Gamecca Magazine December 2010

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

i s s u e 1 8 / vo l 2 December 2010

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s! view e r e gam

Fallout: New Vegas Front Mission Evolved Shaun White Skateboarding Wii Party DJ Hero 2 007 Bloodstone Fighters Uncaged and many more...

Many Hands...

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Hard Rock Rock Band 3

The Clone

Star Wars:The Force Unleashed 2

Off the Books

Call of Duty: Black Ops

The Revolution

Fable III

Reboot

Tron returns...

Inside 6 From the Editor 8 Unstuck So where’s the Android, honey?

10 The Rat’s Nest The next RPG step 12 Future Vision Tron returns!

18 PS Zealot Deals and steals...

20 Xbox Beat A better dashboard?

22 House of Mario A retro Christmas 24 Reviews A massive 40 game reviews!

112 Stateside Get them hooked, bill them later...

114 Essential Classics Donkey Kong Country 118 Hardware Goodies for PC enthusiasts 124 The Lair Making it in Jozi...

THIS MONTH’S COVER Tron makes a return to the movie and game market See the feature on page 12.

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126 From Space Gotta love fanboy logic...

gamecca contents • issue 18 • December 2010

Reviews

26

Tron: Evolution

30

Call of Duty: Black Ops

34

Fable III

38

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

42

Rock Band 3

44

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

46

Wii Party

48

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

50

DJ Hero 2

52

WWE Smackdown VS RAW 2011

54

The Sims 3 (console version)

56

Fallout: New Vegas

58

James Bond 007: Blood Stone

60

Shaun White Skateboarding

62

Professor Layton and the Lost Future

64

The Sims 3: Late Night

66

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

68

Divinity II: Dragon Knight Chronicles

70

Apache Air Assault

72

Blood Drive

74

Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Defenders of the Core

76

MySims Sky Heroes

78

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

80

Fighters Uncaged

82

Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2

84

SAW 2: Flesh & Blood

86

Create

88

SingStar Guitar

90

Front Mission Evolved

92

Cities XL 2011

94

TV Superstars

98

Time Crisis: Razing Storm

100

Motion Sports

102

Hasbro Family Games Night 3

104

The Shoot

106

The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff

107

Monopoly Streets

108

Demolition Simulator

110

Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest

111

The Sims 3 (DS)

GAMECCA Volume2 Issue 18 December 2010 Editor: Walt Pretorius walt@gamecca.co.za Sub Editor: Jimmy Glue Writers: Alexia Pestana Brian Murdoch Bryan Banfield Dion Scotten Dylan Bouch Richard Bingham Suvesh Arumugam Letters: letters@gamecca.co.za Competition Entries: competitions@gamecca.co.za Newsletter Subscriptions: www.gamecca.co.za Design & Photography: 1337 Media Technical Support: Brian Murdoch Marketing Contact: Katia Taliadoros katia@gamecca.co.za

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gamecca contents • issue 18 • December 2010

Copyright © 1337 Media CC 2009 - 2010

5

The Big Finish From the Editor

by Walt Pretorius

2

008 was a year that made a massive impression on many video game journalists and enthusiasts. The sheer volume of games that hit the shelves in the third quarter of that year was staggering. There were many that believed we wouldn’t see another flood of releases like that for a very long time.

But two years isn’t a long time at all. This year’s third quarter has been an insane rush of new titles hitting the shelves. It’s been quite a mix, too, with some excellent titles rubbing packaging with some rather poor ones. But, good or bad, there have been a great many… which is why this particular issue of Gamecca is a bit different from the others.

Where we would normally bring you previews and features, these had to make way to ensure that we could cram as many game reviews into the issue as possible.

We view our main function as being a repository of reviews, so it’s easy to see why we took this approach.

Still, not everything made it in, and the January 2011 issue will also feature a fair amount of review content. One of the games that didn’t make it in time was the very long awaited Gran Turismo 5, which

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you’ll see emblazoned on the January cover. We would have liked to get it in (seeing as how everyone has been waiting for it for many years) but rather than produce a rushed review (as so many Internet based journalists have) we would rather spend some time with this ambitious title, and deliver a more solid view of it… even if it is a little later than everyone else.

Aside from putting together this very challenging issue, November was an interesting month (and the reasons for that will make the reason for the huge amount of game releases a little clearer.) Microsoft’s Kinect system is now officially here, and Xbox Live services were (finally) launched for South Africa.

Kinect has had a big impact on the market. This Christmas season is the first in a very long time that is being

fuelled by not one, but two exciting new releases in terms of hardware.

Not even the current generation of consoles had this kind of effect – they were spaced a year apart, after all. But the appearance of Sony’s Move and Microsoft’s Kinect has fuelled a frenzy of new game releases, making these very good options for Christmas shopping.

Christmas is almost upon us, as is the end of a rather good year. I would, on behalf of the Gamecca Crew, like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very relaxing and enjoyable Festive Season. We thank you for your supports, and hope that you get a lot of relaxation time with the video game platform of your choice for the rest of the year.

I hope you enjoy this 18th issue of Gamecca, complete with 40 game reviews. See you in 2011! g

gamecca column • issue 18 • December 2010

In Search of Android Unstuck

by Jimmy Glue

I

recently took the plunge and traded in my Windows-based phone for a sleek new number, running on the latest version of Android. Although Android itself isn’t a new thing at all, it is the first time that I have stared the green little robot in the face.

There has always been apps for Windows-based phones, but most of them needed to be purchased, or some form of hack was needed to make them work. I remember when I got my phone, I had to copy over some .dll files in order to use the accelerometer effectively.

Thankfully those days are long gone, and I can look forward to effortless Android action, but the biggest thing that grabbed my attention was the Android Market.

There is an incredible wealth of apps out there, and the best part of all is that 90% of them are free. Sure, you’re still going to pay for the data charges for downloading them, but for the most part, it’s as free as breathing air.

Aside from being free, I was amazed at the amount of casual games on offer. There is literally a game or app for just about any taste, and it didn’t take me long to rack up a string of downloads – which posed me with another problem.

No sooner have I downloaded an app, and my phone would just completely vanish – nowhere to be seen. It was quiet baffling, somewhat amusing, and at times just plain bizarre. Donning my Sherlock Holmes hat and fashioning a pipe from some tinfoil which was lying around, I started with “The Case Of The Missing Android”.

Snooping around the house, I

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noticed little clues as to where it was, but always seemed to be one step behind. It became rather annoying as I knew I was in the right area, but could never truly track it down.

Holmes would never settle for defeat, so I trudged on, digging through cupboards and re-tracing my own footsteps. I am, after all, looking for my own phone.

It might be a bit of too much information (and for the sake of the tale I will persist), but everybody every now and again likes to enjoy a game of Solitaire or catch up on some RRS feeds while on the loo.

So naturally, that was to be my next crime scene, scrutinising every inch of the floor, checking in medicine cabinets and in the laundry pile.

I live in a house about the size of an average car, so there aren’t many places where Android can be hiding – and since it’s my house, I think I pretty much know them all.

So in the paragraphs remaining, you’ll appreciate the effort it took for Android to remain in hiding for as long as it did.

To cut off about two hours worth of searching and incoherent babble, I heard the faint sounds that was very familiar to me. Honing in on my detective skills, I managed to track down the exact room where the little devil found itself in.

Wanting to make a Hollywoodstyle entrance and revelation, I waited while I mentally prepared myself. “J’accuse!”, I shouted as I swiftly turned the corner with a pointed finger. The look on my wife’s face was priceless.

The face with the big doe-eyes knew it was in trouble, but being

a kind fellow and having fulfilled my detective duties, I found the situation more amusing that anger-some. My wife nicked my phone everytime I downloaded a new game, and was trying to avoid me as she knew I wanted it back.

I never really thought about it, but it was at that exact moment that I realised the casual game market had penetrated my house. I also came to the realisation that it’s bigger than I have ever imaged, as most of the games on the Android Market are casual based.

Casual games, as I have always suspected but never really grasped, is a huge industry, and it provides hours of fun. Being a bit of a hardcore gamer, I asked my wife to explain to me some of the games she enjoys, and now we try to beat each other’s scores.

I really suggest that anybody should check out the free Android Market if they have an Android-based phone. There are some really cool things there, and you might just find a new favourite game or two. g

gamecca column • issue 18 • December 2010

“Best wii game” - ing

“Best adventure game” - Pure nintendo

“simPly the Best” - time magazine

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON Wii www.disney.co.uk/mickey ©Disney. Trademarks are property of their respective owners. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo.

Product names and/or visuals shown are of product currently in development and may be subject to change.

AVAILABLE AT:

The Missing Future Link The Rat’s Nest

by Dion Scotten

S

ooner or later everything evolves, including the games we love. Thank goodness, too, because otherwise we’d all get bored and maybe grow up. Ok that’s never going to happen, ever.

Still, game evolution is essential for sustainability and it’s easy to pick up on if you look back through a game series and see the progression through the years.

The tricky part is looking forward and speculating about the evolution to come. Game developers and design teams do this for a living but we pretty much inspire them by thinking and talking about things we’d like to see. So use those blogs on your favourite developer’s website, someone is always paying attention.

The fantasy Role Playing genre has a massive following and it’s definitely my favourite. The stories never get old, the worlds are captivating and there’s always a limitless supply of things to kill. Not to mention the loot to collect, items to compare and trade, levels, abilities and epic boss encounters. Who gets tired of this stuff?

The three main types of game that run within this setting are the RPG, the action RPG and the MMORPG. While players have their favourites, the three sit as a progression in themselves, leaving the question “what next?”

Most RPG games are played in third person and offer huge variety in terms of character development and uniqueness of game experience.

Although these games are immersive story wise there are always not enough battles on top of the fact that when they happen, they’re a

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little slow. Most are single player campaigns and this alone is probably the most improvable part of the RPG game.

Enter the action RPG, fast-paced and full of hack-and-slash goodness.

The good ones have all the variety character-wise, plus more loot than you can carry. Most games are set in a world where the monsters are lining up in droves to get hidings, but is it really a mindless grind? I don’t know… yes, your mind may ‘switch off’ at times during the game, but it is definitely also a powerful character immersion. Something very different from the traditional RPG, something very addictive and definitely something progressive.

The MMORPG is the pinnacle of the genre’s evolution so far. While the action RPG offered limited multiplayer, it also still required your permission before other players could join your map. Of course only 8 or so players could play together. As most of you know the MMO is set in a virtual world with hundreds of players running around with you. You can’t

control who you bump into, so make friends or come armed to the teeth if you don’t want to die.

PvP (Player versus Player) is the norm but Warhammer Online introduced RvR (Realm versus Realm) for the first time. Here two opposing groups of races followed their own campaign quests across the same map. making the chance meeting of player enemies very likely.

The result, in my opinion, was a huge success for a first of its kind with some RvR battles featuring up to 100 players on each side. Yes, absolutely bloody chaos. Not everybody got to experience it but there was a lot of talk as people shared online, the impact on the genre was made.

What’s next is anyone’s guess but just maybe Torchlight 2 and Diablo 3 have something to do with it. The makers of Torchlight announced their plans to take the action RPG genre to an action MMORPG, which would make it a first of its kind. What’s really interesting is what Blizzard developers had to say at Blizzcon, too. They mentioned that they were working on a new MMO that was not World of Warcraft and, in fact, was not like any MMO players were used to. Could it be part of the Diablo 3 integration with Battle.net, or something totally different? Blizzard is tight lipped as usual but we will make them speak, damnit!

We can rest assured, either way, that the innovative teams that develop our games will work on the ideas that they get from players who speak out on public forums.

Use your voice and post opinions for discussion, you may just have something there and we may just want to play it someday. g

gamecca column • issue 18 • December 2010

“2”, “PlayStation”, “PS3” and “ ” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “ ” is a trademark of the same company.“Ô” is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation. “Blu-ray Disc” and “BD” are trademarks.. All rights reserved.

Gran Turismo 5 ©2010 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Developed by Polyphony Digital Inc. “Polyphony Digital” logo, Gran Turismo and GT are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Manufacturers, cars, names, brands and associated imagery featured in this game in some cases include trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. Any depiction or recreation of real world locations, entities, businesses, or organizations is not intended to be or imply any sponsorship or endorsement of this game by such party or parties. All rights reserved.

gran-turismo.com

Gran Turismo 5 features more than 1000 licensed cars from the world’s top manufacturers and more than 20 tracks with more than 70 variations, including famous world circuits, city courses, and other environments.

Feature

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

Future Vision The Tron franchise lives on...

by Walt Pretorius

I

t was twenty-eight years ago that the name Tron first became popular. In 1982, Walt Disney Pictures took on what was then a very ambitious project, creating a film unlike any other before. Tron told the tale of a gifted software engineer, Kevin Flynn, who uses the resource of the company he works for (ENCOM) to create computer games – in the hopes of starting his own computer game company. He is found out by Ed Dillinger, another programmer, and is locked out of the system. Dillinger then steals Flynn’s work, and earns a series of promotions, while Flynn makes a living running a video game arcade using some of the games he created.

Flynn tried to prove Dillinger’s wrong-doing by hacking into the ENCOM system, but his program, Clu, is discovered and is assimilated by the network’s Master Control Program (MCP) which is an artificial intelligence running the ENCOM system. Dillinger authorises the MCP to lock Flynn out of the system, but this results in another programmer, Alan Bradley, being locked out as well.

Bradley approaches Dillinger and reveals to him that he is building a security program (called Tron) to monitor the communications between the MCP and the outside world.

But the MCP will have nothing of it… it wants to break into the Pentagon and other military systems.

While breaking into the ENCOM labs, Flynn is trapped in the computer world by the MCP (using a digitising laser.)

There he meets Tron, and several other programs, who appear as virtual versions of their users in the real world.

An awesome digital adventure ensues, resulting in the destruction of the MCP. Dillinger loses his job, and Flynn becomes the CEO of ENCOM. Sure, there’s a lot more too it than that, but you’ll just have to find a copy of the original film if you want to fill in the gaps.

Tron was a hit. It presented viewers with a new world, and also introduced the extensive use of computer graphics to movies. Yes, graphics had been used before (as early as 1972) but Tron took them to a whole new level.

The film has created quite a cult following, too – one that is strong enough to have prompted Walt Disney Pictures to release an ambitious sequel almost three decades later.

Two of the original cast members (Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner) will be appearing in the new film, too, which is a continuation of the story (although set many years later.) We’re not going to say anything about the new film here, other than that the few visuals that have been released look awesome… and that if it lives up to the

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

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Feature

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

spirit of the first film, it should be a great movie.

The Tron franchise is about more than films, though.

1982 also saw the release of the first Tron game. This coin-operated arcade game allowed the player to experience parts of the film in game format. It had four sub-games in it, which the player could work through. This included a rudimentary light-cycle game (by far the most popular gadget in the movie).

A second arcade game, Discs of Tron, was released a year later. While this was originally meant to be part of the first release, development time did not allow for its inclusion. Discs of Tron was based on the disc-combat seen in the film. It saw a limited release in 1983.

The Intellivision console also had some Tron-based games released for it, starting with Tron: Deadly Discs in 1982. Tron: Maze-a-Tron and Tron: Solar Sailer were also released for that system.

Twenty one years after the release of the film and the initial video games, Monolith Productions developed Tron 2.0. Released for PC in 2003, this first person shooter cast the player as Jethro “Jet” Bradley, the son of Alan Bradley (who was played by the same actor that portrayed him in the original film, Bruce Boxleitner.) All the action takes place “inside” a computer system, with cut-scenes showing the player events in the ‘real world’. g a m e c c a fe at u r e • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

Starting with the familiar Tron-style disc, the player would eventually gather other weapons similar to shotguns, assault rifles and other first person shooter fare. The player could also upgrade Jet as the game progressed, using limited ‘memory slot’ to enhance the character and ‘install’ new abilities and ‘sub-routines.’

The visually abstract levels were rather linear, with little or no choice given to the player on how to progress through the game. The game appealed to gamers, it seems, and received generally favourable reviews. Despite this, support for the title from the publishers did not last long.

Seven years later, we are seeing a dual release in the Tron universe. The movie, Tron: Legacy, will be hitting cinema screens soon. The game, Tron: Evolution, is an essential part of the franchise, as it serves as a prequel to the new film. Many of the apparent plot-holes that have appeared between the first and second film are explained by this title, which we review on page 26 of this issue.

The Tron legacy is a strong one. It grew from an ambitious project in 1982 to becoming a well recognised cult classic. This stands testament to the vision that the creators of the franchise had when they first envisaged a high-tech future, and hinted at the prominence and power that video games have over our modern society. g

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AVAILABLE NOW WWW.CALLOFDUTY.COM

18LV activision.com

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Š 2010 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision and Call Of Duty are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Š 2010 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision and Call Of Duty are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owzzners. All rights reserved.

Balls...

PS Zealot

by Suvesh Arumugam

I

t’s all happening - The Christmas rush to buy presents for everyone, their children, and their dogs; the crazy scramble to get out of the cities and down to the coast/ berg/lake/farm (choose applicable setting) for a family holiday; but most of all it’s the marketing media frenzy of products and entertainment that bombards all of us with movies, games, shows and events that we simply cannot miss that makes everyone just a little more dotty than usual. Unfortunately in South Africa, being too distracted is never a good thing, and crime seems to peak around this time. I was extremely unfortunate to be part of

this statistic, and had my HDTV and PS3 stolen, along with all my Move and DualShock controllers, and games! While the Buddhist approach might be to think that someone else somewhere will have a great Christmas, I prefer to curse and yell obscenities for now (I think this is generally accepted as the way to deal with crime).

But for Gamecca readers, this means that I am now in the market for a new PS3, and I’m pleased to see some pretty sweet deals out there. Most stores are carrying a God of War 3 bundle right now, which in most cases is the 320GB PS3 Slim, with God of War plus one other game, for between R3 699 and R3 999. This is a fantastic deal considering that the 160GB console is retailing standalone for about R2 999. Some stores also have a similar deal on a FIFA Bundle.

Look and Listen are advertising their own bundle of PS3 320GB, two DualShock controllers, a BluRay remote, and a game (FIFA or God of War) for R4 400. Definitely a winner! But those of you who are still not convinced, keep your eyes out for the Gran Tourismo 5 Bundle, also packaged with the 320GB Slim, which will hit stores early December, also retailing at around R3 999. Of course, if you’re a GT enthusiast, you might consider the GT 5 Signature Edition, retailing at around R1 500, which contains a model car, USB Key Chain, coffee table book and other goodies in a very attractive, branded case. For die-hards only!

I was recently invited to an audio-

visual demonstration by Barry Neethling, MD of AudioSure (one of the biggest sound companies in SA).

Barry is a cinema enthusiast, and has built what it is arguably the best cinema in this country (and possibly one of the best in the world) in his home in Bryanston. It’s difficult to convey that scale of this facility, but I can say that this takes home theatre to an entirely new level. Using only state of the art Martin Audio gear, Barry’s 9m X 9m screen is Full HD, using components imported from France, Germany and the UK, from the best manufacturers in the world.

The experience was sublime. With several hundred thousand watts of sound power, he can literally kill you with sound. Of course he only watches Sony Blu-Ray movies, and I immediately asked to watch the chase scene from The Dark Knight, one of my favourites. Even though I am used to the HD experience, this was like watching the movie all over again! There are even speakers in the seats (called ButtKickers) which make you feel like you’re in the movie! From that point on, the only thought in my mind was, 4 on 4 FIFA marathon; Undead Nightmare; Gran Tourismo 5; or a leisurely back 9 at Pebble Peach with Tiger Woods.

But alas, I am console-less (inconsole-able?) for the moment!

Luckily, a good friend of mine gave me an Atari Flashback console a few months ago for my birthday, which admittedly I never tried out. He’ll be happy to know that it’s finally out of the box, and getting some attention… for now… g

This page is provided by PlayStation Gamer www.playstationgamer.co.za

Christmas in November!

Xbox Beat

By Bryan Banfield

T

The sun is shining, birds singing, flowers blooming all around and you switch on your Xbox 360 and are greeted with a message from HQ. There is an update for your Xbox 360. This is always a very exciting time for me.

Now with Kinect having just launched last month. It does not take a rocket scientist to know what the Xbox team had bundled into the update, but I must admit it is always fun to sit and watch the download progress bar and wait to see what has changed.

I also look forward to the opening video clip/ animation that launches the new update. I remember the action packed high speed clip that was the opening for the NXE (New Xbox Experience) update. This time we were greeted with a new colour scheme and a new look at the Xbox Logo… a circular colour whirl with the iconic purple that has come to be associated with the Microsoft Kinect.

