» Exclusive Info: The Creator of BRAID Speaks Out! ( " A10 Page Behind-The-Scenes Look at Valve Software | Jonathan Blow On His Overnight Success and His Next Big Game From the Creators of Baldur's Gate: Dragon Асе! Ongins An Exclusive First Look At The Console Editions ISSUE 187 h NOVEMBER 2008 z = = a D = 2 z s 3 i o 8 3 US $5.99 | CAN $5.99 | UK £3.99 Blood Drug Reference Intense Violence OR Sexual Themes ү y Strong Language | ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org © 2008 Ubisoft Entertaintment. АП Rights Кее Таг Cry, Ubisoft; Übi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S, and/or other Countries, Based on ек зілі Far Cry directed by. Cevaf Yerli. M Im » UBISOFT np д 3 Ride mountains populated by real gamers. Have fun on and off the board. TR, WF | 4a ر‎ ы. PlayStati е ы PlayStation Portable ч LAWS тт! г. = аш х | b eM EE E tM. Bib huuc Shaun о White Snowboarding Join your friends and ride the open world. See you on the mountain. 11.16.08 oy а а Ad UH Blood and Gore Intense Violence Strong Language HAN EVER BEFORE" - Game Informer - Available 11.11.08 - WORLD AT WAR WWW:CALLOFDUTY.COM Wii NINTENDOS. -D treyarch- ACTIVISION. 22 NOMINATIONS. WINNER OF 9 E3 AWARDS. "A SURE CONTENDER FOR GAME OF THE YEAR” EIE US an or OMe COUT "cens from TOO JT DI gorda Nel companies and 272711520 Onder license rader - IGN ERN à 4 ЕЗ РПІ ІПСЕ Of Persia isa Of the Microsortgroun D. E Pd га FREE LIMITED EDITION. UPGRADE w AVAILABLE BY PRE-ORDER ONLY — ж WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! ж WWW.PRINCEDFPERSI | | | % | 13 Ei » tw x Py energ „е; a edy ha. m 2 дем” 2222 a. 73 [гад broug n g as brought у и to а‹ w you must choose. or acceptance? Justice or retribution? But choose wisely pu mar ( of Albion is in your hands и becomes Blood Language Sexual Content S 3 М Use of Alcohol | | 7 | M Violence ' [ у f= | | E Ф; a: ESRB CONTENT RATING — www. li Microsoft gameXstudios LIONHEAD STUDIOS cover story DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS BioWare has been playing its cards close to the vest on its next single-player role- playing epic, but we went behind the scenes and dug up a ton of exclusive info about Dragon Age: Origins. We have 10 pages of details on how exactly the origins players choose at character creation affect the rest of the adventure in this tactical, party- based fantasy RPG. And everyone can get in on this action - We can confirm that Dragon Age the newest in ев features ІР Steff Read the team’s latest favorites 14 Ol Spy Silly pictures of our life and times IB Dear Ol Your chance to fire back at us! departments 20 Connect Where news, talk, and technology collide 40 Impulse Your guide to the world of download- able games 10 GAME INFORMER MAKING OF A SONG We talked to the folks at Harmonix to ferret out the process by which your favorite track gets implemented into Rock Band. Believe it or not, there are reasons why your favorite Sub Pop newcomer isn't already in the game, despite the fact that they are so, like, totally awesome. 42 46 50 74 ES pm Interview Braid mastermind Jonathan Blow shares his thoughts on the big-business side of video games, and why indie developement is crucial to our favorite hobby's growth Gear Geeky gadget stuff for the masses 132 134 Calendar Get hip to this month's happenings 136 Previews New info on Killzone 2 and Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, as well as Overlord Dark Legend for the Wii and much more make up this month's hot previews 138 140 coming to consoles as well, so flip on over to page 52 and find out all B4 FULL STEAM AHEAD It's been 10 years since Valve Software's Half-Life appeared on retail shelves and changed first- person action forever. Join us for an inside peek at how things work at one of the industry's most popular and profitable developers - and an exclusive report on the soon-to-be-released Left 4 Dead. Reviews Game of the Month: Dead Space for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Charts Retail Sales Data and the GI editors’ Top 10 Games Secret Access Codes, strategies, and passwords Classic Gl Reliving gaming’s greatest moments Online See what's happening at Game Informer Online Game Over The end... .or is it? GAME INDEX GAME PAGE # Active Life: Outdoor Challenge............. 126 BIOSHOCK E М ас» эзи e RS 124 Blitz: The League ЇЇ...................... 118 Brother's in Arms: Hell's Highway .......... 122 Buzz Quiz TV... 124 Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Dead Space... Берен; sees cei a dou 100 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli............. 124 НЕШ... ЖООШ: ag ee aaa 123 FUN at aE a EO 80 Hea RaM: e НЫ Бына ан Уын % House of the Dead: Overkill, Тһе........... 104 Killzone НА Lie Eae sen n 74 Last Remnant, Тһе....................... 82 LEGO BTN ASE «aree 16 Line Rider 2: Unbound ................. . 126 Lord of the Rings: Conquest, The........... 100 Master of the Monster Lair................. 151 Midnight Club: Los Angeles ................ 11 Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe............. 88 NBA 09: The Inside: ..................... 124 NBNA2KO eur а E ee heer 120 NBA LIVES: aei SU Ua e deem 120 Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir ....... 104 NinjaiBladess ceres бз. R Та 94 Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising ....... 76 Overlord Dark Legend .................... 98 Quantum of Solace...................... 102 КӨУ Е аа ET ..8l Rock Revolution. . STALKERS Clear бузы... 130 Samba; de E coire 126 Shaun White Snowboarding................ 84 Silent Hill: Нотесотіпр................... 118 Simcity Creatore ic Е.а. бала ат 126 Sims Sa DET: oo. ceno ees ohne carats 106 Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood .... 130 Ек АКК а наа 128 Star Ocean: First Departure ................ 151 Time olloW, v.a ЫТ еге cowie 181 ТАМАТА s аа 123 Warhammer: Mark of Chaos – Battle March. . „118 World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. . . .. 96 Bounce back. Need a strong rebound? Slam some milk. It’s a great choice after exercise, with protein to help build muscle and a unique mix of nutrients to refuel. So train hard and drink lowfat or fat free milk. It's got game. body š milk. ) Wwww.bodybymilk.com DWIGHT HOWARD ©2008 AMERICA'S MILK PROCESSORS 2 S i Al ; People Who Actually Get Paid To Play Video Games THE LIST ANDY McNAMARA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF At this point | guess you could call it tradition, but | figured it was time | broke out my big list of games that I'm excited about for the holidays. Oddly enough, find myself in conversations quite often with industry pundits who say 2008 is an off year for the video game industry because there "isn't a monster title like Halo or Grand Theft Auto coming out.” My response is always the same. | just shake my head and wonder how these people became experts or if they even play games, because when | look at 2008, 1 find myself in awe of all the outstanding titles coming out this year. 1 am surprised there isn't more hype running ram- pant for titles like Resistance 2 or Left 4 Dead, but I think once people get their hands on these titles we will see them, and others, get their due. So here is my big holiday list, in no particular order. Some of these games are out already, but that doesn’t change the fact that they will be awesome holiday titles that anyone would be happy to get. There are certainly other big titles that didn't make my list, but this is my list, so | can do what I want. Fallout 5 Rock Band 2 Dead Space Guitar Hero World Tour Left 4 Dead Gears of War 2 World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Warhammer: Age of Reckoning Fable Il Prince of Persia LittleBigPlanet Chrono Trigger Spore NHL 09 Enjoy the issue. Cheers, Andy >> andyGgameinformer.com Handle: The Game Hombre Expertise: RPGs, Action/Platform, Driving, First-Person Shooters Interests: 30 Rock, World Series Of Poker, Dexter, Kokanee, iPhone Apps, Master Chief Sucks At Halo, Entourage Dislikes: Maya On Heroes Might Be The Worst Character Ever If It Weren't For The iPod Girl, The Awful Microsoft PC Ad Campaign With Seinfeld Current Favorite Games: Advance Wars: Days Of Ruin, World Of Warcraft, Warhammer: Age Of Reckoning, Rock Band 2, Braid, Dead Space 12 GAME INFORMER Reiner >> reiner@gameinformercom Handle: The Raging Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Action, First-Person Shooters, Strategy, Sports, Fighting Interests: The Latest Trend In Gaming: Air Strikes, Rock Band Overtaking Bars As The New Karaoke, Transformers: Animated (| Haven't Had This Much Fun With A Cartoon Since The 805), Anything Silversun Pickups Dislikes: Replaying Terrible Games Just For Achievements (A New Form Of Mental Illness), The Lack Of Quality Control On Wii (This Game Is Unplayable. Wait.. Is It Even A Game???) Current Favorite Games: Dead Space, Fable Il, Gears Of War 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, LittleBigPlanet, Guitar Hero World Tour Matt >> mattegameintormercom Handle: The Original Gamer Expertise: First-Person Shooters, Action/Platform, Action/ Adventure, Action/Sports Interests: HBO's Generation Kill, David Foster Wallace (Rest In Peace, You Were My Favorite Writer), Miles Davis - Bitches Brew & In A Silent Way, Finally Joining The GI Cult Of George R. R. Martin's Song Of Fire And Ice Series Dislikes: СААААН VIKINGS UUUUUUUH ТАМ SO MAD AT Utt, Chilly The Secret Squirrel, Runner's Knee Current Favorite Games: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Rock Band 2, Baja: Edge Of Control, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 Kato >> kato@gameinformer.com Handle: The Game Katana Expertise: Sports, Racing, Action/Adventure, Action/RPG Interests: My Hockey Team Winning The Summer League Championship, Getting A Library Card For The First Time In Ages, Baklava (Is This The Best Dessert Ever?), The Sweet & Suicidal Sounds Of Bossa Nova Dislikes: Any Talk That The Next Wave Of Consoles Is Approaching, The 360 Controller With The Fixed D-Pad Not Coming Here, Natalie Merchant, The Hold Steady Current Favorite Games: NHL 09, Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia Adam >> adam@gameinformer.com Handle: The Alpha Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Strategy, First-Person Shooters, Fighting Interests: Led Zeppelin (How Did | Get This Old Without Actually Owning Any Zep?), Speculating About Lich King Talent Builds, The Unexpected Bounty Of Meaningful September Baseball, Google Chrome Dislikes: Losing Sleep Over The Twins’ Playoff Hopes, Chrome's Many Bugs, Taking Half An Hour To Configure A Usable Interface For ITunes 8, Unskippable Splash Screens Current Favorite Games: Final Fantasy IV, Diablo Il: Lord Of Destruction, Warhammer Online, World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King, WordJong Joe >> joeQgameinformer.com Handle: The Real American Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Adventure, Action, Strategy, Puzzle Interests: Freaks And Geeks (Whoa! James Franco Сап Act?)), Тһе Retum Of Dexter, Starting New D&D Characters, Hustle, FDR (A.K.A. The Only King Of America) Dislikes: Losing Literary Geniuses In Their Prime (David Foster Wallace, R.I.P), Anyone Who Thinks The Wii Remote ls A Substitute For A Mouse, The Fact That Chuck Still Isn't Cancelled (Watch Pushing Daisies Instead, Dummies!) Current Favorite Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Spore, Dead Space, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Castle Crashers, Braid, Heavy Rain Miller >> miter@gameinformer.com Handle: The Once And Future Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Action/Adventure, Platform, First-Person Shooters, Music, Puzzle Interests: The Final Ten Minutes Of Six Feet Under, Ben's Extensive Training In The Handling Of Wasps, More Rock Band Songs Than І Can Count Anymore Dislikes: Comics That Assume I've Read Every Other Comic Ever Written (I'm Looking At You, DC, With Your Crazy Final Crisis), My Increasingly Decrepit PC (l'm Pretty Sure It Has Dementia At This Point) Current Favorite Games: Rock Band 2, Castle Crashers, Ninja Gaiden 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Prince Of Persia, Fallout 3, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Bertz >> mattbertz@gameinformer.com Handle: Lord Gamington IIl Expertise: First-Person Shooters, Sports, Action, RPGs, Strategy Interests: The Naked And The Dead By Norman Mailer, The Gaslight Anthem – The 59 Sound, The Night Of The Gun By David Carr, EA Sports Hockey League Dislikes: Vikings Play-Calling (What Else Is New?), Battlefield: Bad Company's Crappy Party Matchmaking, Commercial Blocks During Football Games (Why Do | Have To Watch The Same Damn Ads Six Times During One Game?) Current Favorite Games: Fallout 3, NHL 09, Rock Band 2, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, NBA 2K9 Ben >> ben@gameinformer.com Handle: Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamer Expertise: Action/Adventure, Action/RPGs, Platform, Survival Horror, First-Person Shooters Interests: Umbrella Academy By Gerard Way And Gabriel Bá (So Awesome), Taco Bell (It's A Sickness), Doctor Who, The Wire, The River Of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey By Candice Millard Dislikes: Nothing (Can't We All Just Get Along?) Current Favorite Games: Braid, N+ (Now On PSP), Castle Crashers, Spore, Dead Space, Civilization Revolution, Final Fantasy IV, Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia Bryan >> _bryan@gameinformer.com Handle: The Gamer's Advocate Expertise: Action/Adventure, RPGs, Survival Horror, First-Person Shooters, Music Interests: Fulfilling A Lifelong Dream Of Seeing Journey Live (Those Songs Were Made To Hear In An Arena), The Anniversary - Devil On Our Side: B-Sides & Rarities, Bottle Rocket Finally Getting The Criterion Treatment (On Blu-ray No Less) Dislikes: EA Only Selling Rock Band 2 Instruments Separately For Xbox 360 Until October Current Favorite Games: Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Braid, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood GAMEINFORMER NOVEMBER 2008 Volume XVIII * Number 11. * Issue 187 PUBLISHER Cathy Preston EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andrew McNamara EDITORS Executive Editor Andrew Reiner ‘Senior Editor Matt Helgeson Senior Associate Editor Matthew Kato Associate Editors ‘Adam Biessener * Joe Juba * Matt Miller Ben Reeves » Bryan Vore Content Manager Matt Bertz Mascot Arthur PRODUCTION Art Director Thomas Blustin Production Director Curtis Fung Graphic Designer Jeff Akervik CONTRIBUTORS Photographers Steve Skoll » Richard Brown GAME INFORMER ONLINE Online Editor Jeff Cork Media Editor Nick Ahrens Associate Online Editor Meagan VanBurkleo ADVERTISING SALES MINNEAPOLIS Rob Borm Associate Publisher (612) 486-6155 “ Fax: (612) 486-6101 robGgameinformer.com WEST COAST Damon Watson West Coast Advertising Director (310) 450-3260 * Fax: (310) 450.3571 damon@gameinformer.com Janey Stringer West Coast Advertising Associate (612) 4866104 * Fax: (612) 486-6101 janey@gameinformer.com EAST COAST Suzanne Lang East Coast Advertising Sales Director (718) 8325575 « Fax: (718) 8325569 suzanne@gameinformer.com MINNEAPOLIS Amy Amold Advertising Coordinator and Online Sales (612) 486-6154 * Fax: (612) 4866101 amy@gameinformer.com Rachel Nimerfroh Marketing Coordinator (612) 486-6059 Fax: (612) 4866101. rachel@gameinformer.com CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT For renewal, address change and Edge card details: Visit: www.gameinformer.com Email: customerservice@gameinformer.com Or send correspondence to: 724 North First St., 3rd Floor Minneapolis, MN 55401 * Attn: CIS Dept For subscription inquiry ONLY: 1 (866) 844-GAME (4263) Circulation Services Ted Katzung • (612) 4866107 ted@gameinformer.com Information Systems Manager Paul Hedgpeth paulhedgoeth@gameinformer.com In memory of Paul Anderson Малае and printed inthe United States of America The Editor welcomes company produc information for all video games. Such materials shouldbe addressed to: Editor, Game Informer? Magazine, 724 Noch Fist St, áth Foor, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Unsoicted manuscripts cannot be returned or acknowledged. Enire contents Soprigh 200. Gane omer Magazino. A ighis reserved; in whole or in pari tou permission is рөһіігі. бале emer В radere o бітеді, he in these for especie Compare PUBLISHER LABLIN FOR ERROR he pcos Tet be labe for sight changes or typographical ers at do not lessen he value of an advertisement The publishers ably for other errors or omissions in conr ing infringement of trademarks, copyrights, rade names, patents, ог proprietary fights or violation of rights ді privacy, resulting fron the publication ofthe Advertiser's statement. 4 Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Good morning, Crono! November 25, 2008 A.D. www. goodmorningcrono.com EVERYONE 10+ J Animated Blood Senos SQUARE ENIX ESP OLDS. Use of Alcohol ©1995, 1999, 2008 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved. CHARACTERS: ©1995, 1999 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved. ©1995, 1999 BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA. CHRONO TRIGGER, SQUARE ENIX, and the SQUARE ENIX logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Square Enix Co., Ltd. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2004 Nintendo. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. 14 GAME INFORMER Candid Photos From The Seedy Underbelly Of The Video Game Industry 1 Adam and Valve's Mike Booth and Adrian Finol get down to business - literally. They actually aren't even play- ing games in this picture; they all do part time data entry for a banking firm in Singapore for extra money on the side 2 Bethesda's Fallout 5 team enjoys a post-apocalyptic barbecue. It turns out that uranium charcoal is the secret to the tastiest burgers! 3 Activision's Vince Fennel, Joshua Selinger, and Treyarch's Dan Moditch and the rest of the GI gang smile for the camera. Except Ben - he has a mental illness commonly known as "Hamburger Brain.” We're still trying to find а cure 4 D3 Publisher's Alex Coward and Michael Cerven show Meagan and Ben their sword skills. If you think Ben looks somewhat horri- fied, don't worry — he always looks that way 5 Miller and Jeff teach Fall Line Studio's Tim Huntsman and Disney's Michelle Jacob some ultra-high-level Wii controller maneuvers. Some of their moves are copyrighted — so don't try to copy them. Really...don't do it. We warned you once. Most people have to be a high level Mason before we even talk to them about these techniques 6 Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker shows his skills on the Guitar Hero stage at the GameStop Manager's Conference 7 “SHAAARRON!” The GI gang has an audience with the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne THE LAST STORY WE MAY EVER TELL WILL CLOSE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN “PAST & PRESENT IT WILL DESTROY THE LINE BETWEEN FACT & FICTION; And mark LTHEENS of all MYTHOLOGY. d & Games for Windows à Blood and Gore Intense Violence ar Md ж) 2360-76 LEGENDARY THEGAME.COM i | The Readers Strike Back 4 1 н Fickle Franchise I'm an avid PS3 supporter and Final Fantasy fan, so to hear that the franchise is also moving to the Xbox 360 is a serious out- rage. | mean, PlayStation has been its home for years! Just because the PS3 started slow doesn't mean this series needs to down- grade to the 360. Perhaps | should just accept that times are changing, but a part of me just feels betrayed by Square Enix. Where is the loyalty? | don't think the 360 is ready for this monumental franchise yet. Maybe in the next generation. Maybe. Andrea Tuck via email It's interesting that you mention loyalty, since Final Fantasy has a rocky history in that category. The first six entries were released on Nintendo systems (only three came out here), but then moved over to Sony's platforms for Final Fantasy VII onward. The official reason was that the PlayStation discs had better storage capacity than N64 cartridges, but it's likely the two companies were clashing behind the scenes. Regardless, remem- ber that Final Fantasy XIII is still coming out on PlayStation 3. Just because 360 owners will also be playing the game shouldn't diminish your experience. Yes, the multiplatform move is annoying The Wire 1 just bought a PS3 and was disappointed that the USB cable for the controller is extremely short. It barely reaches even if I sit directly in front of my television. When | get the low battery warning for the controller, my two choices are to either stop playing or to play while standing up, neither of which are very appealing. 1 called Sony, and they said | should be able to con- nect my PS3 controller to my PS3 system using any USB cable. 1 quickly found this to be untrue when | purchased a standard USB cable and the plug was far too big to fit into the tiny port on the PS3 controller. What can | do? Ivan Trembow via email to people for whom Final Fantasy XIII was the deciding factor in a PS3 pur- chase. However, there's a lesson in there somewhere: Don't buy a console for a single game that doesn't even have an announced release date. Got You Covered l've noticed something about your maga- zine over the last few years: Each issue has some seriously amazing cover art. While this has always been true, the two Batman: Arkham Asylum covers were especially cool. Some of my other favorites are Infamous, Gears of War 2, and Brütal Legend. How do you guys do it? Brad via email We're glad you like them! The talented artists at the development studios almost always provide the art you see on our covers. The rest of the process, like laying out text, matching the colors, and gener- ally making the whole composition pop, is handled by our in-house production department. They're also responsible for laying out the page you're looking at right now. Don't worry, we can still do whatever we want in the text. Paaaaarty! CAMEINFORMER;, T 2 525 We've run into this problem ourselves. It's true that the cord included with the PlayStation 3 is hilariously short, but that can be fixed...albeit not with a standard USB cable. You want the one pictured here (USB-A to Mini-B). You should be able to find them at major electronic stores, as well as online retailers. For around $20 you can get the Sony-brand pack, which includes two 10-foot cables - more than enough room to play and recharge simultaneously. Testing, Testing | have been trying to crack into game testing for what feels like forever now, and | even took the chance on a site that | researched and purchased a subscription to get started. | never got a reply or confirmation or login information from the site, but someone is enjoying my $44.95. I have visited several publishers' official sites for testing positions, but they are all on-site. So, I'm confused. Do companies really outsource to people at home? Je'Don Bagley via email As a general rule, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is... especially if it looks like those flyers you see stapled to telephone poles. You can't sit at home, have companies send you games, and make thousands of dollars by working 12 hours per week. That's not a job...it's a get rich quick scheme, and you aren't the one getting rich. For a number of reasons, practically all video game testing is done on-site. If you want a job in quality assurance, you should apply through a company's regular channels, not by signing up for website member- ships. If you're paying someone to let Send your comments to Game Informer. Snail Mail: Game Informer Magazine e Attn: Dear GI е 724 North First St., 4th Floor е Minneapolis, MN 55401 Email: deargi@gameinformer.com THE QUESTION: Do you think Nintendo still cares about the hardcore gamer? 16 GAME INFORMER Nintendo has found the casual market to be the. 1 believe with Nintendo's complete overhaul area where they can succeed most but there are stil to attract the casual gamer and venture out to plenty of hardcore games coming for the Wi and people who are new to games Nintendo has been DS. People ust need a whipping boy for the industy. | very profitable and therefore have no reason to ItsameMatt focus more on hardcore gamers at this time. ‘TheMaskedMarauder Isti haven't gotten past the fact that people are calling Animal Crossing a “hardcore” game. As long as Nintendo is developing Metroid, Zelda, meobluebat Super Smash Brothers, and real Mario games they care for the hardcore gamer. The day one of Yeah, they still care about the hardcore, but. those franchises’ new game is akin to Brain Age is for the time being they're going to milk their the doy they stopped caring. newfound audience for whatever they can. | forsbergi785 think we can rest assured that the next Mario. and Zelda are well into development. Tanooki Nintendo hasn't abandoned the hardcore gaming market for the Wî yet but theyre heading down that road when compared to the competition. 1% alot like the GameCube era (lading йзёралу. tiles for hardcore gamers), except this time the casual gamer is backing Nintendo. AngelGamer Sady, Isay yes The Legend of Zelda, Mario Galaxy, Maro Kart and Smash Bros have already been released, and those series seem to only come around once a console de | wantlo be wrong, ut it seems the best of hardcore gaming is over unless a third party developer steps up and makes a game that isn't shovelware. Do you want to make your voice heard? mot a bumblebee Weigh in with your opinion at wwrigameinformer.comyforums. ІР You. HATE BEING АМ QE SPACESHIP COMMANDER DON’T BUY ME ENERGITER. ADVANCED LITHIUM. Because vicit RUE WERE, youl be able +o play The Video games you love « 203 LONGER ^«^ BOME EVIL Death ZomBIES, visiting 7 4 WRE distant galaxies and getting a 302 ШЕШЕК So when your f ends come around, they'll Say, “1 CANT BELIEVE You Gorsueh А HIGH SCORE.. . You're Aw AWESOME SPACESHIP COMMANDER. A compliment? Sure. po But not if You hate being е 62) an Awesome Spaceship Commander. 4 > ® KEEP сәйке More awesomeness at energizer.com/advancedlithium * Р, ^ 8 EWERGIZER® ADVANCED Lithium Batter: vp те Jo ха in HANDHELD GAmBs ус, ENERGIZ: бағы жаа АА onty, Results vary BY ppvicE. ©2002 Energizer Energizer, Energizer Bunny design, ca 4 gra. and share, other m. of Energizer, you work, you're doing it wrong. The Rundown | really liked your PlayStation 2 Top 25 you So REESE SR did in the Classic GI section of issue 185. | WILLIAM BENITEZ think it would be really cool if you did this ; for all of the past consoles, especially my Snake can remain favorite system, the Nintendo GameCube! undetected even Shane Akos amidst the most garish via yahoo.com "705 wallpaper If you liked that, you should definitely head over to this month's Classic GI on page 138, where we take a look at the top 25 Xbox games. As for the GameCube, we'll run that as soon as the system has 25 games worth men- tioning. Oof...that one's gonna hurt next month. Send to: Game Informer. Too Harsh, Man 1 usually agree with your scores, but your review of Too Human was a little harsh. Granted it may have some flaws in the targeting system, balancing, and health orbs, but most other aspects of this game are pretty decent. You should have looked past your high expectations for this game and based it on how fun it really is. Reader Art Contest. 724 Ist St. №, 4th Floor. Mpls, MN 55401 Frankie Molinelli via yahoo.coml This is in response to your review on Too Human. Third Opinion: 8.25 out of 10. First 1 would like to say you're right, it's not a ter- rible game, but | will not have your nitpick- Т) | EMRE TUG y) | RAMEL HILL ae At p s 4. po gue enun UNES ROLAND Iv à Б it bad that we want a game star- | People who scowl constantly are just the menus), which is relatively smooth and You're asking for it, Hulk. If there's one ting panda marines? At this point, | smiling on the inside. Either that, satisfying. The targeting problem you keep thing super heroes are good at, it's anyone who isn't some musdebound | or smoldering with unceasing fury. mentioning is minor compared to the cam- avenging their family members meathead is kind of refreshing Give ‘em a hug to find out which it is era, but even that is easily tossed aside. And please, cut the graphics some slack. ————————— Dan Varano via email We can't print every "Your review of [some game ! bought] was wrong" letter we get, but these were unique. If you're going to rush to a game's defense, it's customary to offer more | than concessions and lukewarm praise. If this is what Too Human's stalwart champions can muster, we can only imagine what the people who really hated the game have to say. Actually, we shouldn't. It's probably littered with profanity, and may even contain phras- es from the Black Speech of Mordor. eee eese mer reme CLAY WITT Why the sad face? Polka music provides hours of repetitive, public domain fun. Hopefully they have that one “Oom-pah” song! 18 GAME INFORMER RATING PENDING May contain content AL = inappropriate for children, ONLY ON [ f. Visit wwwesrb.org for e > 5 7 Lomas rating information. ® Бэ» І ЕЗ ч! S ТЗ Т1 07 ГТ. 23 Au, ESRB MotorStorm is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. ©2008 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Developed by Evolution Studios Ltd. “PlayStation,” "PLAYSTATION" and "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks Breaking News, Views, And Technology From The Cutting Edge Of Gaming Knie: 5 Ў ТАЗЫ The holiday season is always a battle- Ж: ground, and with all three home con- = “sols going strong this year, the stakes à in the system and software wars are \ 5 bigger than ever. While it’s a given that people will buy Wiis until the store \'shelves are picked bare, what hap- pens this holiday season could have an impact on the industry. Will the PS3 take off? Сап Nintendo salt its lead? Will the Xbox 360 put some distance between a * it and the PS3? Game Informer talked WHAT THIS HOLIDAY ^ to two industry analysts to get a better look at what this holiday has in store for MAY HOLD BE da wat it may mean for the future. LI е», Y ы 20 GAME INFORMER 55: connect “In the U.S. the Nintendo Wii will likely outsell both the PS3 and the 360 Бу a two-to-one margin. The Nintendo DS will likely outsell the PSP by a two-to- one margin. The large publishers' success should be partially judged based on their ability to gain market share on the Nintendo Wii. This will once again be Nintendo's holiday to lose.’ — EVAN WILSON "Nintendo sells the most consoles, but probably doesn't have the most momen- tum. I think the momentum is Sony's to capture. I think that Microsoft is doing its damndest to keep that from happening with a price cut.” - MICHAEL PACHTER "We are very, very clear that there are more Wiis coming, and more than Nintendo supplied last year. The way that Nintendo jacked up its supply – it clearly has increased manufacturing to something like 600,000 a month - it appears that it started a couple months ago and it is stockpiling them for Christmas. | think we should be seeing an extra 300,000 wandering into the U.S. market" - MICHAEL PACHTER "Potential Wii owners aren't a very picky crowd when it comes to brand new games. Nintendo's current slate is plenty. Existing Wii owners, especially those that bought the Wii in holiday 2006 and early 2007, will likely be less enthusi- astic. We are seeing more games developed specifically for Wii instead of being ported from another platform. This should allow quality to improve, but cus- tomer interest is far from certain” — EVAN WILSON GAME INFORMER 21 Ө spoonman © Chop Suoy APPRENTICE (4% Ө Mountoin Song © otio There © Tho Middle Ө ооп Away SOUD (2 SONGS) EY р сам. © Aco ol Spades YEA “Ж! 7 ы. cc © vin On a Prayer 500 available tracks by year's end— Super-durable, wireless peripherals Over 80 brand new songs from rock's New features—Global Online*** World the largest library of any game, ever.* including available full-size Fender" guitar Biggest artists, plus rock out to all your Tour, daily and weekly Battle of the Bands, and bass, and deluxe lon™ drum set.** previously downloaded tracks. Custom Set Lists, Drum Trainer, and more! ROCK BAND INSTRUMENTS COMPATIBLE WITH ROCK BAND 2 See the complete track list on uggestive Themi 2 E m "ig у RockBAND2COM HARMONIX (ғ, “Fender “Original Rock Band disc tracks upgrade requires online connection and key purchase. ** Items are sold separately. ***Online connection required. See pack back for details. © 2008 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Harmonix, Rock Band 2 and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., an MTV Networks company. Rock Band 2 developed by Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. MTV: Music Television, MTV Games and all related titles and logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. EA and the EA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the US and/or other countries. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. FENDER™, STRATOCASTER™, PRECISION В, ind the distinctive headstock and body designs commonly found on the STRATOCASTER and PRECISION BASS guitars are trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved. lon and lon Drum Rocker are registered trademarks of lon Audio LLC. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. ` ASSEMBLAGE OF MUSIC IN A GAME TO DATE ^ |2 over 500 SONGS TOTAL AVAILABLE ON DISC AND FOR DOWNLOAD BY HOLIDAY 20085 | A В START A BAND. ROCK THE WORLD: DH. 2008 бәсе fee wee BEST MUSIC GAME BEST MUSIC/RHYTHM G, More News You Can Use COURT BODY SLAMS WWE The Connecticut Superior Court dismissed some of WWE's charges against THQ regarding the pair's video game company's licensing deal. WWE tried to convince the court to void the. deal on the grounds that it was bribed during negotiations. In other THQ news, the publisher announced the opening of an office in Shanghai, China. THQ plans to launch Company of Heroes. Online in Asia. ROCK BAND TV SHOW Reality television kingpin Mark Burnett. (Survivor) is working with MTV to startup a TV/ Contest based on Rock Band 2. Recruitment ads have already been posted looking for four people to form a band and play live for a chance to win “the Ultimate Rock Band Experience.” ri AN —€—MÓ NCSOFT EXPANSION Korean developer NCsoft (Tabula Rasa) is trying to strengthen its MMO position in the west. The company opened NCsoft West in Seattle to handle all American and European operations under one roof. Currently, NCsoft has offices in both Austin and Brighton, England, MORE MODERN COMBAT & MARTINIS Activision has rarely seen a license it didn't like. The company is betting heavily on Bond, saying that it will put out a 007 game every year - start- ing next year - movie tie-in or not. Speaking of years (and off-years), Activision Blizzard announced that, thankfully, developer Infinity Ward will be back at the helm for the next Call of Duty title. CAPCOM TURNS AWAY FROM JAPAN In its annual report, Capcom unveiled its blueprint for the future. The company says that the Japanese market accounts for 53 percent of its console game sales, and itis avoiding any Japanese mergers for potential partnerships with Western companies in order to grow that sector of its business. As an adjunct to this strategy, Capcom says "all major titles launched during the next fiscal year or thereafter will be developed as multiplatform games.” 24 GAME INFORMER intro videos f you've been to YouTube in the last few | months, chances are you've stumbled across or followed a link to the "Emily" video. What initially looks like a standard interview showing a dose up of a woman's face is — at the end — revealed to be a computer-generated fake. The animation and texturing is so realistic it has lead some to declare the uncanny valley crossed. "From my point of view it was a SIGGRAPH demo, and it just became something more than that," says Image Metrics’ head of production David Barton. "It's created a bit of a global buzz" Image Metrics, a tech company specializing in a new take on facial animation, was looking to make a splash at the annual Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques conference (SIGGRAPH) in Los Angeles. The company part- nered with the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies’ graphics research team to try out their cutting edge hi-res facial scanning tech, of which earlier iterations had appeared in the Spider-Man movies, King Kong, and Superman Returns. Next, they hired “The Young and the Restless” actress Emily O'Brien and things got rolling. Over the course of several months, Image Metrics sent O'Brien off to USC for facial scan- ning inside their custom light globe, filmed her answering questions in a studio, animated and tendered the video, and brought the final product to SIGGRAPH last August. Excitement about the conference exhibits is generally contained within the highly technical industry, but Image Metrics’ demo showed progress that anyone could see. Soon media outlets picked up on Emily and, in REAL-WORLD RESUME >Q FACING THE FUTURE MHAT THE "EMILY" VIDEO MEANS FOR GAMING turn, YouTube hits on various copies of the video rose to over 1.2 million. But Emily is simply the latest demonstration of its unique approach to facial animation. Rather than using motion capture dots or traditional keyframe animation, Image Metrics films an actor's performance with any standard video camera and uses its custom software and team of animators to translate into digital form. “If you were to give it a motion capture analogy, some- body might put 30 markers on the face," Barton says. “Well, we have an almost limitless number of markers because every single pixel that is on the face in that video we can analyze and extract data from it” Image Metrics’ process is not only accurate; it's also very fast. The core animation time excluding final texturing and lighting took only two weeks to complete. So when will we start seeing Image Metrics animation in games? Most likely you already have in titles like Grand Theft Auto IV, Devil May Cry 4, and Unreal Tournament Ill. But cur- rent home console horsepower doesn't allow reality-blurring animation just yet. "We've worked on 50 video games, but none of those games have ever attempted to create something photo real," Barton says. "There is still some way to go before we can do things like hundreds of blend shapes in a facial rig or multiple displacement maps for real detailed fine skin creasing. Maybe the next generation of consoles? Within the next two to three years we should be seeing charac- ters that genuinely draw the gamer in as realistic and believable” m The team even scanned in a cast of Emily's teeth The real Emily Image Metrics' tech isn't just pie in the sky concepts. It's been used in movies like The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Gnarls Barkley's music video for ^Who's Gonna Save My Soul," and in several games stretching back to 2005's The Getaway: Black Monday. Rockstar has been the company's biggest supporter, using its tech in essentially every game since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. "We are all about story driven games like GTA IV,” says Image Metrics’ David Barton. "We've worked on 300 minutes of facial animation in that title" The company also just announced a partnership with Codemasters for Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising and has several other unannounced projects in the works. H UNLIMITED ENABLED. Check out this month's Unlimited for the full-length interview with David Barton and a downloadable hi-def copy of the Emily video. FROM THE CREATORS OF FINDING NEMO AND CARS Фр -PIXAR т, Ja» New On DVD & 50: Biu-RAY Nov. 18 -Includes- The All-New Animated Short Film! QUOTE -.. unfortunately | think the industry had passed Rare һу. - Former Microsoft executive Peter Moore, "reflecting on Microsoft's early relationship with developer Rare for UK's paper Тһе Guardian 500 Atari is stepping it up with its PS3 version of horror title Alone in the Dark. The game features a number of improvements from the earlier 360 version, including a new zoomed-out, controllable camera system, quicker access and manipulation of your inventory, and better driving sequences. The game also features a new action sequence in one of the episodes. Alone in the Dark for PS3 comes out in mid-November. World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King has been given a November 13 release date, The game will appear in standard ($39.99) and limited edition ($69.99) forms, the latter of which comes with a 208-page art book, an exclusive in-game baby frost wyrm pet, soundtrack, behind-the-scenes DVD, mouse pad, and two World of Warcraft trading card game starter packs. UG Xbox chronicler Dean Takahashi has written a piece for online blog VentureBeat detailing the Xbox 3605 red rings of death saga. As Takahashi explains it, the system's high failure rate boils down to numerous factors, including the console design, poor testing in its early stages, memory issues, bad soldering, and more. Before launch, 68 out of a 100 systems were coming off the assembly line LY non-functional, and the continual post-release additions to the system didn't help things after launch, Microsoft even stopped production cold in the first half of 2007 in an attempt to deal with the problems. Meanwhile, Robert Delaware, a Microsoft games tester who Takahashi spoke to on the record for the article, was recently fired by the com- pany for what it deemed a breach of his confidentiality agreement. 500 Metal Gear Solid 4 producer and former Konami employee Ryan Payton has previously acknowl- edged the existence of a Metal Gear Solid 5, and now more news has come out about the game. Konami has filed a trademark for the name Metal Gear Solid Existence. 