Xbox 360 | Super Street Fighter IV QA

Capcom's Seth Killian gives us the latest on Capcom's new entry in its acclaimed fighting series.

Capcom's upcoming Super Street Fighter IV is set to deliver fans of the series a meaty helping of new content to master. The robust offering of new characters, new moves, and new ultra combos should give anyone who mastered last year's Street Fighter IV something to study. Today's new trailer shed some light on the bulk of the game's new cast, which includes a surprising array of familiar faces drawn from Street Fighter history. We checked in with SSFIV's special advisor Seth Killian to talk about the upcoming game, the new characters, and what the deal is with the raccoon.

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See who's been added to the roster!

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GameSpot: How did the team go about selecting these extra characters?

Seth Killian: The 10 new SSFIV characters were based on post-SFIV fan feedback, which we then filtered according to which characters we felt would be a good fit for the game in terms of fighting style. I'm happy to say we were able to include almost all of the most popular requests.

GS: How many of the characters added this time out were characters that didn't make the cut for SFIV and how many are driven by the user feedback once all the characters in SFIV were revealed to fans?

SK: Development on Dee Jay and T. Hawk was started during the original SFIV, but the rest of the newcomers were basically all driven by the players' feedback after SFIV was completed.

GS: Super Street Fighter IV is bringing characters together from three separate "worlds" of Street Fighter (SSFII, SFIII, SF Alpha). What has it been like to balance and refine these characters to fit them within the SFIV universe?

SK: The SFII and SF Alpha characters both come from games with fundamentally compatible background systems, so integrating them together with the world of SFIV wasn't too intimidating. I was actually really worried about the SFIII characters, however. That game was built with parrying as the core background system, so in a game like SFIV without parries, would they be too weak? I'm happy to say they are definitely not too weak, and I was actually surprised how naturally the SFIII crew made the transition to Super SFIV.

GS: What can you tell fans of the new characters about how they're going to handle? Will they "feel" like their 2D counterparts like the characters did in SFIV or will there be some tweaks?

SK: There are, of course, a lot of tweaks, but I think any fans of these characters in their SFIII incarnations will pick them up very easily in Super SFIV. Everything you loved about them from SFIII is still there, as well as a bunch of new tricks. They're actually among the most highly developed characters in the entire game; they have really large and flexible move sets to draw from.

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Meet some of the newest additions and see them in action!

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GS: What kind of changes will the returning cast be undergoing in SSFIV? Can you give any specific examples?

SK: The philosophy behind the rest of the changes was to "balance up." This means rather than "nerfing" people, the aim was to make everyone stronger, though to varying degrees. Basically we don't want any fans of a certain character to pick up Super SFIV and find that all their favorite stuff doesn't work anymore, so we've actually worked to enrich every single character in terms of moves and overall possibilities. In terms of specific changes, there are a lot, ranging from the subtle, like Ryu's fierce shoryuken going from one hit to two hits, on to the more significant, like Guile's attacks having some increased priority…and even a brand new technique for Sagat. The number one change is, of course, the addition of a second ultra combo for everyone. These will change the dynamic of many fights.

GS: How important was the feedback the team received from the fighting game community on the original Street Fighter IV and what aspects of that feedback have been integrated into SSFIV?

SK: It was critical. Everything from the characters to including the online modes is pretty much a direct response to feedback from fans. Although we weren't able to do every single thing that was requested--from the big stuff like characters and online modes down to even very specific items, like having your character select cursor start on the same character you picked the last time (rather than having to move it each time from a default position)-- we've tried very hard to marry the best ideas from SF fans with our own thinking about how to create a great game. I think it's safe to say this is the most fan-influenced project in Capcom's history…maybe even in all of gaming history, at least as far as fighters are concerned.

GS: In terms of structure, will SSFIV feature the same progression and unlock system to get all the new characters or will they be available from the outset?

SK: We're going to have everyone unlocked right away. I understand the idea behind unlocks to some degree--you want to encourage people to play in different styles and experience more of the game. But I personally do not like them and want to have all my tools right from the start. "Everybody unlocked from the start" is another feature we can credit directly to fan feedback. Their voices really let me drive this point home with the traditionalists on the team.

Adding ninjas is never a bad thing.

GS: Constant iteration seems to be something that goes hand-in-hand with the Street Fighter series--obviously, Super Street Fighter IV is a new product--but has the team ever considered using downloadable content as a delivery method for future iterations of Street Fighter IV before moving onto Street Fighter V?

SK: DLC has been discussed, but frankly, the schedule for Super SFIV was so tight that we haven't been able to think much beyond this project. We did try and create more hooks in the architecture this time around to keep at least the possibility open, though the future for the series remains wide open at this point.

GS: Finally, what's up with the raccoon?

SK: That would be Ibuki's pet tanooki, Don. Do not mess with Don.

GS: Thanks for your time.

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"Xbox 360 | Super Street Fighter IV Q&A" was posted by Staff on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:30:57 -0800

PlayStation 3 | Transformers: War for Cybertron First Look

We get a look at Activision and High Moon Studios' surprising new Transformers game.

At this point just about everyone knows who the Transformers are. The robots that made children across the world wonder about cars, jets, trains, insects, and dinosaurs got reinserted into pop culture thanks to Michael Bay and his two explosive films that reimagined the mighty bots for the modern day. Unfortunately, more than a few purists were torn by the films because of some unsettling departures from canon, such as a mute Bumblebee, an Optimus Prime with lips, a genital-sporting Devastator, Ebonics-speaking bots, and Shia LaBeouf (although Megan Fox gets a pass) to name just a few. Thankfully the movie's popularity has led Activision and developer High Moon Studios to try their hand at a Transformers game that aims to give fans of the robots in disguise a fun and less unsettling experience rooted in the past. Transformers: War for Cybertron drops you into the Transformers universe as the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticon escalates into the events that led the dueling bots to leave their homeworld of Cybertron to come to Earth. We recently met with Activision and High Moon, who gave us a demo of the game on the Xbox 360, which showed off the Autobots and Decepticon campaigns and showed more promise than we would have expected.

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Check out this exclusive trailer for Transformers: War For Cybertron.

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The game's story is split into two narratives that follow the two bot factions as they take shape, with the Decepticon story set before the Autobot story. The Autobot story is set before Optimus Prime assumed the mantle of prime and follows the unassuming Optimus as events unfold and he becomes the greatest leader the Autobots ever had. The Decepticon story follows Megatron, who, unlike Optimus, is well on his way to becoming a robo jerk. The narrative follows Megatron as he sets out to restore Cybertron to what he feels is its former glory, which, not too surprisingly, involves a whole lot of mayhem and destruction. The interesting wrinkle to Megatron's tale is how he gathers together his crew: one of his first recruiting missions has him meeting a promising young bot named Starcream. The Decepticon campaign also shows Megatron clash with Autobot leader Zeta Prime (one guess how that goes).

The demo we were shown highlighted excerpts from the Autobot and Decepticon campaigns. It gave us an idea of what to expect from the third-person action game and made a great first impression. Before we dive into specifics, we'll offer up some general bits of info: the game features a single-player mode, split into two campaigns as we mentioned, as well as an online multiplayer mode that supports competitive and cooperative play. We're especially intrigued by the game's cooperative mode, which supports drop-in, drop-out gameplay for up to two other players so that you can go through the campaign story with two other friends.

