Pro Evolution Soccer 2008: "After-the-initial Impression" Impressions

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Demo


I'm glad I didn't write this mini review directly after the first match I played on the Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 demo (Xbox 360), as it would have fallen way short of the Fifa demo.

Initially, it felt too fast and more arcadey than any previous games. I think what has happened this year is Fifa have gone too realistic, and have forced this extremely slow (but, perhaps, more realistic) paced game on to it's gamers. Where as PES, although faster (maybe, still, a little too fast) gives the player that freedom to slow the game down with their individual style of play. Now, it's hard to gauge the success on this with the demo, as it's only a 5 minute match so it's hard to really play a slow passing game with the clock counting down (up?) so fast, but it's an option that's plain to see.

Graphically. I feel I'm missing out. I don't own a 30'inch HDTV, I have a 15 inch portable that I play my games on, but it does look better; improved much so. But no ground breaking. The likenesses of the players are perfect and leagues ahead of the license-grabbing corporation that is Electronic Arts.

Gameplay. The different types of players handle and feel different, where as, with the Fifa demo, this wasn't so obvious; every player seemed to handle almost the same even though it was obvious who were the better players. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, firstly allows you to play your style, but also limits that with the players you have at your disposal. Say you play Morientes instead of Torres (Spain nation team). Morientes is marginally better than Torres in the air, but Torres offers that thread in behind; he's faster and more direct. However, compare Torres to the more slight build but more skillful Villa; Villa has more tricks and a better touch, but the taller more heavy built Torres will be harder to knock off of the ball. Now that goes for every player; every player has his own strengths and weaknesses and thus far it looks like this has been tweaked to it's best in this most recent version.

A few niggles however...

Goalkeepers. Are these men between the sticks so difficult to code? Fifa's were in some kind of slo-mo limbo, where as there's a host of bad things about the keepers of PES. I feel the goalkeepers are worse than they were in PES6, which just isn't on. They'll rarely keep a hold of a shot, even when it's fired straight at them. We were promised that goalkeepers will try to push shots around the post instead of into the path of an oncoming striker... Bull-hucky! They're worse than ever! At least Fifa have the animations down to a 'T', PES goalies are lacking in this area too. Fix it KONAMILots 'O Glitches. Animation popping, telekinesis goalkeepers, terrible hit collision... The list goes on. I accept that this is a demo so I assume these will all be fixed for its release.

Ref and Lino's. Refs seem better but less consistent! They now let well timed challenges go, even if you get the ball and the player! Score! But they'll now send you off for fouls on the half way line, and give penalties for perfectly timed challenged coming in from the front?! Sort it out..


And that's it really. I'm really enjoying it apart from the occasion glitch and (sometimes related) terrible goalkeeping/Referee error. If the niggles are fixed it should be the best PES to date (maybe!).

Full version still expected for 26th of October - so about a month!
Much love,

RU

Update 'eth the Blog 'eth (Games)

FIFA '08 Demo

Now there's essentially 3 types of people in this world; those who like and play the Fifa franchise (i.e. the goons), those whom play the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise (the cool cats) and those whom don't care either way, usually because they don't like football (!) but sometimes because "they like both". Pah!

Previously, I would have placed myself among the "cool cats" (naturally), however I did waver slightly when I got my hands on the 360's Demo. As always, the game looks pleasant, but it's usually what's under the hood which has let FIFA down in the past. This year there's a huge improvement. Here's a mini-review I did on PESFan.com

Bad things

Goalkeepers. Terrible. The A.I is atrocious; they never come out to close players down, when the balls played through - or anything.
There's still too many "Hollywood saves" in my opinion. Not to mention how they seem to be diving in slo-mo. That leads me onto my other annoyance:

Game speed. Was it lagging? I changed the camera from the default cam to a closer one and it seemed to play faster? Anyway, it's still rather sluggish. It's possible that I'm just used to playing PES6, but I also watch a lot of football too and don't think it's at that pace.

Passing. It's harder, but there's something about through passing that doesn't seem right. Either it's intercepted or it'll get through to your player no matter what. And by that I mean it felt scripted. At one point the ball went through a defender and my own player as it dropped over (through) my player and I volleyed it home (looked nice, but when I saw the replay I wasn't impressed...) There's no freak occurrences, no mistakes (unless obvious)

Good things

The tricks. Difficult to pull off (partly to do with the speed, maybe) but also because they're just difficult to pull off successfully. However, once mastered it could make the game too easy (I'm still not a master of PES6 a year on...) Once you do pull them off though, they work effectively - leaving the defender in your wake.

