Gamecca Magazine June 2011 by Gamecca Magazine

LA Noire Dirt 3 Brink Darkspore Dead or Alive Thor Steel Diver SBK 2011 and more...

Fallen Angels LA Noire

White Wolf The Witcher 2:Assassins of Kings reviewed

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© 1999-2011 - All rights reserved. Gearbox Software, LLC. Duke Nukem, the Duke Nukem nuclear symbol, Duke Nukem Forever, Gearbox Software and the Gearbox logo are registered trademarks of Gearbox Software, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries and used here under license. All rights reserved. This Game is published and distributed by 2K Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. 2K Games, Take-Two Interactive Software and their respective logos are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “2”, “PlayStation”, “PS3” , “Ã” and “À” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. All other marks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Inside 6 From the Editor 8 Unstuck Breaking brand loyalty 10 A Story Reborn The roots of The Witcher 16 Previews 4 Games to look out for 26 1947 A tough year for the LAPD 32 PS Zealot We’re back! 34 Xbox Beat The problem with keeping fit 36 House of Mario The crazy time traveller... 40 Reviews 28 games reviewed... awesome! 96 Flashtastic Remaking the classics 98 Mobility How about the iPad? 100 Essential Classics The criminal element 102 Hardware Hardware you must have

THIS MONTH’S COVER Geralt of Rivia returns in a new RPG masterpiece. Read our review on page 42.

114 From Space Becoming a make-believer 41 Competitions DiRT 3

gamecca contents • issue 24 • June 2011

Reviews Previews

18 20 22 26

Batman: Arkham City Rage Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Alter Ego

42 46 50 52 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 83 84 85 86 88 89 90 92 93 94

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings LA Noire Cabela’s Dangerous Hunt 2011 Darkspore DiRT 3 Brink Dead or Alive Dimensions Thor: God of Thunder Steel Diver Virtua Tennis 4 SBK 2011 Rio Edna & Harvey: The Breakout Sniper: Ghost Warrior Nintendogs + Cats National Geographic Challenge Ship Simulator Extremes Pucca Power Up Defendin De Penguin Sushi Academy The Lost Inca Prophecy Road Construction Simulator: Motorways Puzzle Bobble Universe Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Rangarok Railworks 2 Train Simulator Enlightenus 2 House MD Mystery of Cleopatra

GAMECCA Vol. 2 Issue 24 June 2011 Editor: Walt Pretorius walt@gamecca.co.za Sub Editor: Charlie Fripp Writers: Alexia Pestana Brian Murdoch Bryan Banfield Christo van Gemert Dion Scotten Dylan Bouch James Francis Suvesh Arumugam Letters: letters@gamecca.co.za Competition Entries: competitions@gamecca.co.za Newsletter Subscriptions: www.gamecca.co.za Design & Photography: 1337 Media Technical Support: Brian Murdoch Marketing Contact: Katia Taliadoros katia@gamecca.co.za

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gamecca contents • issue 24 • June 2011

Baited Breath From the Editor

by Walt Pretorius

t’s that time of year again, when gamers around the globe sit waiting with baited breath to hear all the juicy announcements coming from E3. If I might make a prediction here, we’re certainly going to hear bigger news than we have in a few years from the LA based trade show. I am basing this on the fact that this year is already pretty big. We already know about a number of games that are coming out that are top-notch. We have already seen some really awesome titles coming out. So, taking into consideration that E3 always makes the latter half of the year look rosier, I think we’re going to hear some pretty big news. Aside from E3, this time of year is pretty special for the Gamecca crew. It was around about now, two years ago, that we decided to stop talking about this ‘online video game mag’ idea and finally put it into practice. I think everyone in the crew sees the start of the mag – and the subsequent anniversaries – with a bit of nostalgia. Personally, I have a very soft spot for it… this magazine is, in many ways, the realisation of at least a few of my dreams and ambitions. I am still working on the holiday homes, Olympic sized pool and fleet of Harleys. So here it is – the end of volume 2 of Gamecca Magazine. Our 24th issue. Next month we will be bringing out our celebratory second birthday issue, as the start of the third volume, complete with lots of game reviews, previews and, of course, a look at what E3 2011 had to offer. In the meantime, we think you’ll find this 24th issue more than a

little thrilling. We’ve got some top name titles on review this month, including some highly anticipated games from big name studios. The last 12 issues – including this one – have seen numerous changes, not only to the magazine, but to the world of gaming. And we’re only

going to see more to come. With speculation about new console announcements and the inevitable bunch of top titles announced at E3, we’re in for a few very awesome months of gaming, at the very least. It’s a great time to be a gamer. Then again, it always is. g

gamecca column • issue 24 • June 2011

iPad Myself on the Back... by Charlie Fripp

Unstuck

have never really been loyal to one specific brand of any kind, but with the market increasing almost daily and technology growing at an incredible pace, I recently found myself liking something that I never thought possible. Ok, to say I have no brand loyalty is maybe a bit of an understatement, as I have an Android-based phone, run Microsoft Windows, use Google’s Chrome browser on my PC, have a Gmail account and prefer an Xbox over any other platform. I guess from that you can see where my loyalties lie. But that all started to shift about two weeks ago when a friend introduced me to his new toy – the Apple iPad 2. At first glance, it looked to me like just another Apple machine. After I flipped through the screens with conviction I put it aside, giving it no more though. That was until I saw what the iPad 2 can actually do, and how much it has been upgraded from the first edition. Apart from the boost to the graphics and internal workings, it struck me how versatile the little toy is. The owner of the iPad, who works in the IT industry, explained to me that it was incredibly handy to have and that he can gain remote access to any worker’s computer or their server without going back to his desk. This obviously saves a lot of time, and makes things a little bit easier in terms of sorting out IT-related issues.

And as every good device should have, there is also a wealth of games out specifically designed for the iPad 2. They have either been especially made for the unit, or they have been released with bigger resolutions and more frame rate, which in turn provides for a better gaming experience. But one game that I was completely blown-away by was Say What You See. The title was originally developed for iPhone, iPod Touch and the first iPad, but is compatible with the second unit. The game pretty much gives players a huge canvas with all sorts of items, people and objects on them, and depending on the canvas’ title, you have to find the band’s name, 80s sitcom or scary film through the portrayal of the characters. It’s highly addictive, but it’s only one part of the iPad 2 that I like. I never thought that I would say this, but if I had the money and means to buy one, I would. Also as a journalist, it’s incredible handy to

have as the full-size keyboard makes typing very easy in order to take quick notes. And speaking of broadening horizons, there has been news that Microsoft will be launching an operating system for mobile phone. I know, I know - they already have Windows Mobile 7, but that is a mobile version of Windows. What they are talking about is a completely new mobile operating system like Google’s Android and apparently they will be calling it Mango. What is it with companies and their fruity names? But let’s compare apples with berries here. I’m a first-time user of Android – meaning that this is my first phone on the platform – and I’m very happy with it. I’m also a bit of a Google fan. I really doubt that I would be swapping anytime soon, even when Microsoft announced that they will be releasing Mango for HTC phones. The thing is I’m just too comfortable where I am right now, and besides, none of the applications will work. It’s not clear if they will have an App Store, but shifting over obviously means that I can’t access all the free apps from the Android Marketplace. It will also take some time before people start releasing apps for Mango. Microsoft said they wanted to release an OS because their market share has dipped with the flurry of other OS and the rise in popularity of Android, but honestly, I think it’s too little, too late. g

gamecca column • issue 24 • June 2011

PG “‰”, “PlayStation”, “ ”, “ ” and “ ” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “ ” and “ ” are registered trademarks of Sony Corporation. “make.believe” is a trademark of the same company. Ape Escape™ ©2011 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd, 10 Great Marlborough Street, London, W1F 7LP. Developed by SCE Japan Studio. “Ape Escape” is a trademark or a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

Feature

A Story Reborn Building on a literary legacy…

by Walt Pretorius

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D Projekt is a Polish video game development studio that currently has its name on the tip of everyone’s tongue thanks to the release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Initilly founded to serve the Polish market by Marcin Iwinski and Michał Kicinski in 1994, the studio started out making video games and educational software. Much of their product came from releasing fully translated versions of international hits into the Polish market, including games like Baldur’s Gate, Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale.

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Feature

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In early 2002, they launched their new Red Studio, a division responsible for the creation of new video games. It was this team that was responsible for creating The Witcher, which was originally released in 2007. Incidentally, those of you who love older games and have made use of the DRM-free games provided by Good Old games (www.gog.com)... Well, that’s also CD Projekt in action. They launched the service in mid-2008. The roots of the Witcher series do not lie with CD Projekt, though. Rather, the character of Geralt of Rivia was born in the mind of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The story of Geralt, as told by Sapkowski, comes in the form of a collection of short stories first published in Fantastyka, a Polish science-fiction and fantasy magazine. The first story was an entry into a competition held by the magazine in 1986, in which it won third prize. Despite similarities between Geralt and Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone, Sapkowski’s stories achieved a good level of success, and were translated into English, Czech, Russian, German, Portuguese, Lithuanian, French, Spanish, Bulgarian, Serbian and Ukranian. Aside from video games, Sapkowski’s work has appeared in comic books, as a film and TV series (which got slated by critics) and as a pencil-andpaper role playing game. The video games serve to further Sapkowski’s work, rather than mimic it. They are set after the tales that the short stories tell and, while referring to the stories, they are original tales of Geralt. Sapkowski originally killed the character off, but Geralt was ‘brought back to life’ to form the basis of the very popular video games… albeit with a bout of amnesia obscuring past events. So what happened before the video games? Geralt was born to the sorceress Visenna. It is believed that his father was a warrior named Korin. Soon after his birth, Visenna abandoned the baby at Kaer Morhen, the stronghold of the mysterious Witchers. At Kaer Morhen, Geralt was subjected to several treatments to turn him into a Witcher. g a m e c c a fe at u r e • i s s u e 2 3 • M ay 2 0 1 1

Feature

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These included herbal preparations, potions and viral inoculations. The result was that he became, like other Witchers, stronger and faster than a normal human being – a state well suited for being a monster hunter. Unlike the other children undergoing the same treatments, Geralt showed remarkable resilience, and was subjected to even more dangerous modifications… he was the only youngster to survive these, but was left devoid of all pigmentation. Because of his pale skin and hair, he earned the nickname White Wolf. Geralt’s name is misleading. He does not actually come from Rivia – despite once having been described as having an unpleasant Rivian accent. Instead, it is the name he chose for himself. It was advised that all young Witchers make up a surname for themselves by Witcher master Vesemir, so that they would seem more trustworthy. However, Vesemir called Geralt’s first choice, which was Geralt Roger Eric du Haute-Bellegarde, silly and pretentious. And so Geralt of Rivia came ito being. Although it was believed that Witchers were devoid of human emotion, Geralt soon proved those that thought so wrong. Once his training was complete, he was given his famous wolf medallion (the emblem of Kaer Morhen) and a horse, which he called Płotka (meaning The Roach, a name that he gave every horse he ever owned.) As a monster hunter he underwent many trials, and even demanded the unborn child of princess Pavetta as payment for his services. When it turned out that the child was a girl, he did not accept her. However, many years later he ran into her again and, after the death of her grandmother, cared for her as if she was his own daughter – dispelling that “emotionless” myth. He went further to do so, falling in love with a woman named Yennefer and befriending a bard named Dandelion. His saga, as a character in Sapkowski’s works, ends at the hands of an angry mob intent on kiling non-humans – events which come to light in the latest video game. The character was resurrected, though, for CD Projekt’s first The Witcher title, allowing the rich world of Geralt of g a m e c c a fe at u r e • i s s u e 2 3 • M ay 2 0 1 1

Previews Highlights 18 Batman: Arkham City The Dark Knight returns 20 Rage Post-apocalyptic mayhem 22 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 The final chapter 23 Alter Ego Two investigators...

t’s E3 month! Yes, E3 2011 will be kicking off in just a few days. This essentially means two things for gamers (and gaming mags like Gamecca)... First off, there will be plenty of very exciting news and announcements coming from the Holy Grail of gaming trade shows. Secondly, there is currently very little preview information available, thanks to developers and publishers keeping their cards close to their chests - all to take advantage of making big news in LA. Oh well, what can you do? But with all the big announcements that are sure to come, we don’t mind a smaller preview section, now do we? g

gamecca preview • issue 24 • June 2011

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www.apexactive.co.za The “PS” Family logo is a registered trademark and “PS3” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The PlayStation Network Logo is a service mark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Batman: Arkham City

Smells Like Updog… Out of the Asylum and into the City

he story for Arkham City takes place about one year after the events of Arkham Asylum. Quincy Sharp, former warden of the asylum has taken credit for stopping the Joker, and used the notoriety to become mayor of Gotham City. As neither Arkham nor Blackgate Prison are in any condition to detain inmates, Sharp buys out a large section of Gotham’s slums and arms the perimeter with private military contractors from a group called Tyger in order to create “Arkham City”. The prisoners are brought here and given free reign provided they don’t try to escape. To oversee the city, Hugo Strange is hired, but Batman is worried that the

by Alexia Pestana

psychiatrist might have a hidden agenda. There is always a hidden agenda. The game is set in motion when Two-Face devises a plan to publicly execute Catwoman. Batman decides for both the safety of Gotham and of his past relationship with Catwoman that he must stop the execution by entering Arkham City. The experience system and the upgrade system that was established in the previous title has been re-thought and re-designed to provide new upgrade trees, so that even though the player starts Arkham City with the same gadgets Arkham Asylum ended with, there is a technical

gamecca preview • issue 24 • June 2011

link between the two games. The way in which those gadgets upgrade is functionally very different to better suit the new surroundings. As Batman, the player makes his way around the City to complete primary and secondary mission objectives, featuring a number of key characters and their stories. Opt to move silently, avoiding inmates and other enemies or take them down silently using a combination of gadgets and new tactics to catch them by surprise. Some key facts about Arkham City include: Batman can run off the top of a building and glide through the streets of Gotham; Drop down from gargoyles and invert hang;

Thugs now bring the battle to Batman – geared up with night vision goggles. Batman now also has the use of the line launcher with the double launch ability. Much like Spider-man, Batman can infinitely line-launch across the game world. One of the first new gadgets revealed for this game was Smoke Pellets that give Batman a second or two to make a quick grapple or a sly on-foot getaway. This game looks better than Arkham Asylum, a game that already lacked next to nothing, and will prove to be one for the collectors as Batman finally gets to punch Riddler in the face! g

AT A GLANCE: Developer: Rocksteady Studios Publisher: Warner Bros Distributor: Nu Metro gamecca preview • issue 24 • June 2011

Oct 2011 Platforms

Improved upgrades and new gadgets, thugs beware! The Bat is back.

PC X360 PS3 Wii PSP DS 3DS

Rage

Guns and Mutants If you can’t beat ‘em… shoot ‘em

d Software is a developer you can count on when it comes to producing quality games and so it’s no surprise there has been so much interest around their upcoming title, Rage. Sticking with first person experiences, id Software introduces the first of their new franchise, which is not just a first person shooter but what the developers are calling a first person action adventure. Players are ‘survivors from the past’ who emerge from the “Ark” program which was designed to help humanity escape certain death from an asteroid apocalypse. The future is a wasteland filled with bandits, violent clans and mutants. The game will not be a role playing game though but rather a first person game with role playing elements. There will be an open enough environment to explore,

by Dion Scotten

along with side missions as usual but with character improvement in the form of better equipment and ammo types rather than character levelling. Rage won’t just involve shooting everything that moves and will feature racing as well. Players will earn money completing quests or winning wasteland races (guns included) and can use the cash to upgrade their equipment or their vehicle. Mutants, monsters, gunfights and post-apocalyptic desert races your style? Then you won’t want to miss this one. We must admit that it does sound a little familiar… we’re talking about the latest Fallout titles, if you hadn’t figured that out. But with id behind the wheel, things might just be a little different this time around. We’ll have to wait and see if they manage to use a well-worn genre to create something fresh and original. g

gamecca preview • issue 24 • June 2011

AT A GLANCE: Developer: id Software Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Distributor: Nu Metro gamecca preview • issue 24 • June 2011

Sep 2011 Platforms

A first person adventure shooter in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

PC X360 PS3 Wii PSP DS 3DS

The battle of Hogwarts

by Alexia Pestana

lay as Harry and his friends (again) as he continues on the dangerous quest to destroy the final Horcruxes and with them, the evil Lord Voldemort. The game offers a massive wizarding world, taking Harry through more environments than ever before, trying to unravel various secrets, avoid capture and protects his friends. The player gets to be the hero in all-action adventures. This time Harry has to break into the high security vaults of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, escape Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement and defend Hogwarts against

fearsome dark forces. Some of the spells featured in the game are Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Expulso, Protego and Expecto Patronum, with more to come. Players also get to choose between Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Neville, Ginny, Luna, Seamus and a few other characters as they journey through the final depths of the Harry Potter saga, while the DS version of the game gives players the additional option of He-WhoShall-No... forget it. Voldemort. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has the mention of Move compatibility for the PS3 but not a word about X360’s Kinect. I wonder why? g

AT A GLANCE: The usual Harry Potter story with some added shine. Why is Voldemort only available on DS? Developer: EA Bright Light Publisher: Electronic Arts Inc. Distributor: EA South Africa

Jul 2011 Platforms

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Expecto?

