With its unique visuals and intriguing factions, Brink, the upcoming FPS from Bethesda is sure to have fans of the genre interested to learn more.  Well, if you’re one of those people, you’re in luck.  You can check out the recently released cinematic trailer below, or visit the recently re-launched website for more information, assets, an other insights.  Right now, Brink is looking at a Q3 2010 release window, with no official date yet set.  So sit back and enjoy the video, and keep tuned to Spawn Kill for more info as it rolls in.
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If you’ve played Unsolved Crimes for DS, then Crime Scene will instantly feel familiar. So familiar, in fact, that at first I thought they were developed by the same team. Basically, you play as a rookie investigator and must use your evidence collecting and analytical skills to help solve various cases from murders to terrorist attacks.

The gameplay is a point-and-click at heart, but the spin here is a huge focus on evidence-based mini games, for lack of a better term. In other words, you must dust for fingerprints, swab for blood and compare ballistics information to identify what gun shot which bullet, and so on. Although some of these games can be a little silly (you use a laser to destroy unwanted cells in your microscope, for example), overall the entire process is engaging and fun. That is, when the controls work.

And as Hamlet says, “Aye, there’s the rub,” The first major problem Crime Scene has is the fact that there really isn’t a tutorial level to get you used to the controls. For example, the menu system isn’t completely intuitive, and you may find yourself fumbling a bit. But that could be forgiven. The real issue is that you aren’t given any chance to practice with the various evidence collection mini games before you’re thrust into the real world, so to speak. You’re shoved into the deep end and you have to figure things out as you go along. This would be fine, except for the fact that you are penalized very severely every time you get something wrong. This is made worse by the fact that the only instructions you’re given for the various steps of say, taking a blood swab, are given during the timed interval when you’re supposed to be doing those steps. Meaning 1) you can’t possibly read all the instructions in the given time and 2) you will “fail” because you’re spending time trying to see what you have to do in order to succeed. Add to the fact that the controls aren’t as responsive as they could be and you may find yourself with a Game Over before you’ve even begun (I know I did). Certainly, this is not the most encouraging way to introduce the player to the game.

Once you’ve managed to figure out what you need to do, you would think that things would move more smoothly. Sadly, this isn’t true. Try as you may, the game won’t always read your stylus gestures correctly, so you will often find yourself failing the swab test, for example, because you “aren’t swabbing in the right area” even when you’ve been rubbing your stylus right over the blood spot. Each time you make a mistake, you lose credibility (a blue thermometer-like meter). When it drops all the way, your game is over, and you have to start over from your last save. Thankfully, the game does auto save at key points, but you still want to make sure you save often, otherwise you’ll have to re-do a lot of (what then becomes) tedious data collection and analysis, not to mention tons of dialogue to weed through (there’s no “skip” option).

By far the most vicious offender is the tweezers, which command you to follow a certain path with your stylus a certain number of times in order successfully pick up the item. The problem is, these gestures are only recognized about 10% of the time, and if the game thinks you’ve picked up your stylus, you drop the tweezers and have to start again. Add to the fact that you might have to repeat the same pattern 9 or 10 times before the meter expires, and you’ll often find yourself ready to throw your DS across the room and give up. No, I’ve decided the scalpel is actually worse since whenever you try to use it to cut something, following the prompt, it either tells you the area can’t be cut or for some reason takes the scalpel away from you and you have to start over in a never ending cycle.

Magnifying the problem is the control design: rather than sticking to a primarily stylus-only control system, you have to use the L and/or R buttons while using your stylus to perform various maneuvers. In principle, this seems fine, but in practice, it’s awful. It’s very uncomfortable to hold the DS that way, especially for long-stretches and for extended periods. I know my hands were really hurting after only the first case.

When everything is working smoothly, however, the game is enjoyable. It’s an interesting take on the genre, especially since the mini-games don’t feel tacked on the way they did in Unsolved Crimes, and it’s exciting to see the pieces of the puzzle reveal themselves. You really do feel like you’re the one solving the case, instead of being lead through it step by step the way you are in many other games of this nature. I also like that you will occasionally find dead ends such as clues that you can’t identify in the database, or clues that end up being a false lead, which force you to rethink the situation. You’ll also often have to revisit the scenes to look at things in a new light and discover new clues that may help crack the case. I also liked that you must build your case in order to apply for a warrant by selecting the best evidence to include in your file. This was just another way the game made you feel like you were really the one solving this case rather than just hanging along for the ride.

