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ONLINE [SOFTWARE

cover story

features

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CRACKDOWN e

Game Informer went all the way to Scotland to get the world exclusive first details on the highly anticipated sandbox game Crackdown 2. Pacific City has been overrun by genetically mutated freaks in the approximately 10 years since the first title, and it's up to a new agent to bring it back under Agency control. Learn all about this new setup, as well as Crackdown 2's four-player co-op and 16-player competitive play, in this month’s massive cover story.

Staff Read the team's latest favorites

GI Spy Silly pictures of our life and times

Dear Gl Your chance to fire back at us!

Connect Where news, talk, and technology collide

Impulse Your guide to downloadable games

Interview

Quantic Dream CEO David Cage, the head honcho behind Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain, talks about why his company does the crazy things they do

4 GAME INFORMER

24

We had a professional personal trainer put five recent games, includ- ing Wii Fit and EA Sports Active, through their paces over several weeks to separate marketing hype from fitness reality. The results might surprise you.

ci

We look at long-lost early images of popular gaming icons and get the developers to walk us through the creative process that resulted in the final look for these highly recogniz- able characters.

Gear

Geeky gadget stuff for the masses Opinion

Hal Halpin, CEO of the Entertainment Consumer Association, fills gamers in on the many political issues facing our favorite hobby

Calendar Get hip to this month's happenings

Previews

Come see the newest of news on Assassin's Creed 2, GTA 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony, ModNation Racers, and much more

Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory is pulling out all the stops for its sophomore effort. Game Informer toured the company's London offices to bring you this exclusive first look. Enslaved is a post-apocalyptic jour- ney through a deserted USA that touches on themes of community and friendship — and dismantling evil robots with your bare hands. A proven developer hungry for excel- lence, and Hollywood talent like Andy Serkis on board to step up the cinematography, have Enslaved on a promising path.

Reviews Game of the Month: NHL 10 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Charts Retail Sales Data and the Gl editors’ Top 10 Games

Secret Access Codes, strategies, and passwords

Online See what's happening at Game Informer Online

Classic Gl Reliving gaming's greatest moments

Game Over The end. ..or is it?

GAME INDEX

GAME PAGE A Boy and His Blob...............0ee0e eens 68

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth .....76

Assassin's Creed Il... eee eene 58 Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines ................ 75 a aa EEP ee EE E 80 Band Haea iaaa 81 Dead Space: Extraction. . ..95 DIR 2 EEUU 88 DIHBO. aire reet prenna ee OI DR 69 Dragon Age: Origins........................ 78 EVBPRE es cocco T PENT tg sapaqa 70 Final Fantasy XIII ................. .... a s... E Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles -

The Crystal Bearers ..................... . 66

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony. ... . 60

Gultal Hero 5:« od iet cc tate eter 90 Heroes Over Europe .

ion; eroe nemen 8l Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days .............. ..100 N icut sectas riter rtt 64

Magnacarta 2...............

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.......... .98 Metroid Prime Trilogy........................ 95 ModNation Racers. ..... css rere eee 62 Muramasa: The Demon Blade................. 94 Need for Speed: Shift... ..................... 84 WE Wennrann NS NHL 2K10. 90 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising............. 76 Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. . . .... 100 Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles ....... 7

Resonance of Fate............

Sciibblénauts. osiers oniar ieni 96 SE seeriana iee inge a Shin Megami Tensei: Persona .......... pave pO Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny................... 101 Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll ................. 81 Tornado Outbreak............................ 7 Wet....

Where the Wild Things Are ................... 80 WaÑWWiuyyayyassssssassasssaasauska .86 WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2010............... 74

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| THE ORIGIN OF | A COVER STORY

j| ANDY McNAMARA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Celebrity and fashion magazines make a splash with mug shots and models. Game Informer has its cover games. The cover story is the single most sought after story that we put in any issue. The trials and tribulations of the birth of a cover story are hard to put into a couple of paragraphs, but I'm going to try.

In terms of the most frequent questions asked by readers, “How do you decide what you put on your cover?" is right up there, with "How do | get a job at Game Informer?" We don't follow one simplistic formula, but the routine for each cover is about the same.

