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MAY 11,2010

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PURÉ SI L1 re o Ж АСЕВООК“ DE SECO

Ox BOX 360. LE ии a J 7I3 %

ову

ANDY MCNAMARA EDTOR CHEF andy@gamoinformercom

end ny column or

comment on т lener at gameinformer coma) or flow 09, Andy

In Defense of the Game Manual

bisoft receniiy announced its plans to | | remove manuais rom tho PayStaton 3 and Xbox 360 actions of ts games п a move to до green, Not to sound Ike Andy Rooney or some consumer monster who isn't Earth conscious, but I find ага to believe that game manuals ar ling mother Earth whan thoro aro about a milion other far more grievous offenses taking place each and every Second of every day.

Үт awara of ho phrase that every itl bit count, but їз not ike he industry & ripping through the rain forest to make paper products. Most paper is rated ike crop — a replerishabie resource just Ike food. Once the trees are cut Gown, they piant more. ts dently not stp fining and ist checked the word could use mor res, not fewer

"often annoyed at the amets love of mocking paper products Ike our magazine or game manuals while people st at computer Suckng down power on a giant plast produc When Im done wth a magazine I can recycle it. Do you know where your computer goes when you are done win t?

Gamers can instead ind digital versions of ino manual cn the game websites, which m al юх 1ке ho dea of being abie to check a manual in-game II wish, but te total removal of manu: ais doesnt st wel wth me. The manual is an important part ot my game experence, As walk Out of the Store win a now дате, Ip open tne annoying packaging, st down in my car and pul out ihe manua o check t out. I want to se. the art and experience thal new game smel as crack open ha box ke to laugh at crappy back and white manuals and enjoy the wonder ol an outstanding М color masterpiece

Yes, tha “Game Notes” section n the back of manuals is a waste of space, but find tha rest quie usatu. | don't need a manual to el mo Pow to play a game, but many times there are Jos of useful hinis, as wel some of ihe back stor that otentimes doesn't make it into tho ames themselves. Also, usual read manuals When my game isnt оп. After my gama loads Pm busy playing. в when tke a break or ind тузө! stuck tha Itake the manual wih mo to jean more about my game of choice

With moves ko this, tho manuals fure loce t ook bright, bu I1 ways be wing to pay a fow entra doles to get moro fom tne ames that I colet rather han less.

Enjoy the issue.

Cheers,

Gears of War 3

nt has

govern

йеп and the lamt thr o crack the lanet open, but h not yet lost in this con lusion to ti by Matt Miller

games index

AXE TWI2T

THE FRAGRANCE THAT CHANGES

gameinformer

his month in Feedback we look at solutions to online multiplayer problems, talk about gaming and social issues, laugh at people who fell for Game Infarcer, and get a little sick of cake.

Contact Us пефеск©әлепоттегсот.

No Lie

The Portal 2 cover was awesome! I'm looking forward to alot of things about the sequel, but theres one thing that Im most excited about: пен jokes. f | hear anyone say "tho cake в aa" ‘one more time, | swear I'm shoving them into the nearest emergency inteligence incinerator.

Yeah, the Portal references have gotten a litle out of hand. Then again, ай of the talk about cake and companion cubes is really a testament to the success and popularity of the original. You don't hear gamers rever- cently spouting inside jokes about games they hate...unless the game itself is the punchline, Try shouting “Superman 64!"

in a room full of gamers - the laughter is deafening.

For the Love of the Game Today | would ike to write to you with a sad. dened heart. have yet to find a gamer that is аз deeply into gaming as |, and that disappoints me. | go beyond being a hardcore gamer by supporting my industry the best way that | сап; subscribe to gaming magazines, always ‘check out videos on the internet, and strive to bring my fiends together to have fun online. | always defend game companies, and support them - and | am not even in the industry! Today 1 write to you, Garne Informer, to ask if anyone ‘out there cares about the future ol gaming as much as | do?

Collin McFerrin

‘Madison, WI

We could say a thing or two here, but we have a feeling that you, the readers, will have a few choice words of your own for Collin. We'll just hold our tongues until next month, when we print your responses.

