Here are some features you can expect to see in MotoGP 09/10:

• Brand new exciting gameplay modes that deliver the ultimate GP racing experience
• 17 official circuits and all the bikes and riders from the 2009 GP season plus the ability to update the game with content from the 2010 championship as the season unfolds
• Gain Rider Reputation points through your achievements on the track and use these to progress your career with new offers of contracts, manufacturers, staff and sponsorship deals
• Dynamic racing objectives challenge riders during racing sessions
• Compete against riders across the globe in online multiplayer mode in races with up to 20 players
• Two player split screen allows you to compete against your friends locally
• Select from 125cc, 250cc and 800cc championships with each class delivering its own exciting and unique bike handling set up.
• Realistic AI which emulates a true racing pack with different rider styles and pace.
• Accessible handling for players of all levels to create an enjoyable racing experience

MotoGP 09/10 will be available at retailers across North America starting March 16. Fans will be able to compete in the most up-to-date racing experience earlier than ever before with the 2010 season content available to download free of charge shortly after launch. While you wait for the demo check out the new gameplay screens.

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With only one more day to go, the follow up to last year’s best baseball title, MLB 10 The Show looks to once again provide gamers with the most realistic baseball game in the market. For those who haven’t been closely following the upcoming title or if you just missed something, we created a one stop shop for everything you need to know about The Show. What you’ll find in this preview are some highlights of key features and additions to MLB 10 The Show and all the videos released, and yes that includes the “Dear Playstation” commercial that we all love.

If you haven’t seen it already or even if you have, the commercial for MLB 10 The Show is hilarious. Check it out.

The realism that Kevin Butler is talking about in The Show comes from all the little subtleties in the game.  Last year I was blown away by how accurately they were able to capture certain player’s rituals or mannerisms at the plate or on the mound.  This year’s version will include all of that and will also bring a more realistic environment. MLB 10 will have real-time players in the dugouts and bullpens, fireworks, rally towels/tundersticks, working clocks and home run counters like the one seen in San Francisco. Of course you can’t bring a game to life without fans and this year crowd detail has also been improved. They will be much more active this year, reaching over the wall for foul balls, scrambling for home run balls and making more noise in pressure situations. This might seem like very small additions but brought together it helps bring the real game to into the virtual one.  Here’s the trailer showing off some of these features.

Road to The Show (RTTS) is one of the best modes of the MLB The Show franchise. It has been the leading sports title in creating a realistic and engaging “create a player” mode. This year in RTTS you’ll have much more control over what your player looks like and his accessories. Once you create your player you’ll be sent right to the Double-A season. While last year’s version had you start in spring training, starting in Double-A will give you a more realistic approach to working your way to the majors as most players don’t receive an invite to spring training until after their first year. Before you get into a game you now have the option to participate in pre-game batting practice or when you get called from the bullpen you’ll get some time to throw practice pitches. Just like batting practice and your time warming up on the mound, it doesn’t help you gain experience, but it will help you get ready for the game or at-bat. Once you are in a game you have full control of what you want to experience. You can play out every pitch/play in the game, only the last pitch in the at-bat, or just plays that involve you. Whether you are on the field or in the batters box there is a bigger emphasize on fundamental baseball. Throwing to the wrong bag, stealing when you shouldn’t be or failing to cover a base will put you in a bad spot with the manager. Lastly a huge emphasis went into gaining skill points and the flow of the game. New training modes have been added for both hitters and pitchers, and goals throughout the game will be shown in way as to not break from the pace of the game. You can also hit the D-pad to show the goals of the game in case you missed it, which is really nice.

To go along with RTTS you now have the full control as the catcher in the new Catcher Calling the Game mode. You’ll be calling for pitches and locations which includes 9 zones inside the strike zone or 8 zones outside. Just like in real life it is your responsibility to know the batters and your pitchers strengths and weaknesses. The pitcher might shake you off so you can pick another pitch but sometimes the catcher knows best and he’ll throw that pitch if you keep asking for it. You’ll have to also watch out for wild pitches and base runners, which adds to the difficulty of being a catcher. It’s a really cool mode and I’m excited to get a chance to call a game but then again, playing every game as a catcher might take it’s toll.

Making it’s return to the series is the Home Run Derby. Fans have been asking for this to be added to the game for some time now and we finally have it. You won’t only get the Home Run Derby, you’ll be getting the entire All-Star experience. During your franchise or RTTS season you’ll get a chance to play in the All-Star Futures Game along with the Derby and the regular All-Star game. Check out this trailer that showcases the new All-Star experience.

MLB 09 The Show suffered from very poor online play, mainly due to lag. Sony has been saying they have worked very hard on fixing that issue for MLB 10 and if they can then I think fans will enjoy the improvements to the Online Leagues. In addition to added customization when creating the league, people can now drop in and out of leagues during the season. If someone can’t handle the season and needs to back out, the commissioner can find a replacement to take over that team. Fatigue is also another factor managers will have to deal with as you will no longer be able to use your ace for every game. Here are some of the key features of the new online leagues:

·    Additional Commissioner Slot (6 total leagues now)
·    NEW Auto-resolve feature. Set to On/Off when creating a league and helps keep leagues progressing
·    Ability to Drop and Replace players within an In-progress league
·    Apply a Custom Slider to a league
·    League Invitation system upgrade
·    New My Complete Leagues list, showing a summary of all completed leagues, the winner and playoff participants
·    New League Round-up and League History tabs in Gamer Card
·    More emails and communication on league changes
·    Players Needing Leagues upgrade. Commissioner can now send invites directly from that screen
·    Additional information about users for a commissioner resolving a game
·    Quit a league at any time (commissioner or league member). No more being held hostage

Finally Real Time Presentation Mode is one of the brand new features to this year’s game. The new presentation mode should give gamers a further sense of realism by attempting to capture the camera angles and shots seen while watching a game on TV. Instead of going in-depth on how this new system works here is a short video displaying the Real Time Presentation.

There is a lot of detail put into every offering of The Show and I don’t expect MLB 10 to be any different. If you want to learn more about the game you can read the full preview here. I am extremely excited about the upcoming title and I hope that all of these new features can come together to bring us the realism that we have come to know and love from this franchise.

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Throughout the call no one from the dev team was shy about saying how disappointed they were with last year’s title and mentioned that MLB 2K10 is much improved. Though we didn’t get to have an open Q&A session at the end of the call the developers were able to give us some insight on what they did to make sure they don’t repeat the issues from 2K9.

Here are some of the highlights from the call and if you are interested in listening to the entire call we got that for you as well below the questions. Enjoy!

How much of 2K9 was used in 2K10 and was the game rebuilt from the ground up for the new release?

Sean: We completely rewrote everything from fielding, hitting, pitching, the physics, AI, camera views, swapped up all the animations. We had a lot of work ahead of us because I don’t think any of us were happy with last year nor should we have been. So rather than just trying to touch up last year’s game we just made sure the new game included all the fixes that frustrated people as well as a new, rewritten game.

What new additions were made to the franchise mode and how wide of a range of options are available to the player now?

Jonathan: The biggest new addition is the 40 man roster in franchise for September call up. The draft happens in the middle of the year. Another new addition is the trade finder. You can essentially add any player out on the trade block so other AI teams can make you offers for that player. In addition to that we have compensatory picks for free agents. So in the off season when you’re trying to sign a player you might risk losing a first or second round draft pick and if you lose a high rated player you will also get a compensatory pick.

Since gamers and industry critics have noted that early iterations of MLB series have struggled with technical issues surrounding pitching, hitting and gameplay, was this a primary focus of improvement for 2K10?

Sean: It’s almost an understatement to call it a primary focus of improvement. We didn’t just want to improve, we wanted to nail it. We knew that the core gameplay experience needed improvements across the board but when it came to pitching and hitting we really went beyond focusing on improving. We created an entirely new experience starting with the cameras, different strikes zones, different swing types, different analyzers, different replays and the physics were all rewritten. It was a huge primary focus of improvements.

Has there been improvement to the hitting component aside from the defensive swings? It’s either been too easy or too hard to make solid contact as the big hitters would almost always turn a fastball into a sure homerun and an average player could barely get it out of the infield.

Sean: It has been out of balance in the past. Aside from defensive swing we have made it all about the timing. The days are gone when you can simply hold the influence stick and just paint where you want the ball to go on every swing. It’s all about timing, which is very satisfying. The balls that are hit with more velocity in real life are the ones that are pulled or the ones that a right handed batter sends down the first base line weaker are late swings to the opposite field. The timing was done in a very realistic way that takes care of a lot of complaints of the past.

What determines whether or not the Batter’s Eye feature appears? Is it purely based on their real world skills or are there other factors involved such as the pitchers skills? How often can they see the Batter’s Eye appear in a game?