PC X360 PS3 Wii PSP DS 3DS

gamecca preview • issue 24 • June 2011

Alter Ego

Two Investigators And a bunch of murders…

by Walt Pretorius

itcomposer aren’t known for their triple-A titles, but we see fairly enjoyable titles from them from time to time. Their latest offering, Alter Ego looks like it’s going to be a compelling point and click adventure. Set at the end of the 19th Century in Plymouth, England, the game will allow the player to take on two characters investigating a series of mysterious murders; thief Timothy Moor and policeman Detective Bristol. After the death of an enigmatic aristocrat, the town and surrounding areas are plagued by a rash of brutal killings,

and it will be up to the player to get to the bottom of the mystery. The story will take place over 80 backdrops, with the plot driven forward by cut-scenes between investigation bouts. More than 30 characters will be available for the player to meet, and they will be able to use and combine around 150 objects to help solve the puzzles that they must face. Point and click adventures are still alive and well in this day and age, and Alter Ego looks like it has the potential to be a thrilling, mind bending addition to the genre. g

AT A GLANCE: Developer: Bitcomposer Publisher: Iceberg Distributor: TBC gamecca preview • issue 24 • June 2011

Aug 2011 Platforms

A deep point and click adventure, crammed with clues and puzzles.

PC X360 PS3 Wii PSP DS 3DS

www.infamousthegame.com

infamousthegame.com

16V

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BEING A HERO IS OPTIONAL

Feature

1947

A black year for Los Angeles

g a m e c c a fe at u r e • i s s u e 2 3 • M ay 2 0 1 1

by Walt Pretorius

here is very little that can be said about Rockstar’s new crime thriller, LA Noire, that hasn’t been crowed about already. From the extremely advanced facial animation technology (achieved with the aid of 32 cameras and a massive cast of actors) through to the entertaining and exhilarating game dynamic, this game offers players a unique chance to take on the role of a police detective in Los Angeles during the post-World War 2 years. To be specific, the year the game is set in is 1947 – apparently a landmark year for detectives of the LAPD. And it is from the real world that the crimes presented in the game draw their inspiration. 1947 is considered a pivotal year in LA’s history by many historians. Soldiers returning from the war flooded to the city in droves, only to discover that newly independent women had learned to survive on their own while the men were away fighting in Europe and the Pacific. On the other hand, many women also saw their jobs threatened as men returned to the work-force. Further, racial tensions and the influx of others to take advantage of the burgeoning Hollywood film industry helped fuel a situation that soon resulted in one of Los Angeles most notorious years for crime. Naturally, the high growth in the population resulted in homelessness and unemployment, further frustrating the resident of this sprawling city. It was in January of 1947 that one of the most notorious murders in the city’s history took place. Elizabeth Short was found dead in Leimert Park. Her body had been left in a vacant lot, posed with her hands over her head and her elbows bent at right angles. She was left naked, her body cut in two at the waist and drained of blood, and the corners of her mouth cut towards her ears in what is called a Glasgow Smile. The media named the case the “Black Dahlia” murder. Despite a media frenzy, more than 50 men and women falsely confessing to the case and the killer himself getting into contact with the editor of the Los Angeles Examiner to stir up the hype, the murder was never solved. A Los Angeles Daily News reporter named Gerry Ramlow later said “If the murder was never solved it was because of the reporters ... They were all over, trampling evidence, withholding information.” It took several days for the police to take full control of the investigation during which time reporters roamed freely throughout the department’s offices, sat at officers desks, and answered their phones. Many tips from the public were not passed on to police as the reporters who received them rushed out to get “scoops”.

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Feature

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The ‘Black Dahlia’ may be the most notorious crime of that year, but it wasn’t by any means the only one. Take, for example, the nude burglar who molested women in their homes in Westwood Village and Beverley Hills. Or the 64 year old African America Jessie Founder; weighing all of 45kgs, who clubbed a burglar to death with a length of lead pipe. Or how about the 16-year-old high school student who shot his mother with a .22 after she gave him uphill for getting bad grades. Let’s consider the case of the rather unfortunate Jack Floyd. While he was professing his fidelity to his fiancé, she stabbed him in the neck with a breadknife. She hadn’t even accused him of being unfaithful. “I was just playing around with the breadknife,” Ruth McKenzie later confessed. “[It] was laying on the drainboard within reach of my hand, and I really didn’t mean to stab him. It was an accident.” In another incident, 79 year old Max Anzis began beating his 64 year old wife Clara over the head with a large pipe wrench, before attempting to cut his own throat with a bread knife. Or the young husband who, after spending an evening celebrating his wife’s return from a trip to San Francisco, killed her and then shot himself with a shotgun. With the exception of the ‘Black Dahlia’ murder, none of the above crimes are referenced in LA Noire. However, every crime in the game has a basis in actual events – it even references the mysterious ‘Black Dahlia’ case. There are many sources for information regarding criminal activity in this dark year of LA’s history on the internet. But just reading about them doesn’t come anywhere close to experiencing what life must have been like in that awkward year – something which many have claimed that Rockstar’s latest game does wonderfully. The list we have here is very far from complete, too… LA Noire itself features more cases than we have mentioned here. This is the hidden tale that the game has to tell, and one that is extremely subtly woven into the fabric of the title’s plot; the fact that 1947 was an extremely difficult year for this famous city. The psychology of the populace was – for want of a better term – in an extremely volatile and violent space… something which the game hints at and even explores, but never really blatantly states. It’s masterful story-telling, and a little research will reveal why this almost random seeming calendar year was chosen for the setting of this unique video game. For more on the game itself, be sure to check out our review on page 46 of this issue. g g a m e c c a fe at u r e • i s s u e 2 3 • M ay 2 0 1 1

Bouncing Back PS Zealot

by Suvesh Arumugam

fter just under a month offline, the Playstation Network shakily emerged from its hacking ordeal. Although the first few days were pretty tentative, the network seems to be back in full force now. And it’s good to be back online! It was an enormous relief to see everything pretty much restored to normal. Not so for the folks at Sony in Japan. After coming under pressure from the Japanese government to get the Playstation Network fixed properly, Sony’s music site was hacked, less than a fortnight after what many are already calling the biggest internet security breach in history. Clearly not a good week to be part of Sony management, especially with the Japanese government watching everyone with hawk-eyes after the tsunami disaster. No doubt Sony will be making all sorts of excuses and overtures to the public at E3, which runs from 6 to 9 June in Los Angeles, on top of their generous offer of 2 free games for each user for PS3 and PSP (which is surely costing them a pretty penny). With the race for the next-gen handheld and console market heating up, this has got to be the worst time for the stream of setbacks the company has been experiencing. But we hope they’ll keep up the freebies and benefits for us loyal PS gamers. Sony will probably be hoping (for once) that more of the focus will be on Electronic Arts and their upcoming FIFA 12 release. Early videos and reviews of demos have been amazing, and many are promising that next step in gaming evolution of sports sims. With an

improved game engine and improved player-specific AI, FIFA 12 certainly looks like the business, and I’ll be watching eagerly to see more of this must-have!! Hot games to watch for will be the latest installment of the Assassin’s Creed series. Revelations continues the story of Desmond Miles and Ezio, his rooftop-jumping ancestor. The story takes place mostly in Istanbul, but no doubt there will be acres of

area to explore and interact with. The game promises a few new upgrades like ziplining with a sword, and some new fighting maneuvers. Activision’s installment of the Modern Warfare saga, Modern Warfare 3, is due for release in November, making it one of the hot Christmas wish list items! So far we’ve been promised a more engaging story, bigger battles and enemies, with maps all over the globe, including New York and London. The other aspect we all want to know about is online, how will the ranking work. Infinity Ward also announced a “kamikaze” mode in which waves of enemies will attack players on various MW3 maps. Sound familiar? Sounds like the guys have a page from the Nazi Zombie page! Yes, there will be dogs! The much-anticipated LA Noire was recently released, with early reviews all pronouncing it Game of the Year. As we know, E3’s nominations will only look at games released last year, but LA certainly is looking a strong favourite. LA was also the first video game ever to premier at the Tribeca, bringing the gaming world and Hollywood even closer than ever. No doubt there is a big-budget feature film in discussion. We still have a few days to go before we’ll get to play Infamous 2 , though we’ve been seeing tons of first looks and demos, which are pretty amazing. I remembering favouring Prototype at the time to the first installment, but this latest episode seems a lot more intricate and fun. That’s definitely the next on my list after I get my fill of LA Noire! g

gamecca column • issue 24 • June 2011

Feel the Burn! Xbox Beat

by Bryan Banfield

ithout a doubt the personal fitness and weight loss industry is one of the largest, booming industries worldwide. This probably has to do with the fact the sugar can still be packaged in sweets and chocolates and that they priced just right. I’m not one for having the fast food argument but let’s face it. Fast food does contribute to the mix. With the launch of the Kinect I was one the fans who was hugely excited about the potential of a peripheral that offered this much technological advancement and brought a smile knowing that other brands just would not be able to keep up. What opened my eyes even further was the extent and imagination that came with the titles released to welcome the Kinect into the market. One of the industries that moved to attach themselves to the revenue stream that Kinect offers was the personal fitness and weigh loss industry. With the motion-sensing and tracking it was now possible to keep an electronic eye on you to make sure you were not cheating. Titles like Zumba Fitness and EA Sports EA Sports Active do just that. These titles are really as good as their slogans and reviews. I know a few friends that have lost a notable and visible amount of weight while using these titles... enough

to get me to consider these as an option. But there is a foreseeable road block. Firstly, video games are not yet seen as anything more than what they are. Games. Having a fitness title on the Xbox360 means that in most people’s eye it’s still a game. This may be a phase that will pass and not something to put too much stock in. Secondly: support and lifetime. How many competitions have we seen about weight loss and the actual effectiveness of these titles? Have we seen sites to upload video especially regarding our goals and achieving them? EA Active has them but they are no longer a priority. Or is this simply a ‘moving volumes’ exercise? Just sell them some marketing line and get the sale. On the flip side I am very excited about that the soon to be released title: UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System. This title is based on the amazingly successful and fast growing sport of Mixed Martial Arts and allows players to get a few fitness and behind the scenes training tips, as well as being

taken through the motions of MMA Personal Fitness. So why would I buy one of these titles? The answer is probably that I am not very comfortable with the way I look. Too much around the midsection, I can’t climb a flight of stairs or just that my lunch box is three times the size of everyone else’s in my office. With these titles lacking the support of their distribution arms they become like those products that are on those infomercials or are sold in stores by someone that can only quote what is written on the packaging. I fear that we could see a pattern repeating itself all over again. A sale of one of these titles could possibly be a situation of us being harassed at school and having our lunch money stolen. If the personal fitness industry is really committed to helping me shed my 30 year old baby-fat then please, at least make it feel like you care. My weight and the way the world perceives me by the way I look is very personal to me. g

gamecca column • issue 24 • June 2011

INCREDIBLE DEPTH FOR THE ULTIMATE GAMING EXPERIENCE.

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Time Travels House of Mario

by Brian ‘Crazy Dude’ Murdoch

did want to write this month’s column about the next Nintendo 3DS update that was coming out toward the end of May but the release date has changed to the 7th of June now. So, in the interests of keeping you informed, I am jumping into my time machine and let you know what it’s all about. Seeing that while I am there and the E3 conference is happening, I’ll just stay and include points from that in this ‘back from the future’ column. The Nintendo 3DS is an amazing piece of hardware and although there is talk of the sales not hitting the figures that Nintendo wanted, there are natural disasters to take into account and the target was what Nintendo wanted not needed. They still sold 4 million units worldwide since the launch! As great as it was on launch day, the update I just downloaded adds so much more to the system. The eShop is now available, providing me with even more games and transferring my DSiWare games from my DsiXL was painless although I did want to keep my games on my DSiXL too… but this would be illegal. Chatting to my 3DS friends will be great, but I could not test it because they did not come with for the time travel – the wusses. Browsing the internet with the 3DS was fun but I can’t seem to find any 3D online content yet… The Nintendo presentation at E3 was great - make sure you watch it. Reggie presented a great line up of games. My personal favourites was Mario Kart 3DS and a more complete version of Zelda Skyward Sword. It was a better presentation this time than

the one with technical difficulties last year and the games look more solid. Nintendo had to bring out a Mario game this year and there is talk that both Mario Kart and Super Mario Bros will be out within the year of 2011. I know a few people that were waiting for some of these great titles before they bought their 3DS and they are not going to be disappointed. I know most of you are reading through this biting your nails to find out the facts around the next Wii. Is its name going to be called Café, Feel or something else cooler? Does it have a touch screen in the controller with “feel” abilities? Wireless HDMI, or even just HDMI? Will it really change the way that I play games? Well, not to spoil the whole presentation but.. yes to most of those. The next Nintendo system

looks to be strong competition for the other two HD models on sale now, but we are going to have to wait a year or more to see what they kept or added and what they removed before the final product comes out. I could not stay long as my time machine was acting up. I hope towards the end they showed that even though games like Zelda will be limited by the Wii’s graphics at first, if played in the next console it will play at a higher or better resolution. [OK… well, let’s hope your predictions are correct. We here at Gamecca do not condone time-travel, because it messes with the spacetime continuum, and you end up with your kid being your grand-father and other really trailer-trashy stuff. So we’ll just wait and see if you got it right, Brian! It’s only a few days… – ed]. g

gamecca column • issue 24 • June 2011

wii care

faq@nintendogamer.co.za ...for DS too

You wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t only find reviews, news and great community features at www.nintendogamer.co.za. You will also find extremely informative FAQs all about the Wii & DS platforms, and the games you can play on them. At www.nintedogamer.co.za, we want to make sure that the most accurate information & support is free and easy to find.

www.nintendogamer.co.za

And the Award Goes To... Gamecca’s new award system explained

Bronze Award

t may seem like third prize, but the truth is that a Bronze Award from the Gamecca crew is nothing to scoff at. This award is given to games that score between 80 and 89 on our extremely technical and algebraically challenging rating system. Needless to say, Bronze Awards will be the most common ones you see. If a game has a Bronze Award attached to it, you should consider looking into it, particularly if you are a fan of the franchise or the genre it is part of. Now you know... g

Silver Award

f good games get Bronze Awards, great games get silver ones. Games that are rated between 90 and 95 by our panel of experts (well, self-proclaimed experts, actually) then it will get one of these babies. Silver Awards consitute a group of ‘must-play’ games for fans of the genre or franchise they are part of, and should be strongly considered by those that own one of the platforms they appear on. Silver Award games may not be the best of the best, but they are certainly up there, and warrant at least a few more moments of consideration than others. g

gladget feature • issue 16 • October 2010

gamecca • review

Gold Award

he best of the best get the coveted Gamecca Magazine Gold Award. Well, we’re hoping it will be coveted. We’re prety sure it will be... Games that score between 96 and... ok, well, in theory a game can never score a perfect 100, but you see what we’re saying. Let’s leave existentialism out of this, shall we? These are the games that should require no second thought, or no questions as to whether they need to be played. These games are essential. These are games you buy new platforms for. g

gladget feature • issue 16 • October 2010

Editor’s Choice

he Editor’s Choice Award is not necessarily presented to a title according to score. Sure, a high scoring game might get one, but a low scoring game might get one too. They tend to be rare, though. Editor’s Choice Awards mark games that stand out for one reason or another. They are the Editor’s pick to play... and while he might not be in full possession of his mental faculties, letting him select his favourite titles and stick an award on them helps keep him quiet. Seriously, though, this award marks a title that might not be superior, but still stands out. g

Reviews Highlights 42 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings The White Wolf returns 46 LA Noire The LA underbelly 52 Darkspore Hack, slash, modify... 56 DiRT 3 Back on track 58 Brink A new civil war

ormally, this is a quiet time of year for gaming... but 2011 is proving different. There are tons of games hitting the shelves at the moment, which is always a good thing! As the weather grows steadily colder, we bring you 28 game reviews in this issue - perfact ways to stay warm on the cold winter nights ahead! g

gamecca review â&#x20AC;˘ issue 24 â&#x20AC;˘ June 2011

com p eti t io n • c o mp eti ti on • c om pe tit ion • com pe t ition • com pe t it ion

Get Filthy!