Sometimes it starts with a game development studio shar- ing its vision of a new game with us. Other times the public relations team give us the heads up as to when a game is coming to gauge our interest. To give you an idea how far out this process starts, we've already had conversations and even seen early footage of games coming out as far away as 2011.

Knowing a game's name and premise is only half the battle, as we have had upwards of five or six amazing games all vie for the same month's cover. Sometimes we can work with the publishers and developers to move the announce- ments around to get all the games we want to showcase, but other times you just have to pass on some amazing products in favor of another. One of the hardest decisions we ever had to make was putting Halo 2 on the cover over the original God of War.

Which brings me to the selection process. Obviously, some games are no-brainers. When Activision approached us with Modern Warfare 2, we already knew that Infinity Ward is tal- ented and makes some of the best games the world has ever seen. But even when it comes to a game like this, we still ask to sit down with the developer so we understand its vision and design goals before we take a look at the game.

New properties are the hardest, but they are also the most exciting, especially if it comes from a developer that doesn't have much of a history. Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great example, where we looked at Rocksteady's past, what its limi- tations were on the previous game it made (Urban Chaos in this case), and evaluated whether we thought with additional resources the companies involved were capable of making a great game. In that case, we thought so, and they did.

We have made other big bets in the past as well. The Chronicles of Riddick, BioShock, Crackdown, and Infamous were all games we were very excited to show the world for the first time. Other breakout hits like Assassin's Creed, Gears of War, and Uncharted were all shown for the first time on our covers, and all were extensively researched before the deci- sion to put them on the cover was made.

The bottom line is the Game Informer team carefully chooses the games that grace our cover each and every month. No outside source, marketing department, or voice from above influences that decision — just the opinions of our dedicated staff of gamers. We spend months researching new titles to guarantee we can bring you the inside story on those we think are shaping this industry, regardless of whether the game will sell 10 million or 10 thousand.

Andy >> andyGgameinformer.com

Handle: The Game Hombre Expertise: RPGs, Action/Platform, Driving, First-Person Shooters Interests: Finishing Up Game Informer's Redesign And Web Launch, Twitter@GI_AndyMc, Preparing To Spam My Blog Dislikes: That People Think We Engineered The Epic Fail Story Last Month To Somehow "Get" Microsoft, WoW's Recent Content Patch That Basically

Requires You To Do Heroic Dailies As A Raider Current Favorite Games:

World Of Warcraft, Professor Layton And The Diabolical Box, Shadow Complex (Though The Card Controversy Certainly Taints It)

6 GAME INFORMER

| Reiner >> reiner@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Raging Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Action, First-Person Shooters, Strategy, Sports, Adventure Interests: Classic Adventure Games On iPhone (A Perfect Fit), Console Price

Drops, Guitar Hero Backwards Compatibility, Tripping Icarus (Shameless Plug), My Twitter (@ Andrew. Reiner) Dislikes: NXE Avatar Toys & Clothing (2009's Horse Armor), Battlestar Galactica Rebooted Again (This Time As A Film), Being Caught Up On Games With Nothing New To

Play Current Favorite Games: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed Il, Shadow Complex, Batman: Arkham Asylum, New Super Mario Bros. Wii

| Matt >> matt@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Original Gamer Expertise: First-Person Shooters, Action/Platform, Action/Adventure, Puzzle, Action/Sports Interests: Double Bird (Punk's Not Dead, Or At Least Semi-Conscious), Glass Block Windows, El Taco Riendo (Tinga Del Pollo Tacos Are My Anti-Drug), My Sweet New Lawnmower

^| Dislikes: My Noisy Neighbors Across The Street (Yeah You, White-Mike-From-7he-Wire-Lookin’-Boy!),

Town Hall Meetings, My Inability To Kick Non-Diet Soda (A Real Coke Habit Would Be Easier’), The Worst Summer Blockbuster Movie Season In Memory, Invoice Beef Current Favorite Games: Call Of Duty 4: Modem Warfare, The Beatles: Rock Band, Guitar Hero 5, Mario & Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story, Wet

