Video games based on movies often times get a bad rap.  They tend to be nothing more than a cash grab that release alongside its movie counterpart and are marked at full price, making them very difficult to swallow.  There have been exceptions of course, such as Toy Story 3: the Game and Peter Jackson’s King Kong.  But what about games based on movies that are more than a decade old?  TellTale Games, creators of the Sam and Max series, challenges the negative stigma attached to movie based games with Back to the Future: the Game.

If you’ve ever played a TellTale title before, you know that they are big fans of episodic content.  What this means is that instead of buying the game and playing through it all in one go, they break it down into smaller pieces.  For example, I paid $25 for Back to the Future: the Game on Steam, and I am given access to all of the episodes as they are released.  Episode 3 is the latest instalment that you can play through, and it’s imperative that you start right from the beginning with Episode 1 to get the full enjoyment out of the game.  This review is for Episode 2: Get Tannen! specifically.

Since Back to the Future: the Game is an adventure story-based game (much like the adventure games of yesteryear, such as King’s Quest and Space Quest), it’s difficult to go into specifics without spoiling much of the story.  You take control of Marty in the year 1986 and solve puzzles to progress.  You frequently interact with other characters like Einstein the dog and Emett Brown, who aid you along the way.  If there’s one thing that I absolutely love in an adventure game, it’s a skull cracking puzzle that stumps me for days.  I love the satisfying feeling of solving something difficult, and unfortunately Back to the Future: the Game never provided me with this experience.  Not once.  In fact, I rarely ever had to consult the hint menu in Episode 2.  None of the episodes are very long in length and will take you anywhere from two to four hours to complete them.  Episode 1 took me exactly 3 hours from start to finish, which may leave some players miffed.

All of the voice acting is top notch and nothing feels out of place.  Doc Brown is voiced by Christopher Lloyd and  while they couldn’t get  Michael J. Fox to return as Marty McFly, A.J. Locascio does an amazing job.  Many familiar characters from the movies pop in throughout the story, including the obnoxious Biff Tannen who once again makes trouble for Marty.  All of the environments and characters have a bit of a cartoony feel to them, but it never feels juvenile.  On the contrary, you’re put in some life threatening situations along the way that involve explosives, guns and other nasty business.  Sadly, you can’t actually die in the game, unlike the King’s Quest series from the early 80s.  I think this is a detriment because it removes some of the challenge from the game, but I can understand the reasons behind this decision.  The game is very forgiving if you need a while to figure something out and doesn’t rush you along.

In any case, the challenge just isn’t here.  It’s a very entertaining story with nice visuals and a superb voice cast, but if you want an adventure game that you can really sink your teeth into, try Kaptain Brawe: a Brawe New World.  However, Back to the Future: the Game is definitely worth your money and time, especially if you are a fan of the movies.  TellTale Games does a terrific job of pushing the “all movie games suck” to the side and lets players just enjoy living in the past (literally) for a little while.  I eagerly anticipate the arrival of Episode 4: Double Visions and TellTale Game’s next trip down memory lane with Jurassic Park: the Game this fall.

The game centers primarily around space-pirate Grayson Hunt and his brother-in-arms Ishi, as they attempt to escape from the ruined paradise resort world of Stygia. After warping out of deep space and coming upon the flagship of the General that betrayed them, The Ulysses, Grayson makes a drunken kamikaze attack on the ship, essentially punching the most advanced Warbird in the galaxy in the face. While his ship is nearly destroyed and goes plummeting onto the surface of a strange alien world, the Ulysses is also wrecked, and both ships crash a few miles apart. Grayson then attempts to not only exact his revenge on the general, but get himself and Ishi off the world as well.

The gameplay consists of lots of standard shooter fare with a ton of added kicks in the form of “skillshots”. These skillshots range from something as simple as a headshot (25 points) to something zanier, like kicking someone into electric cables (50 points) or shooting them in the groin, then blowing their head off as they writhe in pain (gleefully named “Mercy” and rewarding 100 points). There are a litany of over 100 skillshots, and every new weapon added into your arsenal further increases the number of creative ways you can destroy and maim those around you. A “leash”, which you discover fairly quickly in the game, is a module that attaches to your hand and displays both skillshot information and your ammo. It ties in with the various dead-drops you discover in the game. These dead-drops are where you cash in the points you make with your kills to unlock new weapons and ammo. In the context of the story, these were left here by a previous military campaign, and (in a delightfully Darwinian twist) were designed specifically so only the good soldiers would receive more ammo or better weapons.

There are a large number of set encounters: Big, crazy scripted battles where you are up against an unusual enemy or have a super powered weapon for a short amount of time. The game plays out nicely, moving at a breakneck pace from caves to trains to cliffs to villages to cities, propelling you through an amazing number of creative, vibrant, and stunning levels. This is one of the things I enjoyed the most as this is a departure from other shooters. Each level looks beautifully detailed, from the massive vistas near a gigantic dam, to the beautiful sci-fi skyscrapers, and crazy, The Fifth Element-headbutts-Bioshock design, to many of the more civilized parts of the city. The natural flora and fauna of Stygia are just as wide ranging and vivid, from electro-flies to huge man-eating Venus fly traps, and hilarious pods called Noms that, when kicked at an enemy, latch onto their heads and start chewing headcrab-style. That’s only a taste of the enemies you encounter on this murder paradise.

The game controls are tight and easy to pick up, and they at least use the matching buttons when giving you quick time events, such as shoot when you need to shoot in the sequence. One button activates the leash, and holding it down fires a “thumper” that launches all enemies caught in the area into the air, making them easy pickings. The artificial intelligence (AI) of your allies is competent enough, and invincible to the point where you usually don’t have to worry about them. The enemy AI is akin to Left 4 Dead, in which melee enemies swarm you, and regular shooter fare by using cover to advance into a confetti of bullets raining down on them.

The game is accompanied by a suitable soundtrack of loud, action movie fanfare, and squishy, gooey, gorey sounds whenever you land a good kill. The weapons have a great, loud kick to them and the charge shots that come with each weapon sound devastating and brutal. The dialogue is ridiculous and offensive, and delightfully colourful. The visuals mix perfectly with the audio, providing graphically sound and satisfying character models, level design, and effects. Explosions in particular look bright and powerful, streaming off like fireworks from their origin.

The multiplayer and “echo” segments, both of which involves replaying single player levels or edited maps, have some enjoyable times to be had, and it’ll keep your interest for a while as you attempt to get three stars on various challenges. But aside from that, it’s a straightforward multiplayer component, with the cooperative “Horde” mode (like swarm or wave cooperative modes in other shooters) adding a more diverse element.

Bulletstorm is raw and distilled fun for a mature audience. If you love cheesy sci-fi pulp and over-the-top machismo, mixed in with a vibrant, straightforward shooter, this is a game to add to your collection.

Nevertheless, Atlus revealed today that the game will arrive in North America this summer – only a few months after its Japanese release.  No details were given, but you can check out the shell of a website, and even get your pre-orders in from Amazon.ca if you can’t wait.  The game will be available for both PS3 and Xbox 360.

Personally, I’m excited about the game, and am always eager to support Atlus in taking the risk of bringing games English speakers otherwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to enjoy.  We’ll keep you updated when Atlus reveals more.

[Source: Atlus]

Currently, you can choose from the regular Sackboy, a Sackboy with his tongue hanging out, or a Tron-esque neon Sackboy. Each figure comes with a pop-up lasso and stickers.

Product specifications:

• A tiny and fun way to bring LittleBigPlanet into your real life.
• Three different figures: Sackboy Regular, Sackboy Tongue (aka: Happy Sackboy), and Neon.
• Multiple points of articulation, including a ball-jointed head.
• Pop-it Lasso is bendy for grabbing fun.
• Includes: Figure, Pop-it Lasso, and sticker sheet.
• Dimensions: 4″ tall (duh).

These are cute, and perfect for the LBP lover in your life.  It’s almost a shame they don’t offer a bundle option for those who want them all, or a set of snap-on clothing to customize your little Sackboy figure.

