Tver OMnasORNER coup” — s ANDY McNAMARA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF andy@gameinformer.com detente visit gameinformerccom daily for the latest and greatest, and follow @gam Read my column or comment on this leter at ‘gameinformer.com/mag or follow @61_Andylc The Art of the First Level “ve known many a great developer over my |e ‘at Game Informer, so sadly | can't remem- ber exactly who | should attribute this sage advice to (if | had to guess, it would be design legend Mark Cerny), but I'll try to paraphrase it to the best of my ability. Make every other level in a game, then make your first level once you have mastered all the nuances of your design and completely under- stand the essence of your game experience, as the first level sets the table for everything to come. As the cliché states, “There is only one chance at a first impression.” This statement comes from the late ‘90s in the age of PlayStation, when games still had “levels” and triple-A game development didn’t require months - if not years ~ of preproduction. The particulars of the message may not entirely align with today’s high-budget products, but the main thrust of it is still relevant, and | can't imagine a ay when the lesson doesn't have value. ‘The art of the first level most certainly isn't lost, but I believe the demands of big-publisher mar- keting and a desire to have “mass appeal” in a world of casual gamers, have created an environ- ment where opening scenes aren't an introduc- tion to a world where gamers can discover and ‘explore, but a series of tutorial exercises that far too often bore or handhold to an absurd degree. When Halo first had me look up or down to set whether inversion was true or false, | gasped at how such a simple idea had escaped video game creation for so many years. It was an elegant solution to address a jarring mechanic like game settings in a subtle way so that gamer never had to break narrative or exit the world in those crucial beginning moments when a gamer is birthed into his or her new pixelated paradise. It's been over a decade since that eureka moment, yet games still have a love affair with explaining every X, triangle, or red button; driven home in a series of mundane tasks bulging with Jarring instruction boxes or insipid dialogue. Nove that gaming has gone mainstream, but are gamers now considered so dumb that we can't bbe left to our own means to find and discover the powers that the circle button or left trigger can unleash? Is opening a door or jumping over a chasm that difficult of a concept to grasp? Don't get me wrong, some developers out there are getting it right, but far too many get it wrong. Until the gaming industry finds a better ‘way to bring games to life and engage the gamer in those opening moments, we will always be cutting the game experience short from the very second we hit start. regulars 6 Feedback Commander Shepar dreamy hunkiness, the ever- popular military FPS genre, and Rift’s MMO charm: hot topi this month. k peak at one of the art es picked as an Into the cel winn little studi this year, from a Valve. 56 Previews Do you want to I about BioShock Infinite and idea. Infamous fans should be happy with the direction Sucker Punch che by Andrew Reiner E3 Failures 100 Game Over Some of gaming's greatest ave surprising passions outside of the industry they help shape. games index Batman: Anam City, BiShock infinite Afterwords Bink Cal of Duty: Maem Wartare 3 Catherine. Cave Story 30. ot Eden, Dungeon Defenders Dungeon Sige i Dungeons & Dragons: Dagger. L.A. Noire Gating Gears Infamous u Panda 2 LA Nie Legend of eld: Ocarina of Tine 30, The LEGO Prates ofthe Caribbean, Mass Elect 3 Metro: Last Light. Michaol Phelps: Push the Limit MXve ATV Alve Need for Speed: The Run, aL 12 Red Faction: Armageddon Fisen 2: Dark Waters Pets, The. Starhawk Thor: God of Thunder. Witcher ins of Kings, The. X-Men: Destiny 4 contents — Contact Us feedback@gameinformercom This month in Feedback, read- ers discuss the role of mobile gaming in the industry, select their favorite military first-per- son shooters, praise Rift’s dif- ferences from WoW, and lament the ill-timed release of Portal 2 (for some, anyway). Jer Shepard Dund to reveal an enormot th. Of course, Commander Christian Farmington, IA. > the aturing the e Commander jepard. Ne a of the ies, but | was b at me and jarrassed to say SO. Christina Wedzik Hemet, CA You might want to take a cold shower, Christina. BioWare recently announced that Mass Effect 3 has been delayed into early 2012, so you'll have a few more months before you're reunited with your hunky hero. If the promise of a better final game doesn't get you through the extra wait, just remem- ber that distance makes the heart grow fonder — even if your dream guy is fictional. ya'll so mucl info to heart. But Chris Dixon Achille, OK {Ne been a subscriber since April, and I've only Had one disappointment so far. I'm sure I'm one Gfthe 10 people in America who is really excited forthe release of Brink, and every month I've [poked forward to any new information about the game, So far 've only seen a huge ad for it, and | Would really love more on it before | buy it. Are ‘you guys planning anything? Anyways, keep up the good work! Trevor Dickson ‘Syracuse, UT We have to hand it to Brink fans: At least they're polite. If you want to see how Brink stacks up to the other shooters on the market, check out our review on page 86. Broken Record Ijust want you to know that you four quys set- ting the Guinness World Record for the longest gaming marathon [Game Informer Editors ‘Smash Their Way Into The Record Books, Issue 2A7|has inspired me, Three of my friends and | are going to attempt to play Zombies mode on Bleck Ops for 42 hours straight. | just wanted youlto know that you inspired me! Jonathan Weldin Cove City, NC Congratulations on making your way into Guinness. That said, you are an insult to gamers ‘Byerywhere. When gamers endeavor to accom- pish epic feats of endurance and skil, they should fuel themselves with Gool Ranch Doritos, M&Ms, and Hot Pockets - not strawberries, iihich you can clearly see on a blue plate on the ‘ottoman. So, why strawberries? Alexis Italia , Omaha, NE Even the most hardcore gamers can succumb to scurvy, Alexis. But fear not: Despite a nutritious snack or two along the Way, our quartet ate more than their share of junk food during the marathon. Seriously, itwas disgusting. Yep, You’re A Weirdo Maybe you guys can answer a question for me. All my friends make fun of me and call mea weirdo because | use an inverted control scheme while playing shooting games. Does this make me a gaming weirdo, or are my friends just idiots and a lot of people use inverted controls? Oh, and Ben should be promoted to God. He is the greatest! Randy Pullen Rio Vista, TX While inverted controls have become less popular over the years (you're not piloting an airplane, after all), using them doesn’t make you a weirdo - thinking Ben is the greatest does. A Breed Apart Obviously, Rovio executive Peter Vesterbacka's ‘comment that “consoles are really a dying breed” (The Big Questions, issue 217) proves that he doesn't play video games. | understand his defense of his company's game, but mobile games are still casual experiences. The power afforded to consoles and PCs allows develop- ers to create fully realized worlds that draw the player in and make them feel like they are part of the story. While Angry Birds may be fun and popular, mobile games are far from reaching the level of immersion and player interaction that consoles and PCs allow. | doubt any one of those players feels a personal connection to the birds they're flinging into buildings. Aaron Bass via email We received more than a few letters from readers upset over Vesterbacka’s com- ments, and while we agree that consoles aren't going anywhere soon, there's no denying that mobile games fill a void that consoles and traditional handhelds don’t. Hardcore gamers may scoff at the trivial nature of mobile games, but as long as they entertain players in a way larger experi- ences don't, they will remain important to the future of gaming. Respect For Rift | thoroughly enjoyed reading Adam Biessener’s “Rift's Compelling Case For Your MMO Allegiance” article (issue 217). The element that stuck out most was his candid point of view. It's apparent that he was not influenced by the massive amounts of money WoW has made, or the millions of players currently subscrib- ing. Most articles | read make a point to men- tion out-of-game elements that make WoW better than other games, but Adam stuck to the bare-bone gaming facts, and | applaud his honest approach. Matthew Porter Orange, CA Ihave to say your article on Rift is one of the best I've read in a long time. | played World of Warcraft for many years and just stopped this month due to the lack of content in Cataclysm. I have to agree | enjoyed the game and the new content when it came out, but after three or four months of play, the game seemed to be the same thing over and over. As for Rif, | just started playing and while it does take some get- ting used to, overall your article was right on the money. Joining with other players is what makes. it fun, and despite the fact that I'm a noob, | have yet to be kicked or told to leave. I'm not sure how long Rift will hold me and | may even go back to WoW sometime in the future, but for now Rift is a solid game, and | would tell anyone who is tired of the grind in WoW to give ita try. Ray Robinson Duarte, CA PIN LEPLE LEME Short Answers to Questions “Is it just me, or did you guys just reuse a whale bunch of stuff for the May issue that you had used in a previous issue?!” It’s you. “How do you spall Clare MoCaskil's name?” Claire McCaskill. “Can | get a Ben Reeves shit to show my friends how cool | am?” Nice try, Ben. Patently False: Several readers wrote in claiming that sexually explit player cards in Black Ops are protected by the US. Constitution. They are not. Quantified! Of the continued letters we received this month regarding the casting of the Uncharted movie, ‘the majority nominated Drake voice actor, Nolan North, as their favored candidate, Worst News Of ‘The Month: faa “Dear gameinformer i figured out finally how to email you guys for feedback yessss,” LENE LER NLL LS LINED {Left) Ben was at his Coolest while sipping drinks with Activision's Vanessa Vanassin, Beenox's Mathieu ‘Tremblay, and Activision's Kevin Umibricht inside of anioe caste in Quebee. (Right) He was less cool ‘when confronted with the waitresses of Austin's Bone Daddy's House of Smoke restaurant ‘continued on page 8 feedback 7 BEoge88noo oo) Po) Dogon onoee SOoSSoneee oo ‘ jitary EI SSS Favorite Military FPS PCC In issue 217, we asked readers what their DOORS favorite military FPS franchise is. After SEGS88eoe discounting the fans who answered Halo SERB Eeeeee (that’s a sci-fi shooter, not military), the results were clear. Despite most readers assuming CoD would easily win, Battlefield received more votes than any other fran- chise. Here are some of the responses. | think itis obvious that Call Of Duty is the best FPS franchise of all time. Every Call Of Duty is better than the one before it. Awesome graphics, easy controls, amazing campaign stories, and an unbelievable multiplayer experience are just a few: of the many reasons that | buy every Call Of Duty game as soon as it comes out Matthew Prestage No contest, Brothers in Arms has one of the best Co video game story lines I've ever experienced, and some of the best gameplay as well. All the other vile tactical shooters I've played have been clunky Do you th ll and slow, but BIA made it smooth and easy to ore ( > finals? I want to b control. On top of that the in-game maps are made directly from photos, old maps, and the developers visiting real locations, Awe-inspiring detail mixed with characters | actually want to | know, and great gameplay put BIA above all other competitors. ol For School? ve to enjoy Favorite Miltary FPS Franchise 26% Jack Lynch ‘Nal Games Sgn Amageddon 17% There is a developer that captures war in such an incandescent way that | have been enraptured for countless hours. Their power comes from scale. Planes flying overhead, strafing and bomb: 4% ing; tanks rolling across massive deserts; sniper pulling off headshots from what seems like miles away; paratroopers landing behind enemy bases wreaking havoc; houses and buildings collapsing with any notion of cover being demolished as you sprint away. War was never brought so clase to home, and we owe it allo DICE. Competitors make great games, but Battlefield is a step Wich do you prefer: competitve above all the others. ‘muliolayer or co-op, and wy? Alex Xi iFrve-To Play Dlscontent 1146 i Mimixy'Si FPS Contusion 7% (.Censtutonal Mat (Left) Tim poses with Square Enix's Yuusuke Matsui sam Ka: mikokuryo, Motomu Toriyama, and Yoshinori Kitase during his recent trip to Japan to see FF Xil-2, (Right) Tim also had his picture taken with a life sized Cactuar — they didn’t have the heat to tell him that it's not real ‘continued on page 10 8 feedback Ente the Game informer Reader Art Contest. Al you ed t dois dav, pant, scratch, sit, or carve the best drm art you can think of and send it tous, Pease include your name, phone ruber, and retun adress, Ht you're the monthiy winne, wo'l feature your work in 61 and you't receive a video ‘game prize from the Game Informer vault Al entries become the property of ‘Game informer and can't be tuned, ame normer Rader vt Contest 724 18 SUN, Si Foor pls, MN 55401, conte ftom page 8 (Left) Annette enjoys the francophone lie with Ubisoft's Sarah vin and Rayman Origins ‘team members Michel Ancel, Céline Teles, and Loic Gounon, (Middle) Readers Chance Gibbs, Jerry Wang, and Ben Garinger toured the GI offices ater placing the winning bids ‘on our Play for Japan charity ‘auctions. Thanks for helping ‘ut, uys! (Right) Adam hangs out with Twins catcher ‘and MLB 11: The Show cover model Joe Maver. 0 feedback (RE 1 Madeline Rauch - | don't remember ‘Amaterasu laying eggs in Okami, but I'd imagine they be at least this cool if she did 2 Frankie Perez If you're going to go on a stroll through the woods, the for- ‘est full of man-eating trees probably isn’t your best option 3 Nicole Greer Journey is about two monks trying to Stand on top of a tower the longest so they can win a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4 Lamar Wells As he grows older, Mega Man's mission is less about killing robot masters and ‘more about keeping bats out of his pantry ince nobody has claimed direct responsibil ity for the attack, the exact motives for the security breach remain unclear. Perhaps it was simply thievery. Or maybe by the intemet collective Anonymous against Sony created critical momentum for what culmi nated in PSN's outage. In the past, Anonymous has attacked the websites of major credit card companies and opponents of WikiLeaks over general freedom of speech princi group even destroyed data and pany emails of after its CEO Aaron Barr threatened to “name and shame" some of Anonymous’ top leaders. Anonymous has denied responsibilty for the PSN attack, but since it's an organization that anyone wing if members were involved an join, there is no way of Back on April4, Anonymous launched Operation Sony, W caused disruptions to some parts of PSN's service and denial of ser: vie to PlayStation.< and other company w Anonymou: porters to protest at their local Sony stores (which was a dud), and there were reports that disseminated info on smilies of Sony executives Jack Tretton and Howard Stringer. ‘Anonymous executed Operation Sony for what it felt w suing George who cracked open the system so homebrew applications by rest feature (which allowed F Sony overstepping its bounds ir SeoHot” Hotz and other hackers uid ru ring the OtherOS, ‘owners to run Linux) that had been removed for the PS3 siim red and from older models by a firmware update. Hotz discovered and distributed the PlayStation 3 root key. The root key telss the system what code is authentic, and therefore opens the console to homebrew development and piracy. (On January 27, Sony won a temporary restraining order against Hotz, failOverfiow (the ‘group who originally opened the ¢ and others, and the following month it demanded that YouTube hand over Hotz's account info and username and IP addresses on anyone who posted or published comments on his videos on the root key. Sony also sought the failOverflow gam's personal info from Twitter. Funnily enough Sony itself disseminated the root key informa- tion when someone handling the Kevin Butler an ‘account accidentally re-tweeted the code ba to the world ‘Anonymous believes that Sony's courtroom maneuvers to try and silence Hotz's and other hackers’ work on the console, as well as track those who went to Hotz's website, were “an unforgivable offense against free speech and Internet freedom,” according to a statement from the group in its Anon News website. Although Sony argued that it feared the potential piracy that opening up the system could bring, ‘Anonymous sees this as an unalienable right of the console's owners. "Your corrunt business practices are indicative of a corporate philosophy that would deny consumers the right to use products they have paid for, and rightfully own, in the manner of their choosing. Perhaps you should alert your customers to the fact that they are apparently only renting your ? By mid-April, Operation Sony was over and Sony and Hotz settled their case out of court However, on April 19 four PSN in San Diego rebooted ly and were taken offline by Sony, The next day six more were compromised. It wa at this time that Sony pulled the plug on PSN, and Kaz Hirai — in a letter to Congress ~ said that it had “the first credible indications that an intruder had been in the PlayStation Network systems. pany brought in waves f forensic teams to uncover the full scope of the breach (which also included Sony Online Entertainment's servers), and by April 25 they identified that user's personal data for the 77 milion PSN and Qriocity accounts had been taken. There also was the chance that credit card data was extracted from the 12.3 mil- lion accounts that had cards attached to them (of which 5.6 million were in the U.S). In the ensuing days after the initial April 19 ined that PSN was down, but it wasn't until April 22 when Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications and social media, posted on Sony's official PlayStation biog that an “external intrusion” of the network hi uurred, that the world began to understand the seriousness of the situation Finally, on April 26, Seybold posted that users credit card info may have been accessed. The info was encrypted and Sony didn't have evidence that card data was taken, but it also couldn't rule it out. Thankfully, it turned out that there were not major reports of major credit card fraud because of the attack. Seybold said that the company expected to have some services restored within a w Gamers were angry at Sony's silence and that it took the company until April 26 to notify custom- ers that their card data may have been compro: mised. Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Sony of America president and CEO Jack Tretton questioning the company's handling of the crisis (he would later commend Sony on its response), and soon a class action uit was filed in California. Both Hotz and Anonymous denied they were behind the attack, but due to the amorphous nature of Anonymous, nobody could know for sure. xternal Intrus An “E connect 13 m Free Games a Part of Sony’s Sony has outlined its Welcome Back program; which goes into effect once the network is fully restored — which includes getting the PlayStation Store up and running 14 = In the beginning of May, Hirai told the world that parts of the service would be up by the end of the month in a worldwide phased restoration, ‘and he also outlined a “Welcome Back” program (see sidebar for more) for PS3 owners when the service resumes. It wouldn't be until two weeks later on May 14 that parts of PSN would come back online, Despite the resumption of service and Sony's claims of increased security for the network, things Weren't 100 percent smooth. The multitude of user's pass- word reset requests jammed the system, the Japanese govern- ment halted the return of the service pending further assur ‘ances and information from Sony (which stil hasn't happened as of the time of this writing), and there was even a password reset exploit that was briefly active that could allow a third party to block ‘an original user from their account. We talked to Eugene Spafford, chair of the USACM (U.S. Association for Computing Machinery — a policy council for the ‘and public in matters of information technology), Who testified in front of a congressional subcom: mittee about data theft and the PSN situation. ‘These kinds of problems, these breaches and exposures,” Spatford said, “aren't going to go away, They are going to continue to happen, and they are going to continue to get worse.” Spafford says that Sony “shouldn't necessarily be condemned that it took a few days for them to notify their customers,” and overall thought that the company’s response was “a classic example of trying to make a good-faith response without having a plan in plac Different companies have security of varying effectiveness, and sometimes this comes down to money and a desire to understand the impor tance of security. “Security is a process,” he told Us, “and it doesn't really lead to increased sales or increased bottom line. It's an expense that you have to have on an ongoing basis, and that isn’t very well understood in many environments. If you invest X more on security, you don't see that translated into Y more dollars in your bottom line.” ‘Spatford wasn't aware of the exact status of Sony's security at the time of the attack (and Sony declined to talk to us for this article), but there may be evidence that Sony should have ing to joi © Welcome Back * Two free PiaySt been better prepared. Security researcher Bret McDanel told Bloomberg Businessweek that he looked at unguarded Sony server logs that showed that a penetration testing program began checking Sony's network for vulnerabilities on March 3, and continued to do so until Apri 15 —at which time “they found what they had been looking for,” says McDanel, “a vulnerability r@ is also conflicting info as to Whether Sony's server software was up to date, as well as an Ars Technica story about an unsub- stantiated way for custom firmware to subvert PSN's security Sony isn't the only one who's paid a price for the breach. New games out at the time like Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, and Sony's ‘own MotorStorm Apocalypse and SOCOM 4 froze gamers out of their multiplayer while the outage persisted. Sony says that it expects the breach to cost the company over $170 million through March of 2012, although Forbes Magazine estimates that the attack could cost Sony more than $24 billion in the long term. One of the companies directly affected was Marvel Pinball developer Zen Studios, which was preparing to release the disrupted by the P ‘company is working Sorcerer's Lair DLC for PSN's Zen Pinball when the outage occurred, Mel Kirk, vice president of marketing for Zen Studios, told us that the com- pany found out about the security breach like everyone else did, and it was only days after the story broke that Sony contacted the developer. Even then Sony didn't provide new details on the matter, and as of the time of this writing the two sides were stil talking about what comes next. The damage to Zen Studios and other com- panies is incalculable, but Kirk said that its Sorcerer's Lair DLC may have lost something critical: momentum, Marketing efforts were put forth and the game was at "peak awareness” before the crash. “All that work becomes null and void,” said Kirk, “and we don't know if people are still excited,” Kirk is unaware if Zen's licensing agreement with Sony offers any recourse, but he told us that Zen is asking for additional promo- tion from Sony such as dashboard placement or being highlighted in possible product spotights, Despite the breach’s collateral damage to Zen, Kirk thinks Sony is a great partner and believes the new security measures it is putting in place will work. In fact, Kirk said he wasn't surprised this occurred — a sentiment echoed by many, and a cold, hard observation that may reflect the reality we've been living in for years and which will persist for the foreseeable future. “This could have happened to Nintendo, it could have happened to Microsoft. It happens all the time on PC." jon 3 games (Dead Netion, Infamous, Litle Big Planet, Super Stardust HD, Wipeout HD + Fury) * Two free PSP games (Little Big Planet PSP, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, Kilzone Liberation) * Free movie rentals via the video service over one weekend titles to be announced) * 30-day free PlayStation Pius membership for non-members, an additional 60 days for existing members * 100 virtual items for Home Users and additional fre (Ooblag's Alien Casino game +» Free 30 days for existing Music Unlimited Premium T '* Free 30 days and lost time for existing members of the Music Unlimited Premiu/Basic subscribers * PlayStation Network users can also enroll in Debix’s AliClear ID Pius ident rs have until June 18th to sign up for the program intent such as an addition to the Home mansion and subscribers theft program for free for a year. ‘Sony is bringing PSP classics to the PS3 via the PSP Remaster series. As the name implies, the games will be augmented for the ‘console with additional content, new control ‘schemes, HD graphics, cross-platform save the we O) P loper Creative Assembly ‘swapping, and more. The firs ttle announced ih two in the series — for Japan, at any rate ~is projects. One is a continu- Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. No word on and ation ofits successful Total War ‘what games will come out the nd the others an in the States, but you action game based on the first have to believe that ‘Alen movie. Sega is publishing either God of War PS P 1 ‘The publisher's othe PSP game, whether fea etatignaportable EME) that’s Chains of aa witha Olympus, Ghost of 4 announced in 8 Sparta, or both, will sarcastic has yet tobe ret be apart ofthe series. spin “We reported in a week. You're telling ‘We're as excited as anyone to hear reports that there will be a ‘Square Enix posted a financial loss of 12 billion yen (almost $150 million) due to factors me m' week new Alan Wake title from developer Remedy, but it's too bad that including cancelled games (like Gun Loco), the Japanese earthquake/tsunami, and a “rapidly y it not going to be a full retail release. XBLAfans.com has said changing operating environment.” Our tip to help the company: Release some of the 53 dif- 4 that Alan Wake: Night Springs will be an XBLA-only title when it ferent Final Fantasy offshoots you've had in development for years. Or Kingdom Hearts Il wasn’t fast ‘Comes out at some undisclosed time in the future. enough?” = Sony CEO Howard Stringer defends his Even after some of the PlayStation Network ser- vices came back online, Sony was involved in another embarrassing security situation. Fora short time, an exploitable URL problem with the password reset page on its website allowed a person to change another user's password and freeze out the original owner. Sony quickly fixed the page. its unknown if it ever led to any real problems, but chalk it up as another PR blow to the company. company's response to the PSN meltdown (see page 12 for more). ‘Test Drive Unlimited 2 developer Eden Studios staged a symbolic one-day strike to potest Atari's “mismanagement” and layoff of over 62 percent of Eden's 80-person workforce. Eden claims that Atar's recovery scenarios for previous culls haven't come 4 pass, and claims the Atari brass “get rich despite financial difficulties.” Inother unfortunate Atari news, the company is selling off Champions Online devel- oper Cryptic in a move it says is part ofa larger strategy to shift away from in-house developers and move toward casual online and mobile games. connect 15 Agent 47’s New Assignment 10 Interactive hones in on Hitman’s instincts There have been lots of teases and viral marketing for the new Hitman game, and thankfully developer IO Interactive and Square Enix have put us out of our suspenseful misery by offi- cially announcing Hitman: Absolution for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. ‘The game doesn’t have an official release date yet, but in our brief look at a demo for ‘Absolution, it seems to be on the right track in capturing the true power of Agent 47. One of the new gameplay elements is Instinct. When Agent 47 performs stealth kills, hides bodies, etc. he earns Instinct, which can be spent to do things like see guard search patterns, hear People’s thoughts, or blend in. Blending in is different than just wearing a disguise, because you'll see Agent 47 perform actions like talking on a phone or using a computer in order to hide in plain sight and do more than just stand around in a disguise. The demo showed all manner of gruesome ends for an entire squad of guards, including death by garrote wire, pulling foes off of ledges, chokes, breaking necks with a baton, and using Instinct to orchestrate Red Dead Redemption-type shootouts where you tag multiple targets before you take them down, Game director Tore Blystad says the game is a blend of new features like Instinct as well as classic Hitman elements. “For the first time we are taking Agent 47 on a personal journey Which allows us to explore other parts of the Hitman fantasy, This is both a familiar and yet significantly different experience from other Hitman games; something our silent assassins will relish, as will all those new to the Hitman world.” 