To mark the death of Michael Jackson, Microsoft are giving away the full 10 minute Thriller video to people in the US over Xbox Live Marketplace. Be quick though, you can only download it between Friday and Sunday this weekend.
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Look at the box or the screenshots for Damnation and it appears pretty cool. It looks like a sort of steam-punk Western complete with alternative technology and weapons that should mix things up a bit. Unfortunately when you play it, it’s plain to see it’s borrowed a few aspects from other games and, unlike, say, Uncharted, doesn’t implement it into the gameplay particularly well at any point.
You play as a guy called Rourke who’s looking for his fiancée. Of course, there’s a bigger picture here and you’re also part of a team who’s trying to stop a military contractor from succeeding in his violent takeover.
The majority of the time you’ll be having shootouts in open areas and also climbing up buildings to access new areas. You’d think if these were the main points of the game they’d be done well, but they’re not. Aiming is really tricky and over-responsive, enemies just stand there anyway waiting to be shot and to reload you have to click in the left stick! Who’s idea was that in the development meeting? And after successful climbing in games such as Prince of Persia and InFamous comes some of the clunkiest climbing since playing Hunchback on the Spectrum. For some strange reason you have to press a shoulder button to jump away from a wall when in other games, simply moving the direction away from the wall is enough to make the character jump where you want him to!
Your team-mates also aren’t much help either. Sometimes they scale buildings to show you the way, then you can’t find them above you and thus don’t know where to go, other times they’ll teleport onto your vehicle if you leave them during a driving stage.
Thanks to your Native American friend you also get a special vision which lets you see enemies through walls and downed team-mates. Again, it’s pretty pointless and only shows you their rough position while you’re using the limited cover system to hide behind a wall.
There are plenty of better action adventure games out there. If you’re looking for something with a Western vibe, wait for Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, it’s bound to be better.
Damnation gets a damning 4 out of 10.
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Tags: Damnation, Steampunk, Westen, Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Red Dead Redemption
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Just like last year Microsoft took to the E3 stage with all guns blazing without fear from Sony or Nintendo who preferred to wait for 24 hours and see just what Microsoft had been up to since the previous show. Whilst many details were leaked beforehand, Microsoft still had a few surprises up their sleeve and at the end of their conference seemed pretty pleased with themselves and confident that their rivals wouldn’t be able to match their announcements.
Things started off a little shakily as the first four games to be revealed were non exclusive titles, surely if you want to impress the crowd you don’t show games which will appear on your rivals system and in the case of the PS3, look exactly the same. Not only that but there was a rather embarrassing debacle when Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr arrived on stage with hardly anything to say about the upcoming Beatles Rock Band game aside from it having good graphics followed by plenty of brown nosing by the Microsoft rep. And what was the point in Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison flying all the way to LA just to wave at a hall full of sweaty video game journalists and not utter a word?
The actual premiere trailer and live performance of The Beatles Rock Band looked rather good and it may very well be the first of the modern music games to tempt me into a purchase. Featuring realistic yet stylised graphics which are very reminiscent of The Beatles imagery from the 60’s really appealed to me. If you have ever watched the Yellow Submarine film you’ll know what to expect from the graphics. New information included that Xbox Live users will have access to an exclusive track (All you need is Love) on Xbox Live with proceeds going to charity. Even better than that was the news that all of the tracks have been remastered and that practically every album by The Beatles will be available as DLC after the launch. Oh and the whole album Abbey Road comes with the game.
Next up was Tony Hawk Ride where the skate master himself came up on stage to reveal the final design of the new skateboard peripheral which will come bundled with the game for around $100. After reading from an autocue for a while (something which Paul and Ringo should have done) he then presented a trailer starring himself and other skater friends enjoying the game and the new board. The dudes in the trailer were being paid so forgive me for being pessimistic about this one.
After those two Microsoft decided to bring out one of the big guns and presented us with a very tasty looking trailer then live game footage of Modern Warfare 2 where the deserts and oil fields of Call of Duty 4 have been replaced by a very cold looking snowy landscape with plenty of excellent weather effects. The action was nonstop with gun fire and explosions everywhere, my favourite scene was very James Bond esque when the player shot an enemy soldier riding a Snowmobile then jumping straight on it and riding off. Don’t you wish Rare has incorporated that into a Bond game before they lost their edge? Regardless Modern Warfare 2 looks like a sure fire hit later this year and with Microsoft Xbox Live having two additional DLC map packs before the arrive on PS3 means another drubbing for the Cell Powered console this time out.
