Gamecca Magazine September 2012 by Gamecca Magazine

I S S U E 3 9 / Vo l . 4 September 2012

w w w. g a m e c c a m ag . c o m

Guild Wars 2 Darksiders 2 Sleeping Dogs New Super Mario Bros 2 and more...

Being Death Darksiders 2 rides out

To the Rescue Super Mario goes 3D

Massive! Guild Wars 2 is finally here...

Free Online Mag

21.09.2012 WWW.BORDERLANDS2.COM ©2012 Gearbox Software, LLC. All rights reserved. Borderlands, Gearbox, and the Gearbox Software logos are registered trademarks, and the Borderlands logo is a trademark, all of Gearbox Software, LLC and are used here under license. Borderlands 2 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 and/or registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. KINECT, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. “2”, “PlayStation”, “PS3” , “Ã” and “À” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other marks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Inside 6 From the Editor 8 IDoubleDQD Tough choices 10 The Next Big Thing Has the WoW-killer arrived? 16 Previews 13 games to look out for 34 Soapbox The decline of entertainment? 36 Console General So, where is it? 38 Gamescom 2012 Round-Up Some games from the German show 44 Reviews 11 games under the spotlight 74 Essential Classics It really was Unreal 76 Hardware Great tech to get! 86 From Space The pile...

THIS MONTHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S COVER Guild Wars 2 id finallt here! Read our feature on page 10.

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Previews

Fable: The Journey

Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII

Enemy Front

Dungeonland

Skylanders: Giants

Stardrive

Omerta: City of Gangsters

WSF Squash 2012

Salem : The Crafting

Ben 10: Omniverse

Rise of the Guardians

Thundercats

Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers

GAMECCA Vol. 3 Issue 39 September 2012

Editor: Walt Pretorius walt@1337-media.com Writers: Charlie Fripp Christo van Gemert Dylan Bouch Grant Wilson Iwan Pienaar James Francis Lein Baart Pippa Tshabalala Sarah Snyman Suvesh Arumugam Walt Pretorius

Reviews

Letters: letters@gameccamag.com Competition Entries: competitions@gameccamag.com

Guild Wars 2

Dust: An Elysian Tail

Sleeping Dogs

Darksiders 2

Deadlight

New Super Mario Bros. 2

Dead Island Game of the Year Edition

The Sims 3 Diesel Stuff Pack

Le Tour De France 2012

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Adidas Micoach

Newsletter Subscriptions: www.gameccamag.com Design & Photography: 1337 Media cc Marketing Contact: Katia Taliadoros katia@1337-media.com

Taking fun seriously! All rights reserved. No content may be reproduced, copied or transmitted without the express permission of the publishers. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editors and publishers. All Trademarks and Registered Trademarks are the sole property of the respective owners.

GAMECCA is published by 1337 MEDIA

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Cover Girl... From the Editor

by Walt Pretorius

e did a poll around the office when it came to choosing our cover. And then we did a poll at the offices of Megarom Interactive, the official distributor of Guild Wars 2 (our cover game.) and then we started getting hold of friends and family. The feeling was unanimous, and so we have a cover that is probably the closest Gamecca will ever come to looking like it has a model on the front page. Personally, I love it – the choice was difficult, but this one certainly is the most striking option. The choice to play Guild Wars 2, though, should not be difficult at all. If you read the feature and review that cover this stunning new MMO (both in this issue) you should have a good idea of exactly why this game is everything people have been hoping for. I must admit, though, that it did cause a little bit of a problem with this issue. See, we wanted to get the review out in good time, rather than push it back to the October issue. But that meant that a lot of play had to into it… thankfully we had early access, and those extra days helped a lot. The biggest issue, though, is that the game is so very addictive. Actually getting work done while seeing the desktop shortcut for Guild Wars 2 – that took real discipline!

What was really interesting – and gratifying – was running into a lot of South African players online. The Aurora Glades server has many South Africans on it, as well as a massive Guild, called the Southern Legion. This Guild was filled to capacity pretty much as soon as the game went live. The founders have been playing the game since the beta days, and have managed to establish a strong South African presence

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thanks to that. What makes this gratifying is to see that gaming – specifically online PC gaming – is alive and well here in South Africa. That’s awesome for the local industry, and for local gamers. And it seems like the activity is only getting stronger and stronger here, which is even better. Speaking of even better, there were some other big name releases, aside from Guild Wars 2, last month, which we have included in our review section. The likes of Sleeping Dogs and Darksiders 2 have arrived, heralding the start of much potential craziness. September will still be a little quiet – despite the fact that Borderlands 2 will be the next game to slow down the work – meaning that virtually everything awesome being released before the end of the year will be crammed into October and November (because December is traditionally quiet.) And when the Wii U hits (rumour has it for early to mid-November) it will just get more intense. I, for one, am going to enjoy the quiet time. Sure, I love new games, but taking this period to get my strength up for the mad rush is a good idea. And besides, I will have more time for Guild Wars 2. And Borderlands 2. Oh, dear… g

Don’t Make Me Choose... IDoubleDQD

by Sarah Snyman

recently broke my multipleyear-long single spell and dipped my toe into the pool of relationships and compromise. The pool was a tad manky and you couldn’t see the bottom. I’m pretty sure that it housed some kind of monster covered in scum and bad taste, dripping with the sludge of poor grammar and an overly obsessed mother. After approaching the relationship pool with a shock treatment and a bucket of chlorine, the water cleared and I found a blonde ex-model with a penchant for MMOs and a skateboard. After some heated PS3 sessions and gaming related arguments, I decided to keep him. The blonde had a birthday recently and, being the most epic girlfriend on earth, I bought him Guild Wars 2. He had shared my beta key and enjoyed it more than some other things I have on offer so I spoilt him with the game all to himself. Being a Guild Wars devotee,

he was more than happy to jump right in and attempt to school me, unsatisfied by my dismal knowledge and preference for WoW. Although this wasn’t the first time we had butted heads on a game, this was one where I realised how insane I must have looked when Diablo 3 came out. He was a man possessed, he had a fire in his eyes during that beta weekend and, even though I thought he would have a more post-coital vibe about him after 48 hours of indulgence, he was mad! I had given him a taste of GW2 fruit and then taken it away for a month. I was the devil incarnate despite statements like, “It isn’t personal, and it’s just Guild Wars”. I got visions of a Vietnam-like scene… “You don’t know man! You weren’t there!” I then made the same mistake by mentioning a stress test. Excitement, glory, joy! And then a crash into utter misery

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and depression when the server says “no more for you”. I was, for the first time, the outside witness of the descent into madness that can be caused by an upcoming release from your favourite development house. But then, when he assumed I was asleep, I glanced over his shoulder and watched him create a character. She looked as human as possible, with long blonde hair, a very familiar name and a cheeky smile. He won’t admit to it, and maybe it was in my imagination, but I like to think that he wanted a small piece of “his chick” in that world with him. By the time you read this, however, I will be on the same boat as him. GW2 on my screen, exhausted with a lack of sleep, bags under my eyes and my fifth can of Red Bull in my hand. Because even if you aren’t as crazy about it as him, you never make a man choose between you and a game. I, of all people, should know. g

Out Now

The Nex BiG Thin Has WoW finally met its match?

Feature

By: Lein Baart

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The world of massively multiplayer online roleplaying games, or MMORPG’s, has become a rather crowded place in the past decade. Since the time of Ultima Online and Everquest, MMO’s have been a staple of the gaming diet, offering an experience that is utterly unique, and for many addictively compelling. It’s because of this that the genre has become something of a boom industry, with a dizzying US$6 billion in revenue in 2010 alone. Companies are now all competing for a slice of the pie, as new MMO’s appear and vanish seemingly overnight, but still World of Warcraft undoubtedly reigns supreme. And yet WoW’s grip over the MMO market is not going unchallenged. Released just five months after WoW, way back in April 2005, the original Guild Wars drew attention and gamers from the start by charging no subscription fees whatsoever, a business model many thought suicidal at the time, but which has proven rather prophetic. As ArenaNet company co-founder Jeff Strain put it just before the initial release, “people do not want to pay - are not willing to pay - a monthly fee for every game that they play”, words that have been taken to heart by the industry in recent years. ArenaNet’s incredible success can be attributed to its founders, all of whom were, somewhat ironically, ex-Blizzard employees. Having worked on games that are now considered hallmarks in gaming history, such as Diablo 1 and 2, Starcraft and Warcraft, as well as the original Battle.net, it was a team that in hindsight seemed destined to make it in the MMO market. Bought by NCsoft in 2002, the publisher behind Lineage, Aion and City of Heroes, ArenaNet has had only one focus since its founding, Guild Wars and its expansions, and this single-minded dedication has culminated in a sequel that is probably this year’s most anticipated MMO. That’s not to say that Guild Wars wasn’t a triumph in its own right. At release it received rave reviews and highly positive feedback from the rapidly expanding community, which was a trend that continued throughout its lifespan. Indeed, Guild Wars will still continue despite the release of the sequel, which is a testament as to how great a game it actually is. Besides for its semi free to play business model, Guild Wars aimed to do things differently right from the start. It was almost entirely instanced outside PvP (player versus player), meaning that grinding and other frustrations were avoided in what was

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Feature

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essentially an online co-operative campaign. It had a level cap of 20, tiny in comparison to other MMO’s, and yet still managed to provide over a thousand different skills spread over 10 professions (read classes),counting expansions. Competitive play formed an integral part of the package as well, with hosted competitions and various formats for PvP leading to ArenaNet classifying Guild Wars as a competitive online role-playing game. Indeed for those who were only interested in battling other players, Guild Wars even offered the player the chance to skip the entire story and jump straight into the action at level 20, meaning that ultimately Guild Wars offered the best of both worlds. This combination eventually led to over 6 million copies being shipped globally by 2009, proving that free to play was a viable and prosperous venture. Guild Wars 2 looks set to continue this legacy. At the time of writing there were over a million registered early access accounts, and that’s not counting pre-orders or sales after the release. It’s a staggering figure by any measure, and a fitting accomplishment for the series. If ArenaNet continues in the same vein as before, offering the same personal, interactive support and innovation, Guild Wars 2 can but only go from strength to strength. Just reading the beta reports is enough to get any gamer drooling, with talk about dynamic quests, persistent worlds and truly personalised stories. It also appears that it will avoid the seemingly unavoidable server crashes that plague most MMO’s in their first days, as numerous stress tests and open beta weekends have occurred throughout the development process. Guild Wars 2 seems to be a title that will practically gleam with polish straight out of the box. There’s been a lot of talk about whether Guild Wars 2 will be the mythical “WoW Killer”, toppling the tyrant from its online gaming throne. In all honesty, WoW probably cannot be “killed”, as it continues to be the benchmark which all newcomers are measured against. But with all the polish, thought, ideas and eagerness behind Guild Wars 2, Blizzard’s hold on the market suddenly seems rather tenuous, and it may just be that Guild Wars 2 will be standing shoulder to shoulder, and toe to toe, with the giant. It’s not a matter of free to play versus subscription anymore, its now purely a case of which is the better game. g

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Previews Highlights 18 Fable: The Journey Kinnect with Fable 22 Dungeonland Dungeon crawling with a twist... 23 Skylanders: Giants More to collect 25 Omerta: City of Gangsters Living the life 32 Thundercats Remake of a remake...

ow that both E3 and Gamescom are done and dusted for this year, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a matter of sitting back and waiting for all those massive releases to arrive. The cyclical nature of the video game industry means that there will be more releases over the next few months, from around October and a few months into the new year. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s some of what you can look forward to... g

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Check out Snoop Dogg’s track and video ‘Knocc ’em Down’ recorded exclusively for the game at www.tekken.com

Available 14th September

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Fable: The Journey

AKA Fable: Kinect Yes now you can look even sillier playing Fable.