The Autobot segment of the demo focused on an early part of the story that set the action up. You will be able to choose one bot to actively control and two others to join your party of three. The segment we saw focused on Optimus, Ratchet, and Bumblebee--all meeting for the first time. One key thing to note about the game, which is a very cool bit, is that the bots have been reimagined in their native Iacon forms, well before they began mimicking cars. High Moon worked closely with Hasbro to settle on a look that is close to the iconic Transformers look but is unique. The result is a very smart, futuristic look for the vehicles that everyone transforms into. The sequence followed the trio as they set out to escort Bumblebee to deliver bad news on the state of the leading bodies of the Autobots. Basically, things are pretty bleak: Zeta Prime has been taken out, and the high council has disappeared. All the three bots can do is head out and try to marshal their forces to deal with the Decepticon threat and help where they can. In the demo, the trio had to reactivate several turrets to help fend off an assault from Megatron's crew.

Optimus Prime with no lips.

The race to get to the turrets showed off the stunning metropolis of Iacon, which, despite being under siege, looked fantastic. The journey to the turrets showed off the very cool art direction in the game, which is big on small details, such as showing how the Autobots physically plug into terminals, or even turrets, in order to interact with them. More importantly, the sequence showed off how fluidly the bots switch from vehicle form to robot form, as well as the game's combat mechanics. Basically you'll be able to transform at any time by clicking in the left analog stick, which frees you up to use the robots' other abilities in combat. War for Cybertron plays around with the standard Transformers action formula by mixing up each robot's abilities. Besides the expected melee combat and transforming, you'll be able to use two types of special attacks. One is dependent on resources, namely orbs that you'll collect off of defeated enemies, and the other has a cooldown period you just need to wait out. From what we saw, the resource-dependent attacks are basically different weapons you can pick up (the bots can carry two at a given time and swap them out whenever they find something new). The cooldown attacks were an interesting mix of active and passive abilities. For example, Optimus has a war cry that essentially serves as a damage increase to those near him, while Ratchet has a ray he can use to heal himself or others. The system looks suitably spectacular when you're watching the game, so we're anxious to see how it will play and how you'll combo all the different abilities. The Autobot portion of our demo ended with the massive turrets being reactivated and a Decepticon warship being taken out. The subsequent story cinematic showed off Jetfire, whose history is being tweaked some for the game in order to better fit the story. From what we could see, it's nothing too drastic, just a slightly more logical setup for his joining the Autobots.

The Decepticon sequence showed off Starcream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp in a mission that showed off how jet gameplay will work in the game. The High Moon reps noted that the strafing, hovering, and boosting mechanics were inspired by old-school gem Crimson Skies. The flight action looked sharp and was a smart showcase for the game's variety. The level featured a mix of open spaces that were conducive to proper flying and more cramped areas that required a bot change or hovering and sniping (both of which seemed to be easy to transition to). We were also able to check out the jet barrel roll special ability, which looks exactly like you'd expect. The sequence also showed off an underground area on Cybertron. The second Decepticon bit we saw showcased a boss fight that pit Megatron, Soundwave, and Breakdown against Omega Supreme. As intimidating as the massive Autobot min city looked, the trio was able to take it out in a lengthy multipart boss fight.

Overall the game looked pretty fantastic thanks to its unique art direction. The reimagined transformers look great and shine because of a host of little touches. Whether it's the hovercars the Autobots turn into, the way the turrets and consoles they interface with change to match their color, or the new look for energon cubes, Cybertron looks to be brimming with activity. Besides the impressive detail and effects, the game's performance is impressive. The hectic action, explosions, and transformations look stellar and zip along at a brisk pace regardless of the onscreen mayhem. The audio was pretty much you'd expect for the special effects and musical score. As far as voice goes, Peter Cullen, geek national treasure of the highest order, is back to bring Optimus to life. Sadly, Cullen is the only classic cast member we recognized, so anyone hoping for some old-school Megatron action is out of luck.

Here's our chance to see the Transformers duke it out on their home turf.

While some of this may sound too good to be true, the game is looking like it just might be the real deal. High Moon's approach is benefiting from no movie to tie in with and a respectable dose of geek love. The results we've seen so far seem to be paying off in the most promising Transformers game we've played in years. We're anxious to get our hands on it, especially the online multiplayer, to see if it plays as good as it looks. Look for more on Transformers: War for Cybertron in the weeks to come. The game is scheduled to ship on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 later this year, with Wii and DS versions of the game, from Next Level and Vicarious Visions, respectively, hitting at the same time.

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"PlayStation 3 | Transformers: War for Cybertron First Look" was posted by Ricardo Torres on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:26:24 -0800

Xbox 360 | Transformers: War for Cybertron First Look

We get a look at Activision and High Moon Studios' surprising new Transformers game.

At this point just about everyone knows who the Transformers are. The robots that made children across the world wonder about cars, jets, trains, insects, and dinosaurs got reinserted into pop culture thanks to Michael Bay and his two explosive films that reimagined the mighty bots for the modern day. Unfortunately, more than a few purists were torn by the films because of some unsettling departures from canon, such as a mute Bumblebee, an Optimus Prime with lips, a genital-sporting Devastator, Ebonics-speaking bots, and Shia LaBeouf (although Megan Fox gets a pass) to name just a few. Thankfully the movie's popularity has led Activision and developer High Moon Studios to try their hand at a Transformers game that aims to give fans of the robots in disguise a fun and less unsettling experience rooted in the past. Transformers: War for Cybertron drops you into the Transformers universe as the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticon escalates into the events that led the dueling bots to leave their homeworld of Cybertron to come to Earth. We recently met with Activision and High Moon, who gave us a demo of the game on the Xbox 360, which showed off the Autobots and Decepticon campaigns and showed more promise than we would have expected.

[ Watch Video ]

Check out this exclusive trailer for Transformers: War For Cybertron.

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

The game's story is split into two narratives that follow the two bot factions as they take shape, with the Decepticon story set before the Autobot story. The Autobot story is set before Optimus Prime assumed the mantle of prime and follows the unassuming Optimus as events unfold and he becomes the greatest leader the Autobots ever had. The Decepticon story follows Megatron, who, unlike Optimus, is well on his way to becoming a robo jerk. The narrative follows Megatron as he sets out to restore Cybertron to what he feels is its former glory, which, not too surprisingly, involves a whole lot of mayhem and destruction. The interesting wrinkle to Megatron's tale is how he gathers together his crew: one of his first recruiting missions has him meeting a promising young bot named Starcream. The Decepticon campaign also shows Megatron clash with Autobot leader Zeta Prime (one guess how that goes).

The demo we were shown highlighted excerpts from the Autobot and Decepticon campaigns. It gave us an idea of what to expect from the third-person action game and made a great first impression. Before we dive into specifics, we'll offer up some general bits of info: the game features a single-player mode, split into two campaigns as we mentioned, as well as an online multiplayer mode that supports competitive and cooperative play. We're especially intrigued by the game's cooperative mode, which supports drop-in, drop-out gameplay for up to two other players so that you can go through the campaign story with two other friends.

