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1. Bayonetta is a game that must be played by all who claim to be hardcore gamers Platinum Game s a ridiculous action game has been out for a while now and it has some of the most outrageous boss fights in terms of scale action and visual satisfaction the greatest we think being Sapientia Controller of Seas This is a mechanical leg faced chinned face laser Shooting dragon lizard thing that descrip tion should be enough to convince you to get this game He has fearsome jaws that try to chomp you from the beneath the ocean s surface thrilling and frightening stuff Cronus from God of War III titan that would never fit on your HD screen no mat ter how big it is This castrating giant is one of the greatest looking boss fights we ve ever seen the PlayStation 3 clearly showcasing its potential This boss is so huge his body becomes the arena you have to dodge his attempts to flick you like a bogey from the end of his finger But as you work your way around his body you Il manage to do some extraor dinary damage like removing a finger nail it looks better than it sounds C d gt They don t get much bigger than Cronus the mighty d LLI Shredder TMNT IV Turtles in Time 2 Shredder is one the best character designs ever Just look at him his helmet s badass his cape s badass his armour s badass and so on For this to be the archenemies of the Teenage Mutant Ninja
2. Hi i a4 m k i 7 r P an i 4 r z Ba i s h r en PE m eig Bgt a E L G a k E Se 3 r p A i Bik p iA K E ta k S h 3 ma i ii P A i i k w ir i f J Pa bar hoe bs it Pa i i A i A j ps a a val Bae a ee ele A ee When reading through notes you are told that there are X amount of clues hidden inside and that you must underline words or phrases that seem relevant You are allowed unlimited tries making it a little too easy to get all the information giving the feeling that the game should have a time limit on these sections Whatever clues you underline become ideas in Howard s mind for you to refer to which you can access at any time with a click of the right mouse button These ideas can be combined with other ideas and items to solve puzzles a unique system worth plaudits You can also examine objects you have collected from this screen and use them if the time is right The game centres around an old town called Arkhamend a play on Lovecraft s Arkham where the famous asylum is located Howard Is told to go there and look for the fugitive private investigator from the first game Loath Nolder but this soon sees him going on a much more dangerous and ultimately confusing quest to unlock the terrible secrets of the town and the link it has to his ancestors Locations include a Victorian mansion decrepit underground tunnels and a sinister forest where people have reportedly b
3. _ f D Conference If he kicks my chair one more time I m going Lara on his ass Shared some of these tricks which in essence are based on common Sense However they can easily go unnoticed in this busy on demand world Its a clich perhaps but if you don t know your audience then your beautiful creation will tank Inspire your audience with carrot juice adopted by captains on board ships in the Master and Commancer era It worked A surprising observation was Recruit untrainable people That is look for those not necessarily from the traditional games sector or even players and train them accordingly If you get it Waiting That s another thrilling GameHorizon conference gone the talks were inspiring the people insightful and the beer plentiful We hope to see you all at the next one blend competitive racing customisation fuelled by microtransactions anda Shared love of car culture We left the GameHorizon conference with our heads spinning in anticipation or thanks to Jesse Schell in consternation of where the industry is heading The consensus Is that connectivity will be at its core unavoidable even and our innate desire to show and tell will drive the mechanics of the future The key question remains just where will the next generation find the time to dedicate to all the exciting content being right and harness their raw If you don t know your
4. rack up a healthy multiplier awarding more points to unlock new levels and costumes which can influence Naughty s Stats and abilities There is only really one level to speak of broken up into different areas and it gets unfortunately old fast This killing playground allows you to Sneak around in wooded areas set traps for unwitting bears jump out to scare the living daylights out of them with a massive boo and generally torment victims to the point of suicide For example you could just run up toa bear and attack them using the games somewhat dated fighting mechanic consisting of punch and dodge but you d be much better off sneaking up to his window and shouting boo lighting the outside BBQ to confuse him then sneaking up behind him while he s checking it out and ramming his face onto the grill It s undeniably fun to do for a couple of hours but after this time you ll Start to feel like you ve already done it all thanks to the limited selection of environments and exact Same environmental kills being on offer every stage you play There are some cool gameplay elements to consider while you re torturing your victims Do you let them escape the island and call for back up resulting in more bears arriving to try and catch you and become unwitting victims to toy Jelly Jelly the most offensive and vile weapon known to bear kind Seriously it set s stuck in their fur Bad
5. games were programmed and crucially started to figure out how to make our own We absorbed user manuals like Sponges and we spent entire weekends painstakingly typing in source code from magazines We examined and reverse engineered other people s game code We Slowly learned how to build games but of course our first attempts were clumsy dodgy graphics garish colours bad sound Over time though our games got better and more refined as we learned from our mistakes and found better solutions Fast forward 30 years and it s obvious Just how much the games industry has grown the games consoles now run 1000x faster than my trusty old BBC and with 16000x more memory Unfortunately the same doesn t apply to me However the thing is that although the technology iS more complex the principles of practical learning haven t changed at all in fact there are programming skills and techniques learned when was 16 that still regularly use today I ve just refined and adapted them over the years to suit the ever changing technology we face So my favourite answer to the favourite question is always the same Find out where your particular passion with games development lies and hone your Skills To the youngsters who like games make up your own game and draw it anything goes If you like art create something with Photoshop or Sketchup Or if it s programming that you fancy set yourself up with XNA
6. re a HRV MODE HTFER REALITY YEON ite Puny walls aren t enough to stop my mighty HRV enemy spawn point and their turrets To prevent the age old problem of spawn camping Zombie Studios have placed turrets within the spawn points which automatically shoot the enemy on sight While this is a great solution the poor level design often leaves you with a single exit so the enemy will just camp that rather than directly Camping the spawn Worse still Some maps offer cover from the turrets just outside of the spawn points Because of this huge oversight a lot of games will end up as a race to each others spawn points While Blacklight s core gameplay is sound it has lots of little problems that detract from the fun It feels as though the game has been rushed to completion and the problems are reminiscent of those found in Beta releases not a final product The lobby system makes it near damn impossible to play against friends and you cant join a game mid way through which often results in massively uneven teams if people drop out during play and for a tactical shooter there appears to be little to no tactics The menu system Is also a very disorientating experience making the customisation of your weapons a little confusing The game has less of a learning curve and more of a learning cliff face The core game is focused around multiplayer action but there s a singleplayer co op campaign thrown
7. BIeUS Review like this with patches which shows just how much a labour of love this game has been for these guys But detractions aside there are some really interesting gameplay elements within these battles For instance it pays not to Just go charging in encouraging you to get your army positioned in key areas of terrain or keep them away from areas where their skills would be hampered There iS also What the game Calls victory locations While the A I is smart enough to make an attempt to seize them before you it does have the tendency to wander off leaving the area ripe for the taking They are useful to obtain and improve the morale of your troops which plays a big part in battle While most battles are fought during daylight special well thought out hero abilities can be used to change the battlefield such as Causing a downpour that can hamper the vision of archers The art design just like the game itself is familiar yet has enough individual personality to make it s own mark on you and the graphics are of a high quality even when ee ee _ J J i pory Sy Hang cerced Paes ig ng Gao cart E Er Eada i A an J ee J i Flags Everyone likes a nice flag we can t help thinking that these are a little excessive though Zoomed in on the action The visuals on the campaign map are just as good employing a fine use of colour and a nice effect that shows the seas
8. No prior experience is necessary but a fertile imagination and logical mind are essential 1 K a BSc Hons Media amp Internet Technology Cambridge This course is for people who wish to follow careers in the rapidly developing internet and digital content industries The course explores the principles and practice of all aspects of media production for the internet specialising in visual and audio media Students are encouraged and helped to use a wide range of commercial software and hardware tools to create a portfolio of a range of digital content and internet based applications This is an intellectually exciting course which will develop both your technical skills and your creative talents and offer you the chance to specialise in those aspects of media and or internet technology which especially interest you BSc Hons Multimedia Animation and the Web Chelmsford For those excited by graphics used in modern computer games or even retro games then join like minded students on this well established course Learn how to work with sound take stunning still images make emotional video model the world as you would like it to be and animate anything and everything Imagine a world which is a disc on the back of four elephants on the back of a giant turtle Actually someone has already done that can you come up with something even more fantastic There could be money in it Gaming and Animation at A
9. being a true homage to the first movie especially during the final level During this stage the terminator is chasing you through a factory and it s up to you to lure him to nis death in the crushing mechanism It ll chase you from the get go and if you do manage to shake him he ll magically teleport in front of you An awesome finish to an awesome game the music s great too a a a ll a i al al a ll al hai ha Shs th Mth Mth Mas th Mh th Mh hh ts Mh Mh Th th th Ths ths Mh Mh ba Ni Nhe ha a Noh hh hs th ths ths eh hhh Shs he Th y y A J 7 A A Pa rA rA Pi A O Three WO The End from Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater We don t know if you ve noticed but we have There s been a great deal of games made by Konami featuring on this list MGS3 being the final one It was difficult to select just one boss from the MGS series If we wanted we probably could have had the list filled with Foxhound Cobra Unit and Dead Cell but we decided against It doing our best to pick just one We selected The End his battle consisting of an epic game of cat and mouse with Sniper rifles across three maps This fight can take up to two hours to finish There s a few sneaky ways of skipping this fight but why would you It s amazing Scarecrow from Batman Arkham Asylum A lot of gamers us included wasn t expecting a lot from the boss fights in Rocksteady s Batman AA Nobody would have disagreed with claims that
10. everywhere Modern Warfare s multiplayer is likely your cup of tea If you prefer vehicle combat strategy teamwork and variety Battlefield is your outlet Of course there will also be a few freaks in the FPS world that enjoy both titles for their respective merits and flaws Whichever category you fall into whatever format you play on these two are the big boys of modern FPS Gamers choose your weapon That s right there is no winner they re both freaking awesome in their own ways Kinda like chocolate and cheese they re both made from milk and they re both awesome This was going somewhere J9 JIML UO SIU BIeUS NN B eB ele q N a LY S Pad a S Format PC Normally browser based MMO s get tragically overlooked but they really shouldn t They have one strength over Tull MMO s in that they can be played anywhere you Can get an internet connection And that s a hell of a strength Castle of Heroes a hugely popular free to play game published by the guys at gPotato puts you In the place of a group of heroes caught up In the war between four playable races By taking on the enemies that roam the lands you gain experience and items to enhance both your army and Castle The fights play out in a strategic turn based manner where your army is Shown on one side of the battlefield and the enemy lines at Castle of Heroes the other You can either
11. many better Lovecraftian games out there Out of Thirteen J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS g ae q D go i V S Format PSN x ail 4 gai 4 er i E k Vea When an indie company proudly calling themselves The Bearded Ladies and the award for Best Company Name Ever goes to bursts onto the gaming scene you d be right to expect something a little different Landit Bandit their first release is something of a revelation for the PSN Store Not only is it a cracking title worthy of your time it s almost an entirely unique concept in the age of copycat companies and endless bedroom indies duplicating each other s designs To put it simply Landit Bandit plays out like every other retro advanced casual physics based chopper game you ve ever played That ll be none then Landit Bandit will be your first taste of the casual helicopter sim genre and you ll be left hoping it isn t your last This is a game full of charm and charisma never taking itself seriously and expertly walking that fine line between tedium and just one more try before bed whoops another 2 hours have passed addictiveness While the 9 99 price point is undeniably steep for a Landit Bandit debut release from a bunch of unknowns especially for a game not even offering a try before you buy demo you ll have to trust us when we Say the purchase is justified from that first mo
12. the boss fights would just be Batman punching his deadliest villains because a lot of them were However the boss fights with Scarecrow were pure gold As soon as he appears in the game things start to lose sense doors lead back into the same rooms it rains inside and major characters die in front of your eyes Three times this guy tries to mind fuck you the ultimate weapon against engrossed gamers Dr Robotnik from Sonic the Hedgehog Egg shaped Dr Robotnik is your classic videogame boss He s as persistent as they come and will do everything he can to make Sonic road kill going as far as making a new invention to try out every time even a Mean Bean Machine For us the most epic battle with Eggman was the initial one because it was the first time we heard his music and because he tried to squash Sonic with a giant wrecking ball Eight hits and he flies off to return many more times Number On Die Fuhrer Die That s the name of the final level in the original Wolfenstein game where your objective is to kill Adolf Hitler himself That s right you fight Hitler HITLER Now we know that there are other epic boss fights in this brilliant medium but nothing can compare with fighting the most infamous man ever to have lived Using his magic powers of teleportation did you not know he could do that Hitler will mock you when you shoot at him causing him to do an Obi Wan Kenobi out of his robe After dod
13. Ed would like to thank Gloriously named The Bearded Ladies who hooked us up with the weird and wonderful Landit Bandit Get your hands on that one folks Microsoft s ever helpful Dominic for sending over a last minute code for our Crackdown 2 review A Super powered building leap of a thanks to you The understandably upset world cup woes Dutch creator of Biker Battles Stefan Gaasbeek who guided us through his new games alpha stage The ever chipper Chris Stevens of Koch Media getting in touch right away with preview code for Lost Horizon one of new favourite point and clickers Bastion s cool as ice Christina Erskine who sorts us out with all things gPoato including this months look at Castle of Heroes expansion Tower of Babel It s a top free to play browser game that s well worth looking at The Tine folk at GameHorizon conference extraordinaries and fantastic hosts The recent GH2010 was awesome Hope the feature reflects that Bastion once again this time Luke Geoghegan who sorted us out with all things Naughty Bear Shame it Tailed to impress but you can t argue with the marketing these guys did Had me all excited as well Lunch PR who we ve never actually done lunch with what a travesty for serving up a code to play Blacklight Tango Down and It s endless amount of weapon customisations Daily slugger Simon Callaghan blasting us back into the past with new RTS King Arthur This one is going to nave the To
14. Luck It s bad luck to open an umbrella inside considering where he s going to put that wouldnt worry with or do simply torment the bears you re provided with to the best of your abilities Things are made a bit more interesting by various different types of challenges per Stage but they all boil down to the same ultimate goal kill everything in sight These challenges range from having to stay Invisible for the whole stage accomplished at any time by standing in the woods needing to drive every bear to the point of insanity before execution or been insanely quick about your actions The most entertainment is to be had in making bears commit suicide scaring them to the point of thinking the only way out Is to take a gun to their head or stab themselves There s just something devilishly satisfying about watching a cute bear take it s own life Credit has to go to the Al of the various Character types who each react differently to given situations One type of bear might run and lock themselves in their house at the first sniff of trouble while another will grab the nearest weapon and come out looking for you Understanding now each character type acts will result in you been able to plan your moves more efficiently resulting in a higher rake of Naughty Points for the end of the stage The graphical direction is pretty standard best described as the kind of quality you would expect from a
15. The colours can also change shade to help the PlayStation Eye better track movement in case a particular room environment has similar colour schemes The same Sony chiefs proclaimed Move as the most precise motion controller on the market with its 1 to 1 tracking A demonstration of Sorcery a cartoon third person Harry Potter tribute where you run around a 3D environment slashing away at angry looking bad things was a testament to this We also took a swing at Jon Daly Well his Prostroke Golf tie in to be published by O Game Its one of the launch titles for the Move Credit must go to UK s Gusto Games for recreating the authenticity of J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS golf with the Move controller A drive responds to your grip and swing twisting and bending in the respective directions and the sensitivity of the Move enables you to perform a variety of different shots FOOOQCOOOUR Although we only got to sample the driving we anticipate Gusto to drive a better than par golf simulation into retail later in the year Not sure about Daly s gaudy pants though The Move wand and Navigation Controller will bizarrely be sold separately at 49 99 and 29 99 respectively There is also a bundle that includes one Move controller a PlayStation Eye Toy and a copy of Sports Champion one of the Move supported titles that will ensure the legend of Robin Hood lives on for 99 99 The official European launch IS September 15
16. Vito and friend Joe Drinking on the job Vitto s repost Since when did you turn Irish Touch Vito The ambient sounds provided by a complete orchestra play the heart strings and complement the tone Even Omerta CEO Steve Biddick found loitering in the company of Mafia brethren enjoyed the hands on His shooting proved as sharp as his tongue taking out Fatman and obliterating the interactive environment with an MG42 heavy machine gun 2K have raised the bar And we got out alive Still no signs or smells or a horses head under my desk Nice Mister Vito En Masse Bluehole TERA Online A richly graphical action based MMO wielding as much expectation as the Slayer in game character with brute strength to carry two butchers blades Chops anyone TERA was experienced fittingly within the dark confines of their booth Respect to their MC for dragging us kicking and screaming around a snap shot of the expansive 3D world and instance based combat with the gruelling NPC s This was our unflagging MC s last TERA press tour of E3 can only imagine the number of energy drinks he d slugged over the 3 days The fast paced combat system goes beyond the simple point and click of other RPG in that you need to actively dodge charge and flank enemies in order to bring them down Stumbling out of the booth into the blinking E3 lights you couldn t help but feel the Satisfaction of achievement i
17. always been champagne and canap s Failure is a learning process at its core Moshi Monsters is free to sign up and play Players solve puzzles earn In game Currency rocks and unlock new items Although in his own words business has not always been champagne and canap s Failure is a learning process Investors in the UK Should embrace this concept Perplex City a high risk VC funded alternate reality game ARG didn t exactly light the blue touch paper but Acton Smith has a drive and is willing to learn from mistakes With the last of the VC money they created what would turn into Moshi Monsters Freemium proved to be one of the conference buzzwords Whilst many build in the hope people will come Acton Smith worked out the ium of the business model with Moshi Monsters Registrations rocketed following the decision to open the virtual world up for free The challenge was then in the conversion to paying players This was counted by slicing up the content into packages offering increased value Subtle queues were applied to how the packages were merchandised with 12 months subscriptions priced at 29 95 referred to as Best Package and displayed in green This pricing structure appealed to the human psychology We have a need for context in order to determine value New entrants to the MMO space could do worse than study Moshi Monsters Its currently attracting 2 million registratio