WIN

A DiRT 3 hamper for PS3! Courtesy of Megarom & Codemasters TO ENTER: Send an email to competitions@gamecca.co.za. Tell us the name of the rally legend associated with DiRT 3. Insert ‘D3 competition’ in the mail’s subject line. Subscribe to www.gamecca.co.za Become a fan on Gamecca’s Facebook Page

Competition closes 30 June 2011. Gamecca subscribers only. South African residents only. Prizes may not be exchanged for cash. Hampers may not include a copy of the game. Competition closed to employees (& employee’s family) of 1337 Media CC & Megarom Interactive The judges’ decision is final.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The White Wolf Returns And he’s as awesome as ever! by Walt Pretorius

D Projekt Red kind of came out of nowhere a few years back and delivered a game that would quickly become a cult smash-hit. The Witcher introduced us to a unique fantasy setting in which the hero, Geralt of Rivia, plied his trade as a monster hunter called a Witcher. Not quite human anymore, the Witcher is a creature who’s prowess at fighting is renowned, and Geralt was top of his class. The original game truly was a diamond in the rough, devoid of a lot of the hype that often surrounds games and, happily, a pleasant surprise for anyone who tried it out. A sequel was pretty much inevitable. That sequel has arrived in the form of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Supported by considerably more fanfare that the previous game, this second title from CD Projekt Red once again demonstrates that this particular development studio is more interested in quality over

quantity. The player once again assumes the role of Geralt. The game begins with the hero as a prisoner in a dungeon, where he is interrogated regarding the events that make up the prologue. From there, it’s off into a wide world of adventure that will have RPG fans drooling. To call the story told in The Witcher 2 expansive is something of an understatement. The game features four different beginnings, and 16 possible endings. If the player still has saved games from the original game on their PC, those will come into play, too. Each decision the player makes and each action they undertake has the potential to spin the tale off in a new direction, even if it is not obvious at the time that the decision is made. That’s something that CD Projekt Red are good at; delivering a subtly branching plot line that, while it still follow a general course, delivers varied experiences for different

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players - and even play-throughs. Decisions made might have obvious consequences fairly early in the tale, or may come back to haunt the player a long way down the line. This is the masterful approach to the multi-branched plot in evidence. The story isn’t the only complex part of this game. In fact, the whole thing is pretty intricate. Aside from careful made choices and well-picked actions, the player will also have to deal with several other complexities – not least of which is the character of Geralt himself. The player does not get to choose what he looks like, or what his class and race is. This is prescribed. Even so, there is a lot that the player can do to personalise this unique and interesting character. Like all role playing games, the player will gain experience and levels as the game progresses. These allow him to choose to improve skills in four branches

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

of the game’s skill tree. Further, certain skills can be modified with mutagens, that improve the player in various permanent ways. Aside from character progression, the player will be able to modify Geralt in terms of equipment, whether it be armour, weapons, potions or modifiers applied to existing equipment. The player will be able to use alchemy skills to create potions and bombs, gathering needed ingredients in the massive game world. The player will also be able to have certain specialised equipment crafted by in-game craftsmen, and will naturally be able to gather a wide variety of weapons and other equipment as they explore their surroundings and defeat enemies. In true role playing style, a degree of character advancement and modification even comes in during the quests the player undertakes. This is particularly true of the game’s numerous side quests… choosing whether

or not to do certain quests can have a wide variety of effects on Geralt, apart from the obvious gaining of extra experience. The game is infused with a large amount of freedom. While the player will more or less be restricted to certain areas, these spaces are massive, and allow ultimate freedom within their borders. They are not only filled with interesting story quests and challenging side quests, but also with lots of random encounters and other stuff to keep the player coming back for more. As first impressions go, The Witcher 2 creates a good one, thanks to absolutely brilliant graphics, top-notch voice acting and a story line that is gripping from the word go. The story is not only well crafted, but it is populated with extremely interesting and colourful characters, all of which are presented as unique individuals with distinctive

personalities, quirks and habits. But we need to go back to the graphics for a moment… they really are impressive. The world comes alive, thanks to careful attention to detail, rich imagination and dedication on the part of the developers. The looks of the environment, as well as the detailed character models, add greatly to the unique feel that this game possesses. There is little repetition, which is refreshing when considering other recent role playing releases, and players will find themselves immersed in a world that is believable, thanks to its rich diversity and painstaking attention to detail. What may be a bit of a thorn in many players’ sides is the fact that the game is extremely tough. Even on the lowest difficulty levels, The Witcher 2 will give seasoned RPG combat veterans a run for their money. And not only

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

us what RPG titles should be. But further than that, it speaks of a dedicated development team that believes in delivering a brilliant experience to players, rather than churning out lots of mediocre titles. If you’re after an engrossing, awe-inspiring RPG experience on PC, you need look no further than this masterfully crafted game. The Witcher 2 is complex, deep, challenging and extremely satisfying; it’s awesome depth and rich, massive setting will suck you in and have you spending many hours in Geralt’s beautifully crafted reality. It’s games like this that makes being a gamer great, despite a handful of flaws, and it stands testament to the skill of CD Projekt Red. We cannot wait to see more from this studio – particularly if those games deal with the awesome world of the Witcher. g

AT A GLANCE: The Witcher 2 is an excellent example of what a RPG video game should be: deep, complex, challenging and utterly engrossing. Developer: CD Projekt Red Publisher: Namco Bandai Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

18+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

in the extremely challenging boss battles – even a group of smaller enemies stand a good chance of handing Geralt a very solid beating. In trying to improve the game as much as possible, the developers opted for a streamlined control system that has a few of the more hard-core players out there complaining. In truth, though, the simplified controls allow for a more fluid game play experience, which features surprisingly few bugs (considering the ambitious scale of the game.) They take a bit of getting used to, and the bugs that do exist are being worked on constantly by the dedicated design team. It is pertinent to note that The Witcher 2 is a work of adult entertainment. Not only is it violent and crammed with all kinds of nasty four-lettered words, but it has a fair amount of sexual content in it, too. Not one for the kids. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a game that shows

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

97 45

LA Noire

Fallen Angels Crime and corruption in Tinsel Town

rogress: it drives mankind forward towards an exciting, unfathomable future. But with progress comes opportunities for avarice and exploitation, corruption and crime. We would be lost without it, but it also serves as a great burden to society in many ways. Progress is a big theme in LA Noire, the new action adventure title from Rockstar. But aside from that thematic tie-in, the game itself also displays a great degree of progress in itself. It might sound somewhat idealistic to say that LA Noire takes this genre of gaming to new heights and explores exciting new ideas, but it really is the truth. In many ways, LA Noire is unique, and it stands out… we won’t likely see another game quite like this too soon (unless they make a sequel). First things first, though. With a name like Rockstar behind the publishing of the game, one might expect a title that offers huge amounts of free roaming action and tons of opportunity to mess around within the game world, like what we got with Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. However, this isn’t the case. In

by Walt Pretorius

fact, the game feels more like Mafia II than those other well-known Rockstar titles; Team Bondi, the developers of this game, opted to go with a more linear experience, punctuated by moments of freeform play. This actually serves the game perfectly. LA Noire possesses a complex plot, and too much freedom might have messed with it. Still, there are around 40 ‘side missions’ that the player can take part in while travelling to different locations within the city – the choice is theirs, adding an element of freedom to the title. LA Noire tells the tale of Cole Phelps, an ambitious cop who works his way through the Los Angeles Police Department in the latter part of the 1940s. World War II is still fresh in everyone’s mind, but the USA’s victory over their enemies – and the end of the great Depression – has spurred on a time of growth in the city. The fast growing city attracts people from all over the US, as Hollywood continues to grow in prominence as a major city. Even back then, Los Angeles was a massive city, and it shows in the game. It offers the player a huge amount

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of terrain to explore, which adds quite a bit more to do within the game, aside from the story and the side missions. Thankfully the story isn’t time dependant, and the enterprising player can tour the city, unlocking various faithfully recreated landmarks, driving any of the 95 vehicles available in the game, or doing a number of other things that are available. The story missions are rather complex. Each one is a case that the player undertakes as Phelps, either in the Patrol, Traffic, Homicide, Vice or Arson divisions of the LAPD. The player will progress through these divisions, and will be given one case at a time. Investigations involve several aspects; gathering clues and interrogating witnesses and suspects are the norm, but some also include driving, combat and even puzzle solving and movement challenges. The cases are quite varied, but sometimes the process can feel a bit repetitive – although not overly so. The crux of the game comes down to interrogation. To this end, a new technology has been employed in the facial

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

animation of the characters (involving lots of cameras and perfectly captured live actors.) The player will need to read the facial expressions of witnesses and suspects to try and determine whether they are telling the truth, lying, or making doubtful statements. While this sounds relatively easy, the process gets quite tricky before long. Getting things wrong is going to happen in this game. Accusing a suspect of lying, for example, means nothing if the player doesn’t have some kind of evidence to back it up. But the extremely high grade facial animation does make it possible – in fact, you could even lip-read in this game – the faces are that impressive. In truth, all the graphics are impressive. The recreation of the surroundings is fantastic, and the character animations and vehicle models are top notch. The voice acting, needless to say, is perfectly matched to the characters (what with proper actors being used… you’ll even doubtlessly recognise a few faces.) Even the music is well handled, being a collection of era classics and original songs.

Control-wise, Team Bondi used a sensible set of controls in the game, most of which are rather standard (making the title easy to pick up and play.) With a great story, mind-blowing presentation and lots to do, LA Noire sounds like the perfect game for those who enjoy an adventure title that is driven by the narrative, yet allows for some freedom. And, in many ways, it is far, far above par. It’s not free of bugs though – any game this ambitious is likely have a few – but none of the minor glitches are deal breakers. In fact, most of them are rather amusing, much like the well documented bugs that arose in last year’s Red Dead Redemption. Of far greater concern are reports that folks playing LA Noire on older consoles will experience technical difficulties. We had a hiccup or two while reviewing the game, but there are ways around it. In the most extreme cases, installing the title to your console’s hard-drive should sort everything out.

But that speaks volumes about the game’s technology. It is a bit longer than average, based purely on the story missions. Yet the Xbox 360 version comes on three discs. This can only mean lots of complex code (hence some of the difficulties.) Despite these two quibbles (which, realistically, are very minor) LA Noire is a very fine game. It feels wonderfully authentic, complete with characters that feel more ‘real’ and a setting that is rich and detailed. It is a challenging game that offers a fair amount of replay value (players can go back and retry cases they could have performed better in) and it will provide those that enjoy this moderately linear, sometimes free style of game with a lot of enjoyment, and even a few jaw dropping moments. LA Noire is a perfect example, not only of a good video game, but of excellent adult-oriented interactive entertainment. Not playing it would be a sin – it’s just one of those games that needs to be experienced. g

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

LA Noire goes beyond being a game – it is an interactive experience that everyone should go through. Developer: Team Bondi Publisher: Rockstar Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

18+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

AT A GLANCE:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

93 49

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunt 2011

Pappa Bear… Isn’t really impressed

f a quick poll is taken, it should be to no surprise that many people are in fact against any form of hunting. Yet, South Africa is among the top ten countries with the biggest hunting industries. So with that little fact in mind, it’s no surprise that the Cabela’s franchise does really well in our market place. It’s a somewhat-realistic hunting title, where players can hunt down larger prey than what they would normally do. Cabela’s recently released their latest title, Dangerous Hunts 2011, and the giant bear on the box art is indeed just a small taste what players will be encountering. A number of changes have been made to the game’s overall design - and we’ll get to them a bit later – but it’s not all for the best. Probably for the first time in the franchise’s history, the game features a story mode. This shouldn’t be confused with a campaign mode, as levels can’t be replayed from the menu and it’s the biggest part of the title. As far as the plot goes, the story follows a young hunter on a hunt with his father and brother. A bit of

by Charlie Fripp backstory is given in the introduction videos and loading narration and it also explains why the character’s father looks like a bitter Norse god. Each level, or mission, will have the player shoot different kinds of animals, and it all takes place in locations around the world. It’s a bit difficult to effectively explain the story in detail, as each level has a multi-arc plot which, in return, ties up with the main story. As mentioned, a couple of things have been done differently, and avid hunters will notice that there is no free-roam hunting. It would have been exciting to just choose a location from the main story, select the animals you would like to hunt and off you go. But unfortunately that has been omitted. What the developers added instead, is a sort of shooting gallery with a very arcade feel. The player will start the levels with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, and just like arcade games, various animals will run past, ready for shooting. But care must be taken to use the right gun, as hunting a deer with a shotgun will cause a loss in points.

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is actually to the contrary. The complete package will set players back about the same price as a single Xbox game – which is about R550. The gun does add a bit of a nice touch, but it’s incredible tiring to keep the gun pointing at the television for long periods of time. The range is also a bit of a problem, as the gun will only function properly if players are about 3m away from the screen. But once it’s working correctly, it’s very easy to take down large game, and it does create a feeling of actually being on the hunt. The gun comes shipped with an adjustable scope with a red lens, and in Hunter Sense arrows will point towards the ‘hidden’ objects – which are hard to see without the lens. The game is definitely for any hunting fan, but if players aren’t familiar with the mechanics and gameplay, it might be a bit stressful. But it’s well worth the purchase if killing animals is your thing. g

AT A GLANCE: With great graphics and easy controls, hunting has never been so simple. Developer: Activision Publisher: Activision Blizzard Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

The graphics could have, and probably should have, been a bit better for the consoles. Although most of the animals have been faithfully recreated, there are still a couple of occasions where squinting is required to see what animal the developers tried to resemble. But in general the level of detail isn’t bad at all. In terms of controls, there couldn’t have been an easier layout - standard LT for scope, RT for shoot and D-Pad for direction. A new feature – called Hunter Sense – has also been added to give the player a bit of an edge over the game. What it does when activated, is highlight areas in the surroundings that is of interest to the player, such as ammo refills and animal tracks. The most exciting part about Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 is that it comes bundled with the Top Shot Elite light gun. For now, the gun is only compatible with this title, but there are rumours that developers are working on other shooting games that will work with the peripheral. It would be natural to think that the addition of the gun will make the bundle a bit more expensive, but that

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

80 51

Darkspore

A New Direction Maxis takes a bold step

axis developed quite a name for themselves thanks to the large variety of simulators they have made in the past. In fact, whatever reputation they have is based on these games, ranging from SimCity through to the rather interesting Spore. But the company has made a bold move with their latest title, taking it in an entirely new direction – at least, new for Maxis. Darkspore belongs to a genre we have seen before, when all is said and done, but the take that the company has on the genre is interesting. To try and define it, imagine if Spore – that interesting creature creation game in which the player guided the evolution of a species – had a love-child with Diablo. The result is an isometric action game that allows the player to extensively modify the characters. That’s really what Darkspore is, in a nutshell – a slasher with lots of modification. Sure, other games like this have allowed modification, in terms of equipment found, but Darkspore takes things a little further. By allowing the players to modify characters in a new version of the same creature creator used in Spore,

by Walt Pretorius Darkspore allows for a high degree of visual customisation, as well as equipment based improvement. It might not be quite as free as Spore was, but it offers a lot more creative expression than any action adventure of this type ever seen before. The story is simple; a group of alien genetic engineers, called Crogenitors, unwittingly unleashed an extremely harmful genetic mutation agent on the galaxy. After having been all but destroyed, the Crogenitors are now mounting a battle against the creatures that this mutation agent has created. The player takes on the role of a Crogenitor, and unlocks up to 100 different characters to use in the battle. OK, different is a bit strong. There are actually around 25 characters, each with four different variant. But that’s still a lot of unlocking to do, and a lot of variety in game approach. During missions, the player uses a squad of three of these characters. There’s only one on screen at a time, but the player can switch between them pretty much at will, to try and deal with situations that arise. See, there are five groups of creatures, each with a dominant element. When

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to do it, but it fumbles every now and then. This fumbling places the game in the category that patient players will love, but others may hate. It needs a bit of forgiveness, and initial patching will chew up a lot of bandwidth to boot. But it is a good first step in a very new direction for Maxis, and with a bit of refinement, future sequels and expansions may just deliver an extremely unique action adventure experience. If you want to try something different, and are willing to forgive the game’s oddities, Darkspore makes a nice change to the genre, and comes at a time when isometric action-adventures are really thin on the ground. The modification aspect is fun for creative players, who can tweak their characters almost endlessly. It’s fairly fast paced and extremely challenging, which are good aspects of the title, and the community is fairly healthy. But if you are looking for gaming perfection, you won’t find it in the Darkspore franchise – yet. Knowing Maxis, though, it’s something that they will strive for in future releases. g

AT A GLANCE: Darkspore is far from perfect, but it is fun, and fills a big gap in the current action adventure market. Developer: Maxis Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

a character meets enemies of the same element as he is, he takes more damage – swapping out is a good option. Also, when a character takes a lot of damage, the player can preserve him by a well-timed swap. This is supported by the fact that health and energy boosts picked up by the character on screen are applied to the whole squad; a character near death can be literally rescued by another character gathering lots of health pods. That makes things sound easier than they are. Darkspore can be extremely difficult, particularly for single players. It’s designed to be played co-op, and a permanent connection to the Internet is required for play. Taking on levels solo is really tough, but can be accomplished. As a first attempt in this genre, Darkspore is laudable. It makes all the right moves, and has some great ideas. However, a lot of the game’s execution is clumsy, and there are a few bugs that crop up fairly often. They’re not ruinous (except for the odd one that might disconnect the player from the server) but they can be a bit annoying. The game makes one think of a clumsy teenager destined to grow into a graceful adult. It knows what to do, and when