Crime Scene does have other flaws, but these seem minor in comparison to the huge control issue. For example, the translation isn’t always the best (I believe this was a Spanish-language game originally), and sometimes you might struggle to figure out how the game wants you to respond. Also, you aren’t able to fully explore the scenes the way you can in other games of this genre, and you can only zoom in to look at something more closely when the game allows you to. Still, these are negligible and don’t harm the gameplay in the same way that the unforgiving controls do.

The pattern of the gameplay is basically as such: you’ll be briefed on a case, comb the scenes, collect evidence, analyze the evidence, and then build your case. You’ll often have to revisit the scene and may get new suspects to interview, but that is generally the way the game goes. Your evidence collection tools are basically a swab for blood and other fluids, a duster and tape for fingerprints and footprints, a scalpel, as well as a reagent spray and UV light to discover hidden blood and fluids, plus tweezers to collect small evidence or bullets. Back at the station, you analyze this info using a scanner, camera, microscope and computer database. So you may scan in the fingerprint you collected at the scene and then compare it to the various fingerprints in the system to try and find a match. Many of the tests do mimic real life evidence analysis and this is where the game is truly in its element, especially since the analysis tools work much better than the collection ones do, control-wise.

The sad thing about Crime Scene is it may have earned as high as a 7/10 if the controls weren’t so brutally unforgiving. I honestly don’t know how the game got past testing, as broken as the controls can be most times. And the reality is the fix could have been as simple as removing the “fail” state from the data collection process and making it so you only lose credibility for misinterpreting the evidence. As it is, however, I can’t recommend this game, because the controls really do break it. You will undoubtedly find sections that you cannot get past because the game will not read your tweezer’s movements, or unfairly think you’re rubbing the swab in the wrong area. Save yourself the aggravation and look elsewhere for your CSI needs.

Doin It RIGHT: - CSI aspect is different and can be great fun when controls are working well. - The game makes you feel like you’re truly the one in control of the investigation.	Doin It RONG: - Penalties for failing (often due to poor controls) are severe, even in your first case. - Frustrating controls make the game unplayable too much of the time.
FINAL SCORE: 4 / 10

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Ragnarok DS is what you could consider the portable version of the MMO Ragnarok Online, of which, I can confess I am not very familiar with.  However, I think that may be one of the reasons this baby brother was released for the DS: to introduce potential new players into the Ragnarok universe.

The game is basically a dungeon-crawling action RPG, and follows the story of Ales, a young man whose dream is to be an adventurer and eventually start his own guild.  He immediately finds an amnesiac young girl named Sierra, who he agrees to bring along with him on his adventures.  Naturally, as the story progresses, more people join his party in the constant search for adventure: pretty typical RPG-faire here.

Although some buttons are mapped (i.e. You can use the D-pad to move your character and the face buttons to pull up menus), you’ll find yourself using the stylus almost exclusively, since the button integration isn’t complete.  For example, you can’t press a button to continue in dialogue or go back in a menu, which can be a bit annoying.  So expect a very Zelda DS experience here, control-wise.

Dragging your stylus will move your character around, and tapping on a monster will initiate his attack.  Unless you change the settings, your character will keep attacking that enemy until it’s defeated.  You also have access to a shortcut bar at the top of the touch screen, where you can set frequently used skills and items for easy access.  To use a skill, you must click on it and then perform the action indicated on the top screen, like drawing a swift line through an enemy or a circle through a group of them.  You also have limited control of your party members.  You can set their tactics, such as telling them to act freely, or commanding them to heal, and you can click on their picture in the taskbar to direct them to attack a particular enemy.  However, you can’t directly tell them what skills or spells to use, which is a little frustrating at times.

Exploration is interesting.  Towns remind me a bit of Suikoden Tierkreis in which you are presented with a menu (shops, save, etc.), but when you pick an option (i.e. Tavern), you can walk around and interact with people in that location.  Towns are the only place you can make a permanent save (with two save slots available), although you can make a temporary save any time.  The biggest gripe I had with this system is with no quick travel (more on that later), you may find your quests dragging out for long periods of time, and if you choose to do a temporary save (so you don’t risk losing all your progress), the game will automatically return you to the title screen instead of asking if you want to continue.  It’s not a big deal, but it is irksome.

The game does have an interesting dual-leveling system.  You have your base level, or what you would be most familiar with in every RPG, and then you have your “job level.”  Each time your base level goes up, you’re given points you can use to improve your character’s attributes, such as dexterity, luck, intelligence, etc.  The higher that attribute is the more points it will take to increase it, giving a bit of strategy in how you distribute your points.  When your job level goes up, you’re given skill points to spend on learning and improving skills based on what job you are.