Sean: When this originally came up the problem we were trying to solve is we were trying to make certain players better in the video game that are good in real life at reaching base and getting walks but didn’t have that skill set in the video game. So what we did was come up with eye rating versus lefties and righties and the batters eye rating drives the frequency of the Batter’s Eye. So the guys that take a lot of walks they have a very high eye rating so they’re going to see it more often. It also helps if they have good timing.

Why did you add the My Player feature in this year’s game?

Ben: It really seems like across the board in all sports titles that are out there right now career modes in general are becoming the popular thing and something that people are expecting to see. It was a big focus for us to be able to add the mode this year. A lot of our early build up and planning went into making My Player in this year’s version. At the same time we had NBA 2K10 come out with My Player and so that was a basis for what we did too. We really felt like it was a hole that we needed to fill with 2K10.

In My Player can you give an estimate on how long it will take to get into the Majors?

Ben: That can really vary there is so much flexibility you can do. You have a lot of flexibility in terms of how you want to play the game. When you actually do play a game you are just playing the moment that your player is directly involved in. You can play though a game in 5 or 10 minutes depending on the situations you end up with. You can also simulate games entirely, you won’t get as many skill points through simulation but if you can do that. Simulating the game might take you a bit longer to get the call to the majors. Playing all the games can get you to the majors in as soon as 10-15 games.

Framerate and online lag was a big issue for last year’s title. What was done to fix the issue s for the upcoming game?

Ben: This was something that was important for us. We felt that there was room for improvement from 2K9. We definitely made sure that we got the framerate up to an acceptable level. That’s a huge part of making the experience good and you are in full control. If you get a little lag or framerate drops, it can take away some of that control from you. It was certainly important for us to make sure we were as optimized in those departments as we could be.

Is there a PC version and how did last year’s response to the PC version go?

Ben: We definitely have a PC version this year too. You will get all the same features you will get in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. I think a lot of the responses were similar across the board, just a lot of room for improvement and we definitely took a lot of the criticism to heart. The PC version just like the other versions is very much improved. The series in general is going much more in the right direction.

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@Theherp80 @Lethalwraith

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MLB 2K9 suffered from a large amount of issues. The game struggled in multiple areas including poor framerate, annoying bugs and lackluster game modes. With MLB 2K10, developer Visual Concepts is attempting to bring this franchise back to life. In this year’s title, gamers will experience the new Batter’s Eye system, a slightly tweaked pitching mechanic and franchise mode along the brand new MLB Today and My Player mode. From what I’ve seen, the new modes are very similar to those found in NBA 2K10 which worries me. Visual Concepts tried to add way too much to this year’s NBA title which left them little time to work out the numerous bugs. Let’s just hope that isn’t the case for MLB 2K10 because this year’s version is adding a lot of features 2K fans have been asking for.

All reports, from everyone who has played the title, seem to be indicating that the framerate issue has been fixed. I wouldn’t get your hopes up yet, since early builds of the game are missing some features here and there. Still, it’s a good sign that the issue was looked at. Poor framerate can ruin a baseball game, so let’s hope that it is actually fixed for the final product. Another complaint that gamers had about last year’s title was the exclusion of pre-loaded throws. In 2K10 you will be able to pre-load your throw to turn quick double plays or to quickly get the ball back from the outfield. This also makes the animation look smoother as you won’t see the players stand there for a split second before they throw the ball.

Pitching and Hitting has always been MLB 2K’s strong point and this year they aim to keep it similar to last year’s title with a few small changes. In 2K9, players would have to select a pitch by completing a gesture using the right stick which led to many issues of picking the wrong pitch. The pitching itself hasn’t gone away from the stick controls but in 2K10 you select your pitch using the face buttons and the new pitch analyzer will let you know exactly what went wrong with the pitch. This was done in an attempt to make the pitching more accessible which it definitely was not last year. I’m sure those new to the title will still struggle with the pitching but at least you will see exactly what you are doing wrong.

At the plate they have added a couple of new features. One of them is Batter’s Eye. Depending on the pitch type and the skill of the player, the pitch will flash above the batter’s box. The camera angle has been lowered just a bit which I don’t like but it was done so players can see the text and the pitch coming in. There’s also a defensive swing this year that can be pulled off by flicking the right stick left or right. The defensive swing and Batter’s Eye should give players a more realistic approach at the plate by having longer at bats and running the count full. Here is a 9 minute gameplay video that shows off some of these new features to MLB 2K10.

The two brand new modes to the game are MLB Today and My Player. These modes were in Visual Concept’s NBA title and now are making their debut in MLB. MLB Today is a mode in which users can play out the entire season based on what is happening in real life. The mode will display all the games that are being played on that day. It will also upload current stats and rosters to adjust the in the game rosters and player ratings. The menu screen will also display all the current box scores and stats in case you missed a game or two. I really enjoyed this feature in NBA 2K10 but I can’t help but wish they could take this mode and integrate it into a season or franchise mode instead of it being pretty much a quickplay mode.

My Player is a game mode that is just like the EA’s Be a Pro mode or like the rivals Road to The Show mode. You start by creating a player and picking a position. From there you will work your way through the minors to your ultimate goal of becoming a Major League superstar. You can choose to play any position including pitcher and even a catcher; though as catcher you aren’t asked to do very much. The first task as a minor leaguer is to perform in a clutch situation. As a batter you’ll be asked to drive home a run or get on base. As a pitcher you will be asked to not allow the tying run. If you are able to complete the challenge you will be awarded with skill points. These skill points are used to upgrade a particular attribute. They can be gained in a number of ways, through the various drills or through in-game actions. In-game skill points can earned for doing normal things in the course of the game. For instance getting a sac bunt down will net you 15 exp points, driving in a run or getting a putout will net you 25 exp points. You will also get goals for every at bat which will also get you more exp points if completed. As a pitcher it works the same way, getting exp points for things like strike outs, a shut out inning or getting a win or save. One of the issues with NBA’s My Player Mode was the fact that players can quickly upgrade their stats to become unstoppable but from what 2K is saying the skill points will be dynamic. If you are a power hitter you won’t continue to get points for bunting or things that a contact hitter would get.

The road to the Majors still seems a bit easy though. Every player will have a menu that will display goals you must complete to get the call to the majors. For hitters its things like batting average and having your contact at a certain rating but for pitchers it’s all about getting your pitches and stamina up to a rating of 60 or above. There are a minimum of games you must play in order to get the call but that’s only 5 starts for a pitcher and 15 games for a position player. This makes it seem like skilled players will find their created player in the majors pretty quick, which some people will like. I don’t like that because that’s not realistic at all. Even the most skilled players in the minors will most likely spend a year or at least half of the year there until September call ups. Although that is my goal to get to the Majors I want to take the realistic route. Of course it will all depend on the team you choose and injuries but we’ll see how long it actually takes in the final product.

A few changes have been made to presentation and franchise mode but those are very minor. Presentation wise they added the option to play Hurry Up Baseball, which skips all cut scenes and extra animations. This is said to cut down the play time by half. You can toggle this on and off during any point of a game. Franchise mode will see a 40-man roster in spring training and you will have to break that down to 25 before the season. You will also have the ability to control every team in the league to edit the franchise to mirror real life, which is nice to have but I’d rather have 2K do it for me instead of me having to do all the work. You can also seamlessly go online from franchise mode and have a friend play against your team. Seamless online integration was a new addition to most of the 2K sports games last year and makes its debut in this year’s MLB. In terms of online play, online leagues have been tweaked to give commissioners more options including the option to allow only strikes, which is interesting. There will also be a website to track your league stats and trades. Just like every multiplayer mode it’s only good if lag is not an issue, something that 2K Sports games have always dealt with.

MLB 2K10 is looking to bring a lot to the table especially after seeing the high scores their rival has gotten in the last two years. The problem is Visual Concept did the same thing with NBA 2K10 and that game was flooded with issues. Only time will tell if they learned from their mistakes or if they will once again release a game full of bugs. For now everything seems to be going in the right direction for the struggling franchise and gamers should be getting a look at what they have been working on when the demo releases this week. As always, stay tuned for our demo impressions later this week.

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I was recently able to attend a live demonstration of 3D Dot Game Heroes, the upcoming parody/homage action/adventure title under the Atlus umbrella. During the demo, Atlus USA’s Manager of PR and Sales Aram Jabbari went through some of the bigger bullet points and finer details of the upcoming game.

The first thing being displayed was the character editor. For demonstration purposes, a custom smiley face avatar was created in order to show the basics of how the editor worked. It seemed quite simple to select, place, and color individual pixels in the cube-shaped canvas provided. Creating different animations for attacking and running was as simple as making a few artistic changes, in this case turning the face into a frown. All that had to be done for this example was to make a selection of the smiley’s mouth and then use R2 to manipulate it. In an instant, the mouth was flipped, and the happiness faded from the circular hero.