The Autobot segment of the demo focused on an early part of the story that set the action up. You will be able to choose one bot to actively control and two others to join your party of three. The segment we saw focused on Optimus, Ratchet, and Bumblebee--all meeting for the first time. One key thing to note about the game, which is a very cool bit, is that the bots have been reimagined in their native Iacon forms, well before they began mimicking cars. High Moon worked closely with Hasbro to settle on a look that is close to the iconic Transformers look but is unique. The result is a very smart, futuristic look for the vehicles that everyone transforms into. The sequence followed the trio as they set out to escort Bumblebee to deliver bad news on the state of the leading bodies of the Autobots. Basically, things are pretty bleak: Zeta Prime has been taken out, and the high council has disappeared. All the three bots can do is head out and try to marshal their forces to deal with the Decepticon threat and help where they can. In the demo, the trio had to reactivate several turrets to help fend off an assault from Megatron's crew.

Optimus Prime with no lips.

The race to get to the turrets showed off the stunning metropolis of Iacon, which, despite being under siege, looked fantastic. The journey to the turrets showed off the very cool art direction in the game, which is big on small details, such as showing how the Autobots physically plug into terminals, or even turrets, in order to interact with them. More importantly, the sequence showed off how fluidly the bots switch from vehicle form to robot form, as well as the game's combat mechanics. Basically you'll be able to transform at any time by clicking in the left analog stick, which frees you up to use the robots' other abilities in combat. War for Cybertron plays around with the standard Transformers action formula by mixing up each robot's abilities. Besides the expected melee combat and transforming, you'll be able to use two types of special attacks. One is dependent on resources, namely orbs that you'll collect off of defeated enemies, and the other has a cooldown period you just need to wait out. From what we saw, the resource-dependent attacks are basically different weapons you can pick up (the bots can carry two at a given time and swap them out whenever they find something new). The cooldown attacks were an interesting mix of active and passive abilities. For example, Optimus has a war cry that essentially serves as a damage increase to those near him, while Ratchet has a ray he can use to heal himself or others. The system looks suitably spectacular when you're watching the game, so we're anxious to see how it will play and how you'll combo all the different abilities. The Autobot portion of our demo ended with the massive turrets being reactivated and a Decepticon warship being taken out. The subsequent story cinematic showed off Jetfire, whose history is being tweaked some for the game in order to better fit the story. From what we could see, it's nothing too drastic, just a slightly more logical setup for his joining the Autobots.

The Decepticon sequence showed off Starcream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp in a mission that showed off how jet gameplay will work in the game. The High Moon reps noted that the strafing, hovering, and boosting mechanics were inspired by old-school gem Crimson Skies. The flight action looked sharp and was a smart showcase for the game's variety. The level featured a mix of open spaces that were conducive to proper flying and more cramped areas that required a bot change or hovering and sniping (both of which seemed to be easy to transition to). We were also able to check out the jet barrel roll special ability, which looks exactly like you'd expect. The sequence also showed off an underground area on Cybertron. The second Decepticon bit we saw showcased a boss fight that pit Megatron, Soundwave, and Breakdown against Omega Supreme. As intimidating as the massive Autobot min city looked, the trio was able to take it out in a lengthy multipart boss fight.

Overall the game looked pretty fantastic thanks to its unique art direction. The reimagined transformers look great and shine because of a host of little touches. Whether it's the hovercars the Autobots turn into, the way the turrets and consoles they interface with change to match their color, or the new look for energon cubes, Cybertron looks to be brimming with activity. Besides the impressive detail and effects, the game's performance is impressive. The hectic action, explosions, and transformations look stellar and zip along at a brisk pace regardless of the onscreen mayhem. The audio was pretty much you'd expect for the special effects and musical score. As far as voice goes, Peter Cullen, geek national treasure of the highest order, is back to bring Optimus to life. Sadly, Cullen is the only classic cast member we recognized, so anyone hoping for some old-school Megatron action is out of luck.

Here's our chance to see the Transformers duke it out on their home turf.

While some of this may sound too good to be true, the game is looking like it just might be the real deal. High Moon's approach is benefiting from no movie to tie in with and a respectable dose of geek love. The results we've seen so far seem to be paying off in the most promising Transformers game we've played in years. We're anxious to get our hands on it, especially the online multiplayer, to see if it plays as good as it looks. Look for more on Transformers: War for Cybertron in the weeks to come. The game is scheduled to ship on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 later this year, with Wii and DS versions of the game, from Next Level and Vicarious Visions, respectively, hitting at the same time.

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"Xbox 360 | Transformers: War for Cybertron First Look" was posted by Ricardo Torres on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:26:24 -0800

Wii | Metroid: Other M Hands-On

Samus has a case of the baby blues in this sequel to Super Metroid.

Metroid: Other M--codeveloped by Nintendo and Team Ninja (of Ninja Gaiden fame)--is best described as a culmination of all the Metroid games that came before it. It interweaves plot points and gameplay mechanics from those games into a sequel that takes place after events of Super Metroid, but despite bringing all of these familiar characteristics together, Other M feels anything but familiar. The game forges its own identity that rests somewhere between Super Metroid and the Metroid Prime series, with the end results amounting to something that most fans will probably find surprising. A warning: This write-up includes some minor story set-up spoilers.

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Nate Bihldorff talks about Metroid Other M at the Nintendo World Summit.

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Our demo begins with a brief CG cinematic where the camera pans to the depths of space to find a person--bounty hunter Samus Aran--curled in the fetal position (like the scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey). After uttering the question, "Why am I still alive?" Samus awakens to find herself in the ending sequence of Super Metroid. An appropriately disgusting and angry Mother Brain stomps around as the baby Metroid (that originally appeared in Metroid II) holds Samus above ground within its maw. Just seconds before Mother Brain releases a devastating beam of energy from her massive eyeball, the baby Metroid drops Samus and takes the brunt of the blast. Its gooey remains drip down onto Samus as she readies her arm cannon and says, "It's time to go." Mother Brain is defeated.

In the following scene, Samus (shown in her Zero Suit form) awakens in a quarantine room and later remarks that she constantly dreams about her confrontation with Mother Brain, as well as the fate of the baby Metroid. In fact, a large part of developing and growing Samus as a character for Metroid: Other M seemingly stems from the loss of the baby Metroid to the extent that it's a focal point of her remaining monologue in the introduction--a suggestion of her growing motherly instincts, perhaps?

As the scene ends, Samus transforms back into her Varia suit and the tutorial begins. In it, we learn about some of her basic movements and abilities--most of which are controlled by holding the Wii Remote sideways so the layout resembles the NES controller setup. The action in Metroid: Other M takes place in 3D space from a third-person perspective, so Samus can move around much as she did in Metroid Prime by using the D pad. You can fire her arm cannon using the button 1 (button 2 performs jumps) and hold it down to perform a stronger, charged shot. By throwing a few enemies at us, the tutorial revealed that there's seemingly no manual way to target enemies, so where you shoot is a combination of where you're facing and which enemy has priority over another for the auto-aiming system. Samus also has some evasive skills--by pressing left or right on the D pad just before a projectile hits, she quickly leaps to the left or right. Lastly, changing into the morph ball is as simple as pressing A on the Wii Remote, and like previous games, Samus can plant regular or superbombs while in this state. Also of note, you can recharge missiles by simply holding the Wii Remote vertically and simultaneously holding down the B button (a similar functions works for recharging health when it gets dangerously low, but it doesn't appear to refill all of your health).