Pay It Forward n his opinion ресе entled A Changing Баек Matt Betz says or one would be ‘more than waling to shel ол a few dolarsa month or an evolving standalone multiplayer experience." What а great ca about how to Tx gitching in Modem Warfare 2, Berta Tel you what If that happens, мй be more than wiling to give you my gamertag so you can take care ol my bil oo, because Fm not paying a penny lo fx their mistake. magine having to pay a monty fee on each опе ot your favorite games; that wont bo “a few dotars" anymore. We can't let риат think itis okay to contnuaty charge Gamers to have an experence that should be rana out of Ie box, һе of charge. ! her. responsbity to keep a game playable, not ours ‘Giancarlo Scamarone Middleburg, PL

Obviously, we'd prefer to not pay extra money for games we've already bought, but Something needs to change about the cur- rent situation. Bertz wasn't proposing that you pay money for the same content you're jetting now in Modern Warfare 2. An "evolv- ing standalone multiplayer experience” would be more akin to the model used in

MMOs like World of Warcraft. Online shoot- ers could continually add new content like maps, weapons, and objectives - in addition to keeping the glitches under control. This kind of attention to the community requires more staff and development time, which cost money. You can say that it is Activision and Infinity Ward's duty to give these things to you for free, but that's just not going to happen under the current model.

Du you тїз Bt ne ресе on те problems win elie mer sue 204? Go oganeitmer conma ona

Reader Nonsense "A game should never, ever be given a score of 10/10. That means it is perfect, and no game can over be perfect. Giving any game a 10, no matter how good, calis your credibility and integrity into question."

arth Infarceru: | don't understand how someone as arogant a th Clark is being supported in your magazine, aim that his opinion is more important than the games or the people that create them 5 insulting to the gaming comm games is hard work, and the gamers are the fnal opinion in gaming - not some jrk's opinion. If he unis as on on the topics of games, then | wil cancel my subscription to the magazine supporting this stupidity. Its about tho games and wil always be about the games. The shouid get the cred, not some critic оп everything һе sees.

thats

David Owen Via email

lam writing to Infarcer section, which I think is a great idea! However, the idea could only work in tha hands

аө of Glas a whole. After

ame Infarcer, I have reakzed ths sec tion is completely ruined in his hands. Not only is he entirely devoid of any humor or c

also comes across as an arrogant jerk

In order to sel m abolaged older PSSS wi the clock bug that rendered

the early systems useless я for a day back in February

Ly

^re in luci

from the tez Answer: False

is pretty sad, considering he really has nothing to be arrogant about. Andrew A. Via email

After the yearly Game Infarcer section runs in the April issue, we prepare ourselves for тап onslaught of letters. Usually, these come from readers who get suckered by one or more of the fake news stories, but this year ме got a little surprise. Game Infarcer's editor-in-chief, Darth Clark, ruffled more. feathers than anything else. In some cases like Andrew's letter), even readers who understood that Game Infarcer is a satirical feature didn't realize that the alleged author of the section was also a parody. Here's

the good news: Darth Clark is pretend, and notan employee at our publication. On the other hand, if you think Game Infarcer is. levoid of any humor or cleverness," you only have us to blame.

2. Remembering PlayStation Ho 3. Mass Effect

ght a

feedback 9

On Your Mind

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(Lett From now

Nar 3 (Center) G4' Ае

Heppe and Adi too hol lor TV but just the rit temperature for GI Spy (Right)

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10 feedback

Tackling The Issue

It was rafreshing to read The Gender Gap, a wel: writen analysis of the challenges of female rep- resentation in gaming. But as a student curer researching archetypes in video games, Га Ike 1o offer my Not only should we ask for mora female characters, we should demand that future female NPCs not be constrained by Traditional gender roles, Dev ould do a lot for women in gaming with this simple, sale, and cost-effective measure.