by Pippa Tshabalala

the land. Gabriel must save Theresa who has been wounded by The Corruption, by taking her to the Tattered Spire. The game not only makes a surprising break from the previous titles in that it’s developed using the Unreal Engine, but it also reads Fable III’s save game files and incorporates them in much the same manner as games such as Mass Effect. As in its predecessors, the player will be presented with moral choices and required to make decisions that affect the outcome of the game. Fable: The Journey is a first person game that takes advantage of the Kinect as its control system, and in which the player must use magic to defeat their enemies. As is typical in games such as these, these spells are cast with

Preview

ontrary to what you might think from my headline, I’m not hating on Fable. I’ve played all of Journey’s predecessors, but sadly come away increasingly disappointed with every iteration. They’re not bad, they’re just... samey. Cute. But samey. It’s with trepidation then that I await the release of Fable: Journey, which has the potential to be either really cool with it’s Kinect hand gestures, or overall a bit of a fail. The game is a standalone title, separate from the main series, and is set fifty years after the events in Fable III. The main protagonist is a guy called Gabriel, who must save Albion from The Corruption which is spreading across

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hand gestures, and I can’t help but think that I’m likely to look even sillier than playing Sorcery with my PS3 Move wand... Especially since you apparently have the ability to create things like telescopes. Yeah I can’t imagine that’s going to turn out well. For those of you who have Fable Heroes, playing Heroes will in turn level up your character in Journey, although I’m not quite sure how that works, but it also unlocks additional items. A large part of the game is also focussed on your horse. Yes, you heard right, and your horse will apparently even be able to learn voice commands. Ok, that is kind of cool. The Journey’s Creative Director, Gary Carr, describes the

game as an interactive movie, to which my initial reaction is, “Oh no. Not another one”. Somehow I can’t get excited about this revelation, even with the change in direction in the narrative. Journey does however smash yet another staple of the series as instead of focusing on the royal adventures of the previous characters, it instead tells the story of the underdog. This alone overrides my trepidation and intrigues me more than I would have thought, which might indeed entice me to try it when it releases in October 2012. Early opinions after pre-release screenings are so-so, but it’s been praised for both its integration of the Kinect as well as its visuals. g

AT A GLANCE: Action Adventure RPG

The Journey continues. With no controller. And with a whole lot of changes! Be prepared! Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Lionhead Studios Microsoft Microsoft

Oct 2012

Platforms

Genre:

ETA

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII

To the Skies Dodging flak and taking names

by Charlie Fripp

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Flight Sim

Taking on the Germans from 15,000 feet in WWII is always great fun Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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City Interactive City Interactive Apex Interactive

Sep 2012

DATE 2012

Platforms

Preview

lying fighter jets and some of the most technically-advanced planes in the world can be one of the most thrilling experiences in war time. But developer City Interactive believes that modern machines make for some of the most boring video games ever – which is exactly why they created Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII. In the title, players will get to experience the heart-stopping action and close-shaves associated with air combat in World War II, as they take on the role of four pistols from the USA. Flying in some of the most famous fighter planes of World War II, players will have to dodge flak cannons in Battle of Britain, participate in the African campaign and extend their help to their allies, and defend Russia from the Third Reich’s advances. But what makes the title so exciting is that planes will take on structural damage based upon where they are shot. If one of the 60 playable planes are shot in the wing, it could make the plane wobble and unstable, while hitting the cockpit could kill the pilot and players will see it crashing to the ground. Taking a leaf from Sniper Elite V2, Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII will also feature a slow-motion mode when players cause a rather stunning death. The game will slow down to show gamers exactly where the plane was hit and how the pilot died. The title will also feature a number of multiplayer modes such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Racing, Team Racing, Bomb-Target Hunting, Mission Survival and Fleet Escorting. What’s bound to be an exciting took at aerial combat in WWII, it should keep players busy for hours. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

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Enemy Front

Alone! Taking on the front lines!

by Dylan Bouch

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

First Person Shooter

If you enjoyed playing Black and enjoy FPS with a WW2 setting, this title should be in you iron sights. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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City Interactive City Interactive Apex Interactive

ETA

Oct 2012

Platforms

Preview

orld War II: the most destructive conflict in history, which damaged more property, killed more people and changed the world more than any other war in history and soon you will be able relive these historical moments in Enemy Front. In Enemy Front the player will be behind the front lines of Nazi occupied Europe trying to destroy Hitler’s secret weapon program – The Nazi War Machine. The player will start the campaign as a lone American soldier behind enemy lines, trying to cause as much destruction and death as possible (the true American style of fighting). Scavenging through dead bodies and abandoned bunkers will be the best way to get ammo and supplies, as the player heads through the front lines on their own trying to win and end the war. Come face to face with various enemies that have different strengths and abilities, according to their rank and class. Use classic and unique weaponry from the World War 2 era as you blast your way through destructible stages all while re-enacting true world war 2 scenarios in France, Norway and Poland. With several missions, ranging between assassination, assault, espionage and sabotage the player will feel like a soldier in the greatest war. Stuart Black, the developer of PlayStation’s 2 “Black” will bring the same elements to Enemy Front with destructible environments and Hollywood-blockbuster style action in a vintage World War 2 scenario. Be prepared for some blazing gun fire, close quarter combat and cover based enemy behaviour with a twist of classic war. Built using CRYEngine 3, Enemy Front will feature top notch graphics and a rich story, as well as customisable game play options. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

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Dungeonland

Killing Cute An action co-op with a sense of humour

by Sarah Snyman

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

First Person Shooter

Dungeonland is a co-op action that ends up being somewhere between Disneyland and WoW complete with amusing narration from an evil Dungeon Master. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Critical Studio Paradox Interactive Online

ETA

TBC 2012

Platforms

Preview

ungeons and Dragons has always been synonymous with geekery of the first degree, and no less is expected from a D&D theme park co-op action game. And with this release, it looks like Paradox have actually managed to make it that much geekier while keeping it rather attractive to most “normal” gamers. The evil lord Dungeon Master is done with this whole heroes saving the day thing. He’s had it up to here with their chiselled looks, their weaponry and their seemingly expected victory every damn time… So he does what any evil lord would do, he makes his way over to the aptly named Evil Overlord Foundation to request a loan to overcome these niggly speed bumps once and for all. He goes on a mission to build a theme park like no other, which will tempt the heroes so much that they will have to indulge. You can play as the Rogue, the Warrior or the Mage and you can level up, loot, customize and get new skills in the reported three hours of linear game play. Paradox have also mentioned a Dungeon Master mode where you play puppeteer to the bosses and their minions with the goal of eradicating the heroes. There is a huge replayability factor due to the AI randomisation and the sneak previews of massively colourful worlds within the theme park look like good honest fun. The game developers have really taken the theme park feel to the full, even placing shops within the landscape where you can buy gear with in game earned or bought gold to equip your character for the bosses ahead. Judging by the trailer and the look and feel, this game will be hilarious, colourful and addictive. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

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Skylanders: Giants

Bigger! And more to do, too!

by Walt Pretorius

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Platform

More stuff for the ever growing Skylanders collection... not a bad thing at all! Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Toys for Bob Activision Megarom

ETA

Q4 2012

Platforms

Preview

ince the first Battlefield 3 announcement and the subsequent flood of screenshots that started to pour in, a degree of excitement started to brew among the gamers who grew up with the entire Battlefield franchise unknown location against his will unknown. Well, the third Battlefield game finally hit our shores last week, and the joy has gone from that of euphoria to a dim smile. As we’ll explore in the rest of the review, there is a lot that DICE got right, but sadly there is an equal part where they fell unknown location against his. Starting with the single player, gamers will assume the role of various characters, but the most prominent will be Staff Sergeant Henry ‘Black’ Blackburn. He’s a member of the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, and it becomes very clear that he has information that is need by the US government. The first time players get to meet the sickly-looking soldier, he’s being interrogated by US agents in an unknown location against his will. Starting to sound familiar? As we’ll see a bit later, this isn’t the only direct comparison to Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, who also starred a soldier being questioned. Identical to Black Ops, Battlefield 3 also takes the player on a wild ride through the memories of the questioned soldier, and will relive his experiences, which makes up the majority of the plot the various memories. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Stardrive

Pimp your Spaceship A RTS worth its weight in dark matter

by Sarah Snyman

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Strategy

This is publically funded action-strategy in space coupled with great gameplay. Reminiscent of a galaxy based Spore where colonising the galaxy is the new black. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Zer0sum Games Zer0sum Games Online

ETA

Q4 2012

Platforms

Preview

’m always intrigued the second i see that a game was successfully funded using kickstarter. Zer0sum games gave a great pitch that tugs at the nerd-strings of any action-strategy gamer. The goal of the game is to build a space empire, starting with a single planet and then progressing through the galaxy and colonising new worlds faster that the Brits can down their gin and tonic. This is done not with a cunning use of flags but with a fleet of epic space ships. This was the main selling point on kickstarter that got the game its funding. The lead developer makes a good point: “if I’m flying through a galaxy, why would the alien ships look anything like mine?” The sense of reality (as real as space strategy battle can be) is interesting. Not only can you select you race along with their socioeconomic traits, traditions, history and physical traits, but these attributes will in turn determine the styles of ships you can create in game. You can add boosters and guns and all sorts of space-tastic-ish to your custom ships and they will perform accordingly. In battle, you can attempt to obliterate the enemy with your starboard side weapons and if that doesn’t work, show them your portside, apparently this is a huge development in gameplay as far as space RSTs go. The game also offers both a multiplayer campaign mode and a DotA style battle arena mode using ships you create offline. All in all, I would quite like to travel to galaxy 4.9 theta with the most awkwardly designed ship imaginable when this release drops. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

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Omerta: City of Gangsters

Violent Life Just going about business

by Charlie Fripp

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

RPG

The title might be a refreshing look at gangster life and inner working in Atlantic City Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Haemimont Games Kalypso Media Silverscreen

ETA

Q3 2012

Platforms

Preview

eing a gangster from the 1930’s has been popularised many times in video games, and titles like Mafia and The Godfather almost romanticised the fact. Omerta: City of Gangsters is no different, but it won’t play out as your typical gangster game. Players will take on the role of a freshoff-the-boat immigrant with normal dreams and aspirations of hitting it big in their new home city – but the title’s gameplay will be simulation-style with tactical turn-based combat taking place in 1920’s Atlantic City. As with gangsters in real-life and many video games, the player will start of by doing odd-jobs for those who call the shots in the city. Gradually taking on bigger jobs and more complicated assignments, players will have to work their way to the top – and one day become the new leader of Atlantic City. The title takes on an almost SimCity style of gameplay, where gamers will have to micro-manage each aspect of their flourishing business, and control everything that goes on around it. The semi top-down title will provide gamers with a unique insight into how to run a successful business marred with the gang life and typical 1920’s problems. Naturally gamers won’t have to tackle the big life on their own, as they will have control over a number of henchmen, which can be sent out on missions to increase the player’s control over a territory – which can include robbing a bank, or attacking a rival gang’s hideout. With great graphics for a game of this calibre, Omerta: City of Gangsters is sure to entertain any wanna-be gangster while they fight for control and their reputation. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

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WSF Squash 2012

In the Box The sport, not the fruit…

by Dylan Bouch

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Sport Sim

A squash sim, with a bit of RPG thrown in.

Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Team 6 Lace Mamba Global Apex Interactive

ETA

Q3 2012

Platforms

Preview

lthough the Olympics are done, the gaming industry isn’t, still using the Olympics as a template or marketing plan for their product. Although Squash is not an Olympic sport, it is time to produce a realistic representation of the sport. WSF Squash 2012 will be the first official squash game and it will be packed with all the fast pace action you’d expect from the four walled glass court. When you start your career you character will have no skill points, and the character will need to play single matches as well as attend tournaments to improve their skills, which consist of Fitness, Speed, Power and Tactics. To improve your skills against better opponents, you’ll need to play smarter, using rallies to tire out the opposition, with smart placed shots to win the points. Once your character has improved skills, he or she will be able to go up against professional players and enter bigger events. Character customization will include the character looks, clothing and equipment, as well as skills. Off line tournaments can be created with a pool size up to 32 players. Players can also compete against some of the best pro players on the WSF circuit like Nick Matthew, Ramy Ashour and many more. WSF squash 2012 looks good graphically and will be played in some iconic locations. It will also allow gamers to play on and off line games, 1 on 1, 1 vs. CPU or double matches, as well as single or doubles in tournament modes. The mix of sport and RPG elements could make it an interesting title to have a swing at. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

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Salem : The Crafting

MMO in the New World

If you see three naked Russians, run the other way. by Sarah Snyman

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

MMORPG

An interesting looking sandbox MMO with elements of the new world, nudity and shovelling ground. The founding American puritans were bizarre people. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Paradox Interactive Paradox Interactive TBC

ETA

Q3 2012

Platforms

Preview

alem. Just the name evokes imagery of witches burning on stakes and Pythonesque characters shouting “She turned me into a newt! I’m fine now… “ Now combine MMORPGs with witches, puritanical Christians and great character rendering and you have a game I’d love to play. Salem was one of the homes of the puritan founders of the thirteen American colonies, people with tall black buckled hats and strict moral fibre. And yet, for some unknown reason, this is one of the first MMOs I have seen that allows complete nudity and introduces naked Russians in terrifying masks as the main enemy. You play as a wide-eyed settler and you start off in a land called Boston. You can build, craft, start a church and maybe even slaughter and “educate” the natives… but that might be a later expansion. All of your endeavours, including making a little fire to cook the deer you shot, help to level up your humours and develop your settlement. Think Civilization, but with Christians in pointy hats and bibles. MMOs themselves are a bizarre concept, not hugely indulged in in this country but they are the heroin of the gaming world and are responsible for vitamin D deficiencies and virginity. Speaking of overweight, pale virgin gamers, Salem has a gluttony mode. Despite this being one of the seven deadly sins, it is a mode in which you eat as much as possible, hopefully in the right order and combination in order to level up. You can also shovel dirt for as long as you see fit and make it little dirt mound to call your own. It screams Minecraft, but cooler. I’m in! g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

g a m e c c a r ev i ew • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 010 29

Ben 10: Omniverse

Change the Future More TENsion in the Universe.

by Dylan Bouch

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Action

Ben 10 Omniverse will be most likely impress the fans of the series.at, Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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1st Playable productions D3 Publishing Ster Kinekor

ETA

Q4 2012

Platforms

Preview

alling accidentally into the hands of Ben Tennyson, the Omnitrix is a watch-like alien device attached to Ben’s wrist that allows him to turn into alien species. Ben uses this device to fight crime and evil aliens. Ben 10: Omniverse is based on the upcoming cartoon series of the same name. When Ben’s omnitrix malfunctions, Rook is sent back into the past where he meets up with the younger Ben, and together they are set for another big adventure that just could change their future. Playing with Ben and Rook through the story the player will need to defeat the evil Malware, and stop his plans to destroy the world all while trying to protect the future by fixing the problems in the past. Playable characters will include Ben (16 and 11 years old) as well as Rook (with his cool Proto-Tool, a high Tech multi functional weapon) and fourteen alien characters, with a few first time alien appearances in a Ben 10 video game. While playing through the eleven action-packed cartoon series inspired levels (only 7 on DS and 3DS) fans of the series will notice the similarities to the cartoon series in terms of art and graphics. The previous Ben 10 titles hve proven to be popular with fans of the series - read as youngsters - so this one will likely be just as successful. As with many other franchises, Ben 10 has made a fairly successful transition to the video gaming arena... but those franchises all have the aspect of being based on animated series in common. Either way, parents will be able to stick this one in the gift pile for the 2012 Festive Season, and make a Ben 10 fan’s day by doing so... g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

g a m e c c a r ev i ew • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 010 30

Rise of the Guardians

Tooth Fairy Attack Don’t mess with the guardians of your childhood.

by Sarah Snyman

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Action Adventure

Rise of the Guardians is set to be yet another movie/video game release targeted at children, but the original plot might make it interesting. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

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Torus Games DS Publisher TBC

ETA

Nov 2012

Platforms

Preview

don’t think my parents can really be commended when it comes to getting their kids excited about the magical beings responsible for presents, tooth money and chocolate eggs. My father was always caught planting eggs in the garden on Easter morning, and due to an unfortunate Christmas in my home town Mafikeng, involving a Angolan Santa on a donkey, we never bought into that one either. But this is now a huge problem for the Immortal Guardians of children, too many of them do not believe, and the evil sprite “Pitch” or the “Boogeyman” is to blame with his infectious nightmares. The movie Rise of the Guardians is being released in November alongside this game. You can play as one of the heroes of innocence, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny or Santa Claus and work alongside the others to overcome the Boogeyman and the nightmares. There is a four multiplayer feature working on drop-in/drop-out which allows players to level up and unlock new skills by playing together. Gotta love team work. Each character has their own signature moves and abilities based on their role in a child’s imagination and the myths surrounding them. The Sandman is my personal favourite, he’s tiny and golden and who doesn’t want the ability to drop your enemies to the ground in childlike blissful slumber the second they annoy you. Being a movie based game, it will be made available on multiple platforms, primarily the Nintendo range. There is not a lot in the media about this game, but based on the film trailer and the beautiful animation there, this could prove to be a gorgeous game for the young ones. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

g a m e c c a r ev i ew • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 010 31

Thundercats

Thundercats! Hooooooooo! I’ve been wanting to say that again for years.

by Pippa Tshabalala

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Sidescroller

Game based on the series, which is based on the ‘80s series. Too many reinventions might spoil the uh... broth. Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

gamecca39

Aspect Digital Namco Bandai Megarom

ETA

Sep 2012

Platforms

Preview

nyone who grew up in the ‘80s will have fond memories of watching the epic series, Thundercats. I was pleasantly surprised to discover recently that the series had been remade, and even more so to find that it’s actually not a bad interpretation either. A little more anime in style than the original series, but engaging, fun and awesome nonetheless. With that said, I’m always somewhat dubious when a series like this is then transformed into a game, especially a game on a handheld platform like the DS. Namco Bandai has done it however, and announced that Thundercats will be coming to the DS in September this year. Yes, the DS, not the 3DS, although of course 3DS owners will be able to play it. The title is based on the new animated series, and places you in the role of Lion-O as he battles it out with the villain Mumm-Ra. As always the full cast is on hand to team up and kick butt, including Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro and WilyKit and WilyKat. It’s a side scrolling adventure game that picks up at the beginning of the story with the Lizard army poised to attack Thundera. Enemies drop power ups as you cut a swathe through the ranks in the heat of battle, and these either charge Lion-O’s Sword of Omens, or provide health. When enough are collected they unlock a special power of the sword. Thundercats on the DS might be a complete and utter disappointment, but I have such fond memories of this series that I’m sure as hell going to make a go of the game. Thundercats! Hoooooooo! g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

g a m e c c a r ev i ew • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 010 32

Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers

Air, Water, Fire… Landing made hard

by Dylan Bouch

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Arcade Flight Sim

Flight simulator based on the events of Pearl Harbor Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

gamecca39

TBC Bit Composer Apex Interactive

ETA

Q4 2012

Platforms

Preview

ake the fight to the sky where the boundaries are only limited by your fuel and will to survive. Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers will combine real events of the Second World War with an epic story that all starts with an air craft carrier. From the start of the game, players will be able to choose the side that they fight for: the US Navy or the Japanese Imperial Navy. Air Conflicts is a flight simulator mixed up with an arcade-style dog fights and elements of strategy game-play tied together with a powerful story line based on the events of Pearl Harbour, Midway and Wake Island. In the Air Conflicts, the player will be able to take off from one of three different air craft carriers in one of thirteen aircraft and battle against 21 different battle ships. The player will fly authentic aircraft and each plane can only be loaded with a limited amount of ammo, according to the stats of the real aircraft. Players won’t just be able to control one combat plane but will be able to switch between different aircraft during missions, and the player can also take control the entire fleet or squadron, instead of a single aircraft. Besides the story mode, Survival mode will have the player tacking control of the guns and protecting the air craft carrier from its suicidal enemies. With various single and multi player modes Air Conflict: Pacific Carriers will ensure a long lasting title full of dog fights, bombing and enemy aircraft crashing down into the cold pacific ocean. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

g a m e c c a r ev i ew • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 010 33

Reboot This... The Soapbox

by Suvesh Arumugam

ike most people I spend a lot of time thinking about entertainment. Whether it’s about where I’m going to get my next fix (game, movie, series or other) or how I feel about the quality of the entertainment I’m currently receiving. Looking at release lists these days is depressing though, because if it isn’t a sequel, it’s a remake. For me there is no greater thrill than the surprise of a good storyline, especially one that takes you in an unexpected direction, or somehow challenges your perspective. So what’s the point if you already know how it’s going to go? The best way I can illustrate this is describing going to see The Matrix for the first time. This particular weekend (it would have been May or June 1999), my siblings and I were being treated to a night at the movies to watch 10 Things I Hate About You. Having just completed my teenage experience, I wasn’t too keen to get in touch with anyone else’s, so once the lights were out in the theatre, I snuck out. The Matrix looked like a better option, I hadn’t heard of it (there was no Twitter at the time) but the poster looked interesting. The theatre was absolutely packed, so I ended up sitting on the stairs. Despite my uncomfortable

situation, I was riveted, moving constantly between “Wow” and “OMG”, until I realised that movie was over. The first thing I wanted to do was watch the entire movie again (I ended up watching it twice more). I couldn’t stop talking or philosophising about it for weeks. It’s a definitive moment in time that I will always identify with.

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If someone were to remake the Matrix, it would simply mess up the experience of the original movie, just to improve on one or two special effects and plotlines (if not worsen). My experience is just not possible to duplicate, I could never feel that way about a film again. Even the tepid sequels did little to preserve or revive that feeling – in fact they killed my fascination (much like the term midi-chlorians did for Star Wars fans). And of course there is this great new trend of meta-humour, with films and TV shows referring to themselves and each other in an endless loop. Great when watching a satirical series like Community, but a little tedious when it’s expired action stars referencing dialogue from their movies in The Expendables (and sequel). And the remakes just keep coming, with The Amazing Spiderman, Man of Steel, Total Recall, Robocop and so many more. After recently watching The Bourne Legacy, I walked out wondering whether I could sue the studio for the lost two hours of my life. Playwright Bertolt Brecht said that “Art is not a mirror held up to the world, but a hammer with which to shape it”. At what point does repackaging and inter-textual referencing become mindless, meaningless drivel? This could be the reason that Hollywood is turning to video games to deliver original storylines, but if they start remaking games … oh wait, remember Duke Nukem Forever? The prosecution rests. g

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When U? Console General

by Montgommery Paton

eleasing a new console is a big thing for a company to do. It is, quite simply, massive in so many ways that the thought of it must be quite daunting. You have to make sure you have created enough units to meet stock demand, while hoping that you haven’t over-projected and will be sitting on stock that isn’t moving. You have to make sure that your marketing is in the right place. You have to coordinate with in-house developers and third party publishers to make sure that the launch titles will all be ready to rock when the console hits – a task that is probably more difficult than herding cats high on PCP. You have to get the press to take a look at the product before it launches and hope that the vindictive little snots (yes, I have a low self-opinion) don’t get all nasty and turn consumers against your new device. You have to make sure that the packaging is good, that the instruction manuals are written, and all the right parts are in the box. You have to announce a launch

price that won’t cause waves of myocardial infarctions. And you have to set a launch date at that perfect, perfect moment, without putting too much pressure on distribution and retail chains by making that date too soon after the aforementioned announcement. It’s a lot of work. But Nintendo have that whole thing licked. Right? Let’s see. Making the Wii U? Well, we can’t be sure, but we’re pretty certain that units are rolling off the assembly line right this minute, and a whole bunch of units at that. Game developers and publishers have already been showing off the games they will have on shelf when the console launches. Retailers are rubbing their hands in anticipation of what many believe is going to be a very hot item for the 2012 Festive Season. And the press… well, there have been generally positive reports about the device doing the rounds. But we still don’t know when it will be released, or how much it will cost. The fourth quarter of the year is looming large and people are already

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looking at Christmas budgets. Yet Nintendo haven’t told us how much we will be paying, or when we will be paying it. Perhaps the Japanese giant has some kind of plan – but announcing a date too late, let alone launching the console too late, could have serious repercussions on endof-year sales, a vital time for anyone in the video gaming industry. There are rumours, sure. Some people are saying that the device will be available mid-November, which is kind of late. Others are saying that Nintendo plans to make a big announcement regarding price and availability around the 13th of September. We’ll have to see… but at least it’ not a Friday. With the end of the ear fast approaching and people already working out how they are going to break the bank for Christmas, Nintendo needs to seriously consider actually telling people when they plan to release the highly anticipated Wii U. Otherwise their valuable Christmas earnings may end up going somewhere else… g

Gamescom

2012 Round-Up

Feature

hile E3 is the darling of the industry, and sees the lion’s share of new product announcements, Gamescom allows the European market to also see what is coming up. While there are generally fewer announcements at Gamescom than there are at E3, this trade show is important for another reason: it is open to the public. This allows publishers to show their wares to a wider range of people than at the industry-exclusive LA event, and consequently means that the show is a major driving force in the European market. This year’s Gamescom had a few new titles showing up, titles that were either not mentioned or only hinted at during E3. There was a very strong showing for PS3, and a number of Wii U titles were also on display, despite the fact that Nintendo is still being a little coy with announcing a release date for their new console.