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

77 53

Dirt 3

Dust

It’s leaving you in it

ally and off-road games have carved themselves neatly into the gaming circuit, with a wide variety available for any player who has the inkling to take to the dust. But none has been more iconic than the Dirt franchise, which started a fuss in 2008 with the first game. Now in its third instalment, the title has fully evolved from being the new kid on the block to being a front runner in the genre, spearheading many changes and inspiring a whole bunch of other titles and ideas. Before delving into the mechanics of the game, the first thing that will strike players is the incredible amount of detail and brilliant graphics. The opening sequence sees Dirt ambassador Ken Block’s car reversing out of a truck, and the graphics just seem to be your typical cutscene brilliance – but it soon becomes apparent that it’s actually in-game visuals. Loading up a race and choosing a location will leave many players picking up their jaw from the floor, as the crisp graphics and high-attention to detail is absolutely

by Charlie Fripp amazing. It might sound stupid to mention, but the trees have actual leaves and individual blades of grass will sway in the wind. But it’s not just the overall graphics that are brilliant – it’s also the small touches that make the game so unique. In real life some spectators will stand in the middle of the road to watch an approaching car, and quickly jump out of the way when it gets close. Well, that has all been included. Even the photographer at the starting line will adjust his camera settings in between shots. Dirt 2’s graphics were very much above-par when it was released, but the third game has definitely set the stakes very high for any possible follow-up titles – and for any other games to be released. The title’s sound is another major plus point on the ratings scale. Every car sounds different and distinct, and many engines will instantly be recognisable. But that is almost part-and-parcel of racing games, and once again it’s the little details that shine though. Racing past any spectators, players will hear cheers, whistling and clapping

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once again decided to drop the Rally Raid T4 trucks from the line-up. It was speculated while the game was still in development that the T4 trucks from the original Dirt will be included, but they have been omitted in the end. Codemasters decided to include a Gymkhana mode for more adventurous players. In this mode, players have to “perform” for points in the form of doing jumps, doughnuts and drifts in a very small obstacle course. It’s great fun. In terms of the career mode, players will have to race in various rallies of different disciplines around the world in order to unlock sponsors and more cars – and ultimately be the top driver. It spans all the sub-genres of rally and teach the player different driving tactics. The flashbacks from Dirt 2 have also been preserved for use. Dirt 3 is definitely a dream-come-true for any rally and off-road fan, and it’s well-worth a purchase. The graphics are absolutely brilliant, the cars handle perfectly well and the sounds are fantastic. There is nothing else on the market quiet like it. g

AT A GLANCE: With brilliant graphics, it’s Codemasters’ best rally game to date. Developer: Codemasters Southam Publisher: Codemasters Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

hands coming from the crowd, and just as quickly fading away as the driver leaves them in the dust. Starting a race in Kenya, players will also be able to hear the bells of goats before they pull away. In terms of driving mechanics, developers Codemasters have once again included several difficulty settings. Driving on the casual setting, players will have braking assist and a racing line, while the more difficult settings leave the players to their own expertise. In general, the vehicles handle perfectly well and behave when they have to. Obviously different terrain will cause cars to react in different fashions, but that is all expected and would be unrealistic otherwise. Speaking of vehicles, a large variety has been included, and there is more than enough to keep even the most finicky driver happy. The game comes shipped with an Online Pass, which, apart from YouTube uploading and multiplayer access, also provides a handful of extra cars – like the Hummer H3. The only real downside to the title is that Codemasters

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PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

92 57

Brink

On the Edge It could go either way, really…

ype is a scary monster. The problem it poses is that, if it gets out of control, it ruins the game that it’s about. Not directly, of course; rather, the hype machine creates massive expectation that, if the game doesn’t live up to them, results in disappointed users – and a lowered impression of the final product. Brink is an excellent example of the hype machine in action. Over many months (and a delay or two) we were promised a gaming experience that would literally blow our minds. But the end result is a somewhat pedestrian shooter that tries to be original, but falls short in a number of ways. Brink is set in the futuristic Ark, a city designed to be an experimental, floating Utopia. But when the polar icecaps melted, people flooded to the city – even though its creators did their best to hide it. Now, tensions flare; the city has not heard anything from the outside world for twenty years. One faction believes that peace needs to be maintained so that the Ark – and consequently mankind – survives. The other side is a faction of rebels who want to break free of the confines of the city and

by Walt Pretorius search for the other humans they believe still inhabit the earth. It’s a good idea, and one that would lend itself to a fantastic single player campaign, as well as some awesome multiplayer action. But this game focuses more on the multiplayer – sections that could be considered single player are extremely forgettable – and yet manages to not really go anywhere significant while doing so. Brink is, for all intents and purposes, a team-based, objective-focussed shooter. It allows the player to create a character, get some weapons, and get into the action relatively quickly. But here’s one of the problems. The makers promised us a highly customisable experience. And yes, the player can customise their character and weapons, but it’s rather limited. Faces are, for example, all premade templates… even a few tweaks would have made things better, but the player can only select a premade face, without the luxury of modification. Clothing is the same – there are numerous outfits, but other than mixing and matching elements like pants and shirts, the player’s only real choice is in a limited colour palette.

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levels is made easy by allowing a sort of free-movement system, but doesn’t do it better than other games that use a similar concept. When all is said and done, Brink is a fun shooter, but it’s pretty unremarkable. It certainly does not deliver on the lofty promises made by the publishers, and will likely leave the player wanting. It does very little – if anything – to rise above its peers, and with graphics that are a bit lacklustre – even though they are distinctive – and a general feel that is nothing more than mediocre, many people will find the game more than a little disappointing. Die-hard shooter fans may well enjoy Brink, but the title really offers very little to distinguish it from the hordes of other, similar products on the market… many of which do things just a bit better than Brink does. The success of this title, with its extremely heavy reliance on the multiplayer experience, will rely on the community that grows up around it. But whether it has enough on offer to foster that kind of growth is another question entirely. g

AT A GLANCE: A shooter that is really rather nondescript… may do well, but it might not offer enough to attract the scores of users to keep it alive. Developer: Splash Damage Publisher: Bethesda Distributor: Nu Metro

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

This comes in with weapons as well, although the player has a little more to work with – and a little more effect on the game itself. Guns can be upgraded with various classes of equipment, and unlocking an item once makes it available for all guns in the player’s arsenal. These upgrades have both positive and negative effects on the weapons’ performance. In the game, players can use one of four different classes, which can be switched mid-game at certain capturable command points. Each of these classes have their strengths and weaknesses, and have powers which affect the other players in the team – a nice touch. This emphasises a little co-operation between the players, which is never a bad thing. The player’s character can also be upgraded, in terms of skills, which are either general, or specific to one of the classes on offer. The game will, in each mission, give the player numerous objectives that need to be filled… these range from capturing points through to escorting important characters or sabotaging objects. Movement through the

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

70 59

Dead or Alive Dimensions

Counter This! Fighting action in 3D

he Nintendo 3DS brings a lot of opportunities for features to DOA and the first thing that most will notice is the looks. The 3D in the game is just amazing. There is a seamless flow between fighting and cut scenes which looks beautiful with the 3D turned on. If you’re a frantic button masher, you might want to turn the 3D off, though, to avoid blurring caused by movement of the console. During the chronicle mode single players can experience all four Dead or Alive tournament stories. The player will be forced to play as certain characters in different parts of the story. If one is unfamiliar with the Dead or Alive story or just wants to watch it again, then it feels more like a movie. The 3D models lip-synching is off, but I think less time was put into this to give us great cinematic presentation. Dead or Alive’s differences come from the advanced counter systems, and general speed of gameplay. The

by Brian Murdoch hold and throw combinations are vital to the counters systems and turn the game from a plain button masher to something at a level above the rest. There are 2 main counter triangles: throw, hold and strike. A throw takes priority over a hold, a hold takes priority over a strike and a strike over a throw. The other not so obvious one is that a heavy strike is stopped by a light strike and a block will stop a light blow but not a heavy one. These systems are required in a fighting game so that you don’t just find one unstoppable combination and use that time and time again. The combination is dynamic and, with the basics learned and some quick reaction time, anyone can win. The multiplayer does just what it should, with one exception. Verses mode and Tag Challenge are both available online and on local WiFi. The Wi-Fi is preferred because game lag can happen and when it does luckily it

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character, with the skill level that they are at in multiplayer, and trades that information. Then players can go into the challenge section and play against the AI version of that character at that level. SpotPass does the same with an elite character and adds some extra costumes for characters in-game. I’ve gone through the whole review and not spoken about the “boob effect”. The over-sized breasts have been a part of the franchise since the beginning. The models move around more in this version and because the women do get knocked around and those outfits don’t cover much. You may want to keep that in mind if you are offended by near nudity. The game has a good fighting system with great graphics and different modes to keep a gamer’s interest piqued for a long time. If this is one of the 3DS titles that you are waiting for then buying a 3DS now with this game is worth it. g

AT A GLANCE: A new version of DOA with some great additions and great use of the 3DS features. Developer: Team Ninja Publisher: Tecmo Koei Distributor: Core Group

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

13+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

3DS Platforms

slows or pauses for both players and the same time. This means that, if your connection lags for some reason, you don’t stand there like a dummy for your opponent to hit. Both players and moves are slowed down at times which leads to great positions, like having a ‘Matrix’ style fighting section. It does look a little awkward for some of the girls and the things they can do with their bodies, but let’s bounce along. The Tag challenge is where players will play to have hours of fun. Join up with a friend and Tag team against some very tough A.I. opponents. These 20 levels are an astronomical feat and only a DOA master will finish them all. This is where I see an opportunity for more multiplayer, to have 2 human players tag team against another human pair. There are double throws and other combinations that make the tag team battles look even better. StreetPass in the game takes the players favourite

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

95 61

Thor: God of Thunder

Wait, what? Nothing godly here…

ames based on movies have a bad reputation; we’ve said this many times before. These days, though, a lot of those games are getting a bit better. And then every now and then, one comes along that takes all the faith established in these games, all the belief that they might, maybe, be getting better, and trashes it mercilessly. Thor: God of Thunder is a prime example of this. The game is a sort of prequel to the movie, which is cool. This is happening more and more often with movie based games these days that they go the sub-plot or prequel route. It’s a good thing, overall, because it gives the developers the space to explore other angles and aspects – even locations – without crashing into the film plot line. Thor does all this, but it isn’t enough to save it from being a rather disappointing experience. The worst thing about the game is that it is derivative, yet fails to draw on any of the good ideas of the games it derives itself from. It’s a third person action brawler, comparable to games in the vein of God of War, Dante’s

by Walt Pretorius Inferno, Darksiders and so on. But it doesn’t do anything that might place it in the same category as those titles. In the first place, the controls are nasty. They feel sluggish, with movement being a problem – particularly when you need to dodge. Also, stringing combo attacks together is less of an art and more of an accident. The game seems to not register all of the button inputs, because you can mash your heart out trying for one of the overly complicated combos, only to have it never appear. The combat system has been supplemented with ranged combat – in the form of Thor’s thrown hammer – and special abilities, allowing the player to cast various weather based effect attacks at enemies. These can be improved by spending experience points on them, as can attacks and other abilities. The problem is that the hit detection is off with a lot of these attacks, in addition to the clunky controls. They can be satisfying when they come off correctly, but for the most part they feel a little like an ineffectual group of activities tacked on to the title to give it a bit of extra

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tried to create an experience that complements the film. Thor, however, feels like an exploitation of the property, which cheapens an already poor experience. It feels like a cash-in, chiefly because it rather obviously is. Yet, with a film of this calibre (everyone is raving about Thor on the silver screen) perhaps the developers should have tried to produce a game with a little more substance. It certainly would have served them well. As it stands, though, the game will leave a bitter taste in your mouth – particularly if you have seen the film – and the bad press it will get from word of mouth alone may set the overall reputation of film-based games back a few steps. Playing this game is masochistic – it has very little to redeem it, and the overall experience ranges from frustration at poor design to boredom at repetitive elements. It’s sad, really, because this property has a lot of potential. g

AT A GLANCE: This game really has nothing to redeem it – it’s an obvious cash in, and poorly put together. Developer: Liquid Entertainment Publisher: Sega Distributor: Nu Metro

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

meat. The enemies in the game tend to look a bit repetitive, with similar character models being used far too often. There are bosses to fight, though, which add a bit of variety. These boss battles could have gone a long way to rescue the title, but the clunkiness of the controls and unforgiving quick time sequences make them just as bad as the rest. The player will get to clamber around massive enemies, for example, but the movement prompts are just too fast to be reasonable. Thor: God of Thunder features poorly designed levels, lots of repetitive combat and a big pile of bugs. It smacks of a game rushed out to meet a film release date, just like so many other (often older) movie-based titles. But it goes further, leaving the character with no connection to the world. It is not immersive or engrossing at all- the player will likely feel no connection to the main character, nor any other character in the game. This really is a wasted opportunity. With other movie based games that have come out recently, the developers

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PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

45 63

Steel Diver

Metal Below Doing battle with subs

ince the 3DS launch party that was held at Monte Casino in Johannesburg I have been waiting for this game. Its 3D elements were better than any of the other demo games there, in my opinion. 3D bundled with the great concept of controlling a submarine with precision controls in under water battles would make for a great game. When I received the game I was both impressed and disappointed, though, when thinking of my original reaction. This title can’t be classified as one game because there are a few different ways to play it. If all you want to play around with its bells and whistles then open up the periscope strike mode and blast ships to your heart’s content. The use of 3D effects coupled with the motion sensing makes you feel like the periscope is real and having a finger on the trigger to launch deadly torpedoes at enemy ships is exhilarating. Be careful to dive and evade depth charges from the enemy ships, though. It becomes easier to play this mode on a swivel chair as a full 360 degree turning circle is

by Brian Murdoch needed. A feature that would have helped this mode is launching torpedoes with the L and R bumper buttons on the 3DS. It just seems like a more natural control system and it’s not like I needed to take pictures of the sinking ships… not that this is a feature. The standard game mode is the strategic manoeuvring of the submarine through treacherous paths, with ships and other submarines trying to stop you… as if hitting the rocks in the path were not bad enough. There is a certain amount of damage that the submarine can take and if there is a leak a click of the stylus on the touch screen will stop it. All the controls are on the touch screen and they are very accurate as to how the submarines are handled. Acceleration forwards and backward, diving or rising are the main controls that all three weight classes of submarine in the game have. The bigger ones have a tilting steering control and more torpedo options but lack the top-side shot. The weight affects the speed and the manoeuvrability of the sub and it’s up to the player to

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map, and the player deploys with one submarine, a few defensive ships and a defenceless supply ship. The goal of the game is to destroy the enemy’s supply ship without losing your own submarine. The defence ships can’t attack the supply ship or other ships so when your submarine is destroyed, it’s game over for you. Navigation and sonar is keys to finding and attacking other ships but be careful of the sonar as it also gives away your position. Each defence ship encounter with a submarine starts a periscope strike game with only four torpedoes and then a depth guessing game. The submarine and the ships guess a depth for their dive and depth charges respectively; if it’s the same then the sub is hit by the depth charge. This becomes a fun alternative to the standard games. I was expecting a little more from the title but this might be because I thought the demo was only a taste tester and not the main course. The different modes are refreshing and make the title stay in the 3DS cartridge slot longer than expected. g

AT A GLANCE: Strategy below the water. Players control submarines through missions with pin point accuracy to get the fastest time. Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Distributor: Core Group

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

3DS Platforms

which one is used in each mission. There is a lack of a story line but the repeat play is emphasized and times are recorded for each type of submarine and stage. In the mission mode and the extra challenges the top scores and times are entered by the player with the old arcade style three letter name system. It would be better if it had different profiles, like Pilotwings. This would then only limit the scores to three of four players but how many people share their 3DS with others? Then StreetPass could have been used to sync the scores with everyone else that is playing the title. It’s quite upsetting that developers don’t incorporate these small features into their games. The next and final mode of playing the game includes a little periscope play and a ‘battleships’ idea, with a very good twist. The Steel Commander mode is a turn based strategy game played against the AI or other players. It’s a download play game so friends need only their 3DS to play. The game is played on a hexagonally divided

