THE WORLD'S Kj, VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE gameinformer BATTLEFIELD 3 Y) ARMED WITH A NEW ENGINE, DICE SETS ITS SIGHTS ON CALL OF DUTY New Worlds. New Heroes, ROSS MULTIPLE WORLDS! . nd battle fantastic mo eal World and a myst the land from evil SQUARE ENIX. Will you become a Martial Artist, a Warrior or maybe a Merchant? Chang; ions as many times as you like, and customize your characters to your aut S interesting C fodinis иан Gadabout, Monster Master and Gladiator. RECRUIT: MONSTERS TO JOIN YOUR HEROES IN BATTLE! In Dragon Quest VI, monsters aren't just your enemies anymore. Former foes like Slime, Slime Knight and even Hackasaurus can join your party and fight enemies at your her North Ameri meon February 14" dra ag ‚gonqueste,nintendo.com. NINTENDO S. (© 2010, 2011 ARMOR PROJECT AD STUDI/ARTEPIAZZA/SALARE ENIX. AN Rights Reserved. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2010 Nintendo. visit gameinfermercom daily for the latest and greatest, and follow @gameinformer on Twitter | ЭЭ, — N Open Letter to Activision rp eee ae prn uere ies ~ Ree heard, | am going to grease the‘ ils a bit with ies pills uM to sit down and chat with Activisið CEO Bobby MPO pk. Care bere: ER entes eb ee ied PERDE uae cc нн E ptr te Eee den ue m E uu ‘wouldn't love tha? You can presume he loves the money more than the game, but that's beside they ended replet: viction about making products that gamers хий. E ! contents For Ihe most par | think Actvision does а р of delivering on tat promise. Thats a big Teason why itis the number one publisher inthe world. However, the way his company goes about its business tends to put people on the offensive. You can now add Bizare Creations to along list of Activison faux pas along with the Infinity Ward dorce, over-expioitation of Gutar Hero. and runing Tony Hawk into the ground. Activision wouid have you beleve the mistake was acquiring Bizarre but going after the James Bond license is the real mistake here. Bond ust doesn't have the draw he once did, and that isn't Bizarre's faut The sacrificial amb should be the business man- ager who picked the franchise (mistake one) and merged it with Вгате Creations (mistake two) not the studio, Bizarre Creatighs isn't the frst or last casualty in game publishing: But there is a lesson here that every video game publisher in the world needs to learn — talent 6 the most important asset in this industry People that make great games don't make them accidental but they need support. They need goed marketing "cough" Singularity “cough. They need to be teamed up with te right license or concept. They need a publisher to back them when things don't go exactly as planned. “нв is a cautionary tale. We watched Electronic Aris dive away talent en masse in the past, but пон the company Is doing everything it can to strengthen its relationship with пз partners. The company discovered the hard way that creators and visionaries come from a firite pool 1t you want ta stay on top, Activision, your pas- sion for games tnat gamers love is crucial. And don't think just anyone can capture gamers imaginations ~i takes something special. Bizarre. Creations is/was/forevec-wil-be an amazing devei- ССК оре, and once its gone, ts dificulti E 4 H 5 Ihre EVO shift" 4G sprintcom/evo 1H800-SPRINT-1 (1-800:777-4681) gameinformer his month in Feedback we discuss Lara's new look, inform a hooligan that M-rated games still h our most distinguished reader, and e rules, receive an award from save Christmas. That's right, we saved Christmas. You're welcome. new Lara Croll. Aller soci the new designs for ine and Cláre Reale in Resident Evi y its iko watch hilo Capcom is Allewlära Lori rome cries р t lock: нь senarios 3D, | must ingin the right. apparently гую to make my favorite Resident Eu adios more appealing to a broader тас om wih pully fps and imos, Crystal Dynamics entasy heroine 1o looks nol just «ого about her? 5 and scared. | inst vedios rem audenco by updating deavage- is trnsfoming the origi ‘of video games into som alractiv, aswel | im Rosser herono Найрал ied FL rather than ji World. | am so mpressed by the story and new rection they ere going with Lara. Wi all ho. reboots of characters going on lately i locks Ike We wil bo gettng ono that is lock and story ving ot a new Mic Holroyd l'maesthelicaly cispleased by Tomb Raiders Via Email rocent transtormation. Im а twenty-two year with a 34DD-24-34 р supply of martis lor my La A Halowoen, How am 110 emu- орой roncition? Based on the majority of responses we've recelved from our readers, Tomb Ralder fans are excited for a more realistic and ‘vulnerable Lara. As for Valerie's lamenta- tion, something tells us the Judges of your contest probably won't mind if your cos- tume next year doesn't accurately reflect Lara's new look. If they do, there are plenty of other buxom video game babes that can keep you flowing In free booze. Contact Us 857222 The Ultimate Showdown In Issue 213 wo asked readers who would win in a fight between Kevin Butler and Chuck Norris. We received many compelling arguments, but ultimately a response from ‘one of the potential contenders settied tho debate. | think Kevin Butler would win, because he would use his superior advertising skis Ю get Chuck Noris on the PlayStation Move, Then, white Chuck Nomis is playing video games, Kevin Butter would give him a roundhouse kick to the ‘back of the head Jaime Barillas Chudk Norris gave Kevin his last name to mark him as a servant of Chuck Nomis, As Chuck's But," Chuck Noris would make Kevin kick his. Christopher D. Wernham | was wondering this ost the other day. I came to this concen: Although Chuck Norris would beat KB in a man-to-man fight, KB has a cut. following - he the Charles Manson of the video game word. One tweet from KB and lt would bo Ike Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood; enraged gamers would descend on Chuck Ike а starved pack of rabidi байдаг, whle KB sits back and ips hs cate, Mick Oliver Hey Qgameinformer, please stop asking me to fight Chuck Norris. Mom taught us not to fight in our famil Kevin Butler (Via Twitter) No Spin Zone enjoyed yournieiew wih Sepa Alan Pritchard [Charting A Now Cose For Sega, issue 213), How resting to oo a game тха ty ecutive being so cand and eat atic, | ope that oiher oXocules and game deweloper road ат come to redzo тий honesty, even sixat your сотрагув tahes, eams ha ust andrespect of lms. Тугд to here spin Tales nl suconsses comes fas phony complacent, and агодал and most readers сап spot fom a mio ану Choe to Pricer fo tang th Nh road Brian Howe Durham, NC You're right, Brian; honesty is always. refreshing, and a company can’t fix some- thing fit won't admit it's broken. Kind of like that old saying: An error is only a mis- take. actually, we can’t remember the rest. Probably because we're too cool to have ever made a mistake. Asking For It Окву Гуе seen those dccus ters you guys qol bou printing sorting wrong n your ag. Wel 1 derosay, rs my hri in his Sonic Colors DS пмен in issue 213, Tm Tul made a big misto He sad hs Lavoro power'up transtorns Sonic но an consuming bad nd, which alows him fo vacuum up enemies and coi." Cons? Cons? Tris is nol Maro, Ив Sonic. | demand you T» his bare | cancel ту subscrpin, Nol ey 'm jst making lun f ne readhrs Who complán and raten you. Please poka lun at mo. t woud е geting your signed autograph, Chris Merced, CA Okay Chris, here we go: If you really care that much = walt a minute, Did Tim really call them coins? Who mixes up rings and ‘coins? We really need to fire that qun Play Nice sol last night tound out that my player card n Black Ops is under investigation because it ‘could bo sexualy expt, Usualy | wouldn't car, ‘bul ed that Treyarch has been censoring 100 much of what is happening within Black Ops ‘compared to Modern Warlara 2. In an olor 10 ‘cover tho butts noy havo chosen to caler to 12.yearolds and ther parents who dd not have ‘enough sense to not buy their underage chidren tho дато n the frst piaco. Itis high tm heso companies tako a stand, grow some bals, and back up Ine more maturo gaming audience, instead of making restrictions hat completely ako away from tho fun of tho game because nobody ios to log on to find thal now things had to bo stricted bocauso some mom ‘decided she needed to complain. Steve East Lansing, MI It you're looking for sympathy over having an immature or offensive profile banned, you've come to the wrong place. While Black Ops may be an M-rated game, that doesn't mean the adults who play it want to be subjected to idiocy. Treyarch isn’t trying to cater to children or disgruntled moms = Its attempting to pull the reputation of online gaming out of the gutter and create respectful atmosphere where adult gamers. сап focus on what's really fun: competing with other players. Best. Award. Ever. “The prestigious "Tom Barrett Best Cover of the Year Award" goes to Game intormer for "ho Cal Bat cover of issue 200, September 2010. Congratulations, ‘Tom Barrett St. Petersburg FL gameinformer Abit of background information: Back in February 2006, we named then 75-year-old retired Navy photographer Tom Barrett. Game Informer's coolest reader ever, for putting a whiny, self-proclaimed hardcore. gamer In his place. Tom: After five years, its good to see that you're зїй enjoying the magazinel — " ot look an aul ot Pe the Karat Ki, Ralph Macao? And 8 i sange that] fnd this erat No. And YES. must confess ап acted 1o In Endless Ocean sas ust ca stp unt lae pat oy Fein he ocean Sout be cmbarasod? As long as It stops at petting, you should be okay. ‘nthe ama song fresa part about ал orange shying a Take, how docs he orange бау heri? With its good looks? ow your magazine so much ‘hal sometines ead it eren tna aig a dump: rianda L Hicks This 8 gonna bea long rant so you might want to qut some snacks. Fist ol, a mido gero a You guys out thore wl hs рев ар ARE YOUFROQN KCON WEI" (Left) МВ 211s Sean Baley prepares to it no out o he park, ike Brian Roundy wats on deck (Center) Capcoms Melody and GameDaly/s ВС oad hang outal is year's CES (Right) Also in ledanae were High feas ‘Nex Ryan and Pages president, Heather Sorensen feedback 7 zamammuam шиниининин ГИЯ p— ' m поа dur at Roc yout the impressive tace ture system being used LA Note (Inset) The resus are impressive о say Ihe east We cant wa 0 Tan him over (Right) Yet another deweloper meeting end win Ben ayng n e {ctl postion, 255055 Nick Goldsworthy, Аека. Casey Lynch, and Kung Fu Factory's cc Rukavina tappi wal on tim. 8 feedback A Whole New World 1 am very mpressed with your "Persian Markar article in issue 213, My lathar Б from ran (though he has vedin the U.S. for over 20 is article immediately caught my бух. am a gamers wie, and do not play many games. However, I do read my husband's Game Informer avidly. Not oriy до! absolutely love the ESRA raing scale as a mom, but Inever knew iren was a part of the garing world urti now. The oriy time | have ever connected ran to video games was with the recent release of Prince of Persa. So ат very excited to learn about raris Sides n this feki. Christiana Sayyah | woudl to to thank y article on ranis game ratings board th issue 213. Not only was it interes tu, | wouid als Ike to commend you tor keeping cullaly sensitive, and unbiased itrespec Is something you don't aways c American media about ran. Michael M. Hojjatie Via Email 1 was very excited when saw Ine "On Your Mif chart in issue 2135 Feochack - Minecralt s finally getting noticed qucd Пррой through the magazine, bul fo my disappointment, I saw по Мпестай review. Im really hoping lor a review next issue, Во sure to mention the croepers Jacob Graber Via Email You'd better not hold your breath, Jacob. V ist зрріп‹ Some games aren't conducive to covering. in a traditional review. In Minecraft's case, the game has only recently entered beta, until she a egan to p uc ll uy and isn't really even a "game" yet. There's er Пап" think of V то telling when or If well ever see a final " version capable of being reviewed, but heres the good news: It sounds like you're т already enjoying Minecraft as much as we are, in which case you don't really need a. review to tell you that its worth playing. Also, creepers are terrifying. TWITTER CON/MAR VEU CAPCON. f. Gamestop j mem “№ і A 47 | нпвцхииланцаакой У : ae ee s. 71 j AVAILABLE 071511 10 feedback THERE D - NO EASY WAY IN. THAT'S WHY THEY SEND IN THE MARINES. THE MARINE CORPS IS OUR NATION'S PREMIERE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, READY AT 23 = AMOMENT'S NOTICE TO PROTECT OUR NATION AND WAY OF LIFE. WHEN THERE IS NO. gé MARINES EASY WAY IN, OUR NATION SENDS IN 15 MARINES. MEA RINES.COM. CO7. THE FEW, THE PROUD. sony Introduces Its Next-Generation tthe PlayStation Meeting 2011 revealed n talking screen, and rear to time with the iter than the old PSP design. Instead, n the Xbox л par with the PS3. T was thin, light, and comfortabi factor is k Ч might take some front to ih pad have multi-finge capabilities), but its aready being imple its Sixaxis gyroscope features of the unit include front and back cameras (poss reality. microphone, and a suite of communication functions. LiveArea is a hub that gives you tent, view played near you, allows tually, and more. ‘other play Titles for the unit v me version of tary memory cards. You can ves on the game cart itself, but dable titles and other stored media parate memory card. The th WF) wil. ding games easy, but Sony iled if here will be an extra pay ment plan for 3G, or if multiplayer utiizing the Codenamed NGP, it will be out by the end of 2011 ibscriplion unds attractive so far, but any iy aun ig. Game Informer has heard a rumor it the unit wil cost units “pro tying system - including some of ils games - o the fll Sony NGP Specs CPUE ARM Carex AB core U cae} СО External Dimensions: Aprox 1820 186% 88.5mm (wid x height x depth) tentative, excudes Jargest projection) Sereen: 5 inches (169) 960 x 544 (touch screeni. Appro. 16 milion caos, OLED. Mutiteuch screen (capacitive type) Rear touch pad: Mut- ouch pad (capacitive type} Cameras: Front camera, ear camera ‘Sound: Buln Stereo speakers. Ви microphone Sensors: Sixaxis motion sensing system (ree ads бисксоро, roe-ais ac- cderomete) Tireeuis dectonic compass Location: Buit- GPS. W- Fi location service support Keys/Suitches: PS button, Power button. Directional buttons (Up Doww Rhet Action buttons Папе Став Ооздо) Shoulder buttons тей) Right Sick, Left stick START button, SELECT button. Volume buttons el) Wireless Communica- "Bons: Mobi network connectivity 3G, WF (802 Tibignfar Inra- structure and achoe), Butoh 21 connect 13 Next-Gen Gaming On the Sony stopped short of announcing its ober oft rumored portable gaming initiative - tne Paystatin phone - but itd talk abad mobile gaming The GPdeopmentkishave says the handheld has ‘oughly four new controis Ike ho orina Uncharted companys Paystaten reporiedy been out to devel- тев tho power we've Seen on prev — oniePS3 which used tho Sixaxis to Sute cigtal platform pers for many months, bul ous mobie platforms low Nathan Drake to balance ав ho wl deliver PlayStation арай rom impresse оор» Sega's Toshihiro Nagoshi said, this crossed logs: content одао рові Ol st-party tes Ike Uncharted, the ishardware wih no excuses" wie Meanie, Lite Deviants’ orfiod devices (nung an МР debut was ight on Inind-party showing lf ported Yakuza footage och demo used tho back touch pad to peces rende demos. However, hat doesn't mean Bectronic Arts - usually a solid creato hils for the cute tle blobs to rol en Sore and ер game That plenty ol companies - nut sofware contort all he console down Ivo showed ff tho soroens Ten Grund testy. ing ha os of Action (wich is manuiacturors and their plattons- multitouch functionality by lotting you Fee] promising a Call ol Duty forthe NGP}, was absent ram the event and Sonys pinch together your fingers to scrunch oration? qu Rockstar Capcom, and Ubisoft aren't Ist of supporting developers, but a the word together betore releasing 1 Дац excited about ho unit sc Spokesperson told us: "Wo aro cs and sending the Dovants tying Finaly, Sony sas tat any ideo footage reve Gusingihe&sueWihSon,buthere Tha NGP'scamaras were pu lo аып dev Cl games Ike Kilzone, LMeBigPlanel, are no announcements to make today. eflecive use in both Uncharted and pot tiles can be prid Restanco,andWpeoutandaduich ЕА has a great relationship with Sony” — tha Hol Shots Gal-iko Gol! Nox. over tothe НӨ. of hid parly developers took to the WegolouhandsonalowNGP Uncharted has a camera mode that stago at me event 10 ak up the new games, and were impressed with ihe puts you Irst person perspective and though the PlayStation phone wasnt anounced, site Engadget has d ho NGP unit to ment and take in-game rose units teol and gameplay functional has you mova aro was ly, The back touch pad, front touc scan th urit. One ofthe main poi by mtple developers was E s Бо оо fears Say QA Not y expected shorty inlessthan a week, Overall, Sweeney — mentsin Uncharted vll require these List of Third-Party Game Developers and Publishers (450101 27:17) North America тема Entertainment aci Medio Works m тн телок Gant Aeneon In Ut m Grasshopper Manufacture Marvelous Entertainment TON Company Gusto Games Capybara Games Werner вісе 1те: Capcom GungtoOnine£nterin- Майа Tose Home Ertertarment Deniue Sudos Entertainment Crun sot ment NamcoBandsi Games Шәй Supplies Ept Games 2K Games Codemasters бв Non Falcon Free Impromptu Stare Far Sight States 2K Sports Gras Mister Hanser Nippon hi See EuroperPAL паво bs dum piece Hudson Sut Nowproducon. аде биво Rockstar Games намеће Safe Acquire O3 Putter ie Factory O Entertainment Are Sihenlonce Kung Fo Factory Avion Omps Caporaton tem So Sega Caporaton presion Simo Digtal Paramount Digtal JO tercie p^ Kadokawa Games SW PameeCoprrn Сикон Team 17 Stare tetuer Ac System Works p Kadokawa Shoten Spke Бие оой PopCap Games ‘ao, From Sotware Konami 008 rar Ent ee Zen Studas Powerbead Games Pati Carporaton pomi rerom Systensat pha. Fremint UISES by Joe Juba я Sheik (corna Tine) Cardboard Box (Metal Gear series) Чин ol sell ‘This classic disguise has been a long-standing part of ee m sine Solid Snake's repertoire. Despite all of the advances in тив than tre tearing авлах enemy Al in the last decade, we're glad that guards still Te Laos ae aren't smart enough to question a conspicuous cardboard. 4 Ler Ganon so al aes Бох sitting in the middle of a top secret base, And why should they? After all, it's just a box. A Girl Final Fantasy VI) one ol he most hat baked scams TH FPG history, the FEV ен dickes tat dressing up Cloud n a ess and gving him puts & а good plan, However, іе Cod ‘kd of looks ioa gil ad. tis байр idea works Ike a chum. Silver Ear (Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist As Ihe oniy one-eared pharma- stin a simal OK West tov, Freddy Parkas stands oul. To ananmoisly resume his former їе ава gunt he aas himsel a metal repacement ear, becoming the Set Fred тапаг" боме! Pint-Sized Slasher Fallout 3) Vitus Fallout 3 players vou ‘eve se s sequence which hos your character donning the Signature mask of the maniacal dom called ти it Sed Заа. Sting trough Trangulty Lane мете the sume witout hat crazy ri. Santa (Hitman) Santa sus are easy chasod around he hol days, tut Agent 47 takes абаа approach to Sonta ata swank paty the man secures hs piace on the naughty st Thats right - Agent 47 Kis ини. Mascot (Bully) Road Crew (Psychonauts) [Noone ever suspects the mascot Whe fhejods А доо dise does! nsed ato crt to be. are busy prepping lor Mhe big game Jimmy Hopkins | sucoosul. To get past a road blockade in the mind makes mich dressed as the beloved Bul өю Мпа, Raz just grabs a stolen sop son ‘ul Exploding байз, ой sports бк, апа | and asserts, Чат on the road aew.” Ihe says Ît martias on the feid are seks handiwork. | Men st be tue. The Gray Cowl (Oblivion) Ogre Suit (Word of Warcra) ‘Me you ick of being stopped by the town guards | Yeah, the whole “dess up as a guard to fool other Tor various minor actions? This сон allows guards” thing happens a lot n videogames What Voto comm your heinous ac ав the Gray makos his similar deception in Die Maul so Fox — without damaging your um reputation, "t oca? Just Manco! rast me, fca That storekeeper must have ‘murdered his” connect 15 16 WORDS WiTH ТН ORGNAL GAMER um I used to call myself “The Original Gamer" in the maga- zine in tribute to Ice-T's 1991 album 0.G. Original Gangster, so I was excited to find out, via his many postings on YouTube and Twitter, that the gangster rap legend and actor is a devoted gamer. I recently got a chance to speak to Ice-T abont his lifelong gaming habit, and he proved to be every bit as perceptive and entertaining as I hoped. "What people don't understand s that the video game industry broke right alongside the hip-hop industry. Video gares, hip-hop, skateboards; il that kind of broke during the 20s, | had evanj- thing - he Ataris, the Segas: We grew up wih I ‘The other thing they forget that alot of mus ‘Gans spend thor days on tour buses. Гуда. fever been on a tour bus, theres nothing much 10 do. In the back ol tho tour bus; Ihoy't have a video gama system. You start 10 learn to play the games; I've seen cats start a tour where thoy don't realy gerne, and by tho end, they're tying. 1o got you to play inem. You got hookod. Obviously, it's a lot different now, because games have become so mainstream. But back in the “808, games were perceived as more of a. nerdy thing. 1 derit thnkcso, though. I guess in tha nerd ward I was consideradi that. But hero's alot f mistekos [people make] wih hip-hop. People watch us and they might plo up the lowing and al hat, bul they miss the humor. We're stil ids: we're pst Ika y'al. Wo stil --- around; wo ЭШ do pranks – all hat samo sts a art of our makeup. So, we don't really look at Las nerdy Wa look at is as somthing 10 do. Go into a rack house, and thoy might have a video gamal "herois nothing Гуо found! that realy burns tme Tko video games. I've always sald that you put ames in he prison system, cats would get out Olja and be Ike, "Hold up, | gotta go fish this level" [Laughs} So, 'm here 10 say that its an ава misconcepton that gaming is nerdy Туе been in some dangerous goddam spots and theres bean a console there Do you go back to the Atari 2600 and arcade days? Absolutely, My frst game system was an Alan "and I had a Nintendo. When | st slaried making) Money, it you seo my apisoda of MTV Cribs 1 had the actual video arcade games in my house, hod tho lest Mortal Kombat, tha frst Virtua Fighter, the frst NBA Jam. | bought the arcade games because | found a place n LA. where l ‘could buy them. They were lke $5,000, but | had. "hom down in my studio n my house But back to he nerd stuf | hind there is a rad side to it when you get foo Осор into It. ‘One thing they do now, 've noticed, s hoy have these platform Wars, Ike "Xbox s botter th PlayStation." mati nerdy 10 mo. What tha =~ i тапа wih you? ‘The weird thing ie people are defending these huge corporations. They couta give а1--- about youl (Laughs) Thal nerdy to ma. Also, people gat 100 deep into the games, | have a clan on Call of Оцу and when you start teling me your kl/death ratio - 1 don't vo a =. You rally going to pick jp a b--- by taing har your Kl/deam ralio? "That doesn't realy mater think there's a nerd element where you can gel too deep nto It that Ino ano caros. Bult you can got nerdy with ca you coud start taling me the cubic displace Med ol an engine At any pont, you can go Into the nord werld you want to go deep. One ol the key things about nerds is that thay Ike 10 correct you. They get ой on correcting you. Thats the part that we Kinda fall back of ol = We just want to play tho games, wo don't noed the heavy details. How many ounces is the controler? Who gwes а1--7 [Laughs] Do you play with other rappers you know online? Absolutaly. Snoop and them ere big Madden fans. Warren G л n my can. A lot o football Early hip-hoppers mosty stk 10 the sports games. I nover really went [ortho sports games because; cay on, you couldn't play them ann. ‘That required you to have people at your house altho to. 'm not real the type of person that wants a bunch of dudes on my couch алга. beers end playing Macklen. Thatis too much male bonding for me. But when the ‘net came out and you cou play with people crine, that evalutionized the game, | play with Lord Jamar from Brand Nubian -hes in SMG. Xzibit is in SMG, Warren G is n SMG, heros diferent people from all over the work, The leader of my clan, he's named Coleman, he's from Њиро, England. | got some ks from Boston - white kis, black Kids, оселі matter. My son plays. Mysoniies in LA., and we get fo bond. 1 Would be on the phone with him all day, but 1 can be on the game with him for fve hours 1 really codi ‘SMG 16 your clan, right? Yeah, "Sex, Money, and Guns." That's what makes the World go round. You're a huge Call of Duty fan, Is that the main game you play now? Its the orly game 've been able to get into and actually fed а skil curve on t, A ot of ho. games Ive played Ватойой or Medal of Honor - have great single-player, but when. you get into the multiplayer personally don't feel ike l'm getting better, Cal of Duty, the way its Sel up, you can actually get better, The game that really got me hooked was Resident БИ back in the day. | was always into Mortal Kombat and s-- (ке that, but once got into Resident Evi I really got hooked — survival horor, all hat s--. Then | got into ай the singlo- player adventure-type games: love the Max Payne games. | loved to play by myself and challenge пува! Are you playing any single-player games right now? ‘The last one | relly got into was me end Coco played Army of Two. My git loves playing ‘games, She has a thoory of games, a-one- ‘Sentence comment: “Atleast you know where they axe." [Laughs] You wanna b--- about your man sitting in the house, but terass 2101 of s he could bo doing. Have him put that controler ‘down and bat he fits the dood She stated Jesrring how to play with me, | used to play. Nead for Speed: Most Wanted. Га have har. Watch the map, so I wouldn't have to taka my Byes ой the acon, So, she'd bo iko, "Lak! Left Fight! Тоњо! Turbo!” Also, sometimes, im stuck l'l bo Ike, "Coco grab tho cheat book and sho'l give me ite clues. Boing married Wa also have code words that let mo knowl в tostop. She'll go, "Okay, Im going upstals That's where cur bedroom is, so Vm Ike, "Okay, last game.” [Laughs] You have to have priorities. I think thats whero guys lose t with nor gis. Finda time when she's reading a book or doing, sorting else and get into t Don't let it over- ride realty, or you're gonna pick your game over your gil and thats gonna bo a bad move. Then, You have fume to be t---in' gamer nord. ‘Youll bo tang abaut your kil/death ratio with your buddies, F-— that. You've also appeared in several games — San Andreas, for one. Yea, | was tho ast quy. Mad Dog I think his nama was. I was in Dol Jam: Fight tor NY. 1 was In Scarlace and San Andreas, Recently, | wa Gears ol War 3. How did the Gears of War 3 thing happen? Y with Jaco Hal, Jaco Най has a web series сай the Jaco Hall Show. He's a brother, kind of ‘a big quj. Along time ago, he dia video дате and | cid tho voiceovers, it was called Sanity ‘That was back in the day. So, ho came back to no and had his show. Ho sak, "Ice, I want to. Interview you, people der know you're a real Video gamer." Ho did this show at my apariment whera he interviewed me and Coco. During the show, he told me that ho wasin Gears ol War, nd was iko, "Bul---, how you get in Gears ot War?" Ho saki, "I know tho owner; I know Gitty” sad, "Cali Cilly, tal him I should be in the amo. So, on the show we did this thing where T tolt Cty, "Why the L-— is dace in he game, no ‘one knows who tho t- ho is, uso me instead, So, Cll says, "You never know, maybe in Goars 3.7 Now, is was just a sk ~ this was bulls- Wo wera just t---in with it. But sure enough, the gamo came around and got a call sayng Would you be interested in dong voice werk So, a joke tumed into really 16 doing voiceovers different than doing things like Law & Order? Not realy, bocause Im a musician, I'm used to being in a studio and taking rection. These guys are masters al what they do, зо frst you зоо the script and say “roa it Iko this” Then, the Quy wil say, "No, more angry" Right? And N say it again, then they'll say, “No, youre [rn mad tight new!" They drect you, and then they say, "Thats the tone, now fin! freestyle it” and you 9o n. My character probably swears more thar anyone in the history of video games; Grin is a ad mothert-—er, City B and all the guys from Epic were frst-class. Push comes to shove, what's your favor- Ite game of all time? Honestly | have to say that 've