[Source: ThinkGeek.com]

Listed below are the games that will be affected by the shutdown (* denotes a game with online achievements):

• FIFA 07
• FIFA 08 *
• FIFA 09 *
• FIFA Street 3 *
• Fight Night Round 3
• Madden NFL 09
• NBA LIVE 08
• NBA LIVE 09 *
• NCAA March Madness 08 *
• NCAA Basketball 09 *
• NCAA Football 07
• NCAA Football 08 *
• NCAA Football 09 *
• NFL Head Coach 09 *
• NHL 08 *
• NHL 09 *
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 *
• UEFA EURO 2008 *

For those of you who are gamer score enthusiasts, this is essentially a last call for these games and their online achievements.

The figure stops and rests his hand upon the sturdy relic before drawing it out of the loop. More wings begin to beat in unison, more fangs drip with insatiable hunger. With a small flick of his wrist, a long, spiked chain hits the floor with a heavy thud, liberated from the confines of the cross. The wings all halt for a brief second, and there is naught but breathing between the horde and the strong, imposing form of Gabriel Belmont, first of the famous clan.

Then – a battle cry from both sides, the whip chittering in anticipation along the stone floor, and the slaughter begins.

This is the world of Castlevania. I have not seriously played any other Castlevania game, so I suppose I was immune to a lot of the criticism that fell upon this 3D endeavour.  Some would say that makes me unqualified to review this iteration, but I think it enables me to judge it on its independent merits alone. Lords of Shadow is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played this year. It combines a host of themes and gameplay styles from a number of different titles, but envelops them all in a distinctive style. I have not seen such beautifully crafted landscapes in a long time, and while part of the appeal of it was its linearity (having played little but free roamers for so long), the scope and dedication to the design resonates in the execution.

Gabriel travels through the deep recesses of an ancient city, the titular Castle, bogs, marshes, ruined mountain towns, and what seems to be the dusty ends of creation itself, and it all is beautifully designed and sculpted from the same vision.

Gabriel is an enjoyable character. He is both mired by his conviction to his quest and riddled with self-doubt and agony over the death of his beloved. His quest is to not only defeat the various Lords of Shadow, but also to reincarnate his wife. They recruited convincing vocal talent, including Patrick Stewart as Zobek, a knight errant of the same order as Gabriel, who narrates every level opening, and Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty) as Gabriel.

I think one of the reasons I found this game so satisfying, aside from the art direction and gameplay, was after all the comparisons my friends kept making to God of War, I enjoyed this experience more than Kratos’s forays into madness. Gabriel is a human character and he hurts and emotes as you go through the game, whereas Kratos just rages all the time nonstop without end. Whereas some would say the combat is stolen from God of War, I would argue that Castlevania did everything God of War did first.

The musical accompaniment is suitably haunting with riveting accelerations during tense boss battles and quiet, contemplative tracks during the many puzzles. The puzzles were especially enjoyable, shifting back and forth between obvious and devious like a pendulum. As you encounter each Lord of Shadow, you discover more and more about the order you belong to, the Guardians of Light, and the intrinsic sense of balance of the world. This follows suit all the way up to the game’s powerful conclusion and intense ending.

The gameplay is laced with an interesting magic concept revolving around light and dark magic, which is activiated by either the left or right shoulder buttons, and gives you the ability to either heal yourself by dealing damage (light side) or simply deal more damage (dark side). There’s no moral compass, it’s just more of a “you must know the dark to see the light” sort of jazz. The game takes a fervent and intense turn when you’re forced to switch back and forth on the fly during later boss battles. I found myself intensely focused on the proceedings, due to the whole split-second response time necessary. The various weapons and abilities you unlock are cool and actually appear on your body as you acquire them, which resolves something that has always bugged me about some games. By the end of the game, you’re decked out in some pretty awesome gear. The only thing I would’ve loved more is if Gabriel looked all harrowed and beat up like Batman did by the end of Arkham Asylum. However, it works within the context of the game, so I didn’t exactly hate that they didn’t do it. The animation is brilliant as well, whether it be in game, or cinematic. The boss kills are always very impressive and satisfying.

One of the best aspects I really have to admire about Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is that the game has a great sense of progression; every aspect of the game ramps up in awesomeness. You start off encountering small titans for certain Shadow of The Colossus-inspired boss battles, then each subsequent battle after that the scale is increased ten fold! The combat starts off simple, then gets steadily harder and more complex as more abilities and flourishes become available. Even the environments start off almost conservative, then as you advance, you’re shifting whole towers around and scaling massive, impossible land masses. The castle that you spend about a third of the game exploring is so massive that it seems to be a whole mountain range, ascending to scrape the sky and plunging deep into the earth.  In the various scrolls you uncover on the corpses of your fallen brothers, you read tidbits of information that help you sink further into the universe, give you bits of information about enemies or puzzles ahead, or even give nods to other great games, such as a “Great ‘Dekuh’ Tree” or “The Cake is a lie” references that litter the corners and forgotten passages of the world.

As I’ve stated before, the concept art behind this game cannot be overlooked for it is simply divine. It is some of the most beautiful and detailed work I’ve ever seen go into a game. Whether it is the simple ink illustrations in your skillbook that animate and show you different combo abilities, the gorgeous, massive, wallpaper-worthy works that are unlocked after various encounters and levels, or the awesome quick storyboards showing the progression of the final kill animation, I adore them all. I wish I could capture each one in a print book because I tend to buy those things the instant they’re offered.

Aside from minor grievances like “I shouldn’t have jumped there,” or the occasional glitch, my main complaint would be the saving bug that affected the game a few months prior, and stopped my play entirely for about a week or so, but has since been remedied by the developers. I had progressed up to the final boss battle when my console froze and abruptly restarted with all of my progress locked away. Another complaint is the locked camera. It encounters issues if you move back and forth in certain areas, or if you push yourself into a corner, which disorients it. Mostly, if you avoid those areas, you tend to be rather well off, especially considering this is one of the best implementations of fixed cameras I’ve seen in a game.

I’ve since beaten the game again and unlocked a number of things past that point, so the save complaint is moot. The length added to the frustration with losing the save game because this is not a short adventure. I was pleasantly surprised that this game took at least 40 hours or so to finish, and that was on medium difficulty. With many of the encounters already being quite a struggle, I can only imagine how difficult the two later levels would become.

Castlevania : Lords of Shadow is a stellar title, and with the hearty dose of artwork to unlock at the end of each level, I was subjected to one of the most engaging, immersive, dark, and beautiful games I’ve ever seen. I recommend this title for anyone looking for a good third-person platformer, a videogame art-nut, or really anyone looking for some good old-fashioned fun, with a new flavour. Castlevania will offer all you need to waste a week away.

Another cool thing is that you can customize your character to look any way you want despite the equipment that you’re actually wearing. “The biggest goal is that we want you to look and feel like the hero or villain that you want to be,” said Michael Daubert, Studio Art Director [Star Wars: Galaxies]. “The cool thing about that is that you can change how you look every time you log in.” How it works is that there is a Style menu, and you can customize all the different things that affect the look of your character on that screen. I rocked the military beret when I picked it up, but now I’m back to the old school spandex hood. You can pick up items that unlock different styles, so that you have more freedom as you progress.

I think this guy chose Fire.

Something I didn’t realize until Daubert brought it up was that the day/night cycles that is common in MMOs was omitted in this game, and it was a design choice: “Gotham is always at night time, [and] Metropolis is during the day. We did that on purpose because we wanted to capture the feel of what Gotham always is. And Gotham during the day just isn’t fun. You want to have it at night time. A lot of times in the comics, when they portray Metropolis, it’s always the bright golden daylight… the City of Tomorrow feel.” He added, “seeing Batman during the day – it just didn’t feel right.”

Weather effects are still intact though, and in fact there are some nice little touches. For example, Mr. Freeze’s area will start to snow instead of rain and Scarecrow’s area has a pervasive mist from the fear toxins. The Unreal Engine shines in this respect, and helps the game look great overall. Metropolis feels like Freedom Force and Gotham feels entirely different.

