP/DS * Hudson
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 Wii * Ubisoft
Bully: Scholarship Edition Wii/XB360 * Rockstar
Burnout: Paradise PS3/XB360 • EA Games
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law Wii/PS2/PSP * Capcom
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom
XB360 * Microsoft Game Studios
Nitrobike Wii e Ubisoft
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice PSP • Sony CEA
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity Wii/PS2 • Sega $h
Meet your new classmates.
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Resurrected Rumors:
I've called a lot of stuff recently. For instance, you may have heard that Capcom is brushing up a Wii port of last year's sleeper hit Okami. And if you remember correctly, it was The Q who broke that.
Shaken (not stirred) scuttlebutt
Hey, that's not to say 2007 wasn't a swell year for your favorite rumormonger. In fact, The Q is currently enjoying one of his best years ever (you don't have to thank him, er, me). But even though Гуе broken a lot of big stories this year, I'm always striving to find even juicer scuttlebutt. In fact, | smell an even better year ahead for me. Wait, 1 think that's actually my— uh, let's just get to the rumors, shall we....
The once-mighty Microsoft Game Studios lineup is starting to look a little skimpier nowadays. Not only did Mass Effect developer BioWare get bought by EA, but MGS also lost Geometry Wars developer Bizarre Creations to Activision. | don't have any dirt on BioWare, but | do have a heap on Bizarre: My spy tells me the Project Gotham Racing 4 creators are working on the next James Bond game. "But they make racing games," you say? Well, duh —that's why it's going focus a /ot on driving.
Poor EA Chicago — the development studio behind the jaw-dropping Fight
50 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
Night series recently closed down. But that's not the only thing | hear got knocked out—my EA mole tells me the studio was also working on a now-canned Guitar Hero-inspired action game.
Console sales don’t seem to sway publisher Square Enix. Even though the PlayStation 3 still isn’t selling
all that great, the role-playing game powerhouse still insists on keeping its Final Fantasy titles exclusive to Sony. Still, my RPG rogue informs me that Square Enix is at least throwing the Xbox 360 a bone — it appears a new entry in its mech-based strategy game Front Mission will find an
> G-TIFS
i @ ° EA likes the Need for Speed franchise; that's not new. This is: The series P `Í` looks like it will flip each year between being a realistic and an arcadey racer.
exclusive home on the 360. And to even things out, another unannounced Square Enix sequel will apparently set up shop permanently on the PS3.
Nintendo creates some cool things, yes, but it doesn't necessarily want other companies one-upping it...even its own first-party developers. А gos- sipy Goomba let slip that Nintendo canceled a first-party Wii game because the developers insisted on allowing players to customize their cutesy Mii characters. Come on, Nintendo — we're not asking you to let us add simple things like clothes to our Miis. Wait, actually we are. Stop being so stiff, guys! $h
@ ° Here's one for you supernerds out there: Publisher THQ looks to be making ` an action game based on the Warhammer toy line.
ж) * А Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles game is coming to Nintendo’s WiiWare x ` Service, but what about the real CC Wii game? It appears to be in trouble.
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Postgame Show
We get answers on all of the hottest games this holiday
Hope you’re happy—with the all the amazing holiday releases this year, it’s going to be a Jong time before you can complain about the lack of good games. We're sure not complaining, but we are asking ques- tions. So we hunted down the developers of a handful of the fall's biggest titles to squeeze all the juicy info out of 'em (that means spoilers—proceed with caution). But even though we're only able to fit in four winners here, we'll be back next month with another answer-filled special—brace yourself.
52 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM. 1UP.COM
> HALO =
Battling it out with Bungie's master chiefs
Obvious statement
of the year: Halo 3 is big—3 millioı sold in one топ! So we talked to Brian Jarrard, community. and franchise lead, and Tyson Green, multiplayer design lead, from developer Bungie to find out what makes this game
EGM: Why no levels where you play as the alien Arbiter in single-player Halo 3? Were you guys surprised at how much hate he received after Halo 2?
Tyson Green: | wouldn't say sur- prised. We knew some people weren't going to like it. | feel like if [Halo 2] had actually closed off in a better fashion, fewer people would have minded. It's like the Arbiter became the scapegoat for the story not ending. "Bungie bit off more than they could chew because of this Arbiter character and then they couldn't finish the game." But it was clear from the very onset that the last game in the trilogy was going to be the Master Chief's story. There were various discussions early on about whether or not you would play as the Arbiter for one or two mis- sions and then...there was even talk of, "We should kill the Arbiter! Yeah! п!” In my opinion, cooler heads prevailed and we said, “Мо, let's make him a cool character in the but still keep the focus on the f." | think it worked out well.
EGM: Speaking of killing characters, some of the ads and part of the ending made it seem like you might kill off the Chief. Was that ever part of the plan?
TG: There were certainly storylines proposed that said stuff like, “Yeah, їй] the pase ie 5
and make it feel cool. But ple knew we could achieve ed, to close the story a without doing that.
Brian Jarrard: One funny story about that: The first time Bungie sat down with Microsoft [executive honchos Shane Kim and Peter Moore] to walk them through the final story, we had а PowerPoint presentation with a bunch of concept art [and a musical score], so it was pretty evocative and emotional. And the very last image we BR 1 with was a memorial, [UNSC soldiers] paying tribute to ster Chief, and then we turned the lights on and shut off the projector. And | think it was actually a couple of days that we let them sweat before we finally let them know that that wasn’t the true ending of the game. [Laughs] В
ЕСМ: A lot of people bitch about one campaign level in particular: “Cortana.” Some have gone so far as to compare it to “The Library,” the infamously unpopular Halo 1 level that you worked on, Tyson....
TG: [*Cortana"] is a claustrophobic level, it’s all against the Flood—it has many of the same problems that “The Library” did. | think it’s a gorgeous level, myself, in a kind of horrible way. The art is probably some of the best in the game as far as realizing that particular space. But it’s such a harsh environment for having a good, richly rewarding game experience. | think it’s criticism well taken, and it’s stuff that the single-player guys are fully aware of.
EGM: It also has backtracking. Many people were surprised to see any backtracking in Halo 3 given the flak you guys took for it in the original Halo.
TG: | think we were sensitive to that, because it was a perfectly valid criti-
cism of Halo 1. But, [the second level
in Halo 3] “Crow’s Nest,” for exam- ple—you spend a lot of time back- tracking and running back through rooms, but | don’t think it’s the same thing. That particular level was more of an experiment to have people feel like they were actually in a real space, developing some knowledge of the terrain. So | don't really feel like that was a failure on the part of the single- player guys—I thought it was a really good mission — but | can see where
that complaint comes from.
EGM: Opinions also vary on some pieces of equipment. What equip- ment do you think works well, and any you'd like to change?
TG: | think the Bubble Shield is a posi- tive example, where it totally worked— we're really happy with that one. [On the other hand], the Trip Mine...it was [potentially] a really powerful griefing tool for betraying your teammates,
50 we had to water it down...it never worked right. We're not really happy with that piece of equipment.
EGM: Any rejected ideas for equip- ment you can share?
BJ: [Sandbox Design Lead] Jaime Griesemer just reminded me of an example: the Vortex. It was deployed similarly to the Energy Drainer, thrown in front of the player, creating г black-hole or magnetic field. It would "suck" in any object or projectile within range: grenades from midair, tracers from rifles would alter course into the Vortex rather than your face, etc. It would even affect nearby objects like Fusion Coils and [even other] players. As cool as it sounds, it was ultimately cut because it was too “expensive” from a networking and performance standpoint.
ЕСМ: On to weapons—you think the Needler is finally vindicated іп ` Halo 3 after sucking so hard in Halo 1 and 2?
TG: You know, sometimes | feel like the Needler is overpowered, and other times I’m cursing at the Needler. | think it’s actually working
good, in a way; | tl really did find its way
EGM: We've been hearing lots of people complain about the Mauler ` being too powerful...
s Ше Mauler melee combo [where `
paying attention to. | see us looking at [mul saying, “Y’know, we should dial | the Maulers.” It’s something we’ playing by ear.
EGM: Some are bummed it’s tough to find any ranked games with friends, even if they are just a few skill levels apart. Is that a concern?
TG: We do feel like that [the m
system] is a problem; it’s m
1л Е et m 27) а] ED [S [4 Ш Ги iL T
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aggressive than we intended for it to be. We're actively investigating that one right now to figure out what the best solution is. That's certainly one of the things on our list.
EGM: What about the different pieces of armor you can unlock to customize your character in multi- player—do any of these shiny new additions make you a bigger or smaller target for enemy bullets?
54 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
TG: The only ones that do are a cou- ple of the nonstandard Elite helmets that are slightly differently shaped. We're still pretty confident that those things are evenly balanced. Certainly they’re not unbalanced in the way they were in Halo 2. We always knew that the Elites were going to be a little bit different than the Spartans, but it's ‘still playing pretty fairly, | think.
EGM: We heard a rumor that the hittable area of the special Bungie- employee-only flaming helmet is half the size of a normal helmet. What is up with that?
TG: Half the size? What are you talk- ing about, it doesn’t exist! [Laughs] There actually isn’t a Bungie helmet. Pil let you in on a secret here: It's actually a Bungie chest piece, and the chest piece has the fire on the collar, so we're free to use any helmet that we like.
ЕСМ: But even when you're invis- ible, the flames show up, right?
TG: It’s a bit of a penalty for us; we knew that going in. You can turn it off if you want, but it’s something there to just have fun with people.
EGM: What can you tell us about other secrets hidden in the game? We've seen a pic of a monkey tribe in the first level....
TG: [Laughs] That's actually the face of our art lead, Marcus Lehto.
| heard Jason’s in the game ‘somewhere as well...
TG: Yeah, [Bungie co-founder] Jason Jones, he's the shirtless guy [hidden] in the last level.
EGM: What about the skulls you can find in the campaign maps? Is there a particular skull combination you personally recommend activat- ing for a tough, but not impossible, experience?
BJ: I'll have to credit to [Content Editor] Luke Smith for helping estab- lish my de facto skull [playlist]: | like to enable Tough Luck, Thunderstorm, Mythic, and Tilt for a challenging
> We have no plans [to develop a different system], but we coi
—Bungie Community and Franchise Lead Bri
experience that is still reasonably attainable without endless frustration (e.g., Iron Skull).
EGM: Are there any secrets or funny inside jokes in the multiplayer levels. we might have missed out on? `
TG: There are some places or els where you might see em artist names listed as "Architect." The firm of Buelterman, Carney,
and Cotton [all Bungie multiplayer guys], that's in one of the levels. The “Traxus” name on the crates you see all over the place [is] from [the ol Bungie shooter] Marathon, a Бас! К ground story character named Traxus. Ps. Funny story with that is, one of the
testers almost immediately filed a bug saying that word was a slur, Беса! if you read it [flipped around], it says. “art sux.” It was totally unintentional, but our art lead commented [on the bug] in a big font, “WHAT IS THIS CRAP?" [Laughs]
EGM: It seems like the announce-
ment that Bungie was separating
from Microsoft was downplayed $ quite a bit, like not much was Š actually going to change at all.
So tell us: What exactly is different — now that Bungie is an independen development studio?
BJ: Right now, things are Don that different at all. We're wol on Halo-related projects that ми had [already] been working oi
Microsoft. The attitude is d є though—we are excited ab:
very much in close partnership Microsoft, and we both enjoy i ally beneficial relationship.
In the future, should we GES branch out to a new [ perhaps Microsoft wa: in funding, we'd have the flexi investigate other partners different platform. We hav
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56 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • ЕСМ:
> MASS EFFECT
Going beyond the galaxy with BioWare’s epic role-playing game
Mass Effect Project Director Casey Hudson likes tender conversations with aliens. And six-legged cows, No, he’s not weird—all of this
is perfectly normal in BioWare’s space RPG. We sat down with Hudson to find out more about this
Casey Hudson is BioWare's project director for Mass Effect. Before that, he was the project lead on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
It's still there in a sense; when you press the X button, it worked out so you could skip lines of dialogue. As things wrapped up toward the end of the project, there were some aspects of [the dialogue system] that weren't working the way we had intended. But that's definitely something that we want to be the focus with the next Mass Effect. We want to add not only the ability to interrupt characters, but also other active things to the conversations.
It's definitely a skill, something we never had to do before Mass Effect. | would say our writing team spent a couple of months ramping up on learning how to do that well. | think they definitely had fun with it. The paraphrases were opportunities to replace a well-written, well-crafted sentence with something that makes the player chuckle— but also tells them exactly what will happen if they make that choice.
Well, the item comparison is probably a lot better than KOTOR's because we now show you a graph that compares [the stats] of one weapon to another. As you can imagine, the inventory-management
system for a role-playing game is probably one of the biggest and most complicated systems. It's actually one of the drawbacks to giving people so much to do and so many things. We didn't get much negative feedback during development with the inventory screen, although [if stuff doesn't work right], that's definitely something we want to fix in the future.
Actually, no. We try to make sure we're giving you lots of places to go and not designing it with a bias for a certain path. We tried to create a feeling around the middle of the game that you can go wherever you want and in the order you choose, and it'll work out as well as anything else.
| really like Liara. She's an alien but turned out to be the most *human" character in the game. She's very sensitive; | like the little conversations you have with her aboard the Normandy where she tells you her hopes and fears. It's a very tender little story about her character.
One of the neat things is going back to our solar system and helping the Human Alliance on the moon. You'll drive around, and as you're cresting a mountain, you'll see the Earth come up over the horizon—it's actually pretty cool. Then there's Eletania, the planet with a quest that involves space monkeys, which always gets a laugh around here. We also made six-legged space cows for
the planet Nodacrux, but one of our designers didn't like them because he thought they looked too creepy. But he let us put the cows in the game on the condition that one of them would follow you around and eventually pickpocket you.
1л r I л Er] a т Б [4 w F L T
Unfortunately, we haven’t announced any specifics about downloadable content, but we’re working on some really соо! stuff.
Yes, it will definitely be much, much bigger and better than KOTOR’s. From the beginning, we were able to plan for DLC because we knew even before the 360 came out how important the Xbox Live stuff would be. So it was built into the design of Mass Effect and built to work really well. That's part of the reason why we created this big galaxy—it's a good place for us to place downloadable content.
Yeah, that was always my hope. Obviously, the first took the longest because we had to build so much new technology. But now we can get done a lot faster with parts two and three. It'll also come down to the lifespan of the system—it seems like they keep getting shorter and shorter. But if the 360 is around a few more years, we'll be able to put them all out, and you'll get to play with the same character you created in the first game.
