Archive for March 28th, 2008
March 28, 2008
Wild ARMs XF is the latest title to join the PSP’s growing list of strategy role-playing games. It’s also the first Wild ARMs to go entirely down the tactical route, with developer Media Vision successfully maintaining the franchise’s Wild West theme. While it features some interesting concepts that will appeal to die-hard fans of the genre, the execution is often cumbersome and tedious.
The plot follows heroine Clarissa Arwin as she ventures with her brother, Felius, to the kingdom of Elesius, one of the sole remaining havens in the barren and war-torn world of Filgaia. After a tragic incident kills the kingdom’s heir, Princess Alexia, Elesius becomes subject to the rule of an evil council that harasses and slaughters the populace via a special guard. The heroic duo is swept up in local politics as Clarissa declares herself to be the assumed-dead princess, leading a rebellion against the council.
Old is new again as the genre’s regular square-based grid is replaced with hexagons.
Though XF retains the genre staple of slaying bad guys one turn at a time, there are some additional elements mixed in to shake things up. The biggest difference is that XF’s movement tiles each have six sides, unlike the square tiles that appear in such games as Final Fantasy Tactics. The hexagonal tiles allow you to perform formation arts when you successfully surround opponents or sandwich them in a line. This increases a character’s attack damage for a single hit when you’ve appropriately positioned allies. Your opponents can also use formation arts, which add some interesting strategic elements to the gameplay when small swarms of enemies are surrounding you as you’re trying to surround them.
XF has a novel class system featuring 16 base jobs that successfully differentiate themselves from traditional class offerings of similar games. In the place of mages and knights are elementalists and sentinels, which technically perform the same jobs but still contradict the mold. For example, geomancers, whom Final Fantasy veterans may remember as elemental manipulators, focus on quickly traversing the map or locking foes in place instead of specializing in terrain-type offensive magic. For additional variety, the primary cast sports exclusive jobs, but there is little impetus to use them because you’ll be switching characters often.
The game’s mission objectives vary, but what appears good on paper is frustrating in practice. In some cases, they seem too ambitiously designed and undermine the class-based system. One of the early escort missions requires you to constantly heal your charges. This forces you to switch to the gadgeteer class, which is the only one with the ability to use items on others, because the loss of a single villager ends the game. What’s vexing is that every mission forces you to bring in appropriate classes to complete it instead of letting you play the classes you want. Furthermore, class switching itself automatically de-equips everything from your characters, including items, so don’t be surprised if you lose a few fights because you forgot to reequip, though a favorites option slightly lessens the risk.
Mission objectives also aren’t very forgiving. In certain situations, losing one ally in an escort mission or being spotted by a single guard in a stealth mission means a redo. The stealth missions are especially troubling because you’re forced to learn the patrol patterns of guards with extended lines of sight. If you position yourself behind a guard, even at a great distance, he’ll turn and spot you for an instant game over. Thankfully a battle-restart option saves you from constantly reloading.
Wild ARMs XF suffers from some balancing issues. Some opponents, though only a few levels higher than your characters, are nearly untouchable. Fortunately, the game recognizes this and orders the invincible foes to retreat, but this is usually after said supermonsters have gotten in some cheap hits. At other times, you’ll easily plow through enemies on either a very small or large map, which introduces a pacing problem: Certain class limits and base stats cause some characters to slowly traverse areas with elevated terrain. Characters with a low movement range/climbing skills have a difficult time ascending cliffsides while those boasting only certain job or skill sets can break/move objects to make it possible for your characters to gain the higher ground. This makes navigating even the simplest of free battles frustrating and tiresome because you either have to wait for bad guys to get within range or spend the next 20 turns trying to make a path.
The game’s vitality point system is another annoyance. Characters lose a set number of points each turn depending on the weight of their equipment. If VPs reach zero, your rebel army’s health points dwindle to one, making it an easy target for your probably misbalanced and therefore nearly insurmountable bosses. Though the masochistic might view this as a challenge, it gets very aggravating the further you progress when your unit’s heavy gear increases the rate at which it loses VPs.