The character creation in the game allows you to select a movement type (Flying/Acrobatic/Super Speed), a main power type such as fire and ice (this is basically your class), and a mentor (gadgetry/super powers/magic) that determines the faction you start with and the gear you buy from the vendors, as well as your starting city. The customization of your appearance is not as in depth as some other offerings, but you can choose your body size as well as your starting costume.

As with any new MMO, getting oriented can be quite difficult. In order to help players explore and to give background on the many areas of the game, DCUO provides a chain of quests, narrated by the silly Booster Gold, that basically ask you to tour the cities, and even the headquarters. In addition, there are these neat little timed races that help you get oriented with your movement mode, and eventually master it. They are different depending on your movement type and are meant as something to do while you wait for an Alert (dungeon) or Player versus Player (PvP) battle to pop, but I enjoyed them so much that I’ve just been racing through them (pun optional) to get the Platinum rating on each one.

The variety of costumes is one of the best things about DCUO

The game is tailored to the console players, and SOE confirms that the PS3 is their primary target. Since the game only has one build that works both on the PS3 and PC, there are several design choices that are clearly influenced by the players who will be using controllers as opposed to keyboards. “We want to get the console players who are jumping in here who may be a little gun shy when they hear about an MMO… it’s almost like training. It’s teaching them what the best parts of an MMO are but still keeping that fast paced action,” explains Daubert. To that end, you won’t find any tradeskills or crafting in the game. In addition, you can only have 6 active powers on your action bar at once. This is probably due to the controller having limited buttons and is something I disliked about Guild Wars, but you can try to build your skills around it a little bit in order to avoid having too many active skills that aren’t being used.

Not all the console influence is bad, however. There are these information hotspots littered throughout the cities and if you collect all the ones in an area, you get a reward. The whole thing feels a lot more like something you’d see from Batman: Arkham Asylum than World of Warcraft.

On the PvP side, there are two different options: Play as your own character, or play as one of the Legends, such as Batman or Harley Quinn. The one map I played on was a Team Fortress 2 style mode, where each team tries to control different points on the map in order to score points. More maps are unlocked as you level. The co-operative Player versus Environment (PvE) involves Alerts and end game Raids, which involve such iconic locations as the Batcave. I am not high enough level to access the Raids, but the Alerts that I’ve done seem a bit chaotic. Whereas World of Warcraft groups are fairly co-ordinated affairs, DCUO allows your team to split up and still do okay.

The game has been fun enough so far that I can definitely recommend a trial – especially for those curious about MMOs but are afraid that they will become highly addictive. DC Universe is very friendly to casual play and doesn’t involve farming for materials of any kind. Plus, the gameplay resembles your average action game more than World of Warcraft. PSN Plus members can download this Beta for free right now from the PSN Store, and PC players can pre-order a copy in order to get into the Beta. Have you tried DCUO? Show us your character in the comments or let us know what you think of it! Also, keep an eye out for our interview with Michael Daubert later this week.

There are new faceoff options, such as tying up your opponent.

For one, if last year’s game had any issue it was that it played way too fast. You could sort of just glide around the ice like Bobby Orr, skate into the slot with extreme ease, and take undefended shots on the goalie all game. NHL 11 slows  things down. Not to a boring degree, but just to a pace where you really have to set up plays and work hard for your opportunities. I grew up playing EA Sports hockey games. The reason those early games work so well is that they perfectly balance realism and fun. It’s something that most sports games today struggle with mightily, but an area where NHL 11 seems to flourish. I almost feel as if the developers have a real appreciation for those old Genesis and SNES games. It’s almost as if they channel the spirit of those classic games.

I’d also say that it’s probably the most immersive sports game on the market, and likely the most immersive sports game ever made. Your skating is controlled by the left analog stick, while your hockey stick is controlled by the right. It’s been honed this year and works extremely well most of the time. One issue is that occasionally your passes and shots don’t really do what you want them to. Sometimes you just want to drop a pass back to a teammate skating behind you in the offensive zone and you wire it back to your own blueline instead.

Opening a star player can earn you a lot of pucks on the marketplace.

The game is also filled with robust features as usual. The Be A GM mode is fantastic. I think an underrated aspect of this game is just how good the management features are. The trading, signing, and coaching aspects of this game are the best I’ve ever seen in a sports game. I’m a big fan of sports management sims like Baseball Mogul and NHL Eastside Manager, and the joy I got out of building a championship calibre Leafs team in this game was completely unparalleled by any other console sports game.

The Be A Pro mode is also rather good. I’m not a huge fan of these types of modes in sports games but I found the mode to be quite enjoyable. Having to make line changes and play good two way hockey is fun and challenging. The online play is also very solid.

A new physics engine lets you really appreciate a good check.

The other big new mode this year is the Hockey Ultimate League. In this you are given a pack of hockey cards from which you build a team. You earn pucks, which you can buy new packs with, or bid for cards in the auction house. You can then take your team and play against the CPU or against another human online. You also have to worry about team chemistry while training and developing your players. This mode has been used in EA Sports games before, but this is the first time it has been included in the NHL series. It is a neat and addictive game mode.

They have also included broken sticks in the new game. It is kind of amusing and cool to see. Also added is a new faceoff system and real time physics engine. These features are kind of neat but what is most important  is just the fact that the gameplay is just so refined, and so well executed.

I can’t hate NHL 11 because it isn’t just a brilliant hockey game – it’s a brilliant videogame. It’s one of the best games of the year, and one of the best sports games ever made. If you love hockey it’s an absolute must buy.

Boutin was visibly nervous while speaking, and that may have something to do with the fact that English is not his native language (he is from Montreal), but he still explained his job and the work he performed very well.  He went on to talk about the director of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Paul Robertson, with whom he shares a good rapport.  According to Boutin, Robertson is responsible for all of the character designs in the game; he laughed while he clicked around the screen during his presentation and remarked that Robertson does all of his animation with a mouse, which is something he has trouble fathoming.

Universal Studios helped out with the project by sending lots and lots of reference pictures to Boutin’s team so they could better understand what they needed to put into the game, though Boutin took a couple of creative liberties here and there.  In addition to the pictures, he also visited Toronto one weekend and walked around the city.  He took tons of pictures and visited local hot spots such as Sneaky Dee’s, but due to licensing restraints they weren’t able to use the actual logos and names in the game.  Still, while playing the game you may notice familiar places with slightly altered logos in homage to the places Boutin visited.

Unfortunately in December of 2009, the project hit a wall and was cancelled.  The company told Boutin and his team that they wanted to make better use of their talents and reassigned them to different projects.  The team spent 6 months in Montreal trying to find someone else to pick up the game, but were unsuccessful.  Eventually the project was moved to a new Ubisoft studio in China, and Boutin and his team made the very, very long journey overseas.  The game seemed to be resurrected finally, and Boutin claimed he had never worked so hard in his entire life.

The hard worked paid off, and we were treated to a very cool visual presentation.  Boutin showed us all of the pictures he took around the city right beside the video game Toronto, and it was absolutely amazing to see.  When it came to the other levels, he says he created “puzzle pieces” out of the graphics he created, and then pieced them carefully together.  Once he was finished showing us how the levels were created he flipped to another picture in his presentation, this time of the menu select screen.  Most gamers will recognize the character selection screen in Scott Pilgrim from Super Mario Bros. 2, which Boutin says is “the coolest selection screen ever.”

Boutin could have probably talked all day about the game but he ran out of time.  There was a very short Q&A after he was finished speaking, and someone asked him what kind of program was used to create the game.  Boutin didn’t seem as though he knew how to really answer this question and said that it was a “homemade program” that Robertson used on his computer that he might’ve taken with him from another project.  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World went through many trials and tribulations, but Boutin says that they all made the best out of a bad situation.  If time wasn’t an issue, Boutin says that he would have loved to work even more on the game.  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game is available on the PSN and Xbox Live Marketplace and features music from Anamanaguchi.

The Force Unleashed 2 is a sequel to the acclaimed The Force Unleashed, which featured some of the first tastes of Euphoria physics and Digital Molecular Matter object simulations in a game. This lent to shockingly realistic glass, wood and steel, while also providing physics-based, reactionary movement in the bodies of the enemies you would fling about the level. The original plot focused on the life of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. He was trained to hunt down the Jedi who survived Order 66. He turns to the Light side and fights against him. Eventually, due to his intervention, the Rebel Alliance is born.