Animations. As expected they are very good, and they do seem to add to the experience instead of just being something aesthetic.

Physics.... Are better but still not as good as PES in my opinion. It's less scrappy than reality, less gritty - but it is better and has been improved. I like how players will stick out a foot to try and gain advantage of a short pass, though it happens sometimes when it is required to which may become annoying.

Overall. I'm really considering getting it. It used to be a 'this or that' choice between Fifa and Pro but I feel this year they both (will) offer totally different things. When it comes down to it though, PES is my kind of game. Fifa still feels much more like an individual showboat than a team effort.

FYI: Pro Evolution Soccer also has a release date (October 26th) with Fifa releasing their title a month before (September 28th)

Game Review: Bioshock (Xbox360)

Decisions, Decisions...

Outline

You play as an unnamed individual (possibly named Jack) who is flying to an, er, unknown location for an unknown reason. However, something goes wrong and the plane crashes into the ocean off the shore of a large building. As the only survivor you find yourself in an underwater city named RAPTURE; a so-called safe haven for great (boarder-line insane) individuals who can better themselves without the restrictions of morality, humanity and all that other silly stuff.
Enter genetic modification and ultra-cool weaponry... but ignore the homicidal maniacs (once genius') whom roam and live throughout eerie RAPTURE.

However, there is trouble afoot - as, seemingly, one of the few sane individuals left around, you believe that you are the one to save everyone and, with the help of Atlas - your ally and narrator, put a stop to the madness and such like.

Story

Don't let it's glossy visuals and frightening setting fool you. This is a story driven game. It covers somewhat philosophical issues in a very surreal setting; our choices, fate, control, power, truth, the greater good... all of these issues are posed to the gamer and actively seek to allow them to make choices which pose yet more questions.
To begin with there is the choice of either saving or harvesting the numerous Little Sisters whom walk RAPTURE seeking dead bodies to which they can extract ADAM (where harvesting them gives you more ADAM and saving them...less); a substance required to survive - or at least feed a strange sort of addiction. ADAM is also used by you, the gamer, to improve your character; adding PLASMIDS and other nuggets of variables which will make you stronger and more powerful. It soon comes apparent that you must close your eyes to your own morality to essentially destroy it - just one of the many fantastic issues this game poses you with. Having completed the game, looking back over it and reading articles discussing it's conclusion, it comes apparent that this game is a fantastic story FIRST AND FOREMOST and a brilliant action/RPG second. In fact, even though the action itself was brilliant, it still filled in the gaps between each 'story-point' - as opposed to it being the other way round.

Gameplay

Gameplay just falls short of the Story aspect of the game, mainly because there wasn't as much emphasis on having a choice that actively changed or influenced the game. You're given 2 endings depending on what actions you took during the game (I won't say how you get one or the other..) but other than that it was very much more about how you decided to deal with situations that opposed you. Although it perhaps should have, at no point during the game did I feel that it had become repetitive even due to the amount of 'clone' enemies; this is perhaps due to each 'clone' having a different personality - they all seemed to be doing something different, having conversations (which, also, never seemed to repeat) with each other...For instance, at one point a grenade Splicer (he throws explosives at things, people..) attacked me and ran away. I tried to take him down with some range weapons but his grenades were slowing me down (throwing them over his shoulder with great precision); I then decided to use my Telekineses plasmid to catch his grenades and throw them back, but he was too agile. Eventually I followed him into a room I had already been in, with various dead splicers scattered around the floor. The room was empty apart from the dead bodies; he was nowhere to be found... I walked forward and the lights started to flicker, the door behind me shut closed and I heard laughing. I turned around to see a spider splicer on the celling and then the room went black and I was attacked, the lights came on and I made for the door but to my surprise the 'dead' splicers rose up and began attacking me..
After this encounter, and after I had died, I thought to myself; what an amazing sequence of events, scripted or not, it was truly amazing to participate in: being led into a trap, evidently, which lent itself to a very cinematic perspective.
These sorts of situations happen many times during the course of the game and all-but-add to the already impressive enemy A.I; Houdini Splicers whom attack you, disappear and reappear behind you. Spider Splicers, who will jump to the ceiling and drop down right in front of you for an up-close-and-personal attack. The diversity of combat and the options available to the player make this initially generic shooter an ideal playground for fans of playing devils advocate.