18 connect Portal 2 No one knew what to expect when the original Portal released as part of The Orange Box in 2007. That all changed when players got their hands on one of the most humorous, endearing, and imaginative titles in gaming history. Expectations ran high for Valve's follow up, so in the aftermath of its release we probed the renowned developer about brainstorming Portal 2’s new mechanics, keeping the series’ humor fresh, and answering what happened to Pneumatic Diversity Vents. When you guys first started conceptualizing Portal 2, you considered making a game without GLaDOS or portals. Was Cave Johnson intended to be the replacement for GLaDOS? Enk Wolpaw (writer): It's true! The game was going to take place at Aperture in the 1950s, before GLaDOS came online. Cave Johnson would have been the antagonist, and the portal mechanic was going to be replaced with some- thing we'd codenamed “F-Stop.” Chet Faliszek (writer): Since we never throw away good ideas, we aren't giving out any real details on F-Stop. What is your writing process like? We can’t imagine you sit- ting ina sterile conference room banging your heads together to come up with jokes. Do you have weird movie marathons or do anything else for comedic inspiration? Faliszek: There are three of us that sit in the writing room — Erik Wolpaw, Jay Pinkerton and myself. We sit in a room together and spend countless hours needing each other. One of us always has @ new sore spot the ‘others can pick on for what ends up being your comedic enjoyment Jay Pinkerton (writer): Mostly its (Chet and Erik needing me. I'm the new guy on the writing team, so I get to be the de facto muse for hilariously wel-timed insults. Another aspect of our process? Lots and lots of walks. Any time we'd get blocked on a scene, we'd walk around Bellevue, Washington until inspiration struck. if you work in Bellevue and you've seen three guys walking around yeling at each other ‘about space spheres and potatoes, that was us. If you saw us suddenly stop walking and race back to an office, that meant we came up with something good. If you saw us hijack a car and floor it back to the office at 100 mph, that meant it was some- thing great. More so than the first game, Portal 2 separates the story from the puzzles. Was there a reason you intentionally separated the talking from the gameplay? Jeep Bamett (orogrammer): Through Playtesting we find that players tend to only be able to focus on either the puzzles or the dialogue at one time. ‘When there's dialogue in the middle of a level it either distracts play- ers from solving the puzzle or gets ignored. The dialogue also works as a reward by teling the player when they've successfully progressed. We use dialogue in the middie of cham- bers when we can clearly show that the rules of the chamber or story are being changed around the player. GLaDOS was hilarious, but the new characters Wheatley and Cave Johnson practically steal the show. How much influ- ence did the actors Stephen Merchant and J.K. Simmons have on the development of those characters? Wolpaw: Stephen was great at improvising around the script we gave him. Also, we wrote the dia- logue with both actors’ voices in our heads, so in that sense they had a huge influence. Pinkerton: As for J.K. Simmons, he didn’t improv much from the page. But he didn't have to, since we'd \wiitten the part specifically for him, pretty much as a love letter to his performance and acting style. Earlier in the game's develop- ment, you showed off some videos featuring the Pneumatic Diversity Vents ~ giant tubes that sucked up every item in their path. Why was that feature cut from the game? Can we expect to see Pneumatic Diversity Vents in DLC down the road? Barnett: Pneumatic Diversity ‘Vents looked promising at frst, but ended up being a dead end in terms of puzzle design. It didn't have any interesting interactions with Hard Light Bridges, Thermal Discouragement Beams, or really any of the other game mechanics. It was ‘sad to see it go, because it looked so cool in videos, but the realty is that it wasn't fun. We aren't wiling to ship something we aren't completely Satisfied with just to pad out the length of the game, However, and I'l let you connect the dots yourself, i id inspire the game's epic ending, It also led to the creation of the excur- sion funnel mechanic, which became ‘@ much more adaptable and satisfy- ing tool for the player. GLaDOS doesn’t interact with the player much once she is attached to Chell's gun. Was there once more dialogue planned for this section? Pinkerton: In that section, GLaDOS. has the epiphany that she needs you if she wants to get Aperture back. Originally it took her a lat longer to come to this realization. GLaDOS was her same old bitter self, pas sive-aggressively ripping into you at every opportunity while you explored the ruins of Aperture. But when we playtested, we found ut that people loved hearing GLaDOS being cruel and vindic- tive as an omnipotent A, but they strongly disliked her in that role ‘when she was hanging powerless ‘off your gun. | think from the player's perspective, the second you pick the potato up, you've agreed to this partnership, and then GLaDOS was spending the next half hour ignoring the deal. People wanted to pluck her off the gun and dropkick her off a ledge. So we rewrote her "change of heart" to happen a ite faster, and segued right to the Caroline stuf. You guys originally talked up a gel that would have allowed players to walk on walls. What happened to that feature? Barnett: There were two things in the game that were “so realistic that they had a negative physical affect on playtesters. One was the Stick Gel (or Sick Gel as we sometimes called it). The other, and | swear 1'm not making this up, was when a playtester's nose started bleed- ing after he collided with a Weight Storage Cube in mid air, We decided to keep that, because it was eas- ily the awesomest thing we'd ever seen, But the "Sick Gel” had to go. With the original Portal, Valve released a patch that changed ‘the ending of the game and set up the sequel. Do you think you'll do that again when the time comes for Portal 32 Wolpaw: Wow, now that was a clev- er ploy to trick me into announcing Portal 3. It didn't work, but | applaud the effort. Josh Weier (programmer): With the Portal 2 announcement we wanted to do two things: surprise players and let the fans know first that the game was coming. The ARG-type adventure we took them on was a fun way for us to do that, and we want to keep finding ways to surprise and engage our players ike that, regardless of the tite. We have 87 science col- laboration points. Where can we redeem them? Faliszek: Sorry, you were supposed to avoid getting science collabora- tion points. @ Toy Soldiers fast-forwards Bi to the ‘80s for some ne of my favor- ite download- able games of last year was Toy Soldiers, a stylish and clever melding of tower defense, RTS, and action set within an anachronistic world of WW-era children’s toys. | was stoked when | heard that Signal Studios’ next project brings its franchise into the era of 1980s action figures with Toy Soldiers: Cold War. | chatted with Signal president and creative director D.R, Albright about what fans can expect from the new installment. “it's much more colorful and campy than the first Toy Soldiers," Albright says. “The idea behind the game is the same - you're playing with your toys in a diorama in your room — but instead of antique lamps there's lava lamps, and instead of old radios there's View-Masters and cassette players. Instead of wind-up keys on the vehicles, they are remote control." As you might expect, the two opposing forces are the USA and the Soviet Union. The premise plays off the idea that the Berlin Wall never fel, and the world erupted into open confict -or at least the toy world did. ‘Signal has reworked the game engine from the ground up to play faster and support all the modem weaponry and vehicles of the era, bright promises a bevy of fun units to play found with, including Huey helicopters, MiGs, M1 Tanks, Patriot Missiles, chain guns, and F-14s, Players also have access to 18 unique {urets for each faction, Get an impressive string O{kils, and you'l receive a special reward — a unique unit or ability that can turn the tide of the fight. “The big hit so far is the Commando,” Albright says. “Basically, he's dropped into the game in a toy package and players can control him from a third-person perspective, dealing massive ‘amounts of damage to their enemies. There are also artillery strikes, 8-52 bombing runs, nukes, and my personal favorite, the AC-130 gunship.” The gameplay has also received system over- hauls and minor tweaks. Players can now restart any given level from any wave they've already passed, so there's no need to go back to the beginning when you run into a powerful boss. The game now supports co-op play both locally and over Xbox Live, in addition to the expected head-to-head multiplayer. Several particularly cool weapons and features now have dedicated mini-games. “The really popular one right now is ‘Missile Down the Hallway’ — you fly a TOW mis- sile down a shaft and try to survive as long as you can without hitting the obstacles,” Albright says. “Another one is just trying to kill as many units as. you can in a minute with the AC-130." ‘Albright points to some fun inspiration for Toy Soldiers: Cold War. "When we opted for the ‘80s as a backdrop we actually started looking at the dlassic USA vs, USSR movies from that decade more than anything else - Red Dawn, First Blood, Top Gun, Uncommon Valor. Those movies were pure awesome.” | can't wait to dig into the toy box again this summer. It's hard to think of a dev studio I'd rather see reinvent the vampire-themed sexy heroine BloodRayne than A Boy and His Blob devel- oper WayForward. It may sound strange, but WayForward's past games include the likes of Contra 4 and Batman: Brave and the Bold, 0 I'm confident it can nail the action vibe in BloodRayne: Betrayal, a new 2D action {game from publisher Majesco. The game finds. Rayne headed into a mysterious castle deep in the woods to attend an elegant dance ball that is far more sinister than it fst appears. The hack and slash action appears to have some depth this time around — players can mix up their assaults by using Rayne’s signature arm blades, handguns, and even some new special weapons like a light ray gun. WayForward is also keeping things interesting with a variety of enemies like fu n by Matt Miller flying parasites, ghost-like wraiths, and vampire knights with giant swords, The 15-level game also includes a number of light environmental puzzles to break up the action. I'm impressed by the colorful visual style for BloodRayne: Betrayal, but I've yet to get my hands on the game to see how it plays. Here's hoping that the sleek, black- lad champyr has another shot at stardom when the game releases this summer. Renegade Ops is a brand new explosive military vehicle shooter via Avalanche Studios, the developers who brought us the ridiculous action of the Just Cause series. The new game ‘embraces the tradition of old-school military action games, where the explosions are big and the story absurd. The game can be played alone, but that's missing the point; Renegade Ops supports two-player split screen or four player online co-op. Gameplay is built around controling weaponized vehicles lixe jeeps, tanks, ‘and helicopters. Players take on the roles of team specialists from around the world brought together by General Bryant to defeat Madman Inferno and his evil terrorist cronies. By defeat, I mean shoot an endless stream of bullets from Gating guns and set up electromagnetic shock waves at regular intervals. I've seen the game in action, and it looks pretty crazy, Renegade Ops sounds like the Gi Joe game I've always wanted to play, but without the license. Watch for the game this summer. Hfyou missed the original release of Guardian Heroes in 1996, Treasure is finally remaking the classic Saturn game for Xbox Live Arcade, Regarded as one of the great beat-'em-up brawiers, the new version of Guardian Heroes has entirely redrawn HD graphics. Online and local co-op options let you choose from five unique heroes to braw! with as you punch your way to one of the game's five different endings The upgrade and leveling options are expanded for this re-release, beefing up the already hefty RPG elements in the game's storyline. Versus mode allows up to 12 players to throw down with each other at once, and other modes like time attack and arcade deiver additional replay. | can't wait to revisit this classic and check out how Treasure has fleshed out its work from 15 years earlier. The new and improved Guardian Heroes comes out this fall. Looking for more downloadable and ‘independent games? Check out .gameinformerconvimputse for daly ‘updates and reviews on games as they release, Far more on downloadable ‘games in this issue, you can read our ores fr Bangai-O HO: Missile Fury, ‘Dungeon Defenders, Dungeons & ‘Dragons: Daggerdal, The Fancy Pants ‘Adventures, and Gatling Gears on p. 94 connect 21 Mortal Kombat Game Informer scours the leaderboards and major tournaments in search of the best of the best to uncover the pers tegies. If you get a pe: pleas n behii y message over Xbox Live or PlayStation Network, 2 don’t delete it. You could be our next featured game! i the handle and learn his or her Justin Wong Age 25 Location Santa Monica, CA Rivals ‘Tom Brady, Floe, Perfect Legend interview by Bryan Vore Accomplishments Justin Wong beat his own training partner Ari “Floe” Weintraub to take first place in the POP National Mortal Kombat 9 Tournament that took place in Las Vegas in May. In 2010, he won first place in four Street Fighter- related tournaments and took home the gold in the Evo World Championship for Marvel vs. Capcom 3. He appeared in our Gamer section back in issue 198 (October 2009) for his skils in Street Fighter IV. MK Experience Wong says he never played much Mortal Kombat until the most recent release, favoring the Street Fighter series. “| think Mortal Kombat's actu- ally a really fun game and I'm giad that | played it a lot,” he says.“ fee! lke it has little Street Fighter aspects in terms of all these enhanced moves and it even has supers now. ‘They really thought this game through to make it very suc- cessful in the tournament com- munity.” Training Wong estimates that he put in about 20 hours a week focus- ing on practice mode and dueling with training partner and top fighting game touiey veteran, Ari "Floe” Weintraub. Character Select Kung Lao was Wong's go-to character throughout the entire tournament. “Kung Lao’s very offensive. He's always in your face,” he says. “He's basically the Rufus of Mortal Kombat. That's who | played in Street Fighter. It felt just like home when | was playing Kung Lao, because | have so much control. | can get my oppo- nents flustered because of my ‘strong offensive rushdown, ‘and his combos do way too much damage So it's a perfect combination. He was clearly the most over-picked charac- ter in the tournament.” Other popular characters at the tournament included Ermac, Cyrax, and Raiden. Non-Tourney Games Now that the tourmament is ‘over, Wong is interested in exploring M's story mode and challenge tower. He'd also like to play through Portal 2. Control Method “For the MIK tournament | used the PDP MK Tournament Ezition stick, but | think I'm going to stick to a requiar con- troller because it's a lot easier” ‘Wong says. “I was never an ‘old MK player so | wasn't used to the arcade layout.” Strike First “The thing about Mortal Kombat is that there's a lot of meter management,” Wong says. “It's kind of hard to pull off X-rays because you want to save the meter for breakers ‘80 you don't eat 40 percent combos alll the time. Some characters benefit a lot by using enhanced moves to add lot more damage. “The main strategy is in the first round you always want to get the first attack, [because] the game gives that person ‘one full bar of the meter. You can always get a free breaker if they hit you first, but they can never break your combo if you hit them first. That tells you who's going to win the round usually, By the time the second round happens, the other guy wil just start to get a breaker and you basically have a full X-ray ready to use. “The thing about X-rays is that they do 40 percent dam- age alone already so that's a match ender combo. ff they have like 70 percent of lf left, just hit them first, do an X-ray, and then you automatically win the game. So you want to force your opponent to break 0 they won't use their X-ray, on you." No Fatalities ‘One odd thing for-an MI tour- nament finale was that neither side performed a fatality at the end of any of the matches. “in casuals | would definitely do fatalities, but | think in tourna ments you get that rush," ‘Wong says, “The fatalities take too long, If you just won, you want to keep your adrenaline going, making sure you have. the advantage.” Life Outside of MK Wong works at free-to-play MMO studio Nexon as the ‘community representative for Dungeon Fighter Online. What's Next “The whole month of June is basically a bunch of Evolution qualifiers. Right now I'm preparing for all of those tournaments,” he says. "Now i's going back to playing Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom, and also playing Mortal Kombat at the same time. | have to juggle three games at once for the next three months. | don't mind it because | want to do my best and play a lot of games.” © Someone got MMO all over my RTS! | =e wasn’t sure what to expect from this free-to-play reincarnation of the beloved Age of Empires franchise. It was a pleasant surprise indeed when it tumed out to be an upscaled Age of Empires II, with MMO-like persistence, social aspects, and a heavy co-op focus. ‘Age of Empires Online is easiest to describe as ‘an old-school real-time strategy game with the ‘social and crafting elements of World of Warcraft {grafted on between missions. It will never be ‘as competitive at high levels as StarCraft, as it lacks the necessary relentless, endless balanc- ing. tis not a perspective-altering reimagination of the genre like Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander. As a casual, lighthearted RTS that focuses on fun rather than chasing innovation or perfect competitive balance, it excels. The gameplay feels like it was ripped directly from Age of Empires I, Vilagers gather food, wood, gold, and stone to fuel the production of Units and buildings. The relative lack of special ablities on units — and the general similarity of most unit types, compared to something lke StarCraft - deemphasize micromanagement. The macro level of play is engrossing on its own between managing the four resources and the constant expansion that most maps demand. welcome the fact that | can largely rely on attack-move commands for army management here without worrying about a faster opponent decimating my army with a dozen special abiities ‘changing the landscape in two seconds flat. {don't mean to imply that micromanagement is ‘absent or useless in Age of Empires Online, but its nowhere near the ballpark of StarCraft I in my experience, Many macro skils transfer — hotkey- ing buildings, not floating resources, good scout- ing, eto. —-but | have yet to see the opportunity to build an army around heavy use of caster-type nits, like a typical sentry/stalker Protoss mix in StarCraft Il. While the two games share many mechanics, Age of Empires Online emphasizes a diferent side of the RTS coin. The non-combat portion of the game takes place in a typical Age of Empires base, but there's no conflict. As you eam blueprints, you can place buildings within your capital that act as vendors, selling everything from crafting recipes to unit equipment for the various persistent cur- rencies, You can also assign the points you earn as your empire levels up to the tech tree, unlock- ing new unit types and upgrades for purchase within missions. Most of your tasks here revolve around obtaining new equipment for your units and buildings once you've made it through the tutorials and unlocked the basics. Each unit type has four slots, and anything you equip there has a persistent effect in any missions you under- take. f you favor spearmen, for example, you can pump them up with the best armor you can find and they'll have 20 percent or more bonus health and damage at al imes. You can specialize in two crafting disciplines, which function much like professions in any MIMO, by taking resources and turing them into equipment and consumables. Instead of pump- ing up your archers’ damage, perhaps you'd rather spend your resources creating an item that lets you spawn a gold mine on the map at the cost of a bundle of in-mission resources. ‘Your capital city is also where you take on quests, which range from repeatable “defeat ‘an opponent in a 1v1 skimmish” PvP scenarios to sprawiing solo storylines that take place over multiple levels. Every quest is its own instance; the game is structured much like a traditional RTS in that regard, with your capital taking the place of a multiplayer lobby or campaign map. On the business side, Age of Empires Online relies on microtransactions — but not the kind you're used to. For a one-time fee, you can own, a “premium” civiization. This lets you unlock everything via gameplay: the whole tech tree, all the units and abilities, and tons more quests than a free player can access. Additionally, Microsoft is seling “boosters,” which so far look to be content packs analogous to DLC for a traditional retail game. The one announced booster is a huge, multi-tiered single-player or co-op chal- lenge where you and a buddy defend against ever-stronger waves of enemies. ‘Age of Empires Online features almost archaic gameplay (“old-schoo!” if you're feeling chari- table), yet it innovates within the RTS genre with its persistence and business model, It's a clas- Sical RTS that seeks to tap the same desire for persistent rewards that Call of Duty and World of Warcraft use so effectively. Though it's stil in beta, I'm hopeful that this can break new ground in a genre that has been slowly faling off of the map for years now. connect LLEPPEEED PLIST SESSA PlayStation 3 Promises The World The PlayStation 2 was the dominant force on the gaming landscape when Sony started talking about its successor. Over the course of a couple of E3s, Sony boasted about the then-upcoming system in a series of speeches that sounded more like fever dreams than product announcements. First, there was the Cyber World, which Sony CTO Masa Chatani outlined as a network that would allow people to jack into systems across the globe. Then came the system itself, which reportedly included three Ethernet ports, six USB slots, and two HDMI outs — allowing players to connect two displays for 32:9 aspect ratio gaming. To cap it off, ‘Sony showcased an odd-looking controller that was quickly dubbed the boomerang. Much of these early 2005 The Tale Of VelocityGirl Microsoft used its 2005 E3 presentation as a coming out of ‘sorts for Xbox Live. The service debuted on the original Xbox, but with the arrival of the Xbox 360 Redmond planned to expand the network capabilities in signifi- cant ways. One of the more notorious ‘examples was a series of hypothetical 360, users that represented different types of gamers. “VelocityGint” repre- sented a casual player for whom gaming wasn't a part of her regular rou- tine. According to Microsoft's J Allard, VelocityGin would gravitate toward ‘the Xbox Live ecosystem with the allure of crafting in-game goods, “Now, she might never pick up a controller, never take a run in the half-pipe, but she'll be able to design and sell stickers, shirts, boards, soundtracks and even design her own skate park for those hardcore gamers like [fellow fake user] Striker." Once Microsoft realized that it could make money itself by selling those same shirts, boards, and soundtracks, VelocityGil myste- riously vanished, never to be spoken of again. 2006 Live Anywhere When Bill Gates says something, people generally listen. In 2006 the former Microsoft head honcho outlined ambitious plans for the blossoming Xbox Live service beyond the console, which the com- pany deemed “Live Anywhere.” Under the initiative, users would be able to acces: aging ‘even play Xbox Live Arcade gam their consoles, Pt phones. For example, a Forza 2 player could kill time on the bus tweaking their car, and then play with the modified vehicle when they got home. Windows Phone 7 is taking baby steps toward that Jevel of functionality, but it's a far cry from what wa promised five years 2008 Nintendo‘s Pulse-Pounding Solution In 2008, Nintendo announced the Vitality Sensor, a device that measure a person's pulse. Maybe we shouldn't com- lain too loudly when some projects don't end up being released, would fit on a fingertip and f J f connect 25 FRAMING THE GAME An Early Look At One Of Into The Pixel’s 2011 Winners 8a form of interactive enter- tainment, video games require the effort of talented people from a variety of disciplines. Artists ensure that the graphics and art direction tie the gameplay experien together — but it isn’t all about huge explosions, detailed environments, and dazzling special effects. When removed from the context of in-game action, the art can often stand on its own — not just as something cool to look at, but also as something worthy of displaying in a gallery. Organized by the Academy of int tive Arts and Sciences along with the Entertainment Software Association, the Into the Pixel exhibition is one of the industry's INT@PIXEL seston avenues to honor and highlight the work of visual artists in the gaming industry. Every year, artists working on games of all shapes and sizes submit their work, and a jury of respected profession als chooses a select few to become a part of the year’s exhibit. The winners are unveiled each year at E pieces are then put on display around the world - often seen at art festivals along with industry events like DICE and GDC. The piece on these pages, entitled “Incident at the Worksho| one of the 17 winné 2011 Into The Pixel exhibit. Despite the Half-Life logo, it’s actually from a different Valve title: Alien Swarm. We spoke to artist Ivan Simoncini about the creation of the image and how it relates to the development of Alien Swarm. & by Joe Juba Ivan Simoncini Why did you select the model theme? We usually produce a fair amount of concept art whenever we tackle a new game. Those design studies are usually a good place to push boundar- ies and go to the far end of the spectrum. Allen Swarm Uses a top-down camera view. This perspective tends to give everything a toy look. | decided to embrace it by showing one of those prefabbed rooms and hinting at the person who's assembling the model What process do you use to create a CG image like this? The set was built and compos- ited in a 30 program, Modo. Color corrections and paint- overs were added later using Photoshop. ‘What is the importance of including the real-world elements (like the cup and cigarettes) in the image? Most concept art only works if put in an interesting context. Including real-world objects helped establishing the desired scale and giving life to the finished piece. Was this image created as a part of Alien Swarm's development? Yes, it was part of the develop- ment, We use concept art to develop color keys, atmosphere, lighting style and detail density ‘And most of al: It hopefully inspires the team. What do you like about the Into the Pixel showcase? I'm extremely honored that my piace was chosen. As far as | can tell it’s one of the highest recognitions you can get as.a game artist. | was inspired by so many of the talents who submit- ted to the Into the Pixel contest over the years. by Joe Juba 3all Gully) You may be wondering whether scouring Bullworth and the sur- New Game + (Chrono Trig By the time you’ve beaten Chrono Trigger, you've invested dozens of hours gaining levels, gather- ing items, and completing quests. What better way to acknowledge these accomplishments than by ensuring that you don’t lose them? Unlocked after completing the game once, New Game + lets you start over at the beginning — but with all of your end-game equipment and skills. This fantastic fea- ture gives gamers a hassle-free way to explore this classic adventure’s multiple endings. id NES Games (Animal Crossing) Animal Crossing let players unlock an array of fully playable NES (Tony Hawk 2) Even ifyou can’t tll Bob Burngust from Rune Giifberg, you can recognize this iconic character as he performs Spidey Flips and Spidey Grinds. Back before the superhero movie explosion, the opportunity to control Spider-Man in a good game was 2 rare opportunity, and his bag of tricks means he's one of the best skaters in the game. (inal Fantasy Vil) Yes, breeding chocobes is tedious But you persevere and manage to hatch gold one, you can be the proud owner ofthis legendary az materia. While the figicuously long summon animation may be excessive by modern standards, we sil ove watching King Arthur and his 12 knights take turns hacking enemies to obven, sae ‘k (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) This perk drops a short-fused grenade upon death, turing the imme- founding town for 75 rubber bands js worth the hassle, Then you. get the rubber band ball, and it all makes sense, Pelting your fellow students is fun enough, but the chaos caused by the ricocheting projectile makes you mischief incarnate, games like Donkey Kong and Excitebike, and many gamers spent ‘more time with them than Animal Crossing itself. Back before old- school classics were being re-released regularly, this chance to travel down memory lane was more than enough of a reward. diate vicinity into a danger zone. By the time you earn the Martyrdom perk, you've probably already been blown to bis by it numerous times...,which makes i ll the sweeter when you finaly reach level 17 and get to drop some grenades of your own, Formula One Cars (Gran Turismo 3) They aren't called Endurance Races for nothi these races take time and focus, but completing them is your ticket to getting the most awesome cats in the game. They don’t qualify for every race, but when you can get behind the whee! of an F1, they leave the competition in the dust. 28 connect (Metal Gear Solid) Succumbing to Revolver Ocelot's torture results in ‘more than Mery's death. t gives Snake aocess to the amazing stealth camoutiage after finishing the game. Suddenly, choosing who to save is a tough decision; Stealth camo makes Snake invisible to humans, opening the door toa vast world of ‘humiliating enemy guards. Clima: (Bayonetta) Even though the action is absurd enough in Bayonetta's regular gameplay, this accessory takes your attacks to the next level. Available once you get ‘every achievement/trophy and find every crow in the ‘game, the Climax Bracelent transforms every one of your normal attacks into a giant astral boot, missile, ‘or sword made out of witch hair. mbie Liu Kang (Mortal Kombat Deception) We've all heard fake “secrets that involve being in obscure places at specific times to make something ‘coo! happen. Getting Zombie Liu Kang is ike that, except i's for rea. For jumping through all ofthe hoops, you get to control the classic Mortal Kombat hero. He just has more rotting skin and exposed ‘organs than you remember, 3 és 2 Championing Innovation In Indie Gaming’s Golden Age : “[Gatisecxer is a video game renaissance man. In his career, he’s done everything from pioneering 3D gaming n Windows to being a technical columnist for Game Developer magazine. After helping to create Spore at Maxis, Hecker has been hard at work on SpyParty, an intriguing new indie game that puts players in a one-on-one test of wits. Talk about working on Spore. What did you lear from that project? Alot of the things I'm doing with SpyParty are reactions to some of the ways things worked ‘on Spore, We tried to innovate in three difler- ent ways. One of them was the technology for doing the creatures and the planets and making them come alive, That worked great. The other ‘was the user interface, making the creature edi- tor accessible, | think we did great there. The thid way was gameplay, and we totally cropped the ball there. You play the game, and it's not as the same level of depth as the editor. It doesn’t teact to you. {Is the big publisher, triple-A game develop- ment model doing a good job of pushing the artform? From a design perspective, you can play any game and find something interesting about it ~ ‘some more than others, obviously. The problem is that i's a small, tiny thing because the inves- tors want their money back. So you can push in itle ways, but people are constrained because they have to have a return on investment, It's ditted by the fact that you have to make these 30 hours of gameplay, genre-based games that sel ive milion copies. | think triple-A games have to keep pushing. | try to talk often about interesting, innovative things in mainstream games. | talk about Ico a lot, with the hand- holding mechanic. Looking at Ico as a whole, it's ‘a generic puzzle/platforming game. But the hand holding and calling the princess mechanic and helping her, that is just pure magic. That small, human-scale interaction is rarely seen in games. How healthy do you think the independent game scene is right now? Ithink i's great. This is the golden age of indie games right now; | hope it lasts unt | ship SpyParty. [Laughs] A combination of things have ‘made ita better place to make games than the mainstream with giant budgets. The most amazing thing about indie games right now, and hopefully this is sustainable, is that there is arealy close correlation between quality and sales. That's not true of any other place in art and entertainment. If you make a good, triple-A indie game that you've poured a lot of love into and realy polished, you will sell enough to make another one. I's hard to express how strange that is to have that linear relationship between sales and quaity. | hope it iasts. SpyParty is based on the “Turing test.” Explain what the Turing test is and how it relates to the game. There was this guy Alan Turing, a World War II-era computer scientist. Even back then, they started considering how computers could reason or become inteligent. He came up with this thought problem. Imagine you are sitting there with an instant messaging client, chatting ‘onsoreen with another person. If you can't tell whether it's a human or a computer, then that ‘computer has passed the Turing test for intel- ligence. We're 50 or 100 years away from a ‘computer passing that test. If you've ever used a chat-bot, they're pathetic. But | thought about the inverse Turing test. Have a person pretend to be an NPC, because people are totally flex- ible. By inverting the Turing test, it takes an unsolveable problem and tums it into gameplay. It turns out that it's compelling on both sides, the person pretending to act like an NPC and for the sniper trying to figure out which person itis. SpyParty's website says it's a “game about subtle behavior.” It strikes me that games. have struggled to convey subtle behavior. LA. Noire does pretty well with subtle facial expressions, but I'm assuming you don’t have that type of budget. How can you convey subtlety in a medium that's almost totally failed to do so in the past? That's a great question. I'm going to go back to Ico as an example to show that it doesn't actually require a huge budget. The thing I'm calling “human-scale behavior” — you call the Princess over and she comes and holds your hand - those kinds of mechanics and actions and reactions don't require that much technol- ‘ogy. Ico shows it doesn't, It was a PS2 game. I don’t have an L.A. Noire budget, but | don't need it. LA. Noire is stil pretty deep in the uncanny valley It's better than Heavy Rain, but it's stil deeply flawed. That shows that an infinite ‘amount of money cannot solve the problem, 80 why even try? You can get away with a lot. I've found, even with my crappy characters and jerky animations. The subtlety [doesn't come] from the look. It's subtle because the players are playing it in a subtle way, not because I've got the right amount of specular lighting on the nose shader. When | first saw SpyParty, | was reminded of a mission in an old Hitman game where you were a sniper getting information through a headset about your target at a party. Things like, “He's left handed, he smokes” etc. and you had to decide who to shoot. | played some Hitman, but | haven't played that mission. There's another mission in an old Hitman where you dress as a waiter and walk through a party and try to be inconspicuous. Clue is [another] example of that deductive gameplay. You eliminate targets. | have some of that deductive stuff, but | wanted to make sure that it wasn't completely solvable. | don't want you to figure it out completely. One of the themes of the game is making consequential decisions with partial information. | wanted the game to explore that. When a spy completes some missions, [the sniper] wil eliminate some suspects. But they'll never get it all the way down — the sniper will have to make a leap Of intuition, It looks like the response to your paid beta program is going well. Did you have con- cerns that people wouldn't be willing to pay to be a part of the beta? Well, first thing is they haven't paid yet. But \ did say, "Please don't sign up if you're not going to pay” because | need to predict what the response is going to be. So hopefully it willbe a high percentage. It will be great if! ‘can both get the testing | need to get done ‘accomplished and also fund the game through this and not have to take any investment, This ew opportunity for “crowadfunding” games is great because it means no compromises. If you take money from an investor, your interests are not totally aligned. The investor wants you to make @ good game, but they also want a return ‘on their investment. The players just want the coolest game you can make, that's what they are paying their money for. Your interests are completely aligned. | hope to have the first beta invites out by mid-June. What kind of graphical fidelity are you shooting for? You've said the graphics are placeholder right now. haven't picked the style yet, but the most obvi- ‘ous thing is a ‘60s, Casino Royale-type style. 