This game expands on the story, taking place during the fledgling days of Rebellion, and Vader’s apparent attempts to recreate his apprentice in a Kamino cloning lab, even though no clone could be imbued with the Force thus far. The plot takes you from Kamino to hanging cities on Cato Nemoidia and even Dagobah, home of the now-exiled Yoda. The level design is apt, each area featuring a wide variety of objects and enemies to play with.

Colour keys range from the sterile bluish-grey of Kamino to the warm, royal reds and golds in Cato Nemoidia. The Apprentice also looks better than ever, with an updated and refined character model. His acting has a wider range, with him showing more rage and frustration than before. He’s become more of an animal within the cloning facility. The gameplay is succinct, with the Force powers having an even more explosive effect on Stormtroopers and the various specialty troopers and droids you face. The animations are still solid, and the combat is slightly expanded upon but feels basically like the first game, except with a second lightsaber. There’s nothing really wrong with this, aside from the frustrations I felt with the dodging mechanic and the time it took Starkiller to right himself after being knocked down.  The new Force Fury ability – a staple of most over the top third-person action/adventure games – lets you become invincible and overpowered for a brief period of time. It is actually exhilarating to perform, as each attack is a flurry of light (he begins to just throw the sabers everywhere, instead of the usual acrobatic combo) and his Force powers become a never-ending tsunami.

So that’s what’s good about The Force Unleashed 2: The acting, gameplay, and level design. The bad resides in the length. Alongside some costumes to unlock, saber crystals to collect, which have different effects, and trials to complete, there are some rather amusing and well written data files about all the characters, enemies and locations. However, a friend and I picked this game up, excited to devote a few evenings to the ensuing insanity, and we were surprised and disappointed when we reached the final, climactic boss battle a mere six hours into the game. The game sets itself up for a sequel, which is a little redeeming, but at the same time, I felt let down because as thrilling as the ride was, it was pitifully short.

Certain amazing set encounters and the gameplay make this a game worth checking out, but much like a snack, it feels like a stepping stone to a bigger meal later on.

“We’re delighted the Online Co-op is ready and going live – as a thank you to the patient Xbox gamers, and for a limited time only we will be giving away our first DLC pack for free. Download it, have a go and while you’re there try the online co-op mode, it’s great fun,” encourages Darrell Gallagher, General Manager of Crystal Dynamics.

The DLC and title update will be coming soon for the PS3 and PC, but no word about whether the DLC will be free for those platforms also.

This would most likely have been a review, instead of the veritable cacophony of dismay that I’m laying down before you. I have suffered from a fairly common glitch among PS3 users when playing Lords of Shadow. Several people have experienced a game glitch where the save file corrupts itself and all progress thus far is deleted or overwritten as the game makes a new autosave.  Basically, all of your progress is deleted.  Now for some, this can happen as early as the third chapter. For me?  It happened during the final fight in the game. Like right at the end. Basically as I was delivering the killing blow.

Devastating.

Konami has released a response to the understandable outcry among players, stating:

“Fear not, Vampire Killers. A patch for the PS3 save issue affecting Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is incoming. We’ll update on availability.”

And that was all.  I don’t want to dissuade you all from buying this game, it is an excellent experience that I would recommend for anyone. I only ask that you back up your saves frequently until the patch is released, so you’re not left picking up the pieces.

If any of you have experienced this glitch, or similar save file deletions, why not share them? Let’s start a help group.

———————–
A patch has since been released via auto-download onto the PS3. A few other issues were addressed, such as making the text easier to read for smaller TV’s. Enjoy guys.

At the start of the game, you’re immediately thrown into the action without any explanation as to where Sonic has been all these years and what he’s been doing.  This actually required a little bit of research on my part, so I headed to the official Sonic the Hedgehog 4 website.  Here’s the situation since Sonic & Knuckles:

Sonic has destroyed Dr. Eggman’s space station, the Death Egg.  Sonic decides that after his task is finished, he’s going to split up from Knuckles and Tails and take a break somewhere on his own.  Unfortunately for him, the vacation’s over before it ever really begins because Dr. Eggman has survived the events of Sonic & Knuckles.  Sonic must then traverse through four different zones in order to defeat his latest robotic creations.

It would have been nice if this had been explained at the start of the game, but oh well – not a big deal I guess.  What is a big deal is how frustrating the game can become in such a short amount of time.  You start off in the Splash Hills Zone, which should definitely look familiar to anyone who has ever played a 2D side scrolling Sonic game.  However, it differs from the Sonic formula in that it is a 2.5D side-scrolling game.  For those who are unsure of what 2.5D means, it’s when the graphics are 2 1/2 dimensional and give the illusion that something is in 3D when it really isn’t.  The music isn’t terrible but compared to its predecessors it just doesn’t hold a candle.  After a while it even becomes mildly irritating and just isn’t nearly as catchy as it should be.  Moving Sonic with the thumb stick is leaps and bounds easier than using the D-Pad, which is a little odd but is nothing too vexing.

All of the early Sonic elements are present, and yet something feels…off.  Something is missing.  Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination.  It isn’t broken, though the physics are not the best.  The difficulty curve is downright ruthless: It starts off nice and simple in the Splash Hills Zone and then once you hit the Casino Street Zone, you may find yourself screaming at your television.  It’s challenging, which is great considering the game’s length, but it’s far from a pleasant experience overall.

The level designs often give you the impression that the developers just don’t like you very much. The enemy placement is almost cruel, giving you very little time to react.  The special stages are all pretty cool and instead of moving Sonic around the swirly kaleidoscope maze, you move the entire level around him.  They’re well done, though I almost never got to experience them since I kept missing the giant ring at the end of each level.  I would run so fast I’d miss it completely and the game doesn’t allow you to quickly correct yourself and run backward.  Nope, you’re done.  If you missed it, that’s too bad.  Try slowing down next time.  Each of the four zones includes 3 acts and of course, a boss fight.  The boss fights range from dull and simple to obnoxiously difficult.  The level select screen is a nice new touch and is esthetically pleasing to look at it.  If you grow tired of the Casino Street Zone, you can try your hand at Lost Labyrinth instead.

The graphics are crisp but lack the usual Sonic charm and are devoid of any personality whatsoever. SEGA didn’t completely screw up, I just don’t think Episode 1 is worthy of a $15 price tag.  The game is a short albeit difficult romp that may prompt dyed-in-the-wool Sonic fans to cringe in distaste.  I felt many periods of déjà vu.  Haven’t I played the Lost Labyrinth Zone already?  I could have sworn I did in a previous Sonic game.  Those who have never played a 2D Sonic game may become easily frustrated and discouraged from making it to the final boss.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 gives me funny feelings.  This game lacks a soul, but maybe I feel this way because the game doesn’t feel like a true sequel.  It’s not bad and it’s not good but I still feel vaguely disappointed.  It feels a lot more like a remake than anything else, which is okay but just doesn’t nourish the desire for a direct and canon sequel.  After sixteen years I still don’t feel sated, but perhaps this is a strong indication that it’s time to finally let go.  Or, I could just wait for Sonic Colors to come out.

Click here to watch the video

With a wave of the Move controller I could get Gandalf to shoot fireballs at my enemies or press a button and launch a ground attack with his staff.  Aragorn used his sword to attack his foes, which usually amounted to spiders and wolves.  We ran around the landscape freely and when we would get lost or forget what our objective was, we could press a button to find the correct path.  A sparkling beam of light would pop up on the screen and illuminate the way through the trees and grassy knolls.

While the Move controls felt a little clunky and not as intuitive as they could have been, I enjoyed myself.  The hardcore Tolkien fans may not enjoy the liberties that have been taken with the lore, but for everyone else it delivers some amusement, especially when playing co-op with a friend.  Most of what we played involved seeking out other members to round out the fellowship and doing the tasks we were given.  For example, Boromir would only join the Fellowship if you were able to defeat him in a duel.