Once their different animations are completed, players can hop into a demonstration area to ensure that their character looks and moves exactly like they want. Although a character of any shape and size can be created within the confines of the editor, it is worth noting that the hit box for the character remains the same. If a player felt like conquering the game as a single pixel, his or her odd design choice would offer no tactical advantage.

One of the most unique factors of 3D Dot Game Heroes is the hero’s sword – or, rather, the huge variety of sword types available. 24 different swords are available to use in-game, all with a unique look and/or concept (like an available “Fish Sword”, or the familiar-sounding “Beam Sword”.) Most of the swords have stats that can be upgraded using points at the “one stop shop for natural sword enhancement.” Sword stats that can be upgraded include length, width, spin, and special. A fully-upgraded sword can literally fill the entire screen when at full health (since this is when the sword is at its full size), and one of the swords displayed even went through objects in the environments – this is one of the many special abilities that swords can carry.

Starting off the game, players are able to choose from several different heroes across three distinct classes: Legendary Hero focuses mostly on physical attacks, Royal Heir is a balance between physical and magical offense, and Wandering Scholar focuses solely on magical abilities. For their virtual avatar, players can use the aforementioned character editor to make a custom hero or choose from one the many included characters (around fifty, by my count.) If the player regrets their decision, or grows tired of their particular avatar, they can swap their character out with any of the others at any time.

Soon after meeting up with the King of Dotnia and realizing (through both the choice and lack thereof) that saving the land is his or her fate, the hero is guided by a faerie companion to a remote location in the nearby woods. There rests the player’s first sword. From there, the protagonist must set out to free the Sages and Orbs locked away amongst the game’s seven dungeons.

Though the game is meant to appeal to people with simple old-school tastes in gameplay and aesthetics, the developers added in plenty of modern designs. The hero’s sword is given a “spin” option, where the direction the player is facing when an attack is initiated isn’t necessarily where the attack winds up being directed. It allows more flexibility in combat, which will quite apparently be needed in the difficult New Game +, Spelunker, and From Modes that are unlocked after completion. Other simple improvements include arrows that can be picked up from the ground if they fail to strike an enemy, the ability to move using the directional pad or analog stick, shields that can deflect and return enemy fire, and the quick-select area. Though the menu screen allows access to available weapons and items, most weapons can be put into a toggle mode accessible from the main screen. When entered, the player can cycle through all weapons using R2 and L2 at any time.

Travel across the surprisingly large map will be made easier by the addition of Dash Boots. Using these, the player sprints with their sword extended forward. Unlike in a very similar SNES title, however, the hero in 3D Dot Game Heroes will be able to make turns while dashing around – a simple and time-saving shift from the expected. Later in the game, the hero will come across an item called the Wind Wing. The Wind Wing seems to quite literally throw the character into the wind, with the player-defined location as the ultimate trajectory. Dungeons will also have warp tiles to allow players to swap between specific areas. Warp tiles may or may not also be used as a puzzle mechanic.

Throughout the 20-30 hour campaign, players will be able to procure apple shards to increase their maximum vitality, find additional faerie companions, hunt down side quests, play minigames (more on these in a moment), and fill up a beastiary by pounding enemies over the cranium with a large green tome. The availability of rare items was also hinted at, but no exact details about their whereabouts was disclosed.

Though the main campaign in and of itself should be quirky and entertaining for most players, Silicon Studio saw it fit to include many additional minigames and miscellaneous goodies. Three different minigames were shown, all accessible from the overworld. The first was a tower defense game called Block Defense. In this mode, players spend coins and crystals in order to build and upgrade various towers. Another was called Blockout, where the player launched a ball at blocks on the opposing side of the stage in an effort to smash them all. The last was a racing game, I believe called Dash Circuit, that involves the hero racing through levels using the Dash Boots.

During the game, players will be able to come across large amount (over 100) different loading screens, all done in a manner similar to classic gaming titles. Amongst the few that I saw were direct and stylish references to Castlevania, Double Dragon, Chrono Cross, Lemmings, Street Fighter, and Vagrant Story. It has been made apparent that the loading screens aren’t totally necessary given the new optional hard drive installation. In regards to this fact, the developers added in a Loading Screen Gallery so they can all be taken in whenever the player likes.

3D Dot Game Heroes was touted as being “full” of easter eggs. One thing briefly shown was the From Cave, hidden somewhere on the outskirts of the northern part of the overworld. Inside were avatars of some of the developers, each with quirky references to make. Amongst the references were puns from popular films and games, including Atlus’ own Demon’s Souls.

For the duration of the demo, there were plenty of miscellaneous things shown or hinted at. The game includes the ability to change the font size (for people who may still be rocking standard-definition televisions), the speed in which text appears, color saturation (which provided a kind of silly gritty/modern feel or overly-cartoony sense of color), camera distance, and whether or not the HUD displays the minimap. In the options menu, the player will be able to take a screen capture of their current location. This image will then be available to use as a wallpaper on the PS3, or to distribute amongst friends across the PlayStation Network or a PC.

Lastly, no demo is planned for release, nor any special items for people kind enough to preorder. In a sense, the game’s $39.99 price point is the bonus. Seeing as how the North American version features Japan’s post-release DLC and a much expanded interface, I doubt too many players will be concerned and preorder extras.

It was a good show for people excited about the game. From what I saw, 3D Dot Game Heroes shows a lot more promise than I would have imagined it needing. The simple-yet-charming style and old-school feel have apparently been more than strengthened by several under-the-hood modern conventions. 3D Dot Game Heroes is shaping up to be an extremely well-rounded game. May 11th just can’t get here soon enough.

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For those who are unfamiliar with Alien vs. Predator, it’s a brand new entry to the series that lets you experience the thrill of being an Alien, Predator or a Marine from a first-person perspective. Melee combat is obviously a big part of the game for both the Alien and Predator but for the Marine it’s all about range combat with the rifle. In most of the multiplayer modes I played, each featured the ability to have all three species fighting at the same time. With each species having their distinct abilities and weaknesses, I was shocked at how balanced the game is.

As the Alien players don’t have much at their disposal, the Alien has regenerating health, can move extremely fast, and can see in the dark or through walls. They can also walk on any surface, which you’ll need to take advantage of since Aliens can die pretty easily and have no ranged attack.

As a Predator you have a lot at your disposal. You have the very authentic-looking heat vision. You can even cloak yourself. In addition, there are different ranged weapons to pick up, such as like the plasma caster and the proximity mines. You have limited health but you do have health packs to use. Just like in the movies, the Predator can jump extremely high and can move to different levels quickly, but just like the Alien, the Predator is best at melee combat so you’ll have to be smart about when you attack.

The Marines are the most vulnerable off the three but have a ranged attack and a motion sensor. Many gamers will feel right at home with the Marine since it plays much like every other FPS out there. The Marine has the ability to use Stims (health packs) and can pick up various weapons around the map like shotguns, flamethrowers or sniper rifles. Using the motion sensor to keep enemies at a distance is the key for a Marine but if they do get close you can block a melee attack and counter with your own melee, similar to that of Left 4 Dead, then shoot the player. Some will think this doesn’t make any sense that a Marine can block any sort of attack from an Alien or Predator but this was a decision made for balancing reasons only and I have to say if you didn’t have the ability to do that the Marines would be useless in this game.

Controlling the Alien and Predator might take some time to get used to, at least on the 360 and PS3 versions. Melee attacks are done using the shoulder buttons and to block an attack you have to hold both down at the same time. The right bumper will initiate a light/quick attack and the left bumper is for heavy/long attack. It took me about an hour just to get used to the controls and I’m sure the best way to learn is playing the single player mode. Moving around the walls with the Alien is done with the right trigger and the left trigger can be used to lock on to enemies for a lunge move with the Alien or Predator.  As the Alien or Predator if you are coming up behind an enemy an on screen prompt will appear to perform an execution move, which usually involves a brutal, violent, bloody kill that even as the victim you can appreciate it. Like I was saying, it might take time to learn the controls but once you do you can’t imagine it any other way.

In terms of the multiplayer modes AVP features your normal set of Death Match modes but also includes some exciting ones that set it apart from the everyday shooter. Species Death Match, Predator Hunt and Infestation all offer a unique experience. Species Death Match pits a Marine, Alien and Predator team against each other. There’s nothing like seeing 3 Aliens gang up on a team of Marines or a team of Predator’s executing Aliens. Predator Hunt is a mode in which every player starts as a Marine and one is chosen at random to play as the Predator. You can only earn points if you kill a Marine as a Predator. So as a Marine you want to kill the Predator for your shot at becoming a Predator. The Infestation mode is similar to Predator Hunt where one player will be chosen at random to play as an Alien. As the Alien you must try to kill as many Marines as you can which turns them into an Alien. As Marines your goal is to stay together and fight off the Alien and to stay alive as long as possible. This mode is going to be very hit or miss. If the player chosen doesn’t know how to correctly play as an Alien, it will be too easy to fend off the Alien and can become a bit boring. Such was the case during the community event. However once one Marine dies everything quickly gets more and more chaotic and the game can quickly end. As much fun as I had when I was the Alien this mode can only be as fun as the skill level of the player controlling the Alien.