Meet the new strategy RPG lineup: Knights and mages are out. Power Rangers and arcanists are in.
Though Media Vision didn’t include a multiplayer option or side quests for higher replay value, the game does utilize an item-synthesis system that enables you to craft special equipment from items found by drifters you’ve created and sent scouring the world for loot. Customizing drifters also adds to the replayability, and the game offers a full bevy of options. These allow you to roll for base stats before selecting class, sex, voice, name, and level at a cost.
XF’s cliche dialogue and plot elements are presented via vividly colored and unintentionally humorous cutscenes featuring anime-style character portraits. The voice-overs are irritating unless you’re craving the overacted anime variety, but at least there’s an option hear them in Japanese for authenticity. Fortunately the game’s subtle background stills and vibrant 3D battle maps coupled with flashy spell effects and cute character sprites, help fend off aesthetic boredom. XF boasts the same great Western-style RPG melodies of its console predecessors, with the added bonus of a music room where you can listen to any of the game’s 20 tracks on demand.
Wild ARMs XF captures the feel of its namesake series and successfully incorporates hexagon-based maps into its tactical gameplay. But even its formation arts and class system can’t hide the overly ambitious, frustrating, and very unforgiving trial-and-error mission design. You might want to look elsewhere for your strategy RPG fix.
March 28, 2008
By far one of the most popular franchises for PlayStation fans is Sony’s SOCOM series of modern-day tactical shooters. Unfortunately, ever since the first PlayStation 3 installment in the franchise–SOCOM: Confrontation–was first revealed in May 2007, updates for Slant Six’s second effort in the series (its first being Tactical Strike for the PSP) have been few and far between. However, that changed earlier this month when Sony gave asset-starved fans the first batch of screenshots for the shooter.
SOCOM in a high-def world.
With the game now in a state worthy of being shown off to the public, Sony has announced via its official blog that SOCOM: Confrontation will go hot on September 16, exclusively on the PS3. Similar to Incognito’s Warhawk, Confrontation will be available at both brick-and-mortar retailers and as a digital download through the PlayStation Network.
To help the avid SOCOM community keep tabs on the game, Sony also took the lid off of its community site for Confrontation. Sony is planning a two-phase rollout for the community site, with its current operations that launched today dedicated to being a developer’s blog, asset depot, and message board. After the game mobilizes, Sony will initiate phase two of its plan: launching a new site that “will integrate your SOCOM Confrontation experience onto the Web,” with more details promised to come.
Given that a fully realized online component is absolutely critical to the multiplayer-only Confrontation, Sony also said that it would be drafting active and knowledge participants from the Web site’s community for participation in the game’s upcoming closed beta.
March 28, 2008
Today, Rockstar Games set loose the fourth trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV in anticipation of the game’s April 29 release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The “Good Lord, What are You Doing?
March 28, 2008
Last month, Electronic Arts announced that it was working on NFL Head Coach 09 and that the game would star Indianapolis Colts skipper Tony Dungy on the cover. Now it seems the game might not have a cover for Dungy to grace.
EA today revealed that NFL Head Coach 09 will be available only as part of the Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, a premium-priced bundle for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that will also include Madden NFL 09 and assorted bonus video content. The $89.99 package will go on sale in North America alongside the stand-alone versions of Madden NFL 09 on the just-announced release date of August 12.
Besides giving players two different takes on the popular American pastime, the latest installments of Madden NFL and NFL Head Coach will interact with one another. EA is letting players draw up plays in the stat-heavy management sim and export them to Madden for use in custom playbooks.
Both Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09 are being developed by EA’s Tiburon studio in Orlando, Florida.