Graphics

This isn't as much a selling point as the other aspects of a game are to me, but nevertheless this is a beautiful game. However, I don't think it matches GoW (Gears of War) when it comes to the aesthetic presentation; it's not quite to that standard. But it's the next best thing...
This is perhaps the first game (certainly the first FPS) that I've literally 'walked-thru', when running is perhaps the most obvious choice. Of course, that's not counting the times I've ran away from something or towards someone, but generally when I was exploring I was just walking, listening to my footsteps and anyone elses and just taking it all it; the environment, the shadows, and so on - as what this has over GoW is atmosphere boat loads and buckets full of atmosphere. So although the graphics on a scale of 1 to 10 aren't matching GoW standards, they are used more effectively - the setting and level design is brilliant, open and enclosed at the same time; I, on more than one occasion, would find a corner of a room just so I knew that nothing was coming up behind me. Not, really, because I was scared or such, but because I was hanging on to my life by a thread, or because I only had one more anti-personal bullet left.
Since we're underwater it was only right that the design team at 2kgames got the water right, and they sure did. Whether it be cracking glass, dripping from rusted pipes or exploding through hatches it was truly beautiful. It was also a huge aspect of gameplay too; several enemies sludging through knee deep in water? Zap them with the electric plasmid. Or, if you've set a Splicer on fire he'll more than likely actively seek out some puddles to jump in to extinguish himself; hilarity ensured.

Conclusion

The best game I've played on the 360... period. It's perhaps not as large as Oblivion or as pretty as GoW. But what this doesn't have in quantity and gloss it makes up for in Gameplay and immersion. It's only downfall is that once you've completed it you'll not be itching to play again, I will be trading it in for money off (PES 2008, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed - one of them) as it doesn't have the replayability of some other titles. However, this is not a negative aspect. In fact it's a refreshing and, perhaps, more classy alternative. Like a good movie, perhaps you don't want to play it again straight away, but you'll be damned you if you don't remember it 5-10-15 years down the line, and when you see it for £5 a pop you'll be grabbing it with both hands and taking it on again, hoping that you don't remember the twists and turns of this fabulous game.

Quickie: Grab Your Calenders!

...and a pen if you've 'one handy! Because the Mass Effect release date has been confirmed: November 20!

Unlike a few other game (development companies) I would expect this date to stick like a fridge magnet to a... erm, fridge.

This game will rock, mark my words...

Quickie: (Game) Mafia 2 - On the books?

Back during the year 2002 I bought a game. It was a game about being in the Mafia - with it's Itallian-Americans and it's fat Tony's, and the game, the game wowed me; with it's impressive visuals, fantastic driving sim, brilliant (voice) acting and interesting story as you rose from Taxi-Driver to Mafia mobster in this Godfather clone....
...That's right, a good Godfather clone! "That's a paradox!" I hear you cry. It's like saying "warm ice cream" or "I always lie" (think about it) - it just... doesn't make sense.

Well the original worked, it played well, it had some brilliantly realistic guns and impressive shoot outs and some great car chases (even if you could only hit 20mph going up hill, hey it's the 1930s!). Thinking back on the game, now, it really wasn't impressive (technically). You were pretty limited in what you could do; shoot people, steal cars... that was about it. With my promise of true next gen games (within this article on Assassin's Creed) to be arriving any second now (Bioshock is just a nose bleed away..!) it really got me excited with what they (being developers Illusion Softworks) could achieve with this.

Onto matters more pressing; it seems that that there is speculation in the pipeline that Mafia 2 could actually exist!

Ahu, you just read all that to find out that something possibly exists!

Well here's the full (4 and a bit) paragraphs (what, not even an article?!) from CVG.com

Take Two has hinted to CVG that we may well see an announcement on Mafia 2 later today, after we spoke to the publisher about a rumour circulating on the sequel's reveal at Leipzig next week.

"Watch this space", a Take Two spokesperson told us, saying that it's announcing its Games Convention line-up this afternoon.

It's been reported that a trailer for the sequel will be shown at the Games Convention in Leipzig next week, word hitting the internet that a Mafia 2 trailer has been rated by the USK, Germany's independent videogame ratings body.