While a handful of new IPs were announced, there were also a number of important sequels on display, including a new God of War game, the next Army of Two title, and a new Total War instalment for strategy fans. The majority of new Gameson display at this year’s Gamescom will not be making their way to store shelves until the new year, but it’s a pretty good bet that more than a few of them will be included in the early rush that seems to be becoming a gaming industry habit. If that is the case, the excellent titles range that will be rolling out for the 2012 Festive Season will carry on well into the first two quarters of 2013, which means that we will all be happily gaming for hours on end for the next few months. So here, then, are fifteen titles that were on display in Germany that we think (for various reasons) may just be awesome.

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Army of Two:The Devil’s Cartel Release Date: TBC Platforms: PS3, X360

There is not a lot of information about this third instalment in the Army of Two franchise available as yet. It really is early days, so the only thing we know for sure is that it will be available for PS3 and Xbox 360. But what we can assume is that it will once again provide the player with awesome co-op action!

Deadpool

Release Date: 2013 Platforms: TBC Activision and Marvel are teaming up again, this time bringing a new superhero video game franchise to the table. Deadpool has been a character comic fans have loved to hate for ages, so it’s only right that the smart-talking wise-guy semi-villain gets his own video game. Let’s hope they do it right!

God of War: Ascension Release Date: 2013 Platforms: PS3

We all thought that Kratos’ tale was over, now that he has defeated Zeus. And, apparently, it might well be – but that doesn’t stop a prequel from being made. Ascension will track his rise to power in what is being called the most ambitious God of War game yet.

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Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth Release Date: 2012 Platforms: X360 (Kinect), Wii U

We believed that Activision had the Marvel contract all sewn up, but Ubisoft will be releasing this title. It will allow you to ‘become’ one of 20 Marvel super-heroes, complete with motion control and special powers. How cool it will be remains to be seen, of course, but the idea is fun.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors Release Date: Sep 2012 Platforms: PS3

Based on the One Piece manga by Eiichiro Oda, this game promises to provide PS3 players with tons of adventure, pirate style. Online and offline co-op modes will be available, to share the bounty and the booty. It sounds like quite a romp, and it should be available very soon.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Release Date: Sep 2012 Platforms: PS3, PSV

Feature

OK, there’s not a hell of a lot of info going for this one, which is strange because it should be hitting shelves any minute. But from the screen shots and little stuff we have managed to find, it looks like it’s an all-out battle brawler starring some of your favourite PS characters.

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Puppeteer

Release Date: 2013 Platforms: PS3 Puppeteer is a new IP from SCE that will place the player is a bizarre fairy-tale, complete with dynamic, interactive backgrounds and a compelling story. A character armed with magical scissors? It sounds strange, and kind of cool… and as long as you don’t lose your head, you’ll stay alive!

Rabbids Land Release Date: TBC Platforms: Wii U

While we patiently wait for the release date of the Wii U to be announced, Ubisoft is planning tone of titles for the new Nintendo console. One of them will be Rabbids Land, a zany adventure starry everyone’s favourite psychotic rabbit-like creatures. As with all things Rabbid, it should be great, crazy fun.

Sports Connection Release Date: TBC Platforms: Wii U

Sports Connection is another Wii U launch title from Ubisoft, and will beat everyone to the punch by being the first multisports collection for the platform. The game will include soccer, football, baseball, tennis, golf and karting, and will make full use of the Wii U’s exciting hardware features. gamecca39

Tales of Xillia Release Date: 2013 Platforms: PS3

With Namco Bandai localising Tales of Graces F for the Western market,, the next game in the series will be hitting shelves for Western markets too. The Tales series has proven to be extremely popular in Japan, and strong interest in the West means that they will be regular additions to our release calendar.

Tearaway

Release Date: Nov 2012 Platforms: PSV Media Molecule made a really big name for themselves with LittleBigPlanet, but the developer now has a new IP that they are working on. Tearway will be a PS Vita exclusive, and will allow the player to have an adventure in a world made of paper. Knowing Media Molecule, it will be interesting, at least.

Total War: Rome 2 Release Date: 2013 Platforms: PC

Feature

The Total War series is a firm favourite with strategy fans, and this new instalment will return to the political machinations and conquering of that most famous ancient city. Players will be able to take to the battle field, or get entangled in the political web, even claiming the dreaded title of tyrant.

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Until Dawn

Release Date: 2013 Platforms: PS3 Ever wanted to be a character in a teen horror? OK, well, your chance will arrive with Until Dawn, a new survival horror game designed exclusively for use with the PlayStation Move control system. Creep locations, a beautiful cast and an insidious, vicious killer await all who take it on.

Warface

Release Date: TBC Platforms: PC Crytek, the people behind hits like the original Far Cry and the Crysis series, are creating a… get this… social first-person shooter. The free-to-play Warface looks quite exciting, and will provide not only social options, but tons of online action too.

Wonderbook: Diggs Nightcrawler Release Date: 2013 Platforms: PS3

Wonderbook is a new concept for the PS3 that literally uses a book to play, combined with the PS3 camera. We haven’t seen the initial release yet (which should be any day) but the next game using the system will be a film noir inspired detective story in which the player helps a book worm solve a big case. gamecca39

Reviews Highlights 46 Guild Wars 2 It’s here and it’s awesome! 52 Sleeping Dogs Hit the Hong Kong streets 58 Darksiders 2 Death rides out 62 Deadlight Stay in the light! 64 New Super Mario Bros. 2 Now in 3D!

uarter Four of 2012 is just a month away, and with it comes a big release list - one to make even the most jaded gamer weep with joy. The months of October and November will be huge! But the big names have already started dropping, as you will see in this month’s review section - which offers a little for every taste... g

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Guild Wars 2

The Second Coming Awesome just isn’t strong enough a word…

by Walt Pretorius

similar experiences, but the way the game unfolds lets the player feel not only like a true hero, but like they are actually crafting a somewhat unique tale at the same time. Right from the start, as the player first enters the game world, they are giving numerous options for activities. There is a degree of grinding here, just like any MMO has, but this grinding is cleverly disguised in the form of numerous sub quests, random events and miscellaneous activities, all which support the player’s main story. The player will need to do these tasks, because the main story is rather demanding on having the right level as you tackle each chapter, but it really doesn’t feel like a chore. And that, in MMO terms, is gold. Achievements and levels are gained while enjoying the game, not while laboriously killing the same wolf thirty times.

Review

eviewing an MMO is a tricky deal. These are games that takes months (if not years) to fully appreciate, rather than the standard few hours that most titles grant us. It seems that most reviewers are in agreement with this, because the reviews are appearing slowly, rather than in the mad rush that so often marks the release of a big game. It is a massive, sprawling game that offers so much for the player to do and experience that it is almost impossible to encapsulate everything in just over a thousand words… but we’re going to try. Developers ArenaNet obviously have very strong ideas about the whole MMO thing, and they show very clearly right from the start of the game. One of those ideas is giving players a personalised experience. Sure, there are thousands of players that will have

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Starting out, the player creates a character, which will take up one of five character slots that they have at their disposal. There are five races available; Humans, giant Norn, feline Charr, diminutive Asura and the elflike tree-folk, Sylvari. After selecting race and sex, the player then has a choice of eight character classes: elementalist, warrior, guardian, engineer, thief, Mesmer, necromancer and ranger. After that, the player will tweak their character’s appearance in a surprisingly versatile character creation system, before making a number of back-story choices, based on race and class. The variety available is already staggering at this point, and you haven’t even clicked your mouse in anger once yet. The player’s starting point and initial story are determined by many of these choices. That said, each starting area has several common tasks and quests

available and, as the massive world unfolds before the player, even more become available. It is roughly at this point that Guild Wars 2 starts showing off. The initial few moments of play may well be overwhelming to the player, who simply has so much to choose from. Aside from a short initial mission, which serves to introduce the character and player to the world, there is a huge amount of potential laid bare, even at the earliest stages of the game. The player can start taking on side quests or participating in random events. They can try out their main story quests. Or they can run around gathering resources, gaining experience, taking out enemies and completing all the exploration tasks that each section of the world has on offer. They can pay attention to their daily achievement goals, or can simply just revel in the joy of the world and the game. It’s not

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to guild leaders to at least try and provide players with what they want. I could go on about everything you can do in the game, but that could take forever. Rather, let’s move on to playing the game itself. The first impression that Guild Wars 2 makes lasts; visually, it is a very pretty game. Yes, we’ve seen better, but not in MMOs. The world is rich and detailed, from characters right through to environments. This is supported by decent voice acting and a user interface that is less confusing and a little fancier (in terms of looks) than many other MMOs have on offer. The control system is what one would expect from an MMO, although the controls are generally more responsive, and the ‘hot button’ based combat systems seems to have a better flow than before.

Review

quite “sky is the limit” from the word go, but it comes close. And, as the player gains levels and discovers new areas, even more options become available. The character can gain experience in artisan levels, including armour smithing, weapon smithing, cooking, tailoring and so on. And then, of course, there are guild activities, like world vs world, PvP, PvE and more. The guilds are central to the game, as the name implies, and membership in one has many advantages. Guilds are complex structures, of course, and activities may not always be to the player’s liking in a particular guild. However, in this instalment, players can belong to more than one guild, choosing who to represent at which time. Representing a guild means that the player contributes to the power of the guild, so it is up

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The experience, in short, is very enjoyable. These are still early days for Guild Wars 2, though, and a problem or two have arisen with the service. However, ArenaNet’s fast response time and tendency to communicate with users show that they are not only on the ball, but they actually care about those who are playing their game. That just makes the experience even better. Guild Wars 2, in its current state, is a strong contender for becoming the top dog in the MMO pack. It delivers an excellent gaming experience in MMO terms, complete with lots of activities, and an effective way to deal with server load (in the form of very effective overflow servers). Not only that, but Guild Wars 2 is, like the original game, free to play. That’s huge, particularly when considering the high quality of this title.