March 28, 2008
Official Trailer
See Aerosmith in action in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Watch | Download
With the Guitar Hero franchise having generated over a billion dollars in sales, there’s no question that it’s “Rockin’ on Top of the World.” Now one of the biggest games in the world has gotten together with one of the world’s biggest bands: Aerosmith. But is the addition of Steven Tyler and company “A Good Thing,” or will the fifth game in the series be the “Same Old Song and Dance”? We got a first look at Guitar Hero: Aerosmith today to find out.
Right away you’ll notice that this isn’t just Guitar Hero with Aerosmith’s name slapped on the box. The crew at Neversoft has gone out of its way to integrate the band’s music, look, and personality into every aspect of the game. This is first evident in the menus, whose backgrounds are all locations taken from Aerosmith’s real-life recording studio. Of course, all of the band members are in the game, albeit in stylized video game form and looking younger than they are today. Athletes coming into the studio to do motion-capture work is nothing new, but when was the last time you heard of a rock star donning the mo-cap suit for a game? Steven Tyler did quite a bit of motion capture to ensure that his signature moves and facial expressions would be accurately represented. Fans of Axel Steele, Johnny Napalm, Izzy, and the rest of the crew can rest easy–the gang’s all here, and they each have four new outfits, for a total of eight per character. You’ll be able to sport all eight costumes online, which sounds like it will essentially have the same modes as in Guitar Hero 3.
The band’s history plays an integral role in the game’s career mode. You’ll still start at a small venue and work your way to the big time, but this time you’ll be rocking in many of the same places Aerosmith played on the road to stardom. The intro movie shows a cartoon-style Aerosmith’s humble beginnings and even a cartoon Clive Davis, the man who signed the band to its first deal. Before each new venue there’s a short video segment with various band members explaining the band’s history with that location. When you clear that area’s songs (encores are back) you’ll unlock a longer, more detailed version of the video–a really cool feature if you’re a big fan of the group.
Your first gig will take place where Aerosmith’s first gig took place: Nipmuc High School. The location itself isn’t modeled exactly after the real place, but the stage is adorned with a sheet that sports the very first Aerosmith logo. From there you’ll move on to Max’s Kansas City, which was a popular club that closed long ago. Unable to find any blueprints for the venue, Neversoft used photographs and grainy black and white handheld footage to re-create the club in its glory days, topping it all off with a stage decorated in a Toys in the Attic theme.
There aren’t many guitar heroes bigger than Joe Perry.
Since the game does bear Aerosmith’s name, it makes sense that the song list will mostly focus on Aerosmith, but there aren’t as many Aerosmith songs as you might think. A full list of tracks is not yet available, but we were told it would consist of about 60 percent Aerosmith and 40 percent artists that either inspired Aerosmith, played with Aerosmith, or are liked by Aerosmith. We were able to scribble down a number of tunes from an early build of the game. The Aerosmith songs were “Make It,”"Uncle Salty,”"Draw the Line,”"No Surprize,” and “Sweet Emotion.” Songs from other artists included Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes,” Cheap Trick’s “Dream Police,” Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” and a cover of The Kinks’ “All Day and All Night.” These songs are all classic rock tunes, but we were assured there would be several contemporary bands as well as notable bands that had never been in a Guitar Hero game before.
One of the benefits of working so closely with a band is that you’ll have access to all of their original recordings. But what happens when those recordings aren’t available? Much to the band’s dismay (and surprise) a few of the master tracks from their early years, including the song “Make It,” were missing in action. Undaunted, the group hit the studio and re-recorded the track exclusively for the game. We were unable to do a head-to-head comparison between the new version and the original, but according to Neversoft, the band nailed it.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith’s gameplay is almost exactly the same as in Guitar Hero 3. The interface and the way you get and perform star power are the same. That’s not to say there aren’t any differences. The developer said the hammer-ons and pull-offs had been tightened up to make them feel “less mushy,” which means the time you have to perform them is tighter but still more forgiving than in the first game. You can also expect a smoother difficulty curve this time around; though keep in mind that Joe Perry can wail on the guitar, so it won’t be a cakewalk. Another noticeable change is that although there is co-op play, there is no co-op career mode. This means all of the game’s 40-plus songs can be unlocked in single-player mode. One thing that is a little disappointing about co-op play is that while some songs will have lead guitar and rhythm guitar, and others will have lead guitar and bass, there aren’t any songs where all three parts are playable.