In general, Mass Effect is a game that streams all the way through. We could've had more load screens, but instead we let you physically get into an elevator—still be in the game, hearing news reports or your characters talking—while you transitioned to another area. But, yeah, they weren't the most epic part of the experience. [Laughs] >
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM “ 57
this 2 effort and talked to Marketing Director Doug Lombardi, Episode
Two Lead David Speyrer. Portal Level Designer Kim Swift. and Team Fortress 2 Programmer/Designer Robin Walker. RUN
Why not include the first Half- console players aren’t up and Half-Life 2’s story
will be lost on them.
Ме thought about › great as the idea is, we just had to let it go in order to get all five of the games that are included
_ in Orange done, tested, and—in the . case of the consoles—processed
through certification.
EGM: Episode Two's Little Rocket
Man Achievement [carry the garden gnome from the first shack to the rocket hatch at the end] is hardcore. What do you do when you're in the car?
[EU GC Some people find. different places where they can wedge it in the car. One person wedged it though the back windshield—there's а hole back there where you can kinda stick it. It works for a while, but eventually it'll roll out if you go around a sharp corner or something.
EGM: Episode One stuck closely to the Half-Life 2 formula, to the point of being too similar. Episode Two mixes things up. So what can we expect from Episode Three?
+ We haven't announced any details on Episode Three, but the direction for the series can be charted against the direction from One to Two.
EGM: Where will Episode Three fall in the Half-Life saga?
|» . Episode Three will close this chapter of the game, but not the franchise. Once Episode Three is complete, we will basically have made what should have been called Half- Life 3.
EGM: How will you deliver Episode Three? After Orange Box, gamers will feel ripped off if the third episode ships by itself.
= We're giving a lot of thought to that right now. History shows that almost every time we release a new product for the PC, we change the tules a little and try something new.... Look back at Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition including Team Fortress
58 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * ЕСМ. ИРСОМ
л, Бох
Classic, Half-Life 2 including Counter- Strike: Source, Orange Box.... We also aim to give customers choices about how they want to buy the products. So, Рт sure we'll follow tradition and break tradition on the next [package]. What that looks like, exactly, is still being defined.
EGM: Since you can't exactly run Steam [Valve's online multiplayer and distribution service for PCs]
on the consoles, any thought of working with Microsoft or Sony
to sell your games individually on Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Network Store?
ıı We'd like that very much, please. As soon as they’re ready, we'll do it.
EGM: Portal is the funniest game we’ve ever played. Psychonauts cowriter Erik Wolpaw wrote it. How’d you go about enabling him?
7 We would always make jokes about stuff, and if we laughed... we put it in the game. Erik would say something; that would spark one of us to reflect what he was saying in the [game's] environment. Like with the Weighted Companion Cube—it was this constant back-and-forth between gameplay and writing and environment...
ЕСМ: We've heard you've gotten e-mails from people saying they had а harder time incinerating the Companion Cube than harvesting Little Sisters in BioShock.
It's actually pretty crazy for us here to see everyone so in love with
the Weighted Companion Cube. We deliberately designed the map you get the Cube in to revolve around carrying it everywhere and using it
in a bunch of different ways. | think that, coupled with Erik’s hilarious dialogue and the [Cube] being unique from all of the other cubes you've encountered, seems to make a lasting impression.
EGM: Will Portal’s gun and heroine, Chell, wind up in Episode Three? Or will Portal become its own series?
ıı We're still in the midst of figuring
out our plans. We've gotten plenty of
input from forums and people e-mail- ing in, and we're definitely taking their thoughts into consideration.
ЕСМ: What are people demanding?
>) A variety of things: map packs, multiplayer/co-op, Portal 2, Portal
gun in Episode Three, and beyond. Right now, we’re prototyping a few of these ideas and more. Getting Portals to work at all is a fairly significant challenge. but now that we're able to capture feedback from what worked in the first version, we have a lot to build upon for future versions.
EGM: We hear you can track how long it takes players to complete Portal. What's the average finish time, and what's the maximum time Portal should take players before you consider them morons?
.-. Everyone is different: Some people prefer to go through games as fast as they can, and others enjoy taking their time. | personally fall
. Elf quest: Episode Two's carry-the-gnome Achievement was inspired
by player-invented goodie-hauling challenges from Half-Life 2 on PC.
toward the latter end of the spectrum, but | certainly wouldn't call myself a moron. Our average playtime during playtests was three to six hours.
| don’t know. | mean, we just sort of put it out there as a “what if’? What if games can be this short, but still be enjoyable and fun? We're still not sure what we want to do next, but when we stepped into Portal, we wanted to take a risk on many different dimensions... There's the risk of, it's too short— what are people going to say about that?
And also, it's an experiment in creating easily consumable chunks of game. | know everyone can commit maybe a couple of hours a week to до watch a movie, but not a whole lot of people will commit 20 hours a week to play a game...
We expected this, because it's the most straightforward Medic pairing. It's great for killing bad guys but is going to have trouble attacking a well-placed sentrygun.
If you can run to the sentrygun, a Pyro-Medic pairing is probably best. If you can't reach it and need to take it out at range, your best bet is a pairing with a Demoman or Soldier. A Heavy-Medic pair is always more easily countered, with both Snipers and Spies able to easily take out the Heavy. The faster-moving combat classes, like the Pyro and Demoman, aren't as easily countered.
As soon as we get them done. We're playtesting several now. `
Special thanks to sister publication Games for Windows: The Official Magazine for helping with our Orange Box interviews.
If it seems difficult to find a PlayStation 3 gem, you obviously
haven't uncovered Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. We have— that's why we round- ed up Naughty Dog Copresident Evan
Wells and Uncharted
Director Amy Hennig
to spill the jewels on
their game.
Evan Wells, copresi- dent of Uncharted developer Naughty Dog, has worked on some expected (the Jak and Crash series) and unexpected projects. Panic on Funkotron, anyone?
The career of game director Amy Hennig also covers a lot of ground. Before mov- ing over to Naughty Dog, she was at Crystal Dynamics
working on the Legacy of Kain series.
60 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • ЕФВМЛИР.СОМ
ЦЧЕНАЕТ ЕС: DRAKE'S FORTUNE
On the scent of Naughty Dog’s gorgeous treasure hunter
EGM: So, how much did Gears of War influence Uncharted’s development?
Evan Wells: Certainly we all played Gears of War and liked it. It set a bar visually that we knew we wanted to compete with.... As far as gameplay,
| think Гуе heard them cite the same game that put us on this path: kill.switch. Gears of War obviously took that to another level, and again, that level of polish helped push us.
EGM: Drake hardly seems like an everyman hero, given his perfect aim and all these great leaps he does... why was he billed as such?
Amy Hennig: It's funny; everybody uses that term differently. For instance, people call Bruce Willis in Die Hard an everyman hero.
EW: The reason we bring it up so often is to point out that we're trying to distinguish ourselves from characters like Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, and Lara Croft, who are these superheroes, these acrobats, and who stick every landing. Nathan Drake is not that, and yet he still manages to be a hero.
EGM: Elena, on the other hand, is more of a refreshing character—not all boobs and leather. Was this a conscious attempt to avoid that kind of femme fatale character?
AH: Well, she has boobs and she's wearing a leather belt...
EGM: [Laughs] You got us there.
AH: It was definitely a conscious choice. If Nate's going to be an everyman, we want her to be an everywoman...like a 21st-century version of the classic "305 foil for the hero—the spunky, cute girl next door. She has her own humor, her own strengths and weaknesses in her personality. So that meant, in her character design, that she has a real person's proportions.
EGM: About the puzzles, they wouldn't make much sense without Drake's diary in terms of figuring out what you have to do, but that diary pretty much spells out exactly what you need to do. Were the
puzzles intentionally made this straightforward?
AH: We focus-tested this game... and it came back that people either marked the puzzling just right or a little too hard.
EW: Some of those puzzles were ratcheted up a notch or two [earlier
in the game's development], and we had to back them off because they became brick walls and players would become stuck.
АН: I'm almost wondering as an older gamer that maybe the current crop
of gamers [have different tastes]? We were concerned going into the focus tests that we needed to make more difficult puzzles. And the opposite information came back consistently.
EGM: The final boss battle at the end of the game is a little bit lame. Did you ever have plans for a different finale?
EW: Nothing dramatically different. We created this island and this world, so we had to come up with a boss battle that fit within those confines. If we had a few more weeks, we probably would have made the setup a little more elaborate, but it was still pretty much the direction we were headed.
AH: [With] a lot of games, you get this jumping-the-shark problem at
the end because you've got to be ramping up to something. Because movies are more about the narrative and the emotional experience, they get away with less. Whereas with games, it's almost like we have to shift our thinking away from boss battles to peaks of the experience.
EGM: In the end, do you feel you captured what you were going for?
AH: It's doing what we wanted it to do. So many games are cynical and dark and gritty; we wanted this to feel colorful, optimistic, humorous, and romantic. Those are funny words to use for a videogame, particularly one where you're popping hundreds of guys in the head with bullets, but it's that sense of the romance of adventure that we felt was lacking in so many games these days. $h
тейге this genre-defining franchise?
IRL AGRA ESAS a or S
SAY IT ALONG WITH US: Street never attained the popularity of SF2. Fighter...IV. Seems almost hard to ^ "Fora lot of people, Super Nintendo believe, right? Fighting-game fans _ Fight Il was the last one know that Capcom doesn't whip out “they really played,” says Ono. "SF3, larger Roman numerals for SF very ^^ unfortunately, got lost in the shuffle." often. We've endured 10 years of Also, consider the fact that creat- spin-offs, updates, rereleases, and ing a new installment in an influential remakes since Street Fighter Ill. And franchise presents a daunting task
as it turns out, SF4's very existence for developers. Liberally tinkering
is something of a miracle—this long
with the classic formula could eas-
the beginning, the prevailing attitude ^ shouldn't be laid to rest. “Let's get
at Capcom had been that there this straight: Getting this game made a i ne Бај ано нону ао eeey prog мет
explains SF4 Producer Yoshinori Capcom,” says Ono. “There was
Ono. "Everyone had given up onthe certainly resistance at first, but the
idea because too much time had more interaction | had with fans at руни since SF3, and — at conventions, the more | realized that арорт seemed perfectly ОК with desperately expected thie ооа em it end.” — appen, and that Capcom had to Why would the publisher choose to do it." And the success of a certain
the popularity of fighters. The reign Fighter 1р: пани Fighting on XBLA, of the 2D fighting game ended well it might not be the highest-quality over а decade ago, and no series product, but the fact that it sold so was immune from the fallout: Despite _ well despite that proves that a lot of garnering critical acclaim and a hard- people are still really into this series,” core fan following, the Street Fighter Ono says. “l don't feel that the brand Alpha and Street Fighter І games is dead in the U.S.—if anything, it's >
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM-TUPCOM * 63
е on Xbox Live Arcade
4
Street Fighter И, is that you?
Street Fighter ЇЇ remains the single most important and influential fighting game of all time. But that doesn’t mean that every conversion of Capcom's clas- sic title is a winner. Check out what happens when SF2 gets squeezed onto platforms it has absolutely no business appear- ing on.
и Commodore 64
E ZX Spectrum
E 8-bit NES (unlicensed port)
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like a sleeping giant, but we want to kick him in the ribs and wake him up." Determined to restore the SF dynasty to its rightful place atop the fight- ing-game pantheon, Ono was finally able to persuade his boss, Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune, to green-light the project in 2005. Now, after years of rumor and speculation, the curtain finally rises on Street Fighter IV.
Unfortunately, due to the veil of secrecy surrounding the game, we're afraid that some crucial details — including concrete info about when it's coming or what platforms it will appear on—remain strictly off-limits (though if you keep reading, you'll catch a few hints). But we didn't let that stop us from delving deep into the drama behind SF4's creation and getting our hands on the decade's most important fighting game.
The man behind 5Е4 So, just who is this headstrong cham- pion leading the charge for SF4?
64 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
Р
Tokyo-based Ono wasn’t around back in the days of Street Fighter
II (the main men behind that land- mark title, Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda, have long since left Capcom to pursue other endeavors), but he did work on the well-received Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter III titles. Unfortunately, the most recent fighter on his résumé isn't quite so impressive: He oversaw 2004's sloppy Capcom Fighting Evolution (PS2/XB). But perhaps that’s a forgivable sin: When we first met Ono in 2005, he candidly admitted to CFE’s failings, and acknowledged that the game was actually a salvaged version of a scrapped 3D arcade fighter known as Capcom Fighting All-Stars. A couple of years later, he’s still apologizing for CFE. “That game was basically thrown into my lap after another producer left the company halfway through devel- opment,” Ono says. “Where the game broke down was the idea of having all the different gameplay systems intact,
Yee 2888 OOD
E To answer the burning question that's on everyone's lips: Street Fighter IV features fully 3D graphics but strictly 2D gameplay.
so it wasn’t really balanced.”
Humble honesty such as that rarely surfaces in this industry, and Ono isn’t your typical fighting-game maestro. From our experience, the creators behind your favorite fighters tend to be cooler-than-thou egomaniacs or buttoned-up salarymen. Ono is nei- ther, instead exuding an easygoing affability and playful creativity remi- niscent of Mario mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto. Ono's even a bit of a Renaissance man, having penned the genuinely slammin’ hip-hop tune that plays during SF3: 3rd Strike’s intro. During our meeting, he was all smiles, constantly cracking jokes, and brim- ming with excitement to finally show off the game he fought so hard to pro- duce. Yet this project clearly comes saddled with a tremendous amount of pressure, and Ono's kind demeanor doesn't mean that he's a pushover. “We still have a lot of people in Capcom R&D who worked on the original SF2, and many who joined the
company because of that game,” he says, “so, as you can imagine, people have their own ideas on how SF4 should be made. We've been butting heads a bit trying to figure it all out, and it won't be easy from here on in, but the title is important enough that I'm willing to sacrifice for it.”