Kato >> kato@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Game Katana Expertise: Sports, Racing, Action/RPG, Action/Adventure Interests: Humbug By Arctic Monkeys, The Return Of Mad Men, The Kundalini Target By Steve Cradock, Glazed Donut Pancakes, Out Of The Summer Sports Abyss & Into The Fire Dislikes: When Little Rodents Die In Your Walls & Leave You The Stench, Waiting For The Beatles: Rock Band Full Album DLC, Unreadable Track Maps In Racing Games, Still Not Being Able To Save

` Mid-Game In A Sports Title Current Favorite Games: NHL 10, Dirt 2, Madden NFL 10, Guitar Hero 5

li Adam >> adam@gameintormer.com

Handle: The Alpha Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Strategy, First-Person Shooters, Fighting Interests: Getting Classic Games Running Well On My PC, Digital Distribution That Works Like It Should (Which Is Most Of The Services These Days), Seeing Nerdy Baseball Stats Get More Mainstream Acceptance (Dear Jonah Keri, You're A Light In The Darkness That Is ESPN) Dislikes: Most

Of The Morons On ESPN, Obscure Mouse Driver Issues, Waiting For Windows 7 To Release, Windows Vista (| Have To Run Alpha Centauri As An Admin? Seriously?) Current Favorite Games: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Trine, Mega Man 9

Joe >> joe@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Real American Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Adventure, Action, Strategy, Puzzle Interests: Magic For Beginners By Kelly Link, More Mad Men, Avoiding G.I Joe: The Rise

Of Cobra At All Costs, Blowing Things Out Of Proportion Dislikes: Running Out Of Seasons

Of The Wire (Five Is Not Enough), Scribblenauts' Refusal To Acknowledge Risque Words, No Console Release For Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP?! No Thanks!) Current Favorite Games: Crackdown 2, Mario & Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story, Persona PSP, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Valkyria Chronicles, Shadow Complex

Miller >> miter@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Once And Future Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Action/Adventure, Fighting, Platform, First-Person Shooters, Music, Puzzle Interests: The Mice Templar, Mad Men Season 3, The Return Of Dark Sun in 2010, The New Mechanics Behind DJ Hero, Across The Nightingale Floor By Lian Hearn Dislikes: Water Mains That Break On My Block, The Announced Cost Of DJ Hero, Microsoft Increasing The Use Of Avatars In Games Current Favorite Games: Cave Story, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Shadow Complex, Trine, Machinarium, DJ Hero

Bertz >> mattbertz@gameinformer.com

| Handle: Lord Gamington III Expertise: First-Person Shooters, Sports, Action, RPGs, Strategy Interests: The Retum Of Don Draper, The Family By Jeff Sharlet, Death Panels (Where Do | Sign Up?), Ditching Vista For Windows 7, The Hangover, Waiting For More Elder Scrolls Dislikes: Pathetic Vikings Fans Who Welcome Lord Favre With Open Arms (He'll Disappoint You, Just Give It Time), Reiner's Twitter Whoring, Elder Scrolls MMO Rumors (Just Give Me Co-op), Activision rapping On Kurt Cobain By Skinning His Image Over Right-Handed Guitar Playing Animations Current Favorite Games: Madden NFL 10, Shadow Complex, NHL 10, Batman: Arkham Asylum

Ben >> ben@gameinformer.com

Handle: Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamer Expertise: Action/Adventure, Action/RPGs, Platform, Survival Horror, First-Person Shooters, Racing, Stealth Interests: The Ending Of 'Splosion Man (Best Credit Sequence Since Portal), World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War By Max Brooks, The Undercover Economist By Tim Harford Dislikes: Open Mic Nights, How There's No Female Equivalent To Taking A Guy Bra Shopping (You Can't Make A Girl

- Uncomfortable While Shopping) Current Favorite Games: ‘Splosion Man, Shadow Complex,

|; Batman: Arkham Asylum, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Persona, Zuma