The potential that Guild Wars 2 holds, considering the first few days of full operation and the obvious care that ArenaNet are putting into the title, is simply unparalleled in the MMO market. The new ideas and high quality that the game delivers is fantastic, and the free-to-play model (balanced out by a team that obviously gives two hoots about the community) are simply awesome. If you are an MMO fan, you should be playing this game. If you want a massive game to help you create a rich, character driven story, you should be playing this game. If you want to be part of an already massive online community who are enjoying a host of activities in a vast and varied wold, you should be laying this game. It really is that simple. Guild Wars 2 is everything we hoped for, and more – and it can only get better. g

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

MMO

Reviewed on:

Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

The Secret World, World of WarCraft Local

Network

Online MMO

ArenaNet NC Soft Megarom

Parental Advisory

12+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Platforms

Guild Wars 2 delivers players the kind of experience that all other MMOs could learn from. And it’s free-to-play...

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

96 49

Dust: An Elysian Tail

A Tail of Two characters It’s a magical world

by Charlie Fripp

The games was designed and created by Dean Dodrill, who for the most part was the only person working on the title. This is a major feat, as the level of graphical detail and story-driven plot is usually associated with titles that had a good number of people working on them. In comparison, Lionhead’s Fable Heroes had around 30 employees making sure the game was designed properly, while Dust’s combat system alone is a lot more advanced. In the XBLA game, players won’t have to take on all the nasties of the world alone, as Dust as a flying squirrel as a side-kick, named Fidget. She provides him with all sorts of information during quests, and when it comes to combat, don’t let her size fool anyone as she packs a mean punch. In terms of graphics, Dodrill created a beautiful world of hand-animated and painted environments, which bring everything to life in vivid colours. The graphics are similar

Review

box has something special in their Xbox Live Arcade games catalogue. For those that don’t really know, the titles available as part of the Xbox Gold subscription are titles developed by independent studios with limited budgets, but occasionally also a game from a well-known development house. These games need to be purchased with Microsoft Points and is downloaded onto the console. While there are a bunch of really questionable titles available, Dust: an Elysian Tail is available as part of the Summer of Arcade promotion, and is a really exciting game. Players take on the role of Dust, a loveable characters that discovers a magical talking sword. By saying the sword can talk might make it sound a bit whimsical, but it actually integrates rather well into the plot.

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to Japanese side-scrollers, which makes for a stunning change in modern titles. A mentioned, it’s a side-scroller in which players need to take out all the enemies while advancing to their end goal. After talking to characters in several villages, Dust will be given a number of quests – of which some will be to progress the main plot, while others will be side-quests with different rewards. The title is fairly easy to navigate and the combat system is complex yet not difficult. For the most part, Dust will make use of his sword, which is wielded by tapping X. But combining the holding down of B with Fidgets attacks (by pressing Y), the duo unleashes a fierce attack that can take down the biggest of enemies. The game also has a small RPG element to it, in the sense that Dust can level up with experience points, which

come from killing enemies. With the experience points he will be able to increase his health, damage, defence and Fidget’s attack strength. Killing enemies will also leave Dust to pick up coins, which can be exchanged at road-side merchants for all sorts of items. Dust will be able to buy better armour, keys for locked chests, health regeneration supplies and powerful amulets. Dust: an Elysian Tail is a fantastic venture into a foreign land and will for sure keep players busy for a while. The graphics are fantastic, the level of detail is superb and the controls are uncomplicated. It’s a stunning title for a oneman show, and should definitely be picked up by fans of side-scollers, adventure gamers and anyone looking for an awesome title to keep them busy until the big holiday push arrives. g

AT A GLANCE: Platformer

Reviewed on:

X360

It’s a fantastic effort by a one-man team, and full of great animation Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Fable: Heroes Local

Network

Online

Humble Hearts Microsoft Microsoft

Parental Advisory

10+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

86 51

Sleeping Dogs

The Mean Streets Taking on Hong Kong

by Walt Pretorius

birth) after spending most of his life in San Francisco. Wei is a cop, but he also has ties with members of the Sun On Yee, a powerful triad operating in the city. No, he is not a crooked cop – he just grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. But his history with these mobsters makes him the perfect candidate for a risky undercover operation, infiltrating the Triad to bring it down. It’s not a totally original idea, no. It reminds one of the True Crime series, which was canned by Activision. And that’s pretty fine, because this game is actually the reincarnated True Crime: Hong Kong. The rights were bought by Square Enix after Activision dropped the title… other than the name, it’s the same thing. Comparisons to GTA are understandable, but are not really all that accurate, what with this more direct link. The game is a free roaming action title, which allows

Review

here are very few occasions when you read a game review in which the subject is not compared to other games. Sadly, this particular review will not fall into that rare category; Sleeping Dogs borrows ideas from a whole bunch of other games. But it does so relatively well, which is often the best one can say about the huge number of derivative games out there these days. OK, that sounds rather negative, but it isn’t meant to be. The derivative nature of the video game market is undeniable. Originality is becoming more and more rare. Rather, everything seems to be about improving on what has come before. And Sleeping Dogs manages to do this. Sleeping Dogs casts the player in the role of Wei Shen, recently returned to Hong Kong (the place of his

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g a m e c c a r ev i ew • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

the player to undertake all manner of activities. There are the main story missions, of course, which involve the investigation into the Triad. There are also cop missions, which allow the player to investigate other criminal activities. There are favours, which let the player gain valuable reputation. There are even loan collection and car theft missions. On top of all of those – which the player can undertake at their leisure, more or less – there are collectable items (which have an impact on the game, like increasing health, buffing attributes or allowing the character to learn new martial arts moves) and other challenges, like karaoke and car stunt leader boards, as well as street races. In short, there is a hell of a lot for the player to do. This is where Sleeping Dogs gets its longevity from – the playing around. The main story mission is not as long as

one would hope for, but pacing things and just messing around in the city add a lot of value to the game. Many of these activities spur character growth. Wei Shen has skills and perks in four categories: Triad, Cop, Martial Arts and Face (which is reputation). These four categories improve independently of each other. The player will be awarded points to spend in a particular category. In Cop, Triad and Martial Arts, he will have a choice between two new skills. Face has one skill for each level. Some of the other activities are tied in to missions, though – for example, a few of the collectable items can only be found during missions. But the game will allow the player to deviate from missions, even as far as doing a side quest while completing a main one, without resetting the main mission. That’s nice flow, in the end, and adds even more to the free-form feel of the title.

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well thought out and responsive. One other oddity does bear mention – the sprint button and action button are the same. So, in other words, you need to hold down the button to sprint, release and tap it to vault over an object, and then hold it again to keep sprinting. It takes some getting used to, just like a few other elements of Sleeping Dogs. But once you are there, the game becomes addictive and very entertaining. The presentation of the game is great. The graphics are good, and the voice acting (which combines English and Cantonese) is excellent. The Far East feel of the virtual Hong Kong is well presented, and the entire city is available to the player from the word go. Once you have explored a bit of it – and maybe managed to find a gun – Sleeping Dogs becomes an action packed playground

Review

The skill system is a decent idea, because the player will improve in the fields that they are most active in. And this improvement is very necessary, because the early stages of the game will be frustrating for most. In fact, I spoke to a few people who played this game, and they all agree: in order to really enjoy Sleeping Dogs, you have to tough out the first few hours. A large amount of this frustration comes from the melee combat. Guns aren’t common in Hong Kong, and the game reflects this. But the combat system can be really tricky, and the player will likely have to redo fights every now and then. The system is very simple, using minimal buttons to build up a combo idea. But timing can be tricky, and the player’s character is very fragile. Other than melee combat, the controls are generally

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g a m e c c a r ev i ew • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

that will suck you in and keep you exploring and fighting for hours. The city doesn’t seem anywhere near crowded enough, though… then again, too many characters walking around the streets would have made the game a lot more difficult. The plot is fairly good, too, but while it hints at the emotional turmoil that Wei Shen is undergoing during the operation, this aspect of the tale could have been turned up a notch or two. Still, it’s good entertainment, and features a number of eccentric characters for the player to interact with. If John Woo ever made a movie starring Bruce Lee, and they made a decent video game of that project, this would be it. Car chases (with a decent shooting-while-driving system) street fights, gun battles and crazy stunts abound in Sleeping Dogs. There is no

multiplayer, other than leader boards, but the game would likely not work well with more than one player anyway, other than things like street races. It will require patience, though. The true joy of this game takes a few hours to discover, as said before. Setting it aside after a little frustration would be a true crime (see what I did there) because it evolves from being an OK game to a good game a few hours in. Adjust your thinking a little, and get used to the control system. Then you’re A-OK, and enjoying a compelling game, to boot. If driving around causing chaos is your bag, then Sleeping Dogs is a good bet; with so much to do, including many amusing mini-games (even for action like lock picking a code breaking) it offers something for virtually any taste. g

AT A GLANCE: Action Adventure

Reviewed on:

Although the first few hours can be frustrating, Sleeping Dogs is an awesome, action packed free-roaming title. Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

True Crime, Grand Theft Auto Local

Network

Online

United Front Games Square Enix Megarom

Parental Advisory

18+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

83 55

Darksiders II

Strange Eons Death rides out, and deals some… um, death.

by Walt Pretorius

all on his own and damning humanity. This landed the rider in rather hot water, resulting in his meaner brother, Death (because war doesn’t necessarily kill you, but death always does) to ride out and try and redeem him. His plan: to resurrect humanity. Not very Death-like, really, but neither is finding redemption for someone. All in all, it’s an odd concept, and the mythology behind this new game (which expands upon that created in the first Darksiders) liberally borrows from ideas in the Christian Bible, and messes with them completely. The origin of the Nephilim, for example, has been altered, as well as the origins of the Four Horsemen. Then again, this game isn’t a Bible lesson, so… poetic license and all that, right? I will stop being such a stickler for tradition. Death’s adventure takes him through various different

Review

he Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - War, Death, Famine and Pestilence – are once again… oh, wait. Um, let’s try that again. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, War, Death, Fury and Strife… OK, wait, hang on. I am all for poetic license, but if you’re going to use a concept as widely known as the Four Horsemen, surely you need to stick to tradition? Not according to developers Vigil, who have summarily changed a centuries old concept for some or other reason. Whatever that may be doesn’t really matter, I guess, because in Darksiders II it is Death that matters. And Death is pretty traditional. In the previous game, War rode out and caused all kinds of trouble, pretty much launching the Apocalypse

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realms as he searches for a way to resurrect humanity (with references to all kinds of mythologies). In these realms, he needs to face obstacles, overcome puzzles and destroy thousands of enemies to get to where he needs to go. That, quite simply is what a game like this should have on offer. Darksiders II is lots of fun, sometimes almost despite itself. It treads a fine line between brilliance and disappointment, with elements that fall in both directions. First off, the game world is huge, offering a far longer gaming experience than the original. That’s a brilliant aspect. But the action gets rather repetitive before long, and the realms also lack large amounts of variety. Disappointment. That kind of ‘plus-and-minus’ enters into almost every aspect of the game, resulting in a title that

most will enjoy, some will love, and some will hate. The major difference between Darksiders II and the original game is the very nature of it. Where War’s adventure was really all about killing lots of things, Darksiders II leads Death down a different kind of path. This time around, the focus has shifted slightly away from combat, thanks to the introduction of role-playing style elements. Death will gain levels throughout the course of the game, along with skill points that can be spent in one of two skill trees. In addition, Death will gain new useful items during his adventures, including a huge number of very cool weapons. Some of these can even be upgraded with skill levels of their own, which allows the player to – to a degree – create a weapon that better suits their purpose. With the greater focus on adventure-type gaming, the

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case that the player will be kicking themselves for not seeing the obvious path sooner. There are a few challenges that take inventive thinking, but they are the exception rather than the rule. The gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s combat is also a mixed bag. General enemies are plentiful, but they do not require much more than button mashing to wade through. On the other hand, the game feature some epic boss battles that will have the player scratching their head to figure out the bad guyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weaknesses. These boss battles are where Darksiders II shines, because they are fun and often very challenging. They can punish the player a bit, though, with unskippable cut-scenes drawing the process out a little too much from time to time. A lot of the gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charm comes from its presentation.