Regular readers may recall that Mafia developer Illusion Softworks confirmed with us way back in 2003 that Mafia 2 was in development, but we've heard nothing on the game since. But it appears that's about to change.

Oh boy, let's hope the sequel really is announced. Stay tuned...

Oh boy indeed (Sam Becket will be spinning in his grave, or perhaps someone elses...)

E3 - Games I'm looking forward to seeing

#1

Overview.

Just pipping Mass Effect to the number 1 spot, Assassin's Creed, somewhat totally opposite to Mass Effect, is set during the end of the 12th century during the Third Crusade in 3 cities; Damascus, Jerusalem and Acre, as well as the locations inbetween. You play as Altair, a member of the very real Hashshashin (believed to be the original Assassins). As the game begins you begin as a, for want of a better word, Pro; you have all of the abilities, weapon and moves of a great Assassin. However, you soon lose many of those abilities and weapons and have to start from scratch - here is where the player will begin. Your task, to win back to respect of your piers, is to assassinate 9 key individuals, on either side of the Third Crusade, to prove your worth. How you do this is up to you...

What's so good?

Bottle. It took some unbelievable bottle and creative vision to attempt something on the scale of Assassin's Creed.

Parkour like you've never parkour'd before!

(You probably never have!)

First and foremost, Free Running has never been so Free; where as in the past you have been able to climb walls (Spiderman, anyone?) or the odd fence (GTA SA, huh?) it was all scripted, and very repetitive. Now, instead of a wall, fence or building being interactive - the environment and, as Jade Raymond (producer and total hottie) says "Any architectural detail that sticks out more then 2 inches can be used as a hold for your hands or feet."* Reading that description doesn't do the visuals justice however, and seeing it in action is something beautiful to behold. Altair does not just climb up; if there is nothing for him to grab with his hand or stick his big size nines into then he won't, he'll look for something close and within reach to do so - and thus why this game is amazing: realism.

You'll actually grab 'sticky-outty' bits when you climb.

Fight like a freakin' Ninja!!

Although this is perhaps the first game when running away like a big girls blouse actually looks cool, there will be occasions when you need and/or just feel like kickin' some guards' ass. The fighting style isn't a button masher, nor does it seem particularly difficult to use (perhaps, to master though...). It seems as though there will 3 different types of ways to attack an opponent: grapple and to then stab or push/throw, block and then counter-attack, or simply swing for them. There also seems to be 4 types of weapons; the uber cool Assassin switch blade (used for assassinations), a short and long sword and throwing knives. All of these weapons are interchangeable and make for some beautiful combinations.

Take the target out head on without a second thought.

Variety is the spice of life!?

So, you've got your uber cool climbing, jumping and basically spiderman-like moves and you've also got your somewhat ninja-like cut throat abilities for when things get up close and personal, but what else? Well, games like to give us gamers things in 3's and this is no different. The final and perhaps most original idea (although I think IO Interactive may have something to say about that) is the new social stealth concept which seems to be the coders new toy; next gen has given programmers the ability to program multiple A.I for each NPC (non-playing character) and thus the birth of social stealth). Social stealth is a pretty simple idea; to avoid looking suspicious you perform tasks or mimic actions of others to remain inconspicuous: think "that" peeping tom who pretends to attend to his garden every time you catch his eye!

In Assassin's Creed, the idea is the same. Perhaps you want to get close to your target but have no buildings near by, or perhaps there are just too many guards. Well, with social stealth you will be able to blend into a crowd, or small group of people (say, a bunch of monks) and make your way towards the target within said crowd. This will allow you to get as close as possible without your target or his bodyguards becoming suspicious of the guy in the hood with the multiple weapons on his back. It can also be used when splegging it (see "running away, fast") to lose the guards; perhaps there's a group of individuals sitting on a bench? Sit next to them and watch as the guards go running on past you!

Feeling sneaky? Use crowds of monks to approach the target without being seen

It's the next stage of gaming-evolution!

We're at the stage now where next-gen games are now, finally making an appearance. Sure, Gears of War introduced us to what could be achieved and even the game play was pretty darn good too. But it didn't really push the boundaries game play wise, it didn't introduce us to any new ideas or innovative game play techniques. It was, if we're being fair, a very beautiful looking 3rd person shooter!