A return to form
Ono's goal with Street Fighter IV is simple: He wants it to be the second coming of Street Fighter И. Younger gamers probably can’t fathom just how huge that game was 15 years ago. Although it wasn’t the first fight- ing game (that accolade belongs to Karate Champ...or maybe Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots), it was the one that became a phenomenon, bring- ing 1-on-1 hand-to-hand combat to the masses and inspiring a galaxy of clones. At its peak, SF2 machines were so ubiquitous in arcades across America that it wasn’t peculiar to see multiple rows of identical cabinets
A ся © IN THE REMAKING
Last spring, Capcom announced that U.S. developer Backbone Entertainment would helm a high-definition remake of Super Street Fighter И Turbo for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network featuring completely redrawn art by the comic-book artists at Udon. It’s an ambitious project: In addition to giving the graphics а modern-day makeover, the developers also plan to create an entirely original game mode that rebalances the char- acters, simplifies special move inputs, and adds a host of new maneuvers to the World Warriors’ arsenals.
Since its announcement, Super Street Fighter И Turbo HD Remix has remained largely under wraps, leaving fans to pore over unfinished character art, blurry screenshots, and shaky camera-phone footage that leaked onto the Net. When Capcom finally unveiled an early playable version at а recent London press event, few were surprised to hear that the game's release had been pushed back to a highly nebulous “2008.” Based on our hands-on time with a very limited demo, we feel that the final product should meet fans' expectations. The new art style looks incredibly clean and crisp, and the gameplay feels perfectly fine (assuming you have à joystick).
> It's important to look back at Street Fighter И and see what players enjoyed about that game.
packed with quartered-up opponents. Back then, SF2 mania reached such an absurd level that it even became an internal mandate that EGM would feature the game prominently on our magazine's cover every month.
So how does Ono hope to recap- ture that bygone Street Fighter zeit- geist? “With SF4, | think it's important to look back at SF2 and see what players enjoyed about that game,” he says. “We want it to feel like a homecoming, for it to be natural and instinctive for users to return to.” He believes that SF2 players opted out of successive SF iterations because of convoluted gameplay systems and unfamiliar characters. Having worked on Capcom Fighting Evolution, he’s experienced both of those missteps firsthand: Ryu Dragon-Punching some cartoony half-octopus/half-nautilus monstrosity was basically Street Fighter jumping the shark.
Ono wants serious Street Fighter fans to love SF4, but he’s equally
—SF4 Producer Yoshinori Ono
concerned with attracting casual SF2 players to the game. “Those of us who played it back in the day—either in arcades or on the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis—now we're out of col- lege, out in the world with real jobs.... We want to bring those guys back into the fray," Ono explains. He intends
to do that by giving this new chapter instantly recognizable characters, . . - gameplay, and visuals. “We realize
that people still love SF2 and see it as 4
the pinnacle of fighters,” he says. “We x 5 ,
want to respect that legacy.” ` A'S: ç .
Such а tease Ñ аў
` At a recent press event in London, » a Capcom revealed a teaser video for ; ` a Street Fighter IV amid a chorus of A ir cheers and gasps. In the brief CG clip, A SF poster boys Ryu and Ken trade . ` blows in a stormy forest. The fight's \ impressive, but the fresh new art style steals the show: Expressive brush- 59 strokes апа Okami-style “sumi-e” ink splatters create the look of a living
ELECTROMIC GAMING MONTHLY ۵ ГД
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> SF4 TA THE FIGHT ONLINE
With the newest renditions of Virtua Fighter, Tekken, and Soulcalibur all promising online fighting action, Street Fighter IV wisely plans to follow suit. “Online play is an absolute necessity for SF4,” Producer Yoshinori Ono says. “The project is still early, so ! can’t go into much detail, but we want this mode to tie into the central SF concept of going out into the world to fight different people and become stronger.” Surprisingly, Capcom doesn’t seem concerned with the pitfalls of Internet latency. “We're building our game around the existing online technology,” Ono says. “There’s no reason you can’t make an enjoyable online fighter as long as you're aware of the technological limitations —you just find a way to work around them."
Don't expect to see the same wacky item-collection and customization options offered by VF and Tekken's online games in SF4, though. “The characters in this series are quite iconic, and everyone has a lot of love and respect for them," says Ono. "The idea of Ryu wearing a girl's sailor suit and a funny hat would kind of crush the SF memory that we all know and love."
An online-enabled SF4 also allows for the possibility of future content updates, including new characters, stages, and gameplay modes. "Microtransactions are a cool idea from a gamer's perspective,” says Ono. “I'd really like to go that route, but it's up to the company as a whole to decide whether or not we can do that... It's difficult to adjust to the new landscape of digital distribution."
À AX И Hopefully SF4 will be able to overcome the lag problems players witnessed in Hyper Fighting.
painting. While this assuredly seems like a cool manner of reintroducing the world to the franchise, the trailer reveals precious little about the game itself...including what it looks like or how it plays. & Millions of trailer downloads апа inflammatory message-board posts ° later, Capcom's finally ready to stop teasing and start showing. Now that ЕСМ has seen—and played—Street Fighter IV, we have to wonder if that , teaser may have looked a little too “ stylish and impressive. The actual game incorporates subtle elements of that stylish ink-splatter aesthetic (mostly in menus and between-round displays), but it renders its characters and environments in a slightly car- toon-shaded style that manages to a evoke Street Fighter Il reimagined in . 3D. The game has a clean look, with visible black lines outlining vividly col- ored characters. "We're aiming for an art style that looks like moving paint- ings rather than a hyperrealistic look,"
Ono says. “But I’m not terribly worried about users being disappointed that the final game doesn't look like the teaser trailer.... We do feel that if we made a fighting game entirely in the style of the teaser, it might be too impractical and too hard to play." We'll be honest: When we first gazed upon SF4, we weren't exactly blown away by the graphics, at least in a conventional sense. Its fluid ani- mation and speedy action (even at this early point in development, the game runs at a rock-solid 60 frames per second) impress, yet the game doesn't look much like that astonish- ing teaser trailer, nor does it have the detailed sheen of upcoming genre competitors Soulcalibur IV and Tekken 6. Nor was it supposed to. "When I look at other upcoming games, | see a predictable pattern: Everything is going toward a very photo-realistic look," Ono says. "That's only given the team more confidence, as we're definitely going in a fresh direction
with our art style." Street Fighter IV's distinctive look draws its inspiration from the talented artists who have worked on the series during the last two decades. "You've seen a lot of Street Fighter art from our illustrators over the years that looks like oil paint- ings or watercolors," Ono explains. "So when we first started this project, we thought, "What would that look like if it were moving in 3D?”
While the game doesn't look like a moving painting in its early state, we see tremendous potential for the style. The 3D character models look completely unlike anything you've seen in other fighting games, with vis- ible veins and musculature moving in real time under their skin to give them an uncanny living-anime vibe. “We've never been able to convey realistic facial expressions that make you feel like you're in a real street fight," Ono explains. “Maybe you'd see someone puke after a strong hit in SF2, but now you'll finally see guys wincing in pain
and cheeks being deformed by fists їп real time.”
He's definitely onto something—we watched with sadistic glee as Ryu’s eyes bugged out and his face con- torted with each Dragon Punch our Ken dished out. And Ono claims that he’s only just begun to dabble with this form of grisly visual payoff. “1 hope that we can include some sort of visible reactions from the characters based on how much damage they receive and where they’re hit,” Ono says. "We'd like to add details such as if a character gets hit in the shoul- der multiple times, perhaps his shoul- der hangs a little lower, or perhaps his animations are affected.”
2D or not 2D...
that is the question
Ono is prepared to shock fans with SF4's daring new graphical style, but he's thankfully not looking to rock their worlds by needlessly thrusting the gameplay into three dimensions,
Bi Look for Capcom to incorporate more A of the teaser trailer's ink-splatter style into SF4's menus and cinematics.
> If they really want to make a game with 3D gameplay so badly, perhaps we can revisit the idea for Street Fighter VI or VII.
> MORE CAPCOM COMEER
even though the backgrounds and characters have made the transi-
tion. "Gameplaywise, we're sticking with 2D, and that's a very deliberate choice," Ono says. "We want to pre- serve the strategic nature of SF2 and SF3, where matches unfold almost like a chess game." He's right: The Strict two-dimensional limitations of the old games foster the fundamental balance between offense and defense that makes Street Fighter so incred- ibly fun and addictive. You won't
find any eight-way run or sidesteps here. “I feel the need to vehemently protect what's at the title's absolute core: a side-view 2D game with one character on the left and another on the right, fighting each other in an arena in a very serious manner," says Ono. "We don't want 3D movement or dynamic camera sweeps, as we really must maintain the atmosphere of the confined battle." The camera doesn't budge during fights; you'll only spy dramatic spinning camera angles dur-
—Yoshinori Ono
We asked Ono if he'd like to try reinventing any of the other fighting franchises languish- ing in Capcom’s stable. As it turns out, he sure does: “Personally, I'd love to make a new
Marvel vs. Capcom, and I'd also like to see the triumphant return of Darkstalkers to a new generation of technology. It would be an interesting challenge with Darkstalkers, because
in the old games you'd see a lot of really interesting animations as characters would morph into different forms. That would be tricky to do with this 3D engine, but not impossible. In two or three years, if | got the chance to resurrect that series, I'd like to shock Hollywood with how good the graphics would look.”
ing flashy Ultra Combos and end-of- round replays.
Settling on this 2D-gameplay-in- a-3D-world model wasn’t an easy decision. “Within the company, there were plenty of people who felt that we should go fully 3D with SF4’s game- play,” Ono admits. “But | have too much respect for Street Fighter as it’s always been, and 3D fighters can be very intimidating... | know that people want to play something that they already understand.” Attempting to reinvent the franchise with gameplay that mimics that of Tekken or Virtua Fighter would likely serve to alienate all the lapsed SF2 fans that Capcom aims so desperately to please. “l told those who wanted a 3D SF4 to keep their hands off my SF4,” Ono says. “If they really want to make a game with 3D gameplay so badly, perhaps we can revisit the idea for SF6 or 7."
Ono's adamant belief in the glory of 2D fighters begs the question:
Why not make the entire game using
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W In its current state, SF4 plays almost too fast...but it's intentional. If Capcom can ч balance the gameplay at a brisk clip, they know it will still work when slowed down. `
> STREET FIGHTER, FINAL FIGHT. АМО
THE TRUTHA
DUT FO
SENITALIA
Capcom's classic brawler Final Fight was originally titled Street Fighter '89, and we've seen plenty of FF-to-SF crossovers over the years. Ono claims that you won't find any direct FF references in SF4, but that didn't stop us from asking about a rumor that's haunted gamers for years: Is Final Fight's pink-haired cutie (and SF3: 2nd Impact costar) Poison actually a dude? "Let's set the record straight: In North America, Poison is officially a post-op transsexual," Ono reveals. "But in Japan, she simply tucks her business away in order to look like a girl." Apparently, a cross-dressing character with a penis was deemed taboo for sensitive Western audiences. Fun fact: Capcom replaced her with a butch male thug (pictured here) in the SNES version!
gorgeous high-res, hand-drawn art? "The thought of making SF4 fully
2D did cross my mind, as it would preserve the traditional gameplay," Ono says. "Guilty Gear does a good job of holding the torch for traditional 2D fighters, and Capcom's upcom- ing high-def remake of Super Street Fighter Il Turbo has it covered for us." So rather than retread that safe route, Ono and his team have opted to bravely venture into the realm of three dimensions. “I don't want to brag, but if you look at Street Fighter И, we've pretty much done all that's possible with animated sprites," Ono says. "There's simply not much for us to learn from doing another 2D game."
The gang's all back, and they're thicker than ever
If Capcom hopes to capitalize on gamers' fond memories of Street Fighter Il, stuffing SF4's roster with new characters and obscure weirdos simply won't do. Even if a
TRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
Skullomania-versus-Twelve melee might pique the interest of hardcore fans, most gamers might not even recognize such a freak show as being Street Fighter. "As a nod to the fans, we're trying to get as many of the original SF2 characters into the game as possible," Ono says. “SF3 was
a very great game, but we have our regrets about having a whole new roster of characters... We feel that we may have betrayed the audience we built up with SF2."
Although it seems somewhat like revisionist history, SF4 officially takes place after the events of Super Street Fighter И Turbo, but before the time of Street Fighter Ill. While that doesn't necessarily prevent the inclusion of a few popular faces from the SF3 and SF Alpha games, we definitely caught the drift that the traditional *World Warriors" from SF2 will constitute most of the starting roster. "We want to do everything we can in order to bring everyone back," Ono says. “The
last thing we want to do is to cut the character that [fans] loved."
Officially, the only four fighters guaranteed a return ticket for SF4 are Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Dhalsim, all of whom were playable in the early version we saw. And although their punches, kicks, and special moves look instantly recognizable to Super SF2 Turbo fans, the characters sport a new look. To put it bluntly, these street fighters have been bulking up in the off-season. "We really want to pre- serve the look from Super SF2 Turbo, but to also bring them up to date with modern times," Ono explains. "You'll notice that just about everyone has been beefed up for SF4."
If anything, the new art style seems like a concession to appeal to Japan's perception of Western tastes: The newly thick Ken and Ryu can now hang tough next to popular meat- heads such as Gears of War's Marcus and Dom. They've also seemingly had a decent chunk of their anime
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flavor surgically removed. Even the formerly svelte Dhalsim’s been hitting the gym. “We were originally going to go with the superskinny SF2 version of Dhalsim, but it just didn’t look right: He was like a stick figure compared to the bigger guys,” Ono explains. “We widened his shoulders but kept his ribs and collarbone visible in order to keep his general shape intact.” Luckily, Chun-Li hasn’t been hitting the ‘roids to fit in, but her controver- sially wide thighs will continue to be a point of contention for leg-obsessed fans (scope the sidebar on pg. 71 for the full scoop on her anatomy). Relying so heavily on the original SF2 cast would seem to put a seri- ous damper on SF4’s chances for gender equality, seeing as how Chun- Li was that game’s solitary female representative. Thankfully, Ono has plans to avoid such a sausagefest: “If you're worried about how ме"! bal- ance the gender war in our character roster, don’t necessarily focus on
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what female fighters from past games will reappear.... Ме"! have some new characters as well.”
But how does it play?
