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Midnight Club: Los Angeles Multiplayer Details

Rockstar has pulled off the covers that have been hiding its multiplayer plans for Midnight Club: Los Angeles. The game will ship with 10 different Muliplayer modes when it releases in October on the Xbox 360 and PS3 along side the single player portion which we had a play of a month or two ago.

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The general feel that I get from reading through the various race modes is that Rockstar are trying to create a very aggressive and competitive online environment. The capture the flag variants along with the power-ups (detailed after the break) seem more at home in a shooter than in a racer, so it will be interesting to see if the insane speed and pace of the game combined with these elements create something completely unique from the racing pack which is admittedly getting a little top heavy this holiday season.

 

The game will have a buying/selling interface much like Forza 2 but it will not be performed via an auction system, rather cars will be sold/purchased at cost (for car/part) plus an additional $10,000 of in game currency. A rating system will also be available for people to vote for their favourite creations.

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Power-ups will play a part in the online game and range from the almost expected Nitro Boost through to the strangely combatant Pulse. The powerups will be able to be toggled on or off depending on the participants desire. I am slightly skeptical as to how this will work out but given that they are completely optional I don’t have a problem with them being there, should they turn out to add to the gameplay in a manner similar to WipEout’s attack system I won’t be complaining at all.

There are 10 multiplayer modes allowing 16 players in addition to being able to freeroam with your friends without a specific goal, first up are the traditional race types .

Circuit Race as you would expect in any car game involves racing around a set course as fast as possible for the designated number of laps. Ordered Race will see players taking out checkpoints in a designated order until the final red checkpoint. Things start getting a little more open ended with Unordered Race which like Ordered Race will have set checkpoints across the map which must be passed through, the difference though is that the racers can choose to pass through them in any order they choose, learning the layout of the city will obviously assist getting a place on the podium in this one.

Landmark Race is very similar to Unordered Race if you take away all the checkpoints minus the last one. You are given a location to get to and the first person there wins. There is no designated route, you just need to get there as fast as you can.

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There will be six variants of capture the flag, three of which will be very familiar to any well versed shooter fan. Free for All, Spit Base, and Base War. Split Base sees two opposing bases with one neutral flag in the middle while Base War has two flags, one is each base. Free for all? one flag, lots of people, one winner.

Keep Away, while still a flag based game, has more in common with Juggernaut in Halo3 or Playground Tag than a flag capture mode. The goal being to maintain possession of the flag for the longest time possible. The remaining two modes are both called Stockpile and involve multiple flag spawns one as a team and the other as a free for all game mode.

The Midnight Club franchise hasn’t released a title into the market under a situation as competitive as it will find in November, it has two other racing titles releasing in a similar timeframe and probably it’s biggest obstacle in Burnout Paradise, which released earlier in the year, however if Midnight Club Los Angeles lives up to the promises from Rockstar and their aspirations then it will fare very well. Xbox 360
Gears of War 2 Review (Xbox 360)

In 2006 Gears of War crashed into the gaming scene with a hiss and a roar, it was a monumental success and it performed better than most predicted it would, even surprising some fans. Two years down, and what seems like a million shooters in between, and we are getting our second course of Chainsaw madness.

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Many people complained about certain aspects of the original game; Epic it seems has ears and uses them, along with some impressive programming abilities, to create a sequel truly deserving of carrying the name of studio and the Gears franchise.

 

The introduction to Gears of War 2 (GoW2) brings you up to speed with the resulting events from the first game and puts you into the action with the option of a training segment with the new member of your squad, Benjamin Carmine; this new member of delta squad is one of many an homage that fans of the first game will enjoy. The one liners and story elements really do flow on well from the original and the scripting of the second game is absolutely fantastic, there are some repeated lines but for the most part I found the dialogue very amusing and refreshing from the typical shooter chatter. Not only is the voice acting great but it is also backed up by a story that actually has real substance, and if you ignore the “save the world” cliché then you can actually get quite caught up in the intrigue and the emotions of certain segments.

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Without spoiling too much, the setting is very similar to the first game with Mankind making its last stand against the Locust Hordes, the tactic however is far more aggressive and rather than just dropping in a bomb, troops are mobilised and capsules that drill into the ground are used to enter the underground realm of the Hollow. Marcus wants to kick Locust ass, and while Dom is along for that ride he is also trying to find any information that might lead him to find his wife Maria. The main story line is supplemented with collectible items of information scattered around the game, some are from Baird’s diary that might give a little more insight into a current situation while others are left behind by other inhabitants of Sera. Each with their own story, one that I found was actually moving to the point where I tried to imagine how I might feel in a similar situation.

The main story also has a particular moment that was very emotional, the lead up might have been a little better (although it was sufficient) if it were a little more fleshed out, but the situation and the emotion behind the characters plight is something that was disturbingly real. It has been a long time since a game has touched me in an emotional way, and for a game like Gears of War to do it in the middle of chainsawing my way through the enemy AI (that I haven’t dismembered with my shotgun) is a true testament to the story telling ability of the team at Epic. While it was definitely an improvement, there were points in the game where I swear it felt like it was turning into another franchise with some of the plot unfolding in a certain way, but I brushed those aside and enjoyed it all the same, again this isn’t something that I can go into without ruining the story.

