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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Putting out a solid sports game every year isn’t the easiest thing to do. Companies either don’t improve enough from the successful title or they try to do too much and turn a game that was once great into a disappointment. Sony’s MLB series was struggling to break through the baseball market with 2K Sports’ and EA’s titles getting all the spotlight. It wasn’t until they decided to take a couple of years off to create The Show that they became the baseball franchise for three years running. With MLB 10 The Show, Sony hopes to yet again provide the best baseball experience to gamers by introducing some new features while improving presentation, Road to The Show, and the all-important online play.

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Oftentimes when a developer tries to make a title more “accessible,” that means serious “hardcore” gamers are left in the dust with a dumbed-down experience.  However, Atlus, in its latest blog post on the upcoming Wii game Shiren The Wanderer, Scott Strichart, project lead, assures us you will find plenty of strategy and challenge, especially when it comes to the game’s bosses.

In the blog entry,  Mr. Strichart emphasizes the importance of preparation for these battles, especially the “escape scroll” item:

“There is no shame in going into a battle, testing the waters, and running away before you find one of the game’s hundred-plus ways to die. This allows you to throw yourself back into the fight armed with knowledge, and it’s a great way to pad your levels! If I could put a “theme” on all of the blogs for this game, it would be that caution will win the day.”

For those of you die-hard Shiren fans who laugh in the face of such claims, don’t worry: if the main bosses aren’t challenging enough, there’s always the post-game.  Hardcore players only, who know the game inside and out, have acquired the best gear, and developed a perfect strategy.  Less serious fans can skip these, of course, as finishing the main game is still a significant accomplishment.

Famitsu rated the game nearly perfect (9/9/8/9), and you don’t have long before you can try this incredibly addicting game for yourself.  Shiren The Wanderer comes to Wii on February 9, 2010.   For more on the game, check out the official website: http://www.atlus.com/shiren.

[Source: Atlus]

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I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a brief demo of Hudson’s upcoming horror game Calling for Wii, in which you play as various characters transported into an alternate world via a mysterious website rumored to link the dead to the living. In this build, I got to play a segment called “The Posession,” in which a curious otaku is transported into a spooky old house filled with creepy dolls.

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For me, Heavy Rain was a console seller from the moment it was announced at E3 years back. I had the sentence framed in my mind “When Heavy Rain comes out, THAT will change my life. I’ll buy a PS3 just for that.” When I got a chance to play several levels for myself with Sony just a few days ago, it did nothing short of sealing the deal for me. This game changes the possibility of gaming on so many levels.

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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I’d like to cordially invite you into Hell. Yes, the fiery pit of despair that it’s said you’ll be banished to if you commit enough sins in your meager mortal lifetime. Throw away your inhibitions and ready yourself to witness copious amounts of filth, despair, desolation, and self-loathing. Really, you’ll be glad you did. There’s nothing to fear, especially if you’re on a mission to reclaim your lover’s soul from the likes of Lucifer while wielding the scythe of Death himself. So walk with me through the nine vicious circles of hell. Fear nothing, as you have now become death. You have become he who walks amongst the shadows. You are Dante. And your game is set to rival one of gaming’s heavy-hitters if it plays its cards right.

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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The sequel of Divine Divinity, Divinity II: Ego Draconis, is coming to America on January 5, 2010 for Xbox 360 and PC (Rated M for Mature). It was developed by Larian Studios, and being published by cdv Entertainment (publisher of Sacred 2). Divine Divinity was released in 2002 so it’s safe to say this has been long awaited by the fans.

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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Recently I had the chance to sit down and test out some Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer and after only a short time with it I found myself completely engrossed in the game. Its predecessor took the Battlefield franchise to a new level by adding the ability to basically destroy any building using all the weapons at your disposal. Bad Company 2 looks to improve on that and from what I played it looks like DICE is on the right track. I only got to play the multiplayer portion of the game and although it feels very similar to the original Bad Company I was able to notice the improvements right away. From the graphics to controls to the destruction, almost every aspect of the title has improved.

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Shin Megami Tensei fans have had a lot to be happy about lately, and it looks like Atlus is giving MegaTen fans even more to smile about.  Today they officially announced their newest SMT game, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for Nintendo DS. One of the first original entries in the franchise in recent history, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is a first-person sci-fi RPG that has already received the highest Famitsu review score in Shin Megami Tensei history.

Hit the break for some more details on the story, a few screens, and some concept art.

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While the DS is host to a long list of RPGs, most of these are fairly traditional, with most taking a retro SNES style or a more modern, third-person, 3D view.  However, Big Blue Bubble is bringing  first-person action RPG to Nintendo’s handheld.  For those of you who’ve always dreamed of having an Oblivion-esque experience on the go, your prayers may have been answered in the soon-to-be released Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, based on the choose-your-own adventure novel of the same title.

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Do you love to watch shows like Law & Order and CSI?  While several games have attempted to bring the CSI experience to your DS, Crime Scene from SouthPeak games promises to make the experience really come to life so that you really feel like a crime scene investigator, and not a gamer simply playing minigames, with the added bonus that there’s no real blood involved.

Unlike many other similar mystery- or crime-related titles released on DS, this one really puts a focus on forensics.  You must not only collect evidence, but you must also process and interpret it yourself.  The game promises to utilize the DS to its fullest, as puzzles will have players using the stylus and microphone to help solve various crimes.  In addition to using the stylus to find and analyze clues, you will interview suspects in order to determine who’s guilty.

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Natural Selection 2 is just around the corner, while there is no exact release date available, pre-orders have gone up and trailers have teased a Fall 2009 date. The prospect of a sequel to one of the most hair-raising, terrifying, and fun games out there is enough to make your heart pound, or just confuse you. Either way, there’s a lot to look forward to, regardless of whether or not you have a level of familiarity with Natural Selection, the game, not sticking a fork in a toaster. Just in case you missed out on the original back in 2002, or just can’t remember it too clearly, we’ll go over the general idea.

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While Underground, its sequel, Most Wanted, and Carbon were praised and fairly well received, the two most recent Need for Speed titles left a lot to be desired. ProStreet’s attempt at realistic racing and Undercover’s weak story didn’t satisfy fans of the series. With those two titles leaving a sour taste in many players’ mouths, EA has a lot of work to repair the damage done. Enter Shift, EA’s next iteration of the Need for Speed franchise.

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Comic-based media is huge in movies and games right now. Following closely behind the 2008 blockbuster The Dark Knight, Batman: Arkham Asylum is in a unique position to not only satisfy fans of the Caped Crusader who can’t wait for the third film, but also to buck the trend of terrible Batman video games (many of which were based on past Batman movies). With all of the right people working under the umbrella of this title, Arkham Asylum has the potential to be one of the best titles of the year.

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At the beginning of June, Naughty Dog and Sony decided to be super nice to their fans and released TONS of beta codes into the wild for the upcoming game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.  The beta includes two multiplayer maps – a night-time map named “Plaza” that puts you in the heart of a small town, and a daytime map named “Village” that drops you into a run-down slum.  Two modes of MP play are available; Deathmatch (which everyone knows and loves) and a new mode called “Plunder”, which finds you searching out treasure to bring back to your team’s base.  A co-op level that takes place in war-ravaged Nepal was also included, where up to three players had to work together to make it through alive.

Spawn Kill’s very own pseudopseudo, K-Tuck and The Herp were lucky enough to get beta codes for themselves; after playing enough to get a good solid idea of what was going on, they decided to gather their collective thoughts for a Three Brains look at the beta, which has a lot of people talking.

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