Bryan >> bryan@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Gamer's Advocate Expertise: Action/Adventure, RPGs, Survival Horror, First-

| Person Shooters, Music Interests: Dehumidifying The Basement, Sickened By Julie Gregory, The New Mad Men Season, Catching Up On Flight Of The Conchords and Eastbound And

* Down, The Annual Up North Vacation Dislikes: Buying A Dehumidifier, What I'll Have To

| Throw Down To Get Into A Golden Gopher Football Game Current Favorite Games: Shadow Complex, Professor Layton And The Diabolical Box, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, The

24 Beatles: Rock Band, Guitar Hero 5

GAMEINFORMER

OCTOBER 2009 Volume XVIIII « Number 10 + Issue 198 PUBLISHER Cathy Preston EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ‘Andrew McNamara EDITORS Executive Editor Andrew Reiner Senlor Editor Matt Helgeson Senlor Assoclate Editor Matthew Kato Assoclate 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 Software Engineer Sean Lowery CONTRIBUTORS

Photographer Willam Alix Intems Jeff Marchiafava * Tim Turi

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) 4866101 rob@gameinformer.com WEST COAST Damon Watson West Coast Advertisinsg Director. (810) 450-3260 + Fax: (310) 4503571 damon@gameinformer.com Janey Stringer West Coast Advertsing Associate (612) 486-6104 + Fax: (612) 486-6101 janey@gameinformer.com EAST COAST ‘Suzanne Lang East Coast Advertising Sales Director (718) 789-0162 * Fax: (612) 4866101 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 Mark Burger ‘Marketing Coordinator (612) 486-6083 + Fax: (612) 4866101 mark@gamelnformer.com

CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT For renewal, address change and Edge card details:

Visit: www.gamelnformer.com. Email: customerserviceG gamelnformet.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 paulhedgpeth@gameinformer.com

In memory of Paul Anderson

Manufactured and printed in the United States of America The Editor

welcomes company proc oman for al video games. Such

wWthod per ot Gane, E rice Tamad nese pagos a or rademafis, ol their respecte Pause LADY FOR ERROR The pbiser shal Tol be table for sgh changes or y vo e Pa do tea Da vl d edere Ey lr eher ero ox omsons in oomecton an ebesarent Š Ead 0 ton of he advortsement ia any sian cae o he ld ar enmt Pese NCEVNFCATON The arenam aig Apr delend any and aÍ tal boss or expense ars ra on a of nias cop. w uat ade pets, iinet of ademas cpyigs, ade ramus, pales Apos piso von ot feo acy. esa fom i publication ofthe Advertisers statement,

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a i " Bethesda a ZeniMax Media company

8 GAME INFORMER

Candid Photos From The Seedy Underbelly Of The Video Game Industry

1 Ben and Meagan spend time with the God of Comic Books, Mr. Stan Lee, along with Bianca Harzbecker of Activision and Ashley Hay of girlsen- tertianmentnetwork.com 2 GI goes to the ultra-exclusive Capital Grille with the Warner Bros. posse — Remi Sklar, Megan Korns Russell, and Jessica Brunelle 3A&B Baltimore area tattoo artist Halo Jankowski turns heads with custom Final Fantasy auto art. Unbelievable! 4 Witchblade creator Mark Silvestri hangs with a posse of Witchblade cosplayers at ComicCon, including our own Meagan VanBurkleo 5 Ben hangs with Sega’s Tali Fischer. While his pose is clearly constructed to show off his guns, something about the angle of this photo makes his hair look abnormally large, as if it’s a sentient being taking over his body. Frankly, GI Spy finds this a bit disturbing 6 United Front Games’ William Ho and Sony's Scott Goryl stopped by to show us some awesome new ModNation Racers gameplay. On the left the Best Intern Team in the Business, the talented and pretty Jeff Marchiafava and Tim Turi 7 Just another normal day in San Diego during ComiCon...

