Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Joystiq hands-on: Combat Arms (Page 2)http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/joystiq-hands-on-combat-arms-page-2/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/joystiq-hands-on-combat-arms-page-2/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/joystiq-hands-on-combat-arms-page-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Combat Arms employs a clearly visible player ranking system in order to tie together rank rewards, the in-game currency, and the socialization aspects.

Kim and Yang noted that this balance between purchased items and off-the-rack choices didn't exist in the original Korean version of the game. As previously mentioned, the Korean gamers were looking for a more "arcade-y" experience. Grenades had flares to make them easier to track, mines had blinking lights, and every purchased item was a pure win for the player -- why not buy in that environment. As Kim put it, "American players have a definite concept of what is fair and what isn't," and they were determined to cater to that.

Yang noted that the despite changes from the Korean version, Combat Arms retains the "jump-in-and-out" gameplay that made this take on the genre so popular there. Nexon believes Americans will respond (and are responding) to this vision of what an FPS could be, based primarily on the "feel" of the game. As an example, Min Kim noted the simple feature that you can run in the game:

"If you press the shift button you actually run. That is not an option in a lot of other FPSs so it feels a lot faster and a lot of people like that. It's one of those things that is not easy to market; you can't say: 'hey you press the shift button you go really fast' on the back of a box. They don't know what that means until they start playing it."



After talking through the game as a concept, we sat down to play a few rounds -- dying numerous times to both Kim and Yang as they schooled us on the game's public servers. (Protip: Anyone interested in jumping into the game can already do so. Nexon has had an amazingly positive reaction, and had to increase their server capacity unexpectedly fast to deal with demand.)

During our back-and-forth matches, Yang stated that Nexon's planning to update the game on a regular basis. The company has been regularly releasing a patch to the game every two weeks since the game's beta began. Every update will add new weaponry, while a new map or game type will be added every month or two.

That endless state of updates driven by player demand will likely never stop for the game, and neither will the game's "test" state. After the interview, we spoke with Nexon representative Robert Holtzman to clarify when the game would be going with a hard launch. He laughed, and noted that the game might never get one -- given the title's popularity already, Nexon plans to continue to expand through word of mouth advertising and constant improvements.

Overall, we walked away from Combat Arms very impressed. Given the game's region of origin and the stigma of a free-to-play titles, Nexon's offering is a surprisingly fun and impressively attractive offering. It's a fast-action title that will please the twitch-happy mindless shooter fan just as easily as one looking for a more tactical approach. On top of it all, it deftly ties online clan gaming and Web 2.0 sensibilities together with ranks, formal groups, and eventually social networking plugins.

Given the unique blend of MMO and FPS in Combat Arms' DNA, it was intriguing and enlightening to see what the game has become. And it's always hard to turn down the offer of free.

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]]>combat-armshands-onherb-yangmin-kimnexonMichael Zenke2008-09-04T21:00:00+00:00Joystiq hands-on: Combat Armshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/joystiq-hands-on-combat-arms/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/joystiq-hands-on-combat-arms/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/joystiq-hands-on-combat-arms/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

We recently had the chance to check out Combat Arms, the free-to-play online FPS brought to US shores by Nexon of America. Nexon is best known in the states for its unique side-scrolling MMORPG Maple Story. Despite the company's grounding in the MMO genre, Nexon chooses to see itself as a purveyor of online games in general. From online racing in Kart Rider to virtual karaoke in Audition, the company publishes or develops a multitude of multiplayer experiences. Its extension to first-person shooters, in that light, makes a great deal of sense.

What's surprising is not that Nexon has chosen to jump into the FPS genre, but that the offering is as good as it is. The company has combined elements of mindless combat shooters like XIII with the multiplayer tactical orientation of a game like Counter-Strike. In doing so, it's delivered a title that can be as explosion- or strategy-focused as players want. And, of course, it wouldn't be Nexon without some unique twists -- namely, the incorporation of its successful microtransaction-based business model.

Gallery: Combat Arms


We spoke with Min Kim, Nexon's VP of Marketing, and Herb Yang, Combat Arms product manager, to get a full understanding of what the title had to offer. We talked at length about game elements like patching and gameplay while taking on the developers in a few matches.

Min Kim: What we are trying to do is to emphasize socialization. If you look at American FPS games, they all kind of look pretty similar. We saw on the Korean market games coming out that, from a Counter-Strike player's perspective, were kind of sub-par. Frankly I didn't think that they were that great. But the funny thing is, you play where your friends are. And that's where people are playing with their friends, because they added all these customization features. Guild names and other things that just weren't in the original Counter-Strike. I think that opened up a totally different market for first person shooters. Probably the biggest game in South Korea right now is an online FPS. You don't really think FPS games when you think Korea, but that's the case.

One of the things that I think that really worked for them is that they made the game more casual. FPS games are very hardcore; it is a very precise and difficult thing to do. When I first started playing them, I didn't enjoy them because they weren't all that exact, too easy. But for a casual audience that makes a lot of sense. It is a lot more fun versus having to pinpoint every single shot and getting your butt kicked.



Herb Yang: We have about six maps in the game right now. We are probably going to be releasing one in a couple of months, and we have four different game modes. We are going to be adding more game modes in the future as well. You can tweak a lot of the settings, as well. You can set no explosives, pistols only whatever. There are really a lot of different game options that you can play.

Despite the differences, this game obviously borrows a lot from Counter-Strike both in customization and the community features. Your character over to the left can be customized with pretty much with most modern day weapons. We are going to be adding weapons with each batch as well. But right now there are about 30. Each weapon can also be customized with other weapon mods.

Because this is geared more towards the casual user we don't want to limit you in terms of classes. You can play with whatever weapons that you like. Some of these body items have functionality too. All our weapons and items, we can buy them through the in-game currency. GP is the in game currency. A lot of people get confused - they think you are paying cash to buy weapons and gear. You're not; everything that has any sort of functional game benefit is going to be purchased or obtainable by any player even if you don't spend any cash.

Gallery: E308: Nexon America studio tour



Min Kim: And that is one of the approaches we take with all of our games. We look at each game we've put out before, whether it's Maple Story or Kart Rider, and thought about Combat Arms to figure out what the commercialization model should be. So for Combat Arms, because it is a first person shooter, we know that weapons are sort of at the core of the game. There is no magic gun that you can buy.

We have a bunch of different options, to figure out if you like this gun or that gun. GP is gained through playing matches. So every match you play you are going to gain a certain amount of GP. Depending on what sort of match type the formula skews you toward the different objectives. So if you are playing capture the flag you won't get as much GP from just killing people.