October saw a full roll-out and relaunch of the Xbox website (www. xbox.com). November saw that update to the Xbox 360 that has revamped the Xbox 360 dashboard system.

Layout and design have not been altered but the colour scheme is in sync with the website and a cleaner, fresher look is now what we are presented with.

Gone are the days of the Gamer Only console in Xbox land. Microsoft is taking a very firm leap (and very successful leap at that) in to the home environment. The days of the Family Xbox Console have just

dawned.

It is without a doubt that the cleaner, more inviting dashboard is aimed at the family and now joined with the Microsoft Kinect the package is complete. (But we hope they don’t stop there!)

A number of features have been added with this update. Firstly the update now adds support for the Kinect NUI Sensor (Natural User Interface).

One thing to note is that most of these feature will not be available to us in South Africa right away, like ESPN on Xbox Live. Also to note is the fact that some features are only available to Xbox Gold Members.

At the same time the features here are more geared towards user experience, and small tweaks we have been wanting for some time now.

Improved voice chat quality – The audio codec has been updated to allow a better quality audio experience when in party chats and multi-player games.

Improved Gamertag creation – When you are now creating/ selecting a gamertag, if the one you desire is taken, your avatar will spin a wheel offering you up to 5 suggested gamertags based on your original request.

Streamlined in-dashboard virtual keyboard – The full QWERTY keyboard has not been made easier to use in places where you need to repeatedly enter text with a specific focus signing up for LIVE from the Xbox Dashboard.

Improved Xbox LIVE Marketplace

UI and browse experience – The marketplace has been re-organised to allow users faster access to games, add-on and videos, with fewer steps to the downloads.

Easier to get on a wireless network – Sometimes, not always, an issue for us in South Africa… but now it is easier to connect to a wireless network. You are now shown a list of available networks in range and the option to configure the network you are already connected to.

Ability to sign-out other controllers in the sign-in UI – This feature is heaven-sent. Players are now able to sign out other player profiles for different controllers using the Guide.

This hassle is most experienced with games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

New browse experience for 100% completed games – With all the time that we spend finishing a game and getting all the achievements now Xbox has given us an impressive way of view that progress and reward system.

Updated Family Settings – Xbox and the Xbox team still lead the pack with making sure the Xbox LIVE Service offers all the needed features to protect the family from mature content. These settings can be configured per profile and can be setup as per ESRB/PEGI ratings etc.

So nothing really eye popping, but everything we need to streamline the Xbox LIVE further. If for some crazy reason you have not pulled down the latest update, now is the time. The new world of Xbox LIVE awaits. g

This page is provided by Xbox Gamer 42

www.xboxgamer.co.za

Before the legacy starts.

S.

the Battle Begins.

10 DecemBer 2010

PLAY IN 3D

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intendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. Xbox, โ Games for Windowsโ and the Windows Vista Start pple Inc. Product names and/or visuals shown are of

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AvAilAble At:

www.Disney.co.uk/tron

Empty Stockings House of Mario

by Brian Murdoch

L

ast year we had this great recession on our hands and everyone was supposed to not spend much money on games for Christmas. We did some very epic sales across the board for that Christmas season. This Christmas there is no recession and business is booming so people should be getting very good bonuses and will be wanting to spend a lot of this money on wonderful Christmas gifts, but there is not much to talk about on the Wii and DS side. The Playstation has its Move and the Xbox has its Kinect, and as spoken about last month the handheld community will be waiting for next year and the 3DS. If your family already has a Wii and is not looking to spending money on yet another console with extra bits and pieces then why not go through this list of games and see what is missing from your collection as it might not be a new release but still a great game.

25th Mario Anniversary consoles come in the form of a Red Wii and DS with a selection of Mario and Donkey Kong games.

These are very good buys for those that don’t have a console and even for those collectors that want each colour. Let’s make it clear that there is no difference between the consoles, other than colours. Another side note is that you can’t buy red controllers separate

from the console so you will have mismatched colours (if that bothers you). Also the red controller has builtin motion plus. This is the way that most people wanted the controller to come and some select models are now featuring it. So if the game has a “motion plus required” on the back of the box, don’t worry… the red control has it built in.

Look at classics like the Mario, Donkey Kong and Wario games or even get another controller bundled with Wii Party. These games will be lots of fun for the friends and family on Christmas day and only require more controllers. Read the Wii Party review for even more details about the game and you’ll see that it is so worth the price.

For other options, if multiplayer fun is not what you want with your

console, there is always the first person shooter or third person adventure like the Conduit, Dead Space Extraction, Metroid and The Legend of Zelda games. These will keep a single player entertained for hours and let them really enjoy all the features of the Wii. Even if they have these games buy them a cordless nunchuk to experience them in a different way. There are a few new brands coming out with these mostly found at Toys R Us. There are a great range of specials out there and all it takes it looking around and asking the store for some advice. If you would like to know more about these and other specials I will be twittering them as I find them… just follow me at: http:// twitter.com/Fanaticit.

I just received a copy of Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros for the DS… these games came out as far back as 2006. I have finished them both but had to give them back after the review. I was still very excited to play these games. With them my collection is complete and I have every DS Mario game that has come to South Africa. You can never go wrong with a Mario game as a present.

So just because there is nothing new and flashy that will keep up with the Joneses doesn’t mean that there isn’t a big range to improve your collection. g

This page is provided by Nintendo Gamer 44

www.nintendogamer.co.za

wii care

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

You won’t only find reviews, news and great community features at www.nintendogamer.co.za. You will also find extremely informative FAQs all about the Wii & DS platforms, and the games you can play on them.

At www.nintedogamer.co.za, we want to make sure that the most accurate information & support is free and easy to find.

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Reviews Highlights 30 Call of Duty: Black Ops Treyarch’s triumph 34 Fable III More Albion adventure 38 Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood The return of Ezio Auditore 42 Rock Band 3 It just gets better 44 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Fast, furious, fun!

W

ow. That’s really all there is to say... just wow. But seeing as how we need to say more, here goes...

This year has seen a huge number of game releases for the Festive Season. We crammed as many as we could in here, with even more to follow in the next issue.

Thanks to the introduction of the PlayStation Move and Xbox 360 Kinect, there are a massive amount of games on shelf at the moment, which is great... but which ones are the best? Check out our 40 reviews, and we’ll let you know.. g

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gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Tron: Evolution

Game in a Game The Tron franchise returns with a bang

R

eleasing a sequel for a movie twenty-eight years after the original hit the screens for the first time could be quite a gamble, but that might not necessarily be the case with Tron: Legacy. The film looks rather exciting, and even reprises the roles of Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner as it continues the story that was started almost three decades ago.

But why would it work? Quite simply, because the concept is so very cool. The original Tron garnered quite a fan following, and those that fondly recall the first film will most certainly flock to see the new one. Additionally, the advancements in technology mean that the new film should be quite a spectacle, and the idea behind it will appeal to new fans, too. At least, that’s what we’re hoping.

The first release of Tron was supported by a video game, in the form of a coin-operated arcade machine that proved very popular. And the release of Tron: Legacy is enjoying the same treatment, although the game that supports the film is headed to home entertainment systems, rather than arcades.

This is going to be slightly different from your typical

26

by Walt Pretorius

movie-based game, though. First of all, it’s not called Tron: Legacy, but rather Tron: Evolution. Also, the release of the game is taking place before the film is released, rather than a concurrent release, or a release slightly after cinema.

The reason for this is simple. Tron: Evolution is a prequel to the movie. It explains a lot of what is pivotal to the film’s plot, and fills in some gaps, answering questions that film-goers might have. It’s an interesting approach, although not really an original one. We’ve seen similar releases with Enter the Matrix (which filled in the many plot holes found in the second Matrix Film) and the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed games, which take place during the long gap between Chapter III and Chapter IV of the Star Wars Saga. The trick with these games is to make their plot interesting, without making it absolutely essential to play them. Not all movie-goers are gamers, after all. Instead, these games give a deeper understanding to the overall story, allowing those that play them to nod sagely while watching the films, thanks to being granted a higher level of understanding by experiencing the games.

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Tron: Evolution will explain why certain characters are in the situations they are in during the movie. How essential this information is remains to be seen.

In the game, the player takes the part of a security monitoring program, created by Kevin Flynn (the sort of main good guy in the movies) to investigate a conspiracy related to an insidious virus in the Tron computer world.

The player’s character is called Anon, but will mainly be referred to as “program” or “monitor” by the characters that the player meets in the game.

While hunting the source of the Abraxas virus, the player will interact with numerous characters that will appear in the film. The thought of computer program being represented by people is hardly new (people might mention the Matrix as an example, but the original Tron film did it long before.) The other people that the player will meet will generally be trying to kill him. Enemies come in two flavours: the maniacal programs infected by the Abraxas virus (who have yellow accents on their character models) and the agents of a security system trying to stop the monitor (who have orange accents.) The two types of enemies have several varieties within their ranks, each

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

requiring a slightly different approach.

To this end, the player can unlock new variations for their light disc, the main combat weapon in the Tron world. The disc is flung out like a deadly cross between a boomerang and a Frisbee, and various special moves are available for each of the disc varieties. These, incidentally, include things like a bomb disc and a stasis disc, among others.

The combat is fast paced, with a lot of enemies being thrown at the player. It can get a little repetitive, but the variety of enemies and the need to switch between the different disc modes during combat keeps things a bit fresher. Basic attacks can get a bit button-mashy, but special attacks are limited by player energy, which means that the player needs to use them fairly sparingly.

Recharging health and energy has been well handled in the title. Health and energy are fairly plentiful, but they are not presented as pick-ups. Rather, health is regained from wall-running over special sections, which energy is regained by leaping over, or from, various consoles and mini-pillars.

That brings up the whole movement thing. The combination of third person combat and extreme

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movement (including wall running, climbing and leaping about) makes the game feel like a Prince of Persia derivative. The argument can certainly be made, but as the various genres get fuller and fuller, it is difficult to find a game these days that does not derive at least some concepts from other sources.

Other activities include piloting a light tank (light as in illumination, not weight) and racing about on a light cycle (a Tron staple.) The tank sections are fun, although generally short, and are a great way to get a lot of character experience (which is spent in levelling up, or in the terms of the game, upgrading to the next version). The light cycle sections can be very frustrating, as the handling of the cycle takes a lot of getting used to. These are definitely the weaker parts of the title.

Speaking of frustration, Tron is full of cheap deaths.

The almost monochromatic backgrounds, along with a camera that will sometimes let you down, means that many

28

a stunt movement section ends in the character being ‘derezzed’, which is Tron-speak for dead. But the game is rather generous with checkpoints, so the player isn’t unnecessarily punished for these unfortunate events.

With good graphics styled along the unique Tron look, solid voice acting and a generally good presentation, Tron already goes a bit further than most movie-based games.

The controls are simple and responsive, for the most part, and the single player campaign offers a fair amount of play time. This is supported by various multiplayer modes, in which a player can battle friends online – with discs, tanks and light cycles.

It may not be a perfect game, but Tron: Evolution is better than one would expect from a game basd on a movie. It has a few flaws and niggles, but forgiving gamers will be able to get past these, and enjoy Tron for the adrenaline-surging experience that it is. g

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

A fun if derivative title that exceeds general movie-based game expectations.

Developer: Propaganda Games Publisher: Disney Interactive Distributor: Prima Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

AT A GLANCE:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

79 29

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Just say Blops

Treyarch gets a shot to finally prove itself.

P

oor Treyarch. Most gamers aren’t huge fans of this development studio, owned by Activision – or Dollarvision as I sometimes jokingly refer to the publisher, for its money-grabbing ways.

Treyarch is just a pawn in Acti’s plans for taking over the world, evidenced when it was brought in to develop Call of Duty 3. Activision went above Infinitiy Ward – the founders of the Call of Duty franchise – and ordered a sequel for the next-generation consoles: PS3 and Xbox 360 (although the game also released on PS2, Xbox and Wii).

Since then, gamers have been acutely aware of the politics between the studios and Activision, and also Infinity Ward’s superiority when it came to making kickass games. Need proof? Look at the game it released after Call of Duty 3. It had a “4”, and “Modern Warfare” in its name. Gamers loved it, and looked down on Call of Duty: World at War, which came out a year later. And then came

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by Richard Bingham

Modern Warfare 2, further reinforcing the stereotype that Treyarch couldn’t really hold a candle to Infinity Ward.

After a fall out with Activision, the Infinity Ward all but disbanded and formed a new entity, Respawn Entertainment. This left Treyarch with no real competition.

It also left Activision with a bitter taste in its mouth: the bosses wanted to prove a point; that they didn’t need Infinity Ward’s talent to make a great game. So they asked Treyarch to make Call of Duty: Black Ops. The whole intro explaining game industry politics is important. You see, nobody (in the know) was really expecting this to be a good game. Not with Treyarch as the underdog. But Activision threw millions of dollars at this project. It’s the equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster movie, and the gamble has paid off: at the time of writing Black Ops is the game with the biggest opening day in entertainment history, selling 7-million units in the US and UK. Call of Duty: Tables Turned.

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While the plot and storytelling in the recent Call of Duty series has not been a strong point, Black Ops – or Blops, if you will - has a unique way of letting the events unfold.

The main character, undercover operative Alex Mason, is strapped to a chair in an interrogation room. Surrounding him are various instruments of persuasion and a wall of video monitors. Straight ahead is window for the room from which his captors are asking their questions.

The probing begins and, being a hardened badass, Mason doesn’t easily give up the information they need. A bit of an electric shock is all that’s needed to convince him they mean business – which leads directly into a flashback.

Various images are flashed on screen, eventually settling on a bar in Cuba, where parts of Mason’s past are made known. This is the first mission, and your objective is to… take care of a certain Cuban leader.

Everything is tightly scripted – to the point of being predictable – but if you play on a harder difficulty, and you

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

should, the enemies will have a bit more cunning than you think. Their bullets also do more damage and go around more corners than you’d think. Drat.

After the Cuban mission, you’re back in the interrogation room, with the strange voice in the room asking more questions. So the story unfolds. Missions are set between 1961 and 1968, from Cuba to Vietnam. Your past is shown to be more colourful than a rainbow pinwheel, and there are more skeletons in your closet than in the haunted house at a fun fair. Assassinations, backstabbing, rocket launches into space and helicopter gunner missions – there’s never a dull moment in Blops. In fact, if you’ve played Modern Warfare 2 you’ll be familiar with its over-the-top action plot. Black Ops takes all of the most memorable missions in MW2 and turns the awesome dial to eleven. If Michael Bay made a video game, this would be it.

Yet, as gripping and smile inducing as the story is, the

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real reason you want to play this is for the multiplayer.

Here is where Treyarch has really learned from Infinity Ward’s successes and mistakes, and given us a really deep and extensive online experience.

Everybody is familiar with levelling up and gaining experience. With that comes weapon unlocks and classes – all the usual stuff. Blops has an even more refined and granular version of the levelling system. You start off your multiplayer career with three pre-set classes.

After your first few levels, you have access to two more.

Further levelling unlocks weapons, custom classes, perks and add-ons. But each of these unlocks has to be purchased. Credits are earned by doing well in the games and completing certain challenges, and need to be spent wisely. Getting weapons might be cheap, but modifying them adds to the cost, while upgrading your perks to the pro versions is a very costly exercise.

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Blops also has a few other things that bring it up to scratch with the fantastic multiplayer options offered in Halo: Reach. Players can “build” their own logos or icons – those banners that appear next to your name. There are twelve layers for placing decals (primitive shapes and letters), and each little thing costs you a small amount of CoD credits. So you just know, the guy who recreated the Mona Lisa as his player icon probably spent a lot of time killing folks to get the money for that masterpiece.

Game modes are the usual lot: team deathmatch, search and destroy, domination, and so on, but there are now wager matches, too. These are where you can earn a lot of credits by playing game modes with strict rule sets.

The variants are too many to go into detail, here, but one of the best ones is Gun Game. Here you are given a weak starting weapon with which to start your killing. After getting a kill, you level up and get given a more powerful

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Insert Coin When you’re at the main menu, you can look around and see the rest of the stuff in the interrogation room.

When you look down, you’ll see your character’s hands strapped to the chair. You can break free from these restraints. On 360 and PS3, just mash the triggers repeatedly. On PC just tap the spacebar, and on Wii waggle your controllers like wild.

Once you’ve broken free from the chair, walk around to the back of the interrogation room and access the computer. Use the keyboard to enter the text “DOA”, and press enter. Enjoy the mini game, craftily hidden in the main menus!

AT A GLANCE: Probably the best Call of Duty game, ever, from the developer nobody was expecting to produce it.

Developer: Treyarch Publisher: Activision Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

18+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

gun, working your way up to assault rifles.

Other modes include “One in the Chamber”, where you start off with a single bullet; Sticks and Stones, where you play using knives, crossbows and a tomahawk; and Sharpshooter, requiring proficiency in ranged weapons.

These new modes are joined by the return of a co-op zombie mode. Four players can team together to fend off endless waves of zombies. It’s really freakin’ difficult. This stuff makes Left 4 Dead look like Barbie’s Fun House.

There’s also a secret zombie mode map called Dead Ops Arcade – see the boxout.

For the money, and sheer number of people playing it, Blops is the game to have, this year. It isn’t as polished as Halo: Reach, from a purely technical standpoint, but it’s cross-platform and with the money Activision is chucking at this, Treyarch will be supporting it for some time to come. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

88 33

Fable III

Rise to Power

The Revolution is waiting for your leadership

T

here are certain people in the video game industry that draw a lot of attention, for various reasons, but when they speak, people tend to listen. And when they make games, people tend to buy them.

Peter Molyneux is such a person, and the games that he has been involved with have always attracted a lot of attention. And while critics have often called out the bugs and problems in games from Molyneux’s Lionhead Studios, the games still sell very well. Titles like Black & White, The Movies and, naturally, Fable, have all shown his skill and vision when it comes to making games that are a little out of the ordinary.

When you get to third iteration of a franchise, though, doesn’t the game start becoming ordinary? Not if Lionhead can help it… while there are many similarities between Fable III and the previous games, there are a few new tricks that the developers have introduced to keep things on the right side of fresh.

Set fifty years after the previous Fable title, Fable III brings the player an all new vision of Albion. Time has

34

by Walt Pretorius

passed, of course, and the fantasy kingdom is now in the midst of an industrial revolution. Big industry spews black smoke into the skies, and the people suffer under the iron fist of King Logan, the eldest child of the previous title’s hero, and the player character’s older brother. When Logan oversteps the line one too many times, the player’s character becomes part of a revolution to overthrow Logan and wrest power from his merciless grasp.

It’s a great story premise, although the story itself never really rises to any great heights. Then again, this kind of game is about the player creating their own story, and they are given more than enough freedom to do so. While main missions drive the story forward, there are numerous side quests that the player can take part in. These all have a benefit, of course, and help the player unlock new abilities along the mystical Road to Rule, a metaphoric (yet kinda real) path that the player must follow as they work their way towards becoming the ruler of Albion.

The side quests are very varied, ranging from fetch-anddeliver missions through to combat. Some of them feel

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like a bit of a grind, but this isn’t really a game that one is meant to speed through. The more you get done, the better your character will perform.

Players of the previous Fable games will find the surroundings somewhat familiar. In fact, walking through the Bowerstone Market may even send a wave of nostalgia through you – it hasn’t changed in terms of layout and geography… just the decorations are new. This kind of consistency is fantastic, creating the impression that the player really is experiencing a living world that is subject to time and progress.

And it’s pretty. The graphics of Fable III are good quality, with expansive environments populated by well-conceived characters. Some of the towns-folk and commoners get a bit repetitive in appearance, but not alarmingly so.

Similarly, the sound in the game is well presented.

Excellent voice acting – including veteran comedy thespian John Cleese – makes the game as entertaining to listen to as it is to look at. And the signature Lionhead sound effects – that were used in games like Black & White and

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

previous Fable titles – are present and accounted for.

But the real thing to look out for in Fable III is character development. At the start of the game, the player can choose either a male or female character. That’s as far as their choices go… no names, classes or behavioural elements are chosen. Everything else about the character (apart from their name, which is pretty much never revealed) is determined through the way the player handles situations. Even the look of the character reflects that player’s choices, which are generally good, evil, or somewhere in between. Players who rely more on magic will have characters that develop an unearthly look, while those that use handguns more will result in taller characters, and melee combat will end up with characters becoming stockier. Eating food can also affect the look of the character, with the “wrong” kind of foods resulting in a character that is a little more portly.