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As a benchmark for visual design and quality, Gears of War still only has a few games that rival it two years after release, the closed environments were fantastically detailed and the lighting and character designs were also miles beyond similar titles released in the same time period. GoW2 however seems to only move the boundaries by a few steps rather than the leaps and bounds seen in the first game. GoW2 does however contain level design and action sequences on a scale not seen in many shooters. There are some underground segments that are just stunning, with cavernous regions in different themes, some natural and barren with a sense of rugged beauty and others modified and sculpted with ornate designs and structures. In some of the larger firefights the frame rate does suffer significantly, it is not surprising (given the increase in activity on the screen) and it is not frequent enough to stop the game from being enjoyable for me. But it is there, and some people more sensitive to this type of issue might be put off by it.

The balance of existing weapons has been tweaked a little from the original and there are a few new ones worthy of mention. The Hammerburst has under gone the most noticeable change, it now fires as a semi automatic with a range just shy of the Lancer and has a powerful kick to it. The flamethrower is new and looks great but unlike the other weapons lacks a feeling of weight. Setting things on fire is a pass time most people enjoyed in their youth, but the flamethrower just seems to be a missing something in the satisfaction department. The mortar and mulcher (minigun) are two new portable guns that you can carry as a fifth weapon while you still have ammunition for it, they can’t be stowed in inventory like the others but they both pack a punch and are useful in their own moments. The mortar takes a bit of getting used to with its slower rate of fire and the dynamics of applying the right amount of force to the mortar shot, it does however feature a large impact zone for maximum death dealing.

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The gorgon pistol is the new automatic single handed gun that has a rapid rate of fire and fires in bursts, each magazine holding four bursts. After using a burst there is a pause before it can be used again which does slow down it’s usability but balances it well given that it is very powerful. It also features a bladed edge that is handy for a powerful melee attack.

Portal: Still Alive Review (XBLA)

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Portal the original video game, was released late last year as part of the Orange Box bundle for Xbox 360 and PC, and was also released on the PS3 a few months later. Portal: Still Alive, sounds like a sequel, but resembles more of a re-release with a few new levels added on to the end. However, in no way does that mean you should avoid picking up this gem. This short, yet critically acclaimed first person, action / puzzle game may just be the most fun I have ever had playing a video game. It’s a bold statement to make I know, but there are several features of this game intertwined with one another that give the gamer an experience different to anything they have played before.

 

387px-Portal_physics The title refers to your main tool throughout the game, the ASHPD (otherwise known as an Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, or Portal Gun for short). Your Portal Gun allows you to create two portal ends coloured orange or blue. The colours do not resemble an entrance or exit, but all things traveling through one portal will emerge from the other (even companion cubes can travel through portals!). As you create subsequent portal openings, previously created portals of the same colour will cease to exist. The first few stages introduce you to different applications of portal technology and you are gradually given more control of your Portal Gun. At first the test chambers (stages) are simple, but do take a while to get your head around. For example, a simple test chamber might involve finding a way to get through a closed door which can only be opened by standing on a platform 20 metres away. This is easily solved by standing on a platform to open the door before shooting a portal hole beyond that door. You can now safely step off the platform knowing that the portal you created is still open behind the closed door. Some of the tougher challenges will require you to learn a technique called ‘flinging’ (see image above). This is where you create two portals with the goal of bridging a large gap. Generate speed by dropping from a large height into an open portal and you will maintain that speed as you are flung out the other side of the portal. Some of the final test chambers even require the use of ‘multiple portal flinging’!

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You are not alone as you progress through the game, your actions are monitored by the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre Facility super computer named GLaDOS. GLaDOS is all seeing and teaches you the early techniques to help you find your way around the test chambers. As you get further into the game, GLaDOS begins to establish more of a personality and delivers humorous insights into her existence as a computer within the Enrichment Centre. As you come to the end of the game, GLaDOS’s intentions are revealed, requiring a shift in focus and a change of tactics as you get to explore more of the Enrichment Centre. Your interaction with GLaDOS, even though she is simply the voice of a computer emitted through speakers within the facility, is hard to describe, almost to the point where it is something you just have to experience for yourself.