The tutorial also included a section explaining Samus's search mode, which should be immediately familiar to fans of Metroid Prime. By pointing the Wii Remote at the screen, the camera automatically transitions to a first-person, in-the-visor mode that lets you look around by holding the B button. Not only can you use this mode to investigate your surroundings, but you can also use it to lock onto and combat enemies either by using Samus's default arm cannon attack or her missiles. It's worth pointing out that when you search a room and happen to come across a special item (such as an energy tank or missile capacity upgrades), it will be marked on the map shown at the top-right portion of the screen.

With the tutorial over, we got another cutscene where a quarantine officer tells Samus to head to a meeting where news that Mother Brain has been defeated and Planet Zebes has been completely destroyed is met with a round of cheering from others in the room. Time passes and we fast forward to a scene with Samus sitting inside her ship when she suddenly receives what she refers to as a, "baby's cry," which is an SOS coming from a distant part of the galaxy. She eventually reaches the source of the SOS and what appears to be a derelict space station called the Bottle Ship, where the main portion of our gameplay session took place.

Upon arrival, we're told to take a look around using Samus's search mode--a quick inspection of the area reveals that a Galactic Federation Army ship is also docked. We take a few minutes to run and jump around (to test out the controls a little more when the camera's in a side-scrolling perspective) before going through the first door on the ship. Inside, Samus encounters the Galactic Federation group that arrived at the station earlier as it tried to get through a seemingly impenetrable door. As luck would have it, a member of this crew is none other than Adam Malkovich--Samus's former commanding officer in the Galactic Federation Army (and later, the AI construct from Metroid Fusion) before she took up the reigns of a freelance bounty hunter. Samus briefly references tension that exists between the two of them because of her previous career choices, but it's something that will more than likely expand further as the game progresses.

After helping the team get through the door via a missile from Samus's weapon, the team moves forward and Samus is left behind to make her way to the control room on her own. Along the way, we encounter some of the familiar, weaker enemies of Metroid's past, such as zoomers and skree. We take out these enemies using Samus's regular attack and continue to explore before coming upon an empty bathroom area. Normally, such a room wouldn't be a big deal, but it is in this case because we get a glimpse of a new perspective that places that camera closely behind Samus (similar to the camera perspective found in the Resident Evil 4 and 5) and forces her to walk at a slower pace. Whether this camera perspective has any kind of significance over just accommodating the tight space remains to be seen, but it was quite a surprise when we came upon it for the first time.

We continue to go from room to room, putting Samus's acrobatic abilities to good use as she wall jumps and clings to ledges before pulling herself up to make her way to the control room where she meets up with the rest of the Galactic Federation crew, as well as the first boss encounter. This giant, purple monster flings its tentacles about, making it difficult to find enough time to jump into the first-person mode and take shots at its eye using missiles. When we do get a solid shot in, the Galactic Federation soldiers manage to freeze parts of its limbs, which you then have to target and fire upon with missiles in first person. After doing this a few times, the creature is defeated. Adam takes up a position in the main portion of the control room where he tells the rest of his crew to infiltrate other parts of the ship and asks Samus to restore power to the system management area. This requires a bit of backtracking to an earlier part of the level (where we get some more time to snoop around for extra items, some of which can only be accessed via the morph ball), but it only takes a few minutes before we find the designated area, clear out the enemies that were preventing power from reaching other parts of the ship, and head back to the control room where the demo ends.

At this point, Metroid: Other M seems to succeed in creating a new type of Metroid experience, but it's really hard to explain just how different it feels until you get your hands on it. The mixture of old Metroid and Metroid Prime elements seems like it's not an amazing fit initially, but as time goes on, changing from third to first person feels more natural. We'll have more on Metroid: Other M before its release on June 27.

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"Wii | Metroid: Other M Hands-On" was posted by Giancarlo Varanini on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:04:29 -0800

PlayStation 3 | Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands First Impression

The prince from the Sands of Time trilogy is back, and we find out what he was up to before his adventures in Warrior Within.

Even though Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will be released roughly around the same time as the Jerry Bruckheimer Hollywood blockbuster, there is no relation to the movie at all, so don't expect a Jake Gyllenhaal-look alike or voice actor. The story does take place in the Sands of Time universe, though, during the seven-year gap between the Sands of Time and Warrior Within. The Forgotten Sands will focus on just one of the prince's many wild adventures and explains his drastic transformation from the once naive, cheerful young man in Sands of Time to the jaded, brooding character seen in Warrior Within.

Use your sleek moves to fend off dozens of enemies at a time.

The game starts off with an impressive, sweeping view of a city that is under attack as we see scores of sword-wielding men fighting along the battlements and fortress grounds. This besieged kingdom belongs to the prince's older brother, whom the prince has decided to visit, but it seems that he has come at a bad time--or perhaps just at the right time. With the ongoing chaotic battle unfolding in the background, we quickly made our way down along the stone steps, leapt gracefully from one crumbling ledge to the next, and deftly darted along walls to join the fight. The prince's acrobatic movements looked very familiar as he shimmied carefully across narrow ledges and somersaulted effortlessly from one pole to the next. The flow of combat was just as smooth, but one of the big changes will have you facing larger groups of enemies, ranging from a small group of three to a big group of 50. You won't be able to block anymore, so evasive maneuvers involve rolling and being quick on your feet. You'll still be able to perform some stylish finishing moves, like vaulting over enemies to stab them in the back, and you also have the ability to kick opponents down to stun them, then finish them with a quick jab. When facing a decent-sized group, you can crowd surf and hop on the heads of your enemies, then dance out of the way. This particular section of the demo was incredibly cinematic as the camera panned across the vast terrain to give you a sense of scale, and while we were fighting our way through the crowds, we could see the battle raging on in the background.

Next, we explored the sewers beneath the palace, which actually looked quite nice and sanitary with cascading waterfalls pouring out of several openings. The prince already had a solid skill set when it came to wielding his sword, but now, he can gain the ability to control the elements of nature. One of the first powers that he'll acquire is the ability to freeze water. Using the left trigger at any time, all the water in the area will freeze for as long as you hold the button. In this particular area, it will grant you access to wall run on ice to get to another platform. A yellow energy bar under your health bar depletes as you hold the left trigger, so you can't freeze water indefinitely, but it regenerates quickly as soon as you let go. Sometimes you'll be faced with some trickier platforming situations where you'll need to time your powers to get to where you need to go. As our prince made his way above ground and into the luxurious, cavernous palace, we saw water used to create some elaborate platforming puzzles. Timed water spouts along the palace interior were conveniently placed so that when we timed it correctly, we could show off our trapeze artist skills by flinging the prince from one frozen pole to the next. This was the only magical skill that we got to see, but we were told that you can also control the other elements like earth, air, and fire.