Essentially you are renting the gun for the day, or a few days. If you make enough money that day to kind of get beyond your costs, you make a profit. I don't think anyone would buy like all the guns just to use in one day because you would never make all that money back. I think that adds sort of an RPG inventory management system element to the game. Plus, you can actually pick up any weapon off the ground. That is another good way to try out a weapon for no cost.



Herb Yang: Plus, certain of our items you can only get once you achieve a certain rank. These flash bangs you can't get until rank 6 or something. The weapon mods aren't locked based on your rank, though. We want to make sure that the mods are balanced for fairness. Even higher ranked players don't get an advantage over lower ranked players then. As you look at all of these weapon mods they have like penalties associated with benefits. It's a sort tradeoff. The way we look at it is that the more you rank up the wider your range of options become. Not like you get a stronger gun or anything like that. That is something that is very conscious on the part of the development team.

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]]>combat-armshands-onherb-yangmin-kimnexonMichael Zenke2008-09-04T21:00:00+00:00PAX 2008: One hour with full version of Fallout 3http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/pax-2008-one-hour-with-the-full-version-of-fallout-3/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/pax-2008-one-hour-with-the-full-version-of-fallout-3/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/pax-2008-one-hour-with-the-full-version-of-fallout-3/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Click for all our Fallout 3 coverage
We were given one hour with Fallout 3 at this year's PAX, and we don't mean some pared down, nerfed, demo-ized level; this was the full version. Not only that, but the Bethesda folks showed it to us in the tricked out Fallout 3 Airstream Trailer, complete with a nuclear family peering in.

Lead designer Emil Pagliarulo started us out roughly an hour into the game, when you exit the vault for the very first time. We missed the whole "growing up" phase in order to rush right into the action. We didn't mind. but what of our first 18 or so years? Maybe you start out on the cellular level, and fight your way out in a glorious Spore/Fallout hybrid. Your guess is as good as ours.

Gallery: PAX 2008: The Fallout 3 Airstream Trailer

Click for all our Fallout 3 coverage
We were given one hour with Fallout 3 at this year's PAX, and we don't mean some pared down, nerfed, demo-ized level; this was the full version. Not only that, but the Bethesda folks showed it to us in the tricked out Fallout 3 Airstream Trailer, complete with a nuclear family peering in.

Lead designer Emil Pagliarulo started us out roughly an hour into the game, when you exit the vault for the very first time. We missed the whole "growing up" phase in order to rush right into the action. We didn't mind. but what of our first 18 or so years? Maybe you start out on the cellular level, and fight your way out in a glorious Spore/Fallout hybrid. Your guess is as good as ours.

Gallery: PAX 2008: The Fallout 3 Airstream Trailer

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]]>bethesdafalloutfallout-3hands-onimpressionsjoystiqfeaturespax-08pax-2008penny-arcade-expoRoss Miller2008-09-04T10:00:00+00:00PAX 2008 hands-on: Valkyria Chronicleshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/pax-2008-hands-on-valkyria-chronicles/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/pax-2008-hands-on-valkyria-chronicles/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/pax-2008-hands-on-valkyria-chronicles/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Final Fantasy Tactics meets X-Com in a Miyazaki-esque, Advance Wars universe. With watercolors. That's what you get when you play Sega's upcoming strategy RPG, Valkyria Chronicles. The PS3 exclusive is already out in Japan but will be heading West before the end of the year and, from what we saw of the game at PAX, it will be Sega's console gem of the year.

We were guided through the game's tutorial by the producer, Christopher Kaminski, who showed off the basic gameplay mechanics. It's a strategy RPG, but there's no grid. Instead, you have a "fuel" meter, which depletes as you move farther, giving the game more of an action RPG feel.

Gallery: Valkyria Chronicles (Leipzig 2008)

A line-of-sight system means that battles will feel more realistic than the normal strategy turn-based fare. A literal line of sight extends from each enemy, showing the limits of their vision -- they'll attack should you enter it. Likewise, your character will receive an attack of opportunity when an enemy enters his line of sight.

When a character's fuel meter runs down, you can switch to another one by zooming out onto a board game-esque map screen. The swooping transition in and out of the battlefield works really nicely at connecting the map screen to the gameplay. Unfortunately, there's no quick way of switching between enemies, so there's a chance that constantly moving from map to gameplay could get tiring.

If you've seen any screenshots from the game (and if you haven't, head gallerywards) then you'll have noticed the gorgeous watercolor-style anime art style. This is even more impressive in motion -- both cutscenes and in-game graphics look great and the overall style sets the game apart from other hyper-realistic titles. Comic-style visual sound effects can be found throughout, with explosions KABOOMing and tanks rolling along with a visible rumble.


The colorful, sometimes over-exaggerated world makes an interesting setting for what promises to be a pretty long campaign mode. The producer told us that there are between 40 to 50 hours of gameplay in there, so those of you looking for a JRPG that you can really sink your teeth into have something to look forward to this November. Gameplay looks to be sufficiently mixed up with the inclusion of a class system and various vehicles to take control of.

The tutorial showed off a number of Valkyria Chronicles' intricacies and gave hints to further depths in the later stages of the game. We would've liked to have seen these too, but what we played was definitely fun and different enough to get us to play the full version when it's finally released. If you're a fan of SRPGs, or just fancy trying something unique, then hopefully you'll do the same.

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]]>hands-onimpressionsjoystiqfeaturespax-08pax-2008playstation-3PS3Segavalkyria-chroniclesJem Alexander2008-09-04T07:00:00+00:00X3F goes hooks-on with Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball multiplayerhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/02/x3f-goes-hooks-on-with-pirates-vs-ninja-dodgeball-multiplayer/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/02/x3f-goes-hooks-on-with-pirates-vs-ninja-dodgeball-multiplayer/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/02/x3f-goes-hooks-on-with-pirates-vs-ninja-dodgeball-multiplayer/#commentsFiled under: , ,


This Wednesday will see the latest round in the eternal battle between pirates and ninjas arrive on Xbox Live Arcade. Although we caught them coexisting on film at PAX 2008, know well that these two groups are still very much rivals, ready to take desperate measures (dodgeball, naturally) to settle their scores once and for all. (Or at least until someone comes up with another PvN game concept.)

X3F had the opportunity to play the game's developer, Blazing Lizard, in a number of multiplayer modes featured in the final game (but that weren't originally; it was just going to be a one-mode affair) and survived to offer their thoughts. Click here to get your read on, whether you wear a black hood or an eye patch.