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As mentioned earlier, Portal: Still Alive is not a sequel. It is essentially the same game with some advanced versions of the test chambers and 14 new levels which introduce a few new elements, such as electrified floors and crushing ceilings. These additions will only extend the game a few hours tops, which doesn’t make it a worth while purchase for Portal veterans or those who already have the Orange Box. But if you are oblivious to Portal and have never seen it in action, this is a must buy for Xbox 360 gamers (the final song accompanying the closing credits is reason enough to warrant a purchase!). Even with it’s brief story mode (5 hours tops) the original Portal took away Game of the Year, Innovation Award and Best Game Design at the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards, which just shows what you can expect picking up this game. You won’t see that type of game at a price point of 1200 Microsoft Points.
(Xbox 360)

Rock Band Review (Xbox 360)


It seems like there’s never been a delayed local release that has infuriated so many like this one has, and it’s hard to imagine that the distributors are over the moon about it either, it feels like the only reason we’re getting it even now is because of the need to be first full-band game to market, and with Guitar Hero: World Tour right around the corner, it’s certainly not going to be a battle-of-one for much longer. Rock Band is developed by Harmonix, the other half responsible for building the foundations (along with Red Octane,) of the well known Guitar Hero franchise. This time, as the name implies, it’s time to crowd four band members around a console, bass and lead guitar (though only one guitar comes in the hardware bundle, you can use old Guitar Hero controllers as well,) a drummer, and you can even bring that Singstar-loving weirdo along for the ride.

 

A large part of any experience which uses a special custom controller is the tactile one. Rock Band doesn’t under-deliver in that regard, but the guitar will likely cop some criticism simply for being different to what people are used to with the Guitar Hero games. First though, the biggest addition, the drums, is an extremely fun instrument to play, but far from perfect in construction. The kick pedal is notorious for breaking as far as I’m aware - I haven’t heard an imported Rock Band story that didn’t end with rockband_01 “Oh then the kick pedal snapped” some months down the line. Whether or not it’s entirely flawed or something that will survive the develops sense of “normal usage” is rather a moot point now, since the terror of breaking something is a serious buzz kill in what’s otherwise a euphoria of hitting things. Also, the sound of hitting the drum pad, which can be mitigated by hitting them softly (I guess,) is quite loud. People who’ve complained in the past about the hitting & clicking noise some people make with a Guitar Hero controller have got a new world of pain to look forward to when playing along to a song while a Phil Collins gorilla impersonator goes whackity-whackity-whack-whack on the plastic drums. You could probably attach metal to the kick pedal and line the drums with some kind of felt, but I’m going to draw a line and say that I don’t buy things for the pleasure of fixing them straight out of the box. Issues aside, the drums are still immense fun - the initial learning curve to get your feet and arms act in concert in some kind of rhythmic fashion is a killer at first (and a killer later on too, come to think of it,) but it provides exactly the same challenge in essence to learning Guitar Hero all over again, and just as much satisfaction when you feel overwhelmed by an oncoming stream of notes and yet somehow to your own surprise, you nail it.

As stated about the guitar, it’s different, and by that virtue some people are going to hate or dislike it just like they hate most change in their lives, whether it be upgrading to the latest version of windows, or trying something new to eat (I’m pretty guilty of the latter.) Probably the most noticeable, other than the larger overall size, is that there’s been an obvious attempt to make the buttons less button-like, with the standard green-red-yellow-blue-and-orange being mostly the same colour as the fretboard with the colour markings being a small strip on the top and bottom (which is mostly all the player can see anyway,) and the buttons themselves being slightly more flush and square with the idea that it looks/feels like you’re just pressing down on a fret. Of course, it still feels like a button, and there’s certainly no string there, so the differences are mainly rockband_02 cosmetic, and in some cases the size of the buttons means they’re more prone to feeling a bit more resistant than perhaps they should. One of the completely new additions to the standard affair is the smaller buttons closer to the body of the guitar, which during regular play are functionally identical to their bigger cousins on the neck, but during guitar solos (the onscreen note board will turn blue to signify a solo,) you can simply press the buttons without strumming to hammer on even the regular big notes. While this is a great addition, from a game perspective, it seems to make the regular buttons redundant, since the solo buttons do all they can and more, it’s hard to imagine using the regular ones at all if you were going to attempt to play the best that you could. The other new edition is the effects switch, which has five positions: no effect, wah-wah, flanger, chorus, and echo. It doesn’t do rockband_03 anything as far as score goes or make anything easier or harder to play, but when you activate star power, your notes will play with the select effect going - it’s just a nice touch that adds to the idea that the player should be able to flex some control over the music being played, which in the past has only been possible via the whammy bar, allowing people everywhere to rock out with what sounds like a flat tuned or possibly malfunctioning guitar. Speaking of the whammy bar, the metal stick is probably disproportionately longer than the guitar is big, but it’s got a good feel to it - however, this is something you have to take with the fact that at full depression, it can easily cross with the effects switch or even the back button, which certainly doesn’t feel so good. And finally, the strum bar. It’s thinner, more pronounced, ridged, and silent. These are all changes I approve of, but the silent strumming action seems to have been a trade off against something I never knew I’d miss. The lack of the “click” noise for the strum means that you also miss out on the sensation in your fingers as feedback giving you a very precise time for when the controller considers the action of strumming to have taken place. With the Rock Band stratocaster though, there’s an almost imperceptible increase in resistance, resulting in no click, and actually resulting in a perceived loss of precision. All said, I do still really like it, the ridge on the strum helped me get into the alternate strumming method, where in Guitar Hero my fingers would slip off and cause frustration.