The player’s weapons will also change in appearance, according to how often they are used, and what the character’s choices are. Weapons fall into three major

35

categories: melee weapons (warhammers and swords) firearms (pistols and rifles) and magic (a variety of gauntlets that each provide a single power.) Each of these is controlled by one of the face buttons on the controller, so it’s really easy (and effective) to mix and match different kinds of attacks. The magic gauntlets go even further… a bit later in the game, the player can combine two gauntlets, mixing their magic effects for even greater spell power. Numerous different weapons can be used, each with a set of challenges that needs to be completed to improve the weapon’s powers and add buffs to the character when the weapon is in use.

It’s not all about fighting, though. The player can interact with villagers, developing relationships (even starting families if they like.) The player can also perform odd jobs around the various villages, earning extra cash in minigames. They can even become a property baron, buying houses and businesses to increase their income.

And then, when the dust of the revolution settles, the player will be required to manage the kingdom, making important decisions… but we don’t want to spoil that too much.

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Taking a casual, relaxed approach is the best idea for Fable III. The game offers so much to do that the player might as well take their time and experience the myriad activities and quests. Rushing through the game won’t be as rewarding, for sure. The title’s pace really is what the player wants it to be, but a slow and pedantic pace is advised.

Fable III is great fun, even though the game features numerous bugs (which are being sorted out with downloadable patches, of course.) Despite the little problems that may arise when playing, it is a great single player experience, and the multiplayer co-op game is also massive amounts of fun. Action adventure fans will enjoy the combat, with simple controls offset by often challenging fights. Role-players will love the influence they have over their character’s development, dictated by actions rather than menu-based choices. Veterans of the series should enjoy the more streamlined systems within the game, which allows for smoother game play. Sure, the game has bugs… it’s not perfect but, when all is said and done, if massive adventures (with tons to do) are your cup of tea, this one will be more or less just right for you. g

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Though with some small flaws, Fable III is a great adventure title, offering absolute tons to do and lots of player freedom.

Developer: Lionhead Studios Publisher: Microsoft Distributor: Microsoft

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

AT A GLANCE:

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

83 37

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

The Eagle Returns …and this time he’s brought friends.

W

hile there have only been two releases previously, the Assassin’s Creed franchise has grown to be very strong. Although many had complaints about the first game, it showed the kind of potential that was very exciting. The second game realised much of that potential, delivering a long, enthralling single player experience and winning fans over in droves. But it was only a single player experience… multiplayer was never included in the franchise.

That’s changed with the release of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. During the run-up to this title hitting the shelves, there were numerous rumours. Some said that the game was a short stop-gap title between major releases, while others claimed that it would be a multiplayer only title. Some were closer to the mark, saying that the multiplayer game would be accompanied by a short single player campaign. But none of these were right.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is a full title, for all intents and purposes, giving the player a long, intriguing campaign as well as the ability to test their assassination skills with other players around the world.

The single player story kicks off pretty much where

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by Walt Pretorius

Assassin’s Creed 2 ended. Yes, it’s another sweeping adventure featuring the roguish Ezio Auditore, but this time it’s exclusively set in Rome. The assassin needs to free that city from the grip of the evil Borgia family (including the famous Lucrezia and Cesare) once and for all, but it’s not a job for just one man. He naturally enlists the help of some of his former allies (who we met in the previous game) but the title also has the player manage a group of trainee assassins, sending them on missions and getting them to help in sticky situations.

There is absolute tons for the single player to do, from managing property and crew through to taking out important people with some inventive new weapons, which include crossbows and poison darts. The setting is massive… so big that the player can now actually summon a horse at will, which is needed for getting around.

Aside from the long story, there are many other side missions for the player to complete as well, ranging from collecting keys to unlock another special set of armour through to destroying weapons designed by Leonardo Da Vinci (at his request, of course…)

Several multiplayer modes exist as well, and make for a fun distraction from the single player campaign. Players

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Assassin’s Creed 2 was a major improvement over the first game. It offered the player so much choice it was mind-boggling, and the story was a well-crafted yarn that kept one glued to the controller. This new iteration is an improvement as well, although maybe not as big as Assassin’s Creed 2 was. What is most impressive, though, is that the team behind the game did not rest on the laurels they earned for Assassin’s Creed 2. They could have produced a shorter game with just more of the same in it.

But instead they made a game that is long, entertaining and highly addictive, as much fun as the previous title.

This doesn’t feel like a filler, or a stop-gap. It could easily have been called Assassin’s Creed 3. And the inclusion of multiplayer modes is an even sweeter prospect. While the series isn’t perfect yet (with a tiny bug or two very rarely appearing) Ubisoft have outdone themselves with this instalment in the franchise… yet again. g

AT A GLANCE: This is no filler… it’s a full Assassin’s Creed title, with added multiplayer. Awesome!

Developer: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

18+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

will be able to select (and upgrade, as they advance) different characters to use, and will be able to engage in various cat-and-mouse games through numerous cities – Rome, and those seen in Assassin’s Creed 2. It’s generally an engaging, nerve-wracking experience. The player will be assigned a target, but they will also be on someone else’s hit-list. This keeps things very interesting, because the player will be doing the hunting as well as evading for most of the session. The trick is that there are limited characters in the game world… there might be ten people that look just like the player’s target. Finding the right one is key.

While the inclusion of single player is a great idea, and the game is fun when played against other humans, the real joy of this title is, once again, its fantastic story. This only unfolds in the single player game.

To keep things fresh, the developers have added a few new dynamics to the mix as well, particularly when the player is on horse-back. Flying tackles and specialised horse-mounted assassinations add even more variety. The player can also make use of the assassin’s he is training, resulting in a lightning strike of deadly efficiency when it is employed.

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

94 39

13V

Š 2010 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Cataclysm is a trademark and World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard Entertainment, Battle.net and Warcraft are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the properties of their respective owners.

Rock Band 3

Go Pro, Go for Broke You get more than you give

I

t kind of hurts to write this review. Not because of developer Harmonix’s somewhat uncertain future – that’s a matter that we can expect to resolve itself over the coming days and weeks. It hurts because I’ve been playing Pro Guitar all damn day. Welcome to Rock Band 3... we think you’re going to be here a while.

On some levels, Rock Band 3 is an iterative, like many sequels. The standard five-button game modes return, offering gameplay that is overall exactly the same as before. If you buy in here, you’re getting 83 new songs with an upgraded “overshell” menu and significantly improved graphics. The menus ape the Guitar Hero series “per player”-style menu, allowing for much easier access to system options, online play, and the like. It also does an exemplary job of allowing instruments and players to drop in and out, change difficulties, or set up modifiers like nofail during gameplay. That’s the way it’s meant to be done.

The graphics of the Rock Band series have always held a slightly cartoonish and exaggerated sense of what a rocker ought to be, and 3 doesn’t affect that art style much. What it does do, though, is take “good” cartoony graphics and ratchet them several turns toward looking “great”. Hair has distinct parts and tousles, clothing has rustles – everything simply looks appropriately more “mature”.

The game’s setlist is a bit esoteric. By genre, it’s fairly heavy on “Classic Rock” and “Indie”/”Alternative”. Those who aren’t strictly interested in song difficulty are likely to find at least a song or two to like that they didn’t know of before. And any songs you find distasteful can easily be filtered out of the game using the new “lighter” rating system. If you give a song one lighter, you won’t play it again until you select it yourself.

For all the good design decisions, there are some technical hang-ups that hamper the experience, both on and offline. The game has a nasty tendency to hang,

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by Corey Schon usually during the atmosphere-building cutscenes that precede songs. A few funky problems online, as well – lag manifests itself in new and interesting ways. On several occasions, my bandmate’s part would suddenly contort out of tune, or fall entirely off the rhythm. Most frustrating for those who play online a lot is that certain instrument combinations are untenable. That is, you can’t have a bassist, guitarist, and keyboardist all playing online at the same time. Locally, there is a mode which makes it possible, but it’s apparently too hardware-intensive to make it fly online.

A few game modes from days of Rock Band yore have been stricken entirely – no more competitive Rock Banding. You’ve simply got to bury the hatchet with your bandmates and decide who’s going to play drums the diplomatic way. The World Tour mode from previous Rock Bands has been streamlined into a series of “Road Challenges”, series of setlists which show off the complex sorting system the Rock Band platform employs,. A typical stop on a road challenge will present you the choice to play a few songs from the RB3 setlist, or either of two different randomly defined setlists . It’s a neat way to explore your Rock Band setlist for songs and charts you didn’t know before – pursuant to any lighter ratings you might have pre-defined, of course. If you just can’t stand “Sister Christian”, well, Rock Band 3 understands.

There’s still a lot of local progression to be made after this relatively short mode is complete. Every instrument now has a collection of “goals”, which grow based on things like DLC and Track Packs. These range from the very simple (play a song in a band) to the obscenely difficult (hit every vocal harmony phrase in Bohemian Rhapsody). These mini-achievements provide guiding marks, to plot your improvements as a player, and also provide a desire to play new songs or instruments you gam g ae m c ceac crae vri eevwi e•w i s• s iuses u1e8 1•6 D•e cOecm t obbeer r 22001100

space to pontificate on all the different elements of the game. There are so many new facets that work well – the streamlining, the underlying goal system, the new coat of paint, and the new instruments) – that Rock Band 3 is a joy to play as both a platform and as an individual title. If you are even passingly interested in facsimiles of instrument playing (especially the new Pro modes, which do great service in more closely approximating real instruments) – or if you just happen to have an appreciation for music, do yourself a favour and pick up Rock Band 3. It’s very, very worth it. g

AT A GLANCE: An all-in effort from Harmonix pays off in almost every regard. A really awesome experience.

Developer: Harmonix Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

might not have otherwise considered.

Speaking of different ways to rock, there are now a whopping total of 10 different play modes, not including different difficulties. Every instrument, including the new keyboard has a “Pro” mode (or Harmonies, in the case of vocals) that asks that much more from of the player, and can put even the toughest expert players back to the level of learning the ropes all over again.

Just like Harmonix didn’t necessarily have the time or resources to reconsider every area of their game before making the new instalment, I simply don’t have the

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Score

94 43

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

Supercar Fantasies A return to form for the much-loved racing franchise.

by Richard Bingham

T

he Need for Speed franchise has certainly had its ups and downs. The first five games were spectacular in their day. In fact, the very first NFS title, in association with popular American motoring magazine Road & Track, was the first game to present a collection of all the world’s finest supercars in a single package. The roads and, uh, tracks were vast and flowing, with high-speed sections – there was nothing else like it.

It’s the game responsible for some of my fondest gaming memories. The second game was the same, but more. The third title – Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit – brought some innovations that today’s version of the game can thank it for. Then we had the passable, but forgettable, Need for Speed: High Stakes, which was succeeded by the most memorable game in the history of the series: NFS Porsche 2000.

The franchise hasn’t had a track record focussing on flat-out realism. Even the best games have had a physics model that used real life principles, but favoured a more arcade-like handling set up. Accessible racing is what made it popular, along with putting folks in the seats of very expensive cars – let’s also not forget that the first game also had full cockpit views.

Since Porsche 2000 the games started cashing in on the “Fast & Furious” generation, glamourising street racing and the culture. While some good games came from this,

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there weren’t any that took us back to the heydays of the series. The new Hot Pursuit – the third NFS game to bear this moniker – gives us some of that. It is also the best fun arcade racer of the year.

Career mode does away with the silly story modes and non-racing silliness. Instead, there are two simple, actionfilled career paths that can progress simultaneously. Your first is as a racer. Here you compete for leaderboard fame and cars, with each couple of races earning you enough “Bounty” points to unlock more cars and upgraded tech. Then there’s the cop career, where you level up by busting racers and closing down illegal race meets. It’s a challenging, but not extremely difficult, career. Criterion reckon gamers can spend around 12 – 15 hours completing it.

The vehicles on offer are great: all the latest exotics you’d expect to see around, with the exception of Ferrari.

The absence of the Italian brand is notable, but not missed: there are a ton of great cars from many other recognisable brands.

Upgrades for racers include laser jammers, spike strips, a turbo boost and a car-disabling EMP pulse – all of these can be used to evade the police, while only the jammer is not useful when used against other racers. Remember, you’re evading cops and racing for position. At the same time.

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occasional thing, and adds to the thrill of the chase.

There are three multiplayer game modes (outside the leaderboards functionality): Hot Pursuit, which pits four cops against four racers; Race mode, which just has a normal race; and the best mode. Interception. Here a single cop goes up against a single racer, but instead of having a predetermined route, the racer can attempt to evade the pursuant police officer using any of the game’s 160km worth of open world roads.

That’s perhaps the only issue I have, here. 160km is not that much. While it manages to seem like more than claimed, when playing, games like Test Drive Unlimited featured 1000km of open road. We’re hoping EA makes a downloadable pack to add another hundred kays or so.

Even if they don’t, it won’t be a huge issue. The game is beautiful, there are enough cars and most importantly, it plays like the Need for Speed games we remember. g

AT A GLANCE: Huge fun, for both fans of, and newcomers to, the series.

Developer: Criterion Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

Police vehicles are just as exotic – everything from Lamborghini, to high-end Nissan sportscars, Porsches and even the almighty Bugatti Veyron are kitted out with blue and red lights.

Where the racers have tech to evade the police, cop cars are kitted out with systems to deploy roadblocks, call in helicopters, lay down spike strips and, like the racers, disable cars using an EMP pulse. They’re not all-out weapons, but the tech enhancements have some basis in reality, while adding a lot of balance to the game.

The great thing about Hot Pursuit is how all of this action is presented. EA opted to develop a sort of Facebook for a racing game. It’s called Autolog, and shows you challenges your friends have completed, allowing you to take on their times and attempt to best them. Autolog gives access to both the single player and multiplayer sections of Hot Pursuit, using a single, seamless, easy-to-navigate interface.

Again, as we’d expect with a modern game, the multiplayer is excellent. Members of the Gamecca team spent hours on a Sunday playing cops and robbers. The game is so well balanced online that even good racers had a hard time evading the cops, while less experienced gamers could easily catch the perps. There is an element of randomness – especially with the in-game traffic – but not to the point where it can ruin every race. It’s an

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Score

90 45

Wii Party

The New Definitive…

More games than you can shake a remote at

T

his isn’t the first party game from Nintendo. It’s release probably has to do with the fact that third party developers just don’t seem to be able to put party games together quite like Nintendo does. And, just to amp up the party mood, it comes with an extra Wii remote.

There are only a small number of people that can complain about the extra controller because they already have four controllers. It is important to note that this is the Wii’s limit… I don’t want folks sitting there trying to get the fifth controller connected to play the games with more people. A minimum of 2 people are needed to enjoy this game, with a maximum of 4 at a time. I say this because, while there is a single player mode, the real fun of the game comes through the multiplayer.

Wii Party comes with a huge collection of around 80 mini games, and a wide variety of ways to play them. On the menu, when holding your hand icon over the game, it displays the approximate time it will take to play. This

46

by Brian Murdoch

helps with expectations in the first few minutes of the game. I can’t count how many times players with me have started a party game in disappointment that the game will take hours after they have first grasped the rules. Just this small bit of information that the game will take five or 45 minutes makes players plan for, and set aside, that amount of time.

First let’s go through some of the board games and how some of them work. The board games here range from the basic ideas through to complex travels around the world.

When entering the travel around the world board game, players are in a race with each other to get more photos than the others. If there is a draw, then the number of coins (which we’ll discuss below) is compared. Other than picking an up-side-down random card from your collection to move that number of spaced around the paths around the world, cards can be bought to travel faster, and in special ways. Players start with 10 coins and do odd jobs and win mini games to get more; these are spent on cards,

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game for display before you play again.

There are a few in-betweener game collections, and a challenge mode for the single player, but out of all the combinations the balance boat is my favourite. This is a two player game that is extremely fun (and funny) for the two playing, although it’s not very spectator friendly. Two players go through ten rounds of mini games. They have a boat with three levels of rigging that they can place Mii characters on. Depending on how well the pair does as a team they will receive different sized Miis to place on the boat. Each player pick up a Mii and place it onto the boat.

If this causes the boat to tilt over the Miis fall off and you lose! This is a great challenge for two friends or couples to see how well they can cooperate with each other.

Nintendo have done a great job with Wii party and developers should really look at this and take note of the good features and use them when making their games.g

AT A GLANCE: Well done on taking my vote for the best Party game for the Wii this year.

Developer: NdCube Publisher: Nintendo Distributor: Core Group

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

Wii Platforms

or my personal favourite, hopping on a boat or plane to quick travel to spots around the world. Each of the 10 rounds has the players move once and end off with a mini game to select the placement for the next round’s turns, as well as awarding coins.

In Bingo, random balls are seleted by the game, showing either a Mii face or a mini game. If a Mii face is shown then the players mark off the face if they have it on their own 4x4 Mii bingo card. If a mini game is won then the single winner picks a Mii to cross off on their board and that same Mii is crossed of other the other 3 boards, if it is there.

Next are the pairing games… don’t think these are only for two players, as they can be more entertaining to watch than the four player games. So, if there are more people able to play, pair them off and laugh at some of the questions and tests that are done to check the compatibility of the pair.

The best pair and worst pair are stored on the save

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

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Score

85 47

Star Wars:The Force Unleashed II

Starkiller’s Return It’s a bit of a non-event, really…

A

long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a video game was released that challenged many ideas behind game design. By meshing physics, emotional AI response and a fantastic franchise together, this game truly unleashed new ideas, and became a force to be reckoned with. See what I did there?

OK, maybe the first Star Wars: The Force Unleashed wasn’t really all that, but it did bring a few new ideas to the table, particularly the introduction of higher grade physics, as well as emotional responses on the part of AI characters during game-play (responses that were not pre-coded, but relied on the situation.) It also cast a bit of light on that long gap between Star Wars Episodes III and IV, as well as introducing a new character to the mythology (played by the same dude that plays CrashDown in Battlestar Galactica… I’m too lazy to look

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by Walt Pretorius up his name right now.)

The one thing that everyone knew after playing it was that a sequel was inevitable. And many were hopeful that the bugs and issues that plagued the original game would be sorted out delivering an even better experience – because, despite the bugs and stuff, Force Unleashed was great fun.

The developers of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 did address some of the first game’s issues, but they managed to do a whole lot of other stuff wrong along the way. Most importantly, it is far too short, with a play time weighing in at under six hours. Compared to the first game, that’s horribly short.

The story starts with the player taking control of a clone of Starkiller (who was offed at the end of the first game) who has to escape from Darth Vader and hunt

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The combat has also been dumbed down a bit, meaning that the game can easily devolve into a beat-‘em-up with force powers. And speaking of the powers, the player starts more or less with all the abilities that Starkiller had to earn in the first title, making him a galaxy-trotting bad-ass from the word go. It’s fun to be powerful, but you get to wade through enemies just a little too easily.

This doesn’t help the situation, with most bosses and big enemies killed through quick-time sequences.

This is probably the weakest offering in the Star Wars mythology. Even Jarjar Binks was more welcome than this product, which feels a bit rushed and just doesn’t deliver what Star Wars fans would want. It’s fun to play, for a while, but the overall effect is rather disappointing.

The force powers and combat are cool, but the game should have been so much more. g

AT A GLANCE: It’s fun at first, but it is nowhere near what Star Wars fans would want…

Developer: LucasArts Publisher: Activision Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

down the love of his life, Juno Eclipse. It’s a good premise and, combined with the richness of the Star Wars universe, it could have had a lot of potential. But the game ends more or less when the story starts getting interesting, which is rather disappointing, and the numerous opportunities that the plot had for expansion were either missed or ignored during development.

Despite its comparatively short play time, Force Unleashed 2 also manages to get mind-numbingly repetitive at times. Gamers complained about the lack of enemy variety in the first game, which was remedied this time around, but fighting them comes down to working out the formula and sticking to it time and again. Even the environments, which are initially interesting and vibrant, soon become repetitive and a little boring.

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

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Score

68 49

DJ Hero 2

Wax on, Scratch Off! Slicker than its predecessor

I

bought the original DJ Hero very shortly after its release. For several weeks afterward, many of my gamer friends asked me the same question: “Is it fun?”

My answer came back the same every time – “I think it’s fun because I’m good at it.” I was able to play the game on the Expert difficulty upon starting (being an avid rhythm gamer already), and within a few weeks I had earned five stars on every song. With the hindsight of a second game in the series, now, I can’t help but feel like I was being disingenuous to those friends. What makes DJ Hero fun is that the action of DJing, of manipulating the turntable controller, is inherently pretty fun for people of at least mild coordination. Combine that with a game interface that generally works well, and even if you’re not a big fan of the songs you’re playing, you’ll still probably enjoy yourself.