Although the game does look similar to GH3, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith does, in fact, look better than its predecessor. The venues are all-new, the band members’ animations have been improved (particularly the drummer’s), the game runs more smoothly, and you’ll even notice Joe Perry with his air bag singing backup during “Sweet Emotion.” Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will “Walk This Way” onto the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Wii this June. We’ll have more on the game as its June release date approaches, so be sure to check back if you “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing.”
-If Its Games
March 28, 2008
Rhythm game peripherals aren’t cheap, so it’s a good thing the people who make them have been working to keep gamers happy with their purchase with fresh tunes. Whereas MTV Games and Harmonix have thus far built up Rock Band with a steady stream of downloadable tracks, Activision has by and large focused its efforts on creating all-new spin-off games. The first of these–Guitar Hero: Aerosmith–lets virtual rockers hop aboard Steven Tyler and co.’s tour bus on their storied quest for superstardom.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Aerosmith gets busy in Activision’s latest rhythm game.
Watch | Download
Today, Activision revealed the first details on what gamers can expect from its Aerosmith tribute. As previously noted, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will feature songs from both the legendary rockers as well as a number of their contemporaries, and Activision said today that of the 40-plus songs in the game, about 60 percent will be Aerosmith signatures, with the remaining 40 percent comprising both classic and modern rock outfits.
Activision also gave the first indication of what songs will appear among that 40-plus track set list. From Aerosmith, songs thus far announced are “Make It,” “Uncle Salty,” “Draw the Line,” “No Surprize,” and “Sweet Emotion.” As for coheadliners, Activision has picked up licenses for Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes,” Cheap Trick’s “Dream Police,” Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” and a cover of The Kinks’ “All Day and All Night.”
With Neversoft developing the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions, Vicarious Visions handling the Wii version, and BudCat jamming out the PlayStation 2 game, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is slated to arrive this June. For a closer look at the game, check out If Its Games’s fresh-off-the-presses preview.
March 28, 2008
Reuters - If you ever thought it would be cool to have an Xbox laptop, or wished those old Atari games in your attic could be reborn on a retro handheld device, you might want to talk to Benjamin Heckendorn.
March 28, 2008
PC World - Console sales grow 13.4 percent in 2007, led by the cheaper Wii, says a new report.
March 28, 2008
Reuters - The British government plans to introduce a new guidance rating system for video games and a code of practice for social networking Web sites to help protect children.
March 28, 2008
TechWeb - Microsoft reset cheaters’”gamerscore” accounts to zero and eliminated all past achievements. There is no appeal.
March 28, 2008
TechWeb - The company said people who can log in with their preset passwords have not been affected.
March 28, 2008
Last year’s Assassin’s Creed from Ubisoft combined an unusual high-tech mystery, a medieval stealth adventure, and spectacular free-running acrobatics to offer a unique experience. The game is now headed to the PC and looks set to offer all the same high-flying action and challenging stealth gameplay, translated from the gamepad to your keyboard. We took a hands-on look at the early part of the game to get a sense of what you can expect. If you haven’t played any of the other versions of the game and are unfamiliar with the story, please be advised that this preview contains spoilers.
The medieval assassin known as Altair is set to make his debut on the PC.
Though you might’ve seen early glimpses of Assassin’s Creed that showed the hooded protagonist Altair swinging his way through Crusades-era Europe in search of his next target, the game’s story actually involves an entirely different protagonist, Desmond Miles–a bartender who was apparently raised to be a career assassin, but who escaped from his upbringing at a young age. It seems that Miles has been kidnapped by a mysterious group that is performing experiments on his psyche because they need to access certain memories trapped inside of his head. Unfortunately, his only choice is to cooperate or die.