This duel could only be done by Aragorn, so I had to sit out while I watched Don smack Boromir around with his sword.  Once we made it to Rivendell we were given the task to find Merry and Pippin, two of the hobbits from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Now that I think about it, we never did find them.  I wonder what happened to them? (Editor’s note: We never caught up to the orcs that had them) Don and I seemed to disagree as far as the graphics were concerned.  My opinion was that the graphics were stylized and appealing in a cartoonish-sort of way.  Don said they appeared dull and flat and were in need of some textures.  Whatever floats your boat!

I wasn’t too fond of being given mundane quests.  If I wanted to go kill x amount of y, I would play an MMORPG instead.  That kind of gameplay just doesn’t leave a great taste in my mouth.  Overall it was a pretty different and fun experience in Middle Earth, but I have a feeling it won’t have much lasting appeal to the older crowd.  This one seems great for kids, though.  Aragorn’s Quest is available now for the PlayStation 2 and 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo Wii.

Either way, if you purchased Borderlands on Steam, check your downloadable content in order for a chance to get an early look at the long-awaited, Bruce Campbell quoting over-the-top macho man in his upcoming foray.

Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 released today, October 12th, 2010 and Duke Nukem Forever releases for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 sometime in 2011.

I ran through the city streets in pursuit of this mysterious limo, and used electrical wires to my advantage.  Sliding around on the wires with Cole’s lightning powers, I felt a little bit like Spider-Man, minus the web-slinging.  I scaled a few buildings via electric wires and eventually caught up to the limo and watched a brief cut scene of Cole leaping on top of it in order to confront the man inside.  After the limo cut scene was I left to my own devices in the most literal sense.

A helicopter began to barrage Cole with its turrets, and I was instructed to run for my life.  This was easily my favourite part of the demo, because this was the part where I was finally allowed to create electric vortexes to bring down the helicopter in a large and crazy explosion.  Pandemonium understandably broke out, and people flooded the streets in a panic.  Of course the most appropriate course of action at this point would be to cause more chaos, and that’s exactly what I did.  I continued to use my electric vortex to sweep up and maim innocent bystanders and destroy everything in Cole’s path, from mailboxes to cars.

I never played the first inFamous so I wasn’t really sure what to expect here, but what I played was pretty entertaining.  Throwing around lightning vortexes was infinitely more fun than just smacking around swamp monsters with my first, but overall the demo felt very complete and showed off a lot of the combat.  We’ll be seeing Infamous 2 sometime in 2011 and it will support the PlayStation Move [editor's note: no Move functionality was available in the version we played].

Click here to watch the video

Wanted is a mode where you are given a target, which is another player in the game. Before each spawn, you can choose your loadout of two tricks. An example combination that we saw was the Morph ability and Smoke Bombs, both evasive skills that let you blend in with the crowd and create a smoke cloud ninja-style respectively. The goal of each five minute round is to gather as many points as you can by killing your target and evading the person trying to kill you. These contracts have a limited time, and if you can get your pursuer to kill the wrong target by blending in with the other pedestrians or if you can lose them in an all out chase, then you will be awarded points for evasive action.

A circular radar on the bottom of your screen helps you track your target, and the circle will fill up depending on your proximity to your target. But even when you get to your target, unless they’re alone, you need to be sure they’re which person is the one you’re looking for before making the killing blow as there can be clones walking around at the same pace.

In the round I played it, it was intense. You want to hurry up and catch your target, but you don’t want to give away that you’re a player by running. The rooftop and alleys provide nice shortcuts but you’re a sitting duck if you get caught out there, so there are very different risk and reward dynamics than your average multiplayer game. Unlike most games, you spent most of your time walking and being patient. There were a few times when my pursuer would kill me just as I finished off my target, and that was a little frustrating, but I think next time I will just use an evasive skill right after I kill someone.

See how the mode plays for yourself below. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood releases for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 16th, 2010, and on PC in 2011.

Click here to watch the video

The interactions with Elizabeth are exciting, along with the terrifying “HIM” that occupies the tail end of the trailer. All in all it looks like a promising title. I find the idea of the tracks that you use as zip lines from platform to platform exciting and tense. Furthermore, he has a voice! I love hearing him strain as he nearly loses his arm from dropping from one platform to the next, and the conversations with Elizabeth seem natural and fluid.

Also, “FALL…… FALL!!!” is just excellent.

Apparently the buildings in the distance are actually floating in real time and can collapse or sway due to exterior factors.

What do you guys think? Was that enough for you to gush over?

Click here to watch the video

“The custom Collector’s Edition retail box of Enslaved contains a hard-backed high quality artbook featuring concept art and exclusive images documenting the development process of the game at the studios of Ninja Theory in Cambridge, UK. Music fans will be treated to a separate CD containing the original soundtrack from the game, written and produced by internationally renowned composer and musician Nitin Sawhney.”

No news on a price yet.

Furthermore, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has a demo on PlayStation Network plus out now.

The new game is released on October 5th in North America, Oct. 7th/8th Worldwide. The demo will be available exclusively for one week from PSN+, but will be widely available on the standard PSN service from September 29th. Konami will also be releasing an Xbox 360 demo via Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service, with dates to be confirmed.

The collector’s edition features a 30-40 page artbook and a soundtrack that has roughly 20 tracks from the game! It will set you back $80 CDN.

]]> http://gamenorth.ca/2010/09/22/enslaved-and-castlevania-lords-of-shadow-demos-out-now-on-psn-later-on-xbl/feed/ 0 http://gamenorth.ca/2010/09/22/dj-hero-2-83-track-song-list-revealed/ http://gamenorth.ca/2010/09/22/dj-hero-2-83-track-song-list-revealed/#comments Thu, 23 Sep 2010 01:18:30 +0000 Jeremy Cole http://gamenorth.ca/?p=5734 DJ Hero 2 tracks after the jump!]]> The full song list for DJ Hero 2 was announced today with 83 tracks in total and combining 105 tracks from 100 artists.

DJ Hero 2 releases October 19th!

From the press release:

“With the highly skilled DJs and music producers at FreeStyleGames – joined by Deadmau5, David Guetta, DJ Qbert, RZA, Tiesto and a crew of world renowned mixologists – dropping the beats, everyone will have a chance to experience their favorite music like never before in the following mixes:

Produced and Mixed by A-Trak:

• Justice – “D.A.N.C.E.” Remix
• Naughty By Nature – “O.P.P.” Mixed With Jackson 5 – “ABC”

Produced and Mixed by Diplo:

• Kanye West – “Heartless” Mixed With DJ Shadow – “Midnight In A Perfect World”
• Major Lazer feat. VYBZ Kartel – “Pon De Floor” Mixed With Harold Faltermeyer – “Axel F”

Produced and Mixed by DJ Jazzy Jeff:

• Busta Rhymes – “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” Mixed With M|A|R|R|S – “Pump Up The Volume”

Produced and Mixed by DJ Qbert:

• DJ Qbert – “Super Battle Breaks” Remix
• Newcleus – “Jam On It” (DJ Qbert vocals) Remix

Produced and Mixed by DJ Shadow:

• Kanye West – “Love Lockdown” Mixed With Metallica – “The Day That Never Comes”
• Young Jeezy ft. Kanye West – “Put On” Mixed With DJ Shadow feat. Q-Tip and Lateef The Truth Speaker – “Enuff (DJ Fresh Remix)”

Produced and Mixed by Tiesto:

• Adamski – “Killer” Remix
• Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance” Remix

Produced and Mixed by Z-Trip:

• Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force – “Planet Rock” Mixed With The Crystal Method – “Busy Child (Still Busy After All These Years Remix)”
• Missy Elliott – “Get Ur Freak On” Mixed With Dillinja and Skibadee – “Twist ‘Em Out”

Produced and Mixed by RZA:

• Damian Marley – “Welcome To Jamrock” Mixed With Walter Murphy – “A Fifth Of Beethoven”
• LL Cool J – “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” Mixed With Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five feat. Melle Mel & Duke Bootee – “The Message”

Produced and Mixed by The Scratch Perverts:

• The Chemical Brothers ft. Q-Tip – “Galvanize” Remix
• The Prodigy – “Omen” Mixed With Orbital – “The Box”

Produced and Mixed by FSG DJs:

• 2Pac ft. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman – “California Love Remix” (Remix by FSG)
• 2Pac ft. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman – “California Love Remix” Mixed With B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ On You”
• A-Trak – “Say Whoa” (Remix by FSG)
• Basement Jaxx – “Where’s Your Head At” Mixed With Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix )”
• BlakRoc ft. Pharoahe Monch & RZA – “Dollaz & Sense” (Remix by FSG)
• Calvin Harris – “I’m Not Alone” Mixed With New Order – “Blue Monday”
• Daft Punk – “Human After All” (Remix by FSG)
• Damian Marley – “Welcome To Jamrock” Mixed With Dillinja and Skibadee – “Twist ‘Em Out”
• David Guetta & Chris Willis – “Love Is Gone” Mixed With Sam Sparro – “B&G” a/k/a “Black & Gold”
• David Guetta ft. Kid Cudi – “Memories” Mixed With Pirate Soundsystem – “Bashy Bashy”
• Deadmau5 & Kaskade – “I Remember” (Remix by FSG)
• Deee-Lite – “Groove Is In The Heart” Mixed With Chic – “Le Freak”
• Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden – “Bonkers” Mixed With Basement Jaxx – “Where’s Your Head At”
• Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden – “Bonkers” Mixed With The Prodigy – “Omen”
• DJ Shadow – “Midnight In A Perfect World” (Remix by FSG)
• Edwin Starr – “War” Mixed With Justice – “Waters Of Nazareth”
• Eminem – “Not Afraid” Mixed With Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major – “Lollipop”
• Estelle ft. Kanye West – “American Boy” (Remix by FSG)
• Estelle ft. Kanye West – “American Boy” Mixed With Chic – “Good Times”
• Flo Rida – “Low” Mixed With David Guetta vs. The Egg – “Love Don’t Let Me Go (Walking Away)”
• Flo Rida ft. Will.I.Am – “In The Ayer” Mixed With Clinton Sparks, DJ Class, & Jermaine Dupri – “Favorite DJ”
• Gorillaz ft. Mos Def & Bobby Womack – “Stylo” (Remix by FSG)
• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five feat. Melle Mel & Duke Bootee – “The Message” Mixed With Kool & The Gang – “Jungle Boogie”
• House Of Pain – “Jump Around” (Remix by FSG)
• House Of Pain – “Jump Around” Mixed With Busta Rhymes – “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”
• Iyaz – “Replay” Mixed With Rihanna – “Rude Boy”
• Janet Jackson – “Nasty” Mixed With Justice – “D.A.N.C.E.”
• Kanye West – “Heartless” Mixed With Lady Gaga – “Lovegame”
• Kanye West – “Heartless” Mixed With DJ Shadow – “Midnight In A Perfect World”
• Kanye West – “Love Lockdown” Mixed With Donna Summer – “Bad Girls”
• Kaskade & Deadmau5 – “Move For Me” (Remix by FSG)
• Kelis – “Acapella (David Guetta Extended Mix)” (Remix by FSG)
• Lady Gaga feat. Colby O’Donis – “Just Dance” Mixed With Deadmau5 – “Ghosts N Stuff”
• Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low” Mixed With 50 Cent – “In Da Club”
• Lil’ Wayne – “Go DJ” Mixed With 50 Cent – “In Da Club”
• Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major – “Lollipop” Mixed With Flo Rida – “Low”
• LL Cool J – “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” Mixed With Chic – “Good Times”
• M.I.A. – “Galang” Mixed With Wayne Smith – “Under Mi Sleng Teng”
• Major Lazer feat. VYBZ Kartel – “Pon De Floor” Mixed With Harold Faltermeyer – “Axel F”
• Major Lazer feat. VYBZ Kartel – “Pon De Floor” Mixed With New Order – “Blue Monday”
• Malcolm McLaren – “Buffalo Gals” Mixed With M|A|R|R|S – “Pump Up The Volume”
• Missy Elliott – “Get Ur Freak On” Mixed With Sean Paul – “Infiltrate”
• MSTRKRFT ft. N.O.R.E. – “Bounce” (Remix by FSG)
• MSTRKRFT ft. N.O.R.E. – “Bounce” Mixed With A-Trak – “Say Whoa”
• Nas feat. Keri Hilson – “Hero” Mixed With Talib Kweli – “Get By”
• Nelly – “Hot In Herre” Mixed With Warren G feat. Nate Dogg – “Regulate”
• New Boyz – “You’re A Jerk” (Remix by FSG)
• Newcleus – “Jam On It” Mixed With Donna Summer – “Bad Girls”
• Pitbull – “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” Mixed With Nightcrawlers – “Push The Feeling On (MK Mix 95)”
• Pussycat Dolls ft. Busta Rhymes – “Don’t Cha” Mixed With Pitbull – “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”
• Robin S. – “Show Me Love (Stonebridge Radio Edit)” Mixed With Calvin Harris – “I’m Not Alone”
• Salt N Pepa – “Push It” Mixed With Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force – “Planet Rock”
• Salt N Pepa – “Push It” Mixed With Armand Van Helden – “I Want Your Soul”
• Sam Cooke – “Chain Gang” (Remix by FSG)
• Sean Paul – “Get Busy” Mixed With Harold Faltermeyer – “Axel F”
• Sean Paul – “Get Busy” Mixed With Rihanna – “Pon De Replay”
• Snow – “Informer” Mixed With Jackson 5 – “ABC”
• Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em – “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” Mixed With Chamillionaire – “Ridin’”
• Sparfunk & D-Code – “Apocalypse” (Remix by FSG)
• Stevie Wonder – “Superstition” Mixed With Edwin Starr – “War”
• The Chemical Brothers ft. Q-Tip – “Galvanize” Mixed With The Chemical Brothers – “Leave Home”
• The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Mase & Diddy – “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” (Remix by FSG)
• The Prodigy – “Firestarter” (Remix by FSG)
• Tiesto & Sneaky Sound System – “I Will Be Here” Mixed With Tiesto – “Speed Rail”
• Tiesto vs Diplo – “Come On” (Remix by FSG)
• Timbaland ft. Drake – “Say Something” Mixed With Young Jeezy ft. Kanye West – “Put On”
• Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson & D.O.E. – “The Way I Are” Mixed With Tiga – “You Gonna Want Me”
• Tweet ft. Missy Elliott – “Oops (Oh My)” Mixed With Snoop Dogg – “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”

The first is a grittier Devil May Cry reboot featuring a dark-haired protagonist involved in general badassery. He looks less like a pretty boy, and a lot more like someone who just finished beating the crap out of you. Rough and tumble, the restart was done by Capcom to reach out to a more “Western” audience with their subject matter, and it seems to be working!

NOTE: Viewer discretion is advised for both videos!

Click here to watch the video

The second is an intense, over-the-top brawler/action adventure with a heavy manga bent. The movement in the trailer will remind you of Street Fighter 4 or similar games, with long and exaggerated stretching and plenty of screaming with visual effects. Asura’s Wrath is it’s moniker. I think I personally would enjoy this more than the Street Fighter games, which I suck at. I found myself bothered because I loved the aesthetic but wanted freedom reminiscent of a third-person action adventure. This game seems to be in good hands, because from what we’ve seen of that trailer, which is purported to be all gameplay, it’s going to  “redefine the action genre” as described by Capcom.

Click here to watch the video

Making games hard for some reasons is satisfying. Making them hard enough that you have to struggle and eventually overcome obstacles with wit and skill rather than brute force is impressive. When you’re up to your 19^th try on the same boss, and no matter what you do he keeps killing you and driving you insane, then the game suffers a bit of pretension. It assumes that because you are a gamer, and you think yourself good and skilled, then you will continue to play. But my generation of gamers have been weaned on the teat of easier games where your health recovers instantly, and checkpoints are God’s bounty, prevalent wherever you walk. Demon’s Souls is no such game. It is merciless, cruel, and strangely beautiful at the same time. It is the vicious, vindictive ex-wife, ex-lover, ex-CIA agent with a bone to pick with you. It hunts you down wherever you are, and beats the crap out of you, until you can’t take it anymore.

