PlayStation 2 | Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love Hands-On

When we're not fighting demon robots, we're chatting up the ladies in NIS America's upcoming fantasy strategy game.

Sakura Wars is a long-running and popular video game franchise in Japan that combines fantasy, adventure, pretty anime girls, and mech battles. The fifth game in the series, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is the first to make it to North America on the PlayStation 2 and Wii thanks to publisher NIS America. As the young samurai Shinjiro Taiga, you have been sent to protect an alternate 1920s New York City from demons, and you're supported by a group of girls who are part of the New York Combat Revue. We received an early build of the game, and even though it takes a while to get started, once you get into the game, it's tough to tear yourself away from this combination of sim-based storytelling and strategy turn-based battles.

Sporadic mech battles cater to the little boy in all of us.

The protagonist, Shinjiro, is a fresh-faced young man of 19, who has been sent to the Big Apple to lead the Star Division, a group of fighters that operate under the guise of a musical troupe. Once we arrived at our destination, we discovered that the diverse group of women expected someone with a little more experience and authority, so our first order of business was to prove our worth by being the best usher we could be (all the roles in the musical were taken already). Even though the storyline is linear, your interactions with the other members of the team affect battles later. Similar to real life, you gain a bit of trust each time you say something that the other person wants to hear.

A feature used in the previous games, the Live and Interactive Picture System (LIPS) appears each time there's an event in which you must make a choice, and make it quickly. Sometimes you just pick an answer from a list, and in some cases you move the analog sticks up or down before answering and depending on your decision, it will lead to different story branches. If you take too long and your time runs out, you'll be forced down another path. You can tell when what you've said will have a negative or positive effect, because the girls don't hold back when it comes to giving you dirty looks or winning smiles. By building the trust between you and the other women, you'll be able to execute stronger joint attacks when the time comes to fight giant robots in the sky or on land.

During our play time, we participated in one battle in which we were shown how to operate our personalized mech to fend off hostile robots attacking the Statue of Liberty. Battles are turn-based, and there's a bar to indicate the amount of mobility you have to use to either maneuver closer to the enemy or engage in combat. The more distance you travel, the less mobility you have to attack or use super moves, so there's some planning required because you don't want to just run into battle without any juice left to fight. Your teammates fight with you, and you'll be able to control their actions as well and execute joint attacks. If the fight happens to take place in the skies, your mech transforms and has the ability to fly as well as access targeting missiles.

Brown-nosing also helps.

In addition to fighting battles and talking to your teammates, you will eventually be given a camera to take pictures around town. In the initial chapter, we weren't given a ton of freedom to wander around, but when we did have some freedom, we were able to see the sights of the city before having to head back to base--which is disguised as a theater and can transform into a high-tech battle station. Each time you move to another area, you'll lose five minutes, so if you have to meet someone at a specific time, this is something to keep in mind. When given an assignment to take a particular photo, you can also check your radio to see what themes you should be going after.

Playing Sakura Wars is almost like watching an anime, with a bulk of the game focused on the interaction between the characters and the unfolding story. It switches to a 3D battlefield when a fight is brewing, and you'll have the chance to explore the streets of Manhattan when you're sent on errands. The music is lively, with a distinct jazz vibe, and even though the game is supposed to be set in 1927, it takes a few liberties, but overall it's a fun setting. Although the game rotates between adventure and combat, it's like playing a game that's almost completely on rails, with some breaks to wander off and fight some demons, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. For those who aren't familiar with this genre, it's different from a traditional Japanese role-playing game, and it may seem a little bizarre and could take some getting used to. But the game was interesting enough to hold our attention during our time with it. Look for Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love when it is released on March 23, 2010, for the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo Wii.

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"PlayStation 2 | Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love Hands-On" was posted by Sophia Tong on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:45:05 -0800

PC | The Secret World QA - The Dragon Faction Details

Game director Ragnar Tornquist shares a few more details on the Dragon secret society in The Secret World. Exclusive trailer inside.

Norwegian studio Funcom has developed online games for years, including Anarchy Online and Age of Conan. The developer is now working on The Secret World, a modern-day online game in which players join one of three secret societies headquartered in the US, Europe, or Asia to root out ancient and occult evils. One of the three societies will be the Dragon, which is headquartered in the bustling metropolitan city-state of Seoul, South Korea. Game director Ragnar Tornquist discusses some of this group's abilities and characteristics.

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GameSpot: Now that more information is being revealed about the secret societies in The Secret World, give us some more information on the Dragon secret society. For instance, even though the game will not have strictly defined character classes, surely belonging to this group will confer certain advantages and bonuses that will differentiate it from other secret societies. In which specific weapon, crafting, questing, and dialogue skills will members of this secret society excel?

Ragnar Tornquist: It's important for us to make each secret society as distinct and unique as possible, but also to ensure there's no major imbalance in player-versus-player combat or adventuring in general. There will be plenty of unique content, however, and the philosophy of each secret society is going to be radically different--which affects the storyline and the central themes of the game--but the three secret societies will remain pretty evenly balanced across the board. We don't want one secret society to be massively more popular than another, and we want players to pick the society they want based on their ideas, philosophies, aesthetics, location and story--not because they have the best powers or weapons.

Having said that, there will definitely be other fun incentives to joining a particular secret society. But we're not going to reveal everything quite yet. Secrets, you know.

GS: Give us an idea of the combat specialties of Dragon characters. We've seen a trailer in which a character, presumably belonging to the Dragon secret society, uses a katana-like sword to battle a demon. Will the Dragon character specialize in melee skills?

RT: It's really all up to you: the player. We don't want to restrict your choices because of your choice of secret society. Having said that, there will definitely be weapons--and perhaps even special powers--associated with the Dragon that the other secret societies won't have access to. And it's going to have an Asian flair, for sure, given that the Dragon has its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.

GS: And in the trailer, we watched the character ignite the sword and attack her foe with the flaming blade. What kind of occult powers will Dragon secret society characters possess--weapon enhancements, for instance?

RT: Players will be able to do the exact same thing in the game. The trailers may not be in-game renders, but they accurately reflect the kinds of powers, weapons, monsters, and locations players will find inside the game. As for what occult powers the Dragon possesses’that's going to remain under wraps for a little while yet. But there will certainly be weapon enhancements and upgrades galore’and plenty of monsters to play with.

GS: We understand that the Dragon characters tends to prefer subtlety and patience when looking to achieve their goals. How will this tendency be reflected in their adventuring and dialogue abilities? Will they have bonuses to bluffing and lying their way through conversations? Will they have enhanced investigation skills?

RT: The Dragon is an orchestrator of chaos, and this will be reflected in the story mission. Dragon players will approach events and non-player characters using that mindset--the Art of Chaos--and that makes their story very different from the other secret societies. Of course, they would never call it "lying." To the Dragon, the truth is flexible and ever moving, like the ocean.

GS: What sort of player will most enjoy playing as a Dragon character?

The subtle Dragon society.

RT: Anyone who likes a bit of anarchy, I reckon, though the Dragon still believes in order emerging from chaos. They're a bit of a puzzle box--hard to understand until you really get under their skin--and high up in the ranks, which is going to take a long time. Their ulterior motive won't become clear until the game's launched and players have settled in. I guess people who like a bit of mystery’players who think the Templars are too rigid and old fashioned and the Illuminati are too gung-ho and individualistic. The Dragon has patience. Not that playing a Dragon initiate is going to be boring, though if you're looking for clear answers [from this group], you may end up a bit frustrated.