Everyone starts the game as a novice job class with two basic skills, but once your job level reaches 10, you can go to the job guild and apply for a more advanced job, such as a swordsman.  Each job has its own equipment and skills, and whenever you change jobs you must “start over”: all your equipment is removed (but not lost), and your job level goes back to zero.  You also must start from scratch with your new skills.  As you level up, you can also try for an even higher level job (such as a knight), which has its own requirements and skills, but which will enable you to use equipment you otherwise could not.  In some ways, this is the most interesting aspect of the game, as there are even higher “secret” jobs you can acquire if your character becomes powerful enough.

Although there is a story and plenty of (very. slow. moving.) dialogue, the heart of the game is fetch quest dungeon crawling.  Generally, you are told to find some random object, you go on your trek, fight your way through to the very end of a dungeon, kill the boss monster, collect the item, and then trudge all the way back.  That’s right. There’s no quick travel, even after you complete a dungeon.  It’s a little ironic, considering you use warp gates (instead of doors) for everything, yet you can’t just warp to places (i.e. from a town) that you’ve already visited.  It also means you will have to go through the dungeon to the exit every time, plus passing through all the forest or whatnot you had to travel through to get there in the first place.  Even though dungeons aren’t very big (no more than a few floors or sections), this gets old pretty fast, as it is completely unnecessary. This is made worse by the fact that there is usually only one laborious path from point A to point B, which would be fine one or two times, but certainly not more than that. Add to the fact that you must find the map for the area whenever you enter a new locale (think the original Zelda dungeons), and it all can get old pretty fast. Later in the game, you’re able to purchase some items that give you limited quick travel abilities, but the fact that this is done so late and doesn’t solve all the repetition is still disappointing.

Don’t get me wrong, Ragnarok can be fun at times, but overall, I found the frustration usually outweighed any levity.  For example, you can only take on one tavern quest at a time, and I found it could take many hours of battling the same monsters before you ever got them to drop what you needed for your quest.  Also, quests are only partially recorded in your menu.  Let me explain… Only the main quests and tavern quests will be listed, but often details won’t be, and some sub-quests of the main quests will not be included at all.  This often means you have to trek back to whomever it was that gave you the quest to find out the details (i.e., what items did they want you to collect for them again?), which is completely poor design.

Muliplayer. For a game that’s based off of an MMO, you would expect the multiplayer experience to be a high priority to be developed well, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.  For instance, you can’t jump into multiplayer directly from the main menu the way you can in most DS RPGs that offer it.  Instead, you have to travel the long distance through the game world until you get to the Mirage Tower, a tower filled with various floors and enemies that you can tackle as either a single player or with others in multiplayer.  The game never tells you this at any point.  It isn’t mentioned in the otherwise very thorough manual, either.  So it’s very possible someone could play through the game and never even realize that multiplayer exists, or at least never figure out how to access it.  This is the first flaw.  The second is that you can only play with others in this tower.  That’s it.  You would expect that you could have friends join you once you finish the main story to help you fulfill the thousands of side quests available (which make up most of the gameplay), but you’d be wrong.  Although I dabbled in the multiplayer for the sake of this review, I think in general you would find the tower more fulfilling as a single player experience.

Basically, once you arrive at the tower you have the option to make a save and customize your character’s look along with a few messages you can trigger with the face buttons.  Then you can enter the tower as either a single player, or choose multiplayer.  The game will then ask if you want to do this locally or over WiFi, and if you choose WiFi, then you have the option of entering (or choosing, if you already registered them) your friends.  Otherwise, it will randomly search for “Allys” (yes, that’s how it’s spelled in the game) to join you.  You have no customization in this at all, which is a little disappointing, as you could very easily end up with a rather unbalanced party.

The first few times I tried to get matched up, my allies decided to jump right into the very top of the tower, as they were obviously more experienced than me.  Luckily for me (or my character, perhaps), my connection got broken almost immediately as we arrived in the tower, and I was sent back to the matchmaking screen.  When I finally was able to enter the tower (on floor 1), I had only one other ally with me.  This was fine for these early floors, but I could see this system being problematic for higher levels.