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

83 65

Virtua Tennis 4

Virtually Tennis Popping a lob is always easy

hy the Japanese need to make a joke out of everything is incomprehensible. From Bayonetta to Pro Evolution Soccer, they seem to thrive of bright pink and cheesy pop music. And their latest instalment in tennis is no different. Before examining Virtua Tennis 4 a bit closer, it needs to be noted that the game is distinctly Japanese. The cover art is pink, the menu system is identical to other games (and also pink) and the pop music seems to be a big thing with them. With that out of the way, the title is also an arcade game. If players are looking for a tennis game similar to Top Spin, there is no use in even considering Virtua Tennis, as they will be greatly disappointed. But, with that said, it serves its purpose very well as an arcade tennis title. Straight out of the gate, players are asked to create a player and are thrown head-first into a match. Forget

by Charlie Fripp about changing clothes or equipment, as all of these needs to be unlocked and then purchased with coins. So be comfortable with playing the first couple of matches in underpants and a vest. There is also no tutorial when comes to gameplay, so using a bit of creativity and intuition should allow for a win in the first match. From there, players are quickly ushered through all the segments of the game, such as the menu and map system, the coach and other aspects. One problem with the map system is that players have to move around it in a set number of moves by means of move tickets. It’s highly irritating if players want to stop at a certain mini-game, but don’t have the right move ticket to do so. It does feel a bit rushed, as there is also a day count-down timer in which players need to reach a specific tournament with the right skill level. In terms of game play, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Although the controls work well, the lack of a tutorial leaves a

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are expecting a true-to-life tennis title, they should look elsewhere. It is very much an arcade game, and although it has all the trimmings of a tournament and ladder-style title, the general feeling is distinctly arcade. Even down to the pop music while playing in a heated match. The music does become a bit distracting, but then again, if players want and know arcade games, they will feel right at home. In terms of a tennis simulator, there is virtually no correlation to the real thing other than the matches themselves. The map and menu system is easy to navigate, but the use of stars as a ranking system and coins to purchase kits seems a bit out-dated by today’s standards. When all is said and done, the game should provide a lot of fun to those who seek this type of entertainment, but for fans of Top Spin and the like, the title will seem old and ineffective. It’s by no means a serious game, and should not be treated as such. g

AT A GLANCE: Very arcade-like and simple, it’s by no means a serious contender for the tennis crown. Developer: Sega-AM3 Publisher: Sega Distributor: Nu Metro

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

lot of the shots as a bit of a guessing game. There is no explanation as to shot strength, and the only visual indication of strength is when the ball is served. The game does, however, support Move on the Playstation 3, so then shot strength is entirely up to the player, but it would have been nice to see it in to normal control scheme. With the Move the character is responsive enough and reacts well, but a couple of minor issues are bound to creep in, so a navigation controller is preferred. Graphically, the title is once again distinctly Japanese, and being developed by Sega it’s actually no surprise. While they do serve their purpose, a bit of finesse wouldn’t have hurt, but on the up-side, the character animations are done rather well. Well, good enough to understand their “emotions”. As mentioned before, the game works well for the purpose for which it was designed for, but if players

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

79 67

SBK 2011

Gearing Up

A better experience for bike racing fans

ike racing games have, for many years, been trying to capture the essence of riding very fast on a two wheeled vehicle. It seems like quite a challenge, because of the overall physicality of the activity. Sure, driving a car is a physical activity, but there is something more demanding (and dependant) on a human body when it comes to motorcycles. That physicality also brings with it the idea of balance, which one can sense when riding a bike, but not really when playing a game. Cars don’t fall over. Bikes do… or, at least, they can. This is just one of the challenges facing the two big bike racing franchises out there. Capcom’s MotoGP and Black Bean’s SBK series are making big strides to getting things right though, and recent years have seen massive improvements in both franchises. In fact, they are often so close that it really comes down to a matter of taste when considering which one to purchase, or even a matter of loyalty. Following close on the heels of the latest MotoGP release comes SBK 2011, and it brings with it numerous

by Walt Pretorius

improvements that will have fans of the series – and bike racing sims in general – smiling. The most noticeable of these is that handling has been improved. The bikes feel a bit more real now, and elements like control during slides and the like have been tweaked up to result in a smoother, better experience. The bikes are less likely to fall over for no apparent reason, but jostling with other riders has an increased likelihood of seeing the player hurtling across the tar without the aid of a motorised conveyance. The AI has been tweaked too, so now they won’t be perfect little motorcycling robots. Rather, this time around, they will have a greater tendency towards error. That doesn’t mean you’re going to be dodging downed riders for the whole game, but they will make more mistakes in this iteration, adding to the overall realism of the title. But all is not rosy in the land of SBK. There have been a few tweaks made that don’t really make too much sense. The biggest of these is, err… the tweaking. In the previous title, the player had access to a wide variety of options when it came to riding assists, and could turn various functions on or off, trimming the overall experience

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players various challenges on numerous tracks. These are also variable within each challenge. Getting a certain time might give you an award, but throwing in wheelies for a certain distance will increase that reward. These goals are, naturally, determined by the challenge that the player undertakes. Another nice addition, although one that might only appeal to enthusiasts, is the inclusion of 17 legendary riders to the game. With good graphics, tweaked controls and a ton of bikes and tracks to play on, not to mention the new inclusions, SBK 2011 is better than the last game, and lots of fun to play. It goes a long way to improving the experience delivered by the franchise, and fans will be delighted to experience the improvements. Even if there are a few things that still need to be tweaked, and some strange changes have been made, it still serves as a good motorcycle racing sim. g

AT A GLANCE: Although some odd changes have been made, SBK 2011 offers a generally improved motorcycle racing experience. Developer: Milestone Publisher: Black Bean Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

to meet their skill level and desires. This time around, the game sort of automatically does that all for you; the tweaking system has been replaced by three difficulty levels. There’s one on the arcade side, one on the superrealistic side, and a third somewhere in-between the two. It works out ok, but the result is a far steeper learning curve between the different settings. Players will not be able to wean themselves off of the various assists, as they could in the past. Another issue is wet weather riding. It’s not that the game is unforgiving here… it’s that it is too forgiving. Riding on wet tar is tricky, but aside from longer braking distances, SBK 2011 almost lets you get away with murder. The game, of course, has an extensive career mode. The player can create a rider (using limited creation tools) and work their way up through the various classes of motorcycle racing. It’s great fun, but players who went through the whole thing in the last release will realise that not much has changed. However, there is a great new mode in the form of the SBK Tour, which gives

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PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

81 69

Rio

For the Birds Fun mini-games for the whole family

t’s refreshing when developers take a movie property and steer well clear of the plot. This happens often enough these days, what with many movie games being prequels to the films that come out, or even dealing with unexplored sub-plots. But the game to support the release of the film Rio doesn’t do any of that… at least, not with regards to the plot. In fact, it only pays lip-service to the film in terms of locations and characters. Other than that, it might as well have been a standalone title. And that’s a good thing. See, instead of trying to get players to recreate the story of the film, or fill in plot holes using the same characters, the developers opted for something recognisable, but far more family friendly. The video game version of Rio is a collection of mini-games, rather than a retelling of film related stores. The player assumes the character of one of the birds in the film (if you haven’t seen it, it’s basically about a parrot who can’t fly trying to find his roots). The characters are beautifully recreated, complete with personalities and quirks. As this character, the player

by Walt Pretorius

then undertakes one of a whole bunch of mini-games, set in different locations from the film. Up to four players can participate in the game at a time, which is really the best way to play. But if there aren’t three other people around, a single player can also take on the mini-games, with the other three contestants taken up by AI characters. The AI is actually pretty good. Even though the player should easily win most of the challenges, there are times when the AI will give him a run for his money. Not many times, but they are there. The mini-games themselves are fairly original. There’s a fruit collecting musical chairs, snowball (and mudball) fights, races in which players need to dodge objects, games in which one player needs to dodge the missiles thrown by the other three, and so on. Initially, they are great fun, but as the game progresses, a feeling of repetition does tend to creep in. It’s not ruinous – even games that feel similar to others will have slightly different aspects to them, keeping them a little fresh. As an example, two different kinds of mudball fights can be played. In the one, the player has the ability to

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clear graphics will mean little confusion happens during the mini-games, which are all played on the same screen, rather than any kind of split-screen modes. In short, it’s a fun family title. It’s not revolutionary, and there is a fair bit of repetition to it. It’s not very hard, especially when playing against the AI. And it’s not really very long, either, aside from the ability to replay the various games. But what it is, is fun. It’s an enjoyable romp that is suited for either quick hits or more protracted play sessions, and players will doubtlessly crow about their victories in these fast-paced, fun mini games. And, as a side note, it’s gratifying that the developers only needed to lean on the film property to a smaller degree. That’s always a winner. So, if you’re looking for inoffensive, family friendly gaming (and if you enjoyed the film) this mini-game collection is a good option. g

AT A GLANCE: An uncomplicated, bright, enjoyable collection of mini-games for the whole family to enjoy together. Developer: Eurocom Publisher: THQ Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

clean himself up using water geysers that occasionally erupt (with one mud geyser thrown in for good measure) while in the other, cleaning up won’t be an option. It’s not a massive difference, but it does make for a different dynamic between the two mini-games. What sets it apart from the other mini-game collections out there is its undeniable charm. Sure, the game is certainly aimed at younger players, but the zany characters and often amusing mini-games (like the peggle style game in which players need to try hit an opponent by bouncing watermelons down a maze-bank of spoonbill cages) will please kids of all ages. It’s not a difficult game at all, but the lively mini-games and even livelier settings are extremely fun and amusing. Whether it’s a race to dodge evil marmosets or a heated “pass the bomb” style game, Rio manages to amuse and entertain. The general ease with which the games themselves are played means that the game really can have a wide audience, and parents will easily be able to play along with their kids (because let’s not kid ourselves, they are often much better at games than we are.) The crisp,

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

70 71

Edna & Harvey:The Breakout

Adventure Madness An adventure game so old-school it’ll drive you crazy.

By James Francis

young lady wakes up in a padded cell with no memory, a cold hospital garment and one stuffed rabbit toy. This asylum doesn’t seem like a very nice place to be (the guard at the door is certainly very rude) and Edna has to escape. In little time she will discover a deeper plot involving murder, the framing of her father and why she is continuously incarcerated at the loony bin. Well, one reason why she is incarcerated. The other is that she is drop-dead crazy. Seriously. She even talks to the stuffed rabbit toy. It talks back. Its name is Harvey and together they are going to blow this joint. Edna & Harvey is a quirky, challenging, slightly flawed but absolutely blue-blooded adventure game. It doesn’t straddle any genres or incorporate elements of adventure into a different mould. The system is old-school point-and-click, eschewing even the menu innovations introduced in games like Grim Fandango and Monkey Island 3. In fact, it is stubbornly so and if it wasn’t for a lot of charm and clever puzzles, this escape attempt would have fallen flat on its face.

Edna and Harvey interact with their world through a set of archaic text-buttons arranged beneath the play area. Standard commands to look at stuff, pick things up or interact otherwise with the world’s occupants and objects are all spelled out. There are no keyboard shortcuts or a right-click command switch for the mouse - in a way we should just be thankful the game didn’t regress to typing in your commands. But the duo makes up for this with the presentation and puzzles. Modern adventure games tend to plug puzzle holes by throwing around a lot of flash and style. Edna & Harvey does that anyway, yet the puzzles remain lateral, tough and elaborate. This is the kind of adventure game where solutions are hidden everywhere: trying all your objects, talking to all the characters, exhausting dialogue trees and exploring every inch of a screen in case you missed something. It’s the kind of adventure game that would fit in comfortably with the fare of the 90s, though its production value is clearly a bit below the juggernauts of the past. Yet what is lost in production budget is made up for with

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to translation issues from the game’s original German script. The English voice cast do a good job nonetheless, but expect to have a moment or two of “Huh?” The story also takes a few strange twists and turns, nearing the end with a distinctly darker and more sombre tone than what it started with. But the fun lies in cracking the challenging puzzles, so a few stumbles in the tale aren’t that critical. Throughout the experience Edna and her bunny remain endearing, though the assortment of crazy people she meets can become a tad much. Still, rather more than less - after so many adventure games that skimp on the good stuff, Edna & Harvey opted for overkill. It’s long overdue. Local copies of Edna & Harvey are stylish collectors editions, with the extras coming to a soundtrack CD and a glossy A2 poster featuring the cast. Those aren’t likely to sway a buyer’s opinion - the simple question to ask before purchase is: am I crazy about adventure games? If you like Edna & Harvey, you are. g

AT A GLANCE: A solid old-school adventure game that lacks a bit of polish, but does a great job anyway. Developer: Daedalic Publisher: Lace Mamba Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

passion and good design. The game mixes things up every now and then by stepping into the mid of Harvey during sequences that try and revive memories in Edna’s brain. It also has lots of locations to explore and characters to engage with. If anything it’s all a bit too much - Edna & Harvey is challenging, demanding some patient and out-ofthe-box contemplation of the problems. Once that fails you resort to interacting random objects with everything you can, sometimes followed by the stages of helpnessless, rage, indignation and finally defeat. Then you figure out you’re supposed to use the book as a doorstop. Often sequences can punish you - such as being returned to your padded cell - so you have to repeat the events until you figure out what to do right. Fortunately you cannot die or fail outright. It is very nice if you like a challenge - not so much if you are relatively new to the genre or prefer your games easily digestible. Edna & Harvey pulls no punches in this regard. The humour is definitely European and can wander into twisted moments, but the experience doesn’t degenerate into something crude. It wobbles from time to time due

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

82 73

Sniper: Ghost Warrior

Long Range Tricky kill shots

n the video game industry, there are big names, and there are not-so-big names. Companies like Activision, Ubisoft and EA get most of the attention, and rightly so; they tend to produce more top titles than others. This makes it rather difficult for the smaller guys, who seem to subsist on the peripheries and pick up the crumbs. Then again, when an industry is this large, the crumbs are substantial. And then every now and then, one of the smaller names will score a win with a game that, while not necessarily brilliant, stands out in their catalogue as much better than their stock-in-trade. Sniper: Ghost Warrior is such a game for publishers City Interactive, who seem to be making a run at hitting the big time with some of the upcoming titles they have announced. Sniper: Ghost Warrior is, for all intents and purposes, a first-person shooter. But where other first person shooters have allowed sniping – a complete pain when you go up against a practiced camper – none have really made it their focus. In fact, when you look at a

by Walt Pretorius game like Sniper, you realise that many of the other firstperson shooters out there could be described (in terms of weapons) as rather unfocussed. Here’s why: in a “normal” first person shooter, you can pick up a sniper rifle and let some unfortunate pixelated soul have it from the other side of the map. It’s great fun, but the realism of the situation is, well, not very realistic. Anyone who knows a bit about weapons – and sniping – will be able to tell you that long distance shooting is a tricky affair. Bullets aren’t magical things that just keep going… they are subject to the same forces that everything else is, including gravity, wind, time and the rotation of the earth. Firing a bullet over a long distance brings these ideas and calculations into play – the longer the distance, the greater the effects. Sniper: Ghost Warrior goes a long way into exploring these ideas, purely because it is what one could call a specialised first-person shooter. It’s all about stealth, and getting clean kills over long distances. And to this end, the game focuses on some ideas that might be a little

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Aside from long distance shooting, the game will demand that the player infiltrates areas, using stealth preferably, and some ‘normal’ FPS combat will also be encountered. Sniper: Ghost Warrior is not a perfect game, but it certainly is fun and offers the player a different kind of challenge. A few missteps in the execution of the game could probably have been avoided, but even a moderately patient player will be able to get past the quibbles and enjoy what is ultimately a challenging and rather different gaming experience. The graphics are decent, the missions are long and generally complex, and the multiplayer is quite different to what one might expect from a firstperson shooter. On the whole, while Sniper: Ghost Warrior may not rock your world, it certainly provides a breath of freshness in the FPS genre… and will, at very least, show you how tricky sniping can really be. g

AT A GLANCE: Though not a perfect game, Sniper: Ghost Warrior introduces a new kind of challenge for FPS fans Developer: City Interactive Publisher: City Interactive Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

different, and takes an approach that is more pedantic and a bit more realistic than the average FPS title. For example, a player will need to make many long range shots in the game. It assists the player by indicating where a bullet will end up, factoring in gravity, wind speed and the like. Using the scope, the player will see a small mark, indicating that the bullet won’t go to the centre of the crosshairs, but rather to this amended aiming point. This degree of help is great, but the game doesn’t take other factors into account when assisting the player in this way. Target speed and bullet travel time are pretty much ignored, so the player will need to apply some smarts to the situation. This is both a blessing and a curse. Moving targets will need to be lead, with the player firing a round at where they believe the target is going to be when the bullet arrives, rather than at a guided position. It’s tricky, and makes those perfect shots frustratingly difficult to get right. Then again, in the real world, aiming calculations wouldn’t take target movement into account either, so it’s pretty realistic…

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

78 75

Nintendogs + Cats

Where are the Cats? It’s a dogs digital life...