Alison Rapp Minneapolis, MN

lama female gamer. | adore wasting my week

кіс away playing Modem Warfare, Halo, Laft а Dead, and The Orange Box. However, I hate females in games! Usual, they are the “strong! female archetype that drives me crazy wäh her "I'm just one of the guys, but better” antics and showing off how tough she is. More often than nat, I won't buy a game with a female lead char- acter. | couldn't care less if the game has gender diversity; as long as its а good game, then Im happy. Gaming can just be entertainment - it ‘doesn't need to tackle social issues. | don't com- рап about lack of gifs in games and | wil never have a reason to!

Crystal Chavez via email

Your insuting article about the gender gapin video games almost made me want to cancel my subscription. Where do you guys get off put- ting that in your magazine? Save it for the New York Post or Time. | thought Iwas reading Game Informer, not the “What's Wrong With America Today" magazine.

James Ivey Bradenton, PL

All media is influenced by the surrounding culture. Sure, you can play video games without giving much thought to their social significance - but that doesn't mean it isn't there. As a video game magazine, we report оп many facets of the gaming industry, and we wouldn't be properly serving our read- ers by ignoring the challenge that social issues (ike the gender gap) pose for game developers. They may not be as entertain- ing as punchy Top 10 lists, but these issues. are a part of today's video game industry. If you want a bland hobby disconnected from ‘controversy, perhaps you should invest in a food-themed coloring book.

No Sims Allowed I just read your article about The Sims’ anni Versary, and | thought of a better tle for it:

10 Years of the Sims and the 9.75 Years No Опе Gave a S---”| mean, Mortal Kombat and Duke Nukem worked too hard to set the bar for these guys to come along and make a video game out of a home economics class. Don't encourage them, Gl

Malcolm M. New York, NY

Games with lots of blood and guns aren't ‘automatically more legitimate than those ‘about buying furniture and going to work. Mortal Kombat and Doom certainly carry more hardcore credibility, but as the best- selling PC series ever, The Sims franchise is ‘a huge milestone in gaming history. If simu- lations aren't your thing, stick to BFGs and fatalities. Just remember that “I don't like this game” and “This game is bad” aren't ‘always interchangeable statements.

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Are sequels stronger than ever?

of Success

ho word “sequel” might bo a dirty word to some, but it also represents a large portion of the good games we play. The current gaming landscape is marked with established properties Ike Mass Effect 2, Uncharted 2, BioShock 2, and many more. And "why shouldn't it be? When a publisher or devel ‘oper sees that a series ike Call of Duty: Modern Warfare increases its sales from 14.4 milion units sold worldwide for the frst game to over ‘an estimated 18 milion for the follow-up (so ar, its easy to envision a successful franchise as a goose laying golden eggs. In ight of tho recent Success of so many sequels, it appears we're in the midst of video game heyday. We took a Iook at tho process of crafting a good series and. investigate the overall strength of the model, "We go in with tha mentality of: Everything we buid has the potential to tum into a major. franchise," says Scott Rohde, vice president of Sony's worldwide studios in America. While ‘everyone wants a blockbuster or three, getting therethrough a suc- cession of carefuly crafted games. is not easy. It can be the kind of. chalenge that is almost too big 1o foresee. “The funny thing about the God of War games,” explains God of War Ill rector Sig Asmussen, “is that we push so hard atthe end ofthe game that we aren't plan- Ting very wel for the next game. "Wo don't plan for tho next game unti we're back from our vacation. after we fish the game.” When they do start working on the next instalment, there's a wealth of info from focus groups, fans’ forum posts, internal post-mortems, and other sources, but not always easy to cut through the static. However, both Asmussen and Evan Wels, co-president of Uncharted 2 developer Naughty Dog, beleve that a good расе to start is with what wouldn't, or even couldn't, workin the previous games. Both developers believe in the importance of examining ideas that didn't make it into earier tiles, This isn't because of a lack. ‘of inspiration, however I anything, ts a way to revisit gameplay mechanics and features that

were worthy enough tho frst time around but couldn't be implemented, perhaps due to tech-

nological constraints. Asmussen points to God

^f War I grunts wi randomized animatons

and Alas an example of this, and Wels states

{hat righting wrongs the inherent purpose of

sequels. "Moro so even than охсоот the salos ‘or the critical reception of the frst game, we're

just hoping that we can fnd personal satisfaction in achieving the vision that wo had actualy origi- пау set out to achieve.”