Then it waits.

Because it knows you’ll come crawling back eventually.

The premise of the game is that terrible demons have swept across the land of Boletaria, and you are an unknown adventurer who adventured right into the sinkhole of despair at the center. You are met with impossible odds and promptly die. After that unpleasantness, which also serves as the tutorial, you awaken in a large, hollow citadel known as the Nexus. Here a mysterious woman tells you she has brought you back to life and linked your soul to this place, so that you may continue your quest, and your soul will not be lost to the demons you fight, but returned here.

The Nexus: An excellent place to hide your circles.

From this point on, you begin to trek from the Nexus to 5 different level-paths, each with its own architecture, design, monsters and themes. The magic is split into two forms as well, because of the recurrence of theology in this game. You can learn miracles from priests and you can create effects such as healing or protection using a talisman of God. You can also learn spells, which require a wand to cast, from magicians. They are usually more destructive in nature, being fueled by pacts with demons. More powerful wands and talismans are hidden out in the wastes of Boletaria, just like the best armor and weapons are to be found in similar dangerous areas. These places are of course wrought with pitfalls, monsters, traps and the like.

Demon’s Souls uses conventions in game play, some of them good, some cruel, to make the game even more difficult. Death results in a restart at the beginning of the level you’re on, some of which are upwards of 20 to 30 minutes long, so each death respawns all enemies and places you neatly back at the starting point with any items you’ve used up, such as potions or ammo, still lost. Your body is in soul form: a corporeal but weaker state that only has half the health of your fully reincarnated character. This means that every hit from an enemy is an instant to near-instant kill, which is understandably frustrating.  Where it gets good is when you actually defeat something. For all of the difficulty, this game has mastered the sense of progression. As you kill enemies, you collect souls from them, which work as a form of super-currency. You can exchange them in large increments to upgrade stats, such has willpower, luck, strength or dexterity, use them to purchase goods, such as swords and armour, or transfuse them into new spells and miracles. The catch is that you never want to have too many souls at any time while adventuring. If you die – and you will die – a blood splatter is created at your feet, and your souls are trapped within. So you begin anew with any souls you gained lost until you make it back to that point. If you die a second time, it restarts you again, with the new blood splatter containing your souls up to that point, and you lose all the souls at the previous mark.

See what I mean?

The only redeeming factor to the souls nonsense is that you occasionally collect souls off of bodies and slain monsters that are concentrated, so they can be carried like an item. They come in varieties ranging from an unknown soldier to a renowned hero and reward you appropriately once consumed.

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Even boss monsters, once defeated, turn into this sort of soul with a descriptor. For example, Wriggling Demon’s Soul and Flaming Demon’s Soul are a couple of the ones you can collect. These are worth a hefty, massive amount of souls, but can also be turned into powerful spells by a mage, if you’re willing to forgo the chance to upgrade your stats. They basically act as credit cards with fixed balances. Thus, you can retreat back to the Nexus, consume them, and use the accumulated total in the safety of the base, without fear of losing them all. Unless you trip and fall off of a bridge in there, which happens fairly regularly.

The sound design is fantastic, tapering off or mounting up at the right times with a powerful orchestral score. It is different for each level, and each monster’s signature moans or growls are disturbing and evocative. The weapons feel powerful with the sound of their impact, the spells are cackling with energy on their release, and your death throes are always infuriating as you’re brought to your knees.

While adventuring across the game, you’ll often encounter ghosts of other players, running about and interacting with their own version of the world. This is where Demon’s Souls is unique in its online aspect. Other players can leave messages for you warning of traps, enemies’ weaknesses, or treasure all along the floors of the game. A good choice made in the design of these scrawled missives is that they are created in a flow chart and not by typing. So you don’t come across a situation where you adventure into a dank corridor filled with traps and have “LOSERS GO THIS WAY” scrawled on the floor. There is never a break in the immersion. Furthermore, you can recommend them if they are helpful, which in turn boosts the writer’s health.

This does not look promising.

When other players die, their blood splatter is visible in your game, and if you touch it, it replays the last few minutes of their demise. You don’t see who’s fighting them, just their ghost moving about the room and reenacting their last few moments. Sometimes these are incredibly enlightening, as you see a player cautiously move around a corner, then get sent flying back, strafe away, and eventually get ripped apart. That means run. Other times, they’re comedic or downright tragic. On a delightfully precarious staircase, where moving right means a infinite fall into sadness and death, it’s rather common to see five or six splashes of blood up the winding path, with a few characters just strafing too far right, and cascading off the edge into death. If nothing else, they lighten the mood a bit.

The other way online is helpful is in the use of multiplayer. You can summon another player that puts down a marker on the floor with a special item, which is visible to all in that level. If you assist them in defeating a major demon, you are reincarnated, and feel just awesome about yourself. However, you can also use a different item to invade other worlds, and attack players PvP style. This is random and you could be matched with an utter weakling or an incredibly powerful jerk who destroys you in one hit. Either way, it’s an interesting premise.

Demon’s Souls is peculiar in that it values mortality, making it very important to be brought back to life, whether by defeating a major boss or finding rare stones that can reincarnate you. But after you’ve reached that point, you are forever carrying a liability. I find it safer to move about the levels in soul form, because then at least I have nothing to lose. In addition, if you come across a “Cling Ring” in your travels, it restores your health in soul form to only three quarters of the total instead of half.

Demon’s Souls is rare, strange, and misunderstood on both sides of the reviewing spectrum, and I think due in part to the urge to only see the good or bad of this game. I personally wouldn’t recommend this game to people looking for a way to fill a weekend or indulge in a light gaming habit. This is for the most Hardened of Cores. However, if you’re looking for a little something to test your mettle, then there are few better measurement sticks than Demon’s Souls difficulty curve.

But don’t come crying to me when she burns you – like, with a dragon the size of a zeppelin.

Gathering the best prospects from around the league, including the likes of first overall pick, Taylor Hall, second overall pick, Tyler Seguin, and the Toronto Maples Leafs top prospect, Nazem Kadri, Electronic Arts held a single-elimination NHL 11 tournament to see who had what it took to lead their draft team to Lord Stanley’s Cup. The rules were simple: Each player had to use the team that drafted them, the game was to be played on the default settings, and to determine who held the home ice advantage, the players would engage in a cut throat round of rock, paper, scissors. Exhilarating!

The tournament started off with a bang: Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin were slated to face each other in the opening round. Drafted first and second overall, debates raged all summer long about who was the better player. EA wasn’t messing around; things were about to get real.

Contrasts between the two prospects came early as Seguin changed his control scheme to the Classic layout, claiming that he was an old-fashioned player. Hall stuck to the new controls, feeling more comfortable using the franchise’s signature Skill Stick. The puck hit the ice and the tension in the room rose. Within seconds of the faceoff, Hall broke through the Boston defense to challenge young goaltender and former Leafs prospect, Tuuka Rask, mano-a-mano. He weaved left, then right, causing Rask to bite early, allowing Hall to return to his backhand and roof it over the young goaltender’s shoulder. Seguin looked stunned. Moments later, shortly after the subsequent faceoff, Hall was at it again, bursting across the blueline with a two-on-one. He made a last-minute pass, just out of the reach of a diving defenseman, and tapped the puck past Rask on the short side. If only Seguin had Jonas Gustavsson in net.

Hall had scored on each of his first two shifts, and would continue to dominate throughout the rest of the game, going on to win by a score of 5-1. After the game, when asked about his disappointing performance, Seguin said, “I’m going to have to hit the exercise room right after this and get my thumbs in shape, so I can be better prepared for the next one … It’ll be a little different in real life, obviously, but in this game it’s all about past experience, and I didn’t have it, I guess.” So much for Classic controls.