spent tho. most time playing the Call of Duty games, Та really tke World at War, but loved Modern Warfare and the new one. I've spent the most time playing those. But, rom a clas ic perspective, | think the fist Resident Evi in the mansion. That was the coolest s Nar because it was new play ha now Resident yi, but its not the same, [But] ne OG Resident Evi - ve never been blown away by anything ike that, Thats а classic game. © FIOO- o nce to hit din Etc rom Te сг ниет АИ Game Design Mas Ч: Game Development Game Design Bachelor's берба Борат Campus Degrees Masters Entertain Y Gamo Design Bachelor's Computer Animation Digital Arts & Dosign Entertainment Businoss Fim p Game Deva Music Business Show Production Web Design & Development Associate Graphie Design Recording Engincoring Bachelor's Dagros Prog Design & Technology ortainment Business Internet Marketing New Meda Journalism Bachelor's Compular An Creative Writing for Entertainment Digital Cinematography Gamo Dosign Graphic Design Internet Marketing Mobil Development Music Production Sports Marketing & Media Wet Design & Development FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY fullsail.edu Winter Park, FL 800226761 + The behind by Ben Reeves 8 9 8 10; 8 9 HTO 1 Guns, set pieces, and multiplayer maps are not the only factors contributing to the success of a modern first-person shooter. Many critical systems are at work behind the barrage of firefights and explosions that control your target- ing reticle. Designing a useful aiming system for consoles is an intricate sci- ence that many gamers take for granted because they don't even know that they are being assisted. Halo: Combat Evolved was an innovator in the field of console shooters, and introduced several aim- ing systems that are still used today. Bungie design lead Jaime Griesemer remembers spending many long hours tuning Halo's aiming code, and we got a chance to talk with him about how all these invisible sys- tems work together to make us feel like we can't miss. e NSIC 52 еў IR SNAPPING first-person shooters on console struggled п " i rewarding, inco I was impos No accu 1 of tho PC's mouse Interlace sometimes called auto arn) was host solu od pra ms. Tiles Ike А aided in proximity of their target. It wasn't a flawless system, but it helped make shooters more c ‘console owners. "Tho problem with pure auto aim systems Б that you're taking sonirol away from the player, me You want to mai o бар sel competent - fk а sil while play a prmiivo form today in a dined form. There is oriy a small amount of auto aim in the Halo franchi kat 4 of Halo's auto. riy tke a page e e AUI SELERATION Mary modern frst person shooters iso have Nighy tuned acceleration curvos for reo move ment. When a player pegs their aiming stick in se direction his or her reticle уй start moving omy n that dracon belore picking up speed. his i noteworthy because t makes aiming at nearby targets easier without significant saoriic- ing a player's ably to make quick tums. FRICTION Bunge htroduced friction in tho frst Halo, and neay every sh os I today. A simple way to describe fct player's enemy, but thats not the hat really do is sow your top a ‘matically decrease the rate at shar slow down when you lat до of he stick, plains Gri atit that here Tor a rlice. When a player is looking at the ronment and lets ой her siring stick, the rati pasts a te moving heir sights au apples the brakes. But when a player lets ой he which t hor crosshairs aro also passing over the reticle hts a brick wal, Uttmale very dramatic; tha god of yers a longer window wilh moving and land on ther target, MAGNETISM top with friction, but Halo adds Kod onto a t player has get, and thal targot begins 1 novo, magnetism helps players slay trained or that target. nis why crcl straling has ar maneuver in the Hak ing target is challeng: strafing compounds th ha pop iso. Tracking «су track thair opponents Yoxire basicaly adjusting for tne movement of two sticks." Griesemer says. "This is way вазі in Halo, because we kind of automate 1 and we gusting your pul to be exactly what it needs to be 10 follow your target The math for this is supa thats why | think по one dis ione ol whether we яр Kind inder he hood — only 58 al as GS aa sung heroes of cons they should remain. FAST FACTS In Halo, each weapon has its own aiming systems. Auto aim, friction, and magnetism are all fine tuned indi ach gun. s this fy Halo arsenal and keep the vidually fo combat balanced. The code Bungie designed to control Halo's targeting system. is so versatile that Ensemble Studios used itin the strategy title Halo Wars to help play- ers select targets on. the battlefield, Halo's aiming code hasn't changed much throughout the years “We did such an ex- haustive job with Halo's aiming system that we haven't felt the need to update it since the first game," says Griesemer. y You know the developers who make your favorite games, but a game is rarely made entirely in-house. Developers often license other technologies to assist with а game's creation. Most times when you fire up a game, you see the logos for these middleware companies alongside the primary developer and publishers. Have you ever wondered what these logos mean? The list below provides clarification for many of the top middle- ware companies and development tools featured in today's video games. B guide to understanding middleware and development tools by Andrew Reiner ў E 9 DEMONWARE [porem] Bink Video CRIware CryEngine Demonware Dolby Appearing on 14 platforms and in over Олег 2000 games utlize ОН German developer Crytek crated the Ац Demonwara isa wholly Specializing n surround sound, Dolby 5000 games Birk Videos avideo coder Middeware's steaming sudo and yg game development engine owned subsidiary of Activision Ì5 a data and audi compression tech ‘rated by RAD Game Tolstocompress vdeo technology. Games using CRiware in parallel wth ts frst game, Far Cry. Blizzard, ta networking software and nology created by Delby Laboratories: aodio and video fies in games. Include Bayoneta, Street Fighter М, and CofngnegwasusediocreneSnper. services has been used by many Sod Calibur М. поз War, and Cytek’s upcoming publishers, including Ubisoft for Ghost Crysis Zand Codename: Kingdoms. Recon EndWar and THO for WE SmackDown vs Raw. 4. EE om «= - E saai >> == гена = Ceu mel Л ЛЭЭ а ас, О ааа EID DR UD eC ES NE roe peint AA E eee er cel re lere M eee Ces PATET E e EPIRI rre tr њое, срокове ма вота tero Midi ai reden атса ва. oe rcp LI D E e rr MIS Bei ELITS Erie eer Me > у 77 havik PhysX 3 nd УА dodo » РА A Lo WS. ne en ee К ашаван er ll ori ee P i nli peores а a ML COT MMC EL CL Ml eco ert PA Lc oe NM ЛЭЛТ een олг So iod pictor Mor MEC Meere MR err pe tor ipte be onse MT reales оаа ne ыз Uses Ний for motion picturespeciel Software's Rage. effect. The Marix and Watchmen both used Havok. T H x imbra RAGE SpeedTree THX Umbra Software Unreal Engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine Lucasfilm developed tis audio qual- Мапу developers use Umbra Epic Games’ Unreal Engine is this gen- (RAGE) ва game engine created that alows developers to create foli- Пу assurance system to makeswe Software's occlusion system and sats most used game development by the RAGE Technology Group at ape п games. Bethesda Softworks theaters properly optimized their tendering optimization middewareto engine. Most deveiopers use Unreal Rockstar San Diego This engine was used SpeedTree to create thelsh speaker systems THX snow used for enhancelergamesandspeedup Engine 3, and Epic shard at work to Used to develop Grand Thet AtolV forests in The Elder Scrolls V: Oblivion. all forms of entertainment, inducing е development oyde. Umbra'sdiemts bring Unreal 4 to the market: Gears Red Dead Redemption. Midnight ub: SpeedTree was also usedbyiLMinthe video games. indude BioWare, Remedy, and Sony of War, Batma: Arkham Asylum, and Los Angeles, and te forthcoming fim Avatar. Onine Entertanment. Bordertands are just a few of the suc- Max Payne 3. сав stories created with Urea tech. 20 пекі аза weep - fa oy. Duke Nem Forever hasa release ie: May 3.2011 Vaive promised thatthe PS3 version of Portal 2 исі Бе awesome, anditlooks Former Harmonix parent company Vacom: ko il be harks to ts Steam support, The PSS version о! те game gets cross- to a holding company in what axerily amounts to Harmonix once again ‘aterm play with PC and Mac users, a code о а free dowmload fhe PC and becaming an independent studio. Terms of the deal weren't ose, but Mac versions, the abit to start playing ола PC/Mac and пећ on the PSS (or vice Harmonix assumes al of its debt as weil as the righs to its Rock Band and wars, ond more The game comes out on April 21 Dance Centrai franchises Actionis pulling the plug on Br developer Bizarre Creations after count frd any buyers. The рийг bought the company in 2007 and commissioned 20105 Blur and James Bond 007: Blood Stone. The gamas ich do as wall ав Aion hoped, so itunsuccessfuly Avatars are getting Kinect support thanks to a free update attempted to ай he Liverpool developer Iate last year ox Live dd member) sometime this spring When Ìt In other nems, Disney has dosed Propaganda Games afer it released Tron: Evolution. This [aunches player wil be abe to chat with fiends using the omas on theheds of the publisher already canoeing thestudo's oer project the once: Kinect peripheral and have fe avatars emote for them. promising Prates of he Caribbean: Armada ofthe Damned. Can the Kinect detect embarrgssd busting? Hacking and piracy keeps conscle manufacturers up at night, and the recent hacking Actions legal batte with ex-Infiity Ward heads Jason West and Vince cf the PSG's root keys has Sony lawyers and engineers working overtime. Arunr Zampelacortrues Мон the publisher has named Electronic Arts as a defen- is croulating that Sony's scared enough ot pracy thats considering requiring datin the $400 milion lawat because it allegedly tampered vith West and gamers to put a serial code like in PC games that would verify your legitimate copy Zampell by encouraging them to break төг contacts wih Activision and With Sony's servers. For the sake ot convenience, lets hope this stays a dety rumor. sabotage the release schedule for Modem Warfare 2 map packs. EA vice. president ot corporate communications Зө Brown responded by saying, This is a PR рау filed with pettiness and байга misdirection news witha sarcastic spin “I just think Nintendo's blown it... So it's over -I don't think they can ever recover.” Micha Pachter, analyst ech More tets Indy Gamers at the хариу sree up by ot ‘easing a Wi successor connect 21 2 Developers have varying degrees of succ wiih reinventing a popular series. Cal of Duty: Modern Warlaro marked a drastic departu for the brand, and was met with massive com- mercial and critica actam, On the other hand, ‘Stent His recent rebranding wiih Siert Hil Homecoming garnered a икомат reception, The Sonic series’ spottyrorwentlon record is ‘often the but of jokes, despite Sega's attempt to narrow the franchise's focus in rocont leases, “The оо between alination of tans and advanco- ment of IP is thin, making the practice of eran ‘over Innovation aluring. Inspired by our recent cover dotaling the upcoming reboot of tho Torn Raider brand, woo taken a look at ho increasingly common. practico o hitting Ihe esol button on popular franchises, Rather than relying on superficial changes between releases, a handful ot сно. apers aro embracing ho doa ofa rosh start Speaking to several ofthese prominent game makers, wo attempt to гай down the amor- phous deliition of "reboot," as woll ав assess the risks and rewards of gambling with ono! brand capital The fine line between and Booted by Meagan Marie The common denominator The term "reboot" is often usod early more so by lans than by developers who identity the trend with ther work. Regardless, the concept itsaf is defe. Whats the cler enoe between a reboot and areimagring? Do long-awaited sequels constituite reboots when massive technological improvements resit in a diferent experience by баци? Does a reboot regire a tonal change or a gameplay overhaul? A new development toam witha fresh perspec The? s an origin tale mandatory, with established canon kicked 10 Ihe curb? ‘One common thread that fusis the reboot Пате is the ditching ol subtext for sicker, sirearined tiles. Tomb Raker lads the pack. as the most recent example, but other ostab- lished franchises have sol he precedent - Mortal Kombat 201 1). Twisted Metal (2011), Devi May Оу (TBA), Medal of Honor (2010), Bionic Commando (000), and Prince o Persia 2008) established the rend. A simple name irt ailit takes; he common factor seers to bo а desire for a tresh start, bul Ino actual implementation is rique to each developer, "Certain eas, characters, situations, and Scenarios are timeless,” explains David Jallo co-creator of he Twisted Metal franchise. “To me, a reboot is а conscious effort to retain and атру tho stil-relovant coco oa who updat- ing or rethinking the lod ancor dated aspects cf the idea's last iteration. This can be done in many ways: new play, now tear, now Iono, now ‘Slory. Tho important thing is, oven with al the now window dressing, is ho spit that dolos "ho property stt dvo and kicking? "Using the newly announced Devi May Cry as an example, Jale furthers his point. While not sold on tho new look of protagonist Dante, as a Tan of he franchise ho s moro concernod about cora charactor expression - namely hat Dante rotas his “cocky, brash, stylish, and badass” пако trough cinematics and gamaplay. To ne veteran developer, one and mood are vasti mora important han maintaining tho established Physical presentation, In his rogard, Jallo сот ‘dors Twisted Matal: Black a reboot, rather than 2011s Twisted Metal. “Twisted Metai: Black was a conscious ofort The video game industry is far from its infancy, with enough history to be cataloged in decades — and for early franchises to have hit both high points and low. While some intellectual properties flourish, others grow stagnant, and the idea of reinvention becomes a tempting prospect. Rebooting a long-running franchise is risky, but can have substantial rewards if handled properly. to reinvent the franchise ator a few poorly reviewed sequels had tarnished the brand name,” explains Jaffe. “The new Twisted Metal Jon’ an intentional reboot. fs realy a mash up. "he dark or designs) miod with moro of tho un and imagination of “Twisted Mata 2. Acknowledging how 201 's Twisted Metai codd bo perceived as reboot, ho claris that ho and co-creator Scott Campbell instead think they've found the best execution for ће idea. "hats bean swimming n ho joint conscious- noss since 1995, “Twisted 1 and 2 were abit too light and carioony, Black was too serious and wanna-be bad ass. This now ono loots Iko Is hiting the sweet spot betwoen thoso two ideas continues Jae, "Its aware ol how absurd and over the top 1.8, bul at tho samo timo, tsi takos тоа and Ts word very serious. Also lrminaling an oft-debated subject, giobal brand dractor al Crystal Dynarmics - Кай Stewart = touched on ho Tomb Raider logy price to he recently announced franchise reboot "AS wo soo itin tho studio, nether Legend Anniversary, nor Underworld wore хо: of the Tomb Raider reanchiso," shares Stewart. in 2004, when Crystal Dynamics was given responsiblity for developing the IP. he story of Lara Croft and Тото Rakder continued pretty much along the same path, Minus a few small alterations, Lara's background did't chan end the loro and canon remanod simia 10 pro us communications: | hink people percaived Паз a reboot because we created a look and Teal to the ranchiso thal was тусо defined y Crystal Dyrarmics, and much fresher than Inc previous Tomb Raider tiles developed by Core Design. 1 hink when you look at what we vo. prosenlod ol lale you can soe thal heros a very dear delriton n cur eyes of what a reboot within a franchise means, 1 suppose a rua reboot would bo to start {rom the beginning ав I none of tho previous versions over existed,” says Ed Boon, Mortal Kombat co-creator and creativo droctor at NetherRedim Studies. “The new Mortel Kombat not considered a reboot by the tam. Tho traction with Mortal Kombat games, and why We've felt the game has maintained its popular- iy shat we've always been wiling 10 try new things and change things around. This game is probably the m made to the serie vormatic change we've co we introduced Mortal Kombat: Deady Aliance in 2002. This game's story begins at the end of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. I then does a {sort o time travel back lo the events of the frst Mortal Kombat and wo do a retaling of tho events ot i Kombal, Mortal Kombat 2, and Mortal ime, however, wo are teling hat story wih al o ho naw technology avalablo 1а alows for things wo could not have dono. wn 1962. Boon continues by saying thatthe new droc- tion lows fora nostalgic ron to tho original games wih a fresh twist, as wel as oflerng a ont o entry to ho tranchiso fo now players. Rolum might bo a botter word Io use than reboot, Our last game was Trated, had a ‘what Y stoyine, and a Iul 3D fighting plane, This new Mortal Kombat retums to an M-tated presenta- tien, the 2D fighting plane, tho original story of Tho frst roe ос, and tons of secrets, connect 23 To reboot, or not to reboot? ‘Areboot it so much a concrete concept as an adopted mantra. Even I our developers dont all brand Ihr most recent projects as reboots, thy soam to como to the consensus that cras- lle change was needed within the tranchisos. Why wouid а studio undertake such a change’ Does opting to reboot or reevaluate moan that a tranchiso has tallen out ol favor wiih clics Does it indicate changing consumer tastes? is a drastic overhaul tho samo as admitting doleat, o isi a preemptive attempt to forecast a changing market? Wo bdliovo tha lattor," says Stowart. ‘Consumers tastes change quito regularly and the things we interact and play with need Tod овп and relevant. Coming from the rotat industry Ivo seen Irsthand how consumers develop tastes for new things severa tines jach yoar and how mindsots can change n an instant. Successful communication o any IP in today's market means you have to be culturally rolovant. Tt depends on the game," claims Jala “Sometimes you do a reboot out of business necessity, such as losing a koy creativo пот a project or it a tam quits and the new one doesn't Vbo with he old style, Olher imos its because ho franchise needs a shot ol new to oop t resh, or because whal you red last ime faled and you want to ry a ferent approach: 1 don’ Ihr here k a point whore someone ‘does reboot necessary, and Бу no means do 1 consider it throwing in the towel," says Boon. For Mortal Kombat, when you think about N, it had boon six years since we d featured the ori ral ste o tatalties (Mortal Kombat: Deception), Tour years sinco we'd had Mortal Kombat-styio blood (Mortal Kombat: Armageddon) and over 15 years ооз we'd been in the 2D fighting plana (Ullmato Marta Kombat З) Also, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was such a dram dopartuo rom the Mortal Kerb formula halt у sot tho stago for Mortal Kombat to make a big retum in all those categories. Even atter the decision has been made, any chango - visual, contextud, or mechanical - to an established Iranchiso must ba careful con- sidered. In some cases, fans garnered through ‘decades of content releasos aro on Ie ino Despite tho risks, thera ro aluring rewards to vg a franchise a ові wist. ‘Origin stores havo a particular advantage in this regard. l'a series loses steam alter years of iteration, lans may be ready or something dras- tie. Something new. A retaling of a character's origin has Ihe potential to reignite fans! excite- ment and provide a point о entry to the seres Tor now players. This is especialy help when вайу entries in the series don't hold up without the rose-inted glasses of nostalgia. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a perfect example in this regard, providing a lauded balance of fan service and freshness, as well as a point of access lo à franchise established over 20 years ago. reboot works, you've revived the patient and the core еа continues to excite and enter- tain” says Jale. “Usually the reboot works it means youre correctly reading tho tea leaves othe day and have brought the core dea into modern times by making it relevant again to tne curent audience. Its а great feeing because it means the coro іва i strong and can survive Tor a new generation The biggest concems are you have guessed wrong, your auclenco ums on you and "hrs you're an Kot for messing with a word Character hoy love doaty and tool = righty so — some ownership in” continues Jalle. “That said, In most cases I you are looking to make some serious changes to a franchise, its bocauso the аа ways ware no longer working. Using the upcoming Twisted Metal as an axamplo, Jao acknowledges that somo tans ro upset al the decision to remove all but thee (Flour core characters from the game's main campaign. Whio he appreciates hor stance (on the issue, ho also recognizes thatthe old model = repetivo campaigns for 10 to 12 char actors, all boasting Rash-stye comic endings that amount to “twisted knock-knock jokes" - woul ly now. 11 worked great n 1905, I Kind ot worked n 2001, But today? We'd rather ral the cioe because we feel the old way is no longer relevant Twisted Metal Black was а succ ways." Jalle concludes, "t got Ihe be of any Twisted Metal game. Butit aso sold the least, That ether means the audience was tall- Ing us the core idea - despite a super codi new ‘oat f paint - was just no longer relevant. Or it means wo chose Ihe wrong new coat of pal л think we had not changed the seres up. i wouid have died from relevance and lack of interest. We had to do something, Not every devclopor is iig to make the wager, however, and ок ideas repackaged in new box ar are a testament to this fact. But without tho risk, there is no reward, Whatever terminology one chooses, reboot- ing, reinventing, or rebranding a franchise it tho answer for over long-established IP. On the other hend, the wlingness of developers to go ол on a ferb and take a chance - lo recognize. the need for change within a maturing indus Is something we can al appreciate, sinmay White not ali the developers were available to comment on the subject nan offical capacity, we fed safe in saying "fot these games helped usher inthe trend of drastic new rectins tor established ran chises, Have all of these new approaches been success? Not necessary but at least they ae taking risks Р ә Release: 100510 Publisher: 2 Konami Developer: Mercury Steam, Юта. МЕ Productions Release: Release: 101210 an Publisher Publicher: [n Warner Bros, Interactive Developer: Neihiiesim Sues Developer: EA Los Angeln Moral ын Publisher: Capcom Developer: Ninja Theory Release: TBA pera Developer буян! Danis Publisher: Sony Computer Ertertanment nera Developer: Sep Ply A Clean Slate Wl some IP holders are bang proactive in their attempts to innovate, others are in dira necd af a fresh start Some of the franchises below have been resting on ther brand names instead of attempting innovation, Others have faled to mature with the audienca they once captivated. Others stil are franchises were dying to see make a return, that would do better with a clean Sat rather than а direct sequal. Check out Game Informer reboot wish list beo. Monster Hunter The Monster Hunter series has maintained popularity in Japan, but there's a reason it faled to take off in North America. I understand that Capcom is going for a balance of risk and reward, Би! give anything for a Нейт console Monster Hunter game with more responsive conais, faster action, and accessible orlins multiplayer = Phit Kollar The Legend of Zelda “The Legere of Zelda $s one of ry favorite sete nd look forward to every new 1 тет, btt пеня siraya rm the same dass frmua - no spoken dialogue, the minces I always трей, ond surprise, surprise, you have a boomerang abt ind seeing fern take on tis mythology, were we aly getto hear Link talk ardengege па different scenario Pa aps outside ot Hyrule” - Andrew Reiner Pokémon "Game Freak hos taken an it itam broke’ approach to the Pokémon series by maintaining the fundamental mechanics that made caching em ай so addicting in its 10-plus years of existence Even though Incremental Improvements with each new- installment show growth, t's safe to say that after Iive generationis of tiles it may be time for a reboot, and the 30S presents ал ideal opportunity for change. With features Tke asses foo SD and augmented realty, this can revolutionize the way we locate and capture wid Pokémon and engage in battles with friends. Pus It's about time we. find better use of the systems dual screens outside of menu navigation. Annette Gonzalez oid ying, Metroid needs to be бе осі When was the serias most acdamed? During its oral, natal 2D times. Wih Nintendo's recent resurgence of 2D platform- rsin Mario, Donkey Kong, and Krby, why wouldn't it give Samus the same deserved treatment on Wi or 3087 -Bryan vore Madden 'EA has been steal Improving Madden over the past few years, but fans are sick of an. Its tm to deliver a revolution with a brand new franchise mode, revamped superstar mode, and a physics-based animation system that ditches canned arima- tins for more varied tackling, blocking, rumning, and receiving. Football dominates American sports, and its video game counterpart shouid do the same. -Matt Bortz Legacy of Kain Long before te Indy began to embrace valent nl-heroe in games Ike God of War ог Assassins Creed, ican Knights’ Legacy of Kain franchise introduced us tothe troubled Kain and Raziel The last entry, Legacy d Kain: Defiance, was useing, but so much cod be dne with the haunted warid of Nasglh on today’s power censols. Plus, In an indt overloaded wit zombies, t'a time for hes fascinating varies to reclaim their tut. -Matt Helgeson Chrono Trigger "Chrono Trigger s one of the most revered RPGs сгай ime, but Square Enix has let lay dormant. Апен entry could reach out to a new audience while drawing in the (d6-schod fans; Who cares if he last game, Chrono Cross, came out almost 10 years ago? The series s ll about alternate timelines and dimensions it would be easy to ‘capture the Chrona essence without being chained down by the events d the previous мое Joe Juba Resident Evil ‘Capcom has become со confortable with over-the-top ation I thrk the series needs to rediscover what made 1 exceptional: fear Thats hard to eve when youre. delivering haymakers to gigantic boulders In the mide of cano while your former bogs tuns into a meat tomado: -Tim ли connect 25 Prepare for hydration. " par mE HYDRO DRC er EN MOISTURIZING FREE YOUR SKIN” Lightning Strikes Twice FF ХШ-2 Slated for 2012 Square Enix has announced a spin- off for Final Fantasy XII called Final Fantasy Xil-2, The game is cur- tently scheduled to appear for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 some: time in the winter of next year (and 2011 Whether “winter refers to early 2012 or holiday 2012 The game is a direct seque to FF Xl and stars Lightning. More than a justa new story, FF XII-2 (directed by FF Xil's Motomu Toriyama) also features tweaks to FF Xll's lauded battle system as well as other add tions that Toriyama says have been ‘culled from fan feedback to FF XII 0 Miss nly las " water-activated E sus ( reservoir that hydrates ‚your skin as you shave. It lasts up to twice as. long as ordinary strips, and conditions with aloe and vitamin E. Only Hydro has skin guards that double the points of contact to smooth skin and reduce irritation. A better shave than the Mach 3. HYDRO FREE YOUR SKIN — Who The Heck Is Ben Heck? We Chat With The Prolific Hardware Modder plug-and-play sy retail shelves, so Heckendorn's portable Assuming the pseudonym Ben Heck, th controllers. Two years bef created a porta last decade, Ben Несі ed Infinity Ward with the de Ben Heck how Seems like your hands are pretty full with all the gaming mods you do for your site and the show. How did you first got Involved in ай of this? 1 used to be а graphic artist way back in the ‘olden days, and | just started doing this stuf as a hobby. In 2004, 1 got a book deal wilh Wiley Publishing, so | thought it was a good time to quit ту job. I was sick of it anyway, but | never got around to working forthe man again. Зо since 2004, Гуе been doing prototyping. | didit starve or anything, but the frst couple years were a ite Iean. So you've always been into tinkering around with hardware? 