For Wels, working on a sequel isn't justa rotum to the fama, but an exciting process “because tom day one you are realy produc- tie,” he explains. "When you are creating a now IP its a sog through at least tho frst year о! development, and maybe even longer if you are developing a new engine or working with Tow hardware to where the amount of progress you're making every day is realy itie”

Building fom a foundation can be a good approach, but franchises must aways navigate the double-edged sword of attracting new fans without alenang the od ones, Does a tutorial dor the uninitiated get in tho way or veterans? Do franchise overhauls and/or fashy new features pul the rug out tom under long-time fans? As Asmussen deals, there aro no easy decisions. For God ot War I, he feit һе had to тоо Kratos of some of his powers because ha thought that to seis’ debut on PS3 would attract a ot of newcomers. "It Kind of a ciché for the game right now” he acknowledges, tut Wwe definitely recognized that there were going to be a lot of now people

‘On the subject of tutoriais, Wels beleves they're a must fr anyone who plays his games, Simply because he doesn't think that even fans ‘of Uncharted, for example, wil remember al the ‘controis Кот the frst game back in 2007. One feature he dd think was a win-win for everyone, however, was multiplayer

No matter how fnely you hone your crat, he danger of becoming stale is aways present. Some gamers beue that sequels get cozy and don't create enough new momentum for the industry. While now Ps are certainly sexier "han whats ата innovations in gaming can be made by any game at any time, and even new IPs rely on whats come befor, Stil, both Asmussen and Wels know the danger sans of a franchise that has run its course, | think the best gauge,” says Wels, “and ultimately what makes

a diferane between what makes a good game. and a bad game, is the enthusiasm of the team." When a developer is bumed aut on a fran- chise, Asmussen bollevos that the best thing

чо do is give the property to another devel- oper assuming that the studio is right for the job - or put it on the shelf unti the original team is inspired again. Rohde, a man who cer- tainly is familar with the status of Asmussen, Wels, and all of Sony's frst-party develop- ers, keeps a close watch on the situation. He is mindful of the cimate Sony's franchises aro in, the publisher's balance of new IP to sequels, how the audience for a given series may be changing its demographics, and how this might even affect what kind of mechan- ics might be added or which console is most suitable for certain points in the franchise's If, For those serios that Sony has put on the shelf, Rohde is one of the people who ls planning - sometimes as long as three or four years down tho road = for the right time for a. franchise to return.

Even though Asmussen has worked on all the God of War games, he's not oblivious to the danger of the industry becoming too depen- dent on sequels. However, he doesn't think that жете at that critical mass yet, Ho Ekens tho current climate to that of moves in the 70s and "805, citing stil-relevant sequels of the time Ike Tho Empire Strikes Back and Rocky I. "I think we have to be very careful that the industry doesn't become so focused on money that nobody is wiling to take risks anymore, and we're either just doing sequels or games based оп franchises п other mediums. I might sound Ike a hypocrite because | just got done work- ing on my third game in a row, but for me it's a passion, it's more Ike the Star Wars movies or Rocky movies. In my mind, God of War kind of commanded a sequel.”

If ever the state of sequels is dre, Asmussen firmly beieves gamers should not hesitate to take matters into their own hands. In that сазе, he says, "People have to stop buying the ‘sequels. Something needs to happen to get people to stop buying the sequels, because the ‘companies are going to keep offering nothing ‘but sequels.” For now, however, ме seem to be reaping the benefits of gaming franchises constantly perfecting their craft and offering con ‘tently enjoyable experiences.

connect 18

Sequel Movers Movers & соз B

Red Steel 2 (Wil, 2010) 81

Losers Real's rod (mu, 2007 88 лана God à шш. 2008) 81

enana аныз е Герн Tuer PA

007| 88 | 96 The Metacritic scores of many of the series we looked at stayed the same or only strayed by a few points, perhaps point ing to the strength and reliable nature of sequels. However, here's a culled selection of modern video game franchise whose scores stand out.*