HAVE

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IN STORES NOW

For Screens and Video Visit WWW.BATMANARKHAMASYLUM.COM

XBOX

i E. ^, D ames for Windows -" v A) XBOX360 LIVE

PLAYSTATION.3 PlayStation-Network

Alcohol and Tobacco Reference Blood

Mild Language Suggestive Themes Violence

am Oe, rocksteady eidos»>

BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM™ Software © 2009 Eidos Interactive Ltd. Developed by Rocksteady Studios Ltd. Co-published by Eidos, Inc. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. Rocksteady and the Rocksteady logo are trademarks of Rocksteady Studios Ltd. Eidos and the Eidos logo are trademarks of Eidos Interactive Ltd. All rights reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks and P93" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The PlayStation Network Logo is a service mark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Windows, the Windows Vista Start button, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the box logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies,and ‘Games for Windows’ and the Windows Vista Start button logo are used under license from Microsoft. The Rating Icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment oftware Association.

QQZD BATMAN and al characters, their distinctive likenesses, and related elements are trademarks of DC Comics © 2009. Al Rights Reserve. WWE LOGO, WB SHELD:** & Ware Bros Entertainment In, (s09)

Not Forgotten

| consider myself a hardcore Wii gamer (the Wii being my only console), and | gener- ally consider GI an unbiased magazine. However, | noticed that in the two years that I've been reading your publication, no Wii game has been given the honor of grac-

ing your cover. Dead Space Extraction and Punch-Out! were given features, but not the full-blown cover treatment. Although it does have a rather dismal library in some areas, you can't deny the Wii has some excellent games. They don't just pop out of the blue, so what's the deal?

Kyle Trevor via email

The last Wii-exclusive game we put on the cover was Red Steel back in issue 157. That may seem like years of neglect, but we've also featured several major multiplatform titles with Wii versions as well, like Ghostbusters and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Regardless, you have a point: Nintendo doesn't make our cover as often as Sony and Microsoft — but that isn't entirely our fault. Nintendo is the most difficult of the three com- panies to work with, since it regulates information about its first-party titles so aggressively. Thankfully, other publishers

GI COMMUNITY

10 GAME INFORMER

Parlies and Beyond

I'm a huge fan of the Xbox 360 and I have a question about Project Natal. All of the trailers l've seen make it look like the Wii. Same with the games - | didn't see one action, horror, adven- ture, or thriller game... just party games. Is that what Natal is aiming for?

Josh Toth via email

The games shown at Natal's E3 unveil- ing were not meant to encompass the entirety of the software the device will support. In fact, very few of them could be considered games at all - they were

have more freedom to talk about their Wii titles, so gamers don't get left in cold completely. Be sure to keep an eye on our cover in the coming months!

PS

| just received Issue 197 and saw that you had chosen to respond to my email about the lost Oddworld game. This was a huge thrill, and I'd like to thank you very much for replying to what | had to say, but more importantly, | realized that | may have unin- tentionally kicked dust in the face of people who are trying to innovate and be creative. | stick by the thrust of my original letter: It's a real shame to see games like Fangus Klot go under, but | don't want to downplay the contributions of developers like Infinity Ward, Jonathan Blow, The Behemoth, Double Fine, Vanillaware, and Insomniac. They are the reason the current gaming landscape is great, but sometimes | crave something a little. ..odder.

Adam Condra via email

Thanks for the follow-up, Adam. The rising cost of development means we're seeing fewer risky and experimental games this generation, and that's disappointing. On the other hand, it is difficult to complain

‘Game Informer has a thriving online community, and this is where they can sound off about issues facing the gaming industry today

Red Dead Redemption. [ve really been looking forward to this game, and its painful to have to wait a while longer. But if they need the extra time to make sure it’s a blockbuster experience, then I'mall for it. for games altogether. Cheech! 1

1 was both disappointed and happy to hear

that Splinter Cell: Conviction was delayed,

Disappointed because I've been waiting forever

to play it, but also happy because | want it to be a

polished game that lives up to its predecessors. LaurenisSoMosh

delayed games releases.