GS: Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add about this secret society?

RT: The Templars and Illuminati may be easier to get to grips with--easier to get a handle on--but the Dragon is an interesting addition to the mix, particularly in terms of playing up the rivalry between the other two.

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"PC | The Secret World Q&A - The Dragon Faction Details" was posted by Staff on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:11:42 -0800

PlayStation 3 | Resonance of Fate Updated Impressions

A JRPG with guns and real-time moves is exactly what you can expect from tri-Ace Studio's upcoming Resonance of Fate. We sat down with two of the developers behind the title to find out all about this new IP.

Inside the realm of Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) the pressure to create something innovative and ultimately successful is ever-present. While tri-Ace Studio’s upcoming title Resonance of Fate for the Xbox 360 and PS3 has yet to tick the successful box, the mix of real-time and turn-based gameplay and absence of magic and swords in this JRPG is helping to keep things interesting. We sat down with a hands-off demo from tri-Ace director Takayuki Suguro and Sega producer Mitsuhiro Shimano to get a better insight into what makes Resonance of Fate stand out from the rest.

Resonance of Fate’s story is about a futuristic Earth, where poisonous gases have permeated the atmosphere, forcing people to build a giant air purifier tower known as Basel. A city develops around the Basel tower, with a strong class hierarchy taking charge of society--the upper classes live in luxury apartments at the top of Basel while the lower classes reside in camps and districts built around the base of the tower. Unbeknownst to its residents, Basel has a mind of its own and soon enough the giant machine begins to rule lives and control destinies. The game’s three main characters are part of the middle class, working as mercenaries and completing missions and tasks for the ruling class. Players will take control of the three characters in mission-based gameplay that will involve unlocking more and more areas of the Basel tower to reach the top, battling a mix of enemies and bosses along the way.

According to Suguro and Shimano, Resonance of Fate stands out from other JRPGs because of the decision to use guns rather than traditional magic and swords, something that the developers were unsure of at first.

’We wanted to step away from traditional RPGs and go with something that will make sense given the game’s gritty context and setting in a world ruled by machines,’ Suguro said. ’Traditional swords and magic in RPGs is becoming very banal. We wanted something different with acrobatic actions and camera angles.

’The other main difference between our game and other RPGs is the tempo. We know that Western gamers don’t really like the slow nature of the command and turn-based battle systems so we tried to create something different with the incorporation of real-time elements. We wanted to make a hybrid between an RPG and an action game.’

The real-time elements are so prominent that Resonance of Fate is in fact being marketed as a real-time game. The tri-Attack-Battle system in the game incorporates a mixture of real-time and turn-based elements in the gameplay--players will control each of the three characters in turn in order to defeat an enemy. Each character must traverse a fixed course (denoted by a blue line on-screen), which is set by the player. The objective is to make this trajectory as long as possible within the limitations of the screen in order to give the character enough time to hit the enemy as many times as possible before reaching the end of the trajectory. It is also necessary to interject character trajectories to build up something called ’Resonance attacks’, which will see all three characters attacking the enemy at the same time. Once a character’s turn is over, the enemy will make its move, followed by the player’s second character, and so on.

During attacks, characters can continually switch weapons and use a charging system by pressing the attack button at the right time in correspondence to an on-screen meter, which will increase damage. Once an enemy is defeated, new areas of the map will be unlocked and players will gain access to in-game currency and new parts to be used in the game’s extensive weapon customization menu.

’We think the battle system in Resonance of Fate is a lot easier than traditional RPGs,’ Suguro said. ’We wanted to give players more room for exploration and strategic thinking in battles by giving them an easy system to master, which will allow for more creativity if the game is played through a second or third time.’

To keep the tempo of the battles quick, the developers severely reduced the length of the battle animations, which means players will not have to wait a long time before jumping back into it.

The game’s real-time element also comes through in the animated cut-scenes, which all play out in real time. This means things like the time of day and the characters’ clothes and appearance (which can all be customized) are reflected in the visually stunning mini movies.

The game also includes three features designed to heighten its replay value: a battle retry option that lets users restart any battle if they are defeated, a quick-save feature that lets players save the game at any point, and a new game plus feature that allows players to re-play the game from start to finish using the same items as the last play-through.

’These features are there because we wanted players to think about the combat strategy they employ in battles and try out different things,’ Suguro said. ’We also wanted to give hardcore gamers the option of replaying through the game without the need to go back and acquire everything they need all over again. That way it’s more fun and challenging, and gives players more time for exploration.’

While the game is still in its final stages of development, Suguro and Shimano are confident that Resonance of Fate will appeal to the Western market as much as it does to the Japanese market.

’We were careful to remove some of the things in the game that we know Western players don’t like, like the lack of tempo during battles. We hope and believe that everyone will like it. It’s very different, from its battle system down to the visuals. It was a leap of faith for us and we hope it pays off.’

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"PlayStation 3 | Resonance of Fate Updated Impressions" was posted by Laura Parker on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:58:56 -0800

DS | Dark Void Zero: First Look and Hands-On

We get an exclusive look at a very cool Dark Void prequel for the DSi.

By now, everyone should be familiar with Capcom's upcoming Dark Void for the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360. The action game is being developed by Seattle-based Airtight Games and casts you in the role of the unluckiest cargo pilot in recent memory by the name of William Grey. Grey is going about his business flying around the Bermuda Triangle--admittedly not the smartest thing to be doing--when he's pulled into a parallel universe ruled by a race called the Watchers. When Grey shows up, he finds that he's not the only human to get pulled into the world as there's a sizable population of folk on hand. Unfortunately, the Watchers aren't very good hosts and have made a practice of enslaving newly arrived humans to do their bidding. Obviously, this doesn't sit well with Grey who opts to fight his way back home.

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As laid out in the game's backstory, humans arriving and even rebelling aren't necessarily a new thing in Dark Void's universe; case in point, the upcoming Dark Void Zero. The original game is being developed by Emeryville-based Other Ocean exclusively for the DSi as a downloadable DSiWare game and tells a tale set before the upcoming Dark Void for consoles. Now, given the hardware disparity between consoles and Nintendo's handheld, Other Ocean and Capcom have made a smart move into left field with Dark Void Zero's presentation by going retro to make the game an 8-bit NES-style 2D action game. We got the chance to play around with the bite-sized game, and we have to say, it's charming and tough.

So when we say Dark Void Zero has a retro look to it, we need to point out this is consistent across the board. Capcom has crafted an authentic and old-school experience that will make veteran gamers smile. The moment you fire up the game, you're asked to "blow" on your virtual cartridge in order to get it to work. Once the microphone detects some air, you'll get an animation of an onscreen cartridge plugging in to the bottom screen of your DS, which launches the game. When you launch the game, you'll be filled in on the story by an awesomely dramatic cinema, and by "cinema," we mean a series of blocky still images. You're cast in the role of Rusty, a character actually seen in the upcoming console game--one of the first freedom fighters in the parallel world. Famed scientist and electricity enthusiast Nikola Tesla is on hand to offer support and guidance as you set out to fight for humankind.