26 GAME INFORMER Its no surprise that Activision has wide-ranging plans to print money off the back of the Guitar Него franchise, but we've got the feeling that more multi- platform releases isn't the only thing the publisher has up its sleeve. Activision says it has 2,000 people working on the franchise, so here's hoping that at a minimum the DLC flows fast and furious, One thing that we may see is more Jimi Hendrix - something that Slash recently hinted at in an interview. XBOX 360 DOUBLES DOWN PRICE CUT PAYS OFF n early September, after months of rumors, | Microsoft announced price cuts for each of its three versions of the Xbox 360. This price drop makes the hard-drive-less Arcade model the cheapest next-gen system on the market, under- cutting the Nintendo's Wii by $50. The core sys- tem with a 60GB hard drive now sells for $299, while the 120GB Elite goes for $399. According to Microsoft, the payoff of these long- awaited price cuts were immediate. The com- pany said it saw a 100 percent increase in sales shortly after the announcement. This comes at a crucial time for the Xbox 360. Not only is the all- important holiday season here, but the PS3 has shown steady, increased sales over the spring and summer while sales of Microsoft's platform had stalled. Nintendo's Wii, on the other hand, has consistently outperformed both systems, which should extend into the foreseeable future. ENSEMBLE кш Empires STUDIOS This Dallas, Texas 1999 х developer became Age of Empires 1 a subsidiary of Microsoft in 2001 MICROSOFT DISASSEMBLES ENSEMBLE HALO WARS STILL ON TRACK | t's one thing to hear of employee layoffs at a developer after a project ends and the game 2002 Age of Mythology 2005 Age of Empires III 2009 Halo Wars hits the shelves, but to hear that closing a studio before its title is released is...all a part of the plan? Microsoft announced Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios will shut down fol- lowing the release of the RTS title in early 2009. Despite the closure, Microsoft says the studio leadership is already planning to start a new development house and will work on other projects with Microsoft. Many Ensemble employ- ees are taking jobs within the new studio, as well as at Microsoft. In a statement, Microsoft said the decision was "fiscally-rooted" and that it "keeps Microsoft Game Studios on its growth path" In the past year, Microsoft has shed high-profile developer Bungie from its first- pafty status, and allowed partners BioWare and Bizarre /|. Creations to part ways even as it says it is committed to first-party software. from Valve. N May contain content inappropriate for children. Visit www.esrb.org for rating information. VALVE] Source) H . STEAMWORI (62008 Valve Corporation. Valve, the Valve logo;Left 4'Dead, the Left 4 Dead logo, Source, and the Source logo are trádemarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies, ч $55 connect T Selection aj Licensing Choosing what music appears on a disc (or DLC) begins long before a release, but the time it takes to reach completion varies wildly. “At this point, we are more or less in a roll- ing process with our partners, where licensing and technical delivery on any one track happens very naturally over a fairly comfortable period of time,” DeGooyer says. “That said, we can move very quickly if there is a new artist with a great track for the game - | think we've turned some songs around in just a couple of weeks" Headaches often emerge while attaining the appropriate music rights. "We work closely with artists and their management to select songs that the artist wants to see in the game," DeGooyer continues. "From a technical licensing perspective, the owner of the master recording (usually a label) and the publisher of the song need to approve the use of the song.’ The rights to some music are so fragmented that it takes months to track down the involved parties. When the music in discussion involves deceased artists, MTV and Harmonix make a point to visit with the artists’ survivors in person to explain the game and get permission. Big Rock Endings? In the first Rock Band, Harmonix went out of its way to amplify the feeling of a “live” concert by implementing a number of special endings to songs. The untold story is that after these “big rock endings” were recorded, around half of them were rejected by the original artists, since it involved new musi- cians tacking on music to their existing tracks. In Rock Band 2, they show up less, and they're almost always more consistent with the original recordings. 28 GAME INFORMER After years of enjoying the fruits of Harmonix's work, first on its creation of Guitar Hero, and later on Rock Band and its sequel, we wanted to learn how those rockin' songs make their way into our games. We sat down with Paul DeGooyer of MTV Games and Eric Brosius, audio director at Harmonix, and talked through the life of a song as it journeys from initial selection to your Rock Band menu screen. © o o o е hemixifjeseseses While Rock Band and its sequel are chock full of the original master tracks, in most cases you're not hearing the album mixes. Since the music must be broken down into its disparate instrumental and vocal parts, a new mix must be completed that closely emulates the original. “A typical issue is techni- cal delivery - a song may have been recorded with certain tracks ‘printed’ together, like bass and drums," DeGooyer says. "It takes a lot of time and expertise to separate the parts so they are playable in Rock Band and still retain their musicality" Most of this remixing is completed by a professional audio engineer who works for the record label using notes and cues from the original mixer to set levels and effects. When that process is completed, the "stems" (the individual separated tracks) are passed to Harmonix, which does a limited amount of additional mixing of the song and adds additional variable audio, such as crowd noise and fade-ins. In many cases, Harmonix has way more than four tracks to choose between - it's not unusual for a complex rock number to include 10 unique guitar tracks running simultaneously. Harmonix picks one or more of these to become a sort of "super guitar" track that play- ers will tackle when they play the game, combining the most iconic riffs into a seamless experience. That's why you sometimes start a song like "Pinball Wizard" playing the inimitable acoustic opening, only to shift to the electric lead partway through the song. Adio Implementation and Quality ИУ The audio team at Harmonix is split up by instrumental specialty. Back in the early days of Guitar Hero, individual team members would each tackle whole songs by themselves. Now, with so many complex parts and high expectations for the track layouts, specialized teams of drum, guitar, bass, and vocal specialists tackle individual parts before pulling the song together into a functioning whole. In almost every case, a team member starts by laying out the scrolling notes for the song as it will play on expert difficulty. At that point, the other difficulty levels emerge by simply removing notes. Particularly challenging lines occasionally need to be slowed down to nail the exact rhythms of a fast solo or complex fill. “Our guys have gotten pretty good at it. They can get the rhythms and pitches down pretty well,” Eric Brosius tells us. “A big part is getting it to fit the restrictions of our gameplay, the five notes on the guitar — making it fit so that it feels like the real thing, even though it's not” Occasionally, after completing a track, the team decides that one of the other guitar parts might be more interesting, and the process starts over. However, most of the time, the completed layouts move on to the testing team, who hammer out mistakes and suggest stylistic adjustments that keep the song consistent with the other music in the game. How long does a single song take? In a normal cycle, the audio team (which has grown to five times its size from one year ago) is working on around 10 to 15 songs at once. An individual song commonly takes a week to lay out, and another full week to test and tweak. Occasionally, the process has to move faster. "We've had times where we were hoping to release a song the day that a record comes out, and for some reason the band was still recording right up to the very end, so we would get something two days before we had to submit to Microsoft or Sony," Brosius says. “At that point, it is basically just drop everything, and do what needs to be done to get this thing going” Once the track layout is complete, the team adds lighting and motion cues for the onscreen band members, and the song is ready for prime time. W Some older master tracks are so decrepi that they need to literally be baked in time п be tape and solidifies the glue that holds different pieces of the tape together Launch Pad Many in the music industry are sur- prised just how far reaching and ben- eficial a song in Rock Band can be for a band's success. “We hear stories all the time, from Judas Priest being surprised by young kids asking them to sign cop- ies of their 1982 album Screaming For Vengeance, to labels telling us that our weekly downloads are not only selling more music for them, but also influenc- ing radio playlists," Paul DeGooyer tells us. "There are some bands that we would like to think we helped along a bit: Flyleaf got a boost from Rock Band 1, Black Tide was our first band to release DLC prior to their debut album, Paramore of course, and now Tokio Hotel. But these bands were all truly great before we put them in the game” GAME INFORMER 29 EARI R GEARI R HALO 4 Halo 4 rumors have circulated for a while, and Variety says that Brothers in Arms developer Gearbox will be heading up the new tile, which is consistent with what multiple sources have told Game Informer. This Gearbox developed Halo game is different from the side-project Bungie planned to announce at E3 that Microsoft postponed at the last minute. We all know that Lionhead's Peter Molyneux has tons of crazy game ideas swimming around in his head 24/7, and now we're hearing that the latest brain rush the Brit has is Tor a whimsical 360 game based around a canoe. Who knows if this game will ever materialize or if it's related to the oft-rumored 360 motion controller, so we'll have to see if this is anything concrete or just another instance of Molyneux thinking out loud. Dave Houser, the creative minds behind the Grand Theft Auto series. The pair's contract expires in February 2009, and whether they stay or go will surely impact the future of the company and the franchise. Loose Talk has heard that Ubisoft is one of the companies that currently trying to nab the Housers and their gift for games. Got some insider info? Email us at loosetalk@gameinformer.com and we'll be all ears. Test Your Sight In this alternate history of 1960s Japan, the country has split in two between Soviet and Allied forces in a continuance of aggression that has spilled over from WWII. Both sides use gas-powered mechs to do battle, but this Konami game isn't just some bad Gundam title. It mixes turn-based pre-battle tactical maneuvering of your mech and its support units with real-time battles. One of the interesting things about these real-time battles (which are encompassed in missions that can last hours) is that when you're ready to fire, the game switches to a first-person reticle, whose accuracy improves the longer you fix a bead on your target. (Answer on page 32) 30 GAME INFORMER A CALLS OFF TAKE-TWO BID . OPTIONS BEING EXPLORED ast spring, heavyweight publisher/developer Electronic Arts made a $2 billion hostile takeover bid for Take-Two - the company who owns subsidiaries 2K Games and Rockstar Games. Since then, EA and Take-Two have squab- bled back and forth in formal discussions over the future of Take-Two. Recently, EA terminated its offer and says it will not attempt to acquire the company. Since EA raised the question of acquisition, Take-Two is still looking for a potential buyer who will meet its asking price. ^We remain actively engaged in discussions with other parties in the context of our formal process to consider strate- gic alternatives," says Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick. According to Michael Pachter, industry analyst for Wedbush Morgan, one of the principle elements in the Take-Two negotia- tions will be Sam and Dan Houser, the creative tandem behind Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto franchise. Their TS contracts are up this February, and Pachter believes regardless of whether they stay or go, the pair will influence the company's future. Paying them to stay, reasons Pachter, could be a drain on Take- ^5 — TWO- including ongoing royalty rates - while letting them walk means the loss of a critical LE o asset to the GTA series. Loan aven он su a Su im Until now, you've had it easy. In other games, you were the best. But in this online fraternity eem 2 of SOCOM warriors, you'll learn there's a fonce even more powerful than you —there's TEAM. U.S. NAVY SEALS And to wage war as a team of SEALs is to know the spirit of SOCOM Confrontation: Alone CONFRONT т" N | am Lethal. As a team | Dominate. Start the confrontation at SOCOM.com д Coming October 2008 MATURE 17+ Blood Strong Language = Violence oes HEADSET e > PLAYSTATIAMS ONLY ON PLAYSTATION:Network wwwseal.navy.mil SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation ©2008 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. The Trident Design is a trademark of the Department of the Navy and is used by permission. The U.S. Navy provided technical support, but does not officially endorse this product. “PlayStation,” “PLAYSTATION,” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The PLAYSTATION Network Logo is à Service mark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. TOP FIVES Favorites From Industry Pros And GI Readers DEVELOPER JASON AVENT Game Director, Black Rock Studio (Pure) 1 Metal Gear Solid - PSone 2 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - N64 3 Elite - BBC Model B 4 Micro Machines - Sega Mega Drive 5 Quake II - PC ) READER LYNNE PHILIPS Midlothian, TX 1 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Xbox 360 2 Mass Effect - Xbox 360 3 BioShock - Xbox 360 4 Final Fantasy XII - PS2 5 Final Fantasy VII - PSone Send Top Fives and a photo of yourself to: Game Informer Magazine/Top Five 724 N Ist St 4th Fl Minneapolis, MN 55401-9022 : topfive@gameinformer.com (attach digital picture) TOP TEN Lists...Everybody Loves Lists... Top Ten Things We're Neglecting While We Play All The Great Holiday Games 18 Our dog Fido, who can probably just eat in January 9 Christmas shopping; Seven Eleven is a godsend on Christmas Day 8 Car maintenance; overrated, if you ask us 7 Heating bills, which probably aren't important in the winter 6 That gaping bullet wound 5 Our jobs - this issue was originally slated to be 300 pages long 4 Parole officer; what are they gonna do, throw us in prison? З Your whiny emails — zing! 2 The ever-widening expanse of space and time as the universe balloons outward 1 The Wii Name That Game Answe 32 GAME INFORMER PUNISHER HITS PSN GAME EXCLUSIVE TO PS3 igilantes usually have a purpose and method behind their madness, but you can ditch all of The Punisher's family anguish and skip straight to the shooting in Marvel Interactive's The Punisher: No Mercy game exclusively available for PS3's PlayStation Network. No Mercy is an arena-based first-person shooter running on the popular and powerful Unreal Engine 3. The game allows you to choose from a selection of friends and enemies culled from The Punisher's comic book history, including Jigsaw, Silver Sable, Barracuda, and Bushwacker. The game supports eight-player action (with both solo and team-based missions), and even features character-specific taunts taken from the comics. Augmenting its multiplayer mode, No Mercy's single-player mode features exclusive artwork from Mike Deodato. At the time we went to press, a price and release date for The Punisher: No Mercy had not been announced. 44 BLEACH CHARACTERS MELEE AND HOST ONLINE EVENTS AND ALL-NEW BANKAI TAG TEAM EVENTS AND MORE MOVES AND ATTACKS SEQUEL TO THE Cartoon Violence IW "d i Mild Language BLEACH: THE BLADE OF FATE” Suggestive Themes Use of Alcohol — ESRB CONTENT RATING ш] @) NINTENDO 9€. 6 ue 2ӘЙР TREASURE SEGA www.sega.com forbids shooting, while Evolved (right) is classic Geometry Wars Handle: беки Name: Yujirou Terase Age: 22 Hometown: Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan Rivals: iPacifism, 1 PrimeMakaveli | 34 GAME INFORMER Ш Pacifism mode (above) Accomplishments: At the time of this writing, Yujirou Terase earned the num- ber one score in the Pacifism game type of Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, with over 3.27 billion points. The next competitor trails by almost a billion points. Origin of Skills: Even though he wasn't breaking any records, Terase was a big fan of the original Geometry Wars Retro Evolved. "My Score is around 4 million," Terase says. The Key to Victory: "Extending your survival time is essential for getting a high score,” says Terase. "To do this, you have to destroy as many enemies per gate that you can, and make a path through the swarm. Then you can pick up large quantities of Geoms in their wake" Life Outside of Geometry Wars: Terase works at a convenience store and enjoys the works of manga creator Izumi Takemoto and sci-fi/horror writer Chouhei Kanbayashi. Other Favorite Games: Ikaruga, Ninja Gaiden, and Panel de Pon. Practice Time: _ 25 hours a week. Why Buy a 360? Terase says that he bought a 560 for Ninja Gaiden II, but knows that console has struggled in Japan. "Japan's most í popular genre is RPGs, of which there are few for the _ system" Terase observes. "But the newest Tales game just : | came out [Tales of Vesperia] and everyone's waiting for the : latest Square Enix game, so | think RPG fans are becoming |. more fascinated with the system" What Should Be in the Next Geometry Wars? : "I'd like to save and upload replays," Terase says. "That way, : ~ nobody will have to bother with explaining their tactics" Handle: pE ExacTly Name: Kevin Perez Age: 18 Hometown: Burlington, North Carolina Blew Meanie, | K4rn4ge | Kevin Perez Gamers Game Informer scours the leaderboards to find the best of the best, uncover а the people behind the han- | dles, and learn their strate- gies. So, if you get a pesky message over Xbox Live or PlayStation Network from GamelnformerMag, please don't delete it. You could be the next featured gamer. Accomplishments: Kevin Perez took the top spot in Evolved mode with a score of over 562 million. "I never thought was | going to be able to reach rank one. | just wanted to be in the top 100," Perez says. "Right now my goal is to reach 1 billion points in Evolved mode” Origin of Skills: ^| played tons of [the original] Geometry Wars,” Perez says. ^My high score in Evolved was 41 million. | could have kept on going, but | got tired” The Key to Victory: "Usually | go in circles close to the wall, quickly dodging the magnet balls,” Perez recommends. "I use the gate and black hole explosions to score big points. Also, | collect as many Geoms as possible.’ Life Outside of Geometry Wars: Perez currently attends community college for computer engineering and plans to transfer to a university after two years. He also works part-time as a computer technician and builds gaming PCs. Other Favorite Games: Halo 5, Crysis, and Halo 2. Practice Time: “When | have free time | devote it all to gaming,” Perez says. “When Geometry Wars 2 came out | played it for 10 hours straight every day. | try to play at least 4 hours when | have a busy day" What Should Be in the Next Geometry Wars? “It would be nice to have a feature that lets you save your [replays] and upload them to Xbox Live,” Perez says. “And | wouldn't mind Bizarre Creations removing the annoying magnet balls that fly straight into your ship” p" 5 AGGRESSIVE RACING CIRCUITS: EACH RACE IS A STAGE ALLOWING THE ж. ТТІ PLAYER TO PROGRESS FURTHER DOWN THE BAJA PENINSULA. ƏНЕ: Kp бе мА ^^ еч Г > OVER 90 VEHICLES IN 6 OFFIC | i IAL SC INCLUDING TROPHY TRUCKS, a's. AD Dine BIKES. ж DUCTS RANGE FROM RATING PlayStation. ud xi : ; ESRB CONTENT RATING. у | D" : I z sing j X PLAYSTATION 3 ©2008 Activision Publishing, Inc. All Right Rese is атедів егес trademark of the Ent 'PCDVD-ROM logo TM and © EMA 2006. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. Supe. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live and the Xbox logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group. pue " | : : à - : ma - Bemark of Activision Publishing, Inc Reserved. Score international and Baja 1000 are registered trademarks of Score International. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Left Field Prouctions. The. d are used under license frome Stati LAYSTATION” and. RSI Family |000 are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc All othier trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. connect feature Your Rock Band character will be modelled down to the last detail 36 GAME INFORMER “tech FROM ROCK * BAND TO REALITY: Z CORP TURNS VIDEO GAME AVATARS enturies ago, creating a statue out of a pile of dust would have made you a minor deity, or at least a very good wizard. Today, the technology company Z Corporation manufactures and sells a machine that performs this trick in a matter of hours. Formed in 1995, the Burlington, Massachusetts based firm is the world's leading purveyor of what it calls “3D printers," which can make representations of any three dimensional object. But in this case, it's not printing a likeness оп a sheet of paper ~ it creates an actual model. Recently, the company expanded beyond its core business of prototyping industrial designs to embrace partnerships with the video game industry. Its first big client is MTV Games and Harmonix. This licensing deal will allow Rock Band players to buy small statuettes of their in-game rock- ers — perfect in every detail, right down to the last studded wristband. “Тһе business we operate in is called the ‘rapid prototyping’ business," explains Z Corporation's vice president of business operations Scott Harmon. "Rapid prototypes from many different technolo- gies are used to help designers and engineers test designs before they commit to more expensive man- ufacturing procedures" The machines create these models by spreading a thin layer of plaster dust, then building and coloring the shape layer by layer (4/100ths of an inch thick) with two inkjet printer heads — one that sprays color, and one that sprays a special binder fluid which holds the model together. Admittedly, it's a complex process. “1 joke that ! can tell what time it is at cocktail parties. If it's 11 o'clock and everyone's had a few drinks, | have to explain it seven times," says Harmon. "If it's seven and everyone's only had one drink, it's only three or four” INTO REAL-LIFE STATUES Despite its industrial roots, Z Corp. realized video games were a perfect fit for its services. "We need 3D data for this to work, 3D data is [used in] video games," observes Harmon. "People started to think, Wouldn't it be cool if you took the 3D data from a video game avatar and actu- ally make а 3D print of it?” The first foray into video game 3D prints was made by FigurePrints, a 2 Corp. client started Бу former Microsoft executive Ed Fries. FigurePrints has marketed and sold World of Warcraft avatar models since 2007, and now owns a half dozen Z Corp. printers to keep up with demand. Although Z Corp. is primarily a hardware manu- facturer, it started offering figure-making services to help popularize the unfamiliar technology. After a chance introduction to some MTV licensing execu- tives and subsequent meetings with Harmonix, they hatched a plan for creating a Rock Band line of models called Bandmates. "[Harmonix] thought it was a really cool way to extend the experience," says Harmon. "The avatars are a pretty fun part of that, between the t-shirts and tattoos and the crazy stuff that you can do with your avatar.’ The ordering process is easy; just log onto rockbandstore.com and the site pulls your player data from the Rock Band servers. In a matter of days, you'll have exact replica of your character for around $60 to $80. It's a dream for hardcore fans, and if Z Corp. has its way you'll have the ability to do this in many future games, including a rumored partnership with Spore, which Harmon declined to comment on. With any luck, the next generation of video game figures will be unique as the gamers that play them. Wii NINTENDOS, as connect “АП good things of this Earth flow into the city" are the words emblazoned above the entrance to Rapture, but the crumbling para- dise tells a different story. After surviving a plane crash and listen- ing to an inspiring speech about the underwater city's creation, you quickly realize that the situation is not as advertised. We wish we could play BioShock again for the first time just to experience the terror, confusion, and dawning comprehension that accompanies your initial descent, introduction to Andrew Ryan, and first encoun- ter with a Big Daddy. 2 Fir Back before every RPG had a music video before the title screen, Final Fantasy VIII set the standard with this amazing Cinematic. Haunting choral music and a shot of a serene beach starts things off slowly, but it develops into a barrage of images full of foreshadowing and glimpses of future events, culminating in a wicked fight (with gunblades!) between Squall and Seifer. Say what you want to about the rest of this game, but the intro was awesome. 4 City 17 is not a happy place. From the second Gordon Freeman steps off the train and sees the Combine-controlled capital, things look bleak. The opening minutes of Half-Life 2 perfectly convey the oppressed desperation of City 17's denizens, the suffocating power of Dr. Breen's regime, and how badly the world needs a crowbar-wielding hero. 38 GAME INFORMER The beginning of a game can set the tone for the entíre experience. Whether it’s an opening cinematic, the first level, or just the first bit of gameplay, a good intro should grab your attention. Some even take it to the next level, getting you invested in the action, characters, or story in mere minutes. While there have been dozens of great video game openings throughout the years, these are our picks for the best of the best. Some dude named Tommy sit- ting around in a crummy bar may not sound cool at first, but things get crazy when “(Don't Fear) The Reaper" kicks in on the jukebox. As Blue Oyster Cult rocks out, the entire bar is sucked into an alien spaceship. Players watch in horror as Tommy's friends and family are systematically (and brutally) processed, and that's when Prey really begins — with Tommy alone on the labyrin- thine craft armed with only a wrench. 5 Not every game needs an elabo- rate backstory. Even with a set-up as simple as “Dr. Wily made some robots, and you need to kill them," the intro to Mega Man 2 gets you ridiculously psyched. Some text appears under a static shot of a building in a city, but once the "plot" is explained, the camera sweeps up the tallest building. As the pump-up music swells and you see the top of the building, who's standing there in all his majesty? Hell yeah! Its Mega Man! ERAS As old-time music plays ("Maybe" by The Ink Spots), the images on a black and white television tell the story of life before the apocalypse. Soldiers murder citizens in the streets, JAN cars cost $200,000, and there 2 is а promise of a better life by sealing yourself away in an underground vault. Then, Ron Perlman begins his chilling narration: ^War. War never changes" Now that's how you establish a setting. As if destroying a bipedal tank weren't enough, Snake's boarding of the tanker in Metal Gear Solid 2 establishes him as a badass of the highest order. Smoking a cigarette and strolling across the George Washington Bridge in the rain, Snake suddenly breaks into a run. Then he throws off his raincoat, turns invisible (!), and dives off the bridge, landing on the ship below. If only we had gotten to play as him the whole game. Not only does the intro show Kratos decked out in his godly glory, but the entire first level is a boss fight against the legend- ary Colossus of Rhodes. You beat up on regular chumps, and just when you think you're safe, a foot the size of a dumptruck bursts through a wall to crush you. When Kratos finally beats the giant statue, Zeus shows up to strike the new god low. Good thing Kratos isn’t the revenge-seeking type, right? You know all that stuff you're kind of tired of in World War II games these days? The Medal of Honor series did it when it was still inventive. The first level in Frontline had players storming the beach at Normandy on D-Day, conveying intense combat and abject fear similar to the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. The level also appeared on the PC's Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, though that title didn't open with it. 10 Indigo 2 Before you even gain control of Indigo Ргорһесу5 main character, you watch him murder a man in a diner restroom. The game thrusts into action immediately afterward, forcing you to frantically lean up the scene and hide evidence as the threat of discovery gets higher and higher. It generates tension and urgency, and introduces you to the game's core mystery right away. ониоззнон тим ANUS DD тет, о гт ONINO TINON тин ANANS XBOX 360. E PLAYSTATION. 23 MATURE 17+ B Blood and Gore Intense Violence Language Sexual Themes www.konami.com © 2008 Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. © 1999 Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. "Silent Hil" is a registered trademark of Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. KONAMI is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. The Double Helix name and logo are trademarks of Foundation 9 Entertainment. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION" and "PS" Family logo 8те registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. The rating icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. connect impulsse BY MATT MILLE E Mega Man 9 Mega Mán 9 makes history hy avoiding change, and Lode Runner proves his worth at age 25. Classics attempt a rebirth on your fancy modern console. >>> "уе noticed an interesting phenomenon in my attitude towards downloadable games, and I'm curious if any of you feel the same. It's like І suddenly develop a five-year- old's attention span as soon as the game starts, and I'm dis- appointed if they don't entertain me within moments of beginning. This stands in contrast to my feelings toward larger, retail releases, where I'm often more than willing to give a game several hours to warm up. But set me in front of a downloadable game, and 1 fight frustration if the game isn't in full swing with- in five minutes. It's a foolish inclination I've pushed past, often to intriguing and complex games that emerge after a little more attention. My prejudice got me to think about the expectations we all bring to our game-playing habits. Do you hold downloadable releases to the same standards of excellence as retail releases? Do you sometimes expect even more from a download, as І do when wanting them to deliver entertainment only moments into a playthrough? Alternately, are you more forgiving of faults in a shorter downloadable game, simply because of its format? These aren't rhetorical questions - I'm genuinely interested, if you care to send me your thoughts. Peggle It's still a couple of months off, but PopCap's clever ball-bouncing game of strategy and luck is headed to Xbox Live Arcade. Finally, console players can discover the expanded multiplayer options. udorumza 40 GAME INFORMER The Last Guy This quirky PSN release sends you reeling down city streets as you guide hapless citizens to escape zones while avoiding the swarming zombie apocalypse. From a addictive PC title their friends have been raving about. The XBLA version also features (ор down view, it's almost like looking at a satellite image of your hometown, except crazed undead are out to eat you and your neighbors. In the meantime, we're heading into a holiday season where downloadable releases are captur- ing more attention than in years past. Mega Man 9, headed to all three consoles, is perhaps the most high profile of these selections. It's not often (or really ever) we see a new release in Mme Lode Runner 7” а series more than 20 years old that doesn't attempt to update the formula. This will lead to mixed reactions; some players will welcome the blistering difficulty and primitive graphics, while oth- ers may grow frustrated. After several hours of battling robot masters and their minions, l'm torn between those two extremes. There's something devilishly enter- taining about the punishing level design, but 1 was reminded why the indus- try has moved away from making such unforgiving games. Frustration and fun can only go hand in hand for so long before the former wins out. Luckily, the clever new weapons, bosses, and insanely catchy music encourage you to pick the controller back up after you throw it across the room. Lode Runner on XBLA has opted for the opposite approach to updat- ing a classic. Fresh, modern visuals and several new modes of play greet gamers when they turn on the new Live Arcade title. The familiar mechanics are still in place, including bury- ing your enemies in tapidly dug holes and collecting scattered gold to progress. | got the biggest kick out of the new cooperative levels, which require quick wits from all players (up to four) as increasing numbers of enemies relent- lessly seek to protect their treasure. A puzzle mode is also a big plus, as it delivers an alterna- tive gameplay experience to the frantic pace of the more traditional platforming. It's great to see that several episodic games are reaching enthusiastic audiences in recent months. My favorites lean towards humor, but with a surprising level of fun and depth. Both Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness and Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People are moving forward with new installments. If the first episodes are any indication, both should be excellent down- loads, presuming you're in on the jokes. | hope to play both before next month, when I'll let you know how each series is shaping up. Savage Moon Take tower defense, fancy it up in almost every way imaginable, and you have the PSN exclusive Savage Moon. Giant insectlike aliens charge en masse at your mining facility, and only you have the insanely high-powered machine guns to take them down. Upgradeable weapons, support equipment, and evolving tech trees add an extra layer to the familiar formula. ы > Themes | Screensavers ҰМ WANNA KNOW WHY MY EGO IS SO BIG? [nel fuh dl theme5183 EX | game3659 wall7775 David Banner / Lil Wayne - Shawty Say Kardinal Offishall / Akon - Dangerous Katy Perry - 1 Kissed A Girl LL Соо! 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E-mail to info@jamster.com ог call 866-856-JAMS. 1 ? A : 7 dram? r--m mmm | d CALL 866-856-JAMS or email: info@jamster.com ESTE CTUM 4 SUPPORTED CARRIERS: Phonebook 2 d m [17776 Get 20 downloads with this plan; i ETE, just 59.99. ШУ 32 connect | Photo: Steve Skoll | Г | | i E © т Jonathan Blow's Braid is one of the year's most intriguing video game experiences JONATHANSLOW DESIGNER, BRAID >> Jonathan Blow’s Braid has become this year’s Portal, a fascinating cult hit that stretches the definition of what a game can be. We recently spoke with Blow about game design, the development of Braid, and the industry at large. << When did you start thinking about some of the concepts that would become Braid and what were some of your inspirations? Most of them happened in ‘04, actually. I'd done a game prototype that was about seeing the future. It's actually up for free download now [Oracle Billiards — available at http://number-none.com/ blow/prototypes/index.html — Ed]. It's a 2D, no pro- duction values thing, but it was about seeing what would happen before you do it. It was interesting, but it wasn't that fun to play. So, | started thinking about things like seeing the future or predicting what would happen if the future and the past were interchangeable. What kind of world makes that easier? | thought of a 2D, Mario type of world, because it's very simple interactions. .... | wanted the player to be able to visualize things very easily. That was part of the idea, and part of it was from discussions I'd had with friends. We'd played games like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which was another 3D object, and it would become more confusing. The reason that Braid works as it does is because there is a clarity to the way the elements are laid out in the scene. There's no ambiguity, and that's harder in 3D. Braid is very allegorical and symbolic. Are there ways in which 2D less realistic games better express allegorical concepts as com- pared to a very realistic looking game? For example, "Guernica" by Picasso might express something different about nuclear war than a realistic painting of an atomic explosion. 