28 graphic designer from Verona, Wisconsin, w dreamed of building a portable Atari gaming system. tari earned self-taugl е Sony had even announc published a book entitled Hackin 'elopment of Modern Warfare 2, and s a popular mod show sponsore o, Ben Heckendom was just a T his vas before $20 retro tems started cropping on him a lot of attention online, ht engineer built an Internet empire, filling orders for everything from Xbox 360 laptops to one-handed guitar d the PSP, Ben Heck had PSone that he dubbed the PlayStation Portable (or PSp). In the Video Game Consoles, rted The by modding community Element 14. Through it all, Heckendorn has remained an avid gamer. We sat down to chat with the Internet celebrity about gaming, mods, pinball, and Bill Paxton. interview by Ben Reeves ‘About 10 years ago, | gol it into my head that 1 wanted to buid a portable Atari 2600 gaming system because 1 didn't think anyone cared about Atari anymore. | was wrong, obviously: ‘A lew months after | frished the portable Atari 1 created a GeoCities site and posted it up there just for fun. There was this phenomenal interest. 1 was getting hundreds of emais а day about it. So, I buit another one, and then another ona, and tno whale thing just sort of snowballed on me. The PS2 was ust coming ом at tho timo, so I mado а PSone portable, and thon | just kept bulging moro and more ЗАЛ, As gol into the later part of Ino decade, 1 started working on stul! Ike tuming Xbox 3608 and Wis into laptop lor. Sinco Im алац, sti manage о destroy plenty of stu What do you do with ай this stuff when you're done building it? Do you sell it ‘all or do you hang on to some of It? 1 get asked that question a lot, which | fnd kind of interesting. | don't have a Citizen Kane, Xanadu-Ike mansion where 1 can keep ай this stuf, so it di goes out the door when iis done. | ike bung it, but | dorit nocossariy Ike keeping t. do have ту originai Atari portable sti, and a few other things that 've bui for myself ike the pinball machine. You built a pinball machine? Yeah, | bulla Ва Paxton pinball machino. carier in the year, That was just a custom unit tor myself; it wasn't for resalo, because that wouid have been a licensing nightmare Now Pm doing a Lost-themed machine lor my fend, and then Im going lo do а Tesia vs. Edson steampurk, Victorian eta: themed machine, | know pinball seems primitive, but ifs actually an incredibly com- plicated kind of machine. What made you want to do that? I had just bui a NeoGeo arcade cabinet fo mysal, which was a system that 110vod, but fter | got that done | thought hat | shouid build a pinball machine nox That was my alone. Why not? | though 1 shouid base Ito of Bll Paxton, because he's got a lot of great quotos, and Its a weird theme thal wi make pocplo scratch thor поа НИ Paxton him had nothing to do with 1. | think a fot of gookss would have done Bruce Campbal or Tricia Holler pinbal, but | wanted to do something word. How do you decide what project you ‘will work on next? A lot of he time people send me requests x 1 just choose tho ones that 1 frd to bo Interesting and worth the tna, Sometimes 1 get interesting requests. Back in 2008 опе ol the guys at nirity Ward contacted mo wanting a latency moniter so thoy codd test the latency in Modem Wirelaro 2. The problem with games is that when you push tho buttons on a contort has to go through Ihe wires in your system and through all the game's code Бобко hitting your IV. By tho time your charactor jumps ос shoots on screen П add be up 10 50 mlseconds later - or an entre haf-socond It you're talking Kinect. Infrily Ward wanted Something to measure the lag in Modern Warfare 2 so they codd improve it. | built a vice tor them, and because of that pro осі I've probably bull 15 or 16 other units for diffrent studios around the country. So lot ol the time I don't even come up with those projects, my customers do, but hen. "hat sort of piggybacks or snowbalis into other customers. Back in the old days, | used 10 think of something 1 wanted 10 buid and then | wouid buid that thing and рові it огло, and then someone would ‘contact me saying they wanted to buy 1 Now | just sit around and read Facebook Until someone sends me an eral. So Infinity Ward contacted you out of the blue? Yeah, | even got credit for that in the дато, ich was awesome. At the end of Modern Wertere 2, | think Im right above the Navy SEALS, so apparently | was moro useli than the Navy SEALS. Do you have a lot of projects that you don't end up putting on the site? 1 d something for а quadiplegic Ho wanted 10 make a sip and puff controler зо he coud play video games win his mouth [never put that on tho silo, bocauso. [thik ho wanted to patent I. don't know Whatever happened with him. 1 actualy do accossibliy controllers quite a bit - take an Xbox controler and modiy it so It can be used with one hand. 1 seems ike | buld ‘ne of those at least every other wosk. There aro a lot of motorcycle accidents. Last year you made a Portal shirt, which seemed to earn you a fair amount of attention. What gave you that idea? Wal, obviously, | was originaly insprod by the game, because it's à great game 1 actualy had that idea a tew yours ago. 1 мав Ike, "Wow, | coud make a Portal Shirt for Haloween: But then 1 thought, "Actualy, thats Kind of expensive to ust. But then when wo started doing the orina show 1 was Ike, "Hoy look, | can do this for tho show." I've done that a few tines, Where Ivo always wanted to buid some- thing and now he show affords me the оролу to actualy do 1. For instance To always wantod lo mako a - dont laugh - portable Sega CD game system, зо hopeluly weit be locking at doing that in one of the Upcoming shows. What's been your favorite project to work on? 1 don't know. The Xbox 360. laptop has been pretty popu. lar, зо 've enjoyed thal. Thero aro certainly projects hat ме worked on that | hated. Tho. NGA s the fakes! system fever built, You take it apart and it sel destruct, s rid ous. fs just tors, One thing that tends to set your work apart from other modders is that yours often looks more asthetl- cally pleasing. Whats the main reason for that? Do you feel ke something lant really done ший it looks good? Of course, he aesthetics aro the most important part That's what sots thoso proj fects apart, My at background probably haips with that. But Its al advertising. I's ай about making something look good ard shiny. What are you playing right now? Wel, | just completed Fallout: Now Bug Vegas. | think it oniy took about 13 crashes o gel through it. Then the patch camo out, 0 it was perfect timing. My fiends and 1 Played опіку too much Battlefield: Bad Company 2, so 1 guess Го thoroughly stretched that $50. 1 also enjoyed Grand Theft Ноо - that was fun, Thore aro so many games that come out every year. You know, back in '83 thero was that garning crash where thera were 100 many crappy gamas to play. Wall now wo havo loo many good games to play. How many $50 mi lian games can thoy roloaso in a your? You сап only consumo so much, And what is п? Elders Зон V and Uncharted 3 are supposed 1o come out win a Wook of ‘each othar. I's Io, "Come ori" Im actualy jealous of the people that only have one ‘console, because thero has got Io be a lot less temptation in hot tives. & Hacking Video Game Console: тїлш Honey, shrunk the game!" connect 29 by Adam Biessener Bates in Tera aro hectic, interactivo allairs: The wo encounters was ablo to jump inio Telt doser to Diablo than EverQuest, as the tark frantically mashed a varaty ої rca. elloct stuns and knockdowns whi I tied to ine Up optimal paths for my Гоу doom to spray slong, Situational awareness plays a big тав, particularly in tho scripted wo playar Scenario I played. Monsters charged in rom. all lotions, and my taric buddy and | wera both scrambling to round thorn up ага knock. ‘em down balore they chewed on our quest МРС or the nex wave spawned. Between laying down ground- targeted abies Up cone-shaped areas ol ellect, managing energy bars, and iing fo roll disabling elects Tke stuns and roots on enemies, we had our hands ful - n a good way. Tera shouid launch хүн saler- scale instanced scenarios for singe players or duos. r-petson dungeon run | tagged ong on hewed loser to MMO traditions as we methodically pulled groups of monsters and focus fred them down on our way to the boss, That three-story final encounter challenged cach of us in diferent ways tke a Qood group encounter should, forcing every member ofthe party to ҮНЕК on their feet and uso al thor dis to overcome each phase What saw hate did top Catacysmis excel lent dungeon design, but it did showcase a sole oundalion for he developers to buid on. Blue Hale is creating Texas word with a locus on group content. On top of ће expected instanced group dungeons, tho company plans on having lots ol coopera tive zones where Ihe questines are mean to bo tackled with friends. Player. versus player battlegrounds come in 5v5, 10:10, and 19:18 varieties, and you queue for them through the Ul and 055 multiple servers. Moro important success in the highest lier ot PVP ‘combat es into the endgame ройїса system thal the developers have such high hopes far, This player iv, server wide politcal System has several ramifications, but we опу know tho specifics of a few. The Inst is: ously bragging rights. Who it going to be 1 - dde ven vit га ажнай a o The Other Action-Oriented ММО un ám Bere des utra Edd se hopes explosive action and end- The first impression Tera ings that announce you status Io tho servor gives is of another me-100 anes on mal ойо - ви ya bead play En Ma game player-driven politics propel this Korean Н - Korean MMO import. | Sy wih rpping taxes you have a hard developed MMORPG to Western success. Our Developer Blue Hole is set- gei eerie rs л hands-on experience shows promise. ting its sights higher than бана Teras рой structure, but it wouid aping the brightly colored |. сорох lagu pve We irww Pat free-to-play grindfests that come to mind when many Western gamers ee аа think of Asian MMORPGs. The combat is closer to DC Universe's controller- «ы тоо boons wil be. driven brawling than traditional WoW-style auto-attacking, and it empha- „229099 Ita rbot cone sizes positioning and facing to a greater extent than older MMORPG combat Dawn Tsay eros models. While the questing and dungeon runs are built on familiar tem- — ea an en elas aston plates, the developers hope that Tera’s unusual political system will Keep ‘xing player «ven patil engane or players around for the long haul. kaap Hare акаба ove Melong tar, © 30 comect "Ican't wait for Dungeons release.” "The type of game hardcore PC gamers eat up." - Gamelnformer -IGN "Time to brush up on my sinister laughter." -Bitmob MATURE TI Coming February 2011 ESHE CONTENT RATE wenn. www.dungeons-game.com EJ] kalypsö UJORLOUJIOE THE ТӨР 5 WoW GUiLo8 WARCRAFT Notable Achievements: Though Paragon didn't hit its pace: setting stride until the middle of Wrath of the Lich King, the guild ‘owns most of the Cataclysm heroic raid world firsts. At the time of this writing they are the only guild in the : ‘world to have defeated Nefarian in heroic mode. Notable Achievements: Was the first to defeat the hardest encounter of Wrath of the Lich King at the time: Sartharion with all three drakes left alive in 10-player mode, Method owns two heroic Cataclysm World firsts as well LE Gamers can be as ethnocentric as the next demographic, but the stats don't lie. The best of the lest World of Warcraft guilds come from all aver the globe. Depending on the day of the week, you won't see a single U.S. guild in the top five on raid progression tracking site wowpregress.com, from which these rankings were pulled, by Adam Biesener Notable Achievements: These hardcore Germans had the г world-frst kill of heroic Cho'gall, one. 5 of the hardest Cataclysm bosses. 7 For the Horde has been just behind Paragon and Method on several Cataclysm boss kills. Notable Achievements: Stars had the world-frst Alone in the Darkness achievement for killing Yogg-Saron in Ulduar with no assis- tance from the Keepers, and is just barely edging out fellow Taiwanese guild BEAM as well as US-based 4 guilds vodka and Premonition for the #5 spot, despite having the same number of heroic bosses down as of press time. E 2 Notable Achievements: The worldwide top guid for much of Wrath of the Lich King, boasting Word firsts on some of the tough est fights of that expansion like Algalon and Mimiron's hard mode. Ensidia also has world firsts for three Cataclysm heroic raid bosses. м | you're not а PC gamer, you probably ent know much about Torehlight. “That's about to chango as the ou gamo makos ts way to XBLA in st a taw мекке, The loot-grabbing, monster- ‘slaying concept invitos comparisons to Diablo, and tno team at Runic Games embraces Ihe similarities, Runic has crafted а bewitching mil loving and treasure collection that is hard to resist. | asked producer Brock Jones about how the game is changing for consoles particula with PC-spoctc features Iko mouse targeted powers. "Wo tested a lt of control schemes before setting on a set that realy felt lust right,” Jones explains. “Targeted sls wor an area that we invested a lot of for The exact ‘way that "placed sis Ike he Vanquishers taps behave ts dependent on what button you map. ther to Il you map a rap skil o one of "rolers standard digital buttons, the tap wil be thrown a sot distance in front of your character. I, however, you map the Irap skil to one of Ino. controllers two analog triggers. you can control the distance you throw with how far you puli the "ager" Beyond targeting adiustmonts, oro aro also some minor tweaks to combat С їг, as Wall as a new Ul and inventory n addition, lock for three sweet new armor sets exclusive 10 the 360, one for ach dass. Sadiy, тоанд st ‘rly a single-player game, but there wil bo some special in-game uriocks for ling other players To try he game - a devious way fo reont now players into tha mix, I you ask mo. If had to name the downloadable games Im most excited about n 2011, Bastion would bo right up there at the top of ny st A few months back, wrote about my гэ! tme playing this but ile rom Supergant Games, The team зог! along an updated buid this month, ага my impressions are only improving as see more of the project. Bastion ts a visual sturning action game with RPG overtones. Players explore a. shattered world hal comes into being as the main character moves through it. The rich asy backdrop is allorded an equally compelling hanks tothe Narator, a character who. escribes the onscreen action ав occurs na warm, sonorous baritone. The lectis one ol a kind, The Kid, as the protagonist is called, sels ut to reassemble his broken land by journeying aut into its remnants alter some avid calami The early levels | played were short and action- packed, and each had something tha арал, in ono, the land was faling apart Tho. In another, had to escape as swarms of enemies continualy crowded the stago. After each leval, retuned to the Bastion, where my forts helped to remako tho cid world. Rola- Playing dynamics enter ho picture thanks lo a number of upgradeable weapons and powers and your character loves as you expire. The folks at Supergiant tell me thal we'l all be able lo play the complete game sometime this summer, Ив to hit ono console frst, as the develop- fers want o focus their ооп, but Ihe team hopes that PS3, 360, and PC can get the ful treatment eventual I you havert played the cut dassiclavorte Beyond Good & Evil, he best chance youre ‘ver going to have is on tho way. The newly remade version, called Beyond Good & Evi HD, i about fo hit Xbox Live. its been years inco | played through the origjinal, but as I dug back into this visually enhanced version, Iwas reminded of ust how fun t realy Б, Great char- acters and a remarkably originat selling headine the act, but there's plenty more to love. Heroine Jade's tasked with snapping pictures along the 2011's coolest upcoming titles by мат мі adventure, and the photo coliction mechanic is engaging and fun. A wal paced story miss. combat andi exploration nequa moasure, and some simple puzzles are peppered along the Way. My tme with the game revealed an in-game: mora that is an atlact o Is ra, and somo of "ho animation fedis a to stil by today's stan- dards, Beyond that, the graphic makeover is gorgsous. It may be that Ubisoft is putting tho game out now to test the waters for tho sequal. Alas in he midst of a big push on new dowrioadblo games, Inad tne chance fo check Out three cl hoso fits this month. | was able o play several hours of he frst of them, eniled Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. Ас in: game fs stil in pre-alpha, 1 hard to speak lo its quality one way oF another, bul I did get a ood sense of where they're going with tho tite. Tho four player cooperative adventure cast "ho players as new Ghostbusters who Jon up ler tho days ol Venkman and Spengler, though tho od fellows аго stl oferenced in ne story. “There's even some follow-up on events rom Ghostbusters 2, you'd believe it A top-down, faction game, the main focus is on blasting hordes of phantasms that como pouring n fram very direction. Dual-stck controls are easy to grasp; Ine whalo thing fedis pro arcado-ko. “The big gameplay kirk îs tho посо to change weapons to match particularly colored ghosts coming your way. incidontaly. tho who oros ing stroams thing? Thats boon conveniant lt behind, m 4 for а to co-op shenanigans = ares hoping the al version does istice to the wa-lovod property. ‘One of Ataris oldest games is ral getting a makeover, and my early senso of the new ‘recton is positiva. I you were born alter 1080 you probably dant have much recollection of "ho bost-seling Var's Revenge, ono of the more complex and unusual games that released (n the 2600. Tha now game rocasts Yar as a ‘badass git in a mechanized combat sul. Yars Revongo plays as a rai shooter in tho stylo ot Space Harrier, Panzer Dragoon, or Star Fox 64, ‘but it uses the twin-stick shooter mechanic found In he rocan Sin & Punishment 2. The опна action is inspred by Hayao Miyazakis animation and tho gameplay includes weapon and armor. Upgrades and branching level pats. Thero are vn two айогал endings hal determine the fate of Yaris homoworid. The game includes drop тур out co-op on оног your own conscio or. ning - a feature thal Гус nover heard anyone plan about in my history with Video Ivo yet to play a lic oft, but ve got to admit to a lair Di of excitement about this tte, which is Said to release eariy this spring. ‘ë no secre around the office that Im a big fan of dassic tabletop games. So Ibe interested 10566 1 Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale turns out to be a good tmo. The game is a hack-and-sash extravaganza thal has players buiding a character, questing, and exploring the Daicands. The Forgotten Realms word in which the game is st isthe samo malis been tapped by classics Ike Baldur's Gale and Neverwinter Nights, though this new affair scems decidedly more action-oriented than those previous ellorts: The game willbe solo-able, but four player rine co-op and two-player local co-op ara both ‘options. Of interests ho fact that Atari plans the game to be episodi in nature, so we could be cing expansions in tho futuro that connect up to this first release. Cross your fingers for a fun fantasy dungeon crawler to emerge upon release lator tris spring. æ T ON THE 1 endent INDEPENDENT GAMES FESTIVAL nother now yoar marks the retum of the perennial Game Developers Conference, and subsequent the premiere festival celebrating Ihe best (games and the brightest minds in Independent gaming, Tho 13th annual independent Games Festival Awards heralds the ‘convergence of indie icons and luminaries in San Francisco, whoro an ойе few wil walk away with. ‘sizable cash prize — and perhaps moro siniicanty, Ihe eyes of Ihe industry upon thet work. "Tre awards are broken down into categories acknowledging excellence in design, ай, aud, technical prowess, and more. Leading the pack of nominoes are Ffictionai Games’ Amnesia: Tho Dark Descent and Markus "Nota Persson's sandbox phenomenon Меса, each garnering a tio of ‘nods. Othor prominent ndi tides aro up for aoco- lades, inducing Supergant’s slunring debut ite Bastion and Galin Games’ color BI. Trip Runner. "n the tue spt of the show, nominees range from ‘one-person startups to established studios, al united under the indie banner, Competition was particulary зїй thi year, wit ‘over 400 games submitted for consideration by the the Best Moble Game award to the ЮМ, marking a convergence of two previously segregated conter- {ence tracks, The decision seems рагїолайу relevant this year, ав 2000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize Winner Erk Svedlang's newest venture, Shot Shot ‘Shoot, was developed агі nominated forthe iPad. 2011 Independent Games Festival Finalists and the nominees are. Seumas Melfally Grand Prize: Excellonee In Visual Art * Amnesia: The Dark Descent «Bastion (Supergant Games} Frictional Games) * The Dream Machine (Cockroach) « SpyPary (Chris Hecker) * Minecratt (Mojang Specifications} Hehokum (Honeystug & «Маха (Mesznof Richard Hogg) «Сан Story (2010 Eton (Nicals) — «Алага The Dark Descent < Desktop Dungeons (ACF Design) = Bit rip Rumer (байл Games) pirit Meagan Marie Tho I of entries merited an even more stin- gent evaluation process this year. A pool of over 150 Juges took on the daunting task of playing and eval- using each submission belore nominating the top. choices for a given category [desciosure: Iwas a part os initial poo). From there, tho nominations were passed onto smalar juries wihin discpine-specic fields, comprised of working professionals who could эрж to an aroa of expertise ~ audi, technical, art ‘or otherwise. This pool is responsible х the fral ist ‘of nominees, and the ultimate winners wil be chosen by an oven more soloct jury of export. Neary $50,000 is on the ne, with Ihe win- mers slated to be anncurioed on the evering of March 2 immechately preceding the 2011 Game Developer Choice Awards. The ceremony is the ‘cuirination of the Independent Games Summit, Which packs lectures, presentations, and inoligont cho discourse into tho two days prior to Ino main conference kickat Reguarly compared to the Sundance Fim Festival the attention garnered from an IGF nod is stagger- ing for an inde developer, and often a launching point for а successu career. The developers of Darwinia, Brad, Work of Goo, and more recently Limbo avoided potential obscurity when the IGF recognized ther phenomenal work, and we expect 10.500 more ind heavyweights born from this most recent showcase. sr DW grantee con олау 34 Noh 2k fe dam Ind ek whe eu re Technical Excellence. + Маесай Mojang Specifications} Frictional Games) Excellence In Design * Desktop Dungeons ООР Design)» Bastion (Supergiant Games} ‘Confetti Carnival SpkySral Games)» Super Crate Box amber) “Мао (Messhof * Faraway (Steph Thirion) The Top 5 Contenders Desktop Dungeons Desktop Dungeons takes the heart of the RPG subgenre roguetke and distile itintoa shat-and-sweet собве break excursion. The finely tuned balance d superficia fun and ‘surprising depth makes each playthrough ‘expected filing Every adventure starts th player ава level one character that must explore vast dun- geons, best foes, gain experience, scavenge loot, purchase equipment, maintain favor Ч the gods, and ultimately take on a level ten boss Exploring new territory within a dungeon is valuable, as uncovering new ground via adja- cent tiles renews both the player's health and mana reserves. In this regard, exploration зал art form. One must navigate about uncovered territory to attack monsters within their skill range, level р, heal through uncovering mare "les, and then begin the process af boosting {hei XP once again. The process feels almost Tke a puzzle at times; raning you to explore and take on enemies in a formulaic, but undoubtedly fun, order. Depth is added through ailments and status changes, potions and spells, equipment and upgrades, and so on. Desktop Dungeons derives longevity from the comprehensive race and cass systems, all of which boast unique skils and unlockable challenges to further encourage replaying. If you're Ike me, itle encouragement will be needed to dedicate hours upon hours to Desktop Dungeons. Developer OCF Dei “Plato rons Release hio Non Piet Excellence In Audio. »Rero City Rampage хал Entertainment) ves The Dark Descent » Neverdaunt.88t Robot Loves Kity) + Minerat (Mojang Specifications) (Frictional Games) 2 Miagakure (Marc Ten Bosch) „lt. Tip Beat (Gan Games) * Cobalt (Oxeye Game Studio) AME The Seumas McHally Grand Prize is awarded each year to a title that most exemplifies independent development. With $20,000 on the line, a nomination isn’t to be taken lightly. Read on for a peek at the IGF's top five contenders. Minecraft If there's been a single Cinderella story of 2010, the distinction goes 10 Mojang Speci- fications’ Minecraft. Creator Markus "Notch" Persson first conceptualized the game in May of 2008 and it quickly garnered attention from the press and a rabid following of fans, nabbing hundreds of thousands in sales while stillin alpha, "Built upon a foundation of tedium, the highly addictive and rewarding sandbox title is more а tool for one's imagination than an explicit ‘game. The care functionality tasks players. with constructing environments and objects ‘out of textured cubes harvested in a simplistic 30 world. As the name implies, mining is paramount to crafting ever more complex items Perhaps the most impressive aspect ‘of Minecraft, however, is the ingenuity of its fans. Some of the most dedicated players have gone so far as to recreate BioShock’ Rapture, Portals Aperture Science facilities, and even a scale model of the USS. Enterprise. Having met such massive success through Minecralt, Persson founded Mojang Specifica- tions in Stockholm, and now employs a hand- ful of staffers who support both Minecralt and the development of a yet-to-be-announced second game, As of January 12, Minecraft has ‘passed one milion sales: Best Mobile Game ‘Shot Sha Shoot (Erk Suedong) Сааба Nonverbal) Helsing Fire Ratoep) = Salpsker (Menge) Halcyon (9) SpyParty While SpyParty is more of a prototype than a fuly realized game, ће unique concepts potential is immediately apparent A skil- based espionage game, winning is continger an one's power of observation and ability to ‘catalogue subtle human behavior Оооо during a high society cocktail party, the player takes on the role of a sniper ra spy. Attendees converse casually, sip chinks, gaze at scenery, and examine art. As a spy amongst the throng of eile, you must practice these behaviors and move with ‘confidence in order to survive long enough to complete four goals: Each goal has an as- sociated tal, and a pair ot eyes are always on {ho lockout for such standout behavior. As the sniper the player must observe the partygoers, identity the soy, and eliminate him or her once confident in their intuition. Experience is key to playing SoyParty suc- cessfully. Creator Cris Hecker has been quite transparent about his "depth-first, accessbilty later development model, making known that depth and replayabiity are prioritized over ac- cessit in this early stage. I you've played even a handful more rounds than your op- ponent, chances are you wil best them in this skil-driven game. AIl of Spy Party's art, audio, and interfaces are placeholder assets for the time being, so the game ist much to ook at. That being said, the unique emphasis on behavior, perception, and ultimately deception makes Га standout title worthy of recognition. Developer s Hecker Prior oc Pelea TBA Amnesia: The Dark Descent Afi persen survival horror tile wit an emphasis on atmosphere, Amnesia: The Dark Decent is the brainchild of Penumbra creators Frictional Games Armesia places you in the shoes of Daniel, a protagonist suffering from a case of sell- inficted memory loss. Wandering aimlessly "rough a dilapidated Prussian cast, letters penned by his own hand indicate that some things are perhaps best left forgotten. Daniels past salf assures him through writen instruc- "ins that finding a man deep within te castle named Alexander, and subsequently murdering hi, will зе everything right. Odd happenings occur around every corner and vastly effect the way the game is played. I Danie spends too long in the dark he will bo- in to lose his mind. When is mental faculty dips into dangerous territory, he floor begins to waver, walls pulse, and his head spins The effect is disorienting and makes it even more dificul to discem between what is real and what isa result 9 Daniel's fevered frenzy Lurking enemies make exploration unnerving. as one never knows what sort of horror waits inthe darkness. Extremely polished for an inde title, Frictional powers its games with proprietary technology created by a studio of around five full-time ийн. Developar sciri Sanes Platform Wino Mac, nuc Release neh Price S195 # The Nuovo Award and the nominees are. Created to honor “abstract, shorttorm, and unconventional game development that advances the medium and the way we think about games,” a Nuovo Award nomination Б one of he utmost IGF honors. Aspecial jury of Judges comprised of "the tap thinkers on the future of art and the video game medium" chery picked the eight nominees below, including the likes ot Jason ата (Between) Pado Pedercini (Every Day the Same Dream), lan Bogost (A Sow Year), and Daniel Benmergui (Today Di) Bohm (Mencbande) "Моод (Mesha) Dinner Date (Stout Games) VA L AWARDS Nidhogg Nichogg appears to be a simple pick-up-and- play game, but it boasts a surprising amount of strategy. Branded asa fencing game with light platforming elements, two individu- als challenge each other ав they vie to gain. ground on ther side of the screen. A quick jb to the torso wl ender your enemy a pie. pixel, and in the few moments between respawns ground is yours to gain. The ultimate cals to make itto the furthest reaches of your side of the screen, where а cheering сонй celebrates your victory. There is an inherent chaos to play, as combinations of moving, ducking, running, jabbing, siding, and even throwing your weapon results in a constant ebb and Пом, You may have the advantage at one moment, but be desperately on the defensive the next Ashort match could asta mere minute, but seems an stemi. ‘According to developer Messhof, single player and networked multiplayer are currently in development, in addition to more. diverse levels With intentionally simple graphics, sometimes jarring color combina- lions, and trance-inducing music, Кодо isa fast, frantic, and ultimately quirky ttle worth watching. © Developer Mesh Platform Po Release TEA Анаве п Calloria (Cardboard Computer) Loop Raccord (Nicolai Troshinsky) The Cat and the Coup Peter Brinson and Kurosh aliad) Brutaly Unfair Tactics Totally OK Мон (BUTT.ON) (Copenhagen Game Collective} Hazard: The Journey o Lile (Demuth) connect 37 mm 3 х N ыг N The Father of the Game turns to Atari Coo 2 Before Pong, you created Computer Space, based on Steve Russell’: Space War. It's stil one of the most gorgeous arcade. cabinets ever made. Talk about how that. project started. | played Space War in colega. 