This is where Assassin’s Creed’s main gameplay comes into the picture. Most of the action sequences require you to play as Altair, who was apparently an ancient ancestor of Miles and whose past life and actions hold the key to what his captors seek. Given that you play as both Altair and Miles–who exists in the present tense, long after Altair’s existence–the gameplay moves at an extremely brisk pace as you relive Altair’s exploits and switch from memory to memory, autosaving after various key moments rather than having to revisit save points.
The control scheme of Assassin’s Creed has been translated to the PC to make use of the keyboard. The default layout takes some getting used to, but it affords the same level of control that the console versions do. You move using the W, A, S, and D keys like you would in a first-person shooter, though the A and D keys cause Altair to walk in that direction, similar to what you’d expect from a gamepad. You also use the E key to go to Altair’s eagle-eye first-person view, and the space bar to activate Altair’s leg functions, such as walking slowly to blend into a crowd. The shift key serves as your multipurpose low-profile key to shove people out of your way, grab people when used with the attack command, or enable your acrobatic free-running abilities when pressed with the space bar. Your mouse can be used to control your camera (along with separate camera controls tied to the arrow keys, and the first-person eagle-eye view). Your left mouse-button attacks your enemies, and your right-mouse-button lets Altair break into a sprint.
Like the console version, the PC version of the game begins with a brief tutorial and a handful of starter missions that generally go easy on you. These introductory escapades let you familiarize yourself with the control scheme and Altair’s impressive acrobatic skills. Fortunately, even though Altair’s missions often require him to leap across rooftops, run across catwalks, and run up the faces of walls (not unlike a certain Persian prince), the PC version of the game, like the console version, seems to gives you a good amount of leeway when navigating tricky cityscapes. Altair can maintain his balance in tight situations, and he teeters to one side to let you know he’s about to fall, which gives you enough notice to step back from the brink. At his very best, using his most advanced assassin’s skills, he can hop and skip across rows of ledges and flagpoles as if he were running on solid ground. Nevertheless, some of his most advanced skills are held only by high-ranking members of his assassin’s guild, which requires him to maintain the tenets of stealth, not harming innocent bystanders, and eventually attempting to bring peace to the world.
Using the free-running ability, Altair can leap across tenuous footholds with ease.
Although we had a chance to play through only the first few missions of the game, all of the content from the console version of the game seems to be making it to the PC intact, including the in-game cinematic sequences that help tell the story. Likewise, all of Altair’s various abilities seem to be included, such as fighting openly with his sword (and instantly executing his enemies with combo-kill abilities that can be triggered by left-clicking your mouse again immediately after making contact with your sword), as well as assassinating enemies with his wrist blades while sneaking up on them. You can pick the pockets of specific marks, and you maintain your level of stealth around hostile guards by managing their alertness levels, ducking out of sight into a booth or a haystack, onto an occupied bench, or into a crowd of pilgrims to hide. From what we’ve seen, the PC version of Assassin’s Creed looks primed and ready to offer all of the action and intrigue of the original console game when it ships in April.
-If Its Games
March 28, 2008
Here is a look at a new advert which is showing in Japan in order to promote the Wii Wheel which comes with Mario Kart.
March 28, 2008
Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi has said in an interview that we can expect vehicle deformation \”in the near future, very, very soon.\” Apparently manufacturers weren\’t happy with the idea of vehicle deformation but now they\’re slowly coming around to it. It is unclear if deformation could make it in a GT 5 Prologue update or if it will appear in the full version of GT 5 which is apparently a year away.
March 28, 2008
A gaming website has put up a list of ten confirmed PS3 games. The games are as follows - 10) Haze, 9) Littlebigplanet, 
Motorstorm 2, 7) Uncharted 2, 6) Resistance 2, 5) Killzone 2, 4) God of War 3, 3) Metal Gear Solid 4, 2) Final Fantasy XIII and 1) Gran Turismo 5.
;)