As for the microphone, well, it’s a microphone. The game features percussive sections for the vocalist to participate in by taping their hand on the metal housing, and it works well enough, and I haven’t heard of many instances of them breaking through regular usage.

The game itself is quite a joy, the aesthetic feels very cohesive and well thought out, with a somewhat minimalist look with dashes of intricate designs here and there, which is a huge and welcome shift from previous rock games super-busy, written-on-notepad look. If you’re playing by yourself, there’s a solo tour mode, which is essentially just progressing through the songs on the disc in order of difficulty for the chosen instrument, there’s nothing really amazing here, it’s pretty much just something for you to do rockband_04 when you can’t rope friends in to join you, and you want to earn your character some money in order to pimp them out with some new threads, or purchase that bizarre batwing guitar. If you do have friends however, or if you’re game enough to try singing along while playing, but using a headset or a mic stand, there’s the World Tour mode, which will start you off in your bands home town in the crappiest venue. You play songs or setlists to progress to bigger venues, and from there, other cities, hitting milestones like getting a van, a manager, a tour bus, a sound guy, a private jet. Setlists are simply a collection of songs you have to play in one sitting, and there are randomly generated and custom setlists all over the place along with the set-in-stone variety, so if you ever feel like there’s some annoying song that’s coming up all the time, you always have that option of hitting up the custom setlists and selecting your favourites.

The final component, in what can only be considered a mammoth game, is the downloadable content. The DLC library for Rock Band is truly quite staggering. You could actually spend several times the amount of money on downloadable tracks than the initial investment - something which I think I may have already done without really considering my actions (and I don’t really regret it either, truth be told.) The price points are nice too, considering in the past we’re paid 500MS Points for Guitar Hero rockband_05 track packs, which was three songs with no option to buy any one single song from the pack for less, Rock Band compares favourably, with the base level being 160 for a song (maximum, some songs are 80,) and packs of three for 440 (with bigger packs and bigger savings available.) The Pixies, Rush, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Judas Priest all have an entire album each for download, and the amount of track packs or singles available is simply far too large to list here.

The fact that Rock Band has been out for quite some time in other places in the world might leave a bitter taste in your mouth, and the fact that Guitar Hero: World Tour (which in spite of the name is a full band experience also,) might give you pause to consider purchase, but Rock Band is an absolutely great game if you have the time and money to dedicate to it.
PS3

 

Sonic Unleashed Hands-On




We spend some quality time with Sonic--in both his normal and werehog forms--just weeks out from the release of his latest adventure.

Sega's spiky mascot didn't exactly impress with his last outing--the eponymously titled Sonic The Hedgehog--but early indicators for the upcoming Sonic Unleashed look to be significantly more positive. Now just weeks away from release, we managed to grab some hands-on time with the Xbox 360 version of the new game, which included wrangling with some of the bosses Sonic will be going head-to-head against.

For the uninitiated, Sonic Unleashed isn't going to be purely about speed. Unleashed will feature two distinct gameplay styles--daytime levels will be your classic Sonic speed runs, while nighttime levels will be more akin to a beat-'em-up brawler (with Sonic transforming into a creature called a werehog). We're not completely sure how this relates to the game's story, but we do know that the evil Eggman is back and has somehow got hold of the Chaos Emeralds. Eggman uses the emeralds to fire up a superweapon, which splits the Earth into many different pieces, and it’s up to Sonic to get the planet back together.

 

We played through three different daytime levels during our hands-on session--a section set in Greece, which was the subject of our previous previews (now called Apotos in the game), the European city-inspired Spagonia, and the China-themed Chun-nan. Apotos is all sunshine and Mediterranean housing, while Spagonia features cobbled streets and plenty of tables on sidewalk restaurants to run through. Chun-nan, on the other hand, starts off with Sonic running along the top of what looks like the Great Wall of China before heading down into a low valley flanked by high mountain walls. If we're a little light on the descriptive phrases for these levels, it’s because Sonic moves through these areas so quickly that most of it becomes a blur--which is nothing but good news for Sonic fans. That trademark Sonic sense of unbelievable speed is well and truly back in Unleashed, with some cool motion blur effects adding to the feeling of inertia. Best still, the frame rate drops we saw in earlier builds look to be gone, with the new Hedgehog Engine holding steady during our game session.