1'm purposely not picking the style unti | have the gameplay totally there. But you could easily imagine a sort of Team Fortress 2 type look, or the movie The incredibles. it's timeless, retro yet futuristic. | want to have it polished but stylized. I don't have 400 artists and a motion capture studio. | want to set my sights like how Braid or Castle Crashers worked — pick an aesthetic that you can hit 100 percent, not do 75 percent of an aesthetic that was out of your reach. Do you have a target for when the game will be finished? My guess is a couple years. Like | said, I'ma bit of a perfectionist. The beta will have a huge influence on it. The version of the game in my head and the version of the game you can play right now are very different. I'm glad the beta thing wil let off some of the steam. This will allow people to play it but allow me to work ‘on it. That's one of the great things about indie ‘games; | can take the time. © 1983 HOME COMPUTING Hocker gets his fitst computer, a Commodore 64, and attempts to program. his own games 1988 ‘THE ARTS ‘Upon graduating high ‘school, Hecker entolls in the Parsonis School of Design for drafting and art 1990 ABIG BYTE After leaving Parsons, Hecker buys a copy of Byte Magazine, which reignites his fascination ‘with computers and programming 1993 WINDOWS TO THE WORLD ‘Though his friendship with legendary programmer Michiael Abrash, Hecker takes a job at Microsoft, ‘working on the pionesring WinG programming {nterface, which allowed developers to begin porting games from DOS to Windows 1994 THE SCRIBE Hocker begins to write articles for Game Developer. Several of his articles, on topics like physios, and texture mapping, are ‘considered canonical texts ‘on the subjects 1995 INDEPENDENCE Wanting to try his hand at development, Hecker leaves Microsoft and ‘0-founds Definition Six, an independent game company. None of Definition Six’s projects make ft to market 2003 CREATION ‘Through his contacts with Will Wright, Hecker begins to work on Wright's groundbreaking Spore project’ 2009 BACK TO INDIE ‘With Spote completed, Hocker is laid off from his job at Maxis, He takes the ‘opportunity to begin work ‘on SpyParty, an idea that hha been percolating in is head for some time connect 31 ENGLAND N-Control Avenger The N-Controller may look like it jumped off the set of some crazy Tim Burton nightmare, but tis Xbox 360 controller housing is designed to Give players the ability to hit most ofthe controller butions without moving their thumbs off the analog sticks. The elaborate ever system takes getting used to since you have to reprogram how your brain inter- acts with a controll, but after a half hour | noticed a slight improvement in my performance in shooters. Hardoore FPS fanatics and tournament players may ‘want to experiment with this contraption, but most of Us can live with the few extra miliseconds it takes to move our thumb that extra centimeter. $49.99 avengercontroller.com iCade Tum your gaming tablet into a miniature 2 arcade with this lon Pad adapter, Classic arcade games like Asteroids, Pac-Man, and Centipede {eel authentic thanks to the iCade's full-sized joystick ‘and eight arcade buttons. Over 100 Atari classics are ‘compatible with the iCade, and each unit includes 2 free download code for one game within the Atari Greatest Hits apo. $99.99 thinkgeek.com Sackboy Superstars Blind Box Figurines Media Motecule's burlap mascot is well traveled. To prove it, this first series of LittleBigPlanet figutes from Underoround Toys features 12 different Sackboy figurines, all wearing themed clothes and ‘ocessores from their various trips around the worid. $5.99 each underground-toys.com Media Shelf BREAKING BAD: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON AMC's award winning show about a chemistry teacher-tumed-moth tack pace and never slows down. This is one of th most intense shows on television $49.95 shop.ametv.com A DANCE WITH DRAGONS BY GEORGE R. R. MARTIN You've read the first four books. You've watched the stunning first season of the HBO adaptation, Now retum to Westeros in the long- overdue fifth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. $35.00 atrandom.com LOUIE SEASON ONE Louis CK is one of the funniest comedians of our time, and this FX show brings his heartfelt yet brutally uncomfortable humor to the small screen $39.99 shop.fxnetworks.com FLIGHT VOLUME EIGHT ery year the comic book antholog series Flight produces some of the most breathtaking and creative ‘works of short form fiction from some of the comic industry's newes talent. This edition is no different. $27.00 flightcomics.com connect 33 The Incredible Shrinking RPG As a longtime fan of role-playing games, most of my decisions regarding new console purchases were decided by which system had the best RPGs. Though I loved my SNES, | didn’t think twice about abandoning Nintendo and buying a PlayStation instead of an N64. In retrospect, I absolutely made the right call. Acclaimed series like Final Fantasy, Wild Arms, Grandia, Suikoden, and Persona found their home on PlayStation, making it the unchallenged system of choice for role-playing fanatics. oon If you work in the industry and would like to share your 34 opinion, contact senior editor Matt Helgeson at ‘matt@gameinformer.com Today, buying a home console based solely ‘on this genre is practically impossible. The phrase “role-playing game” doesn't even mean the same thing; successful titles from North American developers like BioWare and Bethesda have become the term's standard- bearers, and genre boundaries have blurred as traditional RPG elements work their way into shooters, platformers, and fighters. The classic style of gameplay that once drove the juggemauts of the SNES afd PlayStation era is now relegated to a sub-genre dubbed JRPG ~ a name that drives a wedge between Japan-developed titles and the market they ‘once dominated. Their niche status and dectining presence ‘on major systems have led some people to lament the death of the JRPG....but | don't buy it. The genre isn't dead, you just need to know where to look. Examine the plethora of titles available on DS and PSP and you'll see that URPGs are alive and well - they've just migrated to handhelds. Like a once-famous film star resorting to primetime television cameos, some hardcore fans may see this transition as a “look how far they've fallen” tale. After all, less than 15 years ago Final Fantasy VII was a pivotal system- selling exclusive for the PlayStation. Today, that series is more active on handheld platforms than major consoles thanks to a stream of remakes and spin-offs. However, | don't see this shift as a step down for role-playing games; it allows the developers to focus on the things that made me fall in love with the genre in the first place. For instance, take this year's release of Radiant Historia on DS. It doesn't have the flashy cinematics, breathtaking graphics, or jaw- ‘dropping set piece moments that gamers would ‘expect from a high-profile RPG on current home systems. Without having to contend with the by Joe Juba Senior Associate Editor, Game Informer complications that accompany a full console release, Atlus delivered a fantastic game that would have fit perfectly in the canon of 16-bit classics. Even without gleaming technical prow- ess, Radiant Historia had memorable charac- ters, a clever story, and an inventive combat system - which are really the most important areas of any RPG. I'm not saying that I don’t enjoy the spectacle of big-budget releases like Lost Odyssey or Final Fantasy Xill | Jove those types of games when they come around, but the realty of devel- ‘opment means that these grandiose experienc- es take more time and money than ever before ~ all to develop a game with an uncertain future in niche market. I'm not surprised or disappoint- ed that the major JRPG publishers have started to see the allure of the handheld space. It allows them to release more games and spend less. money without sacrificing the storytelling or gameplay at the heart of the genre. Even franchises that established a fanbase on consoles have begun transitioning over to DS and PSP. I'm not just talking about throwaway spin-offs, either. Square Enix's Dragon Quest 1X, Sega's Valkyria Chronicles II, and Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey are all full- fiedged entries in their respective series. {f the next big installment in the Half-Life or Assassin's Creed franchises were handheld- exclusive, fans would be disappointed, So why does this approach work so well for JRPGs? Genre devotees seem to have an unrivaled appetite for nostalgia, but | think it goes deeper than that. The mechanics of these games age incredibly well; unlike FPS or open-world titles, the core experience of a JRPG didn't change drastically as technology evolved. Even with the 8D capa- bilties of the original PlayStation, many of my favorite JRPGs on the system ~ like Xenogears and Suikoden ~ stuck to their 2D heritage Maybe that's why | find it easier to revisit role- playing games than any other genre; | never find myself cringing and asking "How could | have played this?" when popping in a classic 16-bit RPG. Even though the system might be different, | feel the same kind of familiarity and comfort playing one of these titles on a modern handheld. The role-playing genre has over 20 years of history to draw from, which has resulted in some great original games alongside plenty of remakes and re-releases on GBA, DS, and PSP. The convergence of these titles on handhelds has made it a wonderful time to be a JRPG fan. But what about the years to come? The genre will probably never reach the home console saturation they enjoyed during the PS2 era, and high-profile blockbusters are only getting more expensive to develop. Even the well of remakes will eventually run dry. If we want more original JRPGs that retain the identity and appeal of their predecessors, we're going to have to be okay with thinking small. The views and opinions expressed on tis page are strictly those of ‘the author and nat necessarily those of Game tnormer or its stat | ) VU) | 0} Smolls Like Bay Season Debtor Michael Bay acknowedges that Tasfomers' Revenge of the Fallen was (siping He's takon steps to make the tidinstamen bet, Including bioge his, te cnlc characters, and replacing Megan Fox wi Hoter Megan Fox or whatever er name i). Lasebeak ao makes an appearance in ths fim, bay o bul anes in Shia LaBeouts hae 05 New Releases » BoodPayne: The Third Reich VO) » Eat Defense Force: insect Armageddon (P53, 360) 06 If College Kids Created Super heroes... ‘Bren Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, the ‘Geative team behind the wildly popular Ultimate ‘Spider-Man book, are kicking off new Marvel ‘Comics series called Brilliant. This story follows harlot colege-aged geruses a they attempt to give human beings superpowers. ‘What could possibly go wrong? If Keg Man or ‘Bong Hit Wonder are not created by the fifth sve consider this series a fare. Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon Captain America: ‘Super Soldier 07 A Halo Infection Worth Scratching (McFarlane Toys’ long running Halo action figure line as tapped alms every notable character fromthe Halo universe. We areaty have Master Chil, Abe, various Spartans, and. uh. we already cay Arter? MeFarane's atest series afer col variation we never thought we'd see “This srs is based off of Halo: Reach’ Infection ‘mode ad the zombie Sprtans whi The ‘three-pack hits store shelves today. 08 Paul Blart: Animal Tamer ‘No movie about taking arimals wil ever top Mio Oli, but Zookeeper sue tying. Kevin James ‘eally breaks out of his “regular sch" image with this projet, where he plays a regular schiu Who is also a zookeeper. Expect plenty of phsi- al humor, jokes about how animals are smarter ‘han humans, and at least one rack about ‘8 pooper-scooper. 12 New Releases » Ben 10 Cofecson 05) + Hany Pater andthe Dethy Halon: Part 2 (PS3, 360, Wa, PC, DS) > Myetry Quest: Curse ofthe Ancient Spits (05) NCAA Football 12 (P53, 360) Robot Chicken: Star Ware Mt @iu-Ray, OVD) 00 Resort 305) 15 Bnother Unnecessary Sequel See here ae on save Hay Ptr books, we're gu i ase Hat he eighth im, Hay ‘Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, is 4 non- ‘canon side story. Another movie seems completely unnecessary, the last movie ended perfectly, with ‘the victory of Lord Voldemort over aif of those ‘Hogwarts dorks. Releasing 2 new, fake ending isn’t going to change anything, peopie! 19 New Releases » Captain America: Super Soldier (P33, 360, Wi, OS » Doctor Who: The Soth Series — Part 1 (B-Ray, DVD) » Otomedus Extent (360) » Smusts (0S) » Smurfs Danoe Party (8) 20 Become a LEGO Maniac Starting last year, LEGO introduoed a devious twist You don't know which igure you'l gt ina bag — it could be caveman or a werewolf or even a dude sweating his studs off in a goia suit, Series five should street this mont, ading characters ‘such a8 a down, borer, and Cleopatra. Gat your butt 10 a LEGO shop before Jeff and Reiner buy them al 22 Hugo Award Captain America: The First Avenger opens today, bt as fr 35 we cant, thats the fight name for this move. shoud be ale Fed Sia Hugo Viewing Is The ing sd Stuill Seriously, even if you're sick of all these superhero movies, Hugo Weaving tke a planet. paling mavegor iis eb He may be the greatest aco of cutie. nating ele, hes the greatest actor to have co-starred with Keanu Rocies. 26 New Releases » Catherine (P53, 360) 29 Wild, Wild Alien Darel Craig Shockers: The Vso and Haison Ford (Air Force Gre, Sabrina) team up in Cowboys and Aion, a fim thats exactly what it sounds Be, ~_—" i \ oF DEATH | embroiled in su jess wal eks to os pow pernatural conflict. r for the throne of enact justice and the four horsemen. The uchable. In a mad for eC, eradicating the e ancient laws of hh to stand up against this deem his brother. Death. dye has been brutally in an endl er arises that se jown as ng of time, the univers® f Heaven and Hell fight + all this chaos, d of peerle: powe! ince the beginni The kingdoms © . Amids' der - a ban ns for order. Th Pa preserve oF power, 0! human race an the universe, War must be: puni: blind justice. Only one horsem: one: hopes to repair the damage done bold enoug! life and integrity to re by Heaven’s armies. His name is BY BEN REEVES cover story 87 hen Vigil Games firs consisted of four am. , had some ex1 the game industry. i id make @ publisher take note. To add some Cl name, the trio joined forces with comic book icon Joe Madureira, an artist who has shaped comic of the last decade with his work ©! ny X-Men and Battle Chasers. Haydn Dalton, a designer with over tWo joined the team : he guidance of th hip group, the from scratch as the team STV! to pool, but the company still had a lot fledgling operal ‘over 70 people. to prove. From the beginning, the studio wanted to create an apocalyptic epic featur- jng the four horsemen mentioned in the B f Revelation. As the team Saw it, Darksiders would shamelessly combine the fast-paced combat of titles like Devil May Cry with the exploration and puzzle solving of one of their other favorite series, The Legend of Zelda. Vigil found few publishers Who shared this dream. At one point, the studio's prospects Jooked so futile that the team almost skipped an E3 pitch meet- ing with THQ. But Vigil followed through with the meetings and the publisher decided to take’a gamble on the young studio, purchasing it a year later. When Darksiders released in 2010, it struck a chord that resonated with gamers and critics alike. The gamble paid off Now both THQ and Darksiders’ growing fan base have big aspira- fions for Vigil's follow-up pectations, the studio feltit needed to build a 9% world, more: dungeons, 4 detailed loot system, and anew hero who could help carry the franchise in bold new directions: Darksiders |! aims to deliver on all fronts. ‘Wrath abilities like Death dangerous A he original Darksiders told the story of War, a noble horseman saught in the middle of a cosmic While War eventually pl rence, alot more happened behind the scenes during Nis adventure, instead of picking up after rksiders' Clif hanger, the sequel fllows th exploits of @ rend horseman during roughly the same time period. jn Darksiders ¥° what's going On. ager David Adams. “You what 1 think there is this who going on, which 1s sorte That! et this very narro ays Vigil 0° view eral Man sontent; Vigil has Promised that the first hub 7008 of Darksiers IL will Pyature about as many dungeons players encountered Feast of Crows make ‘and versitle combatant get a snap happening on Earth, Wat wil the betrayals that made that happen. But context to what's f the larger Story: hat you get through Darksiders 1. By the end of Dark ders II, Vigil play- ers will have amore comprehensive view of the series’ mythology. Players should:have @ better understanding of how the horsemen are involved in this eternal confict, who the ‘major players are, and the ultimate goals that drive them. Darksiders I! Pi as a scapegoat for the h This injustice spar underworld, and Wat ‘Out of all the horsemen, War S the most honorable,” Adams explains: “He would never break arule. The guy would Neve cross the street unless it was at a crosswalk; he's just that kind of guy: Knowing this, Death is like, vThis is horse stim going {© find out what happened. Since War is blamed for the eradication of the human race, Death reasons that if he can netore humanity, he will redeem his brother % urrection of an entire Spe Death must th some of the rs in the outside of the universe trade lives like currency. NGI he world of Darksiders is much larger than anyone who played the first game might have guessed. be While the series’ fiction uses tradi tional Judeo-Christian ideologies as a jumping Off point to explore a war between the forces of Heaven and Hell, the larger Darksiders Mythology has more in common with ancient Greek legends or our own modern fables like Star Wars, Within Darksiders’ fiction, the underworld isn't just a place people go when they die; itis a larger realm called the Abyss. This During Death's quest to restore humanity he will eek the aid of several very dangerous, ‘entities, such as the Lord of Bones world holds a variety of different environ- Ments, from barren desert wastelands to lush jungle forests. “There are all these layers of history within the fiction,” Adams explains. “There are Worlds ruled by Heaven and Hell, and they are almost like feudal societies. But there are also Older worlds = worlds that still exist in a high degree of decay..... Their time has passed, so their worlds are slowly dying.” {n Darksiders Il, Death explores many 0 these regions. “Since it doesn't take place on to explore,” says Vigil creative director Joe Madurelra. “It's not just collapsed buildings and parking garages. We had always planned to have a lot more fantasy elements in the first game. Now We can explore those. The Abyss is also far more open than the earthly environments War trudged through in the first game. The overworld in Darksiders Was room-based — every section of the game was contained within its own discrete area, Outdoor environmental stages were some- times large, but every area was connected through doors and hallways. Vigil is ditching this approach with Darksiders II ‘The team compares the Abyss to Rome from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, The expansive environment features rolling hills that stretch off in all directions, and players can freely explore the Abyss at their lelsure. Death's horse, Despair (see sidebar), anda Network of underground Serpent Holes (which act as shortcuts) help players traverse this large landmass. Given the caliber of the ene- mies Death comes across, he may octasion- ally find himself in need of a speedy exit, ARREEI he horsemen come from a race of Bs beings called the Nephilim. They, = ss are the last of their kind. This is an important detail that Vigil plans to explore throughout the course of Darksiders {l, While Death is committed to restoring hi brother's honor, his past will force him to test his moral conviction. eath Was actually involved in the destruc tion of his race,” Madureira explains. "When he gets the choice to bring back humanity, he has to deal with the fact that he could also erase this horrible thing that he's done and bring back the Nephilim instead, “The horsemen are like forces of nature,” Earth, there are a lot more interesting areas hatis a horseman without a horse? Death's mount, Despair, plays a larger ‘ole in Darksiders I than War's trusty steed Ruin ever did thanks to Vigil's new approach to environmental design. “Alot of the levels in the first game weren't designed to have much need {for War's horse,” admits Vigil creative director Joe Madureira, “Because {the Darksiders I] world is so much bigger, i's designed for more horse ‘traversal, and you'll have access to him from the beginning of the game.” 40 | : e 4 aS ‘he Abyss is an enormous realm filled With hundreds of worlds, The Eternal Throne tots silently between them Adams adds. "That's why they are called War ‘and Death, They're not really people. But because they've gone through these clrcum- stances and they've been forced to deal with thelr mortality, they become more and more lke real people.” Death's haunting past weighs on him as he traverses the Abyss to seek the council of a Gangeraus being called the Lord of Bones = the keeper of the souls of all dead mortals, The Lord of Bones lives on a giant airship ‘alled the Eternal Throne. Constructed from ancient wood and bone and powered by two Serpents fastened to the ship's hull ike chariot horses, the Eternal Throne floats through the ether of the underworld, This giant vessel serves as one of Darksiders I's city hubs. Within these hubs, Death can interact with NPCs, trade with mer- chants, and seek advice from combat trainers. Vill plans to have at least four of these hub sities spread across the Abyss. ‘As Death makes his way toward the throne room, the Lord of Bones’ chancellor stops him short, ‘iste you, rider of Death," says the chancellor, ‘Ineed to speak with the Lord of Bones, Death replies in a dry, emotionless tone. After a threatening exchange, Death leans that the Lord of Bones is busy sorting out theeternal destinies of all the human souls murdered during the apocalypse ~ too busy obe bothered with annoying questions from the brother of a convicted criminal. If Death is 4Q0ing to gain audience with the lord, he will have to earn it. “There iS a place within our realm known as the Gated Arena,” says the chancellor, “Here Mortals are offered one last chance to earn freedom from death — a boon that includes an audience with my lord. Journey to the arena, defeat its champion and return here with its head. Do this and my lord can refuse you no council.” “Where is this arena?" Death asks. “Fret not,” the chancellor chuckles as the hull of the ship trembles against the weight of a mighty dock, A sprinkling of dust showers down from the ceiling. “We have arrived." Death willbe able to swich over to his secondary ‘weapons, such as this heavy hammer, on the fly ~ even in the middle of combos Death has a crow familiar that follows him around and helps point players ‘oward useful items and objects within the environment. He functions a bit like the ‘Watcher from the first Darksiders, though ‘cover story 41 ike the dungeons in the first game, Darksiders Il's underworld zones all ‘center on their own theme. Within X the Gated Arena =a network of underground caverns connected to a central gothie coliseum — Death must find three miss- ing hhoms and unite them in order to summon the arena champion. As Death journeys down path to find his first horn, he enters 2 room featuring walls of bone. Suddenly the walls begin to shake and a horde of skeleton war- iors crawls out from the cracks. Itching for a fight, Death draws two large scythes off hhis back. War's sword got the job done in the first Darksiders, but it wasn’t flashy enough for some of the Vigil team members. “The ani- ators on the team wanted something that was moré fun to play with and a little bit more expressive,” recalls game director Marvin Donald. “So we came up with a weapon that ‘could change form and shape depending on the attack, making Death feel more versatile, ‘Sometimes he’s dual welding, and sometimes he's delivering heavier single blows.” Using a mix of combos, Death shreds through the skeleton warriors. Death is a more agile fighter than War, and unlike War, Death ‘cannot block. Instead, Death must dodge most incoming attacks. Vigil believes being ‘a mobile fighter is more in line with Death's personality, so he dances around the room, throwing enemies into the alr before uniting hhis two scythes to form one double-bladed staff that minces enemies. ‘Death has more tools of destruction at his disposal than just two pieces of flashy steel. ‘At one point during the conflict Tiors close in on the horseman: He leans back Gnd casts a wrath spell called Feast of Crows. Dozens of black birds emerge from smoke ‘and begin pecking viciously at the opponents “Feast of Crows does a decent amount of damage,” Adams says. “But the coolest thing it does is lock up all the enemies onscreen, which is where a lot of interplay between weapons and abilities comes into play.” Death takes advantage of the distraction to pull out one of his heavier sub-weapons; large hammer. With this skull-crunching. mallet, he sends the remaining skeletons skittering aoross the ground like rolled dice. Before long, Death is the last warrior standing: The horseman looks across the empty room: ‘The rewards for his effort shine up from ground like a dozen glistening jewel collecting loot is a major factor in Darksiders Il, a it allows. players to fine-tune and shape ‘their own version of Death. Players have roughly 12 different slots for equipping a variety of different armors, items, and secondary weapons. Different armor sets ‘iter Death's appearance and also mitigate different types of damage. While some armor ‘nakes death more effective In combat against fve-based creatures, others might protect him from electrical attacks. ‘Additional loot will add bonus effects to Death's skills and attributes. For example, one Death is a more agile fighter than his brother ‘War, as observed by the fact that he cannot —— block but must dodge every attack h int : ean 4 42 #8 pendant might give Death a 20 percent boost fomihealing potions, while a particular gaunt- Ietcould add two more crows to his Feast of Crows ability. ‘Through loot, Vigil hopes to encourage play ars to'customize Death to fit their play style. {fyoullike.using heavier secondary Weapon. geek out loot that makes Death more effective with hammers, On the other hand, if you prefer torely on Death's wrath abilities, find or Pur” hase items that significantly increase his skill in those dark ai Equipping new items isn't the only way to boost Death's stats. Darksiders I! also feature aibrand new. leveling system complete with ski trees, As players level up, they earn skill points that gan be used to untock new talents and ablities, Feast of Crows is'an example of one these abilties, but it’s far from the only weapon in Death's arsenal. Players can unlock wrath abilities that deal large amounts of local damage, boost Death's attack power, of afict fis enemies with a plague that deals damage ‘over time. “When you played as War in the first rksiders, most players had the same basic experience,” Donald says. “You acquired the came abilities, you didn't really make aot of ‘oices, and by the end of the game you basi- tally had everything. That's not going to be the ase in Darksiders Il. You're going to have to make certain sacrific By the end of the two different play- could end up with vastly different versions of Death. Death rings this bell in order to summon the Eternal Throne DARKSIDE QUESTS he Darksiders wor ! id was a lye ft ergy vacant. il Pte player characters populate each hub wot int Sequel han could be found throughout teen : of the orignal game, Death can infrac wth a NPCs oleam more about te game's lr or oo faaue sis quests that wil send him back ‘aut average fetch and ki quests, ve Nan gour lot of times in a game, a “Alt 2, aside i 0 ut ito the worl andi someting or ys, to dungeon youve aeaty been o and ii gamething” remarks Vig general manager Davi dams. We have some ofthat, but some of a fide quests open up new dungeons complete i ie gn ene, puzzle mechani, and raversal . es some coo competing content”? tea eons and extra stor a ston should ae amavatng reason fr payer ess frequented areas of Darksders I a, cover story = Death's twin scythes can join together to form one double-biaded statf SESS hysical combat isn't the only chal- lenge that Death faces along his journey. The horseman must be agile and quick-witted to survive all the trials facing him during his quest across the Abyss. The traversal sequences in Darksiders Il are a far cry from what players experienced in the first game. War could climb walls and swing hand over fist across ropes, but Death is far ‘More agile. He can wall-run over gaps in the fl60r, jog along tightropes, and perform other acrobatic feats that would send War plummet- ing into a bottomless pit. Death’s’gear aids him during many of these Particularly tricky platforming sequences.'One of the: early items Death discovers is the ghost hook, a grappling device that Death can use to swing across gaps, zip to ledges, or latch ‘onto nubs along dungeon walls to help extend his wall run. The new traversal mechanics are all part of Vigil's philosophy to keep the game's action well paced. "We don't want the experience tobecome stale," Adams explains. “We don't want you to feel like you're doing the same thing over and over again. You may go from a cra: uence Where it's all about traversal and atmospherics, to a combat to something that's more ntric, to a. quest with an NPG that's More about talking to different peoplé. We're breaking up the experience and giving play- érs different things to do so they don’t feel When in doubt, aim for the giant glowing skull i like they're repeating the same thing over and over again. ‘As Deathiinears the end of the Gated Arena's itacombs, he fights off a swarm of giant Scarabs, then moves over to a gilded pedestal to retrieve the final Horn: Death turns to head back to the middle of the arena. A baneful wind whistles through the dungeon. The arena champion awaits. ARRAGI he bones of fallen challengers sa rattle across the center arena as a 10-foot-tall bone-headed serpent bursts through the ground, Death dodges the beast before it slides back under- ground. After a few more fruitless attempts to catch Death off guard, the boney snake fully emerges from the earth and begins summon- ing forth the nearby remains of its previous Victims. What once appeared to be a snake [s NOW revealed to be the vertebrae of a much larger skeletal monstrosity, An overcast sky casts an’eerie light on the arena. Two-story-high walls trap the combat- ants, preventing either warrior from fleeing, Above them rows of empty seats are the only witnesses for this deadly bout, Death's battle with the arena champion now begins in earnest. The giant undead beast stumbles toward Death, but he dodges all of the creature's attacks. Spying an opening, Death latches onto its skull with his ghost hook and quickly closes the distance between them, ‘The ghost hook is just as useful in combat as itis during traversal. Death can pull smaller enemies directly to him, or he can use it to: close the distance between himself and a Much larger enemy like this boney giant, “For us it was really important to make crea- tures that reinforce the gear mechanics,” Adams says. After aflury of quick cuts to the eye of the beast, both Death and the creature come Crashing to the ground. The ‘serpent sinks. back into the ground and then reemerges behind the horseman, To defeat this beast Death will have to unleash the full force of tis fury, As Death chains together combos he builds achaos meter that ultimately allows him to. transform into an unstoppable reaper for a short time. Unlike War, who had a simi- lar talent, Death can use this ability before his meter completely fills. Certain combos bring out his reaper form, allowing him to deliver devastating final blows at the end of long combos, “We are trying to use the reaper more,” Adams explains. “He opens doors and picks Up big objects, and even does interactive death sequences for larger enemies.” Death unleashes the full might of his reaper form on the bone giant, Several powerful attacks tear the bones from its body, and one final slice of the reaper’s scythe sends the beast's skull clattering to the ground. Death's task is complete; he can return to the Lord of Bones with a gift and hopefully receive the answers he seeks. ISBT hough it was generally well received, some criticized Darksiders for being too deriva- tive. Titles like God of War and the Legend of Zelda undoubtedly served as inspi- fation for the team, but Vigil says it has always been focused on making a game with its own unique style. “instead of being a genre-blending game, We really just Want to establish our own genre of game,” Adams says. “The general alchemy ‘of combining the loot, the level advancement, the crazy puzzle solving, and this style of ‘Combat makes for an interesting combination. Darksiders II is unique to every other game out there.” Ifall these elements come together properly, Loot will affect Death’s look and add ‘bonuses to his weapons and abilities Vigil may have reason to boast, Few games have deftly mixed the various game types offered in the original Darksiders with as much Success as Vigil. If the studio can improve on this volatile chemistry and produce a polished experience, the game could stand next to the iconic series that serve as its inspiration. © ‘Head to gameintormer.comv/darksiders for an entire month Of exclusive Darksiders l coverage, including the evolu- mn of Death's design and a behind-the-scenes look at ‘dungeon creation I wall have a wide variety of enemy types. Vigil doesn’t even consider this giant scarab a miniboss; t's just one of the game's many larger enemies A #4 cover story 4! Platform PlayStation 3 + Xbox 360 Style 1-Player Role-Playing Publisher Square Enix Developer Square Enix January 2012 Final Fantasy XIII was a good game. But for Square Enix, releasing anything less than a genre-defining entry in Final Fantasy’s legendary main series line is unsatisfactory. FF XIll was almost universally praised for its engaging, fast-paced battle system, but many criticized the oversimplified level design and confus- ing story that was buried in backend menus. Square Enix recently posted a fiscal profit loss of 12 billion yen (roughly $150,000,000 U.S. dollars), with CEO Yoichi Wada stating, “Our game development has by Tim Tut become weaker than expected.” With profits down, it’s more important than ever for the creators of Final Fantasy XIll-2 to tap into the series’ core fan base. For this sequel, the team is addressing negative feed- back, ditching the slow drip of new information, and Passing on Japan-exclusive press coverage in favor of a globally distributed magazine. These are impact- ful departures from Square Enix’s usual