Review

player can expect maze-like levels and lots of fetchingand-carrying. In fact, there is too much of the latter. Virtually every mission will have Death running around looking for a bunch of items before he gets down to business. This aspect of the game can get a little annoying, when all is said and done. Another annoyance stems from the levels themselves. They tend towards movement-puzzles. The kind of thing where you have to flip that lever over there to unlock this door, which will allow you to access that pressure plate to lower the platform, which will get you to the section where you have to wall run to get to the next lever. You know what I am talking about. For the most part, these stages tend to be more time consuming than challenging, and even when they do get tougher, often it will be the

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Although the graphics are not quite what we had hoped they would be, they are still good, and the overall art direction is excellent. Added to that is very good voice acting, particularly for the droll and sometimes snide character of Death – who you can’t help but liking, despite the fact that he is the embodiment of mortality. Darksiders II did not escape issues. There are a number of bugs that crop up momentarily in this title, as is often the case with games that are so massive in scope. They are little more than minor annoyances, though, and the player will be able to deal with them more often than not. The slightly dodgy camera is by far the worst of them, but it is by no means ruinous. In fact, none of Darksiders II’s problems could be called that. It is one of those games that, even if it takes you

to the heights of controller-smashing frustration, you will still go back to time and again. It might be a little too ambitious, with many of its shortcomings the direct result of the fact that it is simply too big, but the overall experience is really rather fun. It feels very different to the previous game, moving away from the blasted earth to varied realms, and the heightened focus on adventure may be a little disconcerting to fans of the previous title. But when all is said and done, this is a very entertaining title indeed. The lead character is cool, the action is intense – particularly during boss battles – and the puzzles will, at times, get you scratching your head. Vigil may have missed a few marks here, but this is a very interesting – and entertaining – step for the franchise. One cannot help but wonder what the inevitable sequel will bring to the table. g

AT A GLANCE: Action Adventure

Reviewed on:

X360

It may have a few flaws, but Darksiders II presents an interesting new route for the franchise. Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Darksiders, Soul Reaver Local

Network

Online

Vigil THQ Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory

16+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

80 61

Deadlight

Shine On Light is life, shadows are death

by Charlie Fripp

The main character, Randall, is a survivor with four other people, and it’s up to them to figure out how to stop the outbreak, and find rescue. But Randall soon finds out that they aren’t the only survivors as he learns of group calling themselves The New Law, who has taken to extreme measures to protect themselves – even if that means attacking Randall’s group. While it doesn’t explicitly list them as influences, Deadlight does weave in and out of similar plot points and characters found in modern post-apocalyptic films such as The Road, The Walking Dead and even borrows a bit from Alan Wake. In the game, the enemies are not referred to as zombies, but rather Shadows, and the player is strongly urged not to engage in combat and stay as far away from the Shadows as possible. While that might sound like an obvious thing

Review

ombies have been present in folklore and urban tales for a very long time, and have been incorporated into almost every media imaginable. The have been cast as fearless and ruthless man hunters in various films, they have been sung about in music and they have naturally made their mark on video games. While the general idea has pretty much stayed the same, developer Tequila Works decided to do things a bit differently with their Xbox Live Arcade title Deadlight. Not only is the title a sidescrolling survival horror cinematic platformer, but the way in while the player needs to tackle the levels and the zombies have been given a bit of a twist. In terms of the plot, it takes place in 1986 in the Washington State city of Seattle, following the outbreak of a virus that turned all dead people into zombies.

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considering zombies aren’t exactly the guest you want at a tea party, it’s sometimes very hard to avoid them. When players do find themselves in a position where they need to defend themselves, melee combat will be the only way out. The only object that players will find in the title to fend off the rotting walkers is a fire axe that uses stamina. Use too much stamina in melee attacks, and Randall is virtually powerless. It does take some serious getting used to, and players might find it a bit frustrating at first. Often it seems like there is no other way than to engage in combat, and it’s not the easiest thing in the world – especially if the game insists that combat should be avoided at all cost. See, the thing about the game is that the more enemies Randall kill, the more zombies he attracts. Players progress through the levels by completing a number of

puzzles and if Randall starts attacking, there might be too many zombies for him to be able to complete them – and eventually gets swamped. Besides being a zombie-themed side-scroller, the other thing that makes Deadlight unique is the fact that graphics are pretty cool – hand-drawn with minimal colour fluctuation to give all a bleak environment. Some gamers don’t like this about the title, as it can make the game look uninteresting with a low-level of detail. But the title works well and weaves an intricate plot (although similar to other story lines), which should keep gamers busy for a while. Gamers who enjoyed titles such as Limbo and Shadow Complex will feel right at home. While the controls can be a bit frustrating, it’s still a great game. g

AT A GLANCE: Platformer

Reviewed on:

X360

Fans of Limbo will absolutely love this

Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Shadow Complex, Limbo Local

Network

Online

Tequila Works Microsoft Microsoft

Parental Advisory

16+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

80 63

New Super Mario Bros. 2

Same Again

OK, this ‘kidnapping Peach’ plotline is getting old… by Walt Pretorius

ideas behind the title are exactly the same as any other Mario title. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… that is how the old saw goes and, quite frankly, in the case of the platform-style Mario game, they aren’t broken. But does this kind of game dynamic – addictive as it is – appeal to a newer generation. Sure, Mario has tons of tradition behind it, but evolution is also important, and these games are feeling more than a little like rehashed formulas. This one in particular. Perhaps it is time for the developers to do a little more than add shiny new elements to the game. Purists may well strongly disagree, but in the case of this release in particular, things are starting to feel just a little old. Not that the game isn’t fun. Far from it, in fact; New Super Mario Bros. 2 is as enjoyable and addictive as any

Review

ew franchises can claim the longevity of the Mario series. In fact, I am willing to wager that no other series of video games has the rich variety, number of releases and well-entrenched recognisability of these games. And we have seen Mario everywhere. But the real core of the franchise is the platforming action that made him famous. So it is hardly surprising that Nintendo produces games the hail back to those early days. New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the second title to carry the word “new” in its name but, in essence, while these two games have offered a few new ideas, the core game dynamics have not changed since the first time Mario collected a coin. That, when you get down to it, is actually a bit worrying. Sure, there are concepts like new suits for the Italian plumber to wear, but the core

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Super Mario Bros game in the past. Princess Peach has, predictably, been kidnapped (that chick really needs better home security) and Mario and Luigi undertake her recue. This is done by running through numerous platform based worlds, each of which has several levels and two boss castles. The boss battles are probably the easiest in any Mario title yet, and the whole thing feels simpler than before. That said, the player won’t necessarily breeze through the title, as there are more than enough challenging stages around. A great emphasis has been placed on gold this time around, and the game keeps an overall tally of coins collected, urging the player to try for one million coins. Every now and then the coin tally unlocks new aspects of the game, too. In addition, there are power-ups that turn enemies into

hyper-gold-producing types, a gold brick for Mario to wear on his head (during which time he spawns gold coins) and tons of other things that make coins more important than ever in this outing. Players who prefer to take the challenge on with a friend can engage in co-op gaming, but the camera and viewing angles aren’t very friendly in this respect; independent views would have been nice, but no-go here. The sadest aspect here, though, is that the 3D element of the game is almost entirely window dressing. You might as well just turn it off and save yourself some potential eye strain. In fact, the game looks better with the 3D turned off. Despite its problems, this is an extremely fun and addictive game. Yes, the franchise needs a bit of refreshing… as long as they don’t lose the fun. g

AT A GLANCE: Platform

Reviewed on:

3DS

It’s great fun to play, but the franchise is starting to show it age... Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

New Super Mario Bros. Local

Network

Online

Nintendo Nintendo Core Group

Parental Advisory

3+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

79 65

Dead Island Game of the Year Edition

Still on Vacation Some fixes and new missions

by Walt Pretorius

e don’t often get to look at Game of the Year releases, but Apex Interactive sent us a copy of the Dead Island GOTY and we were very glad that they did. While there isn’t a huge amount of new game content going in this special edition of everyone’s favourite holiday zombie basher, the changes are quite noticeable. Obviously this version comes out with all the latest updates, and the overall feel of Dead Island is certainly better for it. In addition, the player gets to enjoy the Ryder White missions, previously released as DLC, a bit later on in the story. And there’s the Bloodbath Arena, an add-on to the game that lets the player compete in a swarmstyle zombie-killing spree. And, last but not least, the player is given the blueprint to create the Ripper in-

game, a rather nasty baseball bat and saw-blade combo. In short, there is a bunch of new stuff. If you already own Dead Island, getting this edition is probably unnecessary. With only one DLC pack it feels a little light, in the end. Not a lot has changed, save for the technical fixes that leave the game feeling a lot better than the original release. However, if you haven’t experienced the gory joy that Banoi Island has to offer, the GOTY edition certainly is the way to go. It takes one of last year’s more enjoyable releases – not to mention a wonderfully inventive survival horror title – and gives it a new lease on life. And let’s be honest… Dead Island was great fun. Sure, not the finest game ever, but it is one of Techland’s better titles, and one that every zombie and survival-horror fan should play through, at least once. g

AT A GLANCE: Survival Horror

Reviewed on:

X360

The new contents and fixes do improve the game, but the final offering does feel a little lighter than expected. Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Dead Island Local 1

Network

Review

18+ gamecca39

Online

Techland Deep Silver Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

The Sims 3 Diesel Stuff Pack

Fashion Victim The latest Diesel threads for your sims…

by Walt Pretorius

Review

AT A GLANCE: Genre:

Simulation

Reviewed on:

Even more stuff to clutter your sims’ lives with...

Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Any given Sims stuff pack Local

Network

Online

Sims Studio Electronic Arts EA South Africa

Parental Advisory

13+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Platforms

t is a fairly well-known fact that people who play the Sims 3 are addicted to keeping their little computer people happy. EA don’t help this; they release a new set of something every now and then to keep that addiction going, either in the form of a game changing expansion, or in the form of a stuff pack, which adds more elements to the game. Things like furniture, clothes and wall décor are common in stuff packs, and this latest one is no different. And if you’re brand conscious, this little bit of Sims-crack is just for you. The Sims 3 Diesel Stuff pack has very little to do with engines, and everything to do with one of the most recognised fashion brands in the world. With this pack you will be able to deck your sims out in the latest Diesel fashions, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your opinion of the Diesel line. This isn’t the first time that The Sims has cashed in on the success of another brand. Ikea fell victim to the ploy as well, as did a few others. And it’s a great idea, really, if you want to bring that real world feel into your virtual town. But it does seem, from time to time, that EA are well aware of the power they hold over Sims fans, and are more than willing to exploit it to make a few bucks. That, essentially, seems to be what stuff packs are all about. It is not necessary to get this, because it brings no changes to the game dynamic. It will really only enhance the visuals. If that’s important to you, feel free – there’s a lot on offer here. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

75 67

Le Tour De France 2012

On the Road Again Taking on the best in the business

by Charlie Fripp

there is no place for players to create new rider in their likeness. It’s not a huge issue, but players don’t simply want to take over another rider, but rather see themselves in the game as a created character. Typically there are about five or six riders per team, and gamers will be to select any team that currently races in the event. After selecting a team and a starting rider, players will be shown a short informational video about the section of the route that they are about to ride. It has to be noted that there is no tutorial at the beginning of the game, so players will have to manually navigate towards the tutorial section in the menu – and even that is slightly incomplete. While the tutorial is helpful, it’s only text on top of a bunch of screenshot – which is not ideal, as rider can’t practise certain

Review

he Tour De France is the annual cycling calendar’s most prestigious event, and many winners of this athletic discipline have gone on to do great things. It takes a certain kind of man to dedicate a great amount of time to train for the 21 daily stages that span around 3,500 km through France and surrounding countries. But luckily players won’t have to be fit to endure the gruelling pace, as the official game to the 2012 Tour De France (a.k.a Pro Cycling Manager 2012 on PC) takes the hassle out of cycling for hours on end. Starting a new career in the effort to become the greatest cycler of the year, players are asked to choose a riding team and select their team mates. There is an option to edit names of the team mates, so gamers will be able to insert their own, but unfortunately