The game's story follows Rusty's attempts to fight the Watcher overlords and liberate the humans from their rule. The action will take place over three good-sized levels that will be set in different environments. Each locale will have its own boss, as well as primary and secondary missions to complete. Gameplay will be displayed on the DS touch screen with a map of the area you're in showing up on the top screen. Your revolutionary journey will play out in side-scrolling run-and-gun style with some platforming tossed in for good measure. You'll take on assorted enemies, which reappear after a set amount of time, and many of them are based on the foes in the console game. While you're obviously outnumbered, you'll find six different weapons and various pickups, such as fire-rate boosts and force fields that will offer a bonus for a short period of time. In addition, you'll find keys and other items you'll need for your various quests. But, most importantly, you'll find jetpack pickups that will let you fly around.

The game's control scheme is a solid two-button scheme that is pretty perfect for the running, jumping, shooting, and flying you'll be doing. Shooting is pretty straightforward: You'll just hit the button to fire and aim with the D pad. You'll be able to shoot around you, even below you on certain platforms, which is handy for dealing with foes that will come at you from different directions. Jumping has some depth to it once you factor in the jetpack. When you start the game, you won't have a jetpack and just jump. However, once you pick it up, you'll be able to mix up your button presses to take advantage of the jetpack. Holding the jump button will let you boost upward while a double-tapping jump will let you hover indefinitely. Obviously, the D pad will let you steer around and access new areas while flying.

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Dark Void Zero in action.

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Now, while we mentioned Dark Void's excellent old-school sprite look earlier, we also need to call out the game's audio. You can expect to hear an oddly comforting array of simple sound effects that represent the magic of 8-bit sound hardware. We're also pleased to hear that Bear McCreary has also gotten into the act as the veteran composer, who is doing the score for the console game and has done the music for Dark Void Zero. McCreary apparently got his hands on some old sound equipment to ensure the material would sound authentic and went to town for the DS game's music, which surely sounds of the era.

Based on what we played, Dark Void Zero is shaping up to be a funky little homage to the 8-bit era. The visuals and gameplay are almost pitch-perfect for an old-school NES game. And, the difficulty is about right in the "beat you up and take your lunch money" vein of many of Capcom's old-school classics. Look for Dark Void Zero to hit the Nintendo DSi Shop for 500 points in January.

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"DS | Dark Void Zero: First Look and Hands-On" was posted by Ricardo Torres on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:37:11 -0800

DS | Hifumi Kouno and Atsushi Inaba talk Infinite Space

Nude Maker's Hifumi Kouno and Platinum Games' Atsushi Inaba talk about creating vast universes in the upcoming DS RPG Infinite Space.

When Platinum Games first signed a four-game deal with Sega in May 2008 no one knew quite what to expect from this bunch of talented developers that once made up a large part of Capcom's successful Clover Studio.

With MadWorld and Bayonetta successfully out of the way, the team's next project will be a DS-exclusive sci-fi role-playing game with a focus on customizable spaceships. Inspired by the science fiction authors Arthur C. Clarke and Greg Egan, Infinite Space will throw players into the middle of a quest to save the universe with the help of over 200 ship designs and a wide variety of ship parts and crew members. The title was created by Platinum Games in collaboration with development studio Nude Maker.

To find out a bit more about the game and the team behind it, we spoke with Nude Maker's Hifumi Kouno and former Clover Studio CEO and producer at Platinum Games, Atsushi Inaba.

GameSpot: What is the concept behind Infinite Space?

Hifumi Kouno: This game is all about venturing into the vast universe by captaining your own fleet of customized spaceships. There are a variety of ships to choose from which you can then build on with a huge selection of available ship parts. As captain, you will also be responsible for assigning roles to your crewmen and keeping them content! As the game progresses, you’ll be able to add up to four additional ships to your fleet and create your own battle formations and strategies.

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GS: Where did the inspiration come from?

HK: I am inspired by the work of the science fiction authors Arthur C. Clarke and Greg Egan. There is a theme running through their literature, and that is how human beings face with universe. I have always wanted to explore that concept within a game. I also love science fiction series like Star Trek and the Japanese anime Space Pirate Captain Herlock.

GS: Tell us a little more about the game's story and its main themes.

HK: The major theme of the story is the human quest to understand their reason for existence within the universe. As well as this, with the setting of space, adventure and exploration are also important themes. Within the game, the player will take on the role of Yuri, the son of a famous space adventurer, and search of the mystical Epitaph, which is believed to be the key to saving the universe. The adventure is full of surprises and productive for young Yuri through various conflicts and hurdles, but glorious young days do not last long. The last half of the story mainly shows Yuri’s suffering and struggles.

GS: How is the game played and what are the player's objectives?

HK: The story proceeds by players visiting taverns and specific places on various planets. In each chapter, there will be separate objectives, and players will proceed by accomplishing each objective. There will also be small sub-events and selections that concern the main storyline, and each player can choose and decide for themselves which ones to take on. Of course, players will need to prepare their fleet for attack during their journey.

GS: Run us through the customization options in the game. How complex are these? Can you customize individual crew members as well as ship parts?

HK: Players will be able to choose their ship and customize interior modules and weapons. Regarding the crew members, players will decide where to assign the crew and what abilities to extend to them. There aren’t many customization options in the very beginning, so it should not be difficult to start with. However, the battle system has original rules. We are planning a battle tutorial movie and it should be very helpful for understanding the battle system.

GS: How big a part does customization play? Will players have to pay careful attention to how they design their ship?

HK: The specs of the ship are very different between the initial setting and the well-customized setting, even if it’s the same ship. However, it is not difficult to customize once you have learned what to do. Players will be able to cope without the need to pay careful attention. However, my advice is that players should strengthen the living conditions of their ship (i.e mess halls, crew cabins) rather than its physical strength, at least in the beginning.

Apart from the obvious elements such as the fire power and speed of the spaceship, the customization ties into the gameplay in deeper and more subtle ways. For example, how quickly your crew can respond to orders depends on how well their suitable ability is developed. It can take days or weeks for the ships to travel from one place to another, and during this time your crew can become lethargic or dejected. By implementing relaxation or entertainment rooms in your ship, you can affect crew moral which will then change the way they respond in battle.

The reason I designed the game like this and weighed heavily on customization is because I wanted each and every player to be able to complete the game with their favorite and ideal fleet. If the player is a big fan of Galactica, he/she may want to complete the game with a "Carrier" based fleet. If the player is a big fan of Star Wars, he/she may want to complete the game with big "Battleships". The player is able to complete the game any way they want, and with any ship they choose as long as they customize it well.

GS: At first glance the game appears very complex. How steep is the learning curve? Is it targeted only at experienced RPG players?

HK: As I mentioned previously, the battle system of the game is unique and original. It is up to the player how fast they understand and get used to the system. As long as they understand this and customize their ship to cover their fleets’ weak points, the game itself is not so complex. The tutorial movie that we are planning to release should help players better understand the system. You do not need to be an experienced RPG player to play. I have designed some tricks in the game, but to overcome these tricks you'll need wisdom, not experience!

GS: How slow-paced is the gameplay? Does it require patience and a keen eye for detail?

HK: There is no time limit in the game, so players can take as much time as they like. By doing this, and taking the time to explore even the places that might appear to be worthless, players will encounter various sub-events or unexpected characters. Patience is not strongly required, but wisdom is, as I mentioned previously.