That said, DJ Hero 2 doesn’t really evolve the concept introduced in the first game. It changes some of the focus,

50

by Corey Schon and expands the breadth of content. The first thing you’ll notice upon booting up is a significantly slicker interface, which pervades the single-player “empire” mode. Building your empire is largely the same as the setlist progression from the first DJ Hero, but interspersed with different “battle” setlists against the other DJ characters and licensed DJs including Deadmaus, Tiesto, and RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. These task you to think about your gameplay with slightly different objectives – like winning “checkpoints” of the match with higher accuracy than your opponent, or getting the highest streak of notes without a mistake. New items and modes like those and the “power decks” which improve your score make DJ Hero 2 generally an easier game to score well in, though the individual mixes remain generally on the same difficulty curve as in the first title. Many of the game’s songs will prove fairly easy to do very well on, but there may

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so you’ll have a total of maybe eight, ten unique lines of lyrics for the whole song. Second, the grading for vocal performance is just abysmal. Even on spoken word parts, the engine does not do an appropriate job of detecting if you’re singing.

There are a few extra symbols to interact with in DJ Hero 2. Held taps and scratches require more deliberate motions to be successfully incorporated into the mix, and the silly “freestyle”segments from the first game have been replaced by a much more robust system allowing the player to freely scratch, tap, and crossfade during appropriate sections of the song. Considering these, the overall vibe that Hero 2 emanates is that FreeStyleGames feels more confident with what they’re doing than they were the first time around the block. The sophomore effort doesn’t quite make game-changing improvements, but I wouldn’t call it a sophomore slump, either. g

AT A GLANCE: New boons and old problems combine to make this turntable simulator an evolutionary instance.

Developer: FreeStyleGames Publisher: Activision Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

prove one or two that will continue to elude you until you practice (or unlock score-enhancing items).

The songs and mixes in DJ Hero 2 show something of a divergence from the genres explored in the first game.

Where the first promoted a lot of hip-hop and rap, 2 complements its sleek, electro-veneer with large quantities of pop, electronica, and techno. The sound effects and tweaks which you can apply to the mixes while playing are similar, featuring lots of clipping and bit-crushing noises. The overall audio-visual presentation is solid, a definite step up from the random goofy samples that were considered “freestyling” in the first game.

While most features introduced in DJ Hero 2 make the game dually more accessible and more replayable, the new attempt to expand beyond just the DJ deck play is a total non-starter. Vocal mixes in the game are completely worthless for two reasons: first, you’re singing re-mixes,

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Score

83 51

Some improvement over the 2010 version

by Walt Pretorius

E

very year we see a number of franchises release new games. This year, obviously, is no different, and the latest iteration of the WWE Smackdown VS RAW series has arrived amidst the usual fanfare.

This year’s game is a lot like last year’s release, which saw some major tweaks and changes. This time around, the developers have built on those tweaks and changes, rather than trying to revolutionise anything two years in a row.

It’s still a game for fans of the franchise. While the series has moved along in leaps and bounds over the many years that it has been in existence, it takes a fan’s dedication to come to grips with some of the title’s quirkier elements.

With good graphics and tons of action, the series has reached new heights, and the tweaks made on ideas introduced in the 2010 version by this new release will be welcomed by fans, but some may feel that the advancement in the game is not quite enough this year.

Still, there are a handful of new modes, and the player even has the ability to play backstage – just like in of those ‘dramatic’ WWE filler videos.

It’s fun, if wrestling is your thing, and great as a multiplayer title. g

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AT A GLANCE: It’s a fun game, but it will take a true WWE fan to get past the game’s quirks.

Developer: THQ Publisher: THQ Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

WWE Smackdown VS RAW 2011

Tweaked Up

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

78

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

The Sims 3

They’re Everywhere!

The Sims 3 invades consoles

W

hen the Sims first appeared around ten years ago, they brought with them a fresh take on the idea of simulations. Before, these games were much more macrocosmic, with the player dealing with bigger, broader concepts. The Sims brought a level of micromanagement that was unique, entertaining and quirky. It all stemmed from SimCity, of course, but now the player didn’t have to worry about roads and zoning – rather, meals and going to the toilet were among the tasks that needed to be performed.

The series has done well through three major iterations, with the Sims 3 now enjoying a steady flow of expansions, just like the previous two. But the franchise has never made a huge impact on consoles. Sure, there were versions of the Sims 2 released for PlayStation 2 and the like, but the traditional home of the Sims remained the PC platform.

EA are looking to turn that around a bit with the release of The Sims 3 on consoles. The abilities of the HD consoles

54

by Walt Pretorius allow for a far wider scope in a console-based Sims game. That’s not keeping the title off of the less punchy machines, though… now, the Sims 3 is everywhere.

The transition from PC to HD consoles was a smooth one. The two different versions of the game look and feel very similar, but there are a few notable differences between the games. The most obvious is the control scheme. Without a mouse and keyboard to rely on, the console version of the Sims 3 had to take a very complete, yet simple, approach to controls. The setup of sticks and buttons is sensible and very versatile, considering, and the player will get the hang of controlling their sims in no time at all. But players who have experienced the Sims 3 on PC may well find that the controls are achingly sluggish, particularly in terms of camera movement and object selection.

Another thing that PC players may notice is that the game seems… smaller. The player’s neighbourhood is broken into bite-sized, manageable chunks. This means

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experienced the Sims 3 on PC, and this is the market that EA is obviously trying to capitalise on with this release.

And they should be able to do so – while the game most certainly plays second fiddle to the PC version, it is not a bad game at all. It’s a bit different in certain areas, but graphics, sounds and overall concepts are comparable to the PC version.

It’s fairly obvious that EA will be releasing all kinds of DLC for this game, much like they release expansions for the PC version. And, with the ability to be creative with the Sims and their surroundings, a healthy online community will be sure to develop before long.

If you are a console gamer and enjoy the idea of controlling (and messing with) little computer people, the Sims 3 for consoles is a safe bet. PC fans may want to stick to what they know – for the time being, at least.

But this is a strong start, and more and more impressive Sims titles on consoles are almost certain to appear in the future. g

AT A GLANCE: Although not quite as polished as the PC version, this is a great console start for the franchise.

Developer: EA Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

that there will be a lot of loading when the player moves their sim from one place to another, which is not ideal.

The loading doesn’t take anywhere near as long as the PC version, but there is a lot more of it. And the neighbourhoods seem to be less populous than in the PC version. That’s probably got something to do with processing power and stuff – whatever the case may be, there are fewer “other” sims to interact with.

One of the new additions to the game, which does not appear in the PC version, is a set of “Karma” powers. By helping sims fulfil their desires, the player gathers Karma points. These can be spent to make a variety of things happen to the sims, both good and bad. They could be used to improve all the sims basic needs instantly, or set their house on fire. There are numerous options for using Karma points that get unlocked as the game progresses.

If you played the Sims 3 on PC, you may find the console version a bit frustrating – even disappointing. But there are a whole lot of people – console gamers – who have not

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Score

79 55

Fallout: New Vegas

Into the wasteland Searching for bright lights and big games

T

here comes a time when it feels as if video gamer makers just have a sudden urge to spurt out a game, going by the old concept of “release now, fix later”.

The amount of games that have been released this year that had day-one updates is virtually insurmountable, and it’s becoming highly annoying.

One such title is Fallout: New Vegas, and it’s something of a pity. As we’ll see a bit later, the game could have done with a bit more time on the drawing board in terms of fixing minor issues. The biggest problem, however, comes in with the game’s dynamics.

We’ll explore that a bit later, but for the time being it’s not all doom and gloom – after all, the game was highly anticipated and possesses a couple of good qualities.

Strictly speaking, the title isn’t a direct sequel, but it does take place about 3 years after the events of Fallout 3 – although no characters from the previous game make an appearance.

56

by Jimmy Glue

As far as the plot goes, the player assumes the role of a courier who got a near-fatal shot to the head in the sunny town of New Vegas. Not knowing why it happened or who is responsible, it will be up to the player to put the puzzle together, while doing odd jobs for the many inhabitants of the vast world – and saving the mighty Hoover Dam from certain destruction.

The game also decided to include some nifty tweaks in the game play, most notably the companion wheel, which aims to ease the command execution by selecting commands that are presented in a radial and graphical menu.

Certain actions will also influence the game’s progress and direction, but the most value-added extension is the inclusion of a hard-core mode. This mode is definitely not for the faint-hearted, and a strong stomach and a lot of patience is need when attempting it. What it does, besides for increasing the difficulty, is the addition of weight to

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immediate internet access had to sludge through all the faults, which is kind of unfair towards the paying public.

But, with all its faults and glitches, returning players will find a whole new world (well, it’s actually an old one) filled to the brim with new monsters, interesting NPC’s, a riveting plot and some disturbing aspects that will make them turn tail.

It’s not a bad game in the least; it’s just that it feels like a carbon-copy of Fallout 3, which can stack the odds against it. If gamers are prepared to look beyond the short-comings and take the game at face-value, many hours will be spent solving quests or playing errand boy.

For redemption points, the controls are easy and familiar, the graphics aren’t overly-complex and the plot is rather amusing. Definitely a title for the fans, but newcomers should tread carefully. g

AT A GLANCE: Although it’s a new game, ultimately the title feels like a massive expansion pack.

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Distributor: Nu Metro

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

18+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

ammunition, players suffering from dehydration and limbs can’t be fixed with stimpacks (to name only a few). It’s really, really difficult – borderline annoying.

From a graphical point of view, the game is virtually identical to Fallout 3, which is neither good nor bad.

Gamers love to see something that they are familiar with, but with an unchanged interface and carboncopy gameplay, it makes the sequel feel like a massive expansion pack.

The aspect that most gamers might find irritating is the fact that fast-travel isn’t possible to undiscovered locations. That is the same as with Fallout 3, but walking for literally 30 minutes just to be confronted with a Giant Rad Scorpion – which kills you with three tail strikes – is highly irksome.

The game is also riddled with numerous bugs and glitches, which were only fixed (with minor success) a good couple of days after it was released. Those without

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

73 57

James Bond 007: Blood Stone

Focus Aim

The Smartphone is all you need

L

ove him or hate him, Daniel Craig has got to be the best Bond [second best… can’t be best after only two movies! –ed]. He isn’t the polished and supersophisticated guy who relies solely on gadgets and fast cars and he is quite comfortable to get a little dirty.

From the opening sequence the player is thrown into a virtual Bond movie. Blood Stone begins with a terrorist attack at the G20 summit, with Dame Judi Dench as M contacting Daniel Craig’s Bond to stop the nefarious plot before a bomb goes off during the taking of a group photo of the world leaders. Bond is dispatched, or rather, takes an early exit from the aircraft he was travelling in to get to the scene. A high speed boat chase ensues and, with that, we launch into the opening credit sequence, complete with song by Joss Stone – who also plays the character of Bond’s leading lady throughout the game.

Bond’s movement has to be noted. Apparently Craig’s stunt double from the films did several weeks of motion capture to make the hand-to-hand combat and stealth

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by Alexia Pestana takedowns as authentic and varied as possible. Bizarre Creations has taken cues from their previous efforts such as The Club and Project Gotham, and Blood Stone is born into a world of fast melee combat and explosive driving sequences. From boats to cars, to a tow truck chasing down a huge truck through Bangkok – it really feels like you are in the movie. Adrenaline pumps as you travel at incredibly high speeds, trying to remember which way to turn to make it over the ice, or under the truck. The cinematic cut scenes are cleverly placed and the player doesn’t even notice that the next scene is actually loading at the same time. It’s very seldom throughout the game that you actually wait for something to load. I suppose this is also why people are complaining that the game is too short – they didn’t realise everything happened during the cut scenes.

Blood Stone is a fusion of a few different key game play elements. Firstly, it’s a third person cover-based shooter.

There is a variety of weapons at Bond’s disposal, from

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scans tech and hacks into security cameras but is mostly used if you aren’t sure which way to go. Unfortunately it does make the screen a migraine-inducing green and the clarity of the picture is diminished if you try running while in this view.

A no-frills multiplayer component is included in Blood Stone, but it’s a third-person shooter experience right on down to teams of red versus blue. Modes include team deathmatch and a couple of objective-based contests, but no matter the mode, the combat is much slower and plodding than the fast-paced levels that make up the best parts of the single-player story.

From start to finish, Blood Stone is a satisfying action game with enough “wow” moments to please even the jaded Bond fan-slash-gamer crowd. Clocking in at somewhere between 8-10 hours for the main story, it nevertheless delivers the goods where it counts and manages to offer a variety of experience and emotion that makes it feel much longer. g

AT A GLANCE: Third person action adventure game with elements of hand to hand combat. It’s like starring in a Bond Movie!

Developer: Bizarre Creations Publisher: Activision Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

hand guns to sniper rifles and AK-47s. Blood Stone is developed in a fashion where it doesn’t really matter what weapons you are armed with; each can be just as effective as another, depending on how you use it. Bond has a ‘Focus Aim’ special attack, gained by using a takedown on an enemy. Once you have Focus Aim, you can kill any enemy within sight with a click of the trigger, and Bond instantly targets the head of a terrorist and lays them out in slow motion.

There are plenty of areas in which Bond must climb around or leap from balconies to escape dangerous gasses and that sort of thing, so don’t think a massive underground drill isn’t going to pose a threat. Time limits are given to complete such objectives.

Instead of using the gadgets that Bond is known for, Blood Stone features a concept similar to ‘Detective Mode’ from Batman Arkham Asylum. There are times where Bond must use his smartphone to pursue a lead or detect enemies within the area. The smartphone also

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

79 59

Shaun White Skateboarding

The Colour of Skate Not as bright as it looks…

I

n his second video game franchise, Ubisoft brings you Shaun White Skateboarding.

We all know him for his snowboarding abilities as well as turning pro at the age of thirteen. Shaun White was also the first person ever to win gold at both the Winter and Summer X Games. But, although his name is on the game, he doesn’t have much of a role in this title..

The story starts the gamer in a dull, grim city, which is controlled by the government.

The government, known as the ministry, has Shaun White held in captivity… the player’ goal is to free him.

On the way to set Shaun free from his captors, the gamer needs to return colour and emotion to the city and its people. Landing tricks sends a shockwave of colour through the population. Shape shifting rails and ramps brings a new twist to the skateboarding genre, which will keep the gamer glued to the control.

Flow is something else that can be used to release the

60

by Dylan Chase colourless people from the ministry’s control. The gamer can use flow by landing consecutive tricks. The feel of the skateboarding in this title was captured quite well, but it does not compare to other skateboarding titles. There is not much freedom in this game as the story mode almost forces the gamer to complete all the objectives given.

Starting off with minimal tricks, the gamer can purchase new tricks as the game progresses. This is annoying at times, as you can only do so much, reducing the freedom of skateboarding.

One of the biggest disappointments is that there are no bails; for some reason, if you come off your board while in the half pipe or during big airs the character will dissolve into hundreds of small balls upon hitting the floor. The gamer can also still land a trick, even if he only pulls it off half way. Falling is apart of the skateboarding lifestyle..

Overall the skating feels very slow and there is no way to get more speed for those big airs you crave

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Character detail could have been handled a little better, as well as the character animations, although the movement of the characters while skating has been done quite well, looking quite authentic. The background and environment graphics aren’t realistic either. The game starts off quite dull until you move through it landing tricks, but even with colour the city still looks average. Clothing and accessories for the character are limited and look very blocky at times. Although this game does have 3D as an option, it won’t blow you away.

The soundtrack for this title has been put together very well, with good music tracks and some great character voices. The skating sounds, like the movement of the skateboard, grinding on rails, riding and also the board scraping the floor during a manual, have been done well. The sound is most probably the best feature of this lacklustre game. g

AT A GLANCE: This title is great for beginners or new comers to the skateboarding genre, but hardcore fans won’t be thrilled.

Developer: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

The controls for this edition of Shaun White Skateboarding are very complicated at first, with numerous buttons combinations for a single grab or flip.

Skating the half pipe is difficult; getting speed and air seems to be the biggest problem, besides having to buy your tricks. You can’t do much there until you work your way through the game.

The only good thing about this game’s controls is that you can control your ollie height as well as your rotation perfectly. You can make the skating look very authentic as you don’t have too much speed to work with. There aren’t too many stairs in the game but the ones that are there allow for some great moves. I would have preferred to get the basic skating tricks for free at the start of the game as it would have been great to bust a blunt slide or a kick flip backside tail slide down a hand rail from the word go.

Manuals and nose manuals are quite easy to start or land in after a grind or flip.

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

60 61

Professor Layton and the Lost Future

Unwind the Future More of the same, but with extras

P

rofessor Layton and the Lost Future marks the third in the announced 5 Professor Layton games that we know of. I can confirm that it is a puzzle game but something has changed. The first two games, Curious Village and Pandora’s Box, are categorised as puzzle games but the third as adventure. I thought someone made a mistake because the game is both but in the third one the story seems to be a stronger and more insistent on being solved. It is still packed with a wide range of puzzles at every corner but the franchise seems to be maturing.

For newcomers to the Professor Layton games, because there will always be first timers, don’t worry about starting with this one because it’s just background story to finish the other two. I’m sure if you enjoy this one you will be getting the previous ones and then starting from the beginning with Curious Village. The puzzles in the third

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by Brian Murdoch

title are more difficult and challenging than the other two and those hint coins are really going to be used. Hint coins are still there lying around the scenery but there are a few tricks in this one; there always seems to be a different amount of coins in every scene. This make us players click everywhere on the screen to make sure we have every coin until we get all the pieces of our helper to assist us in finding them.

One of the first things that previous players will need to shake off is the longing for the hamster or gismo that they had at the end of the previous games. These pets helped in finding the hint coins and hidden puzzles around the areas that Professor Layton explores. It’s that old tap everywhere on the scene to find all the hint coins and hidden puzzles before moving on … note that clicking the people that will make the story progress. These are just

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there is a nice surprise waiting. When completing a sticker book but the whole story seems incorrect just remove all the stickers to start again.

The main point of this is to encourage getting all the puzzles and adding extra fun to the story line. Most of us that enjoy Professor Layton games will like the extra puzzles and will sit for the required time to finish the sticker book. Completion addicts will feel a great deal of satisfaction when finishing the sticker book as well.

There are also car puzzles with 10 tracks given to Luke by different people to solve as a collection. If all of these puzzles are not enough, have no fear. The same weekly puzzles that were in the second title are in this one. Setup your Wi-Fi or head over to the nearest coffee shop that has and download a weekly puzzle onto your DS for free.g

AT A GLANCE: A more mature Professor Layton with all the good features from the second one and more in the third.

Developer: Level 5 Publisher: Nintendo Distributor: Nintendo

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

optional and one can continue without them to finish the story. Some over my friends will just continue with the story and only solve the puzzles that need solving and when the story is complete come back to look for the extra puzzles. This is an option but, at times, they are held up when a minimum number of puzzles solved is required before they can continue.

The addition puzzles given to us in this version of Professor Layton is a set of Picture Books. Early in the game a picture book and some stickers are given to the professor. The task at hand now is to read the story in the book and fill in the missing objects with pictures in the book. Placing the “reusable” stickers in on the page will fill in the words on the story. If the story makes sense and all the pictures are full in the first book you move onto the second book and third. After the third book is finished

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

81 63

The Sims 3: Late Night

Paint the Town Red And look buff doing it!

by Walt Pretorius

T

AT A GLANCE: A good (if not great) expansion that adds a few new activities for Sims fans.

Developer: EA Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

13+ 64

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

here are certainties in life… death, taxes, and Sims expansions. The latest expansion for The Sims 3, titled Late Night, sees the virtual people turn into party animals. New venues like clubs and bars abound, as well as a new neighbourhood that allows for urban living in apartments and penthouses.

In addition to the new clothes and décor styles that come with every expansion, Late Night offers the player the chance to become a celebrity, and experience the highs and lows that the limelight has to offer. Well known sims will get mobbed by admirers, and need to watch their every step, lest a mistake gets the rumour-mill churning.

There are also some new options for those who are creating sims… physique can now be determined in terms of muscle definition, and female sims can also have their breast size adjusted.

Late Night is a solid expansion, and one that adds an extra level of challenge to the game. It doesn’t quite break into the realms of brilliant (the Sims 3 has yet to have one of those expansions) but it does enhance the game experience, and allows for greater customisation in Sims looks. It certainly is one to look out for, if you’re a Sims 3 fan. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

78

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Stupefied

Can magic make the pain go away?