1 was probably "ho only quy that put himself through college ‘managing tho games dopartmont ol an amuso- ment park. | managed two relatively expansive arcades. It was what | considered to be an сон! ‘ous thing: i you coud tako this mation dot Jar computer and put itin an amusoment park, poopie would play this game tke crazy. When | graduated, | алой out a way to costreduco. 11 sat or to do that game in a public, coin- ‘operated format, The cabinet was serenchpiy. | sat down with a bunch of modeling clay and. actualy soupted an 18-inch moda ot it on my chen table. Computer Space ultimately wasn't very ‘successful. | thought it was a marginal product, but wo did ‘end up doing about $3 їл, The royalties from it id allow me to do Pong. We licensed Computer Space to a company сейв Nutting Associates. They had two important les. The frst was that it could not have been a moe screwed up company. One thing about working for a screwed up company is that gs you. confidence. You say, “I don't know much, but | know | won't screw things up ав much as these guys" [Las] 1 interviewed Ralph Baer a few years ago, ‘and he's stil very adamant that Pong was ‘based on his ping-pong game for the Odyssey, which he claims you saw at a ‘demonstration he did. How do you respond to that? Wol, hes absolutly right in that Isaw his Odyssey game and, candy, | hought i was cap. But 1 did provide the genesis. What Raph ‘doesn't Ike to tall you is that the very frst game- ‘ever made, by Wally Higgenbotham, was a ping-pong game. It was called Tennis for Two оп the oscilloscope. Also, during the same time Stove Russells Space Wer was going around ‘on the POP-1s, There were a whole bunch ‘of other games we programmed for PDP- 1 played a ping-pong game in the computer labs in 1964. But, the Odyssey game retriggered it at the samo time that | hired A Alco. Гри Al on the project ol tuning the pino pong game into Industry Re a good one. Ralphs product definitely triggered thal decision for ma, The legend is that when you put Pong into a bar, you got a call because they thought. It was broken, but It turned out that it had filed up with quarters. That's an absolutly tro story, by the way. When did you know you had a phenom- enon on your hands? Tho day we opened it and all the quarters camo. tubing out. | remember the conversation with | ‘Acorn. Ho вакі "How do wo know if hiss suc. oss or not?” I said, "Well, a good coin орог ated game wil make $10 a day, a phenomenon. i do about $20 a day. Pong was dong $35 to $40 a day" ll was outside the гейт ol anything. Та experienced in the roam of he amusement рак ar tho coin-op business. These were the ‘days when you could buy a pinball machine for $700 and it would do $10 a week and you "Godd make a lot of money, Apple founder Steve Jobs worked for you at Atari. What are your memories and Impressions of him? loved Steve, and | sil do. He isa prickly, bri Tant man. | had this attitude that, W you were good, and didt M — that was Ihe problem of the company, по! the пећ. People соте n a bunch of diferent sizes. So | saved Jobs from being fred a couple of tines, because he. was a Il їл Ultimately, | got him 10 work (n Breakout on the night shitt. The engineering ‘department didn't have а nicht si, but put him on one just so he wouldnt piss everyone ol (Laughs) Looking back at that era, with guys like you, Jobs, Alcorn, Steve Wozniak, even Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, there was a generation of people who fundamentally. changed the way we live with technology. What was It about those days that allowed people like you to do what you did? In some ways, it was youth. When I started Ala | was in my late twenties. No ono had ever had à CEO In the twenties in the technology ‘business. It was dominated by IBM and Hewlett Packard. You realy ch! get any kind of man- agement position unti you had Fay hair. | was the frst guy that came along, and kept tying to hio a presidant, bul every mo I did hod 1968 ENGINEERING Buche бэлээс fem the Diseeie ah Colleg t Engiocetng win à deyas "n destral voies He nel hau clege. Geni park 1971 SPACE AGE отой an leo game canet called 1972 601 Buhne and Dabney char [ ns nime t "han? a term om be Japanise hoard gina Go screw it up worse than I did, so Г fro him and factors agan Pony scent gt tom 1972 APHENONENON that knowing your product and knowing the DURUM IS fe SSIES Temp weer porian ran ayia RE became hngs woe ачих воа тауа: Pe Aus ns BE ‘were throwing away that 20 years of experiance every day, Thats what changed tho world It really loved tho world to tun into a real meri- tocracy of dynamic change, andit guy mach hc Atari was always purported to have a real crazy, party atmosphere. Was it that wild, oris that exaggerated? It was much wider than you could possibly imagine, At Atari, we had an average age ol 21 or 22. Al the executives were in ho late wentos or cal thirties. А Alcor, when ho did Pong, was 26 years did. We found thal bonuses and things Ike that weren't early as effective as having a patty, So we would say, "Hit hese quotas and we wil have a kogger on the back dock." Il was one of those things where it had a realy interesting corporate culture. Wo were ай fonds, we all loved to party together, and we were rely locked together in this thing to ‘change the world. We had a lot ої fun, It was pre-ADS, and everyone was seeping with ‘everyone ese. It was insane. 1676 SELLING OUT Int to mie the capit Teceseuy то гч thes Аа Things took a very different turn once you. sold the company to Warner Bros. Do you regret that decision? I regret it every day of my He. Why did you feel you had to sell tho com- pany at that point? Well we had what looked Ike a monster prod ‘uct, which turned out to be true - the 2600. ANS, ЕИ amenna oantoane ZUM, НИИ И as much money as we thought.” Scared the Sout ато ha аат товоо апоу FAN and байнөө make that сай to everybody! [Laughs] ino that попа аи Зол bought hat Woks eer do a вори В trying to bring this product to market without enough capital or I need to get a big partner, 2010 BACK TO ATARI ‘Stove Ross, who was the head of Warner Buch tool Асат boat ‘Communications atthe timo, was ono of tho ta contrued an page 0 connect 39 ‘sickest talking sales guys around. He convinced me that varying would be tho samo, that they Юй ther manage: ment alone. They'd put the money in and basicaly t wouid Just bo a bigger sandbox for us to play in. That was, o ‘course, totai bulls... Bul he convinced us 10 take some. money and wo put in a bonus program so that wo could all gel rich. More than that, Ino amount of money they ware ollaring was moro money than 1 evar envisioned hav- ing, So I said, "Hal, why not? Ultimately, things changed at Atari. Depending on what you read, you were either forced out or left the. ‘company. What is the truth? Wal, was ono of those things where tho fest your was ‘okay and tho socond year got very Hau fo mo. strtod being area f pain inthe ass. [Laughs] I took] this altitudo of don't caro I gel fred, Im going to continuo to fight for what trink is Aight.” Thera was this showdown in New York —"F-— you, Nolan, you're fred” and "F you, quit” [Laughs] It must have been painful to leave the company that had been your baby. It was, but understand that, tho year before, | had pur chased Chuck E, Cheese from Atari because they dint Want to do t. So | was doing thal on Ihe side and it was doing the equivalent of Pong - it was making more money than anyone had ever figured. So | thought could spend Thy tme at Chuck E. Cheese and let these jokers do their thing thor way. They were going to do that anyway, so 1 thought it would be a ot less headache. After you left, thoro was the great crash of the video ‘game industry in 1989. Looking back, was there any- thing that could have been done to prevent that? 1 know absolutely that would have happened under my watch. On the day we shipped the frst VCS systems, 1 said, "Okay, that's done, now we have to get a product "hat Wil replace I.” Warner had just bought Ihe company, ard they were horrid, They said, “Are you kicking те? But we had made so many vadeciis in making that tech ology - the VOS only had 128 bytes of memory! That nothing. We didit because of cost. But, rom the tme we {id the fina angineering unti the me it came out, memory had cropped in cost by a factor of ten. So leis do the next version [o Ihe Atari with more memory. We didit have quarterinch pixeis because we thought that was cool {Laughs} Vio were trying to hit a price point under $200, We oc have hit that with the next generation console My View was that you aways wanted to make yours obsoleto with the now stuff. Bocauso - f you didn't do it somebody ee wl. I believe thatthe meltdown in 82283. was sively because they tied 10 push another 15 milion VCS/2600 units into а market that was already saturated, 1 we had taken the early adopters — the guys thal had ‘bought urits in 1977 - and upgraded them, we could have avoided al that fter a fow years, Nintendo stepped in and did that, "which revitalized the home console Industry. As an outsider, what's your view of Nintendo as a com- pany? T think they've been brilant witha fot of things that thoyve done. The thing that's interesting about Nintendo Б that it basicaly emulated a lot of what Atari did, just years later. In ‘hose days, Japan was an isolated market. When we ted to sal Ihe VOS in Japan, it wasnt a tail barier, t was a business practice barrier. A product that could be bought at х $170, I you ted to by iin a [Tokyo] depart- nont storo, you'd have to pay Ino equivalent of over $400. There was the wholesaler and the mportor and the jobber ‘and the stocking distributor. Nintendo did a Breakout cono ‘and sad it to Ihe consumer market. Thats what funded "hei ану to make the Nintendo Entertainment System. You've said some things over the years that sug- gest you take a dim view of what the modern game Industry has become. For one, you sald in 2007, 40 connect "Videogames today are a race to the bottom. are pure, unadulterated trash and I'm sad f More recently you described social gami ting in a dark room in your underpants talk thousands of people. Its not cool." How do about the industry? \What Was concerned about at hal point in tmo was "no game business had truncated down to about 18 mi players When Alari was in ul bloom, about 40 percent ^o Americans answered positudy to tho question, "Have you played a video gemein tho last wock?" That was over 100 milion people, What was happening was thatthe games got comple. That ost ho casual player. They got "olent, and that lost the women, Tho market dirt notice i because they were making so much money on tho Motta Kombats and things ке that It was ай violence based. I fait was unnecessary thing to aerate that much ot he markelplaos. Tho soci garmes at that tmo wero pretty sil. my estimation What games specifically? 1 don't want to trash any game too much. But | ways took a dm view of Grand Thott Aulo because I wasn't socialy redoerring. You dorit want to јоу anti social behav, and | falt it wasnt good for society. It sounds realy quent Tight now, but Atari had a prohibition against creating vence against another human being. If you notico, n. Ihe eariy days, we never had something where you would shoot а humanoid character, Any gare that had ihat сате from someone eise. It wasn't unti the late ‘808 untl, al of a sudden, violence against people was acceptable Wo said, "You can blow up a tank, you can Dow up a plane, but you can't shoot a person let done having blood spatter out of his head. In the last fow years, some of the now mobile and. ‘social platforms and companies like PopCap have brought back a lot of games that hark back to the ‘simple style of games that you were making In the 1980. Is that interesting to you? ‘Absolutely, and you're seeing participation go up fo the ev st was n he early days of Atari again. Its good. H you lock at the casual games space now, fs growing by leaps and bounds. Some of Ihe companies in that space aro. doing extremely Wel, We put Asteroids orino as а casual ame and its done wonderuly - surprisingly wondaruly Do you stil play games as a hobby? Yos. Recent, ve been diving into some of the Facebook games and tying to understand some of the metrics. | think there's some briliant sf there. Yu have to some ol the stuff that Atari has coming, it wil knock your socks of ‘As you just mentioned, you have come full circle and ‘are now back with Atari again. its fun. 1 Ike boing a grandlalher instoad of a father Instead ої unning the company, you adise. How did you end up coming back to the company? Wel, Atari has always been inleresing to me. | actu ally tied fo buy Atari last year. | had written up a plan, A ‘couple of things happened and the company was sud опу no longer or salo. They said, We Ike Some of your ideas, why don't you come back and join the board)” That ‘seemed ike a good idea. What is your role as at Atari now? 1 know tho deep, extensive catdog of Atari products - not Just when | was ther. Ivo always kept up and played ‘everyting they've done. I Teei Ike Im a keeper ofthe his tory. At tho same time, | know that Atari stood for innova- Поп and realy good, sound product, siti on a lot of ов meetings with our developers and talk about Ways that wo can mako sure we maintain tho legacy of Atari while pushing it into tho futuro. bo dong своме th sll have boapat keiplaco that we have to The cost of development of triple-A games for the Current consoles Is extremely high, and a lot of com- panies are struggling with that. Do you feel you can Stil make big bets in the console space? Wo foc ме can make good bots, smart bets. "Bg" sn ha. ‘ye ofthe beholder, and wo fed hat hores а орой way of Waking hat tihitcpe. We're not going to be ho company but we irk we can bring high production values to good products Doas that maan we're going 10 y fo do the Avatar а genes? Probabiy not, but t Ino samo tro there но somo damn goad stand up singes tol can bring a good ratum on investment. Were trying to be pragmatic. You mentioned Asteroids Online, Are you planning to bring other old franchises to new platforms? Yesh, one of my favoritas Б Yars Hover... aeo. Star Raiders. | cou tll you some more but | won Comparing old Asteroids to Asteroids Orine wil que you am idea of what we're tying to do with some of our old IP. You have to admit Tempest was a vemendous game, Al the way from Paperboy to some of these others, these aro Wonder game dynamics. The fact that they were done in 8:01 graphics doesn't mean that you cart do some won: “ий things through upgrading. Looking back at your career, what's the one thing that you would do differently if you could do it over. again? "Well, | would’ have sold Atari whon dic. That's one thing, Део, when I sold Chuck E. Cheese, I would have gotten back into the game software business, which | ‘cht do at the fime. Thero were a lot of interesting oppor- tunities. So being back with Atari is really lun. What would you like your legacy to be? Tim the father of eight wonderful chicken. | have Ivo ‘song, al of whom are involved in games to one degree or ‘another. A couple of them have game companies that aro fledging and moving forward. И fun to mentor, Ай ol à sudden, instead of your ds saying, "Dad, | dont wart to know about that”, they call up and say, "Dad, how did you do thal? What should | do when they say this?" Lust tll them, “The guys that are investment bankers aro scum bags" Laughs} ^ PowerUp Rewards Members, missing out? Getting your card was step one. Now, visit to tell us about yourself and your gaming preferences, and we'll send you custom offers, discounts and garne recommendations Offers and discounts tailored to you Invites to exclusive events Up to 500 bonus points towards cool rewards a) f Here's just a sample of rewards, events and exclusives you're missing out on: * - NP, 72 7 Эс Af. 2» f ATARI FLASHBACK" Activate Now PowerUpRewards.com Limited Eat Razer Switchblade by Ben Reeves Traveling is fun, but PC games get neglected in the process. While you're away from home, your PC games are alone in the dark calling your name. It might not stay that way for long, however. Razer wants to revolutionize PC gaming by making it easier for travelers to play high-end PC titles in coffee shops and hotel rooms across the country. 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DOUBLE CD SPECIAL EDITION SOUNDTRACK 810.00 dbsoundworks.bandcamp.com connect 43 aum I you workin the industry and wouid ie to share your n ороп, contact senior tor Malt Helgeson at 23 The Greenhouse Effect: The Importance of Atmosphere Over Aesthetics Ina generation where individual pores can be seen on a character's face in Heavy Rain and a suspect's eyebrows can furrow guiltily in L.A. Noire, some would argue we've hit a graphical plateau in video games. These advancements have been achieved within a single console generation, a remarkable feat. Despite what posts on comments sections and forums may want you to believe, great visuals do not make a great game - modern video game excellence lies in the atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, graphics vill no doubt improve in coming console cycles, However, the impact of seeng higher resolution character models won't likely pack the same punch as When you fist saw Solid Snake transform from а blurry PSone character model to his fully artic- ulated PS2 «ай. The way to keep an experience опа gamer's mind this generation is crafting believable environments that live and breathe the game's essence. The most highly antici pated modern games would be much lesser Journeys without their respective backdrops. Таке away the claustrophobic, shadow-laden corridors ofthe Ishimura and Visceral Games" Dead Space would be a shell of a game sporting Resident Evil 4 gunplay and a vapid protagonist. With Dead Space 2, the studio pertected designing scary locales to the point that the bright, colerul,emiley-faced walls of a nursery elicit deep seated dread. Few gamers I've talked to recall a specific mind-blowing story twist or set piece moment in the Dead ‘Space series aside from the infamous sleva- tor scene. Instead, each horror enthusiast elaborately describes the game's suspenseful, harrowing air. Sure, Dead Space would be devoid of thrils without its moody halls, but it would still be playable. Such is not the case with cult classic Deadly Premonition. lgnition's bizarre detective tale features horrendous gunplay, a sicken- ing interface, and repulsive driving segments. Many ofthese missteps have been forgiven, by patient gamers who made a home out of Groonvalo, a place that hosts quirky persons ties, a strange vibe, and a dark past. Gamers find worth in Igntion's open world adventure because of its unique Twin Poaks-esque atmo- sphere. Agent York can spy on suspects during their daily routines and follow them around the sleepy town from dusk Ч dawn, resulting in a setting that fosters personable characters. Then there are games Ike Rockstar’ block- buster title Red Dead Redemption. The game doesn't feature the greatest quest variety or most innovative gunplay in the world, but suc- ceeds in delvering a video game Western that actually feels like the Wild West. None of the game's individual components such as cacti, shrubbery, and trees are graphically aston- ishing, but Rockstar paints them across the frontier with the same loving stroke Bob Ross gave his "happy itl trees.” The developer's Skils become even more impressive when you consider the Undead Nightmare DLO, which morphs the aura of the game from a gun- slinging adventure to an oppressive jaunt across a тов continent. By implementing drearier weather, a melancholy musical score, and shift- ing color palates, Rockstar dramaticaly mutates the same exact game world into something new. The company’s ability to make a їатйаг world feel alien is testament to the influence of masterful atmospheric craftsmanship. While many gamers have ridden the dusty trails of Red Dead Redemption, far fewer have traversed the terrifying passages of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, a game that owes all its success to atmosphere. Frictional Games’ first- person harrar title encourages brave gamers to do nothing but explore a castle oozing with mystery. Pre-game instructions insist players make sure they're wearing headphones and are alone in the dark before they begin. What may sound like a glorified haunted house simulator becomes an exercise in terror as Brennenburg by Tim Turi associate editor, Game Informer Castle slowly instills a feeling cf unease with supernatural ‘occurrences like constricting walls and echoing footsteps. Word of mouth and YouTube Videos of screaming players communicated Amnesia's uniquely immersive crespi- ness to the world, and the upstart Frictional gained strong enough footing to pro- duce more games - all due to an engrossing environment Conversely, there ‘examples of visually stunning games that lack а memo- rabla world and suitor for it. Guorilia Games continues. to impress with its visual advancements in the Kilzono series, but aven attr playing and enjoying ай of Killzone 2.1 can't recount one criti- ‘al location from the game. Final Fantasy X sports the best graphics and arguably. the most interesting combat system the series has seen in years, but the linear world 1ові sterile and contrived. Even as a longtime fan of the. legendery APG series, | feel no connection to Lightning's world, completing removing the story's impact, Crysis is a technical power- house still used as a benchmark last for POs. Shiny nanosuit and tight gunpfay aside, few I've talked to can mention one place in the game that evoked any emotion or feeling А quick look to the horizon reveals a plethora of upcoming video games showcasing unique settings and moods, the creators of which all boast their game's world before characters and gameplay. The original BioShock stands as a poster child for rich gaming atmosphere, and fans aro dying to exploro tho floating, fiercely patriotic city of Colombia in BioShock Infinte. Tho Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim promises a rugged, fully traversable world players are ready to get lest in. Silent Hil: Downpour developer Vatra Games came right out saying that tho iconic. town is the main character of the series, and that focus has so far resulted in grim, unset- ting locations which have stuck with me since | wrote last month's feature on the game. These ‘examples and the buzz circulating around them has me convinced that gamers are hungry like never bafora for rich scenery to chew on. ‘Games today are gorgeous. I's getting harder to point at any one triple-A game as graphically hoad and shoulders above the competition, Each developer may have its own unique art syle, but when everyone aims for hyperreal- ism, the most identliabla stamp that can set a game apart is atmosphere, nennen Mews ard sors ersten e page ao tity тоаг au and rot restr naar or sx Marcy 01 New Releases 09 Cole MacGrath's Electric We nse Comic Book Debut 01 Game Developers Conference Kicks of connect 45 In POWERFUL NEW ENGINE AND Ir BOLD VISION; DIGE UNVEILS fts: : T MOST, ZR GAME E EVER > EN eos f; = oyalty is fleeting in game develop- ment, Nowhere is this more evident. than the ever-chifting center of power in the highly competitive military shooter genre, Medal of Honor was widely regarded as the pinnacle franchise in the early 2000s, wowing gamers with cutting edge tech that abandoned corridor shooting for jaw-dropping battle sce- narios like storming the beaches of Normandy. Its stay at the top would not last, ав EA lost the trust. of the creative team and they fled to form Infin- ity Ward. I's been downhill for Medal of Honor ever since, with underwhelming entries that never recaptured the excitement of Allied Assault and Frontline, In its place rose Call of Duty, the next project. from Allied Assault creators Jason West and Vince Zampella, Each title gradually built on the = core concept of full-scale warfare, and the series reached its apex in 2007 with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The blockbuster shattered our expectations for first-person shooters with smart pacing, water cooler-worthy set pleces, and an addictive multiplayer progression system that hooked hardcore shooter fans and extended the brand's reach into the mainstream, ‘Again, a tumultuous relationship turned sour and ruined the good thing Infinity Ward had going. A bitter and litigious fallout between Activision and Call of Duty figureheads West and Zampella in March 2010 led to their firing and © )\ a high-level talent exodus from the studio. By racking up over a billion dollars of revenue last November, the Treyarch-developed Black Ops proved that Call of Duty can still decimate sales records like Godzilla rampaging through Tokyo, but future success is by no means a guarantee. New creative minds are taking ownership of the franchise, and only time will tell if they can keep the machine running on all cylinders, While Activision launches its contingency plan to main- tain Call of Duty's dominance in the FPS genre, another studio hallway across the world has kept its nose to the grinder, chuming out one critically lauded shooter after another. ‘Since the multiplayer-focused PC title Battle- field 1942 launched in 2002, Swedish developer DICE has delivered 15 Battlefield games and expansions, averaging an 82 Metacritic score across the titles and selling over 30 million cop- ies in the process, The team has gradually fine- tuned its signature vehicle and infantry-based multiplayer combat, adapted to a console-driven ‘market, and learned how to craft single-player ‘campaigns without sacrificing quality on the multiplayer side, When Battlefield: Bad Com- ‘pany 2 launched last March, DICE solidified itz standing on the console market, selling over six шиний million copies and ranking alongside Call of Duty and Halo at the top of the multiplayer charts for several months, Unlike the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty teams, the core development team from Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 216 still largely intact “Even though we're up in the cold north and it can sound tempting to move to a sunnier place with palm trees and surfing to create games, most people choose to stay here or come back since we do what we love,” says creative director and lead multiplayer designer Lars Gustavsson, who's been with the team since Codename Eagle, the spiritual predecessor to the Battlefield series. “Ws the same studio, and many of the same peo- ple who created 1942 or even Codename Eagle ano still here. It you remember the faces of those soldiers [rom the early games] you can probably walk through the studio and find at least three, four, five of our faces.” When you've worked with the same people over several years, a valuable chemistry develops. ‘Team members share an unconscious under- standing of the studio's goals, and their sense of unity can't help but influence new team members who join projects. Given the low turnover at the studio, DICE is in a perfect position to capital- ize on the leadership vacuum in the military shooter genre. Armed with the new Frostbite 2 engine, a bold new approach to single-player, and grandiose ideas on how to advance its already stellar mul- tiplayer philosophy, DICE is preparing to stake its claim as the pre-eminent military shooter de- veloper with Battlefield 3. Now is as good a time аз any to make a move, In 2008, the first-person shooter genre accounted for a mere 10 percent of US. console and PC sales, In just two years, the mumber has jumped to 20 percent, Shooters are hotter than ever, ‘This isn't just another new Batdefield game, either. 