GS: You mentioned a "unique and original battle system"--can you tell us a little bit more about this?

HK: Just like other RPGs, players can earn experiences and credits by defeating enemies in random encounter battles. You will then be able to build/customize your ship with the credit you earn. In some of the event battles, the crew members that join your ship may change depending on how you defeat your enemies.

GameSpot: Platinum Games has quite a pedigree. Was the idea for Infinite Space floating around before the deal with Sega or did it come as a result of it?

Atsushi Inaba: The idea initially occurred when I talked with Mr. Kouno from Nude Maker. The deal with Sega began to progress at the same time.

GS: A lot of previous titles developed by members of the Platinum Games team were more of a critical rather than commercial hit. What was your aim with Infinite Space?

AI: We did initially aim to acquire not only positive critical feedback but also commercial success. Needless to say this will also be the case for Infinite Space. However, what I am most interested in is what kind of evaluation this type of game receives overseas.

GS: What is the significance of the platform in the development of this title? Why is the DS the best platform for this game?

AI: We estimated that developing this game on other consoles would involve a huge risk, because of the amount of large-scale customization and story we hoped to achieve. I concluded that no matter how we put it together, we could not accomplish the initial plan because of the development cost and the time constraints, and as such there would be no way of making it. I made the final decision as a producer of the game of develop for the DS.

GS: Infinite Space has been on the Japanese market for a few months now. How well did the game do?

AI: I think we did a good job building the hype just before launching. However, we lost big opportunities due to the stock-out in the first week of its release, and the length of the time it takes to make more ROM cartridges. We do feel relieved to hear the users’ reactions that they are satisfied with the game.

GS: Do you think the title will do well in the West?

AI: As mentioned earlier, I am eagerly waiting on the feedback from the Western audience. I believe that their evaluation of this kind of genre/gaming may affect the future direction of producing.

GS: Is there scope for an Infinite Space sequel or perhaps a series?

AI: If we had a chance we would love to make a sequel. There is no meaning to making original titles if we don’t make sequels/series from what we learned in developing the new IP. However, this is only after we receive good feedback from the market. Above all, Sega is the IP holder so it’s up to them.

GS: Finally, what is the Platinum Games team working on next?

AI: We're working to provide titles full of originality, and to bring the market a pleasant surprise. These two themes are our eternal concept at Platinum Games. We will keep working towards these objectives and develop titles accordingly.

GS: Thanks for your time, Hifumi Kouno and Atsushi Inaba.

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"DS | Hifumi Kouno and Atsushi Inaba talk Infinite Space" was posted by Laura Parker on Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:06:24 -0800

Xbox 360 | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Update

Squad Deathmatch and a pair of new maps are the focus of our latest hands-on with DICE's upcoming shooter.

Fans of online shooters have had a great past few months with games like Left 4 Dead 2 and Modern Warfare 2 occupying the disc trays of consoles the world over. Those post-headshot cackles of glee shouldn't be letting up anytime soon, because a number of intriguing shooters are slated for release in early 2010. One of the most promising of the bunch is DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company 2, a game we've had our eye on for quite some time. Previously, we've covered some of the new vehicles you can expect to see on the snowy Port Valdez map, and we've detailed the new class customization options on the dusty Arica Harbour map. Our most recent look at Bad Company 2 gave us a chance to see two new locales and a new gameplay mode: Squad Deathmatch.

Laguna Presa is one of the new maps in BC2.

As the name implies, Squad Deathmatch is a twist on the most basic of shooter modes. The difference here is that it's not a free-for-all, nor is it a one-team-versus-the-other situation. Instead, it's four teams of four all duking it out to be the first squad to reach 50 total kills. It makes for quite a different style of combat and a much more tense and unnerving experience. Even if you manage to survive an encounter with an opponent from one squad, you never know if there's a member of another squad just waiting in the bushes for the right moment to pull mop-up duty. You also feel much more connected to your squadmates knowing that it's four of you, and 12 of them.

Another thing that makes Squad Deathmatch interesting is the way certain endgame scenarios change your play style. Say your squad and another squad are both tied at 45 total kills, with the other two teams so far behind that they're basically out of the competition. Suddenly, the strategy becomes seeking out the losing squads and trying to avoid the one that's close to you in total kills. Who cares if you die while going after the weak guys? They're already out of it. But a death against the team that's tied with you suddenly matters a whole lot more. There's also one single tank in Squad Deathmatch that acts as a sort of centerpiece for the action, allowing one team to both go on a rampage and signal to the other teams with a very loud voice where they are and where they can be killed. Overall, Squad Deathmatch adds a few very interesting risk-reward dynamics to the usual Deathmatch formula.

Panama Canal isn't the greatest place for boats when tanks are firing everywhere.

We played Squad Deathmatch on the new Laguna Presa map, an area set in a vibrant jungle where a series of small islands are separated by knee-deep pools and streams. This map has a lot of small patches of foliage to hide in, as well as a number of rickety wooden buildings that don't provide a whole lot of protection from incoming gunfire. This map is a stark departure from previous Bad Company 2 maps we've seen, which were set in snowy Alaska and parts of arid South America. We also got to play on another new map called Panama Canal, which is a shipping yard set on the famous maritime passageway in Central America. This industrial-themed map offers a demolished collection of rusted freighter boats and shipping cans and gives you the chance to cruise around in several tanks and quad ATVs.

On the Panama Canal map, we played that old Battlefield standby known as Conquest mode. As fans of the series will recall, this mode sees two teams fighting for capture points spread across the map. The first team to exhaust its total number of respawns loses, and the point of maintaining capture points is that they offer a boost to the total number of respawns your team has left. In contrast to the measured jungle-stalking of the Laguna Presa map, we found Panama Canal to be a more frenetic and explosive experience. With the ATVs zooming around and the capture points serving as magnets for a flurry of incoming grenades, this map and mode certainly felt a lot more chaotic than Squad Deathmatch on Laguna Presa.

Laguna Presa: Your ideal vacation getaway.

We've seen Bad Company 2 several times now, and we've had fun with it every time we've picked up a controller. The large-scale maps, destructible buildings, and vehicle options make for a fun and varied experience that allows you to pursue victory from a number of different angles. Whether you play as a rooftop sniper, a tank driver, or a deranged medic running around zapping enemies to death with defibrillator paddles, there's a lot of room to play how you want. Bad Company 2 is due out March 2.

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"Xbox 360 | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Update" was posted by Shaun McInnis on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:17:12 -0800

PlayStation 3 | Greed Corp Hands-On

We delved into the universe of Mistbound with a first hands-on with W!Games' industrial turn-based strategy game.

Having conquered the equestrian lifestyle with My Horse and Me, Amsterdam-based W!Games is ready to move to its next challenge. The company has set itself the not-inconsiderable task of establishing a brand-new gaming universe, complete with a full backstory and cast of characters, in which a series of games will be set. The first of these is Greed Corp, a turn-based strategy game whose simple exterior belies the deep chesslike experience that lies beneath. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a preview build of the game and try out the multiplayer skirmish mode.