Mass Effect (360, 2007) 91 Mass Effect 2 (160, 2010) 96

1009)

Excite Truck (Wii, 2 Racing (Wii, 2

o $ 1 и

led Alert 3 [PC 2008) 82 | Command & Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight |PC, 2010) 69

Resident Evil 4 (ip), 2005) 86 Resident Evil 8 (multi 2009) 86 |

Final Fantasy XII (PS7, 2006) 92 Final Fantasy ХШ (P52, 2010) 83 |

Marvel Ultimate Alliance (9, 2006] 83 Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (multi, 2009) 74

“The муна bt re vas a t span es win eet es Nro "oats ges vor шей ni sy

Are Episodic Games the Answer? ‘When we asked Naughty Dog's Evan Wells what he thought might break the current model of sequels, e ol us episode gaming has the potential to do that, but that t would be ifcut Wels thinks that so far nobody has produced competing content with the "current level of idelty” of your average console game ‘at he same rate сап be shed out. In other wor, Its tough to drop episodic coment every month, and then олу have a month to create the next batch. "f someone was abie "o crack that nut tin tha's oe of the only things that would change the way people are ‘experiencing her sequels.”

16

BioShock (i, 2 BioShock 2 [mul

Fina Fantasy ML

Matters of Context

A new console can be an exciting new opportu- nit for series Ike one. There's no doubt he PS3 provided hype and great-looking graphics for a sequel that was better received than the frst оле. Sm new features (ке Resident EW Scoop) пен developers (BioShock 2 or new mechanics final Fantasy 0 may factor in same sequels scoring lower an her predecessors - even though Ihe games and seres themselves may be oh quality

‘The Scarcity of Wii Sequels A iden sac in the Metacritic sequel data is that Nintendo's Wi - apart rom some frst- ary is бе Super Mario Galaxy or Metroid Prime - dosn't have as many sequal as the her systems. Wile lesser franchises Ike Cooking Mama ог Stan White Snowboarding pad out areas of he console roster, the Wis overall catalog misses out from he stable of consistently strong-scoring tls that sequels provide the ather plas. Given the problems that id parties have had achieving success on the Wi, ts not surprising. Thankful there area few exceptions, such as Boom Box, Red Steel, Resident Evi, and No More Heroes.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Sequels Aren't Better teresinoy, nether Evan Wels (co-founder of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves developer Naughty Dog) nor God f War N rector Stg Asmussen thought hat sequels necesriy do ber than ther predecessors dont think itis agen” said Wels “From the research ve done, on average,

i you look across al games, not just he most sucessful triple-A les, sequels tend to decine

in ale” Asmussen observed a poste mirage йез produced by review sores. A sequel might soore better because its Ike a more refined po uct than he game before it but "the dont aas do beter in terms of ss" Despite Asmussen and Wels insider observations, both God of War and Uncharted 2 shown) have surpassed their prede- сезаз according to Sony's sales numbers

3 WITH A SA!

TIC SPIN

People al over the industry love to blab about stuf nt. Otherwise, how would we know that there are voice actors portraying Ghul in Batman; Arkham Asylum 2? Or how retailer НМУ i isting tho upcoming Bizarre Creations-developed James Bond racer as James Bond: Bloodstone? Tony Hawk even. Ay" ittered that sing game is called Tony Hav ıt nobody paid attention, so it never happened. Right?

the franchise, and gamers i^o loved the si roling XBLAF aro getting moro. Capcom unveiled the sequel at a recent event, and although there aro no deals about when Rearmed 2 is coming oul, at least Nathan "Rad"

the

npions Online before it, the 360 econ of Star Trek Onin

to the game's executive producer, Craig Zinkevich, Ho ‘ot a technology snag, soit would appear that Microsofts st ‘onine policy has claimed another casually. The good news is that the company fied a trademark for City of Her

Canadian tea partiers just got a new reason to hate taxed. Too Human developer Siicon Knights has been ded a $4 milion grant from the Canadian government to ‘employees and work on a new game. Personally, we'd rather play the balance-the-budigot game that our government recently contacted Microsoft about making.