18. and the 19th in North America Plus another major announcement was Sony s not so subtle attempt to squeeze more money out of their Supporters with a premium subscription service Plus will combine a special package of free download titles although vague on the details early demo and fom yE ee r A i _ m beta access an automatic patch downloader and an interactive magazine a hem You can take advantage of a12 month Plus package for 42 of your hard earn cash or a price sensitive 13 for 90 days Note Plus will not impact on the existing free services phew The real value will be realised in the games released specifically for the service The killer combination of the PlayStation Move controller and 3D gaming will finally put the gamer physically in the game As the big wigs added For the first time in motion gaming core gamers will find something challenging and rewarding Despite a pornographic looking slew of releases it remains to be seen although your street cred is at risk with the glasses sold separately Disney Tron Evolution The booth lured in the media like a moth to a cyberpunk illuminate Dall of light Once inside the nostalgic look and feel of the stark neon piping over black was mesmerising Although much of the gameplay was kept under wraps the two of the most exciting features were laid out in their full glory parkour and light cy
19. coming to the came for you to buy and sell players though it wasn t ready for us to test while playing Fifa Online also boasts Live Event s which have you play the week s most important match examples would be during the world cup games such as Spain vs Portugal England vs Germany and in the future it could be the Milan derby the Old Firm derby or the Manchester derby etc You can win exciting items for your league team by supporting playing One side In the most important match that week There are also unlockable achievements for each mode which can earn you more money and experience Online It s got online in the title so of course there are little trinkets you can add to improve performance Although the game is free to play there will be micro transactions for more items from the purely cosmetic new outfit strips to the more gameplay Impacting items like Defensive Shin Lampard Pads which give your defender a 6 boost to defence skills More things will be added to the store as the game goes live This game has a lot of potential and should get a large player base A lot of that will be due to the EA and FIFA name but that isn t a bad thing The FIFA console games have come on In leaps and bounds and FIFA Online is based around the same engine giving it a great platform to build on The game looks good has a lot of options and will bring a different option to the current
20. convinced of Wikipedia however the unstoppable force is the desire of people to share We follow Nils Holger Henning COO of Bigpoint around the conference circuit like a bad smell His advocacy of browser based games and the spoils to be had do grab the attention especially when he opens with headline Statistics current value of online gaming is 12 billion and is estimated to be worth 20 billion in 2013 We respect Nil s honest approach to business What is the lifetime of an MMO Honestly no one knows But if the community grows we add new content Nils attributed the stickiness of social MMOs to that of our human relationships You don t skip your friends Success at Bigpoing comes with the flexibility offered by microtransactions The Simple equation demand price enables Bigpoint to generate a higher ARPPU than World of Warcraft Nils recalled that Astrum Online a competitor in the online gaming space Sell at least two pieces of digital armour a line in a database with a value of 50 000 every calendar month For Nils fixed prices don t work And if the high rollers want to spend let them do It Nils pointed to the success acnieved by other online games In new markets Take browser based strategy game Travian Its become a success in Arabic countries by getting the basics right serving up text from right to left offering local payment solutions and adapting the content t
21. cos at e KR N a Aha n E eN O if A edie dia igh ARUS bate Viv SES 4 KE e gh Vaks PA ta a Er P he s tg g7 a a j T a Seb Hayes has gone on to build a social network for gamers He Is convinced Playfire will succeed subscribers of space trading cash cow EVE Online to present Dust 514 And with four studios around the World including Gateshead doors now open they have the expertise to make the FPS a success We didn t get to hear Peter Molyneux Although we did find this picture on the web and it made us laugh In the same vein the pint sized master statistician Rick Gibson was all data data data Yeah well take a look at the numbers on this If Schell Olin and Foe were the hearty main course Charles Cecil was the cheese and biscuits with his playful comparison of the entrepreneurial 18th century painter William Hogarth with modern day game developers The 18th century was an epoch of disruption Hogarth broke the rules and found new distribution models for his paintings selling direct to the consumer Hogarth s paintings slipped but he was brazen in his reasoning When its ready The Housers circa Dan and Sam founders of Rockstar must have a Hogarth or 7 hanging in their mansions Hogarth as a true innovator and manipulator forced parliament to change the copyright laws Indeed in 1739 legislation was passed to protect his own inter
22. downloadable title Textures and environments on display wont be winning any awards but they do succeed in creating an aurora similar to that in classic children s books There are seven episodes to play through each offering a different humorous narrative and ultimate target to kill Some of them even come with a new type of enemy to tackle such as Zombie Bears but their game changing influence is minimal and it s still just the same environments that you ve already played on with the same kills you ve done many times before There is a strangely psychotic narrator directing the action sounding like a mix between a children s TV presenter and that weird looking guy down the Street who lets the neighbours kids play on the swing set in his back garden despite having no offspring of his own The game is unforgivably bundled with some console resetting bugs and the multiplayer results in a lot of disconnections If you do get a decent online game going you ll find 4 modes to play including Assault a standard deathmatch Cakewalk which is a Capture the flag type mode Golden Oozy where you battle for a powerful weapon and Jelly Walk which has you trying to collect jellies faster than the others These premises are probably the most kid friendly part of the game but the combat doesn t lend itself well to the online realm You ll likely just end up mashing buttons at each other until one wins Naughty B
23. drinks As cool as a Polar Bears Posing pouch Everybody takes a go at the Penguin ski slope jump challenge furthest distance wins Everybody but the winner takes a drink Space Ark For the last week now Craig TurkeySaladBoy amp Gow have been raving about Space Ark demanding it make an appearance at the next games night So for that reason have based one of this month s drinking game on It While the game has a multiplayer mode this game is based on the single player because it makes it easier to follow Simply pass the controller around between levels and remember the players forfeits so they can drink them after the stage Rules Double Up Every time the multiplier increases by 2 everyone else in the room takes a drink Pavement Pizza Every time you let your character hit the floor you take a drink Powerplay Every time you catch a power up everyone else in the room takes a drink Powerless Every time you miss a power up you take a drink Perfection If you finish the stage with a perfect bonus everybody else has to finish their drinks Wipeout If you lose all of your lives you have to finish your drink J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS S Vv Share Th Share This Y Note To enter competitions in the PDF please include your name and address some prizes are UK only Note To enter competitions in the PDF please include your name and address some prizes are UK only GOG Game Giveaway Plan
24. football games in the PC market N AE WW Ca S Pd aa S Format PC Tally ho pip pip and other such nonsense Nowadays the kids are too hopped up on their Pokemons and Michael Bay movies to give two toots of the vuvuzela about good old fashioned adventure You know exotic locales mysterious ladies treasure and all that jazz Good thing that adventure game stalwarts Animation Arts the developers of the popular Secret Files series are giving it to us in spades in their upcoming release Lost Horizon This month strapped on my flying goggles and played through a preview and there wasn t an Optimus Prime in sight We begin with a prologue in Tibet 1936 where a British cartographer recieves a strange artifact from a dying Chinese man whilst being pursued by Nazis After escaping a large chamber with bizarre writing etched into the walls we cut to China 1938 and our hero Fenton Paddock a loveable rogue who is talking to his bartender friend Shen about the trouble he has got himself into with the local Tong Triads After trying to chat up an up tight singer Fenton nas Lost Horizon Hands On to distract the Tongs who have just entered the nightclub and are guarding the door so he decides to filla wok with absynthe set it alight and throw It across the crowded club Classy but it works The controls are instantly familiar to anyone who s ever played a poin
25. game and collect the extra stars haven t picked up yet has Mario Galaxy 2 managed to beat the first In a word Yes In two Hells Yeah Oh you want more honestly thought the first Mario Galaxy was incredible and this goes so far beyond what that game created taking the already solid gameplay and building on it in ways that would have never thought The levels are once again innovative and stunning The gameplay is original and at no point gets repetitive Throw in being a complete treat for the eyes and you have my new favourite Mario game You will have probably noticed that there isn t a flaw mentioned anywhere so for balance am going to mention the one and only flaw found with the game the extra lives you gain do not Stay between play sessions However this is only a really minor flaw due to the fact you gain extra lives so fast that you don t even realise they were missing 10 minutes later So even with that flaw am going to go ahead and give this game one of my rare perfect scores and recommend that if you own a Wii and you have not bought this game yet you re doing this gaming thing all wrong Out of Thirteen J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS B oN a0 B 2 n g3 O N A N N B Cc X _ a0 O ie P a S Format PC The air was cool as descended the stone mausolean stairs reaching out into the eveloping bl
26. graphics From there the project grew and with the help of several volunteers and a new crewmember Craig Il without whom the project would not be possible a new issue is released every month on the 13th at 1PM Don t forget you can download the PDF if you fancy reading it that way Print it off for the bathroom we re a cracking toilet read For press enquiries please contact Craig Albeck or Daniel Allen promotions thirteen1 com T 01482 214 714 WoW Cataclysm Wish You Were Here CoD Vs Battlefield Castle of Heroes Babel Expansion E3 Alternative Roundup DrunkenGamer Hijacks Omerta T1 Countdown Badass Boss Battles Game Horizon Conference Coverage Breaking Into the Industry Rob Miles Creating a Game With XNA Retro Games Revisited sponsored by GOG com SteelSeries Syberia V2 Headset Razer Imperator Mouse DrunkenGamer s Drinking Games Competitions and Freebies The Editor Would Like To Thank Mario Galaxy 2 Review Darkness Within 2 Dark Lineage Review Landit Bandit Review Crackdown 2 Review Biker Battles Preview FIFA Online Hands On Lost Horizon Hands On Naughty Bear Review Blacklight Tango Down Review Dr Who Episodes 1 amp 2 Review King Arthur Review Mirrors Edge Soundtrack Review MGS3 Soundtrack Review Finally after all this time the badgering has paid off Mid month we managed to get the badger recognised If you play Adventure Quest Worlds you can claim an in game b
27. in which you can use to get to grips with the speed of the game as well as the controls and weapons You re thrown in at the deep end with no real story Or introductory process and It s a very disorientating experience The whole feature feels a little tacked on and is definitely there as an added benefit rather than a core experience For all of its quirks the twitchy controls the lack of communication no party gaming unbalanced guns unbalanced games unimaginative maps and an overall lack of thought Blacklight isn t actually that bad a game honest It certainly ranks above the crap you find in shops for a similar price and most of the tiny little niggles could easily be fixed with a patch Unfortunately in it s current state these small little problems all add up to a game that just cant compete with the big dogs For all it s unique ideas and unique and fairly enjoyable gameplay it could have rivalled some of the big budget titles but instead it comes across as a game with a lack of focus trying too hard to bring conflicting gameplay styles together The HRV counteracts stealth and the speed of movement makes tactical gameplay difficult it is a truly schizophrenic game J9 JIML UO SIU BIeUS Title Dr Who Format PC marin TRE ADVENTURE Dr Who There are few things in this world So iconic that with only a partial description people instantly know what you re talking about Me
28. loose a sliding tackle This new system flows well is accessible and easy to get to grips with There are also familiar set tactics that you can employ during a game with a single key press both defensive and offensive such as the usual Offside Trap Counter Attack etc experience and level up to become better This is invaluable which found to my cost when took Borussia Dortmund out into the Versus lobby and challenged someone who on paper had a worse team got thrashed 4 1 his players were faster and could keep the ball better advising that you had to play a lot of league games to get to that stage The World Cup is quite simple take control of a team competing in it and take them all the way to the final World Cup and Versus have the competitive multiplayer options while league mode can be played cO operatively or solo You can receive new players as a reward for completing an achievement or winning a competition Handily if you control a team In the World Cup that includes a player from your league team they will also gain experience from that J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS In League Mode your players will get PRE FIFA WC fatigued so this is where your team management has to come into play When do you rest players Who do you bring in What formation should you play There is a youth search so you can buy young level 1 players and train them up There will also be a transfer market
29. noise cancelling cans over the ears to combat the cacophony of the E3 sShow floor but it added an incredible ambience to the tranquil gaming experience There is no sound track to the game only minimalist effects that serve as narrative queues You are pretty much left alone to figure out your journey through the game solving puzzles and overcoming death Weve become experts at annoying gamers added Dino with awry smile It sounds profound but with a cerebral work out like Limbo players need to experience death in order to progress With Limbo players never die in vein One man coded Limbo alone in his basement Arnt Jensen Arnt suffers from arachnophobia which might go a long way to explaining the big spider as a sort of boss come gatekeeper in Limbo He made his way out of the basement to talk with us during E3 look out for that interview ina future issue There is a chilling almost macabre undertone to Limbo in that its Surprising how quickly the games peaceful muted tones descend into violence Limbo confirms the assertion that games are art For that we salute you Nordic Game Wi Sing Encore Thanks to the lovely Ali Wood of Premier PR we got to chat with the game s designer Leo Zullo Featuring 40 songs with their original videos a special singing lesson feature and karaoke mode for the professional singers Wii Sing Encore is perfect Summer party fodder So grab the Pimms leave t
30. offered Mind you they are talent energy drive the born with the ability to multi right attitude and integrity audience then your task grinding in World of great things will happen Warcraft instant messaging Darren teased us with tid beautiful creg tion on Facebook taking a video bits about their foray into call with their girl friend the MMO space with Auto will tank Inspire your while texting their mum a Club Revolution Darren request to borrow money and described it as being audience with carrot playing the solo from Hotel at the intersection of Farmville and Kart Rider a popular Korean MMO Auto Club Revolution will Juice California on a double headed Rockband guitar Yeah they ll be fine ww fasterpay co uk By Dan Ed o amp g M m gt lt gt C on z p Z 3 S oo Ry Naughty Bear If you go down to the woods today be ready to have gouged eyes these naugnty Dears will kick your ass and that will be your demise This little bear from A2M is sure to enjoy killing men a teddy bear is having a Sadistic DINICNIIIIC Who can resist writing a bit of original music about a game that s based ona masochistic killing machine of a Teddy Bear hell bent on gorey revenge Not us that s for sure Naughty Bear A2M s latest release has you take on the role of the games title character Na
31. ropes and helicopters why aren t you playing this already That s right the timer is a classic Casio watch You can t get much more retro than that RENT SWING kind of height usually spells disaster for the shaky wooden construct Your ability to speed boost is also governed by a quick draining energy bar again topped up by collecting pick ups and taxiing the locals in an efficient manner This risk reward of deciding whether to choose speed and a bit of a bumpier ride in the hopes of a speed tip on completion health energy boost is surprisingly well integrated with the challenging health management and timer especially if you re desperately trying to earn one of the Gold Silver or Bronze medals for your effort You ll meet a lot of colourful and genuinely funny characters during your adventure many of them taking humoured pot shots at the very principles of game design the Bearded Ladies have used Introduced immediately on the first stage by Standard Male Character the character model you ll be taxiing around most of the time with the simple yet effective line Hi l II be your standard male character New characters often add something new to your chopper such as an attractive woman who makes locals literally jump into the taxi removing the pesky need to land a dragon being able to boost you around using his flame and the undeniably stand out spiderman esque swinging ability provided b
32. s Kieran McSherry generation first person shooters BF BC2 amp Activision s Call of is here to save your day and just as FPS and even though they are Duty Modern Warfare 2 MW2 the prices are starting to drop too both very different each topped are nearly indistinguishable But read this guide buy an FPS and kill the sales chart upon release and if that s true how can they be so your friends in the game are at the zenith of the most different and more importantly played games on Xbox Live amp PS3 which one should you buy Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Online Both have an excellent Basics Single Player The fundamentals of both MW2 and BF BC2 are relating to current international issues terrorism incredibly similar Each console control system could the fuel crisis globalization etc and they both be easily interchanged with little fuss Analogue provide expertly crafted dialogue that s beautifully sticks dictate movement and visual direction left delivered However the tones of each story arc are trigger to aim right to fire while the D pad is used entirely opposite for extra weapons and additional gadgets This is the tried and tested console FPS format and it MW2 depicts a grim brutal and terrifying portrayal works Each system is completely customizable of warfare complete with vicious close combat from button layout to stick sensitivity Their PC kills strong references to war crimes some u
33. something we re all too familiar with after the DrunkenGamer gets a few pints in him The meat and veg or should that be shark and coconut of Landit Bandit s gameplay consists of taxi style pick up and drop off challenges around exotic often dangerous island locations which you need to complete to pretty challenging timers There are a few mini games and other nice distractions thrown in to complement this but it s definitely a taxi game at heart Being an early Da Vinci design knocked together with wood your flying contraption is far from the sturdiest of aviation machines Landit Bandit s constant challenge Is in the steering and landing of your chopper a skill that s easy to learn after a couple of attempts yet incredibly difficult to master The basics have you use R2 to pedal and the left analogue stick to tilt in the direction you want to move with L1 providing a speed boost and the D pad revealing an overview map of your area highlighting taxi Jobs and the location they want to reach Your helicopter comes with it s own health bar that s easily depleted by a few knocks and crappy landings though you can keep it Tull by picking up cogs and receiving a boost from inhabitants when you taxi them quickly enough Landing definitely proves to be the biggest challenge In Landit Bandit as a swift drop from any Pagans ae er a F vi a sp A R Y ia Ninja
34. spells at will during battle The cinematic cut to some of the flourishes you can pull off is quite impressive camera slo mo effects with Matrix style rotation The single player campaign offers 40 hours of gameplay not including sub quests and back story Single player and multiplayer characters are independent of each other pm DiGennaro is iai tight lipped on 4 y the multiplayer features Jt although he s L billing Two being closest to an MMO you ll ever get on the console As well as PvP expect special challenges in co op mode Play like an old school dungeon crawler Get killed and re spawn at the start The Two Worlds franchise yes that s the original plus the latest outing Two Worlds II boast a 7 year development history but its fair to say Reality Pump are making discernible progression Two Worlds Il is 30 bigger than the original or 60 square kilometres RPG fans will love it the customization especially September 14 is the scheduled launch for the North America market We ll be watching closely Console Wars The big three console heavyweights locked horns in the os likes nine kes nies So T parta i ie e NINTENDO DS Worlds Two as Sae am H o PR equivalent of a professional sumo wrestling flab off Nintendo reminded everyone that it takes more than an interface to please gamers its the overall gaming experience Something that N
35. technology have made GAMEHORIZON TARA VEN Game Horizon 2010 ticked all the boxes engaging speakers Industry insight and booze life a game were supported by playful visuals that mapped the journey towards Gamepocalypse To Schell games have crept out of the screen and penetrated everywhere Schell is fascinated with Facebook you Can play at work and the boss wont notice Doesnt work with Halo though and the psychology of the microtransaction But Schell observed how our data iS cunningly being used as a mechanic to incentivise us to buy more stuff Retail is a gold mine according to Schell in that its sat on layers of statistics It s working in cahoots with the very social networks and games that we play citing Zynga branded drinks cups in 7 11 The Mad Men of 1960 s TV advertising grew rapidly and force fed America s materialism with stuff they didn t really need Nickelodeon for instance has been burning messages into the brain for years But its not all doom and gloom with Schell There is scope to create credible gaming experiences that will enhance our lives Of course its about balance Or for Schell knowing when to stop The question remains thougn do we really want our whole life tracked and to be a game brush my teeth but out of necessity not to score points Geo caching and Foursquare have become popular social activities Why Because we love to snare Schell wasn t