T

he Harry Potter games have certainly shown signs of evolution over the past nine years since the first Philosopher’s Stone titles were released, but for some reason this effort seems to have ended on the path of pointless point-and-shoot action. Leaving behind the confines of Hogwarts, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 takes you through the streets of London, many darkened forests and fields, and even snow-coated villages. The main enemies in these locations are Death Eaters and Snatchers, who Harry spends most of his time firing spells at. There are also troubles with Doxy Fairies and Acromantula spiders, as well as Dementors, who can’t be killed. When facing one of the many hordes of Death

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by Alexia Pestana

Eaters, Harry can now make use of a cover system that does little to keep him safe. The edges are really rough here; it makes me think that the developers got a little lazy when handed a perfectly good story to adapt to a game. How much more could it take to make Harry duck down lower when following a line of uneven cover? Harry’s weapons aren’t restricted to spells. He can also throw potions like Garroting Gas to make foes gag, though if he is behind cover he will usually drop them at his feet. To guide Harry on his journey he can cast a spell that send a glowing trail of light in the direction he needs to travel.

Players are warned that his might not be the safest route to take. A lot of my time was spent casting the spell then

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Kinet Challenge Ravers gone mad… This is how I can describe the Kinect section that is part of the game. How quickly can you cast a spell? Stick a mad beat behind it and you have a music video worthy of Ibiza. Players can control Harry, Ron or Hermoine (2 player max) and get to make movements mimicking the wave of a wand to protect yourself by casting spells or to inflict harm upon your enemies. The challenges use environments from the main campaign. Each mission restricts you to two offensive spells and the shield charm, although Kinect will often misread your hand gestures no matter how deliberate they are. The repetitive motions of the ‘stupefy (read as “raver”)’ spell will have you groaning the next day when trying to lift your arm.

As with all new games for Kinect, there is a learning curve to understand the menu control and game play.

Some players will enjoy waving their hands as if they were casting a spell on an enemy, while others will wish they still had the controller – and buttons.

they are dying. Experience is earned by killing enemies and is only retained at checkpoints, so death results in a loss of any XP you’ve earned since the last save.

Stealth missions with the invisibility cloak put you in first person view, which makes it almost impossible to move around dangerous areas without being spotted. The game throws players between third and first person view without warning, leaving the player wondering what just happened.

Graphically, the game is adequate, with character likenesses fairly well done.

This game is for loyal fans who will love the chance to see Harry and his friends move closer toward their goal of destroying Voldemort. g

AT A GLANCE: Read the book? Saw the movie?

Not so sure you want to play the game…

Developer: EA Bright Light Studio Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

turning around continuously to try catch a glimpse of which way it went.

There are 12 levels to play through, with a few of them split into smaller segments known as ‘encounters’. These can be faced in any order but must be completed in order to move on. New spells, as well as health and power upgrades, are unlocked when Harry levels up. There are 10 spells overall which are assigned to a spell wheel quickly accessible through the right bumper or the radial menu.

The fact that the display features no health or magic bar can be both a blessing and a curse... a blessing that it makes the experience smoother and more immersive but a curse for those who want to know how badly or quickly

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

58 67

Divinity II:The Dragon Knight Saga

Fiery Death And it’s all yours!

F

antasy role playing games are a stalwart of the PC gaming world. They have been around almost as long as there have been people playing games on computers… in fact, some of the very first games were text-based games that involved fantasy role-playing. So it’s no surprise that there are a great many of them out there, in a number of forms and sizes. From action packed, short games through to long winded dramatic epics, the fantasy role playing game genre has a solid footing in the world of computer games.

Finding the really good ones, though, can be tricky. There are a great many of these games that are simply bad.

Perhaps the popularity of the genre attracts inexperienced or poorly skilled development crews. Sticking a girl in a chain mail bikini on the cover is not only a good marketing plan and a gaming tradition, but it is a move that seems to short-circuit some of the buyer’s thinking. And so these games, good or bad, flourish… at least as far as sales go.

Once he player gets them home, disappointment might just be waiting around the corner.

The Divinity series was, for some time, a franchise

68

by Walt Pretorius that walked the line between good and bad, often taking missteps in the wrong direction. With their latest instalment, entitled Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga, they have leaped well and truly clear of the line. But they jumped the right way. Aside from a few niggles, Dragon Knight Saga is a great game.

The long, meandering story places the player in control of a young Dragon Slayer, a member of an order of Knights who hunt down and destroy the Dragon Knights who killed their Divine Hero. A Dragon Knight, for clarity sake, is a dragon. Anyway, the player starts as a Slayer about to undergo their final tests… no mucking about with previous stories and such here. The test imbues that player with the memories of dragons, something which makes their mind a little fragile and makes their eyes glow white.

As the saga continues, the player encounters the final Dragon Knight. Yes, this is a bit of a spoiler, but not enough to ruin the game… the Dragon Knight imbues the player’s character with its power, giving the player the ability to shape-shift into the form of a dragon. It’s really, very cool.

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panned. This is probably because the environments are possibly a little too richly detailed. The graphics in this game are superb.

The other presentation elements are also pretty good, with generally good voice acting and decent dialogue making up most of the sound track. Nice original music and sensible sound effects round out the game’s audio.

Control wise, it’s pretty much bog standard third person stuff; WADS key controls in combination with the mouse.

The controls are responsive, although some shortcuts that we would have liked to have seen aren’t readily available.

Dragon Knight Saga is the phoenix rising from the ashes of Ego Draconis. It stands as proof that smart developers listen to their audience, and that a project can be successfully resurrected and improved. Fantasy fans – particularly the more hard core ones – will appreciate the rich world created for the game, and action fans will have plenty of creatures to fight as they wend their way through the game. And, besides all that, you get to be a dragon.

Cool. g

AT A GLANCE:

A reworking of an older, weaker title, Dragon Knight Saga is a sweeping fantasy epic.

Developer: Larian Studios Publisher: Focus Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC

Platforms

Dragon Knight Saga uses a skill based system, rather than relying on character classes. Initially the character can choose whether to specialise in close combat, ranged combat or magic, but this has an impact only on the early, grinding stages of the game. As the player gets more experience, they can buy whichever skills they desire, moulding their character the way they want.

Dragon Knight Saga is actually a reworking of the previous Divinity II title, Ego Draconis, and its Flames of Vengeance expansion. Both are rolled into one, providing the player with around 60 hours of fantasy adventuring.

And the titles have been extensively reworked; Ego Draconis was not well received at all by critics. Developers Larian Studios took the criticism levelled at the game to heart, and recrafted it into a game that is engaging, visually beautiful and great fun to play. The combination of the two previous products means that it is wonderfully long, and has a complex and interesting plot line.

The biggest niggle is that the frame rate of the game sometimes drops a little… not in character animations, as one would expect, but at times when the camera is

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

80 69

Apache Air Assault

Blades of Thunder Hovering means you’re not a moving target

T

here are lots of flight simulators – both realistic and arcade-style – on the market, but not many of them deal with helicopters. Sure, you get helicopters in some games (like Just Cause 2 and the like) but there are very few titles dedicated to hovering machines of destruction exclusively. We’re not sure why, because there is nothing like a helicopter gunship, really. These versatile military machines form an important backbone in numerous operations, bridging the gap between the high flying jet fighters and bombers, and the grunts slogging it on the ground.

So why are there so few games that have helicopters at their core? We’re not entirely sure, to be honest, but it’s probably safe to assume that the flight model of a helicopter makes it a little more challenging to put the game together.

Which is why it’s great to see a title like Apache Air Assault arriving. Titular alliteration aside, the game is a fresh breath for arcade style flight sims, placing the player at the helm of an Apache gunship (one of numerous models that occur within the game.)

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by Walt Pretorius

The single player game will take the player around the globe, visiting various hotspots and unleashing tons of ammo and explosives on deserving enemies. The campaign can also be played co-op, with one player manning the flight controls while the other does weapons duty. It’s a nice idea, this co-op mode, and makes for some interesting gaming experiences.

The game features 16 multi-stage missions that can be played as single player or co-op. That’s not a lot, but they do vary in length, so there is a fair amount of play time for the solo-pilot. The problem is that the difficulty curve in these missions looks less like a gentle slope and more like a spikey mountain range. The third level is far more difficult than the fourth or fifth, for example, leading to a little inconsistency in the game’s flow. Still, they are fairly varied, and the player will get to go up against a variety of targets.

When playing single player, the AI manning the guns is fairly sharp, and the player can rely on it to take out enemies. However, a facility to jump to the gunner’s seat adds a little extra for the player to do; just set the helo for

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throwing up their hands in utter frustration more often than they should. Multiplayer doesn’t get much easier – a opponent on your tail has pretty much got your number, because there is no such thing as a quick evasive manoeuvre here.

The presentation of the game is fairly good. The graphics are pretty enough, with great Apache models and detailed terrain. Unfortunately there are times when the pop-up becomes a bit too obvious, but things are not bad for the most part. The sound is also good, although we picked up one or two little niggles along the way (like the sound of the rotor blades not stopping, even though the chopper was powered down). Still, not a train smash.

This is a fair start for what one assumes will be a franchise, but the sometimes repetitive actions and overall appeal of the title may make it something of a niche game, rather than a mainstream hit. It’s worth a try at least, and the co-op mode is a great, unique approach to arcade flight simulation. g

AT A GLANCE: An enjoyable title, but one that will likely appeal more to enthusiasts.

Developer: Gaijin Entertainment Publisher: Activision Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

‘auto-hover’ and let loose. This gives the player a black and white gunnery view mode that can be switched between normal and infra-red (for those pesky sods hiding under bushes.)

Controlling the helicopter is… well, tricky. The left stick will tilt the chopper forwards, backwards and sideways, which will (thanks to the rotor) pull the chopper in the desired direction. The right stick governs acceleration (up and down) and turning (left and right.) The theory (very basically) is that elevation and acceleration come from the same place… it just depends on the orientation of the choppers body. Whatever the science may be, it’s fairly tricky to get right at first, and the camera’s lack of independence can make lining enemies up a little difficult.

In short, the player needs to aim by moving the chopper (when not in gunnery mode) which can be a little difficult in the beginning. Fire off enough rockets, though, and you’ll be doing it like a pro.

The controls and fixed camera don’t do anything to make Apache Air Assault any easier. It’s a challenging game, when all is said and done, and one that will have the player

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

78 71

Blood Drive

Driven by Gore Not the charitable kind…

B

lood Drive has a similar feel to the movie Death Race, although you’re not just trying to kill your opponents… you also need to kill zombies. While driving over zombies seems to be a great idea and is fun at times, there is not much of a story line to keep the player invested. This is pretty much a driving game with shooting incorporated into it. If you enjoy driving or shooting games this title might just be right up you alley.

Blood Drive is a good looking game graphically, but at the same time it is also very ordinary. The vehicles and environments look good. The zombies, though, are not impressive and could also have been more active in the game. Hitting the zombies with you car makes them look like rag dolls but could have had more detail put into it. In my opinion Blood Drive should have done a little more on the graphics and zombies… if you can’t get this right it might be hard to keep audiences coming back for

72

by Dylan Bouch another round of zombie bashing. The zombies aren’t evil enough… they look very plain.

The music in this title is most probably one of the best features of the game, with hard rock flair that suites the title quite well. Sound effects have also been well handled, with gun fire and explosions sounding quite realistic. The voice acting is not bad, and suits the characters.

Although the controls aren’t difficult to figure out, they are a little too sensitive for the driving style needed.

Checkpoint races are very annoying as the terrain can also causes the gamer to loose control easily. Trying to line up for a crowd of zombies or to fire weapons at opponents is quite difficult, too. Speaking of which, there is a wide range of weapon artillery available, from harpoon guns to rocket launchers.

There are a few modes available but most seem the same… Kill zombies and your opponents. Modes include

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you off your line.

Each character driver has certain abilities suited for specific purposes, but the player can tweak them beforehand by choosing a set of temporary weapon or vehicle upgrades. Some will enhance car durability and others might include extra ammo, and so on. It allows the player to perform a bit of customisation in a game that otherwise doesn’t have any.

Despite the lack of story line Blood Drive is quite fun to play (for a short while) as most of the challenges revolve around the same idea – killing zombies and racer opponents.

The controls are not as responsive as they should be and graphics are below average. The few game modes available will keep you busy for a while although there aren’t any difficult settings, which would add to the replay value.

Blood Drive lacks originality and online play. g

AT A GLANCE: It’s not complex. And it has a few problems... but Blood Drive isn’t all bad.

Developer: TBC Publisher: Activision Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

18+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

tournament, single event and challenges. Each tournament mode gets longer and more difficult. Starting a race or tournament will need a driver with a car… this is where the gamer will have an option to select a driver with different abilities and a vehicle set up with different stats. Some vehicles are set up for more durability and others with more speed, there are also some with better weapons available.

Some of the challenges include Massacre Madness (1000 kills as fast as possible) or Zombie Road Kill, Demolition Derby, Check Point Rally and King of the Skull.

The main objective for King of the skull is to hang on to a golden skull for as long as possible. You get the skull by ramming into an opponent that has it and loose the skull if your opponent rams into you. This is where the controls play a big role. If the vehicle is caught up in a corner you don’t stand a chance. Catching a little air will also throw

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

61 73

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers – Defenders of the Core

Be the Bakugan Fight the good fight

B

akugan: Battle Brawlers - Defenders of the Core is branded as the second one in the series of games, but is actually the third. Those observant few will have known about the Battle Trainer that came out on the DS. Bakugan, outside of the games, is a very well development money sponge. The TV shows are very entertaining for children and young-minded adults. The shows do a very good job of getting them addicted. With the card and board game players can actually recreate battles seen on TV with the magnetic gate cards that are thrown down and the Bakugan balls that are rolled over them. The ball is a clever device with a magnet inside that, when pulled by the card, releases the catches on the ball and the arms, legs and other bits of the creature pop out. G-Power is compared, supplemented by different power up cards and skills that can be used, and a winner is determined. The complexities will only half explain why this is a very expensive toy.

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by Brian Murdoch The first game duplicated the TV series and card games to bring this fight to the console as a cheaper alternative to the card game. It was a good clone of the game and only had a few requests to make it better. The one request that will drop the jaw of every fan and pop their eyes out at the same time was to control the Bakugan in the battle! Defenders of the Core takes that dream into the game but leaves the rest of the card game out. Players going through the story mode will see that the game is still the reason for the fight but the main control involves the Bakugan and performing spectacular fighting moves to beat your opponents.

The story line needs to be fleshed out a bit more (just fighting would be boring) and the game does do this.

Players will control their customised hero through the story, first by getting past traps, guards and other fun surprises to see what’s going on or rescue a person at the end. At this point it turns into a “No, my Bakugan is stronger than yours” contest, and we fight!

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of the previous battles to earn more money for unlocks and upgrades.

The game does come out on almost every platform and seems to be the same design on them all. It’s not too boring for the parents to play with their children if they invest some time to understanding what is going on. If the child seems to not be grasping the concepts to continue on with the story, I’ll see a lot of parents playing one of the other saves as practise for when they are asked for help.

The game is entertaining and just some patience is needed with a child to help them through that sections.

They only get harder so just taking the controller and defeating the boss at hand will have you returning to either do the same thing, or teaching them with a great challenge in front of them. g

AT A GLANCE: The franchise has been improved by adding the one big fan request... playing as the Bakugan creatures themselves.

Developer: Now Production Publisher: Activision Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

Fighting is not only one versus one as played in the practise battles… often there is a small Bakugan army that the player has to beat. As the game advances the battles become more of a challenge and picking the right Bakugan, with their strengths against other elements, is well needed to win the fight.

Fighting is also not as easy as quick attacks and strong attacks; each Bakugan can be equipped with two special ability cards and when powered up they can be used to perform unique moves. These special moves and basic attack moves join with dodging, breaking attacks and good old fashion shooting your enemy from far. The shots also power up for some devastating blows, depending on the Bakugan selected. There are also a few random power ups around the area because the Gate Card that is being played on will also have its bonuses.

There is money to be collected by finding things and winning battles, but after every round the Hero is taken to an area surround by friends and can jump into a simulation

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

81 75

MySims SkyHeroes

Modnation Flyers?

Flying onto other consoles

by Brian Murdoch

M

76

AT A GLANCE: All the characters and fun from the MySims series and the flying around in races and dogfights, with lots of customisation options.

Developer: EA Games Publisher: EA Distributor: EA

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

y Sims will always retain their cute and humorous nature and as long as EA does not run out of good ideas to put these miniature Sims into, they will always be around. In this one it seems that they borrowed a lot of their ideas from others, though…

To set it apart from the other MySims games this is not an adventure game. There is a short story line that will have you play through to get some skills in flight races, dog fights and other interesting activities with your plane. It is very close to MySims Racing in the fact that all you do in Racing is race and in SkyHeroes stay in the sky.

Each MySim needs their own distinct appearance for them and their plane, so there is a great deal of customisation that can be done to both. Most of the features and frills need to be unlocked or earned before they can be used but most are very easy to get. Upgrading the plane is very important for those harder missions, in which paint just give them that needed style. You can even spend some time tuning the plane to make sure you’re the best out there.

The racing and fighting would get monotonous without a bit of added spice, which comes in the form of collectables. Pick-ups range from dangerous and powerful weapons to the sneakiest of tricks to overwhelm and defeat your opponent.

Take the fight to your friends, either through the split screen on the console or online, and dog-fight with people far away.

The title comes to a wide range of consoles this time, which is a very smart move. I would have loved to have it play online across different console as the game is the same on whichever console you have. A decent addition to the MySims collection. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

70

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

The agony and Ecstasy

Does Kinect come with anti-inflammatories??

I

t’s Sunday morning, the birds are chirping, and I am up and dressed in my gym gear ready for my work out courtesy of Ubisoft’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved for Kinect. After moving the coffee table out of the way and giving myself enough space to move around in, I am ready to begin…

Your Shape starts the player off with saving your profile.

Kinect’s motion tracking is used to scan your entire body so that it can calibrate itself to you and your size and shape. Put in a few details like your age and weight, set your goals and you are off to the fitness evaluation programme. Thinking it was going to be a couple of easy exercises to test my fitness was probably the first mistake.

Wait, do we still call them players if the game technically isn’t a game? In fact, it isn’t a game. Your Shape can be classified as an interactive fitness class complete with an instructor (male or female) who is motivational and offers great healthy criticism.

Back to the activities. There are three main components to this title. Personal Training is the core of the program,

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by Alexia Pestana

where you select the type of workout you want, such as cardio or toning, and are guided through a series of predetermined routines tailored to your profile and based on the results of your fitness tests. These routines are pretty diverse and cover just about any workout you would need.

The second component of the Fitness Class. Your Shape offers Cardio Kickboxing as well as Zen – a mixture of Tai Chi and Yoga movements which is great as a cool down after a heavy cardio session. Classes are broken up into difficulty, each with two parts in addition to a full segment.

Zen’s slower pace and focus on stance shows a green wireframe over your body on screen when you are in the proper position. It can be a little temperamental from time to time with the same gestures and stances not always read perfectly.

The third and final component is the Gym Games, in which up to four people can have fun together with hula hoops, boxing and light stepping.

Your Shape’s creators deserve praise for the menu

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or not that’s actually the case or if it’s just brand advertising, I’m not sure. However, the exercises all feel like they were put together professionally. They have that authentic feel your body gets when you’re working out with somebody who knows what they’re doing. You feel it immediately as you realize one small motion has been specifically designed to engage many different muscles simultaneously.

Boy, did I feel it. Two and a bit days later and I’m still wincing down every stair! One thing that does pop up in between workouts is a little warning, or reminder to take a break if your muscles are sore or tired. If I only knew then…

It is a fantastic proof-of-concept that reinforces my faith in both Kinect and workout video games at the same time.

So the next time people frown when you say you played video games the whole weekend – show them this. g

AT A GLANCE: A glimpse into the full potential of Kinect thanks to Ubisoft.

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Publisher: Ubisoft Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

system. While most other Kinect games require you to use your hand to control a cursor on your TV, this has a better alternative. The program uses Kinect to measure your arm length and then places icons around the virtual version of your body that you can easily reach out and touch.

Your Shape isn’t perfect by any means, and it does have some flaws, like the inability to set your own training schedule and keep on track without having to log onto an additional website. You’ll have to register for a UPlay account and log on to yourshapecenter.com until the iOS app is up and running. The website will eventually track your progress and allow you to create and receive challenges from your friends.