And in even more good news for fans of the series, playing through these three daytime levels reminded us most of Sonic's 2D 16-bit days, where speed had to be balanced out with fast reflexes and knowledge of the best paths to take through levels. In the early Apotos level, getting and maintaining top speed was quite easy. But that task grew more difficult in Spagonia and Chun-nan, where quick runs could be stymied by a mistimed jump, environmental dangers, such as spikes or moving platforms, and not reacting quickly enough to oncoming obstacles. Sonic has several moves at his disposal to keep the speed up, including quick sidesteps to the left or right (done by using your controller's shoulder buttons) to rapidly move out of the way. The hedgehog also has a homing roll attack, which he can use to kill opponents without breaking stride. Finally, Sonic has his own version of NOS in Unleashed--pressing B will give him a temporary speed boost, with this ability being recharged by collecting more gold rings in a level. You'll also have to now deal with quick-time button press events (which are seemingly all the rage in games today). You successfully input the right button combination when these events pop up, and Sonic will take a different route that may yield more coins or fewer enemies. If you fail, you'll have to take the less optimum path.

Things are markedly different when Sonic turns into a werehog during the night levels, with all the speed of daytime replaced by a God of War-lite action brawler where Sonic uses his fists to take on opponents. The night Apotos level is the first you'll come across in Unleashed and serves as training where you'll be exposed to the werehog's various attacks. The Y and X buttons can be used to string together various combo attacks; A is for jump, while B is to grab enemies. You can also perform special finishing moves on certain opponents--pressing the B button whilst close to a wounded enemy will trigger yet another quick-time button press event, which when successfully inputted, will result in the werehog doing a flashy final hit on his hapless foe. The Apotos night level was mainly populated by lumbering and easily disposed of foes, which looked a little like evil versions of the Disney character Stitch. But by the time we got to the night Chun-nan level, much harder foes (including a fiery floating wizard that was more than reminiscent of Orko from He-Man) were on hand to give Sonic a decent challenge.

To close off our game play session, we decided to take on some of the bosses Sonic can expect to tangle with when Unleashed releases later this month. Firstly, we took on the end boss of the night time Apotos level, a large shadowy figure armed with a large club that could send large shockwaves along the ground. Battling this creature turned out to be pretty easy (once we got rid of the dozens of minions surrounding our lone werehog, that is). Much more challenging was the daytime level boss we tackled, a wasplike ship called Egg Beetle piloted by Eggman himself. This boss battle takes place on what looks like a treetop highway in the African-themed Mazuri level and sees Sonic having to chase after the Egg Beetle whilst simultaneously avoiding his various attacks. The Egg Beetle liked to fly in front of our perky little hedgehog, firing out large spiked balls and fireballs directly in his path. You'll have to use Sonic's boost ability in order to catch up to the Beetle and quickly perform a homing attack to do damage. Eventually, the boss shifts his attack pattern, with the screen moving to a 2D view where Sonic has to avoid missiles being fired at him from above. This boss battle was definitely tense, testing out our skills and reaction time (just as a good Sonic game should).

Based on what we've seen so far, Sonic Unleashed looks like it'll contain plenty of what made Sonic great in the first place, at least as far as the daytime levels are concerned. We'll have to wait until we get the full game in our hands, however, before we make a call on just how well the slower, brawling nighttime levels fit into the entire package. Sonic Unleashed is due out on the 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii at the end of November. Check back soon for our full review.

 

Dead Space Review


An incredibly atmospheric and disturbingly gruesome deep-space adventure that will haunt your dreams and leave you begging for more.

In this Dead Space video review, no one can hear you scream.

 

The Good

  • Deeply engrossing story  
  • Breathtaking visuals and nerve-wracking audio  
  • Strategic dismemberment adds an entirely new, satisfying dimension to combat  
  • Truly terrifying gameplay keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The Bad

  • Repetitive mission objectives  
  • Close-quarters combat is troublesome.

The survival horror genre is rife with games in which you are isolated in a hostile environment full of monsters, and Dead Space is no exception. But from the moment you're thrown into the middle of the fray in the heart-pounding introduction until the bone-chilling conclusion, it's clear that this is something quite unique. With its disturbingly twisted visuals, its deeply engrossing story, and innovative strategic dismemberment combat system, Dead Space is a best-in-its-class game that surpasses other entries in its venerable genre in nearly every way and will be the standard by which they are judged for years to come.

When the Concordance Extraction Corporation loses radio contact with its Planet Cracker-class mining ship, the USG Ishimura, engineer Isaac Clarke is dispatched on a routine mission to repair its communications array. However, Clarke is also on a mission of his own, having recently received a cryptic message from Nicole Brennan, a medical officer serving aboard the Ishimura. While on board he intends to reunite with her and learn the meaning behind her strange broadcast. Unfortunately, the moment you set foot on the derelict ship, it's obvious that something terrible has happened.

 

As Isaac, you are separated almost immediately from the rest of your team by the former crew of the Ishimura, which has been transformed into horrifying monsters called Necromorphs. Forced to fight for his survival, Isaac makes do with the tools at hand to defend himself with, which are for the most part repurposed mining instruments like plasma welding guns or buzz saws. These improvised weapons are put to graphic, gruesome work as bodily damage and even severe head trauma isn't enough to kill a Necromorph--only by severing their limbs can you put them down for good. This nuance, referred to as strategic dismemberment, vastly alters the way combat is approached in Dead Space from the typical "aim for the head"-style gameplay seen in most action games and zombie apocalypse scenarios.