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]]>blazing-lizardhands-onpirates-vs-ninjas-dodgeballx3fxblaRandy Nelson2008-09-02T23:00:00+00:00PAX 2008 Hands-on: Left 4 Dead (X360)http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/pax-2008-hands-on-left-4-dead-x360/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/pax-2008-hands-on-left-4-dead-x360/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/pax-2008-hands-on-left-4-dead-x360/#commentsFiled under: , ,


An immediate sense of tension washes over you when you realize a swarm of Olympic Dash worthy zombies are soon headed your way. Picking up the controller for Left 4 Dead -- the first time it's been playable for the Xbox 360 -- was as exciting as you'd expect it to be. Having never played the game before I quickly remembered all the praise lobbed at it from other writers within the network from other industry events. This experience however was extra special as two of my team members were fellow Joystiq writers Jem Alexander and Dustin Burg. How did the Xbox 360 version feel with a team of people I'd actually play with when it ships later this year? Jump in to find out more.

Gallery: Left 4 Dead



Starting off each level your squad of four survivors are barricaded in a safe room with a stockpile of weapons, ammunition and health packs. Once your team has secured enough inventory for your Point-A to Point-B onslaught the safe room door is manually opened and you, for the lack of a better term, run like hell. The game acts as you've heard it should, as you progress throughout a level zombies attack in groups from all angles. First your garden variety 28 Days Later-esque fast zombies and later by enemies with special abilities. Sticking together is key and in the beginning three of us were never beyond steps of the other, while our fourth felt the game was tracking completion time on an online leaderboard and disappeared into the eerie night.

Ironically our fourth survived the longest as the swarms of enemies focused their attack on the Joystiq trio. Left 4 Dead's biggest draw is the absolute importance of team play which is both based on the AI Director and in forced encounters. The AI Director is a known feature but to quickly recap, the better you perform as a team the more intense the game becomes. Forced encounters are situations that a player gets in where they are unable to help themselves and require team assistance. If a group of zombies circle you and close in, you'll need to call out for help to your team who can quickly spot your character's aura change from a relaxed state (blue) to an engaged state (red). Some encounters require a teammate to save you from being pinned down or captured by aggressive enemies and being left alone in these instances means death.



Once you're ... err... dead in Left 4 Dead, and you will die, your teammates are able to respawn you into the fray by opening a nearby closet where your character's aura can be spotted banging on the door for help. It's an element that sounds like nothing at first but the concept of bringing you back, trapped in a room, again adds to the cooperative experience. In any given level you are able to respawn a limited number of times without using health packs. Your final "life" changes the game colors to black-and-white while slowing your character's speed down substantially as a in-game nudge reminding you to seek help immediately.

Those wary of console controls for such a twitch shooter will rest easy when they finally get their hands on Left 4 Dead. The default settings are reminiscent of other console shooters where the right trigger fires and the face buttons control reload, jumping and action functions and the directional pad is mapped to specific inventory items like bombs, health and your flashlight. A bumper button is also mapped for quick turns which spins your character 180-degrees on a dime to engage enemies attacking from behind.



Our first round ended rather quickly as our female companion, the one who went for an Olympic Time Trail record in the level, literally leaving us for dead. Once we died he was quickly finished off. Our second attempt was more noteworthy as our team stuck together as a brutal zombie killing unit. In the end only two, myself and Dustin Burg, made it the the next level which is signified by entering and closing the door of a safe room.

It was intense, exciting and fun. Zombies were killed and laughs were had. This is what all co-op experiences should be, working together rather than being in the same game. Left 4 Dead is hitting this November and we're already working on our Zombie Apocalypse Plan in preparation.

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]]>hands-onleft-4-deadpax-2008valveXav de Matos2008-09-01T09:00:00+00:00PAX 2008 hands-on: Demigodhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/31/pax-2008-hands-on-demigod/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/31/pax-2008-hands-on-demigod/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/31/pax-2008-hands-on-demigod/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Following an interview with Gas Powered Games at PAX 2008, we got some hands on time with their newest creation, Demigod. The first thing we noticed while watching it running on glowing, envy-inducing PCs was how deliberate much of it looked. Everything from the unit/map design to the ease-of-use control scheme oozed hours of careful consideration on developer GPG's part. While the concept of Demigod tends to bewilder many who hear it -- ourselves included -- understanding the idea only took us a few minutes of playing the atypical strategy game.

Players only control their Demigod and its set of abilities. Our time was spent with the RPG-style Torchbearer, a Norse flavored character that can switch between ice and fire modes. We were digging his armored-burn-victim look, which just so happened to feature more armor and less burn. The Torchbearer is all about freezing everything before switching to fire and watching the screen light up as your enemies burn. Our magical offensive certainly got us some kills, but it wasn't moving the battlefront at all. Once we began to work more attentively with our AI-controlled troops of the non-Skynet variety, the battle quickly shifted to our favor.

Our actions in-game where peppered by murmurs of, "Oh, whoa." and "I want this game, now" from various onlookers behind us. We were starting to agree with this sentiment. It surprised us to find out that the game is actually running on a version of the Supreme Commander engine, as we saw more visual variety in 30 minutes with Demigod than we ever did playing hours of SupCom. GPG assured us that the system requirements are designed to include low-end machines, which is very much due to the fact that Demigod doesn't try to do a thousand things at once on-screen while you play it. (our wallets say thanks) Looking at the game, it was fairly hard to imagine that the harpy-like creatures and wiggling death-plant-things were living in the same engine that featured angular robot-spiders and hover tanks that bogged down our computers just a year and half ago. All in all, Demigod looks like it's going to steal away our precious personal time when it eventually ships on Stardock's Impulse service next year.


[MP3] Download this interview in MP3 format

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]]>demigodgas-powered-gameshands-onimpressionsjoystiqfeaturespax-08pax-2008pax08Kyle Horner2008-08-31T11:00:00+00:00ION Drum Rocker: Unboxing and initial impressionshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/ion-drum-rocker-unboxing-and-initial-impressions/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/ion-drum-rocker-unboxing-and-initial-impressions/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/ion-drum-rocker-unboxing-and-initial-impressions/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Over the past week, we've had a chance to check out ION's premium Rock Band 2 drum set, the Drum Rocker (We've played it once before at E3 2008). We're waiting for a copy of RB2 for our final impressions; in the meantime, here are our initial thoughts of the set with the original Rock Band.
  • Our order arrived in two boxes weighing in at 33 lbs. and 6 lbs., respectively. The lighter box contained the third cymbal and colored discs to put on all three cymbals for differentiation.
  • Total time to unbox: 20 minutes (although, to be fair, we were taking a lot of pictures). That said, total time for setup (no camera usage) was close to an hour, with a large amount of time spent trying to screw in the cymbal clamps. Just another 2 or 3 mm on the screw length and we would've had a much easier time here.
  • Protip: Make sure you screw everything in very tight, or you'll be having to either pause the game to make fixes mid-song or learn to adjust to the added difficult of a drooping tom or cymbal. Even then, adjustments will have to be made to get the toms placed just right.
Read on for more impressions.