G | The Readers Strike Back

Sure, it was never “officially” slated for 2009, but it still stinks to have to wait until next year for Heavy Rain. It really looks to be a huge leap in terms of storytelling, and it could raise the bar

Those delays don't really affect me; I likely be playing Tekken 6, Marvel: Ultimate Aliance 2, and Silent Hil: Shattered Memories well after the

mostly just demonstrations illustrating how the technology works and what it can do. When Natal releases, we're sure there will be a few party games designed to showcase its features, but Microsoft has stated Natal has applications in more traditional genres (like FPS and racing) as well. We won't deny that Natal and Sony's motion-sensing wand look like blatant attempts to rope in a casual gaming demographic the Wii helped cre- ate, but it isn't fair to assume either of these peripherals will fall victim to the same glut of party-oriented shovelware.

too loudly when so many high-quality titles are coming out every year. We can remember the old days fondly, but the game industry has changed - generally for the better.

One Wasteland to Rule Them All

1 was reading your story on id's Rage, and

it reminded me of Bethesda’s Fallout 3 a lot. It pretty much looks like a rehash with

a few added tricks. Fallout has the Capitol Wasteland, Rage is just wasteland (and both are full of raiders and bandits). Fallout has Vaults, Rage has Arks. The only real differ- ences are that in Rage you have working cars and television, and no VATS. It sure has a great look to it, but right now it just looks like a rehash, sequel, or just the same game as Fallout 3.

Tom Hodges via email

| wasn't surprised to see you shy away from parallels between Rage and Fallout

3, since it would seem accusatory. Still,

| did notice a bunch of similarities. The near-extinction event (asteroid in Rage, nuclear fallout in Fallout), Mutant Bash TV and Galaxy News Radio are both seemingly the last remaining mass entertainment to survive the event, and the Eden Project

Send your comments to Game Informer. Snail Mail: Game Informer Magazine e Attn: Dear GI « 724 North First St., 4th Floor e Minneapolis, MN 55401 Email: deargi@gameinformer.com

THE QUESTION:

Of the games delayed from 2009 to 2010, which one do you find most disappointing?

Definitely Dark Void. | want to live my Rocketeer vs. space mutant fantasy now, not in 2010 when this original non-sequel wil get lost in the shuffle of all the other delayed releases.

nol a bumblebee Metellica6S | have been eagerly awaiting a return to Rapture since finishing BioShock for the fifth time. When the sequel got delayed I. well, lets just say | don't think [ve ever wept over a video game before. Testament ggxe

boogieman28

versus President Eden. One of the charac- ters pictured in the article actually had the same '80s punk look that was characteristic of Fallout. Do you guys see a lot of similari- ties too?

Eric Peck New York, NY

Fallout 3 and Rage both take place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and there are some parallels in the two games’ vision of the future. But before you single out Rage as the copycat, keep in mind that the title has been in development for years; the team at id didn't play Fallout 3 and say "Let's scrap all the work we've done and copy this!" Furthermore, the Fallout series did not invent the concept of post-apoca- lyptic civilization; even before the original Fallout released, books and movies had been exploring ruined wastelands for years, and both games show the influence of the classic Mad Max series. The desolation and desperation provides a compelling back- drop, and there is plenty of room for mul- tiple games to mine the setting for ideas.

Nothing To Grin About

Now that Grin has closed its doors, | think it's safe to say game reviewers (including you) created the rifts that brought down the now- defunct developer. Three games developed by Grin were released this year — Bionic Commando, Terminator: Salvation, and

Do you want to make your voice heard? Weigh in with your opinion at wwew gameinformer.cony/forums

Blood

Sexual Themes Strong Language Use of Drugs

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dear gi

Wanted: Weapons of Fate — and they all got crappy reviews. Maybe you should consider

your influence a little more before you com- SCOTT pletely trash a game. HAWXHURST Hasani Ennis Regular power Famington Hills, MI n

: armor? This guy The closing of a development studio is d i d always unfortunate, and we wish nothing needs to upgrade but the best for Grin's former staff. While to Enclave low score: hi tributed to the

pit Mae DIET Hellfire Armor

situation, you can’t blame reviewers for not liking games that aren't good. If we were to have said that Bionic Commando was

a great game, that might have made more people decide to play it...but it wouldn't have been the truth. Tearing apart bad games is difficult, because we know that lots of talented people put time and effort into creating the experience. However, how much we like a studio or its employees doesn’t magically transform a bad game into a good one. We have to give games the scores we think they deserve.