“The game is only about 1 percent complete,” warns Ono before letting us loose on an arcade cabinet hous- ing Street Fighter IV. Later, he corrects that to 2 percent, but even in its unfin- ished state, two-player Street Fighter IV delivers fun, addictive gameplay. We could clearly sense the potential, despite the severe limitations of this demo. We could play as any of the four aforementioned characters, but only Ken and Ryu both felt and looked somewhat complete (the others were obviously unfinished: Dhalsim lacked moves and Chun-Li sported 1993-era flat polygons). We didn't require any instruction—all the SF fundamentals carry over flawlessly. “For SF4, | knew that we had to keep the traditional eight-way joystick and six attack but- tons,” Ono says. “We have to protect
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that no matter what.” Even if you haven’t touched an SF since 1992, you'll instantly feel at home. Up still jumps, Back still blocks, throws are still cheap, and all of the moves you learned in 1991 still work here. “We need to keep the game approachable for everyone,” Ono says. “The first time you grab an SF4 joystick, you'll be able to pull off the Dragon Punches and Hadoken fireballs you remember without thinking too deeply.”
In its current early state, the game feels remarkably close to Super SF2 Turbo: wickedly fast and somewhat straightforward compared to the deeper defensive strategies offered by the Alpha and SF3 titles. “The big, overarching theme for SF4 is that the game is more aggressive,” Ono states. “It’s more about attack- ing and less about defending.” Even though recent SF titles offered greater customization (SF Alpha 3 gave users three different play styles to select from, while SF3 introduced a tricky
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Quick get-up
Saving . EX specials /
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UPCOM • 69
Parries
Alpha counters Tech rolls Custom combos Air blocking
Air fireballs
OOK DID
ee $$
parry system for expert players), these advancements left casual players confused. "Even though you and I may have enjoyed the parries in SF3, we're fighting-game maniacs," Ono says. "SF3 wasn't that popular, so a lot of players aren't really familiar with that system, and that might present an unnecessary hurdle for players who haven't been into fighters for a while." But that's not to say that Capcom is paring SF4's gameplay down to some archaic level. Even though many of the SF3 and Alpha gameplay systems have been scrapped, Super combos—originated in Super SF2 Turbo—remain intact, joined by a Souped-up new Ultra version (check the sidebar above for the full lowdown on these maneuvers). And hardcore Street Fighter IIl fans needn't be bummed out by the removal of that game's parry system— Capcom has a suitable replacement in the works. In fact, this new Saving system might actually offer untold tactical possibili-
A 70 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY г EGM.1UP.COM
ties. “The hardcore players are terribly important to us, so we have to give them a deep system to keep them interested,” Ono explains. “SF3’s par- ries were in early versions of SF4, but we've pulled them out and replaced them with the new Saving system
that broadens your possible options instead of limiting them." Saving uses a simple button combination to unlock a branching network of offensive and defensive possibilities depending on the player's skill level. Unfortunately, the system hadn't been implemented in the version we played, but we did get to watch Ono demonstrate its various uses. (Serious SF players should check out the sidebar on pg. 69 for an in-depth look at this pivotal new gameplay evolution.) Honestly, it's kind of ingenious and could fun- damentally alter the concept of high- level Street Fighter play. But you don't have to master those intricacies to
get use out of the move, either. *The great thing about the Saving system is
that it can be used by newcomers and expert players alike," Ono explains. Balance remains the only missing piece in SF4's gameplay puzzle. In the past, the series has had its dif- ficulties equalizing its various fighters’ strengths and weaknesses (remember Dhalsim’s inescapable Yoga Fire trap in the original SF2?), but recent SF titles have offered surprisingly well- matched rosters. “We absolutely want our players to have a well-balanced experience," Ono says. "We're obvi- ously thinking very hard about balance the entire time we're developing this title, but an online patch could also be a possibility if we run into balance problems down the road."
Fighting in the streets
As stoked as we were to play Street Fighter IV, we longed for a change of scenery after 45 minutes of beat- downs. Since the game's in such an early state, our myriad matches all took place in one stage—the same
3D throwback to Chun-Li’s memo- rable Chinese SF2 stage that frames all of our screenshots. While it’s certainly colorful and nostalgic, the backdrop isn’t quite there. “That stage you fought in is only about 50 percent done right now,” says Ono. “We want this place to feel as if people actually live there, to impart a better sense of atmosphere with subtle details and plenty of motion.”
One way of making the stages feel more alive will be to allow players to interact with them. "We're doing experiments with having elements in the stages react to being hit by fire- balls, or when your character lands from a jump having the objects near his feet move in real time," says Ono. “One of the experiments we did was with actual chickens walking by the action, and if a fireball went past them they'd actually roast. We'll add little details like that, but we do need to make sure that the player's attention remains squarely on the two char-
acters fighting." Does this mean that we can hope for real-time elephant dung in Dhalsim's stage? Considering Capcom’s effort to revisit the glory days of SF2, seeing additional 3D variations on familiar stage concepts seems like a safe bet. "We're going to make stages that remind you of past ones without being exact replicas.”
Unsolved mysteries
Sure, the game looks early, but its heart is in the right place, and it has all the basic ingredients for success. So, when can you get it, and what will you play it on? Good questions, but not ones that Capcom's prepared to answer. "| mean this in all sincerity: We haven't decided for sure what platforms SF4 will end up on, and if there will even be an arcade version, for instance," Ono says. "We're not looking to release it on a certain plat- form first and use that to collect info as a beta test and tune the game— we're instead taking the opposite
approach, by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and making a version to suit each platform as needed." The version we played was running on a PC that had been tucked away in an arcade cabinet (and we also heard rumors of a test ver- Sion hitting Japanese arcades in early 2008). While it might appear obvious that SF4 is headed to Xbox 360 and PS3 based on its visuals, Ono sug- gests that Capcom could produce a Р52 or DS version if they deem the market suitable.
In this era of console-specific third- party games (and "timed exclusives" like Lost Planet), one has to wonder if SF4 could end up allied with a single platform if the proper incentives were offered. But Ono doesn't seem inter- ested in these so-called moneyhats. f “Speaking personally as the producer, f 4 Га like to get it out on as many plat- forms as possible and in as many hands as humanly possible," he says. “| don't think that Га like to go the
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM • 71
ЕСМ Extras: Point your web browser to
in the coming weeks
for an SF4 bonanza,
with additional
interviews, features,
and an exclusive in-game trailer.
exclusive route...and I’ve made this known to the company as a whole, so ме"! see how that turns out.”
Not only is SF4’s eventual home still in question, but its release window also remains shrouded in secrecy. 2008 would seem like an ideal time frame, given that it’s Street Fighter’s 20th anniversary and all, but Capcom isn’t prepared to commit. “Of course, they've already announced the new feature film to mark the 20th anni- versary, but there are no guarantees that SF4 will necessarily make it out in time for that," admits Ono. “It could be a year or two after that!"
Living up to the legacy Videogame sequels don't get much bigger than Street Fighter IV, and attempting to recapture the magic
of a history-making, genre-defining classic surely isn't an easy task. The gravity of the situation isn't lost on Ono. “What happens when you revisit something that people remember
72 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
"НОЕ
ТН"
Ono dropped опе bomb-
shell aimed at longtime
ЕСМ readers. “I'll give you
a big scoop without going
into much detail,” Ono says.
“Let's just say that [jokes] that your magazine have reported in the past might find their way into the game
as fan servic:
Unless he’s planning on putting Sonic and Tails in the game as hidden characters, this would seem to imply that our famous Street Fighter Il “Sheng Long” April Fools’ joke may finally become real. For the uninitiated, Sheng Long is the official name of Ryu and Ken’s Dragon Punch, as well as the nickname of Ken and Ryu’s mentor, a leg- endarily powerful karate master referenced in the game's backstory. If he does appear in SF4, he'll go by the name Gouken (in the years since SF2, Capcom fleshed out the character's identity...and even made this action figure).
from their youth?" he asks. "People will be very nostalgic about the game, and everyone will envision precisely how they want it to be.... At this early stage, l'm emotionally preparing myself for the inevitable backlash."
Based on our time with the game, Ono shouldn't be that worried: He's doing right by the franchise. Although he initially comes off as a naive dreamer, his passion for the project is palpable. “All of the titles that I've worked on in the past were interest- ing, but they were nothing like this,” Ono admits. “I truly have a lot of love for Street Fighter, and | think about this as less of a game and more of a tool that allows people to enjoy the pure action of combat.”
Perhaps the best advice we could give Ono would be to not place too much weight on the countless forum posts his game is sure to inspire. He admits to regularly checking many of Japan’s most notorious mes- sage boards, and he was thrilled by
И SF4's colorful, stylized visuals purposefully hearken back to the ^ 5Р2 days, as does the soundtrack: Expect to hear plenty of remixes.
the positive reactions he saw to the teaser. "| think a lot of the internal pressure has been taken off now that the trailer is up and people seem gen- uinely excited about it,” Ono says. “I can tell my superiors that, yes, people do want this...but now the question becomes can you make something to live up to the legacy?"
If SF4 somehow fails to do that legacy proud, Ono may go into hid- ing. He was alarmed to see enraged Monster Hunter fans posting his pic- ture on message boards after Capcom made some unpopular tweaks (he's also a producer on the PC version of that online RPG), and he worried that angry players might recognize him on the train to work and confront him. Irate SF fans could be worse. “I better be careful with SF4, because I really like going shopping in the States," Ono says. "But we're going to get it right, even if we have to keep tweak- ing and balancing until the moment the discs go to manufacturing." жй
/ A GAMER, FERID.
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7 wbEo AMES. THE DEGREE /W EARNING
ar DEVRY WILL DEFINITELY BIVE НЕ A COMPETITIVE EDBE IN THE BAHING- INDUSTRY WHEN / &RADUATE. / VE MET TONS OF GAMERS AT DEVRY... AND THE PROFESSORS REALLY KNOW THEIR STUFF. IT'S MICE TALKING ТО PEOPLE wie HAVE AS НОСИ EXPERIENCE AS THEY 20.
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DeVry University operates as DeVry Institute of Technology in New York. ©2008 DeVry University. All rights reserved.
The main difference. = y between Golden |. *, De Axe: Beast Rider « _ < бы she-warrior Tyris Flare Ў (below) and her big- „лее че ын 8 haired 805 progenitor s. M (right): Jazzercise. `. - -
ghter IV isn’t the only new own. From Golden Axe to
Tomonobu Itagaki. Fortunately, the man charged with modernizing the hit Ninja Gaiden franchise—which dates back to a 1989 side-scroller on the _ Nintendo Entertainment .. System— got to do things his _ way. "The only constraints that the NES version of Ninja Gaiden
"One, the main character must be a superninja, and two, his name must be Ryu Hayabusa."
Of course, 2004's Ninja Gaiden
for Xbox was not a side-scroller.
Itagaki created a gorgeous, fiendishly difficult action game that spawned Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 installments, plus a bona fide sequel for the 360 next year. But making a killer remake isn't as easy as a certain ninja makes it look. It's just as easy to disappoint old-school fans (see sidebar for remakes that worked and didn't). Now more than ever, however, game publishers are digging through their back catalogs, finding classic titles they can “reimagine” into new games that'll inspire warm and fuzzy feelings. Why go through the bother of creating a new franchise, after all, when nostalgia sells?
Great expectations Ben Judd was 14 when he first played 1987’s Bionic Commando. “|
‘we al it was like Commando...in the year 3000 battling robotic aliens.
—Capcom Director of U.S. and U.K. Design Kraig Kujawa
was staying over at my best friend Michael Yu’s house,” he remembers. “Back in the day when gaming was much smaller and when you pretty much only got four or so games a year, if one of us would get a game, then the other person would crash at that person’s house and we would play the new game all night.” Impressed by the innovative swing mechanic that Bionic Commando's main character, Radd, used to navigate the levels, Judd became an instant fan. Now he’s producing Capcom’s new Bionic Commando for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Some things have changed—Radd now sports a less-goofy name, and the game is set 10 years after the original—but according to Judd, the core appeal remains. “There are new weapons, new enemies, and lots of new gameplay,” he says. “If you had to compare the game to anything, | would say we are shooting for what Ninja Gaiden did. They also stuck with the same name but added in new enemies, powers, and gameplay. Yet they still try to keep key elements and features from the original game so that fans would appreciate the new title."
Fan support will only get you so far, though. "We care very much about the hardcore fans, but we also need to make sure that there is
THREE REIMAGININGS THAT WORKED...
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fantasy flights, dizzying heights, killin’ in white, and open-heart surgery
SUPER MARIO GA АХ (GAME ~
: OF THE MONTH)
Nights: Journey of Dreams Soulcalibur Legends
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Super Mario Galaxy Trauma Center: New Blood Assassin's Creed
NCAA College Hoops 2K8 NCAA March Madness 08 Rock Band
MX vs. ATV: Untamed Time Crisis 4
Mario Party DS
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike
Reviews Wrap-Up
78 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.C
Two very different games share the spotlight this month. With Mario, we have a superstar returning to glorious form. Seriously, this guy is in a class with the likes of Vinny Testaverde and Julio Franco in terms of longevity, and the mustachioed one is still undoubtedly in his prime. He again shows the world how platformers should be done—well, minus that spring power- up. In doing so, he also nabbed Game of the Month honors and is on the inside track for Game of the Year.
Creed didn't fare as well. If you've been following this game, you've likely noticed mixed reviews, and this holds true with EGM. Yet I still have to play this game. Partially to see where on the scale it rests for me, but also simply because it's hard not to play a game surrounded by so much drama. Plus, Mario can't last forever, right?
— Greg Ford, Reviews Editor
You can also find the lead
EGM review on 1UP.com. The second and third reviews—you'll find those here.
We dole out awards to games based on their scores. Platinum: all 10s; Gold: 9.0 average and up; Silver: 8.0 average or higher. Game of the Month goes to the highest-scoring game with unanimously *Good" scores, and Shame of the Month is the reverse. Simple.
The Review Crew is the 1UP Network’s ensemble cast of writers from all of our publications, both online and in print. We believe that games are more than the sum of their parts, so we tack- le them subjectively, as ‘experiences.
Head over to ReviewCrew.1UP.com to meet all of the 1UP. Network's expert reviewers. And check out 1UP.com for reviews of games we didn't have enough time or room for.
p "UA 3
PAGE
Z0
Nights: As dreamy as ever?
Dan “Shoe” Hsu Editor-in-Chief/Editorial Dir. Three Mario reviews (Party DS, Galaxy, and Olympic Games)
in two months? That smile isn’t joy; Shoe's in some sort of cuteness-induced sugar shock/ coma. Maybe Smash Bros. (Feb.) can beat it out of him. Now Playing: Super Mario Galaxy, Halo 3, Street Fighter IV Blog: egmshoe.1UP.com
Jennifer Tsao Managing Editor
Jennifer has lots of New Year's resolutions for '08. Lose weight playing Rock Band! Lose weight playing Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games! Lose weight playing Wii Fit! She’s gonna be way active in "08.