166 the long-awaited true successor of the legendary PC exclusive that players still enjoy today. The lovable Bad Company charac- ters Sweetwater, Haggard, Marlowe, and Sarge are being left on the sidelines as DICE returns to the large-scale warfare that put the studio on the map. EA and DICE are so confident in the game "hat, for the first time in its history, Batlefeld is joining the frenzied year-end release window. Instead of launching from the comforts of the less competitive spring and summer seasons, Ваше- field 3 is going toe to toe with heavy hitters like Gears of War 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Ваш ‘Arkham City, and, it the previous six years are any indication, the unannounced annual Call of Duty installment. Bad Company was the fist Battlefield game to introduce destructible walls and objects, and Bad (Company 2 upped the ante with fully collapsing houses. Given the features popularity, DICE wanted destruct in Battlefield 3, but with dense urban environments, t needed to deliver real-time devas- tation on a much larger scale. Wi the Frostbite 2 engine, nothing on the battlefield is safe rom destruction. In the demos we Watched, an earthquake ripped apart Ih city streets, and a seven-story structure collapsed in a plume of dust particles and rubble. When an RPG is fired at a buiding, the force of the explosion causes rip- Ping splash damage as it would in real lite, breaking windows throughout the Bast radius and tearing the façade into hundreds of pieces. In theory, DICE could use the engine to destroy a replica of the Bur) Kalan downtown Dubai, te largest building în the worl. “We're oniy starting to scratch the surface of what we сал do with the engine? says art rector Gustav Шоу. The power of the destruction is awe inspiring, but dont expect Battlefield 310 play like the shooter ‘equivalent to the natural disaster racing game Spli/Second. "It needs to be believable,” stresses execu "ive producer Patrick Bach. "You can't have earthquakes all over the place while you've running and gunning. We want to have set pieces that fit the map. Set pieces can be more than big explosions and big animations, We have some сод things up our sleeves” ie be ng techniques; tne characte animations oen belivdlein Bad Hte any 2 ot involved аана proces onthe deme part. After n ho rj DICE entertained middleware oto companies Fed atra Moon before discovering he ANT роо that "ons EA Sports gane Ik FFA Tho sytem waen BAR AR ‘games, but ows ay operates wi a seias of ug ins tat anyone Ary create essent eal of puting e pysically and eleven KR m and 3, DCE erate n systern ne Frost and 98088 adding ts in n variances to adapte technology to he combat ons V apa prototyping afforded by e ANT enne бо ыг eating No sedet ot animations or naar and mulla тон, fist tie. sear fw me and act wth a mor рох sees PPM Tre developers can rapidly condition their behavior wi а. convenient ans point echnology that issues directivos depending on wa, character's loca ware acions hapering in n vicinity Te ANT tmn also enables Tct i iten to y i soldier animations at Dae PE muliptayet neon tho market Soldes stil ham na risp required in online fest ut ey ow move th a deren of realem INN thir heads and guns fore their bodies, 5 боп aggressively into and out cf cover, and pans Dera allan east betwen sprinting and dropping a deck. endet aen ts bot wnat war raner an сай eb it” says lead arimator Tobias Da el off drastically Do you plan We have a big focus on susta success than we anticipated. We did not account tor that, We sold a lot f copies and don't fee bad about where we were, but ooking back, we should have released mare, bigger content earlier. The challenge в to build а game, and then have more people coming on betore the project is done to start buiding extra content because it takes a lot of time to get stul! ой. Even it you're done with something it takes another one to two months to get it on the net, so "o speak. Wo've learned our lesson now, and have a lot of really interesting plans for how to коор the attention of the players We сап do better in that area. ynd do you plan ing the pr л Battlefield Italis back on what зай earlier — we were much more successi with our approach than we anticipated. We didn't think most people would hit level 22 o be honest, and especially mol so fast. Our calculations on how much people would play to hit leve 20, 25, 50 were com- lately wrong. We thought people wouldnt pay ha much. Мете locking into the numbers ot WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MULTIPLAYER Though we did't see any multiplayer in action during the Battlefield З deme, that didt stop us {rom prying some revealing answers from DICE in our Q&A with executive producer Patrick Bach. Бае Bad Company 2 is already one of the Sing war games we'w evor heard, but OE ns keep growing. For Battlefield 3, audio М sal Inga rare sea а”” | Bate Rator ang re eg летака йе tram decided 1o noa ma a Wo e suman Kamen “Tal sins mac ctae Sarg Prin "va gr sung ge Wn Andorra P ans analya ma mor a By recording the ct хз, tanks, an аката eig esr ‘staid cist a tec mag байг, sitio ets imme te ee Loe e an a maing pene Fore tay ser n esamo estis ‘ea ta esos being ea Bro dr ui your da ee how we scale up, what we give away, how we give it away; with the understanding that some people put а lot of time into the game, There wil e alot more to unlock, not only weapons and ‘ther teas, but we have mare things that you can unlock than in Bad Company 2. We're also making suo tht there is a reason for you to reach tho top rank: It doesn't just end. There wil bea lot ot focus on persistence and how we present tft the player- ne ofthe things that heip Black Ops, and R m outfit. What are t efield З going in this direction? The mare variation you паме fim the characters he less variation you can fave in the rest of {he word. think it also ha to do Wifi the way you play more professionally You do want people to look completely diferent fs team A versus team B. Is always a challenge — how (do you personalize a uniform? Giving the pink rabbit hat to someone would make it fun, bu if youre running around and you don't know what you're shooting at You don take he profes- Sonal gaming seriously in my book. So theres challenge between personalizing and Kéeping it uniform We wil do more in hat area, making Sure Ба! you can gel your character to be more personalized both in a visual way and more specifically in he way you gear up. We did a ood job wouid argue in Bad Company 2 with specialtzations, irent scopes; and different weapons - jou can kind ot ах your way playing the game, which broadens he game tot УУ cove йоу 57 га With freely loy PC fan base that торусу dentes wih ihe concept of а rtiplayer-cely ‘experience, inroducing single-player mplicaled for Ballfield than it franchises: "Some people care tod hat hoy dor Bach The, Io w ito ther the mut at he ml rd not having ar lo aside to buid th quality away om th ‘more people The deeper you get into that he more you unravel figuring new things out every day. That was kind of the seed to ‘what we've buiding now. We now know more than we've ever known about how to personalize a uniform team. Your tends wil get very happy when they can see what they сап do with thoi soldiers ‘When think about Battlefield 2, | always come back to the (Commander position and the game within the game that arose from having Special Forces objectives. Are those returning in the proper sequel? We could implement t, but the question is “How do you get the threshold ower?" That's not by making it more complicated, ur challenge is to make sure that anyone that just jumps into "ho game wil gt. One of the biggest problems with Com- mander was that nly two people could use й. Some people ied it but most poople didn't care. They just cared that some- ‘ne gave them an order or that their squad could play together "having fun on their own more or less. Then the more hardcore тауа ті 2222 n. ГҮ we're almost double Ihe size rom Bad трапу 2. That's about уве or four tes the Б Battlefield 2 Alter its postive experience withthe Bed low 221 3, Mark рау men Operat ean sin with a good people went into the Commander mode and learned how to use that. You could argue it маз а great ваше, but looking at "he numbers you cou als say that no one uses it. We rid in ‘Bad Company 2o give that to the players, so you could issue Orders to your squad, and you could use gadgets Ike the UAV ‘that only the commander could uso еайе - giving the power back to the layers so everyone could use it. That made a big иас More people could enjoy the game. We lowered the ‘threshold for everyone because we gave it to everyone. We ‘now know where the boundaries are or keeping the strategic depth and complexity wie lowering the threshold to get in. Since Battlefield 2 you've toyed with the amount of classes — that game had seven classes, Battlefield 1943 had only three, ‘and Bad Company 2 had four, Do you think you've found the ‘sweet spat? Yes, think te sweet spots four Looking at what we've done sofa we see the classes as a starting point, Classes are kind ‘of "Who am 1? Well 'm this kindof person. I want to help out "reg B att does and does weni to do. ant to create à song, hol à guitar edo, g tor fuo hours is abit song consists ol the fow 5 foes Ike quitar soo t ihat. But hot playin this way" As you go along you wil find diferent nu- ances of that dass f you ook at he amount of classes you ac- ally have in Bad Company 2 wit ай of the different leadout, ifs probally a couple thousand, compared to 1942, which was quite static So he sweet spot for entry is around for Then its about how much you branch it. Its a neverending discussion that's a matter of what ind of toys you want the paye to have and how you balance it out. The rock, paper, scissors theory is stl the foundation of every Battlefield game. A lot o people ‘come up tome and say, "You should increase the power o "hat gun?’ or “You should make this gun bet or “You should ac nukes." The easy response to that is, “How is that fun for. "he person getting shot at?" Because that needs to be the balance i there's no counter to a weapon, then we won't put itin the game. There shouid always be a way of countering, so then you get this ва of death where it you have the means {o all me, can switch gear and ind means to get back at you. There shouldn't be an über class or über weapons. Some games have perks where you КИ the game by using it, and you ing n front ot a microphon non аж doit over and over again. That's no fun, that's а game breaker, 1 someone gets realy good at fying a chopper, hon people say the chopper is overpowered, No, you just haven't learned howto counter it because her ia counter. Tha's the kind of depth you want in a Battlefield game. It actually takes time. unti someone figures it out. We often comparo ourselves to spots. You have a game with a set of rules, but there are a milion ways of playing that game stil, even though the rule зайв very solid and hast changed for 100 years. Every game is completely new. There îs always a way to counter the opponent. Like football, or basketbal, o soccer, the game is always evolving, yet the rules are the same. People adapt and Find new ways T ink t goes in waves, and it's also about your daily form. How are you paying? How do you feel today? How fast are You? think tho hardcore game mode is a briliant idea, and xe partic хі Sergeant, that you ae sil unde it ngm т loth V being operated t throug LAV ume roan oor ме could probably turn й up a notch to make й even more hardcore in the future because people are wiling to try it ой. Its the same game, but you turn it up to 11... You want that layer о complexity that you can just add on top of whatever game mode you have. I's a good way о seeing the same game through a new ange. arger grou ted to play together, " ch for Battlefield Wel yes. I actually a very crucial part of the game. Were thinking a lat авай squads and team play = making hat even. more accessible Like you said, squads are realy easy to set p, but how can you take that further? We have som really сод things that wel show later when it comes to dictating how you play with friends, fo tem pts the man in black is Misit actual. We he и team clsmeunied ah doping. Get tage hat h matches, no g io having a theater m 1 — We have functionality on our nd that can capture movies, The hard part f course is our dedication to creating non-cheatable ‘games contradicts he whl idea of doing that because we are running dedicated servers on everything and that actually makes it harder, We're deity looking into ways of delivering our version of this functionality but I cat ivo анау any deas Wo wil have a co-op mode. I won't go into exact dots about its going to be connected to this or that, but we wil have a co-op mode in the box. Okay. Oniy okay Onsiaught was an experiment on our side to oover story 53 sionaing mei Бою ma and buck akos its way through the sido sroots ley to Ie staging arca, routinely checking the comes and balconies forth Nou ever ask yourself how this part ofthe word gels so d up al the Im?” one solder aske tothe group. 1 just werk hero, Dave,” another засна replies. Once they reach the commencing alice, he lays out tha stuation. They've ost contact Wilh a ‘squad that was investigating a possible cham са weapons sto, Their last known location was: a moat market in a hostie noighborhood. 15 Trst recon’ co to locate the Marines and bring thern back beloro the People's Liberation and (PLA) Inde nom. "The Marinos sot cut th ху» tho back srcats Taking shortcuts trough сту warehouses and the mufled sound ol passing chopper barking dogs, and tho trafic jam echoes through the interiors. Sudderly a ow rumble shakes the ‘Someone nac ne D.O.D. to LOW oso ammo dumps further scher remarks! That's а queko tremor b ser counter "We're ke 90 dicks rom a major fuit ine The squad aches a big cross street that leave the Mori sed 10 enemy fre. The team wa for a few woaponized joops to rol past balor m xeboding mos trade tarts playing Sense of danger xam по demo, he frst shot Ina rough he square as Ihe scdicrs пу to make ther move. Sniper! The bulet rips through ono of the Marine's unit and tha cnae-quie square turs into а death trap for the Marine group as the player crags hin to safety n а frantic quicktime event, The Marines aro унд out the postions of encres and returning fro, and once the downed man is a safe place the player Joins th fray, taking aim at he insurgents using ars ав cover. Clearly oulmalched, tne enemies retreat into the side sree ‘Give me asit rop!" the commanding bis Iour solders аср тир, Tm. Imt мат fer yells o dup, but mup," the Wounded yal squad moves forward, and he greeting party gets even more hostie when an insurgent inan on RPG and opens fre зов what we could do with cur technology on existing code, ‘more or less, Ther was very litle code change to the game beacause it was more or less supposed to be a litle quirky mod for Bad Company 2. I was actually received better than wo thought. We now know much better what is needed, and of course we have better tools that are designed to do these. things. can honestly say that we can now do whatever we. want to o, and the choices we have made for the game are based on what we want rather han what we havi Опе of the more controversial additions to Bad Company 2 was the killcam - snipers es you keeping it for Battlefield 3? We stil think that some kind o giveaway camera, no matter what itis, в something that you should be able to have And you should have the opportunity to tum it ff and play a game without 1. think if not all bad, And again, if you look at how we reason when we build a game there should always ally whined about it. Are The squad spreads out, fnd Ing the solders popping out of leys. The player pulls Ihe pin from a grenade, tosses It into the RPG nest, and watches from behind cover as it blows Ihe attackers cover into a hundred pieces and rides him харт, sping forward о another segment of Ino mission the Marines have moved through a buiding to th door of p. Batore they leave ће stairwell he commander 1р. Be carol ou ther Jes a stem warning. "That sriper is st The minute they open the door, a shot ech through Ihe sky. Tho positon has already been com promised, "Dude, thats a ----д fy a solcher yel Dropping into a prone positon, the commander instructs the Marinos to move trom cover to cover Mhie hey trangusto the location. The b Plays out Ike the scone trom The Hirt Locker, as th team can't get a clear look t x watching t tension ir Fly, a Marine spots the sri а rough) away. T the Marines to provide covering fre on his cus Sgt. Black grabs an RPG and frs I The jer signals the coun be a way to counter something and if you've а god sniper you know that youre now on camera, which means that you should move. Jets are coming back in Battlefield 3. How are you dealing with the maps to give them room to maneuver? Мете buiding bigger maps. Then again, the games are about fun, so it you have a Mach 2 jet on one of our maps you would pass itin 02 seconds. You stil need to design the eme to fit. t can't be as slow as a chopper, but hen again it can't be Mach 2 so there's a sweet spot that мете hiting with map scale, scale of fight, and speed of vehicles so it мӣ actually ft. And of course there should also be a way of countering something. Prone is coming back as well, Why the change of heart rom Bad Company 2, for which you defended your slow motion sequence triggers as Black ines Up. the shot, launches the rocket, end watches t ES target, crating а huge plume of smoke and knock the neon hotel signoff its hinges. Tho massive explo- son is a jaw-dropping display of Ine Frost: abi, lect on target,” a Marine увіз "Tm. The demo skips ahead once more to frd Black separated from his squad т a darkened basement A voico crackles over the anwaves, "Did you gel that, Black? Falow the goddamn wire Foreboding music again plays over the soene, ampl- ying the tension, As Black shuffes aukwardy through an air vent, a rumble suddenly ripples through the bulldng. Another fen Nothing to wory about; he solcher says over the m. Ju wie cut ars the faint beep ol th b исе, but as he begins harge, a man suddenly jumps him from A quide-mo event fistight ensues, and Black 3 turn the fide on his aggressor wil t tempo of thet тапа from the bomb esca ter damning the attacker against a naar ack dashes 10 difuso the bomb Heading back up t reasoning to leave it out of the game? Föst ot all, Bad Company 2 was the spin-o. We had our owm ruleset. This is based on Battlefield 2, so we can go back and look at how can we solve Ih problem of proning, hiding in high grass, and there are a lot ot ways o countering that. one of them, vapor traces are another - the the bigger the trace - stuff Ike that. And ot course giving others 008 to spot positions We have more tne to fiddle with those hem work. Prone is fun ar the person proing. How fun is itto not see someone shooting you? 1 not fun at al. That's our challenge That's our job to design around that and find ways to counter that. With a fdl- no time joining th tray To got a betler vantage point on т moving between cars andb Gicar Ihe LZ. Black grat and opens fro with th per that x story bultóng st ly nt Tho bulding starts 5 "n ad ид breaks reo trom ts foundation, al Mk Non stores lumbing drect toward Sergant a Iran-raq border town: You won't bo n the do East ай day. You wil be n many places od roason that | won't gve у POWER TO THE PC PLAYERS Want to ight in the classic 6-player matches made famous by Battefeld 2? Start buiding a new gaming rig- Far to offen these days, PC gamers ga the butt-end of th stick. Many developers focus o consoles to the detriment of the PC ‘experience, and when they do get around to releasing the game for Windows (usually months after he console release), here's no uar antee it wil play as well as the other versions. Not Battie 3. ‘APC developer at heart, DIE recognizes that Battlefield stil has a huge fan base rocking the keyboard and mouse. As such, they are. using the PC as the lead platform in developing he sequel to the PC exclusive Battlefield 2. "We won't make it for console and port it to PO - that's not how we do things,” says executive producer Patrick "Bach. "We're focusing on C first, and then we fiddle with it to ft t onto consoles” Being the lead platform has its advantages, none more convincing than the relum of G-player matches - a PC exclusive Why oly PC? “The PC audience has been the one complaining,” Bach says. "We actually haven't heard any complaints rom the console audience We are letting the PC audience make use of the very expensive hardware that they just bought so hoy can tiok all the boxes and go lor the Gt-piayer fights” Hf you have a rig packed to the gils with cutting-edge technol угуи have access to the ultimate Battlefield 3 experience, with “superior motion br effects and advanced anti-aliasing that won't e possible on consoles at sad, the console version is no slouch. “We do care about the PC audience, and we will have a lot o extra goodies for the PC while also making sure consoles players won't be Jett out," Bach promises. "They will be part ot this whole grandiose ‘scheme that we have whon it comes to playing our gama” The only bad news is that modders may not have the kind of ac- ess to the tools they had before. The Frostbite 2 engine is very ad vanced, and DICE claims it takes a Iot of knowledge and manpower "o deliver on that platform. Instead of shipping he SOK, the studio is еріту other options. We wil not deliver mod tools in the way that we delivered them {or Battefied 27 Bach admits. “Creating mod fools today — dumbing "hem down — takes a lot of energy and what we are discussing more every day is, Where do we put our focus? Right now our focus ìs "o create the best possible multiplayer, single-player, and co-op ‘game the core game of Battlefield 3. We're sti discussing how we handie modifications of any kind” cover story 58 TREADING WE PREPARE FOR THE IMMINENT 3115 LAUNCH BY SPENDING A DAY WITH NNTENDO'S GAME- CHANGER With a long history of dominating portable gaming, Nintendo cou have stayed on top by sticking with the tried- and-true Game Boy series. Even as the incamations of Ihe Game Boy Advance were flying off the shelves, he company wasn't Content to rest on їе lures, In 2004, Nintendo announced the DS to mixed reactions, Some thought thal the two screens were more of a gimmick than a way to enhance gameplay. As we know now, these reservations were unnecessary; the DS is a runaway success with an amazing library of games. Just last year, doubters were given new ammunition with the announcement ofthe 305 - Nintendo's apparent attempt to cash in on the 3D craze, Claims of gimmick-based gaming resurfaced, but ЕЗ 2010 made believers out of almost everyone who got ther hands on the system. With the March 27 launch of the 3DS on the horizon, we wil soon find out if the positive buzz wil translate into commercial success, We learned that the technology worked at E3, but! attended a Nintendo press event for some extended hands-on time with the QDS to see how far the unit and the games have come. feature 57 What's D At $249.99, the 3DS is the most expensive H portable device Nintendo has ever released. However, it also comes with a more robust collection of applications and features than we've seen in previ- ous units. Here's what you'll be getting right out of the box. Ea You can technically track your gaming time with Ihe Wis. r message board system, but it moles labores lang Through messages wih a caedstor Tho ADS smplfs this process by tracking your gaming habits and placing tiem n. n easly rock interface. Loading ths app tior m ves you a varety of stats and graphs so you Included, but yu бал oo exactly how much time you ro spend: 2 i ing with each te ent of target ears an This wacky (and quastonabiy t! 7) Pamed) ilio has you shoot allen: t tace S Ing down waves ol your own laco by using the 3055 buit- in gyroscope. Once you've taken a pictura ol yous, the gamo pastes It over tons of А ing enemies that wil ereeply wink, grimaco, and sorsam at you as they attack. They enter the game spaco by breaking plac above this Г through tho real word that the мах look crazy when БАО "ТІ B ko youre sig E DE 308. at noting, ӨЛТ il ш ‘managed to get a laugh out 9 z N of everyone | saw playing it Nintendo hi couch w tried to get gamers off the the Pokéwalker and Wi Ft but its attempts have never been tied to the system itself until now. As you walk around during an average day, the pedometer tracks your steps and rewards you with coins to use in particular games. | asked about specific examples regard: ing the implementation of these coins, but Nintendo was unable to provide any details as of press time. Let's hope the ji system's soft feature at some point. pt, allowing da s this С actualy ий INTERNET | a. г : BROWSER MERAN ERE осаго ss While StreetPass data of a wi-fi connection, (On top of the Induded apps and features, tho З also comes packaged with a couple ої lar accessories. One is a charging arad 1 jour system in, allowing a game to stay in seep iay. Te mam ACCESSORIES м pulated by you've encounter rather than o Internet. If you're in уйл Street Mis of any nearby 305 owner STREETPASS '* Mii PLAZA s populated ition to their youll also get data йке пе and place of origin. feature 59 The The 3DS could have all the features in the world, but it would sink faster than the Nomad if it didn't have a healthy game library to back the technology. Here's a look at what will be popping out of your system's screen in the near future." RIDGE ны RACER «ны ном mos right? This long-running 3 serios makes its 3D debut in famiar form, offer. ing Grand Prix races and a Тате the sights of a your and shootin started to get old after only a coupi minut STEEL DIVER adjust ubr While shooting missiles at obstacles. The mos ‘exciting thing | saw involved holding my styk over a leak on the touchscreen - and that reason for concern, RESIDENT EVI THE MERCENARIES 3D : Capcom is assembling a dream team of che comes with his or her own loacout. The demo рау blasted zombies (sorry, not-zombies) left and right Thanks to the touch screen, switching w environments | saw (ih Resident Evil 4 or 5, but pr yan McDougal t те that he "Wouldn't rule anything out” in terms of loca 'earier games. If you enjoyed teaming up with а buddy during the console versions of Me thanks to ts the SD was used to t. Locking down a sniper scope produced a very distinct separation between my scope and the farget I was aiming at. Even with the standard weapons, the view while aiming shifts to an almost fr g you an up-close and personal view of that are-wieking vilager. vith shotgu you look down f periscope while tuming dy around and moving the 305 m. The gyroscope performs this ly, but repeatedly diving missiles at enemy ships s. Campaign mode was pain- slow, and required litle more than rine's speed and direction healing tems is easier than ever ASPHALT 3D s ries bo dent Evi 4 as а fan favor edition tums that experience into it product. ch of which Claire, Hunk, and Krauser. | ins, pistols, and grenade launchers. L:: debuts and Recent Evi: Re hey real sl sated ek they won't appear anywhere near feature 61 If you're the type of sports gamer that loves micromanaging your team throughout years of franchise mode, this probably isn't the installment for you. Resembing the Wii version