Another problem was Kinect’s inability to distinguish between my cat and another human, and consequently starting a two player game of Light Stepper [did the cat win? – ed].

The workouts themselves are said to have been developed by several big brands in the fitness industry, including as men and women’s Health gurus. Whether

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

84 79

Fighters Uncaged

Hit and Miss Ubisoft takes aim but fails to Kinect

F

ighters Uncaged is the first real third person fighting game released specifically for the Xbox 360 Kinect system. It is the first and normally this also means it’s open for abuse by a certain group of players who are secretly hoping the Kinect will fail.

Well, the sensor doesn’t fail and in fact demonstrates its potential for future game development. This doesn’t, unfortunately, make the game a success no matter whether you blame it on Ubisoft, new undiscovered territory or because we’re just so used to our button mashing ways.

The look of the game is that of a third person Street Fighter clone, with similar energy bars and arcade-like backgrounds. This does give you the arcade fighter look but unfortunately not the feel. The fighters are sluggish compared to normal fighter games but this may have something to do with the reliance on human movement input. Ultimately it isn’t the same at all and although a direct comparison to a traditional fighter game is inevitable, it’s also a little unfair.

An extensive tutorial covers all the basic, intermediate and advanced attacks, to get the player up to speed with

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By Dion Scotten

the sensor input. It allows for everything from straight punches to hooks and upper cuts, overhead punches, elbows, knees and head-butts to roundhouse kicks, heel kicks and spinning back kicks. Combo attacks are quite lethal but difficult to pull off and literally require expert timing and speed.

Energy is built up through successful attacks which can be used to perform power attacks for serious damage. Of course all of these attacks have to be physically performed by the player and the developers did go out of their way to bring almost every aspect of fighter gaming into the combat.

For those players that have just gotten off the couch, you’re in for a workout and your first fight might just leave you panting for breath and reaching for a drink in between each bout.

Is the game fun? Yes it does start that off as fun but it quickly sinks into boring repetition. There is no real story… only that the player controls the character Simon, who is fighting to help his father, who has run in with a bad crowd.

In order to progress in the game the player must beat

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Another disappointment is that there is only a single player mode available. Multiplayer could have been the very thing to add some fun and challenge into the mix. Add in a bit of character customisation and we could have had players taking each other on in virtual combat which quite literally could have been the game’s saving grace.

Fighters Uncaged has received quite a hiding from reviewers across the world and although a part of me thinks that this game is the closest they’ve come to a real fight in gaming, I have to admit that it doesn’t quite deliver the goods.

Ubisoft wanted to take advantage of the Kinect sensor and deliver realistic combat to the player. Sadly, instead it ends up as a poor demonstration of a piece of hardware far superior to the software written for it. Keep in mind that this is not the last we’ll hear from the developer on this subject and I’m sure next time they’ll come out swinging.g

AT A GLANCE: A ‘nice try’ at introducing full body motion control to the fighting genre.

Developer: AMA Studios Publisher: Ubisoft Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

his previous high scores achieved against a limited list of opponents. The margin of the improvement in score is the number of crowns earned and only when a total is earned can the player move on to another series of opponents.

A better option would probably have been to simply have to beat your opponent to progress instead the repetitive challenges that need to be perfected.

Sometimes the movement of the player is not registered by the program. Unfortunately it doesn’t matter if the sensor is monitoring thousands of points on your body if the character you’re controlling can only punch at a certain speed. Three quick jabs may only manifest as one, for example, and dodging backwards quickly can cause you to head-butt your opponent instead. These may seem like minor problems but they keep happening and lead to player frustration.

There is a very weak story line but, then again, it is a fighting game and some players may not really care… as long as there is an endless stream of bad guys to beat up.

Sadly a good story may have helped this game along a bit, had it existed.

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

63 81

Dragon Ball : Raging Blast 2

Love it, Hate it … it all depends on how hard-core you are.

W

ith more than 90 characters from the anime on which it is based, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast is a dream for fans. Each character has unique looks and moves, all recreated in a title that pays excellent lip-service to the source material. But it’s not a perfect title…

There is not much of a story line to follow in this title, unless you know the story behind DBZ. Most of the game is based on battles that took place in the anime series.

Galaxy mode allows the gamer to follow a single character through their career, battling all his known enemies along the way. There are a lot of rewards and unlockables to be gained from this mode. Galaxy mode can help the gamer to learn his character’s moves and special abilities, which is important. Other modes include arcade, battle and tournament, also with online capability. After a couple of

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by Dylan Bouch

hours on this title the game may get a little boring, with repetitive action in most battles The graphics are very good with bright, colourful characters. The cell- shading of the characters helps keep the look true to the DBZ theme. The background visuals are a bit plain but do not hurt the overall feel of the game.

Characters move well through the three dimensional environments, except for when the gamer has knocked his opponent across the battle stage; the gamer will loose sight of his enemy and can only look in the direction of the opponent. The environment is very large and it feels as if you are battling on a planet; the only let down is there are invisible walls holding you in, which get annoying at times.

The control layout is a bit complicated, especially for new comers to Dragon Ball Raging Blast. The control scheme will need getting used to. The controls have numerous

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will be sitting behind you console for a very long time.

Beating all the galaxies, collecting every unlockable and playing a lot of online games may drain the fun out of this title, though. Even the dedicated will question getting a perfect score. There are tons of pictures, costumes, music and extra special moves and characters to unlock… maybe a few too many.

Overall I think Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2 is a fun game to play. It can be very rewarding even though it lacks a solid story. The graphics and soundtrack are awesome, keeping the feel of Dragon Ball Z authentic. This fighting game is quite complicated on the control side and has an open door for button bashers to take control of it. It also has countless rewards to keep the die hard fans thrilled for days. g

AT A GLANCE: Depending how you feel about Dragon Ball Z… this game will be best for die hard fans. If you’re not one give this game a skip Developer: Spike Publisher: Namco Bandai Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

comb’s that can be further combined with other buttons to create even more combinations. That said, super attacks, melees and basic attack moves can be overdone, leading to just button bashing most of the time. So give the tutorial a look, unless you’ve played the previous instalment. The characters can move with ease through the stage using flight at super speeds, which is handy to surprise your opponent by disappearing and attacking from behind. Another cool thing is that the stages are destructible.

The soundtrack is quite monotonous, with an upbeat rock-slash-rave feel, but it gets very catchy after a while.

The voices fit the characters very well, both in English and Japanese. Explosions, screams and strikes have also been done exceptionally well.

If you’re looking to complete all the achievements you

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

70 83

Saw 2: Flesh and Blood

Like a Jigsaw Trapped in repetition

T

he Saw franchise has been around for about seven years, as movie producers and makers promised to release a new film every year around Halloween just in time for young film fans to be so scared that they can’t eat for a week.

This year should be the last film the series, and that’s actually a good thing, as the plots and traps from each successive movie have been less inventive as the years have dragged on. And as with any successful movie franchise, a video game isn’t too far behind.

The first Saw game based on the films was released last year, and saying that it got mediocre to mixed reviews would be a bit of an understatement. The combat was horrible, the graphics weren’t state of the art and plot was a bit thin. So with that in mind, Saw 2: Flesh and Blood hit the shelves in the US just before Halloween, but the prognosis isn’t much better.

Releasing only on the Xbox and PS3, the player will first

84

by Jimmy Glue assume the role of a hapless victim who needs to free himself by cutting out a key from behind his eye. The short mission also serves as a bit of a tutorial, although no real help is given. The player will also be introduced to the titles puzzle mechanic, which hasn’t changed much.

After the short horror introduction, players will assume the role of Detective Michael Tapp, and will be tasked with saving all the other “players” in the vicious Jigsaw’s games – which will naturally involve de-arming horrible and gruesome traps, while trying to solve the riddles and puzzles. On a film scale, the game takes place between Saw 2 and 3, as Michael tries to piece together his father David’s death, which leads him to Jigsaw and Pighead.

The great appeal of the film franchise were the traps, and in the game the spirit of severity is kept alive (or dead) by more contraptions and physical puzzles that need to be solved in a certain amount of time before they slam, slice, crush or behead the unfortunate soul who finds

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here where it would be advisable to tweak the settings of the TV set, but only to clear the area – otherwise it will spoil the horrible fun.

The controls, on the other hand, aren’t much of an improvement over the previous game. Although there are parts where physical combat can be avoided, it’s more of the same repetitive nature, which becomes very tiring after a while.

For lovers of the Saw franchise, the game might prove to be a welcome addition to their gaming collection, but for anyone who has played the last one, it will be a frustrating journey into the darkness.

The title actually brings nothing new to the franchise at all, and with the same graphics and game mechanics as the previous one, coupled with repetitive traps and puzzles; it might just be the last Saw game to be released. g

AT A GLANCE: The game tries to fill the gap between films 2 and 3, but sadly fills nothing else.

Developer: Zombie Studios Publisher: Konami Digital Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

18+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

himself on the receiving end.

Most of the traps also have a somewhat moral ending to them, which is evident from the beginning, as the drug addict cuts the key from his eye. He eventually needs to save his long-lost drug addict son, but is faced with a choice - sacrificing himself for his son or letting his son die so he can escape.

Truth be told, the frequency of the same traps actually leads to anticipation of them, which takes a lot out of the game. Although the traps are varied in nature, there seems to be only a handful of them, and gamers will quickly learn their way around. It’s rather sad, as the films portray Jigsaw to be to an ingenious trap-creator, but the game makes him out to be a repetitive Alzheimer’s patient.

From a graphical stand point, the game is rather dark in nature, which is successful in delivering a panic-stricken state and a feeling of true entrapment, but some areas might just be too dark to see. It is

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

66 85

Create

What’s in a Name?

Not truth, in this case…

T

he whole ‘user-generated content’ thing looks like it is going to be here to stay. In fact, games that use these ideas – ideas that allow end-users to submit their own designs to share with others around the world – tend to be rather successfully when all is said and done.

Look at games like The Sims and LittleBigPlanet if you are in doubt. Even games driven less by the concept, like ModNation Racers, has a vibrant and active community providing new material in the form of new character designs, vehicles and tracks.

Some titles, like EA’s Spore, allow for a massive amount of creativity to be injected, but even games that limit options a little, like The Sims and LittleBigPlanet, allow for a massive variety of user-generated ideas and content. It’s the way it should be, in the eyes of many gamers out there.

So when a title like Create shows up, a large number of people will flock to it based on the concept of making stuff for the game alone. But the game is misnamed. It is less “Create” and more “Dictate,” when all is said and done, and the bold tag-line (“your imagination unlocks a world of play”) which is on the game’s cover is a misleading statement. This game has very little to do with creativity,

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by Walt Pretorius beyond an almost paint-by-numbers decoration aspect. It is more of a puzzle solving title.

The player will make their way through 14 different themed levels, which they can decorate with objects and textures they unlock along the way. In fact, this decoration is a large part of the game, and players will be rewarded for completing decorating chains. However, the game will almost always want a specific thing in a specific place, leaving very little room for creative movement.

The environments are static. They cannot be edited, added to or removed from, other than the decorative elements we mentioned before. Often the player will need to shift decorative objects around to accommodate the placement of new items, but that’s about as far as decorative creativity is concerned.

The appeal of this element of the game may be for youngsters, but the other bit – the puzzle-solving – may be beyond the grasp of younger players. It gets rather complex, and some of the puzzles (even relatively early on in the game – are very challenging indeed.

The player will be given a goal, like get object A into position B. They will be given tools ranging from ramps and

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often obscure the action. Additionally, when the challenges are activated (ie, you hit the play button to see if you have solved it correctly) the camera zooms in, obscuring some of the action. An example of this: one level early on in the game tasks the player with jumping a motorcycle through a flaming hoop. There is a chasm in the way, which a standard ramp works for. But to get the height right for the hoop, a ramp built onto the back of a truck is needed.

The thing is, the truck moves… only, when you press play, the camera zooms in on the bike, and you have no idea about how fast the truck is moving. The result is a series of retries as you try and guess where the truck should be placed before starting the sequence.

Create promises more than it delivers, and battles to find its own identity with the myriad tasks that the player has to do. It will keep one busy – there is a lot to do – but only the most hardened frustration-avoiders will want to play more than a few levels. g

AT A GLANCE: A disappointingly misnamed game, this one is all puzzle-solving and paint-by-numbers Developer: Bright Light Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

girders through to fans (which create directional wind), magnets and a host of other odds and ends. Using these tools, the player needs to accomplish the task. The physics are smart enough, but they don’t compare to some of the other creative titles out there.

The puzzles will assume various types, too. Some will have a player using as few objects as possible, while others will challenge the player to construct complicated set-ups to get more score, and so forth. The game is incredibly reminiscent of that PC classic, The Incredible Machine, albeit a bit of a dumbed down version.

Create feels rushed. The graphics are good, but not great. The sound isn’t bad, but some of the background music is simplistic and ever-present… enough to induce psychosis in even the most stable mind. The presentation may be in 3D, but all the action takes place on a 2D plain.

And the controls… well, they’re frustrating at times.

They’re not very intuitive, and some basic actions – like leaving one level to travel to the next – are extremely well hidden.

The challenges themselves are clearly explained, but the limited camera and overly-large instruction boxes

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

60 87

SingStar: Guitar

Accompaniment It’s not just vocals this time

meaning that one or two players can sing, while others get down to rocking to instruments.

Sadly, while they are enjoyable, the guitar playing bits are very spartan. Despite a great track list, there isn’t anything in the guitar playing that would make this title compete with the Rock Bands and Guitar Heroes of this world. Not that it’s trying to, mind you. This is just a little something extra for long-time fans of the franchise.

If you’re looking for a guitar based rhythm game, this one isn’t the best choice. But if you want SingStar with a little extra added in, it’s a good option.g

AT A GLANCE: It’s SingStar with added guitar tracks… obviously.

Developer: SCEE Publisher: SCEE Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ 88

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

T

he SingStar franchise is probably the best karaoke game series you will be able to find.

They have managed to get the formula right and, although they do have challengers, they just keep producing great collections.

Did they need to add a guitar playing facility to the game? Probably not. But they did anyway…

SingStar Guitar combines the traditional SingStar singing game with a new guitar playing aspect. Any guitars (Guitar Hero, Rock Band and other third party controllers) can be used with the game. Basically it combines the singing part with the guitar playing,

by Walt Pretorius

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

74

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

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Email: sales@apexint.co.za

Front Mission Evolved

Mech Combat

Do these rockets make my butt look big?

F

ront Mission Evolved is the latest in the established Front Mission series and brings with it a third person Mech warfare experience. The focus change seems to have been on delivering a more battle-intensive experience to players while still keeping a strategic element to the game in the building and upgrading of the Mech units.

The plot is set in the year 2171, with two rival global organisations battling for control of the satellites that blanket the planet. The player takes control of a young engineer who is caught up in the global struggle when his father is sandwiched between attacking and defending forces.

As luck would have it the player’s character was just busy testing the latest Wanzer prototype when the attack takes place and he rushes off into the middle of the battle to save his dad. Not a difficult decision when you’re driving an overgrown walking tank with guns strapped to both arms and shoulders.

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by Dion Scotten

For those new to the series, the walking metal beasts we all know as Mechs are called Wanzers and, no, they are not effeminate Mechs… Wanzer stands for wander panzer. Now you know. The time of the traditional tank has passed and the Wanzer now dominates the battlefield in this future setting.

Each type of Wanzer has its strengths and weaknesses - where some are fast but damaged easily if you can hit them, others can take a pounding while standing their ground. Needless to say the side with the most or strongest mechs will come out victorious and this makes the player’s character invaluable in the story’s outcome.

The game play is a bit too linear for my liking as you literally walk from one objective to another, with little thought or exploration required. What it does do, though, is get the player into the action quickly and battles are essentially what Front Mission Evolved is all about.

Different movement modes are available to Wanzers and a player doesn’t always have to thump forward in

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consider their strategy carefully when doing so. The level of the armour on the Wanzer influences the overall weight of the unit… the heavier your Wanzer becomes, the slower it moves in combat. Higher speed makes you a more difficult target but the lighter armour makes you an easier kill, too. This may not actually be a factor while playing the campaign against an AI but it will make a difference when you step into online action.

While the storyline isn’t epic and the voice acting a little lame in places, Front Mission Evolved is a fun game to play. That’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it? A lot of players have a soft spot for the combat mech genre and laying waste to other mechs in fast paced combat gets very addictive, in spite of average graphics and linear gameplay.

Lovers of the Front Mission series should snap this game up with little thought while Mech fans in general may want to check it out a little first. g

AT A GLANCE: A fast paced and fun Mech warfare game for players who aren’t looking for too much of a challenge.

Developer: Double Helix Games Publisher: Square Enix Distributor: Nu Metro

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

his Mech. Energy can be used to skate the Wanzer in any direction quickly; awesome to escape from danger or to cover ground but difficult to combine with accurate shooting. Another option is to jump and hover above the ground, which can be used to fly across gaps or climb up levels but it’s way too slow to use in combat. Energy is limited but it does build up quickly, so these options can be used often.

The game’s main strength is the customisation of the player’s Wanzer between missions. Choose your weapons, literally. The player gets to decide which arm is armed with which weapon (including the Wanzer’s shoulder slots) allowing for a four weapon load-out. The weapon positioning corresponds nicely with the triggers and bumpers on the controller, delivering smooth selection in combat. Keep in mind what you’ve learned in battle when making these allocations so that you make sure you have the advantage in the next mission.

Armour can also be upgraded and players should

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

66 91

Cities XL 2011

We Built this City Taking on the mighty SimCity

W

ho remembers the old SimCity games? Sure, just about everybody at one stage built the biggest city they could, just to unleash the horrid forces of nature upon it. That was part of the joy from SimCity, and although the games were good, Monte Cristo saw it fit to revamp the city-building genre in the form of Cities XL. The game was previously released from the PC, but the franchise was acquired by Focus Home Interactive, which prompted them to release the 2011 version with a whole bunch of extra goodies and upgrades.

Essentially the same game as the original Cities XL, the new version includes more buildings and maps, improved public transport, an enhanced tax system, and better trading options. Although the old version had little wrong with it, the new upgrades do seem to make the game play a bit smoother and easier.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, and take a step back to look at the title as a whole, instead of just

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by Jimmy Glue focussing on the new features in Cities XL 2011.

As you might have deduced so far, Cities XL is a city simulator, or city builder if you wish, but on a grand scale.

As hinted at in the opening paragraph, the game copies the formula from the hugely-popular SimCity franchise, the only difference being that they have completely overtaken the Maxis game in design, development and mechanics.

Starting off, players will be asked to choose where they would like to start their city. This sounds easier than what it is, as a whole bunch of factors need to be considered.

Not all pieces of land have the same qualities, as some are rich in oil (which will mean money), while others are more suited for agriculture and farming.

Players can also try to duplicate real-world cities, like New York, Hollywood and Rio, but luckily a vast selection of other terrains are ready for selection, including the beach, coastal towns, mountains, and barren plains.

The easiest part of the game is laying down the virtual building blocks of your soon-to-be sprawling metropolis.

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certain in-game challenges.

Speaking of planets, the original title also boasted a massive multiplayer section, which allowed players the option to play on a persistent online virtual community known as a planet, but the service was cancelled earlier this year due to low subscription rates.

It’s rather a pity, as it could have had a lot of potential, but as with most things that gamers need to pay for, they don’t always work out.

Cities XL 2011 is definitely for the management fans, but lovers of SimCity will find that the game is a great upgrade to what they are used to. The graphics are also fantastic, and gamers will even be able to zoom right down to street-level to watch a granny cross the road.

Although the game has little niggles, like a tutorial that can be slightly annoying and some long load times, the overall product is a solid one, presented in an easy and beautiful style which will provide for hours of entertainment. g

AT A GLANCE: The game takes on the mighty SimCity franchise, and delivers a very solid competitor.

Developer: Monte Cristo Publisher: Focus Home Interactive Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

The game helps you along the way, with helpful hints at the top of the screen, suggestion what you need to build next, what residents want and if there are any problems.

If you think that this is only a SimCity rip-off, you are mistaken, as small differences in the game play and selection definitely set it apart. For instance, the residential zones have been divided into four sub-classes, and each one needs to be catered for in terms of retail and housing.

The amount of buildings and roads that can be put down is truly a breath of fresh country-side air, as no other game will allow for different types of hotels, monuments, residential housing and agriculture to be used.