The rest of the first round went by in a flash, with Colorado Avalanche prospect, Kevin Shattenkirk, eliminating Predators prospect, John Blum. Detroit Red Wings prospect, Tomas Tatar, falling to Blackhawks prospect, Kyle Beach, in a classic Western Conference battle. Jacob Markstrom sinking Calvin Pickard, Calvin de Haan ousting Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, and Zach Hamill beating Ryan Johansen. Then it was time for the hometown hopeful to take centre stage, as Nazem Kadri of the Toronto Maple Leafs squared off against Erik Gudbranson of the Florida Panthers. Could Kadri finally bring glory to the Buds? In short, no.

Throwing the tournament rules out the window, Kadri convinced his opponent to select random teams instead of their draft teams. After some deliberation, and a few rolls of the virtual dice (Gudbranson wasn’t keen on Kadri using his first result, the Western Conference All-Stars), Kadri ended up with the Boston Bruins and Gudbranson: the Detroit Red Wings. How many Maple Leafs prospects do the Boston Bruins have now? I’m losing count.

Within minutes of the opening puck-drop, it becomes clear that Kadri would be a lethal opponent regardless of which team he chose. He danced and weaved around Gudbranson’s players like they were pylons, dominating the game with four unanswered goals, winning 4-0. It’s obvious when watching him play that he possess offensive creativity, and when asked if he could pull off such goals in real life, he claimed, “Totally. Most of the moves that I pulled off in that game were the moves I use in real life. That’s me, that’s how I play.” When the topic of playing with the Maple Leafs this coming season came up, he was asked who his ideal line mates would be. “Kessel and Versteeg,” he said with a smile.  Did you hear that, Ron Wilson? Make it happen!

The next round saw Kadri once again eschew his draft team in favour of choosing randomly, urging his opponent, Zach Hamill to do the same. Kadri took to the ice using Anaheim, and Hamill lucked out by landing the offensively-stacked Washington Capitals. However, with little effort and plenty of flair, Kadri sent Hamill packing with a 5-2 win in regulation. Across the room, Taylor Hall entertained guests with another dominating win. Could this be leading to a Kadri vs. Hall for all the marbles?

With wins by Kyle Beach and Ryan McDonagh, the stage had been set for the semi-finals. Kadri vs. McDonagh; Hall vs. Beach.

Hall and Beach played a real nail-biter of a game, with neither team scoring, despite many great chances, until late in the third period when Taylor Hall scored a beauty of a one-timer while on the power play. Beach pulled his goalie in the final minute in an attempt to tie it up, only to surrender an empty netter moments later. Edmonton’s first overall pick, Taylor Hall, had earned himself a spot in the finals. When asked about the secret to his success throughout the afternoon, Hall responded, “I’m just taking it one game at a time, staying focused on the things that matter, and getting pucks deep.” Sounds like someone has been practising his canned media responses.

Across the room, Kadri once again broached the idea of choosing random teams. Much to Kadri’s surprise, his opponent, Ryan McDonagh, opted to stay with his draft team, the New York Rangers. He had been successful with them thus far, so why not? Despite this, Kadri still opted to let the Fates decide which team he’d play. Their answer? The ‘09-’10 Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks.

The game got off to a quick start, with Kadri scoring two goals in the first period, including one by former Toronto Maple Leafs winger, Viktor Stalberg. However, the Fates would soon betray him. Kadri’s defense began falling apart in the second period, and McDonagh adapted quickly to Kadri’s style of play. With renewed focus, McDonagh scored three unanswered goals in the second, dominating Kadri at both ends of the ice, and later added a fourth goal late in the third. As the seconds dwindled, so did the hopes of the Leafs fans in attendance. At least he never lost in the blue and white!

The finals were upon us. Would Taylor Hall prove himself worthy of being the first overall pick, or would McDonagh pull off the upset? Both players laced up in the skates of their respective draft teams, and the room fell quiet as the game began. McDonagh drew first blood, scoring on a breakaway with none other than Sean Avery. He added a second off a beautiful one-timer before the end of the first, taking a commanding 2-0 lead. Hall had responded early in the second, bringing the game within one, when he tripped McDonagh while he was on a breakaway. Unfortunately, this led to a penalty shot with Rangers sniper, Marion Gaborik, who McDonagh had a great deal of success with throughout the day. McDonagh worked his Skill Stick magic, earning a cheer from the gathered crowd, then roofed a backhand past the goalie. If this game was real, that would have been the TSN Turning Point.

Both Hall and McDonagh would add a few more goals each, making the score 5-3 in the final minutes of the game. Due to a hooking penalty, Hall went on the power play with just over two minutes of regulation remaining, and manage to convert it for a goal. Within one goal, Hall poured on the offensive pressure, frantically slapping at rebounds and putting pucks on net. The arena announcer declared the last minute of play, and Hall didn’t hesitate to pull his goalie. However, even with the extra attacker, his efforts were not enough. With a final score of 5-4, Ryan McDonagh wins the NHL 11 Rookie Challenge!

Whether or not this is indicative of things to come, I couldn’t say, but we had an awesome time at the tournament, and it seems that the players did too. During each game, the players would banter back and forth with hockey lingo, and talk about great plays as though they happened on a real sheet of ice. Not only has EA succeeded at earning the approval of real NHL players with NHL 11, but as a group mostly eighteen year old guys, these prospects are also hardcore gamers. What more could you want?

NHL 11 hits the ice on September 7 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Before I began, I was asked to align myself inside a white box located on the screen for motion scanning. Once inside I moved the controller in different directions indicated on screen for calibration purposes.  After a few tries, the scanning was complete and it was onto the gaming. The first game I tried was Table Tennis and it was very difficult to swing accurately and connect with the ball. With practice it became a tad easier but it was still not fluid.  The second and most fun game was Disc Golf. I threw a disc toward a highlighted objective, trying to get the disc into the target with the fewest number of throws as possible in order to beat my opponent.  The game requires one motion to mimic throwing a Frisbee while holding down on the back trigger button, and then releasing the trigger as you bring your arm forward.  Both games were relatively simple and fun but might have limited replay value when the Sports Champions title is released.

The PlayStation representative then asked if I wanted to try Tiger Woods Golf, and this is where the frustration and humour kicked in.  I would say it took me a good 9 practice swings (you must mimic a golf swing) before it was time to tee off, and it took me another 3 or 4 tries to connect with the ball while in game, at which point the rep and I had a good laugh. I will not divulge how many attempts it took to reach par as I want to save myself further embarrassment.  The golf swings were hard to pull off and there was some delay, and no way of telling if this was a calibration issue or if I was doing something incorrect.

I would say the controllers for the Move and the Wii react and play nearly the same. The only glaring difference is that the Move controllers are sturdier.  Overall I was very impressed with the Move titles at Fan Expo, and I must say the future looks bright for Sony.

The PlayStation Move ships September 17^th, 2010 across Canada.

]]> http://gamenorth.ca/2010/08/31/fan-expo-2010-playstation-move/feed/ 1 http://gamenorth.ca/2010/08/23/x10-spiderman-shattered-dimensions/ http://gamenorth.ca/2010/08/23/x10-spiderman-shattered-dimensions/#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:33:22 +0000 Don Tam http://gamenorth.ca/?p=5342 When Spiderman (the game based on the movie) was released in 2001, it was surprisingly well received. We’re used to comic games delivering a decent multiplayer experience, but Spiderman actually stood its own as a solid, single player action game. Fast forward nine years and Quebecois developer Beenox is trying to achieve even greater success with Shattered Dimensions. If I followed the many Spiderman comics at all, I might be able to tell you if this game will be every Spiderman fanatic’s wildest dream – as it stands, however, I can only tell you that it’s fun.

Shattered Dimensions is four different games rolled into one. When you’re playing at the film noir stealth-action suit Spiderman, the game feels like Batman: Arkham Asylum. When you play as the Venom suit Spiderman, the game feels more like Devil May Cry. Although there is nothing else innovative in the game, everything from those different genres of games seem to be implemented. The Spidey Sense works like thermal vision from Splinter Cell. There are different emblems to collect, abilities to upgrade, storylines to follow, and it felt fun without being too shallow, even if you get the impression that you’ve seen it all before. This game looks like it is a must try for Spiderman fans.

Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions releases for the PS3, Wii, X360, and DS on September 7th, 2010, with a PC release date still to be announced.