The prince will once again be able to rewind time as he did in the trilogy, so you can always go back a few seconds if you missed a tough jump or took too much damage. It costs energy orbs to do so, but your meter can be replenished by collecting more orbs from enemies or breakable items nearby. These orbs can also be used to execute more powerful and advanced skills. Another added feature is the ability to customize and upgrade the prince's combat skills from the experience that you gain while fighting. For example, your shield ability unleashes a burst of energy, which knocks surrounding opponents to the ground. But when it gets upgraded to a tornado, you can call forth a swirling wind that can easily round up and decimate anyone that gets too close. Another advanced move that we got to see was a dash skill that lets the prince dart from one side of a room into the next. This allowed him to plow through any unfortunate individual that happened to get in the way and provided a convenient alternative cross-wide chasm when there were no walls on which to scurry.

Control the elements and use them to your advantage.

Our demo wrapped up with a miniboss fight in a section of an underground ruined city, where we saw the prince fight against a decent-sized horde of skeletal warriors. The story behind these wraiths is that the prince's brother decided to raise a magical army of sand warriors to defend his kingdom from intruders at the beginning of the game, but this could only be accomplished at a huge cost. All the citizens have now turned into sand statues, and it looks like the undead don't intend to leave anytime soon. The miniboss we faced was a large charger that wasted no time trying to run us over. Fortunately, it wasn't very bright, so by carefully positioning the prince, you can lure the miniboss to trample the swarm of warriors in the way, which will save you the trouble of having to dispose of them yourself.

The Forgotten Sands looks and feels like a next-generation Sands of Time. It is full of rich and colorful art direction, as well as clever level designs. The prince represented a cross between the character models of the prince in Sands of Time and Warrior Within. He looks more mature than in the first game and maintains that mysterious air about him, but he looks less menacing than he did in the second game. The voice actor for the prince in Sands of Time, Yuri Lowenthal, returns so it'll feel very much like you're continuing the adventure immediately after the events of the first game. We were shown an incredibly beautiful area--which you'll come across multiple times in the game to meet a woman named Razia--that was reminiscent of the Fountain of Time seen in the first game. As we approached the empty gazebo bathed in moonlight, it was hard not to be taken with the soft silver glow of the moon that covered the artfully crafted landscape.

We're quite eager to see more of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, which is set to be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC sometime in May. The Wii and DS versions will be entirely different games built specifically for their respective platforms. We'll update you with more information as soon as it becomes available.

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---

"PlayStation 3 | Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands First Impression" was posted by Sophia Tong on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:00:54 -0800

PC | Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Hands-On - First Details, Combat, and Dragons

We get our hands on this expansion for Dragon Age: Origins.

Some days, you just can't get rid of a monster invasion. In Dragon Age: Origins, your character tried to do just that by joining the Grey Wardens, an ancient society dedicated to hunting down the monstrous darkspawn, a race of murderous subterranean creatures with a mysterious resemblance to the uruk-hai of the Lord of the Rings motion pictures. And hunt the darkspawn you did, eventually confronting the hordes and ending their invasion, known as the Blight. Or, so you thought.

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In Awakening, the first expansion for Dragon Age, you'll play as the leader of the Grey Wardens in pursuit of a new enemy, a mysterious darkspawn general who can think, talk, and raise armies of new darkspawn, who appear to be breeding underground. Interestingly, you can import your character directly from Dragon Age and be the hero that game made you--the uniter of the scattered Wardens and enemy of the Blight. Or, you can start a new game with an entirely new character, a Grey Warden emissary from a neighboring country that was once at war with Ferelden, in which case you'll be met with suspicion and distrust even as you try to save the land.

Welcome back to Ferelden. Hot enough for ya?

BioWare suggests that Awakening isn't about one new whiz-bang feature that totally changes the gameplay, but rather it's about offering more of what fans seem to care about most--a deep story with memorable characters and real consequences for the choices you make. The expansion is being developed by the same team of writers, designers, and artists who created the original game, but it will offer plenty of new stuff to play with, including six new characters to join your party, new elite character classes, tons of new high-level skills, an expanded level cap up to level 35, and more than 500 new items, including new, higher tiers of weapons and armor for your adventuring party.

We recently had an opportunity to play through two different areas of the game and get a peek at what's in store. The first area put us in the boots of a warrior Warden hero allied with two of the expansion's new characters, both spirit healer mages: Velanna, a sharp-tongued elf, and Anders, a human wizard with a smart mouth not unlike that of Origins' Alastair. Our party began its journey into the ruins of a captured city, which had been fully assimilated by a new brood of darkspawn to the extent that even the walls and floors were covered with pulsating pink flesh.

After hacking our way through several alpha genlocks and hurlocks, we managed to rescue Sigurd, a bitter dwarf burglar who had been part of a previous war party sent to curtail the darkspawn threat. Apparently, her comrades were overwhelmed and she fled. As the only survivor, she was captured and was in the process of being dragged away--as she suggested, perhaps as part of a sinister plot to seize women to breed more darkspawn--when we cut down her captors. Despite her earlier act of cowardice, she was eager to join our party and seek revenge. We were given the chance to change our party by adding her, but we declined in favor of using both mages to blast our foes to bits, and we descended further into the city. A dying dwarf warned us about the "children," one of the expansion's new types of enemy--slimy creatures that spawn from darkspawn brood mothers--though sadly we weren't able to tangle with them, since we had another engagement with the Queen of the Blackmarsh.

A classic case of darkspawn infestation, plus the place costs a fortune each winter with all this shoddy insulation.

The queen, as it turns out, doesn't hold a court. She's an ancient spectral dragon who can be summoned only by reassembling the fragments of a shattered dragon's skull in the midst of a dank, forbidding swamp blocked off by a tear in the Fade--a barrier created by the netherworld from which all magic originates. Once we clicked on the skull to reassemble it, the tear disappeared and we were free to enter the Queen's court, a small, flat clearing paved with a circular panel of stones. The queen herself swooped down on our party of a warrior and two spirit healers, along with Sigurd. Like with the dragon battles of Origins (and other previous BioWare games), special preparation and strategy will clearly be needed to conquer the queen.

Among other things, the queen can knock back one or more of your party with a sweep of her wings and take one of your comrades out of play by clutching her victim with her talons before tossing her victim aside. Interestingly, when she takes enough damage (whether that be from repeated backstabs, whatever feeble melee attacks you can deliver from the front, or all those magic spells she keeps resisting), she'll change forms to a giant sizzling orb of spirit energy locked into the center of the stone circle, while a group of electrified wisps spawn at the edges of the circle and drift inward toward the queen, presumably to recharge her energy. We managed to have our party chop down most of these wisp creatures, but the last one met with the queen in orb form. The orb then faded away and the queen made her triumphant reentrance from the sky, just in time to utterly crush our exhausted party, though to be fair, this was the first time we'd ever fought that battle, and we're assured by the BioWare team that this sort of thing happens to Dragon Age players all the time and doesn't make us any less of a video game player.

Awakening is on its way out the door in March. You'll be back to fighting life-or-death battles in no time.

In any case, it's clear that Awakening will have a great deal to offer for Dragon Age fans. The expansion will be available in March both as a retail in-box product and as downloadable content.

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"PC | Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Hands-On - First Details, Combat, and Dragons" was posted by Andrew Park on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:29:47 -0800

Xbox 360 | Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands First Impression

The prince from the Sands of Time trilogy is back, and we find out what he was up to before his adventures in Warrior Within.