Gallery: ION Drum Rocker Unboxing and Set Up

  • The pads are very well constructed, quiet and very responsive, although we found them susceptible to catching dust. Buy yourself a lint roller!
  • The kick pedal, too, feels sturdier and and better constructed for quicker notes. That said, it's also a bit noisier.
  • At least with Rock Band 1, the cymbals proved quite unresponsive, and no matter how hard we hit them, it only seemed to register about 65% of the time. It was especially noticeable going through "Tom Sawyer" on expert.
  • Like we did at E3, we still have our reservations about the novelty of the cymbals.
  • This is a minor quip, but one thing we liked about the RB set is that each tom gave off a slightly different noise when hit. That's not the case here, where every pad makes the same thud.
Check out Engadget for an alternate take on the Drum Rocker. We'll have more thorough impressions of the set -- both as a controller and a MIDI drum set -- as soon as we can test it out with Rock Band 2. The $300 premium drum is now available for pre-order.

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]]>drumdrum-rockerdrum-setdrumshands-onharmoniximpressionsionjoystiqfeaturesrock-bandrock-band-2Ross Miller2008-08-25T16:40:00+00:00GC 2008: Grappling with Bionic Commando multiplayerhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/gc-2008-grappling-with-bionic-commando-multiplayer/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/gc-2008-grappling-with-bionic-commando-multiplayer/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/gc-2008-grappling-with-bionic-commando-multiplayer/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


click to enlarge

Capcom is showing the first multiplayer map from its next-gen current-gen Bionic Commando at Leipzig Games Convention, but isn't making with any screens of the mode. What you see above (and in the gallery below) are the latest screens from the solo campaign, which, oddly, isn't on display. Oh well.

From our experience with it thus far, the multiplayer mode is sheer mayhem -- four players swinging every which way in a confined area featuring buildings of various heights, trees, and overhead pipes to grapple. There are set spawn points for several weapons, including a shotgun, sniper rifle, sub-machine gun, and (our favorite) a grenade launcher. Mostly it's a mad dash for the latter in every match, but there are some interesting touches, such as getting extra points for killing other players while they're airborne, and the fact that you can grapple onto an opponent, slowing them down as they drag you along.

It's certainly one of the more unique multiplayer experiences we've tried, if just for the grapple and swing mechanic. As it stands, though, we're not convinced it will have (bionic) legs as a lasting experience on Xbox Live and PSN.

Gallery: Bionic Commando (08/20/08)

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]]>bionic-commandocapcomgrinhands-onleipzig-08psnxbox-liveRandy Nelson2008-08-20T17:30:00+00:00Joystiq hands-on: Need For Speed Undercoverhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/joystiq-hands-on-need-for-speed-undercover/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/joystiq-hands-on-need-for-speed-undercover/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/20/joystiq-hands-on-need-for-speed-undercover/#commentsFiled under: , ,


click to enlarge
Call us old fashioned, but we're just a little more interested in how EA's next Need For Speed will stack up as a gameplay experience than a Hollywood movie starring Maggie Q. (No offense, miss, er, Q.) So celebutaunts and FMV (okay, HD FMV) aside, the demo of the game we got behind the wheel of is surprisingly ... a racing game with cop chases.

Mind you, it's very pretty, with HDR lighting and a nice healthy framerate to, dare we say, satiate one's need for speed. To that end, one of the three challenge types we played - Highway Battle - was an all-out drag race through heavy freeway traffic, the goal of which being to get far enough to your opponent that they "fail out." It was a rush, and showcased the ease of control EA is aiming for with Undercover's cars (read: we didn't crash nearly as much as we'd expected to), but it was over all too quickly.

Gallery: Need For Speed Undercover


"During our demo, we heard the phrase 'out with the neon' multiple times."
Next up, we got to prowl around an open-world downtown environment with the goal of finding a body shop. Now, it should be noted that in terms of sheer aesthetics, EA says it is taking a more "mature" approach to Undercover. During our demo, we heard the phrase "out with the neon" multiple times. A brief spin with the car customization tool squelched our fear that there would be less tweaking to be had in this game; appearance and performance mods were there in full effect. The one area that could be considered more "mature" was the paint shop, where there was an emphasis on less gaudy colors and a very hoity-toity showroom feel.

Getting to the body shop meant outrunning police who obviously weren't in on the fact that we were "undercover." Ditching them proved to be extremely easy - some simply spun out for no apparent reason - with EA quick to interject with the clichéd "it's early, we're working on it" line.


"Traffic just bounced out of the way, with an occasional hood popping open here and there."
The final mode we tried out was a Sprint - a point-to-point race against several other cars. Unlike the races and chases we'd participated in previously, which had taken place on perpetually wet surface streets, a good deal of this run was on a dirt road. It offered more opportunities to weave between cars (using a time-slowing mechanic to pull said maneuvers off flawlessly) and watch others crash and smash into hundreds of little pieces whilst trying to do the same. Here the car damage was more consistent; in the earlier Highway Battle, only our car and our opponents' smashed up nicely. The rest of the traffic just bounced out of the way, with an occasional hood popping open here and there.

At this point, Need For Speed Undercover feels like Need For Speed: Most Wanted with a new paint job. With EA itself admitting a focus on story in this game, we can only hope that a rewarding gameplay experience doesn't simply become an epilogue.

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]]>eaea-black-boxhands-onjoystiqfeaturesneed-for-speed-undercoverRandy Nelson2008-08-20T16:30:00+00:00Joystiq impressions: Disgaea 3: Absence of Justicehttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/17/joystiq-impressions-disgaea-3-absence-of-justice/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/17/joystiq-impressions-disgaea-3-absence-of-justice/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/17/joystiq-impressions-disgaea-3-absence-of-justice/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Five months ago we asked NIS America why its forthcoming turn-based strategy game, Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, would make the next-gen leap to the PS3."It's simply because PS2 lacks the processing power and memory capacity to support Disgaea 3," commented marketing coordinator Jack Niida at the time, a response we didn't buy entirely back then and after pouring over the game in recent days we're even less convinced.

Not that the game isn't fun. The fact that this article is being penned at 4am after 9 hours spent playing and losing track of time should be a testament to Disgaea 3's addictive nature, a trait that the series has had in spades since its freshman effort.

Gallery: Disgaea 3 (PS3)

The problem, if you can call it that, is that Disgaea is a series that refuses to evolve, graphically or otherwise. Niida told us in that same interview that the sprites in Disgaea 3 "take 3~4 times the amount of labor to create compared to Disgaea 2," and that the artists were working to improve the quality of the sprites for this latest sequel.