There is also a survival mode in which gamers will play as a Marine and fight off against an endless wave of Aliens. With each wave you’ll start to see tougher Aliens and I suggest this mode be played with friendly fire off. We only got to play two survival levels one set in a ruins type of area and another set in a space ship hallway. Both provide a great challenge and a lot of excitement, especially when you have to watch the ceilings and the doors behind you.

Although I liked these modes I had the most fun playing a Free for All Death Match mode. This is because there was a good balance between the amount of Marines, Aliens and Predators in the match. When you have all three species fighting against each other you really have change the way you play with your class. Especially with the brutal execution style kills from the Predator and Alien you’ll have to make the decision whether the enjoyment of ripping someone’s spine out of their body is worth being vulnerable to attack during the execution. As a Marine I was able to take advantage of anyone who chose to go for the more stylized attack rather than the quicker melee kills. But I had to deal with other Marine’s shooting me from a distance while fending off melee attacks from a Predator or Alien. As an Alien you have to be smart about when to get off the walls and attack, jumping into an area with too many players and you might only get one kill rather than just waiting in an area and picking them off one by one. The Predator I think has a slight advantage in this mode being able to cloak and jump to multiple levels quickly and unlike the Alien you can jump into a bunch of enemies and use your range or melee attack to kill everyone.

One of the biggest challenges when creating a multiplayer game is with map design and with AVP it might be an even bigger challenge. Each map needs to be able to allow each class to take advantage of their strengths. One way Rebellion was able to do this was creating an authentic atmosphere. Most maps are dark allowing the Predator and Alien to move around without easily being detected. From the maps I played each has multiple levels giving the Predator an easy exit but also allowing Marine’s to distance themselves from them. One map in particular actually changed in real time, creating different levels with the ground shifting like elevators or creating stairs where once was a big wall. Though the maps have multiple levels, almost all of them we played were small. The decision to do this was probably to because of the emphasis on melee combat. What the smaller maps also provide can be best described as creepy. The sounds of the Predator or Alien bouncing off the walls will definitely keep you at the edge of your seat. There was only one map I played were I felt one species had an advantage over another, for the most part all the maps gave each species an equal opportunity to use their strengths.

There were some things that worried me about the multiplayer. One thing that can hurt the experience is if players don’t keep a balance of species in matches. If most people just want to play as only a Predator or Alien or as just Marines, I don’t know if the game will be as enjoyable. Some have made note of the visuals which aren’t great by any means but it’s not bad enough to ruin my experience. The framerate was smooth so if the graphics take a hit in exchange for better gameplay I’m all for it. Another thing that people might not like is there didn’t seem to be a rank or anything to work towards. You’ll be earning XP for each kill or objective completed; however it only unlocks multiplayer skins, which there are a lot of. Still I would have liked at least a rank or something other than skins to work towards. Domination also seemed like a less fleshed out mode compared to other modes. Domination works just like the Call of Duty mode in which players have to capture certain flags and hold them to gain points. Aliens seem to have the advantage being able to move across the map quickly. It also didn’t last that long and for the most part it was hard to hold down one particular flag.

Overall I was surprised by how enjoying the multiplayer was. These days we see too many games with poorly thrown together multiplayer that was an afterthought. AVP’s multiplayer could be the strongest part of the game. Although there are only 7 maps that ship with the game you can purchase the Collectors’ Edition, which will include four extra maps that won’t be available to the general public until a month after release, and they will most likely come with a $10 price tag. What really impressed me was how balanced every class is, not really giving a huge advantage to any one class. The atmosphere created was also a nice surprise, giving players a true sense of horror in a multiplayer mode. I think any AVP fan is going to love what Rebellion has done with multiplayer. The controls might take some time to get used to on the 360 and PS3, but once you get the hang of it AVP offers gamers an experience unlike any other game.

Keep checking back at Spawn Kill for a full review of the final product in the near future.

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This year Sony is giving gamers what they have wanted for a long time, Home Run Derby. The Home Run Derby has been absent for many years from The Show and now returns to give gamers the full All-Star experience. The Derby will follow the current MLB format and rules. It will be included in the franchise mode and can be selected from the main menu. This might seem like a small addition but any sports gamer will tell you it is a must-have in any baseball game. Another significant addition to this year’s title is Catcher Mode. This new mode gives gamers the opportunity to call pitches and be the ultimate field general. In previous titles users had the option to call the game as the manager but never had the ability to call a particular pitch and location. More importantly this will finally give the player the option to be a catcher in Road to the Show mode. Not only will you have to work on your catchers pitch calling ability but you will also have to be able to block balls in the dirt or catch wild pitches.

As a baseball fan you can’t ask for more, I respect catchers who can call a good game! Catchers like Bengie Molina, who has helped bring back-to-back Cy Young awards to the San Francisco Giants or Yadier Molina who helped shape the solid St. Louis rotation. I have yet to see how the catcher position plays out in Road to the Show but if it’s anything like the other positions I’m sure it’s going to be a great addition to the mode.

Movie Maker is a smaller addition to this year’s title as it gives users the ability to edit and splice together up to ten replays. Last year gamers could take any play throughout the game and save the replay to the PS3’s hard drive, which could be viewed from the XMB. Movie Maker takes this a little further by adding the option to create a longer video with multiple replays. There is also an option to pause the replay and change camera angles, so much like in real life you can watch the same home run or diving catch from different angles.

30 Player Season Mode rounds out the new features for this year’s The Show. Roster control is an integral part of a Franchise Mode and now they are giving gamers the ability to control one or all 30 teams. From the start of the franchise or season the user will choose how many teams they want to control.  One of the biggest reasons why gamers might want to do this is so they can emulate the real life season by going through the rosters and changing lineups, rotations, injuries or trades. In order to do this Sony had to add the ability to create 30 different player profiles which allows you to have 30 different option sets. Within the season or franchise menu you now have the option to choose what injury a player has and how long they will be out for. You can also take the player off the disabled list at any point. I’ve been waiting for a baseball game that can offer gamers the ability to upload a roster that mirrors real life from hitting streaks to slumps to injuries and trades. Although this seems like Sony is making you do all the work instead of them providing us with updates, at least there is a way to emulate the real life season in the game.

While there aren’t a ton of new features, MLB 10 The Show looks to improve on many aspects of last year’s title thus far. One of the worst parts of MLB 09 The Show was the messy online play. Almost every game had latency issues and in a baseball game, nothing could be more frustrating than lag. This year Sony once again promises that a lot of work has been put into improving online multiplayer, “the game will detect and respond better to adverse network conditions and bandwidth has been reduced to help the speed and flow of online gameplay.” While there’s no way to tell how well the game will perform online yet, luckily every year online play seems to improve upon the previous title so hopefully we’ll see some shoe-shined online sessions this year.

The series’ most popular game mode, Road To The Show, is also seeing some improvements. Game Watch is a new option that allows gamers to control how much of the game they want to see. You can choose between All Pitchers, All Fielding, Result Play and Off. Unlike last year players will now start their career in AA and will have to earn a spot during Spring Training. Much like in NHL 10 where gamers had to play for their draft position, you’ll have to perform well to get a spot on the AA team. To grade your performance two new systems have been implemented. A mistake tracking system will keep track of how the user plays the game and will be penalized for making mistakes like throwing to the wrong base, not covering the bag, etc. The next feature is called the Green Light system. This system rewards good base stealing and will penalize you when you shouldn’t be stealing. In ‘09 players could steal at any point to gain experience points even if it was the wrong time to go for a steal. Now if you continue to steal when the coach hasn’t given a green light, your playing time will diminish. Players will then have to improve their base running skills during practice in order to build the coaches confidence and once again earn a green light when you’re on base. Another addition to Road to the Show are the new fielding and pitch training modes. Fielding training modes will consist of two types of training: the user’s throwing with the new throw meter and also decision making. Pitch training will have two options; Knockout and Simulated Game. Both of the pitching modes focus on control and accuracy with goals provided for each session.

Presentation is something that MLB The Show has always excelled in and ‘09 was no different. This year’s title looks to improve on the stellar presentation by introducing Real-Time Presentations. This new presentation style gives the gamer a more realistic, “televised,” look during a game. Instead of the game simply going to a cutscene after a play, the camera will never leave the field and will allow you to watch players get back into position, move around in the dugouts or bullpen, all in real time. You’ll also see close ups on players that just made a great defensive play or follow them to the bullpen if they just hit a homerun or see a player storming back to the dugout after a strike out. Along with the new presentation style, Sony has captured more than 1,250 new animations including more than 400 personalized pitcher and batter animations. Stadium realism is also a key to The Show’s success and this year you will see much more activity. Transitional lighting is much more accurate this year, casting the proper shadows throughout the game. Adding to the authenticity of the stadiums are HR/splash counters, fireworks, steam, noisemakers, towels, thunder sticks, working clocks, crowds reaching over the rails, interactions between the crowd and the vendors, and finally the addition of K signs throughout the stadium. If you’re missing the team specific chants you’ll once again get the ability to record your own chants and include them in the game. In ‘09 fans got the chance to use a headset and record chants for certain players or teams. You could say anything you wanted and it would be converted to the crowd audio. This year you can assign custom audio for several team specific areas ranging from team wins, home runs, strike outs, away team errors (Nelson’s “ha ha” comes to mind), and even inning-specific music.