Even though Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will be released roughly around the same time as the Jerry Bruckheimer Hollywood blockbuster, there is no relation to the movie at all, so don't expect a Jake Gyllenhaal-look alike or voice actor. The story does take place in the Sands of Time universe, though, during the seven-year gap between the Sands of Time and Warrior Within. The Forgotten Sands will focus on just one of the prince's many wild adventures and explains his drastic transformation from the once naive, cheerful young man in Sands of Time to the jaded, brooding character seen in Warrior Within.

Use your sleek moves to fend off dozens of enemies at a time.

The game starts off with an impressive, sweeping view of a city that is under attack as we see scores of sword-wielding men fighting along the battlements and fortress grounds. This besieged kingdom belongs to the prince's older brother, whom the prince has decided to visit, but it seems that he has come at a bad time--or perhaps just at the right time. With the ongoing chaotic battle unfolding in the background, we quickly made our way down along the stone steps, leapt gracefully from one crumbling ledge to the next, and deftly darted along walls to join the fight. The prince's acrobatic movements looked very familiar as he shimmied carefully across narrow ledges and somersaulted effortlessly from one pole to the next. The flow of combat was just as smooth, but one of the big changes will have you facing larger groups of enemies, ranging from a small group of three to a big group of 50. You won't be able to block anymore, so evasive maneuvers involve rolling and being quick on your feet. You'll still be able to perform some stylish finishing moves, like vaulting over enemies to stab them in the back, and you also have the ability to kick opponents down to stun them, then finish them with a quick jab. When facing a decent-sized group, you can crowd surf and hop on the heads of your enemies, then dance out of the way. This particular section of the demo was incredibly cinematic as the camera panned across the vast terrain to give you a sense of scale, and while we were fighting our way through the crowds, we could see the battle raging on in the background.

Next, we explored the sewers beneath the palace, which actually looked quite nice and sanitary with cascading waterfalls pouring out of several openings. The prince already had a solid skill set when it came to wielding his sword, but now, he can gain the ability to control the elements of nature. One of the first powers that he'll acquire is the ability to freeze water. Using the left trigger at any time, all the water in the area will freeze for as long as you hold the button. In this particular area, it will grant you access to wall run on ice to get to another platform. A yellow energy bar under your health bar depletes as you hold the left trigger, so you can't freeze water indefinitely, but it regenerates quickly as soon as you let go. Sometimes you'll be faced with some trickier platforming situations where you'll need to time your powers to get to where you need to go. As our prince made his way above ground and into the luxurious, cavernous palace, we saw water used to create some elaborate platforming puzzles. Timed water spouts along the palace interior were conveniently placed so that when we timed it correctly, we could show off our trapeze artist skills by flinging the prince from one frozen pole to the next. This was the only magical skill that we got to see, but we were told that you can also control the other elements like earth, air, and fire.

The prince will once again be able to rewind time as he did in the trilogy, so you can always go back a few seconds if you missed a tough jump or took too much damage. It costs energy orbs to do so, but your meter can be replenished by collecting more orbs from enemies or breakable items nearby. These orbs can also be used to execute more powerful and advanced skills. Another added feature is the ability to customize and upgrade the prince's combat skills from the experience that you gain while fighting. For example, your shield ability unleashes a burst of energy, which knocks surrounding opponents to the ground. But when it gets upgraded to a tornado, you can call forth a swirling wind that can easily round up and decimate anyone that gets too close. Another advanced move that we got to see was a dash skill that lets the prince dart from one side of a room into the next. This allowed him to plow through any unfortunate individual that happened to get in the way and provided a convenient alternative cross-wide chasm when there were no walls on which to scurry.

Control the elements and use them to your advantage.

Our demo wrapped up with a miniboss fight in a section of an underground ruined city, where we saw the prince fight against a decent-sized horde of skeletal warriors. The story behind these wraiths is that the prince's brother decided to raise a magical army of sand warriors to defend his kingdom from intruders at the beginning of the game, but this could only be accomplished at a huge cost. All the citizens have now turned into sand statues, and it looks like the undead don't intend to leave anytime soon. The miniboss we faced was a large charger that wasted no time trying to run us over. Fortunately, it wasn't very bright, so by carefully positioning the prince, you can lure the miniboss to trample the swarm of warriors in the way, which will save you the trouble of having to dispose of them yourself.

The Forgotten Sands looks and feels like a next-generation Sands of Time. It is full of rich and colorful art direction, as well as clever level designs. The prince represented a cross between the character models of the prince in Sands of Time and Warrior Within. He looks more mature than in the first game and maintains that mysterious air about him, but he looks less menacing than he did in the second game. The voice actor for the prince in Sands of Time, Yuri Lowenthal, returns so it'll feel very much like you're continuing the adventure immediately after the events of the first game. We were shown an incredibly beautiful area--which you'll come across multiple times in the game to meet a Djinn who gives you your newfound powers named Razia--that was reminiscent of the Fountain of Time seen in the first game. As we approached the empty gazebo bathed in moonlight, it was hard not to be taken with the soft silver glow of the moon that covered the artfully crafted landscape.

We're quite eager to see more of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, which is set to be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC sometime in May. The Wii and DS versions will be entirely different games built specifically for their respective platforms. We'll update you with more information as soon as it becomes available.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

---

"Xbox 360 | Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands First Impression" was posted by Sophia Tong on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:00:54 -0800

Xbox 360 | Dead Rising 2 Hands-On

We create our own weapons in this zombie-slaying sequel.

Nothing bleeds quite like a de-armed zombie. Capcom showed off the latest build of its zombie-murder simulator at Microsoft's X10 event today, and Dead Rising 2 is shaping up to be a hilariously gruesome depiction of one man's fight against a horde of stumbling brain eaters. The battle for survival has moved from the quiet suburban mall from the first game into the bright and glamorous Fortune City (the ironically named casino town based on Las Vegas), but the core slicing-and-dicing gameplay has made the transition intact. The streets overflowed with hordes of zombies, hundreds of weapons, and the copious bodily fluids that spilled forth when one was unceremoniously stabbed. We got a chance to test out some of the extreme violence first hand, and it seems to offer a lovely vacation for those who just cannot stand the thought of ambling zombies.

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The story hardly matters when you're busy chopping undead monsters into tiny pieces, but there is one very important aspect of protagonist Chuck Greene's personality that separates Dead Rising 2 from its predecessor. Chuck appreciates art just as much as the previous game's star, Frank West, but he doesn't express himself through photography. Instead, you craft weapons of unbridled destruction that allow you to show off your creative side in decidedly deadly ways. As you can imagine, this has a significant impact on the combat. Previously, you might have found a shiny chainsaw on the ground and used it to slice up some zombies in an up-close-and-personal fashion, but now, you can use your skills to combine weapons to make that chainsaw even more worthwhile. If you strap a couple onto either end of a kayak paddle, you not only extend your reach significantly, but you can also spin and swing it with such flair that large groups of zombies tumble to the ground in a blink of an eye. Killing zombies is always fun, but it feels even more special when you put such care into crafting the perfect weapon to dispose of them.