Last in this section was the first unveiling of Final Fantasy XIII running on Xbox 360 hardware, to be honest I didn’t notice a difference to last year’s trailer which was running on the PS3 so expect a near identical looking and feeling game on both systems, the only difference may come down to exclusive downloadable content which of course would be announced closer to the Spring 2010 release. Once again I’m not really a Final Fantasy guy and instead prefer Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series so Final Fantasy isn’t on my wish list but I’m sure it’s on plenty of yours.
Here is where Microsoft made their biggest mistake or even a deliberate lie, after announcing that the following ten or so games would be exclusive to Xbox 360 they went on to give us the world exclusive footage of Left 4 Dead 2 which is also coming out on PC which means it is in no way exclusive to the Xbox 360. Exclusive or not Left4Dead 2 looked stunning and has taken the series away from the dark and dingy feel of the original into a bright modern daytime setting. Instead of needing a torch to find your way around you’ll be using a whole host of new melee weapons (including Frying Pans, Axes and Chainsaws) in a bid to fend of bigger hordes of infected than ever before. With a new roster of four survivors this Latin American sequel to Left 4 Dead looks rather interesting and seeing that it comes with more levels, new special infected and other goodies made it the highlight of Microsoft’s event in my opinion.
Other genuine exclusive titles in this segment included:
Microsoft then slowed down the pace a little to give us brand new details about upcoming additions to the Xbox 360 dashboard including a Last.FM channel, Facebook photo integration and even a real-time interactive Twitter feed. These paled in significance slightly when news of an upgraded Video Marketplace (Zune) with no delay 1080p movie streaming and live TV content provided by Sky for UK audiences was announced.
Another big gun took to the stage in the form of Hideo Kojima talking about a new Metal Gear Solid for Xbox 360; apart from a trailer not much was mentioned other than the suggestion that this game could possibly feature Raiden as the lead character instead of trusty spy guy Solid Snake. Could it be true? We’ll no doubt have to wait a bit longer to find out.
Finally came the first true showing of Microsoft’s venture into Motion sensing gaming. Microsoft and Sony originally dismissed motion as a new way to play but now seem to have taken note of the Wii’s success and the many billions of dollars in Nintendo’s basement have suddenly changed their minds because both did indeed show off their motion sensing devices this year.
Instead of a controller, Microsoft’s Natal features multiple cameras with advanced visual recognition technology and custom processing hardware. The demo’s shown did prove that the system works and allowed you to interact with the game with your body alone in front of your TV, however some of the footage showing a family pretending to hold an invisible steering wheel looked rather ridiculous, at least Mario Kart Wii gave you something real to hold. I actually preferred the system’s use as a Minority Report style way to control your Xbox 360 dashboard rather than a gaming interface because I like something physical in my hand when it comes to gaming.
Only the future will tell if Microsoft and third parties embrace this new technology and come up with real and fun games for us to play, however if Microsoft’s previous entry into Motion gaming and interactive play (You’re in the Movies) is anything to go by this could be a very expensive waste of time.
Overall Microsoft had a very good show and a wide ranging selection of games which were mostly suited to the hardcore, Natal seems and interesting new entry into the casual market and could trouble the Nintendo Wii if real effort was put behind it. However Nintendo have Wii Motion Plus arriving over a year beforehand which promises 1 to 1 gaming in the mean time. With such a head start Microsoft could well be on the back foot when they eventually come to release Natal at the expected $100 price point.
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Related: Microsoft E3 highlights, Motion Controllers for the Xbox 360 and PS3
Tags: Microsoft, E3, Xbox 360, Beatles Rock Band, Tony Hawk Ride, Modern Warfare 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Shadow Complex, Joy Ride, Splinter Cell Conviction, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Alan Wake, Metal Gear Solid, Natal release date
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When you look at the box for Fuel you’d be forgiven for thinking this is the Xbox 360’s answer to Motorstorm. However, instead of providing crazy off-road racing with a whole heap of different vehicles racing at once, this game’s all about a variety of races and challenges set over an open world which boasts 5,000 square miles of satellite-mapped terrain.
Set in a near future where everyone is now living in I guess houses with solar panels, riding bikes to work and being a lot greener, you’re one of the petrol heads who are still burning petrol and diesel in order to race round barren landscapes and earn more fuel in the process.