Every class of Necromorph requires a different strategy to handle, and knowing how to combat multiple types simultaneously is an essential skill if you want to survive for long. Though dismemberment is ultimately the key to victory, failing to finish off a monster properly will only send it into a berserker rage and force it to adapt to its new, partially appendageless situation so that it can continue trying to eat your face. Even more alarming than their ghastly appearances and uncouth manners is the fact that they are quite intelligent. Necromorphs attack in packs using loose team tactics, and are capable of traversing the ship's extensive ventilation system to sneak around for outflanking or ambushing. They feign death among the corpses of their peers to rise up and attack when you least expect it, and they often come in waves, leaving you wondering if it's truly over or if they're simply toying with you.

The most basic Necromorphs are humanoid monsters that attack in a frenzy. Horribly mutated undead babies also make an appearance, and they run along the walls and ceilings sprouting tentacles from their backs capable of throwing organic projectiles. Others still are heavily armored but vulnerable from behind, are bloated with dozens of spiderlike parasites that are released upon their host's death, or shriek madly as they carry explosive pods toward you in a suicidal charge. In one fully interactive gameplay sequence that comprises some of the more amazing moments to be experienced in Dead Space, you're assaulted by the gigantic tentacle of an even larger, unseen beast that drags you to a gruesome and bloody death as you struggle to shoot yourself free.

Finally, at several key points in the story, Isaac stumbles upon some of the most incredible and truly terrifying boss monsters to be seen in the survival horror genre. Though revealing the circumstances around which you confront these nightmares would do much to spoil them, it is safe to say that these epic encounters are easily some of the most remarkable seen in years.

 

One of the first things to notice in Dead Space is that it features a complete lack of a traditional heads-up display; instead, pertinent information is integrated directly into Isaac's RIG uniform. To see his current health you need only glance at the iridescent meter built into the RIG's spine (or pay attention to his physical cues), and to see how much ammo is left in your current weapon, simply check the display readout visible whenever you raise it into the ready position. If you ever find yourself wondering where you need to be next, you need only press in the right analog stick for Isaac's RIG to temporarily trace a beam of light on the ground toward your next objective. When called up, menus are holographically projected ahead of you in real time, producing a sense of urgency as you remain vulnerable to attack. These simple yet ingenious systems ensure that you remain firmly within the realm of the gameworld at all times, preserving the horror experience.

Your ultimate goal aboard the Ishimura is to escape from it, hopefully along with Nicole; but to get to that point you must first accomplish a series of dependent tasks. Guided remotely or in person by the remaining survivors of your doomed repair operation, your missions take you from deck to deck in a logical chain of events. For example, early on you discover that the ship's orbit is decaying because its engines are offline, so you must travel to engineering to refuel and restore them. Once they're back online and the Ishimura begins to correct its course, you realize that you're about to pass through an asteroid belt and that the automated defense systems are down, so it's off to do something about that.

Dead Space Review

An incredibly atmospheric and disturbingly gruesome deep-space adventure that will haunt your dreams and leave you begging for more.

The Good

  • Deeply engrossing story  
  • Breathtaking visuals and nerve-wracking audio  
  • Strategic dismemberment adds an entirely new, satisfying dimension to combat  
  • Truly terrifying gameplay keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The Bad

  • Repetitive mission objectives  
  • Close-quarters combat is troublesome.

Each deck is a self-contained environment in which you run around putting out fires while moving closer to escape, and while your team will remain in frequent contact, you are almost always alone--and most of the few survivors you do encounter have been driven insane by their ordeals. This sense of isolation in such a hostile environment, coupled with bloody visuals and a brilliant sound design, has you constantly questioning your own sanity and wondering when the next attack is coming. Further enhancing this effect are the bone-chilling logs you find left behind by the crew in which their final thoughts and moments are recorded. Though audio logs are nothing new to this type of game and are in fact often used to flesh out the backstory, these are exceptionally well done, and are accompanied by full video logs and text reports, which all together make for a much more compelling narrative.

As you explore the many decks of the Ishimura, you will come across two utilities that will prove to be of endless use: stasis and kinesis. Stasis, a finite resource that must be replenished at recharge stations across the ship or with booster packs, allows you to temporarily slow down fast-moving objects, while kinesis gives you the ability to lift, move, and throw objects in the environment at no cost. Each can be used independently or in tandem to solve puzzles or navigate the ship, and each has useful battle applications as well. For instance, stasis can be used to virtually stop incredibly fast-moving Necromorphs and give you the time to tear them limb from limb, and kinesis can be used to throw explosive canisters or even severed extremities to conserve ammunition.

 

During your travels, you will find a number of areas that do not have functional gravity. In these situations, Isaac's magnetic boots will keep him grounded and allow you to perform zero-gravity jumps and attach to nearly any surface. Suddenly having a full 360-degree range of movement is a mind-bending experience, but once you get the hang of it, few experiences are as enjoyable as leaping from the floor to the ceiling to dodge an attack and then finishing off your assailant, sending its body, blood, and limbs floating off in different directions realistically. Many of these zero-g situations are also performed within a vacuum, making oxygen, in addition to your health, a scarce commodity.