more than anything, this Madden offers GameFlow and arcade mode if you don't want to spend too much time flipping through playbocks. Franchise made may be absent, but you can stil make basic trades throughout the year in the season mode. NIAAVWN T1val004 14N Many of the best-looking 305 games feature bright, vid colors, making LEGO Star Wars II à perfect fi for he system. With its simple art stylo and approachable gameplay, should bo а great "lo for younger 30S owners. П didn't fol any di. ferent than previous entries in the saves | swapped ‘between Obi Wen, Anakin, and R2-D2 While taking out dokis and solving LEGO putes with the Foren. PILOTWINGS Bree RESORT 'Sttoot Fighter no 305 from the the console ver ‘Al of the bonus S, and it plays almost identically to its console big broth ав. One new feature is the ably to map special/super utra mov Would sooll al such а concept, you can filer out potential nine opponents i theyre using touch screen moves. The 3D eflect was subter than in other games al the show, but it il looked! gorgeous. A "Dynamic View" over-the-shoucer option is available, but its definitely an awkward shitt in per- spective for those accustomed to 2D fighting. No matter how 3ghter IV: 3D Editon was one of games at the even. Without a doubt, th COMBAT OF GIANTS: DINOSAURS 3 feature 63 NR ) = ( зу ч WA: Origin doomed vilage is overun by the B. Hawke escapes with his antagon Carver, hs sister Bethany: and th The desperate family fights through several, Darkspawn ambushes, and they savea | Templar named Wesley and his wile, Avelina, Upon discovering that Bethany is ал apos- tate ~a rogue mage not under the guidance БЛА is not the ime reminds him as another wave of Da attacks the beleaguered group. As a seemingly endless stream Derkspawn, team begins оо to the beasts, One member lle, and another is mar ав all appears ost, ad fies over he horizon, burning å таюу or tne Dorkspawn and scattering the remnants The dragon floats down to the charred battlefield and lands betore te famiy, rans io an oid woman before ter startled ine i tho rs to identity ar Witch of ine Wis. The legendary Hawke and hs kin death but she wants о cuta e Waking Sea to the land known as the Fee Marches. Al she ass is that Hawke 7 ceiver an amulet toa Daishet vibe camped ©} pear tracy of Keka. = more ofthe: anges, return, But for better or worse, the gameplay ha Few woul se-and-pi puer RPG tion 3 port ‘Darkspavin on hi with al of his big abite. itf In sion to the тею ton. | po val no ran Quran. After wiped out a fealty number o... Darkspawn, the game out (withOut байга... back to Vac telling the stor, His interoga о a Chantry seeker named Cassandra; inte rupted "Bulls. That In Dragon Age I's framed narative; Мат exaggeration provided an opportunity for me the duart ning, stri то Kirkwall with escape Fer Blight: and th all newcomers. ‘moe that allo layer pauwe the бин ul ho camera back a i and io thor ale no by o ot how it happened ter Spending weeks stuck ou A city Gates, Havike finally locates his uncle, col to discover that he gambled away the family fortune: This Unsavory relative bets the family into the city but oy by c ihat essentially sels Hawke and indenture igins ends th the Kirkwall retreating, Bartrand is about to lead an dition into the Deep Roads, and Hawi to join him. Varie can guarantee Н: inge fora bit of coin taking odd jo Nat all ot tno ng takes piaco in th wel or in ‘hngeons Many quests and combat encounters i happen vatten he hag су al reni ‘Taking up residence. poorest part op Siricken ty of way of ite ‘Hawke first seeks) папапетр ор at ће Doep Road Tomar Gey Ward agrees to and it Hawke helps imrescue a. "lend who has boén pure by he Templar Alle breaking | into Kirkwall's Ct the cover от po oon tamed „an emotonicss an oan citm Contone by the Templar = node m Anders increase. Ater Ihe bate be plains 10 Hawke that he has en possessed by чий. of sce essential the opposte at a demon m fo. Dragon Age world. s unar- Ton whatthis po justice wants ith Anders rite зате Justice that journeyed wi Anders and he Warden Commander 1n Awakening, but BioWare's setting tha ‘agaup for some ne епітета s qune ” Сн 2 comiat Brovides the most starting ges from Origins, Ihe dialogue and sxploration have aso bee ways from BioWare's sci-fi ай, Each sect the conversation wheel features a sym the responses to Like in Mass Effe lower-ight cor Бө interpreted as th respectively, but in Dragon Age the better identified as р ons to whatever versation: A tno common enemies in Dragon Ago лнэ een odegned nung Ogres and Huck LEVELING UP - LEVELS UP As part of the effor to streamline and improve he tel of Dragon Age, nare = redesigned the Ш акша. leveling up and choosing new | skili. Abilities are now lid with possible upgrades high: — lighted in bue as you level up. Each new upgrade also has a eater трас on battles than Giants Roach — Tis passive ability alons your regular ‘ings wih two-handed ‘weapons to hit multiple enemies. ‘Sojthe - This awesóme charge attack sends you hurting toward enemies. For regular opponents, its a grea opener, and weak toes wil | instantly explode into a pul ol ood, ROGUE 253: БЭЛ ЭЭ) Ono al inv i gain vio np ИНО ‘enough money ори an apetron о he Da Ronde Р tal has the potential to ‘at awaits him tere? Awol lt ol Darkspawn fr one Stun opponents. nk tothe Keeper of hs cian, wh informs him that he must travel toan altar on top o the mountain and pero a ceremony. Hauke i joined by posed to be the ез! - the Keeperin-raning ` MAGE fortis clan. Instead for reasons thatare lit Winter's Grasp- This mystery, she decides анкет slows down enemy atc " 3 ater tno ceremony, 5 and movement, онго yo ле. ‘and becoming an outcast. But first, she 10 avoid powerful swipes b og live hours of Drágon Age пе реч t Hawke have an ancient ritual to bigger creatures 1 ean ead telat a certain subsetot- 8 Needess to say, he amulet hides a Waking Bomb — hardcore gamers willbe upset. I you're aPC leading tone of Dragon Age Is frst eitis who was concerned nat nis sequel wes. an eno cing plot Wists. d tel you more, but by being simpifed to make. work better on con- en ene wes ths pointin the game, your Hawke may be told thatthe Dalsh elves have m. i soles well youreking ofright, л Geet bos Fae rece om a totaly differen person than mine and! ‘So far, побогу doesn't eem lke it has lost Ea ee Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. Ф Eons great Tha, the amulet from Fiemeth, and they urneys north of Kr Platform PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 PC m 1-Payer Acton! Role-Playing э тавиас ‘Square Enix » Developer dor Mortal » Release 201 Deus Ex: Human Revolution Real choices make a real difference @ve tracked the progress of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for many months now, eager to see how Eidos Montreal handles one of the most talked about series of the last decade. The first Deus Ex game dem- onstrated how choice could shape a gameplay ‘experiance. Over 10 years have passed since ite release, and many of Deus Ех design ele- ments have spread across the gaming land- scape. Can Human Revolution bring the series. into anew era? We played the first couple of hours to find out. Human Revolution takes place in the year 2027, a quarter century before the previous games in the series. Nanotechnology isnot yet a major part ofthe human experience, but body augmentation is beginning to raise ethical, polti- cal and miltery questions. Serif Industries is leading the augmentation initiative and is often the focus of these conversations. Players assume the role of Adam Jensen, the chief security officer for this pioneering but ethi- cally questionable corporation. The game begins at the company’s home office, which features hundreds of futuristic details - appropriate to a ‘cyberpunk story set 16 years in the future. Here | meet Megan Reed, the company's chief scientist and former flame of the sof-talking protagonist. As she walks me through the lab, scientists ‘bustle nervously about. The new augmentation. tech is about to be presented to Congress, and ‘everyone's on edge. After separating from Dr. Reed, I meet the company's head, David Ser. Adam has doubts about his boss, hich he. keeps to himsel This opening sequence does. ‘a great job of setting al the pins into place, from ‘character relationships to potential conficts, Which will undoubtedly be knocked down later n tho story. Sure enough, disaster strikes. A squad of highly augmented soldiers suddenly invades the company complex, and Adam jumps into action. Gun n hand, I rush through the labs dropping attackers First-person combat is one of tho. ‘core gameplay tenets in Human Revolution, but as with the previous games stealth is an equally viable option. At one pont, | Bypass a room of invading attackers without fring a shot. Things gowellunti Adam runs into some of the more Powerful augmented invaders. Adams purely human genetics aren't equipped to battle super- strength and invisibility. Our hero s taken down and left for dead as his ex-love is hauled away. Cut to sx months later Adam Jensen survives, but only through extensive body augmentation. Returning to the job, he's already got another crisis to handle. А pro-human group has hijacked ‘one of the company plants, and Adam needs to deal withthe problem, Before departing, I have plenty of time to wander around Serf HO and get the lay of the land. Conversations often have multiple dialogue paths. When two men strike up a conversation regarding ther doubts about Adam being back on the job, I can ether ignore the exchange ог ‘confront them. The role-playing elements take ‘ver in this area, as nearly every character in the HO has something unique to tel me, expand: ing the storyline and character development. Unfortunately, | spend so long exploring the building that my boss angrily nforms me over the intercom that the situation at the plant has gotten worse. It seems Im making choices even When not dong so consciously. Arriving at the plant, | take a minute to explore the body augmentation options. A plethora of. ‘cool upgrades are available in broad catego- fes that tie to individual body parts like the eyes, skin torso, or cranium. | opt for the quiet and deadly assassin vibe, selecting a steath enhancer for Adam's cranium that displays enemy vision cones, tracks them at a distance, and shows their last known locations. An eye upgrade lets me see through walis to track bad guys, cameras, and turrets. | round cut my arse- al with a closking system that turns Adam invis- ible for a short period of time and a stun gun for lose encounters. Moving through the level, nearly every station allows for multiple solutions, You could sneak "rough an air duct to bypass a turret, hack a door to open it up, fnd the keycode in a nearby тоот, kil all the guards, or sneak past with no. ‘ene the wiser. This early level has lots of ancil- lary content to explore, from datapads lat out on tables to lockers filed with equipment and food. Confrontations with the enemies are бес, last, and deadly. Adam won't survive long in a straight up firefight, as right now the сопіса aro extromoy challonging. Limited ammo, highly intelligent enemies who communicate with ane anther, and limited power usage make for chal- lenging and sometimes frustrating experiences. Using cover and managing abilities judiciously aoro the keys to success. Whether or not you appreciate the higher level f difficulty, its herr to find fault with Human. Revolution's deep sense of choice and conse- quence. In this way mere than any other, the Combat iat and al using соти аад abies essen i M rs game channels ts predecessors, Alter a couple ^f hours playing, I felt | had only scratchad the Surface. | suspect the final game wil fall in Ina. wih traditional role-playing games in terms of length and complexity. If ho team can use these final months to nal that sweet spot between fun combat and stealth interactions, Deus Ex: Human Revolution has the potential to press in tho samo way йв frst installment did a decade aga,» Matt Miller тг Platform PlayStation 3 PlayStation 2 + PSP » тив. 1 toa Player Sports (4-Player Online} » Publisher. Sony Computer Entertainment » Developer. Sony Computer Entertainment San Diogo 0 Release мае rot Wir сайш Joo Maat Mertens порана moy oy Pa can wo aedium Ban Boontmpirertedic pio eg anda mr usse ann Singen Wi nr slat da parody ping down te ht arg Y hebr Fo amas pray power rd cont no sp seu peony pud Sy chalenge. тара train To Palon or faite ate wi bo eso to ago e suf rdc ode posti bu поа cam offing аан besa ana Pay por an ry age ofS Cina sum say ove bat opt Sen howsy bgp Pang down ane ao xo tt Po Rire vivam and sw. tg бухыг yo fun lo or nl om ta хэй aaro wisi Tho folow-tneough motion is equally ав important. 1 you spotted a pitch in he upper left hand corner, youri want to ande tho analog movement up. ‘and fo tho lelt. Moss up tho gesture and tho ba ‘want travet to ls desired spot, possbiy resulting na Rodrigo Lopar-tko meatball king now usos an analog throwing system. simiar 10 The Shows traditional face button contrats. Holding the right stick toward your ‚get baso's position on the diamond charges a meter. Tho releaso point determines the throws strength and accuracy, The analog contra system is completo with a fake throw command, which you can usa to try and ire a player off of a bag. Troso minor king control changes palo in. comparison to the addition of custom anima tions lor gold love elders tke Тоу Tulowitzki and Сап Crawlord. These alto payer impact (on tho fiid is mado cbvious by thei rango rid ii. 1 you're not controling tho fielders; tho Al now loaturos holghtonod reaction logi. Outieidars wil react dilornlly when balls aro hit over the heads, ав wol as in those embarrass: ing moments when thoy drop a bal ‘The weight of winning a game doesnt have To rest on just your shoxiders, Sony has added co-op play. You and a fond can toam up to play against two other players, ono player, or the ‘CPU, Friends can assign roles, such as aller- ‘ating pllching duties cach ining, or infil or ошта dts. Given tho short development cydos of sporis games, wo rardy soo developers taking a risk by completely overhang a modo, Over tho last wo console generations, Sony improved upon Road to ho Show, a mode that tracks a fictional тоа (кау modeled alter you) Irom ring pino in he minors to a Hal of Fame career in the majors. Rather than adding to this mode again, Sony has gono back to the drawing board to reinvent this experience, The new Vision even hows player era. appearance can stil be sco fit, Sony is introducing "hroo siders that wil help you croato the player type you deste, such as à speedy contact hitter or an nning-oaling pitcher. For pitche "ho choices aro stamina vs, power, ich төрөл nant pitch, and contr movement. To creato а closer, tor instanc orrinant lich, movement, and power. Rather than handing out experience points pmo, which can e the playa talored any way sometimes. Ike not swinging at the fest pitch serapped the manager logic rom previous Road to he Show incarnations пем System that better represents ho devel- opment ofa player, This new system assigns grados to each at-bat. 1 you find yoursall locked Into a dual against a pitcher, and manage to tro 4 unes s родн Ya Hm out wi 11 or 12 fou balls, you recer a high grade or your elo wot pitcher in this afar, you'd receive a lower grado. At tho end ofthe garna, your totais aro Ic up and exchanged 1t you ооцит lay of pitches outside ol tho ‘sirke zone for an ent soris, tho loge is smart enough to recognize you need to w on this aspect of your game. Before you start our nex! serios, you wil bo entered nto plato fscpne taining Road to the Show can quicky tun info Road Back to tho Minors, as managers keep an ye nthe performance of players on thelr Major League toam and Minor League айй. Га ^s crushing Ino ball in AAA, and y get anything going, you'll kely Ind yoursall on à bus within a matter of d ou ara knocking the cover off ot tno ‘can ask the manager T you can s playing time, or move up in tha batting order clons aro the samo as last ува, but tho manager logic has been retooled о not penalize you as harsh i Но disagrees. I you really tum it on, and your toam ав sat huni, Sony has implemented a lve сос and statistics around tho league as they happen. You can view this frontend mend MLB I mo nomas unanin Sports Gamo of tha Yeer in 2010. Wi dramatic changes to Ino gameplay УУЦ TO O a pama Homefront | 7 208 Studios’ Hamatront Is taking ha tari КК iar tramework ot a racional shooter and T sotting it uncomfortably dose to home In caso you've missed tho setup, al you rally ‘need to know is that It takes place in a hort version of he United States in 2027. North Korea has occupied the U.S, after rising fuel prices destabilized and ultimaldly crippled the nation. Under the regime, Ife is brutal people who dare fight back, rs also short I you're expecting a prolonged rif on the Russians invade the suburbs" section ol Cat «f Duty: Modern Wartero 2, you'ro in for a sur- prse. You're nol a part of an eto fighting force Our hero, a former plot named Correr, fac enemies who aro aller armod and equipped "han his loosely organized band of resistance Fighters, and the vibe is more Hall-Lfe 2 than shooter, Your tends are outgunned and outnumbered, and hey know it. While watching armed Greater Korean Republ solders patrol tho streots of Montos Colorado, might be jaring, the streets them- selves are seriy fai. The locations in the ‘pening few levels of Homefront resemble what you might fd in any small town, with some unsetting wists. In this dystopian future, artíacts of ar ordinary Ines have been repurposed and modified for combat. Sometimes the resistance IS the responsible party, Iie when | cimbed lop. оо house and used it as an improvised sriper perch. Other Imes, the opposing military is manipulating Ihe ervronments to suit iis needs, | saw an example of this eat on in a night "imo raid. I was in a small group working its way through the suburbs toward an elementary school led by a hothoad named Boone Caro ‘Some of our comrades were using the buiding as a drop point for equipment, and we needed отот before breaking into а nearby detention. camp. Keeping a low proli here was critical considering o tactical disadvantage, Things were working out all right unti we came upon a baseball femond. Center id was swarming wih soldiers, so the plan was to stick 10 the pormoter, working our way around by hiding behind the bleachers, Thon we realized What was happening, A buldozer was working noar homo plato, dropping baches into an open gravo. At that poit, Carson lost Il, screaming al the solders and fring indecriminately. We зїй Workod through the back roto, but with the Platform PlayStation 3 box 360 PC added compicaln а hang eveyone wiin Т0 range ontign de » Denia "tr that. їасой an extended созсо Pierres lesum aradonabigbovelecmulcsme man заваан depot Oust he bulking, we alone ambushed soldiers with help trom cur sb- whoelod, semi-automated vehicle called Goliath The vehic rolled around and targeted solders automatically with its 50 ealbor machine but it needed our Һар when it came to fi rockets, To do that, I held a reticle over Greater Korean Republic vehicles or solders unti the was locked, and fret away. Goliath's gun was surprisingly inetfective on йе own, so it tock a tair amount of intervention to survive tho opon- ing batte. I бка help matters that solders took occasional shots with EMP rockets, temperarly disabling tha vehide and leaving it winerabie. Once wo were inside the store, my team had to scout ou more information about the ene- mies! fue rfrasiructure. As with the rest ofthe ome, it was hard to shake the strange lesing Of fighting in such a familar place. Even though taking cover behind a boulder or a checkout lane might be functionally simlar, | found the game's sating to be effectively unnerving time and time again. Hometront doesn't seem lo olier much new in terms of gamepiay, bul t makos up for some ofits slightly musty mechanics wih some. inerecibio atmosphere, I'm definitely sod on Homelront's promise ard setting, and can say with confidence Homefront is one of the most atmospheric games Гуе played in some time. I haven't {gotten my hands on the multiplayer yet, but # it as interesting as what played of the cam. paign, shooter lans have something to look forward 10 this March » Jeff Cork previews 75 lations Pc » Style 1-Player Strategy (-Payer Online) з Publisher Sega » Developer Creative Assembly 78 previews э Release March 15 Total War: Shogun 2 The future of historical warfare ek and Tw onornas trons boe te dirt алад та рл 2o ge Ana ale campagn ерийн, ЕАК палала To ctrca bennen paar Japanese warlaro may Sowy overwhelmed. Losing ha of your casto 10 the enemy while bleeding the opposing oops ‘enough to ward off inal push for your keep is entirely possible ‘Shogun 2 ori is greatly expanded. The ал of co-op campaigns with shared Ус tory conditions is great, but he new avatar and dan systems are the standout features. When you jump into a standalone online batt, you. 3o a briel description of your opponent and his lendoncies so you can talor your army to he situation and your enemies. Win these battles and completo mutplayor achioverments 10 cam new higher tiers, while роойу performing clans are relegated to weaker leagues. ‚on ho ambitious multiplayer plans ор Shogun 2 has enough improvements to tno basa gameplay that 11 immediately replace Empire in many strategy rotations unless its a disastrously buggy mess at lanch. Creative Assembly has mouthed Ihe usual platitudes about working hard ‘on stabilty and Al but Empire and Napoleon both had enough issues to raise conoerms. Ether Way, we don't have long to wall, ав Shogun 2 корх March 15, » Adam Bieseener Yo combat amy alet arta ap ho eae lr rough dure s omina to map retainer for your persona guard. Moro important, leagues are won and io ‘each soason (which coud ‘a tew wodes or a tow mnths long; he developers haven't (ойго the numbers yel asod on terry contral. Top dans got promoted to Dirt 32 Gymkhana in act as citing under two adjacent seri райо ог other in-envronment challenges. These alone should goad gamers into spending lots of tma In the Compound ройосїга thoir skiis and nal- ing some seemingly impossible feats witha саг tuned by Gymkhana master Ken Block. Any four- Wheel feats you pul ofin the Compound or any- where alse in the game can be easy captured and put up on YouTube. The games career mode takes you through. Tour years of races, including ful-on mli-stago. rally races, various offroad disciplines, and the change-ol-pace Gymkhana events (п venue such as Monaco and LA), This schecke is managed by a group ol managers, including your agent, and it allows you to break up th normal race-alter-race grind by popperng in things ke Gymkhana speed runs, which are Sequences of staged tricks: Dit 3's classic rally Cars also figure in to your career events өв well These cars are just ye ode jlopies of yore, but ass-kicking гају machines that wil deer ай the power you need. Dirt 2 expanded the franchises online compo- nent considerably, and Dirt 3 takes Ihe serie: muttipiayor another step forward by offering two- player ооо split-screen, Gymkhana events or ‘nine різу rd Party games inducing Outbreak and Transport The former is all boul spreading. an infection to other layers, white Ihe latter pits two teams ina caplur-the-tiag style game with Online play wil also feature a system that compensates oc players using driving assists (ther cars wil be fight lower with each assist used) and a hardcore setting hat removes the HUD and locks the player into tho Прото cockpit cam. ‘There once was a {me when the Dirt franchise was soon as a sideshow to Codemasters other big racer; Grid. Now, Dirt 3 is blowing out its feature sot and demon- sirating plenty of reasons why this series is агі its own path, PlaySaton 3 ‘box 360, 1 or 2-Player Racing (6-Piayer Online) Codemasters Codemasters May 24 previews 77 Major League a Baseball 2K11 hen Philadelphia P y ahugamistdko. Conversely, а Gold Glover kes it have a chance of gobbing Holaday mot wi aque Car Crawford wii ge to more bal a grounder, ho won't sprint alter it or oxy Baseball 2K1 1's development toam d stands bonoath a rout itch back to the delaul Пену position. Hor ho tcd hem he always tres to Ihrow strike "ho balls trajectory and landing хо wn and watch the play develop. Subtle but hitting 'ed spot with each pitch ed. His margin of error s x incorporated о add ream lo benosth tho sam: ] inbetween play moments. Players тпр vas lar too cas pop-up, tno balls trajectory and lancing zor sitting on Ihe bench no longer ook Ike rob place pliche "ol clearly highighted unti i is rapkdy racing They duck ce scatter when a soreaming ner. aK Sports То development im took this criticism to toward the ground. Ho'l have а rough Kdea ot heads thor way hean, and worked with Roy to batter depict the ina Бай is going, thanks to a large 10 who mako rico play ‘Concepts ari of pilehing in he game, This means that th oL cece overlaid onto the fd but i he raton in extended in » Release 061 отог иара delivery wil result in ossos the landing zone wrong, ha could give n Yt wiling to di Manha a diferent trajectory. If you're tying to paint a aft baso hit species lor My Player or Franchise mode, bu comer, the odds of throwing a bali ar great v epis is зій tweaking 0 the studio says players can expect big things eased, especialy t your hurlers contral at Шат a bit worried that most balls hit toplay- — from both, Regardless of what thaso modo bulo irt чийн. ers ke Soriano wil rest in awiewardlungesand and up offering, I's clear Visual a the pitcher's p s arcs es. Sure, ho makes mistakes, focus ts fated on enhancing the gameplay lure-based mochari ihe Б capable of making routine plays most — oxporionce, and making it as rue 10 tho Sp year's eer, and odds ae of tha me. m hoping tho size ofthe catch siblo. Well nd out how close they ‘ven I you ae trying to hit the strike zone is heat x March 8, » Andrew Reiner Tho deeper counts tako In ol on the work fading animations. 