There are standard races where you must hit checkpoints, missions where you must catch up and tag a car in the lead by taking shortcuts before the time runs out and even challenges where you must race against a helicopter which is travelling from A to B as the crow flies. You won’t be penalised for taking shortcuts off road in this game - sometimes the risk pays off, but equally you could end up hitting a rock in the middle of nowhere or landing in deep water and restarting behind the rest of the pack.
There are dozens of vehicles to buy and ride in, including buggies, jeeps, bikes, quad bikes etc and specific vehicles are chosen for you for each event. You’re free to explore the game world to find new challenges, races and livery to make your cars look nicer but to be honest, these are a bit too spaced out and it’s a bit of a chore driving about to find them. Luckily, you can also opt to go straight into races from the menu which is what I did the majority of the time.
The game looks great and there’s lots of variety, it’s just a pity the AI you race against wasn’t more balanced. Sometimes they stick rigidly to the course while you take shortcuts to win races by miles, other times they seem to own the road whilst you skid and slide all over the place. There’s also not that much sense of speed even when you’re going hell for leather.
When it all comes out in the wash, Fuel ends up being standard unleaded as opposed to high-octane rocket fuel. If you’re REALLY into racing games then you may wish to check it out. For everyone else, there are better games out there. Fuel gets an average 5 out of 10.
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Related: Pure review, Need for Speed Undercover review, Fuel review
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I was a massive Ghostbusters fan as a kid and still have a soft spot for it, so I was looking forward to playing the new Ghostbusters game complete with the official likenesses, voices and music from the film that’s dear to a lot of people’s hearts. The good news is that if you’re a fan, you can’t help but be swept along with their latest adventure with a huge smile on your face every time you laugh out loud at a joke and of course fire a proton stream or trap a ghost. The bad news is, this is more of an interactive experience rather than a proper game which leaves me stuggling to score it.
At the start of the game, a big ghostly explosion engulfs Manhattan originating from the Gozer exhibit at the museum. This lets loose all sorts of nasties so you as a rookie and the four Ghostbusters go and investigate and explore hotels, museums, sewers, office bl ocks and even a parallel universe to ‘bust’ everything.
Playing this game really is the closest you will ever get to being in the movie. You get to trap and destroy old favourites like Slimer, Stay Puft and the Grey Lady from the library, the music is identical, the jokes are actually laugh out loud funny and even your proton pack rattles as you run about. It really does a fantastic job at recreating the 1984 classic whilst keeping things fresh with a new story and some additions to your proton pack. Of course you get to trap ghosts using your proton stream but you can also fire shock blasts, boson darts, slime and blast things with a meson collider. Button combos can be a bit tricky using the d-pad to select the right weapon for the right ghost but it’s something you get used to fairly quickly.
The reason I say it’s not a gamer’s game is the fact that it’s very linear and you feel like you’re being led through the game by the other principal characters. If you’re a fan you won’t mind this and may overlook the fact that combat is actually rudimentary as you just shoot and stay on the move and there’s no real way to avoid taking damage apart from using a dodge button that’s not all that effective. You also have to use your PKE meter regularly to play ‘hit or cold’ to find ghosts and artefacts. Bizarrely, the game switches into an unnecessary first-person mode as you view information through your paragoggles and it feels restrictive at times.
There are also a few glitches in there. I had to restart a checkpoint at one point because the Ghostbusters didn’t move the story along after a boss fight and just stood there, and one of the cut-scenes had the dialogue out of sync with the picture. The frame rate is also very disappointing and even slows down occasionally when there’s not that much happening on screen.
If this game didn’t have the official Ghostbusters licence behind it, it would be a rather short, disappointing action adventure but because it’s so superbly crafted for the fans, if you’re a fan, you’ll absolutely love it and play through most of the game grinning from ear to ear. I’m a massive fan so I give Ghostbusters an excellent 8 out of 10.
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Related: Ghostbusters the videogame interview, Ghostbusters Xbox 360 release date, Youtube Ghostbusters videogame review
Tags: Ghostbusters videogame, Ghostbusters, Gozer, Slimer, Stay Puft, Atari, Xbox360, PS3, Wii, Youtube Ghostbusters videogame review
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After a couple of successful FPSs after the reboot for Call of Duty, it seems it may be turned into an MMO. It’s not clear exactly how this would work but it may involve a monthly subscription for an “enhanced service” featuring regular map packs and “team management services.” I await the details with bated breath.
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Tags: Call of Duty MMO
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