One might ask what the main aim of the game is, but to put it simply – there actually isn’t one. Well, gamers do take on the role of mayor, but that is only a formality for giving them a title. If it has to be summed up, players will aim to have the biggest, most efficient city on the planet – while tending to the needs of the citizens and fulfilling

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

78 93

TV Superstars

I’m On TV!

Watch me wave my controller

R

eality TV… you either love it, or you hate it. Well, actually, that’s not really true. There are some programmes that you love, and some that you hate. Probably more hate than love. Whatever. It’s still a phenomenon that is sweeping the globe (I think it’s on its fifth trip around by now) and more and more reality shows pop up all the time. Whether it’s big hitters like The Amazing Race or Survivor, or even smaller local production like Dance Your Butt Off (a wonderful mix between The Biggest Loser and Dancing With The Stars that you just have to check out), reality TV is here to stay. So it’s small wonder that someone tried to make a video game based on the idea.

OK, tried is unfair. They did make a game. And it’s actually a game that shows a lot of potential.

But that’s roughly where it ends… with the potential. TV Superstars is fun to play, but it will never be more than an occasional distraction, largely because it lacks substance.

The premise of the game is a bit thin, but it doesn’t really

94

by Walt Pretorius need to be deeper. The player, with up to three friends, is in search of TV stardom. The way to achieve this is by taking part in a number of reality TV shows: Frockstar, Let’s Get Physical, Big Beat Kitchen and DIY Raw. Each has a basis in real world TV shows – for inspiration, at least.

The player creates an in-game character, with the option of having their face (thanks to the PS Eye camera) appearing on it. And then they take to the stage.

Let’s Get Physical is arguably the most fun the player will have. It is reminiscent of Gladiators in many ways.

Exaggerated Move controls are called for in various events, like running or shooting paint-balls.

Big Beat Kitchen also throws a number of mini-games at the players, requiring them to create a number of dishes by pouring, stirring and so forth… and they’ll be asked to rap while doing so. Weird, yes, but still interesting.

From there on, the game falls flatter than a half-baked flan. Frockstar requires the player to dress up their

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full of good ideas, but they seem to be absent in the actual execution of the title. The reasons for this may be many – although the most likely (and pessimistic) one is that the developers wanted to get the title out quickly to take advantage of early Move adopters. Nothing like throwing a little bit of extra chum into a feeding frenzy, now is there?

The result of this thinking, though, is that a large number of games that are either substandard, or just don’t realise their full potential, flood the market. And this reflects badly on the hardware… not the software, which is really to blame.

A little more thought and effort would have gone a long way for TV Superstars. It’s not an awful experience… it’s just short and a little unsatisfying. Still, the groundwork is there, to a degree, and if it makes it through the challenges that it has quite honestly created for itself, there might actually be a reasonably good sequel to this title. But it will need work to get there. And it will need a lot more variety in the mini-games department. g

AT A GLANCE: A game with a lot of unrealised potential…

Developer: SCEI Publisher: SCEE Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

character, complete with make-up, before taking to a runway. There, they will have to mimic various motions to get their character to pose. On the other end of the scale, DIY Raw will have the players painting walls, cutting wood and arranging furniture (among other tasks) for a virtual family about to move into a new home. While Let’s Get Physical and Big Beat Kitchen have a little depth to offer, these two are flatter than road-kill.

What may keep players coming back is the fact that their characters work through a career. They will need to replay the four game sets over and over, while they climb through the ranks in the hopes of becoming A-list TV stars. It’s all fine and well, really, except for the fact that you can pull this seemingly long feat off in but a few hours. After that, there’s little reason to replay the game.

The characters will even be able to star in commercials as they advance through the ranks, but these add little value (or play time) to the overall experience.

It boils down to the fact that TV Superstars is crammed

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

60 95

Time Crisis: Razing Storm

Shooting to Survive Its bob-and-weave till the end

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ho remembers the old coin-operated arcade games? You know, the ones where you popped in a 50c and you only got about 10 minutes worth of gaming? Well, most of today’s gamers won’t know what we old-folk are talking about, but back in the day, that was an extremely quick-fix for the gaming deprived.

Apart from Ridge Racer, the second most popular game to play at the local games arcade was Time Crisis, with dual light rail guns and a pedal you stepped on to duck out of the way. Thankfully, those days are long-gone, and although Time Crisis was released (with a couple of sequels) on various platforms, the game managed to make its way onto the PS3 – with Move support.

Time Crisis: Razing Storm, known in Japan as Big 3 Gun Shooting, is essentially a couple of mini shooter gamers, supporting both the GunCon 3 light gun and the PlayStation Move motion control system.

But don’t let the notion of mini games put you off, as it’s

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by Jimmy Glue actually three full games packed onto one disc. The main title, Razing Storm, is a spin-off of the original Time Crisis franchise and will see gamers take on the role of S.C.A.R. agents who needs to battle futuristic terrorists and renegade soldiers in a South American country. The game makes use of a massively destructible environment, which adds a bit of extra fun to the FPS. In addition to the tradition arcade mode, with timed stages and a set number of lives (which is kind of redundant as a Continue can be used when they are all depleted), the setting includes a sentry- , a story- , and an online battle mode. And as usual, all the game modes support co-op, so dragging a fellow gamer along for the ride might be a good option.

Sentry mode is probably the most exciting in the bunch, as it allows up to four players taking turns in stopping prisoners from escaping in the penitentiary riot scenario, with the gamer with the highest score lifting the crown.

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but newcomers to the franchise might find them dated.

Control wise, since it’s a Move game, it would be correct to say that only aiming and hearty hand-eye co-ordination is needed. There is no need for an extra navigation controller, as the title moves from scene to scene as the game progresses – with most of the action happening in front of the gamer.

Traditional gamers will find Time Crisis: Razing Storm a bit nostalgic and a trip down memory lane, as most of the original aspects have been kept in place. It brings back memories of those old arcade games, and one feels almost compelled to have a stack of coins ready on the table.

The action is fast and furious, but gamers looking for a high-definition shooter should look elsewhere. It’s probably best to say that it should be approached by franchise fanatics only, but it’s also a great place to start if one isn’t too familiar with FPS on the Move. g

AT A GLANCE: Although the game is a re-make, it still has the potential to deliver heaps of fun.

Developer: Namco Bandai Publisher: Namco Bandai Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

16+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

Adding a bit more value to the entire package, the game ships with Time Crisis 4, a re-release of the original fourth game, and sees the player take on the virtual role of Military Intelligence Official William Rush in a mission to stop terrorists from utilising biological insect-like weapons.

The most fun mode, however, is a blatant rip-off of Pirates Of The Caribbean, entitled Deadstorm Pirates.

The mini-games adds a few extra things like a navigation system and unlimited bullets, and although it does become overwhelming at times, holding down the trigger button and making sweeping motions across the screen quickly clears the area of undead pirates.

Although the game modes are fun, the graphics leave a lot to be desired. It must be understood at this point that the game has been kept in its original Japanese form, so there is no upscaling for the PS3, or any talk of rendering them in high-definition. It retains a certain aspect of originality, which die-hard gamers will be happy to hear,

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

74 99

MotionSports

Sports Party A little friendly competition

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otionSports is another of the recent launch releases especially designed for the Xbox 360 Kinect system. Almost every Kinect launch product so far has been aimed at a more casual audience and the target market for MotionSports is no different.

Ubisoft has put together a collection of sports challenges in this title, arranged by type, for players to take on friends in a social setting. Party games aren’t new, of course, but this is the first time that players can use their body as the controller while competing against the person standing next to them.

A total of six sports types (Boxing, American Football, Soccer, Hang Gliding, Horse Jumping and Skiing) are featured in MotionSports. This makes for a good enough spread of different kinds of sport to ensure that everyone has at least one they’d like to try out.

What motion sensor social sports game would be worth its salt if it didn’t feature boxing in its line-up? Players can play single mode or versus but ultimately compete against each other by comparing top scores earned in challenges.

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by Dion Scotten Each challenge successfully passed unlocks the next opponent, who will be faster, stronger and a lot more difficult than the one before.

Sadly the boxing challenges were the most disappointing for me. Where it lets the player down is in the movement interpretation. Very quick punches or jabs are sometimes not even registered by the game and blocking is not that effective. The result is the mad swinging of arms to eventually win the fight… but not feel like you’ve accomplished anything.

The American Football challenges are a series of ‘field runs’ over and under obstacles, through players, timed quarterback passes or goal kicks. Two to four players can play against each other, making it a lot of potential fun.

Once again, though, the controls aren’t always accurate and sometimes I would be literally ducking to the floor but my character would still run headlong into an obstacle. It’s funny in the beginning but it gets irritating and players will just move on if it keeps on happening.

Soccer will have the player taking penalty shots at goal

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must flick his imaginary reigns to pick up speed and bend, then extend his legs to jump over obstacles, delivering a believable show jumping experience.

The skiing is the most exciting of the challenges with all kinds of downhill skiing fun. Assume the ski position and rake your hands past your sides to move forward while leaning to the side to move left or right. Leaning forward in a crouched position will speed up but be careful you don’t plough into the side barrier instead of turning at blurring speeds. It’s awesome fun to stand side by side with another player and race downhill and most probably will be the most popular of all the challenge options in this game.

Overall MotionSports isn’t mind blowing and does have some technical sensor software shortcomings. It is a casual title, though, and so accuracy may not be the most important thing to the players who might enjoy it [dunno about that… -ed]. Yes it can be a lot of fun for a group but it’s not a game that anyone is going to play solo for long.g

AT A GLANCE: Not the greatest social sports title but it does demonstrate the potential of the Kinect sensor.

Developer: Ubisoft Milan Publisher: Ubisoft Distributor: Megarom

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

or controlling the goalkeeper and diving to save the shot, amongst other challenges. The player has to physically place the ball on the ground and then kick towards the goals while aiming his imaginary ball where he wants it to go. Surprisingly the sensor is quite accurate with this, making it a lot of fun. The goalkeeping is tricky, though, but it is possible to read the movements of the striker and dive the right way.

The Hang Gliding section gives you an awesome floating feeling while playing. The player stands with his feet at shoulder width and hands in front as though he is holding onto the bar of the glider. Tilting left and right and leaning back and forward moves your glider around the map with occasional updrafts and thermals to help you rise, and a target landing point as an objective.

Horse jumping has never been a sport I would even watch but the challenges in MotionSports are enjoyable enough. What’s impressive is the receptiveness of the controls in this section, allowing for technical jump courses and rewards for a focussed player. The player

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

60 101

Family Game Night 3

Family Fun

Taking board games to a virtually new level

102

packed with The Game of Life, Yahtzee Hands Down and the ever-popular Mouse Trap, which should bring back fond memories for many. The title is a great buy for those rainy days, and although there only five mini-games on the disc, it should provide hours of entertainment. g

AT A GLANCE: Replacing the board games with five virtual versions, Family Game Night 3 is only limited fun.

Developer: EA Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: Electronic Arts SA

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

T

he third sequel to Hasbro Family Game Night is essentially a collection of five popular American board games, squeezed down to a console version, and many players will find the mini-games familiar. But don’t worry about winning, as there is no overall score keeping, and each game determines their own winner which doesn’t accumulate as the games go on.

The most familiar game in the pack is probably Cluedo, and tasks players to solve a murder. Players will have to wander around the mansion, and based on the amount they throw on the dice, move so many steps ahead. During the course of the game, players will have to figure out in which room the murder took place, which weapon was used, and ultimately who did it.

It’s a fun distraction, but the full game can become a bit boring and drawn out after a while of guessing. The game makes use of Xbox Avatars, so that adds a bit of personality to the sleuths.

The only mini-game that doesn’t work out as one might think is Twister. The popular body-knotting board game has also been transported into a virtual version, but for some reason the developers decided to add dancing to the mix.

Instead of players dislocating their elbows to put their left hand on green and their right knee on blue, the mini-game takes on a rhythm element. Gone is the limb-stretching fun, and enter a series of buttons that need to be pressed on the controller.

Although it can be fun, on the first try it might be difficult to figure out exactly where the sweet spot is in order for the buttons to be registered. Getting it wrong will result in a giant X appearing on screen, and nobody likes an X. Apart from Twister and Cluedo, the game also comes

by Jimmy Glue

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

74

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

The Shoot

Be the Star

Fight your way through cardboard cut-outs

S

hooters come in all shapes and flavours, but when one adds the Playstation 3’s Move peripheral into the equation, the resulting title can cause for some serious fun and laughter. And that is exactly what The Shoot aims (excuse the pun) to do.

Taking on the role of an actor in what is presumed to be Hollywood, gamers will have to “act” out their scenes in various stages setting, all while keeping the grumpy director happy. Since it’s a shooter, the only acting that will be required is to shoot all the bad guys on the screen with the Move’s wand.

It’s fairly simple to grasp and there is nothing complicated about it, but the game does offer a bit more depth and special powers than the normal shooter. The settings vary between five different scenes, which include a Western wasteland, a futuristic robot battle, and what would a film set be without some good horror thrown into the mix.

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by Jimmy Glue

After calibrating the Move, the player will be given a short tutorial, but it’s really not necessary to sit through the entire affair. Everybody knows how to aim and shoot, but one aspect where the tutorial will come in handy is in explaining the power-ups and special moves.

To spice things up a bit, and to really give you a workout (not that it should), a couple of special moves can be picked up throughout the manic shooting. These can range from slowing down time to causing a massive shockwave. By the way, to execute a slow-time ability, the player will have to get up off their bum and physically do a 360-degree turn in front of the camera.

But the best thing about the game, beside the fact that it’s a fast-paced shooter, is the fact that the film’s sets are made out of cardboard cut-outs, although some are semianimated. It’s brings a bit of a B-grade feel to the film... err, game... but that is exactly what makes it so great.

It’s also rather funny to see the director throw a bit of a

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At some point, enemies will start shooting back, and that is when gamers will need a quick escape. Tilting the controller slightly to either side of the screen will cause the player to go into semi-cover, avoiding any projectile. It is also possible to shoot the projectiles before they hit, but quick aiming will be needed for that.

The only problem that might be experienced when it comes to controls is the fact that it can seem sluggish at times, and that the reticule is often difficult to direct. It shouldn’t be too hard to self-adjust to the motions, and it could be blamed on first-release jitters, but it’s something that should have been avoided. Re-calibrating the controller a couple of times seemed to solve the problem.

But besides for the sometimes-sluggish reticule, the game is a lot of fun, and should keep members of the family busy for many hours. It’s not going to revolutionise the Move or shooter genre, but it’s definitely a very fun alternative. g

AT A GLANCE: Taking on an original idea, the game delivers as a successful distraction.

Developer: SCEE Publisher: SCEE Distributor: Ster Kinekor

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

10+ gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

tantrum if you shoot a civilian. The role of the director is to direct (obviously) the action, but he doesn’t have any direct effect on the player’s progress.

Starting off in a neutral frame of mind, the more players perform special moves or shoot object and enemies, the more the director will love the action, resulting in a better score at the end of the stage. Score badly by shooting innocents or missing consecutive shots, and the poor old man will be jumping out of his chair and pulling his hair, and it seems like he wants to explode.

The environments are also highly destructible, and sometimes it will be necessary to shoot away some cover to expose enemies hiding behind them, where on other occasion oil barrels can be blown up for greater effect.

In terms of control, there is nothing simpler than aiming the motion controller at the screen and pulling the trigger button, but the game does employ some clever ways in keeping you on your toes.

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

77 105

The Sims 3 Fast Lane Stuff

Speedier?

Not really, but certainly cooler…

same can be said for hairstyles and clothing.

As with all stuff packs, this one does nothing to change the way the game plays… it just adds, well, stuff to the mix. It’s always great to have a wider variety of options for the Sims 3, but when all is said and done, this stuff pack (like any other) is not essential. It’s really intended for those obsessive Sims 3 fans that want more stuff to decorate with.

If that’s what you’re into, and you like the whole automotive feel of it, The Sims 3 Fast Lane Stuff Pack is a worthwhile addition to your collection. g

AT A GLANCE: A great set of new stuff for Sims players who like the automotive scene.

Developer: EA Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

13+ 106

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

I

t wasn’t enough for EA to release a new expansion for the PC version of The Sims 3 this month – as well as the Sims 3 on consoles. They have released a new stuff pack as well, which will appeal to mild petrol-heads and car-culture enthusiasts.

The Sims 3 Fast Lane Stuff Pack is all about cars; it adds several new models that can be parked in your sims’ garages, from trendy sports cars through to classics. They don’t really have any kind of impact on the game dynamics, other than looking very cool in the driveway. Similarly, it adds several new décor sets and pieces, all themed around the automotive idea. The

by Walt Pretorius

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

75

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Monopoly Streets

Streetwise A new look Monopoly

by Walt Pretorius

T

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

AT A GLANCE: A fun family game, but probably one you’ll only play occasionally.

Developer: EA Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

X360 Platforms

he modern board-game isn’t played on a table… it’s not even played on a board.

Nope, video game versions of family favourites are becoming increasingly popular in the living room, and it’s hardly a surprise. There are no arguments about rules (because the game dictates them) and the family dog can’t chew up the playing pieces. And, even better, you don’t have to pack everything away afterwards.

Every now and then we see a game that takes a slightly different approach to the whole board game idea. Monopoly Streets is such a game… it takes the idea of Monopoly – one of the oldest board games around – and gives it a fresh set of ideas.

There are three game modes in the title. The traditional mode is much like the board game we’re all used to, while the other two introduce the ‘streets’ idea (one with the normal streets, and another with landmarks.) These latter two place the game in a 3D environment, with pedestrians, building and everything one would expect. The player’s characters (and their associated traditional Monopoly symbols) throw the dice and travel through the streets to the various locations shown on a traditional board.

It’s vibrant, fun and lively at first, but the repetitive animations and the generally slow pace of the game (thanks to numerous animations and voice pieces) may be frustrating for some players.

The graphics are fairly good, but they’re not revolutionary. They do fit the feel of the game – and the modifications made to it – rather nicely, but they’re not going to take your breath away.

Monopoly Streets is a fun option for the family, but it’s likely to be a game that you will play occasionally, rather than obsessively. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

64 107

Demolition Simulator

Bringing Down the House Is breaking stuff your thing?

by Walt Pretorius

D

108

AT A GLANCE: A very niche game indeed, but not without its appeal Developer: Astragon Publisher: Excalibur Distributor: Apex Interactive

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

3+

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PC Platforms

id you play with Tonka trucks when you were a kid? Or did you enjoy hitting stuff with a hammer just to see what would happen? Chances are you grew up to be an accountant or, more likely, an IT guy. But you probably still like the idea of making stuff go crash-tinkle-tinkle…

Demolition Simulator will let you get back into the swing of making things broken.

There are a hell of a lot of simulators out there, but this is one of the more fun ones, purely because you can break stuff with virtual versions of big machines. We’re taking jack-hammers, wrecking balls and dynamite here.

On the down-side, you have to clean up after yourself, with a variety of dozers and trucks…

Demolition Simulator will likely not win any awards. In truth, it’s not a great game, unless you’re really into it. But there is a strategy here, with timed missions meaning that you have to work cleverly to get the task at hand finished. There are even challenges that will require the precision explosive demolition of structures, which can be quite fun.

With dated graphics and limited appeal, this is not a title for everyone. The controls can be tricky, and often the missions can become repetitive – even tedious. But it’s not a total loss… there will be many people who do enjoy this kind of thing.

The run of the mill gamer, though, will probably not get swept up in the idea of dust and rubble. g

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

55

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

As told by Sam Gamgee…

by Walt Pretorius

E

very now and then a game comes out that does some things right, but does other things wrong. The Lord of The Rings: Aragorn’s Quest is such a game.

Set after the War of the Ring, Sam Gamgee (voiced by Sean Astin) tells the tale of Aragorn (who, as king, is due for a visit) to the younglings of Hobbiton. As such, the game presents an excellent, abridged version of the events that occur in the lengthy tale.

The game is an obvious port on PS3, taken from the Wii version. The result is that the graphics are far below what one would expect from a PS3 game, although they’re not terrible. What is terrible is the voice work. Aside from the great performance from Astin, the rest of the dialogue appears to have been patched together from sound-bites from the film. It’s rather disconcerting… it would have been better to get standin actors to do the job.

The controls on the PS3 also leave a bit to be desired. While the Wii version is great, the implementation of the Move controls just feels off. An option to play with a standard PS3 controller has been included, but one cannot perform many of the tasks properly in this case.

While the Wii game is enjoyable, the PS3 version of Aragorn’s Quest feels rushed and cobbled together. g

110

AT A GLANCE: A port from Wii to PS3, this one leaves a lot to be desired.