36. the game But that sounds simple hear you cry so why was it removed Well quite frankly the whole system was flawed not from the players perspective but in the back end of the system It was used as W part of calculations that it shouldn t be I missing in things that should have used Wait and all round had become a nightmare to work with From a design point of view it was a failure so much so that the only option available to us was Its removal So that s what we did It s here that the flaw occurs When we took away the killing skill all the calculations were naturally fixed and the back end handled however we forgot one aspect of the balance the player s side of things For them when we took away killing skill we took away more than a mere Statistic on their account and an option on the crimes page Without realising it we had also taken away a personal goal for the player Most importantly as the majority of their killing skill came from shooting other players we had broken the risk reward balance of killing When you make a kill attempt in Omerta you are effectively putting your account on the line because of the ability for the enemy to shoot back When they got rewarded with killing skill there was a reason to risk your account if you survived your account was stronger for the attempt Without Killing Skill this was no longer true So the first thing felt h
37. this Some clever cinematography has been applied to now the player and NPC engage As the camera pulls back the background blurs out subtlety to focus your eyes on the dialogue of the character while you are given the option to Gets ee et a ee ee oe ee ee ee ee eo eo ee pace around not rude at all On a related note decision making is important Some story elements will only unfold to players that make specific decisions like maim the witch or accept her quest so be prepared for a haunting if you make an ill judged decision DiGennaro is particularly proud of the innovative crafting system calling it 1 of a kind There is no tree system Instead players collect cards questing looting and toiling Cards can be modified or put another way broken down into Smaller parts enabling players to build their own spells even name them What s Impressive iS they slowly improve over time Southpeak Interactive are In the process of applying to the Guinness Book of World Records for the most spell combinations in a video game Whilst its obviously impressive the combos will need a tutorial or face an epic fail Credit where its due to Reality Pump for their ambitious attempt to bring the control system and HUD of a typical MMO to the console With Two Worlds Il its possible to map equipment loadouts to hot keys or d pad on console X360 then hit a button and instantly switch between equipment and
38. ventilated mess Battlefield also has a slight strategical facet demanding players adopt alternative battle plans and utilise a plethora of weaponry to survive Both campaigns are around 4 5 hours long and of the highest calibre Which is better comes down to personal preference Tension and immersion over strategy and variety J wT Uni B ot ey san 2 whole heaps of awesome 1344M UO Siy 1 aeS gt x S Sg Multiplayer Online was always going to be the arena where these two titans did battle The FPS genre is so old now that even the most astounding and innovative single player experiences can feel like re hashed carbon copies of much loved titles long since past Regardless both MW2 and BF BC2 have enjoyable and incredibly popular multiplayer options building on the popular moulds of old to offer the best experiences available Each are very different with their own unique play style and corresponding set of problems Humour This screenshot has l none MW2 s multiplayer is based around lightning quick reactions and pin point accuracy Many of the in game environments are urban with lots of tight alleyways and indoor fighting MW2 does have a set of outdoors y maps but even these are divided up by and comprised of smaller close in sections Infinity made their environments this way for one purpose to force players together in a destructive bullet and shra
39. I and that makes it a must play for every gamer and historian alive kick ass I m getting too old for this shit w 009 com The Journeyman Project Buried in Time Marty McFly eat your hear out because while you were away The Journeyman came out to play Developed by Presto Studios The Journeyman Project Buried in Time is an FPS adventure game that focuses primarily on time travel The story goes as follows six months after the events of the first game where Earth s original timeline was ruined Causing the human race to lose out on an opportunity to join an advanced alien race s peace treaty Agent 5 named in this game as Gage Blackwood is visited by himself from ten years in the future Someone in the future has framed the future Blackwood for tampering with historical artefacts and it is up to the past Blackwood to find the evidence to clear his name We don t want to spoil the story by going into too much detail plus it s one of those time travel stories that really messes with you head It s a great game but the HUD has a fundamental flaw Agent 5 is wearing some sort of time travelling suit complete with a helmet this helmet has a very small visor SO small that the players view is extremely limited Released in 1992 the original Journeyman Project was one of the first PC games to use high quality rendered graphics and the same goes for the sequel If you re Curious about alternate theories about ti
40. Rothenberg cited fascinating case studies Umbro football shirts Gatorade energy drink and Bavaria beer poor Robbie Earl where all had one underlying theme a good story which was then massaged accordingly engaging story overcoming cancer with a decadence that commanded respect and admiration Schulman is a powerful performer with an awesome Stage presence Two outstanding sound bytes that are still ringing in the ear as well as his playing Attitude is powerful and All we have in life is a Viral marketing is more alive than ever Create content that can be customised and more people will pass it on Viral marketing is more alive than ever So create content that can be customised as people will be more inclined to pass the message on Of course recommendations from friends are infinitely more valuable Amen Motivational speaker Mark Schulman was a highlight He s a session drummer that has played with the likes of Billy Idol Cher Simple Minds and more recently PINK He shared his series of nows So go seize them He recommended a drinking game BAG bragging aspiration and gratitude Mark s call to action go play this game without drink You ll be surprised of the results and it will bond your team together Darren Jobling of Eutechnyx is one of the old guard However his business acumen and drive to keep his company ahead keep him young at heart He N lt QJ D Vi O
41. Solid had the initial enrapture effect However some people this reviewer included believe that the music from Snake Eater was the first Metal Gear Solid soundtrack that really hooked videogame music acolytes With the combined efforts of Metal Gear Solid regulars Norihiko Hibino founder of GEM Impact and Harry Gregson Williams the original soundtrack for Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater spawns over two discs of musical enjoyment The album starts with the obvious Bond inspired theme song Snake Eater Sang by Cynthia Harrell Snake Eater is a brilliant homage to the early Bond films the spy flicks being an obvious influence on the game s plot setting and Naked Snake s character Though the lyrics are a little ridiculous at times one thinks of the line Some day you ll feed on a tree frog the song has an instant effect that will sustain the game s prominent place in videogame history The second track we hear has been an all time favourite of this reviewer for many years Metal Gear Solid the game s main theme originally composed by the elusive musician Tappy has been superbly rearranged by Harry Gregson Williams Starting with high pitched synths surrounded by electronic tT i i B F F TREE BARK WOODLAND noise and bird sounds this track unleashes it s fury within the first few moments The dramatic string melody that we ve all grown to know and love sounds phenomenal it s the pa
42. Turkeysaladboy off to LA and all he came back with was his alternative picks from this years carnival of gaming Be prepared we did mention alternative SouthPeak Interactive TopWare Interactive Two Worlds Il OK I m not too hot with numbers so Dare with me Two Worlds iS the sequel to Two Worlds an open world RPC in the style of Oblivion that made Its d but on the PC in 2007 According to the PR squadron on the show floor including the unrelenting Jake DiGennaro Polish development Studio Reality Pump scrapped original plans for an expansion to the original game Instead they sought to create a sequel with an entirely new engine Grace with simultaneous platform development factored in from the start That s right no lazy ports being offered from Reality Pump And Grace is being offered in Spades none more so than in the intelligent art direction Meticulous attention to detail has so far been achieved through gorgeous 3D textures bump mapping there are no flat surfaces in the game authentic weather effects even bendy grass Dynamic lighting casting creepy shadows on stunning environments like on the castle dungeon walls and cool physics come in the form of tumbling crates and swinging chandeliers The cod Shakespearean dialogue has been dropped and replaced with a much more authentic dialogue the designers at US based publisher TopWare Interactive had something to do with
43. Turtles is outstanding especially since there s no chance of a modern children s cartoon featuring an antagonist like this In Turtles in Time beating Shredder was no easy feat especially in the original arcade game He had an array of special attacks and if they hit your Turtle he wasn t getting up d The Alien s Lair from Contra CONtra wasnt a particularly easy game Even with the Konami code and the 30 lives it gave many people still submitted to its constant barrage of defeat Some people we know haven t even played Contra if you re one of them and you re reading this go away and play this game XBLA For those that did complete Contra congratulations you would have witnessed the final stage The Alien s Lair Xenomorphic aliens attack you from all angles and the Final Boss keeps spawning more out to stop you from winning And after you ve beaten the level you ll be able to say you re part of an exclusive club beat Contra Mr Burns from The Simpson s Arcade C Mr Burns is an all time badass Despite his weakly eee body and dementia Mr Burns has the making of a true evil genius with his goal in life being money power and finding ways to acquire more money and power Now The Simpson s haven t had great success in the videogame industry however the arcade game made by Konami was an exception and the final boss battle with the aforementioned Mr Burns was a memorable experience Donning some s
44. Well played to The Bearded Ladies theresa sentence never thought I d write 0 ut of Thir EE r ao F y x daie d 7 abt ba tt Is E 1344M UO Siy 1 B1eY4S ea E _ _ Par p Bii ae oa i am a a te Title Crackdown 2 Format X360 Crackdown 2 When it was announced that Ruffian Games were working on a sequel to Crackdown Realtime World s 2007 hit pretty much every 360 gamer who played the first let out acry of unmitigated joy There s just something forever appealing about playing asa SUper powered hero in an open world environment and with new additions to the already solid formula and many of the bugs ironed out Crackdown 2 simply couldn t fail to impress right Well that depends on just how much you liked the original because Crackdown 2 is basically the exact same thing Imagine handing your home to a group of interior designers and leaving for 6 months while they went to work only to return and find the exact same layout with a slightly darker colour scheme and a chair switched with a sofa That s what you ve got here There s a select group of gamers out there under the impression that Crackdown s success was only thanks to it being bundled with access to the Halo 3 beta but that simply isnt so The new franchise garnered a hell of a lot of praise and love from the many who enjoyed It making a sequel all but an inevitability It
45. ackness for something to keep me upright The room stank of death as delved deeper into the dreaded necropolis some detestable ichor dripping from the ceiling onto my coat was witness to amorphous shadows creeping around me possibly tricks of the wan moon approached a decrepit stone altar and beheld a basalt statue carved into an alien shape a mass of tentacles protruding from what was sure was it s cephalopod like face thrust it aside and saw that it was sitting atop a rectangular plastic box held my torch up to the cursed object and could not muffle the terrible scream that rang out of my lungs The box read Darkness Within 2 The Dark Lineage Lovecraftian horror is truly awesome The idea is that humans are worthless weak beings and when confronted with the supreme horrors of the eternal cosmos they go a bit doolally There have been Darkness Within 2 Dark Lineage Lovecraft inspired games in the past such as Sherlock Homes The Awakened and Alone in the Dark but somehow they havent really got the essence of this horror subgenre just right Even Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth fell short of achieving this But Zoetrope Interactive s Darkness Within 2 Dark Lineage is right on the money it evokes the atmosphere of Lovecraftian horror magnificently and makes for a scary adventure game that s Sadly not without its faults The main difference between the sequel and its prede
46. ad to do was return the reward for killing Yet putting Killing Skill back would just take far too long when it comes to fixing all the issues that resulted in its removal in the first place So looked at what would provide a sense of personal progression again and the natural choice Rank Points So now when a user risks their account they get a reward again in the form of up to a 3 increase in rank There is a discussion on Deathmatch as always about if this is enough to redress the balance or if there is still more that needs to be done Why not come over and let us know your opinion Eye Witness The ever unpredictable world of Omerta has once again lived up to it s name and fame With loud gunfire lighting up both the international and Deathmatch versions On com the international version everything started with a clean up action by some of the bigger families which backfired royally when the intended victims got wind of it and struck first The Bravada and Profetene families put up a nice fight but were eventually outgunned by their opposition With the wheels of war set in motion Kerberos Notte and Caliente carried on with the planned attack on Obscura and the next day the Gunners family was gunned down by Vincitori e Untouchables as was planned before they were attacked Deathmatch couldn t stay behind and turned into a real slaughterhouse several times with a couple of big wars fought out Since it w
47. adger helm To celebrate our triumphant success Well you know the drill find a badger and win a prize Simples wait no that s a meerkat CoD Vs Battlefield a SE Benia skaed Mario Galaxy 2 gt x lt oe a JO O T gt S Pd Format Wii i a T While I have made no effort to hide the fact that in the age old Sonic or Mario debate my fanboyism falls squarely in the slipstream of the speedy blue one it doesn t mean would ever miss out on any of the podgy Italian plumber s titles In fact in recent years the outings of Mario have stood head and Shoulders above any of the Sonic releases Personally his most recent peak was Super Mario Galaxy Now I m sure that will Cause much debate amongst both readers and other T1 team members but just prefer it over Super Mario World When first played that game was floored The visually stunning worlds the awesome gameplay and brilliant level design everything about that game was Spot on Even something as simple as throwing yourself towards a Small planetoid hoping Its gravity was strong enough to pull you the rest of the way provided me hours of entertainment So with the standard set that high Super Mario Galaxy 2 has one hell of a big pair of red wy Mario Galaxy 2 dungarees to fill The game starts with you heading over to meet Princess Peach to eat cake and watch th
48. and after hearing this song and its instrumental version It is easy to see why the music is delicately soft and fresh making the listener very light headed and Miskovsky s voice is angelic and filled with emotions many singers cant convey After these two tracks we re introduced to Solar Fields with the composition Introduction Instantly the music from Still Alive returns but this time Bigersson has his fingers on the direction and his opening track will take you places The music is dreamlike a soft voice soothes the auditory senses while the synth rhythmically plays throughout and in the background bubbly drums keep everything in time It s a really poignant track and a great introduction Next up is Edge and Flight and Straight away you ll recognise Solar Fields style but you ll also acknowledge his ability to add variety This track is no soothing ambient instrumental but rather an electronic piece that perfectly Captures Edge s constant need to flee from the authorities The percussion gets more vigorous as the track reaches its finale and the synth effects play in dramatic keys However one must admire Solar Fields talent to keep things from going too crazy and out of control From here to the end the tracks tend to follow a similar trend They get darker with the plot and more dramatic during the chase sequences However each track has its own extraordinary individuality and t
49. as the Bee amp Spring powers from the previous Mario Galaxy Also added to this are new Rock Cloud amp Drill abilities When he has the rock ability a simple flick of the wiimote will cause Mario to roll up into a Dall of solid rock and hurl himself forward This can be used to smasn barriers that are otherwise unbreakable The cloud ability allows Mario to become as light as a cloud which means that when he jumps ona cloud in a level it doesn t vanish It also means that while jumping a simple flick of the wiimote will cause up to 3 new clouds to appear allowing our hero to access new heights The drill is my personal favourite of the new abilities due to how well the levels that use it nave been designed When used it will cause you to drill through the planetoid you are currently on popping out directly opposite if there is nothing in the way or deflecting and bouncing off metal if you hit it on the way through One of the drill ability s earliest uses is even a boss fight where you have to drill down at the right moment to attack the boss from below What makes all of this great is that all of the various level design elements all of the new power ups even the new friends are scattered into the gameplay both naturally and regularly This means that none of them ever feel overused and the levels never hit a stagnant point like they can in other titles So looking to wrap this up so I can get back to the
50. asn t always clear to see who was dying and who survived the confusion itself sparked even more conflicts making it enjoyable for all of the involved families and the players that were watching the fireworks display It all began when the Red Cross organisation was violently blown away Just a couple of days later it came to a show of strength between the perennial powerhouse Jamesons family and the up and coming mastodont Silhouette As bloods on both sides joined in it turned into a bloody mess with some of the top accounts falling as well When the dust finally settled it took some days for all the families to reorganise and check the newly laid battle lines A week later the Jamesons family was tested again by a collective of families Helped by a quick response from their bloods they repelled the attack and are now able to take up some rest to restock and clean their guns after a tiresome month of shooting A couple of days later IDC after seeing the results of the previous war decided to take out some of the competition while they were wounded gaining themselves more territory and becoming one of the mayor players in the version s struggle for power All these evolutions really make a promise for more interesting battles in the weeks to come 1344M UO Siy 1 aeS 0 Nf NO NO NO NON 0 v g v v O zO P O X Intro lt The Boss Fight is probably the most fundamental staple in videogames You always know
51. cape the HRV It s a Shame because it s a great feature which if implemented correctly could have been awesome If it was only available to a single class such as a scout It could have been a great tool but as it stands it s a bit of an annoying gimmick The developers had clearly thought about the HRV too implementing futuristic grenades that pixelate your screen mirror themselves Each team starts at one end and tries to get to the other if Taking cover is you know your base layout you know massively important theirs Alternatively some maps offer lots venture into open of different areas that all differ from one Space and you ll come another It can be easy to get lost when back looking like a wandering around and you could find colander yourself accidentally stumbling onto an obscuring enemies or better still bluescreening the HRV of anyone caught in the blast It s a geeky futuristic approach to smoke and flashbangs but it shows a bit of thought put into the game There are limits in place to stop you from exploiting the HRV too such as the limited amount of time it can be used and a waiting period between uses You also Cannot fire a weapon or attempt to melee while it is active a game choice that was obviously implemented for the sake of balance over real life gameplay The maps each have a unique feel and have been thought through although some are lacking a bit of design and just re
52. cessor Darkness Wthin In Pursuit of Loath Nolder is the new engine Whereas in the previous game you navigated by clicking through still images you are now able to freely move around the environment and with the new physics engine you can better interact with your Surroundings such as being able to chuck crates around The game opens with H P Lovecraft s most famous quote That is not dead which can eternal lie And with strange aeons even death may die Unfortunately this masterful quote is cheapened by someone reading it out loud and not in any forboding and cool way no they just read it like they were reading ingredients on the back of a cereal box which doesnt really set the mood very well Fortunately we are rescued by a creepy intro movie where the main character is being carted through what looks like the location they used to shoot the Hostel movies He ends up in a sort of surgery attacks are getting more dangerous as their numbers increase A singk bite is not dangerous unless one has a allergy to the venom but if bitten many times simultaneously the collective venom in the bleed creates seme kind of strong hallucinogenic effect and severe muscle spasms until at last the person dies in pain Reactions can vary from person to person but 70 of e time the result is the same still don t w the reason but it affects some people worse than others ent this problem we bought some suits