There's been a staff bloodbath at Sega.

in both the San Fı and London off company says that whi itis not abandoning trac

tional console tes at al, there wil be a new focus оп digital content. In fact, London wil be the HO.

for PC and console tiles, while San Francisco han: дев the digital expansion,

‘An actor pulid a fake gun on a bunch of bar patrons in New Zealand as part of market

Cel C

tal badass who could take out every сор in New Zealand if he wanted, and would never get arrested Ike that fool.

SAVING YOUR PARTY IN MASS EFFECT 2

You've already completed Mass Effect 2 at least once — maybe you've even finished multiple play-

throughs. Regardless of how many times you've saved the galaxy, what goes on behind the cur- tain of Shepard's final mission is shrouded in mystery. You know it's good to get the loyalty of your crew, but why? What happens if you choose the wrong specialists? Why is Mordin prone to get- ting gunned down, even when loyal? We talked to the team at BioWare to get all of the under-the-hood details on how the game determines who survives and who is sacrificed during the course of the game's climactic suicide mission. Warning: spoilers follow!

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games, envisioning how the passing of d tht improve an area beloved ares Sodom deity raises tho heat пие fa, Bu ey тот па recoge what 2K Games Ras planed. Te pubic has anounced that is reviving he taras as XCOM- a Net personen Soloed Бу BioShock lead studio 2K Marin. To game does ot fave a release dato yet, Dat wl oniy boon XBox 000 ard PC

"The game puts you in the shoes of an FB agent wno must handle a groning len ae. Eren hough XCOM в fre person ll now that dan mean that has comply lost te rate edge, though 2 Mar aking ЖА a gamer, tons alo Cerne sag, elements wih the personal maropeciiva e an FPS,

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Hartmann, president of 2K, "and with XCOM they wil re-imagine and expand the rich lore of this revered franchise. Players wil explore the World of XCOM from an immersive new per: spective and experience firsthand the fear and tension of this gripping narrative ride.”

It's too early to pass judgment on this new XCOM, but the game's new style is certainly an opportunity for 2K Marin to put its own stamp оп the franchise, and perhaps take it in new directions that everyone wil ove.

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Splinter Cell: Conviction

Splinter Cell has always been a game of precise calculations and small windows. If Sam

Fisher didn't duck into the shadow:

ves away frc

Montreal's creative director Maxime Beland an

the series’ drama footed as a spring chicken.

After announcing the game you went back to the drawing board and reinvented It. Why did you ultimately decide to change tracks mid-development? How many of those original ideas

де it into the final game? Belana: Our creative teams knew they needed to make an enormous impact with this th nstalment е оле of ово! most important brands. Great games aret made ошку, and (зой supported the creativity ofthe development team by gung the necessary ime to make a great game. Due to this we kept al the great tools we already had, such as an amazing lighting engine and the dynamic environment, then we focused th lay more on the Spir

отоло, suchas

hs ofthe project. Other than that, we pretty much produced and shipped everything tna planned on the mision side. For umber one feature that we were not able to do on tm abit to сату dead bodies. i we wouldve been abe to do t Not that you realy need t the game, but more becaus feature that a lot of fans would ike

Early concept images of Sam showed him with a beard and shaggy hair. Why did you move away from the gruff look? Bend: The change in Sam's lok srmoly fts batter with the new drec: tion of the game, He в not a fugitive anymore, and he is à man on a mission, Sam is not in Third Echelon anymore, he & on his own investiga: tion, and so he chooses to dress m оп adequate manner to alow him. 10 до acrobatic moves, The new

at an exact moment,

ditions, applying an uncalculated urgency to the о-ор game director Patrick Redding an like Sam could suddenly be

ic shift, and also outline how an old ma

Sam now works for himsell Hes tense and mean, and al пе muscles эе tor predation, pining toward hi goal, Sam has always been a dangerous man. But now, he le himself be dangerous

Conviction moves at a much faster pace than most stealth games. Was speed one of your design goals?