1 hadn't thought of that during development, but Scott McCloud has a similar idea in his book Understanding Comics. He talks about the level of abstraction that the comic is drawn in, all the way down to stick figures and all the way up to realistic painting. That engages different levels of viewer number of items that can be used to make this puzzle? If | ever found myself designing a puzzle that had a lot of pieces, | would decide that it was too complicated and either simplify it or throw it out. The more pieces you have, the more it's just a random intellectual exercise. The fewer pieces you have, the more you're getting at some fundamental truth about the way things behave, and that's what | was going for... You go to each world, and that's where a new way that time behaves is introduced. All the puzzles are different, natural consequences of the way the law of the universe that you've been introduced to. Talk a little bit about working with your art- ist, David Hellmen. What did he bring to the project? The gameplay was already figured out before David came on. The gameplay was done in late 2005 — all the puzzles were there, the ending was there. [Braid] is based on ideas that I have | and things that | care about, but not necessarily autobiographical. not the first game to do time rewind, but it was one of the popularizations of it. Blinx, the platformer on the Xbox, also came out about the same time. They had this time rewind thing, but we didn't feel that they did it very well. As game designers, we were thinking about how you could do it better, and my idea eventually turned into Braid. You mentioned the classic 8-bit influenced style. What are some of the artistic advantag- es for you as a designer of a 2D environment? In theory, it was easier to produce the art, because you could just make it in Photoshop. Ultimately, it wasn't as easy as | hoped, just because we had a very high quality bar for the art and it took a year and a half to do the 2D art. In terms of design, having that [side] viewpoint mean that the player is very aware of what's around [him] and all the elements of the puzzle. As a designer, that gave me a lot more freedom to create puzzles. A lot of the things that are in Braid just wouldn't work from a 3D perspective, especially the ending. The end- ing just couldn't be done in 50. There are a lot of other puzzles that could be done, but they would be a lot harder for players to understand. Braid was hard enough for people to understand as it was. If you couldn't see everything at once, you might miss something because it's hidden behind participation. That lets you play on different levels of literal versus abstract meaning. | always thought that it was a very interesting point. | didn't seek to design Braid that way; this is just the way that the game came out. But | could certainly see that it works the way it does because it's in 2D. One of the interesting things about the design is the puzzles. All the puzzles in Braid are very discrete and unique from each other, even down to how you interact with time and the environment. It was a specific design goal of mine to not have any puzzles that repeat. As long as you play through the game, you're always having new experiences. When that runs out, the game is over. | like the originality it brings, because a lot of puzzle games have the same puzzles, whatever the mechanic may be. If you start out with "Hey, you have a grappling hook and you can use it to go up here, throw the switch, then come back and go through the door" — a lot of games do that, but make the puzzle figuring out the order in which to do things. The next puzzle is just a more complicat- ed series of events, which is the same thing you've seen in every other game. | didn't want to do that with Braid. Every puzzle was going to be as simple as it could possibly be. What is the minimum But it was all programmer art; it looked like noth- ing anyone would be interested in after seeing a screenshot. | had ideas of what | wanted the visual theme to be. | wanted the game to start out really bright. | wanted a realistic setting and | wanted it to have a painterly style. But | don't have an art edu- cation, so | didn't have a concrete visualization of what that would be. | searched for a long time for an artist before finding David, and when he came on we spent a long time looking at possibilities. Drawing out possibilities of what things could look like and then eventually, once we had some ideas about what colors and visual styles might work, there was process of making sure that didn't break the game design. People have interpreted Braid in a lot of dif- ferent ways - what the princess represents, what the ending represents. You've been loath to say that there was one interpretation that was right or wrong. When you think of the game, is there one actual interpretation of the game that you had in mind? There's a very definite interpretation of it that 1 had. There аге a lot of reasons why | don't like to talk about it. | don't think | could do a sufficient job of it. If | were to write an essay containing all of that it would be really long, and | would still miss major, (Continued on page 44) CAREER HIGHLIGHTS First Love Blow receives his first computer, a TRS-80 Color Computer, and begins developing small game programs as a hobby After leaving college, Blow works on porting Doom and Doom Il to a set-top box console being made by a joint venture between Silicon. Graphics and Time Warner. Тһе console is never released in the U.S. A New Breed With some college friends, Blow forms Bolt Action. Software to create an online shooter/strategy title for online gaming services, Total Entertainment Network and iMagic Online. The game is released under the names Wulfram and ShockForce The Advisor Blow begins a career as a con- sultant, advising on such major titles as Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee and Deus Ex 2 19964 20004 ФП Musings Blow becomes a columnist for Game Developer. His “Inner Product” column explores new ideas in game technology In The Cell 20014 20034 Blow works on developing a demo game for IBM's cell pro- cessor, which would eventually power the PlayStation 3 The Beginning < Blow begins work on the proj- 5 ect that would become Braid | = еч Grace Notes 4 Consults on the iPod game 5 Phase for Rock Band creator e Harmonix A Masterpiece The long in development Braid is released to adoring critical praise and strong sales GAME INFORMER 43 ө connect ї JONATHAN CONTINUED... (from page 43) important things that | didn't manage to communicate effec- tively. So I prefer not to do that. | don't think that it would be a good way to communicate it anyway. The reason | made a game with these ideas in it is because the game was the right way to communicate them. To get what | was going for, you have to get it in this form, in this medium. Will you ever reveal the interpretation? Its unlikely that | would ever reveal it. There's no need to. A lot of people out there have gotten major pieces. Everyone has their own interpretation of it, but a lot of people have gotten major pieces of it. Some people have emailed me and they totally get it. The other day, | got a five-page email and | said, "Yes, that's what this game is about" There are people that really understand it at a deep level. So, it's not necessary for me to say in public what it's about. Did you let those people know they had gotten it right? [Laughs] Well, sure, but | don't want to turn this into a national guessing game where people write and | say yes or no. But it's good to have communication like that with people. One of the major themes is time and regrets, the attempt to correct past mistakes. How personal was this game to you? Were you trying to express some of those feelings that you had about the past and how it relates to you now? Yes, it's very personal. This game is about the kind of sub- jects that are the most important to me. But it's not personal on a literal level. People have noticed that there are break-up scenes in the game — it's really not about me breaking up 44 GAME INFORMER % with someone. It's based on ideas that | have and ways that | feel and things that | care about, but not necessarily autobiographical. You've said that there will be no sequel to Braid. Does that still stand? Yes. l'm working on the next game and it's not related to Braid. There are some ways in which the design has some characteristics that are similar to Braid, but maybe not in a way that people would recognize. It's not about time manipulation at all. Does it revolve around a core concept in the way that Braid revolved around time? There's a way in which Braid is really simple. You're this dude, you can climb and jump and bounce off monsters. This new game is very much like that. There's a simple thing you do in the gameplay, and it's kept simple through the whole game as much as possible, and then there's variety that comes in. That's the way that it's similar to Braid. But it's different in every other way. Does it have the same 2D, more retro look? This next game is 3D. It's that way because the core gameplay requires 3D. It's going to be a more expensive game to make and harder to make. Will you have to work with a larger staff? That might be necessary to produce all the 3D assets. Right now l'm not really worrying about that. | haven't even programmed the game yet. I'll do it the way | did Braid; do a program that lets me do the basic gameplay and have some really bad art in there that | make. Then | can try it out and see if it works. Assuming it works and is interesting, then | would start looking at how to make all the 3D stuff to bring the visual interest back to the game. Is Microsoft pressuring you to make another Braid now that it’s been successful? They are very happy with how the game has done on Xbox Live. Anytime you work with someone and get good financial results, they are interested in working with you again. That's the level of the conversation with them right now. | don't have any contractual commitment or financial support from them. They might be interested in that, but I'm not asking for it because | don't want to be funded by someone. | want to be independent and have full control over the design of the game. That's where things stand. They might be interested; Sony might be interested for all | know. | won't talk to pub- lishers until the game is pretty far along. You invested a lot of your own money and loaned money into the game. Has it sold well enough that you've been able to pay back those loans? The game is profitable now. It's at the point where, if | had been consulting for the last three years instead of making this game, that I've made back the same amount of money. That's actually a decent amount, ahd that's more than | hoped to make going into it. | was pretty sure | was going to lose money. When | release the PC version, hopefully it will be even more profitable. That will help me save up more for the next game, which will be more expensive. You've been very critical of the mainstream publish- ing system in games. Is that system broken from an artistic standpoint? Yes, | think it is. In terms of high budget games, it's very hard to do anything creative or interesting. But | don't know if that's necessarily broken — that's just the way things go when budgets get up that high. l'm not sure complaining about it would ever do any good. If you look at Hollywood movies, it's the same thing. Every once in a while you get a movie that's interesting. | thought The Dark Knight was actually artistically interesting, and it was certainly a very expensive movie. It was very financially successful. But, that's really the exception rather than the rule. Most movies are like your buddy cop movie or thriller or chick flick that aren't trying very hard in terms of being films or stretching the medium. Maybe that's the case to be made for lower budget games. If a lower budget game does a lot of crazy things and is suc- cessful, then maybe higher budget guys can pick up on that later. That's the way [indie games can] feed the medium. The problem is that, anytime you do something that's very experimental, there's a high chance of failure. Even if the people are very talented, that's what it means to go into unknown territory. So, maybe lower budget games is the place that work should be done. In an interview with MTV Games you commented that if someone only thought games were Madden, it's not surprising that they wouldn't think games were art. But isn't Madden inherently art, just the same way that a realist landscape painting is art? There are a lot of artistic decisions being made, like how shots are framed and things like that, even if it's a simulation of something. It's an even more difficult question, because everyone has a very different idea of what art means. So if say, "All games are art,” somebody else who thinks of the word "art" differ- ently than me will complain about that. | think that all games do have artistic decisions like that in them. But then so do a lot of utilitarian objects in the world. If | build a laptop or something, and I'm designing that, there's art in that. l'm picking what the color is, how the lid opens. But that's in a direction where we don't necessarily think of the result object as art. We consider that industrial design. There are creative decisions, but they are secondary to the financial performance and the utilitarian performance of the item. | think of Madden being more in that direction. But there is а continuum of that [approach] all the way to the "I don't care about the utilitarian function” side of art. Games can land all the way along that spectrum. | don't try to define art, because it can mean too many different things. But what | care about is the people that make things, the overall artistic intention of the work as a whole. What does this thing exist for? Whether or not it has little creative decisions in there that are interesting, what is its purpose as an entire object? For Madden, that purpose is to get people to buy this year's football game. So, for me, that makes it not as close to the core of what | care about. I think some people have the perception that we're on the cusp of a real breakthrough of independent games. As someone who's been involved in it for years, how healthy do you think the independent game scene is? | think the health is good right now. If you're an independent developer, there are a lot of options for how to publish your game. There's more audience reception for independent games than ever before. We just had the summer of Live Arcade, and Braid sold well — Castle Crashers sold even better. There's more freedom than when | started in the industry. The Internet means that if you can't get a publishing deal on the Xbox, you could always put your game up and get it out to people, which is the most important thing. Now, 1 don't necessarily know if we're in the beginning of that period, | think we might be in the middle of it. This might be as good as it gets. Things might narrow up as these distribu- tion channels become more focused. A lot of big companies are publishing games on Xbox Live now that there's proven to be money there... Any time a market emerges, there's a brief period where people react to that, and then everyone fills the market to capacity. That's the process we're in now, people exploiting the downloadable market as much as they can. If you start an indie game now, in three or four years when it's done it might be hard to find a place to publish. can't predict that far into the future. 46 GAME INFORMER | SONY ERICSSON W760 With shake controls that let you automat- ically switch tracks, clear audio output, and software that identifies unknown songs and lets you sort them by mood, the W760 is a great music player. The sleek look, built in GPS, and speedy 3G support also make it a solid cell phone. Too bad it's still designed like one. The media controls feel cramped and slug- gish, and the mini SD card tends to pop out while it's in your pocket. While the games we played on the W760 looked and sounded good, the game library didn't impress us. Let's hope developers embrace the motion tilt system in cre- ative ways because the standard controls are painful for gaming. $499.99 * www.sonyericsson.com peripheral LOGITECH SPEED FORCE WIRELESS COGEREILLIILLIIID You're probably wondering what games you can even use this Wii wheel for. Have you forgotten about the Wii's extensive library of racers, such as Need for Speed: Carbon, Need for Speed: Pro Street, and the upcoming Need for Speed Undercover? Despite the Wii's thin sup- ply of racing games, this Logitech racing wheel works as well as the Driving Force wheels for the PS3 and Xbox 360, provid- ing a sturdy wireless signal while delivering full range force feedback. $99.99 • www.logitech.com pc PLANTRONICS GAMECOM 777 SURROUND SOUND HEADSET Plantronics’ newest PC headset sounds good thanks to the use of its USB Dolby 5.1 virtual surround sound plug-in. The microphone slickly tucks into the headset arch so it's out of the way while unused, but we experienced vocal distortions while playing games online, and the huge in-line volume and mic-mute controls always seem to get in the way. The biggest issue is the headset shape; the 777's extreme curve ads a lot of extra pressure just below your ears, They actually started to make our jaws hurt after extended use. $99.99 • www.plantronics.com SCHMARTZ PS3 REMOTE ADAPTERS Don't let that remote you loved so much die along with your old console. PS3 owners disgruntled that they can't use their expensive PS2 remotes with their PS3s need grumble no longer. The PS3IRX1 is a simple USB device that plugs into your PS3 and accepts all PS2 compatible IR remote commands. For a steeper pricetag, the PSSIR-PRO makes your PS3 compatible with all universal IR remotes. $35.00 (PS3IRX1), $100.00 (PS3IR-PRO) « www.schmartstuff.com ж Pictured from left to right: LCDR Mark Simon, ETCM Eric Olis, BMC Dan Ames, BM1 Michael O'Connell, is А EN1 Jason Fetterman, EM2 Mark DiPietro, еме Baker, MM2 Sergio Rodriguez navy.com/seals E do you have what it takes? © 2006. Paid for by the U.S. Ма hts reserved. е ; connect kick ass GEARS OF WAR II LANCER Created using actual in-game data from Gears of War, this full-sized model Lancer is the coolest toy we've seen in a while. Standing 36 inches long by 10-inches tall, the 13-pound Lancer's trigger activates chain- saw sounds and a rumble effect. Amazon.com has an exclusive deal on the product for anyone who preorders the game, but we've heard this bad boy will be popping up at other outlets sometime next year. $139.99 * www.necaon- line.com 48 GAME INFORMER ес | ui HALO INTERACTIVE STRATEGY GAME And you thought the next Halo game was going to appear on the Xbox 360. The etemal battle between UNSC Marine Forces and the Covenant rages on in this interactive strategy board game from B1 Games. The set features 15 collectible Halo figures, a customizable board, and an interactive DVD featuring exclusive content. $49.99 * www.bigames.com л MCFARLANE GUITAR HERO FIGURES Proof that God rocks, these new McFarlane figures catch the Guitar Hero icon in perfect rock posture. This first wave of toys based on the hit Activision franchise includes Johnny Napalm, Axel Steel, and Lars Ümlaut. Each figure stands 6-inches tall, includes a unique guitar, and features around 15 points of articu- lation. Why should your younger sister be the only one who plays with dolls? $12.99 * www.spawn.com The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses Written by Jesse Schell, a profes- sor at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, this easy read is filled with practical resources for aspiring game designers. $59.99 • wwwelsevierdirect.com Ghosts/Aliens This is the most convoluted mess of nonsense we've ever seen. Those who loved Real Ultimate Power will laugh themselves silly. $13.95 * www.randomhouse.com жомок Primeval: Volume Опе From the makers of the award- winning "Walking With..." series, Primeval explores what would happen if creatures from the past ended up in our world. Dinosaurs! Scientists! Awesomel $49.98 * www.bbcshop.com Presenting the Bose® Computer MusicMonitor? Performance you may never have thought possible from only two speakers this small. The Bose Computer MusicMonitor? was developed for the growing number of people who use their computers for personal entertainment, and want accurate sound repro- duction from a small and elegant system. According to Rich Warren of the News-Gazette, "If you want a pair of exceptionally small speakers with incredibly big sound for any purpose, listen no further." Our best two-piece computer sound system. Until now, the rich low tones necessary for high-quality desktop sound have come only from large speakers or three-piece systems with a bass module. The MusicMonitor® establishes for us a new threshold in the accuracy of music reproduction. As Arlen Schweiger of Electronic House reports, "The folks at Bose really know how to shrink a product while maintaining a big sound." It is the first time we have been able to produce sound quality like this with only two such small enclosures containing all the electronics and speakers. Proprietary Bose technologies. The unexpected sound quality is made possible through a combination of unique Bose technologies, including our dual internal opposing passive radiators. This invention allows the system to deliver 1-800-407-2673, ext. cH350 pe www.Bose.com/CMM faithful low note reproduction and musical accuracy, despite its small size. Dennis Barker says in Digital TV DesignLine that "after a listening test, | was quite impressed with this tiny pair of speakers." Enjoy all your digital entertainment with the richness it deserves. The contemporary metal design and small size make the MusicMonitor? system a welcome addition to your desk or workspace. Digital music files sound more lifelike than they would with ordinary computer speakers this size. Downloaded videos sound better, too. And setup is simple. It should take you about as long to connect this system as it takes to remove it from the box. FREE shipping with your order. Listen risk free for 30 days. The best way to judge the performance of any sound system is in the unique acoustics of the environment where you'll use it. Thats why we invite you to try the MusicMonitor® \ risk free for 30 days. When you call, Et ask about using your own major credit (1 card to make 12 easy payments, with no interest charges from Bose.* Then listen, and discover why Bose is the most respected name in sound. BOSE ` Better sound through researche “Bose payment plan available on orders of 9299-51500 paid by major credit card. Separate financing offers may be available for select products. See website for details. Down payment is 1/12 the product price plus applicable tax and shipping charges, charged when your order is shipped. Then, your credit card will be billed for 11 equal monthly installments beginning approximately one month from the date your order is shipped, with 0% APR and no interest charges from Bose. Credit card rules and interest may apply. U.S. residents only. Limit one active financing program per customer, 02008 Bose Corporation. Patent rights issued and/or pending. Financing and free shipping offer not to be combined with other offers or applied to previous purchases, and subject to change without notice. Risk free refers to 30-day trial only and does not include return shipping. Delivery is subject to product availability. Quotes reprinted with permission. i$ connect EEE emb BAW С Еж” жүй” жия” жүй” B г | LY E BETHBLOG If you surf the web in search of interesting video game stories, Bethblog is a great place to stop on a daily basis. This site dives deep into Fallout and Elder Scrolls, but also has a fun side, such as asking gamers what they like to eat. wwubethsoftcom NEW RELEASES * Destroy All Humans 3: Path of Furon - PS3, 360 + EndWar - PS3, 360, PSP, DS + Futurama: Bender's Game -DVD * History Channel: Civil War Secret Mission — PS3, 360, PS2 * Imagine: Interior Designer - DS * Imagine: Movie Star - DS * James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace - PS3, 360, Wii, PS2, * The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria - PC * Luxor 5 - Wii * Madagascar 2: Crate Escape - PS3, 360, Wii, PS2, DS * Monster Lab - Wii, PS2, 05 * Moto GP '08 - Wii + Nerf N-Strike - Wil * Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir - PC * Paintball Breakout 2009 — PS3, 04-06 * Resistance 2 - PS3 * Safe Cracker - Wii * Sam 8 Max Season 1 - Wii * Secret Service: Ultimate Sacrifice - 360, PS2 * Still Life 2 — PC * Touchmaster Il - 05 * Ultimate Band - Wii, 05 07 It's Friday! If your friends invite you to go to a movie (like Madagascar 2), tell them to go | to hell. Like a motion picture | blockbuster, Gears of War 2is |^. releasing on Friday, giving you а head start on a weekend full of chainsaws, brumaks, and barely literate protagonists. Call of Duty: World at War — 11/11 PG DS 360, Wii * Kitty Luv - Wii * Princess on Ice - 05 * Legendary - PC * Race Pro - 360 NEW RELEASES If you miss Pierce Brosnan's * AMF Bowling: World Lanes - Wii * Eternal Poison - PS2 * Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV James Bond, you should start * Animal Crossing: City Folk - Wii * Band of Brothers - Blu-Ray * Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - 360. * Bolt - Wii * Call of Duty: World at War - PS3, 360, Wii, DS, PC * Calvin Trucker's Redneck Jamboree -Wi * Club Penguin: Elte Penguin Force- DS * Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3-360 * Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World – PS2 * Dragon Ball Z: Origins - DS * FaceBreaker: КО. Party = Wii * Guitar Rock Tour - DS * Hasbro Family Game Night - Wii, PS2 * Mirror's Edge - PS3, 360, PC * MLB Superstars - Wii * Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe. ~ PS3, 360 * Mushroom Men: Spore Wars - Wii * My Stop Smoking Coach - DS * National Geographic Panda - DS * Orb and the Orade - PC * Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 - PS3, PS2 Party - Wi * Real Soccer 2009 - Wii * Rock Revolution - PS3, 360 * Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance - DS * Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duel - Wi * Tecmo Bows: Kickoff - DS * Valkyria Chronicles - PS3 * World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - PC * WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2009 - PS3, 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, 05 liking better things. We won't. put up with any more speed- car-parasurfing, especially after seeing Daniel Craig as Bond, His latest installment, Quantum of Solace, opens today. It picks up right where Casino Royale left off, and features none of the following: hat throwing villains, golden body paint, Christopher Walken, and face-eating octopi. ° 16 After attending George Lucas" How to Extort Nerds seminar, the Robot Chicken crew has cooked up a sequel to its popular Star Wars lampoon. Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode Il premieres on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim today. You know you'll watch it - it has Star Wars in the title, and you are a nerd. 23 Fun Fact: Bryan Vore once ate 10 hams. Wanted - 11/25 NEW RELEASES * Alone in the Dark - PS3 + Bolt - PS3, 360, PS2, DS, PC * Castlevania: Judgment - Wii * Deal or No Deal - Wii * Doctor Who: Season 4 - DVD * Dynasty Warriors 6 - Р52 * Elebits: Adventures of Kai & Zero - DS * EverQuest Il: Shadow Odyssey = PC * Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods - PC * Grand Theft AutolV РС * Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades -DS 25 NEW RELEASES * Age of Empires: Mythologies -DS * Chrono Trigger = DS. * Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat - DS. “ Kung Fu Panda: Legendary. Warrior - Wii, DS. * Left 4 Dead - 360, PC * The Last Remnant — 360 * Lips - 360 + Luminous Arc 2 - DS + Metal Slug 7 - DS * Monster Band - DS * Moon - DS * Need for Speed: Undercover — PS3, 360, Мі, PS2, DS, PSP, РС * Prince of Persia - PS3, 360, DS, PC 18-20 * Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 – 360, PSP. * Rock Band 2 - Wii, Р52 * Shaun White Snowboarding — PS3, 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS , * Sonic Unleashed - PS3, 360, Wi * Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - Wii * Tomb Raider: Underworld – PS3, 360, Wii, DS, PC * Tony Hawk Motion - 05 | = Walt - Blu-Ray, DVD * Wii Speak Mic - Wi * You're in the Movies - 360 “ ` Tomb Raider: Underworld — 11/18 Chrono Trigger - 11/25 27 THANKSGIVING CHALLENGES When eating Thanksgiving. dinner with your family, how. naked is too naked? Does a Wii remote function as a fork? Are 2 there things you can't put gravy i? 15 Xbox Live speak wel- eB SAMUS ARAN PHAZON SUIT STATUE Do you have a dark gaming room in need of a little light? This beautifully sculpted statue by First 4 Figures is perfect. Cast in transparent resin, Samus’ 25 internal LED lights PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | РС > STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME "B When the world is asleep, the > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS > DEVELOPER BIOWARE > RELEASE EARLY 2009 (PC), HOLIDAY 2009 (PS3, 360) unconscious minds of its denizens cross the Veil into the Fade. This ot ; dream plane is populated Бу ethereal beasts, and while they may influence the psyches drifting by, they do not harm them. Living minds, however, are another matter. Only mages can enter the Fade in corporeal form by using magic to shield themselves, 5 ; but it attracts the attention of the ; most powerful demons of the realm. That is why you are here; it is your $ Harrowing - a rite of passage all y apprentices undertake to join the Circle of Magi. Drawn to your power, the creatures of the Fade try to kill you and take possession of your body and strength. If you emerge victorious, you will be a mage. If you fail, you will be dead. If only you had been born someone else in some far corner of Thedas, perhaps you would not be staring into the eyes of a hun- gry demon...but now is not the time for wishful thinking. This is your fate, and it is yours to steer. 52 GAME INFORMER GAMEINIBRMER 53 56 We want to innovate with every game we make. Our боз! for Dragon Age is to make it the best game we've ever done.?? — Ray Muzyka, CEO 54 САМЕ INFORMER tis difficult to overstate BioWare's contribution to the role-playing genre. In the 13 years since its founding, the developer built the backbone of the western RPG with groundbreaking titles on PC and home consoles including Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect. Each game was instrumental in charting the course of gaming, and BioWare is one of only a few elite developers іп the industry with a long-running sterling record. If you aren't excited for BioWare's next project, Dragon Age: Origins, you should be. The name may sound familiar; Dragon Age was announced over four years ago, but the team went underground afterwards and kept a close guard over new information. Dragon Age finally. re-emerged at this year's E3, showcasing tactical combat in an original dark fantasy setting, but lacking specifics in key aspects like the console versions and the significance of the newly added "Origins" in the name. We visited the legendary Edmonton-based studio for answers to those questions — and to get some playtime with this expansive and intricate adventure. From what we saw, BioWare's winning streak won't be broken anytime soon. The phenomenon began with Baldur's Gate, BioWare's 1998 PC role-playing game was built around the frame- work of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop game, using the popular Forgotten Realms as the setting. Though it was an excellent video game implementation of D&D rules, the driving force behind the game's success wasn't its license; the reason people still talk about Baldur's Gate today is the incredible combination of story and gameplay. The members of your party had their own personalities and idiosyncrasies, and the combat integrated classic fantasy elements with tactical decisions, creating an addictive mixture of narrative and action: The Baldur's Gate series went dormant after two games and two expansions, but it had already set a role-playing standard. Gamers have clamored fora follow-up in the years since, and while that isn't likely.to happen anytime soon, it doesn't mean that BioWare has abandoned the fans that made Baldur's Gate such a success. "What Baldur's Gate gave us was an epic story,” recalls BioWare president Greg Zeschuk. "You enjoyed it with your party members, and it had a real impact on the world: There was an incredible amount of stuff you could do and change. It was those simple things — we thought, ‘People like those things. Let's make more of that" Thus began Dragon Age: Origins. "The team wanted to take the experience and learning from the fantasy projects we've had the privilege to work on in the past — Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights — and apply it to a dark and heroic fantasy universe," BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka tells us. Built on the familiar gameplay tenets of tactical combat and storytelling Dragon Age takes place in an entirely new world created from scratch through years of effort. The continent of Thedas is home The team assures us that BioWare's acquisition by Electronic Arts has adversely. tel affected Dragon Age's development "in no. way, shape, or form: to.its own history, mythology, politics, and heroes, The forces of. évil'are strong and getting stronger — that is the state of things when Players create their characters and set out to explore the world, find alliés, and-shape their destinies. "Dragon Age is referred to as the spiritual successor to.Baldur's Gate, and for us, this is very true. It really is a return.to our roots and origins," explains executive producer Dan Tudge. “We have а large chunk of the development team:who worked on the Baldur's Gate series, In a lot of respects, we get the best of both worlds with Dragon Age. We were able to develop our own universe and take a lot of influence from what. we've done in the past to create what we think is the über core fantasy RPG” At first, the name Dragon Age: Origins points to the developer's return to its roots, but the title is more sig- nificantly bound to the game's unique premise. When you create your character, you select more than your hero's abilities and appearance; your choices dictate how you spend the opening hours of the game. The race and class you choose determine your origin — an introductory section of the game that presents unique characters, environments, and tasks to perform. For instance, if you are an elf mage, the game begins in the Mage's Tower, which is the center for magical Party members and NPCs will 5.2 have voiced dialogue, but your hero will remain silent once you select his or her dialogue learning and training. Faced with a rite:of passage called a Harrowing, your inexperienced mage travels to ап otherworldly dream plane - the’Fade - in order to défeat a.demon and.become a full member of the Circle of Magi. If you createa;.different.character, such as a'fiuman warrior; your introduction to Dragon Age takes another form. You start in:another part of the world with different goals arid challenges. After all, without the gift of magic, all of those mage-specific tasks would simply not be possible. The availability of multiple. origins promises replay value in Dragon Age, particularly since the team estimates each one takes between two and three hours to complete. The importance of these events runs'even deeper. The origins are not just a series of tutorial missions to acquaint you with the game's controls. They convey your hero's view of the world,‘and you will see the ripples of your origin constantly from the beginning of Dragon Age to the end. “You have different slots you fit into — social or racial structure — depending on your origin, and the world starts interacting with that," says art director Dean: Andersen. "Really, the origin stories are more about your place in the world and your 75 cover story - The library in the Mage's Tower is full of books you can read to expand your knowledge of Dragon Age lore ns is more than just the first entry in a video game series. The fully-detailed world is filled with interesting characters, and it has the potential to spread to multiple media — much like Mass Effect and its spin-off novels. "The universe is something we've developed from the ground up to support a lot of great entertainment products, and it's something we see expanding to other markets," Tudge tells us. "We're not committing to any details other than that right now, but definitely it is something that could spread to novels — it could spread to a lot of areas” perception of how the world works.’ For example, if you are a non-mage elf, you quickly learn that elves are second-class citizens on Thedas: They are treated rudely and.typically relegated to servant positions, and many NPCs react to your character accordingly throughout the game. A quartermaster in a camp might greet you with derision and condescension, while a human character would get a warmer welcome. However, the elves aren't always at the disadvantage; there could be an enchanter who is indifferent to humans, but just happens to be your best friend because you saved him during your origin sequence. “You might meet someone in an origin and get to know them,” says lead programmer Ross Gardner. “They may appear later in the story, but if you had taken a different origin, you won't have that connection:at all. They'll just be another guy.” All the origins converge briefly near the ruins of Ostagar. There, at King’s Camp, you begin your work GAME INFORMER 55 Ф GATHER INFORMATION Fans of Mass Effect are familiar with the concept of an in-game codex. It is essentially of database of facts about things you encounter in the world. Dragon Age: Origins also features a codex in order to collect the various bits of lore and useful information, but this time particular entries grow as you progress through the game. "If there's a fabled sword, you may just get some hint about what its powers might be," says Knowles. "Later, you learn more...and maybe where to find it" As you learn more about specific characters, or uncover enemy weaknesses, expect to see their codex entries change to reflect the new informati As an added bonus, there are in-game incentives to collect all of the codex entries in specific categories like geography, history, and magic. as a member of the Gray Wardens. Each origin path contains different pressures and motivations to join the Wardens, but eventually all players find themselves recruits in the organization of warriors and protectors fighting against the darkspawn menace. Your mentor in the group, a seasoned veteran named Duncan, expresses misgivings about a looming attack. The young king of Ferelden, Cailan, feels differently. He theorizes that since the darkspawn don't have an archdemon to lead them, there is no true Blight — the darkspawn infestations that led to legendary wars in the past. Cailan is confident that the imminent battle is no excuse to worry, and more of an opportunity to prove his worth. What he doesn't seem to realize is that there are forces working against him; Thedas is complicated, with shift- ing politics, powerful and shadowy organizations, and bad blood between races that goes back generations. As players undertake the mission of lighting a beacon atop a tower, the fight on the ground goes awry. King Cailan is grabbed by a hulking ogre in the middle of battle, and though the team at BioWare wouldn't reveal the outcome of the encounter, we do know this: Once you complete the Ostagar sequence, 56 GAME INFORMER £ > OLD AND NEW BioWare has a reputation for creating games with outstanding stories, and that didn't happen by accident. Before the technical development of Dragon Age hit full swing, the development team prototyped the entire story using the Neverwinter Nights engine. The gameplay: wasn't representative of the finished product, but the process allowed the writers to refine the plot, dialogue, and quests early in the development cycle. Given the non-linear nature of Dragon Age's narrative, this intermediate phase ensures everything in the story flows and interacts in ways that make sense. Li gain new abilities and spells (wi сап be added to the action = £ bar) by investing points in a variety ё = of talent trees E Certain enemies have unique: 4 skills. This орге can throw rocks, as well as pick you up and repeatedly | sucker-punch you i % M 4 = M Players will find weapons and К mor, which can also be enchanted’ to add magical properties — THE TRANQUIL One of the more unnerving moments you'll encounter during the mage origin is when you talk to your first Tranquil. With a serene and emotionless speech pattern, the Tranquil are men and women who were once candidates for the Circle of Magi, but deemed unfit to undergo their Harrowing. Some just didn't have the aptitude, and others were unable to control their latent power. Individuals like this are forced to endure the Rite of Tranquility — a magical process that forever severs their connection to the Fade, leaving them emotionally dead. The Tranquil retain some magical ability in order to perform tasks like potion-making and weapon enchantment, but their complacent attitude ensures that they are never beyond The Circle's control. Bi The team cites author George RR. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire) as an influence when it came to creating a world of dark fantasy 58 GAME INFORMER | ез Spells work well alone, but уои - can also combine effects, like casting a grease spell and setting | the pool ablaze dei continued from page 66 you want and.then live with them. Don't expect all of them to be on such a small scale, either. Sometimes the fate of an entire race or nation may rest on your shoulders. "The origin story was a choice, and there are points in.the game where you make other choices and there is a divergence," reveals lead designer Brent Knowles. "There are other’ divergences that will impact the gameplay - almost like making another origin story decision.” There аге more concerns to consider as you make your mark on Thedas, like how your allies will react to your decisions. As.in Baldur's Gate, party interactions play a major role in Dragon Age. The individuals who join your cause are fully developed characters. Some of them like helping people, others only care about getting the job done, and sometimes they simply can't stand each other. This can lead to some entertaining comments, sarcastic banter, and other interactions that Імеп ир the experience. Which рапучтетбегѕ you can recruit depends on several factors, including your origin, your dialogue deci- sions, and your deeds. You may have to accept quests Tower of or Help them out before they'll join, and even then, it's not.always obvious which ones have the potential to join your entourage. “Тһеу won't be running around the world carrying big signs that say ‘Iam à potential party member!" jokes Knowles. “Some of them are nice surprises.’ Even once an ally joins you, you shouldn't stop cating about their perception of you. Dragon Age features a party approval system that indicates how much other characters Ііке. (оѓ dislike) you, which сап lead to additional dialogue, sub-plots, and even unique specialization classes for your character. If you're about to do something despicable that your good-natured rogue friend would dislike, it might be wise to return to the party camp. There you can find all of your allies in a central location, talk to them, and switch some out in favor of others. If you plan on regularly doing things certain members will have problems with, you may have a smaller pool of viable: combat buddies. “If you just want to make choices your way, you may have to start sending people back to the camp in favor of members who like your decisions,” Knowles acknowl- edges. "We've tried really hard to keep the choice aspect viable. A couple party members have a big story role, but we've minimized the number of times we dictate anyone you need to have in your party.” When.compared to BioWare's last big hit, Mass Effect, e° cover story afoot Cemented DACK in the games that BioWare built in the old days} andito Dragon Age: Origins is less‘concerned with revolv- ing around one exceptional hero. "The more defined character you have, the more choices are limited to a subset," Knowles explains. "You һауе the potential choices that guy would make, and choices outside that range wouldn't be practical" Since choice plays such a critical role in Dragon Age, the story is more about the world:and the individual tales it contains, rather than the exploits оҒа single individual. “It's not about the iconic hero,” asserts Tudge. “You and your party are the heroes. Mass Effect was perfect for Shepard, because that character is really developed as a way to tell that story. We consciously made the shift to let you tell your story” Making choices and developing characters are only two parts of the successful BioWare equation. Much tests on creating a compelling combat system, since you can't talk your way out of a fight with the tainted dragon controlling legions of darkspawn. When it comes to joining the fight, Dragon Age: Origins is an innovative combination of classic concepts and modern conve- niences. Drawing the pause-and-play flow from Baldur's Gate, players will find an emphasis on strategic thinking, smart party management, and tactical depth. Since the game isn't bound to the Dungeons & Dragons license, limiting concepts like spells-per-day are replaced with magic and abilities on a cooldown timer. While that may sound similar to World of Warcraft, gamers.needn't worry that Dragon Age is chasing GAME INFORMER 59 60 È y Е. ® Xbox 3 tee А 2% іш гар ТА е) ORIGINS FOR ALL Even though the gameplay in Dragon Age is inspired by a classic PC title, PS3 and 360 owners will still get in on the action. The PC platform is leading development, but Origins will also come to home consoles in late 2009. Some interface adjustments will need to be made, but it will otherwise be the same adventure that PC gamers get earlier in the year — not a pared-down hack n' slash facsimile. “We are spending a lot of time focusing on bringing this core PC experience to the console,” Tudge assures us. “But obvi- ously we're definitely going to make sure — as we do with all of our conversions – that it is really good on the platform" It's clear from these screens of the Xbox 560 version that console gamers won't need to brace for a loss in quality. the mass-market appeal that title has.garnered. The infusions of these mechanics are all in service to the strategic nature of the combat. “We didn't want to come up with a completely bizarre system that people have to struggle to learn," Knowles clarifies. "The goal is to remove elements that may confuse or intimidate gamers who aren't D&D fans, while still retaining the fun parts that core RPG fans have come to expect.” In our opinion, this approach is proving success- ful. We took control of a party in an area called the Korcari Wilds, and were very impressed with how the game encourages tactical combat while discouraging thoughtless clicking. When faced with a band of darkspawn composed of creatures called Hurlocks and Genlocks, we tried heedlessly charging forward, and died in short order. Only by effectively using our magic, melee skills, and ranged attacks did we defeat the beasts. The process required frequent pauses for battle- field assessment, issuing various orders to individual party members, and resourceful combinations of spells and effects. As fun as tactical planning can be, combat in Dragon Age would move at an agonizing pace if you needed to dictate your party's every move. Gamers expect a certain level of intelligence out of their allies, and Dragon Age lets you be as involved or hands-off with their actions GAME INFORMER Y ША Setting sd ne огіріп story isn't | necessarily inaccessible to other characters, but they will have (о: wait until later ín the game to see | 1^ TN с 3 н 1 as you want. You can choose fromsets'of pre-defined behaviors, or you can delve into a party tactics system. that lets you set conditions, actions, and priorities. “It is similar to the gambit system [in Final Fantasy XII], but we've pretty much opened up the engine,” Knowles says. "It is effectively scripting through a slick interface" If you want a character to use healing magic when an ally falls below 30 percent health, or cast a particular spell against a certain enemy, the party tactics system lets you set those actions. The idea is to let gamers decide how far they want to go down the path of micromanagement; there are options all along the spectrum. Some users will want to be even more involved іп Dragon Age: Origins. Maybe controlling your party in an encounter isn't enough and you'd rather create the encounter itself. Continuing in the tradition it established with Neverwinter Nights, BioWare is including an exten- sive toolset with Dragon Age that allows you to make your own adventures and share them with the commu- nity, “Last time, with Neverwinter stuff, we weren't able to host that stuff on our site because there was this legal gray area," laments Zeschuk. "With Dragon Age, that's not a problem. We're the ones that own it. That way, we can do a lot more about celebrating the content, categorizing it, and making it available to the fans.’ “We want to enable, first off, a great toolset, and a lot of people to make the content," Muzyka elaborates.” “If we build a great toolset, great engine technology, a great universe, and great game,content, that's the Holy Grail. And the fans will come: It's very much a trust relationship we have with our community. We believe that they are going to do great things" This faith in BioWare's fanbase is not misplaced. Given the loyal community of Neverwinter Nights players, not to mention the gamers who modded Baldur's Gate before the developer even provided appropriate tools, games like Dragon Age tend to attract a devoted following. Though the game could potentially reach a broad audience, ultimately it's being made with that group of core users in mind. "We're lucky that people care enough to want a next-gen Baldur's Gate," laughs Zeschuk. "With Dragon Age, we wanted to keep. a foot cemented back in the games that BioWare built in the old days, and to make sure that we have something still there” “We're not satisfied to just do it again,” Muzyka states. “We want to innovate with every game we make. Our goal for Dragon Age is to make it the best game we've ever done" Topping Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, and Mass Effect may sound impossible, but from what we've seen, it's definitely a goal within reach for Dragon Age: Origins. B IB m over EXPANDING CONSOLES If you plan to play Dragon Age on PC, you can browse and download user-generated content with the in-game interface. BioWare wasn't revealing any specifics about how this expanded content might make the transition to consoles, but when asked if some of the best user-made content could find its way onto a disc or DLC, Muzyka slyly responded: “That would be a great idea, wouldn't it?” Zeschuk chimed in, “Yes, that's quite an idea” ® By using matching sets of armor and weapons, you can gain additional bonuses in combat W All characters will perform the beacon mission for the Gray Wardens, but afterwards the world is yours to explore GAME INFORMER 61 Мы йн PLAYS TATION 23 ж XBOX 360,''Y= Strong Lyrics © 2006-2008 Rockstar Games, Inc. Rockstar Games, the R, logo, Midnight Club, the Midnight Club Los Angeles logo and the Midnight Club LA. Remix logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. “PlayStation,” "PLAYSTATION," "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PSP® system - Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All rights reserved. MinwiGhr CLUB fe lA. REMIX COMING TO THE PSP? (PLAYSTATION?PORTABLE) SYSTEM WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/MIDNIGHTCLUBLA OCTOBER 2008 64 pr RE ER 1 How did Valve grow from a talented ES upstart studio into a dominant - successful digital distribution < + service on PCs? People skills. a ж 59 feature On.November 19, 1998, the first-person shooter scene changed forever. Upstart developer Valve Software released its first ргойисї, гап ambitious story-driven adventure chronicling a dystopian future in which mankind’s curiosity leads the Earth down a terrible path. Half-Life was a smashing success from the moment it released, garnering dozens of awards, millions in sales, and a dedicated fanbase that rivals any in gaming. Ten years of amazing PC and con- Sole products later, Valve is preparing to launch its next assault on industry conventions in the form of cooperative survival horror shooter Left 4 Dead. We recently spoke to.several senior Valve staff about the journey so far to see what a decade of genius looks like from the inside. Photos: Richard Brown Just about everyone on staff has dual 30-inch widescreen displays to work on GAME INFORMR 65 GABE NEWELL ОМ. GAMERS |o GABE NEWELL 0 "It ‘seems by and large that gamers are incred- ibly smart; the average, gamer seems to know more about what makes a good” game than the average person at & publisher. ' "Entertsinment as focus on consumers, 66 GAME INFORMER е нани he mid-’90s Was a golden age’ f PC gatning. Thé strategy space exploded with titles like Civilization ll and Master « Of Orion Il, while graphic ádventures were big business |. * withlucasArts and Sierra inundating gamers with classics" like the King’s Quest and Monkey Island series. The first- , Person genre started to hit.its stride. with Duke Nukem 3D „ and Doom Il. Yet, in the-eyes of.ex-Microsoft engineer turned Valve” managing director Gabe Newell, “It seemed like a lot of the deci- sions being made were relatively contemptuous of gamers; [game „© companies} weren't taking themyseriously: ñit was the era where if a- £ „sowed; N... RETADS a service makes yox not on endcaps» | double-barreled shotgun was good, a quad-barreled shotgun was better" ting this kind of thinking, 4 ш to Newell, is pies Seeds’ of Half-Li А j f 4 LEFT Ai DEAD LERT- DEAD Think about how much these would have blown your mind when уой still went to р; arcades AB gg hen | was playing Doom, | was creating this world and this backstory and significance for my actions that later on, [after] talking to the guys at id, weren't really there at all,” \ observes Newell. The idea of seeing directly 3 through a mute protagónist's eyes and using that avatar іп the game world às a blank canvas'resonatéd with Newell. "The fact that games do that, especially first-person games, was an opportunity that we tried to take advantage of by recognizing the storytelling potential" Newell’says. However, in 1996 the genre hadn't moved beyond gunning down aliens in context-free shooting galleries. By. combining a silent main character — in this case Half-Life’s Gordon Freeman — with a rich narrative and evocative game world, Valve tapped a powerful cur- rent in gamers’ psyches. This concept has transfixed millions in the decade since - to the tune of a multi-billion dollar industry. With Half-Life's breakaway success, Valve instantly positioned itself to fulfill Newell's vision оЁ changing the way that the industry relat~ ed to its customers. With the Help of Team Fortress co-creator Robin Walker and others, the company envisioned Half-Life not just as a standalone game, but as a platform for continued development. “We had a mandate to make Half-Life the best mod platform," says Walker. “At that time, we'd just come off of making mods for Quake, so we had a laundry list of things we wished we could've done as mod-makers ànd we couldn't: jects are not Started with an underst t off with &- set of graphics requirem goes off and creates ә System for st $$$ feature HALF-LIFE қ. = je | А - - E Г" RELE/ NOVEMBER 1998 ORL 5 55%: 9,500,000 UNITS (HALF-LIFE), 1,100,000 (OPPOSING FORCES), 800,000 (BLUE SHIFT) (* All retail sales numbers аге according to-Value, and do: not account for digital puchases) The-platform upon which nearly all of Valve's success rests, Half-Life was an indisputable revolution in first-person’ gaming. The inclusion-of published sci-fi novelist Marc Laidlaw іп the development team lent a weight to. Half-Life's storytelling that was glaringly absent in the rest of the genre. As Laidlaw puts it, “We just wanted people to treat the story as part of the game = that they had as much to do to figure out the story as they did to figure out the puzzles” Protagonist Gordon Freeman's adventure only seemed straightforward on the sur- face, as he was trying to survive an-alien invasion and thë government response at the Black Mesa science facility. The enigmatic G-Man, а seemingly extra-temporal being who meddles in Gordon's fate for better and for worse, has fueled as much speculation among fans as апу. other character in gamer culture. Emphasis on this unusual plot and puzzle solving pushed Half-Life's single-player-experience-well beyond other contemporary offerings like Quake Ш ог Unreal, though-those titles earned their places in gaming history in-other ways. The most striking thing about Half-Life is its expansive legacy. The original shipped game > ‘was: only the first chapter- of. years of top-tier content = who: expected to get Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, or Day of Defeat for free when they plunked down for the Half-Life box back іп 1998? The two expansion: packs (Opposing Forces апа Blue Shift), which were co-cre- ated with developer Gearbox Software, didn't match the runaway success of the origi- nal game, but served to tide. gamers over during the сіх-уеаг wait for Half-Life 2: GABE NEWELL Он. GAME DESIGN; 7 ; "Most game pro fun. They’ star maybe somebody anding of what's ents, and then at grinding." GAME INFORMER 67 TEAM FÜRTRESS AUGUST 1999 SEE HALF-LIFE AND THE ORANGE BOX Despite never being sold'as a standalone product, Team Fortress is an important part of Valve's catalogue. Born as a mod for Quake in 1996, Valve was so impressed with the small team's work that they brought them on as full-time staff to create Team Fortress Classic using the Half-Life engine. The gameplay was radically dif- ferent than anything that existed, with non-traditional classes like the engineer and spy that offered different types of gameplay for people who enjoy the-experience of multiplayer FPS but perhaps aren't as skilled at twitch aiming or prefera different role-on the battlefield. “One of our lucky accidents back then was realizing that we weren't making the game for ourselves; we were making it for these sets of people with lots of different desires," explains co-creator Robin Walker. “We had a- bunch of different people at our LANs; people who were really good at FPS and people who weren't, and we This figurine prototype not being. in production breaks This monolithic had some really casual players апа;ѕо on. We ned wanted a game that we could all play" TFC's kitchen stuffed larity. indicates the creators" inclusive full of free food Popularity а 5 behind the Half-Life vision resonates well with gamers — enough to keep enthusiasm high despite Team Fortress 2's many delays and’eventual release six years latér as part of The Orange Box. Today, TF 2 boasts a huge number of enthusiastic: play- ers over both Xbox Live and Steam, and the game's regular free updates аге a shining prac- tical example of Newell's grand rhetoric about entertainment as a service. COUNTER-STRIKE 1 NOVEMBER 2000 marked wall — — A ‚ SALES: 4,200,000 (COUNTER-STRIKE), 1,500,000 (XBOX), 2,900,000 (CONDITION ZERO), 2,100,000 (SOURCE) The second major mod-turned-official-release based on Half-Life, Counter-Strike remains a multiplayer phenomenon to this day. The game's unrelenting brutality —one-shot kills are com- monplace, there are no respawns, and a skilled player can take you out with a pistol from halfway across a level — make it the godfather of all realistic; skill-intensive competitive shooters. A clever üpgrade system, where players earn money for performance during а match that сап be used to buy equipment for the next round, adds another addictive layer of strategy. When Valve's internal tracking program showed. an order of magnitude more people playing the very first Counter-Strike beta than anything else, project manager Erik Johnson realized this game was something special. “тї. like; ‘C-STRIKE, a thousand people? What the hell's going on here?" he remembers. "We got in and-played the game, and it crashed. all the time. You can't tell players apart because the only difference between [counter-terrorists and terrorists] is if they have sleeves. And friendly fire is оп all the time" Despite all this, and the pitch-black early versions of the maps, the Valve staff couldn't stop playing Counter- Strike: The title has survived several re-imaginings'and re- releases, from-an-Xbox port to the single-player focused Condition Zero and the modernized Counter-Strike: Source; Every version has seen massive sales-as well as complaints from а rabid playerbase; but Valve market- ing director Doug Lombardi tellsitis that the latest rendi- tion, Counter-Strike: Source, has just recently passed up the original. Counter-Strike in current popularity.based оп. statistics about games played over Steam: 68 САМЕ INFORMER i Ше Wi For the release of The that hitting "enter" on a Кеубоді built a fully functional aay midnight on release day, th | thi room with dry ice vapor. A 20H; siren and strobe. An alarm | feature n August 1999, Valve shipped Team Fortress Classic, a.re-working of the original Team Fortress mod for id *Software's Quake. Half-Life owners could download TFC - a professionally built, tested, and supported full game - for free. The ideologies that earned Valve goodwill from gamers over the years finally started showing their ў practical applications. “All the way back to Half-Life, we've had the philosophy. [that] if we can make customers happy, that comes Баск [to.you] in ways that-are hard to track — but we've always believed in it,” notes Walker. When asked what the possible benefit of giving away content like TFC of, more recently, the substantial Team Fortress 2 updates, a surprised Walker declares, "We'think we'd be crazy to do it any other way" Valve's own numbers tell them that every time a new free patch or update is released, new sales of the original product "increase enough to justify the development cost monetarily – not to mention the benefits in customer goodwill and loyalty that can't be quantified in dollars. “We've had this real belief that giving our customers stuff.and making them happy pays off through things like word of mouth," says Walker. "It wasn't really a question of ‘Why are they free?’ it's more the opposite, like ‘Why.would we „charge for this? The Half-Life mod explosion continued for years. Counter-Strike released in November 2000, and quickly became the most popular _multiplayér shooter in the world. Day of Defeat released in May of 2003. Dozens, if not hundreds, of quality mods produced by the community for the original Half-Life are available to this day. Valve makes hardly any money directly on this content, and in fact likely loses money off the bottom line when you figure in necessities like bandwidth costs and file hosting. So how do these decisions make itypast the bean counters? Easy: Half-Life sold better in its third year “of release than its first --а nearly unprecedented occurrence in video games. s Half-Life's popularity soared beyond anyone's expecta- tions, two events shifted Valve in a new direction. When Team Fortress shipped, Half-Life units started flying ı off of shelves again. The same thing happened a year | later with the release of Counter-Strike. "It was pointing | us in this direction of this very long-term relationship We were having:with our customers," notes project manager and 11-уеаг Valve veteran Erik Johnson. Along with the company's views on product support, this put unreasonable strain on the early-2000s Internet. Johnson tells us, “We'd get mail from one.of our mirror providers saying, ‘We're never hosting one of your patches again: It was common.’ Thus, the groundwork for Steam was laid. Launched in September 2005, this service would become the physical manifes- tation of Newell's philosophies on how to interact with customers as well as a convenient sales channel for Valve and its partners. Automátic software updates, social capabilities like matchmaking and chat functionality, and much more make Steam a boon for PC gamers. Worldwide, Valve maintains over 180,000 servers dedicated to hosting multiplayer games. Approximately 400 games from more than 30 partner companies are available on the service. Steam had its growing pains — billing all of the pre-orders of Counter-Strike: "Condition Zero to customers' credit cards at the same time caused serious problems — but Newell believes that it is an integral compo- nent of Valve's strategy. “Onevof the challenges we're all facing right now is that we're in the middle of a painful transition from entertainment from a retail packaged goods phenomenon and entertainment as a service," states Newell. Instead of the old model — as Newell puts it, "Get as many people to buy the product before they-find out how s-—y it was," - Valve believes that the evolving nature of the video game market requires-ardifferent approach. > Team Fortress 2 has received major free update releases every six weeks or so since launch. Improvements to Valve's rendering soft- ware have given Half-Life 2, a four-year-old game, increased perfor- mance and new lighting capabilities. It's easy (0-5ее why Valve has attracted a massive fanbase; this level of support is nearly unheard of elsewhere. As Half-Life's long timeframe of sales can attest, this strategy works on the financial side, as well. GAME INFORMER 69 HALF-LIFE 2 NOVEMBER 2004 IRLDI E RETAIL ES: 6,500,000 (HALF-LIFE 2), 1,400,000 (EPISODE ONE) Valve's Erik Johnson laughingly remembers ЕЗ 2005, “At nine o'clock, when the show. opened, hundreds of people sprinting to get in line for six hours [to see Half-Life 2] was a pretty cool moment for us. And then we didn't ship that year” It was worth the wait. Half-Life 2 finally unleashed on the: public in November 2004. Powered by the developer's brand new Source engine, the game's visuals and physics were unmatched at the time. Its carefully crafted gameplay, from the gunfights to storytelling to setpieces that rivaled Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, brought awards rolling in from the moment it launched. Human faces capable-of expressing natural-seeming emotion, a first for video games, proved an amazingly useful tool in drawing players in and lending weight to Half-Life 2's dystopian future. Half-Life 2 raised the bar further‘in all the same ways that its predecessor did, plus some more: Valve took a little longer in releasing the first of its promised episodic content. Episode One launched a‘year and a half after the original, but having two episodic releases to date is a much better deal for gamers than waiting another six years for the next full-blown sequel. Third-party mods like Garry's Mod, a physics sandbox = which was popular enough that its creator eventually developed a priced version sold through:Steam = proved Half-Life 2 and Source were just as capable a platform for further development as the original. For a surprise, reload Half- Life.-2-again and grab all.the updates through Steam. Thanks to Valve's continuing support, it looks better, plays better, апа 15 still more fun that you probably remember. тһе world of rapidly. evolving 3D rendering engines and ever-faster PC hardware, that almost never happens. GABE NEWELL ON... "WHEN IT’S DONE": f T e ON. MAKING MONEY: rest t on urn on inves шел _ cues 2. гсеп of game invest 1 higher then any of " ‘ye made before. GABE NEWELL "The mar the trailing 10 pe ments is much, muct ne investments you A 70 GAME INFORMER "I think most games in the industry, across the board, would benefit from an extra of refinement." six months : ORANE OCTOBER 2007 One of the best values in gaming — Half-Life 2 and Episode One bundled with the debuts of Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal in a single box — The Orange Box also marked Valve's first foray into the current generation of consoles with a simultaneous launch on Xbox 560. In a first for the devel- oper, the console version was just as good as the PC one. It's hard to use too much hyperbole when describing The Orange Box; even though Half-Life 2 had released three years prior, it is still an all-time classic. Team Fortress 2 is a fantastic re-working of the original's inclusive vision for competitive multiplayer FPS, and Portal is one of the most innovative and entertaining games to date. ә feature ollowing the success of Half-Life and its spinoff products, Valve's rise to prominence was threatened by a sequence of unfórtunate'events, Two in particular had the potential | a to sink the company: a major lawsuit between Valve and | Sierra, and a dramatic electronic break-in that resulted in f Half-Life 2's ѕойгсе code being leaked. In Adgust of 2002, the developer filed suit in federal court against its publishing partner Sierra, alleging that Sierra was violating Valve's copyright.by selling so-called cyber-café licenses for Valve products. After more than'à year of legal wrangling, Sierra filed a counterclaim contending that Newell and others at Valve had deliberately mislead the publisher about the creation of digital distribution service Steam, “and had'cost Sierra money by ciretimventing the retail channel. These types of legal shenanigans can easily break a company. Millions of dollars and the intellectual property rights to most of Valve's work were at stake — the loss of either would conceivably sink the developer. However, Sierra and Valve ultimately settled out of court in April 2005. On the face of it, Valve got what it wanted: Sierra immediately stopped all retail distribution of Valve products, and terminated all cyber-café licenses. Neither company released further specifics of the agreement. Valve мепі оп to partner with Electronic'Arts in July 2005 for future retail releases, an arrangement that has persistéd to this day. The well-publicized source code leak occurred in September 2003, when a German hacker cracked Valve's internal network and stole an early, playable version of Half-Life 2. Source code and pre-release software is zealously guarded in the game industry for good reasons - with access to your source code, rival companies Could theoretically copy everything from gameplay innovations to new rendering techniques. Furthermore, companies are forever con- cerned about their image with. consumers. An ‘unpolished, buggy, unbalanced game being released.on the Internet can turn potential customers off, despite being obviously unfinished. The hacker was arrested and eventually sentenced іп 2006. Newell credits Valve's fans with his apprehension, saying, “It was the community that found the guy that was arrested and put in jail for the break-in. That's the kind of support that we get by operating in a responsible way" Valve eventually recovered, and Half-Life 2 was released in November 2004 to rave reviews and huge sales. As most gamers undoubtedly know, Valve's recent history consists of one unqualified/success after another. Half-Life 2 won: dozens of awards'and cruised to millions of sales. The Orange Box, which con- tains Half-Life 2, the long-awaited Team Fortress 2, and the incred- ibly innovative Portal, brought Valve's genius.to console as well as PC - with none.of the dumbing-down or other flaws that often mar PC-to-console ports. With the continued success of Steam, loyal fan- bases for several franchises, and Left 4 Dead оп the horizon, there aren't many companies with futures as bright as Valve's. Given the quality of the releases the developer's delivered so far, that's a pros- pect as bright for gamers as it is for Gabe Newell. ы = The Orange Вох 3,000,000 GAME INFORMER 71 eft 4 Dead impressed us so much at Е5 that we named it our Game of the Show, and it has only improved in the intervening months. Valve unwrapped another-layer- of secrecy from around the game when we visited their offices recently, and we gladly dove back ifitó the zombie apocalypse. Playing through another level on the Xbox 360 version, as well as getting our hands ofi the versus mode, has shot our expectations through the roof. Using the 360 gamepad to slaughter zombies feels better than we expected. The framerate is solid, and load times are not onerous. Analog movement makes exploring tight quarters a little easier, and Left 4 Dead's : NOVEMBER 19 NO / RETAIL SALES: PROJE PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE ORAN! design doesn't call for pinpoint accuracy like Counter- Strike does. The main difference between this control scheme and standard FPS gamepad controls is the bumpers’ functions. One is the crouch fuifietion, which is incredibly important'since you're often trying to "stack up" firepower against the horde. The other is a quick 180 degree flip, which is amazingly helpful since the dynamic spawn.systém often results in zombies coming at you from all directions. Versus:mode, which hasn't been playable outside of Valve's offices, lives up to the developer's pedi- gree. In this competitive gametype, two teams of four Switch off turns as zombies and survivors, scoring points based on'progress through the level and health “4, jorrible, horrible placesto be stalked L-— by zembles іп 72 GAME INFORMER remaining at the end should the survivors make it through. Gameplay for the humans is nearly identical to the standard cooperative mode, with the exceptions that a dead player can’t be revived in a rescue clos- et and players control some of the zombies. Undead players, however, have a much different task. Upon spawning as one of the special zombies (with incapacitating powers like the Smoker's constricting tongue or the Hunter's leaping pin), the Infected team starts plotting the sutvivors’ demise. The ability to climb Certain walls allows zombie players to set up ambushes from unexpected directions, and makes you think about the maps іп a different way. Learning the level.layouts is crucial’here, as locating chokepoints the survivors are forced to pass through and places good for blind approaches makes jacking the humans much easier. Like all good competitive games, ће versus mode D quickly engenders a camaraderie between ates. Clever mechanics like zombie play- being.able to see humans through walls if zombie (Al or human) has eyes on them, clear markings letting zombie players ow which walls are climbable, encourage ical thinking and elevates the gameplay ind a shooting gallery. Versus іп 140 mpletely unique and ' plays like noth- else in vidéo games - the Valve polish expect is evident. Left 4 Dead is set one of the.top releases this holiday ithout«question. LEFT DEAD | $ feature | ж -—-—5,.h 77 = GABE NEWELL, ON... VALVE "The way that w company is th GAME INFORMER. 73 ы, PLAYSTATION 3 Killzone 2 > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 32-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER GUERILLA GAMES > RELEASE FEBRUARY 2009 MULTIPLAYER REVEALED hough we've seen Killzone 2's single-player offerings, multiplayer has remained a mystery until now. Blending the class-based gameplay of the Team Fortress and Battlefield series with the level progression seen in Call of Duty 4, the team hopes to combine the best features to date for a single unified experience. Up to 32 players will face off on eight dif- ferent maps suited for various army sizes. Bots can be enlisted to fill out an online match with more troops or get some offline practice, as well. Players are split into four- person squads to make larger matches more organized. All squadmates can see each other's health and special abilities, and can spawn on the squad leader. The five mission types can be set up in a dynamic round format where, for example, teams will compete to capture the flag, then take on an assassination mission, and finally race to destroy crucial enemy struc- РЕБ 74 САМЕ INFORMER tures. The team that takes two out of three wins. Of course, standard deathmatch is still an option. Every match contributes to players’ overall experience rankings, of which there are 12. Around 50 different medals and ribbons will be awarded for battlefield achievements and over 100 different in-depth stats are recorded for every player, which can also be analyzed at Killzone.com. The leaderboards are just as deep, with all-time, monthly, weekly, and even daily records. You can even search out class-specific rankings like the best medic, for example. Clan support is a major focus this time around, with match and tournament sched- uling also available on the Killzone website. Clans will earn Valor for victories, which can be used as currency to bet against other clans. Tournaments support up to 256 clans, so you can imagine how high the stakes will get. B 8 i E Choose the secondary tactician badge to command sentry bots Se previews BEHOLD THE BADGES Rather than choose a set loadout of abilities, players mix and match primary and secondary badges to create a custom class (e.g. a medic engineer). Online avatars take on the look of the primary badge. To keep things balanced, both the ISA and Helghast sides have access to all of the badges listed below. ASSAULT Primary: Armor becomes twice as strong Secondary: Temporary speed boost ENGINE eR Primary: Create automated turret Secondary: Repair turrets, mounted guns, etc. Pizza delivery is even more dangerous in the future MEDIC Primary: Revive teammates Secondary: Throw health packs RIFLEMAN Primary: Wields a larger variety of weapons Secondary: Any other secondary badge can be equipped — Samoreum Primary: Dress in an enemy uniform Secondary: Toss sticky proximity mine SCOUT Primary: Turn almost completely invisible Secondary: All enemies within field of view show up on teammates’ maps WACTICIAN Primary: Throw a smoke grenade that acts as anew spawn point Secondary: Call in support from floating sentry bots E “They'll never see us in these sweet cloaks!” GAME INFORMER 75 for both single pla ` | tiplayer though | will likely be more: console offerings M Over 30 real life U.S. and Chinese military vehicles appear in the game, accurately rendered down to thellast rivet 76 GAMEINFORMER | PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | PC Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 16-PLAYER ONLINE PC, UP TO 8-PLAYER ONLINE CONSOLE) > PUBLISHER CODEMASTERS > DEVELOPER CODEMASTERS STUDIOS > RELEASE 2009 ISLAND IN THE SUN ur perception of Operation Flashpoint 2 has been restrained excitement, mostly due to the fact that we've heard a lot of big picture ideas and seen some target images, but no real screenshots or gameplay. That's all changed now. The developers finally unveiled the gameplay and all of these screenshots are actual in-game images. While the game has a ways to go, the demo helped us understand how the big picture concepts are coming together. The game takes place on a real life island, now renamed Skira, whose ownership is in dispute among China, Russia, and Japan due to its possible oil reserves. Since the island's terrain is less than exciting, the team searched for another one to take its place. They found the perfect spot in Alaska's Aleutian Island chain that contains a volcano, swamplands, and plenty of mountains. Using NASA topography data, they replicated all 136 square miles and filled it with loads of Chinese military forces and bases. In OF 2's storyline, China breaks the fragile agreement and invades Skira. As a Russian ally, the U.S. military offers its support. In the first mission, players take the role of a spec ops soldier and sneak onto the island under the cover of night to recon the area and take out anti-air forces. The next morning, you Switch to an infantry soldier as part of a large-scale assault on the beach. If you succeeded during the previous mission without raising an alarm, a significantly smaller amount of enemy forces will greet you the next day. As U.S. forces push further, they'll hit a wall of Chinese tanks and have to retreat to fortify their position. Throughout the course of the game, you'll gradually make your way from the west side of Skira to the east, adopt- ing various roles along the way ranging from foot soldier to helicopter pilot to commander. The brief gameplay tease showed an early approximation of the beachhead assault. The developers stormed the beach with a large force of soldiers and armored vehicles. Using the trucks as cover, they eliminated the surprised enemies one by one. To show off the massive scale of the world, they looked down the coast to display the miles-long view. Several hundred yards away, we saw little green dots that looked like trees... until they started moving towards us. A few sniper rifle shots took care of business as a few choppers flew overhead. All of a sudden, a massive explosion lit up the hilltop base in the distance and the brief demo came to a dose. What's it like to have that kind of fire- power at your fingertips? We'll let you know as soon as we find out. 8 8 I. Codemasters is quick to point out that the firefights in Operation Flashpoint 2 will most likely happen at rifle range rather than up close and personal. This is due to the fact that most enemies will blow your arm off before you can deliver a rifle butt to their heads. While most serious war games shy away from gore to earn a T rating, OF 2 is embracing it as part of a quest for realism. If players sur- vive getting shot in the first place, they'll have to find a medic or call in an evac before they bleed out. A mission editor is availa for both single player and tiplayer, though the PC version will likely be more robust that console offerings Over 70 real life weapons are included in the game, all supported by a realistic bal- listic system. This simulates surface penetration based on material and armor values. You can even select different ammo types depending on whether you prefer knockdown power or armor piercing traits, for exam- ple. Players can carry two large weapons, a pistol, and a knife, If one of these happens to be a Javelin missile launcher, you'll have to save that one shot until it matters. Just like in real life, remaining enemies will follow the smoke trail back to your position, so be sure to hightail it out of there after firing. 2° previews Depending on what platform you're using, anywhere from 8 to 16 players will duke it out with the help of dozens of Al-controlled “agents” to fill out the battlefield. Modes include deathmatch, a battle for control of map points, and an attack- and-defend setup that pits a smaller special ops team against a larger standard infan- try. New character classes can be unlocked by playing through the single-player campaign, open- ing up your strategic options. But you don't have to go it alone since 2 and 4-player co-op is available for the entire cam- paign for console and PC, respectively. GAME INFORMER 77 Some of the battles got wore heated than others. Lyrics Sexual Themes Use of Alcohol CONTENT RATED BY f Tobac ЕҢЕЛ Use of Tobacco 4 ксн eS TA 7-1 07 17. = PLAYSTATION:Network ONLY ON SingStar is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment. ©2008 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Developed by SCEE London Studio. “PlayStation,” "PLAYSTATION" and “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The PLAYSTATION Network logo is a service mark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Requires broadband Internet service for online play. No girl can vesist singin, "Givls Just Want to Have Fun.” 1 We downloaded the song off the Ж PlayStation Network to prove it, PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | PC Fuel > STYLE 1-PLAYER RACING (UP TO 16-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER CODEMASTERS > DEVELOPER ASOBO STUDIOS > RELEASE 2009 THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH ABOUT RACING emember the game Grand Raid Offroad that was announced a few years back but never came out? Developer Asobo studios worked out a deal with Codemasters, ditched the racing MMO theme for a more interesting concept, beefed up their in-house engine, and changed the title to the more succinct Fuel. From what б d we've seen, it was the right move. The downhill shortcut Ў Extreme weather and drought has ruined large swaths of the planet, and petroleum-based fuel is running out. In response, several adrenaline junkies are returning to these abandoned areas to race for fun and fuel supply winnings. The game world is a staggering 5,000 square miles, with 100,000 miles worth of roads and tracks filled with deserts, mountains, forests, salt flats, dried out river beds, beaches, and abandoned roads. Asobo has also faithfully recreated such landmarks as Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and Yellowstone National Park, using satellite data. Players can freely explore this massive world to discover landmarks, salvage parts and vehicles, find liveries, and complete side missions like rescuing people. If you just want to focus solely on buming through the race career, you can always call in a helicopter to instantly transport you to the next event. Vehicles include pretty much anything with wheels: dirt bikes, ATVs, 4X4s, muscle cars, SUVs, dragsters, monster trucks, the list goes on. Some races are confined to a specific vehicle type, but others are completely open, allowing for some interesting alternate routes. For example, a sports car can speed down a winding mountain road faster than, say, a dirt bike or a monster truck. But instead of taking the standard route, the bike can zip straight down the slope and weave around the trees, while the monster truck can just flatten them all on the way down. What really sets Fuel apart, however, is the extreme weather factors that can happen any time in or out of a race. Players will charge through thunderstorms, blizzards, sandstorms, and even the occasional tornado. Fortunately, your onboard GPS will constantly update with the best tornado-free route to the finish line. Online multiplayer is seamlessly integrated into the single player world. You can just explore the environment with your buddies, or meet up at one of the numerous check-ins for a structured race. There is even talk of several multiplayer- specific challenges scattered throughout the world. While all of this sounds great, we're extremely interested in getting some hands-on time soon to check out the gameplay, scope out the world, and, of course, drive straight into a tornado. BB IB Motion lines make every- thing look more exciting 80 -GAME INFORMER PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | РС > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACT > DEVELOPER id SOFT VARE > RELEASE TBA R TBA) > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS ANGER FOR EVERYONE ince it was revealed at last year's QuakeCon, details on id Software's Rage have been as hard to find as $5-a-gallon gas. The trailers һауе shown а gritty post-apocalyptic world, filled with hard-edged drifters, devil-may-care drivers and pipe-swinging mutants, but aside from some impressive (but canned) gameplay footage, we haven't seen much of it. Rage is being simultaneously developed on all of the major platforms (and Macs, zing!), and id says it's not playing favorites. "The same artists and designers, the same textures, the same models, the same levels that are on the PC will be on all the plat- forms," says lead designer Tim Willits. "To say that we have a lead platform is not quite right. We have 360 controllers hooked up to our PCS, because it's just much easier than having a PS3 controller. But we are definitely focused on making one game that's enjoy- able on all of the platforms" So is it basically Doom with cars? Will it feature an open world or more traditional level-based action? “It's more of a first- person game that has these other elements that you have to do in order to complete the game, but they're built into the whole fiction," says id CEO Todd Hollenshead. "It's not like you go into the race track and magi- cally you appear in the саг” Players can exit their vehicles at will, exploring the vast desert areas on foot if they desire. As Hollenshead puts it, that might not be the best use of your time, or your talents. "Getting between settlements _ is a skill that's in demand in the Rage uni- verse, so to demonstrate your chops out on the racetrack puts you as a person who's in high esteem or high regard within the settle- ment area. These things fit together like that Driving will figure in to official racesand asa | way to get around faster | previews "Sand People always walk single file to hide their numbers.” within the universe" We couldn't help but wonder if id is con- cerned that its "when it's done" philosophy could lessen the game's visual punch by the time it's eventually released. "People always like to talk about the future, and people also like to speculate," Willits countered. “The games that we have at id are great. It's going to play great. There are a lot of very suc- cessful games with very old technology. ... We can't constantly look at the future and worry about it and make changes and make changes, because we'll never finish" IB Ili i FORMER BT Some characters, like David, can wield remnants as weapons Attack ШЕ ТА, Attack 8 0 naci) UTAL EJAMAEE 000. After seeing this screen, Andy Р around talking like Arnold 4 : tushissfroop „ай yatzenegger for the rest of the ар Timed button presses will trigger critical ly. We wish we were joking | i чөНепвігеғапа defensive maneuvers Orders David to attack with the Gae Bolg. Other units do not act. PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 ilis m x Тһе 1аѕї Remnant > STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER SQUARI RE ENIX> RELEASE NOVEMBER L * | z o o PRO-UNION — "d Ph Te 3 he role-playing genre has a lot of engage nearby unions. A degree of luck is pese p 4 e traditions, but some of them are involved as well, since you can also be inter- 225 фот 3 x more important than others. The Last cepted on the way to your designated target. GOOD. 7 E Remnant is testing those boundaries There are a few nice touches on the ў D н Е Е 1 by doing a few things differently, particularly periphery of the battle system. Your troops Display unit status with the battle system, which we finally had a will be restored to full health after each chance to try for ourselves. Even though the encounter, which lets you focus your full action still takes place іп a turn-based format, ^ strength on the fight at hand. Plus, if you the battlefield is far from conventional. want even more of a challenge, you can al» ; Your characters are grouped into unions, round up multiple encounters (similar to = 40 раар а 8 Тһе battle screen is busy, but it's keeping which are clusters of soldiers that take Blue Dragon) to increase the value of your track of a t vant inforination: p / 3 rack of: a fon Теге АЙРИН orders as a unit. For instance, any command rewards. We'll have to wait for the final you give Rush (the protagonist) applies to build to see how all of these elements every character in his division. You won't work together, but if nothing else, The Last EHE VIS _____\ control him individually unless you have him Remnant will be a deviation from the stan- Not all fights involve lots of grouped into a union all by himself, which dard RPG formula. 