53. cing browser MMOs If Gaasbeeck continues to uphold his players make the game ethos we could really see something special on the horizon Defintiely one to keep an eye on or even better get involved with and help design yourself Ee s ae N an Et a ia al D Moora FOR nos yo E7 FIFA Online Beta Hands On He cannot kick with his left foot he cannot head a ball he cannot tackle and he doesn t score many goals Apart from that he s all right would have to agree with George Best if he was describing my footballing skills but FIFA Online is set to change that with Title FIFA Online Format PC Three modes are available in the game League World Cup and Versus In the League mode you choose to play as one of 500 teams from the 28 fully licensed leagues and try to guide them to league and cup glory Playing and winning games earns you experience and currency while your players gain a free to play FIFA football game for the PC packing a new simple control system that can even make me look more like Lionel Messi than Terry Hurlock have always liked the FIFA games going all the way back to the SEGA Megadrive days but it doesn t mean have ever been that good at them FIFA Online Is trying to grab the PC football market here with a game that Is quick and easy to get into but tougher to master It is free to play but will use micro transactions to buy various upgrades an
54. cle racing Everybody wants to run up buildings like the bad assess In Diehard 4 0 well now you can but with a purpose avoid the deadly Abraxas virus The light cycle racing Is slick and exhilarating It smacked of the influence that Disney owned Black Rock Studios have brought with their console racer Split Second Although you cant obliterate the environment like in Split Second you can chose alternative paths at break neck speeds We so want to own the Tron tank Tron Evolution is staged before the events of upcoming film Tron Legacy no spoilers l m afraid Tron Evolution should be heralded as a Shining example of what can be achieved when the film crew and game developers genuinely collaborate Playdead Limbo If this game was an angel then carry me up to heaven right now Limbo is one of the most beautiful gaming experiences around Noir is power in this stylish black and white side scroller that is guaranteed to evoke goosebumps and choke up even the most manly of Alpha males Its coming to XBLA as part of Microsoft s Summer of Games on July 21 The experience revolves around exploration and experimentation as you are tasked with helping the boy his name remains shrouded in the Same black and white secrecy of the game find his estranged sister Unlike the boy in the game the softly spoke but easy on the ear CEO Dino Patti has never been lost in a forest We experienced Limbo with a set of
55. cups and a soft headband suspended below SteelSeries even offer an iPhone adapter so you could wear these in public While you may be able to achieve this in some P major cities trying this on Hull public transport did nothing but garnish looks of confusion even more so when we pulled out the retractable mic to answer a call Maybe it was just that the cups covered our ears so completely that it s hard to judge how loudly we should be talking This is a brilliant headset with a well thought out design The inline remote offers mic mute and volume control and with a range of available adapters they can be used on both your iPhone and Xbox Live for when you want to pwn some 15 year old nOObs on Halo For the price of 65 it s hard to find many headsets that compare the design caters for almost every head size and shape and they offer great sound It s hard to find a fault with a set that can only be described as being as comfortable as a nice plump breast but suppose that analogy only works for guys guys who have met and talked to real women That s our demographic out the window J9 IML UO S14 eys lt ge B L eB N ge o Q Lo Format PC Hardware perator E HAErT Ergonomic gaming mMm u seE P 0 CEOMTrOL COMFOrT CUS TOMIZeEd Razer have such a huge following in the gaming world offering class leading gizmos to every
56. d IPetato STRUN NIVAL OMLINE x i NTO THE Well that was a disappointment f you read the last issue of Thirteen and l Il assume you did because you drop everything to read this magazine every month yeah you ll Know was a little bit excited for the World Cup More importantly was ready to scream my lungs out for all things England After many years of international football hurt my whole life as a footy fan basically should have known it would all end in tears But just like that much too hot girlfriend who keeps cheating on you once again put all my trust in my bimbo of a national team because It s allure is too strong to resist shame they handle balls about as well as Jeremy Beadle did during his personal time R I P Luckily as always gaming is here to act as a Shining light in the darkest of times mean how could stay down about England getting thoroughly embarrassed by Germany when Crackdown 2 was on the horizon Besides EA have just launched footballing MMO FIFA Online for me to right all the wrongs so as long as pretend that everything that happens in my head Is a reality this could turn out to be a great Summer after all One where we triumphed in the World Cup where l m able to scale giant buildings in a single leap and where Megan Fox isnt married to some random geezer that s not bloody me We ve been treated to a Surprisingly wonderful bounty of ga
57. d other Items both practical and cosmetic FIFA Online is using a tweaked version of the FIFA 10 console engine allowing a large degree of scaling so that you whether you have alow end laptop ora high spec gaming PC can try your hand at winning the league world cup or just beating your mates It borrows the visuals and cut scenes from the console FIFA 10 games so you get that familiar EA FIFA game feeling from the kick off It has the sound effects commentary and similar music to FIFA 10 Impressively Fifa Online launches Straight from your internet browser though it does require downloading and installing on your hard drive first only about 1 gig so not too Dad The FIFA Licence also includes all the proper players names and strips and we even have Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend giving the commentary There are a lot of little cut scenes for goals replays people taking corners goal kicks etc It all adds up to make a pretty good looking and slick game FIFA Online is basically designed to be played with one hand Using a mouse driven system you move the cursor in the direction you want them to go drag it further away and your player will run faster A click of the left mouse button passes the ball and holding it in will loft or cross it while right click is used to shoot Without the ball holding the left mouse button will make you press the opponent for possession while a right click will let
58. e more till he is beneath it and turn the lights on electrocuting it Personally preferred these challenges in Blood of the Cybermen they just felt more fluid in terms of the overall episode progression That s not to say the mini games were not enjoyable in the second episode either they even added a new type of mini game to the mix just think the more action based puzzles were an improvement for the storytelling Up until now have tried to be deliberately vague about the story for each episode That is because would rather not spoil it too much for anyone who has yet to play them What will say though is that the stories for the two episodes are very believable in terms of the Doctor Who universe could easily imagine either of these being Shown as anormal TV episode even as far as the fact that each took me around 45minutes to play The reason the story probably feels so right is just how involved the team at the BBC have been with the games development The characters are voiced by their on screen counterparts and the shows writers had a part in the games Story The only downside to this close relationship between the TV and Game teams is some of the voiceovers themselves They are well written but suffer from the fact that Matt Smith amp Karen Gillan while good actors are not voiceover artists Some of the dialogue least a little of the show so you won t enjoy them as much What makes it be
59. e shooting Stars fall in the Stardust festival You know the same festival that you were heading too in the first one the festival that only happens every 100 years Yeah story has never been the strongest element in Mario games So basically it s the same plot as always Bowser has decided that he s going to rule the world universe again and every dictator s must have accessory is a damsel in distress Ever one to stick with what he knows he decides that Princess Peach is who he wants That leaves Mario to chase him down give him a good hiding amp bring back the Princess Helping him in the chase this time is a group of Luma s Sentient stars lead by a large purple Luma called Lubba He has built a snip to fly around the galaxy and since one of the younger luma s has taken a shine to you decides to lend you the ship to hunt down Bowser It s at this point that the ship turns into a giant Mario head for no apparent reason looks good though Anyway Its here that you re introduced to the map for the game This time they nave decided to make a welcome return to the more linear style of world map You progress from galaxy to galaxy in a more natural way than before unlocking new ones by finishing others Occasionally you will even come up against barriers that can only be passed by collecting a certain number of Power Stars in the other levels This brings us to the levels themselv
60. ear is ultimately a let down and a victim of it s own marketing success Proof that an astounding concept doesn t always mean a good game is going to come of it There are some decent parts to the affair including the premise itself but if it hadn t promised to be the teddy equivalent of our favourite horror stories or was a downloadable title rather than a full retail release it could have probably earned itself a few extra points Instead this is one that you should just rent for a day or at least wait until the price drops by a considerable margin Wed also recommend you keep it away from younger children What PEGI was thinking there we dont know 7 A Out of Thirte en 1 IM1 UO SIU 1ey5s Title Blacklight Tango Down Format PC PS3 X360 For a first person shooter to succeed and keep the masses playing indefinitely it s usually got to be a top class title Most of them come from the big dogs Bungie Infinity Ward Valve but now Zombie Studios have set out the buck the trend with their digital download only title Blacklight Tango Down For a meagre 1200 MS points you can get to grips with millions of different load outs across an assortment of different classes and show the world who s the daddy over 12 maps and 7 game modes Blacklight Tango Down plays like nothing else available on the market it s a mash of frantic old school gameplay with a touch of modern tactica
61. ecuring of light generators needed to trigger UV Sunburst drops into key areas of the city to wipe out the mutant freaks Then there is securing city spots owned by The Cell which turn into handy Agency drop points for weapon vehicle collection Finally you ll need to make sure the freaks are incapable of rising to cause havoc so you secure and fill in their breach holes reminiscent of Gears of War s locust emergence holes preventing them from using it to come from underground in the future The latter two are handled well really bringing Crackdown 2 s day night cycle into the game The Cell roam the streets by day and the Mutants at night meaning their respective bases are easier to takeover at set times due to less people being home The night also serves as excellent levelling fodder providing wave after wave of mutants to mow down however you see fit The only thing is much like the story that is it for the main missions You just carry out these 3 tasks over and over A battle between an armour clad probably bulletproof guy and a bloke in a hoody wonder who ll win Jump If you ever find yourself in this situation remember a chopper to the face bloody hurts again and theres very little variety on offer from one Cell base breach hole generator to the next It s incredible fun blowing things up and Jumping around like Bugs Bunny on crack but when you re doing the exac
62. een killed by some sort of animal There s no doubt that you ll be genuinly creeped out when playing this game The great lighting makes for a really forboding A x Feii i Em atmosphere and the sound effects as you explore the dingy town are second to none You will hear creaks moans and bangs forcing you to look around and find that there s nobody there Although the graphics arent as polished as they could be they enforce the general mood of the game well The voice acting can be bit hit or miss but there are some good weird characters to interact with on your adventure As with all adventure games worth their salt you ll find yourself having to solve a plethora of puzzles on your pleasant Journey into madness Most of them require you to collect a bunch of items and information meaning you will be doing a good amount of exploration The only problem with this is that with so many items and ideas that can be combined you will be spending a lot of time with our old friend Mr Trial and Error trying to figure out what fits where which can get a bit fiddly Darkness Within 2 is ultimately a solid horror game that is guaranteed to send chills up your spine Lovecraft fans will get a kick out of the references and easter eggs the developers have thrown in like the basalt statue of Cthulhu but non adventure gamers may Nave a hard time with it The story may be as convoluted as hell but you won t find
63. email with the subject Volunteer to general mmo magazine com BLUEGFX IN GAMI Be bluegfx are an award winning reseller of 3d visualisation software They have established a leading and successful relationship with Autodesk built on an excellent service level and support infrastructure that is second to none So if you are a new start up or an experienced studio looking to invest in a new suite of software then I would recommend that you get in touch with bluegfx says Craig Albeck Director of Communications Thirteen bluegrx Autodesk N European Channel Partner 2009 wea bloeghecom bluegfx is all about service Thirteenl have given us this opportunity in providing this to those looking fora 3d software and hardware reseller with leading edge experience says Neil Parmar Director amp Co Founder of bluegfx F a i
64. es already mentioned that the levels in the first Mario Galaxy were extremely impressive which is why am especially glad to Say they nave stepped their game up for this second outing It would have been so easy for them to simply add a coat of gloss to what they already had but that s not the case The levels here take some of the best elements from both the 2D amp 3D games in the Series shifting seamlessly between the planes in Some cases and then pile ona whole truckload more All of the levels Show so much creativity that It s hard to imagine let alone describe One world that stood out as an example was The Flotacious Blimp Fruit level in the Tall Trunk Galaxy The level begins in 3D with a very tall tree to climb so you have to go to the bottom of the planetoid and grab your old pal Yoshi Once you have him with you he can eat the blimp fruit that allows him to float up the tree When you are at the top you are sent via sling star to the next planetoid and the camera is seamlessly flipped to a 2D view J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS However this is a 2D view in a 3D world so when you re on a cylinder shaped object you are able to throw yourself down a hole knowing full well you will go all the way round the log and come out at the top of the screen again Genius Once you spin around the log a few times collecting the broken parts of the next sling star you are sent off to the next 2D section which i
65. ests UK lobby group Tiga should take note Seb Hayes is a media innovator After creating a Playstation 3 forum years ahead of his and the consoles time he went on to build a social network for gamers Playfire com Its a place to hang out and meet The Church of Molyneux ts really starting to take off with like minded gamers Seb is facing stiff competition from the likes of GamerDNA and Raptr but he and nis VC funders are convinced Playfire will burn the souls of gamers worldwide Tom Rothenberg is the modern day Donald Draper He was electric personified on the stage using phrases like Don t talk at talk with Where is your audience and A story is better than an idea Whilst we re being playful lets not forget Rothenberg s thinking was behind launch campaigns for Gears of War and Halo 3 So he deserves his buzzword bingo medal Rothenberg acknowledged the shift over to social media and the importance of tracking how people are interacting with your brand We re in the 4th age of advertising the dialogue era We care if your brand has X amount of Likes on Facebook Google analytics is a cost effective tool PepsiCo with their warchest have assembled a mission control centre where they monitor the buzz about brands like Gatorade through high tech visualization tools and techniques Sure the games industry is booming and content is flooding channels but how do you stand out
66. eview we were left feeling there was more to be said perhaps well look into Naked Snake s life changing mission in more depth at a later date In the meantime get your hands on this soundtrack Out of Thirteen 1 IM1 UO SIU 1ey5s Ca q2 4 AN on a0 a AN 1 g8 B S a S Format Industry E reaki n _To the Industry g Life at Strawdog Studios By Simon Morris There are a few questions that can usually expect to be asked whenever tell Someone about my job in the games industry 1 How did do you get a job like that 2 Can you get me any free games 3 How DO you make that stuff move about on the TV love the first question and find I m being asked it more and more by students looking for work experience by younger gamers who ve been inspired by the games on their iPod touch or by others just looking for a way into the industry My Journey into the technical side of games started back in 1980 when discovered the Sinclair ZX81 in my school and it totally captured my imagination typed in all the programs in the user manual and was enthralled by the results produced on the screen From there graduated to a BBC Micro and later a 32 bit Archimedes Machines like these really were the games consoles of the time and although we played a ton of games on them we also started to figure out how these
67. f the scene J3 IML UO S14 aeYS The mini games that appear throughout the game also have the same strange balance between fiendishly simple yet irritatingly unforgiving The mini game that you have to play after getting the Spare parts from the production line for example involved moving the various components through a maze to a specific location However all of the walls of the maze are electrified Pacman Ever played the pacman arcade game for so long your hand cramps up Cyberman has Typical The apocalypse happens and your car breaks down mean come on what are the chances YV X r Sa gt ei gt or some moving and a single touch will fry the components resulting in you having to start again This is not so bad unless you slip up with the last of the three components as you will have to do all three again It would be better if each locked in place when you got it to a goal so you only had to restart with the current component not all of them In the second episode Blood of the Cybermen there are less of the mini games but a few more environmental puzzles One of which will see you playing as Amy being chased around a table bya lumbering CyberSlave in a locked room As you run around you will notice some wiring hanging from the ceiling Interacting with this wiring will cause it to hang even lower After that you can have the CyberSlave chase you som
68. for one person isn t necessarily right for another If you re used to a lightweight mouse and prefer to palm your mouse across the desk it s a ruddy good mouse with some great features UV _ QJ D f Vi O mm f D Landit Bandit The Bearded Ladies have all but invented a new genre with their PSN casual helicopter sim Landit Bandit but that doesn t mean it can t be exploited for some drinking game madness This is based on each player playing one mission ata time It s best played on some of the later missions due to the increased time and a fully unlocked account is recommended so you can use the last two rules Rules Watch out for that If your chopper breaks while trying to land take a drink If your chopper breaks during flight as a result of crashing into something take 2 drinks This Flight has been Delayed If time expires before mission completion take a drink If you finish the mission before time expires everybody else takes a drink Excess Baggage Sir Make a note of the cogs and energy you pick up If you finish the mission on time everybody else should take that amount of drinks First Business or Coach Class If you earn a Bronze Silver or Gold medal everybody else takes 1 2 see Phbbh or 3 drinks respectively oceos 000 This In Flight Meal Sucks If you kill stun a Shark everybody else takes a drink If you get destroyed by a Shark you take 2
69. for those who manage to last long enough 7 if l HEROFSHS 1344M UO Siy 1 aeS Feature a ee Seer id e What would you say was the most surprising thing you saw in the expansion after it went live That would be the Boss monster encounters for me With the introduction of the new expansion very powerful monsters roam the country and players have to defeat them and their minions When the first bosses appeared the entire community participated in the search for those bosses coordinating attacks and sharing the best strategies with each other How difficult is it to get to the top of the tower of Babel How often do the players make it all the way up Thankfully the design of the tower of Babel allows players of all levels to accept the challenge itis not exclusive to high level players However to reach the top of the Tower of Babel you need a combination of a very advanced hero an excellent army and good combat tactics Some players have managed to reach the top floors of the tower by successfully defeating the guardians and have gained access to the massive amount of rare and powerful treasures and of course the experience reward The new world buildings seem extremely useful how often do they change hands amongst the players You are right the new world buildings are quite powerful and are therefore heavily contested on a daily basis can t tell you exactly how o
70. fortable than Germany s win over England even more comfortable than resting on the ample bosom of Keely Hazel Granted we wouldn t trade the headset for an opportunity to rest on Keely Hazels breasts but they are so unbelievably comfortable that we d have to think about it for a second The key to this comfort is the suspended head band ok it messes up your hair but it gently rests the headset on your noggin without gripping your head and there s so little pressure on your ears you soon forget that you re wearing them It s a good job they come with such a long cable as It is easy to forget you re attached to your PC as you wander off to the fridge for snacks H So that s comfort taken care of but how do they perform audibly Very well that s how The headset produces a great warm bassy tone in music playback which plays a great part in explosion filled games Despite this the set still picks out the highs and has a pretty good mid range It s hard to pick a fault with the sound there is no real weak point and whilst huge audiophiles could probably point out where the sound is lacking it would purely be nitpicking When tested with music the V2 s produced a great crisp sound with a good soundscape Tracks jump out at you with new sounds emerging which are hard to discern through a mediocre set Finally looks the headset is certainly unique with a solid headband connecting the two