You combine these vicious tools behind enticing red doors that are sprinkled liberally throughout the strip, which means you will have to step momentarily away from the bloodshed if you want to spice up the combat a bit. Flexing your creative muscle in the privacy of these sterile rooms is probably a good thing, and it gives players a chance to meticulously duct tape tools together without the fear of a zombie chomping on their heads. If you are feeling adventurous, you can attempt to combine the various tools you find around the environment together to form your own personalized superweapon, but there are also helpful hint cards that spell out the perfect recipe for mass destruction. You earn these hint cards either by leveling up, finding them hidden somewhere in the environment, or reading informative posters that line the walls and various kiosks. At this time, developers at Blue Castle are working on a system to reward players for finding these cards, but this is not yet reflected in the game. In the future, you may earn special attacks or extra experience points for finding the hint cards before you create a weapon on your own, though.

The combination weapons make an already violent game that much more gooey and red. The chainsaw oar is just the beginning of the extreme necrocide. We attached a few standard construction nails onto a baseball bat and proceeded to pound razor sharp spikes into the heads of the unsuspecting undead. Nails can also be attached to propane canisters, and, if you have a standard firearm and a strong stomach, you can cause the barrel to explode, singeing the monsters closest to the blast while impaling those farther way with deadly shrapnel made of metal. We discovered by reading a helpful poster in the middle of a casino that you can make a smoking flamethrower by putting gasoline in an ordinary squirt gun. And if you think punching zombies with a plain boxing glove sounds less than thrilling, you can strap your trusty knife onto the front and create a weapon that would certainly be banned from most officially sanctioned boxing events. It's a robust system that continually surprises and entertains with the vast array of ridiculous weapons you can create.

The basic structure remains intact from the first Dead Rising game. There is still a time limit urging you through the mall, which keeps the pace moving so you don't get so caught up in killing zombies that your actions lose all meaning. Major story events, as well as optional side missions, count down in real time on the in-game clock, which means you will have to make careful decisions on how you want to spend your time in this terrifying town. Like in the first game, if you miss an important story sequence, you will not be able to progress further into the game, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. You can spend your free time hunting down hint cards, leveling up, or just enjoying the scenic view and then restart the adventure with all your unlockables intact. The save system is getting an overhaul as well, though specifics have not yet been revealed. Expect more than one save slot, though, which should give players a way to backtrack if they find themselves continually showing up late for unskippable appointments.

Although the biggest addition to combat is the ability to combine weapons, there have been changes made to the core gameplay as well. The most notable is how guns have been implemented. In the first Dead Rising, aiming your gun required you to stand motionless on the ground, which made you an enticing target for the swarming undead. But Dead Rising 2 allows you to move and shoot at the same time; thus, this time-tested concept makes firearms much more viable weapons in the sequel. Because of this added freedom, there will be a greater variety of guns to play around with, giving less creative players a chance to quickly dispose of their prey without the need to spend time in the construction room.

In Dead Rising 2, murdering zombies isn't the only vice in which you can partake. Fortune City is home to oodles of casinos, and you can unleash your gambling monster on slot machines with their hypnotic display of flashing lights. Money is actually important in Dead Rising 2, despite the majority of the population being made up of brain-dead brain eaters. You earn money by gambling or just slamming a stool against a slot machine or ATM until money spills out, and you take your hard-earned winnings to pawn brokers who are all too willing to exploit your needs for a quick buck. On sale are such life-saving items as hint books for powerful combination weapons, unique weapons that can only be found in a pawn store, and magazines that give Chuck added abilities. These magazines replace the books from the first Dead Rising but serve the same purpose, though we can only cross our fingers that the downgrade from legitimate literature doesn't portend a dumbing down of the entire game.

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Dead Rising 2 is shaping up to follow in the footsteps of the first game quite nicely. There are lots of little touches that really make this game stand out from the zombie-slaying crowd. A fire extinguisher can be used to freeze then shatter your many foes, and consuming too much alcohol not only makes Chuck puke in glorious high definition, but the zombies will actually slip in your sick if they wander into the middle of the puddle. We look forward to seeing what other surprises Dead Rising 2 holds in the future.

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"Xbox 360 | Dead Rising 2 Hands-On" was posted by Tom Mc Shea on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:44:04 -0800

Xbox 360 | Supreme Commander 2 Updated Hands-On - Multiplayer and Skirmish

We get our hands dirty in multiplayer in this epic strategy sequel.

The original Supreme Commander expanded on the large-scale strategy of the real-time strategy classic Total Annihilation, and Supreme Commander 2 will further streamline the experience to focus on key strategic decisions and the gigantic killer robots that result from those decisions. The game offers three standard multiplayer modes: assassination, which requires you to destroy your opponents' ACU (supreme commander) unit to win; supremacy, which requires you to wipe your opponents' ACU, base, and armies off the face of the earth; and infinite war, a sandbox-like mode with no specific victory conditions that's primarily intended for experimenting with various tech trees. We've had a chance to try these modes and skirmish matches against computer-controlled artificial intelligence opponents and have much to report.

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Get the details on Supreme Commander 2's multiplayer in this interview.

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The sequel will offer 21 multiplayer maps, including revamped versions of popular maps from the first game such as Seton's Clutch and Finn's Revenge, and there will be only two primary differences between multiplayer on the PC and on the Xbox 360: the PC version will support up to eight players, while the Xbox 360 version will support up to four. Also, the PC version will play online via Steam, while the console version will obvious run on Xbox Live, with support for friends lists, ladders, and stat tracking. Otherwise, multiplayer matches in both versions of the game will be very close to each other--they'll both start fast and ramp up even faster. Both versions let you choose various map conditions, such as fog of war on or off, varying game speeds, and fixed or random spawn positions. You can also easily assign teams to set up a team game, and/or slot in AI opponents to turn your match into a co-op session against computer opponents--though at higher difficulty levels, AI opponents are alarmingly efficient and frighteningly aggressive.

Supreme Commander 2 is all about smart decisions and the giant killer robots that follow from them.

In most multiplayer matches, you'll start near two mass nodes with two engineer units and an ACU supreme commander unit (which, like engineers, can construct buildings). Mass is, of course, one of the game's primary resources, along with energy (which you generate by constructing generator buildings). While your first order of business is to build mass extractors on your two nearest nodes as quickly as possible, the rest is up to your first big strategic choice.

As we've mentioned previously, Supreme Commander 2 offers five different research tracks, three of which are tied directly to military development (land, air, and sea). Research points automatically trickle into your coffers at a slow pace, though you can construct research centers to accrue them at a slightly faster rate. Now, while you can construct basic barracks-type structures for churn out units for each of these terrain types, you'll only unlock higher-level units along each tree by investing research points in various improvements in each track. Only by scrambling up through the land military track, for instance, will the Cybran Nation be able to eventually commission the Megalith II minor experimental walker or the major experimental Cybranasaurus. It's these choices you must make early and often that will get you a leg up on your opponent, though it's also crucial that you get a sense of your opponent's choices and progress with aggressive reconnaissance.

Traditional real-time strategy recon is usually a function of how well you can micromanage your cheap scout unit (or cheap peon unit) into the fog of war and sniff out your enemies' bases before your sacrificial scout gets splattered into paste. Fortunately, Supreme Commander 2's research trees allow for recon as well. In addition to sounding stations which your builder units can construct from the "advanced" buildings tab (including radar and aquatic sonar stations), pretty much all research tracks contain at least one radar upgrade that will increase the range of all tracking stations, as well as at least one vision upgrade which will increase your sight range.

Battleships are a very powerful ally, but they're best used when backed up with sonar intel.