2 go your starters ike Dust st ot them is to bring xs loaving thom out here for 11 à л doso pla QUT want fo keep an eyo on elo walks off he mound ltn mo ak, howorimagcay ear belii ver card зоны te bal or ee paye atter fuo days of enter the at 70 ог BO percent. You probably hs Tim салу, which wil ely rest in the bulpon burning up. Rather than just thinking about the gam at hand, youll have о think about tho ont season, If a dVision rival is coming week, you may want to puli him he's mowing down tha opposition Pitchers as about the team- mates around t ano i sta Toned in lett feid, odds are het eventual racitionally, Ihe career mode focus for Pistons Ts n Tae Wosdsgamelesbeens — Paatona "helrandiseasoasonskmulatoriko Abax 360+ Wii other EA Sports games such as Madden, con- — » Style oemed wih replicating the PGA schedule? Or 1 to Player Sporte wasit about dong your own thing and beating ^ (Payer Online) the EA-created local pros (and ulimately Tier — » Publisher tinsel in the Tiger Challngos? You were Sup- posad to move your goler between ino w Donin but i personaly aways concentraledsoicyon ^ EN Cemd tholater Tiger 12 now maing fh Release move of combing the two diferont experiences more deftly, uiting the enti sng e game around one ‘of golf's most famous courses - Augusta. Youli work your way to ho top by stering out at the beginnerlevel EA Tour and continue on through the reato Amateur fur, Natioriwide Tour (which you can skip it you're good enough Q-Schod, and эй the PGA Tour. Along the way, you can partake in Training and Sponsor carcer, and you can even get an exemp tion into Ihe lg dery tournament f you beat the game's Masters Moments rine of Ihe best holes or shots n Masters history The pro carcer focus of Tiger 12 s mirrored inthe prominence of equipment rsorships. instead of soring on with sponsors simply for mare dough. having a good relationship wih a dub manulacturer is how you open up ТОТИ нест отет Cub ашу diia approach sa a tus Who in past years, you bought now equip nent ee arc! cutis усыг goer, now ts al abou IE DEI ОШО tour sponsorship levels, Sponsorship leves aro Tr м * шит шїоской as you moot сепа criera such as making certain shots or winning tournaments. sering up ters gets you new equipment xing high-end prototype gear, You're Motion-controlled encouraged to stay with a sponsorship k Golling Term, as you lose some ofthe objecves YOUVE сау icted f you switch companies em s Similar to Madden NFL 11, ho developer Ibehind Tiger 12 aro looking lo stroamino tho rience and gel you To Ihe m ‘quicker. Tho main way they vo don ind both versions this, apart from dropping you mmedetdly Into m ng the gamo as боол as you load up Е to dudo cackles. Similar о the Maddonis нь indar t th ameFiow feat that oso plays үй prosent you with pre-scloctod includi лс of varying dilkuly and'stralegy lor youto апа ше Masters, and ir choose rom belore you strike the ball. Some — ik or shot over a barik of reos or a lado х around a bend wil bo riskier han others, nd you зөө that indicated n the color of the ball arc. Of course, you can stil ino up um she 5 Iko you used о, bul using tho now u cad systern seems Ike а no-brainer. Your cach sidl at reading shots (which factor in Ihe wind, cub selection, course elevation, etc) aso improves as ho wo ol ЗЕ through you guisa Eh This yoaris Tiger trt overhauling i = & ‘gameplay mechanics, but is move toward. trearnining and rofring the overall experi зү welcome. Golar, of all peopl irs-person camera, and th shoud know hat there impr jays room lor mont in your game. » Matthew Kato wi The 3rd Birthday dinis WM \ 4 ў “nights Contract More than P ling her magic can summon giant custos of thorns, drop rocks from the sky, and plant la boar traps on Ihe gro oxenorating abs, Бай with blood and effects tak entro experience. However, Yorda and Trip aren't nearly as crucial to their respective I as your pariner in Namco's upcoming Knights xiraci, Playing as an immortal exocuioner ch, you mu witch Gretchen. Rather than Тал enemy ts enhance Gretchen's magie wilh the w fisher button, When Gr timed chen exe n wih your weap s the ight button when pr n eariy b pter twelve aways been a challenge: just ask anyone wh has had to give a healing item 1 rather battoground with its fro breath. F оду hacking away at it between allack pat- been cursod with immortality, soho can bo. iced, shot, or pummeled all day without fear of death. И he takes too much purishment in a xor period of tme, he'll drop to a knee, lose limbs, or have his head taken ой. As long as chen is safe, you can mash a bution and sho'l resuroct you. Heinrichs body parts coud be scattered al over the level, bul youl relorm. long as your witch buddy is alive and wel nle Heinrich s suparnaluraty durable, Xelchen isa mortal, so she can permanently parish i she takes too much damage. She's ssntialy a waking health bar, and its important 10 pick hor up and escort her o salty she taking oo much damage. Ав long as sho's in Heinrichs gant апт, both characters wil r heat grad, Protecting har requres you I рау dose attention dring hectic battles — you may be doing a great job slashing away at that wo headed snako boss, bul you stil al ono а the heads wanders ой and eats Gretchen. ings might get abit Ir 1 а арх ату, but Наис his most interes Нон many tooth do you maliy nood Tar opt wich oun? ng combat abito torns, the game encourages you to cleverly uso. Grolcheris spike power near the beast pin itto the ground for a briel period, then send Heinrich in to dele numerous unanswered ad. After taking bar significant, fs time to summon a mas quilotre with a quick te event ari do yod in cur preview buid w heavy on action, with very ita puzzle avec. The combat clearly draw "ho stylish action tradition of games Ike Devi y Cry and Bayonetta, but Ihe ackáion of nent that could heip and apart. » Dan Ryckert » Patton. PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Style 1-Player Action » Pobticher Namco Bandai » Dewaloper Game Republic Release February 15 РЕТТЕ som =" ho Top Spin serios has Боол one of most Playsteien 3 quietly consistent franchises тай of sports Xbox 360 — | Wie tennis doesn't have the mass appeal » Style 01 sports Iko football, basebal, and basketbal, 1 to -Player Sports ifs always translated wel into Ihe video дате |4-Player Online} resim, whether in lighter fara Ike Mario Tennis or Тор Spin's hardcore, sim-oriented sive, Top Spin 3 wen praise forts deep and demanding gameplay, but developer 2K Czech (which includes many members of the PAM ment team thal created the е tions of Top Spin) felt that the game's complex Meet the Pros contra mechanics might have scared ой some gamers. To thal and, Top Spin 4 ls being con- n сомо as à more approachable tile — one that om hopes to balano Patrick Rater and more casus ан! Char The coro of th needs ol its core audienco hlosophy is represente i by ho stoarminod contrat schoo. Instoa tho complex tigger modis of Top Spin 3, a shots With a traditional four-but ton system. Each laco button is assigned a type of shot - fit, sco, top spin, and lob. However by altering the ting of your shots you can got moro depin of control. When charging a power shot, youl soo a red targol moter bogin to f To get a ha power winner, you h at tho perfect tmo. However, t you nood to hit азаа, controled shot, a briel tap on the bution Wil эмо, Serves aro performed tho " ‘although you do have the option ої performing, an advanced serve withthe night analog. mk So fe, the game ledis great. The shot o release 82 previews mechanics are айу yp you have to develop a good sense c d ofthe genro, but ons than hero were Top Spin 3} means that ea run a shot, dont ly tum on a cime and gol back in position. Asa result, Ike the chess game vc heart of the match. Improved tho pros ipproptiatoly o the action on the court cand elects were recorded at actual matches). Youll soo the pros coming out of the tunnel belore the match to the roar of the аона а dings a sense of аата As for Ihe in-game pros, 18 the most complete roster we've seen ina fonnis game 1o dale, balancing current day sensations Ike Federer and Nadal with old-school legends Ike Peto Sampras and Bjom Borg (sco sidebar for ful s. The team insists ай ol he pros play ‘exactly the siyle of their тод Но counterparts. In fact, its biggest point of reerenco is tho ight Ing genre, where ус the combatants alirbutes match up Interesting to sco ho of the pas other. It wil be ind. volley play stends up against Ine power base line stylo of a modern player Ike Nadal. Top Spin 4 lets these past and present pros square ой in a large number of venues, both real and fictional. You play avents Ike the ATP Finds in London's O2 Arena and the BNP Parebas Open, Three of the four Grand Siam. Events are represented (he U.S., Australian, ‘and French Opens}, though unfortunately Wimbledon remains absent. Ether way, 2K promises that this wil be the mast comprehen но tennis game to date, especialy in the online menting on at press fime. As a fan of the sport, both in real He and video games, Top Spin 4 has definit piqued my interest Helgeson LEG and VA Dnm tl te ‘hoods throo video games siting next to each other on storo Nos? Kung Fu Factory s hoping that its new fighter wil be unique enough 10 carve out is own niche witrin Ihe market. Uriko ts competitors you won't soo alot of sponsor brands ос television announcers n Supremacy MMA. Kung Fu Factory has chosen lo focus on tho re-to-Io brutally of t as wal as ts underground past. The action тотай fast and vicious, featuring combos mote inn with покист 3D fighting games Ike Virtua Fighter, Inthe underground rings of Supremacy, Ng Exposing the gruesome underbelly of MMA rs do whatever It takes to run their opponent Зо they can cmb up tho ranks toward tno pro spolight. Wi no res lo hold tho оа back bloodied mats and broken imbs happen often In hese cage matches. The arenas aren't fancy лого in Vegas; муто non regulation rings "hat highight the dangerous and icit nature of the bouts, Don't be surprised you sce people bolting on a соси бедак your big match. However, jo moans it Y you can't back up with actua sl, which Б why Kung Fu. Factory has tapped former UFG champion Jen: Pulver to serve as combat and story consultant vor is also lending his personal story fo ho gama, ММА fans may already bo aware ofthe hard-carmed image Pulver bull or тові. AS à Tighter, Pulver competed above his weight dass Thor: God of Thunder The mightiest Avenger strikes out on his own tlon, but Marvel has mined Norse myth fich legacy for decades, publishing Thor comics since 1962. As Kenneth Pranagh's aptalion bulls steam toward. iso, it seems ike the god of thu opular than ever. Sega has been clan to reveal the game adaptation, but the publisher was kind enough to stop by the office and show us game n ac ‘Whe this summers fim k bbenist ment to Midgard (wbich we mere moras know as Earth), the gerne covers tho events arandng? also takes place ай 1 rine worlds of Norse myihdlogy. In | 1 sooms Ike the Greok gods got al the atten: Thor and ho rost ds, but rather an advanced allen race whose lantastc tech nology makes nem appear goddike. Whie this iberal rtempretation may rb some c the wrong way, Sega Б staying fue enynmar conie auth rection Б serving as a consultant, and Thor wil ol his most fearsome con Ymi, and Satur witnessed a point in the game where Thor entered Muspehorm, the land of the fra demons: Muspalhem isa black land, led with craggy rocks and lava flows. As Thor walks though the ace of against many c loos, such as Lk, for years unti the UFC Mnally created a ight weicht dass appropriato for his size, Allanwards Рич continued to dominato he ed by win- ring three UFC championship tiles, so his story should provide an interesting backbone for Supromacys action. Kung Fu Factory also plans to tall savera other fihors! stores through a istic, Guy Fitcie-Ingpre lens, bul Ino com. any lt ready to mention any other fighters at Tis lime Does Supremacy MMA bring enough innova tion into ho ring To had its own against gants Ike THO and EA? We' have to wait unti we can put tha game up against ho ropes ourselves 10 Ind some ol those answers. » Ben Reeves ‘mines of the fre demons, blazing embers walt through the sky ike a late fall snow. Many of his lends inhabitants tower over Thor, but some enemies make a mad dash for the god and explode ike suicide bombers if he lets them get 100 dose Thor's primary weapon is his rusty hammer, Mn. п additon to a variety of combos, Thor can throw his hammer at distant enemies, or swing tho malet aggressively in front ol him to return projecties back al his enemies, ‘Since Thor is classically the god of storms, he can aiso tap into several elemental powers, Thor an call vious КОР) storms down on groups ‘of enemies, send his foes wiring through the air în tornados, or make the earth beneath a gants {oot quake by hump he grand. Each power has its own unique proper fles and uses. For example, Thor's wind powers deal extra damage to Пате demo oi puts out the fre, but wind is also used for ispeling the frozen mists of Nffleheim that wil block his path Unfortunately, Sega doesn't have a very good track record when i comes to licensed Marvel games, Both ron Man fies and ho m incredible Hulk game faled to Ive up fo the hype generated by tor fims: However, Sega ick o point out that Thor has been in develop ment much longer than any of those tiles, so мото hopeful that Thor's stormy winds wil be the oriy thing that blows this summer Ben Reeves Plato PlayStation p » Stylo 1 ot 2-Play (online TBA) Publisher. 505 Gamer » Developer Xung Fu Factory Release 201 Fighting » Platiorm Playstation 3 Xoor 360 Style 1-Player Action » Publisher Sega » Developer Liquid Entertainment » Release previews 63 Т RET ans players derit always ha СТИ tote the most roct path trough aleve At one point during our hands-on demo, we Were pinned between a couple enemies, so We doubled back into a nearby shack and used shotgun o blast through a wal, The now hole opened into en alley we used о fark our xonents, Codemasters is airing fo let play destroy nearly every structure n tho game sructble environments, player haleuer cover they can Ind. vor mechanic шон pay tne barrel of y loan around. leaning func the motions aro pretty sensitive, but his position. makes your character harder to hit, so it could be the optimal way to play # Codemasters fno tunes tho conira The ervirorments may explode Ike piñatas; bul this hightights Codemasters im to last paced. rienoe. Enerries drop intel pend on specie tech ike air strikes or temporary armor boosts Theso tech bo example, one level o makes p orerly rwincible, but a player spend ута orbs on a higher leva hoy that they can burst йн ring forward. nte p and matched. I a p temporary суга Jestruction frsthand and be he oniy one to walk part aut of the smoke afterwards. Codemasters hopes players wil get a kick im a surplus o rst porson icts hal the UN shies of ripping Ihe ward of Boch Rooding the market every 3 nt intel suggests a strang but we'l have to wait unti s garmers with spectacle is an ated force is secret challenge. How do you amaze fion to Ine Network. N W ‚nat her true mo even sam al Codemasters Studios i cal themselves, Tho Network simpl ol this problem andl wants to get backloihe refers to them as the Target. Target operat heart of FPS gaming - fast p уе aro strong, efficent, and decked out wih the gunplay where tho destructive talents o latest in ler mercenary fashion. Pigh powered riles take conter stage The Target is an appropriate moniker for the ountS main character is a Sp enemies in a game Ihat is al about shooting dept who gots recruited ink plod. Bullets in Bodycount zai x ako holes: hey shred the exw on Fantastic Pets Augmented reality B ect nie oar rau he Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout to the finess minded at tho peripheral s launch, Now the tea is headed in a dilereni rection aiming toward a much younger audlenco with itsupcoming reas, Fantastic Pots. Loss Ike Кусснпа and more ke Sony's EysPat Fantastic Pets uses augmented realty to bring a or Ikonos othe game word to aus тотго, caro or, and play simple minigames With a variety of cud creatures, Uses can choose between ponies, rds dogs, ad cats, and whlo you oriy start wih ono ania, you can eventually adopt up to fou Once Dissidia 012 Fin tes brings Itz Games Studios is no stranger to More fighting with your favc {the frst Dissidia did one thing right, was giving hardcore Fina Fantasy fans an oppor tunity to sce tha sores’ stars cross swords in fast paced, ridiculous combat. Square Enix isn't changing much about thal core concept for Ihe sequel, Dissidia 012, instead focusing on rein ing the mechanics and adding new characters to the roster. ‘Alter soma hands-on tme with the flow vp. | can say that fans o Ihe original entry wil feel right at home on the ранее, Fights aro st about depleting your opponents bravery and hit Points through an assortment of sh attacks, but the addon of assist moves adds a new layer. These manouvers ae performed by frst A ноја нка creatures into your home an animai selected you, your ро, and your play paco wil appear on Sern fer eame trac ten. Here youl nave Но option orare i (ре, foe, wes, deliver voice commands or hard gestures to teach t ticks, ос open up то 10y box nerui to engage n 12 ricckabie mrnigames. These games nd popping onscreen bubbles, playing etch to ge he animal о ip over blocks, and iod around a piaia. Wih ho simpl fatur these ames chon and perents can Jon n the festes n order to coc! gems needed to ипо more games and pet custom Zaton options. Customization slows you o raro Fantastic Pes roster ol everyday агвта nta al Fantasy fg up your assist gauge with brave attacks, allowing you to callin a companion character for a quick attack or to shld you кот damage. Despite the ад of assist moves, most ol my fimo was stl spent running on wets, whip. Ping around magic spalis, and using the char- actas: signature attacks: Al of Ihe combatants "rom the ast game return, but they're joined by some new faces ike Kain trom FF IV, Laguna "rom FF VII, and Lihining rom FF XII. Each new character seers to f a unique riche in the roster With moves that su them wel. For exemplo, Kan has some cool lance attacks, and Lightning can switch between three diferent paradigms. ‘Another wise move is tho inclusion of a moro хос creations, Add a hom and a par of wings 10a pony, and you've gol yoursel thing uni com. Customize а lizards n for a fiery fnis acd a few horns, increase 15 size, and you ve got aero, fre brealhing cragon. You can even out dog with a neon blue ight pattern that looks е something straight out of Tron. With the breadth of customization options, users can let their imaginations nun wid. Vh color, cutesy visuals and an easy-to-use Interface, Fantastic Pets is shaping up to bo a good fit for parents looking а kt end tiie Trat exercises both body and ceallvty, traditional overwerkd to the story mode. Wile you sit have to shule through grids and chain encounters together, Ihoso stages aro separatodi by sections of exploring a SD world map. In those areas, you can find treasure, meke pur chases at shops; and chat with your fellow party members - a welcome change from the drab. presentation of the original. Dissica 012 isn't a rormontion of the oma. Al its roots, it feels Ike more of he same frantic ‘combat, but with era characters and a few “ий. For those who loved the original, that's nota bad thing at al. » Joe Juba. » Patio. oox 360 1 or 2-Player Simulation Publisher TH » Developer Bits Games Studio Apri i5 и Piatto PsP 1-Piayer Fighting (2-Player Online] Publisher Square Enix previews 85 88 Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Capcom's beloved fighter rises from its grave with a bounty of iconic characters and ал ай style that = adim матак coni and video gama an pr Te tag team das Па oat сотая сонгов! ts predecessor with a new віку tace. Dr fear whether Capcom has once again crested another Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together fighting gem; worry instead about the time you'll lose honing your craft for hours to come. IE SCORING A Cuming Avi strate nach pal e Fed maybe chien at pave om ot re nenn -— 10 oem BEAM E rr d ple nme AR ANa RE 355 ot sero bete a шил БО Do» a b | Same tror begenin to ona | S qarana i men Act. Although Bere mer b fons of gomes taoanga scorn. mary wi balat yeomng ramors | f| | Pipococa To amer tor ho BERNERMON таслав Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds 9 25 ry 7 CAPTAIN AMERICA = PS3 « 360 "EY m M » Concept Give fighting fans the game ‘they ve been waiting 10 yoare for, and make t more авсаны to newcomers » Graphics Thick shading. color baciedrops, and detailed character models do beth universes justice From dassic Capcom tunes to алі superhero one-liner, everything is authentic. татмын Playing with a controller feels ‘eat, but wring an arcade sides heavenly. Malo the э Entertainmen Grappling with the rich combo system and Bghting fends wil keep you bury for dozens of пошт БОГ — Style 1 or 2-Player Fighting (2-Pa get Online] Pnblihas Capcom Devnlopse Capcom TAME MONTH Тоа February 15 ESRB T e the X-Men's Joan Gray, the Пот) асса іск сісу months to come relax. Every character has une, robust move genre hasrisen from the ashes. Capcom Tris erry continues the traction of piting |. sels a far cry from the previous game's gloriied L islending ho fry rebirth, ding suc stacks of momerable characters against ore ра swaps: The game fetes а cornucopia cess with Street Ager IV by ling he2D another. Capcom shaved the amount о Sreet of over-the-top mayhem - Nathan Spencer fighting experience to 18 essentias, making it Fighters down in favor of newcomers ike Arthur grabs foes rom across i stage with his biori pretty, and hosting tie online play. Since from Ghosts‘ Goblins and Amateras trom arm whe yaling "get over here,” Deadpool Tis announcement last Aprì, hungry fighting Okami. The Marvel crew Б the best assortment — "bang bang” as he uneashes a torent of blazing fans have waited impatient for Marval vs. yet, with far-layorite Phoenix enterng the fray диліге, and Arthur is hleriousy stripped to his (Capcom 3, hoping the company салїй out апа оба ко MO.D.O.K. adding color. boxer shorts 1 park again. You can stop worrying. The Fans upset that Marval vs. Capcom 3 (ваков The basic three-on-three lag toam fora from long-awaited sequal wil keep -pads warm and oniy 36 characters (20 less than MVG 2) should Marvel vs. Capcom 2 int, but the develop- ors gave it much-needed trenmed MVC 25 uray down to more enjoyable reading gameplay is smooth as butter whathor you pick up a controler or an arcad stick. | ad no problem transposing siiis Hleamed in Super Street Fighter IV into МУС 3, removing the steep leaming curve hal accompanies some new fighters, Al ari launches and character exchanges are now executed with a single bution, and the change makes learning the ropes of aci combat a quick and salisying process: Even i you're new to the series, this gare оог rewarding training and simple modo a convenient, streamlined conira scheme that maps key combos and special moves to singe ‘buttons. Accidentally wrecking your friends by xutton mashing is lun, but Ike training whe simple mode must eventually be ditched in Ц or to contend win the big boys using ac Iani а spend up pma lect. "lona contra aon, Capcom 2 The Completo Character List reviews 69 otacking Yi 8.5 PS3 • 360 » Concept Create an adorable downloadable adventure ume with old school puzzler Graphics The matryoshka dolis may ot pack a lot e polygons, "ba the hand-drawn art and Vitotin-era aesthetic "ate outstanding ‘The old timey soundtrack sells Чи lez Ни cutscenes, and th» sound effects feature A comucopia of fasts Piayaiiity The controls teel sulted and the camera can саше problems in close quarters, bu they don't spoli the fun Entertainment The wide variety of puzzles and thet humorous eotionz make Stacang a great choice pe for adventure fans VER Replay Value Moderate Vooden dolls make Make Way! their mark ‘Stylo 1-Player Adventure Publisher THO Developer Double Fino Release February 8 [PSN], February 9 (XBLA) ESRB E10+ ith releases Ike Brütal Legend and ‘Costume Quest, Double Fine has cemented its reputation as а доо developer for unique gaming experiences, even 1 tha company’s offerings don't aways find an. audience. Stacking may be Double Fine's most Fiche concept to date, but it's hard to magne a playor who wouldn't enjoy the game's clevor Puzzles and charming story. You play as Са Blackmore, he innermost doll nd youngest chi of ho Blackmore family, a Russian matryoshka se. After his sbings are Kidnapped and forced into chid labor by the evi Baron, sup to Char to track them down and free them, Lucky, Charie has the ability о hop. inside larger dol each of which has а special ty, Some ofthese abies аго purely lor entertainment, bul many aro vital o progressing through each levd. Despite this nova mechani, tho core gameplay ol Stacking isthe samo as any good, adventure game: creatively solving unique and humorous puzzes, Each loval contains several challenges Chat (ar the as dog. kre oto prt мн fr ац no bor chars Ё зээмбэр 90 reviens ust overcome, which in lum have several rique solutions: Upon comple- tion, a puzzle үй instantly reset, alowing you. 1o try it again without having fo reload a save This ingenious mechanic selves one of he most common problems with the gorre: soarching for an of-the-wal solution that orly makes sense lo the developer. Instead, virtually everyone wit be able to como up with at least ono sohn feuch as using a mechanic to open a traversable entiation duct) and canine with the story, but dedicated gamers can wrack Ih brains for more obscure solutons (such as farting into said. went to dear out the adjoining room). An optional me-based hint system reduces tho puzzi- based frustration fo nearly nonexstent loves, The Baron's evi traps aren't he only prob- lems you have to overcome. Your character is about as responsive as you would expect a wooden dol to be, and his suggish pace is annoying, especialy on levels that roqure a lot а backtracking, Camera issues emerge in dose quarters, and can make targeting dolls next to wals a pan. The sense of progression aso falters; white you unlock the abt to stack with larger dols as you connue, t doesn't add much to the gameplay ‘The biggest changeup is Ihe ability to combine charactors’ powers. This leads to some great puzzles, but this mechanic shows up too late în he game and ist used enough. A few side ‘objectives such as finding complete dall sets or performing mischievous acts add length to the Gameplay, but there's not much payoff for com- pleting them beyond unlocking models at your ‘Secret base. Tharks to a te cloverth hour vari- ey Stacking ends on a high note, but he rest ol the game could have used more gameplay twists To those посо in tho fina soen ‘Aside rom creative puzdes, a good adven- ture game needs an engaging story, which in ngs caso is simple, yot charming. Despite oriy the most primitive ol animations (most dolis can oniy move at ther midsection) he. characters aro memorable, and the Blackmoro {amily is positvdy endearing. Humor plays an. equally mpertant role, and Stacking deers in this regard as wol. Most ofthe laughs aro pretty adolescent, with no shortage of dols that feature arting as their special abit (with a surprising variety of sounds}, I you'r too ву or this ‘breed of humor, you can expect more sophisti- ‘cated laughs as wel. The Great Depression and ‘chid labor are two topics that might notinstanlly ‘sping fo mind when it comes to comedy, but Double Fine uses hem to great elect. ‘Stacking is a bit rough around the edges, but the puzzles are lover, the humor hits the mark more than it misses, and Ihe characters and story are delight, leaving adventure fans wth bo more to ask tor. » Jeff Marchiafava Two World This time w PS3 • 360» РС “Take one of this generation's ‘worst games and tum it around with a vastly improved p Environments and equipment are bend - as long as you don't ook too closely ‘The sooner you leam to ignore the terrible voice arting, the sooner you can enjoy the game's дику sense of humor Playsbllty Quest objectives are laid out in an oasy-to-understand manner, By the time you hit level S, you be taking ош hordes of enemies with mo problem [ver since Jeff Сок and fll in love with the |— endearing-but-broken survival horror game LL Deadly Premonition last year, we've dis- ‘cussed whether there is a place in our industry for B-games - the interactive equivalent of low budget, badly acted (but strangely enjoyable) Bemovies. Two Worids Il presents the latest ‘argument in favor of this new style of game, Like its 2007 predecessor, this sequel has. significant problems. Though it features a new and improved game engine, slowdown occurs frequently, especialy when you or enemies. ‘stat slinging spells that put the in-game phys- ics to work. The core story is generic, and the sloppy writing sometimes fails to explain what's ‘going on or why characters are acting a certain way. Unike the original, though, Two Word is playable, with an improved user experience that shows how Polish developer Reality Pump has grown. After a wel-paced series of tutorial missions "hat sot ho stage for the story and introduce the numerous systems at work, players aro. dropped onto an island that comprises a small portion ofthe total game word but has tons of quests. The goals have plenty of varity Ike "go. hare Kill this" jobs, pickpocketing missions for the thieves’ guild, and exploration quests that take place in maze-ike ancient tombs packed with hidden treasure, Your quest log quickly becomes overcrowded, but current objectives aro highlighted on the map and easy to navigate tothanksto a teleportation stone. “Two Worlds I's various mechanics weave together in a complex but enjoyable pattern. I you went to stick to cutting down enemies with gant blades, you can. Gamers looking for more ‘depth can employ the erating system, which allows you to break down and build up almost ‘every weapon or piece of armor you receive. The spell system is even better; as you level up. your various skills and collect spell cards, you ‘can build your онт set of insano, overpowered abilities, Realty Pump made the wise choice of letting players break the game's balance for the ‘sake of fun. ‘As mentioned, the overall story isn't anything naw- the big baddie from the frst game is now the emperor, and the main character must join a resistance against him to try to rescue his sister but the tono of your interactions with NPCs is ‘surprisingly original. From subtle references tothe first game's poor quality to over-the-top scenarios such as encountering a woman Who wants to feed you to hor undead husband, the game's sel-awaro, tongue-in-cheek attitude is infectious. The art design also impresses. Although took time to look over my character whenever | equipped something new, Where the original Two Words was mostly based in generic medieval fantasy motifs, Ihe Two Worlds Il environments draw from Middle Eastern, Egyption, and Asian influences. Even if the story and the process ої cutting down hundreds upon thousands of beasts is the same old thing, at least you're doing soin a lively African savannah instead of boring grasslands and foresta. Е tho huge single-player game isn't enough fer you, Two Worlds I