71. from the same pice we get SS In eee Se ot ani ae oe A Se oh E F HAR Bkt b J aad a F where grim men in white coats are preparing when a tall corpse like figure steps in to the room and stares at you for a while The protagonist is then put out by one of the surgeons and it fades to black Now while the graphics really arent that great in this sequence which could be because the whole thing has a blurred effect it s sure high up there on the creepy scale You awake as the protagonist Howard Loreid in a wooden cabin obviously drugged by someone and put there and begin to get to grips with the controls There are three modes of difficulty with the lowest difficulty giving you hints as you play through You collect your stuff using the left mouse to select items with the cursor remaining in the centre of the screen at all times It s a tested point and click formula but the mouse does tend to drag a bit and feels atad innaccurate as aresult even when you Change the sensitivity level It s when you find the note your friend has left that you see how intuitive Darkness Within 2 is J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS You have to piece together the puzzle to work out the puzzle puzzling eh According to Semisonic it s all about chemistry In this case they were wrong She 3 a a E K x be ie ror J D Lra i E ki i Li j J as L g d i r a F S h a m
72. ften players fight over those world buildings per day but they are hotspots in the game and players better come prepared It s always a worry with expansions that the gap between new and old player grows have you done bs have bong bean the alles of bankin Onell Mingo calia Alas i a Fes anma eT oe Sh JARTA Pr par Tie Fe ee o L ae Wi Y Ale ty YALL ear r i ron f F i P ai ir To ain r oo Bi it bs r mes eh ETT d Toge tually haan ERs i TOT Ue PAG Fo me be ee a ae 7 z A KS JR iri a Ay hate i J Help Oa Tracee CONSTUGEE a ame lo be cS crime agains B a eaha alte krpe i Hero Pro rile E g 7 C LICPPIcs LFI EXP Hiner ENO Nae Hid Level 2 Toorabali Lisclaimed Bodd hele ice cde Joes a batthealLischemed Th ro We ARABIAN ao rey ee i pa earch en Eii aa Whore to get pod 7 Mines No Taits Yis Ministers i Click Town Halt hien dick Eri Town Halt below and you can upgrade ii anything to help new players catch up The first thing we did was make new servers available for our French German English and Polish players and this decision was very well received by our communities Our player base is constantly growing and we intend to introduce new servers regularly There are also new quests in place that allow new players to
73. gineer classes are great for dealing with vehicles as they have the most effective options concerning explosive and armour piercing weaponry They both rely heavily on subtlety and stealth Recon works well when identifying enemies and engaging at medium to long range while the Engineer s sub machine gun tears through enemies up close and his drill can repair allied venicles Each of the classes are vital to any successful team and can be further customized with gadgets optics and upgrades Like MW2 each of these Special rewards are unlocked through a Standard experience and levelling system The range of hardware on offer is stunning Everything from WWII small arms to mortar strikes flak cannons and rapid fire grenade launchers are available Vehicles are of course present Players have full control over their chosen toys and can be lethally efficient with a pilot gunner combination BF BC 2 has only a few game types Conquest where teams compete to capture flags while controlling territory Rush where one team attempts to demolish the defender s communication stations and a simple Squad Death Match For it s lack of game modes and few maps when compared to MW2 there s a Surprising amount of ways players can aid their team Battlefield titles J9 JIML UO SIU BIeUS have always revolved around giving players the ability to adopt any battle role they desire a relatively untouched concept for console shooter
74. ging his Nazi fire balls he has more than one of them apparently Hitler changes into his suspiciously futuristic battle Suit and will try to mow down your American ass A boss battle against Hitler now that s badass FLOOR SCORE ITEM 6 6 QQ14400 Q4 d Ezio Auditore Altair ibn La Ahad from the Assassin s Creed series HEDLTH AMMO 100 Z 000 1344M UO Siy aeS O N O aE w a es S Pad Format Conference GameHorizon conference review wonder if event organisers get much sleep mean even if the subject matter is compelling and there is the lure of a free bar getting people to attend Is a lottery although the free bar probably helps Our close friends at GameHorizon probably sleep on goose feathers since they have Carved out a growing niche with their annual conference that pulls in an International audience The 2010 GameHorizon conference was no exception It ticked all the boxes engaging speakers invaluable industry insight and networking with like minded others all against the backdrop of inspiring architecture We address the highlights not in any particular order mind and recall the moments when our hearts Skipped a Deat with excitement at what the future of gaming has in store Big expectation is always piled of the shoulders of a keynote speaker Will he wont he Jesse Schell captivated from the word go His Satirical look at how advances in
75. he BBQ to cinder and let Wii Sing Encore stir up the mojo Just make sure you invite the neighbours J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS Sega Super Monkey Ball 2 Sakura Edition on Pad Super Monkey Ball 2 offers over 100 levels of single and multiplayer gameplay as well as cool mini games like Monkey Golf and the iPad exclusive Monkey Base making authentic use of the iPad s accelerometer and crisp beautiful graphics Packed with content it left my head spinning although in fairness only got to steal 15 minutes on it we had a packed schedule don t you know The price not so at 12 99 on the App store Some critics claim Super Monkey Ball 2 is a port picked before it had time to ripen but we thought it was sweet and would have got a thumbs up from Mr Del Monte Mind you he says Yes to everything 2K Mafia Il Having been invited with open arms into the bosom of Mafia Il you can t help but be suspicious these guys have a reputation right All thoughts of an ambush were immediately dispelled with the atmosphere 2K and their seasoned Mafioso development team Illusion Software have created with the game They have redefined authenticity with the visual pleasing representation of a dry 1950 s America The production values even in this early stage we played through the demo were staggering The dialogue is cutting and belongs in a Mafia film This is no more evident than an exchange between
76. hey Il manage to keep you entertained even those with a seven minute length The track Ropeburn is another fine example of Solar Fields talent This track starts out with a soothing ambient synth with an intermittent keyboard bouncing in and out All of a sudden the soothing noises stops and the music becomes a drunken beat with deep effects sliding in and out this track is most definitely a shady One and it reaches impressive heights of drama before coming up for breath and slowly building back up Solar Fields compositions add a great deal to Mirror s Edge s unique style and identity The soothing music suits Edge s character and her awesome free running abilities while the dramatic and tense music complements the chase sequences brilliantly Rumours state that Mirror s Edge is due a sequel and we nope that Solar Fields returns to the rooftops for another run Out of Thirteen 1 IM1 UO SIU 1ey5s Title MGS3 Soundtrack Format PS2 MGS3 Soundtrack The Metal Gear Solid games have always had great music you only have to look at our past soundtrack reviews of Peace Walker and Guns of the Patriots to see how much of an impact the music from those game had and still has on us and gamers across the world Many would say that MGS s music was adored after Harry Gregson Williams rearranged the Main Theme for Sons of Liberty while others would say the music from the original Metal Gear
77. ific City The premise is a tight one acting as a perfect excuse to transform the bright comic book styled environments of the original game into a darker apocalyptic setting but story wise well that s it The whole game is based on this opening sequence never progressing or showing any interest in engaging you with an unfolding storyline to tell Not cut scenes Detween missions no real characters of interest to speak of and no ultimate story driven goal to reach Other than a few audio drops to collect that gradually unfold the story of the past you re left to accept the opening movie as the setting and get on with the super human destruction of enemy forces You can argue that there s no need for a Storyline in Crackdown dialogue only gets in the way of vaulting over skyscrapers in an open world anyway but there s an unforgiving laziness about this approach Ruffian you could have least given us something J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS z lt lt This general lack of narrative does serve as a Way to truly open up Pacific City as a Sandbox pretty much allowing you total freedom to do whatever you like whenever you like It s cool being able to roam without the shackles of narrative direction but it does give the frantic action set pieces an unfortunate aimless quality Your core tasks are as follows secure spots kill everybody move on coming in 3 different disguises The first is the s
78. ily makes up for any alleviated frustration DICE s title has more wrong with it but does utilise a dedicated server system making it far more appealing option for PC gamers BF BC2 is h it s a bug insane amount of PC fans which s d 0 littered with graphical glitches texture errors and busted game mechanics The online battlefield veteran system doesn t work properly along with the kill count mechanic for certain weaponry Various animations repeat or leave you stuck like back stabbing or reloading and some firearms and gadgets are over or under powered Indecency is rife too especially within the Conquest game type A skilled and well organized team will easily outclass a lesser side forcing them back to their un capturable base which then becomes a killing field for score hoarders This phenomenon is affectionately known as base rape within the Battlefield community Cheap shots aside there are many technical issues with BF BC2 that require repair Someone should crack the whip and get those pasty mindless dead eyed drones at EA working So which is for you Which of these two titles is better comes down to personal preference Their unique game elements and mechanics will appeal to entirely different audiences If you re a constant climax kind of gamer who digs always being In the thick of it watching as your teammates are ground up around you explosions and muzzle flares
79. ing a virtual tiger much Safer than owning a real one A young girl interacted with the virtual tiger which she named Skittles fur enough via a series of strokes and gestures The emotional reaction of Skittles was Unlike the motion control systems being offered from Nintendo and Sony J Kinect doesnt use any sort of controller The Kinect Camera technology detects and tracks your full body and corresponding movements so when players swing their hands or kick their feet the games that Support Kinect read these movements and translate them into in game actions Kinect has brought Steven Spielberg s vision of the future in Minority Report forward to today in that it can be used to navigate the XBOX dashboard and Zune movie player backwards and forwards with simple hand movements North America should prepare for a November 4 launch but no information in the impressive pawing the screen and reacting to the young girls facial expression Chomski proved animals are not stupid and they know just how to manipulate their owners It leaves a few unanswered questions though related to inactivity in front of Kinect can we expect a virtual poo Naughty Skittles Time will tell Kinectimals will be one of the launch titles on November 4 O9e XOUX Disclaimer despite coming up with the name Skittles the young girl was not harmed in any way during the demonstration Sony played the native 3D ga
80. intendo have aimed for and achieved since the beginning Its somewhat apt that Nintendo then went on to unveil their successor to the DS Nintendo s 3DS Its smaller lighter and has a longer battery life The best news it s fully backwards compatible We learned about a few other outstanding features The 3Ds is a trailblazer in that its the first portable gaming console offering a genuine jaw dropping 3D experience Like its predecessor the 3DS features two screens a touch screen on the bottom that s similar to those found in the Nintendo DS and a large widescreen at the J9 IML UO S14 eys gt x S Sq top That top screen is where the magic happens as It s capable of producing 3D imagery without the aid of dork inducing glasses or an extra peripheral Several features have been squirrelled out of the technicians at the Nintendo laboratory to enhance the user s gaming experience a motion sensor gyro sensor and an analogue pad The device comes equipped with a two cameras which allow the user to take 3D pictures Shipping with a built in web browser connectivity is at the heart of the 3DS enabling over the air software updates across a Wi fi connection as well as the ability to download new data from another 3DS The graphical horsepower produces visuals that are on par with or in some cases surpassing Sony s PSP with screen resolution rising to 800x240 across its 3 5 inches mat
81. its interface has its appeal Schell referred to OnLive as wine in a box So look to the platforms where this model applies Take the Intel Netbook with an install base of 30 million in the US Its the 1 entertainment device The barriers to entry are lower but of course like the other platforms notably the iPhone the inherent challenges are in Standing out Olin criticised the industry for inventing games to meta cise our investment but consumers dont think that way They look for quality experiences Respect your audience do your research and you will get results He signed off with the mantra of the 22nd century Have screen will game Foe reminded the industry that our virtuosos like Don Baglow pioneer of the first graphical MMO will handle the continuing change in the market When we have these talented and experienced people the future is a bright thing He directed questions from those hungry to break into the industry to the Mod community Download the engines and the tools they are out there Experiment play and show off your skills Fill your resume accordingly Michael Acton Smith CEO of Mind Candy is a stealth entrepreneur He set up and sold Firebox com and nis latest project is children s virtual world Moshi Monsters with customisation After simulating sex with a pen and the gaps in his fingers he started to doubt his career choice Business has not
82. jump in and manually control the battle or sit back and watch as the battle plays out for you reminiscent of the classic Heroes of Might and Magic series As you progress up the levels you will find yourself switching between finding things to kill and heading back to your castle to Spend your hard earned resources You will use your spoils to replenish your lost forces as well as building or Upgrading segments of the castle 1g ae Castle of Heroes falls into that nice area of gaming where it has simple gameplay at It s core but once you get into it and scratch the surface there is a lot to do and learn After a successful launch and great player feedback gPotato recently released the first expansion for the game Called Babel it adds several new features to the mix including one known as The Tower of Babel for which the expansion is named The Tower of Babel is an interesting feature that houses a added capturable locations invarious But again this has an element of spots across the map choice about it as you will need a Once a building s guardian has powerful hero in order to defeat been defeated the hero that you the guardian and then defend the use in the attack will become that building However once done you building s guardian for up to 12 hours lose access to the hero for quite The building can still be attacked and sometime taken by other players but the longer you defend the more res
83. l SFX Frag Pro that we The time has come for the T1 office to have a bit of a clear o decided to give another away We know we spoil you sometimes right we re actually doing a spot of cleaning We mange to Ta a lot of games and well random shit over the course of a y Fa Splitfish are kings of the controllers for many hardcore gamers out many of the items finding their way into a draw or our there and their latest offering the Splitfish Dual SFX Frag Pro is as organized filing cabinet of wonderment good as it gets when it comes to console based FPS action g Not one to simply throw things away we ve decided to give Usable on both the PC and the PS3 the Dual SFX Frag Pro brings all it all to a couple of you lucky readers We won t even tell c the best of the critically acclaimed FRAGFXv2 mouse gaming design you what you ll win we don t know ourselves yet that s F NN in a dual wireless combo the mystery part Ooo it s like reading an issue of Lost The wireless controller gives you that same PC style gameplay on the PS3 and doubles as an optimized mouse for PS Home and Browser navigation This baby is faster more accurate and easier to use than a standard PS3 controller when it comes to FPS action This competition comes with a warning though most of the really good games get claimed by the T1 office workers And we Say random shit we really mean it You have been warned No send backsies The
84. l warfare It s a unique concept that offers a whole new style of gameplay The fast pace encourages twitch gameplay shooting from the hip with the fastest firing gun you can find yet it s touted as a tactical shooter While FPS titles like COD are praised for their online play they do have major flaws and anyone who s taken on a Sniper online will know how popular the no scoping approach becomes To combat this it seems that no scoping has an effect on more than just your accuracy Standing 2ft away and squeezing out around from a Sniper rifle without scoping standard practice at close range will often leave you stood puzzled wondering where that round actually went from 2ft it would be pretty hard to miss and you see a reaction from the enemy so you assume hes hit but why isn t he dead There are a few inconsistencies in the weapons Snipers seem to struggle with their low rate of fire and being a bit tame and you can often be out gunned by an SMC at range There are benefits to each gun and they can be exploited but a it feels that the fast firing SMG is just too accurate at distance and too inaccurate firing at close range Choosing between the assault rifle and the SMG is like choosing whether to paint your wall eggshell or off white to notice you d have to be the wonderfully irritating female enemy or WIFE for short Despite It s drawbacks when things are going well it can be great fun to p
85. lay and the fast paced gameplay takes you back toa simpler time when games werent all based on real life events The general speed of movement can only be described as bloody hell what was that while hitting sprint just takes it to a whole new level allowing you to traverse a map faster than Usain Bolt with a battery up his ass The strange twist is the addition of tactical elements Scoping slows your movement to a crawl leaving you at the mercy of your enemies It s contradictory to the usual fast pace of the game and does place an element of doubt in your mind as to whether you Should spray and pray or try aiming for the forehead The developers Zombie Studios tout the game as having millions of different loadout combinations to choose from and like most modern shooters you can pre configure a few defaults before you enter the game It s definitely recommended you do that as the sheer number of options are staggering the match would be over by the time you set up your kits if you do them all in game Unfortunately if you rule out the hundred or SO weapon tags there s little on offer that other shooters don t give you excluding the tags the game has a lot less options than say the Call of Duty series Although you have different classes each class only has a single gun so there s an SMG gun an assault gun a Sniper a shotgun and an LMG Because you ve only got 5 guns to customise it makes the milli
86. locations such as Hong Kong and Berlin to piece together the mystery of the lost expeditionary force This really is a movie that you can play one that harkens back to 1930s adventure flicks There are a heck of a lot of cutscenes sometimes you can go 10 minutes without having to click the mouse which could be annoying for people who like to stay in the action in their games but those who enjoy story more than gameplay will probably get a lot out of this Lost Horizon is certainly not a serious game though as It parodies the genre and even throws in a few homages to adventure films There are some genuinly funny parts in the game and most of the characters are entertaining such as a boy who has bet his friends that he can catch a live bat because apparently that s what kids like to bet on There are some clever puzzles too mostly involving combining items and using them in the correct way like when you have to escape from a box that you are trapped in underwater Animation Arts have obviously put a lot of work into Lost Horizon and it really shows The art and sound quality are fantastic and we look forward to what looks to be one of the best adventure games of the year Roll on August so we can find out J9 JIML UO SIU BIeUS WUT Voss Uas oe Sa WOvVVaeotaclysm As you all probably know the World of Warcraft Cataclysm beta started recently Unfortunately it was a little too close to the issue and far
87. mb buttons towards you if you have tiny hands or away from you for those with hands like Shrek It s a gimmick but it s a useful gimmick and if you often find thumb buttons fiddly and awkward to access then this is the mouse for you With a price of around 45 it s by no means a cheap mouse and the feature list is pretty limited It s a simple well made mouse but the S600DPI is nothing more than a marketing exercise as at that kind of sensitivity games are uncontrollable Unfortunately it s competition are a little more developed and offer slightly more Adjustable weight is a huge benefit to mice despite what many people Say and It can be hard to go Dack to a light weight mouse after playing with a weighted mouse for a few years The Razer can be twitchy and a little too responsive thanks to it s light weight and ultra sensitive sensor throw in the countless energy drinks to get through the night and you ll start to think your game character has developed Parkinson s The Imperator can be easily customised through its drivers offering 5 sensitivity levels for on the fly adjustments macros and you can even customise the glowing light with a vast array of two settings on or off While this review may sound a little damning the Razer is at the cheaper end of the gamer mouse spectrum and is a massive improvement from the usual Razer design Mice are completely subjective and what s right