Final Fantasy treatment, and we couldn’t be happier to deliver the first look at this much-improved sequel. \ Mai. Double Trouble PARADIGM SHIFT. ADS uch has happened to Lightning since we last saw her at the end of Final Fantasy Xill, In that saga, she and her friends destroyed Cocoon’s cor- rupt power source, which in turn sent Lightning's home planet on a collision course with the gigantic world it orbits, Pulse. Two allies, Fang and Vanille, halted Cocoon's imminent destruc- tion by tapping into their ancient power. The duo sheathed and braced the floating colony with a gigantic crystalline pillar, saving the majority of its inhabitants, but at the cost of entering stasis. In the epilogue novella, Final Fantasy Xill Episode |, Lightning feels a mysterious power drawing her to ‘an unexplored area of Gran Pulse, where she believes the key to saving Fang and Vanille ‘awaits. What she discovers is a gloomy beach that serves as the setting for Final Fantasy Xill-2's action-packed introduction. Lightning told no one about her private quest to ‘a mysterious land (see sidebar on page 49), and naturally her sister Serah becomes concerned When she can't find her sibling. Square wouldn't go into specifics about how Serah's search begins, but the publisher did let me get my hands on a segment later in the game where Serah and her new ally Noel are hunting for Lightning. It begins with the pair tumbling through some sort of warp gate, electricity crackling within its rotating machinery. The rainy ruins of Bresha, a former sanctuary of Pulse-tainted refugees, greet them. The two adventurers tum their gazes sky- ‘ward, and Serah exclaims that they must be on Cocoon. Noel seems uncertain, and Serah quickly points out the new cast member's home planet, Pulse, orbiting above. “So this is how Cocoon looks like from the inside,” Noel remarks. “Oh, | forgot. This is your first time here,” Serah replies. Noel is more than a fresh face in Final Fantasy = XIll-2; he's also an entry point for players new to the universe. Having lived as a strong, self-sufficient hunter on Pulse his entire life, Noel is unaware of the happenings on Cocoon. Think of him as a country boy visiting the big city for the very first time. Square Enix wouldn't divulge details regarding how Serah and Noel meet or his role in the larger story, but he appears to be taking the lead at this point in the hunt for Lightning. z Z 2 “Fe, Stock a set of commands focisedlonisealimels: Noel and Serah’s fighting prowess is put to the test” ‘when an enormous disembodied hand bursts through a crumbling wall, The floating, glowing fist belongs to Atlas, an ancient weapon built by humans that has somehow gone maverick, Entering battle, Noe! unsheathes his deadly dual swords and Serah read- ies her own blade. Though she’s using a sword in this demo, Serah will acquire a compound bow later in the story (a weapon intended to preserye her femininity, according to Square Enix). This initial encounter with Atlas offers the first opportunity to try out FF XIll-2's new Cinematic ‘Action mechanic, Button cules appear on sereen that, when pressed correctly, allow Noel to do fat tastic things such as climb the behemoth's hand, scale its invisible body, and attempt to assault its translucent head. These new quicktime events fit in perfectly with Final Fantasy's trademark over-the-top. action sequences. The attack on Atlas fails. Its body appears to be invulnerable while invisible. Just as the battle seems lost, a battalion of gunships approaches overhead. ‘Another Cinematic Action sequence begins, in Which the player unleashes devastating artillery firo With rapid button presses - it appears not only lead characters can be controlled in these timing-based moments. The barrage proves successful, and Atlas retreats. ‘When the dust settles, Noel and Serah realize they need to somehow weaken Atlas before taking it out, With the juggernaut temporarily quelled, the two have ‘an opportunity to explore the water-slickened Bresha Ruins. The dusky, debris-laden settlement may be a husk of what it used to be, but townsfolk still wander The lack of towns and citizen interactions in FF Xill disappointed fans, and Bresha is the first example of ly, the deadly the sky while blue fire the I ] and Serah calls mention that Lightning may be in 2 called Valhalla. The recent trailer showcases her new metallic ee armor, shield, and single white wing. ly bolts up sminiscent of oe ng to engac he Valkyries from Norse mythol ae one who were female angels tasked ding display of he vith retrieving fallen vikings and s. A high-fly bringing t Valhalla to prepare t culminates in nild it all be a coin cidence? What is she up to? We' eae er as Jot to learn, including sesprumeig yaa who the enigmatic man Lightning Jearn more ab 2 battles in the trailer is, and how t ne. This dynamic ho! goddess Etro plays into the story. square Enix's step back from that design. The Datalog still exists, but chatting with NPCs reveals interesting bits about the story without forcing the player deep into the menus. For exam- plo, one man assured us that Atlas is not a deadly {al'cie, and a lady named Alyssa claimed to know ‘away to control it. Alyssa volunteers to guide Noel and Serah via radio communication, pointing Us in the direction of a cavernous sewer system. If this were FF Xill, the road to the sewer would have likely been a straight shot littered with some hidden treasure and wandering monsters. Not in FF Xill-2. Viewing the map, | saw a handful of branching paths that led to various locations. Square Enix assured me that additional quests are available throughout the game, doing away. with the previous title's mind-numbing linearity. Although no side quests were available in this brief demonstration, | took the opportunity to treasure hunt and become acquainted with the other new party member ~ a white creature sport- ing wings, a bobbling pom-pom on its head, and acheery disposition. Moogles only had’a cameo role in FF Xill, but fans will be pleased to learn one of the critters flutters along with Noel and Serah throughout their quest: The cute critter's lovable demeanor and classic “kupo” catchphrase promise to offer comic relief against FF XIll-2's darker atmosphere. Much more than a comedian, the moogle’s pom-pom throws a pleasant purple {glow on any location it senses a hidden treasure chest. Watching the light of the moogle’s beacon dance across the wet stone of Bresha reminded me of how much energy Square Enix puts into making its games gorgeous. (continuedon page 50) * feature The Storytellers’ Favorite Fantasies My admiration for the scenery is cut short ? when a monster springs from the ground. In contrast to FF Xill's endlessly pacing mon- : sters, FF Xill-2 has mobs that materialize in : the environment, incorporating the element of surprise found in older Final Fantasy games. When a foe emerges, a circle appears around the party. This remains visi- ble as long as the enemy is in range, which is “t helpful when attempting to'flee. Even handier is the moogle’s Mog Clock. When monsters appear in range, a timer pops up with a hand ticking down a colored meter from green, to yellow, and finally to red. Confronting the mob and pressing a specific button launches an attack. Attack when the Mog Clock is green, 1 and you will enter battle with an advantage. If eI you strike when the meter is yellow, the fight is normal. Wait to pounce until the meter is red, however, and you'll begin with a dangerous disadvantage. In one instance this handicap Z cursed the party with sluggish Active Time Battle bars and harder-hitting enemies. The : Mog Clock is one of FF Xill-2's most exciting new features, lending a new tactical wrinkle to. the already brilliant battle system. a Speaking of, the acclaimed battle system ry from FF Xill is intact. Characters unleash attacks as the ATB bar fills, and players shift between paradigms depending on whether they need to heal, cast spells, slice and dice, or tank. This section of the game only features Yoshinori Kitase, producer Favorite Game: Final Fantas' Favorite Character: C Motomu Toriyama, director Favorite Game: Fir " Favorite Character: Lightning (F % x Isamu Komikokuryo, art director Favorite Game: Final Pantasy III (Japanese numberi Favorite Characte Double Trouble PARADIGM SHIFT ci Noel and Serah, but that doesn't mean they're alone in their fight through Bresha. Defeating foes in combat wins the player crystals that can be used to summon domesticated mon- sters in combat. Each new ally comes with his or her own unique role, resulting in slightly different paradigm options. Selecting the Ravager paradigm calls on a feisty Flabanero to build an enemy's stagger meter with deadly black magic. Once’ staggered, shifting to the Cerberus paradigm beckons a husky Behemoth that allows Noel, Serah, and their new pet to unleash heavy hits for the kill. Monster allies also have a Feral Link ability that triggers a button press prompt to unleash tide-turning onslaughts. These two beasts add a refreshing amount of variety to combat, and Square Enix Says we can expect around 200 monsters, After several heated battles, Alyssa chimes in on the radio saying she has dis- covered the location of a control device that can manipulate Atlas. Noel, Serah, and their moogle friend pause to consider their options. Nonlinearity is a major factor in FF Xill-2's story, allowing players to choose their party's course of action. In this instance | had several options - ask ‘Alyssa or the moogle for advice, ignore the control device and rush into battle with ‘Atlas, or remain indecisive. When the troupe asks Alyssa for her thoughts she says that using the control device will open up Atlas to physical attacks. When the moogle is offered penny for its thoughts, it quips “Um, | like Serah more than | like Noel. Kupo!” At this point in development, regardless of the deci- sion made at this crossroads | was still able to alter my destiny after committing to one of the options. | chose to plunge into the sewers and track down the control device. Enemy encounters increase dramatically when Noel and Serah descend into Bresha’s underground. Many winding paths fead to treasure, while only one rewards the heroes with the control device. Square Enix promises that more of these dungeon-like segments are peppered in throughout FF Xill-2, Based off my time fighting through Pulsework soldiers and flan, you can look forward to exploring areas similar to the offshoot caves found in FF Xill's X Pulsewonk Soldier Cee Es) expansive Gran Pulse. After engaging in numerous battles and avoiding a few thanks to. the trusty Mog Clock, Noel and Serah uncover Atlas's control device. The team activates the mysterious device which transports them to a strange world. This bizarre, ethereal void is populated only by a floor composed of floating tiles and scat- tered crystals. Here, the player must navigate Noel along the tiles to collect every crystal. Backtracking is impossible, as each square Noel treads on disappears, forcing players to discover the critical path. After a few different puzzle stages Noel and company are back in the Bresha sewers. “The machine is working!” Serah exclaims. Alyssa Squawks over the radio that Atlas appears to be slowing down ~ the perfect ‘opportunity for a full-on assault. Atlas towers in the distance. “There he is!” Serah shouts. “And not looking too happy,” Noel replies. Atias's protective veil fades, finally reveal- ing the hulking titan. The familiar rhythm of FF Xil's satisfying paradigm system is in full swing here; weaken Atlas by peiting him with ‘magic, lay on the pain with Noel and Serah’s swords, swap to a healing-focused formation, then repeat. After the murderous mountain receives enough damage, Noel is prompted to execute a final flashy flurry. My time with Final Fantasy Xill-2 ends with Noel's last furious blow, leaving me with the intense desire to see what happens next. | poured nearly 50 hours into Final Fantasy Xill. The early E3 build Square Enix showed me of Final Fantasy Xill-2 lasted little more than half an hour, Rolling together all the time 've spent in the world of Cocoon and Pulse, I'm comfortable saying | enjoyed these fleet- ing 30 minutes the most. The game features enhancements to almost every aspect of an already solid formula, resulting in an enjoyable moder RPG experience. If my short time with FF Xill-2is any indication of the final product, can’t wait to get my hands on this promising piece of digital redemption once more. & re ee Visit gameinformer.com/mag to take a photo tour of Square Enix’s: Japan offices and see where your favorite universes are crafted : The Terlcal Blement | In previous Final Fa isually be isitive 2 cast of Final Pantas finally endc to jump. It may be a minor addition compared to the other j incorporated but jumping when just feels right Ps Downloadable Content We asked Final Fantasy XIII director Motoru Toriyama if Final Fantasy XIII-2 will have DLC. Here's his response: te gam slanned to a FF Xul DLC “~The NGP's five:inch OLED screen makes it noticeably bigger ‘than the PSP, but the pre-release units | handled were incredibly light. Sony reps told me that the final version will likely be a bit heavier, but even.so, it doesn't feel as. heavy or bulky as early PSP models.,‘The size is also forgivable because of how crisp the screen.looks. Images are as clear and beautiful as anything on my HDTV - and in fact, ‘an HDMI port allows NGP users to output the ‘system to,HHDTV at 720p. This option could be popular with beau- tiful titlesilike Uncharted. Of the’ myriad impressive NGP tech features, the most gaming- friendly additions are the two touchpads — one on the screen itself and one on the back of the device — and the addition of a second analog stick. Theoretically, this should allow the NGP to succeed better as a hardcore device while ‘simultaneously offering better casual ganiing experiences. Some writers attending the event ‘complained it was difficult to tell where your fingers are Placed on ‘the smooth back pad, but | was. confidently swiping it after get- ting my bearings. While the addition of a second analog stick is worth prais- ing alone, | was also impressed by the quality. Kiss the floaty analog nub of the PSP era. goodbye; these feel and control much more like the analog sticks on a PS3 controller. The face but- tons are presented almost exactly as they are on an old-school PSP, making it easy for Seasoned portable gamers to slide right into playing. For the user interface, Sony has replaced the Xross Media Bar navigation from the PSP with new system called LiveArea. In addition to jumping between games and media, LiveArea includes message boards for each title and updates that let you ‘know when your friends have Unlocked trophies or downloaded few content. Don’t worry about dreating a new friends list on your NGP; you can log in with your RSN account and sée what your friends are up to across all the ‘Sony platforms. Another GPS-based feature, called Near, tracks your location as you play games on the go and informs you who else is gaming in your vicinity, a8. well as what games they are playing. I didn't see either of these programs in action, but they seem like excellent addi- tions for players with full friends lists or those who live in highly populated areas. As with most Sony hardware, the NGP is an impressive piece of technology. Now that we've seen the handheld in action, the only questions left are how much does it cost and when ig it coming out? Sony hasn't revealed these key details, but | did get a look at a few of the launch games. PlayStation After months of anticipation following its announcement in Japan, | finally checked out the NGP and a handful of launch games. Read on for my first impressions of Sony's powerful new handheld gaming device. THE SOFTWARE Super Stardust Delta 2 ! 5 Rr se-\.000,000-) 0 c share thei Developer: Housemarque cr nasterp their z “ \ ar" aN simplicity and incre als, i Little Deviants the tit controls to move and avoid ener f aunching a screen-clearing bomb is now as Developer: Big Big simple as tapping the sore i. This could end up a title for the ModNation Racers jan Diego Studio to lift a mountain from the n on the front s UNEQUIP ALL | DISCARD ~ SAVE > Hustle Kings Developer: VooFoo Studios Hustle Kings taught me that there are more ways to play pool than | ever realize inted at least seven different game types. It offers the same content as the original PSN title, but developer VooFoo Studios comy reworked everything from the controls to the visuals for the have the option to change tion the pool cue is aiming using the sys tems touch screen. Smaller tweaks can be applied via the analog sticks, which seems the more accurate approach. Players use the touch-screen to pull the poo! stick back and then Push it forward to hit the ball. The game features three cue methods, including a casual mode that makes it a little more like pinball The most interesting feature in Hustle Kings is asynchronous multiplayer. Similar to Facebook games, Words with Friends, or chess by e-mail, asynchronous multiplayer lets you take your shot, turn off your NGP, and check back at any Point in the future to see your opponent's move and respond. Hot Shots Golf Developer: Clap Hanz This classic PlayStation franchise plays exactly as you'd expect on the new handheld — it's toony, fun, and easy to pick up. Players use the system's gyroscope to look around courses by ‘manually moving the handheld, and shaking the NNGP during the swing generates super shots. Enjoy those weird looks you get on the bus for acting like a crazy person. Wipeout 2048 Developer: SCEE Liverpool Studios While Wipeout HD will be playable on the NGP as well [see sidebar], Wipeout 2048 is the first new entry in the fast-paced racing franchise since 2007's Wipeout Puise. This title features a bevy ‘of new tracks themed around shooting through the heart of a bustling city rather than traditional race tracks, While the track | played was standard Wipeout fare — hitting boost panels to rocket to absurd speeds, feathering carefully around corners, and smashing headfirst into walls repeatedly because | suck ~ 2048 has at least one interesting wrinkle on the series’ formula. In addition to regular offine races, players can test their skills in an online campaign. Players go through the same sequence of events we expect from a Wipeout game in this mode, but now they must complete their objec- tives while racing against other people who have their own agendas. Players early in their career may only have to finish a race, while advanced (and theoretically better) players must take first place to succeed. Potential for serious frustration is there, but i's a unique way to breathe life into the endless racing game grind, Reality Fighters Developer: Novarama One of the features Sony is pushing with the NAP is augmented reality, and Reality Fighters is the flagship title for this feature, Players scan in their faces to create fighters, choose one of 16 dif- ferent fighting styles — including silly options like ballet or zombie - and then face opponents in life arenas. Reality Fighter comes with an AR card that helps it read surfaces and produce more realistic locations. This card wasn't ready for the demo, So | just scanned the table in front of me and started fighting. Button mashing goes a long way in Realty Fighters. Sony is “seeking a broader audience than Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat,” so the simplistic gameplay is very approachable. The real challenge is following your characters as they move around the scene, You must use the NGP's gyroscope to shift your perspective in order to keep up with your fighters. Without the AR card, this meant a slow shuffle downward unti they were fighting on my jeans and shoes. Pointing the NGP straight down like that wasn't particularly comfortable, but it sounds like this, is the primary mode of play, | was told that the game's practice mode includes a lock that forces characters to stick to a smaller 2D plane, but they aren't yet sure if this option wil be included in other modes. Reality Fighters also focuses heavily on DLO Like Little Deviants sheet r a e gamers - great tech dem weapons for gearing up your chai a where on the screen to add notes or drag and w pieces will e available for downk drop obstacles. You can jump trom creating to ny may create and and he'll side over on his own. If he's hanging froma cif and you need him to pull himself v wipe up on his body. Rope cimbing reveals each indi SN us xd by alternating between swipes on around with a map. the back touchpad, and you can even use the aim a gun in first person mi : Uncharted Sound Shar spi Golden Abyss onto sc 2 eatly NGP line-up. Coming from J Developer: Sony Bend Be C NTE ie sae Mal PSP titles like God of War: Chains of Olympu rub the screen to reveal symbols on a piece of must-pi it the moment-to-moment Uncharted gameplay can be enjoyed with traditional con- trols if desired. The only time | found myself king to touch c music. Everything you see onscreen makes za 4 noise that contributes to the music, For exam- y h here Drake jump Kk to plank on a each loser trap stock on speciiCs place before the original Gilapidated bridge; the top-down camera angle ty Dog isn't developing it, the for this segment made tapping which piank | working closely along wanted to jump to much easier than using the sure that its an a ‘no background beats, adding a beely hit of bass to the overall siky enemy rolls along on the ground making his own sharper noises. Is a tiny blob that can Both visually Golden Aby features 3 ent two-to-seven-minute song. Mak is c ing letting players export their performance as «What kind of awful fate anMP@ if they're especially proud. Sony Bend isn’t revealing much The music doesn't stop there, though. Sound has embroiled Dr Shapes also makes use of NGP'S touch-scr ingerous drug runner for an incredibly easy-to-use level creator. A CrossPlay and compatibility Without a UMD drive, the NGP doesn't feature full backward Compatibility in the traditional sense. However, players can download any PSP game avail able through PSN, and some of them are even being upgraded. At the Japanese NGP announce ‘ment in January, Sony demon- strated Monster Hunter Portable 3rd running on the device with ‘camera control functionality added to the right analog stick Sony is giving the same treat- ‘ment to Resistanoe Retribution: In addition to playing PSP classics, the NGP allows you to play a handful of PlayStation ‘Network downloadable titles previously only avaitable onthe PS. Sony showed off this new technology, tiled CrossPiay, with Wipeout HO. This full, crisp ‘ooking version of the game even features online matches against PS3 players. Sony hasn revealed other CrossPlay titles yet, butit hinted that Wipeout 2048 could make the leap from GP to PS3 at some point in the future, connect 56 56 ‘The Vox Populi make up and Bizabeth must contend with on the streets of Columbia BioShock Infinite Discovering more of the intriguing powers and people behind the world of Columbia Infinite last year after three years of silence, the game's colorful and con- troversial world left many gamers breathless with anticipation for more info. Now we've gone another nine months without any new info, but ‘anew 10-minute live demo proves that the original video was barely scratching the surface. As the demo picks up, main character Booker DeWitt steps into a shop full of patriotic tchotch- kes with Elizabeth, the young woman he's been hired to rescue from the troubled floating city of Columbia. As the two pick through the piles of junk in the store, Booker is able to loot items in ‘manner similar to previous BioShock games. Be prepared to once more open every cash reg- ister and cabinet that you come across in your attempt to fill up on random items. Atter exchanging some quips, Elizabeth and Booker find themselves in sudden danger. The building shakes, and a gigantic creature appears at the window with a shriek, placing a single ‘open eye against the glass. This is Songbird, the fying menace that was referred to only as “Him” in the original BioShock Infinite gameplay demo. While it’s difficult to tell what exactly Songbird ig its huge eye operates like a floodlight shining into the room, The duo hides behind a desk to avoid notice, Ater sweeping the room several times with its binding light, Songbird takes off, its harsh cries echoing through the city. Booker attempts to rouse a clearly shaken Elizabeth. "Promise me,” she whispers. “Promise me that if it comes to it, you will not let him take me back." She places Booker's hands around her throat suggestively. Off-screen, BioShock mastermind Ken Levine explains that Songbird has been Elizabeth's ‘jallor, her only friend, and her guardian” since she was five years old. Booker pulls his hands away. “It won't come to that,” he responds. The two exit the shop, entering the overly bright yet disturbingly empty streets of Columbia. Elizabeth has asked Booker to help her find Comstock, the leader of the ultra-nationalistic Founders and the one person in Columbia who may be able to help her learn to control her powers. Elizabeth hums "Hush, Little Baby” as she wanders absentmindedly around a corer. W hen Irrational Games revealed BioShock Booker rushes after her. She has discovered a dying horse. Booker aims his gun at the animal, intending to put it outs of its misery, but she stops him: “Wait, there's a tear." The reason that Elizabeth is so important — and presumably the reason she's been locked away in Columbia for most of her life — is her ability to manipulate these so-called “tears.” These rips in the fabric of reality are visible to ‘everyone in Columbia, but only Elizabeth can put them to use. Her powers allow her to open a tear ‘and briefly tap into other potential realities, bring- ing them into existence in Columbia. In the case of this horse, Elizabeth concen- trates hard, and for a few seconds the horse springs to life along with the grass undemeath it. Then, suddenly, she loses control and the scene surrounding Elizabeth and Booker changes entirely. They're on an empty asphalt street. Lampposts light the road, and a movie theater nearby advertises a showing of Revenge of the Jedi, An ambulance comes screaming down the road toward them. Booker shouts for Elizabeth to close the tear, and she pulls it off mere sec- ‘onds before the two are run down. In addition to putting the duo into dramatic situations like this, tears will have a direct impact ‘on gameplay, Later in the demo, as Booker faces down a legion of Vox Popul thugs, he notices a number of tears. Obviously the extent to which Eiizabeth can control her powers are limited, so he's only able to choose one of the three tears to bring into reality: a large piece of cover for the shootout, a barrel full of guns and ammunition, or ‘a door that Levine explains could lead away from the fight entirely...or to even greater trouble. ‘Speaking of the Vox Populi, if you thought the original BioShock’s critique of Ayn Rand and Infinite's over-the-top jingoism of the Founders meant that Irrational Games is only looking to comment on ultra-right wing politics, this new faction is here to prove you wrong. Beginning life as a workers’ rights movement, the Vox now stand in opposition to the Founders, taking an opposite but equally extreme stance. They believe in the socialistic ideal of everyone shar- ing everything, which eventually comes to mean that everything should belong to them. As one fanatic screams in the demo: “Your homes are ‘ours! Your ives are ours! Your wives are ours! It al belongs to the Vox!” » Platform Booker's first lengthy fight with the Vox Populi PlayStation 3 in this demo also shows off more of one ofthe Xbox 360 PC unique gameplay features that was revealed » Style in the first video: skylines. These rollercoaster- 1-Player Action esque railways connect the many floating » Publisher platforms of Columbia and provide a quick 2K Games route for traversing the environment during a “ heated guniight. Tato Gates Watching Booker jump from line to line in frst person is dizzying, and | wonder how easyit wil 219 /°a8° bbe to pick up on where each track is taking you while you play. Irrational is aware of this con- ‘cem. Director of product development Timothy Gerritsen tells me that the developer “wanted to kill that feature three or four times.” He says the team spent a lot of time fine tuning it to make it easy to approach without it coming off as com- pletely on-rails. “It's all about giving the player options,” he explains. One of the options skylines provide Booker is the ability to make his way over to a giant secu- rity blimp that begins bombarding him with mis- siles during the battle. Once onboard, he blasts hhis way below deck and blows up the engine before jumping off. Levine informs me that the blimp could also be taken out with a rocket launcher or other high-powered weapons from the exterior, but the method seen in the demo seems to provide a quicker kil. As the demo nears its end, Booker and Eizabeth escape from the Vox Populi but are confronted by Songbird once again. The massive ‘creature knocks Booker to the ground, lets out a powerful scream, and raises a claw, preparing to kill he helpless hero. Elizabeth throws herself in front of Booker and screams, “I'm sorry!" The apology apparently reaches the creature as it stops, looking quizzically at the git, “| shouldn't have left,” she says. “Take me home.’ ‘Songbird acquiesces, grabbing Elizabeth. She reaches a desperate hand out to Booker as she is ripped into the sky and away from him. According to Levine, this whole section is approximately a third of the way through BioShock infinite, but clearly Booker's journey has only just started. It makes me wonder what ‘other amazing secrets Irrational is stil hiding ‘about its game and the world of Columbia. Phil Kollar previews | Platform PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 + PC Style 1-Player Action/RPG Publisher Electronic Arts Developer BioWare Mass Effect ona: Hands-on with Commander $ 6 first saw Mass Effect 3 in action for our cover story, development must be moving right along, as EA allowed me to go hands- with the title at a recent event. Guided by the director, Casey Hudson, | covered that although it's still in an early state, Mass Effect 3 already feels like a solid continu- ation of the sci-fi action of the previous gam Having played Mass Effect 2 recently, it very easy to jump into the third game, as the moment-to-moment gunplay is nearly identical. | begin in the middle of a mission taking place on T= hough it was only a few months ago that Shep the salarian homeworld. Brilliant scientist Mordin Solus has called Shepard in to help him res an incredibly rare being in the Mass Effect uni- verse: a female krogan. As one of the last of her species, this krogan is the key to creating an ali between the salarians, turians, and krogan, pact that is all but necessary if Shepherd hopes to fight off the incoming reaper invasion. While Mordin escorts the intricately garbed krogan through a pod with a containment shield to keep her from harm, Shepard is joined Garrus and Liara. No sooner has Mordin finished explaining the situation than Cerberus operatives crash the party. | ask Hudson to explain why. Cerberus is attacking, but he's stil not wiling to give any clues. However, Shepherd makes sev- eral remarks about the operatives being "indoc- aterm used in the Mi to refer to beings who are mentally the reapers. Whatever the reason for the Cerberus attack, they need to die. Thankfully, Mass Effect 3 pro- jes a few new options for defending oneself epard is now equipped with hand grenades that can be tossed with a tap of the right shoul- der button. Unke the sci-fi grenades of the first >this quant flas moet can ba irked POF ‘vy Shopard ithe sits pliot Mass Effect, these grenades blow up in a m more contained area, so it takes me a while to get used to lobbing them close enough to target. Shepard also has an awesome new melee Weapon, suggesting a focus on more up-close ‘combat in ME 3, The omni-blade, which sort of resembles Halo's plasma sword, can be used to attack from around corners or over cover by tapping 8 on the 360 controller. if you hold B, Shepard performs a heavy melee attack, Which is unique to each class, In my case, as a der, he lunges forward with the omni-biade. While this attack was dificult to control ~ | found ‘myself flying past my intended target and into the wall more often than not - it was powerful ‘when it hit, cutting down shields in a single blow and instant-kiling unshielded enemies. Shepard also has more mobility via the ‘combat roll, Hitting A sends Shepard into this ‘evasive maneuver, which he can use to get into ‘or out of cover. The combat rolls just one ele ment making Shepard more mobile in general Hudson says Mass Effect 3 will feature a lot more climbing and jumping in its levels. | have to climb up several ladders throughout the mission I'm on. Although the act of ciimibing is ‘automatic, it leads to more vertical shoot-outs and battles where height advantage must be taken into consideration, These fights are made ‘even tenser by a health bar that appears on the bottom of the screen tracking “pod integrity.” If that bar drains, the krogan will be captured or killed before we can get her to the waiting drop- ship piloted by Wrex. As | progress through a series of cover-based showdowns, | come across a new type of enemy: a Cerberus operative that is carrying a int shield that covers most of his body. Unlike enemies with normal shielding, these massive physical shields cannot be chipped away at. | play around and discover a few strategies for defeating them, A well-placed grenade behind the shield does damage and sends the enemy into a recovery animation, leaving him open to further fire. Likewise, | can use Liara’s biotic abi ties or a new power Garrus has called the lift orb — essentially a grenade that uses the lft abil- shooting 0 take out enom ity on any enemies caught in its radius, Nearing the end of the mission, | begin talk- ing to Hudson about why I loved Mass Effect so much, | explain how impressed ! was by the circular nature of the game, the way that what you're doing through the whole game — recruit- ing and leaming all about these team members ~ comes around at the end to become the main test of a player's skils during the climax. | ask him if Mass Effect 3 will have a similar hook. “The commodity in Mass Effect 3 that ties everything together is the idea of the galax war," says Hudson. “Whereas in Mass Effect 2 you're collecting people, in this case you're building a war plan and war assets. The larger scale campaigns and even the smaller missions all contribute something to this war effort." He confirms that your degree of success on these missions will help decide what happens in the game's ending and “the amount of choice you have in determining the fate of the galaxy.” Finally having cleared out all the Cerberus operatives, Shepard moves to release the female krogan. Suddenly a blast of jets is heard and a giant robot descends from the sky. “That's an Atlas mech,” Hudson explains as the demo ends without giving me the chance to take it down, In addition to fighting these massive foes, he says that if you shoot out the pilot before destroying the vehicle, Shepard can actually take control and use it to wreak havoc on other enemies. As | consider the Atlas mech, the omni-blade, and the addition of hand grenades, | think back to a conversation from earlier in the demo. “if no krogan alliance with turians, reapers left unchal- lenged,” Mordin says breathlessly “We'll do more than challenge them,” Shepard responds. With the new arsenal of tools at his disposal, perhaps he has a point. » Phil Kollar previews Platform Playstation 3 Xbox 360 + Wii » PC (Online TBA) Publisher Electronic Arts Developer Black Box Rolease November 18 Need For Speed: The Run Out of the car, but not out he Need for Speed franchise has HE expanded in the past few years, which has been g developer Black Box. Rather than grind on another yearly NFS title lke it has since 2002's Hot Pursuit 2, the inclusion of NFS games by Griterion (Hot Pursuit) and Slightly Mad Studios (the Shift series) allowed Black Box to recharge itself and concentrate on a new kind of Need for Speed experiens The Run is a San Francisco to New York race for big money that attracts well over a hundred entrants. Most are there just for the prize mon but your character Jack has his own reasons. Black Box wouldn't go into the plot's specifics, but with the mob interested in Jack's travels, you can bet he isn't racing just to see the country. “One of the things we knew we wanted to do for this game was to provide more of a blockbuster, action/driving kind of experience — more than just a traditional racing experience,” explains executive producer Jason Delong. Far from being just an endurance run or a series of races, The Run punctuates its vehicle action with out-of-car sequences that DeLong says will take the player by surprise, In a snippet we saw of the game, Jack is racing a pack of cars in the middle of the night through the streets of Chicago when he's unex- pectedly T-boned at an intersection. Instead of the race starting over, Jack gets out of the car and starts running as he tries to escape a mob helicopter out to kill him. A fast parkour sequence across some buildings ensues, and Jack thinks he's found refuge in an alleyway until a cop car comes prowling. Seeing it as his only chance to get back in the race, Jack jumps the officer and makes off with the cruiser. The mob chopper finds him ce again and unleashes machine gun fre down on the speeding car, while police SWAT of gas teams search for the stolen vehicle. The cha: ing onto some train proaches. After an oncoming train ‘out of the upside-down car, but his seat belt is jammed and he can't punch through the driver- side window. Is this the end of the race for Jack? of-car controls are not meant to tum the game into an open-world action tile, but instead merge the traditional NFS story cinematic: with the races without producing a lull in the acti ® want to make sure that that adrenaline you get from racing, you also get when you're out of the car,” DeLong says. Your controls are limited but varied. Mashing the A button in the rooftop sequence lets you run, and you interact with the environment with other buttons. Sometimes the jon unfolds with traditional quick time events, and others — like the escape from the oncomi train — let the player look around and a solution. DeLong says that some events branching paths so you don't automatically fil i you miss a few button presses. DeLong isn't talking about the different race types in the game just yet, but he promises to mix up the experience as players move from city, to city across the country. It sounds like you may be eliminating other racers from the contest or joing up against them in head-to-head duels as you work your way up the pack, but that's spec lation. It's @ long way from San Francisco to New ork, and a lot can happen. » Matthew Kato ‘Got out of Chicago before the timer nuns down: ‘or the mob blows your stolen cop ear to bits ‘This concept ant hopefully hints at a vatiety of race types within the game The red car appears MW, which would undieate plet care Mime | wi ma | | _ Platform PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 + PC Style 1-Player Action Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Developer Rocksteady Games Release October 18 Batman: Arkham City The cat comes out to ple e've heard speculation ever since first graced the cover of Game Informer last year, but Warner Bros. has finally confirmed what many expected: Catwoman character in Batman: Arkham City, and she is awesome. Contrary to the hopes of some fans, Catwoman is not playable via a co-op m Rather, brief stretches during the single-player ‘campaign switch to her perspective. “She' not a cameo, but she's not the main attrac: tion,” Rocksteady marketing manager Dax Ginn explains. “She's the in-between.” He estimates that players will control Catwoman for around 10 percent of the For the hands-on demo, | join the j Catwoman on a being kidnapped by Two-Face. Before reaching that point, | see what Catwoman is mad combat. While the basic controls are the ‘Catwoman moves much faster than Batman, leaping over opponents’ heads and jumping from ‘enemy to enemy at lightning speed. For a game that was or its swift combat, I'm cksteady has made it faster without losing the sense of control. Catwoman also has a unique set of tools for ving puzzles and aiding in battle, such as a Whip and claws. Since her starring role is smaller than Batman's, she won't gain new gadgets as the game progresses, but she has her full load- out from the start Following my short time with Catwoman, | step back into the cape and cowl, Beginning on a rooftop overlooking the siummy streets of Arkham City, | get acquainted with the new cape controls that allow Batman to gracefully Jide through the city. By gi ledges with the bat Batman flying over the surface and into the air. Once airborne, some fairly complicated controls allow you to glide, dive, and pull yourself back up into the air. Ita lot to figure out in a 15-minute demo, but the nuanced navigation options will allow masterful players to fly through the city with ease — without even touching the ground if you're good enough. After toying with the new controls, | gide down street level and take out an unsuspecting thug. A group of nine or 10 buddies surrounding him immediately react, but | notice one of the goons is masked in an odd green glow. Ginn tel me that Batman has picked this bad guy out as woman will have her own allowing her to scale buildings, thought sho won't bo able to move around the eity ag quickly as Batman an ally of The Riddler, which means | have an ‘opportunity to interrogate him if | can take out all of his pals without knocking him unconscious, This objective change makes the ensuing battle remarkably different from any of the fights from Arkham Asylum. Instead of bouncing from foe to foe thoughtlessly, | have to carefully select each target and pull punches. | slip and acciden- taly hit the informant a couple of times, flinch- ing and hoping that it's not enough to knock him down. After a tense battle, the Riddler’s man is the last one left standing. Batman grabs him by his collar and lifts him up, demanding to know where the villain is hiding, The muscle-bound thug instantly reduced to a quivering wreck, and he spills the beans on the location of two Riddler trophies. These hidden items are more of a chal- lenge to find than in Arkham Asylum, and some lead to more side missions involving Batman's intellectual foe. One of the two trophies | need is hidden under a car in a nearby alleyway. The other is on a roof, set in the middle of a diabolical trap. In order to get it, | need to stand on a pressure plate nearby to disarm the trap and then grab it from a distance with the batclaw. Once I've gathered both, the Riddler contacts Batman to give him the location of a deathtrap he's set up with a hostage. At the facility, | navigate an electrified floor that will instantly kill Batman if he stands on it and a giant spinning wheel of razors ready to slice him in half. Clearly this is a much more dangerous Riddler than the one who stood on the sidelines in Arkham Asylum. Using a mix of the batarang and the line launcher, | make my way through the room. To save the hostage, | have to use one final new tool that allows Batman to launch a line, zip across, and then launch a second, perpendic- Ular line halfway through, switch- ing direction. As | fly out the window of the warehouse with the hostage in hand, the Riddler's haunting laugh makes it clear that he's not done with Batman for the night. The best part ment? It’s entirely optional. Between a playable Catwoman and these fleshed-out Arkham Azylum's smooth combat although some fights will challenge Batman to not harm certain opponent side missions, Arkham City seems lke i's even more packed with cool events and reasons for bat-fans to get excited than the first game. The ‘complex air navigation controls threw me off, re going to but I'm hoping that more time with the game a situation will make them second nature. » Phil Kollar The First-Person Spin-Off previews 63 Platform PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 + PC Style 1-Player Role-Playing Publisher Bethesda Softworks Developer Bethesda Game Studios, Roleaso November 11 The Elder Scrolls V: New details flesh out the land of hen Bethesda decides it's time to show off one of its games, the gaming World is in for a treat. That's not just ted projects across the industry. It's because Bethesda's demos tend to be deep and rewarding dives into the gameplay and features of the project at hand. Most recently, game director Todd Howard walked us through the latest look at the spraw ing world of Skyrim. While many elements of the demo echoed beats we'd seen during our recent cover story trip (see issue 214), Howard exciting been following the game is familar with the These new magic: ike powers are extremely potent abilities that c turn the tide of the most difficult fights through a word of power spoken by the hero. Howard revealed several new shouts that we hadn't sé before. The whirlwind sprint abilty had the hero about the battlefield and past deadly traps like a superhero. Another shout let him the fire fike a true dragon. A third particularly start Wg dragon shout calls down ly Stated that the unique varieties of the it was made clear when he introduced the ost dragon, a massive creature that breathes out scathing bursts of ice instead of fire. ‘Several other fun tidbits were iscussed during the extensive game demo. After much ‘speculation, Howard confirmed three of the factions that will be in the 2. The Thieves’ Guild offers rim the expected stealth options, The Companions are a fighting group. And tr 9 of Winterhold will be the faction of choice for mages. Whether other factions will appear in the game has yet to be revealed. rgeous to look at, filed with scraggly blowing gently in the chill air. There upon the tundra sits the city of Whiterun, an edifice of stone and thatch rising from a rocky hill. We also saw mammoths — lar atures in groups shepherded by the giants that lve in the area. Howard also showed off an intriguing element of the world called doom stones. These strange obelisks allow a player to I, which in turn As Howard explored the world of Skyrim, he also showed off one other welcome addition; the newly improved horse riding ability makes mounted movement more fluid and enjoyable than before. Little touches like these make us nfident that Bethesda is noticing the devil in the details of a truly epic game like Skyrim. Whether you've explored the lands of the Elder Sorolls before or not, Skyrim should abso- lutely be on your radar as the winter months approach. » Matt Miller be a favorite among melee fighters f the appearance of environments as . previews 65 Platform PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 + PC Style 1-Player Shooter (Multiplayer TA) Publisher THQ Developer 4A Games Release Metro: Last Light A warmer, more invitingUnderground apocalypse ing a cult c game that you ers are hung up on its Many rex Aland unintuitive ugh to take much notice of th spite the mixed im formed surprisingly well for a an unheard-of foreig 0 announced the sequel, Metro 2034. That fo up has no\ amed Metro: La cutting out the calendar naming conv Positioning itself away from the Glukhovsky neavily invol protagonist a devastating at ngs know left struggling to surv beneath Moscow, quite po: alive on the plan in the subway tunne's y the last the demo begins, Artyom notes in a voi rer th ons are finally beginning to improve on the surface — the sun can be sF ¢ some places the from secrets long-buried b The action of to rescue an important pri through the first scene multiple times t ifferent approaches. Running for completing Metro more viable this tim smically destructiv ay at a wall, a fio e in cover, and realistically, creating holes jemies through. For those more interested in emp) ath — a painfully frustr were relentless, never backing down and basically fc In Last Light and dev nbush them or st unnoticed. Metro global brand mar rk Madsen says they do not view this chang as dumbing the game down. Rather, they aim to te the ideal path somplexity.” veral new too es for stealth pla >ws is crucial, players that are tyom lightbulbs and blows out He also carries a lighter that allows him t enemies by setting the environment aflame. Begin burning a wooden box, and the fire will spread realistically, eventually drawing the attention of hostile forces. According to Madsen, high-level lighter-play allows play tray with exploding barrels. \fter sneaking or shooting through a small numiber of Nazi forces, the demo jumps ahead within reach, For reaches up to unsc the un may be shining above surface, the underground is as to show off one of the giant, immersive set piece moments that made Metro thino, a grote pponent that is t to the werewolf jostling forward inch by inch as they listen to the propagande-filed tirade, The striking imag- ery and world building is at made eerily familar in love with 2083, and I'm hoping L Be has lot r rapped before n, leading nds in Khan dre ompetitive mul J the previo controlled by the play airs ing the has in our han hile simu irawing in a nes , Last Light crowd? | remain hopeful, if only becau: could.acd to share the m ofits with more previews 67 68 » Platform PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 + PC » Style 1-Player Shooter (Multiplayer TBA) » Publisher Activision » Developer Infinity Ward/ Sledgehammer Games » Release November 8 Cal Can Infinity Ward win the war against all odds? leaks, Activision has finally unveiled Modem Warfare 3, the follow-up to one of 2009's best-selling games and the first release from Infinity Ward since its founding members left along with a huge chunk of the team. There's very litle doubt as to how well a new Call of Duty game is going to sell, but can itive up to the high expectations left by its predecessor despite all the drama surrounding its creation? My first look left this question frustratingly unanswered. The first thing to note about Modern Warfare is that Activision made the smart and possibly necessary decision that Infinity Ward could not handle the development alone. instead, the rem- nants of the studio that created Call of Duty are teaming up with Sledgehammer Games, a new Activision studio started by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield. Sledgehammer was previously said to be working on a third-person Call of Duty title that is presumably on hold while it helps with Modern Warfare 3. MW 3 picks up shortly following the end of the second game, with the world embroiled in an intense conflict. Once again, players globetrot ‘across continents during the single-player cam- ppaign, Exotic locations such as the Himalayas Were mentioned, but the focus is on larger scale urban warfare in cities such as New York and London, the two locations shown off during the first demo. The Manhattan level, titled “Black Tuesday,” starts the player character in a crashed Humvee. F ollowing a series of surprisingly thorough ‘As he comes to and climbs out, he looks up at the crumbling New York skyline, Debris from collapsing buildings falls dangerously close. ‘Alone hot dog cart stands in the ruins, looking ‘absurd with its colorful umbrella amidst the dust and wreckage, ready to be used as cover for an inevitable firefight. infinity Ward enjoyed playing with the idea of fighting on recognizable home turf in Modern Warfare 2, and it's running with that concept for this game as wel Infinity Ward isn't spiling many details on Modem Warfare 3's plot, but the Russians still seem to be the key bad guys. In “Black Tuesday," the player has to fight through a sea of enemies to get to Wall Street. He runs and guns alongside characters with names like Sandman and Grinch ~ the goofy kind of codenames that you'd expect your Call of Duty buddies to be burdened with, If there's anything remarkable about the actual gunplay in Modern Warfare 3, it's that it's pretty unremarkable. You follow your Al partners along a linear path that winds through busted city streets and into a skyscraper that a helicopter has crashed into. in each new area, players come upon a handful of enemies, aim down the ironsights, and take them out. Shooting looks to be as frantic and fun as it's always been in the Call of Duty games, but nothing struck me as particularly new aside from the unexciting abilty to flip a scope on and off your gun at wil Later in the level, you gain access to the Reaper drone, which allows you to attack roofiop enemies of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and helicopters from an aerial viewpoint. While the change of pace was nice and the explosions look great, even this segment has a very been- there-done-that feel, especially since it's followed by an obligatory helicopter ride where you man the turret. The London level, which begins on the city's grimy docks, was similarly underwhelming unti halfway through, when the player jumps into the back of a truck that then takes off down the subway tracks. Although gameplay-wise it’s just another on-raiis section, the truck makes for a great set piece, flying past a subway platform full of screaming civilans and narrowly dodging out of the way of overturned subway cars until it finally fips over. While the single-player portion left me a litle Cold, infinity Ward is promising major innovation in Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer mode [see sidebar] and a return of Spec Ops. The popular 0-09 mode was not shown in action, but it sounds like it will remain two-player and feature some new game modes. It's hard to critique Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer for sticking to the successful formula with Modern Warfare 3, On the other hand, | wonder if| would have been shown something more exciting and unique if the team responsible for making this series a hit hadn't been so thoroughly disrupted last year. Luckily, they still have time to blow us away before the game comes out later this year. » Phil Kollar Visit gameintormeccom/mag for futher details on Cal of Duty: Ete ‘Modorn Warfare 9 wil feature Teves in France. ‘Germany. and England, in addition to the US. ‘the oval war suggests pont of voice : sequences, iictuding an action-packed boat ride Jone? EEL: Multiplayer Goes Elite previews 69 starhawk Construct your own war in LightBox’s return to the sky » Platform hen it released in 2007, Incognito's PlayStation 3 W Warhawk gave PS3 owners a multi- » Style player-only experience that spent equal 1 to 4-Player Action time on land and in the sky. Players could lay (32-Player Online) prone on a hill and snipe opponents before » Publisher _ they captured a flag, or they could pilot a hawk Sony Computer and perform strafing runs on the enemy base. Entertainment After its release, many members of the team » Developer formed LightBox Interactive. The studio's first LightBox Interactive __ title is Starhawk, a spiritual follow-up to the » Releaze _'©2'S previous effort. Combat still rages on 2012 the ground and in the air, but their new Build & Battle system ensures an experience all its own. ‘Whereas Warhawk placed gamers on maps with pre-determined locations for hawks, ground vehicles, and base defenses, Starhawk allows players to lay out the team base. During each of the multiplayer matches | played, our team started with a biank slate of land at our spawn mes ‘ location. Each player starts with a certain amount “nitt energy, but its effects ar les ay Of rift energy (see sidebar), which is used to pur- chase garages for ground vehicles, launch pads __the ground in mech form. debut, Starhawk also features a ful single-player for the hawks, turrets, walls, and more, New structures drop down immediately from mode. The missions are a series of combat Playing well will earn you more rift energy the sky, which allows for an additional strategy _sandboxes that mix the RTS-lte Build & Battle to purchase more structures and vehicles. if your base is being ransacked by tanks and system with tower defense elements. The mis- ‘As LightBox president Dylan Jobe puts it, bipedal hawks. During one round, a hawk was _sion | played involved protecting a structure Starhawk's gameplay is all about “build to kil, __ causing trouble within the walls of our base. that was mining rift energy. Enemy locations and kill to build.” Once a launch pad is built, you A quick-thinking teammate placed the spawn __and spawn points are not pre-determined, but have to pay for a hawk.as well before you can _beacon for a bunker directly over the enemy's a HUD beacon will alert you which directions take to the skies. Like in Warhawk, you can use head. Our bullets and grenades were slowly enemies are approaching from and a timer indi these aircraft to quickly transport yourself to an _ chipping away at his armor, but a bunker crash-__ calles when you can expect company. When you enemy base or fly around the battlefield, taking _ing onto his frame from space turned out to be a__know hawks are approaching from the south enemies down from the sky. Unlike the previous _far more effective method of destruction, causing and ground vehicles are coming from the east, game, these hawks can transform with a single him to explode in a shower of debris. you have a better idea of where to place your button press, allowing them to stomp aroundon _For the first time since the series’ 1995 PSone _various defenses. The battles are wide open enough that there isn't just one right way to complete your mission, If you're a defensive-minded player, you can pre- ppare for the rush by placing a ton of beam turrets. around your base and man one of them to hold off the attack. If you feel like engaging the enemy more directly, you can spend some money on turrets and drop pods filed with friendly Al, then cash in the rest on a launch pad and your own hawk. Letting your Al buddies handle the ground battle while you take enemy hawks down from the sky may be a better option for players who prefer offense, and it can be just as effective, Warhawk allowed for a wide variety of play styles, but Starhawk looks to handily trump it in this regard. You can stil play on foot, get behind the controls of a tank, or hop in the cockpit of a nimble hawk, but the promising Build & Battle system adds yet another strategic layer to what was already a fantastic experience. Dan Ryckert The Currency of a New Frontier Rift energy is at the core of Starhawk’s world, both in multiplayer and! the single player story mode. In the for met, you ean spend cuere to enhance and expand your team’s combat capabilities tt performs tho same role in ayer, but it man who became patti with the valuable-yet- deadly rift energy. He's not a fully human Rifter of a fa infected Outcast {the ge two factions), but he fall somewhere tn the midlie. Those who became entirely comupted by the rift energy grew to worship the "blue gold,” protecting it with their Visit gameinformer.conv/mag to read an interview with LightBox on fled the colonies the Outcast began waging ra loyal ties tie isn’t known, but his gear man, Sidney Cutter, has vith a regulator eps the energy {rom taking over, wat, W 70 previews Catherine Relationships are an uphill climb The main character, Vincent, is attracted to two women with phonetically identi- cal names: Catherine and Katherine. At night, Vincent fights his way through nightmares populated by sheep and monsters with butts for faces. To make it worse, death in the nightmare means death in reality. While these strange elements ensure that Catherine isn't anormal game, they also ensure that itis a provocative one. If you've seen any previous coverage of Catherine, you've probably gathered that its story plays a large role in the experience. Impressive animated sequences tell the story of Vincent, a somewhat-lovable dirtbag who cheats on his longtime girlfriend Katherine (who may also be pregnant) with the spunky young blonde Catherine, The ensuing love triangle pulls him in several directions, and puts Vincent in a number of awkward scenarios, Vincent's response in these situations isn't handled through normal dialogue. Instead, play- ers influence a morality meter by taking certain actions and answering questions posed by other characters. For example, you may be asked, "Does life begin or end with marriage?” Depending on your response, you'll nudge the meter toward the extremes of law and chaos. VI any things about Catherine are bizarre. Where you're currently at on that spectrum dictates Vincent's response to stressful situ ations, but he seems to come off ike a loser no matter what. In my hands-on time, | leaned towards chaos, which led to a less-than-classy response when Katherine told Vincent she might be pregnant. As his life falls apart during the day, Vincent's world literally crumbles at night. When he goes to sleep, Vincent is transported to a nightmar- ish realm where he must climb tall structures by moving blocks and hopping between them — all while the bottom layers are continually dropping away. These puzzle towers comprise the entirety of Catherine's non-story gameplay; despite the fact that the development team is known for its work on the Shin Megami Tensei series, you won't find a trace of RPG mechanics. ‘The challenge initially comes from arranging blocks into makeshift staircases, but as you progress a variety of trick blocks are introduced. Lethal spike blocks and slow-moving heavy blocks complicate your ascent, not to mention occasional bosses. You're still cimbing during the boss encounters, but the beasts are always close behind you, and have unique moves to make things harder. After completing @ few normal stages, | fought a creature called the Immoral Beast (the aforementioned butt-for-face ib towers w piu can talk 10th monster), who periodically spits out a pink mist that reverses all of the controller inputs. This can be a huge problem when you're scrambling up the blocks, considering one wrong step can send you into a spike trap. When Catherine came out in Japan, one of the main criticisms was the game's punishing Gificulty. For the North American release, these issues are being addressed with numerous tweaks to reduce frustration. Atlus tells us that the easiest difficulty setting should allow anyone to experience the story without worrying about getting stuck on the tower levels. Though Atlus has put Catherine's cast of characters and mature-themed story in the spotlight, my time with the game revealed a fair split between plot and gameplay. Some gamers may want a more robust puzzle game, while others might hope for a smoother narrative. From what | played, I'd advise you to check your ‘expectations and accept Catherine for what it is: a unique hybrid of the adventure, action, and puzzle genres with a generous infusion of occa sionally disturbing occult craziness, » Joe Juba Go to gameinformer.conv/mag to see a video of the fist few levels of Catherine in action » Platform PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 » Style 1-Player Action/Puzzle » Publisher Aus Developer Atlus » Release July 26 previews 75 PS3+ 1-P previews Platform Xbox 360 + PC Style layer Simulation Publisher Electronic Arts Developer ‘The Sims Studio Release Fall . pet you are able to Th Both of the previous installments received pansions that added four-legged friends, 80 The Sims 3: Pets was probably inevitable. Like its predecessors, this entry adds a handful of animals to your virtual world, but the team at p ets are nothing new to the Sims series. EA is expanding how players interact with their Pets, as well as including some special perks if you're playing with Kinect. Pets is a standalone release on consoles, meaning that you don't need to own The Sims 3 to play it. However, the tearn aims to deliver a. console experience that closely follows the PC style of gameplay. Pets on PS3 and 360 isn't going back to the simplified approach of the last generation's console iterations; it adds dogs and cats into the classic formula. ‘Where this entry differs from previous pet- based expansions is that players can control their fury companions directly. Previously, sims could only interact with pets, but now the dogs and cats basically become full-fledged sims. *Pets can have careers, and by controling your cialize and make fiends fun of having pets without the and enemies by either being the most loving dog or perhaps the most destructive canine in town,” says executive producer Ben Bell. Since you can ‘customize your pets' traits and personaiities, this allows you to shape them into characters rather than accessories. Ifyou happen to be playing Pets with Kinect, you can experiment with another new feature: voice controls. “Our use of Kinect focuses on user voice controls that allow a player to use verbal controls for their Sims and for navigating UI menus,” Bell explains. “One can queue up social actions for their sims when they say, ‘be romantic,’ ‘be mean,’ and ‘apologize.' Sending your sim to the toilet just got even easier when all you have to say is ‘Use the toilet’ and off they go to do your bidding,” EA has not announced any special PSS. exclusive features, though the PC release has a few key differences (see sidebar). Utimately, no matter which version you choose, you can count ‘on getting some new virtual companions to brighten up your sim's life. » Joe Juba LEELA LETTE, Pets on PC ve been building. ade the quested fan eatures (like our pets) r Cave Story The tale retold in a new dimension this Metroid-style indie gem is finally coming to a handheld near you, To the delight or horror of its rabid fanbase, Cave Story is being transformed from 2D pixelated world to a 8D polygonal setting to take advantage of the DS hardware. Some may cringe at any tinkering with the game's purposely old-school aes- thetic, while others are excited to experience the game ina whole new way, One thing both sides can agree on, however, is the need for high quality tiles on a system that's sorely lacking them. For those unfamiliar with Gave Story, Daisuke Amaya (a.k.a. Pixel) developed the game by himself over the course of five years and released it for free on the Internet in 2004. As it became more popular, Western fans banded together to translate the original Japanese text into English. Developer Nicalis saw the potential in Polishing the game and porting it to consoles, releasing the game on WilWare a year ago, and again on DSiWare last November to widespread critical acclaim. You stil quide the amnesia-ridden protagonist along a 2D plane in the 8DS version, yet the environment around him is rendered in 3D and loaded with new details. The maps feel innately familiar and foreign at the same time; it's almost like peering into a moving diorama with the characters interacting in the far back wall while details ike street lamps and branches pop out in the foreground, ‘The introduction is identical to the original, with our hero waking with no memory while everyone is looking for someone named Sue. He meets some anthropomorphic rabbits and obtains his first weapon, the Polar Star. The most immediate change outside of the visuals is the new map system. Whereas the DSi version made players pause to check the map for some reason, it now displays your location in real time on the lower screen. NIS wouldn't confirm if the 2D version is included as well, but did reveal that players can toggle on the 2D character models and that there is an NIS-related bonus in the game (most likely company mascot Prinny). » Bryan Vore p reviously only available in downloadable format, » Platform aps » Style 1-Player Action » Publisher NIS America » Developer Nicalis » Release August 9 Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights Another puzzle-solving professor is on the case twas only a matter of time before someone took the winning formula from Level-5's Professor Layton series and gave it their own spin. After all, North ‘America is two games behind Japan in Layton entries, and newcomer Doctor Jean-Pierre Lautrec seems more than willing to step in and fil the gap. ‘The game is set in Paris near the end of the 19th century while the Eiffel Tower is stil under construction. Lautrec works at the Museum of Natural History as a lec- turer who's always looking for another mystery to solve. One day, a young girl named Marie visits his office with a device that points the way to a massive treasure belong- ing to Louis XIV of the House of Bourbon. With the help of his assistant Sophie, Lautrec hits the streets of Paris to seek the treasure while evading rival Vidocg and the Knights of the lron Mask. | played an early Japanese version to get a sense of the gameplay. The