Though not a whole lot is going to change in terms of gameplay, the new presentation and the few new features should get MLB 09 fans something to be excited about come March. The small improvements throughout the game looks to provide a new experience for fans of the series but the biggest question is how well online multiplayer will work once the game hits store shelves. The online season modes in MLB 10 The Show can be one of the best modes in any sports game but if the latency issues continue I can’t see anyone spending time there. MLB 10 The Show is set to release on March 2^nd exclusively on the PS3, PS2 and PSP. As always keep checking back with us for more information on the upcoming title as we get closer to the release date!

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After a brief introduction of the main characters, who are all chatting in this Black Page chatroom, the game cuts to someone just waking up to the sound of a cell phone ringing.  The scene is blurry until the character’s eyes adjust to the surroundings.  “Where am I?” he wonders.  Soon the game switches to a first-person view, as you gain control of the character named Shin.

Although I haven’t yet had a chance to play Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, so far Calling seems to play similarly in a lot of ways.  You use the Wii pointer to guide your view around the room, and the nunchuck to walk around.  When the cursor of your pointer falls on something you can search, a little magnifying glass will pop up (along with a low rumble of the remote), to let you know you can explore further.  Clicking A will either pop up some text describing the object (i.e., “An old rotary phone.”), or it will give you an action prompt to pull or push (i.e., pull open a drawer, push open a door).  Once you find a flashlight, you will use it to illuminate the darkness and search areas previously too dark to explore.  Occasionally you will find an object that merits even closer inspection, and a special mode will pop up enabling you to manipulate the object to search for more clues.  In this segment, for instance, you find a doll that you can inspect to find a name written on the bottom of one of its shoes.  What that name means is something we’ll have to wait for the full game to find out.

Overall, this basic exploration control scheme works well.  I personally found it a little finicky at times, but that could be me (due to the placement of my IR sensor) or due to this being a demo and not the final game.  Still, it feels nice to be able to manipulate the environment instead of just clicking.  It can also increase your immersion in the game, as you will have to struggle (just as you would in real life) to find the door and open it when you are trying to flee, which does add to the tension.

So, being a horror game, there nearly always has to be ghosts, right?  Calling delivers. From what I’ve seen in this build, what you experience in this game will feel very familiar to anyone who has seen a few Japanese-style horror films, or who has played games like Fatal Frame.  Occasionally, while you’re exploring, a ghost will attack you.  If you press the indicated on-screen button at the right time, you can escape without harm; otherwise, you have to shake the Wiimote to escape.  You may also have segments where you go into “alert” mode, where you are frozen in place and must examine the immediate area around you for a clue.  In the demo, finding the right object triggered an escape sequence, where the screen tinged red and I had to flee or it was “game over.”

Calling utilizes a “panic” scale of sorts, that registers your level of fear.  If, for example, you fail to escape from a ghost immediately, your fear level will increase.  If your fear gets too great, your game will end.  However, if you are able to find a safe place to rest, your level will return to normal.  Although this idea was introduced in the demo, there really wasn’t time to experience it, so it’s too early to say how this system will work in the final game.  Also, whether “game over” will mean starting from a check point or restarting a whole segment is not clear at this point either.

The game does utilize the Wii remote’s speaker as a cell phone, and you will occasionally get mysterious calls (from ghosts, presumably), leaving you cryptic messages.  It’s an interesting concept (although not entirely novel, seeing as this is post-Silent Hill), and it will be interesting to see how well this is integrated into the final game.  You can also use your phone to take pictures, although you are limited to one at a time.  Although the ability was introduced (through text tutorials) in the demo, it wasn’t a part of the gameplay, so I’m not sure how they work.  My suspicion is pictures are just for fun (you can upload them via the network, I believe), rather than being essential to the game as they are in Silent Hill.  However, only time will tell on this.

Right now, voice acting is limited primarily to the ghosts, with your character only making a few sounds or saying a word or two.  Hopefully this will be remedied when the game is released, as I was a little disappointed by the lack of voice.  Except for a few areas without any sound at all (something I’m guessing will be fixed), the sound was pretty good throughout, with realistic rings for various phones, creaking floors, and creepy music.  A few times sounds felt a bit off, but again, I’m confident this will be polished by the time the game releases.  Graphics aren’t stellar, but they do the job for the most part of conveying a spooky environment.

As far as scare-value goes, this demo was really short, a little too much so, in my opinion, to get a good feel for the way the game will play out.  Still, it wasn’t particularly scary, and I say this as a person who startles very easily.  The only portion I found really scary was the end of the demo, in which you must hurry to escape the ghosts that are chasing you.  I know I found myself fumbling trying to open doors and get back to the safe room.  However, the fear was diminished by the fact that, when you get to the “safe” room, it switches to a movie (and third-person), which pulled me completely out of the moment.

Nevertheless, I did find myself (when the demo ended), saying, “That’s it?” and wanting more.  I’m confident that Hudson will work out the kinks and that Calling could still be an engaging game.  I don’t think it will be perfect, but I think the story has the ability to be interesting enough that even with a few bumps along the road, it will be worth the ride.

Special thanks to Hudson for providing the preview code.

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As with most demos, we don’t get much story going in.  We meet Will, our pilot protagonist, stereotypical for the game’s time period with his plastic hair and bomber jacket.  We also meet a weird islander who I think was named Tavi, though we don’t get much from him aside from some ineffectual voice acting and a few radio directions. 

It’s also right at the beginning that we hear an all too familiar voice.  Yes, Will bears the voice of Nolan North.  I’m sure I’d heard this somewhere before, but it still gave me pause when it actually happened in game.  For anyone unfamiliar, Nolan North is probably the most active voice actor in video games, period.  He is famous for his portrayal of Nathan Drake in the Uncharted games, but he has been in so many that it’s impossible to list them all here.  His bigger roles include Drake, Desmond from the Assassin’s Creed series, the Prince from the latest Prince of Persia game, and Jason from Shadow Complex.  But if you can name a game made in the past five years, chances are ridiculously good that his name is attached to it.  He plays the lead in Dark Void, and as much as I respect and love his work over the years, I’m not sure I appreciate hearing him in so many roles.  It just reminds me that I’m playing a video game when I hear the same guy’s voice as every male lead. 

Anyway, voice acting rant aside, the demo wastes no time slapping that jetpack on Will’s back and sending him flying.  Yes, not two minutes in players literally take flight into some open skies, and for that initial take off it’s an exhilarating experience.  I love flying in games.  I can’t get enough of it most times.  Many developers won’t allow it because it because of the technical hassle of giving players access to…well everywhere.  But for those who do, your efforts are appreciated because flying is the one thing I do in video games that I wish I could do in reality (yes, I cast spells and teleport in real life).  The flight controls are simple enough.  One button accelerates, one breaks, and there is a hover button that will allow Will to pull up and bring out his assault rifle or whatever weapon he has equipped.  The jetpack itself is equipped with turrets that players can fire while in non-hover flight mode.  The left analog stick controls direction, and the right analog stick controls spin. 

Once the controls are accustomed to, players are given directions to destroy some stationary sensors way up in some mountains.  This is where those jetpack turrets come in handy, though Will’s equipped weapon does the job as well.  The turrets just do it much faster.  This is followed by a straight up dogfight as some drones some winging Will’s way, and unfortunately this was about the most awkward bit of the demo.  I love flying, but I’m not too accustomed to it because outside of flight simulators, which I have played 0 of, few games allow players to wing it.  Even the ones that allow it generally have their own methods, and Dark Void is a bit different than any I’ve played.  Perhaps with more time and practice dealing with the controls, I might have fared better or enjoyed it more.  As it was, I found attempting to shoot these drones out of the sky far too difficult.  I failed two or three times, and only won on my fourth by spinning around in one place and shooting them all down.  The flight also becomes less exhilarating after the initial rush.  Though Will has the ability to boost his speed for extended periods, I still didn’t feel as though it was fast enough.  I wanted to zoom along.  I never felt like I was zooming.  There does seem to be a system of aerial tricks to be toyed with, but they only give a taste of it in the demo, and it’s also kind of awkward.   