88. me travel and you like your FPS adventure games like Myst then we highly recommend The Journeyman Project Buried in Time N gt a0 E B 15 N NN B T B A B B N QV Pd S Format PC Hardware ae SteelSeries Siberia V2 A gaming headset only needs a few key ingredients to take it from good to OMFG can hear my ballsack slapping as teabag this nOOb Right off the bat it has to be comfortable enough to let you lose yourself in the game Secondly it needs to offer decent enough sound quality for you to hear the enemy breathing in the next room Finally and less importantly they have to look good enough so you don t feel like a tool with two tin Cans Strapped to your ears SteelSeries offer a huge array of headsets for gamers none quite SO popular as the Siberia line Back with a refined design the Siberia V2 tackles all three key aspects listed above to bring you a great sounding massively comfortable headset 2 3 isn t bad A few Issues back we looked at the Sennheiser PC350 headset and to paraphrase we Said they were bloody comfortable It s a hard act to follow especially with such a dominant name in the Industry as Sennheiser The Siberia V2 s not only beat the Sennheiser s for comfort they beat every headset we ve ever had the pleasure of testing More comfortable than a cold pillow on a warm night more com
89. media Animation and the Web Chelmsford Click www anglia ac uk thirteen1 Email answers anglia ac uk Call 0845 271 3333 Don t just play Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge amp Chelmsford Study Computer Gaming Animation or Multimedia Animation Technology Cambridge Computer gaming requires some of the most sophisticated technology design techniques and development applications found in the computing and creative industries Using state of the art software in dedicated laboratories you will learn the technical grounding needed for programming interactive environments along with the design principles for modelling and animation From the very start game production is at the heart of our teaching culminating in a final year project which will not only focus your career aims but provide you with a portfolio for potential employers This course will encourage you to express your creative concepts as well as providing you will all the skills necessary to make these a working reality BSc Hons Computer Game Development Chelmsford This course is for those who wish to design and build exciting and interactive games as an independent producer Discover the delights of modelling the amusement of animation the wonder of sound the power of scripting and the versatility of programming to convert your ideas into complete marketable games for static or mobile devices single players or networked groups
90. ment you nail a perfect helicopter landing to the last The game s somewhat thin story centres around art thief Lander who mysteriously washes up on a desert island and is confronted by chilled out local Marley Lander has an important upcoming meeting to attend with the aptly named Mr Art Steeler in the Big City but it looks like the washed up heh crook is stuck thanks to the shark infested waters Surrounding the island Pretty pissed off about it all Lander throws his briefcase at Marley s head causing it to open on impact and reveal the valuable contents inside one of them being Da Vinci s original plans for a pedal based flying machine Luckily for Lander Marley is quite the craftsman and soon puts it together for them both to use The escape is on You take on the role of island inhabitant Marley cruelly forced to do all the pedalling leg work by the beefier Lander while he lazily negotiates with locals in return for directions and tips on how to reach the Big City and make his meeting Though it only serves as a way to stitch one stage to the next the Storyline is cleverly told through some funny wonderfully drawn comic book style cutscenes including humorous mumbled voice overs to represent the characters talking to each other It sounds just like a drunken friend who s trying to make a point when his tongue is moving faster than SUING rr J9 JIML UO SIU BIeUS his mind
91. mes this summer proving yet again that 2010 iS probably the best year gaming has ever seen Mario Galaxy 2 has burst onto the scene as a follow up to one of our all time favourite games World of WarCraft are launching an almighty expansion called Cataclysm and even our favourite time travelling doctor Doctor Who that s his name not a question for any of our foreign readers somehow not in the know has got in on the act with a few episodic games From The Ed s Head As reliable and tipsy as always our DrunkenGamer has covered all of these delights in one fellow swoop of game Slaying manlihood right here in this very Issue The weather might feel hotter than the suns surface at the moment but that doesn t mean us gamers have to concern ourselves with venturing outside and burning our pastey skin Of course last month also saw the incredibly crucial E3 expo roll into LA Showcasing just about every game you should be looking forward to playing in the next year or so 11S own TurkeySaladBoy gives nis rather unique take on the events this isn t the usual Dest game in X genre bull crap If you want to get an idea of what really goes down at these places you ve simply got to read this knee slappingly funny piece FPS fanatic Gow has been at it again too this time tackling Zombie Studios promising downloadable title Blacklight Tango Down It has something like a gazillion combinations of weapon load
92. ming card but supported this claim with stunning visuals demonstrated its Move controller and unveiled a subscription service set to leave console owners non Plus sed Fan faring from the pedestal of their expansive stage the big wigs at Sony proclaimed they are driving gaming into a genuine 3D age Just a shame we all had to look like dorks wearing the glasses Killzone 3 from Guerilla Games was the poster child for Sony s 3D vision Its been developed with 3D compatibility in mind from the ground up and honestly looks like a prom queen from a bygone era Sumptuous in game footage showcasing the games massive environments intensive fire fights and the ability to pilot around the terrain on a gun mounted jet pack had everyone Salivating Sony provided assurances Killzone 3 will be Move compatible in time for its February 2011 release and has all the signs that it will the next killer IP Best get saving for that expensive Bravia HD TV as well The Move is Sony s version of the Wii mote but with buttons as the big chiefs were quick to point out Like all good double acts it cannot exist without the Navigation Controller the equivalent of the Nintendo Nunchuck see a pattern Move functions by using a combination of accelerometers gyrometers and magnetometers Despite giving the wand the appearance of a clunky glow stick the bulb on top of the Move talks to the PlayStation Eye to create accuracy
93. more fun exploring with your friends and getting creative with the interactable environments Crackdown 2 is a great game in the same ways that the original was but that s about it If you were a major fan of Crackdown or are yet to play the first you ll probably love this There are a few differences to keep you interested and if anything it s an excuse for more super powered mayhem However those who didn t really buy into the concept of the original or expecting huge improvement from the first will get no extra joy here and the lack of narrative progression is a genuine disappointment that many fans will struggle to overlook P al Li T l G T E e c Ui a tar ae Ui ri ka ara os k aaa l a m Ta WU ra 4 a TA x B NY m S Format PC Biker Battles Hands On a va If you want to get anywhere in the MMO business the major thing you need is innovation But the trouble is that there are so many ideas floating around out there that it s damned difficult to come up with a truly unique approach to gaming Most browser games suffer from copycat syndrome a condition also join gangs of which there is only one at the moment The Hells Angels Gaasbeeck says that gangs will be the most important aspect of the game and will feature ranks and a management system Ever present in modern MMOs is the cash shop where players ca
94. n on a zebra crossing Very clearly the Beatles more accurately the Abbey Road album Use the Force Obviously Star Wars With that in mind what do you think of when say Blue Box or Sonic ScrewDriver The answer without a shadow of a doubt hope would be Doctor Who l Il admit to having a great personal love for Doctor Who grew up watching the show as a small child While never hid behind anything do remember being quite worried by the sound of the monsters from time to time was very annoyed when It went off air in 1989 suffering my way through the 1996 TV movie travesty twice to get my Dr Who fix and couldn t have been happier when it triumphantly returned in 2005 Since that return have yet to miss a single episode was even ready to stop drinking to watch the first episode of the latest series until the landlord of the pub switched the TV over to the right channel So with that knowledge you can imagine how reacted when heard that there was a Dr Who game in production Very excited and expecting a lot Lets see how well the guys at Sumo Digital have lived up to my expectations with their episodic title Doctor Who The Adventure Games At the time of writing this two of the four planned episodes for this game have been released City of the Daleks and Blood of the Cybermen In both games you take on the role of the Doctor amp his current compani
95. n spend stone cold where game designers flat out lift of the game which is a fairly hundreds of gamers pitching their cash on virtual stuff Biker Battles lets you ideas from other more successful simple crime RPG as it stands own ideas and with so many that buy skulls with euros to exchange for in games Crime RPG Biker Battles you can also join other players on could potentially be thrown out game cash crates of weapons or grenades is one of the few games that the forum who are constantly there the liklihood is that there It s not clear what grenades actually do as actually seems to be innovating at coming up with new Ideas to will be a couple of gems that will there are no PVP features in the game yet least at the moment anyway implement Although the feature set the game apart from the rest so in these early days it s probably best to is still in its infancy judging by just go for cash J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS Inspired by his love for the TV show Sons of Anarchy Biker Battles is the brainchild of one Stefan Gaasbeek and is currently in open alpha meaning anyone Can register a character and get playing just remeber that because game Is still developing you currently only have the bare bones to play with However Gaasbeek had a spark of ingenuity when creating the game deciding that the players themselves Should play a big role in forging the gameplay of the new MMO While you can play the basics the small amo
96. n the co op play TERA will turn heads but not in terror rather in admiration Bigpoint Battlestar Galactica Bigpoint carried the momentum over from a successful GDC with private showings of Battlestar Galactica Online an adrenaline fuelled space jockeying browser based MMO BSG is a partnership with NBC Universal and features the technology of the scalable Unity 3D engine Pick between the human and Cylon races and engage in tactical space combat mission based quests and endless exploration Spunky femme fatales Cylon captains are welcome but it remains to be seen Bigpoint are built on the cornerstones of creating an experience that can be enjoyed by anyone anywhere and they consider BSG as their most ambitious project to date So it could defile or define Either way expect a story driven experience that will be executed with the highest discernible quality Bigpoint threw a great party too during E3 But wed like to make it clear the positive spin above was not bought in any way by free drinks and dancing girls No sir Gameforge Star Trek E Ja A Se oe It would appear that TV tie ins are in vogue So fittingly we stole some time with one of the other pillars of the German browser based behemoths Gameforge They announced a browser based and Facebook outing for Star Trek a partnership with US broadcasting powerhouse CBS For Gameforge the Star Trek license is part of a bold journey int
97. nglia Ruskin University Create Your Vision Click www anglia ac uk thirteenl Email answers anglia ac uk Call 0845 2713333 La O OA aai Freedom Force vs The 3rd Reich Time travel is a hot topic this month tn our GOG section and this game is certainly one to go back into the past for Freedom Force was a Superhero real time tactical RPG developed by Irrational Games and released in 2002 But in 2005 this band of awesome superheroes returned to overthrow Nazi Germany and its allies The plot begins with some sort of time lapse that causes many changes in history one of which means victory of World War II goes to the Axis As you can imagine this doesn t go down well with Freedom Force who instantly go back in time to correct the error and defeat the evil Blitzkrieg Freedom Force is a huge collection of original heroes some of them being instant favourites and others not The gameplay is pretty standard for an RTS RPG but its comic book aesthetic really adds to the overall feel of the game The music and the voice acting are also pretty extraordinary making the game a really enjoyable experience There s a great deal of in jokes from the first game so if you haven t played that one you may feel like a third wheel but the countless references to other superheroes provide the game with some memorable and nilarious moments Freedom Force vs The 3rd Reich is one of the most inaccurate depictions of World War I
98. ns a month That s equal to a new player every 2 seconds The freemium model is working to great effect with an extraordinary conversation rate of 8 9 days for every free registration to paid up subscriber Whilst those numbers will please any CFO and VC consider the impact on content creation Acton Smith N lt QJ D Vi O _ r D pE a i i uae yd Y NI y I vs points out children cycle every 2 3 months so make the content sticky After all players invest a lot of time energy and their parents money Action Smith and colleagues at Mind Candy put a razor sharp focus on A B testing and data mining like the social gaming behemoths Zynga Playfish Playdom etc to make sure their community continue to customise their little hearts out When kids fall in love they want it now Judging by the incredible numbers they want colourful little Moshi s Yohei Ishii of CCP Games whipped the audience into a frenzy with details of console based yes you read that correct FPS Dust 514 Ishii acknowledged the traditional console publishing model is broken As a result CCP have adopted a games as service approach for their FPS Expect microtransactions and an achievement system that blows anything currently on XBLA out of the water Put infamy in your pipe and smoke it CCP have the luxury of an established community 340k aN 5 3 Zz
99. o global AAA expansion The browser based title will be based on the classic Star Trek series whereas the Facebook or social game takes inspiration from the contemporary Deep Space Nine Expect to hear more from our very own Drunkengamer in a future issue J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS Title Omerta Format Browser Based One thing have learnt over the last few months of design is that balance is key For example the randomisation of the smuggling values that talked about in last months column The balance there was making the increase in value worth the players effort to change routes while at the same time not adversely effecting the overall economy of the game Now before stepped up to design itself would just regularly assume that the designs being passed to me had taken that into account However recently decided to take a look back over some of the design choices that had been made and while most were fine did manage to find a flaw or two The biggest of which has been a bone of contention between the crew and the players since it was done the removal of Killing Skill from the game To explain what it was for those who don t know basically as the user progressed up the ranks of Omerta for strength they also had the option to train their killing ability by shooting at bottles or each other This skill was then used as part of the killing calculations and several other calculations throughout
100. o the culture Bigpoint com has become one of the number one online gaming destinations with 128 000 000 registered accounts more than the daily number of eggs consumed around the World Expansion is part of their strategy they have a target of 100 new games on the portal before the end of 2010 as well as partnerships with IP holders in other verticals Nils presented a teaser trailer for Battlestar Galatic Online and made reference to The Mummy Online with creative input from Jesse Schell But why go down the licensing route Kuju and Dylan Collins Jolt Online versus Mark Epic Rein Epic Games and James Brooksby Double Six Mark Rein pointed out AAA quality is available everywhere but It costs There is no such thing as a free lunch as Somebody somewhere is paying in some way This was countered by a jab from lan Baverstock Start with a price point of zero and you will reach a huge audience Support came from colleague Dylan Collins Keep ROI in mind There are 1 billion browsers out there in the world Browser games Big point has more registered accounts than there are eggs eaten aground the world each day Fact asked a puzzled lan Livingstone Life President of Eidos and conference chair To crack the US market since they prefer action driven games Nicholas Mr Finance Lovell chaired a panel debated free versus paid with two teams Sparring over the best busines
101. o your own thing Deborah Got any advice for people thinking of starting their own studio Billy think anyone can Start a game studio as long as they have a lot of drive and passion for it Of course it takes talent in art sound and programming to make the actual game But to see your game through to the end you will need a lot of persistence to get you through the slow and frustrating times It s the nature of creativity and collaboration Deborah s Bio Deborah Fike is a game writer for InstantAction com a website that delivers quality hardcore 3D games direct to web browsers She has an MBA from the University of Oregon and worked as a Teaching Fellow for the university s Career Services Department She has been involved in the hiring and recruiting of many members of the Torque Game Engine development team J9 IML UO SIU eys Title Breaking Into The Industry Format Industry Writing Games with C and XNA With Rob Miles Not available offline PDF or in iPhone iPad Visit Online Magazine Download Interactive PDF Anglia Ruskin University A my Dont just play a Cambridge amp Chein asio y Study Computer Gaming Animation or Multimedia and the Internet with Anglia Ruskin University LLH WF BSc Hons Computer Gaming and Animation Technology Cambridge BSc Hons Computer Game Development Chelmsford BSc Hons Media and Internet Technology Cambridge BSc Hons Multi
102. on Amy Pond switching GAMES between the two as the story demands Playing in the third person the core of the gameplay is very similar to all point and click adventures if simplified a little to make it more accessible for the younger players Each of these staples such as finding the right item to interact with in the environment or finding the right NPC to talk to at that moment are broken up well by both interesting mini games and some well written cut scenes All of the puzzles and challenges are fairly basic For example In both episodes you will find yourself having to sneak past enemies When you reach one of these stealth areas the camera will do a sweep over the area to help you get a grasp of their patrol paths As the enemies move their cone of vision will be shown on the floor in front of them and as long as you stay out of those zones they will pretty much ignore you However in a little bit of an unforgiving twist get Spotted and the buggers dont waste time in exterminating you One very good example of this occurs in City of the Daleks when you are Sneaking around a Dalek production line to find some spare parts Even though only had to sneak past two enemies and their paths are fairly simple to remember still found myself being killed a couple of times before got the timing right Thankfully you are never sent very far back when killed usually just back to the start o
103. one from the bedroom gamer to hardcore competitive finger bashers Their latest gaming mouse the Imperator offers a 5600DPI sensor two thumb buttons on the fly sensitivity adjustment gold connectors and thanks to the Teflon coated base slides around more than a greasy weasel on a bobsled run Razer mice have a fondness in gamers hearts their distinctive looks and top notch performance offer a familiarity across the range Over the years the design has been refined but never really changed all that much it s easy to spot one of their mice from a mile off thanks to their trademark logo and glowing scroll wheel Unfortunately the industry has matured and with mice now Razer Imperator reaching upwards of the 70 mark there s plenty of competition Can the Imperator keep up The Imperator is a step in the right direction for Razer the mouse feeling more like a high end product than previous offerings The grip is much more ergonomic similar to that of the Logitech g500 Razer claim that the Imperator has been designed to work for both the claw grip and the palm grip although it feels much more natural adopting the palm grip The shape of the mouse keeps your palm firmly planted which can lead to sweaty palms and the glossy plastic down the sides dont help at all The ace up the Imperator s sleeve is it s adjustable thumb buttons on the base you ll find a handy little slider that moves the thu
104. ons Changing The score is Suitably epic and the voice cast do a good job though some sounds during battle are inaudible until you zoom in which can lead to a feeling of detachment from proceedings Barring a few minimal flaws this game Is a pleasant Surprise and a strong contender for Total War s crown King Arthur is ideal for those who like their grand Strategy games with a whole heap of fantasy and some fresh new ideas of it s own Out of Thirteen J9 IML UO S14 aeYS Want to be the next Don Or just another goon omerta com Title Mirrors Edge Soundtrack Format PC X360 PS3 Mirrors Edge Soundtrack AS lr D I C E s alternative FPS Mirror s Edge is extremely underrated Though the Japanese anime inspired plot and dystopian setting are highly unoriginal its vibrant design and innovative gameplay make it a required experience for open minded gamers For games like Mirror Edge everything is about style the characters the colour scheme and of course the music Making his debut in game scoring Is Swedish electronic music artist Marcus Bigersson best known by his stage name Solar Fields With six stylistic albums under nis belt Solar Fields was a wise choice by E A His music is ambient organic atmospheric and deep perfect for the game in question The album opens with Lisa Miskovsky s Still Alive the game s theme song that spawned its own album of remixes