Basically the tower is just a series of rooms per floor that (thankfully) are pre-mapped.  You must defeat a certain number of monsters per floor to either A) make the warp appear that will take you to the next level or B) make the special monster appear that you must defeat to make that warp appear.  Just do this over and over and there you have the tower.  After you pass a certain number of floors (i.e., five), you will fight a boss monster.  Then you will go to a screen that lets you and your allies “bid” on various items, such as weapons, potions, and cards.  You can pass or bid, although I found the system a bit confusing.  After the time limit passes, you win whatever items you had the highest bid on.  Then you have the option to continue in the tower or end your session.

I would imagine that playing locally with friends might have some potential for fun, but as it stands, I feel like the multiplayer was a “tacked-on” experience and doesn’t really add much to the game as a whole.

I was hopeful that the game simply got off to a slow/poor start, but even once you successfully open your own guild, the gameplay remains basically the same: flawed, repetitive, and with a low challenge level. However, if you like dungeon-crawling action-RPGs, you may want to give this one a try anyway. It can have a very Diabolo-esque feel to it at times (you will be picking up a lot of loot, which you much decide to keep or sell to maintain your limited inventory).  The card system (which I haven’t mentioned) allows you to customize certain weapons and gear to improve their stats (think of them as the runes or gems you might have experienced in other RPGs), which does add a bit of strategy.  Once you finish the story, which is pretty short by RPG standards, about 20 hours, with only about 10 of that being actual content and the rest filler, you have hours and hours of gameplay if you choose to complete all the side quests available or take on the tower (either alone or in multiplayer). Still, there are better DS RPGs on the market, so you may be better off spending your money elsewhere.  Or, if you’re really interested, you may want to try the more robust MMO experience that Raganarok Online offers on the PC.

Doin It RIGHT: - Simple gameplay makes it fun for those new to RPGs or looking for a less-complicated affair. - Hours of questing gameplay. - Leveling and job system adds interest and depth.	Doin It RONG: - Design flaws (such as no quick travel) can make the game tedious. - Story is shallow and moves too slowly. - Multiplayer feels like it’s “tacked on” and doesn’t really add to the game.
FINAL SCORE: 5 / 10

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If you’re a Mega Man fan, you have a reason to be happy.  Not only is Mega Man 10 just a few weeks from release (via PSN, XBLA, and WiiWare), but Capcom has also revealed they are releasing all four Mega Man Zero games (originally released for Game Boy Advance) on one DS cartridge.

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If you enjoyed Hotel Dusk, then you have two reasons to be happy. One, because CING, the developer behind that great game, has a new mystery title releasing in only a few weeks: Again comes to DS on March 30, 2010. Second, because a new mystery starring detective Kyle Hyde from Hotel Dusk has been announced, although details are sketchy (no pun intended).

Still, Again, although it has a far more realistic look than its cousin, with real actors “scanned in” and using full-motion video segments, promises to be intriguing. You play as FBI investigator Jonathan Weaver, who has the ability to view a crime scene both in the present state and at a time in the past. Holding the DS like a book, you will have access to both versions of the crime scene, and thus must carefully study each to help gleam clues in order to solve the crime.

Check out this new story and gameplay video for more insight into this chilling mystery.

[Source: Tecmo]

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In addition to revealing a release date for the DSi XL, Nintendo had a slew of software announcements for the upcoming months, including news about some of their most-anticipated titles.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be hitting US store shelves in May, with an official release date of May 23.  That gives everyone (including me) time to finish the first one!

Metroid: Other M, of which we’ve heard very little, will be arriving on June 27.  The game will mix classic 2D gameplay with the newer, 3D first-person perspective and is something fans of the series won’t want to miss.

And there’s good news for Dragon Quest fans, as Nintendo will be publishing Dragon Quest IX in the US this summer.  This is exciting news, because that means it will only have been a year between the momentous Japanese release and having this great title stateside.  In case you were in a coma when the game was released in Japan last summer, it has sold over 4 million copies there alone, and it was questionable at first whether the US would even get a chance to see this title localized, let alone so soon!

Monster Hunter Tri releases April 20, and, as previously announced, will be sold as the game only or in a bundle with the classic controller pro.

Nintendo fans can also look forward to Sin and Punishment: Star Successor, coming June 7, along with MegaMan 10 (March 1) and Cave Story (March 22).  Super Meat Boy and And Yet It Moves and will both be coming to WiiWare, although no release dates were yet given for these titles.

[Source: Nintendo]

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Today, Nintendo finally announced when the Big Daddy of the DS family will be released in the US, along with its price.  In just a little over a month, on March 28, you can take one of these sweet “super-sized” handhelds home for only $189.99 ($20 more than the current DSi).