here’re the cats, Reggie? Where’re the cats? It’s what was asked when the first Nintendogs came out and by George they put some cats in this version. The game has almost everything from the first version of Nintendogs and they have done some good work on improving it even more. A dog simulation must start with picking your favourite pet so make sure it’s a good choice because it’s a choice that will last a life time. This choice starts before you have even turned the console on because there are different versions of the game to whole purchase. The multiple versions - French Bulldog, Golden Retriever and Toy Poodle - limit extra breeds in the game, apart from the standard breeds found in all the versions. They can, however, be imported from meeting other people in StreetPass, but the chances of that in South Africa are very slim… so make the right choice from the start. When going to the kennel you’ll pick out your first dog of the colour and breed that you want. There are only

by Brian Murdoch dogs here, I thought that there were cats to? Well, the cats are more like an decoration than an actual pet, just like in real life. They don’t like to be confined, sleep most of the day away and only come to you when it’s in their time schedule and current mood swing. You can’t take your cat for a walk in real life so why would it be expected in the game? There are also no competitions for the cats so they can’t earn money to buy food, toys and more pets… so starting with a cat would end the game very quickly. On that point if the wrong choices are made in the beginning of the game the whole game would need to be reset to start again. This does feel a little like putting a pet “down” so be careful how emotionally attached the children get to them, but I promise you that no pets were harmed in the making of this game. Walking the dogs couldn’t be easier; most of the time there is no control need for the walk. The owner is given such little control over the pet that when we somehow get

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you still have them. If not then you can always print your own as Nintendo have release a PDF for those that did not get them or lost them. The lure coursing is not as easy as it looks. Players must reel in a lure at just the right pace to keep the dog running but not let it catch it. The courses also get harder than just a straight line and including other dogs in the race can cause collisions. Each competition has its levels of difficulty and winning the Nintendogs Cup level will give your dog access to some special premium goodies. When going out there is a wide range of stores to go to. There are those essential basic supply shops and then there are the other more interesting stores. The game is once again oodles of fun and cuteness for all types of dog and cat lovers. The only thing missing from the game would be cleaning up and the actual cost of pets but even these are present in a virtual way. It’s fun for almost everyone. g

AT A GLANCE: An improvement on the original Nintendogs with some cats as accessories. A full 3D title at its best. Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Distributor: Core Group

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

3DS Platforms

control by tugging at the lead we are supposed to give the dog a treat biscuit to tell them that it’s good to listen to us. On the walk there are other people walking their dogs and some that are met via StreetPass. The pedometer can also be used for walks. If you’re keeping your 3DS on you during the day to measure those steps just simply take your dog for a pedometer walk, close the lid and when you open it there is a reward waiting. The reward is related to the number of steps you have taken and your dog will be very grateful for the walk. There is no worry about the battery life of the 3DS because the game seems to go into a power saving mode equal to that of sleep mode. I know this does not happen with other games but Nintendogs + Cats got that right. The competitions are great and the only real way to make money. Disc throwing, Lure Coursing and the Obedience Trail can all earn the player a bit of cash. The obedience trail will require your AR cards so make sure

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

81 77

National Geographic Challenge

Brainy

Quizzes and puzzles for clever people

hile many people – particularly parents – seem to believe that video games have no real benefit, us gamers know differently. We know that they help us relax and work out frustrations. We know that they help improve problem solving skills and eye hand co-ordination. And we know that, every now and then, a game comes along that will teach us a thing or two. Sometimes, those games can teach us a lot. National Geographic Challenge tries to enter that didactic market and, in many ways, it does. However, it is the kind of game that would require further research to be done (outside of the game) for its true educational usefulness to be best displayed. But it does plant seeds, which is a good thing. National Geographic Challenge is a combination of quiz and puzzle. Literally. There are sections of the game based on general knowledge quizzes, while others rely on puzzling skill. They come in the form of single player challenges and multiplayer contests, although it is quite clear that the game is geared towards the multiplayer more than single player experiences… purely because

by Walt Pretorius

there is more to do with more than one player. All of the games have categories. These are generally divided into continents, so the player can challenge themselves according to which areas they know best – or worst. While the categories are geographical, the questions in the quizzes range through a wide variety of topics, from nature to literature. There are two difficulty settings, which creates a bit of a disparity; the easy ones are extremely easy, but the hard ones are really, really tough at times. The quizzes will also use multimedia aspects to challenge the players, not just questions and answers. The puzzles are all visual, and can be tackled in the form of jigsaw puzzles, block puzzles or sliders. One really cool aspect is that each time the player hits a certain level of completion with the puzzle, the picture they are recreating will move. Once completed, the puzzles unlock the full videos on which they are based. Both the puzzles and the quizzes can be taken on as multiplayer games, with speed and accuracy being prime in both categories. There will likely be a number of rivalries that come up thanks to these competitions, with a display

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which is rather sad. As said before, it may inspire players to go out and learn more about the topics covered, but this could have been provided within the game itself. With most of the game being text based, and a fair amount of general knowledge required, it doesn’t really come down to being a family game either. Even the easy question categories will be out of the reach of most prehigh school kids (and even some post-university adults.) All in all, it’s a fun title, and a great way to show off how smart you are (almost like an expanded version of trivial pursuit.) How long you’ll be playing it is anyone’s guess. In addition to that, the developers could have put much more of an educational spin on the game (even adults can learn things) so that seems to be a bit of a wasted opportunity. But, as far as party games go, at least it’s a bit more cerebral than the average title, and it will get the old grey cells firing almost every time you play, whether on your own or in a group. g

AT A GLANCE: Although they could have exploited the education angle a bit more, it’s an enjoyable, competitive title for groups of players. Developer: Gusto Games Publisher: Black Bean Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

of speed and knowledge giving winning players bragging rights. There are a huge number of questions within the game, but the puzzles are a little limited. Each type of puzzle has different pictures and, obviously, different continent categories have separate images, but players will likely get through the puzzles before too long. Then it’s just a matter of improving times, but that can only be done so often before the puzzles get boring. By way of achievements, the game unlocks videos and other content for the player to experience. These are quite cool, but there is something that keeps the whole affair from being truly educational… additional information. It would have been really cool if the game elaborated on some of the information it gives. The videos that are unlocked are just that – silent moving images. The answers to some questions would have been nice to find out more about, perhaps in some kind of short text entries or the like. When you come right down to it, this is a highly competitive game that relies purely on speed, accuracy and knowledge. It doesn’t give any knowledge back,

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

74 79

Ship Simulator Extremes

Ship Ahoy! Feel the spray on your face

here is a huge market for simulator games, and in recent years the games have really expanded beyond the simple Sim City-type titles to more complex games. There is probably a title for any possible vocation as players can vicariously live into someone else’s shoes. But for Paradox Interactive’s latest effort into simulation titles, players will have to literally jump into the deep end – and it doesn’t matter if they are wet behind the ears. Ship Simulator was released a while back, but the latest upgrade – Extremes – takes the player on many journeys across the wide open ocean. Ok, well not really, but there is heck of a lot to do. If one does fancy a cruise to the Caribbean that can be organised, but don’t expect a lazy vacation, as steering a massive cruise liner is no joke – but we’ll get to that in a while. For starters, the game is distributed via Steam or on a retail disc, but a sizable patch will need to be

by Charlie Fripp downloaded either way. It’s a bit of a hassle if you don’t have uncapped internet, but it’s worth it. The specifications are rather resource intensive, but that is with good cause. The visuals are stunning and the water physics are enough to make a player want to jump in for a swim. The smallest of details have been added to cockpit views and the ship, or boats if you prefer, have all be replicated to near perfection. In terms of control, the ships are fairly easy to manoeuvre out to the ocean, but it just needs to be kept in mind that they don’t exactly turn on a dime – especially the large tankers or cruise liners. A helpful tutorial can also be loaded which will thoroughly explain the keys, but luckily there are two difficulty settings when it comes to controls. It’s hard to imagine, but the title does take on a bit of a campaign mode, as there are several objectives that players can try to reach. In the Green Peace campaign, players will be generally tasked with saving the environment, like stopping a tanker from dumping oil or

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Nature. The game has excellently recreated a realistic water and weather system, which can change a mission’s status very quickly. Sail out at the wrong time of year, and gale force winds might trap you on the high seas. Ship Simulator Extremes is probably one of only a few games that can boast about its huge variety of vessels. Almost every ship imaginable can be selected, like Coast Guard cutters, large tankers, tugboats, yachts and even inland cargo vessels. The game has been really well designed and it will be a treat for any shipping or sailing fanatic. As mentioned, the graphics are stunning and the controls are fairly easy to grasp. But if campaigning isn’t the flavour of the day, players can also set sail in a free roam mode, where it will only be them and the open ocean. The only drawback to the title is that most of the missions are almost real-time, so it can take a rather long time to find and complete an objective. There is an option to speed up time, but where is the fun in that? g

AT A GLANCE: With stunning detail, the game will be a treat for any ship or vessel fanatic. Developer: VStep Publisher: Paradox Interactive Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

protesting against whaling. These entire missions are done aboard official Green Peace vessels like the Esperanza and Rainbow Warrior. Tourist Tales is a little self-explanatory, as players will take charge of the massive Ocean Star cruise ship and steer tourists to several tropical destinations. But it’s not all sun and surf, as a couple of things will go wrong. The last campaign selection comes in the form of Core Campaign, and these missions entail general duties when working in a harbour. The missions will range from protecting the coast with a coast guard vessel, putting out fires on board ships and towing larger craft out to sea. All of the mentioned campaigns take place in real harbours around the world, and the actual locations have been faithfully recreated. Players can embark on massive adventures while leaving from ports in Sydney, San Francisco and pretty much anywhere as long as they have a port – players can even set sail for the Arctic. But with beautiful locations come the hazards of Mother

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

81 81

Pucca Power Up

Mwah!

On a mission to get the boy…

weapon and a heart shaped bow and arrow is her ranged weapon. Throughout the stages of the game there are hearts and gingerbread-men biscuits to collect. The hearts work like coins in Mario where after 100 hearts are collected another life is earned. The gingerbread-men are a currency in the game. They are used to unlock extra stages in each level, extend the health bar and weapons hold, and even to buy the mini games and videos to play and watch again. There are only three gingerbread-men in each stage; sometime they are in plain sight and hard to avoid but most times they are on the path not generally taken… so exploring all of the stage is required to collect them all. The game has a soft heart and is great for young and old players alike. Fans of the franchise will love it with its funny clips in-between levels and even funnier mini games. g

AT A GLANCE: Based on the popular character, Pucca Power Up is all about platforming fun. Developer: TBA Publisher: Rising Star Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+ 82

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

DS Platforms

ucca, the 10 year old niece of three Chinese noodle house owners, has become very famous. Pucca has become a popular franchise in anime, movies, books, toys and now video games. She first made her video game appearance on Wii Ware downloads in Pucca Kisses Game and is now boxed in Pucca Powered Up. This title does her name proud and it quite a challenge in the later stages. Pucca is in love with a 12 year old ninja and is always on the run to get kisses from him. As a 12 year old boy you can understand his feeling about girls and he is always running away. This running is done through the stages of a platform game. Pucca has a range of weapons for each of the characters at the player’s disposal. My personal favourite is when Pucca herself beats the other ninja with a metal bag. This is her melee

by Brian Murdoch

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Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

DeFenDin De Penguin

Tower Up! Fighting for the fish

and need to be worked out, like how many animals can get through before you fail? Each town has ten levels but the towers built through the levels are kept on the map. This means that if bad placement in done in the beginning then it will lead to losing in the end. Some placements are obvious, like placing an ice tower in circle roads so that all the animals around the ice tower are affected by the burst of freezing energy that is shot from the tower. The animals are divided into three main categories. Some are damaged more by blunt ice and other by sharp icicles… then there are the fast foxes that will be damaged normally by both but are so fast that the tower don’t get enough shots at them. This adds the right amount of complexity to pull the game off. It’s highly addictive and will keep tower defence lovers (even those in denial) entertained for a long time. g

AT A GLANCE: Tower Defence game for the Wii, this is the story of Little Blue and his fight to protect the fish from the other animals. Developer: TBA Publisher: Crave Entertainment Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

A gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Wii Platforms

eFenDin De Penguin is the only tower defence that I have played on the Wii, there are a few available on the Wii Ware but I’m one who likes boxes. All Tower Defence games bring their enjoyment and addiction. Will the story of a Penguin travelling from town to town be an inspiring tale to keep the players attention? Little Blue is a penguin in a rush, it’s a good thing that among collecting items, fishing and supporting towers that he does not need to build them all at the same time. Penguins are the superior animals in this story and they have to defend their town and their fish storage from the other animals coming through and stealing them. Little Blue and the Professor’s interesting towers need to be constructed around the paths through the town to defeat the animals coming through. The game is aimed for children under the age of 12 but it will be a great challenge for them. Some things are unclear

by Brian Murdoch

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

79 83

Sushi Academy

Raw Deal?

Nope, nothing fishy here, folks…

I have a great interest in sushi (more than just eating it) and preparing it is sometimes more work than just cooking it. If you have ever prepared sushi or are going to then the game actually will help you. The recipes taught are accurate and the technics are almost right. I looked up some of the recipes and they are prepared in the game in the same way and order as in real sushi restaurants. There are even a few interesting facts to broaden your knowledge of sushi in the game. The techniques are almost right because there needs to be some random factor to keep the player engaged and apply a little pressure to the time limit. The Japanese are precise with their food and if you order from the picture in a menu, it will look exactly like the picture… right down to counting the number of pineapple pieces. The same perfection is the real fun in the game and obtaining a perfect score in an exam can be quite rewarding.. g

AT A GLANCE: Learn sushi creation and tradition while having fun. Developer: TBA Publisher: City Interactive Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ 84

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

DS Platforms

omeone asked me the other day if there were any new types of games out, and not just different variations of the same type. Cooking Mana did a good job of bringing out a new ‘cook while you learn and play’ style game. This title is also placed in the lifestyle genre and sushi obviously needs to be in your lifestyle to be interested in this game. Playing as a sushi trainee, we are given the opportunity to study with one of the greatest sushi chefs of all time, the AI. The game is about preparing sushi - to do this training will be required. The player will unlock more recipes as each one is prepared correctly. Six recipes are required for each exam to eventually graduate from the school with the title of Master. While preparing sushi the ingredients run out, and the student will need to get themselves into the kitchen to make more ingredients. I thought I was in the kitchen making sushi but apparently it is a different area.

by Brian Murdoch

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

The Lost Inca Prophecy

Ancient Puzzles And a bit of hidden object finding, too…

styles, and two block shapes. This freedom is good, because you will spend a lot of time puzzling. In fact, the game is a little too puzzle heavy, and the hidden object games are a bit too simple. Still, for younger players, this is a good option. It is undemanding in terms of system resources, and provides a decent distraction for any player. It is not the hottest in terms of graphics or sound, but the puzzling is fairly fun, even though long period of play result in it getting stale. Overall, this isn’t the best hidden object game around, but the puzzling aspect is good fun. g

AT A GLANCE: A bit of hidden object finding, and a lot of puzzling. This game is good fun in short bursts. Developer: Seppia Interactive Publisher: Avanquest Distributor: Apex Interctive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

ombining puzzling and hidden object searching is being done more and more these days, to fairly good effect. That’s exactly what happens in The Lost Inca Prophecy. However, it’s not the standard puzzling fare that one might expect in a game that hidden object elements. Rather, the developers opted to use a tile matching system, similar to games like Tetris and Bejewelled. The player basically has to find a number of objects, before entering into a protracted puzzling phase. In this phase, the player can select one of three puzzle

by Walt Pretorius

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

58 85

Giving tar a new lease on life

he great thing about simulator games are that they can literally span any activity or profession, and while most are interesting to say the least, you do get a couple of duds every now and again. There are a few things as boring as watching paint dry, but in the case of Road Construction Simulator: Motorways and Highways, it’s a question of watching the tar dry. Well, players won’t really have to check up on the tar, but the act of laying it is enough torture. In all fairness, the game works well in what it was designed for and there aren’t really any flaws, but the problem comes in with the tedious action of creating and maintaining a new stretch of road. Nothing is left to AI, and the player will have to do most of the terribly boring and time-consuming things. Granted, it is part of being a construction worker, but

by Charlie Fripp setting out traffic cones one-by-one on a stretch of road about 300m long can cause some strain. But, if players are into that kind of thing, they will be happily surprised with the scope of the title. Nothing is left unturned as players will get to operate jackhammers, steam rollers, heavy duty diggers and even the concrete road skimmer. The graphics aren’t award-winning, but small touches here and there make it believable, and the controls are really simple. Operating the digger is a bit of a challenge at first, but it can quickly be mastered. Players who enjoy construction games will find it fun – if not entertaining – but be ready for a long game as it can take up to 30 minutes just to hammer away at four squares of old tar. g

AT A GLANCE: Players who enjoy construction games will find it fun, but it can become a bit boring. Developer: Randomedia Publisher: Excalibur Publishing Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ 86

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

Road Construction Simulator: Motorways

Filling Potholes?