105. ons of combinations statement feel a little cheap the disappointment can only be rivalled by that of a funfair when you see all the huge prizes and yet you win a goldfish Despite The only game around where you play Simon Says to capture control points it being slightly misleading there really are a lot of combinations Each gun can have a choice of scopes muzzles magazines and stocks as well as the ability to customise Its Camouflage and add a weapon tag Weapon tags add an element of style to your gun allowing you to dangle a little charm down the side similar to those stupid things that teenagers put on their mobile phones These tags add a slight modification to your gun maybe allowing you to run quicker or Cause more damage they add a nice extra level of customisation but seem to do little to your overall loadout Oxymoronically may have just made that word up the game s best feature is also J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS the cause of most of its problems The HRV Hyper Reality Visor allows you to see roughly where the enemy are In OBLIEKUTVUE the distance and exactly where they are WE when they re up close This allows you to hunt that elusive camping sniper or check the route ahead to See if it s clear Unfortunately because every class has this item at it s disposal you can throw away all elements of stealth You Can silence your weapon you Can move Slowly Dut you cannot es
106. opers sit up and pay attention The single player campaign iS divided into chapters each chapter boasting different tasks to be performed Your campaign is controlled from the Grand Map where progression is turn based as you control Arthur s destiny choosing which factions to join and which to fight while completing text based side quests These text based side quests are not as dull as the name suggests Each one has branching pathways that allow you to choose how to complete it Of course as is de rigueur nowadays the moral choices you make during each quest affect the rest of the game Enough thought has been put Into each one that it really makes you think long and hard about the path you should ultimately take It is much better to stay on one path once you start down it rewarding you with better skills and units So it pays not to go veering off in opposite directions just for a big payoff that won t necessarily help you in the long run On the grand map you control the growth of economy research law creation just about everything While this mode has been Streamlined it s certainly not oversimplified Each area is divided into provinces that feature towns castles and other areas each needing to be controlled in order to take over a province This mode is turn based and each turn represents a season of the year It pays to build up as much as you can before winter comes around as during this turn a
107. or an iPhone and make something happen on screen It might take a few attempts to get right it might not look great at first but you WILL get better And the reason always Say this Is because as an employer believe that demonstrable work speaks volumes about the capabilities of an individual Combined with passion and talent really think it can be as useful as formal qualifications or experience So what are you waiting for Get to it Oh and btw the second answer is no The third answer is magic Simon Morris is the Technical Director at Strawdog Studios On any given day he s usually figuring out ways to make game code run faster and on more platforms Strawdog Studios will be releasing their very own arcade game Space Ark on Xbox Live Arcade in June 2010 look out for it and become a fan at www facebook com spaceark J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS 15 j N B g8 JO a0 on Le a5 g8 S Pad Format Industry R reakin nN To the Industry g Launching a Game Studio By Deborah Fike There are people who follow and then there are people who lead In the games industry legends have been born among those who have chosen to strike their own path These are the pioneers of new business and innovation the ones who had an idea in their head and through thick skins and thin pocketbooks managed to launch their careers Debo
108. ort of battle armour Mr Burns will stop at nothing from beating your character to a yellow pulp _ Wesker from Resident Evil 5 p gt a U Until Resident Evil Code Veronica many people thought Wesker was dead hoisted by his own petard in the original game when the Tyrant ended him However he was down but not out After some wicked augmentation Wesker became a cat eyed speed demon but it wasnt until Resident Evil 5 that we finally got to have a crack at him The boss fight with Wesker in the hanger isn t particularly difficult once you work out the strategy but it was a breath of fresh air compared to the just keep shooting tactics we ve seen in many games before and after it EVIL The Third Colossus from Shadow of the Colossus This game was such a technological achievement for the PlayStation 2 we d go as far as Saying it s the best game ever to appear on the last generation console Its simplicity led to its success the gameplay wasnt overly complicated the setting and story were easy to follow and the boss fights were spectacular Our favourite has to be with the looming Third Colossus who you fight against on an open plane If you haven t played this game yet we urge you to find time to do so it s amazing It seems that the Sega MegaDrive was the only console of its time to have a decent Terminator game The Nintendo versions sucked yet the Sega kicked ass
109. ources you will gain total of 40 battles each containing a progressively more powerful guardian As you defeat each of the guardians you are given the choice to move on to the next one IN BEAS If you choose to continue the rewards ig fe E a t one a CASTILE will get progressively better as a et ETI ee Se result however this comes with a risk Fail on any floor and you will lose ALL of the rewards you have earned up to that point In order to a find out how the expansion has been received by the players a little bit of insight into the development and hopefully a little bit of news about what we can expect next In the game decided to talk to Gabor This is a very interesting risk reward l Gyarmati Producer of Castle of Heroes idea indeed Because you can only make one attempt at the tower each day you will have to think hard as to when you drop out Will your forces hold up to one last floor or do you run away with your spoils Another new feature particularly worth noting are the new world buildings Because resources are a core part of the game they have So with the Tower of Babel expansion out for a while now how have the players taken to the expansion as a whole The Tower of Babel was very positively received by the players everybody appreciates the new content The Tower of Babel itself in particular is very popular since it is challenging for players of all level ranges and holds very valuable items
110. outs in a game that costs a meagre 1200 MS Points Something has got to give with that right Combine all of the above with top contributions from our stellar writing talent including Sir Malthouse s anticipated review of Darkness Within 2 Dark Lineage Kieran s quality MW 2 vs Battlefield Bad Company 2 feature and Alec Ross immense 13 1 countdown of the best boss battles to ever get your fingers twitching and you ve got plenty to keep you busy while the heat makes the outside world as unbearable as cotton pants during a hip hop country dance youtube it Personal props this issue simply nave go to the fantastically named The Bearded Ladies who have swooped onto the PSN with Landit Bandit their debut new genre coining release We loved it so much we had the DrunkenGamer come up with a drinking game in it s honour Enjoy the issue folks know we did About Thirteen Thirteen1 is an online gaming magazine based in East Yorkshire United Kingdom Founded in March 2008 by three gaming enthusiasts Daniel Allen Craig Franklin and Paddy Fellows the idea behind the site was a simple one to provide gaming news and reviews written by gamers and for gamers With this in mind they set about writing the first issue which was launched on the 13th of April 2008 In August Craig took a hiatus from the project to focus on his education and the team was joined by Daniel Gowen an FPS nut with a great eye for
111. pen the mood with Marketing counts for a lot You still need to reach an audience and TV ads still make a difference The panel rumbled like a volcano before coming to the meaningful conclusion there is scope for both freemium and paid for business models l m pleased that s cleared up Joseth Olin like Great Scott Foe possesses Inspirational qualities and both are nice people to boot Olin is President of AISA Academy of Arts Female characters have to have massive your concept define the audience Avoid complacency though warns Olin TV viewers are actually up 6 in USA The average teen spends 135 hours per month watching TV Take heart though as there is plenty of wallet to go after In the US consumers purchase buckets of minutes to fill their entertainment needs like with Tivo and Netflix There are 6 million new gamers in the USA a rise of 25 since 2008 There s a reason to be cheerful and Sciences Foe is a game designer genius and master of dead pan Olin Shared bewitching statistics and moderated reasons to be cheerful about the future of gaming For instance there are 6 million new gamers In the USA a 25 increase since 2008 Who plays games The Glastonbury crowd That s your marketplace As for the definitions is the core really core It echo s a point made by Jesse Schell have For Olin OnLive is an attractive option but time will tell although
112. pnel filled mash up This creates an extreme and competitive multiplayer experience where enemies could be and usually are behind every corner The bad side of Infinity s map constructs Is that it often restricts players In any given map there are literally only a few avenues of approach meaning participants often feel confined and larger games seem overly Holiday Well that s the last time book on Expedia No wonder it s cheap claustrophobic Players can customize their soldier s load out with a simple but expansive class system An incredible amount of weaponry is available ranging from the humble 9mm pistol to light machine guns and 50 cal sniper rifles A range of explosives optics and various weapon accessories such as silencers and heartbeat sensors are on hand permitting players to create specific kits for specific situations MW2 also has an awesome and well balanced perk mechanic representing your soldier s specialities If you like the idea of a covert close combat killer you can do that If you prefer the premise of an explosive crazed RPG brandishing psychopath the options there Infinity has created a very complete and concise customization section catering to many different play styles Every weapon attachment and perk has to first be earned through a Standard rank experience system MW2 also has a large number of maps and game types ranging from simple F
113. progress faster in the game than they previously could Do you get much time to jump into the game yourself since the expansion has launch and do you find it useful to do so All of us the Castle of Heroes team are playing the game in our free time and there is simply no better way to know if the game works as intended and what the community thinks or cares about During the day our GMs monitor the game worlds but are not actively playing since we are constantly working on new content As we all know MMOs never stop development Are you able to give us any hints as to what the players can expect in the future We do not want to give too much away yet but our developers are working on several ideas that we are all very excited about already One of those new features allows several players to join forces to defeat very powerful enemies We will release more information about new content on our website which you can find here If you don t want to check the website constantly the easiest way is to subscribe to our RSS feed follow us on or become a friend of Castle of Heroes on hope we will meet in the world of Gaia J9 IML UO SIU aseUS eB WW eB u eB es LJ iS S Ry T1 Does E3 Bangin music flashing lights scantily clad cosplay girls and enough energy drink to power a Left 4 Dead zombie army An average weekend in the Thirteen office Not quite This is E3 baby We sent
114. rah Why did you start your own studio Billy Games have had a strong presence in my life since was really young Around the same time discovered games also discovered my ability to draw and be really creative on paper Eventually those two passions of mine merged and knew that really wanted to create my own games and get my own visions out in the community Deborah What skills are necessary to launch your own studio Billy Organization and focus are key to getting things off the ground early on Anybody can file the paperwork to start a company but you need well defined direction started Perfect Dork Studios because of a very specific project and within four months we had our first fully realized game prototype created Deborah What do you wish someone would have told you before launching a studio Billy have heard from many successful indie studios that the key was to start with small focused efforts instead of huge or overly ambitious games If would have followed that advice think my team would have 2 or 3 more games released by now that could be funding our current development Billy Garretsen is one such entrepreneur President and Founder of Perfect Dork Studios his team is determined to become a successful game studio With several iPhone PC and Mac games under their belt Perfect Dork has already found publishing success Billy shares his insights on what It s like to d
115. re even helicopters to ride with There are plenty of other activities on offer to keep you occupied Crackdown s stand out Agility Orb collection is alive and well here serving as a fiendishly addictive way to eat up many an hour The Orbs are impressively scattered across Pacific City s landscape almost acting as a tour guide of the huge environment as you jump from one to the next on a collection spree Crackdown 2 complements this with the addition of new Renegade Orbs which Zip around their Surrounding area and prove a tough yet rewarding challenge to catch The Driving and Hidden Orbs are on offer too as well as both street and rooftop races to keep you busy If you re a fan of open world gaming it s hard to feel bored in Crackdown 2 that s for sure J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS Despite the obvious appeal of the Review franchise to gamers Crackdown 2 does very little to improve on the original A major niggle from the first has been Stamped out though and that s the need to constantly return to the agency HQ when you want to equip a new weapon set or get your hands on a new vehicle You ll now find that Cell spots are transformed to drop points when they re secured offering numerous convenient locations for you to switch your artillery up Annoyingly the parkour elements of the game are the same as before bugs included You can be seamlessly jumping from ledge to ledge and feeling grea
116. ree for All s to Capture the Flag and Headquarters capture amp defend Vehicles are present in MW2 but players are unable to pilot them they are just bestowed for successful kill streaks as an In game reward system The best gamers can hope for is the gunner seat on one of the orbiting murder machines A helpful death streak is also present which grants a slight boost or advantage for combatants who keep getting their asses handed to them It s a very balanced and complete system well thought out and executed The only fly in the ointment is the inability to fiddle with your classes in game Teamwork is not one of MW2 strong suits Its multiplayer function has no way to effectively organize your side Only the fairly rudimentary Xbox live party system and even that is restricted in many game types This makes it difficult to coordinate even very simple team strategies Not that it d matter with most Call of Duty players They interact but it s rarely helpful and will usually only serve to frustrate you further Almost all in game communication is smack talk or whiney wobbly throated children bitching as they stuff semi chewed cheeseburgers down their swollen distended gullets There are plenty of cheaters too Spend any reasonable amount of time playing and your inbox will be flooded by propositions of hackers offering to level your account For a price of course It isa few gg Pes gt a tes
117. rmies are unable to move and the taxes role into the coffers The use of Christianity vs Paganism is a very Interesting feature The player can choose between the two and how they use them Each comes with it s own advantages and disadvantages and the system is one of the two things that measure player morality the other being the type of ruler you are tyrannical or just Spee e During the battles the RPG gameplay also comes to the fore levelling up Arthur your units and other heroes active and passive attributes These then improve your chances on the battlefield though they do serve some purpose on the Campaign map as well The RTS portion is probably the most frustrating part of the whole package and the fact that it s still damn good shows you what a high quality product Neocore games have produced It s just the difficulty curve is completely merciless to the point that the computer was coming fairly close to being thrown out the window Even on easy it s not hard to find yourself backed into a corner and Arthur s death or losing too much of your army means game over Unfortunately as the game progresses and the difficulty level rises to frustrating heights it becomes apparent that the game is unbalanced in places For example some units are too powerful and unfairly difficult to beat especially early on To their credit Neocore have been fixing the few problems J9 JIML UO SIU
118. ron If you don t want every experience in 3D you can simply turn it off via the easy to access Slider Just make sure you are looking at the screen head on otherwise you ll end up bog eyed The release schedule of new titles will showcase the imagineering of the 3DS Nintendo fan boys and girls will endure sleepless nights in anticipation of titles like Kid Icarus Uprising an overdue return to the gaming arena Mario Kart the shells actually make you duck StarFox Animal Crossing Nintendogs 3D and Paper Mario Third party contributions are equally as impressive Street Fighter Assassin s Creed Final Fantasy Metal Gear Solid Fifa that s right and Saints Row The rumour mill has been working overtime but alas there is no confirmed release date for Europe Fingers crossed grandma survives another bleak winter Not to be outdone Microsoft unveiled another new iteration of its XBOX 360 console as well as a Clever re branding of hands free motion sensing device Kinetic previously Project Natal The sexier sleeker even quieter XBOX 360 console features a 250GB hard drive built in wireless and the carrot compatibility with the hands free interface Kinetic Will ship in the UK July 16th public domain or otherwise regards price and bundles Kinect is a much cooler name than Project Natal anyway EDS Note Really and we saw it come to life with Kineticimals A pet simulator featur
119. rt you must turn up the full volume for It s hard to say what It is but that particular melody does something to the listener igniting emotions you won t know you have After a few minutes of a soft ambient section clearly arranged to convey the games stealth elements the music builds back up again and releases a Darrage of jungle drums that are later electronically treated Throw ina wicked bass sample and you ve got one hell of a techno session playing Then all of a Sudden the music stops Next thing you know a clear flamenco guitar begins to play the other Metal Gear Solid Zs I Lz i p l E 9 Q 7 N s melody the one everybody considers as Metal Gear Solid s true theme it is breathtaking It may seem stupid using most of the word count for this review on One track but It s such an impressive spectacle of music it would be very difficult to cut down Other poignant and memorable tracks are the two Sidecar tracks the dramatic music that plays during Snake and Eva s motorcycle escape Throw in Debriefing Last Showdown and Life s End the latter being Hibino s best track and you ve got one hell of a playlist The soundtrack also features Starsailor s Way to Fall the game s brilliantly apt credit track a song every Metal Gear fan should know the words too This isn t the longest soundtrack we ve ever reviewed however after coming to the end of this r
120. s Teamwork is heavily encouraged BF BC2 has a simple and intuitive squad system that allows players to group up in cells of four Indeed any successful team must work together and have a variety of different class types and vehicle pilots if they are to triumph In game communication IS Sparse with most squads keeping to internal party chat Battlefield s system actively promotes and rewards teamwork however so cross squad If you ever get caught voice communication is advantageous in a battlefield but not essential Bad Company don t be afraid to run offers so much freedom both ina away screaming like a literal sense and in the amount of little girl actions players are capable of It s a deep intelligent and multifaceted multiplayer experience Bugs Exploits Both MW2 and BF BC2 have flaws pretty serious ones at that It is true that Modern Warfare holds up well on console Over both Xbox Live and PS3 online Activision s title works fairly seamlessly with few hiccups or graphical glitches Its PC Incarnation is another matter entirely MW2 has no dedicated servers relying instead on Infinity s host system This results in hideous lag for an nearly renders MW2 unplayable If nothing else this inherent problem makes MW2 a very difficult recommendation for PC owners A Shame since the spawning mechanic and team balancing elements of MW2 work very well Unfortunately the epidemic of cheaters eas
121. s Dan miedz on Ado 2 to see if it S Ae if S cracked p to be Ar 4 ae 7 Vm by i 3 a SO big that a lot of games get Mif ey well not by So Za aa a ay E 3 Naughty wed Mario Galaxy 2 hey guess what decided to k for lt 2 Power Stars too FIFA online Biker Battles ee ae Down Dr Who King Arthur CoD Vs Battlefield Landit Bandit SteelSeries Syberia V2 Razer Imperator Game Horizon 2010 Comps more js i iii Ta alll j d a i E d i iai a a a L 7 E i as i th ie a Kon ff ExtremelyImpressivem sibly ithe highest a Astrum Nival and gPotato i E f y free2play yet have a hit on i E sjnhands wW P Tec aPC Gaming Massively need A A i uf A Mey N an A Comprehensive Involving Ambitious 7 Wy Edge i al N PF i 1 TEM lic st tandis SNOU der top Allods Onli ne may Allods Online nas the shoulder withjsome of ne Clk e the potential to oie ir something the best MII MIORPGS MMO experier nce really exciting ina genre t hat currentlyay gilablc ae Eurogamer net often struge es toir MEVEL Game Spot CO ral VideoGamer co ral AL Ne K DEE END LOOT OR PLUNDE R SET SAIL I Po ASTRAL WITH ALLODS ONEINE Step 1 Register at allods gPotato eu Step 2 Download the game client Step 3 Install and patch the game to the latest version Step 4 Log in with your gPotato eu username and passwor
122. s a more classic 2D environment on a single plane Here you have to jump down to the bottom of the first path and then blimp fruit your way back up the other side to the Star You ll notice from the above that aside from the great design there s another key element in this sequel Power ups amp Partners This time out Mario does not have to go it alone in his hunt across the galaxy Instead he is joined on various levels by both Luigi amp Yoshi Luigi will pop up at regular intervals at the Start of a level offering you the opportunity to play the level as Luigi rather than Mario This is effectively just a visual change as Luigi plays identically to Mario Yoshi on the other hand really adds an Interesting element to the game bringing nis own abilities and power ups which as mentioned above have been woven into the level design My personal favourite is the Dash pepper This powerful chilli causes Yoshi to sprint at incredible speeds allowing him to traverse terrain he couldn t previously vertical walls for example Not many people know this but in Swahili Mario translates to cloud aggressor Ok we made that up Still featuring some of the classic style gameplay we ve all come to expect Don t think Yoshi is the only one getting some power up love though Mario s arsenal has been seriously fortified as well Making a return are the ever popular Fire Flower as well