Assassin's Creed (and Mass Effect) are pushing the envelope to the extreme, offering players as much freedom and high quality of content that games such as Oblivion (lots of space, lacking on quality), GOW (again, looks nice - but a rehash of old ideas and very short), and so on, failed to do. It's clear to see that the final quarter of 2007 will see the rise of the true next gen games.

So...?

So?! You need more? Well, let me take this opportunity to turn into the hormone driven guy that I truly am and present to you Jade Raymond...

We love you Jade..!!!!! <3

Ahem, quite..

Pencil your calenders folks. November has been announced as the release date for Assassin's Creed - it's gunna' be one helluva month!

E3 Game Play Video

Newest Trailer

PS. The song from the new trailer is Lonely Souls by Unkle with vocals from Mr Richard Ashcroft himself. I promptly downloaded that song, as it's so damned good!

R. U

E3 - Games I'm looking forward to seeing

#2

Overview.

Set in the not-so-distant future, Mass Effect (an action/RPG) see's players taking on the aged old saving the galaxy quest from utter distruction yet again. This time however, it's a whole lotta' different. You play as Shepard; gender, appearence and back story customizable, commander of the SS Nomandy and the first human to be allowed entry into the Spectre's - an elite policing force used to bring law and order to the galaxy. As the first human spectre, your actions (or inaction) will have a diverse effect on how the other alien races, populating the universe, percieve both you and humanity. Described as Jack Bauer in space, you will be faced with many moral discisions which could see you choosing to allow many thousands to perish for the greater good. This is your story...

What's so good?
Where to begin? Graphically, well, I have not seen a game rival these kinds of graphics. When I first got my 360 and popped in Gears of War I thought, how can anything be any better? The fact Gears of War came out relatively early in the 360's life, boded well for future titles, and now we have evidence to support that; Mass Effect.

Bioware.

Bioware is also a reason why it's looking so good. In an age where many publishers are dumbing down their franchises to be accessed by the masses (see Splinter Cell: Conviction) you can better your bottom dollar that Bioware know what they are doing. Primarily this is an RPG. You fight, you gain experience, you use that experience to increase a skill or skills and continue on your merry way. We've had little or no gameplay footage of RPG and experience pooling, and that may be a worry for hardcore-RPG'ers but I would not worry. They will be there and they will be sound. You only have to look at Biowares previous titles for evidence of this; Baldur's gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights - all tremendous RPG titles. Mass Effect will be packing with RPG features, have no doubt about that..

Action.

What's even more impressive is the action elements of this game. As a fan of the tactical shooters (GRAW 2, Rainbow 6: Vegas and so on - although, granted, these newer versions are a dumbed down version of the original classics...) the promise of controling your party members, ordering them to take cover, use specific skills etc, is almost as exciting as the game itself.

Conversations.

Now, my thoughts on the conversation system keep fluxuating. At times I think it looks beautiful, inovative and original. Other times I think it looks difficult, fiddly and poorly planned. However at this moment in time, I do thnk it will be a plus to the games never ending positives;

Instead of choosing from a list of responses and then watching your character reiterate them back at you, it will work a little more like this. Once engaged into a covnersation you will be presented with several emotional responses. So instead of a bunch of lines of conversation to read you'll have a more watered down, basic direction which you'll be able to choose from. Many of these options are one word choices, based on the current conversations direction. Another, even more innotive, feature in the ability to jump into a conversation while another character is speaking to impose yourself, cut them off, knock them out or any combination thereof.

E3 Update: Release date!!
Oh yes, we finally have one. During Mass Effects presentation at this years E3 we were finally given a release MONTH. Ahem, yes, well it's better than nothing. The month in quesiton is November and although many are enraged at it being so damned long away. At least we have something to look forward to. Bioware have been very careful not to release a date until they could be sure that they could deliver. I'm 99% certain that Mass Effect will be in stores sometime in November!

New E3 2007 Trailer

Stay Tuned for my number 1 game for E3 2007!

E3 - Games I'm looking forward to seeing

#3

Overview.

Alan Wake, is a psychological action-adventure thriller featuring, you guessed it, Alan Wake: a popular novelist who is currently having a huge amount of writers block. This he puts down, in part, to the loss of his wife as well as an uncomfortable dose of insomnia. Following this, Alan retreats to the East Coast town of Bright Falls; where his darkest nightmares seem to be living and breathing in reality. Taking control of Alan, players will explore Bright Falls, and the mysterious herein, attempting to unravel who or what it is that is lurking behind the shadows.