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Greed Corp is set in the fictional Mistbound universe, which has been ravaged by overmining and industrial construction. The heavy industrialisation has caused great swathes of the earth to collapse, creating vast canyons and separating the earth into islands surrounded by a deep mist. The remaining patches of land are controlled by four rival factions: the Empire, the Cartel, the Pirates Trade, and the Freemans. All the factions are playable in the single-player campaign, with six stages available for each. The same four factions are also available to play in the game's skirmish mode, which pits any combination of four human or computer-controlled players against each other.

Setting up a skirmish match is extremely easy, with the aim being to destroy all your opponent's units. After choosing which faction to play as, and whether your opponent is a computer- or player-controlled character, you pick a map to play on and you're straight into the game. Each map is tailored to the number of people participating, so two-player maps are not accessible if there are three or four people playing. Not all the maps are available from the start, but they can be unlocked in the campaign mode, and because the game is turn-based, only one pad is required for multiplayer.

Each map is made up of sets of hexagonal tiles. Each tile has a different height ranging from one to six, represented by a circular icon made up of six dots, which appears when you highlight it. Tile height is extremely important to the gameplay, because when a tile's height goes below zero, it disappears from the map, taking down any units or buildings that are on it.

Walkers are lean, mean, fighting machines.

At the start of a match, each player has just one standard unit, called a walker. These are the workhorses of your faction and can be used to take over enemy buildings or destroy other walkers. Walkers can move only as far as one tile per turn if it is not already part of your territory, or any number of tiles within your territory as long as there is a clear path of tiles to them. The number of walkers you have on any tile dictates how many the enemy will need to destroy them and take over the tile. For example, if your team has four walkers on one tile, the enemy will need at least four to be able to take it over. If the enemy sends across only three, one of your walkers will remain, keeping you in control of the tile.

More walkers can be built using an armory, which has to be built using gold resources. A small amount of gold is given out at the beginning of each player's turn, and more can be acquired by building a harvester. However, at the beginning of your turn, using a harvester lowers the height of the tile it is built on and the tiles surrounding it. This initially seems like a disadvantage, but it can be used tactically to destroy enemy territory. By moving your walkers to an enemy tile and capturing it, you can then build a harvester and wipe out a large amount of enemy land quickly. This is helped by another unit called a carrier, which allows you to move any unit to any other tile, albeit for a large amount of gold.

The final unit is the cannon. This allows you to fire a shot up to five tiles away and destroy walkers. It can also kill lowered land, which causes the surrounding tiles to collapse. Though there are only a handful of units, the strategy is extremely deep, and the game gives you just 30 seconds of thinking time before plotting your moves. This leads to some frantic moments, and there is great fun to be had in outthinking your opponent, particularly when you can pull off a move he's not expecting.

Deep is the name of the game here.

W!Games has developed its own engine for Greed Corp, which looks great. The art style is steam-punk, mixing Victorian materials with modern ideas, such as the giant mechanical walkers. The environments are simple but varied, with different seasons affecting the look of the tiles, ranging from green grass in the summer, to snow-covered rocks in the winter. There are some nice graphical touches to the unit animations, particularly the carriers, which resemble blimplike creations ferrying your units to the far sides of the map.

Greed Corp is due out on Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and the PC in the first quarter of next year. Look out for more on the game in the coming months on GameSpot.

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"PlayStation 3 | Greed Corp Hands-On" was posted by Mark Walton on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:43:43 -0800

Xbox 360 | Mass Effect 2 Update - Unraveling the Mystery of Shepard

After going hands-on with the first hour of Mass Effect 2, we see why Commander Shepard was presumed dead.

The original teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2 cast a great big blanket of uncertainty on the status of Commander Shepard leading into this sequel. Whether he's alive and well or was truly "killed in action" as that video would have you believe was the big question at the time. But that was back in February, and since then we've seen a veritable flood of screenshots, videos, and advance demos showing what's either a living, breathing Shepard going about his business, or a startlingly accurate wax model. At any rate, after recently playing the first hour or so of Mass Effect 2, we can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Shepard is back. Sort of.

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Aside from being one of the more incredible scenes we've seen in a game all year, the first 10 minutes of Mass Effect 2 serve as an explanation for why Shepard would be presumed dead. This introductory sequence is really something else, so we won't spoil the details of it for you. But suffice it to say that something goes horribly wrong on the Normandy, and Shepard finds himself in a medical bay waking up to a group of faces he doesn't recognize. It turns out that Shepard's wounds have been mended by none other than the staunchly pro-human Cerberus Corporation from the first game. After some interrogating and a desperate escape from this medical station, Shepard meets with the leader of Cerberus, a shadowy figure dubbed the Illusive Man, voiced by Martin Sheen.

The conversation between Shepard and the Illusive Man is a tense and rocky one, but after some convincing, Shepard agrees to begin working for Cerberus. After all, he essentially owes his life to the company and its miraculous knack for medical science. (Exactly how Cerberus saved Shepard is still up in the air--the game strongly hints at some inorganic medical augmentations. Case in point: his scars glow a bright orange.) And thus begins Mass Effect 2's overarching story: Shephard must assemble the best team he can in order to accomplish the potentially humanity-saving, potentially suicidal mission that the Illusive Man has laid out for him. The Illusive Man has furnished Shepard with a list of some of the best talent in the universe, and much of the game will see you venturing into deep corners of space to recruit these guns for hire. They'll add to a squad already consisting of the two Cerberus employees you meet at the very beginning, the biotics expert Jacob and the so-cute-she-must-be-a-love-interest Miranda.

Jacob Taylor (right) is the first squadmate you'll have in your party.

Along the way, however, you'll encounter a number of familiar faces from the original game. What's most interesting is how prior story choices affect these reunions. Much has been made about the ability to import your save file from Mass Effect, but until now, BioWare hadn't been very forthcoming with details on this feature. After a bit of prodding, here's what BioWare was willing to tell us: The save file that you import carries over the story choices you made in the original game; provides specific boosts to your combat abilities without maintaining your old skill levels; and keeps the same gender while providing a chance for you to redesign your character's appearance.

The one example shown--we'll try to avoid spoilers here--involved a squad member whom you had a potentially deadly altercation with in the original game. If the altercation went south and the character died, you'll inevitably visit this person's homeworld and receive a cold greeting from his people, making your diplomatic quest that much harder. More importantly, though, that person will be completely absent from Mass Effect 2. But if you imported a save file from a game where you managed to smooth things over with this person, you willl receive a warm welcome and he'll be both alive and accommodating to your quest.

That's one of the big, attention-grabbing features from Mass Effect 2, but our time with the game wasn't without its little discoveries. One of these is the new armor customization system that lets you take any of the armor you find in the game and alter the look of it down to its colors and finish. There's also a post-mission recap screen that gives you a better sense of how you've progressed if you were too focused on combat to notice your various pickups and upgrades. The screen gives a plot summary of the mission you just completed, the new weapons you acquired, how many credits you found, any new skills and levels gained, and other details. There are also a number of new minigames used to unlock safes and bypass security systems that require quite a bit more mental acumen than the Simon Says-style games from Mass Effect.

Tali is one of the familiar faces you'll run into early in Mass Effect 2.