8 88 01 MOL ате оа газете а. EP isa major tactical disadvantage. Speaking of to take on-multiple unions at once tactical disadvantages, one thing we're not " — sold on is the presence of variable battle Quantify Me! commands; the orders you can give your > 5 unions depends on context. For instance, As they defeat enemies and win unless your hit points are less than half gone, battles, your characters will increase the game may not present you with the in strength and learn new abili- ability to heal yourself. It isn't random, and it ties. However, it isn't spelled out | у ~ seems like you can always count on certain in terms of explicit character level. | (Tk offensive commands, but the lack of consis- In other words, you don't cross E tency could hurt the game's tactical potential. ff nme mmo 715-36-А Ж” А Ж кесу your tie upi While the actions you take are obviously EE т r а t e ELA \ › ш, attack bi ЦИ important, positioning your unions is also ЫШ eigenes Ше | е ЛАН = 492 yea s nce АСОС critical. When you move to attack another apis you Hse in compat Wik gerer Display unit status union, a few things can happen. If your foe mine your progression. If you use also selected you as a target, the two unions regular attacks, you will get stronger. become deadlocked. This restricts your move- Spellcasting leads to more magical ment, limiting the other unions you can attack. skill, and so forth. This should result Alternately, if your enemy eue a стает in character abilities tailored to your target, you may intercept them. You still айас! specific su lator play. Abelisk each other, but you have more freedom to 2 ty p L -— 7 15 e" р 29 Rush's Troop 82. GAME INFORMER LL COOL J, BEFORE "WITH OLD SPICE SWAGGER, I'M DOIN’ IT AND DOIN’ IT AND DOIN’ IT WELL. BEFORE SWAGGER, | WAS DOIN’ IT AND DOIN’ IT AND DOIN' IT JUST OKAY. THANKS, OLD SPICE." -LL “Bie J | © 1 n Ow Spier Su айй THE SCENT THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE! Se previews PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 3 Shaun White Snowboarding > STYLE 1-PLAYE TON/SPORTS (UP IC > PUBLISHER UE {> DEVELOPER U! > RELEASE NOVE FIRST TRACKS nowboarding has come a long way in its short lifespan. Now the most popular snow sport in the world, snowboarding even has its own ambassador, much like skateboard- Aww sweet buddy, Ш У 3 р j ing has Tony Hawk. Shaun White's domination ofthe shredding the gnaf Р В = IN $ sport has spilled his popularity into the mainstream, 4 3 which makes him the perfect person to star in Ubisoft's new action-sports title. Like SSX 3, the big philosophy behind Shaun White Snowboarding is the open mountains. Players can carve, shred, and explore real-life, true-to-scale mountains. Getting down the mountain is a no- brainer — you strap in and ride. But players can also unhook from the bindings and walk around to session a fun rail or line up the perfect run to a jump. The chairlift is your basic navigation tool for going up the mountain. You can ride in real-time, or jump off once you spot a cool run on the way up. Thrill-seeking types сап ride a helicopter to the top : д of the mountain. = ША much cooler way 3 ай ; Co-op is all the rage this generation, and Shaun for Atreyu to get Апе Ба OW 3 White Snowboarding allows friends to join up and shred the mountain together. This mode already supports an impressive 16 players, but Ubisoft is pushing to get that number to 52 by the time e game ships. Players can participate in events together, challenge each other, or even have a clas- sic snowball fight. Like action-sport titles that follow the same philosophy (Skate, Amped, etc.), Shaun White Snowboarding is all about the controls. At a recent event we checked out one of the mountains, and there was an evident learning curve for the control mechanics. The system is much like Skate, where one stick controls one aspect of the rider and the other stick takes care of the rest. The build that we played felt a little clunky, especially when in came to jibbing a rail. The game is still in development, so we hope to see some tightening of the controls. On the content side, Shaun White is delivering in a big way. The game features 500 something pieces of gear for the player to choose from. There are also four full mountains to explore. While that may not sound like a lot, your mind will change when you walk around one. Add the avalanches, video recording, and more, and Shaun White Snowboarding is a title action-sport fans should keep on their radars. ЕШ " 84 GAME INFORMER \ I гемемвег ІТ LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY, WHEN ACTUALLY IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY. NOW THAT YOUR PRECIOUS MASTER YODA HAS FALLEN, I WILL TAKE YOU COMMON TROOPERS DOWN WITH EASE! WHILE THE TROOPS RELAXED, I PLANNED OUR NEXT MOVES. EN \ 8 | é OVER HERE! тм LOOKING FOR MY LIGHTSABER! THE BATTLE WON, MY TROOPS. REFLECTED UPON THEIR ACHIEVEMENT, 1 WONDER WHAT OUR NEXT ORDER’S GOING Ti 7 INDEPENDENT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN BATTLE, WITHOUT MASTER ANAKIN ТО GUIDE ME, Т STEPPED UP ТО THE FRONT TO LEAD OUR FINAL, FURIOUS ASSAULT. YOUR PALTRY ALLIANCE IS LAUGHABLE! MY POWER 16 SUCH THAT TLL BE ABLE TO - 66и! Ke wHERE'S АНФОКА? HA! 15 THAT YOUR BEST! A SCRATCH! DON'T MAKE ME WITH STAR WARS” MII » ANYTHING"S POSSIBLE BEGIN NEW ADVENTURES WITH THE CLONE WARS STARTER SET FOR ACTION RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX, = AND BUILD YOUR COLLECTION WITH 40 NEW FIGURES FROM THE CLONE г WARS BOOSTER PACKS FOR BATTLES s 4 LIMITED ONLY BY YOUR IMAGINATION! 7 H g a i CLONE WARS ^ MINIATURES WIZARDS.COM/STARWARS GAIHER YOUR FRIENDS AND GET READY FOR A FIGHT Then create bold heroes and challenging quests of your own with the D&D Core Rulebooks. Easy to learn and fast to play, D&D®4th Edition offers endless adventure to veteran players and new gamers alike. Find it—before it finds you. DNDINSIDER.COM All trademarks are property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. ©2008 Wizards. Rawr!!! Discover a new world of heroic fantasy with the D&D®Starter Set. ee UNGEONS#*- RAGONS $5 previews Sse!) 1 1 R2 2-PLAYER ЕСЕ ATING, (2-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER MIDWAY > DEVELOPER MIDWAY > RELEASE NOVEMBER NOT AS STRANGE AS IT SEEMS e'll be honest. Our first reaction to a fighting game pitting Mortal Kombat characters against DC superheroes was utter confu- sion. But after getting some hands-on time with the game, we're excited to see how the final game turns out. Players who haven't tried the series since MK II or III will feel right at home here with the quasi-2D design and standard punch, kick, uppercut, sweep kick base move set for all characters. Plus, it's fun to see what Midway can get away with in terms of T-rated gore. Everyone's seen Scorpion burn opponents down to the bone with his fire breath. Well, now he just crisps enemies as they flail around. Works for us. The award for coolest fatality so far, however, goes to Joker. As the opponent stands there in the trademark MK вв CAVE мо daze, Joker fires a fake pistol that deploys a flag with the word "bang" written on it. This snaps the victim out of it and they perform some kind of “what the hell's wrong with this guy?" mime. Joker then whips out a real revolver and shoots them in the face. In addition to traditional special moves, players can utilize minigame combos for over-the-top attacks. Klose Kombat brings the camera in for a Fight Night-style view and prompts the offensive player to hit one of the four face buttons. If the defensive player manages to match the button, he'll perform a counter. Freefall Kombat uses the same matching system to determine who comes out on top as both fighters plummet off the cliffs found in many arenas. Test Your Might returns from MK 1, except now it happens mid-battle. In some stages, you can ram Never gets old, does it? your opponent through a series of walls. The button mashing competition will determine how much damage the defending fighter receives. Additionally, players build up a rage meter by using special moves or receiving damage. Once it's full, you can trigger rage, which renders your attacks unblockable and more damaging. Specific plot details are still under wraps, but the primary career mode lets you choose whether to experience the story from the MK or DC side. This scripted mode has you play as every character on your selected team against the rival roster until you finally meet the mysterious final boss. If you want to, you can climb the traditional arcade battle ladder as a single character and get his or her specific ending as well. Online play is designed to resemble the ө Liu Kang loves his new wrestling championship belt Scorpion Sub-Zero Sonya Jax Shang Tsung Liu Kang Raiden Kitana Kano Baraka Shao Kahn Batman Superman Catwoman Green Lantern The Joker Shazam The Flash Wonder Woman Deathstroke Lex Luthor Darkseid arcade days of yore, supporting lobbies where you can talk smack before heading into a match. You can even watch for people who are winning multiple matches in a row and get in a queue to take them on. Unranked matches are available for honing your chops, but you'll have to join ranked matches if you want to climb the leader- boards and prove once and for all that you're the best Sub-Zero player in the world. 8l m x Shazam still hasn't kissed a girl. “Girl” being the operative word 7 aW! „Я AA Hy WE | Е у= ua P = А 1 s 1 peg ^" ^ RZ i 7 746 b HOPE RUNS DEEP * RN www-gearsofwar-com N i. STRE M ONLY ON PLATS TATIONS \ fe previews “Who ordered the sexy?” “16 that chocolate rain?” 92 GAME INFORMER PLAYSTATION 3 Heavy Rain > STYLE 1-PLAYER ADVENTURE > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER QUANTIC DREAM > RELEASE 2009 GET YOUR FEET WET or two years, Heavy Rain has only been a name to most gamers. The game debuted with an amazing tech demo at E3 in 2006, and then went completely dark. Despite tl lack of information, Heavy Rain's realistic character models and animation made it a hot topic for discussion and speculation. After seeing the game in action recently, we can finally stop guessing — about some things, at least. Like Indigo Prophecy (Quantic Dream's last title), Heavy Rain strives to be a cinematic, story-driven experience. It focuses on several characters in what seems to be an episodic format, but all plot specifics are being kept tightly under wraps. Early game art features the subtitle "The Origami Killer,” which suggests that the plot will revolve around a serial killer and those involved in the investigation. The demo we witnessed supports that assumption, though Quantic Dream insists that the scenario was developed only to illustrate the game's main concepts. The demo opened with a woman named Madison riding her motorcycle to a taxidermist's shop because the owner fits the Origami Killer's profile. She breaks into the house and discovers numer- ous corpses (sot even stuffed and posed like man- nequins), and then the taxidermist comes home. This is where the game's story showcases its ability to adapt to player choice. The segment can play out in numerous ways: Madison can flee the house (though she may inadvertently alert the taxidermist, resulting in a chase), she can hide and call the police, and she can even find weapons in the house and kill the man herself. None of the choices are wrong; each path has distinct differences, advantages, and disadvantages. The goal is to give players the freedom to control the details of the story, though certain ele- ments of the overarching plot will remain constant regardless. If you had to assign a genre classifica- tion to Heavy Rain, it is probably best described as an adventure. However, it is significantly different from the point- GAME OVER? In the interest of developing a continuing narra- tive, you will never see a ^game over" screen in Heavy Rain. That doesn't mean that the stakes are low, since characters can still die. If Madison gets caught by the murderous taxidermist, the story just continues without her. Theoretically, this means you could get to the end with every main character dead, but how the game would handle that possibility remains to be seen. click titles that usually carry the name. The controls are designed to be contextual, allowing you to intuitively interact with your surroundings, whatever they may be. For instance, pressing up on the right stick might make you inspect a mailbox or peek through a window, depending on where you're standing. Quick-time events are also a part of the action, though they are used in a more natural and less intru- sive way than usual. We can't wait to hear more about Heavy Rain. The story promises to be one of the title's big selling points, but it's also the biggest mystery. It would be nice to have more details, but we're pretty sure it won't go the Indigo Prophecy route and have sentient beings from the Internet try to take over the world. 8& "And get a haircut!" MYRESISTANCE.NET Blood and Gore + / 4 РЕ 3 Intense Violence i / B. м. aia INS@MNIAC p PLA ql TATION = d ( 4 PLAYSTATION. Network 4 “PlayStation, "PLAYSTATION" and “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Resistance 2 is а trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America. Developed by Insomniac Games. ©2008, SonyGomputer Entertainment America. The PLAYSTATION Network Logo is a service ma of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. bes ж ж > А “АЙ” / А2 Ex EV. he $e previews PLAYER 202 IBLISHER MICROSOFT GAME ST Ак ВЕКОМ! Е > RELEASE SPRING 2009 TS = = injas fit video games like а glove, a fact that Microsoft and FromSoftware haven't forgotten since their last project, Tenchu Z. Hopefully this time around they'll produce a better critical and consumer reception. Ninja Blade takes place atop the skyscrapers of Tokyo as ninja Ken Ogawa battles monstrous former humans infected with a horrible new virus. The inspiration for this disease? Bird flu. “While [bird flu] hadn't infected any AE humans yet, many thought that it was only a matter of time — and ultimately it didn't take long before humans were infected," says producer Masanori Takeuchi. "I thought, "What if there was an even more powerful disease? There would be intense fear of it spreading." Players can expect traditional ninja tools of the trade like katanas and grappling hooks mixed with modern weapons like grenades and more mysti- cal powers. Ninja Vision reveals enemy weak points with the tradeoff of lower- ing your defense, Todome is some kind of instant kill heart stab, and Ninjitsu unleashes an electrical blast. Character progression will work a lot like Devil May Cry. "The fundamentals of the two systems are similar, but we don't have shops," says Takeuchi. "When a player kills an enemy in Ninja Blade, he or she collects crystals that can then be used to upgrade the weapon of choice.’ Contextual button pressing is a big part of the presentation, and From teases that it'll be different than what players are used to. “I think that in a lot of games, the quick time events aren't integral to the game's content and seem staged," says Takeuchi. “What we've done in this game is make a distinct connection between the quick time events and the gameplay. They aren't something that just appear now and then, either. We have a lot of quick time events. Numerically, | think we'll overwhelm other titles on that basis alone" Шш ШШ Ii Many real life Tokyo landmarks will appear in the game such as Shinjuku Station, Tokyo Metropoli- tan Government Building, and the Park Hyatt Hotel’ m Wash your hands frequently or you'll end up like this guy 94 GAME INFORMER ж ` Your Limits > 2 IViotocP0S This is what it feels like. Experience the excitement, danger and relentless challenge of the world's premier Also play MotoGP 08 on your mobile motorsport in IMotoGP 08. Create your rider, customize your bike, and compete against world champion racers across 18 global tracks, including Indianapolis and Laguna Seca. And with multiple handling modes to fit your skill level, anyone can phone now at test their limits. www.playmotogp.com wuww.iplay.com! EVERYONE i А AE L. PlayStation e PLAYSTATION 3 *) XBOX 360 "vs «93 nVIDIA NA IND , > STYLE MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMEN > DEVELOPER BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT > RELEASE NOVEMBER 13 Р | JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU'RE OUT E ES lizzard's getting ready to pull millions of gamers back into Azeroth with the impending launch of this second expansion for World of Warcraft. The laundry list of improvements evident from our extensive time in the beta is immense, but it's much more inter- esting to look at some.of the design decisions going into Wrath of the Lich King to get a feel for the direction WoW is headed. THE ASHBRIN LORE, LOL 5 CRITICAL IMP: The story of Azeroth's (arguably) most famous weapon con- Even the staunchest of Bl чо concede that Another change to itemization | merging of spell criti- tinues in the Death Knight starting experience, which we can certain key elements of cal and haste boosts with counterparts. The only hope is an example of more content to come. As a newly be blunt, hilariously i few classes capable of actions in both categories awoken avatar of the Lich King’s will, fresh Death Knights beta, grounding the b are seeing some пісе 0 d up to them; Shamans, play through the destruction of a Scarlet Crusade city in one backstory lends a weight ing it Paladins, and Death Kn 1 of the best quest lines in WoW (and yes, that includes the Burning Crusade’s space Greatmother line in Nagrand). Let's just leave it at this: Riding into the mysteries Surrt on the back of a frost wyrm and breaking the Scarlet Crusade's Nerubian empire, à their other facets. this could have PVP balance zr lines with freezing death from above isn't even the high point himself is a lot more tions at higher levels, but very unlikely to result in glar- of the experience. Ever wonder what could make Arthas turn dudes їп а purple im ingly overpowered setups given the current state of PvP. tail and run like a dog? Play through this and find out. j NEED MORE TANKS 2 2 3m HEALERS CAN PLAY TO At various points in WoW's history, aking classes (Warriors, Druids, and Consolidating the attributes that grant addi e and healing into a single bonus drasti- Paladins) has been regarded as the id pl inning. In Burning Crusade, the cally changes the way healers and offenst their gear. With this change, healing designers intended the three classes to а all-around tanking powerhouses, i с much easier time soloing and Druids as so-called “off-tanks,” and Paladins . Suffice it to say that many assisting the damage-dealers in PVP co player who chooses to focus on Paladin and Druid players were not In WotLK, however, the developers say firepower with his talents and gear will 1 le reasonably effective heals in a they intend all four classes (D 2 to be fully capable main tanks, pinch. The only danger to this change is that | Shaman and balance Druids could with only minor advantagi ong 1 will help many raiders, as only get a bit too powerful and versatile in {о gauge at the moment, For now, it's the highest-end guilds паме the ability to pre fout for any given raid. [ 8 The finale of the | Death Knight intro is unlike anything с. іп WoW thus far B The setpieces are impressive DOES HAVING THE FASTEST REFLEXES IN THE WORLD MAKE YOU AN ATHLETE? The incredible multi-threaded Intel® Core"2 Extreme quad-core processor. A NEW KIND OF GEAR FOR A NEW KIND OF ATHLETE. |^ COM/CO/GCAMING 2 ion, All rights reserv intel Corporation in the US and other countries served. Intel, Intel logo and In: $ previews See how the jester minion earned his hat Overlord Dark Legend > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER CODEMASTERS > DEVELOPER CLIMAX STUDIOS > RELEASE SUMMER 2009 MOTION CONTROLLED THROTTLING sually when a game hits multiple platforms at the same time, the Wii version gets the shaft (bad graphics, less features, weird controls — you know the drill). So it's refreshing to hear that Codemasters isn't just watering down the upcoming Overlord II (see last month's issue) to fit within Wii specs. Overlord Dark Legend is its own game set just before the first Overlord, maintaining the medieval tone instead of fol- lowing the sequel to a Roman Empire setting. Expect more trolls and dwarves in addition to new witches, gingerbread men, and even Little Red Riding Hood, who, in an interesting twist, transforms into a werewolf. After some hands-on time, we were sur- prised at how well the gameplay mechanics translated over from PS3 and 360. You control a new Overlord with the nunchuk, and the traditional set of minions (including brown, red, blue, and green) by pointing the remote. It's easy to just point at an enemy, hit A, and watch him get torn to shreds. The same goes for environmental objects like barrels and crates. Minions even salvage 98 GAME INFORMER items from the wreckage into usable mate- rials. One of our horde made a helmet out of a pumpkin, for example. A completely new attack involves grab- bing the closest minion and throttling it by shaking the Wii remote. While this has the potential to wander into grisly territory, the choking is definitely more Homer Simpson in tone than Manhunt. After a few good shakes, you can let your minion go and itll run off to blow up a nearby target. If you throttle them too much, however, they just die and give off a slight health boost. Climax wants to keep the story of Dark Legend self-contained and accessible to new players so they are dropping in a few references to the last game here and there. The boss battle we saw was against a Halfling jester in control of a large wooden war machine that charges at you and fires off a cannon. Once you take it down, one of А the minions puts on the hat, explaining how the jester minion from the original Overlord first got his trademark accessory. BI ii #1 "Does Overlord gotta choke a minion?" Uncover an еріс” — storyline and defeat; a mysterious menace. Overcome obstacles with the unique strengths of your team: Launch lightning fast combo attacks with one character: or the whole party: Discover hidden items and Chao in'over 20 environments? EVERYONE 7и Mild Cartoon Violence ESRB CONTENT RATING wwwesrb.org “SONIC 2 Av MC 7 THEDAR& BROTHERHOOD, SONIC www.sonic-chronicles.com. www.sega.com Se previews HO 9 ~ AN S PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | PC Lord of the Rings: Conquest > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 16-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS > DEVELOPER PANDEMIC STUDIOS > RELEASE NOVEMBER 24 BIG BATTLES n its quest to bring something new to the open battlefield multiplayer it created with Star Wars: Battlefront, Pandemic tapped the Lord of the Rings lore to create a unique medieval fantasy fighting experience. To help players cover the massive battlegrounds more quickly, they can jump оп a horse or warg at any time, tram- pling enemies under hoof wherever they go. Destruction-minded players can also ride the massive oliphaunts, taking out entire legions. in а single step. The options to wreak havoc don't stop. there. Name a set piece from the movies and you'll likely find it in the game. Ents, Felbeasts, eagles, catapults, battering rams, ballistae, and siege towers all make appear- ances, Game director Enk Gewirzt promises that “each one behaves differently and has a unique role on the battlefield? Different tools are available depending on which team players decide to fight for. If anyone grows tired of seeing their favorite character live, they can always join Sauron’s army and alter history. Fans S Hugo Weaving will reprise the role of Elrond to narrate both campaigns 100 GAME INFORMER of the books might remember the refer- ences Tolkien made to the horrible things that could happen if Sauron ever got his hands on the Ring. “We just filled in the details of what that would be like, and let the player live out that dark fantasy,” says Gewirzt. "You're playing the conflict from the evil side, which feels cool, but there's definitely a little voice inside your head telling you ‘this is just wrong." Pandemic's ultimate goal is to capture the spirit of these grand battles in a dynamic way, creating plenty of memo- table moments for players. As Gewirzt puts it, "you might be in the middle of a massive battle in the Mines of Moria and scamper up the back of a troll and stab him in the eye. But in the next fight you'll be using a horse to catch up to a stampeding oliphaunt in Pelennor Fields, climbing up its leg and shooting a few arrows into its head before sliding down its trunk” Sounds promising. We'll know soon if Conquest can live up to those lofty goals. M i a PLAYSTATION 3 EyePet > STYLE 1-PLAYER SIMULATION > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE > RELEASE LATE 2009 (EUROPE), TBA (US) MAN’S BEST FAKE FRIEND ad is such hi hile most PlayStation Eye soft- ware has failed to impact the gaming populace, the newly announced EyePet looks to change that. The game has only been announced for Europe. U.S. Sony reps have no details about a stateside release at this point, but we'd be shocked if this widely appealing title didn't make its way to North America as well. Players create their own furry little creature and outfit it in a variety of acces- sories. Then you set up the Eye camera on a table in front of you and your televi- sion will show the pet frolicking around in your living room. Reach out and tickle it's tummy and it will laugh. Poke it with your finger and it will jump back. You can even roll a ball at your pet and it will jump over it and chase it around. This level of interaction is impressive, but even more interesting is the ability to draw pictures with a standard marker and piece of paper and scan it into the game. In the announcernent trailer, players drew a simple car, held it up to the camera, and soon the crude creation was driving around on the table — at least until the tiny pet smashed it to pieces. Little information is available on whether EyePet will be a relatively shallow applica- tion that you can play around with or if it will have some kind of deeper daily care required like Nintendogs. Due to the distant expected release date, it could be awhile before this and many other ques- tions are answered, but we'll keep you posted on any new details. I Bi 5 @ We can't wait to see how this little guy reacts to a fist m fight on the front lines. | For victory, fight in the shadows. adie WWWEV ELV ES PASSASSIN.COM May contain content inappropriate for children. Visit www.esrb.org for ReplayLiStudios «22 rating information. E UE" uU Ж XBOX 360 Ls Eu © 2008 Replay Studios GmbH. Replay Studios, the Replay Studios logo, and Velvet Assassin are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Replay Studios GmbH. All Rights Reserved. 0, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the aiment Software Association. Gamecock and the Gamecock logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Gamecock Media. Microsoft. Xbox, Xbo Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Er fe previews PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360. Quantum Of Solace > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 12-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER ACTIVISION > DEVELOPER TREYARCH > RELEASE NOVEMBER. MI6 VS. THE ORGANIZATION ecently, members of the Quantum of Solace team stopped by to finally pull the curtain back on the multi- player. Several hours (and deaths) later, we came away with a relatively clear pic- ture of what's in store for online fans in James Bond's latest adventure. As the headline above indicates, British secret service agents will face off against members of a mysterious "organization," which is being kept under wraps at this point to prevent movie spoilers. The controls feel similar to Call of Duty 4, which is not a huge surprise since the games share an engine. Even the weapon loadout structure of primary weapon, pistol, and grenade is the same. The biggest difference, however, is the ability to go into cover with a click of the A button. While this isn't the smartest mechanic to use during close quarters skirmishes, it's handy when you're defending a position. We fought at a wide variety of locations, including a barge, construction site, science center, spa, embassy, hotel parking garage, Italian streets, and Mediterranean rooftops. Over the course of battle, players earn credits that they can spend on all manner of items and perks. The in-game store offers machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, pistols, gre- nades, perks (like extra health or larger attack radius), silencers, and scopes. All purchases can be incorporated into up to five different customizable kits, in which you select primary and secondary weapons, a grenade type, and two perks. These can be tailored with certain long-range or short-range weapons to suit specific match types. Overall, Quantum of Solace's multiplayer offers a surprising amount of variety, depth, and fast-paced gameplay. We can only hope that the single-player campaign measures up as well. BI 8 ill 102 GAME INFORMER Activision already has plans in the works for downloadable multiplayer content. It's been teased that the first round could even be available for free as a preorder bonus Players can purchase gold-plated guns for bragging rights. No stat advantages, though Check out Gamelnformer.com for new Quantum of Solace multiplayer screens and additional details Г [ Quantum of Solace includes seven different multiplayer modes and an as yet unspecified number of maps (although we played on at least eight). This is an intentionally straightforward death- match mode without preselected weapon loadouts. All players begin with a pistol and must make a mad dash for floating guns and grenades stashed throughout the environment. Conflict takes another twist on deathmatch, allowing access to weapon loadouts. A team- based version is also available. Players will attack and defend specific points that periodically change during the match. One randomly selected player becomes Bond and must either take out everyone else or disarm two out of three bombs stashed around the map. Seems pretty one-sided, right? To make up for the lack of teammates, Bond gets two lives per round, a health boost, faster run speed, and can see every enemy on the in-game map. A group of MI6 agents must escort Bond to a pre-designated location as the other team tries to take him out. An insanely powerful golden six-shooter (with exploding bullets!) is placed in the middle of the map and everyone must scramble to get it first. The goal is to take out as many opponents as possible with the gun before someone inevitably kills you and swipes it. Crude Humor Mild Language Sexual Themes Use of Alcohol and Tobacco Microsoft gamextudios IS THERE A BLACK BELT FOR MOVIE TRIVIA? Whether you're a venerable master or humble beginner, Scene It? Box Office Smash! is the ultimate movie trivia game, featuring all-new real movie content and tons of ingenious puzzles. Whether you play in your living room or on Xbox LIVE? use the wireless Big Button Pad to show the world that you're the movie trivia kung-fu master. xbox.com/sceneit @ XBOX 36 Q LIVE 51 35 previews ay Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir > STYLE 1-РІЛҮЕК ROLE PLAYING GAME (UP TO 64-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER ATARI > DEVELOPER OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT > RELEASE NOVEMBER 18 (44444444 Тһе House of the Dead: Overkill > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER SEGA > DEVELOPER HEADSTRONG GAMES > RELEASE EARLY 2009 DIY DUNGEON DIVING hat's the over/under on the Forgotten Realms’ lifespan these days? Can't be more than a month, given the constant world-threatening events that imperil its very existence. Last year, it was an army of royally pissed off spirits and a dead death god. This week, it's a poison god halfway across the world concocting some kooky plot to kill everyone. Ah well, at least we get to abuse some Dungeons & Dragons rule sets along the way, right? This time around, players create a full party of heroes from scratch (or import an existing character and gin up a posse) to handle the adventure, which should take them from about levels 5 to 15. A few new bits have been added to the D&D 3.5 Edition rules that NWN 2 uses, notably three intriguing classes. Swashbucklers dance around and poke foes with sharp things much like a ranger, but with more style and fewer smelly animals following them around. Hellfire warlocks are a prestige option for casters that (unsurprisingly) burn enemies in a variety of ways, while doomguides are specialized prestige clerics who pound undead hordes into dust with ease. Obsidian has a relatively easy task in front of it with Storm of Zehir, since the first Neverwinter Nights expansion cleared up so many issues with the base game and largely fulfilled its latent prom- ise. Unless the developer's quality of storytelling and RPG craftsmanship takes à serious nosedive relative to its recent history, this should be a solid PC release when it comes out later this year. M Ш I А real fan would get a full- arm tattoo of this monstrosity to prove his devotion — WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN ight gun shooters are experiencing а resurgence on Wii since it's one of the few genres that naturally fits with the remote. Sega's latest entry follows its House of the Dead 2 & 3 remake with an all-new chapter in the series that reaches far back in the HotD timeline. Overkill follows Agent G's first assignment out of the academy, in which he investigates strange abductions in the small Louisiana town Bayou City. Fans of the recent Grindhouse (and the ‘70s originals) will be pleased to know the game unabashedly rips them off, from the gritty film grain presentation to the locations and enemy design. Developer Headstrong Games (formerly Kuju London), the first Western developer to CYT TTT TT) work on the series, strongly advocated the change in tone. Hopefully, this also means less (unintentionally) terrible localization and voice acting. The stage we saw was set inside a creepy carnival infested with zombies, naturally. As G strung kills together, he built up a “Mo-Fo Slo-Mo" meter that, when triggered, goes into bullet time and allows you to target and dismember specific body parts. The Magnum pistol worked well to knock back charging zombies, while the sub-machine gun defended well against throwing knives. One of the biggest, and riskiest, new fea- tures in Overkill is the battle screen, which extends beyond the limits of the screen so players will have to point the remote to the edges to see what horrors (or powerups) lurk beyond. It should be interesting to see how this works in two-player co-op. Hopefully, players will spend more time fighting zombies rather than battling for control of the view. i i ii EAST SIDE. WEST SIDE. ¥ WWW.SAINTSROW.COM ў Cellular төргі ER7 Available At Qoeoxoco-« WEET ums NM, 360 SSSR 1-7 PLAYSTATION. = е 44227 Intense Violence Sexual Content Strong Language Pay Use of Drugs The Sims 3 > STYLE i UA > DEVELOPER ҒА REDI > PUBLISHER ELECTR RES > RELEASE FE! THEKRÍSE AND FALL OF ARNIE THE SIM he Sims are running loose! While it's true that they have explored the out- side world for years, the Sims 5 does away with the series' increasingly anti- quated “teleport here" structure. Now, Sims can walk out their front doors and wander the streets of their town at will, going to work or goofing off with their friends by kicking over lawn ornaments. In a recent live demo, we saw a typical day in the life of a Sim. Amie is a mid-level politician with the slightly loftier lifetime goal of being the leader of the free world. „^^ ri People in Simville have widly Ë divergent perceptions of how i Rot or cold it is outside, and they're not afraid to wear the Д clothes that showit Fortunately for the player, Arnie's happy to take things one step at a time. During the course of his lifetime, he'll keep that ultimate goal while fulfilling much smaller wishes. In this instance, Arnie’s spacious home was filled with Sims eager to contribute to a politi- cal campaign. After chatting with one of his friends, Amie gave a rousing speech, filled with grand gestures and powerful cadences. Since that was one of his short-term wishes, Arnie's mood got a temporary boost, and he received points that could be used to pur- chase bonus traits, such as a stronger blad- der or the ability to haggle for better deals. Negative experiences affect moods in the opposite way, as we saw when a character moped around lamenting the recent passing of a family member. Once the schmoozing was over, it was time for Arnie to get back to his paying job at city hall. He passed a group of protesters on the way to his office, each one a full-fledged Sim with a home, family and personality of his own. There wasn't time for socializing, though, it was time to work. The Sims 3 gives players more interaction with their working Sims than before by choosing how hard to work or facing tricky scenarios. In this case, Arnie faced the temptation of stealing money from his campaign fund. He did, and was caught and fired. Such is life. Our demo ended before we saw how this setback affected Amie. Could he successfully mount a comeback? Would he turn to a life of crime? In the world of the Sims 3, either option sounds equally likely. If nothing else, temporary unemployment might give him time to meet the neighbors. >: Whatever the context, Ж this facial expression always deserves a slap т "Yeah, girls dig the telescope" “>... - ui Ill One of these kids represents GAME INFORMER 107. FF AVOID {4 GANS HOGG! THE HT 18 GO? Wean off the gas nozzle! The all-new Fit is here! Warrior of efficiency! 1.5 liters of vicious i-VTEC? acceleration! Four cylinders of silent thunder! 16 valves of fuel-efficient fury! A lean, mean, clean" machine that delivers 33 MPG! on the highway! Guzzlers, be warned: your days are numbered! “ULEV-2-rated by CA Air Resources Board. TEPA-estimated hwy mpg for Fit Sport. Use only for comparison. Actual mileage will vary. Fit Sport shown. 1-800-33-Honda ©2008 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. fithonda.com We Play The Crap So You Don't Have To ее Midnight Club: Los Angeles iav = Ы Dead Space With gruesome abominations, nerve-fraying gunfights, and scream- out-loud scares, Dead Space puts the horror back in survival horror. The Dark Brotherhood We thought this moment would never come, but there is actually a good Sonic game out there. And it's not even the nineties! BioWare and Sega have proven that with enough time and creativity, Sonic can be relevant in today's gaming climate. With fast-paced turn- based battles, fun worlds to explore, and characters you don't want to strangle (heck, Big the Cat is even likable here), Sonic Chronicles is worth the return to Green Hill Zone. Isaac Clarke fights for survival aboard an alien-infested derelict starship, unraveling the mystery of how the crew turned into bloodthirsty beasts. Not for the faint of heart, Dead Space combines elements of movies like Aliens and The Thing with Resident Evil-style gameplay — then adds more dismemberment. If you love being scared, you can't let Dead Space pass you by. Our crack (or crackhead, we can THE SCORING SYSTEM never decide which) review team rates games in a number of cat- Outstanding. A truly elite title that is nearly perfect in every way. This score is given out rarely and indicates a game that cannot be missed. -. i=) egories to help you sort out the great from the stuff you'll hate. Most games are reviewed by two staff members, and you will Superb. Just shy of gaming nirvana, this score is a high recommendation because the game reviewed is head-and-shoulders above its competition. Very Good. Innovative, but perhaps not the right choice for everyone. This score indicates that there are many good things to be had, but arguably so. find both their opinions on each x f 2 Average. The game's features may work, but are nothing that even casual players review. To make things a little haven't seen before. A decent game from beginning to end. easier we have put together some definitions of what the numbers Limited Appeal. Although there may be fans of games receiving this score, many will be left yearning for a more rewarding game experience, mean, what we look for in а game, and also a cheat sheet so Passable. It may be obvious that the game has lots of potential, but its most engaging features could be undeniably flawed or not integrated into the experience. the newbies can understand our advanced video game jargon. It is Bad. While some things may work as planned, the majority of this title either malfunctions to varying degrees or it is so dull that the game falls short as a whole. Painful. If there is anything that's redeeming in а game of this caliber, it's buried important to note that the Game beneath agonizing gameplay and uneven execution in its features or theme. of the Month is determined only Broken. Basically unplayable. This game is so insufficient in execution that any value by the main review score, not an у would be derived in extremely small quantities, if at all. average of the two opinions. The loneliest number that you'll ever know. - N GO | & сл |с | NI | Co | 110 GAME INFORMER > Concept: What new ideas the game brings to the table and how well old ideas are presented. > Graphics: How good a game looks, taking into account any flaws such as bad collision or pop-up. > Sound: Does the game's music and sound effects get you involved or do they make you resolve to always play with the vol- ume down? > Playability: Basically, the controller to human interface. The less you think about the hunk of plastic in your hands, the better the playability. > Entertainment: Flat out, just how fun the game is to play. The most important factor in rating a game. Replay Value High - You'll still be popping this game in five years from now. Moderately High - Good for a long while, but the thrills won't last forever. Moderate - Good for a few months or a few times through. Moderately Low - After finishing it, there's not much reason to give ita second go. Low - You'll quit playing before you complete the game. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky REVIEWS INDEX BioShock Fracture Spore Sr Start small with a single-celled organism and work your way up the 4 evolutionary ladder until you conquer the vast mystery of space. This ambitious and long-awaited title from visionary developer Will Wright (creator of SimCity and The Sims) gives players the opportunity to shape the universe and its inhabitants. It might be light on gameplay in places, but Spore is an amazing and intriguing piece of software that gamers everywhere need to play. ven All Сап This is where СІ breaks down multi-plat- form games. So whenever you see this logo, there is important multi-system infor- Content suitable for persons ages Content suitable for persons 17 a ages and older. Content suitable for persons ages 6 and older. Content suitable only for adults, Product is awaiting final go] rating. 1 | Content suitable for persons ages 10 and older. Content suitable. for persons ages 15 and older. NBA 2K9.. Buzz Quiz TV. Dead Space... NBA Live 09... Active Life: Outdoor Challenge. Blitz: The League II Brother's in Arms: Hell's Highwa Castlevania: Order of Ecclesi Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirel LEGO Batman... Line Rider 2: Unboun: Master of the Monster Lair Midnight Club: Los Angeles NBA 09: The Inside ... Rock Revolution. S.TA.LI.E.R.: Clear Sky.. Samba de Amigo. Silent Hill: Homeco SimCity Creator Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.. Spore TNA Impact.. Time Hollow. Star Ocean: First Departure Warhammer: Mark of Chaos — Battle March For our newer readers, here is a glossary of terms and acronyms that commonly appear in the magazine. Video game veterans should move along (these aren't the droids you are looking for). 1080i - A resolution specification used for НОТУ. 10801 stands for resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. Тһе “ means that the video is being interlaced 1080p - Currently the best resolution for gaming ‘on an HDTV. In widescreen, 1080p generates ап image at resolution of 1920x1080 in progressive format. 480p - Progressive scanning, this option ('p'- the scan lines of a conventional interlaced picture, 4801 (1! = interlaced), to create а noticeably sharper image. The 480p image offers higher picture resolution and eliminates virtually all motion artifacts in a 640x480 pixel resolution setting 720p ~ A resolution specification used for HDTV. 720p stands for resolution of 1280x720 pixels. The "p" means that the video is in progressive format action - A term we use for games like God of War and Devil May Cry ad hoc - A type of wireless connection that connects you with other players in your immediate vicinity Al ~ Artificial Intelligence. Usually refers to how well the computer reacts to human opponents ‘or works with human allies adventure - A term we use for games like Myst and Escape From Monkey Island 2 bloom - An effect that simulates the soft, blurred : glow of bright light reflecting off of surfaces board - A term we use for games like Scene It? and Mario Party cel shading ~ A technique used to create 3D rendered objects that resemble hand-drawn animation cels Қ Э n 2 CG - Computer Generated. Usually refers to progressive), creates a picture signal with double : cutscenes that don't use in-game graphics 2 DLC- Downloadable content. Usually takes the form of inexpensive or free add-ons to existing games ЕЗ - Electronic Entertainment Expo. A gaming of the largest events in the gaming industry first-party - A game made by a console manufacturers internal development teams exclusively for its own system fighting - A term we use for games like Mortal Kombat and Dead or Alive FPS - First-Person Shooter, Describes games like Halo, Doom, and Call of Duty. Also used to denote the phrase “frames per second,” or how many animation frames happen in one second framerate - The frames of animation used to generate the appearance of movement i frontend - A game's menus and options HDTV - High Definition Television HP - Hit Points. A numerical representation of a character's remaining Ме. Common їп RPGs infrastructure - A type of wireless connection that uses the Internet to connect with other players over long distances 2 IP = Intellectual Property. А single game or franchise encompassing the ideas and characters contained within. isometric - Three-quarters top down view, like Warcraft 3 or Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance jaggies - Graphical lines that look jagged when they should be straight 1 LAN = Local Area Network. Connecting computers convention held every year since 1995. Itis опе > ог consoles together within a small space to. allow communication between them. Provides fast, simultaneous gameplay MMO - Massively Multiplayer Online. Usually applied to role-playing tiles, we use this term for. : games with persistent, mult-user online worlds lie EverQuest and World of Warcraft 2 motion blur - Phantom frames follow an object 10 give the impression of realistic speed music ~ A term we use for games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band NPC - Non-Player Character. Those people and Creatures you see wandering around in games that are not being controlled by actual humans 2% reviews 2 particle effects - Things like smoke or sparks i Geated in real-time platform - A term we use for games like Super Mario and Ratchet & Clank pop-up - When objects onscreen suddenly appear, typically due to poor draw distance 2 PS2 - Sony PlayStation 2 1 PS3 - Sony's PlayStation 3 console puzzle - A term we use for games like Tetris and Picross : facing - A term we use for games like Gran Turismo and Mario Kart 1 RPG - Role-Playing Game. A term games like Final Т fantasy and The Elder Scrolls 2 RTS - Real-Time Strategy. A subgenre of strategy games including titles like StarCraft and ‘Command & Conquer 2 shooter - A term we use for games like Ikaruga and Gradius sports - A term we use for games like Madden NFL and Top Spin strategy - A term we use for games like Disgaea and Fire Emblem third-party — Something made for a console by a company other than the console manufacturer WMD - Wi Music Disease. An epidemic that could easily spread without your help GAME INFORMER 111 і. 2 E \ Alcohol and Tobacco Reference Blood ce Drug Reference Ro 5 Ç Language AWARD NO Suggestive Themes CONTENT RATED BY i E ТҮ Violence PLAYSTATION 3 aliens NINTENDO «S PlayStation Portable c i 2008 Ubisoft Entertainment, AI Rights Reserved. EndWar, Ubisoft Ubi com, the Ubisoft logo, and the Soldier icon are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. PSP and DS versions developed y Funalics Software. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION", "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PSP® system — Memory Stick Duo™ cem UBISOFT Nintendo 05 is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2004 Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft PLAYSTATION, 3 | XBOX 360 Dead Space > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS. GAME, В IER > DEVELOPER EA REDWOOD SHORES > RELEASE OCTOBER 14 > ESRB. M hey say in space, no one can hear you scream. After letting out a screech loud enough to burst the eardrums of all life in the cosmos, my time aboard starship /shimura proves this unassailable scientific adage untrue. Dead Space is a bone-chilling journey into the heart of horror. Its nerve-shattering suspense and stomach- churning gore are perfectly orchestrated to play off of your fear and paranoia. Grotesque humanoid mutations leap from the shadows, diseased corpses reanimate as you approach, and you never know when a tentacle is going to crash through a wall and grab you. Incredible lighting techniques, suffocating level designs, and haunting ambience effectively blend to create one of video games’ most immersive and frightening atmospheres. As much as Dead Space makes you jump out of your seat and scream at the top of your lungs, its gameplay makes you respect it as a great game first and foremost. In the introductory cutscene, we learn the Ishimura, a mining vessel equipped with tools powerful enough to crack planets from orbit, is malfunctioning. Like all science fiction movies, this ship's com- munications are offline, so a team containing your character, engineer Isaac Clarke, is sent in to investigate. When a particularly gory sequence occurs within minutes of boarding, it becomes apparent that an alien scourge has infested the ship, and more disturbingly, its crew. In the commotion, you are separated from your teammates. As predictable as this lead in is, it effectively sets the tone. The remainder of the game is a journey of discovery and survival through the bowels of this derelict ship. As you investigate each section of the ship, the gameplay boils down to a study in precision target- ing, relying heavily on the player's ability to pinpoint specific limbs on enemies. As it turns out, bullets don't kill. Dismemberment is the only way to stop these abominations in their tracks. The enemies are aggressive and plentiful in variety, but the rock-solid targeting system can handle any threat. Most of the weapons (which are primarily mining tools) produce large spray zones, and their rounds easily tear limbs 114 GAME INFORMER from torsos. Custom weapon assembly allows players to tailor the firearm functional- ity to their style of play. Do you increase the damage of a particular gun and go for one hit-kills? Or is your style more suited to expand- ing ammo capacity and wildly clicking the trigger until the crea- ture ceases to move? Finishing off injured foes is particularly easy, as Dead Space is home to one of the most brutal boot stomps in all of ате progresses, in invest іп new.armors on upgrades ш Don't be surprised if you shoot each one of these corpses as you pass. Odds are, at Teast one of them is an alien feigning death gaming. Your heel is basically a В.ҒО. As a whole, the combat is beautifully executed, and loaded with unforgettable encounters. As the story unfolds, you'll trek across nearly every inch of the /shimura. Along the way there are some amazing sights to behold. This game is gorgeous, and it wouldn't surprise me if this ship is modeled to be fully functional. The interface is also stunning and unlike anything else out there. To keep your eyes on the action, the HUD is practically invisible. Most meters and directions are handled within the game environment. For instance, Isaac's health meter is displayed on his back. Some story sequences are also told through holographic projec- tions. Should you chose, you can keep playing as the video plays. If you get lost, there's no need to visit a map. Just click a button and a holographic trail illustrates the path to the next objective. Some objectives feature breakout moments, such as an awesome space walk on the ship exterior or a poorly executed asteroid shooting gallery in the gunner's chair. Most objectives, however, are fairly uneventful. Hitting a button to watch an animation of the ship's systems come online is all too common of an event. In this regard, the game plays off of your character's engineering background a little too much. Thankfully, as mun- dane as most of the missions are, they all fall back on the excellent gameplay and taut atmosphere. Dead Space is technically a survival horror game, but it should really be compared to motion picture juggernauts The Thing and Aliens, as it channels the essence of those films more than it does any other game. If horror is your forte, dim the lights, crank up the surround sound, and take the deepest breath you ever have. | think you'll agree, no game has ever been this frightening —REINER BOTTOM LINE 9 . > Concept: Suspense and gore collide to create a horrifying, atmospheric experience that will leave you gasping for air > Graphics: The texture work is remarkable (especially on the twisted flesh and rusted metals), and the array of lighting tech- niques deceive your eyes > Sound: The ambience messes with your mind, often making you question “what was that?” The voice actors do a decent job making cringe-worthy dialogue flow better than it should > Playability: A satisfying mix of precision targeting and boot stomping. Sadly, most of the objectives fall into the “lead player from point A to point B" category > Entertainment: l'm а horror fanatic, and I've never jumped this much during any movie or game > Replay Value: Moderate In the dark and corrupted corridors of the Ishimura, gamers are treated to the premiere accomplishment in survival horror since Resident Evil 4, Dead Space is a chill ing combination of mystery, tension, and straight-up scare tactics that expertly plays off of the player's fear and paranoia. More importantly, the game doesn't stumble ‘over combat in service to the atmosphere. Battle controls rarely exhibit the genre's typical sluggishness, and necessity of dismember- ing foes encourages gleeful ‘experimentation with your entire arsenal of clever weap- ons, Dead Space's biggest problem is devising good reasons for you to progress; most objectives are thinly disguised “go here and press this button" missions, making protagonist Isaac Clarke seem like an errand boy. The harrowing combat and disturbing story are the real stars, weaving an eerie ambiance that will keep. Dead Space lurking in the dark corners of your mind long after you turn the lights back on.—JOE = "WO © [^ 72) YNOA 3SV3HONI LON TIM 3SVHIHNd V AHVSS393N 3SVHOHfld ОМ. 's18uAo aAj9adsa) 112} у X ХЕ? 1 CS 2. YSN 06020 VI ‘poomsam ‘LZ Xog Qd “эщ “ашп zio: d А міл “ә1п50121р sppo pue Aqua jo рощәш 334} sap aziid ЗІП [81940 104 60/ 16/6 SPU uonouioJd 'QJLIJIHOYd 383HM ANY 938300 NI QIOA 83010 ОМУ SHV3A 81 VavNY9 ANY ('0) S31v1s GALINN 06 3H1 40 514301538 17931 ONINNIM 40 S39NVE2 о Ayadoud ayy Әле ѕ%лешәред 19110 ү 30501010] шо asuaal| IPUN pasn әле 060| uonnq HEIS PISIA SMOPUIM әш pue ,SMOPUIM 10) ѕәшез, рие 69140102 1210 J0/pue 59)216 рәнип ay) U! uonelod109 40501011 Jo 5улешәрещ 10 ѕҳіешәрец palojsiba1 әле O60] uonnq URIS VISIA SMOPUIM uj pue SMOPUIM ‘иоце!20ѕѕу әгелцоѕ U9uuu!ep8}U3 IU} Jo syietuape paJejsibe1 әле SUOI! 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INTERACTIVE > DEVELOPER TRAVELER'S TALES > RELEASE SEPEEMBER 23 > ESRB ЁЇӨ+ TIME TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW f you think the only entertaining version of Batman is the dark, gothic one that deals with mature themes as found in the new films and modern comics, you're wrong. LEGO Batman is as childish as video games can get, yet it's still appealing to a wide audience. By the same token, if you think developer Traveler's Tales is changing its golden formula after succeeding with the slew of LEGO Star Wars and Indiana Jones games, you're wrong again. The game's story won't impress anyone above basic reading comprehension. Batman’s villain- ous adversaries have escaped their prisons in Arkham Asylum, they're up to no good, and it's up to Batman to stop them. Fortunately, Traveler's Tales has mastered the art of playful slapstick, so every cutscene elicits at least a mild chuckle. Iconic characters, such as Clayface and Robin, have been turned into village idiots with hijinks ripped straight out of Saturday morning cartoons. Maybe even more so than LEGO Star Wars, this game is filled with cool playable characters, and thanks to LEGO Batman's parallel hero and villain stories you have plenty of opportunities to try them. Nightwing, Joker, Killer Croc, Bane, Catwoman, and Man-bat only scratch the surface of this game's catalogue of great characters. As with all the LEGO games, you'll spend weeks replaying through levels to get all the unlockables. Combat is a little more important this time, but this is still a button masher. The vehicle segments also offer a nice change of pace, but the primary 116 GAME INFORMER thrill in LEGO games has always been smashing the environment into little LEGO pieces then rebuilding them into crazy new contraptions. LEGO Batman falls back on this routine exhaustively. The game is perfect for blowing off some steam or relaxing with friends, but it's nothing more than a mildly reward- ing waste of time. While this may arguably be the best LEGO game to date, it's still a series designed for the lowest common denominator. The level design is extremely straightforward. You can't lose since you have unlimited lives, and you respawn exactly where you "died" The boss battles are also unorigi- nal. They all follow the exact same pattern: the boss stands just out of reach long enough to throw a few dangerous objects at you, then they come down to your level to get pounded before jumping back to safety to repeat the process. The charm of LEGO blocks is exploring your creativity and building new things, so Traveler's Tales’ habit of stick- ing to one formula stands in stark contrast to the entire LEGO philosophy. We've had fun with this series, but it's time to dump the franchise out on the floor and start piecing it back into so thing new.— BEN is almost over Certain characters have special abilities that allow them to lift heavy objects Cheer up, sewer worker! Your smelly, depressing life See that smaller, wimpier vehicle up on the left? That's what Batman makes Robin drive "Uwe 7.9 > Concept: Take the popular LEGO formula from Star Wars, then add Batman The best LEGO graphics to date, but how good can the visuals really get with lots of simple blocky shapes? > Sound: Great music from the cartoons helps mask the generic action sound effects > Playability: The definition of pick up and play. If you have trouble playing this game, you might be holding the wrong controller > Entertainment: The LEGO formula was tired a long time ago, so why can't we stop our- selves from coming back? > Replay Value: Moderate Star Wars. Indiana Jones. Batman. Three spectacularly different licenses united by identical gameplay design. Based on Traveller's Tales’ last three games, the univer- sal formula for game creation reads as follows: Make Star Wars game, Remove Star Wars license. Replace with. another popular license. Ship. | to retail. LEGO Batman |5 so similarly designed to the other games it even retains. the film trilogy format - even though none of the content _ in this game is based on | the Batman films. Its fair — to demand an experience | that caters more toward — — the license, but at the same | time, it's hard to deny how | entertaining this gameplay is, | especially when playing with a friend. From The Jokerto | Clayface, there isn't a charac- _ ter in this game that isn’t fun to play. While you will see some Bat-related gameplay, | Such as a snazzy Batarang targeting system, most of the new mechanics revolve around different costumes for Batman and Robin. These suit-based moves dish out gameplay variety, but again, don't hold true to the license (unless | missed the issue where Robin has a vacuum deaner), No matter how — you cut it, LEGO Batman | is a solid game, even ifitis | just more of the same LEGO | experience —REINER | Lyrics Introducing Lips, the ridiculously fun пем singing gare from Mild Cartoon Violence Xbox 360% The party includes two int Suggestive Themes Use of Tobacco microphones, 40 amazing so gameystudios of good t 5! xbox.com/lips MULTI QUICKIES XBOX 360 I PC Warhammer: Mark of Chaos — Battle March > STYLE 1-PLAYER STRATEGY (UP TO 4-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER NAMCO BANDAI > DEVELOPER BLACK HOLE ENTERTAINMENT > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 2 > ESRB M Image you are the leader of an army. In order to communicate with your troops, you must perform a ritual dance where you juggle flaming axes and snakes. Sounds like a huge exercise in the unnecessary, doesn't it? That's exactly how I feel about Warhammer's control scheme, which sometimes has you navigating a web of menus and holding down two or three -buttons just to issue simple commands. Even if you are willing to put up with Warhammer's finger gymnastics, you're still only playing a sub-par strategy title. The graphics are a generation behind, which makes sense, as this is basically an expansion to the 2006 PC title Mark of Chaos with framerate issues. While the controls aren't as big a deal on the PC, the spotty Al, poor pacing, and lack of depth doom both versions.— BEN PLAYSTATION 3 ! XBOX 360 Blitz: The League Il > STYLE 1 OR2-PLAYER SPORTS. (2-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER MIDWAY > DEVELOPER MIDWAY > RELEASE OCTOBER 15 > ESRB M Juiced up players, broken limbs, girlfriend drama — Blitz: The League II's male soap opera take on professional football isn't afraid to take jabs at the NFL. The over- the-top campaign follows the career of The Franchise, a dual-threat rookie of your creation who dominates oppo- nents on both sides of the ball. This gridiron features gruesome over-the-top. injuries that happen so frequently you'll spend as much time re-setting dislo- cated shoulders as you will dropping back to pass. The game controls often feel unresponsive in real-time, but using the Clash meter slows the action down and allows you to make cuts that spell the difference between tom tendons and touchdowns. If senseless violence and arcade football are your passions, Blitz is the league for you. 118 GAME INFORMER ` > STYLE Т.Р BAD SCARE \ > PUBLISHER KO fter Alex Shepard's discharge from the army, he travels home to deal with a despon- dent mother, a violent, unloving father, and a little brother who's mysteriously gone missing. Oh, and there's the little matter of his iometown, which some demonic force devoured, then farted into the sewers of Hell's ninth level. Welcome оте, Alex. They say it's never easy. The newest entry in Konami's leg- endarily disturbing horror franchise attempts a return to former glory, and in a few instances it succeeds. The game's atmosphere — which has always been a pinnacle for the series — does a formidable job and elps set the tone for some frantic moments. The whole world looks as though it's contracted some debilitat- ing illness and begun to rot away. Plenty of cool old-style film effects elp accent the game's beautiful grotesquery. The lighting effects are particularly impressive; every level is filled with strange objects that jut out in odd ways, causing your flash- 8 Meet Scarlet. This boss might shorten your life span by a few days ilent Hill: Homeco ing ^| > DEVELOPER DOUBLE HELIX GAMES > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 30 > ESRB M light to project toothy shadows that look ready to cut you in half at any moment. The combat has been beefed up, as well. Instead of the stilted, single- Swing animation attacks found in previous games, Alex has a limited combo system. He's much faster and more nimble than past Silent Hill protagonists. Sadly, the combat system is also where Homecoming takes a misstep. The dodge, which is required to survive most encounters, often doesn't do what it's supposed to: evade an attack. Resource management is also a problem. It seems the developers wanted to make every encounter mean something, so they ratcheted up the difficulty. This level of chal- lenge results in you spending most of the game with depleted health and ammo. Every time you find a box of ammo with five shells inside you'll want to jump up and down on Oprah's couch. The game is dark, and | don't mean dark in macabre, Lovecraftian terms. | kept going into the options menu to double check that the brightness hadn't been mysteriously turned down. Even though your flashlight casts some impressive shadows, it looks like it's running on the last dregs of a five-year-old battery most of the time. I've had more powerful lights on my keychain, and | wouldn't be surprised if Alex suffered some kind of irreparable eyestrain over the course of the game. The biggest problem with the darkness is that you sometimes walk right past a door or switch you need in order to progress, so you could easily end up wasting an hour humping the walls on the wrong end of an empty hell prison. | wish | had more to praise about Homecoming, because I'd like to see this series shine again. Fans will prob- ably dig the game's cool set pieces and the story, but the save points are placed too far apart, many puzzles require too much random experi- mentation, and the dialogue system seems like an afterthought. Who says you shouldn't go home? | do.——BEN > Concept: Konami's soul- crushing survival horror title returns with some fresh ideas, but they fail in important ways > Graphics: The game is way too dark, and we're not talking theme. You'll want to turn the brightness adjuster all the way up, but that also washes out the screen > Sound: Homecoming's blend of horror sounds is spooky, but the noise is so continuous that eventually you become desensi- tized to the racket > Playability: The new combat system is a nice idea, but there is an unnecessary amount back- tracking. Why no shortcuts? > Entertainment: A great game to put you in the mood for hor- ror, but it might also leave you frustrated > Replay Value: Moderately Low Second Opinion With Homecoming, Konami tried to shake things up by hiring Western developer Double Helix to take the series in a different direc- tion. While there are a few welcome changes, too. many outdated Silent Hill conventions have remained onboard. | like the timing- based dodge and counter combat system, but the extremely dark environ- ments (even with bright- ness settings maxed) and wild camera prevent you from seeing visual tells for. enemy strikes. Be prepared for antiquated door knob. jiggling and backtracking through tired locales like а hospital, hotel, and the bland gray corridors of the final stage. While bosses are deverly designed, their dif- ficulty levels are seriously out of whack, mostly due to poor resource distribution. The middle of the game is notably harder than the final third simply because you barely get any health and ammo. By the time | fought the last boss, however, | had more med kits and bullets. than | knew what to do with and the beast went down easily. You know what else is crammed into the end? ‘About 80 percent of the story and puzzle sequences. Up to that point you're just chasing around your myste- rious little brother and pass- ing out.—BRYAN *.* COMPLETELY NEW COMPANY IN THE INDUSTRY" DESTRUCTOID THE SPORE WARS fid. ч n | 2 RE no RISE f ДЕ MM" shone Л TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ADVENTURES SET IN ONE AMAZING WORLD PRODUCTS RANGE FROM EVERYONE TD EVERYONE 10+ ы 5 red о oe URING Mus; Н NINTENDO vent сау H Mild Fantasy Viol Fi Animated Blood — Wii. BDS. LES CLAYPOOL nus 3 EDA KOU ©2006 ш led Fly Studio ақтап 265 ГЕ Fa 02008 КЫЫ ds 4. Gam йемек а о Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of ESRB CONTENT RATING. r Mtenio ©2006 Nintendo, чо ШТ MUSNROOMMEN.COM Se reviews "PLAYSTATION 3| XBOX 360 МВА 2K9 © > STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER. SPORTS (UP. TO 10-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER ж sports > DEVELOPE БӘКЕН > PESE OCTOBER 7 > ESRB E DUNKADELIC t's hard to stay atthe | top, but basketball teams historically pull it off WE more frequently than champs in other sports. Nine МВА teams have won back- to-back championships, the best of which — the Boston Celtics of the late '50s and early 605 — won an astound- ing eight straight titles and ТО in 11 years. Add NBA 2K to this list of legends, as this year marks the ninth straight year of dominating the competition. NBA 2K9 goes above the tim with its strong blend of realistic animations, solid controls, and superior presentation. The crowds received a major makeover and the difference is imme- diately noticeable — fans legitimately react to big plays by standing up to scream and clap after thunderous dunks or lead-swinging shots. New player anima- tions for on-the-ball defense, blocked shots, and collisions in the paint bring the already stellar on-court graphics to another level. NBA 2K9 doesn't have a fancy marketing campaign like Live's Made Fresh Daily, but it doesn’t need it The game already features realis- tic results where star players command the ball and role players make the hustle plays. The only things hinder- ing the gameplay are the sporadic post play — which is still difficult to master — and the unpredictable free throw system. Most players have different shooting motions, 120 GAME INFORMER which makes guessing whe to release the shot stick at the foul line a painful experience. The star feature of NBA 2K9 is the Association, the best franchise mode across _ every sports title. The new NBA.com hub makes it easy to keep track gue hap- penings, including trade rumors and injury updates. The role system tasks owners with promising sp | playing time to each player, finally solving the problem of addressing disgruntled play- ers, Whereas other games pull discontent out of thin air, NBA 2К9 has a logical cause and effect system. The result is true personality manage- ment and heavier trade dialogue throughout the season. The contract renego- tiations are also remarkable, featuring Bird rights, options, no-trade clauses, and the load contracts. NBA 2К9 also features five- ‘on-five online games, but no club teams like NBA Live. The on-court action is better due to the superior defensive controls, but the dynamic | camera needs some work in the transition game. With its realistic animations, - solid controls, and ambi- tious Association mode, NBA 2K9 makes its title run once again. But the competi is stiffening, and next year needs to bring significant leaps forward with online | __ play and the low-post game if 2K wants to make it 10 in а row.—BERTZ BOTTOM LINE 8.5 > Concept: Continue to refine г an already great title with the. ` deepest franchise mode in any sports game ‚ > Graphics: Amazing Шы animations make you feel like you're i the arena broadcast t team | pna well. > Playability: Controls well until you're in the low post > Entertainment: Still the best basketball game around for. hoops aficionados > Replay Value: High and | also like how your Al | teammates will get open Dedi | sue dynasty options, wi player roles being a much | better way to value chem- Second Opinion 8 PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 > RELEASE OCTOBER 7 > ESRB E МВА Live 09 > STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER SPORTS (UP TO 10-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER EA SPORTS > DEVELOPER EA CANADA FINDING ITS STROKE o improve its chances against the NBA 2K juggernaut, EA went straight to the pro- fessionals. By integrating a Dynamic DNA statistical system developed by Synergy Sports, EA finally delivers a game that mimics its real world counter- part. Teams behave as they would in real games, and the right players take the right shots at the right time. Is it enough to dethrone the champ? The refined on-court action largely aids the cause. Gone are the clueless players who watched loose balls rather than scramble for them or slow down on a fastbreak. The easy-access signature play-calling puts strategy at your fingertips, and the improved Lockdown Control makes guarding Al opponents much less frustrating. The new pick-and-roll mechanic is a hit-and-miss affair, but when used correctly can be a deadly offensive weapon to comple- ment the superior post play. With NBA Academy, Live's already deep Dynasty mode receives another layer of strategy. Every month you can train your team by running the gauntlet of hoops drills to hone skills. The off-season, however, needs an overhaul. Trade offers are abundant during the draft, but you can't trade your pick when you're on the clock. During free agency, the game automatically ге- signs players without your con- sent if you don't have at least eight players on the team, and free agents bagging grocer- ies during the regular season demand outrageous $9 million multi-year contracts instead of accepting the league mini mum like most street-bound players would. Two of NBA Live's new modes, Be A Pro and online team play, largely disappoint. The Be A Pro mode, which shined in NHL O9 by allowing you to create a player and experience the sport firsthand, is a shell of itself. All you can do is play an exhibition game with one player. The five-on- five online team play would be great if there was some semblance of defense; it's so hard to stay on your mark that most of the games will be determined by who misses the most open shots. NBA Live 09's gameplay improvements make this the best game in the series. If more care would have been taken to the new modes, it might have unseated the 2K franchise —BERTZ BOTTOM LINE 7.75 > Concept: Bring the NBA to life with daily updates that keep the game results on par with the real Association > Graphics: New defensive animations make the on-court action look more realistic > Sound: Steve Kerr and Marv Albert's relaxed voiceovers give the game a broadcast feel > Playability: Refined controls boost gameplay outside of the tricky new pick and roll system > Entertainment: The core game continues to improve, but the new modes aren't as impres- sive as they are in NHL 09 > Replay Value: Moderately gen start, and its ease in exe- cuting special isone this game fun to play. If only һе Al was up to snuff to stop | you. It's often un “ball on grabbing boards and defending your passes (it can be abused is is only heightened in. slight and inconsequen- ч Ji more: Salo —KATO TION Midnight Club: Los Angeles | > STYLE i-PLAYER RACING (UP ТО 16-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER ROCKSTAR С, > DEVELOPER ROCKSTARSAN DIEGO. > RELEASE OCTOBER 21 > ESRB T BACK TO THE STREETS idnight Club is back for next-gen consoles, and fans will be shocked at just how good their old favorite looks. Rockstar's Rage engine proves it can handle the high-speed action of Midnight Club while recreating a virtual Los Angeles nearly as detailed as Liberty City. Unlike Burnout Paradise, these streets are full of life — pedestrians, tons of ambient traffic, real-life stores, and LA. landmarks like the Comedy Store and Amoeba Records. The cityscape is amazing. The level of detail and the sheer amount of roadway to tear up seems limitless, and the diversity of LA. lends it a less monochromatic feel than Burnout Paradise. But the real way Rockstar San Diego proves itself the genre master is the street design. While it's most certainly an open world — any number of routes might serve equally well in most cases — MC: LA subtly clues you in to the best routes and hidden shortcuts that make it play as fluidly as any track-based racer. In comparison to my experience with other games of its ilk, | rarely found myself getting lost or off track. That's not to say it abandons challenge: the insane speeds and canny enemy Al will put your skills to the test. That doesn't even figure in the revamped police chases. The 16-player multiplayer matches also include a number of race, capture the flag, and team-based modes of mayhem. Thankfully, the con- trol mechanics are dead on, offering a superb mix of arcade accessibility and fine control. Longtime fans will be pleased to note that special i The higher end cars are insanely fast As good as it is, Midnight Club's not perfect. The plot, a clichéd affair, features some horrible dia- logue - apparently every single person in LA. is a macho toolbox (actually, maybe that's true). ІНІ had а quarter for every time | was called “tough guy,” "esse," “holmes,” or “a little girl,” | could probably buy another Xbox 360. Rockstar traditionally excels at pop culture, but this seems to hit all the abilities like Roar and the new Electromagnetic Pulse are assignable to any car and can be changed - one of many nice improvements to the interface and feature set. Despite DUB not being in the title, MC: LA has all the customization features (visual and performance based) of the last game and more. шіп addition to the wide selection of cars, there is a good variety of motorcycles wrong notes in an attempt at being edgy. While | love what they've done with LA, ditching the three- city format of the last title makes the progression feel more static. There's still much to do and explore, but the excitement of graduating to a new area is gone. This sense of stasis pervades the entire game to a degree. There's no disguising the fact that the Midnight Club basics have remained largely unchanged since the second game. One wonders just how many more miles are left on the tread. But for now, Midnight Club: Los Angeles is just what the doctor ordered: a fun, fast racing experience with enough content to keep you playing for months.— MATT . “тир, Qum E The cockpit view allows you to see the customizable interiors > Concept: Bring Midnight Club 10 next-gen systems, and add ап enormous virtual Los Angeles > Graphics: Demonstrates the power and versatility of Rockstar's Rage engine. It's near- ly as detailed as GTA, but moves at jaw-dropping speeds > Sound: Skim on familiar hits, but it's a nice selection of underground dance, hip-hop, and rock tracks > Playability: Rockstar deliv- ers an arcade-style racer that gives racers control in the midst of chaos > Entertainment: 1/5 not a huge step forward, but rather a gorgeous and exhila- rating reminder of Midnight Club's appeal > Replay Value: High Second Opinion In Midnight Club: Los Angeles, developer Rockstar San Diego transforms the bumper-to-bumper crawl of Los Angeles’ street life into a roaring blur of rubber and metal, making this unlikely venue for one of video games’ most enjoy- able circuits. In this itera- tion, the blindingly fast cars take the backseat to the. dynamic track designs. From the shifting traffic pat- terns to the winding flow. of the road, Rockstar cre- ated some exciting courses. Throw in aggressive Al rivals who always push for photo finishes, and police officers who you can't seem to shake, and most of the races fry every nerve in your body. Unlike the similarly designed Burnout Paradise, this game is hassle free. You can restart races whenever you like, and if you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, you can usually compete in a "race back" event to return to where you need to be. Vehicular customiza- tion is surprisingly intuitive as well. Rockstar San Diego has long been vested іп the street racing genre, and Midnight Club: Los Angeles is by far and away the com- pany's most impressive effort —REINER GAME INFORMER 121 PLAYSTATION З 1 XBOX 360 Brothers in Arms: Hell's. Highway > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 20-PLAYER ONLINE} > PUBLISHER UBISOFT > DEVELOPER GEARBOX > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 23 > ESRB M THE-ENDLESS WAR he body count of Hitler's misguided military ambitions and the resulting global retaliation is estimated to be around 50 to 70 million. After playing the hundreds of WWII shooters publishers shoved down our throats over the last 10 years, I've taken down nearly as many Nazis. The latest title trudging back into this all-too-familiar war is Brothers in Arms, a series known for its dedication to production values and tactical gunfights. The latest entry, Hell's Highway, rejoins 101st Airborne squad leader Matt Baker. His team has been assigned a forward mission to capture several bridges and the Dutch city of Eindhoven in the opening stages of Operation Market Garden, the ® Like Adam, the solders wind down with impromptu doo-wap sessions 122 GAME INFORMER largest airborne battle in history. Baker is also deal- ing with the guilt of withholding information from his squad regarding the death of their fellow soldiers during the Normandy invasion. Through a series of flashbacks, we witness Baker and his squad dealing with the toll of war in different ways — some clinging to superstition, others questioning their objectives, and Baker internally struggling with his leadership decisions. The cutscenes feature superb facial ani- mations, articulate direction, and voice acting worthy of Band of Brothers. As Baker and company dig into the trenches, the familiar BIA strategy takes hold. With each set piece skirmish, you must navigate your squads through the Dutch countryside to find cover posi- tions, suppress the enemy, and execute flanking maneuvers to eliminate the hostiles. Your squad is largely composed of Yanks with poor aim, so most of the kills will come from the barrel of your М1 Garand. Picking good cover positions is paramount, as wooden objects like fences m Grenades? Check. Gun? Check. Vest? Check. Helmet? Aw s@#$! and barrels won't withstand the fire of a Nazi МР40 (couches, however, can absorb entire clips). Hell's Highway mixes up the action by introducing solo building clearing objectives and larger scale firefights where Baker commands three squads at once. While the tactical nuts and bolts of the previous games holds up, the mission selection does not. Hell's Highway traverses too many well-worn paths. Seasoned veterans may find themselves yawning through clichés like clearing villages with a tank, a token sniper sequence, wine cellar shootouts, and the famed “you lost all your weapons, get by with a pistol” mission. Whereas titles like Call of Duty 4 take missions like a sniper sequence and breathe life into them with new perspectives, Brothers in Arms is content presenting something you've played 100 times before. Some of the controls could also use some polish. The general squad direction, aiming, and shooting mechanics are all solid, but the game needs a more effective grenade tossing system, melee attack for close-quarters combat, and a refined sprint control that lets you easily control your direction. Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway is a competent tactical shooter blessed with a dedication to nar- rative rarely seen in shooters. If Gearbox can build off this success with more inventive gameplay, the series has a chance of overcoming the boredom that curses so many WWII titles —BERTZ BOTTOM LINE 7 75 1 > Concept: Continue Matt Baker's story by shooting and strategizing your way through the opening stages of Operation Market Garden > Graphics: Fantastic cutscenes, superb facial animations, and impressive use of depth of field, but the game suffers from seri- ous texture pop-up > Sound: Earnest voiceovers and a solid theatrical score > Playability: Accommodating as can be. Choose your control scheme from classics like Halo, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six, or the BIA default > Entertainment: Hell's Highway doesn't offer gameplay or multiplayer innovation, but the production is top notch > Replay Value: Moderate Basing your game around Operation Market Garden — a less-than-successful attempt by the Allies to push into the German industrial heartland — is a bad omen. With a little hard work, how- ever, this third game in the Brothers in Arms series sur- vives to fight another day, albeit not exactly unscathed. Hell's Highway is preoc- cupied with its multi-game spanning story, but | never felt that the game hit the high notes necessary to make it more than an above-average strategic shoot ‘em up. It struggles to deliver much that is inspiring apart from its bread-and-butter, flank-the- enemy set pieces. These can definitely be fun, especially as the game uses next-gen graphics to up the eye candy, but they remain largely unchanged from the previ- ous Brothers titles. The new cover system at least makes a difference; although not perfect, its beauty lies in that itallows you to move and shoot from multiple positions in the same cover sitting. Isa wrinkle of versatility in an otherwise by-the-num- bers effort. —KATO PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 Fracture > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 12-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER LUCASARTS > DEVELOPER DAY 1 STUDIOS > RELEASE OCTOBER 7 » ESRB T RESHAPING THE BATTLEFIELD he oil economy. Stem cell research. Global warming. Today's hot topics are used to paint an unsettling future in Day 1 Studios end of the world epic, Fracture. In the year 2161, the United States government has collapsed under the public's opposing ideologies of genetic and ecological research. Civil war erupts, leaving the eastern and westem states morally opposed and at each other's throats. The west forms the West Republic of Pacifica, a faction deeply entrenched in forcing genetic evolution on its people, whereas the east, now called the East Atlantic Alliance, believes cybernetics will lead mankind to its next age. Players don't get to pick a side in the conflict. The game places you in the role of Atlantic Alliance soldier Jet Brody moments before he embarks on a covert op deep within Pacifican territory. When Brody is introduced, the political intrigue, analogies to modern day issues, and any semblance of the plot continuing in an intelligent way are washed away and forgotten. The story devolves into level after level of lifeless radio chatter and uninteresting plot twists. The story falls dead within minutes, but the game's ability to deliver mass destruction sends a pounding pulse through most of the action. With gre- nades specially designed to alter the shape of the terrain, battlefields are reshaped on the fly to look nothing like they did before you entered them. The terrain deformation technology is beautifully integrated into the firefights, allowing players to quickly raise a hill in front of them to provide protec- tion from sniper fire, or to lower the ground so a pile of rocks loosens and tumbles onto an entrenchment of heavily armed adversaries. This game also doesn't hold back on firepower. From land-changing gre- nades to its ridiculously powerful guns, there isn't a weapon in this game that won't put a devilish smile on your face. Great fun comes from blowing apart the terrain and anyone brave enough to stand on it, but a lot of the joy is dependent on player creativity. Most of the Al adversaries don't know how to handle mid to long- range attacks, so it's easy to fall into the lazy routine of removing enemies from afar. As games have taught us, the path of least resistance is the key to victory, and Fracture gives you this cushion. As comfy as it is, sitting back in a safe zone isn't fun. The real excitement comes when you dive headfirst into battles with grenades flying. Depending on how you play, it can feel like a blasé shooting gallery or a groundbreaking experience. Solid controls allow players to dictate their fate on the battlefield, but the inconsistent auto-targeting can lead to some sure hits bouncing off of invis- ible barriers and headshots hitting the torso. The game's biggest problem, however, is its inability to pull players into the action. The non-aggressive Al coupled with the repetitive enemy clusters gets old quick. A vehicle level is introduced late in the game, and while it offers some high-flying and terrain deformation-related thrills, it's not enough to resuscitate interest in a game that makes you work hard for your enjoyment. Fracture's multiplayer takes а cue from Halo's "it takes a ton of hits to drop a foe" design, so you really have to work for your kills. It's а good test of skill that makes you use grenades and a variety of weapons. The maps are designed with terrain deformation in mind, and usually end up looking like beautiful messes at the conclusion of a match. The match types are fun, but there isn't much depth to the multi- player experience. Fracture comes close to great- ness, but the storys disappearing act, half-hearted approach to level design, and poor enemy Al holds it back from being anything other than mediocre —REINER > Concept: A standard shooter with some amazing terrain defor- mation powers > Graphics: Jet Brody is a detailed character, but ends up looking like an Unreal reject. The terrain deformation produces some great visuals, but the envi- ronments don't catch the eye > Sound: The excellent Star Wars-like soundtrack ups the intensity and is something | wouldn't mind throwing on my iPod > Playability: Blowing the crap out of the ground may sound boring, but it is where most of Fracture's thrills lie, as the lack- luster Al holds the shooting back > Entertainment: Multiplayer is well done, but the single- player game is riddled with too many holes > Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion 6.75 Fracture opens with а. cutscene detailing ап America gripped in a civil war over a dispute regard- ing genetic engineering, an ambitious issue for a video game to tackle. Sadly, instead of subtly exploring the topic á la BioShock, it's quickly dropped in favor of generic shoot ‘em up action and mindless comm chat- ter. With no drama to sup- port it, the gameplay has to stand on its own, a task it largely fails to do. The terrain deforming powers are a пісе idea; Үт sure it sounded great when it was suggested in a meeting two years ago. However, the levels rarely manage to give you interest- ing ways to use your powers, outside of a (very) few intriguing puzzles. While the weapon selection is nice, the targeting is outright flawed at times. It's even more frus- trating given the fact that the only design apparent in the battles is a constant bar- Tage of ambushes — which is further exacerbated by an annoying over-reliance on camera shake and some terribly placed checkpoints. The chaos caused by mul- tiple fraggers creating hills and valleys at will translates into some interesting multi- player, but even that portion of the game feels average at best. Fracture is a strong concept undone by poor execution. —MATT PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | Wii | PLAYSTATION 2 ТМА Impact > STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER FIGHTING (UP TO 4-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER MIDWAY > DEVELOPER MIDWAY > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 9 > ESRB T A NEW CHALLENGER NA Impact reminds me of a bratty little kid. You know the type, always running around making bold claims, kicking people in the shins, and talking about how big and strong he's going to be when he grows up. Since he's just a kid, you have to give him the benefit ofthe doubt — someday he might accomplish impressive things. However, right now he's still just a punk. Since TNA Impact is the first entry based on Spike TV's wrestling series, it doesn't have any previous experience to build from. That explains some of the game's limitations: a thin create-a- wrestler mode, the lack of female competitors, and the fact that you can list all the game's weap- ons on one finger (folding chairs only, come оп!). Those are understandable, but I'm less forgiving about Impact's greater faults. The game's Al, espe- cially in tag team matches, has obviously taken a few too many shots to the head. My partner refused to come to the rescue when | needed him, and sometimes interrupted me when | was doing well. It's almost like someone was paying my Al partner under the table to throw our bouts. The game pulls off a few impressive moves. The sweaty man graphics look good, the simplified control system is super friendly, and even though the animation suffers from clipping and leads to a few glitches, it's still impressively fluid. Impact's most unique mode, the Ultimate X match — which wrestlers scramble above the ring to untie a large red X — also offers a nice change of pace from the standard wresting brawls. Ultimately, TNA Impact just feels limited, but it shows some prom- ise. If it continues to work hard and eat it's veg- gies, then it just might grow up to be a big strong wrestler someday.—BEN ‘tne 6.5 > Concept: Spike TVs Thursday night hit, which features wrestlers like Christian Cage, Kurt Angle, and Shark Boy, finally makes its way to a console near you > Graphics: Sweaty guys look as good as they are going to, and the animations transition flaw- lessly between attacks > Sound: Annoying in-game commentary, as the TNA announcers seemingly go out of their way to get under your skin > Playability: The game only boasts 25 pro wrestlers, which wouldn't be such a big deal if they all felt original. But many wrestlers share a lot of moves, making the roster seem that much smaller > Entertainment: Nine differ- ent modes, including a story mode, is enough for casual players, but hardcore fans will want more > Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion 5.75 Holding true to the brutal nature of the show, TNA Impact's gameplay dishes out a ton of pain. The laugh- able Al is deserving of a smack to the forehead, and if your body is flexible, the shoddy dipping and phys- ics demand a knee to one's ‘own face. The gameplay mechanics are sound – until bodies pass through each other, attacks don't register, and transitional timing has you doing moves you didn't intend. Without polish, all of this game's potential is thrown out of the ring. The Al difficulty increases with each passing match, leav- ing little margin for error, let alone the glitches you have no control over. The only real joy for me came from the story, which soars beyond ludicrous speed to flat out stupidity. All told, this game is worth of a laugh, just don't beat yourself up. trying to play it REINER GAME INFORMER 123 PLAYSTATION 3 МВА 09: The Inside A > STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER SPORTS (2-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT BioShock > DEVELOPER SAN DIEGO STUDIOS > RELEASE OCTOBER 7 > ESRB E > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER 2K GAMES > DEVELOPER 2K MARIN/2K. BOSTON/2K AUSTRALIA/DIGITAL. EXTREMES > RELEASE OCTOBER 21 > ESRB М PLAYSTATION 3 PLAYSTATION 3 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER RACING (16-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER ACTIVISION > DEVELOPER EUTECHNYX > RELEASE AUGUST 27 > ESRB E "ЕЛҮ (thas been over a year since BioShock's original OLD SCHOOL SKILLS 9 release and itis still a magnificent game. This version is a completely faithful transfer, and a great way for PS3 owners to experience this gaming masterpiece. Unfortunately, there is really no incen- eaturing an encyclopedic BOTTOM selection of Ferraris LINE past and present and i a fiercely demanding > Concept An шш m tive to repurchase for anyone who difficultly curve, Ferrari Challenge ia Шы. ing gameplay played the 360 or PC versions. A super- PO STE RIZED Trofeo Pirelli aims squarely at a hard difficulty mode has been added specific target audience. | have > Graphics: It looks fine, but for fanatics, but the most notable new BA 09 is like the hard-working, highly touted y a feeling that this demographic te wel Gene the photoes features are the mandatory installa- draft pick that never pans out. It spends the cae occ eee is more likely to purchase the Eli tion and the ability to pay for exclusive. entire offseason working on adding new skills flatine on the court game with Euros than the ailing rera vd н everyone told it to adopt (a franchise mode), > Graphics: Players ide across greenback. music in the menus, and the rest Network. ТЫҚ was undoubtedly but in doing so neglected the traits that got it to the the court with this limited anima- Though the game features is a nice mix of electronic and the best game of 2007, but after a year Association in the first place (The Life mode) and failed tion set only one manufacturer, the rock tracks with so little extra polish, its luster has to address fundamentals altogether. > Sound: The lifeless com list of cars is exhaustive (with > Playability: Extremely chal- diminished slightly —JOE With gliding players prone to stepping out of bounds, ^ mentator should be shelved for more promised through later lenging, but there are some animations that lock you out of reactionary movement, ^ someone with a pulse downloads) — and hey, Ferrari options for beginners like track PLAYSTATION 3 and lackluster commentary, the on-court action offers a > playability: Scoring is known to make some pretty шаш m А similar dose of mediocrity as years past. The low post a breeze, but good luck hot rides. The cars handle how > Entertainment А US Buzz Quiz TV game is a mess, the strategy suffers from simplicity, playing defense I imagine the real cars do; Бел depth siihe esi e > STYLE 1 TO 8 PLAYER BOARD GAME and the defensive system lacks the sophistication (and > Entertainment: Buy a they are high performance but on the market (UP TO 4-PLAYER ONLINE) usefulness) of its competition. used copy of any NBA Live extremely temperamental. You'd — Replay Value: High > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER МВА 08 mysteriously lacked the series’ only respect- 9! 2K game and you'll have a be well advised to pay close ` ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER able mode, The Life. This year it returns, but The belle ine attention during the tutorials with Second Opinion RELENTLESS SOFTWARE > RELEASE Life isn't what it used to be. This version offers three > Replay Value: Moderate British racing legend Tiff Needell. SEPTEMBER 23 > ESRB T stories so short and devoid of drama they completely Take a tum five miles-per-hour Uke buying a Ferrari without undermine the spirit of the idea. Speaking of ideas, too fast and you'll end up in the power windows or remote Sony finally realized sports fans love franchise modes dirt, even with the assist func- E ст Ор ш and included one. It's a noble first effort, but this bare tions turned on. Still, a real sat- pud de ds bones attempt lags behind the competition with an isfaction comes with mastering Ferrari Challenge is the с ugly user interface, nonexistent trade chatter, simplistic the serpentine courses. racing game for impatient. contracts, no player scouting, and no personality man- The game's presentation people. You start the game agement. The online modes are equally uninspiring. е5 is drier than а good bottle of with a Ferrari F430, which м Taken as a whole, NBA O9 feels like a last-generation The Life is welcomed back Chablis. Outside of a collectible is sortof like being bom | воттом ине "e core Buzz quiz show basketball game. Given its poor performance year in wn m [SUE ҮДЕ an ere and one ed шшш 8.25. ur d and year out, the game should either retire or spend т ete s features, there's little in the Ў ie Вылі i ini i Т di ЖТ зет t а presented by Forza 2 or GRID. that you can't modi these new wireless controllers rule, though each cannot be paid in terms Basically, you peruse menus cars. The driving mechanics they require eight AA batteries (which of both time and drama. For and race, gradually unlocking feel good; pushing a bunch are not included). The new online play instance, in one story | went new Ferraris and tracks. The of Italian monsters to their is great for trivia fanatics who can't round pretty quickly from my NBA car damage is very minimal limits without panicking up three other people every time they debut to winning the cham- and seems to have no efed about scratching the paint is want to play, but the user-created quiz- pionship without much fan- on performance. However, the certainly exciting. | just wish zes are by far the best addition. These fare. On the court, I like that 1691 ii ^ there was more race variely eight-question packs cover absolutely this year's game punishes Player online races are a here to help differentiate this anything (Wii, cereal, Guitar Hero tracks, you more for foolish passes, great feature, especially because from other, fully featured, etc). Quiz creation is handled at the although the players tend you can create your own racers BEN 2 easy-to-use MyBuzzQuiz.com, and to slide around the court team identity to race against anyone can play them for free. | just and can find themselves your friends. wish you could create а custom quiz surprisingly out of bounds In light of all the changes in the racing genre during the Playlist — BRYAN т. x last five years, Ferrari Challenge feels like an anachronism. vous With bou THe Life Still, the hardcore racing sim is underrepresented on the PS3, and genre devotees should find this a suitable substitu- tion until the endlessly delayed Gran Turismo 5 is released. Everyone else should look elsewhere for his or her automo- tive thrills —MATT 124 GAME INFORMER and a franchise mode, this series is better than it's ever been, even as it's finding its place among the other NBA games.—KATO IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, z YOU CAN BUILD IT. eS, You can build fantasti Cartoon Violence Comic Mischief ing SimCity Creatót, % is better than jumping off one of... * E these skyscapers;, i; e: SimCity Creator > STYLE 1-PLAYER SIMULATION > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS > DEVELOPER THE SIMS STUDIO > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 22 > ESRB E @ ...or dying that's where the praise stops BURN IT TO THE GROUND can't think of a single reason to recommend SimCity Creator. If you like the SimCity series, the game is borderline sacrilegious. If you don't...well, l'm starting to under- stand why. This title starts with the framework of the classic '90s SimCity games, then falls face-first down the evolutionary ladder. Players assume the position as mayor to create zones, build roads, and generally tend to the populace. You might think such an uncomplicated formula would be hard to screw up, but wait until you try it with motion con- trols. Placing roads is hopelessly broken, especially since the tiles don't snap to a grid. Sure, it lets you make curved roads (who cares?!), but at the expense of turning your little town into an ugly and asymmetrical aberration. The rest of the game is equally uncooperative. With a terrible menu system and finicky camera controls, the game makes practi- cally no effort to draw you in. If it controlled well, it might feel like a nostalgic homage to the old days...but it doesn't. The inclu- sion of features like hero build- ings and various advisors can't reclaim any lost ground when the core gameplay is so cluttered and cumbersome. It's just pathetic. . and that's coming from someone who enjoyed SimCity Societies! Some games run into problems trying to be everything to everyone, but SimCity Creator suf- fers from the opposite affliction. It doesn't try to be anything to anyone. Well, that's one thing it does right. —JOE BOTTOM 1 LINE 5 > Concept: Pollute the gaming public's fond memories of classic SimCity titles > Graphics: At least you won't be looking at them for long > Sound: Why is the game crying? Oh, wait. Thats me > Playability: Navigation is erratic and imprecise - truly a monu- ment to terrible usage of the Wii's motion controls > Entertainment: | was smiling ‘once | turned it off. Does that count? > Replay Value: Low Second Opinion 6 Here is yet another Wii Ше that exists for no other reason than to fill a perceived market. niche on the system. SimCity Creator lacks a great deal of depth in comparison to the recent PC titles, and does little to make up for its fail- ings. The awkward control scheme makes you long for the days of playing SimCity ‘on your SNES, and new fea- tures like taking a helicopter ride over your city or the gimmicky “hero buildings” do little to add more than fleeting moments of interest. to the terribly dull proceed- ings. If the Wii is the only gaming system you own (that includes prior generations of hardware) and you abso- lutely must play a SimCity game, then this might be worth the time. Everyone else, you have much better ‘ways to scratch that urban planning itch —MATT Wii Active Life: Outdoor Challenge > STYLE 1 TO 2-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER NAMCO BANDAI > DEVELOPER NAMCO BANDAI > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 9 > ESRB E It would have been smart for | Namco Bandai to release this т before Wii Fit, but it helps that " Active Life is cheaper ($60) and most likely easier to find. Tackling the relatively brief career mode is sweat-inducing fun in the harder difficulties, and | enjoyed the retro Power Pad appeal. However, the pad constantly needs to be re-centered in front of your TV and it's not wide enough for two adults to squeeze onto. It's also easy to accidentally hit pause in the middle of gameplay, and there just aren't enough activities for long term exercise interest. —BRYAN BOTTOM LINE 126 GAME INFORMER Wii Line Rider 2: Unbound > STYLE |-PLAYER PUZZLE > PUBLISHER GENIUS PRODUCTS > DEVELOPER INXILE ENTERTAINMENT > RELEASE OCTOBER 6 > ESRB E Wii Wii The original Flash version of Line BOTTOM LINE 6 25 for a tiny guy to sled through. “= Unbound maintains that creative aspect (including online level sharing) and adds in a puzzle campaign to deepen the experience. Patching in missing sections of track with various line types is a fun mental test, but several things bring down the experience. Unclear instructions mixed with an unintuitive interface prevent new riders from getting up to speed. You can't save puzzle progress, so if it's half-finished and you have to take off, you must restart it all over again. Don't forget to go into the sound options and turn off the god-awful music—BRYAN Rider is about drawing a landscape Samba de Amigo > STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER MUSIC > PUBLISHER SEGA > DEVELOPER GEARBOX > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 25 > ESRB E ТТІ This packed-to-the-brim remake ШІ of the Dreamcast classic handles 6 8 75 many features admirably, from crisp and bright graphics to the presence of just about any toe-tapping Latin-party dance tune you could request. The big question is how the Wii remote controls work in replace- ment of the old maracas. Sadly, many enthusiasts will be frustrated. While the functionality is okay, the faster movements required on the higher difficulties frequently don't register as you switch between notes - resulting in failures you don't deserve. It cripples what is otherwise a fun return to maraca-shaking goodness. Other music games have stepped light years beyond what's going on in the gameplay here, but the pure insanity on screen and variety of modes should be enough to make even jaded video game rockers crack a smile.— MILLER Rock Revolution > STYLE 1 TO 5-PLAYER MUSIC > PUBLISHER KONAMI > DEVELOPER HB STUDIOS > RELEASE OCTOBER 14 »ESRBT This holiday season, many unsuspecting shoppers will buy this profound mistake of a music game, seeing “Rock” in the title and assuming it must be the game their loved one wants. They will be wrong, and many tears will result. Barely functional remote-shaking mechan- ics may cause some players to turn the game off before their wrists begin to hurt, and the rest will go to sleep that night with equal measures of frus- tration and arm pain. The decent song list is squan- dered through some awful covers, and the music creation tool is laughably bad. Animation loops only a few seconds long dominate the background scenes during play, and even the scrolling track is handled poorly — the scrolling speed actually changes between slow and fast sections, resulting in jarring transitions. This is a shameless cash-in on a popular formula. Don't give Konami the satisfac- tion of duping you.—MILLER BOTTOM LINE | 4.75 Modern contro for classic games. The Wing™ Wireless Controller is a totally awesome way іо breathe new life into Wii™ Virtual Console™ games. Enjoy up lo ten feet of wireless freedom — no cord connection іо the Wii Remote™ required. Space-age technology delivers up to 30 hours of playtime on Iwo AAA batteries - or play into Ihe future using a USB cable and any standard rechargeable balteries*. It’s the ultimate control for Ihe next generation of gamers. *USB Cable and Rechargeable batteries not included. Available at your favorite retailer. Ог turn on your personal computer and б go іо the World Wide Web: www.nyko.com. Ask your parents for help! NYKO ©2008 NYKO. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Spore > STYLE 1-PLAYER SIMULATION/STRATEGY > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS > DEVELOPER MAXIS > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 7 > ESRB E10+ ш The tribal phase is a pared-down RIS, where | you collect a single resource whil 1 befriending other tribes E: E There are some unfriendly races in the galaxy that may attack your planet while you're off doing space things LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING apturing the evolution of a civilization in a video game is an ambitious undertaking. The degree to which Spore excels in that endeavor is remarkable, but it isn't even the best part of the game. In my time with Spore, | соп- stantly caught myself thinking back to middle school science class; | remembered looking through a microscope for the first time, and contemplating the difference between 100 years and 100,000 years. Whether you're a microbe or a galactic superpower, a thrill of discovery flows through Spore's every peak and valley. At first, the game is fairly simplistic. The first four evolutionary phases (cell, creature, tribal, and civiliza- tion) are not particularly challenging or complex, and therein lies Spore's greatest weakness. For a signifi- cant portion of the game, the streamlined versions of popular action and real-time strategy mechanics often feel like they exist solely to give players more excuses to play with the creature, vehicle, and city editors. However, the value of exploring those cre- ation tools is not something to dismiss; the editors forge an early connection with the player. Guiding the survival of a civilization you create - right down to the clothes on creatures’ backs and the roofs over BLACK SHEEP their heads — provides a level of ownership that no other game can match. It also adds insane replay potential; before | even finished the creature phase, | had ideas for at least three other species that | couldn't wait to bring to life. While most of the buzz around Spore has sur- rounded the early phases, the space phase is where Spore strips away its simplistic veneer in favor of true depth. Unlike previous stages, this one is built for the long haul, and is the perfect culmination of your species' years of evolution. Taking inspira- tion from classic space exploration titles like Space Rogue, you hop between star systems, find allies (and enemies), and form colonies on new planets. | sunk hours into this section, traveling to the far- thest corners of space in search of suckers to buy my spice at ludicrously high prices. Even with all of these options, the game's interface remains inge- nious in its accessibility. Whether you want to play at politics, manipulate economics, or expand your empire, the final phase of the game delivers Spore's most engaging gameplay. If you like other Maxis games like SimCity and The Sims, it doesn't necessarily mean Spore is for you. This time around, forces work in direct opposition to the player. It's not like The Sims, where you can just sit around and proceed at your leisure; if you don't keep your eye on the prize (especially in the tribal and civilization phases), other creatures can storm in and wipe you out. The presence of antagonism doesn't add a prohibitive degree of difficulty, but there is a sense of pressure and urgency in the simulation where there wasn't before. Whether that's good or bad just depends on your preference. 128 GAME INFORMER Even though there's no real multiplayer, Spore implements a unique (and successful) solution to facilitating player interaction. You can browse, down- load, and subscribe to other users' creations, creat- ing an ever-expanding pool of potential content. It creates an invested community even without tradi- tional multiplayer support; if you want, your world can be populated almost exclusively by the fruits of your friends’ imaginations. Even after years of hype and seemingly impossi- ble promises, Spore is astounding in scope and exe- cution. The creation tools are amazing, the interface is brilliant, and the game's ability to harness player creativity is unparalleled. The mechanics of the indi- vidual phases can make the moment-to-moment interaction with the game feel shallow, but the expe- rience as a whole is thought-provoking and — most importantly — genuinely entertaining —JOE > Concept: Mold a space-faring super race from scratch, or just play with the editors to make creatures, spaceships, and more > Graphics: What you see often depends on what you and other users have made, but the stylized art provides consistency. Unfortunately, frequent pop-up issues detract from the beauty > Sound: Ambient music doing what it does best = it fills the space, but never grabs your attention > Playability: No matter what you're doing, the controls and interface are excellent > Entertainment: Even at its most simplistic points, it contin- ues to entertain and inspire > Replay Value: High Second Opinion 1 5 From single cell organism to world-conquering spaceman, Spore's journey through evo- lution starts out simple, but after millions of years of pro- gression (or roughly seven hours of gameplay), trans- forms into a complicated masterpiece. Throughout the entire experience, play- ers assume the role of god. Using remarkably flexible creation tools, you determine the look of your species, and then through the gameplay that follows, must define its morality. Will my creature be an herbivore or a carnivore? Is violence the answer to peace? Should my people embrace religion? Should this planet be terra formed? Questions like these give way to an unbelievably high level of replay. Even as my first creature was evolving, | found myself getting excited for my second and third playthroughs. As enthrall- ing as this experience is, Spore stumbles a bit with its gameplay, as many of its evo- lutionary phases lack depth and end up feeling more like samplings of a game rather than a fully featured experi- ence. With that said, the game is always fun. Whether 1 was conquering a world or spending far too much time in the editor making the most grotesque creature imaginable, Spore captured my imagination and kept me thoroughly engrossed every step of the way.—REINER. Bi In (own, you design your city hall, houses, factory, and entertainment facilities. Only one design for each building сап be active, though ^ | I HEOTHER WILL BE JEALOUS, WELL, JEALOUS DEAD. GET ACCESS TO THE FAST, ACCURATE M1A1 MATURE 17+ - Blood and Gore Intense Violence 43 ІШЕ ‘GameStop ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org Power to the players S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: C ear Sky > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 16-PLAYER ONLINE) > PUBLISHER DEEP SILVER > DEVELOPER GSC GAMEWORLD > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 15 > ESRB M LESS PAIN, LESS GAIN ast year's STALKER: Shadow of Chemobyl was an unusual title. It pushed the boundaries of what we thought FPS was capable of in some areas: craft- ing a compelling atmosphere, simulating a post-apocalyptic struggle for survival, and presenting a world that truly reacted to the player's actions. In other ways, it was a perfect example of rough, frustrat- ing design and a startling lack of technical polish; poor performance and punishing tedium marred the experience from beginning to end. Clear Sky, while in many ways a re- release of the first game with a different plotline and new content to explore, evens out the peaks and valleys of its predecessor. The technical and design irritations are decidedly less abrasive, but to its detri- ment, this world lacks the stun- ning realism of the original. Objectively, the changes to S.TA.LKE.R's mechanics between iterations are for the better. Armor and weapons can be upgraded and repaired by certain NPCs (in the origi- nal, the inevitable degrada- tion of your equipment was irreversible and endlessly annoying), and what you have access to is dependent on what you've done to upgrade that faction's capabilities. Tying the RPC-like progression of equipment to the world in this way is a great way to invest players in their decisions of who to help. The new inter- 130 GAME INFORMER face for seeing what's going on between the different factions makes it much easier to make those decisions, as well. For reasons difficult to quantify, the atmosphere isn't quite as unique or compelling in this release. The story feels more contrived, and lacks the intriguing mystery of the origi- nal; since it's a prequel, fans already know the outcome. This title's focus on explor- ing Strelok's (the first game's protagonist) backstory isn't terribly exciting; the Zone itself is a more interesting character than any person in the fiction. Putting explicit numbers about the factional conflicts at the player's fingertips, as great as it is for power-gaming your next equipment upgrade, degrades the verisimilitude of the simulation. Much of the original's draw was that you didn't have access to anything that your character logically would. Breaking those fourth- wall barriers, though nice from a strict game design stand- point, denigrates the game's greatest strength: conveying the clawing desperation of trying to scrape together an existence in the hellfire-blasted Chernobyl Zone. It's not that Clear Sky is a bad game. It just doesn't strike the same resonant chord that made the original's many flaws forgivable.—ADAM BOTTOM LINE 7.75 > Concept: Make some tweaks to the mechanics of last year's ambitious FPS, and tell a new story set prior to that game's events > Graphics: The engine runs better on modest hardware this time around, and the atmo- sphere is still top-notch > Sound: Few titles integrate audio into the gameplay this well. Enemies, anomaly detec- tors, the environment, and Geiger counters all require close attention > Playability: Fast travel and equipment repair alleviate a lot of the original's tedium > Entertainment: Flawed in some ways and brilliant in oth- ets, this fixes some issues while failing to entirely recreate the magic of the first title > Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion 7.25 STALKER’s peculiar blend ‘of RPG and FPS action is stil intriguing, but my second visit to the radiation-poi- soned fields of Chernobyl was less enjoyable. Exploring the haunting post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with mutated beasts and rivaling factions is worth the price of admis- sion when the game runs well, but consistency is fleet- ing. Many of my problems from the first game — a poor inventory system, conversa- tion text that appears on top. of the person you're talk- ing to, and an archaic save system that will have you Teaching for F5 every other minute — are still present. Combined with crippling bugs, like missions failing to end after you've com- pleted the objectives and storyline critical traders inex- plicably closing their busi- ness constantly, this mess derails an otherwise exciting voyage through the omi- nous Russian backcountry. Maybe a patch will fix these blatant problems, but they should have been addressed beforehand —BERTZ NINTENDO DS Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood THE TIME HAS COME intendo signed a triple- ARPG developer to translate Mario's great- ness into a deeper experience than the limiting platformer genre. Square's Super Mario RPG on SNES paved the way for several great Mario-themed RPGs on por- table and home consoles alike. While former rival Sega may be over a decade late to the party, getting Sonic Chronicles makes it worth the wait. The story follows a standard plotline of Sonic mainstays joining together to take down a common enemy. But the characters So many gamers have grown to hate over the years are actually well written and likeable. Eggman's villain ego shows some amusing tamish after con- stant defeat at the hands of Sonic, Big the Cat is sat- isfyingly stupid, and it turns out that Cream is one of the most useful party members. Fans are finally treated to dialogue suitable for someone over five years old, and haters will love having the option to be a total Prick to all of Sonic's friends. The turn-based combat maintains a nice level of dif- ficulty, and the Elite Beat Agents-inspired inputs keep you on your toes and create some great tension as they become more and more com- plex. Sonic's speedy pacing is on display here with several quick action options per party member for every battle round. However, if you get distracted during one of these rounds it can seriously screw you over, since there's no way to pause the action. Character skills play off each other well and the team-up moves stir up Chrono Trigger memories. Enemies are decently varied, but robots especially fall prey to too much palette swapping. The colorful hand-drawn maps are fun to explore in search of Chao eggs, rings, and secret paths. Side missions drift into banal fetch quests and escorts, but it helps that they're short and sprinkled with humor (finding Some reading material for a guy in an outhouse, for example). Puzzles almost always involve placing your party on pressure pads, but | was surprised at the variety squeezed out of this mechanic. Sonic Chronides is good for dedicated (and lapsed) fans, the BioWare faithful, and anyone just looking for a decent RPG on DS.— BRYAN T ME 2. > Concept: Have a respected outside developer repair Sonic's reputation > Graphics: Impressive hand- drawn environments mesh well. with 50 character models > Sound: No annoying voices! Killer guitar riffs! > Playability: Phantom Hourglass navigation works well and the active battle system. keeps you engaged > Entertainment: Sonic fans can hold their heads high once again > Replay Value: Moderately High Second Opinion Hey guys, have you played the new Sonic game? It's amazing! Also, there's this new band called Nirvana that's really great. ..singer's name is Kurt something- or-other. Given how much J enjoyed Sonic Chronicles, you'll have to forgive me for thinking | had warped back to the early ‘90s. BioWare's steady hand has transformed the aging platform star into a role-playing juggernaut in an infectious adventure that blends the depth of a traditional turn-based RPG with the breezy pace of an action game. While the Sonic gang can't manage the great humor and writing that typifies Mario's RPG titles, the battle system, level explora- tion, and character progres- sion offer miles more depth. | guess you can teach an old ‘hog new tricks —MATT NINTENDO 05 Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (2-PLAYER LOCAL OR ONLINE) > PUBLISHER KONAMI > DEVELOPER KONAMI > RELEASE XXX > ESRB X BACK TO THE WELL n many ways, this new 2D riff on Castlevania delivers everything a Belmont fan could want. On the other hand, it's yet another iteration of Symphony of the Night's decade-old design, and the brutally difficult boss battles leave little room for casual players to jump on the Castlevania train. On this latest quest to stop Dracula from engulfing the world in eternal evil, players guide a young heroine through a series of standalone stages, similarly to the structure of Portrait of Ruin. The leveling, skill progression, fighting, and exploration are exactly as you'd expect, with two exceptions: protagonist Shanoa's unique fighting style, and the occasional punishing boss battle. Rather than wielding weapons in the traditional fashion, Shanoa sum- mons power from glyphs that she absorbs throughout her quest. Every swing of a sword, cascade of light- ning, or explosion of holy wrath con- sumes magic points. However, her MP bar replenishes quickly when not attacking, so the depletion mechanic only comes into play when utiliz- ing attacks that would be drastically overpowered in any other Castlevania “Laura Was that à dream? title. Its a brilliant and well-balanced approach; the explosion of options creates much-needed variety in the combat without diluting the crucial tension of the fast-paced gameplay. This wonderful balancing does not extend to the boss battles. Many are unreasonably difficult — and we're talking the kind of fun-destroying frus- tration that most developers gave up on after the 16-bit years, not newfan- gled “grind a few levels until you can power through” cheese. You must memorize and flawlessly execute intricate dodge patterns and counter- attacks, in some cases for upwards of five minutes straight to chew through the enemy's inordinately massive health pool. Some hardcore gamers may enjoy the ritual masochism of repeated deaths, but several of Order of Ecclesia's bosses cross well over the line from “enjoyably challenging” to “unbearably frustrating” The game's greatness makes suffering through a few poorly designed bosses worth it for hardcore Castlevania fans and 2D action experts. But unlike many other titles in the franchise, | can't recom- mend this much beyond this limited demographic.— ADAM Last:thing I remember was а man walking in... BOTTOM LINE > Concept: Take another shot at the 2D Castlevania formula that's served fans for a decade > Graphics: The screens may be tiny, but the animation and art style shine through > Sound: When was the last time a Castlevania had average or worse music? Never, and this is no exception > Playability: Having two attack buttons is weird, but it works once you get used to it > Entertainment: This is a grand adventure, at least until you break your DS during one of the crazy-hard boss fights > Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion Konami must have cast a mystical spell of long life on this franchise. Despite regu- lar sequels, the series hasn't succumbed to the pitfalls of sequelitis. This entry hap- pily follows the traditional Castlevania groundwork. The game's art style, as always, stands out, and | love the new combat system that has you accquiring new glyph powers from fallen foes. The game replaces the familiar single map location with an overworld that has you traveling to different parts of the countryside. While this is cool at first, the deeper exploration elements from previous entries are now missing. The game is also. brutally hard, which might turn off even a few longtime fans. Even though it's clear that Konami is changing things to prevent the series from getting stale, let's hope these few missteps aren't a sign that the series is running out of steam.