Structured in a similar style as a TV series, Alan Wake is divided into segments, each segment representing a TV episode; with similar plot twists, character arcing and so on and so forth. However, this is far from a linear story - Bright Falls will be open for exploration where one gamers actions could be diversely different to another’s. Although during Remedy Entertainments previous series Max Payne, this time the players most effective weapon may actually be his flashlight. It's believed that there will be both day-time and night-time elements. With the day-time focusing on gather clues and conversing with individuals, and the night-time focusing on exploring the shadows and following up on leads.

What's so great?

There's something about the structure that's very interesting about the structure; the day and night time segments, the promised TV series-style and the freedom to explore and change the progression of the story depending on, for instance, which lead you follow up on first, or whether or not, while driving to your destination, you decide to check out that vacant light that just switched on as you drove past.

The atmosphere is spot on, during the demonstration trailer we were shown how Bright Falls can be changed from a beautiful countryside-esc town into a creepier-than-creep, dark, spooky, almost ghost-like town. And the great thing is, it's the same place. It's not two different maps, one with more visuals and another with sharper looking shapes and shadows. Just like reality, what can initially seem like a beautiful landscape during the day, can become a terrifying twist on perspective. Like other games such as Silent Hill, many of the scares will most likely come from within oneself; constantly on the edge of your seat you will be expecting something or someone to jump out at you, only for it to happen when you least expect.Coupled with this Remedy Entertainment have also focused on environmental factors. Although details are sketchy, from the demonstration you could see a full cycle from day to night to day again. This almost seems like there will be full day cycles, as well as various weather effects; including rainstorms and even tornados which rip up buildings, cars and other scattered debris.

Opening mission walkthrough.
I stumbled across this during my research, it's a descriptive of the opening mission and objective of Alan Wake:

On with the playable mission, and as Alan drives to the cabin, he reveals through voice-over that his new book is about a writer, who, after a tragic loss, goes to live in a secluded cabin where he creates a horror story about creatures of darkness disguised as men. However, when the writer leaves the cabin he discovers the world has turned into the nightmare he's written. Alan's story begins with the writer picking up a hitch-hiker on the way to the cabin - and right on cue, the spooky piano music strikes up again and a real hitchhiker is spotted on the road ahead. "That's creepy..." says Alan.

Of course, Wake picks up the shabby hitcher and begins telling him about the fact he's a writer, and that his story has a hitch-hiker in it. "The hitch-hiker's a killer of course," says the creepy guy in a gruff drawl. "No," replies Alan. "The hitch-hiker gets killed. Then he comes back, or something, a creature of darkness that haunts the writer." Alan drives on, but then is stopped in his tracks - ahead, on the road, a car has overturned, the result of an accident.

Alan pulls up, and gets out of his vehicle to examine the wreckage - there are bloodstains on the road, but no-one around. Suddenly, a lorry hurtles round the corner and smashes into his car with the hitcher still inside, as Alan has to frantically dive to safety, losing consciousness. He starts to hear voices, then wakes up - it's now dark and he has a gun and torch in his hands, and the hitch-hiker is nowhere to be seen. Alan still has to reach the cabin, now on foot, which is up on a nearby hill and across a rickety wooden bridge, which he bravely skips across.

The camera cuts to a first-person shimmering view of the bridge, as we hear a horrific whispered voice: "Waaaaaake!" The enemy zooms Evil Dead-style towards the other side of the bridge, causing a streetlight to shatter. Alan starts to run on the path up towards the cabin, pursued by the unseen enemy, as each street lamp that he passes explodes and plunges the area into more darkness. Wake turns around and shines the torch at the creature, allowing him to shoot at
a shadowy human form that recoils in agony.

Back to the heart-stopping demo, and as the chaotic music rises to a crescendo, Wake runs the rest of the way, more lights smashing as he moves past them on the path to the cabin. Finally, he reaches the hideaway, but we can see from outside that all the bulbs in the rooms are exploding, creating more darkness. Trapped, Alan turns around, and as the screen fades to black we hear a voice say: "Wake, we have a common destination..."