We could go on about how quickly Mass Effect 2 picks up and the new faces you'll meet early on, but we don't want to give away too much. All you need to know is that the end of our demo came much too soon. It looks like BioWare has made good on its promise to deliver a darker, more engrossing game than the original, and one that has minimized its predecessor's technical gaffes. We'll need to wait to see how two of the biggest flaws from the original game play out--inventory management and vehicle control--but we're optimistic about Mass Effect 2 just the same. While you wait for more coverage, be sure to check out our other previews of Mass Effect 2.

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"Xbox 360 | Mass Effect 2 Update - Unraveling the Mystery of Shepard" was posted by Shaun McInnis on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:16:14 -0800

PC | Mass Effect 2 Update - Unraveling the Mystery of Shepard

After going hands-on with the first hour of Mass Effect 2, we see why Commander Shepard was presumed dead.

The original teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2 cast a great big blanket of uncertainty on the status of Commander Shepard leading into this sequel. Whether he's alive and well or was truly "killed in action" as that video would have you believe was the big question at the time. But that was back in February, and since then we've seen a veritable flood of screenshots, videos, and advance demos showing what's either a living, breathing Shepherd going about his business, or a startlingly accurate wax model. At any rate, after recently playing the first hour or so of Mass Effect 2, we can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Shepard is back. Sort of.

[ Watch Video ]

Check out our interview with BioWare producer Adrien Cho!

• Comment on this video
• Watch this video in High Def

Aside from being one of the more incredible scenes we've seen in a game all year, the first 10 minutes of Mass Effect 2 serve as an explanation for why Shepard would be presumed dead. This introductory sequence is really something else, so we won't spoil the details of it for you. But suffice it to say that something goes horribly wrong on the Normandy, and Shepard finds himself in a medical bay waking up to a group of faces he doesn't recognize. It turns out that Shepard's wounds have been mended by none other than the staunchly pro-human Cerberus Corporation from the first game. After some interrogating and a desperate escape from this medical station, Shepard meets with the leader of Cerberus, a shadowy figure dubbed the Illusive Man, voiced by Martin Sheen.

The conversation between Shepard and the Illusive Man is a tense and rocky one, but after some convincing, Shepard agrees to begin working for Cerberus. After all, he essentially owes his life to the company and its miraculous knack for medical science. (Exactly how Cerberus saved Shepard is still up in the air--the game strongly hints at some inorganic medical augmentations. Case in point: his scars glow a bright orange.) And thus begins Mass Effect 2's overarching story: Shephard must assemble the best team he can in order to accomplish the potentially humanity-saving, potentially suicidal mission that the Illusive Man has laid out for him. The Illusive Man has furnished Shepard with a list of some of the best talent in the universe, and much of the game will see you venturing into deep corners of space to recruit these guns for hire. They'll add to a squad already consisting of the two Cerberus employees you meet at the very beginning, the biotics expert Jacob and the so-cute-she-must-be-a-love-interest Miranda.

Jacob Taylor (right) is the first squadmate you'll have in your party.

Along the way, however, you'll encounter a number of familiar faces from the original game. What's most interesting is how prior story choices affect these reunions. Much has been made about the ability to import your save file from Mass Effect, but until now, BioWare hadn't been very forthcoming with details on this feature. After a bit of prodding, here's what BioWare was willing to tell us: The save file that you import carries over the story choices you made in the original game; provides specific boosts to your combat abilities without maintaining your old skill levels; and keeps the same gender while providing a chance for you to redesign your character's appearance.

The one example shown--we'll try to avoid spoilers here--involved a squad member whom you had a potentially deadly altercation with in the original game. If the altercation went south and the character died, you'll inevitably visit this person's homeworld and receive a cold greeting from his people, making your diplomatic quest that much harder. More importantly, though, that person will be completely absent from Mass Effect 2. But if you imported a save file from a game where you managed to smooth things over with this person, you willl receive a warm welcome and he'll be both alive and accommodating to your quest.

That's one of the big, attention-grabbing features from Mass Effect 2, but our time with the game wasn't without its little discoveries. One of these is the new armor customization system that lets you take any of the armor you find in the game and alter the look of it down to its colors and finish. There's also a post-mission recap screen that gives you a better sense of how you've progressed if you were too focused on combat to notice your various pickups and upgrades. The screen gives a plot summary of the mission you just completed, the new weapons you acquired, how many credits you found, any new skills and levels gained, and other details. There are also a number of new minigames used to unlock safes and bypass security systems that require quite a bit more mental acumen than the Simon Says-style games from Mass Effect.

Tali is one of the familiar faces you'll run into early in Mass Effect 2.

We could go on about how quickly Mass Effect 2 picks up and the new faces you'll meet early on, but we don't want to give away too much. All you need to know is that the end of our demo came much too soon. It looks like BioWare has made good on its promise to deliver a darker, more engrossing game than the original, and one that has minimized its predecessor's technical gaffes. We'll need to wait to see how two of the biggest flaws from the original game play out--inventory management and vehicle control--but we're optimistic about Mass Effect 2 just the same. While you wait for more coverage, be sure to check out our other previews of Mass Effect 2.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"PC | Mass Effect 2 Update - Unraveling the Mystery of Shepard" was posted by Shaun McInnis on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:16:14 -0800

PC | Alan Wake QA - Sam Lake

Creator and writer Sam Lake talks about Alan Wake's long road to release, the influence of Twin Peaks and Lost, DLC plans, and more.

Originally announced back in 2005, Alan Wake has certainly been a long time coming. After a huge unveiling at the Electronic Entertainment Expo of that year, developer Remedy went quiet for a number of years, before reemerging at this year's expo with another fantastic demo. Finally, it looks to be ready to emerge from the shadows next year with a confirmed second quarter 2010 release date, albeit only on the Xbox 360 and not the PC, as was originally hoped.

Alan Wake is Remedy's follow-up to Max Payne and follows writer Alan Wake as he retreats to the sleepy town of Bright Falls. The game is predominantly an action thriller but with a psychological twist, where reality and fiction blend into one nightmarish scenario for Wake. The developer is currently putting the finishing touches on the game, but we managed to coax Sam Lake, the creator and writer, into telling us exactly what to expect from this highly anticipated game.

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GameSpot UK: It's been six years since Alan Wake was announced, but with a Q2 2010 release, the end is now in sight. Are you nervous that such a long development period will result in high expectations from audiences?

Sam Lake: Nervous and very excited at the same time. To be honest, relieved as well. Six years is a long time to work on a project; a lot can happen in one’s life in six years. Like any large project, ours has seen its ups and downs, and a huge amount of hard work has gone into it.

These past few months, it’s been truly fantastic to see different areas come together and the final polished game finally taking shape before our eyes. I’m sure that we are our own worst and harshest critics when it comes to the details in the game. I’m very excited about the fact that soon the players will be able to experience Alan Wake but, naturally, a bit nervous as well. We’ve worked hard to make it a fun experience, and I definitely hope the players will find it that too.

GSUK: Alan Wake has been referred to as an "intense psychological thriller," but having seen the trailers, we're also detecting straight horror. What’s the balance in the game?

SL: More often than not in games, horror means blood and gore and monsters. Alan Wake is not about that. We set out to build an intense experience with a strong atmosphere and mood; lot of scares, yes, but scares that have a meaning and are tied to the story and the mystery at hand. And we felt that calling it a thriller would convey this very well.