Game Informer Reader Art Conte: Ist St. N,

4th Floor

Mpls, MN 55401

Fail Away

š x YT MEGAN NASH I just read your "Epic Fail" article in issue We think this is a drawing about 197, and | have to say I'm truly disappointed Kingdom Hearts. Can any of our readers ) | HEATHER O'NEAL in you guys. That article was completely der five s id confirm that for us? Link is wolfin it up, bogus and full of falsehoods. Why do | say under five years old confirm that for us? J-style. Wolf $ that? Well, it's simple: You used a survey. A ole vol survey is not an accurate source of informa- tion, because people can completely lie on your questions. This article is proof, and it was designed simply to stroke Sony and Nintendo's egos. Now, | can understand Microsoft being on the bad end on some things, but every single category? Are you kid- ding me? Presenting this information is com- LOUISA VENTURA pletely dishonest, and very poor journalism. Before being cast as I usually trust you guys to be independent, Vincent, Vincent tried but this article was clearly designed to make out for the part of Microsoft look bad. Sephiroih...which Dən Brown went to Sephiroth viə eməil instead

Our survey about console failure rates wasn't intended to make anyone look good or bad. We were just curious about our readers’ experience, and a survey is a good way to get a rough idea. We used a third party to conduct the survey and tally the results. Yes, we wrote the questions themselves, but they were exactly the same for all three consoles and contained no comparative assessments (you can see them for yourself at gameinformer.com). It wasn’t a web poll (so no one could vote more than once), and we received ( ANDREW LINN a statistically valid number of responses.

Sorry to break it to you, but our survey Why would Mario and isn't what makes Microsoft look bad - the Luigi loan these guys company’s persistent inability to make a their signature hats? reliably functional system does. Oh...

12 GAME INFORMER

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C 0 N N E C | Breaking News, Views, And Technology From The Cutting Edge Of Gaming

The PS3 Slims Down to °299

Price Drop For All PS3s

ome rumors only die once they become true. Sony

killed two long-airborne birds with one stone by

releasing a slimmed-down PS3 at a reduced price

of $299. Gamers have been clamoring for a

cheaper PS3, and even executives at third-party companies like Activision and Ubisoft have demanded a more cost-competitive system from Sony.

This 120GB $299 PS3 brings the price of the console down into the realm of Microsoft's 120GB $299 Xbox 360 (see below) and Nintendo's $249 Wii.

The new PS3 — which is one-third smaller than the original — replaces the 80GB version (which has also been reduced to $299) as the defacto PS3 as soon as stock of the 80GB runs out. Similarly, the 160GB PS3 received a price drop to $399. Sony director of network operations Eric Lempel says that addi- tional versions of the new, slim PS3 with different hard drive sizes and software bundles could come in the future. However, Lempel tells us that nothing is planned at the moment.

The new PS3 maintains the original's sleek look at a smaller footprint while also retaining almost all of its features. You can no longer install Linux or an alternate operating system on the console, but the new model adds the ability to sync with Sony Bravia TVs so you can control the PS3's cross media bar and turn off the system with your TV remote. This PS5, however, still lacks backward compatibility with the PS2's software catalog.

Matte Finish & New PS3 Logo

The reset and eject disc buttons on the front face now depress

Not to be outdone, Microsoft announced a price drop of its own to match the PS3, which was as widely expected as Sony's. The 120GB Xbox 360 Elite dropped from $399 to $299, and the move pushes out the 60GB Pro model, which will be discounted to $249 until it sells out. That leaves just the Elite and hard drive-less Arcade models.

Microsoft Matches Price

14 GAME INFORMER

The main dimensional difference with the old PS3 is its height. Sony says the new unit is 32 percent smaller and 34 percent lighter. The company touts a quieter fan as well, but we didn't notice a huge difference.