The DSi XL is 93% larger than the DS Lite, with screens that provide a wider viewing angle so friends and family can spy–er–join in on the fun.  The new system will be available in Bronze and Burgundy, and will be pre-loaded with Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock, as well as two free applications: the Nintendo DSi Browser and Flipnote Studio.

In addition to larger screens, the new handheld comes with a much larger, pen-like stylus, to make using it more ergonomic.

Also, Nintendo will be releasing a book reader of sorts for the DS, 100 Classic Books, which will include books from classic authors such as Twain, Shakespeare, and more.  The software releases June 14 for $19.99, and will enable you to alter the size of the text, create bookmarks, and download new texts via WiFi.  Perhaps Nintendo is trying to give Kindle a run for its money?

[Source: Nintendo]

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The eyes of the internet, or at least those of us who grew up playing countless hours of Sonic games on our little black boxes, were on the video included below.  Supposedly, this video shows leaked gameplay footage of Sega’s upcoming Sonic game, Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, which was recently announced.

Even if this video turns out to be a fake, I’m still super pumped about the upcoming game.  My only hope is the price isn’t too steep.  For now, enjoy the video.

[Source: Gametrailers, via Joystiq]

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I’ve been dreaming about this game for over a year now, back when we had very little more than a few Japanese screens and a trailer, back when it was still titled simply Fragile.  Newly billed as Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, at last we have English screens and a North American release date: March 2010 (exclusively for Wii).

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Perhaps, because it is a game about a mystery writer whose horrors come to life ala the pages of a Stephen King novel, it is only fitting that the game has long been shrouded in mystery.

Today, a bit more of the curtain was pulled back, as a new trailer was revealed for X10, along with more details about the sweet special edition.  The only downside?  It’s 360-exclusive, meaning those of you without one are either out of luck, or better put in your orders pretty darn quick to prevent yourselves from missing out on what could possibly be one of the best games of 2010.
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The PC indie hit is coming to Xbox 360 Live Arcade!  Enjoy exciting first-person brawling action, brought to you by the folks at Atlus.  The game will be available for XBLA March 31, 2010.

While you wait, why don’t you check out the fresh new screenshots, posted in the gallery below?  Or, you can check out a video in case you missed it.

[Source: Atlus]

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Atlus is certainly doing their fans service when it comes to information and media related to their upcoming Wii game Trauma Team.  Check out the latest screenshots in the gallery below, or visit the website to check out the latest developer’s featurette, “The Creation of Character”: http://www.atlus.com/traumateam/featurettes.html.

Although the release date has been pushed back into May (check it out on May 18, 2010, to be exact), fans certainly have plenty to look forward to.

123►

[Source: Atlus]

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If you’re looking forward to the Ultimate Edition of Zeno Clash for XBLA, then you’ll enjoy this video, which shows off the new attacks found in this updated version.

“Initially, ACE Team had offered to demonstrate the new moves in Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition in person for the Atlus staff,” chuckled a grimacing Aram Jabbari, Manager of Public Relations and Sales for Atlus.  “We all thought they were kidding when they talked about cool-sounding moves like the ‘headbutt’ and ’spin kick.’  After a week in the hospital, I’m happy to say that fans can expect to find those and equally punishing new attacks in Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition, and that the moves deliver the same satisfyingly visceral feel as all the other injury-inducing first-person melee combat Zeno Clash has to offer.  In other good news, the doctor says the swelling on my head will go away in about a month or so.”

For more info on the game, which is set to release March 30, 2010, exclusively for XBox Live Arcade, check out http://www.zenoclash.com, or scroll down for an ACE Team roundtable interview, discussing frequently asked questions about the upcoming title.

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I’ll start off by confessing that I’ve been playing this game off and on for nearly a year.  It’s just one of those games that’s great to pick up and play for a little while, set it down, and come back to it later.  It’s also one of my all-time favorite games for the DS (it’s also available on nearly every other platform), even though it’s far from perfect.  But a game doesn’t have to be “perfect” to be fun, does it?  Even though I’ve finished the story mode, I know I’ll keep playing whenever the “match 3″ bug strikes me, and I’m very eagerly awaiting the true sequel, which promises to do nothing but improve over the first game.

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If the delayed release of Dementium II has you down, don’t worry, horror fans, because you might want to keep an eye on the soon-to-be released title Deadly Premonition.

The story behind the Red Seed Murders in the game Deadly Premonition begins to unravel further in the rural town of Greenvale, with the introduction of the inquisitive Ingram Twins in this week’s character trailer. The survival horror title and Xbox 360 exclusive arrives February 23, 2010.
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