We have action gameplay that involves people being attacked and disappearing in the woods at night and murderous, shadowy figures that come at you wielding axes. And, sure, if this was a movie, you would probably call some of these elements straight horror, but we still feel that as an overall definition, thriller is a good way to describe what the game is about.http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/348/928006_20091215_790screen005.jpg

Alan Wake: blinded by the light.

GSUK: What have you learned from your experience with Max Payne and how has it influenced your approach to Alan Wake?

SL: Max Payne was all about stylised, cinematic action. Alan Wake has other sides to it, but cinematic action is very prominent in Wake as well. Max Payne also had a very strong main character. That’s very important to us. Alan Wake is all about Alan Wake, the writer. The story and the plot revolve around him, his background, his personality, his problems, and the situation he finds himself in. In a way, the whole world is a reflection of the character and his nightmares.

I think you can link the similarities. We found a winning concept in Max Payne that somewhat defined what a Remedy game is all about. As a company, we have evolved a lot and are really pushing the envelope with Alan Wake from a storytelling and technical perspective but, of course, keeping in mind our heritage and what got us here.

GSUK: Combat trailers seem to show the use of slow-motion bullet-time elements. Can you explain how they work in the game?

SL: These cinematic moments are there to give emphasis to particularly close calls or important successes in the combat. They are triggered by the game when conditions are right; "moments of brilliance" if you like.

GSUK: Just how character focused is Alan Wake and what twists and turns can we expect as the story unfolds?

SL: This is a psychological thriller, and as such, it’s very tightly focused around the main character and his state of mind. Questions about what happened to Wake’s wife, Alice; what the hell is going on; is Wake’s lost thriller novel really coming true; is Wake mad; what’s Bright Falls all about’will all be asked and answered’some of them many times and with different answers along the way.

Wake uses a combination of his torch and a gun to fend off enemies.

GSUK: Much has been said about the environments in Alan Wake and the way they can influence the characters and enemies in the game. Can you tell us more about these environmental dynamics?

SL: Light is the key factor here: light and darkness. Light and daytime represent the sane world and safety; darkness and nighttime are about horror and nightmares. The enemies wait in the dark and come at you in the dark. Light is a combat tool and a safe haven, even to the point where Wake regains his health much faster standing in a safe haven of light than in darkness.

GSUK: The use of light is a key feature of combat in Alan Wake, specifically the range of flares and flashlights Alan has at his disposal. Can you tell us more about the varieties of flashlight and what they can be used for?

SL: The enemies Wake faces are protected by the dark presence that possesses them. Only light can burn the dark presence away and make the enemies vulnerable to normal damage. Wake also seems to be able to will his light sources to burn brighter and to drain the dark presence away faster. This is a limited resource that takes either time or batteries to recharge.

There are a few different flashlights in the game. Stronger flashlights burn the dark presence away faster. The most extreme case would be a stationary searchlight--our version of a gun turret--that is powerful enough to destroy many enemies outright.

GSUK: The last time we saw Alan, he was actually running away from the light, as opposed to harnessing it. Are there likely to be more of these "reversal" events or is this a one-off incident?

SL: Light and darkness are themes that we explore from various directions in the game. Wake’s wife, Alice, suffers from the fear of the dark, and what Wake experiences in the game bears a resemblance to the way she describes how it feels to her. And while light represents sanity and safety, there are also more dreamlike and, at least, apparently supernatural sides to it as well.

GSUK: Alan Wake has a definite Twin Peaks vibe about it. Is it fair to say that this has been a source of inspiration for you? What other films/books/TV series have influenced you?

SL: Twin Peaks is a classic, and it’s fair to say that the town of Bright Falls has an echo of Twin Peaks in it. Of the more modern TV series, Lost made a big impression on us. Stephen King has used a writer as the main character in his horror books more than a few times, as have a few other good authors, such as Bret Easton Ellis and Paul Auster.

GSUK: What are your plans for postrelease content?

SL: We have talked about it, and with our episode-based structure, it would be very logical. But nothing has been decided on the matter, and right now, we are fully focused on polishing the game and shipping it. After that, let’s see.

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"PC | Alan Wake Q&A - Sam Lake" was posted by Guy Cocker and James Gilmour on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:14:03 -0800

Xbox 360 | Split/Second Hands-On

We visited developer Black Rock for a brand-new look at Split/Second, including the new downtown track and Nemesis mode.

Next year, Black Rock Studios will follow up Pure with its second arcade racer, Split/Second. Despite the move from off-road ATV racing to city-based action, the team is incredibly bullish about its aspirations. "We don't just want to have the best visual effects of any racing game; we want to have the best visual effects in any genre," boasted Nick Baynes, game director at Black Rock. Thankfully, he has the goods to back it up. The game boasts an incredible number of visual effects--dynamically lit particles, real-time smoke shadows, and deferred rendering techniques--which are impressive even when you're racing by at ridiculous speeds.

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Split/Second wears its Hollywood influences on its sleeve, and it's undoubtedly what a racing game would look like if Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer went into video games. Thankfully, the team seems to have taken the better parts of the pair's movies and applied them to the genre, such as incredible stunts, spectacular explosions, and nonstop action. In a nutshell, Split/Second is an arcade racer where drifts, jumps, and near-misses earn you the ability to pull off power plays, which are dramatic events that either take out other racers or open up shortcuts. These are usually highly explosive events: aeroplanes come soaring overhead, huge towers collapse, and cruise ships come crashing into the track, all as you race. These all change the course dynamically from lap to lap, so in theory you very rarely get the same race twice.

The last time we saw Split/Second was at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, and we came away so impressed that we nominated it for an E3 Editors' Choice Award for Best Racing Game. The game has progressed even further since then, and the docks circuit that we saw in LA boasts a much more stable frame rate. "I think we'll look back at the E3 build and be embarrassed," said Baynes, acknowleding how far the game has come in a few short months. Not only has it improved visually, but the game also feels more fun to play--the result of internal and external focus testing, according to Baynes.

Our visit to Black Rock in Brighton, UK, allowed us to find out a lot more about what to expect in the finished game, including a new racing location and game mode. Split/Second will be set in one giant city, an as-yet-unnamed 20-square-kilometer metropolis which is split into distinct areas, such as the airport and the dock areas seen previously. This time, we also got to play the brand-new downtown area, where entire bridges collapsed, train tracks exploded, and there was even the hint of entire skyscrapers toppling, although the team didn't want to spoil the game's bigger power plays.

It's important to note that despite the large city, this is not an open-world game. Split/Second is essentially a game show, with 24 episodes consisting of a few races each. The city itself has been built especially for this game show, making Split/Second very much like the film Death Race, only without the death. This is a Disney game, so while there is plenty of action, Black Rock has consciously avoided anything too violent, and the visuals favour warm colours and bright lighting. The game show doesn't have a host, but each episode will see you racing in three to four events, and you need to finish in the top three in the last event to make it to the next episode. At the end of the episode, you'll see a trailer for the next show, which will reveal the next power play that you'll get to unlock, and they'll get bigger and crazier the more you progress.

While standard races will form the meat of the game, around 40 percent will be special events, such as the one we were shown called Nemesis, which was inspired by Terminator 2's viaduct chase scene. In this mode you have to race against the clock while huge trucks drop explosive barrels in your path. Blue barrels will knock seconds off your time if they hit you, while the red barrels will kill you instantly. There are also other racers to compete against, all trying to take you out, but if you can consistently avoid the barrels and overtake the lorries, more time will be added to the counter. It looks like it will be a fun mode, and even though the barrels were made from placeholder graphics at this stage, we look forward to competing against the clock with friends.