also contains a handful оі co-op and competitive multiplayer modes. The co-op chapters in particular provide a rice. distraction, but is frustrating that equipment end levels don't carry over between single-player and multiplayer. The other multiplayer options are forgettable. Like other games that could ft under the "8-gama' label, not everyone will embrace tha elements | enjoyed in Two Werlds If you're locking for a lengthy and humorous (f somewhat unpolished) hack-and-slash RPG to tide you over while you walt for Dragon Age II or The Elder Scrols V. Skyrim, it's worth giving Realty Pump. ‘second chance. » Phil Kollar reviews 91 222 PS3 « 360 Have car wil travel, bua and Oahu are yours for Чи nising ‘Seeing the day-to-night cycle come and gp is a gorgeous sight, and overall he game looks great given the sheer ‘You have two radio stations in your ears ~ the electronic Harıba Radio and Road Rock. "Too bad you can't import your vera speed, and other characteris, со developing. ‘full garage is useful Ks ae fun as a vacation on a Toon island should be High Test Drive Unlimited 2 1-Player Racing (B-Player Online) ve never been to Ibiza ог the Hawaiian island of Oahu, but the way they are presented in this game is what'd expect, Life on these моні a a word apart sa Баск and yet fl of fun diversions everywhere you look. Stil, you can take things al your own paco. Wait a minuta - isn't this supposed to ba a racing game? Where's the race or ferst place? Вайеме it or not, Test Drive Unlimilod 2 encapsulates these two extremas to itr. агі dagrees. The game's all-encompassing approach satisfies varying tastes and ands up baing a versatlo ишу vehicle Developer Edan Games suconeds in creat- Ing an open-wortd racing tile that blend onlino асга, singe-player career compotiions, and "roo rido exploration into one cohesive experi- ence, Games ike Burnout Paradise have done this before (and n some ways better), but two а the key things that make ТОО 2 stant out aro tho locations and is various leveling categories that aro ай rod togather. You gain XP in no Socii, Discovery Cormpettton, and Collection categories by dong related activites such as making a community chalenge (Socia), completing photography assignments Discovery), ава ing other racers in compatitons (Competition), buying houses (Calloction) and much moro. in Ihm, theso four catagories’ make p your overall rank in ho game. Although the four categories levels aro soparatod, they feod into ‘each other, For instance, олго) round and fring new roads ard manufacturer-spociic upgrade shops cars you Discovery points. Exploring the islands is how you fnd the showroom: that may bo required to compote n a race as ме ав further your burgooning car collection for Colection ponis. "t anything, ho Discovery category sel s a tac оо important. А few tenes ft Ike the game was pushing me 10 spend time (тооч around the islands just to Ind an upgrade shop x even a shirt I wanted. also didn't Teal was. getting enough Discovery points when | was ‘Staking out uncharted temtory But every Ime got uptight about this struc- Turo, | woud frd a wracked car with my onboard mot dotoctor, spontencousy challenge an ‘nine player to a race, or even take on a pho- tography mission, and fd be having fun agan, Tho islands themselves also provo to bo a сува torie tor my is. Not oniy aro ho environ- ments bes, but tho varied train s great for racing. Hils, ойгова switchbacks, Ih ciy corners - there's a lot to tacke. Furthermore, the ro stec havo a ite less with 10 work with (somotimes there's even oncoming паї), and plenty of roadside objects dd a layer of danger. Even the time of day can ‘become а factor. I once kept retning a particular raco so much that 1 had to raco it trom dus unti dawn the next day ~ and it was far oaser опсо "ho sun was back out Unfortunatly his cool environment is led with too mary races hat lack dificuly. The roads themselves ere more of a challenge than the Al racers. I could routinely boat the competition white ving lessor cars. Even though you're racing against charactersin the Solar Crown, on the track thay showed no personaly at 4. Арай trom some occasional сой modes Ike an arcunc-the-kand endurance race, blow ing through spoed cameras in any order, or the ‘orth Folow the Leader race (where only the designated leader of the pack can seo where "ho next checkpoint ij, most ofthe Compoliion. racos don't have any size Tost Drive Очите 2 might be lacking in some aroas, but this Б ono instanco where tho shaor ‘quanity of aros pravas since thot structure is thought enough to make this game mo than usta lazy vacation. » Matth an't 'ames ( Mario Sports Mix wi Toss Mario and his buddies into four diferent sports hat foel too simplistic to bo any fun you've ever played a game wth the word "Maro" in the шив, youll know what this look ke Soma See "Graphics" above, but replace the word nodis" ah “sounds” Playa Youll lear every nuance of each sport's conto scheme. mos immediately Thece sports barely extend. beyond the complerty of a typical Mario Party minigame Replay Valve tyla 1 to 4-Player Sports (4-Player Online) Publisher Nintendo Developer Square Enix Release February 7 ESRB E ‘owner, Aller enduring countess minigame collections and shovelware tiles, it was rewarding to sit down with tno stallar Super Mario Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Krby’s Epic Yam. I was tiled to sco the ‘company making the most out of their iconic stable of characters, and hoped thoy d continuo. down this path in the futura. Fast forward to. eariy 2011, and m playing a watered-down calloction of what amounts to glorfiod Mario Party minigames. Oh wel, 2010 was nico white Itlasted, Sports Mo technically contains four sports but don't be fooled: These ara by no means tul- fledged experiences Ike tho carly Mario Terris and Mario Gal lios. Basketbal and hockey almost fool ko the same game marks to noarty Identical contra schemes. Dodgeball is Зон and requires itte 10 no strategy, and volleyball is тороп and goes on tor tar 100 long. Outside: ‘ol the staga-speciic grmmicks, youl soo vrtu- aly everything these sporis have 10 offer by the "mo the halfimo buzzer sounds during your frst game. I you're playing alone, i's ently too easy to dominato the Al every singlo timo. Throughout my tme going through the Mushroom, Flower, and Star Cups in basketbal, I routinely beat my opponents by 30 ог 40 points. By the timo T reached Ino Star Cup. Га got a 20-point load at the ha and win games without even touching the contraler during the entro second гай. Га setiLon the couch next to me and watch as the computer team ran around tke chickens with L ast yoar was my favorito year of being a Wi авьй "hor heads ал ой, му Baling to. 10 toot away ding human players боов to to caso tho pain. Опо court Bowser Jr. Bid) features vai ‘ous hotgpots hat add or subtract rom your next shots pont value. Both ol our teams played Wel, but the score stl wound up being 5310 negativo 8 at the пай thanks to the unbalanced point moders. Hockey proved to be similarly broken, a discovered a way to feke out the AI goalie with Out fail. By simply skating rom ono sido of Ino oa to tho ather belore shooting, we were able 10 scoro an easy pont overy tine. "The game tres o gel by on Nintendo charm, bul the characte-spectic special moves aren't doing Гапу favors. Luigi wil use his vacuum. Irom Luigi's Mansion, Diddy Kong wil їхон lant banana boomerang, and Wario throws a. sink bomb across the court, These moves don't require tho sightest modicum of ll, rellexes, or timing to pul of Rather than forcing you to adi vato speci at specific times or in ce "ions, all you have to do is jam A and B togather when your team has possession of ho bal or риск, Altec that, is ust a matter of watching the ‘overpowered movo play out and sooro you soma. olorioss points. Sports Mors core sports are avalebie in eibi "on matches ос tournaments, but ho oriy real variety youl Ind revolves around Ihe stages. Luigis Mansion features ghosts that can assist you, Koopa Тоора Beach has shes and cons thal wash up onto the shore, and in Western Junction a train barrels down the court if you dent soora in tmo. It may shake things up lo a minor degree, but these elements aren't nearly ‘enough to make you forget about ho repetition and simplistic gamopkay When (not i) you tre ofthe four sports, there. aro anand ci party mirigames 10 play with up. to four players, The core sports may be glee Маго Party minigames, bul these party games ro ndstnguishable rom tho ones found n hat series, Running around to grab colored balls in "imo to music, tying fo push your opponents ой ^a losing block of ico, and throwing пі Patay Pranha mouth wil have you oven more bred than the bare-bones sports offerings, Mario and his pas stared in somo groat sporis Шов back in tho Nintendo 64 days, but gameplay ko this st doesn't ол itin 2011. Thera aro plenty of $5 or $10 down loodablo games that feature more complex. gameplay than this priced release, and hand of party games, some unlockabio ‘Square Enix characters, and online play don't {do enough to justly а purchase of this holow oxporionco. » Dan Ryckert reviews 83 Р” Ds Avtel-aafted RPG that fein "ke an umeleasedclasar from 1008. Evon with a few 3D environmental details, the visuals have a charming 16-bit vibe An excellent soundtrack but ‘litle more variety would have helped ‘The bate system is deep without being complicated, making easy to leam Fd recommend this to any fan of old-school RPGE Moderate Radiant Historia Style 1-Player Role-Playing Pub е February 22 ESAE ЕОР cated over he years, They feature lengthy cinematics, emphasize player choice, ana present gigantic workds 10 explora, Those advancements aren't bad, they have given iso 10 some ol the most competing and success- ful tives inthe industry. Even with these groat modem RPGs, sometimes | wish | could go back to the gerre's 16:01 era - a time where "its the Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy roprosentod everything | wanted trom, a vdeo game, I you've ever telt tho same way you should play Radiant Historia, You control Stocks, amenber ога вості Inte agency who isthe key to stopping abril war between two power nations. Stocka isn't your typical plucky young hero Wading though a sea of fantasy clichés; he's a competent and efficient warrior who knows "hat dumb luck and hope won't load to victory. This retreshingy novel atu sults the plot of Налат Historia wall; events offen take a Iun Tor tha worso, and rash decisions have dire con- sequencos. Expect to soe Ina death of multiplo party members “That may sound Iko a spoler, but nothing is sel in stone. By using a mysterious book caled the Whita Chronicle, Stocke has tho aby to trava recy between various koy points in the gerne Iren. You may soo one companion fal in batta, but then retum to that moment lator with an im that wil save his o. Adding 1о ho complexity, the imeline spits info two Para branches eariy on, and ho alternate Historias aso affect each other. This structure is a brilant way to deliver the piot, steering away from cookie-cutter moments and taking some Surprisingly dark tums. Raklan Historias story- teling provides an innovativo twist Ihat defies the prodictabilty of vacitional RPGS, As much as I onjoyod tho story, the most entor- taining part of the package is the Бай system. I seems 10 он a worn pattem at frst: you have fece party members who aro queued up in a turn order and proceed o unleash attacks and ярсон арт, Your enemies aront just s ing narow, though. They are arranged on a di grid, where those in the front do more damage, and thosa in the rear have higher defense, боо many of your characters! slis rvolva batting 1005 around tho grid, your battles ar fun strate c endeavors that have you dustoring enemies onio a single squaro to damage them all al onoo This mechanic is more than just arranging your opponents, Tho lum order kn statio, so youre "roo to swap one party members turn lor anot- er's later down the Ine, You can even swilch with. an enemy, which sounds crazy unti you consider 1а your damage incroasos with each consocu- Ivo aly attack, The rests а tactical system that has you porting enemies, managing tho tum ооо, and sotting yoursal up for massivo attack chains that load to immensely salstyng victories. ‘The unique combat and story aro эж алабота RPG Iramewerk that any an of the gerre wil recognize, You evel up, learn now abies, visit towns, andl buy new equipment Side quests requiro you to hop around in tmo to ‘solve problems, and multiple endings (most of "hom resulting in horrhc laure) gve you a reason сойо decisions. These aspects ~ along with the visual style - comprise ho game's familar core and make I fool ike an old-school RPG at hean. ‘Some genre conventions in Radiant Historia have aged better than others, Retreading prov ‘ousty crossed aroas БОЛ, and you do it alot as you move between timelines. | aso woud have appreciated more unique enemies (nstead of Palette swaps), which coud hava added some буга favor to Ihe combat. Lastly, | got sick of Dis 94 reviews I aps (2 6rasple wos} skipping trough a bunch of deloguo every tmo I jumped oa dierent poit in history. Those issues don't nin the gama, but they aro enough o make smal stretches more annoying than entertaining. A top-down view and some sprites aren't al it takes to capture tne essence ot à classic RPG. Many tiles have red to сярївіге on gamers nostalgia for the 16-bit era, ut most ond up leding Iko hollow and archaic imitations: Radiant Historia succeeds whero those attempt îs an iwentive role-playing game that delivers the sensation of playing ono. (of your old favorites forthe Pokemon Black/White Game Fre es a be DASS Foy tied Tha Fire-tupo Pokéaon, Tepis буйн 1-Player Ra Regular encounters wih tho team who explor ing Unova unveil that ther intentions of freeing Pokémon are not as benevolent as they seem. Unova is home to memorable hot spots such as the business district of Gastea and the center of entertainment, Nrmbasa City. Upon entering teach location, you seo how lar the series has come Irom a technica standpoint as sweeping camera angles show ой each cis amazing ‘detai and scalo, Towns scattered across Ihe massive world map are home to a number of fun diversions such as Pokémon musicais, arena battles, and the occasional NPC who lost Pokemon and needs your help. These tasks bresk up the hours spent scouring patches of grass for now captures: ust Ike in any other Pokémon tie, you'll spend a large amount of timo engaged in battle. With the new Pokemon introduced in Black and White, finding a fresh face and developing new strategies based on the unfamiliar opponents Strengths and weaknesses is part ol ho fun. To mik things up, 343 battles ro introduced for the Playing [2-Hayer Online) Publisher Nintendo/The Pokémen Company. 8.75 » Concept Polen entere the fifth ‘generation with new ters to capture and train "m order to become the Чате champion RPG to date. Each aty and the respective gyms are gorgeous and full ot personality. Bane spntes are more animated than in previous entres Each town has its own ‘catchy tune. You also find yourself humming along to Amar verter Рауан Ityou've played a DS Pokémon game in the past Your be right at home Entertainment Plenty of new Pokémon, to study and collect plur Berdoper Cone FR denm Maien ESRDE. sating ieies fed wit un Green nme tane хосоо ШИ sme по юв og ange nt Steg by светини Pokemon losen aer out while being mind Ihe elemental proper- ties ot your opponents. Tris action injects. much-needed dose ol variety, but you st spend the bulk of your experience in single and double battles, ince 3/3 doesn't mako- an appearance unti much later, Stl, once you put together a wiring team, batlles о! any size aro just ав addicting as ‘ver, and спу get mare salityng as your Pokémon evolve. Pokémon Black and White do a reat ob building upon already Soll features and taking them 10 here love. With now Pokémon, tun characters, unlorgettable locations, and ‘changes to the байо system, Game Frosk has quen ue. fans reason to become a trainer again. » Annette Gonzalez 2 8.15 » Concept Amaterasıs cute puppy teams ‘up with various fads for a sprawling adventure. Graphics Wise he visuais are зарина tom the original, "he watercolor ал te tl impresses Soma Traditional Japanese tunes ‘blend with Charie Bown, ‘adult Mabbing voices Playabitity Drawing with the ty i hands-down the best way to control the Cole) Brash Entertainment The Zalda influence. continues here with an epic journey flied with loads of exploration. huge bosses, and plenty of puzzles Replay Value Moderate 96 reviews Okamiden The white wolf en, Style 1-Playet Action Publisher Capcom Developer Capcom Release Match 18 ESRE E10+ Unique abies to see how they'd allect puzzles and combat, The mermaid Nanami, for хаті, ‘can swim in dungeons where Chibi can't and can shoot blasts of water if you draw a ine from her to your target. These powers iure hoaviy into Okarideris puzzles, most of which utliz a new brush tech- rique called Guidance that allows you to sketch out a route for your partner to walk, oat, or vm. Some routes are more complicated than others and require you to delend your partner long the way. I never elt completely stumped bya puzzle, but hoy re not cakowalks other, Battles take place in smal creular arenas where you use a mix of melee and Cotesia Brush techniques to fish ой enemies. For hose хааг with Ihe serie, brushwork pauses the action and changes the screen to а sopia. tone, Hore you draw slashes on enemies o them, sketch a borrb to blow them up, and much more. Tris system handes better then ‘ever on the DS, fnaly allowing players to draw onscreen rather than use analog sticks ог Wa remote. The mix of foes forces you 10 uso every power in your roportore to el trough thor delenses, and its never boen easier to access thar all зо quicky. The most iniiquing battles are reserved for Okarmideris many bosses. Most ot ће "me you have to send your partner ой to accomplish a task while Chbis handing the brunt of the attacks and mbing in the proper. brush techniques, Those large, menacing foes ай present unique scenarios that aro satisiying to figure out. That said, combat overallis not par- ar fat. The oriy time I died throughout the entro quest was during a minigame. While Okamicen makes several strides forward, does run into a few limitations on T the DS. Some of tho larger outdoor aroas aro. segmented into separate chunks to mao them. тов manageabio tor the system, Its strange to sit through a brief load after gong through à fake door outside. The framerate plummets in а couplo areas, and Okarmiden also commits the sol having oniy one save slot so you cant share your cart with anyone ог back up progress {rom eather in the game. Also, for al of the draw- ing in his game, why can't sketch on the maps to koep track of treasure spots? ‘Okarricon takes around 25 hours to com- plete, so i's much shorter han the original. 1 lelt Ike the journey was ust about Ihe right length, with Ino ony ler coming at ho very ‘ond, Plenty of tems to сойос and sidoquests to complete (nol to mention a new game plus ортол) wi satiate those looking for an oven longer experience, Most exciting of al? The ‘end hints heavily at more entries in this excel leni series.» Bryan Vore Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation rinding through fantas 'onvention: 2222 зун ag ESTEE put neto Doveoper suot Release February 14 ESRB T нв some RPGs ow their budgets tying to W craft a complex werd win reams of Das the Dragon биен ames have awaye panied in muet bons arses Soong unehamedy n e Зув o folch quests that have become sro) ihe gerro. Roars o! Pelton may e f ange поз aves game o tobe such with ie te arco оте ‘Dragon Guest V dosnt ty ating ever son хээ Wear yore nepra apena iwah a Tusi become Kg отвода a mountaintop lun fma curso Wal es zm al ne viages uy ey rero haa bom done er gane, heer toy came ber rar tis Mo ora Super Ya es apert, hough ho mario pace at which "eso lo yes aro siariad and compte. Ya aco arvo apod a осин and moved eno your авд cpt Ia, you on spond more rio ат tod wandering o word map 10 fur ou whero uro A pos 10 gon Tho gas anergy - dmg pt soq anco ан ipt adeat ting aw 100 breast ho bro d iw pace ard ains Ioweny much ал mar lanta Jus Üocauso tings more qul doer moen ams of Povo rema hot game. Frem an day pont, players can explore [wo masivo wor maps, ndrurtedus pl iss арал osa and mesos, ven rer. Door every soot ts san Wal addo, eqpoca as you siar proc aro mods tengporaton such aea тон махі anda magcd tyra bod Gams who раж læst yours Dragon Quest cw rico haben of cran pgradis nis ony. Hor rd weapons drt appear your огоот When og pad end пила ду aqua random сесола ив back Орад; tee mp "rios bo V more Hans lecta paro devour, Mayo s оази 1o orgia diy dee choices knowing at ts was nga a IGI umo or mayo ts becauso DOM алхав ioe Iragnalon nd sonso fadt tnat mado mo lal inlove wih RPGS as aed» Pan Kollar 08 » Concept Finish ой a trilogy of DS Dragon Quest remakes with this huge adventure. Graphics Astep down from lam years Dragon Quest IX, but tll a god-lokóng handheld tle Fans of the series will recognize and appreciate the clase tee алышу Old-school to a faut. Expect plenty ot grinding and roctonles exploration Entertainment An absurd amount ot Gameplay tor thase wiling To put up with some aged mechanics Replay Value Modoraaly High © 108 Bs mut 5 о 952005 Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling style 1-Player Srateqy/RbG. (@-Player Local] Publisher Square Enix oi Developer Square Enix MONTH - Retsace February 18 ESRB T шин ЗАМ Т every remake wore ke this, we woud hardy need new games, Every element of Tactics Ogre has been pulled apart, examined, and reassorrbled with an oye toward all the ways game design has changed in the intervening two decades since its original release. I's not perfect - this is 51 а complex, hardcore game whose charms requiro more than a lo work o Чу enjoy. Though it is less accessible than other games in the gerre, Tactics Ogre is a surprisingly adult ook at war, rebelion, and loyalty with as much rewarding strategy as any title out here. Tactics Ogre falows the conventions ofthe strategy RPG gorre that it hoped defino In fne '005. Players aro thrown into a massive variety of challenging batles and. given a widy diverse toolbox to cut thor way out of their problems. Ya mix and match dozens of casses with a. huge number of passive end active sklis to create a batle party suited to any crazy strategy you can dream up. As arobellous orphan thrust onlo the global stage by craumstance, players have sigrificant conir over how the story plays out. Far from the banal choices that many lesser RPGs tout, these defring moments ask you to ‘chaose honor or loyalty, fenis or faceless crowds, and even your country or humanity: Most impressive is how these conics aro presented in a maturo, adiit context. Rather than beating you over he head with overbearing morality Ike a Fral Fantasy game, Tactics Ogre gives you. той орсгв that have tangible benefits and drawbacks, etting you make your own choice. The majority of the changes from the orginal are for the best. Much of the tom of ginding out levels has been removed, and while characters can stil permanoniy е, traning replacements is much less pant. The dialogue Wil as wal as any tito 1 can think o, which по smal ask given tho sheer valuma of iin tho expansive story. "The oriy knock against the game is that character pro- rossion and tem upgrading - both integral systems Inat players spend alo of Ime in aro noeddesy padded. with trval choices. Keeping your rosters equipment up to dato is a fime-consuming bora, and each piece of mors hulle with (no joke) up 10 30 stats nat only a savant cod ever properly assess, Senay, the tiny incremental bonuses you choose between wh leveling ro uninterosing, Tactics Ogo init ав accossiblo ос inling as Prial Fantasy Tactics ог Disgaea, bul the rewards or put- Ing up with its Haws far outweigh tho oost. Inot- ing olo, it deserves recognition fo being а shining beacon of maturity in a sca of adolescont power lantasies, » Adam Biessene 451301330. 68101 a m Anselm Ly 9420 Together Remake the сай аагас precusor to Final Fantasy Tactics with new graphics, newe progression and mew dialogus Graphics This is no Gears of War, but the crisp sprites and color effects communicate everything in a cone fashion Sound The lack of und dialogue. sa throwback 1 an eater. time in gaming, The score and. Date effects are competent ‘enough, but muting the PSP ‘doom make much difference Plapabilty Everything is as ight and esponsive as a good racing game. Even turn-based strategy is improved by a lag- froo interfaco Putting up wih a bit ot tedium pays off big in story and strategy Replay Value Moderately High reviews 87 зөвийн Cr болий Oat Pe en Ceri шлама NAO amont and to a скейт pd Davao? pr Orio Mf mts Нэн 7 | Lord of Arcana 6 | Rush'N Attack Ex-Patriot Platiorm PSP Ralonse January 25 ESRB M Platform PS3 « 360 Release March ESRB M 'N Attack vania genre, but it comes ather than large env 5 өв uninspired levels of r ? platforming, and switch КЙ no need to explore quentia heal Originally perceived of Arcana carves its own identity. Bat e boss battles are ıngely the final Bryan Vore Hunter far checking out. looking for a voried e encounter h ;ewhere. - Dan Ryckert B | Body and Brain Connection Pintiorm 360 Release February 8 ESRB E 6 | Spare Parts 5.5 | Venelica Platform РЕЗ +360 Release January 19 ESRB 10: Platform 360 Release January 18 ESRB T are Parts is a cute game with plenty of g your arms and legs to quickly That may b and reasons solve math problems puts you to challenges like game lacks ould r curious ig While avoiding their Í play. icto 2 are fans of 50 good* hese problems make B. and minde games. Think Syty original and Brain Connection «йс to go on forever. - Jeff Cork movie, — Andrew Reiner recommend, — Annette Gonz 6 | Trinity: Souls of Zill 01 5 | Mindjack adorn P53 эмэ February 8 ESRB T 2 behind the D) vers an unin fantasy we Platform P53 « 360 Release January IS ESRRM. газу outweighed b onirol problems, brain d vinge-worthy storyli Mindjack a shooter worth skipping. — Jeff Marchiafava and though combat occasional dynamic environments, it's not nearly enough to о the tedium. gameinformer овон 22 Tan TON 2220 Sonic the Hedgehog 20th Anniversary Trivia Challenge =“ Hedgehog's 20th birthday. Could there be any better way to honor the Sega mascot than with a collection of obscure ques- tions testing your deepest Sonic knowledge? Take the quiz to find out if you're as cool as Knuckles or lame like Big the Cat. 1. What was Dr. Robotnik’s original 8, Sonic had some offbeat character design based on? sidekicks in the Archie Comics ‘series. Which of the following was a. A walrus in suspenders нел b. Teddy Roosevelt in pajamas esse e A fat cat scientist a. Bunnie Rabbot 4. A mustachioed Humpty Dumpty D. Antoine D'Coolete e. Cammie Chameleon 2, What short-lived Sega Genesis d. Princess Sally ‘character waz derived from one of Sonie's original character concept? 7. Including cameos and releases fer tis гомддог avons mls a. Pipo. the help ot heme Porsa. о environs Soom, bow many games Bai bend mem PRU he ang ar with 2.200 foy ume Bor pr: AN тео io 3. Which pop star is rumore SS hare helped with Seni 3 "€—— soundtrack? the first Sonic the Hedgehog? а. Маан Jan a. Up. Dow Lf, Right Sur + A БЕЯ È Hig tae comic Imo da 2 and C. Hammer "Maii Mark Wahlberg 3, Tor which game did Sonic receive d. Play the game's release date in his immer, green-eyed makeover? mound test (19.9.2, 1 1, 2,4] a. Sonic CD 9. How many rings do you tradition- B Seme 0 выя ©. Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) Sr eh To eri Noo Pt Sou iene - БЕЗ 5, What ве name of the ar нэ dere enced ater seguring dt is fe hyper emecitz in Sonic а rocker 20. Dept poplar ell, foni he 2. Scrambled Chaos Zone Peer ee D e poer ed ig Stehen by i lene of ©. ise the superior Genesis version. d. Death Omelet Zone 10203040506, 7492.94 108 ere i ES ET ple анда do 1699 pn ray Dr nr Fe T ere ie a ST Ga GALT ST а ne ck ааа. POR Ta NEN m ni CRUS nme rt cay erede тав еви amem tat imr rre tps t etr oS RR оос Ma lum Mie o. am air dpa seb tat nk dog Fiet mde tom нух oi s a iv ra олон 100 game over PREM IERING MARCH 2011 a Star in REAL Hollywood movies! Pick your role, stick with the script or improvise your own lines! Ө xB0X 360. KINECT mass (SCENES HUNDREDS MORE AVAILABLE Tepe ЛЫГ www.gameinformer.com Made with) love’ by, Our goal is to presejvelclassi¢ video game magazines soi that they are not lostipermanentiy. People interested) in helping outiinjany capacity; please visit us at retromags.com. 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