Now Playing: Rock Band, Ratchet & Clank Future, Portal Blog: egmjennifer.1UP.com
Bryan Intihar
Previews Editor
Bryan rented out his bio space to Team Fortress 2, the best multiplayer experience on a console that people aren't playing. Go buy Orange Box so you can enjoy this gem along with him. Like, now!
Now Playing: Call of Duty 4, Super Mario Galaxy, Uncharted Blog: egmbryan.1UP.com
Michael Donahoe News/Features Editor Playing Assassin's Creed made Michael realize he doesn't fancy killing folks in games...or in real life, for that matter (phew!). But he does enjoy giving nice back massages—heal the pain, don't kill it. That's what he says. Now Playing: Orange Box, Са! of Duty 4, Super Mario Galaxy Blog: egmhoe.1UP.com
Nick Suttner
Reviews Intern, 1UP.com After a ridiculously close Rock Band loss in the finals of the media outlet Battle of the Bands, Nick figured there might be a worthwhile use for the GunCon 3 after all. To be continued. Now Playing: Skate, Team Fortress 2, Scrabble
Blog: rocksolidaudio.1UP.com
=. [74 Hanging on «= by a thread
THIS HOHTH'z REVIEW CREW
Take a good, long look—you never know when they'll pop up in your hood
PAGE PAGE Assassin’s:
transition
Shane Bettenhausen Also on
Executive Editor Working on this month's cover deck. . story inspired Shane to sharpen up his fisticuffs by sparring with E interns...who 1s TOU Sam Kennedy 25 Site Director
yet to master that complex new — 4UP.com “Saving” system. Now Playing: Street Fighter IV, James “Milkman” Super Mario Galaxy, Burnout: Mielke - Paradise, Crisis Core: FFVII E e: Blog: egmshane.1UP.com Йй
Garnett Lee Crispin Boyer Managing Editor Senior Editor 1UP.com Some folks thought Crispin's Ee 4.5 review score for Assassin's »
Previews Editor Creed was a little harsh, but ку 4Up.com telling that to the family of the innocent controller he smashed Andrew Pfister against the floor after one Reviews Editor particularly frustrating mission. !UP-com
Now Playing: Super Mario Darren Gladstone.
Galaxy, Orange Box Features/Tech Blog: egmcrispin.1UP.com Editor Games for Windows: The Greg Ford Official Magazine Reviews Editor
Reading this month’s cover Brooks Huber story got Ford all nostalgic for Editorial Intern the days of donnybrooks on the
docks, Vegas Strip showdowns, Andrew Fitch heated rumbles in the jungle... Sam orenen oh, and Street Fighter ЇЇ. Man, Gord Goble
he loved that game.
Now Playing: Super Mario Galaxy, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 Greg Sewart Blog: egmford.1UP.com Staff Reviewer
Staff Reviewer
я Todd Zuniga Jeremy Parish Sports Guy
Features Editor, 1UP.com Staff Reviewer Parish despairs at the prospect of ever catching up with all the great games he missed this fall because he was reviewing, uh, other great games. Too bad
he can't be at multiple places at once, otherwise the holiday game rush would be far easier, Now Playing: Everything! Blog: jparish.1UP.com
Joe Rybicki
Staff Reviewer
With the arrival of Guitar Hero Ill and Rock Band, Joe's been spending some time reliving
his sordid past as a punk-rock star. Here he is onstage at some basement club in New York City. Oh, such angst!
Now Playing: Halo 3, Guitar Hero III, Rock Band, Portal Blog: opmjoer.1UP.com
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM • 79
NIGHTS: JOURNEY OF DREAMS
E Publisher: Sega Ш Developer: Sonic Team lll Players: 1-2 Ш ESRB: Everyone
Lovely
aesthetics, lush music Lean on content, some con- fusing bosses The
new Wii Remote controls
Sega rewrites its Harlequin romance
If you harbor fond memo- ries of the original Nights Into Dreams for Sega Saturn, you’ll surely welcome this decade-late sequel with open arms...well, at least once you eschew the abhorrent new Wii-mote control scheme for a Classic Controller or GameCube pad.
Journey feels slavishly faithful to its predecessor in every respect, from the parallel mission structure for its two preteen protagonists to its immi- nently hummable Enya-meets-Disney soundtrack. Despite a few meager tweaks, the core gameplay remains intact: As the weirdly asexual Nights, you soar past surreal landscapes on a set, on-rails path, balancing speed, precision, and acrobatic tricks in order to finish with a high score. This
80 ° ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
old-school approach may not click for newbies (or the young tykes who will appreciate its for-babies-only nar- rative), but few Wii titles offer such addictive, finesse-driven mechanics and rewarding challenge. If only the same could be said for the amateur- ish 3D platforming levels, confusing boss encounters, and undercooked A-Life virtual-pet minigame....
I'm a little disappointed that the new Nights didn't blow me away like | was hoping it would. But the original Saturn game was so inno- vative, so complete, that nothing short of a next-gen reinvention was going to satisfy me 11 years later. That said, | did enjoy playing this conservative sequel, thanks to the re-created sym-
phonic score, the top-notch voice act- ing, and the solid controls (provided you ditch the Wii-mote). It'd be easy to write this one off as child's play, but it has a hidden depth that reveals itself over time.
As someone who didn't have that affinity toward the original as many others, | found Journey bizarre at first but quickly became captivated thanks to its fantastical atmosphere. While the game suffers from some basic issues, like uneven graphics, unskippable story sequences, and a lack of checkpoints, it offers a welcome challenge and a gameplay experience unlike any on the market. Just be sure to at least plug in a Nunchuk and you'll be flying fine. жй
SANYO Think GAIA For Life and for Earth
1000x MORE RESPAWNS.
Wirelessly frag enemies with the 1 battery that's equal to 1000 regular alkalines*
YE
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THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
NICK
GOO! ANDREW: P:
MICHAEL
n AVERAGE
The Good: Resident Evil works as a House of the Dead rip-off The Bad: Terrible voice acting and cheesy cut-scenes Wii Zapper: Makes headshots easier
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
MATT:
6.0
‘AVERAGE
MILKMAN
The Good: Nice character visuals The Bad: Repetitive gameplay, enemies, and environments Special Guest: Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia (GC)
11502 6
Don't shoot till you see the dead in their eyes
+ NICK: Shooting clouds of zombie vomit out of the air probably isn't the first use you'd think of for the Wii Remote, but here we are. Umbrella Chronicles isn't quite a light-gun game, nor is it a first-person shooter; think of it as an on-rails whirlwind tour of the series (sans RE4), retold and experienced from the perspectives of most everyone involved. The point- and-pull shooting is straightforward and mostly satisfying despite a lack of pinpoint precision and zombies that always seem to take slightly too long to kill, though the "horror" aspect gets lost since there's precious little time to build tension.
It's also a surprisingly meaty game, and having a second player gunning alongside allows you even more time
Wii
to shoot up the environment for hid- den goodies. Series fans will devour it as an excuse to flesh out the Resident Evil canon, but it features enough casual slaughter of the undead for anyone to enjoy.
+ ANDREW P: Not being the big- gest fan of the traditional RE games, | appreciated the capsule look at
the series’ story arc, as it was far more interesting than the other gun- based spin-offs in years past. To me, Resident Evil was always about intimi- dating foes, limited resources, and the wonderfully cheesy/kinda serious approach —Umbrella Chronicles gets that part right. The gun cursor lags a bit behind my actual aiming with the Wii Remote, and some of the boss
RESIDENT EVIL: THE UMBRELLA CHRONICLES
И Publisher: Capcom Ш Developer: Cavia Bi Players: 1-2 Ш ESRB: Mature
battles are tough, but | was pleasantly surprised by the varied environments. and plethora of firepower.
+ MICHAEL: | find it just a little funny that Sega's classic light-gun series House of the Dead has way more life than Umbrella Chronicles. Sure, it's great to take a gun-toting trip through the Resident Evil saga, but the actual creature-killing lacks the ghastly whimsy of the HOD games; unload- ing oodles (and oodles) of bullets into the undead just wasn't as gratifying as | thought it would be. Play with
a buddy, though, and it's way more fun. And easier— some bosses in the game are unnecessarily difficult with- out a companion at your side to help shoot down the frustration.
SOULCALIBUR LEGENDS
W Publisher: Namco Bandai Ш Developer: Namco Bandai Ш Players: 1-2 Ш ESRB: Teen
Merely a disappointing sideshow on the stage of history
+ MATT: Controls aside, almost every aspect of Legends feels dated. It's a basic action game in which you run down a corridor into an empty room, fight enemies until the progress- blocking transparent blue walls disap- pear, fight a boss by performing the same couple attacks over and over, read a bunch of text while looking at character art, then repeat, mostly with the same environments, enemies, and art. Because what the Soul Calibur series always needed was more story. But the controls are what you Should care about, and if you can get past the game's whole button-masher- with-forearm-swinging mentality, the setup actually works. You can pull the Remote back to launch enemies into the air, mix in Nunchuk movements
82 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
to perform special moves, and parry enemy attacks. It ends up feeling like a lot of work without enough payoff since the scenarios are so bland, but the mechanics could have been far worse, and the seven-character roster adds a nice bit of depth.
+ MILKMAN: Put simply, Legends feels like a bonus mode from a bigger game (think Tekken Force in Tekken 4) thanks to its sheer repetitive simplic- ity. You basically swing both sticks to jump and create various attacks, for hours, with little variation. | appreciate it, however, when a company takes a well-known franchise and successfully tries something new with it. And since Legends controls well and gives you seven beloved characters to play with,
| found this seemingly simple diversion worth the time.
+ SHANE: Wow, you guys are being far too kind to this sloppy spin-off. Legends succeeds solely as fan service, delivering a hefty chunk of backstory for its characters. As a stand-alone action-adventure game, it’s an absolute mess. These Calibur stars deserve better than wandering through countless crudely designed levels dispatching throngs of mind- less foes. Like Milky says, imagine Tekken's Force mode, but expanded to an undeservedly epic scale, rife with dullness and repetition. As for the haphazard motion controls “actually working," | had just as much success randomly flailing my arms around.
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SUPER MARIO GALAXY
W Publisher: Nintendo Ш Developer: Nintendo Ш Players: 1-2 Ш ESRB: Everyone
A brilliant
take on classic Mario Enough
damn coin collecting, and better camera controls, please
Is a big sack of lamesauce
In space, no one can hear you scream (with delight)
Super Mario Galaxy begins with a fleet of airships bomb- ing the Mushroom Kingdom back into the Stone Age—yes, the same airships that patrolled Bowser's turf in NES classic Super Mario Bros. 3. Coincidence? Not likely. Galaxy is probably the closest thing we'll ever see to a 3D version of Mario 3, and those iconic flying boats set the tone quite nicely. Like that 8-bit classic, Galaxy sees Mario tackling a huge array of wildly varied worlds one bite-sized chunk at a time, collect- ing wacky power-ups, and eagerly rewriting the rules of platform gaming; it’s rooted in and expands upon its genre-defining predecessor. (By which | mean Super Mario 64; sorry, Super Mario Sunshine fans, but this is back-
84 ° ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
to-basics gameplay, and squirt guns have no place here.)
That fact alone should be enough to send anyone who ever owned an NES rushing for the nearest store to pick up a copy of the game, but wait! It gets better. Galaxy also makes a good case for Nintendo's grand business scheme, bridging the divide between its hardcore fans and nontraditional newcomers with challenges that range from mild to insane. The controls are generally spot-on (although your brain may balk at the prospect of dodging enemies while running up a wall) and the game makes effective but taste- fully restrained use of the Wii Remote. Galaxy's overall structure is open enough that even a casual player can beat Bowser with a bit of practice...
but earning all 120 Stars throughout the game demands mad skills and maddening determination. He looks cute—too cute, really (see sidebar) — but Mario isn't afraid to hand you your ass every now and then.
Most impressive is the way that Galaxy happily defies your expecta- tions about what platform games can do, flipping gravity on a whim and constantly asking you to perform stunts that would be suicidal (or impossible!) in any other game. Yet it never breaks the rules of good design; once you understand how Mario's new worlds work, you'll find that the game subtly defines the limits of every situation with tiny visual cues. Which isn't to say you shouldn't push those limits—in fact, you're often rewarded
for indulging your whims and doing things that you suspect you maybe shouldn't try.
Galaxy isn't without its shortcom- ings—1 was particularly annoyed to find that the reward for beating the game is the ability to play through a dozen of the much-hated coin- collecting stages. (Gosh, thanks.) And the camera, in true Mario fashion, works just well enough that its occa- sional lapses are doubly frustrating. It wouldn't hurt if the Wii were just a tiny bit more powerful, too; the graphics are almost, but not quite, totally great. These are ultimately tiny flaws in a game that's otherwise breathtaking in its scope and originality, though. The platformer is a creaky dinosaur of a genre these days, so it's only right that the man to make it feel fresh again is the one who's defined (and redefined)
The Emasculation of Mario
When did Mario become a hypersaccharine exercise in cuteness? The older games teetered between surreal and psychedelic, whereas Galaxy comes off like a sugar-dipped Care Bear. Let's compare:
Sounded like a gruff pro wrestler World was eerily alive yet appreciably silent Turned into a take-no-names, badass hammer-flinging turtle Stomped enemies in a giant
(Nulla
Sounds like a shrieking castrato World is obnoxiously alive and squeaky Turns into a fuzzy- wuzzy, adorable bumblebee Feeds candy- like star bits to cuddly baby stars
it these past 25 years. Welcome back, Mr. Mario...we've missed you.
Let's put Jeremy’s list of
“tiny flaws” in perspective: Those postgame coin-collecting stages are just bonus hours on top of an already long, fulfilling experience. The camera almost never gets in the way (although 1 do wish 1 had more control over it). And the graphics are just fine, giving Galaxy’s fantastical, surreal charac- ters and environments just enough detail to look new-gen without making everything unrealistically “realistic.”