Unfortunately, to all but the most discerning eye, the game remains largely indistinguishable from the previous two games. The sprites look identical to those in earlier titles, if not muddier thanks to the leap into high-definition. The only graphical luster that's apparent is in the various environments and menus, which look much sharper than before, but this polish means nothing when the character sprites don't share the same resolution. There's nothing here that looks like it couldn't have been just as easily accomplished on the PS2, and for fans who have not yet moved on to Sony's latest console, this alone is likely to feel like a slap in the face.

Nevertheless, Disgaea 3 remains an absolutely massive game. With nearly 50 character and monster classes on top of guest characters from previous games, it would be easy to spend more than a hundred hours digging into the game's strategic nuances, from character creation and combat tactics to loot manipulation through the series' famous (infamous?) Item World.

The sequel builds on this even further, adding a new area, The Academy, which adds yet another layer of depth, allowing individual character stats to be adventured into and improved as well. Other changes sure to be noticed by series vets include those made to skills, which are no longer earned through experience, but rather purchased using mana points collected in combat. In addition, Disgaea 3 bumps up the available special attacks, spells, and abilities, giving an otherwise stale experience a bit of unmistakable flavor.

Recycling aside, Disgaea 3 is still probably the best game in the series to date. With humor that hits more than it misses, memorable characters, and ridiculously deep gameplay, Absence of Justice will be adored by fans looking to once more grind their way through the Netherworld one more time. For anyone else, however, or for those simply wanting to see what all the fuss is about, we suggest picking up one of the previous two games instead. The experience is much the same and the overwhelming need to apologize much much less.

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]]>disgaeadisgaea-3disgaea3hands-onhandsonimpressionsjoystiqfeaturesnisJason Dobson2008-08-17T15:30:00+00:00Joystiq hands-on: Burnout Paradise Bikeshttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/joystiq-hands-on-burnout-paradise-bikes/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/joystiq-hands-on-burnout-paradise-bikes/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/joystiq-hands-on-burnout-paradise-bikes/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


click to nitro-size
Criterion's been giddy with excitement lately over its DLC-licious plan to bring motorcycles to Paradise City. We've shared in its enthusiasm, but it's much easier to get excited when you've actually experienced the Burnout Paradise Bikes Pack for yourself. Which is just what we did at EA.

Like many of you, our main question regarding the bikes wasn't "Why?" or "Really, why?" but rather "Will they be impossible to control?" The answer is, thankfully, no. Just as we're somehow able to navigate the tight turns and traffic of Burnout Paradise going, oh, Mach 50 in cars (we think it has to do with magic, but could be wrong) steering the bikes is equally forgiving - not to say that there isn't a degree of skill involved.

Gallery: Burnout Paradise Bikes Pack


No, the bikes are wicked fast. So fast, in fact, that they don't have any type of boost. Criterion reckons that it'd make them nigh-uncontrollable. We'd still like to try, at least.

What we did get to try during our hands-on was getting as close to certain death as possible, rocketing down straightaways and taking tight turns with ease. If there was any doubt that the bikes would suffer from simmy one-false-twitch-and-you're-done control, it's unwarranted. If anything, they control like the arcade motorcycles of yore (see: Hang-On). We'd expected the lack of bike damage to take away from the crashes, but we're happy to report that they're still fairly spectacular and really provide a nice sting when you screw up.

Performing wheelies is actually very forgiving; we were even able to do donuts while up on the rear wheel. The bikes' innate ability to perform them factors into some of the new motorcycle-specific challenges we tried out, specifically where we and other online players were tasked with holding a wheelie for more than 200 yards on a winding mountain road. It sounds challenging ... and it is.

While not gameplay-specific per se, we also witnessed the Bike Pack's addition to the game world itself: a day-to-night cycle. The transition actually takes on the order of 30 minutes to see a change from one to another, but the lighting as dusk sets and the fog starts to settle in is just plain pretty. Racing at midnight in the less dense parts of the city is definitely more challenging, since you must rely mainly on your bike's headlight to see shortcuts and the like.

Set to roll out next month, this free update to Burnout Paradise is downright impressive. It's not an entirely different game with the bikes, but it's certainly more of an already great game - and one, thanks to the game's new $30 price point (or, alternatively, via direct PSN download this fall), you'll be able to get for a song.

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]]>burnout-paradiseburnout-paradise-bikes-packcriteriondlceahands-onjoystiqfeaturesRandy Nelson2008-08-15T14:00:00+00:00Joystiq hands-on: Mercenaries 2 online co-ophttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/13/joystiq-hands-on-mercenaries-2-online-co-op/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/13/joystiq-hands-on-mercenaries-2-online-co-op/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/13/joystiq-hands-on-mercenaries-2-online-co-op/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Click to enlarge blow up
So many things in life are just that much better when enjoyed with a friend. Ice skating, canoeing, inline skating ... grappling a helicopter to escape the blast of a nuclear bunker buster strike you've just called in. That last scenario - and more! - is exactly what we experienced during a recent game of Mercenaries 2 online co-op with developer Pandemic Studios.

Unfortunately, there's no "Hi-Five!" peripheral (yet) for the 360 or it would have gotten plenty of use during our brazenly over-the-top cooperative mass destruction of a virtual Venezuela.

Gallery: Mercenaries 2 (8-13-08)


We started out by getting our feet wet - quite literally - thanks to this sequel's pleasant you-don't-die-if-you-touch-water play mechanic (that sort of stifled the first game). Our Pandemic playmate, Marty, invited us to grab a waverunner and follow him to an island where we'd be, er, "borrowing" some guided missiles from a bunch of military folks he assured us had plenty to go around.

That might have been the case, but they were nevertheless displeased by our obvious lack of saying "please." Our first firefight was upon us. Marty was taking heavy fire, so he asked if we'd please save his skin by hijacking a mobile surface-to-air missile launcher. We questioned the effectiveness of a SAM unit in an infantry skirmish, but he assured us it would be quite effective. Seeing as he's, y'know, making the game, we were compelled to comply. (We also didn't want his pixelated blood on our hands.)



After charging the SAM and executing a quick (but stylish) timing mini-game to commandeer it, we found out why Marty was so insistent on us doing so - a squeeze of the trigger and we were mowing down everything in our path: soldiers, guard towers, palm trees, small shrubs, you name it.

"He flew in close so we could grapple his landing skiff and catch a ride to our next target."
We eventually fought our way to the missile caches, careful not to accidentally detonate them, then called in our helo pilot to extract them. His presence attracted other, less friendly helicopters. Marty asked if we'd kindly hold off the arriving ground reinforcements while he "took care of something."

The next thing we knew, he had fired a grappling hook onto an enemy copter and we could see him slugging it out with the pilot. We watched as his character tossed the pilot out, and we tracked his plummet onto the rocks below. After using his new ride to take out the advancing soldiers on the ground around us, he flew in close so we could grapple his landing skiff and catch a ride to our next target, a heavily guarded bunker.