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Puzzle Bobble Universe

Bubble Bobble Brothers’ Bubbles Lost in Space

by Brian Murdoch

Even though the keys are not required to finish the stage they are very necessary to beat the bosses at the end. The bosses just move around and later jump to dodge the bomb bubbles that you send. This is required in a time limit and becomes impossible in the later stages without the rapid fire that is obtained from freeing the captured Bob. The tools and effects of special bubbles change what would be a standard game into something more interesting to play. The puzzle mode gives the player abilities as they fill up their extra bar to the right of the screen. There are three levels and the third power laser blasts, in a limited arch, all the bubbles in the path. It comes in very handy when the bubbles come close to the line. There are no multiplayer or other 3DS features, so it could have been a standard DS game. A good time killer but not for a long. g

AT A GLANCE: There are no multiplayer or other 3DS features, so it could have been a standard DS game. A good time killer but not for a long. Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Distributor: Megarom Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ 88

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

3DS Platforms

he bubble game is a colour matching game and three of the same bubbles grouped together pops them. Players shoot bubbles of the colour that is left in the stage in a direction, bouncing off the walls to impact and possibly pop other bubbles. There are two types of modes: puzzle and the challenge modes. Puzzle is the story mode with eight worlds and ten levels (plus a bonus level) in each. The last level is the boss and an optional challenge because even if not defeated the level is still completed. There is no pause between levels and the worlds are supposed to take one sitting. The puzzle worlds are not much to finish and add an interesting twist to the standard play. Each planet has a different coloured Bob captured and a number of keys are needed to free him. The keys are only obtained when another bubble is popped next to it. This makes the stages a little harder to complete.

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok

Utopia

It’s not always what it seems

The game is primarily based around various puzzles, ranging from easy to well-thought-out, but one thing that makes the game different is that the player can explore at their own pace. There is really no wrong way to do things, and the massive building is open for exploration at any time. The puzzles can be completed in any order and can also be retried many times, with no penalties for getting it wrong. There has been better puzzle- and thriller games out before, but Baron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok will serve as entertaining distraction, if not a bit on the scary side, but it’s worth a look if players are on a budget. The graphics are decent enough to convey their message, but the most eerie thing about the title is the full creepy musical score which provides for a brilliant backdrop and aides in the telling of the mysteries. g

AT A GLANCE: Players on a budget will find the mysteries and thrills very entertaining. Developer: Wax Lyrical Publisher: Iceberg Interactive Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

aron Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok is a bit of a strange game, for a number of reasons. It’s not every day that we see a physiological thriller for the PC, and it’s ever more unheard of to develop a game that doesn’t really follow any kind of formula. The plot revolves around an old building called The Utopia, which was built by the Baron many years ago. Before completion, the building was declared unsafe and was abandoned, leaving only a shell and a couple of completed room from Wittard’s vision of a city within a city. The player portrays the role of a photographer who has been tasked to take pictures of the derelict building, but not everything goes according to plan. It will soon become apparent that there are many hidden secrets, all with a scary and sinister twist.

by Charlie Fripp

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

78 89

Railworks 2 Train Simulator

Toot Toot! Having a rail of a time

feeling of actually being in the train’s cabin. The title spans five real word and three fictitious routes, all which take place in northern Europe, especially Germany and Holland, all with stunning rail-side imagery. Players can either choose to complete missions by train or by route, while some routes have a free play element. The missions are also incredibly varied, ranging from very easy all the way through to very hard. There is actually only a slight difference in the difficulty curve, as the hard missions will often involve driving in snow or participating in other hazards. The game is activated through Steam, so players should make ready for a hefty download once they get the game running. But, it’s really worth the effort if players are into trains and simulators, as the game will provide hours of fun and excitement. g

AT A GLANCE: The title is well designed and works beautifully, so for train nuts it will be a treat. Developer: RailSimulator Publisher: RailSimulator Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ 90

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

ew things are as great as hitting the open road and just going wherever the wind blows. Railworks 2 Train Simulator couldn’t be further from the truth, but it does illicit the same feeling of going wherever the rail dictates. As one might have guessed, the title puts players into the driving seat of a number of modern and old trains, and tasks them with achieving the given goals. The game features a great number of trains, ranging from steam locomotives, to diesel and the much faster electric ones. As far as the realism goes, that is entirely up to the player, as different control settings dictate the level of driving difficulty, as well as other settings in the menu. The graphics and sounds are superb, with only a few glitches here and there, but none the less create the

by Charlie Fripp

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

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Fun to read and invaluable in keeping up with technology & trends, Gladget Magazine is focused on gadgets, tech-toys & hardware, offering readers access, through free subscription, to reviews, features & tons of interesting information every month.

Time to set things straight

ollowing on from the highly-entertaining first instalment of Enlightenus, the sequel has taken the first game’s ideas and just made them a bit better. The general feel and gameplay has stayed the same throughout both games, something which returning players will appreciate. In this hidden-object game, gamers take on the role of a journalist who is tasked with tracking down scattered fragments of time. The events were brought on by an experiment of the Ageless Clock that went wrong, and now it started to unravel time itself. Playing through various parts of history such as ancient Egypt, medieval England and a Mayan jungle, players are tasked with matching the given objects to the canvas. It not really a hidden object, as the object’s pair needs to be found, instead of the object itself. But that provides for a highly-addictive game which

by Charlie Fripp will provide hours of fun. It’s really one of those games where you only intend to play for an hour but eventually stay for three. It’s also great for younger players, as it will teach them to pay attention to detail and to concentrate on smaller things. The graphics haven’t changed a great deal since the first game, but then again, the graphical quality is perfectly suited to its purpose. Although, at times the lack of high graphical quality could cause a player to overlook certain areas or objects. In general, it’s a great title to keep young and old busy for a long time. There aren’t many stages to choose from, but completing each one should take enough time to justify the purchase. Also, the Collector’s Edition comes shipped with a free bonus hidden-object game, integrated strategy guide, bonus content and a musical soundtrack. g

AT A GLANCE: Continuing with a proven system, the sequel is great fun and players will immediately find it familiar. Developer: Big Fish Games Publisher: Focus Multimedia Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+ 92

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

Enlightenus 2:The Timeless Tower

Ageless Antics

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

House MD

House in the House

A game in need of resuscitation…

the stuff that the good doctor and his team usually does – guessing at diagnoses, taking samples, running tests and the like. These all take the form of rather simple minigames. If you’re not expecting too much, you may well enjoy the title, which comes complete with House’s acerbic wit (albeit in the form of text, rather that Laurie’s sublime delivery.) It’s fun while it lasts, but it isn’t the most satisfying title around… and the challenge level is extremely low. The fact that it is based on a great TV series doesn’t automatically mean it will be a great game. g

AT A GLANCE: It’s too easy and far too uncomplicated – but it does have a moment or two of fun. Developer: Glyphic Publisher: Focus Essential Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

f, like me, you felt your heart sink when hearing that Hugh Laurie is planning to retire from his role as the prickly Dr Gregory House after the eighth season of the wildly popular show, you may well want to extend your experience by picking up the video game dedicated to the show. But you need to beware… you may expect far more than the game delivers. If you are willing to play a game that is really simple, without much in the way of animated graphics and totally devoid of speech, go right ahead. Just be aware of it. This game will allow players to solve cases doing all

by Walt Pretorius

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

45 93

Mystery Of Cleopatra

Back in Time Solving murders is never this easy

games – the player is given a number of objects at the bottom of the screen and those need to be matched, or found, in the scenario given. As with many hidden-object games, the graphics aren’t fantastic, but they serve their purpose wonderfully, although some objects might be obscured from view by poor design and it will take a keen eye and some imagination to spot them. Controls are taken care of by a very simple point-andclick system which can easily be handled by younger players. Some youngsters might find some of the additional puzzles a bit daunting, but luckily those can be skipped if the need arises. Transporting players through beautifully sculpted levels with an intriguing story, the game is well-suited for anybody with a keen eye and a couple of hours to kill. g

AT A GLANCE: For players with a keen eye and an interest in ancient Egypt, this game will entertain for hours. Developer: Merscom Games Publisher: GSP Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+ 94

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

leopatra and the mysteries of ancient Egypt have gripped many generations for a very long time. There is still so much that archaeologists don’t know, and as years go by it is becoming harder to piece together the events of a time forgotten. But luckily Merscom Games released a cute hiddenobject game in conjunction with National Geographic that will explore the mysteries of ancient Egypt while solving some puzzles in the process. The game tasks the player with investigating the murder of a Roman soldier who broke into the queen’s palace in Alexandria. As the player gathers clues, a rich and exciting plot will unravel – enough to keep the player busy for hours. In terms of gameplay, Mystery of Cleopatra opted to stick to the traditional way of completing hidden object

by Charlie Fripp

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS 3DS

Score

gamecca review • issue 24 • June 2011

logolink Essential surfing made easy

become a fan!

Flashtastic

Retro Limbo Nostalgia in a browser window.

By James Francis

he browser your gran’s Pentium 1 runs uses more system resources than a game made fifteen years ago. It probably uses more than what the entire NES collection would need. So technically there is little problem in making a classic game live again in your browser. The walls are often more puritanical and legal. Fans can be

pedantic - and even the developers would want to get as close to the original experience as possible. Likewise publishers are happy to pounce on free indie projects who dare breach their intellectual property. That’s why there are so few Flash remakes and why most are terrible. But a few have survived the gauntlet of lawyers and nostalgia...

Contra http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/316074 It’s not strictly a Contra game, but more of a three-level compilation made by a Chinese fan. Sadly the thirdperson tunnel sections have been left out and it lacks Contra’s main selling point - two player support - but at least you can set you controls and scream at frustration at the hordes of enemies shooting at you. To be honest, it’s not all that good. But it has potential and shows what you can do if you don’t care about copyright lawyers sniffing around.

Quake (and co) http://www.freewebarcade.com/game/quake-flash/ id’s John Carmack made the source code for Quake and the Doom games freely available over the past few years, making it simple to port. A flash version of Doom surfaced first, quickly followed by Heretic and Hexen (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/470460). But Quake? Who thought Flash had the moxie to handle it? Thanks to the marvels of Flash’s advanced scripting engine, there it is - right in your browser. And to think that Flash plans to soon add support for hardware acceleration...

gamecca regular • issue 21 • March 2011

Commander Keen http://www.glenrhodes.com/flashkeen/ While it did not benefit from any free source code, this earliest of id games is a very faithful remake of the original platform game. With the protection of his football helmet and the firepower of his ray gun, Keen sets out to recover the pieces of his home-constructed space-ship from the various Martian cities after a bunch of pesky aliens spread it everywhere. It’s a hardcore platform experience, right down to restarting the level when you die. Oh, and Keen only has limited shots in his gun, so traversing Mars is not going to be easy. Thank god for floating lollipops. How did we ever manage to play these games?

Rick Dangerous http://rickdangerousflash.free.fr/ Ever heard of Rick Dangerous? You have? That puts you one up on this writer, who had to go and look it up. Created in the late 80s, it is one of the first games from Core, which would later become famous for creating Miss Croft and the Tomb Raider franchise. Maybe she based on Rick, himself based on a certain swashbuckling archaeologist who goes by the name of Jones. It even starts with Rick running away from a giant rolling stone.

Barbarian http://www.luxgames.net/barbarian/ Long before Street Fighter had us brawling and Mortal Kombat brought on the gore, Barbarian (also known as Death Sword) was a VS fighter where you had to use your giant barbarian and his big sword to pound some respect into another equally-bulky opponent. One move that stirred some controversy could decapitate an opponent with a single sweep, but often it involved hacking at the other guy until he fell over. The Flash port is pretty unforgiving, but it is nicely done and gives this classic a new graphical sheen.

gamecca regular • issue 21 • March 2011

Mobility

The Other Fruit iPad gaming is growing

by Charlie Fripp

ith the recently release of Apple’s iPad 2, a whole new generation of games have been reworked and redeveloped especially for the

portable device, taking mobile gaming to new heights. For this month, we’ll take a closer look at some of the titles compatible with, and especially developed, for the iPad 2.g

Say What You See This clever game is truly a mind-bender. Players are presented with a canvas filled with objects, people and oddities and it will be up to the player to name the requested items. In the Music Fest canvas, player will have to think of 50 bands represented through sharp clues (like “24 hours” written in green will be Green Day, and a man in winters clothing holding up a skull like in a theatre production will be Coldplay). It’s really great fun, and other canvases include Arcade Classics, US Drama Series and Scary Films.

Infinity Blade Not only is Infinity Blade available for the iPad 2, but the developers made a couple of changes as well. The action role-playing game has a better frame rate and the resolution has also been given a boost, and it’s also the first iOS game to make use of the Unreal 3 Engine. The medieval title will leave players ducking and slashing at huge enemies, which provides for an incredible experience.

gamecca regular • issue 21 • March 2011

Angry Birds HD The demented feathery friends are well-known on almost every mobile format, but Angry Birds HD has been specifically been redeveloped for the iPad 2’s bigger screen. With that, it becomes easier to aim the little critters and it just increases the general feeling of the game to a higher level. Even after all this time, it’s still a must-buy.

Casey’s Contraptions Rated as the second best game on Apple’s App Store, players are presented with a mechanical and physics challenges that need to be solved. Players that can remember The Incredible Machine will be right at home, but sadly the game lacks in complexity. Although the graphics are good enough, they tend to be a bit more orientated towards kids in the 12 – 15 years market.

Plants vs Zombies HD Just like Angry Birds HD, the defensive flora has been redeveloped for iPad’s bigger screen, giving the player a better view of the backyard brawls. It just makes selecting plants a bit easier, but the format has been kept the same, providing some of the most addictive fun on mobile devices.

gamecca regular • issue 21 • March 2011

Essential Classics

Grand Theft Auto 14 years of mayhem

by Walt Pretorius

ith Rockstar solidly in the news thanks to the release of the brilliant LA Noire, we thought it would be time to delve back and look at the roots of one of their other big names: Grand Theft Auto. The original game was very different to what modern gamers have come to expect from the franchise. Originally released in 1997 and developed by DMA Design Ltd (a company that would later become known as…? Anyone? Yes, that’s right, Rockstar North) Grand Theft Auto was a top down game that tasked the player with stealing cars. Hence the name, for those of you who were wondering what Nicco Bellic’s various criminal exploits had to do with the franchise’s title.

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By stealing cars, the player would be awarded points… the better the car, the more points awarded. Set in three main cities, the game was simple, yet addictive. But what was really awesome was something that has become almost expected these days; player freedom. The idea of free-roaming games was still pretty new in the late 90s, even if on a smaller scale like the one used here. But freedom there was; the player could steal cars, complete missions, run over pedestrians and just generally cause all kinds of trouble. Yes, right back at its roots, Grand Theft Auto was already controversial (although maybe not as controversial as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas). gamecca regular • issue 21 • March 2011

One might scoff at the idea of a mayhem filled top-down game these days, but when it was released, Grand Theft Auto made a rather big splash. The controls were accessible to everyone who had rudimentary skills with a PC (even though the game did get slapped with a 15+ age restriction in some territories, and a 18+ in others.) It even had sweet little features like the player being able to insert a music CD in the PC drive while playing – a random song from the disc would play the next time the player entered a car. The game even offered eight different playable characters – but this was pure window dressing, as the various choices had no impact on game play. gamecca regular • issue 21 • March 2011

It’s easy to forget where things started in the fast moving world of video gaming. But we believe it is important… just as important as seeing how far the hobby has come in a relatively short time. Just 14 years ago, we were fine with simplistic, top down games, and the surface of freedom in games was only just being scratched. It was with this game that one of the most legendary franchises – not to mention best-loved – was born. It’s an idea to try and find it… just to see what all the fuss was about, and where the franchise originated. It can be found on Steam as part of the Grand Theft Auto Classics collection. g

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Gigabyte G1 Sniper Gaming Motherboard

Attention! Military style? You bet!

by Walt Pretorius

he military theme that can be seen in the world of computer gaming is, to a degree, amusing. I guess it’s because of the prevalence of military-style games, particularly in the first-person shooter market. Whatever the cause, component manufacturers have bought into this, and military themes and images are fast supplanting the fantasy looks of packaging we saw a few years ago. One board in particular has taken this feel to a new extreme. Not only does the Gigabyte G1 Sniper mother board have packaging that looks like an ammo-box, complete with blurbs and descriptions that feel like they should be coming out of the mouth of a gunnery sergeant, but the board itself carries the theme right into your computer case. This goes beyond the green, black and gun-metal colour scheme that is employed for the various components that make up the board – some of the components themselves look like military hardware. Literally. There’s a rifle magazine on the board, complete with

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a bullet poking out of it. There’s a red dot scope. And there’s a pistol slide and barrel. These three odd additions to the board’s design really go a long way to reinforcing the military feel. And they’re a little cheesy, to be honest. All three form part of the G1 Sniper’s extreme cooling system. The fact that the box clearly states that these parts cannot be assembled as a weapon is either a good laugh, or a sad indicator of the world we live in. ‘Weapon parts’ aside, the G1 Sniper offers extremely good performance for those who want to put together a specialised gaming rig. Four systems come into the picture to make sure this is the case. The first is the cooling system, as described above. Using a new heat pipe design, in conjunction with five strategically placed smart fan connectors, the board dissipates heat rather effectively. The second system comes in the form of support for up to three graphics cards, using either SLI or Crossfire technology. This can, naturally, lead to higher heat levels, so the user will want to make sure they combine their g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

system with a good, cool case. Third is sound. With integrated Soundblaster X-Fi chips and a specialised front side headphone amplifier mean that the sound performance from the on-board sources is excellent. This is supported by EAX AHD 5.0 technology, and the overall audio quality is superb. The fourth system is speed… but not in the way that you might imagine. This board uses a unique Bigfoot Networks Killer E2100 platform, which has 1GD of dedicated DDR RAM to improve networking performance. This results in little to no lag from this end of the network, and helps the player achieve smoother performance – for better gaming, of course. Sporting the Intel X58 chipset, this board is a serious contender for top performance. It’s not quite as extreme as some of the boards we’ve seen from Gigabyte before, but it certainly acts as a more-than-capable backbone for a very good gaming rig. Naturally, the other components will make a difference too, but as a tarting point, the G1 Sniper is a superb choice. g g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

AT A GLANCE: PROS:

• Excellent performance • Runs cool • Added extras

CONS:

• A bit over the top with the military theme

Manufacturer: Gigabyte Distributor: Rectron Online: www.rectron.co.za RRP: R5999

TECH SPECS: • Intel X58 chipset • Multiple GPU support • On-board SB X-Fi sound • USB 3.0 • SATA 3.0 • 5 smart fan connectors

Score

Despite going overboard on the whole military thing, this is an extremely capable gaming board.