But Jeremy’s comparison of Galaxy to Super Mario Bros. 3 is apt. Besides the specific similarities (see sidebar), both offer such amazing, diverse worlds to explore— feel like it’s Christmas morning every time | unlock a new galaxy. One minute I’m swim-
wind-up shoe
ming inside an enormous ocean plan- et, the next I’m dismantling a giant toy robot, who is the entire stage. Even traditional level designs get fresh- thinking makeovers. In ice worlds, for example, Ice Mario freezes water as he skims over it, creating instant walking surfaces that temporarily stick around, even after he thaws out of his power-up. Seemingly old-school side- scrolling stages require some creative navigating with alternating gravita- tional pulls that literally turn everything upside down. And just when it seems the galaxies are starting to repeat their themes, antimatter creeps in, phasing parts of the levels in and out of reality, making for some of the trickiest (and coolest) Mario gameplay ever.
That's not to say everything's changed in Mario's universe. The controls are still pinpoint-perfect and
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM • 85
instantly accessible (although the 360-degree upside-down-ness may disorient some players). The pacing is also classic Mario: The mix of short versus long levels and leisurely paced romps versus high-stress platforming keeps Galaxy on a roller-coaster ride of fun that lasts for hours.
Where series like Zelda are start- ing to stagnate, Mario continues to innovate and impress. So if you’re worried about the Wii becoming too casual a gaming machine, spend a few hours in this Galaxy—it’s a grand, grand adventure that’s impossible not to love.
The cynic in me agrees wholeheartedly with Jeremy’s com- plaints about Galaxy’s occasionally unreliable camera and less-than-stellar graphics. Hell, ГИ even lodge some
additional grievances: Compared
to classic Mario power-ups such as SMBS's Raccoon Tail or Super Mario World's Cape Feather, nearly all the transformations Mario performs in Galaxy seem limited and gimmicky, and a few (Spring, Bee, and Fire Flower) actually manage to make hop- ping and bopping on these planetoids less fun. And the coolest power you'll discover—an exhilarating Remote- driven flight suit— can only be used in the game's hub world. Bummer.
But what truly shocks me is that not one of those crabby nitpicks keeps this game from being an instant clas- Sic. Sure, we all expect Mario games to offer flawless control, but you really learn to appreciate just how instinctive, responsive, and versatile Mario's running and jumping can be when you're vaulting through bizarre
86 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY г EGM.1UP.COM
Mario 3 Reborn
3? Try these on for size:
trickier in 3D
gravitational fields and running across ceilings. Plus, unlike the one-note Super Mario Sunshine, Galaxy throws Such a startling variety of environ- ments, challenges, and puzzles in your path that you honestly never know what to expect next. And that's not simply praise for how vastly var- ied the game's worlds feel or how open-ended the progression has become, but also for the innovative, creative pacing that you'll find within each individual stage. And although
it initially seems like an afterthought, the rewarding new two-player mode offers a groundbreaking way to bring a buddy along for the year's wildest and most enjoyable ride. ќа
EGM Extras: Can't find all 120 elu- sive Stars? Head to EGM.1UP.com for our invaluable Galaxy SuperGuide.
Not convinced that Super Mario Galaxy chan- nels the awesomeness of Super Mario Bros.
S 006180 e233 SMBS's tiny levels were strung together like Galaxy’s individual planetoids
Galaxy has seven power-ups total—more than any Mario game since SMB3
Bowser's airship fleet is everywhere! (Alas, the Koopa Kids are still MIA)
Those screw-and-bolt platforms are even
Time limit
The coolont seems to be working. Now, use the scalpel to excise: 1
Time limit
TRAUMA CENTER: NEW BLOOD
@ Publisher: Atlus Ш Developer: Atlus Ш Players: 1-2 Ш ESRB: Teen
Co-op mode is kinda fun Single-
player gets frustrating
Almost gave Jeremy an aneurysm
Sicko
A few operations into Atlus’ second Wii surgery sim, | had to perform multiple skin grafts on a burn victim. But no matter how fast | worked, the grafts would constantly burst. Frustrated, | attempted the level again with Jeremy as my co-op assis- tant. We saved the patient, and the diagnosis became clear: New Blood is designed for two players...even in the single-player game.
And that’s hardly the only mal- practice worthy of a Michael Moore- style investigation. The brain-dead nurses from the first game are back and as vague as ever, and the controls require way too much precision from your Wii-mote and Nunchuk, even on easy—l'm no brain surgeon for a reason! Too bad, because much of the
Sci-fi nonsense from the first Trauma Center has been excised in favor of realistic maladies like appendicitis and brain aneurysms. After three games, the developers should be full-fledged M.D.s...so why do they keep making the same med-school mishaps?
Fitch has it right —this is the ER you hope the meat wagon doesn't cart you to. The ridiculously unbalanced gameplay — simple in some parts, hellishly difficult in oth- ers—is unfortunate, because | really, really, really wanted to play the game this should have been. Suturing wounds, draining fluids, conducting ultrasounds under pressure...these are wonderfully creative applications for the Wii's unique mechanics. The story,
ELEC
Time limit
score
k. eos 4 мсн drain the blood from the AED pericardium
told in cheesy text-based cut-scenes, could have been interesting, too. But the game’s simply impossible to play at times, which is disappointing for someone new to this unique franchise.
Yep. | love the concept of New Blood—saving lives is a wel- come change from killing everything in sight — yet the pleasure flatlines when you realize that it's easier to complete a real medical residency than to finish some of these operations solo. It's not challenging, merely hard — and all because of arbitrary difficulty spikes and fussy controls. Unless you like hours of trial-and-error memorization, the two-player mode is the only way to keep your blood pressure down in this operating room. жай
TRONIC GAMING MONTHLY г EGM.1UP.COM г 87
counter exe grab break
dodge
ASSASSIN'S CREED
W Publisher: Ubisoft W Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Ш Players: 1 Ш ESRB: Mature
Awesome animation, climbing walls, cool story
Repetition, repetition, and repetition
Since Halo 2's
Not quite a killing
It kills me that Assassin's Creed is so close to being a complete gaming experience. From the second 1 started Ubisoft's stealthy assassin- ation simulator, | was sucked into— or more like jacked into—a creative story that begged for a kick-ass conclusion. And | kept intently playing thinking | would get it—boy ат | an idiot. See, Creed wasn't built with a beginning, a middle, and an end. No, it was built with a beginning, a middle, and an advertisement...for its inevitable sequel. Because of this, the actual game feels stretched out to saltwater- taffy proportions.
This doesn't just affect the story, either—the core gameplay also suffers from the insistence on saving things for a follow-up. While, yes, exploring
88 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
each city is amazing—especially scal- ing walls—the main objective (assas- sinating nine Third Crusaders) is overly repetitive. You perform each hit in the same way: Conduct an investigation (eavesdrop, pick pockets, etc.), find the target, and murder them. At first,
it was a thrill to kill, but once | realized | had to do the same thing over and over, | began to lose interest. This isn't to say | didn't enjoy playing Creed— it attempts a lot of ambitious things (a simple but ironically complex control Scheme, a realistic combat system, and a living world that reacts to your every move) and it almost succeeds at every one. But it's apparent that these grandiose ideas may have been a bit too much to master the first go-round. If Creed had been given a little more
time, I’m confident it would have been a more successful hit.
The premise intrigues, but Assassin's Creed is an incomplete template based on multiple other games. Much like The Legend of Zelda, it has a beautiful environment with controls that eventually feel natu- ral—but you're never given a satisfy- ing reason to explore. It has an open city design much like Crackdown's that's authentically detailed, but the districts within lack distinction. The satisfying centerpiece assassinations recall Hitman, yet the investigations leading up to each kill are copied- and-pasted throughout—you're climbing up the same lookout tower, saving the same falsely accused
Horsing Around
Chuck commoners into each other to send ’em flying. Then pick up the spare!
Killing people is cruel, so repent by giv- ing your pals massages. Tap the Blend button to work those magic fingers.
souls, and hearing the exact same anti-Crusader speeches every hour, on the hour. When it breaks from this, Creed’s squandered potential is briefly revealed: a trickier ascent up that viewpoint, a challenging parkour path of escape...this is where the game could have been great. Instead, your fellow assassin has very important information, but can’t tell you what it is until you collect a number of flags in under three minutes. This city feels new, but we’ve been here before.
When collecting the optional hidden flags loses its luster, try...
Lure the annoying panhandlers into alleys and pound on those poor souls.
See how many people you can run down with your galloping horse. Bonus points for plowing through a pilgrimage!
ГИ agree that Creed comes with amazing components. The greatest-of-ease rooftop-roam- ing acrobatics are exhilarating; put the team who came up with that mechanic in charge of a parkour simu- lator. Sword combat—which grows in offensive and defensive finesse throughout the game—is as much fun to watch as it is to play. Drinks all around for the gang who handled that one, as well as for the guys behind the sand-swept Middle Ages decor and
M. Night Shyamalanian plotjinks.
If only all that good stuff had a happy home here, but the rest of Creed is no good. These guys already described the déjà vu-inducing mission struc- ture. What makes it all worse is the way the game piles on annoyances the longer you play. A clone army of in-your-face beggars and street-brawl- ing lunatics hound you, for instance, throwing off your stealthy style and forcing you to retry failed missions (and rewatch unskippable mission briefings) until you finally get them right. It all pseudo-ends with a badly handled sequel tease, but count me out if the next Creed is more of this repetitive crap. $%
EGM Extras: Finding all those flags proving to be a pain in the ass? Check our SuperGuide at EGM.1UP.com.
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM • 89
XB360 (also оп PS3)
NCAA COLLEGE HOOPS 2K8
@ Publisher: 2K Sports Ш Developer: Visual Concepts W Players: 1-8 ESRB: Everyone
A next-gen threepeat
-+# TODD: A No. 1 seed in every gameplay aspect, College Hoops 2K8's victory over March Madness 08 is decisive. To counter
EA's superb pressure-D mechanics, 2K implemented NBA 2K8's Defensive Lock, so with the pull of a trigger, | have a fighting chance against Tyus Edney-quick guards. And since I’m an atmosphere whore like Intihar, 1 love the 6th Man meter (which measures how pumped up the fans are and can give you a performance boost) and the way the crowd roars to life after a home-team dunk, a key missed free throw, or a big steal. My main issue is with the bitter- sweet Dynasty mode: I love the drills that let me key on one aspect of one player's game during off-days, but recruiting is an unpleasant mess unless you take serious notes, and scouting ends up being too time consuming. But since gameplay is what matters most, go ahead and cut down the nets for the NCAA basketball champion.
+ BRYAN: It's a good thing Todd isn't on the NCAA Tournament selection committee—he's a bit too generous when it comes to seeding. The A.I. here still needs work, as you'll find little off-the-ball movement on offense and bouts of lackadaisical play on defense (even the most talented squads are suckers for back-door cuts). But at least 2K8 finally feels like a college basketball game. From the crazy crowds to the way the camera shakes while shooting free throws, this edition even outshines longtime atmosphere king March Madness. Still, those А.І. hiccups need to be addressed before ГИ award it the top slot in the Big Dance.
+ GARNETT: On the court, this game doesn't decisively win any- thing. At first, it feels like 2K8 nails the college b-ball tempo, but as | played more, | found this tempo to feel artificial. For instance, too much of the ball handling relies on moves that lock TODD you into an animation. Meanwhile, big men refused to take it to the hole all too often, no matter what combos | pulled off. Sill, | love how the game delivers the college hoops spirit (the crowd is great) and the fact that the 6th Man meter actually changes with the game's flow.
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
The Good: The roar of the 6th man The Bad: Recruiting is a snoozefest Now Featuring: South Carolina Upstate!
90 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
Р53/ХВ360
МСАА МАВСН MADNESS 08
W Publisher: EA Sports Ш Developer: EA Canada Wi Players: 1-4 Ш ESRB: Everyone
More gloss than game
+ TODD: What a letdown! | had high hopes for March Madness this year, but this one's all sizzle and very little steak. | was starstruck
by the great menus, sharp players, thrilling atmosphere, and the Dynasty mode stacked with smart options (the recruiting challenges are my favorite). But once | stepped on the court, this game felt off. The ball moves too quickly, the players move too slowly, passing is too deliberate, and rebounding is laughable—instead of reaching for the ball, players jump straight up, arms held high. Plus, when I tried to reach for a loose ball, players from both teams were so measured that it looked like they were helping each other lift a large rock! I like the low-post improvements, but it still has a ways to go. Outside of a little more pregame gloss than its rival, March Madness' gameplay doesn't come close to outshining 2K8's.
+ BRYAN: Todd, in the words of basketball's big men, "Get that
s*** outta here!” You couldn't be more wrong about 08. First off, the game moves at a decent clip as long as you increase the speed
at the settings menu. And too-deliberate passing? ОН, so | guess you'd rather have players blindly tossin' the rock up and down the court. Anyway, as you said, it's the series’ new low-post mechanics that make this one a contender; in addition to the reworked moves set on the offensive end, you have more control of defenders on the block. Too bad, though, that the arenas aren't as electric as they used to be—2K's offering definitely has the edge there.
+ GARNETT: "И give you that the right-stick controls on offense and defense make for some epic battles down on the blocks, but they'd better, since the game all but forces post play down your throat. Other than the odd kick-
out for a three, the art of a good jumper gets completely marginalized. Going all high-flying TODD: causes problems, too. Get stopped on a drive and suddenly your baller becomes a bumbling jester who almost always loses the rock. March Madness is still a decent hoops sim, but | have to wonder: Why does it think that school spirit amounts to taunting and Dickie V ranting?
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
The Good: Low-post game works The Bad: Rebounding animations are atrocious Gotta Love: 70 classic teams (like '83 NC State)
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Visit gdconf.com for more information & event updates
ROCK BAND
E Publisher: MTV Games Ш Developer: Harmonix Ш Players: 1-4 Ш ESRB: Teen
Amazing multiplayer, excellent accessories
Not nearly as fun by yourself
Singalongs get everyone pumped
We could rock all night with this one
Rock Band is one of those concepts that's so inherently dynamite that if it simply delivers on its promise it's more than enough. And it certainly does deliver: Built squarely in the Guitar Hero mold (by the ex-Guitar Hero team), the game lets you rock out to scrolling notes and chords by matching the colored buttons on the (surprisingly substantial) new Stratocaster guitar, whaling on the four pads and foot pedal of the drum set (with real sticks), or if you're not too shy, busting a lung on the mic (Karaoke Revolution-style). If you can get three friends over (and another guitar for bass), the experience shines and provides about as much fun as you can have with a videogame.