After drones and sensors are destroyed, Will is instructed to land on the structure that just had its shields evaporated by his mayhem, and the game transitions from flight combat to third person shooter.  In this rendition, it’s completely familiar territory.  It plays just like the standard Uncharted or Gears of War cover system gun battles.  Will can melee enemies to death if close, one shotting the standard dudes every time it seems.  He kills robots and some weird alien manta ray with legs type creature.  He’s instructed to destroy a console aboard the structure, and then get out.  Once out, a nasty robot scorpion emerges, kills a bunch of dudes, and the demo is over.  It hints at an interesting boss battle, and to be honest I would have liked to experience that bit of it.  The scorpobot planted itself out in the open with plenty of maneuver room and if it’s possible to engage in both land and air combat with the thing, I’d find myself suddenly much more interested in the game.  But it ends, and that’s that. 

The demo is quite short.  Maybe too short?  It’s hard to say.  I don’t feel as though I received a hearty impression of just what the game is all about.  I appreciated test driving the jetpack, so to speak.  I appreciated that it showed off the combat, both on land and in the air.  But I’m still left with an unsatisfied grumbling in my stomach in regards to the game itself.  Demos are usually, for me, enough to tell me whether I will buy the game or not.  Infamous and Dante’s Inferno are both two recent examples of games that demos completely sold me on.  Capcom has something here with this jetpack business, but I’m not sure they’ve done enough to convince people of that.  I suppose the reasons for this will become clear on the 19th when people start getting their hands on Dark Void officially.  Personally, I’d like to see it work.  We’ll see.

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The first thing I noticed when booting up was just how similar and familiar this game feels.  Kratos looks the same, if sharper, the backgrounds (at least in the demo) are very reminiscent of anything you’d see in the first game, and it even has him using the same blades-with-chains as he’s used in every game.  If the game didn’t look so impressive, players might assume they were plunging back into the original.  However, it does look good, and there’s no mistaking this as anything but a PlayStation 3 exclusive. 

The demo begins with Kratos running around a city wall killing whatever happens to cross his path.  There is a magma-covered Titan in the background scaling the buildings and being harassed by Helios, god of the sun, who continually circles around the city on his fiery chariot shooting arrows at our hapless giant.  There is no story to be had, and Kratos seems to stand alone.  The game leads players on a simple path with no diversions to speak of, slaying nasties, opening boxes for health, and engaging in the occassional odd minigame or quick time event.  The demo shows off Kratos’ ability to whip harpies for extended flight, control large ogre like monsters for some extra crushing force, and even has a semi-boss fight.  It’s all very similar to what God of War fans have seen in the past.  Kratos begins with some of the upgrades from previous games, like the Bow and his Icarus wings.  The controls feel immediately familiar, as do the weapons.  The demo does show off the newest Kratos killing implement, however, in the brutally fistful Cestus Gauntlets.  They’re slow, but have quite an impact and their own set of gruesome attacks and fatalities.  I’m not entirely sure how I felt about them, given the short time I was alloted use.  They’re cool looking, no doubt, but games like these often require fast weapons just to stay alive.  The Blades of Chaos are so finely honed and players become so accustomed to using them that it’s difficult to imagine switching over when there’s no need to.  Perhaps I’m alone in this, but I found the same to be true of the first game and the big two-hander Athena gifted me with midway through.  These hard hitting, slower weapons lack the range and speed that I so enjoy. 

The demo also shows off the now-famous head of Helios scene, in all it’s neck-ripping wickedness, and thus gives players a chance to use another new item; his head.  It shines on secret areas and messes up enemies with some kind of mouth firelight.  It’s neat, if a bit unwieldy.  I generally hate having something that uncovers secret areas like this.  It makes me feel like I should constantly have it out and shining for fear that I will somehow miss something epic.  I appreciate that they attept to give us a chance at finding secrets instead of blindly stumbling along, but it still gets me anxious. 

The demo ends with Kratos spiraling up a vertical shaft of wind in something new to the series; a flight sequence.  It’s not technically flight, more of an ascension on a massive wind updraft, but his wings are out and players can control his movement so its flight-ish.  I found this section to be pretty heart-pounding fun, probably due to the ridiculous speed that Kratos ascends.  It’s the kind of thing that could quickly become overused, but it worked in the demo.  The sequence, and demo, ends when Kratos emerges from the tunnel and comes face to face with the massive Titan from before. 

My overall thought on the demo was that it was very well put together.  It showcased many of the new things, felt very familiar with the old things, and though it did ”spoil” a few moments that will be in the actual game, I knew playing it that there would be many more to come.  It never delved into story or anything, but it managed to give just enough for me to know how the rest of the game would play out, and more importantly, if I would like it.  I’m pretty sure I will.  My only real negative to say about it was that I played it within hours of both the Dante’s Inferno and Bayonetta demos, and unfortunately for Kratos, enjoyed them both more.  Maybe I just appreciated the new paint job they offered.  Maybe they felt slightly deeper to me.  That’s certainly not to say I won’t be buying God of War III probably on day 1 because I think it’s going to be huge, and where those other games do delve into unknown territory and thus possibly unknown quality (at least where Dante’s Inferno is concerned), we know that Kratos will lead us on an insanely well polished and blood thumping ride.  And there will be blood…so much blood.  Can’t wait!

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I’m not so sure Heavy Rain needs much of an introduction, but if you’re reading about it for the first time here at Spawn Kill, you’re looking at a game that will be making some serious waves in the realm of possibility for gaming once it launches. The game’s creator, David Cage, also the founder of Quantic Dream, the studio developing Heavy Rain, has dubbed it with a new genre in our always blurring lines between genres of today. Heavy Rain is an “interactive drama.” I have heard a lot of people cry out about it seeming more like a movie than a game. Non-believers, as I call them, must know that it’s much deeper than pressing the X button to continue.

The first level I got a chance to play is going to be the prologue of the game where you take upon the role of a husband and father of two named Ethan. It seems to serve as a rather slow-paced introduction to the control scheme. You start off waking up being alone in the home. You are introduced to the ability to see your characters various thoughts and listen to them if you desire, in which you’ll learn Ethan is quite keen on the idea of a morning shower. As you saunter into the shower, a quick disrobing will leave you fresh and clean. You can also shave or brush your teeth. All simple everyday tasks to familiarize you with the controls. Well, it’s definitely not just Quick Time Events like most people seem to believe. It may take a bit to get used to, but the characters are controlled by holding down the R2 button to move forward. I found this to be incredibly frustrating at first because I felt so inclined to want to use the more simpler obvious method of just holding up on the analog stick. Doing so will just make your character turn in circles because you only need to just tab the analog stick into the direction you wish then release, and continue holding the R2 button to propel the character. It’ll take some getting used to, I assure you, after being so trained to press the analog stick to walk.

Interacting with the environment will take place with the right analog stick, in which you will make movements indicated on-screen if you so wish to open a cabinet, playfully spin around your son, or sit down and work at your desk. Other times you will need to hold multiple buttons to corroborate with what is going on on-screen. For example your wife in this prologue level asks you to carry the groceries, pressing and holding the X button will hold one bag and holding another face button will secure the other. Now you can also let go and the groceries will fall to the floor, surely firing up your old woman. It’s interesting, and feels much more involving than tapping random buttons. So if you’re holding items, you’re holding buttons. Fair enough.

Heavy Rain actually makes use of the Sixaxis controls, and fairly well at that. In some cases, such as brushing your teeth, it may seem silly rowing your controller left and right for a few seconds, but in other instances, I felt incredibly satisfied slamming it up and down to smash a sleazy jerk’s head repeatedly into a table or pushing it quickly forward to kick down a door.

If you’re familiar with Indigo Prophecy, this is the same creator we’re talking about. It was incredibly unique, and an interesting (though quite a bizarre ending…) story worth experiencing. Some major battle as well as other story sequences would trigger a Simon Says type panel in which you’d repeat the buttons you saw on the panel to succeed and continue. Though quirky and one of my favorite games, it had its fair share of issues. Heavy Rain seems to have built upon these issues to make a whole new and immersive experience. The Simon Says-esque sequences (which is fancy talk for Quick Time Events pretty much) would sometimes draw your attention away from the actual events taking place in the game, with your focus on succeeding at the correct button sequences. I’d often find myself frustrated with missing some of the action taking place whilst I was so concentrated on that area of the screen. Heavy Rain’s button press motions and triggers will lie on-screen exactly where it will take place. If you have the choice to punch someone’s face in, throw them against the wall, or grab them, all of these options will float around your character’s fist, so as not to let you miss out on the action and saving the experience from being broken up.

The first level was a bit of a sleeper for me, granted it is the introduction, it was just incredibly slow-paced and lengthy for what it was. It felt like an overlord version of The Sims being able to perform mundane tasks, interact with my wife and children, put away the… dishes… But it is definitely just setting the grounds for what you will be able to do coming up. That’s the thing about Heavy Rain, or what I’ve played thus far at least. Some levels seem very slow-paced whilst others are action-packed and on the ball. I didn’t really get to be a part of any “middle ground” levels. You may go from a crawling conversation right into an all-out frenetic street brawl. And when you do — it is juicy.