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techniques before heading out. Being a cycling game with a high pace, there is actually very little peddling that the player has to manually do. Almost all of the actions are automatically taken care of; the only thing that players will have to make sure of is the pace at which the character races. The pace is shown by a coloured bar that the bottom, and the harder a cyclist works, the more it shifts into the red. Setting a strong pace uses up more energy, and players only have a limited supply of energy for casual peddling, aggressive cycling and attacking hard. While peddling itself is done automatically during the Tour, players need to tap the action button to the point of where they want the cyclist to remain in terms of energy use and effort. Once they have decided on a pace, players

need to hold in the action button and the cyclist will maintain that pace for as long as possible. The title is actually a lot more technical than one would think, as there are a number of decisions that go with it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and not just blinding cycling along with the peloton. Players will need to decide when to set the pace themselves, when to attack for a sprint and when to hang back and let the other riders do the hard work. In terms of graphics it could have been a lot better. The visuals resemble that of a lower-budget PC game, and gamers will frequently see texture popping and a slight inconsistency in graphic rendering. But fans of the Tour De France should be able to forgive the title for its shortcomings and has a great time completing with some of the sports legends. g

AT A GLANCE: Sports

Reviewed on:

While itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the greatest game ever, it should provide for momentary enjoyment Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Pro Cycling Manager 2011 Local

Network

Online

Cyanide Focus Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory

3+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

76 69

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Keyblades... Saving the universe again.

by Walt Pretorius

franchise is not that strange, even though it is. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is not exactly all doom and gloom, but it does tend towards a more adult way of thinking and approaching topics. The large number of Disney characters may make it seem like a kids’ game, but the 12+ age restriction should be a bit of a hint that the game isn’t meant for very young players. Dream Drop Distance reprises the characters of Sora and Riku, who we were introduced to in the very first instalment of this growing franchise. Using both characters, the player will be able to explore a large number of different locations, while trying to become qualified Keyblade Masters (and, naturally, saving the world in the process.) The two characters have disparate story lines, but the game uses an interesting system to keep the player bouncing between the two. Part of the inspiration for the game’s rather strange

Review

ne would think that the unlikely combination of two very different worlds – say one aimed at a rather adult way of thinking and one geared towards a family entertainment environment – would not necessarily meet with much success. But the Kingdom Hearts franchise has disproved that idea. These games are essentially an amalgamation of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series and Disney’s bright and colourful characters. And, interestingly enough, the games tend to deal with rather deep and often adult concepts, tending towards darker story lines. And still they work. That said, some of Disney’s animated entertainment does the same. Themes and plot devices in movies like The Black Cauldron and even The Little Mermaid tend to go in similar directions, despite the wider, kiddie-friendly appeal of these works. And so, when you get down to it, the Kingdom Hearts

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name, the Drop system will haul the player out of one particular story line and drop them into another. And not necessarily at convenient times: you might be in the middle of a pitched boss battle when the game decides that your time with that particular character is over, and you get pulled away from what you were doing to spend some time on the other character. The effect, at first, is jarring to say the least. But it soon becomes apparent that this system is rather clever. It manages to create a movie-like series of cuts between the two characters that help support the idea of the concurrent adventures they are experiencing. Even though the player can prevent this from happening to a degree (thanks to an item called a Drop-Me-Not) the effect becomes quite satisfying after the first few times. Another thing that Dream Drop Distance introduces is

a great new combat system called Flowmotion. This time around, thanks to this, the combat is smooth and takes the environment into account, leading to a fairly simple system that is none-the-less rather cinematic. But the effectiveness of this system is up to the player… if they choose to just button mash their way through each fight, it won’t yield particularly impressive results. Graphically pretty, with great 3D effects, Dream Drop Distance is an extremely welcome addition to the franchise, and one that has chins wagging about the possibility of a new full sequel. It’s is a wonderful addition to any 3DS owners library, particularly those that enjoy a healthy dose of JRPG game dynamics. It won’t suit everyone, of course, but those that enjoy this kind of title, with its engaging story line and host of characters, will love the latest Kingdom Hearts offering. g

AT A GLANCE: Adventure

Reviewed on:

A great addition to the 3DS and the franchise, Kingdom Hearts 3D brings some interesting new ideas to the table. Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Kingdom Hearts Local

Network

Online

Square Enix Nintendo Core Group

Parental Advisory

12+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

3DS Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

80 71

Adidas Micoach

Good Intentions We know all about those, right?

by Walt Pretorius

further amplified thanks to an online tracking service that will allow the user to check stats and schedule specific workouts, either through their console or a website. There are even associated mobile apps. As a concept, this whole package sounds almost too good to be true. After all, specific discipline training at the hands of some of the world’s best athletes is worth a hell of a lot, particularly if you are serious about the chosen sport. Even if you want a more general work-out, these sports stars can guide you in more than 400 exercises designed to tone, sculpt, burn and all that other good stuff. Here’s the thing, though… it seems that all the good ideas stopped before they got to the coders. While Micoach offers all of these excellent concepts to the player, the actual execution of the game lacks all kinds of

Review

hen a particular trend starts showing dividends, there are always a lot of people who leap on to the band wagon, in an attempt to milk it. Sometimes these attempts actually produce products that are excellent. At other times, they are less than great. And despite having all the best intentions in the world, Adidas Micoach manages to fall short of being in the former group. The very idea behind Micoach is brilliant; it allows the player to choose a particular sporting discipline – from things like football, basketball, tennis and rugby – and perform specific, focussed training aimed at improving the user with that particular sport in mind. Motivation is added by using a number of well-known sporting stars, associated with the available disciplines, to guide and push the user along. The whole effect is

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g a m e c c a r ev i ew • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

polish. The menus are a great example. People who want to work out want to stay active, to keep their heart rate up and keep the body guessing and working. The maze of menus that the user needs to navigate to get to a workout doesn’t really affect that concept, but the fact that there are menus between various routines means that the player will be swiping and selecting when they should be burning and toning. This leaves the work-outs feeling oddly disjointed, where what you really want is flow. Then there is the movement tracking. It is very good sometimes, and awful at others. While the player has a large representation of themselves on the screen to monitor their movement, but that means diddly when the game cannot tell the difference between a correct and incorrect repetition of a given exercise. Particularly not

if you want to make use of that stat tracking system. Sometimes it won’t count reps. At others, even the slightest movement may register as a rep. It renders the tracking completely ineffective, and it is extremely frustrating if you take your workouts seriously. You can work up a sweat, though, if you manage to find a sweet spot for movement recognition. The coaches will keep trying to motivate you, too, but the voice acting is achingly mediocre. It’s better not to listen to them at all. Micoach is a great idea, and a very valiant attempt. But as it stands, it certainly does not feature as one of the better work-outs available out there.We’d still put our money on a product like Zumba for a great all round workout. The focussed nature of this one may appeal more, but it’s a lot of work. g

AT A GLANCE: Fitness

Reviewed on:

X360

A great idea, but it has a few issues that may leave the user wanting. Similar to: MaxPlayers Developer: Publisher: Distributer:

Zumba, Your Shape, UFC Fitness Trainer Local

Network

Online

Lightning Fish 505 Games Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory

3+ gamecca39

Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Platforms

Genre:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSV DS 3DS

Score

60 73

Unreal It really was...

Essential Classics

by James Francis

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GAME INFO. Genre: Shooter Released: 1997 Find It On: Gog.com Works On: Windows

oday the words ‘Unreal Tech’ seem so synonymous with gaming that you have to wonder if anything is made without the touch of that engine. It has, handsdown, won the engine race of the early part of this century, a time when some game developers focused on the cash-cow possibilities of licensing their software to other developers. id Software was the first the really do this: the Quake engine led to many great franchises, the mightiest being Half-Life and the behemoth that we know as Valve. Since its release in 1996, Quake had been the golden standard for gaming engines. When Unreal appeared in 1998, it was in many ways a Johnny-come-lately. The 3D accelerator wars were just getting started. Quake 2 was a monster hit. You either had to go big or go home. Fortunately Epic went big. It wasn’t a novice developer, with well over a dozen games under its belt and thus in good shape for the fight. But Unreal would still be a watershed, both for the company and the shooter genre. To be clear, I am a complete Quake fan and Unreal failed to seduce me when it hit shelves. I played it, but the game demanded a monster machine and its slower pace of gameplay did not gel with the explosive antics of Quake 2. Yet in returning to it now, it is clear which was the better game. At the very least I will concede that Unreal was just as good as Quake 2 and arguably a bigger influence on the genre. Unreal was not a simple matter of jump in and pull the trigger. It started with you escaping a ship teetering on destruction, having crashed on an unknown planet called Na Pali. In an attempt to escape the world, you soon learn that this planet has two races living on it - and one is not that friendly. It was, for its time, quite cerebral. Puzzles went beyond finding keycards and levels were more than just interesting mazes filled with bad things. There was a certain overarching unity to it all that was rarely seen in shooters of the Nineties, bar such cult classics as System Shock. Not that it wasn’t an action game - you do a lot of shooting in Unreal. It just wasn’t as blunt an instrument as Quake. There were some flaws - the arsenal, though broad, really does lack the kind of punch you want in a shooter. But Unreal more than made up for that in several ways. It had, for the time, far larger open areas than any other shooter and it broke the gender barrier by making your character female. Unreal was called as such because it was just that nobody had quite seen graphics and design like it before. Still, it never managed to gain the clout that the Quake series did and had to patiently wait until id started dropping the ball with Quake 4. Unreal showed that Epic had better ideas and far more of them. By the time id lost its steam, Epic had just gotten started and would eventually release Gears of War. Looking back, the influence of the Skaarj Unreal’s antagonists - are also clear in GOW’s locusts. It’s no surprise that Cliff Bleszinski was one of Unreal’s level designers. You could even argue that the film Avatar lifted a few ideas from this classic. g

gamecca39

Game Stat Big size, big power

W Review

Asus G75V Notebook PC

e love it when people buck trends. OK, maybe this isn’t exactly that, because it does fall into a growing category of portable computers, but Asus’ G75V certainly doesn’t follow the ideas that the majority of notebooks follow these days. In a world where everything is getting smaller and lighter, the G75 enters the fray as a literal and figuarive heavyweight. See, having a sleek, tiny notebook that you carry around with you is all good and well if you’re going to be using it for light work or internet browsing, but these devices don’t cater for a massive market out there – gamers. And while some might scoff at gaming as being unimportant, there is a multi-billion dollar industry out there that feels otherwise. And so devices like the G75 become necessary, because there are many gamers out there that want to carry their machine with them. This is always a chore when it comes to desktop computers, but those are generally the most common devices capable of running games. Hang on a second, though… let’s consider the specifications of the G75. An Intel i7 CPU running at 2.6GHz forms the core of the device, supported by a generous 16GB of RAM. Graphics are provided by a GeForce GTX 670M chipset, with a rather nice 1GB of VRAM at its disposal. And a total of just over 1TB of hard drive space - with 256GB of that by way of solid state storage – rounds off the picture. On paper, that’s pretty impressive. And it is impressive in practice, too; the G75 blazes along at speeds that will keep any gamer happy. The full chicklet style keyboard and large display also help. A very responsive off-set track pad rounds out the control system. Keeping that hardware cool can be a challenge, but the G75 uses an intelligent cooling system (that is easy to keep clean, thankfully) to calm temperatures down. And for other entertainment, the device has a built-in Blu-Ray drive and 3D capabilities. The sound is pretty good, too – it even sports a small sub-woofer to help fill out the bass tones. Audio ports, a card reader, HDMI output, four USB 3.0 ports and several other connectors provide everything a gamer would need, and add versatility to this powerful device. The only real downside here is that this is a very large, very heavy portable computer. But when you cram as much power into a system as this has, it needs to be big. There isn’t much of a way around that yet. And considering the impressive aesthetic and brilliant performance it delivers, a little weight isn’t that much of a sacrifice. In short, if you want your PC gaming portable, this is a brilliant device for you. g

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tion

by Walt Pretorius

Summary

Tech Specs:

A very big notebook, with performance to match – perfect for gaming on the go...