adventure begins in a catacomb beneath Paris as Lautrec and Sophie search out some treasure, Inside this dungeon, you contro! him in a third-person isometric view and must sneak past guards without alert- ing them. ‘The first puzzle is essentially a simplified word game where you have to drag different words into a grid and make them fit together. Players get three light bulbs to tap for hints, or they can touch a white flag icon to give up. At the end of the dungeon, Lautrec comes upon a ghostly blue monster floating out of an ornate egg. This triggers a Pokémon-style battle in which you send out your own floating spirits to fight. Later, Lautrec is free to run around the streets of Paris and visit famous landmarks to look for clues and chat with people. Compared to Layton, Lautrec comes off as a lot less jovial, leaning more in the Indiana Jones direc- tion. In some of the early cutscenes, he kicks a desk into an assailant, pinning him against the wall. Lautrec then drives off in a steam-powered car as two goons give chase. After racing through the streets, he drops a banana into the following vehicle's exhaust port and leaves them in the dust. While we need more time with the good doctor to see how he stacks up, so far Lautrec is differentiating himself enough to stand outside of the looming shadow of Professor Layton. » Bryan Vore "The hand-drawn ciieniatics fook ensp and vibrant and Jack any of the artitacting een in mst DS videos » Platform 3DS » Style 1-Player Puzzle » Publishor Konami » Developer Konami » Release ‘Summer previews 77 » Platform PlayStation 3 ‘Xbox 360 » Style 1 to 4-Player Sports (12-Player Online) » Publisher EA Sports » Developer EA Canada » Release Fall 78 previews NHL 12 Establishing a physical presence in front of the net nthe past few years the NHL series increased its physicality with board play skirmishes and mid-ice hits, but there's always been an element missing: the crease battles between defenders and forwards. These tussles aren't as glorious as one-timers, but they create the garbage goals that power forwards pay for by taking bruising cross-checks in the back while trying to screen the goalie. NHL 12 continues its quest for realism by introducing jostling in front of the net, along with its different effects. While this alone would be a welcome addition, it's just one way in which the players and teams are improving. When an opposing forward camps out in front ‘of your goalie it can cause all kinds of problems. ‘A defender has to engage him and try to move him further out so he can't redirect shots or ‘screen the goalie from oncoming pucks. Having a player in the goalie's face can also create dangerous situations where everyone's scram- bling in front of the net for a loose rebound off a deflection. NHL 12 tries to encompass all of these pos- sibilities with its player-jostiing physics down in front of the net or in the slot. These actions are Not initiated with any new controls, but fall under NHLs standard “left stick controls the body, right stick controls the hockey stick’ contro's. Thus, you'te free to move around and gain better posi- tioning with your body or stick while you're tied Up in a battle for the real estate in front of the net. The development team at EA Canada has tried to encompass how this kind of grit affects other players on the ice. Goalies can now be run into ‘or bumped, and nets will come off their moor- ings. Goalies poke their heads around screens and show more desperation when the puck is ‘bouncing around the net, which should hopefully result in more garbage goals from down front if you can get your stick on the puck. This should also make power forwards, who gamers shied away from in previous years thanks to their lum bering pace, actually useful to your team. Overall, your team could play and fee! differ- ently if the developers Al tweaks and player ten- dencies come to the surface. EA Canada wants to make it so that players like Sidney Crosby rive the net like they do in real fe and grinders finish their checks, The teams themselves should play differently thanks to under the hood strategy tuning, and breakouts through the neutral zone wil be varied due to a renewed player position- ing logic. EA Canada says players are more aware of teammates, whether that's anticipating a headman pass or straddling the blue line to stay onside. Hockey is a sport where sheer energy and determination can trump skill. It's cool to see sick dekes and highiight-caliber goalie saves, but sometimes you have to do the dirty work to get the job done. The effort EA Canada is putting into its player josting and team/player behavior should hopefully light the lamp in NHL 12. » Matthew Kato Michael Phelps: Push the Limit Turn your living room into an Olympic-sized pool t the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, American swimmer Michael Phelps brought home eight gold medals, a record-shattering feat that made him a world- renowned superstar. Three years and countless endorsement deals later, Phelps stars in a com- petitive swimming title under development by Kinect veteran Blitz Games Studios that allows players to dive into the underwater action. Michael Phelps: Push the Limit offers career, Quick play, and multiplayer modes where play- ers engage in swim matches in six venues around the world. Qualifying in swim matches during career mode will unlock more venues, secure your place on leaderboards, and once you've proven yourself, lead to a race against Phelps himself, Using Kinect’s body tracking capabilities, players perform a variety of moves to successfully compete in races. Prior to each race, players can hype the crowd with ridiculous body movements, This in turn builds the crowd meter that provides you with additional stamina during the race. You then lean over to prepare for the dive, quickly stand up straight to leap into the pool, and begin moving your arms based on the type of stroke chosen for the race (breast stroke, back stroke, butterfly stroke, etc.) ‘As you make your way across the pool, you need to keep an eye on your stroke meter, which assists in keeping a steady pace to determine whether or not your arm flailing is too fast or too slow. Maintain a good pace to eam a boost in ‘speed (triggered by yelling “boost”) which will give you an edge over the competition. After the flip tur at the end of the pool, you eventually Risen 2: Dark Waters This ambitious RPG sequel packs a proper console version Piranha Bytes’ previous open-world RPG. franchise, Gothic, without the crippling bugs and technical problems that often plagued that series, The result was one of the better RPGs of 2009, though the 2010 console port was lack- luster at best. That game's success has given Piranha Bytes the opportunity to build a bigger, higher-fidelity sequel in Risen 2: Dark Waters — and the abilty to start console development on day one for a much better experience on those platforms. The unnamed hero is a grim savior for a grim world. Having sacrificed his eye in the final Reve exemplified many of the virtues of struggle to banish the fire titan that threatened the world in the first game, he has received neither fame nor fortune for his trouble. Worse, the rest of the world outside Risen's single island is under siege by more godlike titans. Only the pirates that still brave the seas have had any luck evad- ing and battling the monsters who rule the wild. t's among those scalywags plying the magically fortified port of Caldera, one of civiization’s last strongholds, that our hero starts his quest in Risen 2, The setting, which replaces bows and arrows with guns and cannons, is the biggest change in the sequel. The rest of the game we've seen “push the limit,” where you perform strokes as =» ‘Platform quickly as you physically can to sprint toward the — Xbox 360 finish, When you arive at the end of your lane,» Style you reach your arm out to claim your place at the 1 to &-Player Sports edge of the pool, » Races in multiplayer folow the same steps as 508 anes” singe player mode. Up to eight friends can take, neveloper art in competition with split screen multiplayer. fritz Games Studios ‘Two players can race against each other at the same time and can be rotated in and out a after each lap. Players can also challenge other competitive swimming hopefuls across Xbox Live, however this feature has yet to be detailed. If you want to get the sensation of swimming in the comfort of your home sans chlorine and uncomfortable swimwear, check out Mictiael Phelps: Push the Limit this fall, Annette Gonzalez 80 far looks lixe an enlarged, upscaled version of» Platform its predecessor. You still have a lot of freedom to PS3 + Xbox 360 + PC go where you like and do what you want within» style the wide path that the narrative places you on. _—_1-Player Role-Playing The world is finely detailed and thickly popu- eens lated with NPCs who have their own schedules Deep sitver and jobs to do. Plenty of RPG standards, fom extensive character progression to a deep item i ae es va crafting system, give the experience depth. Piranha Bytes is promising herras more “combat tricks” to spice up the staid battles of the original, though if Risen 2 is anything like the last game you'll spend maybe a quarter of your time in combat situations. The structural and gameplay similarities are nothing to ‘complain about; variety in everything from environ ments to characters to combat should goalong «SP way to improving the Risen formula. f Piranha Bytes can bring the same level of nonlinearity, polish, and interactions to Risen 2 in addition to the improved production values and larger scope, RPG fans will have something to look forward to in 2012. » Adam Biessener previews 79 » Platform PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 » Stylo 1-Player Action/RPG (Online TBA) » Publishor Activision » Developer Silicon Knights » Roleaso Holiday AG S| Knights announced it was working with Activision on a brand new X-Men title, Fans were told that X-Men: Destiny would be an action/RPG that evolved dramatically based on player choice, and that three brand new playable mutants were being created for the game. Little else has been revealed about the game, so we pried a few more facts out of Silicon Knights. Comic writer and current X-Men: Legacy author Mike Carey wrote the script for X-Men: Destiny - a narrative that takes place in an alter- nate reality in which X-Men founder Professor Charles Xavier is dead. The remnants of the X-Men have gathered in San Francisco under the leadership of Cyclops, but recent natural disasters have changed the city's landscape and caused human/mutant relations to reach a volatile climax. The nation is set to declare war against mutant-Kind, and its up to a select group of young mutants to uncover a growing con- spiracy as they stop anti-mutant Purifiers from committing mutant genocide. The game begins at a peace rally being held in memory of Professor X. Players get to choose ‘one of three new mutants who they'll shape over the course of the game. The studio shared some basic details about each of these three charac- ters with us. The first is Aimi, a young teenager from Japan who came to America to escape her family’s persecution. Adrian, on the other hand, is the son of a local San Francisco activist; he was raised to discriminate against mutants, but then IR ast year at New York Comic Con, Silicon X-Men: Destiny. he found out that he was one himself, Finally there is Grant Alexander, an aspiring football player from Sandersvile, Georgia who grew up oblivious to the human/mutant controversies until he discovered his own mutant powers. "Marvel really stepped up in offering great feedback and support while we worked on shaping these characters,” says Heder. "They really helped ‘ensure that these new characters had a strong look, personality, and a back story that hit all the standards Marvel applies to any new character they introduce.” While comic fans can't play as any of their favorite X-Men, they will run into a host of familar faces. These well-known X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants characters will opt to fight alongside or against them depending on player actions. “Since your character hasn't yet chosen his or her allegiance, you can bet that each of the franchise characters you meet along the way will do their part to persuade you to join their cause,” Heder says. Slicon Knights is call- ing many of these interactive story sequences “destiny moments” that shape the story and each character's power set. Through a destiny moment at the beginning of the game, players pick their core power set. “Each of these power sets provides the canvas for your mutant's abilties and the core nature ‘of your powers,” Heder says. “For example, you may choose energy projection to hamess the power of the sun and release a variety of Powerful shocks of solar energy to incapacitate ‘oncoming enemies. Or you may choose density ‘Activision has promised that we can expect to moot plenty, of popular X-Men and Brotherhood characters as well as ‘anes Who have never been seen in a video game before Control to manipulate matter and your own body mass into an impenetrable rock-like substance." A.core power set is only a template for what a character can become, and players can sub- ‘stantially modify their characters. Players acquire X-Genes as they interact with mutants throughout the Marvel Universe. These X-Genes are extracted genetic code from popu- lar X-Men characters, and they modify your char- acter's powers in wild ways. For example, Surge {@ young mutant and member of the comic book team New Mutants) has the ability to absorb, electricity and rechannel it into ightri we, a Destiny moments will allow players to shiape their powers and abilities as they progress through the game Grant Alexander maved to San spot for the University of C but got swept up in the human his own mutant previews 81 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings THe MONTH 83 L.A. Noire Rockstar and Team Bondi's long-awaited L.A. Noire is finally here, and the finished product is a beguiling mix of open-world action and adventure game investigations. As detective Cole Phelps, you'll ‘experience the seedy world of 1940s Los Angeles, as L.A. Noire tells a complex story of corruption, betrayal, and redemption. THE SCORING SYSTEM AWARDS: tang Ayo etic entypaesttovey Paved Kiny be ov ab Gurney et FO | way. This score is given out rarely ad indicates a game 5 _| potential, butts most engaging features could be Bin Papen dhl avoisieat {ndaity Seva rnd pee epson. PLATINUM that score 9 [Statism |g | seutbomte renames mn 9 ‘ecommendation because te gure rowed ae ti scutes anata eR aoa tare a and-shovlders above its competion, falls short as a whole. Soc Panplorahia cits ‘Very Good. Innovative, but perhaps not the right choice for Painful. f there is anything that's redeeming in a game of ‘andes & _| everyone. nis score inlcats nat there ae mary good | <3 | tiscalber ifs bunoo neath sgonary sanenterees fhige beac but patty peterpan peep URLS Feats pags waa oa WO a aE Bascal rcajale TH Gels Ss eter @eiver pein 7 _| thateven casual players havent seen before. A decent 2 _| inexecution tat any value would be derived in extremely game from beginning to end. ‘smail quantities, if at all. garectomer “The award for the Limited Appeal. Although there may be fans of games pigeon eta dd f a ‘mest outstanding: 6 | meswottsene neyviitcetyenmeremee | 4 | Tas GACAMEsMoNTH | matteo L.A. Noire sgaroetanes ’ ereatare =~ GAME MONTH SILVER ‘A, Noire is ambitious. It throws the player | headlong into a complex, emotional detec tive saga set in 1947 Los Angeles. Team, Bondi doesn't conceal the game's literary and film influences; allusions to classic noir abound, and the game succeeds in capturing the dark, morally ambiguous atmosphere that is the hall- mark of the genre. It’s a game unlike anything else I've played, one that uses Rockstar's famil iar open-world template as a jumping off point to deliver a deliberately paced adventure game that stresses conversation over gunplay, Much has been made of Team Bonds ground: breaking facial motion capture technology, which allowed the developers to effectively “fin” real actors as 3D models and put their expression and dialogue straight into the game, The results of this experiment are striking; never before have digital characters conveyed so much real ‘emotion in a video game. In comparison to LA. Noire, the characters in Heavy Rain and the Mass Effect series appear wooden. In addition, the casting of real-life actors ike Aaron Staton (Ken Cosgrove from Mad Men) and John Noble (Walter Bishop from Fringe) pays off; this game hasn't conquered the uncanny valley, but at times | began to accept these characters as real, breathing human beings. As in any good film noir, appearances can be deceiving. Players take the role of detective Cole Phelps, a decorated war hero and new LAPD detective who must navigate the tense under- world of Los Angeles, negotiating the often-blurry line between cop and criminal, Cole Phelps is an honest man, but he's often impetuous, set ish, and haunted by the events he experienced in VII While feted as a war hero, the truth of what happened to him in the war is tragic and complicated, and the echoes of those deeds reverberate throughout L.A. Noire. Investigating a series of murders that tie into the real-ife Black Dahiia killings, Cole begins to understand that the appearance of justice is all that's desired by his superiors. White working vice, he also learns that the difference between gangster and police officer is sometimes litle more than a uniform Eventually, the web of deceit and corruption widens, implicating those at the highest levels of society and government. | don't want to spoil any revelations, but the events of the last third come to an explosive head, culminating in a sad, Style 1-Player Action/Adventure Publisher Rockstar Games Developer Team Bondi/Rockstar Games conflicted final scene that will stick with you long after the credits roll As masterful as the storyteling is, games are meant to be played. in this regard, I'm conflicted. Phelp's career is divided into a series of cases that spread across the beat patrol, traffic, homi: cide, vice, and arson desks (the fact that arson i the last is not a misprint; it ties closely to some surprising story events). The formula for most cases is uniform: You and your partner roll up to the crime scene, gather clues, and interview wit- nesses and people of interest. It's best to gather as much physical evidence as possible, as each clue you log in your notebook opens up new lines of inquiry. At first, | relished the investiga- tions, Anything in the environment could give you a big break in the case, from a ring to a prop shrunken head in a Hollywood production studio. However, over the course of the game's 20 hours the repetitive search mechanic wears thin. Walking around waiting for a controller rumble to alert you to an item of interest feels more like an Easter egg hunt than an actual investigation. In a nod to old-school adventure games, many items you are prompted to pick up are meaningless as wall I'm pretty sure | examined every hairbrush in the greater LA. area. The cases occasionally challenge your deductive skils, but it's mostly just a case of walking around until you find all the relevant items. LA. Noire could have used more action sequences to break up the monotonous investigating, but aside from a couple of frantic moments toward the end of the Black Dah plotine, most of the action vignettes are simple foot or car chases. That would be fine if they weren't so predictable and repetitive. Honestly, i ‘one more suspect bolted right as | was about to start my questioning, | was going to shoot him ‘or her. The few shootouts the game does have play out well enough, but suffer from occasional problems corning in and out of cover. The interrogations, which showcase the amaz- ing facial animations, are the most compeling aspect of LA. Noire. As you read your suspect's face for signs of subterfuge you can react by either believing their statement, expressing doubt, or accusing them of lying. if you thr ‘out an accusation, be prepared to back it up with some hard evidence. If you don’t have something convincing or incriminating you'll likely cause them to shut down entirely, which prevents you from extracting further information, Thanks to the animations and superb acting, these scenes are fraught with tension, especially when you're juggling two suspects at once, eac accusing the other. in these moments, L.A. Noire shines, providing a real sense of human drama. However, unie in Heavy Rain or the Mass Effect series, the outcome of the case has no bearing on the larger plot. Sure, you might miss out on some dialogue or facts, but you stil proceed from point A to point B. in a game that suppos: edly tests your decision-making, your determina tions ultimately play no role in the story outcome. The open city itself is drop-dead gorgeous LA. never looked so beautiful. Rockstar’s atten: tion to detail is evident everywhere; even shop windows are filed with fully rendered product displays. However, there's not much to do other than some unremarkable street crime side mis: sions. So much effort went into recreating this historical Los Angeles, and | wish the city felt as alive and interactive as GTA IV's Liberty City. Mostly, it just serves as scenery as you drive to the next cutscene. At times, LA. Noire is one of the most vivid, gripping game experiences I've had. Other times, it can be plain boring. As in much noir fiction, the truth lies in the gray area between those two extremes. It's an adventure | won't soon forget, filed with characters as fas- inating as they are flawed —a bit lie the game itself. » Matt Helgeson 8.75 Concept A sprawling, epic journey into the dark heart of 1940s LA. that borrows equally from Rockstar’s open-world titles and classic adventure games Graphics ‘The facial animations are second to none and the city is gorgeously rendered. Couple this with cinematic lighting and cinematography and you have a game that dazzles Sound One of the best games I've ever played in terms of audio, with high quality voive acting and a soundtrack that deftly balances a mournful score with a treasure trove of vintage jazz songs Playability ‘This game is about the interrogations and investigations, which are accomplished through a ‘well-designed “notebook” interface. The gunplay is merely adequate, and the driving is competent but lacks excitement Entertainment Atits best, it’s a novel and gripping drama that melds open-world action with classic adventure gameplay. Atits worst, it's a dull and repetitive game you watch as much as play Replay Value Moderate reviews 83 PS3 © 360 ¢ PC » Concept Joumey across a magical land on a mission to save the ‘world, while running loads of errands along the way » Graphies ‘The screen is often filled with 4 dazzling array of spells, ‘taps, and other flashy eye candy; character models look great when you zoom in » Sound ‘The music and ambient sounds are fantastic, though the voice acting leans toward. the renaissance fair side of the spectrum » Playability ‘The camera occasionally jams {into awkward angles, but overall everything works well » Entertainment I you're looking for a fun, old~ school dungeon crawler, you ‘can stop looking now » Replay Value Moderately High ‘character has See variety in the field el ae Old-school action wit ith Dungeon Siege Ill, developer W Obsidian Entertainment brings the hack- and-siash RPG series to consoles for the first time. The game is firmly entrenched in old-school tropes, but it does add a few more contemporary enhancements. The story is set in the kingdom of Ehb, though you don't have to be a Dungeon Siege wonk to get what's going on. The 10th Legion has been routed, and it's up to you and your party to remobiize it and prevent Jeyne Kassynder from killing its descendents. Dialogue is handled through a Mass Effect-ike conversation wheel, though players are largely guided through preset conversations rather than having multiple choices during verbal encounters. You make decisions in a few key moments — and can see the effects Of those choices but | never felt | was making significant waves in the world. Considering how generic the overall confict fet, I'm perfectly satis fied with that. Fortunately, the action feels more immediate ‘and engaging than typical games in the genre thanks to Obsidian's approach to combat. Rather than merely hammering on the attack button and waiting for a spirit gauge or mana bar to replenish automatically, you have to be an active participant in battles to pul off flashy moves. As you attack enemies, a will meter fils with each successful blow. That meter is tied to all of your character's abilities. In a typical ‘encounter with my archon character, Anjali, I'd pick away at enemies with ranged fire blasts, and then summon my fire jackal when I had scraped together enough will. As it baited and attacked my foes, | was free to soorch them with pillars of flame or area effect infernos. When | got hurt, couldn't rely on a few quatis from a potion to ‘cure my wounds instantly, either. Each of the four characters has some form of healing abolty, though they replenish health over time rather than in one instant chunk. ‘As a gamer who appreciates the action part of action/RPGs, | enjoyed how Dungeon Siege II kept me involved in battles. You don’t reap any benefits from hanging away from combat, ‘80 | had to reexamine my usual caster strategy of nuking groups of bad guys, running away, and then turtiing as | waited in seclusion for jcombal tances oF an Your AV companion does agra job of providing support and holding ts own in combat ‘a mana bar to max out again, instead, | often found myself weaving in and out of groups of enemies, dodging and blocking their attacks as | got my lumps. Each character has two stances, Which affect their offensive and defensive abil ties. For example, Anjali fire form lets her use those powerful flame-based attacks, while her human form focuses more on staff-based physical damage. Character customization is satisfyingly deep, and players can tweak each character's abilities through proficiencies. For instance, Anjali's fire jackal can be tweaked to do more damage or have a bigger pool of hit points. Each ability has five slots for proficiencies, so you have to make some tough decisions. Beyond that, talents offer ability neutral buffs to characters, such as improved healing or additional damage. In the single-player campaign you fight side-by-side with an Al companion. | found that having Legion swordsman Lucas Montbarron at my side made life significantly easier, thanks to his tanking abilities that complemented my more mage-like skilset. | didn't have any direct control ‘over Lucas, though | got to upgrade his abilities and equipment. | was surprised (and impressed) by the amount of autonomy he displayed. He used his various abiities effectively, waiting for enemies to cluster together before attacking groups with his special sword slashes, or making sure that the area was clear before attempt- ing to revive me if | was down. He even picked up gold on his own at the end of skirmishes, though he left the loot on the ground. ‘Alas, loot management is a major weak spot, which is a problem for a game that showers players with all manner of weapons, armor, and ‘goodies. Weapons are ranked in a variety of attribute-enhancing categories, but optimizing between piles of gear can quickly become a headache. You can compare items against what you have equipped, but you can't sort your gear according to different bonuses, which would have been a tremendous help, After aa few hours, | stopped looking forward to incre- ‘mentally better gear, which is a problem when nearly every chest or enemy encounter fils your sack with more. If you like playing with a spread- sheet in your lap, however, more power to you. Multiplayer is a big draw for Dungeon Siege I, and it's handled fairly well. Players are tethered to one another, whether in the two-player local 60-0 or through four-player online matches, Because of the small size of some of the areas, it can feel constraining at times — especially when there isn't consensus on which direction to explore next. It's also easy to lose your character amid the various spell effects and trap displays. it doesn't help matters when the targeting system occasionally has a mind of its own; ina few battles | aimed at where | thought the enemies were and hoped for the best. The story didn't bow! me over, but | enjoyed the setting and characters. Obsidian brings a neat steampunk vibe to the proceedings, with automatons, firearms, and graphical embelish- ments that make the world feel unique without being self-conscious about it. You can check most of the usual fantasy settings off your list, too, such as a haunted forest, frozen wasteland, and murky swamp, but there are enough little touches to keep it interesting. For instance, as you make your way across a mountain pass, enemy cannons are firing on you, striking your party and causing the occasional rocksiide, It makes the world feel more dynamic, which is great. recommend Dungeon Siege Ill to anyone who wants to connect with friends and killa whole mess of monsters together. Thanks to the strong Al, even the single-player campaign is worth a look if you can’t wrangle up a party. It's one of the best hack-and-siash options out there for consoles, and it's no slouch on the PC front, either. » Jeff Cork Alice: Madness Returns A shaky trip back down the rabbit hoie merican McGee's Alice wowed gamers A a decade ago with its bizarre visual spin on Lewis Carroll's Wonderland. The title predated Tim Burton's gaudy reimagining of the classic property, so the concept of a clas- sic tale tumed macabre was fresh and exciting, ‘The sequel, Alice: Madness Returns, arrives with the signature dark flair of the original, but stripping off the stylish straightjacket reveals unstable gameplay that will disappoint all but the staunchest fans of the original. ‘The story picks up 10 years after the events of the first game, with an asylum-committed Alice attempting to piece together her family’s death inher tainted mind. The majority of the story takes place in Alice's imaginary Wonderland, with bits of the narrative strung together with reality checks in England. Guiding Alice through the gray, impoverished city streets is a nice contrast to her over-stimulating make-believe land, but these real life sections are used so sparingly and briefly that they are easily forgotten. Gamers half familiar with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland will appreciate early references to the absurd tale, such as interactions with the white rabbit, dormouse, and infamous Mad Hatter, | enjoyed leaping on mushrooms in classic Wonderland and surviving the deadly machinery of Hatter Industries. These entertain- ing stages unfortunately give way to generic locales lke a pirate-fled underwater world and a siice of ancient Japan smattered with samurai wasps. These later areas all but ditch the series’ trademark grim art style, with the exception of ‘one section which relies on creepy cichés like Style 1-Player Action/Adventure Publisher Electronic Arts Developer Spicy Horse Release June 14 ESRB M eyeless doll heads and 666s to set the mood. Aside from some chiling moments early on, the attempts to make players uncomfortable are largely predictable and bland. Art style aside, Alice: Madness Retums is an exercise in graphical mediocrity with the excep- tion of Alice herself. The heroine's character model is wonderfully rendered. Her raven hair realistically flutters around her porcelain face, and her collection of stylish dresses flap as she glides through the air. The world she inhabits isn't nearly as pretty. Enemies appear to be missing a few animations, resulting in unintentionally stited movements. The game encourages exploration, which means you'll be examining the environ- ment closely. It's too bad that all that searching pays off with bland textures and seams in the game's construction. Though poorly put together, the denizens of Wonderland pose a threat to Alice. She defends herseff with a butcher's blade and other creative weaponry like a weaponized pepper grinder, tea kettle, and hobby horse. | loved chopping apart gremiins and other close range fiends with the knife, then switching to the Gatling gun-ixe Pepper grinder to drop flying foes. Projectile Weapons are on a cooldown timer, which forces layers to constantly swap between attack styles. | adored the variety the unique arsenal fostered, and unlike other action titles, | actually enjoyed using and upgrading every weapon. On the other hand, God of War or Devil May Cry fans looking for a deep combat system should look elsewhere. Let me put the simplicity of Alice's moveset this way: she can’t attack while jumping. ‘Speaking of jumping, you'll spend much ‘of your time leaping and floating across Wonderland. Alice packs a generous triple jump and glide ability, resulting in platforming similar to Spyro, Navigating moving platforms and lava pits is simple early on, but later stages require you to steer the camera while milking every centimeter from Alice's glides. Combine this with frequent ‘snags on the scenery and the fact that Alice can't grab ledges, and you've got a recipe for ‘some infuriating deaths. in an effort to cleanse gamers’ palates of the repetitive fighting and exploration, several minigames sprout up. A handful of spots in the game require you to hunt down pieces of a puzzle or press buttons in rhythm with a selec- tion of music. These puzzles are laughably formulaic, but fortunately players can skip the nursery school exercises altogether. They seem ingenious, however, compared to diversions such as a side-scroling shooter segment and odd doll head-roling game. These half-baked gameplay mix-ups are absolute nightmares, and ‘you'll groan every time you encounter one. What starts out as a promising romp through a demented Wonderland devolves into a few good ideas stretched across redundant gameplay. Like any game based on a popular property, there will be those who can overlook Madness Retur's shortcomings and scrape together a good time. To anyone considering picking up Spicy Horse's latest in hopes of a rewarding adventure. coated in psychedelic scenery, Alice's encore is a Gisappointment, » Tim Turi PS3 * 360 © PC » Concept Return to Wonderland