Every little decision you make — or don’t make — makes an impact. In the Sleazy Motel level I went through, I played a character who was a private agent seeking out information on the Origami Killer. I knocked on a woman’s door. She opened, told me to leave. I knocked again and she decided to let me in. “Fifty dollars on the table. I don’t kiss and I don’t do weird shit. You’ve got ten minutes,” she says, as she winds up her alarm clock for a ten minute countdown. You can put money on the table, walk straight up to her, begin talking, it’s all your choice. Treating her one way may make her divulge information whilst another will get you the boot. Getting the boot doesn’t mean you failed though, the story continues on as such. There really doesn’t seem to be a “losing” or “failing” feeling in the game. The story simply is what it is, or what you craft it to be. I spoke to her kindly and asked for information, she said she’d call if she learned anything. (Leaving out a few details to spoil as little as possible!) As you’re on your way out, some sleazebag pounds open her door and goes inside. You can go inside and find out what it’s all about, or simply let it be and have nothing to do with the likes of him. Being the strong man that I was, I decided to confront him and knock on the door to which I was harassed to leave by the junkie-looking jerk. Why knock again? He didn’t seem like the reasonable type, so I jarred the Sixaxis forward and kicked the door open, and he wasn’t in the mood for tea and crumpets to chat about it either. I engaged him in an all-out fight, and it was exciting as hell. Heads were smashed through glass, slammed against the table, fists flying through the air. It was wild, fast, and it was damn fun.

I haven’t even mentioned the graphics yet! Because I know you’ll be in dire need of such knowledge. To be blunt, the graphics speak for themself. They are all done via motion capture and are incredibly fluid in motion. Motion capture is when a developer uses the movements of real people when translating it into sequences for the game. The graphics are surely not the best we’ve seen of this generation thus far, but I’m hard to talk to about this, because I’m never sold on a game purely based on graphics. My first and foremost concern for (most) games is the story, save for games like God of War and Bayonetta since they’re just straight up blessed by the Action Goddess herself. And Heavy Rain surely has that down pat.

If you are heavy into experiencing a good story, you would be a fool to skip out on Heavy Rain. Whether you buy it or simply rent it, it is definitely worth experiencing at least once, because the experience is surely an innovative one being brought to the home plate of video games next year. No official date yet in North America, but keep a lookout during the early Q1 release window.

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The most recent demo of upcoming Dante’s Inferno, the “Gates of Hell” excursion released exclusively on the PlayStation 3 for now (Xbox 360 gamers must wait until December 24th) takes a look at the uneasy protagonist (the term is applied rather loosely) Dante as he sets off on an agonizing journey to be reunited with his captive betrothed Beatrice, nestled deep within the bowels of Hell. As you begin the demo, you’re given a glimpse of Dante himself, alone in a hallowed forest, lit only by the amber glow of a campfire. A seemingly peaceful scene, until it’s made apparent that the easily broken man is sewing a cross-shaped tapestry into the flesh of his very chest, eyes transfixed on something in the distance. He utters no cries of pain and simply grunts with effort until he nears the completion of this gruesome task. Then, suddenly unleashing an agonizing animal wail that settles into the darkness around him, we are treated to a flashback that further illustrates Dante’s unfortunate fate.

As we soon learn, the self-mutilation is merely penance for Dante’s deeds committed back in the days of the third Crusade. As a knight of the service of King Richard, Dante and a great deal of Crusaders held a glut of the citizens of the city Acre hostage until holy man Saladin would participate in negotiations for a holy relic. Saladin refuses of course, and the knights, in an exercise of frustration, unleash their rage upon the countless citizens held within their grasp. The poor townsfolk do not take this lightly of course, and it’s then you’re launched into your very first battle within Dante’s Inferno.

Armed with a poleaxe, a quick and dirty tutorial is initiated, running down the basics of the game without being intrusive or unintuitive. Simply speaking, if you’ve played God of War, you should feel right at home here, with most mechanics being mirrored down to the quick time events that occur should you pull off a particularly grisly maneuver. Dante may hack and slash through the oncoming hordes of peons like a hot knife through butter, as they pose no real challenge. It’s here you’ll become familiar with the same moves you’ll employ throughout the rest of the demo. I will say that Dante’s arsenal of moves does seem to mirror that of Kratos’s in God of War, as does most of the rest of what is presented here to us in “Gates of Hell.”

However, the action takes a sharp detour as Dante moves away from the action to detour through a courtyard — shockingly, an errant assassin lodges a knife in his back. Instantaneously in this moment of sheer terror and excruciating pain, Dante can feel his life draining away from his mortal vessel. It is then he comes face to face with the hooded nothingness that is Death. The skeletal behemoth gravely informs Dante that his soul is damned to Hell, doomed to suffer there in torment for all eternity, thanks to the poor man’s transgressions in the past. Never one to take no for an answer, Dante challenges the deity and your first taste of a miniboss battle commences.

The frenetic battle with Death is one meant to challenge your newly-acquired evasion prowess as well as several of the moves in your arsenal. Rather than swatting Death away like the flies that were the enraged citizens, this contest requires much more finesse and precise timing. Silky-smooth combos paired with rapid blows are the pathway to success, and the combo system really begins to shine here. At the climax of the battle, Dante pulls off some truly stunning and aesthetically pleasing moves, commandeering Death’s almighty scythe in the process — not something any regular mortal should be capable of. Successful quick time events are the key to coming out of this fight unscathed, shaming Death and essentially assuming the role of the spectre yourself. The entire confrontation was most certainly one of the most memorable moments of the entire demo, and one that you won’t likely forget anytime soon.

With Dante’s return home to Italy after completing his work in the Crusades, he arrives there to find his lover Beatrice ravaged and murdered, with his dwelling and belongings in complete disarray. A broken man emerges from his previously brutal yet valorous persona as the soul of his deceased soulmate rises before him. Her porcelain skin, flowing blonde hair, and pert breasts are a sight to behold as previously CG and animation merged together to give the scene an entirely organic feel. Dante’s time with Beatrice is brief and futile, as Lucifer whisks her soul away. In his wake, waves of the undead are summoned to slow the grieving man’s progress in reuniting with his lost love.

With Death’s scythe, battle has changed and improved dramatically. While you can still pull off interesting melee attacks as well as gruesome slicing and dicing, a new dynamic has been tossed into the mix — the harvesting of souls. Souls can be put to use to attain new attacks and abilities to facilitate Dante’s journey through Hell. However, it’s not as simple as slashing up enemies and simply receiving the type of souls that you need. You’ll be given the choice to punish or absolve the minions of Lucifer via usage of Death’s scythe, and depending on which path you take, you can gain either holy or unholy points. Unholiness is rewarded much less since it makes sense that torment and anguish runs rampant in the depths of Hell already, so if you take the high road and forgive the damned you will earn more souls. This, however, takes a bit more time and you gain a different tree of skills than you would from unholy souls.

It’s an interesting move to say the least, challenging the player to either walk a path of righteousness or to give in to the darkness and become a hateful, vengeful killing machine. While it’s not a Mass Effect in terms of awarding Paragon or Renegade points, the choice is yours to make regarding how you’re going to play the game, and your skill set will mirror the type of person you mold Dante into. This was one dynamic that truly set Dante’s Inferno apart from God of War for me. Despite their undisputable similarities, you do not have this type of choice within Sony’s darling, and it’s something I applaud Visceral for implementing.

Another addition to Dante’s arsenal is the Redemption meter seen at the bottom of the screen, which fills up with each combo you manage to pull off. Activating Redemption mode allows you to move at faster speeds and deal heaps more damage to your enemies, much like Devil Trigger provides in Devil May Cry. It’s nothing terribly innovative, but surely useful since it’s upgradable via the same skill trees that open up when you choose to punish or absolve.

Jumping right back into the plot of the demo, after Dante defeats the hordes of the damned, he makes his way into the church Lucifer disappeared to. The supposed sanctuary crumbles to pieces right before your very eyes — a bizarre and unsettling sight at that — and Dante is led down a pathway that ends at the titular Gates of Hell. In front of the gates lingers Virgil, who has been sent by Beatrice as a sort of tour guide through Hell. This revelation is empowering as Dante must power through yet another wave of demons and a much larger demon with a rider on top of its massive shoulders. Through a chain of quick time events, including some interesting new moves involving both analog sticks (I won’t spoil it for you here), Dante eventually makes his way to the top of the brute and commences to impart some serious damage unto the unholy beasts scurrying beneath his feet — think of certain sequences from Batman: Arkham Asylum. When you turn to enter the gates right behind you, however, the next screen doesn’t load, and you’re left with the startling realization that you’ve reached the conclusion of the demo.