—BEN ANDHELD QUICKIES NINTENDO DS Time Hollow > STYLE 1-PLAYER ADVENTURE > PUBLISHER KONAMI > DEVELOPER KONAMI > RELEASE SEPTEMBER 23 > ESRB T ime Hollow, like any of the interactive novel titles on the DS, is a tough game for which to issue a blanket recommen- dation. In one sense, it isn't much of a game at all — you generally just go from place to place and scroll through text. On the other hand, elements of classic adventure games are alive and well, including an intriguing story and some compelling puzzles dealing with time manipulation. It's cool to see the ripples your actions in the past create in the present, but Time Hollow's characters and writing fall a little flat, which makes some sections incredibly dull. Thankfully, the satisfaction you feel when the pieces start falling into place makes it worth the effort — providing you don't expect any real action out of the gameplay.— JOE NINTENDO 05 Master of the Monster Lair > STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER ATLUS > DEVELOPER GLOBAL A ENTERTAINMENT > RELEASE OCTOBER 21 > ESRB Е10+ t's your goal to design a dungeon that attracts monsters. Some of these crea- tures seek a place to sleep, while others are looking for a trash heap to raid. You allow these monsters residency solely because you are going to kill them and loot their corpses for food, money, and items. As it turns out, the concept is far more entertain- ing than any of the gameplay. The dungeon building process offers no depth, and the combat system is a study in turn-based RPG basics. | got a kick out of seeing my char- acters grow stronger as the game went on. Additionally the story, which includes a talking shovel, offers some laughs. The gameplay just doesn't have enough meat on its bones to back up the concept.—REINER PSP Star Ocean: First Departure > STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER SQUARE ENIX > DEVELOPER TRI-ACE > RELEASE OCTOBER 21 > ESRB Т BOTTOM LINE s | was playing First Departure, | felt like an archaeologist discovering a missing piece of a long-lost civilization. From a historical perspec- tive, it's interesting to finally play the first game in this series, but the genre has evolved a lot since Tri-Ace first made the game during the 16-bit era. | can't say that the game is executed poorly; the combat works well and the revamped visuals make it look like the PSone sequel, Star Ocean: The Second Story. Regardless, the gameplay and plot show their age, blending into the sea of modern role-playing conventions. First Departure's main value lies in giving Tri-Ace fans like me an avenue to see Star Ocean's origin; for players who aren't interested in a history lesson, there isn't much here that is surprising or engaging —JOE САМЕ INFORMER 131 Recently І had a dream that | was playing Madden. Except that in the game | was naked and riding a unicorn. And instead of a ball, 1 was holding a pitcher of milk, which І poured on my opponents to turn them into potted azaleas. This dream was strange to me. Have you had this dream? If you have, send me an email. | think we should talk. 2 MADDEN NFL 09 (PS3) 1 love buffalo wings, but I've never seen a football player eat them. Why is that? It seems like a manly food to me. On a related note, | like to feed my dog baked beans. It gives him gas. Its really funny until he lies down next to my fireplace, setting my couch and belongings on fire. 3 MADDEN NFL 09 (PS2) Football players are my third favorite type of people — the first two being the guys who sell you pretzels during the game and women. I knew a kid in high school who talked about playing professional football when he grew up. He even got a scholarship for college. 1 don't know what happened to him after that. 1 didn’t say this was going to be interesting. 4 Wii FIT (Wii) 1 turn one day older today. Now I'm getting worried about my health. | think | should start to exercise more. The more you exer- cise the healthier you are, and it seems like the best place for you to do this is in your own home. | bought three copies of this game because more Wii Fit means losing weight faster. 5 MARIO KART Wii (Wii) 1 play Bingo on Thursdays with a group called Old People Who Share (come join us in the basement of the west wing of the hospital!), апа last week we ordered a pizza from a place called Goober's Pies. The pizza took two and a half hours to arrive. The crust was burnt. The cheese tasted too creamy. | didn't like it. ‘Afterwards | got sick. | tell you all this to warn you about playing too much Mario Kart on the Wii. 132 САМЕ INFORMER КЖ Rank Title EB Rhythm Heaven Rak | Title L Mo. [System] Score [release] > wii Fit Wii EN Blue Dragon Plus DS Madden NFL 09 МА | 360 | 8.25 0500 ТТ afrika PS3 ГТ J-League Winning Eleven 2008 PS2 ire Emblem: The Dark Dragon & the Madden NFL 09 МА | PS3 | 8.25 |04-08 | Sword of Light DS | Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly DS a | Bride Madden NFL 09 МА | Ps2 | 825 |06-08] E Daigasso! Band Brothers DX 05 ГІ Mario Kart Wii Wii [Û Inazuma DS Wii Fit 2 |Wi | 8 04-08 Ex Mario Kart Wii 7 | wi | 85 0408 Wii Play 4 | Wi | 7 {02-07 Soulcalibur IV 6 | 360 | 8.75 07-08 [2j N/A multi Too Human N/A | 360 | 6.75 (08-08 ТТ spore МА PC TT 1 muti Madden NFL 09 N/A | Wii | 8.25 104-08 [5 | Rock Band 2 2 multi Le юл ж N/A muli Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia NA DS Guitar Hero: On Tour 3 | DS | 7 06-08 © Sonic Chronicles: The Dark NAA DS | 9 Brotherhood Ей Civilization IV: Colonization 3 PC Super Mario Sluggers N/A | Wii | 55 |0808| | ТІ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 4 muli Soulcalibur IV 9 | ps3 | 8.75 07-08 New Super Mario Bros. 14 | DS | 925 [05-06 Mario Kart Wii 7 | Wi | 85 |0458 ы 3 p Title. i L. Mo. Price Mario and Sonic at the wa | os | wa faror) DE The Sims 2 Apartment Lite NA $26 Olympics EN World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest 4 $35 | Ê The Sims 2 Double Deluxe 2 $30 Super Smash Bros. Brawl 16 | Wii | 95 [03-08 Т World of Warcraft 7 $2 ЕН Spore Creature Creator 3 $10 Mario and Sonic at the 4 JÜ Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm | МА $42 Olympics ШЕШ Û Î World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade — 8 — $30 (ГТ The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff 5 $20 Madden NFL 09 МА | PSP | N/A |08-08 ГТ warcratt Ш Battle Chest 10 $39 ЕГІ Diablo Battle Chest 6 $39 Call of Duty 4: Modern NAR EDS Warfare Mario Party NA | DS | 7 [1107 Source: The NPD Group/NPD Funworld*/TRSTS* > David Riley 516-625-2277 Based On Monthly Units Sold ARCHIVE PLAYSTATION 3 Army of Two 75 Apr-08 Battle Fantasia 75 Oct-08 Battlefield: Bad Company 925 Ju-08 Bourne Conspiracy, The 675 Aug08 Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The 625 08 Civilization Revolution 9 Ju-08 Club, The 875 Mar08 Condemned 2: Bloodshot 875 Арг08 Conflict: Denied Ops 575 Apr-08 Dark Sector 75 May-08 Devil May Cry 4 9 Maro8 Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice 825 Sep-08 Enemy Territory: Quake Wars 8 — шов FaceBreaker 775 Основ Gran Turismo 5: Prologue 775 Jun-08 Grand Theft Auto IV 10 Jun-08 Grid 9 шов Guitar Hero: Aerosmith 8 Aug-08 Hail to the Chimp 4 — шов Haze 625 Juk08 Hellboy: The Science of Evil 70 шов Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds 8 May-08 Incredible Hulk, The 675 Aug-08 Iron Man. 375 Juk08 Kung Fu Panda 8 Ац 08 LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures 70 шов Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. 8 — Mar08 Lost: Via Domus 675 Apr08 Madden NFL 09 825 Sep-08 Mercenaries 2: World in Flames 725 Oc-08 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots 10 Juk08 MLB 08: The Show 85 May-08 MLB 2K8 85 Арг08 Monster Madness: Grave Danger 725 Aug-08 NASCAR 09 8 шов NBA Ballers: Chosen One 675 Jun-08 NCAA Football 09 825 Aug-08 NFL Head Coach 09 675 Sep-08 NHL 09 925 Ос-08 NHL 2K9 675 Oc-08 Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 775 May-08 Pure 85 Oc08 Rainbow Six Vegas 2. 925 Apr-08 Sega Superstars Tennis 725 May-08 SingStar 8 Ашов Soulcalibur IV 875 бер08 Star Wars: The Force Unleased 875 Oct-08 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 85 Oct-08 Top Spin 3 775 Aug-08 Turning Point: Fall of Liberty 3 Apr0B Viking: Battle for Asgard 725 May-08 Wall-E 4 Sep-08 Alone in the Dark 65 Аш08 Army of Two 75 Apr-08 Battle Fantasia 75 Осов Battlefield: Bad Company 925 Јов Bourne Conspiracy, Тһе 675 Aug08 Bully: Scholarship Edition 85 Арг08 Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian, The 625 шов Civilization Revolution 9 Jul-08 Club, The 875 Mar08 Command & Conquer 3 Kane's Wrath 725 Aug08 Condemned 2: Bloodshot 875 Apr-08 Conflict: Denied Ops 575 Арг08 Dark Messiah of Might & Magic: Elements 8 Аргов Dark Sector 75 May-08 Devil May Cry 4 9 Магов Don King Presents: Prizefighter 75 Aug-08 Enemy Territory: Quake Wars 8 ов FaceBreaker 775 Оов Frontlines: Fuel of War 725 Ар-о8 Grand Theft Auto IV 10 Jun08 Grid 9 шов Guilty Gear 2: Overture 625 Oct-08 Guitar Hero: Aerosmith 8 А08 Hail to ће Chimp 4 шов Hellboy: The Science of Evil 7 08 Incredible Hulk, Тһе 675 Аш 08 Infinite Undiscovery 8 Оов Iron Man 35 408 Jumper: Griffin's Story 125 Apr08 Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore Kung Fu Panda LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Lost Odyssey Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. Colonies Edition. Lost: Via Domus. Madden NFL 09 Mercenaries 2: World in Flames MLB 2K8 NASCAR 09 МВА Ballers: Chosen Оле NCAA Football 09 NFL Head Coach 09 NHL 09 NHL 2k9 Ninja Gaiden I Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Pure Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Rock Band 2 Sega Superstars Tennis Soulcalibur IV Spiderwick Chronicles, The Star Wars: The Force Unleased Supreme Commander Tales of Vesperia Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 Too Human Top Spin 3 Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Universe at War: Earth Assault Unreal Tournament 3 Viking: Battle for Asgard Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise Wall-E Zoids Assault Battle of the Bands Blast Works: Build Trade Destroy Bomberman Land de Blob - Wii Oct-08 Boom Blox Bully: Scholarship Edition Castle of Shikigami til de Blob Death Jt: Root of Evil Deca Sports Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleased Emergency Mayhem Final Fantasy Fables Chocobo's Dungeon Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return Jumper: Griffin's Story Karaoke Revolution Presents: ‘American Idol Encore Kung Fu Panda LEGO indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Major League Baseball 2K8 Mario Kart Wii Mario Super Sluggers Ninja Reflex Obscure: The Aftermath Okami Ороопа Order Up Pinball Hall of Fame: The Wiliams Collection Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Rock Band Sam & Max Season Оле Sega Bass Fishing Sega Superstars Tennis Super Smash Bros. Brawl Target: Terror Wall-E We Love Golf We Ski Wi Fit Wild Earth: African Safari Worms: A Space Oddity Jun-08 20-08 Apr-08 PLAYSTATION 2 Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 75 Аргов LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures 7 шов Mana Khemia: Alchemists of al-Revis 7 — May.08 Obscure: The Aftermath 3 May-08 Persona 3: FES 825 May-08 Twisted Metal: Head On: Extra Twisted Edition 725 Apr-08 Wall-E 4 Sep-08 Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures 8 — Aug-08 Alone in the Dark 65 AugoB Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition 9 Jun08 Civilization IV: Colonization 9 Oc08 Command 8. Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath May-08 Conflict: Denied Ops Apr-08 Frontlines: Fuel of War Lost Empire: Immortals Mass Effect 95 шов Obscure: The Aftermath 3 May-08 Seven Kingdoms: Conquest 4 May-08 Sins of a Solar Empire. 9 Apr08 Space Siege 6 Oct-08 Turning Point: Fall of Liberty 3 Арг08 Advance Wars: Days of Ruin 875 Mar-08 Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney 8 Mar-08 Assassin's Creed: Altai’s Chronicles 6 Арг08 Away: Shuffle Dungeon 75 Oc-08 Bangai-O Spirits 75 Sep-08 Civilization Revolution. 85 Aug08 Disgaea DS 8 оаов Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen 7 Oc08 Drone Tactics Jun-08 Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest 3 Apr08 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates 6 — Apros Final Fantasy IV 85 Aug-08 Final Fantasy Tactics А2 Grimoire of the Rift 8.75 шов From the Abyss 5 Ойов Guitar Hero: On Tour 7 Sep-08 Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. 675 Oc-08 Insecticide 575 May-08 Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles 6.5 — Jun-08 LOL 1 — Аш 08 Lost in Blue 3 625 Мау08 Major League Baseball 2K8: Fantasy All-Stars 55 Jun08 Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir 7 Oc08 Ne 875 Oct-08 New Intertational Track & Field 625 Oct-08 Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword 775 May-08 Pop Cutie! Street Fashion Simulation 75 Oct-08 Professor Layton and the Curious Village 75 Apros Puchi Puchi Virus 75 May-08 Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure 55 Оов Space Invaders Extreme 825 шов Summon Night: Twin Age 7 Jun-08 Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! 675 Мау08 Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 825 Aug08 World Ends With You, The 825 May-08 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy МІ 725 Арғ08 Dungeon Explorer: Warrior of Ancient Arts 6 Аргов FlatOut Head On 75 May-08 God of War: Chains of Olympus 9 Mar-08 Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 8 мов Ne 875 Oct-08 Patapon 875 Mar-08 R-Type Command Ju-08 Secret Agent Clank Ju-08 Space Invaders Extreme. Jul-08 Wild Arms XF 75 May-08 Wipeout Pulse 775 Арг08 N9IS30 | NOILVWINV SSINISNG LNIWNIVLYSLNG | Wild 1 сіну ONIGYO | NOILONGOYd MOHS S3NV9 0301Л 83M Master's | Bachelor's | Associate's Degrees 800.226.7625 - 3300 University Boulevard * Winter Park, FL 32792 Financial sid available to those who qualify • Career development assistance Accredited University, ACCSCT fullsail.edu Star Wars: The Force Unleashed @® The Call of the Dark Side By Rich Davis, Lead Systems Designer Star Wars: The Force Unleashed puts you in the role of Darth Vader's secret apprentice. Armed with devastating Force powers and a deadly red-bladed lightsaber, the secret apprentice is capable of taking on powerful Jedi warriors and elite Imperial troops. The following is a list of tips and tricks from the game designers that will allow you to dominate any threat that stands in your way. MASTERING THE FORCE The Secret Apprentice has a diverse arsenal of Force powers to use while crushing the opposition. In order to complete the game on the harder difficulties, it is critical to know. which power is best for which situation. Force Push - This is best used to blast foes into environmental hazards such as chasms and pits. It is also helpful in creating some breathing room when pressed by melee opponents. The strength of the push weakens with range, so for the best results, use push on nearby foes. Force Lightning - This skill deals enough damage to take out Stormtroopers, but its strongest effect is that it stuns enemies, canceling their attacks and holding them in place. You can then follow up with one of your slower, more devastating attacks. Be sure to level up Force Lightning to rank 2 as soon as you can - being able to lock down a small group of enemies will grant you an immense tactical advantage. Force Grip - This is your most versatile weapon. It can be used to throw enemies to their death, neutralize a single enemy, turn environmental objects into deadly weapons, and deal damage from extreme ranges. However, such power comes at 134 GAME INFORMER UNLIMITED ENABLED some risk – using Force Grip leaves you vulnerable to attack, so it is unwise to attempt it when enemies surround you. Use the following tips to improve your success with Force Grip attacks: * The Flick: Although it is fun to slam enemies around with the Force, sometimes there is no біте to delight in such amusements. To quickly use grip, just hold the Force Grip button long enough to lift your enemy off his feet, then - while pointing the left stick in any direction ~ immediately release the button to send him flying. With some practice, you can quickly send half a dozen enemies flying in the space of a few seconds. The Slam: Similar to the flick, sometimes you just want to use Force Grip to slam an enemy into the ground rather than send him flying. To do this, grip your enemy and then point the right stick down when you release the Force Grip button. If slamming your opponents face into the ground doesn't defeat him outright, he will be prone on the ground, and a ripe target for any number of follow-up attacks. The Grenade: One of the first combos you should unlock is the Lightning Grenade. This power will allow you to infuse your gripped target with Force Lightning. When the target impacts the environment, or collides with other enemies, a violent burst of energy is released, and anything nearby will be blasted off the ground and dealt significant damage. The Snipe: Most of your ranged attacks work out to a range of about 20 meters. With Force Grip, however, you can throw objects and enemies across the entire battlefield. Whenever you see enemies at a distance, look around to see if there is anything you can use to hurl at them while you remain safely out of range of their attacks. Force Repulse - This skill can be used as a panic button, knocking back all nearby foes with enough force to cause them damage, both when they are hit by the shockwave and when they slam into the environment. It activates extremely quickly, and is best used when surrounded or when you are being pressed back by melee attackers. Force Repulse can also be used offensively - try jumping in behind a turret emplacement and blasting it apart before it can respond. Lightsaber Throw - This is the ultimate damage-dealing Force Power. Be sure to rank it to at least rank 2, because the charged Lightsaber Throw deals more damage than anything else in the game. Since charging your Force powers leaves you vulnerable to enemy attacks, it is often best to stun an enemy with Force Lightning before attempting a charged Lightsaber Throw. This tactic is especially helpful against tough enemies such as AT-STs and Imperial Purge Troopers. Lightning Shield - This is the final power you learn, and can be used both offensively and defensively. The extra damage imbued to your saber attacks can make the difference between life and death. It is also great to use when you need to make a surgical strike against an enemy across a populated battlefield — activate the shield to reduce the damage you take as you jump and dash toward your target. Be careful, though, because the Force Energy cost is so high that it will leave you without any Force Powers for a short time. Mod World PEGGLE NIGHTS Www. popcap.com It's not free ($19.95 to download from PopCap.com or other services like Steam), terribly niche, or indie (developer/publisher PopCap has made big waves with Bejeweled, Zuma, and the original Peggle). But Peggle Nights deserves to be part of this conversation regardless. The huge number of hours we've lost to Peggle speaks for itself. Like a cracked mix of pinball and pachinko, Peggle presents an addictive mix of randomness and skill. Clearing all of the orange pegs by hitting them with the ball beats the level, and green pegs grant ‘access to one of several “magic powers” like multiple balls or pinball-like flippers. The challenge mode throws curveballs in the form of different objectives, like score requirements or more orange pegs. This quasi-sequel tailors the challenges to tilt that balance a little farther toward player ability and away from blind luck, which is a very good thing. A ton of new adventure and challenge boards offer plenty of content for your $20, and the layouts are great. Unfortunately, only one new magic power is available, making this little more than a set of new boards rather than an actual sequel. Nonetheless, Peggle rules, and several dozen new levels to conquer is a pretty solid value. Attention All Cheaters! Cheat codes, by their very nature, are in many cases buggier than Virginia in August. 5o, unless you don't mind re-doing those 70 hours you put into the latest game, do yourself a favor and back up your save before using any codes. On a lighter note, you can send your codes to secretaccess@gameinformer.com for a chance to be featured here and win a prize! MULTI-SYSTEM From the main menu go into the Extras menu then select Modify Game to enter these codes. Saving will be disabled after these cheats are activated. Increased Detection - Y, B, O, Y, B, O, Stage Mode - B, Y, R, B, Y, R, B, Y, Unlock All Songs - R, Y, B, R, R, B, Unlock All Venues - B, O, O, B, Y, B, O, 0,B,Y Code of the Month XBOX 360 Have trouble getting more Piñatas to show up in your garden? Gl to the rescue. We've got an exclusive Piñata for you. Using your 360 vision cam just scan the Picture of the card below and you'll unlock your very own Eaglair piñata. "GI Droid" (location unknown — Last seen using the Blue Knight in Castle Crashers) Need some extra help with addictive creature creator Spore? To use these codes first open up the cheat console by holding CTRL, SHIFT, and C simultaneously, then type in the following words (without spaces) and hit enter. Keep in mind that some cheats will only work during certain phases or menus as listed AddDNA - Gives you more DNA in mating/creation menus CapturePlanetGIF - Captures а 360-degree .gif file of your current planet FreeCam - The camera is freed up Killallhints - No hints will appear during your playthrough MoreMoney - Gives you more money in Tribal mode RefillMotives - Fills health completely SetConsequenceTrait X - Set your trait, where X equals the trait SetTime (X, Y) - Set time, where X equals the hour and Y equals the minute SpaceCreate - Unlocks all tools while in space StyleFilter-filmNoir - View the game in black and white StyleFilter-none - Bring your view back to the default setting StyleFilter-oilPaint - Make your view appear as an oil painting UnlockSuperWeapons - Unlocks each super weapon in Tribal mode = = = = = = 2 a ё п Lu - - ^ = 2 Iz al z| Get Their Attention This Halloween With a cool costume from ` 80sTees.com / The Karate Kg The Big 1.еһоу 1-866-80sTees www.80sTees.com/Ghost in many ways, the Xbox launch was a series of firsts. Microsoft's first proper foray into the console space marked the debut of console hard drives, interactive Dolby 5.1 surround sound, built- in Ethernet ports, and a unified online service in Xbox Live. While this wasn't enough to propel the nascent Xbox to the top of the console leaderboards, the system left behind some amaz- ing games in its wake. With its rich lore and fantastic array of interesting characters, Star Wars was always ripe fodder for an RPG. It took until 2003 for LucasArts to capitalize on this potential gold mine, but at least the company did it right by ing 20-sided dice wunderkinds BioWare. These two companies teamed to create the best Star Wars tale outside of the original trilogy, set 4,000 years before Episode IV in a time where Jedi and Sith were as common as Dominos delivery men are today. KOTOR's epic plot twist and won- derful combat system should be C LASS | C G | Where Тһе Past Comes Alive creative approach to multiplayer. experienced by every RPG fan. "шщ. жер БАР ГТ, У = SERIES Ubisoft took the Tom Clancy universe in a thrilling new direction with Splinter Cell. As grizzled secret agent Sam Fisher, gamers conducted covert black ops missions to take down terrorist threats by sticking to the shadows and using silenced weap- ons. An inspired blend of Thief and Metal Gear stealth gameplay, Splinter Cell encouraged gamers to use brains over brute force thanks to a set of high-tech gadgets that would make MacGyver jealous. The impressive lighting and sound effects were unrivaled, and the teamwork- based mercs vs. spies modes demonstrated Ubisoft's ККЕ D SERES The Halo series defined the Xbox experience. Every console manufacturer hopes for a launch | title as successful as Halo: Combat Evolved. Г Originally developed as an RTS by Bungie, this ic sci-fi shooter found a fast following with ight gunplay, immersive cinematic narra- tive, and fantastic multiplayer. The sequel took Master еһе” to the next level by introducing the multiplayer experience to Xbox Live and became a cultural phenomenon as feverish gamers lined the blocks around game retail- ers everywhere to purchase copies during the now-famous midnight launches. Since the first alo released, the franchise has expanded into novels, comics, collectibles, and even Mountain Dew.cans. Not even Grand Theft Auto can claim that kind of cultural impact. Pata e hgenious creator Peter Molyneux promised gameplay features he didn't deliver in Fable, ind many gamers felt cheated. But taken for hat it is, Fable is an impressive and innovative PG that gave gamers the freedom to decide EDIDIT GAIDEN Ninja Gaiden was so badass it brought grown men to tears with its insane diffi- culty. The return of Ryu Hayabusa was nothing short of spectacular, boasting | fierce and fast swordfights, a fantas- tic control scheme, gorgeous graph- ics, and gratuitous bloodletting that BGRAMO THEFT КІП SERIES Sixth place for the most innovative game in the generation, you say? We hear you, but to everyone at Game Informer, Grand Theft Auto is synonymous with the PlayStation 2. GTA Ill, Vice City, and San Andreas eventually made their way to the Xbox, but only after they sold mil- classic gi Komba would make the goons from Mortal t proud. lions of copies on Sony's world-beating console. expe EMPIRE | ^ Rather than returning to Star Wars after Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare set its course for A the orient. Steeped in ancient Chinese mythol- ogy and myriad martial arts fighting styles, the game's innovative skill tree and hand-to-hand combat combined with the quest and dialogue system from KOTOR to form one of the most Popular RPGs of the era. ETHE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: ESCAPE FROM BUTCHER 874 Escape From Butcher Bay is the rare instance where the game outmatches its film counterpart. Rather than rehashing the cinematic tale, this prequel tells the remarkable story of Riddick's prison break. With role-playing, stealth, action, and first-person shooting elements, Riddick blurred genre lines into an amazing cohesive experience. ETEVLEHDBLIITLBCTES The creator of Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle made another great game, and almost no one noticed. Like most Tim Schafer games, Psychonauts bombed on store shelves, but cap- tured the hearts of the clued-in gamers with its imaginative, humorous story. 10 Prince of Persia series 11 Crimson Skies: High 12 Fight Night series — 13 ESPN NFL 2K5 14 Burnout series 15 Midnight Club series 16 Rainbow Six series 17 Max Payne series Fourteen years after Jordan Road to Revenge With boxing titles stuck Some consider ESPN NFL There are arcade racers, Rockstar’s ode to illegal Moving from PC to con- Remedy's gritty third- Mechner's pioneering The first in a series of PC ina boring rut, EA Sports 2K5 the best football game and then there is Burnout. racing earned its street тей | soles, Ubisoft's tactical person shooter borrowed platformer debuted, Ubisoft tiles crossing over to the engineered an innovative to date. Featuring ESPN- This series made its mark with its cinematic sense shooter delivered its pat- heavily from John Woo, rebooted Prince of Persia Xbox to land on this list, new control scheme that worthy presentation, fluid оп gaming with its uncanny of speed and cemented ented difficult missions, a The Matrix, and the film to critical acclaim and High Road to Revenge moved the bobbing, weav- ^ controls an unrivaled online sense of speed, antagonistic із place among the great huge arsenal, and a refined noir genre to create one solid sales. The Sands of ditched the sense of real- ing, and punching to the experience, and a 51999 racing style, and epic slow- arcade racers by introduc- ‘squad control system. of the most stylish action Time captured the spirit ism too many flight games. analog stick. With these sticker price, 2K5 stole a sig- motion car crashes that are ing insane customization But the real story of this games to date. Max Payne's and mechanics of the first ground themselves in and impressive controls and a nificant portion of the mar- often more entertaining options in Midnight Club 3: game's success lies with the innovative bullet-time games and injected the wowed gamers with its cast of boxing greats, Fight ket share and may have than the regular races. DUB Edition. multiplayer. Its competitive controls allowed gamers to Persian saga with an acro- fluid arcade fight controls, Night easily became the been the impetus for the multiplayer and cooperative | slow down the action and. batic combat system unlike qid variety of planes, and KNS ofthe ring. EANFL exdusivity agree- terrorist hunt online modes get the jump on the bad- anything seen in gaming. | onfine dogfights. | ment that's been haunting made it an early star on the dies with a nearly limitless Ў football fans ever since. Xbox Live scene. supply of ammo. 18 Dead or Alive series 19 Psi-Ops 20 Project Gotham 24 SSX 3 22 Beyond Good & Evil — 23 X-Men Legends 24 Fatal Frame series 25 The Elder Scrolls lll: Deadly martial arts, exact- One of the more underrated Racing series Rather than shuttling Michel Ancel's cult hit Mix one part hack n' The Japanese are kings Morrowind ing controls, and jiggly games of its generation, Psi- PGR won over grease. snowboarders across the sounded ripe for a bargain slasher with two parts of spooky-as-hell horror, Though Game Informer breasts made the Dead Ops gave gamers a Force- monkeys with its dynamic world to attack different bin; A photographer comic book lore and you and Fatal Frame is a prime panned the game upon its or Alive series the most like control over their envi- career progression. runs, SSX wisely created an and her pig friend work have X-Men Legends. This example. Forget beating release as a buggy mess, memorable fighting series ronment to dispatch ene- Winning races is great, entire mountain and let us to expose a global con- dungeon crawler let comic down supernatural ghosts its innovative open world on the Xbox. Dead or Alive mies and solve puzzles, The but to excel in PGR you have at it. The result was spiracy. Lame, huh? But geeks live out their fantasy with weapons, you must structure that laid the Ultimate added Xbox Live Psychic abilities breathed needed to do it in style the most fluid and exciting һе game's production val- of wielding Wolverine's exorcise these demons. foundation for Oblivion functionality, which allowed | new life into the stale third- with power turns and drift, mountain experience found иез, endearing story, and claws or shooting Cyclops" With some clever camera was enough to slip this gamers to test their skills person action genre, and its which racked up the Kudos this side of a Mountain immersive gameplay that optic blasts in the company | obscura to stay alive in ambitious but flawed RPG against other fighters dever use of physics set the points. PGR 2 also featured Dew commercial. borrowed liberally from of friends, this haunting series, ‘onto the list. across the world. table for likeminded games Geometry Wars, which Zelda say otherwise. pu gs Sat ete T inspired the future Xbox Foret live Arcade hit GAME INFORMER 157 LEGEND OF THE GHOST LION > STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER KEMCO > DEVELOPER КЕМСО > RELEASE 1989 ith box art this bad, it has to be good! Actually, it doesn't. Despite the hilariously terrible depiction on the game's cover, Legend of the Ghost Lion is an average Dragon Quest knock-off. You take control of Maria, a young girl whisked off to the land of dreams in search of her parents. From there, Ghost Lion is a by-the-numbers adventure = - where you fight monsters, grind levels, buy weapons, and then fight harder monsters. In order to get optimal equipment, you have to collect an absurd amount of money, which can only be done through hours of random encounters. That may have been the standard at the time, but it doesn't make it any more exciting to play today. The ability to summon spirits is neat, but the game's bland art style and repetitive nature fail to amount to anything worth mentioning. If it weren't for the chick who looks like a dude on the cover, Legend of the Ghost Lion would be lost to obscurity forever. Е 5 ЊН Зое 82 23.- 82 23...35. UME z E WORLD CLASS TRACK MEET > STYLE 1 TO 6-PLAYER SPORTS > PUBLISHER NINTENDO > DEVELOPER BANDAI > RELEASE 1988 ii Sports? Pffffft. Wii Fit? Who cares? The Power Pad was making kids sweat 20 years ago with this pack-in game and a handful of others. Little known fact: This exercise gaming duo was released a year earlier by Bandai, but was quickly pulled off store shelves once Nintendo decided to throw some cash at the company and rebrand it as a first-party accessory. This was probably for the best, since Family Fun Fitness Control Mat and Family Fun Fitness: Stadium Events are a mouthful. World Class Track Meet includes four sporting events: 100m dash, 110m hurdles, long jump, and triple jump. Variety is not the game's strong suit. The true depth of WCTM lies in discovering the best cheating strategy. Drumming on the pad with your fists may seem like a good idea, but it'll barely get you past Horse. To destroy Cheetah, you must find a counter to lean on and work your feet like a maniac. Only then will you earn all of the Olympic medals and trophies (huh?). Only then will you see the message of victory, “You are champion!” | ENEMY ORC а FIGHT 0005: › iesus] эй. wu unn =~ ww ¥ ¥ жа 138 САМЕ INFORMER SNES Z00P > STYLE 1-PLAYER PUZZLE > PUBLISHER VIACOM > DEVELOPER HOOKSTONE > RELEASE 1995 eleased for every platform with an installed base in the triple digits during the 1990s, Zoop is one of the better fast-paced puzzlers of the era. Blocks constantly spawn in from the sides of the board, ending your game if they reach the middle area in which your cursor resides. Shooting in any direc- tion clears blocks the same color as your cursor, while hitting a differently colored piece swaps colors between your cursor and that block. This simple mechanic is the sum total of the gameplay, but like all good puzzle games it remains solid over a decade beyond its initial release. The excellent jazzy soundtrack, which evolves with the gameplay as the blocks encroach ever faster, stands out as well. *Score given to the game when it first appeared in Game Informer. Ü N | | М Е Extra Content You Can Find At www.gameinformer.com THE GOOD DOCTORS Read our exclusive interview with BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk as they discuss their return to the fantasy RPG genre with Dragon Age: Origins. Dead Space One Conquest To Rule Them All EA's menacing sci-fi horror-fest must be seen to be ; Game director Erik Gewirzt discusses The Lord of the Ririgs: believed, so tune in for these exclusive video clips! Conquest's wide open battles in further detail. Unleash Your Force г Тһе Future of Animation N+ Learn more Jedi tricks of the trade : Game Informer dissects the now- Silverbirch Studios gives tips for run- with our extended Star Wars: The : famous Emily Project in our discussion : ning your stick figures through the Force Unleashed developer tips. with David Barton, head of production : gauntlet of this addictive puzzle game. at Image Metrics. ALSO ONLINE THIS MONTH: Game Informer Online braves the sweltering Tokyo heat to bring you the latest news from the Tokyo Game Show. “Tve chosen concentration rather than conformity, imagination in place of mainstream social acceptance.” Come get your geek on. UAT is a community of geeks—passionate seekers of knowle and truth in an ever-expandin rse of technology. LEARN: DIGITAL ANIMATION GAME PROGRAMMING DIGITAL ART AND DESIGN NETWORK ENGINEERING DIGITAL VIDEO NETWORK SECURITY GAME DESIGN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING ARTIFICIAL LIFE PROGRAMMING WEB ARCHITECTURE COMPUTER FORENSICS ROBOTICS www.uat.edu > 877.UAT.GEEK . 877.828.4335 next life). 1 Who was the playable pro- tagonist in the 1988 NES game entitled Bionic Commando? A. Super Joe B. Nathan "Rad" Spencer C. Master-D D. Steve Austin 3 Which of these games fea- tured randomly generated dun- geons? A. King's Field B. Dark Cloud C. ActRaiser D. Madden 08 i 4 oh man, those Fatal Frame : games sure are scary. The only : thing scarier is keeping track of all those crazy subtitles. Which one of these was the subtitle to і the second game in the series? A. Crimson Butterfly B. Code Veronica C. The Tormented D. The Room i 5 Galactic Wrestling on the : PS2? Well, sure! But what will it feature? A. Featuring Super Slam B. Featuring Ultimate Muscle C. Featuring Hulk Hogan D. Featuring Bill Cosby : B Back in 1983, Spy Hunter got a lot of attention for its exciting theme song, but that wasn't the : original source of the music. : What was? A. Knight Rider B. Pole Position C. Get Smart D. Peter Gunn The stars have aligned, and we can see the future. That's right! Through a complex astrological and cosmological formula, we've distilled the nature of your future into a 10 question quiz. We're just that good. Your answers will reveal your very own gaming horoscope. Get all the questions right, and surely, gaming nirvana awaits you (in your i 7 Which of these is a real game name? A. CyberBear B. CyberTiger C. CyberDog D. CyberLemming i 8 Games like Master of Orion are often referred to as 4X. Which one of these isn't one of he four X's? A. eXplore B. eXterminate C. eXplode D. eXpand 9 How many visually unique one-screen stages did you 1 encounter іп the original arcade : release of Donkey Kong? A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six | 10 which of these is your ; favorite game? A. ЕТ? Really? Wasn't that the one that got thrown in the desert? B. Superman 64? Whew. Have you ever even played video games? C. Fuzion Frenzy 2? That game can't even spell its own name right! D. Friday the 15th, huh? Dang, your taste in games really stinks. Game Informer Magazine (ISSN 1067-6392) is published monthly at a subscription price of $19.98 per year, or twenty four issues for $24.98 by Sunrise Publications®, 724 North First Street, 3rd Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55401. (612) 486-6100 or FAX (612) 486-6101. For subscriptions, back issues, or customer service inquiries Toll Free (866) 844-4263. Periodicals postage paid at Minneapolis, MN, and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIBERS/POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Game Informer Magazine? 724 North First Street, 3rd Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Foreign or Canadian orders must be prepaid in US. dollars, Canada 8 Mexico Orders: $25/уг additional postage. 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Products named in these pages are trade names, or trademarks, of their respective companies. 140 GAME INFORMER 28% was the plummet that Take-Two stock took the moming after EA announced they would no longer pursue an acquisition 1 million downloads were completed of the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed demo that went up on Xbox Live — a new record 2—2 87% fewer copies of Madden 09 were sold for Wii than for 360 $50 is how much money you could save if you purchased a new Xbox 360 Arcade unit instead of a Wii, under Microsoft's new reduced pricing сосуз: zum 0% of our editors recommend purchasing an Xbox 360 Arcade model The planets have not aligned with your controller. Resign outset to a future of lost save games, red rings of death, and a friends list filled with people who put XX in front and behind their names. The stars have spoken! Accept your fate, you pitiful, pitiful fool. ) The lunar aspects аге at odds with your gamerscore. Beware games with limited checkpoints - you are sure to fall prey to some dude with a rocket launcher just around the next corner. Seriously, he's right there! Oops. Too late. The stars reveal mixed signals, and your fate lies in the balance. You can tip the scales of destiny in your favor by shaping your karma with good deeds. Consider not killing every townsperson in that next vil- lage you encounter in Fable, and limit civilian deaths to five an hour during your next GTA online session. You're not one to usually spend time alone, but the fates speak of a dark time ahead if you don't get away from online deathmatches. Consider spending some time alone with a nice game of Bejeweled. If you must keep playing Call of Duty with us, then stop singing along to the radio while you game, idiot. Your Mii is in ascendancy. Now is the tirhe to unlock that achievement that has eluded your grasp in recent days. Move up a difficulty level in Guitar Hero. Five frets hold no fear for you. The celestial eye of the universe smiles upon you and lares stand before — endi g to Tetris. lalo 4, God of War 3, Video Game Trivia Answers: 1. B 2. C 3. B 4. A 5. B 6. D 7. B 8. C 9. B 10. E ALIENWARE PHESENTS Ed by the Intel’ Xtreme Processor: complete, the computer descends deeper into the bowe 5 chamber. You're one step closer to the truth in the latest installment of Breed. PREVIOUS SCENES & EXCLUSIVE BREED WALLPAPERS AVAILABLE AT: "ALIENWARE.COM/BREED Extreme * Performance Ži Swing past death with a Smile on your Faces | Pav" Aiit lts unanimous. People like fun. x E308 EDITORS; CHOICE WINNER Comic Mischief Mild Cartoon Violence Made with) love’ by, Our goal is to preserve elassie video game magazines So that they аге not lost/permanently: People Interested in helping ош п any capacity; please visit us at retromags.com: No profitis made from) these scans nor do we offer anything available from the publishers themselves: If: you come across anyone selling releases from this Site please do not support them апа do let Us know: Thank you!