- The full article can be found here

What's not so great?
There's a lot of information yet to come on this title; the amount and diversity of combat, investigation methods, npc interaction, freedom and so on have far from been explained.
Day and night cycles will be interesting to experience; how will they be done? Apparently, as the story progresses, day shorterns and night icnreases in length. That's an interesting concept, but again, without detailed information on how exactly this will work we're left with concepts without substance. Will the day and night segments be split up? Or will their be a natural progression from morning to noon and then finally to night? I'm not even sure which method would work best, the former being very unnatural and will most likely remove the gamer from his or her experience. And the later being rather constrictive; with the promise of freedom, if the game is split up into day and night segments, will there be certain interactions and places to explore that is exclusive to one or the other?
Also, a release date originally rumoured to be end of this year, seems to be more likely to be penned in for 2008.

Alan Wake - Trailer

What to expect at E3.
I'd like to think we'd get a 2007 released date confirmed at this years E3 and I'm afraid that if we don't get that then the rumoured 2008 release may actually have some substance. Alan Wake should be at E3 this year, although whether Remedy will be their or if Microsoft will just be showing off some new footage is all guess work.
Cross your fingers and hope for a release date. I'm pretty sure we'll get some new game play, maybe even some hands-on, as well as some information on the structure and character interaction.

Quickie: A "Die Hard 4 Point Oh" /slash/ "Xbox 360" Hybrid

This entry (I'm still not sure what I should call these; posts? Entries?) is two fold:

First: Xbox360 - Makes an early return.

About a week ago I sent my barely a month old Xbox360 back for repairs (it was scratching my discs and not wanting to take any chances, phoned them up - where I was greeted by a very nice young lady who told me I would receive my Xbox360 back within 20-25 days. I was a little gutted with the time scale given to me, but I suppose that's what makes this news so much sweeter). Yesterday I received an email saying that my beloved xbox would be making it's way - Homeward Bound-esc - back to me in 2 to 5 working days. So sometime before Monday/Tuesday!

Lets hope the bugger is fixed!

Second: Die Hard Four Point Oohhh

I'm off to see Die Hard 4.0 tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, truth be told - I think this is because of the similarily ancient Rocky Balboa experience I had earlier this year, which saw me totally awe struck by what I thought was going to be garbage. I mean, Die Hard is such a great franchise and requires little-to-no brain power to enjoy. And Bruce Willis is just so damn great - such a lovely chap too.

Plus this time round we get to feast our eyes on the kick-ass Maggie Q (MI:3) who plays the 'baddy' and the delicious, and one of my favourite ladies of the moment, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (of Final Destination 3, Grindhouse and Black Christmas fame - pictured) who plays McClanes daughter (I bet poor Bruce feels old!!)

So, my thoughts on this film to follow probably tomorrow or Friday, along with my #3 for E3 (oh that rhymed!)

- R.U

E3 - Games I'm looking forward to seeing

#4

Overview.
You play as a plane-crash survivor who stumbles across a once utopia but now forgotten community named Rapture. This ruined community is inhabited by things you once believed lived under your bed - but this isn't a kill or be killed society, at least not unless you want it to be. Many of the inhabitants such as the Big Daddy will not attack you unless you threaten it or its Little Sister - and if their names are creepy enough, Little Sister use syringes to extract a substance - known as Adam - from corpses. This substance, to which you are also partial to, is an addiction to those who consume it and allow of a variety of physical and mental enhancements - for instance, biotic implants or psychic abilities.

What's so great?
It's not a mindless first-person shooter (yes, I'm looking at you Halo 3). There is substance to this game that goes beyond it's shoot'em up roots. Primarily, this game is an Action/Adventure which focuses heavily on puzzle solving and player choices. These choices can seem rather daunting at first but it's more to do with flexibility than deciding which shoes go with which pants. For instance, if you've decided or have no choice in engaging an enemy you may wish to just shoot him to bits; set an object on fire and hurl it at him with your telekinesis powers; hack into a medical machine and make it hurt instead of heal your enemy; unleash a plague of insects on him; brainwash him or his bodyguard and make him your puppet - or any combination of those, to name but a few. Some of these abilities are powered by a diverse range of plasmids (used to enhance oneself in the world of BioShock). The following (obtained from the official BioShock website) is a list of the different types of plasmids available in the game:

• Electrobolt. This projectile can be used to stun both man and machine-like enemies as well as being, naturally, dangerous when combined with water!


• Telekinesis. Can be used to move and manipulate object if they are out of reach, too heavy or on fire! useful for creating shields, returning enemy grenades and creating obstacles.