And what an explosive ride it was.

Suffice it to say if you’re not a fan of the burly accursed Kratos, you won’t find a sanctuary in this identical yet stylish brawler. Visuals could stand a bit of sprucing up, but Dante’s Inferno plays like a dream. Its sense of dread couple with familiar mechanics, reputable studio backing, and clever design as evidenced in dev diaries should give you the push you need to regard it as much more than a God of War clone. Remember, God of War didn’t start the fire, per se, and it’s going to be a breath of fresh air to experience a similar adventure without being limited to Greek mythology and the same characters. Granted, I’m a rabid God of War fan, though it’s going to be a toss-up between which new release will please me more. It will all come down to plot progression, additional combo moves, and my undying love for Kratos being pushed out of the way, but I’m tickled to death to see one of my favorite franchises inspiring another in so many fantastic ways.

It may not be perfect, and it could most certainly stand for some tweaking. Purists will ignore the game outright due to its subject material and how far it strays from the classic epic poem. From a gamer’s standpoint, it’s shaping up to be another hit; familiar, but a hit nonetheless. And these days, I’ll take substance over fluff any way I can get it.

On February 9, 2010, I’ll see each and every one of you in Hell.

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White Knight Chronicles has been on my radar for quite some time now, as it’s released already in Japan over a year ago. There has been quite a lot of time and effort being put into localizing it for the North American release. Aside from the obvious hours-long venture into the story experience, what I find worth talking about that sets White Knight Chronicles apart from every other JRPG is it’s one of the only JRPGs to feature online content.

If any of you are familiar with Dark Cloud, you were able to create your own town to a highly engaging level. You were able to build the houses you wanted, move in tenants to buildings of your choice, add features to the houses and change their colors and appearances. Each town you’d build would have different requirements to better the community and such that you needed to fulfill in order to gain rewards and restore the area in the future. Well White Knight Chronicles is taking upon the georama system with the town building, but you will be able to share your town with friends online and invite them into your town. Around 50 or more quests are planned in addition to that that you will be able to embark on with friends over PSN. This is one of the main features that has had me eyeballing WKC for a while now, because sharing your personal worlds and experiences with a friend was never something you could share with your friends.

One other feature that seems kind of interesting if developer Level-5 is able to pull it off well is the GeoNet feature that’s planned. It’s pretty much an in-game social networking platform in which you can create your own profile, send mail to friends and write blog posts, in an attempt to really connect WKC players.

So back to the game itself! I don’t want to ride everything on the online features… When I booted up the game, I decided to start a new game to get an introductory feel for it in which I was prompted to create my character. A long list of tweaks were available to make such as jaw height, cheekbones and all those technicalities. I’m head over heels for customization and looks when creating your own character — but I was happy just being able to choose the hairstyle, hair color, eye color, main facial emotion (Haven’t seen this option before in customization! Take note of this RPG developers), height and weight for the most part. I was just fine with that. I sprayed on her some green hair and eyebrows, some bright blue eyes and I was off.

A slew of opening cutscenes paraded past my eyeballs as I watched patiently for what I had been waiting all along to see: The story. After all, without a decent story, an RPG hasn’t a real leg to stand on. Well, from what I’ve experienced, the story isn’t really going to blow your mind and isn’t making any genre-changing strides with White Knight Chronicles. You play the time old tale of a knight set out to rescue the princess. During the introductory set of scenes you’ll watch the princess be, you guessed it, kidnapped, by the Black Knight, who also kindly slays the king. Leonard, the main character in the story, becomes the White Knight necessary to save her. Though the story is more or less simplistic in nature, I really enjoyed the fantasy styled characters present in the town throughout the early cutscenes. I’m kind of a sucker for characters with all kinds of horns, ears, and green or purple hair.

From what I’ve seen, the voice acting is of decent quality, which I am glad for, being a touchy subject for JRPG fans. The battle system is real time, so everything takes place before your eyes with no entering another screen for battle. It was a new game for me, so I didn’t have any skills under my belt to unleash, but a circle that times your turn to attack will load up before you can wield an attack. You can also toggle between characters of which one you’d like to control.

A sequel has already been announced for Japan, as well as DLC in the works, so I’m hoping they’re doing something right to have already landed plans for a sequel! The international edition of White Knight Chronicles launches exclusively on PS3 February 2, 2010. Keep a look out for Spawn Kill’s in-depth review!

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To cover some of the technical bases first, the game seems like it will play fine if you have an up-to-date decent PC. I have a gaming PC so I was able to turn up the visual slidebars some in the options, but not all the way. My FPS dropped significantly when I turned everything up all the way. The slidebars are there for a reason so if you experience FPS problems just drop it a bit lower. When you are playing the game the graphics look somewhat “grainy”, but they’re definitely not the worst I’ve seen. When the game cuts to a character conversation the graphics look better and smoother. So you don’t need a super computer to play this, but if you still don’t feel comfortable purchasing it for PC then buy the Xbox 360 version. One thing to be aware of on the PC version is sometimes when you alt-tab out of the game, then you try to go back in you won’t get the game or the menu the first time. It may take a try or two before it loads correctly. I kept getting a yellow screen when I tried to go back into the game, but I just alt-tabbed and went back in again, and it was fine.

The game starts with a beautiful CGI opening cinematic, then it’s on to the character selection screen where you choose your gender, hair and hair color, face, and voice. It’s not all fancy with slidebars like alot of similar games boast, but sometimes sticking with the basics is much better. Character creation is important and fun, but at the same time people just want to play the game.

After diving right into the game I was caught up in a bit of backstory telling that usually starts off these kind of games. The story is rather interesting. You play as a newly initiated Dragon Slayer hellbent on destroying all dragons in the land, but you have more to learn. You just finished your training at the academy, now you’re ready to become a full fledged Slayer. You receive your very first quest from the character, Rhode, and you’re on your way!

The first level is the tutorial level. You will learn all the basics of playing here. First thing you learn about is controlling your character. Movement is very odd in the game. You use ASWD to move forward, back, left, and right, and moving the mouse controls the camera and turning. This takes a bit of getting used to since I’m one to prefer moving forward and around with my mouse instead of solely ASWD. When you start fighting you have to use the hotkeys to use your abilities. Transitioning from ASWD to the numbers, and back again to move is actually pretty difficult in battle when you’re trying to dodge ranged attacks as well. The fact that you can use a plain swing or shoot attack by just hitting the left mouse button does make it a bit easier. Thankfully, you can reassign the movement in the options to play more to your liking. You can also pause the game, select the spell you want to use, and target who you want to cast it on. I don’t really like playing this way, though in the later levels it’s sure to pay off. I just feel it destroys the “flow” of the battle.

When you arrive in the first town you start really talking to people, and a couple more quests. You are given choices of responses to people to find out more information or to just leave. The quest options get deeper as you go along. Instead of just picking up all the quests possible you are supposed to think hard about it and decide because you can possibly get rewarded for not taking a particular quest, or even for failing one. In the first town is also where you can try the three different weapon classes, Warrior, Mage, Ranger. If you look into your skill trees you also see Priest and Dragon Slayer. You don’t have to stick to what you start with in the first town. You can mix and match skills you learn within the talent trees as you level; there are no class restrictions. What I like best about the talent selection is the fact that an in depth explanation of the skill is given, as well as a video showing what the skill looks like when performed!

The voice acting in the game is actually decent. With the action/RPGs you never quite know what you’re going to get. The acting in this game isn’t academy award winning by any means, but it does keep you interested and isn’t bad to a point where you will become detached from the game.

Something cool that was added in the game is Mindreading. In Divinity II you can read anyone’s mind when you talk to them. Some of them recognize what you’re doing, while you may get some information from others. What makes Mindreading special is the fact that it costs XP to do. XP doesn’t only level your character, but it now serves as currency to perform Mindreading. I’m not particularly a fan of spending my XP so I kept the mindreading to a minimum, but I’m sure you can get some useful information from NPCs with it.

Later in the game you can create your own creatures to fight along side of you. As you kill enemies and creatures you will start to collect their body parts. With these you can create a creature to hold aggro on a mob or perform other various needs while fighting. You also will have your own Battletower. The Battletower is your own personal space where you can customize and upgrade your character and gameplay even further. Here you can create potions, train, summon your creatures, etc. Eventually you will also be able to transform into a dragon and take part of aerial combat. In dragon form you will have a separate talent tree and armor.

The game does have a Diablo-esque feel to it when it comes down to the looting and upgrading your character. And the long (apparently over 80 hours of gameplay), in-depth story is sure to remind players of Dragon Age, especially since the main focus of Divinity II is dragons. This game is already being held in high regards by many RPG fans because of the immersion level, customization, and fights (they’re pretty tough!). Only thing I’m afraid of is if Divinity II will get pushed aside by many because they will think it’s a “Dragon Age wannabe.” I hope not. This is destined to be a pretty kick ass game.

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