M a nufa c turer Distributer: O nline: RRP:

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Very powerful Big screen Great design

i7 2.6GHz CPU 16GB RAM 750GB HDD 250GB SSD 1GB VRAM

A sus A sus www.a sus.c om TB C

Pros • • • • •

• • • • • •

Cons • • • • •

Massive

Score

95 77

I S S U E 2 3 / Vo l . 2 September 2012

www.gladgetmag.com

In the Beginning The true pioneers of computing...

Performer Logic 3 enters the Ferrari market

Free Online Mag

www.gladgetmag.com Technically, playful !

No Noise! Other than the noise you want

Review

Asus Vulcan Pro Active-Noise-Cancelling Pro Gaming Headset

T T

he number one gripe that anyone using a printer regularly has comes down to the often exorbitant cost of replacement ink cartridges. The semi-joke that is cheaper to just replace the printer has some truth to it… in some cases, this would really be cheaper. But there is a general move in the printer industry to change this idea, and HP are one of the companies at the forefront of that drive. Their new Ink Advantage range of printers is intended to introduce better ink pricing for those that use their products, provided they have a compatible printer. The trade-off is that the printers are generally a bit more expensive but, in the long run, this works out better for the consumer. The HP Ink Advantage 5525 is part of this range, and offers the end-user a printer that is not only better in terms of running costs, but is also very easy to use. HP haven’t dumbed the printer down, though – rather, they have created a very friendly device. In terms of economy, the 5525 uses four individual ink cartridges, which automatically makes more financial sense. But HP are also claiming that you can print as many as twice the number of pages at the same cost, which makes even more sense. While conditions vary, we did find that the cartridges lasted longer than expected, even when printing full colour, high resolution images. The 5525 also allows for double sided printing, which not only looks spiffy, but also means less paper gets used… cost effective and environmentally friendly. Speaking of friendly, the 5525 is designed to make the user’s life as easy as possible. It allows for scanning, printing and copying, as well as scanning to email. There is no fax functionality, which shouldn’t be a problem for the majority of users. In addition, the device allows for ePrinting and web-connectivity. The latter feature allows apps for the printer to be downloaded. All controls are handled by a 2.65 inch touch screen mounted on the front of the printer. In terms of design, it is a rather nice looking device. The omission of a document feeder means that it is a bit smaller than the average HP all-in-one, and the designers obviously played to that compact idea as much as they could. It is sleeker, rather than big and bulky, which makes for a nice change. On the whole, the new technology and clever ideas worked into the 5525 make it a reliable, cost effective and easy-to-use device. How cost effective it will be in the long run remains to be seen, but we feel pretty confident in predicting that this new technology will certainly prove pocket-friendly, too. g

gamecca39

by Walt Pretorius

ou can’t beat a great set of headphones. They are one of the most useful devices around, because they provide personal audio for a great many activities. But a large focus for headphones has become the video gaming arena, particularly when it comes to PC based games. A great number of advances have been made in headphone technology thanks to this activity, and the market for gaming-specific headphones is very strong indeed. Here in South Africa we don’t often see products like headphones from Asus (we are more used to their PC components and laptops) but their Vulcan Pro headset is locally available, and is well worth considering when you make your next headset purchase. The headset looks really impressive, finished in black and red. It can be folded up and transported in a sturdy carry case, provided with the headset. The carry case also has space for the removable microphone, as well as the cables needed to connect the headset to your PC. This is really the only downside of the device – it is not wireless. But the cable length is generous, and an included cable management system makes is fairly easy to control. The headset can be plugged directly into the PC, or into the cables, driver-free USB audio processor. This really is the best option, as it allows for the extended audio functionality – including virtual surround sound – to be used. It does add a bit of cable length, but the ease of being able to process audio in different ways, just at the press of a button on the unit, makes it worth it. An in-line volume control and mic-mute switch are situated on the cable that plugs into the headset, so the user will have that control whether using the audio processor or not. Another big bonus is that the Vulcan Pro makes use of active noise cancellation technology. That means the user can cut out the vast majority of external sound and really concentrate on their gaming. The ANC does affect bass response a little, though, so it is best used only when necessary. That said, it does make quite a difference… 85% of low frequency noise is eliminated, and things like the human voice and other environmental noise is greatly reduced. Most importantly, this headset delivers great audio performance. In addition, it is extremely comfortable to use, even for extended periods. Although it looks pretty big, it is very light in weight, and the head band and full ear cups are coated with memory foam (covered in breathable Japanese protein leather). Asus’ Vulcan Pro headset is a serious winner when it comes to gaming audio. The comfort, sound quality and USB processing all add significantly to getting great ingame sound. g

Summary

Tech Specs:

This is a great headset for those who take their PC gaming seriously

M a nufa c turer Distributer: O nline: RRP:

gamecca39

Excellent audio Noise cancelling Audio modes

40mm neodymium driver Noise cancelling USB processor 326g Virtual 7.1 surround

A sus A sus www.a sus.c om TB C

Pros • • • • •

• • • • • •

Cons • • • • •

Cables...

Score

90 81

Shiny... LG LM9600 47 Inch Smart TV

A new direction

S Review

mart TVs are here to stay, even though they do seem a bit strange in the South African market, where very few homes have the level of internet connectivity and networking to take full advantage of the idea. And the technology is moving very quickly, zooming through generations faster than a greased pig. And with the new technology comes a number of new ideas in terms of functionality and design. LG’s LM9600 47” Smart TV, which also features their excellent Cinema 3D technology, is a good example of this. When you look at the unit, with its unusual stand and seriously skinny bezel, you can almost picture where the future of TV is going. The big, clear screen is surrounded by a bezel that is less than 10mm thick – which looks great. It would have looked better, though, if LG had stuck with their traditional matt black plastic

look, rather than opting for a slightly anachronistic chrome finish. Additionally, the manufacturer – for some strange reason – decided to move away from the matt screen finish, and made this one shiny. I have always been a fan of those matt screens, found in LG TVs and monitors. I hope this is not a new direction… Armed with Nano LED technology, the image is clear and bright, with good colour reproduction. There was a little ghosting happening from time to time, from different input sources, which is a little concerning. Then again, it might be the unit we reviewed – it would be something you should check for on a demo model. The LM9600 features a host of inputs, including direct USB input and external HDD compatibility. These are great features, making viewing media from external sources a breeze. And with LG’s 2D to 3D technology, viewing family photos on this TV can be fun. Don’t expect

gamecca39

by Walt Pretorius

miracles, but it does work. The TV, aside from its host of Smart TV applications and other bells and whistles, ships with passive 3D glasses and two remotes. The first remote is a standard one, while the other is an improved, motion sensitive unit that is quite cool to use, when you get used to it. On the whole, this is not a bad TV, but it certainly is not the best one we have seen from LG. With the exceptional quality that LG generally delivers, the LM9600’s few shortcomings become a bit more disappointing than they should be. And thanks to the Smart TV component’s higher price point, this is exacerbated even more. It’s not a bad TV, and when compared to similar units from other manufacturers, it stands up well. But when compared to LG TVs available at a better price point, the extra expense seems unnecessary. g

Summary

Tech Specs:

While it performs well enough, this isn’t the best TV we have seen from LG

M a nufa c turer Distributer: O nline: RRP:

gamecca39

Excellent 3D Good colouR

47 inch screen Cinema 3D Smart TV Nano LED technology 2 remotes included

LG LG www.lg e.c om R21 999

Pros • • • • •

• • • • • •

Cons • • • • •

Retro? Not the finest LG TV

Score

79 83

Lots of Bac Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 Motherboard

A fast, cool, stable AMD motherboard

A Review

good motherboard is essential for effective computing. It’s a fact. But there are many good motherboards out there, so choosing the right one can be tricky. And because they generally all deliver excellent performance, one needs to start looking at special features when selecting the perfect device. There are certain brands, though, that can generally be relied on for excellent results, and Asus is one of them. With a strong focus not only on quality products, but also on enthusiast-level features, Asus motherboards normally deliver excellent performance. And the Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 is no different. If you prefer your processor to be AMD flavoured, this is an excellent option. Using an AMD AM3+ socket, this board provides excellent stability and very good performance. And it looks the part, too, moving away from the more “fun” bright colours towards down-toned

neutral hues. Then again, looks aren’t what are important for a motherboard (not really). It is the kind of components used, and the technology built into the device. The Sabertooth makes use of CeraM!X cooling technology, which provides a larger heat dissipation area (thanks to surface irregularities on a microscopic level) and uses non-traditional materials to get rid of heat faster. This is supported by a heat sensing system that automatically adjusts fan speeds when critical areas of the motherboard need extra cooling. And it really does run a lot cooler than expected, which is never a bad thing. Military standard components add longevity to the device, particularly for overclockers. Here, too, the Sabertooth excels, with extremely good technology to help squeeze every available ounce of performance out of the board. Digi+ Power Control technology monitors voltages to ensure stability, allowing for extremely precise tuning of the CPU and RAM.

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Even working with the BIOS is easy with this board, thanks to a mouse driven interface. And flashing the BIOS is simple, too, with systems that allow new BIOS updates to be tested before they are applied, and even letting the user roll back BIOS updates if they need to. The board is generous with USB and other ports, and includes on-board eight channel audio. This device is a rather serious motherboard. While it will serve the more casual user perfectly, it has a lot of appeal for enthusiasts. Overclockers will be able to tweak to their heart’s content, and always keep the board updated and running smoothly. The excellent heat dissipation and strong components are massive bonuses too. In fact, there are numerous features and bonuses on offer with this board that not only improve performance, but also provide peace of mind. It is stable, effective and quick, at the end of the day, and a very good option to consider. g

by Rob Edwards

ckbone

Summary

Tech Specs:

Tis board is great for enthusiasts and hobbyists alike, with tons of excellent features.

M a nufa c turer Distributer: O nline: RRP:

gamecca39

Stable Easy BIOS systems Runs cool

AMD AM3+ TUF components Thermal radar CeraM!X technology Multi-GPU support 8 channel audio

A sus A sus www.a sus.c om TB C

Pros • • • • •

• • • • • •

Cons • • • • •

Not the cheapest board around

Score

92 85

The Pile From Space

by Christo van Gemert

The pile of unplayed games is growing. Every now and then there’s a spare review copy or an irresistible game sale, and it means that another game gets added to my collection. I am fussy about what I’d like to play, but I also value the opinions of good friends who have great taste in entertainment. As such, I have the first three Assassin’s Creed games, in addition to Fallout 3, Borderlands, and a bunch of others. Even the review copies I gracefully accept are decent games that should be fun: Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Dead Island are two recent examples (to be sure, the games I know I won’t play are passed

on to colleagues; I don’t hog all the action). Why is this? Well, I’m a creature of habit, and as we I older I tend not to venture beyond the familiar. I’m creatively conservative, I guess, and I’d rather have another few laps in Forza 4 than try out a new franchise that promises even more. A known-good quantity counts for a lot when we look at how the industry is changing. Big sequels have lots of money thrown at them, because that’s how you keep fans. Give them more of the same, but bigger and better. There’s very little actual innovation because game development is becoming lucrative,

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and that leads to expensive. Making a gamble on a new name and concept is something done on reputation. A developer like Naughty Dog can ride on the coat tails of its successful Uncharted series, because fans know the name behind the game. Naughty Dog’s next big title is a new intellectual property, and it looks fantastic. Unfortunately, thanks to the playit-safe attitude I share with and other developers, for different reasons, it means the pile of unplayed games might soon not be the one on your bookshelf – it’ll be the one in the local games shop. So, please, try out something new, today. g