Between searching for Nicole, trying to escape, and fighting for your survival, you've got your hands pretty full, but this is not to say that there aren't other things for Isaac to do. As the monsters you are killing were once people, they will occasionally drop credits that can be spent in the automated stores you will come across. RIG upgrades, health items, new weapons, and additional ammunition can all be purchased, and if you happen to find a new item schematic and take it to a store, you'll be able to buy that as well. Inventory management is a key element as you can only carry around so many medical kits or plasma cartridges. In the event that you find yourself overburdened, you can sell off your unneeded goods or toss them into the safe for pickup later at any other store location, but you may also find yourself constantly low or out of ammo if you simply go into every enemy encounter guns blazing--sometimes it's better to run and conserve ammo.

As an engineer, Isaac can make use of the numerous nanotech workbenches onboard the Ishimura to upgrade his weapons and equipment. Each upgradeable item has a circuit board arranged like a skill tree, and by soldering in power nodes (typically found in fuse boxes or purchased at the store) down a set of branching paths, functionality can be greatly increased. For example, weapons can have their damage and clip size upped, and Isaac can even increase his RIG's maximum health or the duration of his stasis ability. Fuses can also be used to override certain optional door locks, though, so if you want to be ready for potential secret-item caches, make sure you don't use up all of your power nodes.

From engineering to hydroponics and beyond, Dead Space never fails to impress with its visuals. Whether you're watching the torrential rainfall of asteroids across the hull of the Ishimura from the bridge atrium or witnessing the way a corpse spins serenely in a zero-g vacuum, the haunting yet beautiful graphics of Dead Space have a way of sticking in your mind long after you've quit playing. Semi-interactive cutscenes such as the one in which your team's rescue ship explodes within the Ishimura docking bay simply must be seen firsthand, and the tremendous lighting and environmental effects lay the groundwork for an intense horror adventure.

 

What really rounds out the entire experience, however, is the incredible sound design. Throughout the halls of the Ishimura, you are stalked mercilessly by the Necromorphs, and while you can't always see them, you are constantly surrounded by the menacing noises they produce or the eerie pitter-patter they make as they crawl through the ventilation shafts. You'll occasionally hear the distant screams of Necromorph victims or the creepy singing of a mentally unbalanced survivor, and environmental effects such as those generated by the sudden release of a burst of steam will keep you on the edge of your seat. Perhaps the most impressive use of audio in Dead Space takes place in a vacuum: any sounds that originate outside of Isaac's helmet are muffled and barely audible, while those from the inside, including his breathing and grunts of pain, are amplified.

Dead Space is a remarkable game from a well-tread genre that manages to stand out from its competitors in almost every way, from visual presentation to engaging story, innovative combat mechanics to fright factor. Whether you're looking for a terrifying horror experience or a deeply story-driven adventure that will keep you engaged for 15-20 hours, Dead Space is a fantastic game that you should not pass on

 

Guitar Hero World Tour Review

That's one giant leap for a franchise; one small step for a genre.

The Good

  • Great setlist with more than 80 songs  
  • You can now sing and play bass, guitar, drums  
  • Lets you create, share, and download original music.

The Bad

  • Some new additions don't enhance experience  
  • Doesn't do much that other, similar games haven't done.

As soon as Rock Band let you play guitar, bass, drums, and sing to your favorite music, it was clear the bar had been raised in the music-game genre. It wasn't long before Activision announced that the Guitar Hero series would follow suit. The result is a very entertaining game that doesn't break a whole lot of new ground. Guitar Hero World Tour's in-game music creation feature isn't as revolutionary as it could have been due to its convoluted interface, but thanks to a huge setlist of recognizable hits and cant-miss gameplay, World Tour is a great game and certainly a huge step forward for the franchise.

 

The most obvious difference between World Tour and previous Guitar Hero games is that you can now sing, play drums, play bass, or play guitar. You can play one instrument alone, perform as a band with a few friends, or even hop online and rock head-to-head or as some sort of Internet supergroup. The long-awaited ability to play as a "real" band in a Guitar Hero game improves what was previously an experience shared by one or two people on guitar and bass. Bickering over setlists; swapping instruments midset; getting sweaty and stinky from jumping around in a small room while your friend with the terrible voice gives it his or her all in "Livin' on a Prayer" as your neighbors bang on the wall...that's when Guitar Hero World Tour is at its best.