for a ‘tek through a slightly older Alice's twisted psyche raphics Alice looks beautiful, and the bizarre worlds are gorgeous from a distance, but ‘up close ugly textures and poorly-animated creatures mar the visuals » Sound ‘The voice acting occasionally supports the solid writing » Playability ‘The combat becomes boring but remains reliable throughout. The nastiest gameplay flaws are found in trivial minigames and sloppy platforming segments » Entertainment You've done everything in this game before, and probably hhad more fun doing it then » Replay Value Moderately Low reviews 85 Ui, 6.15 PS3 © 360 © PC » Concept: Blend an Enemy Territory- style multiplayer experience with a shallow near- future story that pits the establishment against a evolutionary group » Graphics ‘The caricature faces seem at ‘odds with the more traditional environmental art style. With 0 much information on your HUD, you won't be soaking in the setting too much anyway » Sound Unsatistying weapon effects, and way too much com chatter ftom your superior about objectives » Playability ‘The new parkour-style ‘SMART navigation system sa subtle but welcome improvement to movement, ‘but the gunplay is lacking » Entertainment With only eight maps and 20 progression levels, this ‘multiplayer-centric game doesn’t have the depth you expect » Replay Value Moderate 86 reviews Brink An identity crisis keeps Brink from reaching its potential YZ hen Splash Damage NN feces the veteran first-person shooter developer promised a game that would seamlessly blend the single-player, co-op, and multiplayer experiences. Little did we know that this meant “your garden variety multiplayer game, now with bot matches.” Despite its claims to the contrary, Brink is not a proper single-player game. Don’t be fooled by the paper-thin plot that pits the powers-that-be against a rebellious gang on a near-future floating city ~ this “campaign” is comprised of multiplayer maps populated with brainless bots. These dolts often run around without Purpose, wait to shoot back at oncoming enemies, neglect ‘objectives, and fail to coordinate attacks. Splash Damage makes it nearly impossible to leave the single-player behind when you jump online. You're still inundated with the overly dramatic voiceovers and cutscenes during each match, and most of the versus modes mix bots with players. Only when you drill into ‘the Freeplay match settings do you unearth the two poorly labeled game varieties that allow you to leave the bots behind (Old Skool and Competition, for those keeping score). ‘Once you ditch the Al and hop online with friends, Brink starts to feel like a proper multi- player shooter. Like Battlefield, players choose from one of four classes at the beginning of each match ~ soldier, engineer, medic, and opera- tive ~ each of which earns experience points for performing specialized actions in a way that ‘naturally forces players to work together. As you ack up experience, you unlock new skins for your avatar and perk-like abilities. ema Players can switch classes mid-match at a ‘command post to reconfigure the tactics for the objective at hand, This comes in handy when you're transitioning from an assault objective, where you may need several operatives to hack ‘a safe quickly, to an escort mission, where a multitude of medics gives you the best chance of getting the VIP out alive without getting caught in choke point. ‘Splash Damage is best known for its work ‘on the Enemy Territory series, where the studio built maps that require players to think and act strategically to find success. This philosophy carries over into Brink; these aren't wide-open Battlefield zones or cramped Call of Duty maps. Most of Brink’s env and bullets are exchanged. Your objectives are standard fare ~ plant explo- sives, escort a VIP, hack doors, repair mission critical machinery, or defend an area. Secondary missions populate the maps as well; some grant team bonuses like supply and health boosts, while others allow you to create a shortcut to the main objective, As you gain familiarity with the maps, you begin to appreciate how ‘many tactical approaches are available for completing your mission. Finding the best places to ambush your ‘enemies with turrets, slow their progress with land- mines, or flank the objective and then executing your plan is what this game is all ‘about. This requires timing and coordination, so Brink is best played with a group of mic’d up friends. The one element where Brink distinguishes itself from the multiplayer pack is the SMART movement, a contextual navigation button that lets you run and climb effortlessly through the environment. Characters move too slowly for my liking (even with the smaller body type that increases your parkour abilities), but | enjoyed the streamlined freedom of movement. tt seems like a subtle change, but when ! booted up another shooter I found myself wishing my soldier would automatically vault small obstacles as | held down the sprint button, ‘The gunplay isn't as memorable, Brink fea- tures your standard arsenal of weapons, most of which are unlocked along with attachments by completing boring challenges in an otherwise forgettable separate game mode, Weapons within the same class don't distinguish them- selves in any meaningful way, and shooting them is hardly satisfying. Every gun suffers from an inordinate amount of recoil, headshots are not one-shot kills, and even grenades and mines don't do mortal damage. Most disappointing of all are the myriad rookie mistakes Splash Damage made in the front end. Brink lacks a pre-game party lobby where you ‘can gather all your friends before looking for a match ~ a major faux pas on consoles these days. You also can't equip new abilities you just unlocked between matches without dropping out to the main menu. Without dedicated servers, the in-game performance is dependent upon the host's connection quality, and I frequently experi- enced an unplayable level of lag. Brink is not a bad game. If Splash Damage can stabilize the performance and fix some glaring omissions (like a pre-game lobby) with a patch, 'd gladly spend more time with it. But with only eight multiplayer: maps, 20 progression levels, no clan support, and average gunplay, it's not a good value proposition. Especially considering many Xbox Live games offer a similar amount of content for a fraction of the price. » Matt Bertz irt Gymkhana Jar girectemee & SILVER the large world of off-road racing in al its forms, This philosophy was whittled down slightly with fewer vehicle types year after year since the franchise's 2007 debut, and Dirt 3 is the most focused entry yet. The addition of Gymkhana and the prominence of various rally racing events ~ with trucks, co-pilotless Trailblazer runs in head-to-head finale events, ‘or even in multi-car races — makes this the most thriling collection of Dirt racing to date, But there's a price to be paid for the abundance of raly racing, as the series loses momentum in its career mode. \ove Codemasters’ decision to focus on rally racing and offshoots like Gymkhana, even if it's at the expense of some of the series vehicles, like semis, and previous events, ike Hil Climb, ‘The rally racing, whether it's with or without a. co-pilot (Trailblazer) or even with other cars (RallyCross), is an exhilarating interplay of timing and subtlety between your cars’ acceleration, steering, brakes, and e-brake that makes every tum either a chance to make up lost time or a race-ending disaster. This is where the rewind tokens come in handy. ‘Gymkhana appears both as a free ride piay- ground (complete with specific, but optional, T he Dirt series ostensibly encompasses Style 1 or 2-Player Racing (8-Players Online) Publisher Codemasters Develop tasks) and a part of the career via fun events like Sprints (tackling tricks like drift slides under tight gaps in a specific order), freestyle matches where order isn’t important, and freeform con- tests. Online Muttiplayer also includes Gymkhana ‘among the more traditional race types, with capture the flag-esque Transporter events and infected-style Outbreak races. The addi- tion of Gymkhana is great — | particulary like how the free ride area at London's Battersea Power Station keeps growing as you unlock new sections. But even with this exciting new content, the game misses an opportunity to improve its career mode structure. Your career managers are nothing more than laborious voiceovers for the simple progression path. Losing the camper hub makes the HUD even more unexciting, and the rudimentary car upgrades have been stripped out. Players attachment to their cars is lessened since damage doesn’t have to be repaired between rally stages, and the sponsor- ships you eam are really nothing more than new liveries. Thus, there's not a lot of career manage- ment going on. What was once an interesting and evolving part of the franchise — that feeling that you were living an actual racing career — has 8.75 7 PS3 ¢ 360 » Concept Include more rally racing and incorporate new Gymikhana events » Graphics ‘The new night racing and falling snow look great, and they also help spice up the selection of races, » Sound Classic rally cars have throatier exhaust and, engine sounds » Playabitity ‘Along with the normal driving assists, a trick assist feature helps with the drift and donut-centric Gymkhana events, Thankfully it doesn’t make things too easy » Entertainment Dirt 3's racing and Gymkhana camy the day, even if the career structure has devolved » Replay Value Moderately High « Codemasters Relenve May 24 Z5mB T Codemasters has made a good name for itself with this franchise's heart-pounding racing and arresting graphics — which are even more strik- ing with the inclusion of night driving and falling snow. The renewed focus on rally racing and the addition of Gymkhana keeps it in good shape, even as it pares down some of its previously interesting career aspects. » Matthew Kato reviews 87 Red Faction: Armageddon Mars’ secrets were better left undisc PS3 © 360 » Concept Alinear and overly repetitive alien shooter set in subterranean Mars » Graphics ‘The playfield is usually luttered with tumbling debris and vibrant particle effects. ‘As beautiful as this game is, the aliens look like humans in {insect costumes, and do little to elicit fear » Sound Sometimes protagonists should remain silent. Darius runs his mouth whenever he can, and most of his dialogue appears to be from the book How to Sound Like a Whiny ‘Space Cowboy » Playability ‘The gunplay is rock solid, and ‘most of the weapons blow huge holes in walls. The ‘combat scenarios all feel the same, and usually fall into the © —— repetitive cycle of clearing room and moving on to the next » Entertainment Pails to hit the high marks set by its predecessors. It’s such ‘a departure that it feels like it belongs in a different series » Replay Value ‘Moderately Low rotagonist Darius Mason tries to make Red Faction: Armageddon an exhilarating adventure. He wields a gun that fires scien- tifically implausible singularities, pilots a spider mech that “accidentally” tramples an entire underground city, curb stomps anyone that dares stand in his proximity, and knows just when to spit out an angst-filed taunt at an alien that clearly doesn't understand English, For an encore, he uses a unicom’s flatulence as a | Second Opinion 6.25 Linearity gets a bad rap in gaming. By tightly controlling a player's path through a game, developers can take players on thrilling, ‘well-paced rides, Unfortunately, Volition fails | | todo this with Red Faction: Armageddon. In a critical misstep, the team took away the sense of exploration and freedom that the series offered with Guerilla and replaced it with the forget- table tale of Darius Mason and his battle against the same five or six space bugs, Destruction still plays a role in the game, but patting the action in a claustrophobia-inducing cave network limits its soope. Part of the fun in Guerrilla was driving around, finding something big, and then blasting it apart, That's largely gone. Instead, I ‘walked along tunnels waiting for the inevitable alien ambush to trigger. Afterward, I used my nanoforge to repair the walkways and bridges 1 wrecked and the cycle repeated. Some moments take place above the surface, but as soon as | Mason gulps a few breaths of fresh Martian ait | he finds an excuse to dig back in. The score- | | based Ruin mode is a reminder of what made its predecessor so much fun, simultaneously making the disappointment that Armageddon delivers even worse. » Jeff Cork: weapon of mass destruc- tion. All of these awesome experiences can be yours if you don't mind choking down hours upan hours of repetitive gunplay. I spent most of my time annihilating five or six ciffer- ‘ent alien types within cav- ‘ems that all look strikingly alike. | started getting far too excited over the most insignificant environmental differences, like one cavern having a crystalline stalac- tite formation or another replacing the typical rock. path I'd traversed with destructible steel grating. The environment, as drab as itis, provides creative ways to attack foes - such as the magnet gun's abil- ity to hurl large chunks of metal across vast chasms — but | had to go out of my way to make the firefights entertaining. Most of the aliens, who look ike /ered giant insects from a Roger Corman science fic- tion movie, can be downed with little effort. This. includes wildly flailing a hammer. The genocidal repetition is periodically broken up with a great vehicular sequence. Darius jumps into an ron Man-lke suit that packs plenty of firepower and can lower its shoulder to dash through heavily fortified structures. A few levels take place exclusively from a mech’s cockpit, where Darius rains swarm missiles down upon armies and their fortresses. The most surpris- ing vehicle is a spacecraft heavily Inspired by Descent (another of the company’s beloved franchises). The time | spent in the vehicles was my favorite part of this game. Challenge is practically non-existent in these moments, but each craft controls beautifuly and the vast ‘amounts of destruction they unleash created dazzing spectacles. Most of the destruction is crammed into suf focating caverns, so you won't see as many giant towers toppling over as you did in Red Faction: Guerilla. That said, weapons like the singularity cannon and magnet gun still allow players to artistically pick apart buildings and set up camage-filed chain reactions. The arsenal Packs more of a punch than Guerila's, and the destruction it delivers is more satisfying, but most of the game's structural damage is not tied to ‘objectives. Guerrila's amazing demoition puzzies and faction-crippling structural assaults against the EDF are nowhere to be found in this game. Gueriila favored open-worid exploration and side quests. Armageddon is a linear shooter bogged down by mundane gunplay. Although it is a sequel of sorts, i's a much different game, sharing more in common with a Call of Duty ‘campaign than any other Red Faction game. ‘Should Darius somehow lose his way on a ‘Style 1-Player Action (4-Player Online) Publisher THQ Developer Volition Release June 7 ESRB M narrow, straight path, or, heaven forbid, spend a few seconds gawking at the gorgeous texture work and detailed space-age technologies, large, glowing arrows appear in front of him, leading to the next uninspired alien bug fight. Even the game's newest addition, the abilty to repair objects, is used mostly to fx stairs and bridges along this linear path. I's cool tech, but litle fun comes from it. If you're hoping this bumpy ride might be worth enduring for the story, which has histori- cally been one of the series’ weaker points, | have bad news. This tale is an incomprehensible mess. The singular highlight occurs early on, when humanity discovers itis not alone on Mars, noe the aliens scurry from the depths of the red planet, the plot unravels into a testosterone filed “kill ‘em all” set-up. | couldn't tell you what hap- ened, although it does include an alien queen and a character that looks like an out-of-place Star Wars Sith Lord In addition to the campaign, Armageddon offers an enjoyable score-based challenge in Ruin mode. Here, payers are tasked with blow- ing up as much stuff as they can in a set amount of time on five tiny maps. Another mode, called Infestation, plays out just like Gears of War 2's Horde mode. Infestation lasts for 30 waves, and progressively gets more challenging after each one is completed. Volition makes these challenges true tests of skil, but there isn't much reason to sink more than a few hours into these modes. Armageddon is an unimaginative shooter, showing more creativity in Darius’ tribal tat- toos than in any of its combat scenarios, lf you're looking for a memorable Red Faction experience, you're better off playing Gueriila again, » Andrew Reiner LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean Plundered from past installments Style 1 or 2-Player Action Publisher Warner Bros. Inter- active Developer Traveller's Tales Release May 10 ESRB E10+ either on board with the concept or have already abandoned ship. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't enhance the LEGO franchise as the Clone Wars game did a few months back, but it offers another well- executed entry. Not surprisingly, the game loosely follows the adiven: tures from the four Pirates of the Caribbean movies. If you dicin't fully understand what was going on in the films, don't expect to gain any insight here. The minifigs' panto- mimes and slapstick routines provide plenty of chuckles and odd references to pigs and carrots, but even they ‘can't make any sense of the series’ convoluted mythol- ogy. Sulice to say, all you have to worry about is slashing the bad guys, breaking crates, and collecting piles of valuable LEGO studs. You know the routine by now. AAs with other LEGO games, characters are divided into several classes that define their roles in puzzles. Captain Jack Sparrow and other swordsmen can go against ‘common sense and use their blades as levers to open doors and switches. Others can blast siver components apart with explosives, drag heavy objects, and double- jump to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. None of these feel like they add anything the overall formula, aside from the introduction of a few undead pirates who can walk on the ocean fioor. LEGO Pirates has more in common with puzzle- focused entries such as LEGO Harry Potter than it does with the more action-oriented Star Wars games. Don't worry — you'll stil swap steel with more than your share of scurvy dogs before the game ends. It's just that there's a ‘whole lot of item fetching and environment manipulation between battles, which can become tiresome. With his bizarre appearance and woozy mannerisms, ‘Sparrow is undeniably the draw of the movies. He fils a similar role in the LEGO version of the game. One of the problems with LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is that the ‘campaign isn't populated with many interesting charac- ters; during the actual campaign you're either playing as Sparrow or someone who may as well be called "Not Captain Jack.” A few months ago, | reviewed LEGO Star Wars lll: The Glone Wars. That game introduced some light RTS ele- ments to the series, along with loads of vehicle-based missions, and a huge cast of playable characters. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean falls short of that high mark, delivering a more traditional LEGO experience, That's not to say that Pirates is a bad game — quite the contrary. It’s just puzzling to see a series that has struggled to evolve take a step back.» Jeff Corl: n t this point in the LEGO series’ lifespan, you're For the extended review, please visit gameinformercom y | PS3 © 360 © Wil » Concept Play through whimsical retreads of the films while collecting loads of treasure » Graphics Seeing bricked-out interpretations of familiar faces and places is still a treat, even after all these years of LEGO games » Sound Characters still communicate through grunts and silly gibberish. The music is a perfect accompaniment for ‘swashbuckling adventures » Playability It’s exactly what you'd expect from a LEGO game, including a big cast of characters, light purzle elements, and awful platforming sections » Entertainment A solid entry in the series, though it lacks the overall punch that its Star Wars- themed contemporaries offer » Replay Value Moderately High Second Opinion 7.5 The LEGO version of Captain Jack Sparrow game. Har gameplay takes advantage of the license. Regardless of the uninspired di joyable Andrew Reiner vent Child of Eden A stint of synaesthesia Style 1-Player Shooter Publisher Ubisoft Developer Q Entertainment Release June 14 ESRB E10+ tized players with trance-inducing visuals and pulsating beats as they eradicated viruses and firewalls within cyberspace to keep an Al called “Eden” from shutting down. Roughly a decade later, a spiritual successor to the cult hit emerges to deliver a similar multi-sensory experience via Kinect Child of Eden is an on-rails shooter that tasks players with rescuing the endangered Lumi from viruses attack- ing Eden, a futuristic version of the Internet, From the introductory Matrix archive to the grand finale in Journey, players shoot a unique array of enemies while switching between homing and rapid-fire shots or using a bomb that cleanses all viruses in your path The game gives you the option to use either Kinect or a standard controller. With Kinect, you use your right hand to guide a blue reticle to lock onto enemies and then flick your hand to fire homing missles. You can then seam- lessly switch to your left hand to guide a purple reticle for quick fre. This seems simple at first, but when enemies begin to invade at full force, strategy comes into play when determining which type of fire will quickly cleanse the various types of viruses while keeping your health meter intact. | found Kinect to be the superior of the two input methods; guiding the reticle with hand gestures is incredibly accurate. if your arms need a break, the con- troller option works well enough. Players move through Eden's beautiful environments at a slower, more deliberate pace to give players a chance to absorb the game's gorgeous design, which at times feels a little too slow. The game is at its best in the few high speed, frantic shooting sequences sprinkled across the archives. It wasn't until the second to last archive, Passion, that | had a true appreciation of Mizuguchi's Vision. This level showers you with sensory overload, cleverly uses the simple shooting mechanics, and boasts a visual style uniike anything | have ever seen. My excite- ment grew as | zipped through the final archive that followed, but ike Rez, Child of Eden abruptly ends the immersive experience right when it hits its stride. Each of Child of Eden's five archives takes a mere 10 to 25 minutes to complete, putting game length closer to those of downloadable tiles. A few unlockables give Child of Eden replay value, including an additional chal- lenge mode level, art and video galleries, and decorations for Lumi's garden in the main menu screen. However the most valuable prize is new visual effects. Selecting a cif- ferent cosmetic effect drastically changes the aesthetic of each archive, giving the levels a whole new feel, Though brief, Child of Eden offers one of the most unique Kinect experiences to date. It's unfor- tunate our time in Eden's gorgeous confines ends too soon. » Annette Gonzalez i; etsuya Mizuguchi's musical shooter Rez hypno- YM GMM) 360 » Concept ‘Save Project Lum from the viruses that plague Eden in this on-rails musical shooter » Graphics Child of Eden's levels, or “archives,” are an aesthetically pleasing experience » Sound ‘Tetsuya Mimuguchi delivers hypnotizing tunes from his band Genki Rockets. Shots fired make a colorful ‘contribution » Playability ‘Though Kinect offers a superior experience over the controller, both input methods work » Entertainment Child of Eden's multiple difficulty modes (including a God mode make it accessible to players of all skill levels » Roplay Value Moderate reviews 89 Cole MacGrath’s journey continues in a convoluted but action packed supethero story Graphics New Marais is a rich backdrop for encounters with towering monsters and chaotic action. More of the story is fleshed out in finely animated cutscenes Sound Cole's new voice actor better fits the character. The score dettly bounces between ‘musical styles and is always appropriate for the mood Play Camera tracking is problematic at times, but never had to fuss with the controls. Cole's move set has evolved to handle any ‘combat scenario Entertainment Worth playing through twice to see both stories, and you can also spend counties hours in the mission editor Roplay Value High 90. reviews Infamous A her areetomes SILVER | 1 Infamous’ final moments, we learned that | Cole MacGrath was destined to save human- | ity from a powerful being known as “The Beast.” This message was sent from a future version of Cole, who had gone back in time to ‘shape his younger self into an instrument of destruction capable of stopping the threat. This plan didn't work for John Gonnor or the robots in the Terminator movies, and to no surprise, it doesn't work here. When the Beast arrives in the first few seconds of Infamous 2, Cole wastes no time trying to fulfil his destiny. Their battle consists of heart-pounding aerial combat, narrow escapes, and massive environ- mental damage ~ all beautifully framed to show a towering sense of scale. The Beast stands over 200 feet tal, and the trail he blazes leaves noth ing but death and embers where buildings once stood. This awe-inspiring scene is reminiscent of the opening battle in God of War Ill, only with ‘a much different outcome. Cole's electrifying blasts only seem to anger his foe. Cole is not powerful enough to win this fight. The only hope of stopping the Beast now rests in the hands of Or. Wolfe, a scientist who believes he can amplify Cole's powers. This brilliantly designed opening gives way to an unexpected shift in tone, where a great threat looms over the entire story and uncertainty fests in the mind of all of its major players, Cole included. His act of cowardice doesn't just give this story's opening a dark The Empire Strikes Back-style tone, it leads to a dramatic change of setting Or. Wolfe lives in New Marais, Louisiana, which is basically this world's version of New Orleans. This city has a quaint, old-town feel and an invit- ing allure. Street performers line the sidewalks of the commerce district, and tourists aways seem to have their cell phone cameras activated when 1-Player Action you run past them. The beautiful craftsman- ship Sucker Punch put into this city makes it a sightseeing marvel. Battles erupt in aboveground graveyards, collectible shards hang precariously on the sides of historic neon-iit buildings, and the forgotten flooded districts and dangerous ‘swamplands lie in the shadows beyond. While New Marais lacks the architectural verticaity of Empire City, its wetlands make it a more danger- ous place for Cole to navigate, mostly because the protagonist has electricity running through his veins. Staying dry is an added challenge in any mission — a problem often solved by running along the tops of drowned fences or leaping and gliding across vast bodies of water. Cole's standing in this world, and the tale that unfolds within it, is once again dictated by player choice. “Good” and “evil” options accompany most missions, and portions of the game and story close off based on Cole's choices — making ita game you'll have to play twice if you want to see it al. However, this time around, Cole isn't as emotionally invested in the plot or choices tied to it. His role is that of an organic Mega Man, pow- ering up as he goes. The “Cole versus the Beast” piot hook isn't handled well and loses its allure as other confusing narrative threads take shape. Although this isn’t as gripping of a journey for either Cole or the player, the activities tied to both sides of the moral spectrum hammer home the feeling of being “good” or “evil,” and offer up fitting gameplay variations for each. No matter the side, Cole is capable of tearing apart city blocks. He can summon tornados, launch light- ning missiles, and for the first time, he's a force to be reckoned with in close-quarters conficts The biggest addition to his move set is melee weapon called the Amp, a giant electrically charged tuning fork used for clubbing enemies in overly styish ways. The Amp changes the her Sony Computer Entertainment Dove Sucker Punch avo June 7B combat landscape and is the perfect counter to enemies designed to get up close and personal. Cole clashes against gun-crazed military forces, mutants with razor-sharp claws, a wide variety of super powered villains, ioe titans, burrow: ing creatures, and on occasion, a creature that looks ripped from the pages of an H.P Lovecraft story It feels like Sucker Punch shoved 100 comic books’ worth of foes and plot twists into this game. The overall flow is also disrupted by the machi nations of other players who are connected to PSN. Infamous 2 comes packaged with a mis: sion editor that can be accessed from anywhere in the game world, These tools, which are remi- niscent of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater’s, are easy to use and allow players to do practically anything they want, even break the fabric of reality with magical floating objects. | created a handful of arena battles, complete with miniature stories told through text boxes, All user-created levels reward Cole with the same experience points he eams in the main game, which are used to either buy new powers or upgrade existing ones The level editor is a great addition to this open world experience. In my time with the game, it produced more lighthearted scenarios than the main game. Even Sucker Punch's dabbling with the editor provides a wackier tone, such as a mission where Zeke uses Cole to help him impress a lady. The more | played Infamous 2, the more ound myself disengaged with the story, instead enjoying the experience solely for its amazing open-world superhero fights. The game sacrifices its narrative flow for more fantastic elements. This isn’t a necessar- ily a bad thing; it just ends up being more about the action and random moments than Cole's journey. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings back In f ETE? ETD BY CAMexMonTH B'GoLo >\ orgeous, ambitious, and not afraid to kill you dead, The Witcher 2 can be a S| harsh mistress. This dark, unique world is so well realized and populated with interest: ing characters that it's easy to lose yourself in its environs, Yet, if you're anything like me, you'll hate portions of the game with a bum- ing passion. The driven Polish developers at CDProjekt boldly cut their own path in creating The Witcher 2, and their vision is one well worth sharing despite a few snags along the way. Legendary monster slayer Geralt of Rivia is the fulorum around which the fates of entire kingdoms pivot. As Geralt, the player makes decisions that dramatically impact the direction of momentous events. You're not just affecting a portion of the ending cinematic. You're picking between radically different paths with hours of divergent gameplay. Save this man, kill another, solve a town's problems or don't - nearly every thing you do has a real, noticeable impact on the world around you. RPG players have dreamed of this level of interactivity since the medium's inception, and the deftness with which The Witcher 2 pulls it off makes a mockery of the rest of the genre. Your choices shape the 30-plus hours of this heroic adventure to an unprec- edented degree, but the ending leaves much to be desired, ‘The most alluring part of the game is exploring the finely crafted, endlessly detailed world. The audio-visual presentation is second to none, which certainly helps, but the writing puts a soul behind the pretty face. You can (and should) spend hours poking around towns, reading books, talking to the inhabitants, gambling in smoky basements, and getting so drunk that you wake up with a godawful neck tattoo. The world is rich with people to meet, stories to hear, and secrets to unearth, and many of them have con sequences down the line. 1-Player Role-Playing Publisher CDProjekt/Atari ‘As amazing as the role-playing is, the gameplay is merely adequate, with infre- uent (but stunning) set piece moments and too-common frustrations. The third-person action-oriented combat is brutally difficult in the beginning. The game is tuned to be “realistic, Where just a few blows from any old longsword can ruin your day. Things get easier as you level and unlock new powers, but even a powerful witcher is two mis-clicks away from reloading his last save in most encounters. It's all too easy to accidentally target something you didn't want to and lock yourself into a long leaping attack ani: ‘mation. Allies are also known to come up behind you and prevent you from dodging away from an incoming strike. When the combat goes the way You Want it to, it can be amazing and rewarding, bbut expect to regularly curse a blue streak when it doesn't. Inventory management is a disaster. The lame crafting system clogs your bags with hundreds of nearly useless items and rewards tiny incre- mental upgrades for hours of effort. You're better off ignoring the whole thing and just pick- ing herbs to mix with monster parts for aways-useful bombs and potions. Interacting with the world is often a pain as well; targeting specific objects in the ‘environment is so finicky that | found myself regularly shufing back and forth and swinging the ‘camera around to get at a plainly visible container. The one system that | can endorse with no reservations is the character development. Each point you spend has a dramatic effect on gameplay. Some boring percentile increases exist, but * CDProjekt RED Release May 17 ESRB M at least they're noticeable - 10 percent more damage is no joke, Other abilities, like doubling the distance covered by dodge rolis or adding area effects to magical signs, are great perks that ‘can completely change the way you approach ‘combat situations. The three-and-a-half skill trees are extensive enough that you have to make tough choices, and creating a skil set that complements your style of play is great fun. You can pick apart the small missteps in the nuts and bolts of The Witcher 2 all day, but you'd be missing the forest for the trees. | play role-playing games to explore fantastic worlds, interact with interesting characters, and pull off badass stunts that only a world- saving hero could acoompiish, The Witcher 2 obiiterates all but the best competition on those criteria. As frustrating as it can be at times, this adventure's charms vastly outweigh its warts. ‘An expanded review can be read at gameintormer.com 9.25 Y. » Concept Cast the player into a dark, dangerous fantasy world but give them all the tools they need to survive and prosper » Graphics This is the best-looking game I have ever seen. ‘The artis fantastic and varied, and the engine is capable of meticulous detail, stunning vistas, and amazing cinematic scenes Sound ‘The score is a fine backdrop, Dut the excellent voice work is. the real audio hightight Playability Responsiveness during combat is the game's weak point, and there are some profoundly stupid elements to the extensive menu system Entertainment Screamingly frustrating at times, this is nonetheless ‘one of the most engrossing, creative role-playing games Tye had the pleasure of playing Roplay Value Moderately High reviews 91 » Concopt Make subtle improvements to the classic while maintaining its original feel » Graphics ‘The 3D effect is great, but you'll want to turn it off when aiming » Sound Ocarina’s classic melodies sound as great as ever, but Navi is even more annoying thanks to her repetition of Nintendo's “You should take a break!” company line » Playability Managing inventory and gear on the touchscreen is a ‘welcome improvement to the original menu system » Entertainment It may be over a decade old, but Ocarina of Time still plays wonderfully » Replay Value ‘Moderately High aw t well, but if there’s one that could use a tune-up, it's Ocarina of Time. The gameplay holds up 13 years later, but as one Of the first 8D console titles, the visuals look rough. With Ocarina of Time 3D, one of the greatest games of all time looks and plays va elda games have traditionally aged very better than ever. This is the perfect way to intro- duce it to a new generation of gamers. Ocarina of Time 30 is a faithful recreation of the classic, and its slight tweaks are all wel- come. My favorite is the implementation of gyroscope controls for aiming. It may sound like gimmick, but aiming your bow, hookshot, or slingshot by moving the 3DS feels more natural than any aiming mechanics of the Wii remote or 2 reviews A> LHynlle field can be a dangerous place at night The Legend of | Zelda: ( Ocarina of Time 3D ‘We've done it a milion times, but we still get excited whenever we get to the Master Sword Move Controller. It's extremely responsive, and offers quicker and more accurate aiming than the circle pad. ‘Once you've played the shooting gallery or Phantom Ganon fight this way, you won't want to go back to the traditional method. Another great change to the clas- sic formula is the improved inventory interface. Having all of your items accessible on the touchscreen means players can spend more time playing and less time organizing their stuff. The original only offered three C buttons for iterns, but the 3DS has four customizable item slots, and another button is permanently dedicated to your ocarina, Switching shields, tunics, or swords is only a couple taps away, and you can also view the overworid and dungeon maps on the bottom ‘screen. While it's nice to see the map blown up in this manner, the live area map that shows your location is relegated to a tiny overlay on the top soreen's HUD. | would have preferred to see this on the large map in the bottom screen, but it isn’t a huge inconvenience. The improved inventory mechanics are espe- Gially helpful in the dreaded Water Temple. Originally, the iron boots were in the gear section ‘of your menu, meaning players had to constantly pause the game whenever they needed to equip ‘or unequip them. This time around, players can assign a specific button to the iron boots just like ‘any other item in the game. In addition, new col- red lines make the location and function of the water level switches more evident. If you need the water level at a specific point, it's far easier with this minor tweak than it was when nothing was marked. The temple is stil a beast, but it's less infuriating than it was in 1998. Longtime Nintendo fans have been frustrated by the company’s recent insistence on includ- ing super guides, and a version of this concept appears in Ocarina SD in the form of Sheikah stones. These stones appear in the Temple of Time and near your home in Kokiri Forest, and Link can craw! into them “to receive a vision of the future.” These short video clips blatantly show you the solution to a puzzle or section of a dungeon. | can't imagine being so stuck in a dungeon that I'd rather hike back to Kokiri Forest than stick around until | figured out the solution, but it might be helpful to gamers unfamiliar with the series, ‘One place you won't find the Sheikah stones is in the Master Quest. Unlocked after beating the original game, this re-cone version was originally released as a pre-order incentive for Wind Waker. Dungeons maintain the same room layout, but puzzles are completely different and it's much more difficut. In a new twist on Master Quest, the 3DS version also mirrors the entire map, which shakes up the experience further, The Master Quest adds to the replay value consider- ably, and Nintendo also includes a gauntlet-style boss challenge mode that unlocks after conquer- ing the Master Quest. Ocarina of Time 3D is my new favorite way to play one of my top 10 games of all time. Its updated visuals look great in 3D, the touch- soreen streamlines inventory issues, and aiming with the gyroscope feels ike much more than a gimmick. Whether you're.a newcomer to the series or a Zelda veteran, this game needs to be in your 3DS collection. » Dan Ryckert Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion jomeone sto! 1 ld the fun rach 2 Style 1-Player Fighting (1 to 4-Player Online) apaya Studios Relea: “Tr he concept behind Punch Time Explosion is a clever one: assemble | a group of iconic Cartoon Network characters, cram them into a Super Smash Bros. clone, release it on Nintendo's hot new kid-friendly hand: held, and rake in the cash. However, only two kinds of people are likely attracted to this formula - those who have never played a party fighter, and fans so entrenched in the Cartoon Network that their brains break thinking about Dexter vs, Samurai Jack. Everyone else will likely tune out before you can say, “Don't touch that dial,” Every non-Adult Swim Cartoon Network star you'd expect is here, from Dexter to Ben Tennyson. Instances like the glut tonous Chowder mistaking a Powerpuff Gil for something delicious-sounding are entertaining, but even fans of the ani mated shows may find the dry story lack- ing. If you're playing a fighting game for the story, however, you're doing it wrong. ‘Anyone who has played a hectic brawier will likely be disappointed the moment they throw their first punch. Movement is slow and unresponsive, resulting in sloppy brawls with players accidentally roling off clifs and facing the wrong direction. As in Smash Bros., players have a percentage that builds as Crave Entertainment June 21 ESRB B10+ they take damage, increasing the odds of getting knocked off screen. Sometimes | was sent careening off the stage despite my low percentage, leading to repeated frustration. Even worse, when playing muttiplayer you can only view the damage of the enemy you're presently fighting, ‘and in single-player you can only see your damage percentage. The single-player campaign spans across every iconic world and incorpo: rates each character. Traditional bouts are mixed in with platforming sections that stretch the game's imprecise physics to their limits. | faced off against tired clichés Such as rolling barrels, crumibling bridges, and flaming boulders that materialized out of thin air (an annoying bug). You must ‘complete this mode to unlock the game's best characters - such as Captain Planet and Dexter's dad — for use in the bare- bones multiplayer, but that's hardly worth the trouble. Punch Time Explosion had a good ‘opportunity to impress 3DS owners hungering for a worthwhile experience fol: lowing the handheld's weak launch lineup, but it simply falls in ine with the other dis- appointments. Cartoon junkies may love seeing their heroes in action, but those Used to Smash Bros. poiish will want to pass on this one. Tim Turi Copy and paste the Smash Bros. schema, but swap out Nintendo characters with Cartoon Network favorites: Graphics You'll stop caring about the three-dimensional visuals after the first few moments. ‘The character models are loyal to the cartoons, but everything else feels generic Ifyou didn’t already know each characters’ catchphrase, you'll have them memorized in no time Imagine playiag Sinash Bros. but without the tight controls, reliable physics, or chaotic action Entertainment Tan see no one but extreme Cartoon Network fans enjoying this, Replay Value Moderately low STATION 3 Kong Fu ive 85 Feb-11 Rad Dead Redemption Far: Legends of ion Fab-t1 sstsnis Creed Botheriond /825°De610 LEGO St Wars It Undead Nghimare 8 Dect0 Falout New Vegas 85 De0-10 Sri Osnmerce Feemed2. 728 Aprit_ Tha Cone Wars 85-May-11 Rush NAc EePatct «= Marit coneeacenret eee od Oe 45 dant UiteSioPianet2 950 Febet Sat Unesctes 85 Mart Hard Garp: Ung 9 Feta itso g2scapet) Main and ne so © ventt toy Pouaanits stot DU Fe Ope 3 Deni. _Forsten Keadom 8 0x10 SmasiThe amibeos10 Deathy Halows: Pant SS anc hime Super Doe 8 Moyt1 MaerLengue Gasebal 211 6 May-1t Stam Sot Seeppers 7 Mops Hornatont 7 Msy-11 e. 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SOCOMA:US NewSeds 7.75 Juvit fons 15 dant 62 oomajen, Mave Super Heo Sua Spare Pars 8 Marti Inns of Wald 7 aunts 2 B00 2 swreey i 675 Feb-11 spanetaise 5 Fest sey Rice 7 vans so Space’? cnr pets — 85 Ment Keowct Advrtures 75 sats Hoo? 9250810 pee one S25 Nett Seam 725 feet} Knoct Spots 8 Jantt merce 625 et ee SSVFSA tyes From Spsce rectne 8 dit iy Might & Magic: ‘About A Blob 875 Apett Knights Con a es rion 7 6 ett “Beir toy A a7 fort reper 7 gett ferent OO a et ee eS et out: New Vegas PREG |) eisreato cm tlm ‘92500011 Tour 12: The Masters: 9 Maylt Major League Baseball 2K11 = May-11 Salsa cmnecay, Malone S50 Tene Cis: Raung Siam 675 Jantt Marvel Pb 85 dant Rimcets eso Se 5 Sri! upsond 85 Nr Mil Sip Ha Se an Tso 5 MFA) eeuies Peon toe a Ueto Teiy: Sot 2801 © Mart Dead Space'2 eFeb-ts) The lninty Gout 675 Foo-11 2 Cop Ung SMES Connie mean omamcty marBekdon 45 Jer-11 Ogrmaener Vere Sie, The 85 May-11 Matel Capeem ein Out SET Tho Worst 776 Merit pura ges best Fate of Two Moras 925 Nec Day Halows: Pati 5.5 Jans PeMadCramparin WE At Stars 78 Mar11 Dragon Age 825 awit Meta Jockaon cnetont pilot pe eter Bae ars Revenge 75 A011 yeasty Waris 7 G) dns, ae cewene: EAM _ congas, Rural Move Hose 8S Mort ey Dort Kaw Jack 8 FeDIT EA parte MMA 85 Deco MOM& Mage: Ae Pera? 95:1 Gah of Heres HO 778 havi its Contact 7 hoes Fabien geDec10 1.75 | Dungeon Defenders Platform PS3 + 360 Release June ESRB E10+ Dive into the co-op with your friends to see all of the fun, strategy, and depth Dungeon Defenders has to offer. If you're more interested ina single-player experience, look someplace else. — Joe Juba Missile Fury Platform PS3 - 360 Release May 4 ESRB E10+ Bangai-O superfans and hardcore Shooter nuts should enjoy the many challenges, but others should think twice before jumping into this extremely difficult gauntlet of death. - Bryan Vore 6 | Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale Platform PS3 + 360 Release May 25 ESRB T Daggerdale has all the elements to make a fun dungeon crawler, but poor design decisions, questionable tech implementation, and repetitive, unoriginal action keep the game from delivering. — Matt Miller 5 | Kung Fu Panda 2 Platform 360 Release May 24 ESRB E10+ A charming cast of characters does a great job of Inoving this Kinect title’s story mode along, but occasional lag in full body combat sequences, a noticeable lack of polish in minigames, and off- putting difficulty spikes do little to make the user feel like a Kung fu master. - Annette Gonzalez 4.5 | Thor: God of Thunder Platform PS3 « 360 Release May 3 ESRB T If you're looking for another Thor experience after seeing the film and paging through the character's 50 years worth of comics history, this game won't satisfy you. In fact, you'd probably have a more authentic Thor experience if you ran through a renaissance festival with a hammer and a cape yelling ‘verily!’ - Ben Reeves 7| MX vs. ATV Alive Platform PS3 « 360 Release May 10 ESRB E MX vs. ATV's one-of-a-kind Tacing remains, but Alive has a void because parts of it have been removed. Free Ride areas are smaller and less interesting, freestyle and Supercross are absent, and I had to work too hard for XP to unlock too little content. — Matthew Kato 1.5 | The Fancy Pants Adventures Platform PS3 + 360 Release April 20 ESRB E Original design and a quirky style keep Fancy Pants enjoyable throughout, but some significant features need a little tweaking before this sketchy hero can stand with the big platforming heavyweights. — Matt Miller 8 | Gatling Gears Platform 360 Release May 11 ESRB E10+ As much as I enjoy the striking Advance Wars-esque graphics, tight twin-stick shooter mechanics, and entertaining upgrade system, my enthusiasm slowed later in the campaign when things got repetitive. — Bryan Vore the sore Visit gameinformer.com for the full reviews Mince 5 Mont ‘Merial Kombat 95 dunt Nara 8 dant (Operation Fashpoint: Red Fiver 6 Jun-11 utand, oe uuett Pac-Man Championship’ ation OX 9 Jatt Pinball 2: 9 dant Postal2 95° Juett Push Attack: ExPatot = Mar-11 Section 8: Prejucice 8 ett Shit 2 Unieashed 85 Moy ‘Sims 9: The ‘9 DeoH10 Spare Parts 8 Marit Splatterhouse 5 Feb-tt Stacking 85 Marit ‘Super Meat Boy 900-10) ‘Swarm 7.25 ort Tost Drive Uneited 2 85 Mactt Tian Woods PGA Tour 12: Tho Mastors 9 Maya Torchilght 8S May-11 Ton: Evoluton 45. don-t1 “wo Worlds I 7.78 Mart Verica 55 Mart) WWE Al Stars Yar's Revenge Yoostar2 ‘ You Don't Know Jacke 8 Feb-11 Babyeiting Mama 3 vont BL Tp Pu 8.25 Matt Concat 2 6 unit Create 5 arth de Blob 2 8 Apt Ds Horo2 1925/Deo-10 ‘Donksy Kong County Returns 915) Deo-10 Epc Mickoy 178 Janet Fp’ Tatod Works 35. 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Jan-11 Dungeons 7 eet Ftout: Now Vegas 85 De-10 haratont 7 May-13 Magik 75 Aorist ‘Operation Pashpoit: Red Fiver 6 unt Ponta 2 95 oes ‘Section 8: Proce 8 nt ‘Shit 2 Urieashet 85 May-11 ‘Ser Mecha, The 7 durtt Total War: Shogun 2 95 Ape Two Worlds 775 Matt ‘Watharrmee 40,000: Dawn of Wir = Retrbution 1.75 Mayt Yer's Revenge 75 Aertt Dragon Ouest Vi Reains of Revelation 85 Mart Ghost Tick: Phantom Detective 6 Feb-11 Volume X41 © Number 7 © Issue 219 ‘Kingdom Hearts Reicoded 6.75. Fob-11 LEGO Star Wars It “The Gone Wars 65-May-11 ‘Maco vs. Donkey Kong: ‘MiseLand Mayhem 8.25 Deo-10 Monster Tale 8 Apri Oramien 875 Marit Plants ve. Zombies 8.25 Feb-1 Pokémon Blackie 875. Mart Radiant Historia 875 Marti Sonic Colors 8S dan-t1 ‘id Bitay, The 6.75 May-11 Dissidia 012 Fal Fantasy 7 Apett Fal Fantasy N- The Complete Colction 8.5. May-11 God of War: Ghost Sparta 9.5 Deo#10 ndeinats 7 Deo-10 {LEGO Star Warsi “The Clone Wars 85 May-11 Lord of Arcana 7 Matt Patapon 3 678: Jun-t1 Tactcs Ope: Let Us Ging Together 9 Marti Ys: The Osth in Felghana 86. Jan-11 Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars 825 May-11 LEGO Star Wars Tha Clone Wars 85 May-11 Maden NFL 308 6 May-tt Notendogs + Cats 685 May-1t Potwings Resort 7.28 May-11 Fide Racer 90 7.28 May-11 ‘Steal Diver 4 May-tt ‘Super Stret Fighter IV 9 Agent 30 Eaton Yom Clancy’ Spinter Col30. Set A first-hand account of the gutsy, borderline illegal tactic that transformed Electronic Arts from a PC game 7 _ 8, >~ - Reverse It’s tough to imagine the game industry with- out Electronic Arts. From groundbreaking titles like The Sims to the yearly cash cow Madden, many of the company’s games have driven innovation and crossed over into main- stream pop culture. Just this year alone, the publishing juggernaut has released critically acclaimed titles Dead Space 2, Fight Night Champion, Bulletstorm, and Crysis 2. The void the company’s absence would create is considerable. But EA wasn’talways a major player on home consoles, and it may never have been if a risky gambit to reverse engineer the Sega publisher into a console-dominating giant classic 97 ly RT “OO A Midas Touch he sun is piercing through the Red Rock Casino windows as | take a seat across from former Electronic Arts chief cre- ative officer and current Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, & Byers part- ner Bing Gordon. The previous ‘evening at the DICE summit, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences honored Gordon's impressive career by giving him the Lifetime Achievement ‘Award, Looking at his resume, it's easy to see why he was up for the accolade. From his leadership role in growing the EA Sports brand to his integral involvement in driving investment for social games pioneer Zynga and mobile gaming company Ngmoco, he's demonstrated an uncanny ability to bet on winners throughout his career. With Gordon beaming proudly and in a nostalgic mood, | took the opportunity to ‘ask him about Electronic Arts’ cloak and dagger approach to breaking into the console market, a story we've heard mentioned vaguely over the years — but never from someone intimately involved with the operation. “Electronic Arts missed cartridge video games,” Gordon openly admits. “We had this belief in Moore's Law and we launched only on floppy discs even when computer games were mostly on cassette. We just believed that was the future and the future was going to win.” For the most part, EA was winning. Founder Trip Hawkins started the company in 1982 with @ unique strategy that strove to treat its devel- opment talent like artists and rock stars. With a.willingness to market the talent behind the game, the company attracted many of the best and brightest in the business. EA splashed onto the scene with landmark games like Bill Budge's Pinball Construction Set and The Bard's Tale. ‘Thanks to its forward-thinking marketing cam- paigns, strong relationships with retailers, and deep pool of executive and developmental talent, EA became a mainstay on the PC charts. A Hitchhiker's Guide To Consoles hen Nintendo brought the NES to North American shores in 1985, EA was skeptical of its chances for success. The video game Market had just crashed in 1983, bankrupting many North American gaming companies and Permanently scarring market leader Atari in the process. A quick recovery seemed unlikely, ‘especially when the PC platform offered so much more computational power. Why take the chance on an inferior technology? “Nintendo came out and we felt it was dirty and kind of a step backwards,” Gordon recalls. “We had mixed feelings in the company. There were some who said, "You don't get it, this is Asega executive “If you want a differe to reverse engineer the way more fun.’ Middle schoo! kids and suddenly presidents were playing games instead of household name and eaming the company the undying alle- giance from a new generation of young gamers who saved their weekly allowances to buy the must-have console. Despite Nintendo's newfound success, some EA execu- tives still questioned the viability of publishing on the platform. “EA was in deep denial,” Gordon ‘admits. A courtesy visit to the retailer Toys “R” Us in 1988 changed the hearts and minds of the remaining reluctant executives. Behind closed doors, Toys “R” Us showed EA its monthly sales numbers for every product iin the store. When they arrived at the games section, it wasn't hard to see the breadth of Nintendo's reach. Running down the list of the best-seling games, the first PC tile didn't show Up until the third page. The rest were Nintendo ‘games. “It was like, ‘Oh my god, this is data we can't ignore,”" Gordon remembers. After this rude awakening, EA knew it couldn't ignore the home console'’s earning potential. But when it approached Nintendo about obtaining a licensing agreement, it became clear that making money on the NES wouldn't be easy thanks to the Japanese company’s unwavering approach to third parties. “Nintendo was operating with near monopoly power,” Gorcion says. “They had like a 95 per- ‘cent share of the console business, and they had earned it because they took a huge risk.” Ifa publisher wanted to get in bed with the NES, they had to fly to Japan, state its case for a development system, and if Nintendo deemed itworthy there was only one deal on the table, Nintendo would sell the company a dev kit for what Gordon calls “a ridiculous price,” and after a game was finished the publisher had to send it to Nintendo, which would uttimately decide Whether our not it would be manufactured. “Wait, we spend all this time and we build a game but we don't know if we can bring it to market?” Gordon remembers asking. “They said, ‘That's right, and if we decide to bring it to market, we manufacture it and we'll tell you how many we'll build. ‘You pay us half the cost, and then we manufacture it when ‘we feel lke it. When it's done in Japan you pay the second half of the cost and we release it and you figure out how you want to ship it.”” yee dlAly tela EA: nt deal By exerting near total control over any pub- lisher who wanted to work on its platforms, Nintendo essentially operated like a legal extor- tionist under the guise of the license agreement, Even if you created a game that would fly off store shelves if given the opportunity, Nintendo could freeze you out of the market if didn't like the game, decided it was too similar to one of its ‘own games and thus cut into their profits, or felt the content didn't fit with its vision of the console EA wasn't interested in wilingly participating in this punishing one-sided relationship, so it started looking for other options. Sega had just released a new 16-bit console called the Genesis and it would soon debut in North America. EA just happened to have several successful 16-bit tiles from the Commodore, Amiga, and IBM PC that would be a natural fi A Modest Proposal hen EA inquired about publish- ing its games on the Genesis, the executives felt their proposal would be met with open arms, After all, Sega's Master System floundered due to a shallow game catalog, garnering a mere three- percent market share. With EA's developmental chops and library of proven games on board, ‘the Genesis would have a fighting chance. “We said, “You're coming out with this system ‘and you're nowhere, but we have games," Gordon recalls. “We'll make a bunch of games, but you have to give us a different license than, Nintendo because you're nowhere. We're your Jone partner."” Instead of embracing the logic in EA's proposal, ‘Sega of America president Mike Katz had other ideas. Sega wanted to emulate the Nintendo licensing agreement system, leaving little to no ‘Negotiation room for third-party publishers, “Sega said, ‘No. We're going to be as impor- tant as Nintendo and we're not going to back down,” Gordon remembers, ‘Sega's stingy response amazed EA, “You're so ‘stupid,” Gordon recalis thinking. "You can get to the majority of the market with third-party sup- port. Change the rules or we can't commit.” The discussion went back and forth for nearly ‘year, until a Sega executive boldly told Gordon, "If you want a different deal you're going to have to reverse engineer the ‘system, aren't you?” “| didn't say anything, but | went home and took notes in case of deposition - because. it turned out that we had a few engineers," Gordon says. ‘Sega had thrown down the gauntlet, and EA gladly picked it up. Under the guidance of its legal counsel, the company you're going to have system, aren’t you?” “It was a stroke of brillj x r rillian Jim Nitchals and then oe Courage from Trip Hawkins” gave two of its most talented engineers the green light to attempt a clean room. reverse engineering job on the Genesis. “The way you do itis you have to have some engineers who do whatever they want with the system,” Gordon explains. “They can basically hack the system any way they want, try to figure out how it works, and then they're now dirty. What they have to do is give instructions on how to work the system without giving away any proprietary information. They write it up and i's got to go to a lawyer and say, ‘Write to this memory location,’ but it couldn't show any of the proprietary stuff that was in the system." Once the lawyers receive the instructions, they double check the notes to make sure they don't reveal any infringing information and hand them ff to the clean set of engineers to build the sys- tems, Since they didn't have the official hardware blueprints, the clean engineers essentially started guessing at how it all tied together. Steve Hayes and Jim Nitchals (who tragically died of a brain hemorrhage in 1998 at the age of 36) worked dligently on the project to no avail for a few months, and then Nitchals had an epiphany. “He thought to himself, ‘If! was doing it maybe I'd do this memory location,'" Gordon remembers. It worked. Suddenly EA was in possession of a rogue Sega Genesis. In the following weeks EA's hardware group built several reverse engineered development systems, Unbeknownst to Sega, EA ramped up production on several Genesis games. The Gambit 1 preparation of the big reveal, EA booked a booth at the 1990 Consumer Electronics Show, with plans to showcase seven titles. In those pre-£3 years, CES ‘was the go-to convention for gaming companies. Riding the success ofits recent Game Boy Jaunch and the NES" dominant market share, Nintendo planned. to show off the legendary title ‘Super Mario Bros. 3. At the same time, Sega was planning a proper introduction to the Genesis, which had just launched in August, and NEC was touting its new TurboGratx-16 console as a must-have device thanks to anew title called Bonk's Adventure. The night before the show began, Trip Hawkins met with Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama and informed him of his company's bold feat. "We basically said, ‘We're going to run our own licensing program unless you agree to our terms,’” Gordon says. ‘Sega was caught in an uncomfortable position. IFEA went ahead with its licensing program, the ‘console manufacturer would be losing a signif Cant portion of the profit that tracitionally comes with the territory. EA could essentially reach out to other publishers and offer better returns and cheaper manufacturing costs than Sega was wiling to do. The meeting lasted through the night, and in the moming Sega acquiesced. In exchange for agreeing to join Sega's licens- ing program, EA would be allowed to manutac- ture its own Genesis cartridges, could make as many games as it wanted, and received a more favorable royalty rate. The next day at CES there Left to right: Budokan: The Martial Spirit, John Madden Football, Populous Photos of the reverse engineered Genesis provided by Assemblergames.com, a community dedicated to the preservation of video game history. total go-for-it was @ wall of 16-bit Electronic Arts titles running on the Sega Genesis. “When we announced the Sega deal, the stock went down because the market was so ignorant about what was going to happen,” Trip Hawkins later told Steven Kent in the book The Ultimate History of Video Games. After the deal was in place and EA joined the licensing program, the engineers realized they dodged a major bullet. “What we didn’t know, and it tumed out later, that we hadn't figured out all the workarounds. Sega still had the ability to lock us out," Gordon says, “It just would have ‘been a pubiic relations fiasco,” ln June of the same year, EA released its first two console titles for the Genesis, Peter ‘Molyneux’s Populous and Budokan: The Martial Spirit, In the fall, John Madden Football debuted ‘and changed sports games forever. “Ittumed out that was the best thing that ever happened to Sega, because Madden became a kiler app,” Gordon says. “Nintendo never needed third-party kiler apps. Sega and the power of a slightly open platform vaulted the Genesis.” Gordon was right. Objectively, EA's gutsy gamble benefited both companies. EA carved a considerable niche in the console space with a slew of Genesis hits like Jungle Strike, Road Rash, and the popular titles under the EA Sports label. Thanks to these games, Sega's new plat- form boasted an impressive library of games that could stand head to head with the best the Super Nintendo had to offer when it launched a year tater, “It was a stroke of brilliance from Jim Nitchals and then total go-for-it courage from Trip Hawkins,” Gordon proclaims. The rest, as they say, is history. @ Check out their videos at www.youtube.com/user/ASSEMblerEX * Hm The Tale Of The Yellow Stripe When EA signed a licensing agreement that allowed it to manufacture its titles, ‘the company knew it wanted to give each Cartridge a visual signi- fier that immediately told you the game you Were holding was an Electronic Arts title. Chief creative officer Bing Gordon and vice president of marketing Services Nancy Fong brainstormed and even- tually settled on the famous yellow stripe, “We wanted to have a visual identifier, and We never explained i,” Gordon says. “Later we heard people in focus groups say, ‘EA games are etter because they got bigger chips. That's why they got that yellow stripe, to hold it together” i TORN: classic 99 Life Beyond Gaming + John Carmack Making video games isn't rocket science ~ according to id Software co-founder John Carmack, i's a lot more complicated. He should know; in addition to creating some of the most advanced PPSs in the industry (as well as the birth of the genre itself, he also founded his ‘own aerospace company, Armadillo Aerospace, With Carmack acting as lead engineer, Armadillo Aerospace ‘completed Level 1 of NASA's 2008 Lunar Lander Challenge, winning $350,000 with its experimental VIVL (vertical takeot{/vertical land- ing) rocket. The following year his team completed Level 2, eaming $800,000. If you think video games and rocket science makes Carmack the ultimate nerd, don't say it to his face: He's also well versed in judo and Brazilian jujitsu + Will Wright Will Wright ts best known as the reator of SimCity and The Sims, games that task players with tend- ing to the needs of virtual citizens and cities. In his personal life, Wnght hasn't always been quite so responsible. In 1980, Wright won the US Express, an illegal coast-to- ‘coast race that served as the suc- cessor to the Cannonball Run. The race stretched from Brooklyn, NY to Santa Monica, CA, which Wright and his co-driver Rick Doherty compl ed in just 33 hours and 9 minutes despite getting pulled over by the police in Indianapolis. Nowadays ‘Wright fosters a decidedly less-dan- gerous hobby: His company, Stupid Fun Club, aims to foster “complete symbiotic unity” between humans and robots ~ mainly through the sharing of silly YouTube videos of robots. Some video games are so time-intensive that playing them feels like a full-time Job. You may assume that the men and women who create these games do so at the expense of their personal lives, but many of the industry's leading developers know the importance of having interests outside of the video game realm. Here are the extra jobs, side projects, and hobbies of some of gaming's most popular developers. + Patrick Séderlund DICE is best known for its military FPS series Battlefield, but its Ci Patrick Soderlund has eamed Teputation on the racetrack as well Soderiund is a professional racer for ‘Team Need For Speed, EAs inter- national association of professional drivers and builders. Since 2009, ‘Team NPS has performed in Formula Daift, GT3, North American Time Attack, and endurance races in the United States and Europe. Although a back injury kept Soderlund from participating, Team NFS won the 24H Dubai endurance rave in January. + Ken Rolston Gamers might know Ken Rolston as the lead designer for the Morrowind. and Oblivion installments of the Elder Scrolis series. When he is helping to create ich fantasy RPGs, Rolston travels the world singing laying music. For 20 years Rolston sang in a New Jersey-based quartet called We Stil Ain’t Got No Band Supper Club And Living Room Music Emporium (conveniently called WSAGNBSCALRME for shor) and this past January Rolston toured through South Africa singing with an amateur choral group, Vilage Harmony. Rolston also regularly sings and plays guitar with his wife Pat (vocals), and fellow game designer Brian Reynolds (piano), + Steve Papoutsis Few executive producers are as cool as Steve Papoutsis. While his ‘most recent video game project was Visceral Games’ Dead Space 2, Papoutsis was also the original bass player for the punk band No Use For A Name, Papoutsis played with the group from 1987 to 1995, con- Uwibuting to four full length albums, including the band’s breakthrough LP, Leche Con Carne, / + Glen Schofield As the creator and executive pr ducer of the original Dead Space, Glen Schofield knows a thing or two about creating violent, nerve~ wracking experiences. That makes Schofield's second passion all the more surprising: He's an accom- plished landscape painter. Schofield received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York's Pratt institute, and runs his own art website where he sells the acrylic paintings he's done of various landscapes and seascapes + Brian Soderberg Zipper Interactive's president Brian Soderberg may favor golf nowadays, Dut in his earlier years his sports of choice were a litle more extreme, Soderberg started riding motocross bikes in junior high, eventa- ally participating in Pro Motocross races in the Pacific Northwest. He has also competed in the Seattle Kingdome Supercross series multiple times, and won the CMC Open Pro Motocross (500c¢) In the olf-seasong Soderberg switched to freestyle ski- ing, and won second place in the Northwest aerial skiing finals, + Ray Muzyka With franchises like Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and Mass Bilect, BioWare has enjoyed a level of suooess few developers ever each. Co-founder and CBO Ray Muzyka has been equally skilled at the poker table, in addition to winning the 2006 and 2010 DIG, Surnmit poker tournaments, Muzyka: nabbed first place in the 2008 Western Canadian Poker Classie, and plaoed in the top 400 (out of 7,500} in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. 100. game over