90 103

Western Digital WD TV Live Hub

Entertainment A media player of note!

by Alex Scanlon

aving a decent media player these days is becoming something of an essential for entertainment fans. Whether it’s for movies, music or static images, a connection between your PC and your entertainment system – other than a multimedia home entertainment PC – is an awesome idea. And Western Digital have the perfect offering for those that want such a device. What makes the WD TV Live Hub such a fantastic device is principally the fact that it features a generous internal storage facility. The model we tried out featured 1 TB of space – enough for 120 feature films, or a quarter of a million songs (depending on file types, encoding and all that stuff, of course.) What this means is that you will be able to view media from your PC on your home entertainment system without the need to have the media player plugged into a network – it’s like having an external hard-drive that also plays media, in essence.

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It gets better. The device plays eight different types of movie files, including AVI and WMV formats; understand five image file formats; and can make use of around 13 different sound files. It also read playlist and subtitle files. The small, sturdy box connects to a network via a LAN cable, and can also be connected to a PC via a USB to USB cable. Any USB drive inserted in the unit will be synched, with the unit copying off any required media files in a flash, if you’ll excuse the pun. Connecting it to a computer network means that it will be recognised as an external drive, allowing the user to arrange files via a PC. Or, if they like, they can use the device’s built-in, multifunctional menus to do the same (and a whole bunch more.) Connections to the entertainment system are either via component cable or, for ultimate ease, HDMI cable. The unit supports Dolby Digital Plus and DTS 2.0, which means that sound quality will be as good as the source files it comes from – pretty much the same as the image quality the unit delivers. g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

The unit comes with a full function remote control, and users can tweak settings to their heart’s content, customising their experience the way they like it. This particular unit derives a ‘well-done’ to its creators. It is a sensible and effective media player. In our many hours of testing, we ran into one small issue, but we think that had to do with a file that was nasty to begin with. For the rest of the time, the WD TV Live Hub performed admirably, delivering excellent performance over a wide variety of uses and file types. The device also supports internet streaming services, for those that have it hooked up to their PC network on a permanent basis. While we don’t have the luxury of all those services here just yet, it looks like the future will make the need for this kind of device even more urgent – if you love your entertainment, that is. If you are in the market for a good, versatile and above all handy media player, this is an excellent bet – the built in storage, excellent quality and extreme ease of set-up and use makes it a winner in every entertainment situation. g g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

AT A GLANCE: PROS:

• Built-in storage • Multiple file formats • Portable

CONS:

• Unforgiving on bad files

Manufacturer: Western Digital Distributor: Pinnacle Africa Online: www.pinnacle.co.za RRP: R2099

Versatile, handy, easy to use and great quality – and with a generous built-in storage capacity. A real winner.

TECH SPECS:

• Multiple file formats • 1 TB internal storage • HDMI out • DTS 2.0 • Live streaming • Customisable

Score

98 105

Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti Graphics Card

The Competition

A good contender in the hotly contested graphics market

t’s starting to get tricky to buy a graphics card these days. Every single one seems to claim an increase in performance over ‘standard’ cards using the same chipset… leaving one to wonder where all these standard cards are. Still, it’s good to know that the various manufacturers are in stiff competition with each other, because that means that the end-user is spoiled for choice, and is generally able to get more bang for their buck than would be expected in a less competitive environment. Good going, guys – keep the fight churning! Gigabyte are a popular brand here in South Africa, and with good reason. While their devices perform at least as well as other cards from well-known competitors, they tend to come in at a bit of a better price. That’s a great idea here, because we South Africans often like to watch our pennies when making big purchases like this. The Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti uses the Nvidia 560 chipset. We’ve seen good things so far from cards sporting the 500 series chips, and this one is no different. The 560

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by Walt Pretorius

may not be the biggest chip in the Nvidia arsenal, but it certainly shows a performance that is nothing to sniff at. But it’s not the chip that makes the difference when it comes to selecting a specific brand of card is a particular ‘weight-class’. Rather, things come down to the added extras that the manufacturers put into their particular brand, and these come down to components and supporting software. Gigabyte generally make some good choices in these fields, although often a lot of the manufacturers will use similar components. Tricky, see? Gigabyte’s GTX 560 Ti makes use of carefully selected GPU chips, in what Gigabyte themselves describe as the world’s number one cherry-picking process. They put the chips through a series of paces, in other words, in an attempt to ensure the best quality components. Further, they make use of Japanese solid capacitors, ferrite core metal chokes and other bits and pieces that offer the best performance at the lowest resistance. What that means, essentially, is less heat, less noise and more speed. In terms of cooling, Gigabyte have made use of their g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

inclined fan system, as well as inclined fins and copper heat pipes. From our measurements, while not the coolest card we have ever seen, this baby stays well within decent operating temperatures, even under the strain of overclocking. Speaking of which, this card is geared towards tweaking for better performance. Aside from components picked to handle the extra strain, it is supported by Gigabyte’s simple-to-use, very effective OC Guru software, which allows for a wide variety of tweaks to be performed with relative ease. You can squeeze quite a lot of extra juice out of this one, if you’re so inclined. The Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti comes with 1GB of GDDR 5 graphics RAM on-board, also carefully selected according to the manufacturer. It provides the user with two DVI and one mini-HDMI out ports. On the whole, you cannot really go wrong with this combination – it’s a trusted brand and a powerful GPU, supported by a good amount of RAM and more-than – decent components. As always, Gigabyte has produced a very decent card here. g g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

AT A GLANCE: PROS:

• Easy overclock • Quiet • Good base power

CONS:

• More GDDR would have been nice

Manufacturer: Gigabyte Distributor: Rectron Online: www.rectron.co.za RRP: R4299

TECH SPECS: • Nvidia 560 chipset • 1GB GDDR5 RAM • Windforce 2X cooling system • 3D Vision ready • PhysX • OC Guru included

Score

A strong GPU, good components, lots of RAM and solid Gigabyte performance combine in this card.

89 107

Orb GP1 Gaming Headset

Sounds Good A versatile headset is always a bonus

by Rob Edwards

etting hold of a good gaming headset is always a good idea – there are many reasons to have a good set of headphones. And that’s exactly what the Orb GP1 Headset is – a good set of headphones. They’re comfortable and deliver great sound, which remains crisp across all volume levels. And they offer integrated voice chat, without needing to rig up a whole bunch of different devices. As an added bonus, they work on the PlayStation 3 and PC, making them fairly versatile. On the downside, though, they will need to be connected twice – one USB connection (for power) and then a connection to a sound source – either a headphone jack or an audio-out source. Being foldable, they store easily too, and they are sturdy enough in construction to be safely transported, should you need to. On the whole, this is a decent headset to look into, particularly if you’re doing things on both the PS3 and the PC. Even if you just get them for the PS3, they’re a good deal. The setup is a little lengthier than a standard headset, though. g

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AT A GLANCE: PROS:

• Good sound • Versatile

CONS:

• Setup takes a bit longer than normal

Manufacturer: Orb Distributor: Sensation Lab Online: www.take2.co.za RRP: R689

Although the setup is more complicated that your average headset, the GP1 is a good choice for PS3 and PC users.

TECH SPECS: • PS3 compatible • PC compatible • Inline volume control • Bass boost • Foldable

Score

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From a tiny device

By Rob Edwards

P3 players have come a long way, in terms of size and capacity. While they keep getting smaller in terms of physical size, their capacities seem to be increasing. This tiny Apacer player comes in 2, 4 and 8GB flavours, which is not the biggest in terms of MP3 players, but still allows the user to load a fair amount of music. The performance of the player is great, with several preset EQs to help things sound even better. Along with a decent battery life, this makes the player good value for money. On the downside, the headphones, while not bad by any means, are a little light in the bass department. Then again, they are ear-buds, and very few of these kind of headphone manage to produce decent bass tones. Overall, this easy to use MP3 player is good. Its file system is easy to use (just create your own folders) and copying music to it is quick, thanks to a USB 2.0 connection. On the whole, this is a great little device, and well worth looking at as an MP3 player option. g g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

AT A GLANCE: PROS:

• Excellent sound • Good capacity • Tiny

CONS:

• Headphones could have been very slightly better

Manufacturer: Apacer Distributor: Pinnacle Africa Online: www.pinnacle.co.za RRP: R499 (8GB)

TECH SPECS: • • • •

2, 4 / 8GB Preset EQs USB 2.0 10 hour battery life • Weighs 19g

Score

A great little MP3 player, in 2, 4 and 8GB flavours.

90 109

Apacer Audio Steno AU221 MP3 Player

Big Sound

Atomic TVR Sagaris Racing Wheel

In Control …if not on a firm footing.

by Rob Edwards

riving games are as popular now as ever – and that’s not something that is likely to change, ever. The ability to drive a virtual version of a real world car at least vicariously provides something of the real thrill. And what with the games getting better and better, with more realism pumped into them, one might well want to consider the purchase of a steering wheel – just to get even more out of the experience. Besides which, using a keyboard or game controller to control a car – even if it is a virtual one – just seems wrong. Atomic are a reliable producer of third party gaming peripherals, including wheels for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. This particular wheel, the TVR Sagaris racing wheel, can be used with PS3 and PC systems – and even with the older PS2. This wheel is a good option – it delvers excellent performance, even in uncalibrated conditions. We tried it with a few titles and were pleasantly surprised to see

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that it performed well with virtually every game we tried. Although it is meant for use with a PC as well, it is quite obvious (from the button markings) that this wheel is meant for the PlayStation systems, first and foremost. It features 12 buttons on the face, and two on the rear (although the rear buttons should have been a little more generous in size). All of these buttons can, of course, be programmed (although the PC does allow for more options, as the ‘start’ and ‘select’ buttons needed by the PS3, for example, are not needed for PC operation.) A thirteenth face button allows the user to turn on ‘traction control’ a system that helps with more effective cornering. The controller can be set for either PS or PC use, and can be changed between digital and analogue modes. Overall, the wheel delivers very impressive performance, but to effectively use it, the gamer will have to try and make a clamp modification for it. This is because both the wheel housing and pedal plate have rubber ‘suction cup’ g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

feet. This doesn’t matter on the pedals plate so much, but there is something of a problem that comes into play with the wheel; the suctions cups suck. Or, more accurately, they don’t. The end result is that, unless the table you’re using has a perfect surface, the wheel may tilt, lift or move while playing – not ideal if you’re racing for first place. It’s a surprise, really, because the rest of the product is really good. If you’re willing to work out some kind of solution, then this is a great wheel – but if you aren’t prepared to make a plan to secure it, it will be one of the more frustrating devices you have used. With its sturdy construction and good performance, it will be tempting to make some kind of arrangement, though. It’s versatile, too, so one purchase can take care of two situations. Ideas like the traction control and being able to switch modes are nice features, too… those feet are really the only problem here. g

g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

AT A GLANCE: PROS:

• Accurate • Versatile • Well built

CONS:

• Nasty suction feet

Manufacturer: Atomic Distributor: Sensation Lab Online: www.take2.co.za RRP: R699

TECH SPECS: • Multiple modes • Multiple steering angles • PS & PC • Analog / digital • Vibration function • Independent pedals

Score

A really decent wheel, scuppered by nasty feet.

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Razer Arctosa Keyboard

Little Brother A bit run-of-the-mill?

by Rob Edwards

azer’s keyboards are gaining popularity. If you’ll recall, last month we looked at the backlit Lycosa. This month, we’ve got the Arctosa on review, which is basically the Lycosa’s baby brother. The major difference here is that the keys aren’t backlit, and the backlighting functions of the Lycosa (like highlighting the WADS keys) are obviously not present. Other than that, it really feels like the same keyboard. It looks identical, and the performance is on par with the Lycosa. And if backlighting isn’t your thing, the better price may be a deciding factor here. But the Razer brand is all that really sets this keyboard apart from virtually any other board on the market. It really is, for all intents and purposes, a stock-standard keyboard. Not that it’s a bad product. It’s reliable and effective, with good supportive software. In the end, as a purchasing decision, this one will come down to how brand-conscious the user is, and whether the handful of added bonuses the software offers appeal or not. g

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AT A GLANCE: PROS:

• Stylish • Quick • Fairly versatile

CONS:

• Doesn’t stand out from the crowd

Manufacturer: Razer Distributor: Apex Interactive Online: www.apexint.co.za RRP: R549.95

It’s a good keyboard, but it offers very little above any standard, similar device on the market – save for slightly better performance.

TECH SPECS: • 1ms response time • Customisable profiles • Selective antighosting • Programmable keys

Score

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They’re not always the best idea.

by Rob Edwards

ortable music players – MP3 players, if you will – are an excellent way to stay entertained. Of course, they are threatened by the mobile handset market… phones these days can play music too, and movies, and have a bunch of other functions as well. So the market for portable music players is a tough one, particularly when that player tries to be more than it is. Sadly, that’s what Apacer’s Audio Steno AU825 MP4 player does. It is an excellent MP3 player, available in 2, 4, 8 and 16GB variants. The sound delivery is crisp and clear, the included headphones are not bad at all, and the preset EQ and other functions are nice extras. Why, then, make it a movie player as well – particularly when it cannot record video. The 1.8 inch screen is just too small, with most smart phones these days having a much bigger viewing area. Quite simply, if you’re going to buy it as an MP3 player, go ahead – it’s awesome. The other functions, though, feel a bit too much like window dressing. g g a m e c c a h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 1 • M a rc h 2 0 1 1

AT A GLANCE: PROS:

• Good MP3 performance • Looks good • Well built

CONS:

• Some added functions aren’t competitive

Manufacturer: Apacer Distributor: Pinnacle Africa Online: www.pinnacle.co.za RRP: R599

TECH SPECS: • 2, 4, 8 or 16GB capacity • 1.8” screen • Video playbook • eBook reader • Image viewer

Score

A great MP3 player, but its other functions don’t compete well in a smartphone-heavy market.

80 113

Apacer Audio Steno AU825 MP4 Player

Added Extras

Make Believer From Space

by Columnist A

o there I was, fighting the dragon with my +15 sword of poison. I was the last guy left – my two buddies had taken too much damage and had to escape the battle before they both met their maker. I dodged left and cast my freeze spell – it worked! The stupid dragon was gonna be stuck in place for a few seconds, and I had to make my move right now. I snuck up behind it, ice crystals cracking as it worked its way free of the frozen fortress I’d cast around it, and chopped off its tail. As it recoiled in agony, I waited for the head to come around. Sword in position, I drove its tip right through his eyeball. Game over, man. That dragon didn’t stand a chance. The short encounter above could be from any of the thousands of RPGs available on consoles and PC.

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Morrowind or Diablo. One of those games – I’m not sure, I don’t really play RPGs. In fact, I don’t role play that well. The story I started out with sounds awesome. It’s like I was really there, playing the role of dragon slayer. In fact, the recount is more exciting than the action was. But maybe it’s just me. I lack that bit of imagination that lets me make believe and put myself in the moment. When my digital avatar is on screen doing his thing, it’s just me pushing buttons and clicking on things to make them happen. I’m playing a game, but I’m not engrossed in it. It ruins a lot of stuff for me, and I rarely find things that I really enjoy for the story. I live in a world of numbers and statistics, which is why car sims and military

shooters are things I can get into. I don’t have to make believe: those are real things. But sometimes the two overlap. Recently, playing Dirt 3, I found myself thinking and feeling like a rally driver. The game has a gritty feel to it. Cars jostle and feel like they have weight. They look good, along with the environments in the game. Even the sound is convincing. It’s not a hyper-realistic simulation, but you rarely notice the shortcuts it has taken to be more accessible. Instead, the things that feel authentic are the bits that make it feel like a real experience. I love Dirt 3. It reminds me of the old Colin McRae games, and it’s realistic enough that I’m left wanting very little. Most importantly, it’s made a make-believer out of me. g

gamecca column • issue 24 • June 2011