123. s a real Shame then that Crackdown 2 feels like more of a rework than an improvement heavily relying on the appeal of the original concept and a lick of paint to see gamers through a second instalment Don t get it twisted Crackdown 2 is a hell of alot of fun providing many more hours of insane jumps building to bullding parkour explosive action and fast paced driving It just feels a bit empty for a sequel anyway and will leave the majority of fans feeling ripped off by the lack of progression and love invested into one of their favourite IP s If you ve played the original Crackdown you ll Know what the crack is here lame pun but had to be done Crackdown 2 returns you to Pacific City with a decade gone by now in total disarray thanks to an outbreak of mutated bastards causing all kinds of havoc at night and terrorist outfit Cell ruling the Streets by day A great looking opening movie sets the scene well showing a news conference highlighting how crime is at an all time low literally blow up in their faces when a bomb detonates killing several reporters You re then taken on a montage ride showing the city going all kinds of post apocalyptic mental thanks to a surge In crime and Strange citizen hungry mutant freaks starting to emerge You re a new nameless recruit of the US THE ANTIDOTE controversial Agency sent out to put a stop to the madness and once again restore peace and order to Pac
124. s model to generate money from a game Championing free where lan Baverstock Consultant and ex President of UK development group present low barriers to entry from production through to consumption Amen Dylan And the latest research indicates that free to play gaming on a PC is not cannibalising sales of console games A sigh of relief was breathed when Mark Rein acknowledged people will pay for quality 50 of US audiences paid to watch movies in 3D and its the same movie but you wear those dorky glasses His colleague James N lt QJ D Vi O _ P D Brooksby cheerleading paid made an intriguing observation Were giving consumers too much free content in the form of a demo If you re confident of the games quality use the demo later to achieve the long tall Whilst that s OK how do the smaller indies get heard lan Baverstock took a well thought out swipe with Will generation Y embrace the cost of console hardware and 40 price point of a new title Why should they when they have been brought up with free content on the web The web has radicalised consumption The indies in the audience where whooping and hollowing to lan Baverstock s war cry The landscape is changing The little guy locking horns with the big publisher are on the same playing field So its a great time to be a new entrant Hurrah indeed Mark Rein attempted to dam
125. t one minute then cursing the game the next as you fall all the way down again courtesy of jumping at something that you thought you could should be able to grab There s also a degree of fiddlyness involved at times If you ve ever played inFamous you ll be quick to agree that Crackdown 2 would hugely benefit from Insomniac s ingenious soft lock system Minigun If had to bet I d take the guy with the minigun any day The game has put a heavier focus on multiplayer action than the first and it really works You can now team up with 4 friends to tackle the campaign and roam the open world making the core of the game a little too easy but the exploration of Pacific City a whole heap of joy There are Special multiplayer Orbs dotted around the city which you can see during single player but cant collect instead giving you a prompt to hook up with other gamers Your Campaign progression is saved if WTF What the hell is that tower in the backgsround oh wait and that mutant thing what s that you re the host as well meaning you can call on friends for a particularly tricky bit and finish off the rest of the game solo if you so wish There are a couple of deathmatch modes on offer too along with a Rocket Tag mode that has one agent trying to escape the others It s undeniably awesome playing super powered agent vs super powered agent in an open world though you ll probably have
126. t and click title before left click to use right click to look Scrolling your cursor to the bottom of the screen brings up an inventory where you can select which items you want to use With the flaming absynthe took the drink and clicked on a wok before selecting Fenton s trusty lighter Pressing the spacebar also shows you every clickable object in your Surroundings which is awfully handy and allows the painted backgrounds to remain unsullied by highlighted items Speaking of the visuals Lost Horizon sports some beautiful painted backgrounds with lots of detail juxtaposed with 3D character models that have a bright cartoonish look about them This is a damned nice looking game Fenton returns to his air hangar where his friend mechanic Gus is working on his plane who tells Fenton that an officer is waiting to see him in his office read shack All of the characters have some great voice acting to compliment their zany over the top qualities especially the officer Huxley who clearly enjoys berating Fenton while attempting L k i d ri ek i E r i TT ax h amp al D vena ill to remain superior Our dashing hero IS Summoned by Lord Weston to the Governor s Palace for a special assignment to find his son Richard who never returned from Tibet with his cartography expeditionary force From there the adventure really kicks off solving puzzles and flying to exotic
127. t same thing for the umpteenth time even that can get repetitive Character progression Is handled exactly as it was in the first awarding you points in one of a number of areas depending on how you dispatch an enemy Take them out with good old fisticuffs and your combat abilities improve including the ability to pick up heavier objects to use as Weapons and throw Run enemies over and your driving skills increase shoot or explode them and your shooting or explosive you get the idea The progression is well worked and easy to get to grips with rewarding you with new abilities and unlockables such as weapons and vehicles at key stages of development Using your skills to harm innocents or fellow Agency operatives will cause your Stats to go backwards just to keep you on the straight and narrow like that s ever going to happen especially when you can jump 50 feet in the air rain down fiery hell using a rocket launcher land then pick up and throw a truck to finish them off The sequel comes with a few new weapons and vehicles all of them fun to toy with The Mutants are easier to kill with the new UV weaponry meaning you re best off equipping yourself with a UV shotgun and grenades when night begins to fall New transport comes in the form of a cool to use wingsuit which you ll be familiar with if you played the demo but comes much later in the game than expected and better powered agency vehicles there a
128. tal War creators shaking in their boots Everybody who contributed to another fantastic Breaking Into the Industry feature including InstantAction s Deborah Fike and Strawdog Studio s Simon Morris The guys over at Razer and SteelSeries who both provided some top bits of tech wizardy for us to review Ever efficient and always hard working Scott Malthouse this month tackling Darkness Within 2 Dark Lineage 2 Biker Battles and Lost Horizon Don t know how we d manage without you man And while we re talking about essential contributors look no further than Alec Ross Bower he chap who handles the 13 1 countdown s each month including this issues epic look at badass boss battles as well as the Retro gaming section and music reviews Much love to you both Got to give love to 11 s own TurkeySaladBoy this month as well who has ran himself ragged partying for Tree at E3 in L A then having to sit through another free bar at Gamehorizon OK so he did a hell of a lot more than that you knows we appreciate it Check out his top write ups of both events Kieran McSherry and his wily analytical ways this month applying them to a look at Modern Warfare 2 vs Battlefield Bad Company 2 Don t know which is for you Check out the article now Relatively new but growingly welcome volunteer Stuart Morrison who tackled Fifa Online for us while we concerned ourselves with the real World Cup Wish wed just joined you online instead mate The ever
129. tament to how outrageously popular this franchise has become but that makes the prospect of large scale gamer indecency no less appalling MW2 s multiplayer focuses on the individual Allowing players to become a one man wrecking crew but that in turn means team play suffers A slight malfunction in an otherwise efficient and well designed machine BF BC2 s multiplayer is quite different but by no means less enjoyable It s map constructs and in game environments are much vaster than that of MW2 s but they are also less detailed Every terrain from tundra to jungle is covered each with a selection of close quarters sections and wide open expanses DICE s terrain grants an immense amount of freedom and gives players the ability to effectively out manoeuvre their foes either by flanking or sneaking up on them from behind Almost every piece of in game cover is entirely destructible Meaning the concrete bollard you re hiding behind wont stand up to much explosive punishment before leaving you exposed to enemy fire DICE s constructs work well allowing players to attack and counter at every range The result is a true server based field of battle BF BC 2 also allows soldier customization via class selection There are four kits each with their own specialisations Assault and Medic classes excel at chewing through enemies they can also heal revive and resupply teammates Meanwhile the Recon and En
130. tipsy DrunkenGamer for not only reminding me of a certain office companion I d completely forgotten about whoops but for also spending hours snapping screenshots for the World of Warcraft Wish You Were Here feature hopping the universe in Mario Galaxy beating up bosses in Castle of Heroes and giving us more game design insights from his own version of Omerta Top effort mate And of course Gow and his graphical savvyness Without him this issue would just be a bunch of html d text Possibly with a nice blue background depends how well can remember CSS He also managed to Surface from his dark room to take on Blacklight Tango Down Everybody else who helped us put this issue of the mag together Sorry if I ve forgotten to mention you directly we really couldn t do it without you ED Enjoy Gaming Enjoy Writing We are looking for a small number of volunteer writers a graphics support person to help with layout and an assistant editor to assist with coordination of the whole project We are potentially interested in illustrators cartoonists with something fresh to offer the publication There are numerous benefits to volunteering for Thirteen1 including the awesome incentive of early access to top games You will also be the envy of your mates when they see your work published in a popular gaming magazine lf you would like to give us a hand please get in touch and tell us a bit about yourself Send an
131. too early in the beta to doa hands on preview But that does leave an opportunity to start a feature that we have been contemplating for a while Wish You Were Here In this feature we will take some interesting screenshots around a game s world effectively giving a photo tour of the stuff you want to see So for our first Wish You Were Here we have the world of Azeroth a previously beautiful world that has been seriously battered by the emergence of Deathwing Because of how big some of the changes are from pre Cataclysm to post Cataclysm will even include some comparison screenshots taken from the same place in both live amp beta do spoil you sometimes Just buy me a pint to say thanks Ta Q TE LL lt gt N Ss oe ue oO S Pad 5 Format PC X360 PS3 F E BF BC2 Vs MW2 The abbreviated battle for top FPS or BF BC2VMW2 TABFTFPS for short wy rina 1 i mm A N Still unsure which of the FPS giants Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 development pedigree and both is for you Feeling like a bit of a Chances are if you re into games possess a backlog of impressive social outcast because you can t console PC or otherwise you ve previous releases relate to your friends talking about heard of these two titles They On paper at least Dice s the killer head shot they made last each represent the pinnacle of next Battlefield Bad Company 2 night Thirteenl
132. ts Vs Zombies So long story short Gow just got himself a swanky new gt iPhone 4 Strangely enough It s coincided with a spike in Retro Gaming Goodness with 6 games of your choice from GOG com U his Facebook activity and a drop in work productivity We re continuing the celebration of retro goodness this month with Cc The phone can pretty much do everything besides wipe another awesome competition in collaboration with GOG com your ass and there s even rumors an app for that is in development We ve joined forces with GOG to give 10 qd games away 1 lucky reader will receive Ever since he got it all we ve heard is Plants vs Zombies codes to download 6 games of their choice this Plants vs Zombies that Apparently Our readers from the entire store Ta NEED to know how great this is Our very own DrunkenGamer did review it for you in issue That s hours of retro gaming goodness 24 but that s not enough So Gow is digging into his own pockets read T1 bank account Cheeky mare to once again give you the chance to experience the little piece of iPhone wonderment We re giving away 5 copies just to shut him up Note To enter competitions in the PDF please include your name and address some prizes are UK only Note To enter competitions in the PDF please include your name and address some prizes are UK only Mystery Box Splitfish FragFX Pro gt So many people wanted last issue s Splitfish Dua
133. tter for our UK readers is that the episodes are free simply head to the BBC website and download them For the rest of the world there will be a yet undisclosed just seems slightly off for want of a Small Fee for each episode better word The two characters dont bounce off each other as well as they do on the show To be fair this is only a slight niggle and something that I m sure will improve if they end up doing more of these in the future Overall really would recommend these games to anyone that watches Doctor Who They have something for your casual watchers of the show as much as for the hardcore fanatics like myself However if you re not a fan I A of Doctor Who while the stories are a strong they do rely on you knowing at Out of Thirteen J9 JIML UO SIU eys Title King Arthur Format PC x Now this is proper Arthurian legend none of that Oh he was a Roman Legionnaire guff just pure fantasy Granted the game takes a couple of liberties with what is generally regarded as the proper legend but it all helps to build a rich and interesting game world King Arthur is a mix of massive RTS and turn based empire expansion The obvious comparisons to the Total War series are as inevitable as they are favourable but developers Neocore Games have done better than Total War in a fantasy setting bringing some new ideas to the round table that should make bigger devel
134. tterly incarnations are no different meaning if you ve disgusting acts of violence and disturbing scenes of played a modern FPS youll instantly know how murder MW2 inspires a great deal of emotion all be these titles work Also at a glance BF BC2 amp it very macabre and negative it reveals some stark MW2 s single player sections appear alike but yet twisted truths MW2 also contains a few Stealth appearance s are often deceiving missions and makes use of some interesting first It s true that both titles flaunt incredible HD person techniques The whole package is a tense graphics and possess thought provoking narrative and frightening ensemble sporting white knuckle gunplay and a well deserved 18 certificate Infinity Ward have certainly set the bar high here BF BC2 s single player is a much more light hearted experience It s story centres around one squad Bad Company A foursome of f ck ups thrown into the deep end of a Special Forces operation they know nothing about It s an excellent tale with comedy betrayal and superb characterisation Its narrative focuses on the camaraderie formed between soldiers in combat and the absurdity of war Catch 22 anyone BF BC2 also has a deep and varied vehicle section where players can pilot anything from quad bikes to battle tanks and gunships Gameplay wise BF BC2 encourages cover use mobility and adaptability Flank enemy machine gun nests and fire teams or wind up a
135. ue Despite the blood and gore of this Manhunt style adventure being replaced by flying fur this is still a game that encourages the devil on your shoulder to stand up and be counted You ll be battering a poor bear s very psychological make up to a suicidal mess revelling in your own sense of self satisfaction as you drive a victim to the point of blowing the stitching off their heads A 15 certificate would have probably been a better shout If A2M thought outside of the jack in a box and replaced the fur with blood which would have been a really cool effect an 18 wouldn t have been argued by many Unfortunately the downloadable title vibe also rings true as Naughty Bear only really manages to offer the same limited gameplay choices over a handful of overly used environments offering little in the way of variety for it s 30 stages There s plenty of teddy bear on bear violence to be had and that might be exactly what you came to see but it s not enough to justify a full retail release on it s own Each stage has you stalking your prey ina bid to terrify and ultimately kill them off combining Stealth and violence with a bit of required forward thinking You earn Naughty Points for your deviant acts contributing to a total score that s uploaded onto online leaderboards for the world to see and beat Keep up the inventiveness with your violence and you ll J9 JIML UO SIU aseYUS Re
136. ughty Bear a teddy bear who s the butt of all jokes on the insanely cutesy Perfection Island But the other bears have Just played one trick too many leaving him out of Daddles party and mocking his attempt at making friends by bringing a present He spent so long working on that present too Time for some furry vengeance teddy bear style To be honest the whole problem facing Naughty Bear is that the concept was just so damn marketable from the off Eagerly waiting gamers have been battered with funny as hell videos for months using Naughty Bear s concept and characters to create Some genuinely awesome parodies of top horror movie franchises building the game up to be an R rated take on a nursery rhyme that every kid loves to learn It was beginning to look like The Path for next gen consoles a Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland for the gamepad inclined It s a concept that should be easy to nail gamplay wise but sadly that s not the case It was one of the biggest disappointments of the year to see this review copy land on our desk with a 12 rated certificate A 12 How can that be Did the developers not see the trailers for their own game or something It was also a big Surprise to have it drop on our desk at all It had that downloadable title vibe written all over it even though it was never actually announced as such In fairness the 12 rated certification surprise still rings tr
137. unt of threads it has you can quickly see how crowdsourcing and MMO gaming go together like peanut butter and chocolate Gaasbeek professes to reading every suggestion and will implement the ones that he thinks will work best This amount of collaboration between player and designer has massive potential especially if it continues through to the end product and beyond Instead of one or a Small team of designers racking their brains to come up with fresh and exciting features to get players rushing to sign up Biker Battles could have The basic game sports some impressive looking cartoony art Indicating that you won t be playing this for its gritty realism There are currently a number of features to toy around with such as commiting crimes like Stealing and selling motorbikes robbing fellow bikers and doing random jobs Each crime has you pick a certain object from a screen containing a few different items Pick the correct one and you might get some cash and experience Once you have a nice amount of wonga you can buy a Stripclub to rake in Some more doe You can Impressively Biker Battles is set to become a truly mulitlingual game with plans for translations to Romanian Polish Spanish and even Arabic and Farsi There are three servers at the moment that provide different languages and in game currencies German Dutch and English So Biker Battles could be a truly innovative effort and a pioneer in crowdsour
138. when they re coming there are many tell tale signs In the retro days it was obvious anything from the music stopping suddenly or a suspiciously surplus amount of ammo and health items As the in dustry moved forward it got easier to tell whether a fight was imminent a convenient save spot just before you enter a new area or even the game s narrative would suggest some sort of boss fight will ensue However now that videogames are outstanding feats of technology and a lot of triple A titles favour more realistic settings and characters boss fights seem to be dying out instead replaced with set pieces or a horde of enemies Modern Warfare 2 BioShock 2 Splinter Cell Conviction So in honour to all the Big Bosses out there excluding Naked Snake we re presenting you with a list of our favourite Badass Boss Fights C The Great Mighty Poo from Conker s Bad Fur Day A big singing piece of shit can a boss get any more disgusting then that We think not Conker s Bad Fur Day was one of the N64 s last triumphs It s a game that says Fuck you kids this game s for the grown ups Its non stop unadulterated nonsense and we loved it The Great Mighty Poo being one of the many reasons why This Sloprano sings to Conker while trying to hit him with pieces of excre ment How do you beat this enormous pile of turd With toilet roll of course Thirtee Badass Boss Fig hts Sapientia Controller of Seas from Bayonetta
139. y Mounty s bungee rope Landit Bandit s 5 different locations are varied and command different approaches to gameplay from an icy tundra ruled by a penguin mafia to an inspired and incredibly fun 2D side scrolling section that s almost worth the admission price alone As fun and fresh as Landit Bandit is the game is not without it s faults It s a real missed opportunity that there s no proper customisation options to speak of instead applying the upgrades for you as they feel the stages require While there s a lot of replay value to be had in trying to earn the tricky gold medals a bit of user customisation would have stepped it up a whole other level The chopper steering can also feel overly unforgiving at times though that is the main challenge of the game and the graphics while not bad in any sense of the word could be better for the price tag It s hard to describe the full appeal of Landit Bandit simply because it stands out as been rather unique But it is appealing addictive and well worth the money especially when you get a mate involved in the insanely fun local multiplayer Duel Mode they can even drop in at any time during the campaign arcade style It feels good to make that perfect landing to see the words great swing flash up on your screen and more importantly to start bringing in the gold medals This is 20 levels worth of pure fun _

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