Our little "army of two" tackled this scenario by hijacking a tank and simple blowing holes through the compound's fortress-like concentric walls. This gave us a clean line of sight for the laser designator we'd need to drop the aforementioned bunker buster and a clear escape route. We got the pleasure of setting off the fireworks - and oh, were they pretty.


"We got the pleasure of setting off the fireworks - and oh, were they pretty."
We wrapped up our session by tracking down pieces of a crashed U.S. spy plane and destroying them using satellite guided bombs before Chinese forces could retrieve them. All the while, Marty provided covering fire and took out soldiers radioing for backup. One of the pieces of wreckage had already been loaded onto a ship, which sank into the briny deep once our air support punched a whole in it.

We have to say, Mercenaries 2 is more impressive (and explosive) every time we see it. This co-op experience only served to up the already over-the-top action, and provide plenty of headset hooting and hollering. Factoring in co-op specific Achievements (no word on Trophies yet) this could turn out to be one of the most-played XBL and PSN titles when it rolls out next month.

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]]>eahands-onjoystiqfeaturesmercenaries-2pandemicRandy Nelson2008-08-13T21:40:00+00:00Joystiq hands-on: Skate 2http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/04/joystiq-hands-on-skate-2/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/04/joystiq-hands-on-skate-2/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/04/joystiq-hands-on-skate-2/#commentsFiled under: , ,


click to enlarge
EA's reentry into the skateboarding genre with the original Skate was viewed by many as an uphill challenge. Its last attempt - the ill-received Street Sk8er on PS1 nearly 10 years earlier - and the fact that Activision's Tony Hawk franchise was the firmly seated king of the hill didn't help. Still, the game's innovative trick controls and return to a more "pure" skateboarding experience proved a huge success, outselling that year's Tony Hawk title nearly two-to-one by some accounts.

Now EA Blackbox is looking to recreate that success in Skate 2 ... not through the usual addition of modes and various novelties, but via some basic evolution of the gameplay fundamentals of the original game. This sequel is about two things: an all-new, modifiable environment to skate in and more ways to show off in it. We went hands-on with Skate 2 to bring you our first gameplay impressions, which you can continue reading after the break.

Gallery: Skate 2


As alluded to in the first teaser trailer for the game, Skate 2 is "set" several years after the first, following a major earthquake which has made necessary the rebuilding of San Vanelona. For our hands-on, we got a look at four areas within New San Vanelona: the waterfront, a school campus, a "'70s skate park," and San Vanelona Mountain. All of these areas - in fact all of the game's locales - are entirely new.

The waterfront skate spot and San Vanelona Mountain were the two standouts of the bunch. The former was a wide-open civic area with lots of fancy, curvy architecture to skate, along with a dedicated skateboarding section. The latter was a true mountain run with some thrilling downhill areas. Developer EA Black Box admitted that this location was inspired by their own backyard - Vancouver, BC.



Apart from the new areas and a revised plot (an "evil megacorp" has been brought in to rebuild San Vanelona and it (gasp!) doesn't take kindly to skaters), the real advances in the game - as we mentioned before - are purely gameplay-centric. Chief among these is a new mechanic that lets players take one or both feet off the board during tricks.

"Foot plants can be used to spring off the environment from one trick into another."


Fairly soon after receiving a rundown on the controls, we were getting footloose with ease. It was particularly fun to pull off foot plants, which, if you're really good, can be used to spring off the environment from one trick into another. It's also possible to leap up off the board completely; we tried jumping over a picnic table while our board passed underneath and, after a few tries, had it nailed.

A new button has been added (RB on 360; R1 on PS3) which is the "hand" button. This is used in tricks to hand plant (which can be tweaked with the right analog stick, and you can take a foot off the board during them as well) and to interact with movable objects. That last bit is the game's other major advance.

Essentially, as EA says, anything that looks like it should be movable in the environments, is. You can get off your board, run around, and move tables, rails, and other objects to create your own lines. It's something unexpected and a mechanic that really opens up the experience.

"The Xbox 360 version was hitting the 60fps mark most of the time, and the gameplay feel was definitely better for it.

EA is touting another major improvement in Skate 2 - frame rate. The final game will run at a locked 60fps according to the developer. The Xbox 360 version we played was hitting that mark most of the time, and the gameplay feel was definitely better for it. The PS3 version, on the other hand, was having a hard time staying near 30fps. It also suffered from some gnarly texture filtering problems which made it look inferior to the 360 build. At its best on 360, the game looks about on par with the original at this point, save for a new screen effect that's intended to make the action look more like it's being recorded on a handycam.

It's worth noting that the official screens EA has distributed are not indicative of what the game we saw looked like. In fact, they appear to have been retouched quite a bit. The video below is definitely a more accurate look at the state of the game. That said, from what we saw and played, we nevertheless have high expectations from the finished game.

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]]>eahands-onjoystiqfeaturesskate-2Randy Nelson2008-08-04T18:00:00+00:00Joystiq E3 Hands-on: Novint's Falcon controllerhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/joystiq-e3-hands-on-novints-falcon-controller/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/joystiq-e3-hands-on-novints-falcon-controller/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/joystiq-e3-hands-on-novints-falcon-controller/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


You make your way down the hallway in City 17, and push open the door into the bright sunlight reflected off of concrete. A Combine soldier stands before you, so you life your semiautomatic weapon, and as you pull the trigger and fire, the gun recoils in your hand. Another Combine stands across the viaduct, and when he fires at you, you feel the bullet strike you from the left, so you turn, and feel the gun jump in your hand again as you take him out.

That's the ideal experience with Novint's Falcon controller. The controller itself is about an eight inch orb that sits on your table, with a three-inch sphere sitting on the end of three arms coming off of it -- like a Soviet satellite sticking out of the globe. The idea is that you push the little sphere around to move your cursor, and the three arms provide resistance against whatever you bump up against. We got to use the controller at E3, and the verdict is that while it does provide a nice experience, the costs might be a little overwhelming for most players. More after the jump.

Gallery: Novint Falcon controller at E3


The Falcon technology behind the Falcon was actually developed in a laboratory -- it was originally designed to be used for medical applications, as well as sold out to oil and vehicle manufacturing companies for different applications (see Update). But, as the PR rep from Novint told us, the company's founder somehow felt that the gaming market would be more the place for it (either that, or the aforementioned medical and manufacturing industries decided it wasn't their thing either). Whatever the backstory, nowadays the Falcon is used to control videogames, something it actually does a pretty good job at.

We were first shown a demo piece of software, with all of the various applications of the Falcon's feedback mechanism on display. On screen, there was a 3D metal ball, with all kinds of dents and textures on it, and there was a hand cursor that could be controlled with the Falcon. And sure enough, as we moved the cursor over the ball, and "rubbed" the textured globe, we could feel the various indentations in it. It was a strange sensation -- something virtual made real. We were also shown an iced globe (the cursor felt as though it slid right off of the ball when we pushed against it), and one "made of molasses" (so that wherever the cursor pushed through the ball in 3D space, it slowed down and gave resistance).