The (multiplayer-only) World Tour
92 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
mode is the best way to play, a mas- Sive nonlinear progression of special set lists and cities to unlock, with fans, managers, and roadies to garner (though considering the game has 58 songs, they repeat far too often along the way). The Solo tour isn't nearly as interesting, though, and simply con- sists of unlocking new tiers of songs to play that obviously weren't built for a single instrument. It's still great fun, but the song selection— while mostly excellent—was chosen with the entire band in mind, so expect more than
a few awkward silences if you're by yourself. Guitar Hero is still the way to go for lone wolves, but if you have the space, the manpower, and the means ($170), Rock Band unquestionably, unequivocally rocks.
While Guitar Hero is try- ing to save its popularity by catering to its loyal group of hardcore head- bangers, Rock Band is playing to a more casual crowd. Both master the feeling of playing real music, but Rock Band is less about racking up high scores and more about celebrating the euphoric nature of playing fake instru- ments to real music. In that sense, it makes it the ultimate party game. Sure, it’s not nearly as much fun to go it solo, but neither is playing an actual instrument by your lonesome. Wrangle four wannabe rockers, though, and it’s amazingly awesome.
As good as the experience is, | have to admit | wasn’t stoked to play a few of the songs (“Celebrity Skin” from Hole? Uh, no thanks!). But it’s really
What We Wanna Rock
\ Relationship of Command
m At the Drive-In е
aa “Rock Band has its share of classic rock and current metal, but very little of anything resem- bling '905 postpunk/indie rock/hardcore, which is a shame, because it’s damn fun to play. From the thunderous drum intro of ‘Arcarsenal to the spastically driving guitar hooks of ‘One Armed Scissor,’ Relationship of Command has plenty of rock to go around for every instru- ment. Singers would also have a particularly interesting challenge on their hands, with lyrics like ‘mechanical panaceas absolved by history, phonetic paralysis inflicted through morality.’ You know you want it.”
Dookie Green Day
“It's criminal that Green Day isn’t already in Rock Band. Seriously, the pop punk kings’
third album is positively perfect for the game. Unlike some bands, all the members of Green Day are mighty talented musicians (meaning you won't find any boring filler here, no matter which instrument you pick). No lies—every single song on this CD is a classic. And they all manage to offer everything you could possibly want in a copycat music simulator: sweet lyrics, great guitar and bass licks, and enough Animal- approved drumbeats to keep your arms sore for days. Make it happen, Harmonix!”
We've heard some seriously big promises when it comes to Rock Band's supposed flood of downloadable content lined up for the future. We love the game, and our wallets are ready for a bruising, but what one album do each of our reviewers want above all others?
More Fun in the New World x
rE MEH ИДЕ О “This game demands a crazy but delicate bal- ance of amazing vocals, ripping guitar licks, and wild-man drums. So what other band to pick than Los Angeles punk royalty X? I'm dreaming of howling as Exene Cervenka on 'Breathless,' living out my Billy Zoom guitar fantasies in ‘True Love,’ or doing my best DJ Bonebrake drums on ‘I See Red.’ Plus, since this one's somewhat forgotten in the annals of great rock 'n' roll, a full Rock Band download would have the added benefit of exposing
a whole new generation of musicians to the album's punk rock virtuosity."
hard to complain when it does have such a well-rounded lineup—every- thing from “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” is here, and that’s before you factor
in upcoming downloadable content. So even if Rock Band has to open for Guitar Hero Ill for now, it's only а mat- ter of time before this series becomes the new headliner.
Casual crowd? Michael, you've got to be kidding. | didn't real-
ize what a hardcore lone wolf | was until | tried to assemble a band of four musically-minded friends, one Skilled enough to not totally suck on drums, two others OK on guitar and bass, and one drunk enough to not mind sounding like a complete fool rapping to *Sabotage" (I have new- found respect for the Beastie Boys’ mic skills). Yes, the full band package is revolutionary and impressive, and those willing to put in the time (or play online, which doesn't happen to be
my thing) will love it. But, perhaps as in real life, being in a band takes com- mitment—it's not as simple as getting together as many people as you can and hitting the stage with whatever instrument strikes your fancy that night. The band roles are largely deter- mined at the outset (in multiplayer, the band leader must always be present, and in solo, you can't switch instru- ments midcareer), so it's not quite as pick-up-and-play as I'd like.
Yet even with the oddly repetitive World Tour and the less than perfect song selection (downloadable content should solve that), the bottom line is this game takes the essence of Guitar Hero, galvanizes it with drums, and then tops it off with a karaoke game. Sure, Rock Band's not for the faint of heart, but | guess that's what rock "п" roll is all about. ЖЕ
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM г 93
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
ЧОЕ: ШЫ:
6.0
AVERAGE
The Good: Waypoint races still awesome, 16-vehicle races
The Bad: Realistic in all the wrong places, dated graphics
Best Online Minigame: "Snake"
SHAME 2F THE MONTH
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
The Good: Shooting mostly works
The Bad: Wasting $90, first-person shooter levels
Best Played...and Cheaper: In an arcade
is
Е
The higher they jump, the harder they crash
+ JOE: Developer Rainbow has put out some really spectacular arcade racing games. So it's disappointing to discover that with Untamed it appears to be edging away from that arcade style and in the direction of a more realistic racing experience.
"Realistic" may sound good to you. But the trouble is that it's inconsistent: You can still get unrealistic air—you just can't land it. You can still ride at a near-90-degree angle along the side of a hill—but if you make the slightest
contact with other racers, you're toast.
Untamed does have a good bit going for it, especially its fantastic cross-country waypoint races and its frantic 16-vehicle supercross competi- tions. It's positively bristling with dif- ferent vehicles and competition types,
with even more game types available through its (competent, though occa- sionally laggy) 12-way online multi- player. But ultimately, the game’s not realistic enough to satisfy sim fans... and it’s too realistic to be as much fun as Rainbow’s previous games.
+ GORD: If it's designed to travel off- road, you'll find it in Untamed. But it’s not the vehicles or their crazily fanciful physics that make this game. It’s the seemingly infinite variety of competi- tions, all of which are available online: indoor, outdoor, circuit, checkpoint, stunts, freestyle. Indeed, breezy yet riveting online minigames such as “Snake,” “Graffiti,” and “Tag” are high points. That said, the racing inevitably devolves into a confusing hubbub of
Now this is a Crisis Zone
+ NICK: When paying 90 dollars for a light-gun shooter you're used to playing in movie theater lobbies, you would expect to be able to feed it virtual quarters when you die, right? Time Crisis 4 disagrees. With the sometimes seemingly unavoidable hits you'll take while popping in and out of cover, it's a frustrating struggle to simply make it to the end of each level intact enough to tackle the laughable bosses. That's OK, though; whether you're playing the mundane arcade levels or the incredibly slow and equally hideous new first-person shooter levels — where you control your movement and the camera
with the physically painful new ana- log sticks on the included GunCon S3— you likely won't stick around long
94 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
enough to run into these problems.
Multiplayer is passable (though cramped with two windows squeezed onto one screen) and the story provides buckets of unintentional comedy, but the real joke is on PS3 owners expecting anything resembling a “new-gen” shooter.
+ BROOKS: No arguments here; the graphically challenged first-person stages—with their barren locales and cookie-cutter henchmen—scream disaster. And man, those horrendous plastic analog nubs. My advice: Have some Advil handy for when the arthrit- ic pain builds up in your cramped hands early in the game. If it weren't for teaming up with a bud in Arcade mode's co-op, which embraces what
PS3/XB360
MX VS. ATV: UNTAMED
W Publisher: THQ lll Developer: Rainbow W Players: 1-12 Ш ESRB: Everyone
spilled bikes (that often and annoying- ly will suddenly jump from one spot to another) whenever all 12 human riders are displayed simultaneously.
“# GREG S: One of my gripes with Untamed has to do with the weird concessions made to facilitate loads of different vehicles competing in the same game. Why is it that when my ATV plows into a motorbike the biker keeps on going while my rider flies through the air? Why does my mon- ster truck feel like it weighs about 50 pounds? The interaction of various vehicles in this game is just as bad as the arcadey-but-trying-to-be-realistic physics. Motorstorm does off-road racing better than this. So do Dirt and Sega Rally Revo.
PlayStation 3
TIME CRISIS 4
W Publisher: Namco Bandai Ш Developer: Namco Bandai Ш Players: 1-2 Ш ESRB: Teen
makes this game OK, Time Crisis 4 would be a complete abomination.
+G. FORD: A complete abomination sounds right. Single player and some of the minigames can be enjoyable in bursts, but a fundamental flaw hangs over everything. | could never calibrate the GunCon 3 perfectly with either setup routine. Surprisingly, this isn't
a huge problem through most of the game since you're constantly shooting and can always see where your shots are hitting onscreen, but good luck trying to snipe the tires of a moving semi with an always-off-target gun.
An onscreen reticule option would have helped— but that's only possible in those FPS stages you should be avoiding. And yeah, again: $90.
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
A:FITCH.
6.5
AVERAGE BROOKS:
6.5
AVERAGE
AVERAGE
The Good: Most minigames are fun The Bad: The luck- based events, some games repeat too often
Story Mode: Can be tough!
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
JOE:
6.0
AVERAGE DARREN
6.5
AVERAGE
CRISPIN
6.5
AVERAGE
The Good: Execution of a complex strategy The Bad: Having your complex strat- egy ignored
The Infuriating: “Рт sorry sir, | can't do that.”
Is that a plumber in your pocket?
+A. FITCH: While it may be the 10th game (in just eight years!) in Nintendo's long-running board game- based party series, Mario Party DS is more innovative than you'd think: It's the first truly portable version of the game, as 2005's Mario Party Advance (GBA) didn't include the franchise's conventional four-way multiplayer. For the most part, the transition to the DS is reasonably successful, albeit predictable: You'll roll dice, travel around the game board, col- lect stars, and play minigames, which take advantage of the portable format and offer some decent stylus- and mic-based gameplay. With over 60 minigames in all, you'd expect a lot of variety...except that some games repeated two or three times per ses-
sion and quickly grew tiresome, while others triggered only once...during our entire playthrough!
Like any Mario Party, this one's harmless fun, but the repetitiveness just drives home why the wacky, dynamic WarioWare has been crowned Nintendo’s real party king.
+ BROOKS: | like my music loud, my steak medium rare, and now, my Mario Party on the DS. Why? Tiny splitscreen events don’t burden the player, since everyone has their own screen. Also appreciated: four-player support on a single cartridge—com- plete with minimal load times. While Mario Party DS triumphs in these areas, Fitch makes a good point about the repeating minigames, especially
PSP
Conduct worthy of a court martial
+ JOE: Oh man. The fundamental idea of Tactical Strike is so good: Planning out intricate strategies for my SEAL team and executing them simul- taneously at the touch of a button gives the feeling of a hyperstrategic SOCOM, with vastly more deliberate pacing and the need for even greater care than what fans of this shooter series are used to. When it works, it works really, really well.
If only my SEALs weren't such com- plete idiots. They ignore commands, wander into enemies' field of view, and happily take fire from attackers they claim they can't see well enough to shoot back at. What's worse, the game commits the almost unforgiv- able sin of spawning enemies in areas you've just cleared out.
On top of all that, Tactical Strike is absurdly stingy with checkpoints— and absurdly generous with load times, which is an awful combination. If you have the patience for it, the game can be really rewarding...but | don't have that kind of patience.
+ DARREN: Hey Joe, where's camera control on that unforgivable gaming sins list? It'd sure be sweet to clearly see what the hell's going on. Oh, and ask me how much fun it is watching trigger-happy A.I. squadmates spoil a surprise attack. Here's what kills me, though: Tactical Strike has moments of greatness. The Full Spectrum Warrior vibe makes for some smart portable play. That strategic team planning and stealthy single-player
PARTY DS
8 Publisher: Nintendo Ш Developer: Hudson Soft W Players: 1-4 Ш ESRB: Everyone
during short games (10 dice rolls each). Oh, and for a game of luck, Shoe must have made a deal with the devil, because he never loses!
+ SHOE: The second screen is great for maps and expanded stages, and the minigames are quicker and easier to get into now (since each player can read the rules and tips on his own DS at his own pace, and the game is bet- ter at demonstrating the action before each match starts). But like with Mario Party 8 on the Wii, | must ask: Why? Why only take partial advantage of your innovative hardware? Half the events don't even bother with the touch screen or microphone, leaving us with too many uninspired, Nintendo 64-era minigames.
SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALS TACTICAL STRIKE
Bi Publisher: Sony CEA Ш Developer: Slant Six W Players: 1-4 Ш ESRB: Teen
combat is fun. It just needs to be more consistent...and controllable.
Ж CRISPIN: My SEAL team certainly wasn't the smartest squad (they'd occasionally let the bad guys mosey up and fire point-blank), but I didn't experience the level of idiocy that the other reviewers report. | also didn't find as many opportunities to get tac- tical. Each mission spans a huge map dotted with more objectives than you can accomplish during your commute, but | found my team forced through many kill-corridor choke points, and
| rarely bothered to split them up. Instead, my strategy was to load my sniper with ammo and take out evil- doers from afar. It was satisfying—just not in an armchair-general sort of way.
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM • 95
UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3
W Publisher: Midway Ш ESRB: Mature
With Haze delayed into 2008, this multiplayer fragfest deserves the attention of every first- person-shooter fan. Technically, UT3 has a single-player campaign, but pretty cinematics aside, it’s little more than a training ground for the game's true calling: online multiplayer. With smooth-running, gorgeous visuals, the ability to download user-generated content, and a pick-up-and-play style that ensures even novice players will get a few kills, UT3 doesn't screw around.
An impressive shooter, but don't expect to remember the storyline.
LINK'S CROSSBOW TRAINING
W Publisher: Nintendo Ш ESRB: Teen
As a showpiece and introduction to the Wii Zapper it's bundled with, Link's Crossbow Training doesn't inspire faith in the periph- eral—we found no comfy way to hold it, and it lacks the ergonomic prowess of even its 22-year-old NES father. Stick with the nor- mal Wii Remote/Nunchuk combo, though, and you'll find Crossbow Training to be a surprisingly fun, albeit limited, shooter that's more interesting than most Wii party games out there.
It won't last forever, but
Crossbow Training provides a surprisingly satisfying—and cheap ($20)— slice of Zelda.