Interestingly, some higher-level units have additional radar- and vision-based bonuses, like the UEF air track, which includes an unlockable bomb camera that will extend the field of vision around any of your bomber units. Key intel (especially if you happen to sight an opponent's deadly high-level experimental unit lumbering your way) will also help you adjust your next research picks to perhaps be more suitable to the situation at hand. All tracks have defensive additions, such as personal energy shields, that can be unlocked for your land, air, and sea units, as well as for your structures and ACU.

Beyond recon, Supreme Commander 2's multiplayer games seem to be real-time arms races with intermittent skirmishing and landgrabs. In order to keep your war factories humming and your armies constantly growing, you need to snag as many mass deposits as possible (though if you're a skillful enough micromanager, you can actually send your engineers out after your fallen allies and foes to scavenge leftover mass from their husks). Fortunately, building point defense is extremely easy (turrets can be quickly and cheaply dropped in and around your holdings) and from there, it's a hop, skip, and a jump up through the structure research tree to heavier emplacements, like the Noah Unit Cannon (a powerful experimental unit that is at once artillery, troop transport, and barracks that generates powerful ground units, then fires them like long-range artillery shells to dump them right into enemy territory) and good, old fashioned nuclear warheads. As a matter of fact, even though Supreme Commander 2's marquee attractions are the huge, lumbering offensive experimentals, playing a defensive "turtle" style seems like a very viable way to go in multiplayer, assuming you can dig in and control enough mass nodes to keep your forces going.

It's actually viable to turtle up in Supreme Commander 2. Just make sure you can back it up with some nukes.

From what we've seen, Supreme Commander 2 has a great deal going for it as both a single-player game with a hefty campaign and as a multiplayer and skirmish game with a lot of different ways to play. The game is scheduled for release in March on both the PC and the Xbox 360.

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"Xbox 360 | Supreme Commander 2 Updated Hands-On - Multiplayer and Skirmish" was posted by Andrew Park on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:26:00 -0800

PC | Supreme Commander 2 Updated Hands-On - Multiplayer and Skirmish

We get our hands dirty in multiplayer in this epic strategy sequel.

The original Supreme Commander expanded on the large-scale strategy of the real-time strategy classic Total Annihilation, and Supreme Commander 2 will further streamline the experience to focus on key strategic decisions and the gigantic killer robots that result from those decisions. The game offers three standard multiplayer modes: assassination, which requires you to destroy your opponents' ACU (supreme commander) unit to win; supremacy, which requires you to wipe your opponents' ACU, base, and armies off the face of the earth; and infinite war, a sandbox-like mode with no specific victory conditions that's primarily intended for experimenting with various tech trees. We've had a chance to try these modes and skirmish matches against computer-controlled artificial intelligence opponents and have much to report.

[ Watch Video ]

Get the details on Supreme Commander 2's multiplayer in this interview.

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

The sequel will offer 21 multiplayer maps, including revamped versions of popular maps from the first game, such as Seton's Clutch and Finn's Revenge. And there will be only two primary differences between multiplayer on the PC and on the Xbox 360: The PC version will support up to eight players, while the Xbox 360 version will support up to four. Also, the PC version will play online via Steam, while the console version will obviously run on Xbox Live, with support for friends lists, ladders, and stat tracking. Otherwise, multiplayer matches in both versions of the game will be very close to each other--they'll both start fast and ramp up even faster. Both versions let you choose various map conditions, such as fog of war on or off, varying game speeds, and fixed or random spawn positions. You can also easily assign teams to set up a team game and/or slot in AI opponents to turn your match into a co-op session against computer opponents. Though at higher difficulty levels, AI opponents are alarmingly efficient and frighteningly aggressive.

Supreme Commander 2 is all about smart decisions and the giant killer robots that follow from them.

In most multiplayer matches, you'll start near two mass nodes with two engineer units and an ACU supreme commander unit (which, like engineers, can construct buildings). Mass is, of course, one of the game's primary resources, along with energy (which you generate by constructing generator buildings). While your first order of business is to build mass extractors on your two nearest nodes as quickly as possible, the rest is up to you--your first big strategic choice.

As we've mentioned previously, Supreme Commander 2 offers five different research tracks, three of which are tied directly to military development (land, air, and sea). Research points automatically trickle into your coffers at a slow pace, though you can construct research centers to accrue them at a slightly faster rate. Now, while you can construct basic barracks-type structures for churn-out units for each of these terrain types, you'll only unlock higher level units along each tree by investing research points in various improvements in each track. Only by scrambling up through the land military track, for instance, will the Cybran Nation be able to eventually commission the Megalith II minor experimental walker or the major experimental Cybranasaurus. It's these choices you must make early and often that will get you a leg up on your opponent, though it's also crucial that you get a sense of your opponent's choices and progress with aggressive reconnaissance.

Traditional real-time strategy recon is usually a function of how well you can micromanage your cheap scout unit (or cheap peon unit) into the fog of war and sniff out your enemies' bases before your sacrificial scout gets splattered into paste. Fortunately, Supreme Commander 2's research trees allow for recon as well. In addition to sounding stations, which your builder units can construct from the "advanced" buildings tab (including radar and aquatic sonar stations), pretty much all research tracks contain at least one radar upgrade that will increase the range of all tracking stations, as well as at least one vision upgrade that will increase your sight range.

Battleships are a very powerful ally, but they're best used when backed up with sonar intel.

Interestingly, some higher level units have additional radar- and vision-based bonuses, like the UEF air track, which includes an unlockable bomb camera that will extend the field of vision around any of your bomber units. Key intel (especially if you happen to sight an opponent's deadly high-level experimental unit lumbering your way) will also help you adjust your next research picks to perhaps be more suitable to the situation at hand. All tracks have defensive additions, such as personal energy shields, that can be unlocked for your land, air, and sea units, as well as for your structures and ACU.

Beyond recon, Supreme Commander 2's multiplayer games seem to be real-time arms races with intermittent skirmishing and land grabs. In order to keep your war factories humming and your armies constantly growing, you need to snag as many mass deposits as possible (though if you're a skillful enough micromanager, you can actually send your engineers out after your fallen allies and foes to scavenge leftover mass from their husks). Fortunately, building point defense is extremely easy (turrets can be quickly and cheaply dropped in and around your holdings) and from there, it's a hop, skip, and a jump up through the structure research tree to heavier emplacements. These include the Noah Unit Cannon (a powerful experimental unit that is at once artillery, troop transport, and barracks that generates powerful ground units, then fires them like long-range artillery shells to dump them right into enemy territory) and good, old-fashioned nuclear warheads. As a matter of fact, even though Supreme Commander 2's marquee attractions are the huge, lumbering offensive experimentals, playing a defensive "turtle" style seems like a very viable way to go in multiplayer. That is, if you can dig in and control enough mass nodes to keep your forces going.

It's actually viable to turtle up in Supreme Commander 2. Just make sure you can back it up with some nukes.

From what we've seen, Supreme Commander 2 has a great deal going for it as both a single-player game with a hefty campaign and as a multiplayer and skirmish game with a lot of different ways to play. The game is scheduled for release in March on both the PC and the Xbox 360.

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"PC | Supreme Commander 2 Updated Hands-On - Multiplayer and Skirmish" was posted by Andrew Park on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:26:00 -0800