Finally, the best demo we were shown was the last -- a small circular ball weight was attached to our cursor on screen, and in the controls, we could feel the weight of that ball pushing against it. As we swung the controller around, it responded in kind, as if we really were flinging a heavy yo-yo around. As it sits on the table, the controller is impressively stable -- the PR rep told us that as hard as we pushed against a surface in game, we'd never be able to move the controller, and though we pushed with all of our E3 Red Bull and various junk-food enthused might, the controller stood firm in providing resistance against us. It really is an amazing piece of equipment.

It's just too bad it's not quite fit for prime time. After seeing the impressive demo, we were ready to get our hands on with the Falcon in a real game, and so Half Life 2 was loaded up for us to play and try. The game did feel like the description above -- the gun does recoil in your hand, and you can feel which direction you're being shot from. But none of the texture or weight effects come into play here, and the game is not fundamentally different -- at least not different enough that it's worth paying the $189 price for the controller.

And the cost isn't only financial -- just to get the controller running with certain games will take a bit of time and work. The Half Life 2 mod is available from the Novint website (and supposedly straight from a piece of launcher software called Nvent that comes with the controller), but we took a look at the options screen, and while it's super complicated (a dream for anyone who wants to experiment with a "3D haptics" controller), that makes it not very easy to get it working exactly the way you want it to. And forget about getting it running with an unsupported game -- while Novint says they're working with EA, Codemasters, and a number of other companies, and they say they've got some really great ideas for others (they want to get a "spell gesture" system working for games like World of Warcraft), almost none of it is available at the time of this writing.

In short, it's hardly a simple or easy experience. There's a lot of potential here -- that demo was very impressive, and the Falcon seems like an ingenious piece of design. And there is some software to be had, at pretty outrageous prices, on their website. But until Novint gets software developers putting out quality Falcon-specific games (or, at the very least, gets existing games to easily and simply use the Falcon hardware), the controller isn't much more than a $189 demo, and definitely nothing even the most hardcore of PC gamers will want to spend their money on.

Update: Novint provided this on the background of the Falcon: "The technology for the Falcon was developed by Sandia National Laboratory, not the hardware. The software applications have been used by various companies including Lockheed Martin, Chrysler, Chevron, Mobil, Aramco, and Harvard University. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Novint has an exclusive worldwide license to over five years of pioneering research from Sandia National Laboratories, which developed some of the first 3D touch software in the world, and has developed the only low-cost (sub $1000) high-fidelity hardware solution available for consumer or commercial applications." So the technology was developed in a lab, but the actual controller was developed via a license from Novint. Our apologies for the misunderstanding.

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]]>controllere3e3-2008e308e32008expensivefalconhands-onjoystiqfeaturesnovintperipheralMike Schramm2008-07-22T18:00:00+00:00Joystiq E3 Q&A: Spore detailedhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/joystiq-e3-qanda-spore-detailed/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/joystiq-e3-qanda-spore-detailed/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/22/joystiq-e3-qanda-spore-detailed/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

During our time at E3 last week, we were able to spend about an hour with a very patient Maxis Producer Thomas Vu, who guided us through a near-final build of Spore (the whole thing) and answered a barrage of questions. Here's what we gleaned from our play session, broken down into each phase:

Gallery: Spore (E3)



Cell Phase
  • What you eat and how you evolve your cell determines what body parts you get for the creature creator. We were shown a timeline thattracked each "evolution" of your cell and whether it was more carnivorous, herbivorous or omnivorous.
Tribe Phase
  • If you want your planet to be themed, you can create Sporecasts, a collection of themed creations you can call upon to propagate your planet (e.g. "Star Wars" or Muppets). Vu did not provide details on how it works, but we did talk about searching for themed creations using the Sporepedia tag system. If you don't want to use the Sporecast system, you can also let the game automagically add life to your planet.
  • While all camera shifts can be done via the mouse, you might find it helpful to know that the arrow keys and page up/down also work to change your perspective.
  • You can add accessories to outfit your characters -- hats, grass skirts, tribal masks, etc. They all share the same color scheme as your creature and they add to your complexity.
  • Vu said how your creature is built determines the tools it will have at its disposal; the accessories, however, will always be the same.

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]]>e3e3-2008eaelectronic-artshands-oninterviewmaxisqasporethomas-vuRoss Miller2008-07-22T07:30:00+00:00Joystiq E3 hands-on: What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliverhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-whats-cooking-with-jamie-oliver/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-whats-cooking-with-jamie-oliver/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-whats-cooking-with-jamie-oliver/#commentsFiled under: , ,


We aren't ashamed to say that one of the only things that even remotely caught our eye in Atari's booth was What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver for the DS. The gameplay takes The Naked Chef's recipes and places the player in a more realistic Cooking Mama simulation. Actually, it's everything we ever wanted from Cooking Mama: Going through the process of making recipes on the DS and then actually making the same items in real life. Yes, the recipes in the game translate to the real world.

Atari was completely unprepared for our interest in the game, as we couldn't get specific details on how many recipes are in the title, but we were told that there were over 100. Furthermore, the way Atari presented the game was as if someone had never played Cooking Mama before, which was obviously the case with some worthless Nintendo of Europe execs we scared off, who were too busy appearing posh and asking inane questions. Once they were gone, we got some time to actually test out the game and some of its features.

Gallery: What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver



The gameplay in What's Cooking? takes place in a kitchen across approximately seven easy to navigate stations. There is a menu bar on the top of the DS's lower screen to transfer the player between the stations. At the beginning, the game will lead the player through the recipes and have them chop, fry, season and do all the other we've gotten used to in the Cooking Mama franchise (minus the cartoony graphics). Meanwhile, the game will play voice clips of Jamie Oliver giving positive reinforcement. The best way to think about What's Cooking? is that it's not so much a "game," as it is an interactive cookbook.

After playing certain levels a couple times, it's very possible to actually memorize a recipe and want to try it out in the real world. What's Cooking? also features an interactive cookbook, mobile shopping list and recipe sharing. The shopping list and recipe sharing are ridiculous features. Walking around the supermarket with DS in hand seems silly and sharing recipes is probably far more efficient by these things called the e-mails. One feature we thought would be in game, but wasn't, would be the ability to write up your own recipe levels to share with friends. It seemed like a natural extension of the game and what we thought "recipe sharing" originally meant.