96 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
HALF-LIFE 2: THE ORANGE BOX
W Publisher: Electronic Arts Ш ESRB: Mature
PS3 players had to wait an extra month to find out if the cake really is a lie, but now their Orange unboxing day has arrived. In the Box: Half-Life 2 with two minisequel episodes, plus the hilariously clever puzzle game Portal (wherein lies the cake conun- drum) and the online shooter Team Fortress 2. It's a solid-gold compilation—although this is the only version not handled in-house by developer Valve. That must explain the second episode's distinctly choppy visuals.
Despite Episode Two's case of the jitters, such a vast quantity of quality gaming is a no-brainer buy.
GEOMETRY WARS: GALAXIES
Bi Publisher: Sierra Ш ESRB: Everyone
Surprisingly, the DS version of Geometry Wars: Galaxies matches the Wii version (reviewed last issue) almost exactly, with the only notable difference being the superior control system. Just poke the stylus where you want to shoot. Easy. The game lends itself very well to handheld play, thanks to the short, sharp level objectives and that trade- mark Geo Wars presentation. Of note
is the multiplayer mode unique to the DS version that passes enemies back and forth like Tetris blocks when you zap them.
Simple, effective, and beautiful. One of the best shooters on DS.
DREAMERS WANTED
—
Мате Platform EGM Scores
Super Mario Galaxy Collecting all the stars їп Mario Galaxy ain't easy, / but those who actually take the time to seek "ет all out will be rewarded with a special character.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare XB360 Call of Duty 4 doesn't just
deal with military dudes
battling a bunch of evil
terrorists. It also deals with
hardcore rhyming—watch
— Ў 4 the credits for a wack rap. Wii Play (with Wii Remote) Wii Halo 3 XB360 Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! DS Guitar Hero Ш: Legends of Rock Р52
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass DS H Zelda series director Eiji
Aonuma recently stated in
an interview that he'd be
down to do a remake of
the SNES classic Link to
the Past in 3D. OK, do it!
Assassin's Creed XB360 Half-Life 2: The Orange Box XB360 High School Musical: Sing It! Wii Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! DS Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party Bundle Wii Guitar Hero Ill: Legends of Rock Wii
ONIYNOL % NOILINGOYd MOHS < SLYV ONIGHOD3Y < 1N3Wd013A30 3WV9 < E < SSINISNS 1IN3WNIV1831N3 < NOISIG 8 SLYV TVLIDIC < NOILVWINY 831ndW03 ‘NI S334930
The Wii version of Guitar Hero Ill rocks, well, softly, actually— right now the sound only plays in mono. Might wanna fix that prob- lem, Activision. Just sayin’.
Carnival Games Wii Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions PSP Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare PS3
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga Wii ONE ОЕ ТНЕ Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day DS TOP FIVE
GAME-DEGREE Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction PS3 PROGRAMS LL Ji IN THE WORED Real World Education
— Electronic Gaming Monthly
Assassin's Creed Р53
© 2006 Full Sail Inc. All rights reserved
B i E] |
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Seanbaby earned
his suckonomics degree from the pres- tigious International Correspondence Schools, where he's now pursuing a PhD in TV-VCR repair. Also, heating and air conditioning.
О ISSUES AGO, I TOOK $100 to the game store and bought as much sadness as that could get me. Exhaustive testing revealed that my purchases totaled over nine Phil Col- linses’ worth of despair (9.3 Su-Su- Sudio Crystals). But how sad cana pile of garbage really make you when you know that it’s worth 100 dollars? 1 could even tolerate singer/song- writer Phil Collins himself if | knew in the back of my mind that he could be sold or traded. The only way | could keep Phil Collins from winning was to take this pile of garbage worth $100 and somehow prove that it wasn’t.
So | took the pile back to the store. GameStop has a very simple game- return policy—so simple, in fact, that last time | was there | was given a 27-page Trade Guide, 10 pages of
98 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM
which were used to explain the trade- in process. Let's see if | can do it in fewer words: Trade games for money, idiot. What'd that take...five words? And | wasted one of them calling the consumer an idiot. | realized that this must be the same thought all advertising copy writers have: “My job would go so much faster if you weren't an idiot, every person ever!" Now to further explain my new challenge as set down by the Inter- national Sadness Commission: With
the previous games’ trade-in value, | must purchase as many terrible games as possible. | don’t want to show off how | made it all the way to 9th grade, but | liken this to an earthworm letting soil pass from one end of its body to the other. The dirt coming out is still just dirt, but in a way, it's kind of poop now. After I'm done trading in my old bad games for new old bad games, | will reevaluate the pain my original $100 has caused. After trading in my original batch,
> The only way І could keep Phil Collins from winning was to take this pile of garbage worth $100 and somehow prove that it wasn’t.
which included such hits as The Guy Game for Xbox and Soul Plane on DVD, | somehow turned my $100 into $19.75. And according to my 79- foot-long receipt, this included every Ultra Edge Member and Presidents’ Day Sale trade-in bonus possible. If, for some reason, | didn’t know what numbers were, I’d be certain | was the craftiest customer they’d ever had. | wasn’t, though. In fact, | just gave the nation’s largest game-store chain $80.25 for the privilege of having two used, boxless copies of James Cameron’s Dark Angel in my apartment for 60 days.
You might notice in the final tally (see sidebar) that three items no longer had any value. They wouldn’t take back Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winners Circle because they no longer carry Game Boy Color games. In addition, they wouldn’t rebuy the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Strategy Guide, presumably because it shouldn’t exist in the first place. Now that I think about it, no reason was given. It was silently handed back to me as if | were the only one who could see it. Unless | can solve this mystery, | may be the only person who knows that in order to beat Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, you walk away from the starting point while pressing the attack button near enemies.
The final unreturnable item was my least-favorite game, possibly ever: Orphen: Scion of Sorcery. After | left the store, | wrote down the clerk’s reasons for not accepting the game: “Too damaged. Too scratched. Too old. You’ll get more without it.” That’s right: They’d actually give me more money if I didn’t return Orphen: Scion of Sorcery. This was funny to me until I checked the disc, saw it was im- maculate, and heard the other clerk tell the customer next to me that his 2006 game Call of Duty 3 was “too old.” GameStop talks to its custom- ers exactly how | talk to my girlfriend when I don’t want to take her shop- ping—l give a stack of excuses so grand, varied, and irrational that try- ing to debunk them each individually makes you the crazy one. Now that | think about it, f*** you, GameStop.
With my $19.75 of trade-in value, | could only afford three games
despite all the discounts | get from being an exclusive Edge customer. Fun fact: | think all customers are in this club.
Cost: $7.19 As a student of the obvious, I’ve noticed that Christian music isn't as good as Unqualified music. So imag- ine how quickly | formed an opinion of this game’s theme song, a Chris- tian rock song about a cucumber who fights crime by launching toilet plungers from the side of his head. So awesome! Listen to the premise: You're a religious vegetable Batman spoof, LarryBoy, battling against Temptation, an apple who wants you to eat chocolate.
Chasing this theme, literally every cut-scene features a cliché or an old line with one of the words changed to “chocolate.” For example, “With great chocolate comes great respon- sibility.” That doesn’t mean anything! That's not a joke! That's not even a pun! Even if the word "chocolate" were inherently funny in any kind of context, that's laziness beyond any god's capacity for forgiveness.
If the Rapture came right now, here's what the VeggieTales writer would scream: “Lord, I’ve been tire- lessly doing your work! For instance, on level two when the asparagus says that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, | thought to change а couple words to chocolate! Argh!! Why are you chocolating me with lightning bolts!?”
th by D Cost: $7.19 For the simple cost of sponsoring an overseas child in need and 25 of his friends, | bought Death by Degrees, а collection of loading screens starring Tekken's Nina Williams. It's perfect
if you like 3D fighting games but
hate controlling them properly. The controls' analog-stick pressing and wiggling seemed so unsuited for gamer brains and human hands that
I thought the game might have been designed for an octopus. Another clue is that before each stage it prompts, “Squirt the screen with your ink sac to continue.”
S2)
Retro: We сиге the T-Virus
Mad Мае5 Cost: $3.59
This is a rhythm-action game about a fairy helping a small-town orchestra conduct—you know what? If anyone had any interest in this game whatso- ever, it wouldn’t be retailing for $3.59. It was the only game in the entire store | could afford with the remains of my trade-in, and it’s only out of sheer dumb luck that it sucks.
Two months ago, | had turned $100 into 11 games, a book, and Soul Plane. I'm now down to a critically panned Tekken spin-off, evangelical food monsters, and a fairy-music thing. | read somewhere that there was a law against destroying U.S. currency. After seeing what I’ve done, I hope that's not true. $h
1 Hsu & Chan: 7 Takin’ it to the streets
Above: Death by Degrees and Mad Maestro!
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UP.COM • 99
> < l mb re lla Between plotting, backstabbing, and killing their employees,
it's a wonder that Umbrella’s founders had time to develop zombie viruses. But they did—and their infighting began
at Umbrella's Spencer Mansion, ultimately revealing the corporation’s ambitions and leading to its downfall. And the destruction of Raccoon City, too. What swell guys.
The Umbrella Corporation is responsible for just about everything bad in Resident Evil. It began as a helpful pharmaceuticals business, but later switched to creating mutagenic Ebola-based bioweapons. In the wake of Raccoon City’s destruction, Umbrella went bankrupt—although certain ex-Umbrella employees are still main- taining the nastiness quota.
: The weapons DEVELOPED y of mass con- sumption—from Progenitor to the T-Virus to its substrain the G-Virus, RE's viruses share in common an alarming ability to turn normal people into violent, blood- thirsty monsters. The heroes battle these gruesome diseases with firearms, presumably because vaccina- tions wouldn’t be nearly as exciting.
It all began in Raccoon City: Just your average American town...well, except for its population of 100,000 ravening zom- bies. Alas, the American government nuked the city — off the map at the end of RE3, so we'll only ever be able to revisit its postapocalyptic com- forts through prequels and flashbacks.
SHUTS DOWN DOVELE-CROSSES
BATTLES AGAINST
“Why won't you die?!” Wesker seems to get killed a lot, but he always seems to pop ир . again, just looking slightly less human. An Umbrella employee masquerad- _ ing as a STARS member, Wesker _ tried betraying his comrades only ` to be killed by his own creation, the Tyrant. He later switched allegiance, _ ` hoping to steal Umbrella’s secrets _ _ for a rival corporation—and even later hoped to cultivate Las Plag
IB ھک 100 + ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • EGM.1UPCOM
ity There he did STARS-
like duties with the added benefit
of having the president’s daugh-
ter totally crush on him as he put ап end to Los Illuminados.
iral researcher, for- mer STARS agent Leon Kennedy
ење E e
After surviving a zombie- infested Raccoon Ci
and putting a stop to a starved mutated version of
went to work for the American
government.
Umbrella’s top vi
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Los Illuminados is а secret organization that achieves is ends by kidnapping
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BRAWLING IT UP
Nintendo Wii's soon-to-be megahit Super S Q Smash Bros. Brawl—sequel to GameCube’s best-selling game of all time,
Super Smash Bros. Melee—is nearly upon us. Check back next month as we blow the lid off everything this stuffed-to-the-brim fantasy fighter has to offer, including its star- studded character roster (Sonic! Solid Snake! Ike! Wait...who’s Ike?), cu: able environments, creative online features, and the completely revamped single-player adventure mode. You won't want to miss it.
2008's bound to be a crucial decision year for vot- ers...and gamers, too. We're prepping a massive preview feature covering titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Alan Wake, Killzone 2, Final Fantasy XIII, and Wii Fit.
Which ones deserve your support? Which ones won't live up to their campaign promises?
And for all you overachievers out there, you won't want to miss our investigation on players' obsession with unlocking achievements and getting high gamer- Scores. It's an addiction, man.
Last, but not least, our notorious Review Crew returns with Devil May Cry 4, Burnout: Paradise, Wii's underwater scuba sim Endless
Ocean, and more. See you іп 30....
> ADVERTISER INDEX
Ball Park Franks Konami America ic www.konami.com
New Line Home Entertainment www.rushhourmovie.com .
Sanyo North America Corp. Www.eneloopusa.com . .
Sega Of America www.sega.com. .
Sony Electronics www.bluraydisc.com .
> PREVIEWS
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Кешу a (4205) • Оп sale January 1
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102 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * EGM.1UP.COM
тү тне DEMOCRATIC PAR’
HILLARY CLINTON of ILLINOIS
тне REPUBLICAN PARTY
RUDY GIULIANI +
of NEW YORK
THE LAN PARTY
MASTER CHIEF ©
of Halo
The fate of 2007 video games is in your hands.
Exercise your right to vote! Only you have the power to create game legends!
GO TO H] TO VOTE FOR
NETWORK
БЕЛДЕР]
> HSU Z CHAM IH:
RESOLVED, CHAN -- IN THE FUTURE, WE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ANYTHING AFTER TWO PITCHERS OF MARGARITAS.
ATLEAST OUR THIRD- WORLD SPECTATORS. ARE HAVING A GOOD TIME!
JUST LOOK AT THEIR ONHYGIENIC LITTLE SMILES!
OPERATE AT OUR DIS- CRETION, BUT KNOW THIS:
VM STILL KINDA WOOZY, AND THE FIRST PUNCH THROWN SHALL LIKELY
TO BE HONEST, BROTHER, | HESITATE TO TAKE ACTION ОН PURELY HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS -- SPECIFICALLY, THE FACT THAT THE WINNER HAS TO FIGHT THE GREEN GENTLEMAN BEHIND МЕ.
WE'D BETTER DO SOME- THING -- PEANUT SALES ARE DWINDLING, AND THE VENDORS ARE GETTING TWITCHY! MY EMPIRE 6
LAND A VERITABLE RAINBOW OF SALTY BOOZE OVER THESE.
PROUD AND EXOTIC
PEOPLES’ SIMPLE FURNISHINGS!
WATCH OUT FOR MY FILTHY: TENT, BOY! Ts MINT!
BLARGH!!
\ NEED THAT,
WAIT, [HAVE AN IDEA!
THINK FAST, TOURIST!
| HAVE DONE THINGS OF WHICH | AM NOT PROUD.
ЧОО OK FOR A
HE GOT МЕ!
\CONCEDE DEFEAT!
ALSO, HE HAS MY WALLET!
QEAH, РМ BETTER —
BARFED ОНА n SR
осом HEADS.
LONG RON, HSU?
ADVERSELY BUTS
CROMBLING!
ТАСОМА
Artist: Kinsey
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Date: 4.07.07
S|
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See more at toyota.com
Options shown. ©2007 Toyota Motor Sales. U.S.A., Inc.
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