Beard: V

ve the fantasy о the

made SC special intesgence п action. SC в not and wil never be а sk based shooter at its core. I and be rewarding for those that

sang afectiva. Meanw realized that gamers enjoy nnovatve ‘gameplay and fast-paced action. (Our атып was to bridge the tact cal elements vath the needed action о that would resonate win ‘Gamers’ expectations. So we dec

10 focus on brand new gameplay coments for Conviction. The Mark and cue is a realy good ек ре ol this phiosophy, being granted a mark and execute, and using i wel wil regure some thinking, ws the execute part wil be driven b proving the sense of being thi nes agent. Additional. the аршу to use Last Known Postion одоно players o stategcaly fark opponents. Tis gameplay encour- ages gamers to learn har surround- ings and uto strategic positioning,

Wie il alowing the freedom to run head frst into batte.

Enemies are very chatty in Conviction. Why is the Al con- tantly hurling insults at you? ‘Boland: Part of that decision was о give players In teeing that they have too much information about doing rather t

he

і compromise the mission.

that was bringing enemy chatter into the narrative. Usually, that sort ої dalogue в very generic. You

transplant tha “Arr ve beer о ines that bad guys give olf Trom one game to another, and in a lt of cases t would be hard to tal no diference, Hore, we were чуг to make those re

' what was going on

enemies react in very derent ways. Some of ats the insults you're

taking about. Some of that temor And some o i is a determina- ton to measure themselves against ths tempo, ionic Бае of Sam Fisher by taking him down

The last fight is more of an. interactive cutscene. How do you respond to players who say that the ending was a missed gameplay opportunity? and: Огду. the plan was for Tom Reed о suddenly mutate into а 401001 tal tentacle beast with machine guns in his eyes, but that turned out to be a bad match for our core gameplay. More seriously "dard boss fight cdt mesh wel with ай of the rules ol gameplay that had been estabished a the game, and realy across the iran- che. A drawn-out, extended ght win a singe enemy in a game tat about sudden, successiu attacks and quick crops of enemies so fignis адагы everything the player had done up lo stead, i seemed more a "boss sequence, something that iod gameplay and narrative о cre something that matched the rest ne game whie providing a sat fyra resoluton to all aspects.

Why did you decide not to include tho beloved Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer in Conviction?

Redding: From the begenieg we

Convict

stealth formula. Ubisoft

eed light on as light

decided to make the best co-op erence posstie for Convetion. The gameplay developed in single- таратар ыны С because it lets мо players work together to dominate the enemy and ranforce hat feng of being preda- tony: Som в the panther, Archer and Kestrel ae Ike two wolves п. working together to take

аео adversarial mode caled "Face ОТ consisting of spy versus spy, with hostile Al thrown into the тїк that Өз perecty withthe concept ot two rival agents.

Splinter Cell is known for having ridged trial and error gameplay, but Conviction isn't like that at

I. Did you try to make the game ‘more forgiving?

What means to be a has changed over time, tr Cal tse. We used to ave things tke three alarms and the mission wouid be fad, the ight and noise meter, and detaled radars and maps. We locked at al ot hese elements and what they brought to the game, and worked lo execute se concepts in a new, faster, mere action-onented expenence, For example, we've always had a concept of Last Known Poston, ıa means of paying cat-and-mouse vb the enemies: however was ‘concept to play with

since there was alt of guesswork involved. Now we expose it 10 you, ard it becomes a realy power toot that you can explo. In al, | think we've managed to create the samo. сое Spinter Cel experience, but faster, clearer, more personal and with the option to pay ether in a. зооту or more dynamic way. $

TOP TEN ANNOYING ENEMIES Metroids Mero Sere)

pon tiny planform

Will-o-the-Wisps (Elder Scrolls V.

Like-Likes (I nd of Zelda series) Most annoying enemies are ply send you t your death, but Like-Like has more sinister intentions. The

real threat w

him isn't e'll drain your heal

hat he'll steal one of Lini f you don't defeat him si

yourself angrily trotting