Atari is currently testing this first What's Cooking? game with Jamie Oliver. If the title is successful, the What's Cooking? brand may be used on other celebrity chefs. We can imagine -- these were absolutely not confirmed -- What's Cooking? Rachel Ray, What's Cooking? Anthony Bourdain, and guarenteed geek hit, What's Cooking? Alton Brown. The Brown version would be a day one purchase for any self-respecting geek with a modicum of cooking ability.

What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver should be available this October for $30. The game isn't exactly "fun," but it is a nice training tool. We imagine it being played by someone who wants to learn new recipes, perhaps during their commute into work during the week, and then memorizing at least one recipe that might be worth cooking for that special someone in their life over the weekend. We're certainly curious to see how What's Cooking? does at retail and seeing if the franchise expands.

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]]>atarie3-2008hands-onjamie-oliverjoystiqfeatureswhats-cookingwhats-cooking-jamie-oliverAlexander Sliwinski2008-07-21T19:50:00+00:00Joystiq E3 hands-on: Resistance Retributionhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-resistance-retribution/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-resistance-retribution/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-resistance-retribution/#commentsFiled under: ,

resistance
Can Sony Bend do no wrong? Resistance: Retribution was easily the best PSP game I saw in Sony's E3 2008 room, and arguably better than any PS3 game there as well (I didn't play all of them). Retribution is essentially "Syphon Filter PSP, Part 3," and players of that handheld franchise will instantly recognize visual and structural similarities. There are, of course, numerous designs that link this new game to Insomniac's Resistance games, despite the obvious perspective change (Retribution is third-person!).

PSP has a difficult time handling the demands of modern action titles. The lack of a second analog nub cripples most games that dare follow the trajectory of similar console-based efforts. Luckily, Bend has had two previous "trials" to get it right, and this time the gang nailed it. While the developer guiding my tour described the demo as a "before pre-alpha" build, I was amazed by the game's playability. At the core of Retribution's gameplay is what Bend's calling the "aim assist box."

Gallery: Resistance: Retribution


What's not pictured in the screenshot at the top (try this one) is a thinly outlined box that fills a decent portion of the inner screen. Any enemies within this box can be auto-targeted using the face buttons; the topmost enemy can be locked onto with a tap of the Triangle-button, the leftmost targeted by Square, and so forth. While it sounds suspect, the mechanic doesn't make Retribution easier, just easier to play. Other game actions are conveniently mapped to the d-pad, including an intuitive and organized weapon-equipping menu.

"I got a kick out of the familiar faces I encountered, and then obliterated."


The demo took place in the first segment of a Chimeran "conversion center" about midway through the game. Visually, in terms of art direction, Retribution looks more akin to its Syphon Filter predecessors than its PS3 namesake. Nonetheless, the various Chimeran models are easily recognizable, and I certainly got a kick out of the familiar faces I encountered ... and then obliterated (for the record, they were Hybrids and Steelheads). Insomniac president Ted Price insisted that Bend stay consistent with the series' trademark weapons. Resistance: Fall of Man challenged players to master the nuances of the game's eclectic arsenal and Retribution seems dedicated to the same goal. There won't be an entirely new bags of toys (I was packing a Carbine, Bullseye, Auger and LAARK, among other things), though some returning weapons' alternate fires have been tweaked.

As I worked my way deeper into the facility, I marveled at the vast, alien architectures towering around me. A Sony producer explained I was in a miles-deep gorge dug out by the Chimera and built into a sprawling conversion center, powered by a diverted Rhine river (don't you just love alternate history?). I moved in and out of cover, which is also automagic, fighting my way through swarms of enemies, throwing switches, riding floating platforms, venturing deeper into metallic caverns. The demo climaxes with a mid-level boss battle: a giant mech of a thing.

I was nervous at first, still not buying into the control mechanics. How am I gonna get through this one? I worried, imagining a tangled mess of fingers and wrists wrapped around the PSP, struggling for control. But, sure enough, Bend had given me all I needed, and nothing more. I downed that mech, ducking and dodging, firing rockets into its dome. Too easy? No, I died once. But it was no fault of Sony Bend's.

Resistance: Retribution is currently on schedule for a spring 2009 release. The game will also include a multiplayer component.

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]]>E3-2008hands-onjoystiqfeaturesresistanceresistance-retributionsceasony-bendJames Ransom-Wiley2008-07-21T13:48:00+00:00Joystiq E3 hands-on: Flock http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-flock/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-flock/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-flock/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

In a nutshell, Flock is an evolved form of Lemmings: Using your ship and it's various beams, you guide sheep, chicken, cows and pigs past obstacles and into the Mother Flocker (be careful about slurring that name). The game will also feature co-op and a map editor. Although we weren't able to see either feature in action, Capcom's Kraig Kujawa told us their goal is to implement cross-console map sharing.

Gallery: Flock (XBLA, PSN, PC)

Part of the fun is failing, as Kujawa seemed to prove by spending most of the session either showing me different ways to kill my flock or doing it himself. There are some benefits to killing, as the flock will leave behind slabs of meat that can be used to distract enemies.

Kujawa provided some insight into the focus testing of the game. The aim of the developers was appeal to as many people as possible, male and female. What came from that is the inclusion of "angels" that flies up off screen after one of your flock members dies (think: Milky from Blur's "Coffee & TV" music video). Another decision that came from focus testing was the removal of timers; you can take as long as you want to finish a level, although you earn medals depending on how fast you finish.

Best part of the demo? A Rube Goldberg-esque level that ends with one sheep being catapulted into the Mother Flocker. Kujaway told us an improved version will likely be making its way into the final game. Flock is coming this holiday season to Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC.

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]]>capcome3e3-2008flockhands-onjoystiqfeaturesplaystation-networkpsnxblaxbox-live-arcadeRoss Miller2008-07-21T08:30:00+00:00Joystiq E3 hands-on: flower (PSN)http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-flower-psn/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-flower-psn/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/21/joystiq-e3-hands-on-flower-psn/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Before E3, the last time we heard anything about flOw dev Thatgamecompany's newest project was November 2007. Cut to last week, when TGC Creative Director and co-founder Jenova Chen guided us through an early build of their upcoming PSN title flower (note the 'o' is now lowercase).

Like flOw, it's really hard for us to confidently form an opinion on the abstract idea (check out PS3 Fanboy for their praises). We hope Sony decides to release a demo with this game. Videos and previews will not do flower justice; it's a game worth trying for yourself.

Gallery: Flower

According to Chen, the entire game was inspired by finding a balance between urban life and desire of nature, hence the working subtitle "life in balance." If flOw is a haiku, he said, then flower is a poem. The two games share many similarities: simple controls, no tutorials, and an atmosphere best described as "soothing." However, what flower has that its predecessor lacks is structure and Trophies. (Chen explained that Trophies are being mandated by Sony, however the developer is implementing them in "an interesting way.")