GH World Tour is available as an instrument bundle or as a standalone disc. If you don't buy the bundle, you can use guitars from previous games as well as peripherals from both iterations of Rock Band. The latter option might be your best bet given the less-than-stellar performance of the World Tour hardware over a week-and-a-half of play. The drums have several issues: Cymbals are either too sensitive or not sensitive enough, and the bass pedal is inconsistent as well. That's nothing compared to the problems that we've had with the guitars. The fret buttons began to stick after a day, and it wasn't long before the strum bar failed to accurately recognize input. The frets held up better on our second guitar, but the strum bar quickly failed on it as well. One nice thing about that guitar is that you can activate star power either by tilting your instrument or by simply pressing a new button below the strum bar with the palm of your hand. Just be careful not to press the poorly placed pause button while you're at it.

The big new feature in Guitar Hero World Tour is the music studio. It lets you create and share your own tunes, as well as download songs from others. Should you watch all of the tutorials and put in the time to learn the complicated yet robust program, you'll be able to produce some amazing results. The bad news is that you have to put in a lot of time and effort because it's incredibly difficult to make music creation a user-friendly experience on a console, but it's near impossible if you force people to use a fake guitar. To make matters worse, there's no way to add vocals or lyrics to your creations, so it's quite possible your song will sound just like the hundreds of thousands of bad MIDI songs that permeate the Web. That said, if you're unable to channel your inner John Lennon, you can still enjoy the fruits of the music studio via other people's work. Just a week after the game's release, there are already a number of impressive user-created efforts available for download.

 

World Tour has a Career mode, but it involves little more than playing sets of songs to earn money and unlock more songs. You have some control over what order you tackle the setlists and can personalize your rocker. You can even build custom instruments, but your career is linear and not all that interesting. However, it is pretty neat to see Jimi Hendrix stroll out on stage for "Purple Haze" (even if he does look a bit zombielike), and now that they don't feature any weird string-breaking gimmicks, the boss battles are actually enjoyable. The game includes more than 80 songs, all of which are master tracks from the original artists. The setlist covers a variety of styles and features a huge number of big-name artists. These include The Eagles, Metallica, Michael Jackson, Van Halen, Lenny Kravitz, Sting, Oasis, No Doubt, Nirvana, Coldplay, The Doors, Foo Fighters, Jimi Hendrix, and many more. It's an impressive collection of artists, and you're not often stuck playing some unknown song by these acts, either. You'll get to play "Beat It" rather than "Man in the Mirror." You also won't get stuck with some terrible Gary Sharone-era Van Halen; you'll get David Lee Roth and "Hot for Teacher." As is now the norm for the genre, World Tour includes a store where you can purchase new music. It should be noted that outside of the new Metallica album, none of the downloadable content from Guitar Hero 3 is compatible, which is a shame.

For the most part, World Tour looks and plays exactly as you'd expect, but there are a few things it does differently; some good, some bad. Musicians' animations have been improved, particularly with regards to vocalist's lips being in-synch with the lyrics. The ability to customize your rocker's pre-and-post song animation is also cool--especially when you've got him or her doing the robot after a good performance and smashing his or her guitar after a failed song. The vocals constantly track your pitch, leaving a trail behind that shows how your pitch has changed. This is extremely helpful when you're trying to sing the right notes and intervals at the start of a verse in a song with which you're unfamiliar. Bass players get a new challenge to deal with in the form of an open note, which is represented by a large bar that covers the entire width of the note highway. You might not think hitting the strum bar without pressing a fret would be noteworthy, but as any bass player will tell you, it makes the experience even more realistic. Last, but not least, the game gives you a quick countdown when returning from the pause menu, which gives you a fighting chance at hitting your first notes.

Those are the new mechanics that work well, but there are a few that aren't as useful. When playing drums, you must activate star power by hitting both cymbals at the same time. While hitting the cymbals isn't hard in and of itself, hitting them in rhythm so that you don't lose your consecutive note streak is extremely challenging. Unless you're a skilled percussionist, you're probably better off waiting until your streak ends on its own rather than trying to activate star power. Guitarists will have to deal with the most unique and not-so-useful mechanic. Anytime you see notes attached with a purple rope, you're able to move up to the touch-sensitive area above the normal fret buttons and play the notes by sliding across or tapping the pad. This lets you play the "wah-wah" part from "The Joker" with ease, you can play slap bass, and it's fun to act as if you're playing a keyboard in "Rebel Yell," but those are the exceptions. Generally, you'll find that using the touch-area results in missed notes because either it's not sensing your input properly or you're struggling to go from the fret buttons, up to the pad, and back. It's a neat idea, but it's executed poorly.

 

Guitar Hero World Tour is a huge leap forward for the Guitar Hero franchise. It's a blast to play with friends, the setlist is top-notch, and the music studio is a nice--albeit extremely complicated--addition. Although it's a great game, as well as a vast improvement over previous series entries, it doesn't do a whole lot that Rock Band and its sequel haven't already done (and in some cases, done better). With that in mind, if you really like Guitar Hero's setlist and you're interested (and patient enough) in creating your own music, pack your bags to head out on tour.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock


Guitar Hero III ups the ante with more challenge and new modes, and though not all the new stuff is great, the terrific tracklist and gameplay are sure to hook...

 

 

 

 

 

 




 
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