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Black Rock says that it has plenty more locations and game modes to reveal, as well as more tweaking to do based on user feedback. Indeed, Baynes seemed very interested in how we were playing the game, asking for feedback on the experience. We thought that the game could do with more visual clues showing where you need to go, but once you've played each track, you start to learn the route and where the big power plays are. While the opponent AI is still being tweaked, it's not an easy game at this stage, and we failed to finish in pole position despite repeated attempts on the docks track.

The team has been conscious of avoiding genre conventions, so there's no boost button, and while you will unlock new vehicles and decals, the cars themselves are secondary stars to the power plays. The rewards system is build completely around the power plays, so the prospect of bigger and better explosions is what will drive you through the game. Clearly, the episodic format also favours downloadable content, although Black Rock claims that it hasn't thought that far ahead yet. While we didn't get to see any multiplayer, Baynes says you can expect eight-player online races, including special events, as well as two-player split-screen.

Split/Second is looking as promising as ever, and the new trailer shows just how explosive the experience can be. The game is scheduled for an early 2010 release, so there's plenty of time not only for the team to polish what's in place, but also to tease us with more tracks and game modes over the coming months. With a talented team following on from the success of Pure, this is one racing game to keep an eye on, so check out our brand-new video interview, and watch out for more info on the game next year.

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"Xbox 360 | Split/Second Hands-On " was posted by Guy Cocker on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:28:54 -0800

Xbox 360 | Dark Void Hands-On

We took to the skies for a hands-on preview of Capcom's Dark Void.

Dark Void's distinctive blend of third-person action and jetpack-propelled aerial warfare make it an attractive prospect. Jetpacks are cool, after all, and Airtight Games' title looks set to turn the jetpack into a means of destroying some serious robotic booty. Whether he's in the air, on the ground, or aboard a high-tech UFO, protagonist Will has serious firepower to ensure that humanity's resistance doesn't crumble under the grip of the ancient Watchers, an alien group seeking your destruction.

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In an updated hands-on with this much-anticipated (and delayed) Capcom game, we sat down to tackle the opening section. Will, a cargo pilot whose unfortunate delivery to the Bermuda Triangle leaves him stranded in a world known as The Void, is joining the resistance against the aforementioned robotic nation. Curiosity gets the better of him, as he straps himself into a dangerous new invention: the jetpack. Early banter between Will and his human peers indicates that the dialogue isn't taking itself too seriously, and after a brief introduction, we were urged to take our first flight, which acts as a basic tutorial.

Launching yourself off the first mountain and watching Will struggle with the jetpack's power serves as an interesting way to start Dark Void. It's apparent that the pilot needs assistance during his first journey through the skies, as his body quivers and shakes under the rocket-boosted clout of his new transport. After a few seconds, and once you've successfully overcome the first rush of speed, Will gets his balance back, allowing you to identify the first objective. The Watchers have placed communication towers throughout The Void's endless valleys, providing a set of harmless foes that present target practice for the airborne hero. The targets are close together, offering the chance to wipe them all out in one run if you plan your route. The jetpack's shoulder-mounted machine guns are adequately powered and have good range for taking out targets that are in the distance. As an introduction to your weaponry it's brief, but Dark Void quickly ups the ante to ensure that all your newfound explosive muscle isn't going to waste.

Once the communication towers have been dismantled, the Watchers quickly take action. As we learnt how to pull off sharp turns in the air, an impromptu assault came into effect. We were faced with a set of UFOs that matched the speed and agility of the jetpack, meaning that the fight was suddenly equal. By leading the UFOs between a corridor of mountains, and then utilising the jetpack's instant 360-degree spin, we suddenly turned the tables. Where earlier the Watchers had been chasing, they now fell into our line of fire. The sheer number of opponents meant that the battle wasn't over quickly, but the jetpack's ability to instantly change direction provides a nimbleness that leaves enemies at a disadvantage.

Dark Void really comes to life when you're up in the air.

After most opponents were eliminated, the feeling of being outnumbered quickly disappeared. The ability to hover offers Will enough stability to slow down and take aim without being caught napping. You can get on the move again instantly with a burst of speed, a manoeuvre that becomes useful when you lock on to enemies. When targeting opponents, the camera zooms out slightly and provides a cinematic view of the aerial battlefield. Dark Void isn't pushing the envelope in terms of visuals, but watching Will tackle the robotic forces midflight is undoubtedly impressive.

If you get close enough to an enemy UFO, it's possible to board it. By grabbing hold of and ripping out the shield's control panel, you will unearth a robotic driver. After wiping it out, you're free to commandeer the ship, but beware, the Watcher pilot will fight back. As you hammer B to unhinge the control panel, you'll be shadowed by the UFO's main weapon. This is where you have to lure its reticle to another part of the circular ship. Once it begins charging an ultra-powerful beam to take you down, you have the opportunity to run back round to the control panel. Fighting in the skies offers some of the most fun at this stage.

That's not to say getting back down to Earth isn't any fun. You can opt to dive-bomb your enemies and sharply come to a halt, or hover above them while unleashing a barrage of fire. Dark Void allows you to play to your strengths: if you are skilled enough to stay airborne, then there is no need to land until you are forced inside. If you prefer to take cover and engage on foot, that's possible too. The cover system works adequately, but poking out behind cover, it's disappointing to see some clunky AI. If you're lucky, enemies will charge your position, but more often than not, the mechanical goons will sit tight, even without ducking down for a few seconds. This is sure to be ironed out before the game is released in January, but right now, Dark Void's ground combat doesn't work quite as well as we'd like.

Dark Void's cover system offers you a fair fight against enemies on the ground.

Our main task after taking out the towers was to sabotage the last remaining communication control panel, which was hidden inside a guarded Watcher base. Once an opponent has been dispatched, the option to pick up and use enemy weapons is available, which is beneficial since Will's human arsenal is lacking in the early stages. Two plasma guns can be found in this level; one is a machine gun and the other is reminiscent of a grenade launcher. The latter weapon packs immense power, blowing robotic rivals away with one well-placed shot and leaving the rest shaking in their metal boots. Alongside the Mass Effect-style android enemies, Dark Void has some more interesting monsters that will try to wipe you out. Since the Watchers' base is full of long, isolated corridors, seeing a nonrobotic extraterrestrial type comes as quite a shock. An alien-like creature slithered across the floor with haste, and it was great to take on a beast that was threatened by our presence and defending its territory. Melee combat was unresponsive against the Watcher grunts, as our opponents would often stand waiting to receive a right hook, but the speed of the amphibian-type beasts meant timing needed to be spot on.

From what we've seen, Dark Void is shaping up well. The jetpack is definitely going to be key to the game's success, as its ability in the air has already shown itself to create captivating battles that require forward thinking to prevail. However, there are some rough edges that need to be smoothed out, most notably the ground combat. Set to explode into stores everywhere on January 22, 2010, Dark Void looks ready to combat the onslaught of AAA releases in the first quarter of 2010.

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"Xbox 360 | Dark Void Hands-On" was posted by Nick Akerman on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:28:32 -0800