Developer: TT Fusion Publisher: Warner Bros Distributor: Nu Metro

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

12+

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

PS3 Platforms

The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest

The Abridged Version

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

54

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Sims 3

Pocket People Storm in a tea cup

gamecca review • issue 18 • December 2010

Obviously this version does not have as many interactions as on PC, but still a good game. It’s also suitable for the whole family, because some of the more adult activities have been omitted… either that, or I haven’t figured them out yet. g

AT A GLANCE: A watered down version of Sims 3 that can fit into your pocket.

Developer: EA Games Publisher: EA Distributor: EA South Africa

Parental Advisory Violence Language Sex Drug Use Prejudice

7+

Accessibility Hard-Core Medium Casual

DS Platforms

P

laying Sims on the PC has its advantages and disadvantages, so EA, in all their wisdom (and seeing some of the profit they could make) brought Sims 3 to the consoles. Each version differs from the next and I’m not sure yet if it was made for the console market or if players love Sims so much that, by comparing our reviews on the games, they will buy the console that it comes on. Let’s go through the Sims 3 version on the DS. Playing Sims can cause people to fake illness or just miss a day of work so they can play, well close the lid for an instant… pause, put it in your pockets and take it with to work. Even continue playing during your breaks. It’s your life away from your life. There are 3 save slots on each Sims 3 cartridge but who would ever give anyone else time on their DS? Mobility comes with its drawbacks in graphics but the game looks good and stands a little above the average DS games out there. Don’t zoom in and compare it to the PC Sims, though.

Sims creation is a bit watered down but the basic changes are there, with a fair range of option… just be very happy with the face of your Sim because after creation there is no turning back. Clothes and styles can be change, but no way of changing the original face of the Sim. Pick their four traits wisely in their mental, physical, social and lifestyle categories as these will influence how they behave. Skill training is there and will turn your Sims into super-Sims.

Sims have their basic needs and all of these will require some amount of money, getting the Sim a job is a good idea. Outside of the work environment full control of your Sim is granted but when at work there are a few suggestions that can be made; work hard, take it easy or hang out with colleagues. These options change with the different jobs that are out there, but it’s better than just watching an empty home while you fast forward to when the Sims return.

by Brian Murdoch

PC X360 Kinect

PS3 Move

Wii PSP DS PS2

Score

72 111

The First Hit is Free...

Stateside

by Corey Schon

T

HQ’s Brian Farrell has been the most vocal proponent of an unnerving new potential trend: triple-A half-titles. I’m not talking about XBLA titles, or criminally short games like The Force Unleashed 2 – that’s a different type of lamentable negligence – instead, the idea here is to sell new disc titles at a lower price point. In THQ’s case, that price point seems to be US$40 (that’s two-thirds the current price of disc titles, to give you a reference point that means something.) The trade-off is that the games developed with this strategy in mind will offer you less on-disc content.

The premise behind this campaign is that a lower entry price will spark more new and spontaneous purchases, and that those who want more content will be able to download that content via Xbox Live , Playstation Network, or various other digital distribution networks.

A couple of considerations seem not to have been made, in the scheme of things here. So, you could download the other third of a game’s worth of content, meaning that you’d spent the full price, then. But what about the hard drive space you just filled up? What’s the recompense for those who don’t have regular internet access for their consoles? I think we can see where this trend might be going with downloadable titles like Dead Rising 2: Case Zero , Dead Space Ignition, and GT5 Prologue. Now, imagine if the content of the discs were these “paid demos”, and the rest of the content set up to make a whole game’s experience were slowly released online. How is it that the consumer really wins in

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this situation? Do we know that they want to play less games?

A similarly disquieting situation is the trend of allowing full access to online game modes only to new copies of the game. Sniping at used game sales in this way leaves the consumer squarely in the crossfire.

If developers want to encourage new sales, do it as an added-value proposition, like Mass Effect 2’s Cerberus Network, which gave access to free additional DLC and services. If it’s all the same to the industry, I’d much rather pay up

front with real money, rather than encouraging nickel-and-diming with pockets full of technically worthless e-currency. Giving games license to sell portions of significant “disc”style content online on this kind of scale only encourages them to test the waters of “just how much is the market willing to pay for the same amount of content?” Remember when the average downloadable title cost US$5, and the exemplary ones cost US$10? I miss those days, too. Let’s not let the same inflation happen to retail titles. g

gamecca column • issue 18 • December 2010

Essential Classics

Donkey Kong Country A new lease on life...

by Brian Murdoch

A

game released in 1994 should have no appeal to us gamers now, should it? Only they have taken this 1994 game and revamped it for the Wii and it’s out on the 3rd of December 2010. Donkey Kong Country is the 1994 game and Donkey Kong Country Returns is the Wii version. This promoted me to go onto the Wii Store and downloaded the original.

The wacky fun that can be had with this 2D platformer exceeded my expectations. Find yourself playing as Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as you jump, roll and climb your way through the crazed tribe of Kremlings to get to King K.Rool and return all the stolen bananas. If you find Diddy in a barrel he will follow until Donkey is hit by an enemy, then the player will take control of Diddy. This does not work if you fall of the edge… then they both fall. There

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is an option to manually switch between the two Kongs as they have their individual strengths. While Donkey Kong has his power and can kill things that will require two jumps, Diddy Kong can jump higher than Donkey and get to those hard to reach places.

I was expecting just a simple one player game but there are three different modes to play the game in; single player, two player team and two players contest.

The second player does require a classic controller but there are ways around this because the game does not pick up when you have pulled it out of the Wii remote.

The two player team has player one controlling Donkey Kong and the second player controlling Diddy Kong. If one player dies on the stage, the other will take over at the start of the stage. g a m e c c a fe at u r e • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

In two player contest each player has their own group of Donkey and Diddy Kong to control through the game and a race of who can finish the stages fastest ensues. Here, too, Nintendo are clever about not only swapping players after a death but after each stage, to keep both players there and watching the game, waiting to have their turn.

There is nothing worse than watching your friend play through stage after stage because he has not died yet.

Why these simple methods of multiplayer are not used to this day I don’t know but these features should be noted by other developers.

There are three wonderful saves in the game. Players experienced with Wii Ware and Virtual Console games will ask why I found this so great because the state of these games is saved upon exiting the game. This state-save g a m e c c a fe at u r e • i s s u e 1 7 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

mode is a “freeze save” and is lost once going back into the game or by resetting the game. The three saves in Donkey Kong Country let you continue from those points in the game and are not cleared with a reset. Unfortunately there were a few times in Donkey Kong Country where I had to reset the game because we got stuck and it could not detect the controller. But I was still glad to just continue from the last save.

800 Wii Points does seem a bit much for a classic game when the average “cost” is 500, but after playing the game it was well worth it. I have not even finished the 30 levels and I’m sure that I have missed a lot of the hidden caves.

Simple controls mean that there is lots of simple fun to be had with this title. It’s a revitalised classic. g

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www.gladget.co.za

MSI N470GTX M2D12

A Good Spec And a really good price

by Walt Pretorius

I

t’s no secret that we like MSI’s product range. Their generally solid performance and agreeable pricing makes them a very good option PC enthusiasts to consider. Additionally, their products – in terms of graphics cards – are supported by simple-yet-effective bundled software that make them easy to use and tweak.

And, to add even more goodness, their performance under tweaking-pressure is great.

We previously looked at the MSI N480GTX card, and were well impressed by it. This time around, we’re looking at that particular device’s slightly smaller brother, the N470GTX. The differences are there, but for the average gamer (who might not be looking at overclocking every aspect of their PC’s performance) these differences might be a little academic.

The 480 has 1536MB of graphics RAM, while the 470 has 1280MB. Yes, it’s theoretically a lot more, but in normal gaming conditions, the difference is not all that noticeable. The 480’s performance is obviously a

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bit faster, too, but once again, unless you’re seriously tweaking your machine and running all kinds of diagnostics (which are, at times, academic in themselves) you’re not going to pick up a big difference.

Where you will notice a difference is in the price point, which is a big advantage for many folks looking to buy upgraded components. We might not be in a full blown recession, but cash is still something that people want to hang on to.

If performance needs to be balance with saving money, the 470 is a very good option. It comes with all the bells and whistles of the 480, as well. It comes, for example, with the same MSI Afterburner software, which is a powerful overclocking and monitoring utility, for those that wish to use it. Additionally, Live Update 4 is a piece of software that will automatically check BIOS, driver and utility updates (particularly handy for those of us that sometimes forget to update our drivers…)

The unit is also constructed with military grade components. These include Hi-C Caps, which deliver g l a d g e t h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

more precise GPU voltage and stability; Solid State Chokes, which do not vibrate (and therefore do not cause buzzing) and longer lasting All Solid CAPs. The Afterburner software can also be used to squeeze around 15% more performance out of the card, thanks to the high grade components.

The 470 also incorporates NVidia’s PhysX technology, and 3D Surround technology. This means that it can be used with a 3D monitor, with the required 3D glasses and other kit. Two cards running in an SLi configuration will allows for up to 3 monitors to be employed in 3D Surround, which is pretty awesome.

If price is something that you’re going to be concerned about, the 470 is a good option, when compared to the more powerful, certainly more expensive 480 from the same manufacturer. With so many graphics card brands and models on the market, it becomes tricky to pick the right one. MSI, though, are a rather safe bet. Their products generally perform exceptionally well, and sticking one of these into your PC would never be a bad idea. g g l a d g e t h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

AT A GLANCE: Although not as powerful as the 480, the 470 is a great, cheaper option

Score

83

Manufacturer: MSI Distributor: Pinnacle Africa Online: www.pinnacle.co.za RRP: TBC Tech Specs: • 470GTX CPU • 1280 MD GRAM • GDDR 5 • 320 bits Memory Interface • 2 x DVI • HDMI

Pros: • A bit cheaper • 3D ready • Good performer • Good software Cons: • Not the most powerful card on the market

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Sigma Zen

Calming Style Without the hassle

by Walt Pretorius

B

uilding a PC is great fun. OK, it’s not for everyone. It takes someone who is passionate enough to want to do it, and careful enough to properly seat all the components (and not fry them with static electricity.) But, for those that enjoy it, there’s nothing better than the process of putting a machine together.

That is provided, of course, that you have a decent case to build them into. A PC case is more than just a box to hold your components… it is an important part of your desktop PC. Not only can it look really good, but an effective case can mean the difference between a machine that is stable or not, at least in terms of heat.

Another aspect that is important – if you are going to putting the machine together yourself – is a case that is easy to work with. And Sigma seems to have that idea right.

The Zen is the second Sigma case we have worked with. The first was the Unicorn and, while we didn’t get to build the PC into the case, it’s easy to see that working

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with the box would be a dream. The same can be said for the Zen, although it is a little smaller, and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that the Unicorn offers. Still, it’s a great case to work with, and is very stylish to boot.

On the inside, the Zen offers users three sideways mounted 3.5” drive bays, which makes adding harddrives to the unit very simple indeed. It’s also a screwless case, which means that installing (and swapping out) components is simple, and quick, without the annoyance of screws falling in behind the motherboard or the danger of dropped tools.

This counts for drives and components. Everything just slides and slots into place, and is held there by a series of clamps or clips. The rather generous 5 5.25” bays (for your optical drives and so on) clamp in place with a rotating locking mechanism and, although getting the plates that protect these bays out of the way presents the usual headache, fitting components here is simple and quick.

The case provides space for seven ATX / PCi / PCI g l a d g e t h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

Express cards each of which are held in place by a simpleyet-effective clamp system.

The case is finished in a shiny black (if you get the black one – they come in a variety of colours) which is a bit of a nightmare to keep clean. The door panel (which covers the whole front of the case, is made from aluminium.

Unfortunately it opens from right to left, which feels a little uncomfortable, but it does a good job of concealing all the buttons and extra slots. Speaking of which, front side audio and a pair of USB 2.0 slots are built into the front of the case. These, as well as the power and reset switches, are hidden by the door.

Effective cooling is provided by a front and rear mounted 120mm fan, with an additional 80mm fan providing air-flow from the left side, Perspex side panel. All the fans are blue, and the large side panel window makes for an impressive feature (provided you a) have nice components and b) keep the inside of your case clean.

The Zen certainly is a great case. It’s price is not too high, and the stylish design and ease-of-use it affords is well worth it.. g g l a d g e t h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

AT A GLANCE: A stylish and easy-to-use PC case option

Score

88

Manufacturer: Sigma Distributor: Pinnacle Africa Online: www.pinnacle.co.za RRP: R799 Tech Specs: • 2 x 120mm fans • 1 x 80mm fan • 3 x 3.5” bays • 5 x 5.25” bays • 2 front USB • Front audio

Pros: • Screwless • Stylish • Effective cooling Cons: • Door swing direction • Only 2 front USB ports

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Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive

Rock Solid A tough, generous HDD

by Walt Pretorius

T

he importance of a hard drive can never be understated. A reliable drive is essential, not only for keeping your data safe, but for your PC to work quickly and effectively. The balance between speed and size is also something that needs to be considered – even if you are going to put multiple partitions on the drive, you need enough space to make each one generous enough, and enough speed to access all the data you require.

A one terabyte hard drive is fast becoming the smallest drive you want in your machine. Sure, you can get away with a few hundred gigabytes, but a thousand gigabytes is just better (particularly if you are going to be installing a lot of games, or storing a lot of large files on your PC).

Western Digital’s Caviar Black drives are available in sizes up to 2TB, actually, but it’s the 1TB we are testing here. They are great for power users, for a number of reasons. A very large cache and two onboard processors (instead of the usual one) mean that the drive is very fast. And to make sure that data is securely stored, a motor shaft secured at both ends (to cut down on vibration) and a recording head that never touches the disc media both do the trick. The drive is also secured against shocks resulting from bumps and vibration.

This is a great drive for gamers and other power users… particularly those that want to travel with their PC. It’s performance is rock solid and reliable. g

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AT A GLANCE: Great performance and solid reliability, combined with lots of space.

Score

90

Manufacturer: Western Digital Distributor: Pinnacle Africa Online: www.pinnacle.co.za RRP: R949 Tech Specs: • 1TB • 32MB buffer • SATA • Dual Processor • 64MB cache • Dual Actuator • NoTouch Technology

Pros: • Quick • Quiet • Generous • Reliable Cons: • Not the cheapest

g l a d g e t h a r d wa r e • i s s u e 2 • N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0

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Crazy Time In the Lair

by thebanman

I

t’s always a crazy time of year when people start saying: “Wow it’s less than a month till Christmas!” And as amazing as that is... We are there already.

Most developers are getting ready for the Christmas boom and everyone else is getting ready for a little time off.

It’s time to catch up on gaming time that we never got round to this year and crack out the networking kits and invite a few friends over for a little carnage.

The Lair has been busy with getting a few new features running on our site as well as planning the next boot camp session at the Organised Chaos LAN event here in Cape Town.

Last month saw a great attendance and some awesome 1v1s but alas the lag killed the end of play with a few gamers opting to skip a game or two due to the lag issues. It is great to see some of your players in the boot camp start working their way up the StarCraft 2 online ladders. Rikus Louw (Trolloks) who was one of the first to join the boot camp had me laughing with his: “Did you see how many marines I had?” This was after thanking them through a few basics.

Well Trollocks just broke Gold League a few days ago. Warms my little Zerg infested heart.

The next big thing on this month’s radar is that OC are finally making

it to Johannesburg for their first LAN event there. I was Chatting to Dietmar RheederKleist, one of the owners of OC, a few days back regarding the LAN Gaming climate of Johannesburg.

They were asking why the numbers were so low for the online registrations and how they could possibly get them up a little bit.

Lanners, in general, are pretty much all the same. If you have seen one you most-likely have seen them all. (Huge generalization but stay with me on this one.) Lanners are very loyal to their event. If they have made a choice to attend a specific event then there is not too much that is going to change that. If their friends begin attending different events, that will sway them. If they know the owners or leaders of a specific event then that is enough social status to have them remain at an event indefinitely.

Gone are the years of LAN parties and leachers. With ADSL line and cheaper bandwidth costs these leach gamers are slowly moving away. Those who used to attend for a monthly fix of head shots are now spending that time online and can get their fix that way.

With OC arriving on Johannesburg’s doorstep, a larger event (1000 seats) and the idea that they run events professionally is not

enough to have the masses lining up outside screen in hand.

It is going to take a good deal of time for OC to entrench themselves in the Johannesburg LAN Gaming scene. Let’s hope it doesn’t take so long that they get tired of carting all the gear 1400 kilometres every month. I remember in the good old days at The Lair when we were trying to run around the country. Just hitting Johannesburg and Durban was tiring enough.

Good Luck OC we wish you all the best. May the force be with you!

Lets whip round the country and see what is happening in the final month of 2010.

Cape Town: The OC LAN: 3 – 5 December. R120 -R200 gets you in. See you at the StarCraft 2 Boot Camp.

Johannesburg: The Mayhem LAN: 4 – 5 December R60 Get you in the door. Mayhem is the best LAN event for all things gaming. Check it out, It is well worth your time.

The Liberty LAN: 3 – 5 December.

The MPLD LAN: 3 – 5 December – R80 gets you in the doors.

The OC LAN: 10 – 12 December - Gallagher Estate Hall 1 – Tickets start at R200 Frag Arena: 10 – 11 December – R80 gets you in the door. This is one of the best LAN event in the Pretoria area so check it out.

Durban: The Frag LAN: 10 December – Tickets are from R180 – R230.

Have a great end of year. Catch you in 2011! g

This page is provided by The Lair www.thelair.co.za

Fanboy Roadkill From Space

by Columnist A

I

t finally arrived. Yup, after nearly six years since its predecessor released, Gran Turismo 5 has hit the shelves – just in time for Christmas. After being plagued by many, many missed release dates, it just wouldn’t be Gran Turismo 5 if it missed the most important deadline of them all: the story deadline for Gamecca. The reason you’re reading about it here, instead of in my four page review, is because it arrived literally seconds after our Dear Leader, Kim Jong-Walt, hit the send button on all reviews.

In a way, this is a good thing. See, I now have something the other reviewers didn’t bother spending on Gran Turismo 5: time. Shortly after releasing, on the 24th of November 2010, the web was flooded with reviews. Every expert came out of the woodwork and proclaimed it the greatest racer ever, fawning over the marvellous, betterthan-real-life physics and luscious graphics.

Sadly, for them, I have a more cynical view. See, in the six years since the last Gran Turismo game I have been busy studying real cars, and driving them.

Indeed, I am part of a motoring publication in the spare time when I’m not writing these columns and reviews for Gamecca, and this has afforded me many opportunities for which I am very grateful. I’ve spent hundreds of kilometres doing double the speed limit mere metres away from fellow motoring hacks. I’ve driven

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cars that, when they appear in Gran Turismo or Forza, are the ones you have to save all your money to buy. I don’t want to sound like I’m blowing my own horn: but I know a bit about cars.

Where my experience with real cars has helped is in arguments on the Internet. Yes, I post on forums and, yes, I get to have some fun trolling the blinkered fan boys that roam the open plains of gaming forums. Having spent a few days with GT5, I know where it’s good and where it’s not.

I also know where it falls short of being lifelike and how Forza is slightly better.

Let me tell you, Gran Turismo fans don’t like that. No sir. I’ll start by posting something simple. Maybe

I’ll point out how front-wheel drive cars in GT5 tend to plough under lift-off, rather than oversteer. The first response? “RYARARHGHG KAZUNORI RACES REAL CARS GT5 IS BETTER THAN FORZA GET OUT NOOB”.

Funny, that. Who said anything about Forza? I just compared Gran Turismo 5 to real life. In fact, the game’s official tagline has always been, “The Real Driving Simultor”. I went out of my way to really annoy one guy who said that GT5 is “just a game” and doesn’t have to be 100% real. In response to his statements I posted a picture of the GT5 logo.

He responded “I don’t give a %&# what the logo says.” Way to miss the point, dude.

Forza isn’t hyper realistic. All-wheel drive cars break traction too easily, its performance index system is flawed and it happily takes liberties to make the game more fun. Because it’s a game. The fan boys, on both sides, don’t always see it as such. It has to be a war. A pissing contest, where each team compares its chosen franchise. There is no compromise. There is no winning.

In an ideal world, we’d have a racing game with Gran Turismo’s graphics and variety; Forza’s tyre and physics models; PC, Xbox and Playstation compatibility; and none of the fan boys that either platform brings with it. g

gamecca column • issue 18 • December 2010

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