While you can't install an alternative operating system like Linux onto the new PS3, you can sync it with your Sony Bravia TV so that you can use the TV's remote to control both it and the PS3. Sony says that this only works if you're using a HDMI cable and Bravia models from 2008 and 2009.

Bite-Sized Content for

the PSP

The new PS3 wasn't the only Sony announcement at GamesCom

2009 in Germany. The company also unveiled a new section in the PlayStation store that features titles available exclusively for the PSP, called Minis. These downloadable titles (for both the old PSP and the PSP Go) are 100MB or smaller, and EA has already signed on with ver- sions of Sudoku and Tetris. The PSP. Minis service goes live on October 1. Sony expects 15 titles at launch, with 50 more by the end of the year.

A digital reader service also comes to the PSP this December, with new content promised every month such as digital comics from Marvel.

The $299 price point will likely become the new standard for the next-generation consoles for the next year. It is possible that both consoles may reach a $249 price point 12 months from now, but that will likely be the lowest prices will get in the next two years. It would not be out of the realm of possibility for Microsoft to include Project Natal as a standard attachment with all Xbox 360

systems in 2011. The same goes for Sony's new motion controller that is currently in development.

— Jesse Divnich, Elec

Entertainment Design and Research director of analyst services, on where pricing may go from here

The on/off switch has been removed, mean- ing the unit is always on standby unless you unplug it. Sony claims this PS3 model does, however, consume less power.

This new PS3 is not compatible with the old power cord. Instead it uses a traditional two-

prong cord, just like the PS2.

GAME INFORMER 15

connect f

Since taking over NBC's late night slot from Conan O'Brien, former Saturday Night Live star Jimmy Fallon has been courting a younger audience of viewers. A lifelong gamer, Fallon has brought his pas- sion to the show, which has promi- nently featured gaming related guests, segments, and demos. We recently spoke with Fallon about his show and his interest in gaming.

Video Games find A Home on

Since taking over Late Night, it seems you've made an effort

to include a lot of video game related segments. Was this something you planned from the beginning?

Yeah, I've always been into video games. | grew up with video games. I'm part of that generation. | think before it was just pinball games and arcades, but my generation was where you actually took the games and had them in your home. Starting with Atari 2600s, growing up from there. We have a couple of produc- ers on the show that are really into games as well. Whenever we get a little off time, which is rare, we love to play. We have stacks of games in the office.

his own game on the Wii (al

It's interesting because the game industry is at the point where it's as big as movies, music, or television. But when a game comes out you don't see them making the same kinds of promotional appearances that a movie would. Is that something you guys hoped to change? Yeah, | think we're starting to change it now. We had Kudo Tsunoda on to show us Project Natal. We were probably one of the only shows to have him on. | don't think [other shows] treat these people as guests, even though they're just as interesting as anyone they're going to have on their show, Everyone is just so used to booking a celebrity. You rarely see the director of a movie; it's more the people acting in the movie. The people behind the scenes don't really get a chance to come out and talk about it, but | think we're on late enough at night that we're just really looking for interesting conversation. If we can get the developer or a programmer, not just someone that's the voice of the game, | think it'd be so interesting to talk to them. | think we're going to have [Brütal Legend creator] Tim Schafer on.

That would be great. Tim is really funny.

Yeah, | met him once in San Francisco and we went out drink- ing. | barely remember the second half of the night, but he's a really cool dude. | think we're going to have him on. We're having The Beatles: Rock Band on. | don't know if we're getting any of the Beatles; | think we're just going to have the game on.

When you guys started doing more game

content did you have to fight skepticism from

the network?

They kind of left us alone. Our ratings have been great, so | think it was one of those "if it's not broke don't fix it" things.

Coming from SNL, you must have the ability

to read an audience. Do you feel like the game stuff is going over well with the studio audience? Yeah, | really do. We're almost 100 shows in. | think we found our audience. The people that come to see our show know what to expect. When you first come out, no one knows what the show is yet. Some people were just visiting New York City and were like, "Well, let's see the Jimmy Fallon show. What is it? A cooking show?" Now the audience knows | love video games. [We want] to get up