• Incinerate. Sets objects and creatures on fire


• Winter Blast. Freeze your foes in place and then shatter them into a thousand pieces!


• Security Bullseye. Turns security devices and machines to your advantage as you tag enemies with this plasmid - causing security devices to act aggressively with your enemy.
  

What's not so great? (This section should be short.)
One of my main concerns is how far the supposed freedom will go with respect to the environments and exploration - and what this will mean for the story. Will the story get lost within all the exploration? Will the player lose his bearings while he's exploring the environment? Inside chatter hints toward optional objectives and little extras that don't need to be explored to complete the game. Although that sounds like great news, does that mean we'll be privy to yet another linear first-person shooter with some interesting RPG elements?
That said, I'm not worried. With my ear to the floor I have heard that not only is the story excellent, the way it is told is innovative too.

BioShock - Trailer (This is such an awesome trailer)

What to expect at E3?
I do not expect the information overload from this title as I do some of the others. With a release date already penciled in (August 21st and 24th for USA and Europe respectively) I think this E3 will be about generating as much buzz as possible. Maybe we'll get a date for a playable demo or such, other than that I predict some hands on playing and maybe some new features/enemies/interactions/plasmids or such like.

E3 - Games I'm looking forward to seeing

#5

Overview.
Returning for his 5th installment, you play as Ubisofts Sam Fisher, former Third Echelon Splinter Cell and current fugitive. The game mechanics, that is to say the previously fantastic light and dark engine, has been thrown out of the window. This time Sam uses what we as mere civilians see as normal actions to seamlessly glide past a guarded area or alternatively creating a scene or incident elsewhere to draw the attention of a patrolling guard so that Sam can simply stroll on in and complete his objective.

What's so great?
It's naturally the next chapter in the Splinter Cell series. Double Agent (the previous installation) saw Sam playing as a, well, double agent - where he was given choices and objectives by both the Third Echelon (aka the good guys) as well as the terrorists he was working for. Now, Sam has cut all ties from Third Echelon leaving him all dressed up with nowhere to go. Because of this new direction in the storyline, a new engine and approach has been created. Previously, Sam would hide in shadows and work his way around from dark spot to dark spot, avoiding lights, making sound, and so on. You might even say it was an extremely advanced version of Frogger, but we won't...

Because the light and shadows engine has all but been removed, Sam has new techniques and abilities at his disposal. He's slightly more hardcore, helluva lot more interactive and very much like Jason Bourne. New interactions available to the player are almost endless - almost all objects in the environment are interactive. This is to allow the player to improvise with his surroundings; been spotted by a patrolling guard? Casually throw a bottle at him and make a run for it - alternatively: lead him into a room and barricade the door with a table, chairs and TV set and slip out of the back window.

Also, where as in the past Sam would of had one or two CQC (Close-quarters Combat) moves, Sam is now as handy with his fists as Jackie Chan, although perhaps not as nimble!

Finally, visually it looks pretty good. Especially the lighting - funny I should finish talking about the lighting...

What's not so great?
OK, well that sounds spiffing but "Why are they doing that to OUR Splinter Cell!!!!"

I was really pumped for this game until I started perusing the official Splinter Cell: Conviction forums. Initially I just thought the forum folks, sprouting the above phrase, were just overreacting. But the more I considered their argument the more they seemed to be right. From my instant reaction of the game which at first had been "Oooh a new Splinter Cell with new ideas" quickly became "Noooo, a new Splinter Cell without an actual SPLINTER CELL in it".

Many aspects of this game are appealing to the masses; the casual gamer - the clever sneaking around has been replaced with CQC, throwing a bottle to attract enemy attention has changed to, erm, CQC with a bottle. Whereas the previous Splinter Cell games were a lot more mature and tactical. Hopefully - and I do still have hope - Ubisoft will still keep the game strategic. At the moment I'm still confident this game will be more than worth the price but there is still an ounce of squinting going on here.

Splinter Cell: ConViction - Trailer

What to expect at E3?
This is the part where I actually stick my neck on the line and make some predictions on what we'll learn about this game over the 3-day E3 event:

• A comment explaining either - "We're on schedule here's a confirmed release date" or "Well, we're still aiming for November but..."
• A new trailer - I suspect featuring a new location
• Some information on Multi-player
• More hands-on playing. Perhaps at the new location and/or presenting new features