Gamecca Magazine November 2009

i s s u e 5 / vo l u m e 1 - N ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

Bang your Head!

Brutal Legend rocks!

Spinnin’ the Decks

DJ Hero reviewed

20

es gamwed! revie

FIFA 10 DJ Hero Forza Motorsport 3 Borderlands Brutal Legend NHL 10 NBA 2K10 Dead Space: Extraction King of Fighters Trine Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and many more!

Into the Unknown

with Uncharted 2

A New Wasteland Borderlands reviewed

The Driving Seat

Forza Motorsport 3 reviewed

The Beautiful (Virtual) Game a history of EA’s FIFA franchise

“This year’s,

perhaps the decade’s,

most anticipated game”

– Official XBox Magazine

18V © 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision, Call of Duty and Modern Warfare are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

All other trademarks and trade names are the porperties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Inside 6 From the Editor On this month’s cover:

The FIFA franchise, developed by EA Sports, scores another awesome goal with FIFA 10...

See the review on page 44

8 News 12 Unstuck Some inspiration, please...

14 Geekology The changing face of gaming 16 The Winning Streak EA Sports’ FIFA Franchise has delivered consistently 22 Previews Seven upcoming games 36 PS Zealot Is DLC a good idea?

38 Xbox Beat Making the most of media functionality 40 House of Mario Get online, South Africa!

42 Reviews Twenty-two reviews for you 84 Beginners Guide to Good Gaming A new section kicks off 88 Hardware Great products for gaming 94 Showdown PC VS Console gaming 29 COMPETITIONS: 33 Assassin’s Creed 2 43 Brutal Legend Tekken 6

4

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24 Where the Wild Things Are

Previews

25 Aliens VS Predator 26 Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles 28 Vancouver 2010 30 R.U.S.E. 32 Army of Two: The 40th Day 34 Left 4 Dead 2

44 FIFA 10 46 Tekken 6 GAMECCA Volume 1 Issue 5 November 2009

48 Forza Motorsport 3

Editor: Walt Pretorius

50 Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 52 NHL 10

Writers: Walt Pretorius Matthew Vice Jimmy Glue Brian Murdoch Bryan Banfield Dion Scotten Suvesh Arumugam

54 Brutal Legend 56 Borderlands 58 NBA 2K10 60 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Photography: Walt Pretorius

62 Dead Space Extraction

Design & Layout: Katia Taliadoros

64 The King of Fighters XII

Letters: letters@gamecca.co.za

66 DJ Hero 68 Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition 70 Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising 72 Trine

Newsletter subscriptions: www.gamecca.co.za GAMECCA is published by 1337 Media CC GAMECCA is powered by ISSUU

74 MySims Agents

Reviews

Competition entries: competitions@gamecca.co.za

76 Hearts of Iron III 78 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 80 Crazy Machines Complete 82 Gobliiins 4

Copyright © 1337 Media CC 2009

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

5

gamecca • from the editor

Dude, chill!

I

t seems like only yesterday that we published the first issue of Gamecca. Then again, in terms of publications, it was only yesterday. Still, we have five issues under our belts with this edition, and that’s more than some people thought we would get. Naturally, we’re learning as we go, and hopefully taking note of our mistakes carefully... and making less of them as time goes on.

This month’s issue once again has a huge number of games in it - 20 reviews in total. We have also included a new section, in the form of the Beginner’s Guide to Good Gaming, specially designed for those readers out there who want to get into this great hobby, but don’t really know the ropes yet. If you know anyone like that, tell them about the BGGG. They’ll thank you, we guarantee it.

Also, this month we have Suvesh Arumugam taking over the PS Zealot column. Be sure to give his debut a read - it’s a good one.

I had a very long and interesting chat with a colleague at the recent Forza Motorsport 3 launch. Amidst the squealing of tyres, we had a long discussion about the nature of gaming, and particularly the state of local gaming. I do not play online very much, prefering to keep my gaming to a less competitive level. I play, more than anything, for fun.

This particular chap I was chatting to plays online a lot, but told me that he is thinking of changing that. The reason: South African gamers are just too competitive. And, thinking about things I have seen and experienced in the

by Walt Pretorius

past, I am inclined to agree with him.

Somewhere along the line, it seems that the average hard-core gamer lost sight of the fact that these products are meant to be enjoyed. For these guys, it’s purely winning or losing, and not how they played the game.

In fact, they attach a massive amount of importance to the activity, which is a little worrying.

Let’s face facts, folks; we cannot all be top notch, professional gamers.

We can’t all be top notch professional golfers, either.

There is only so much space in the world for these kinds of people, and the rest of us become pretenders. We need to remember that playing video games is meant to be fun, not a life or death situation. In fact, those that take it too seriously probably need to rethink their priorities a little... gaming is not a viable career choice, and only puts food on the table for the absolute best of the best.

I am not saying that people shouldn’t be competitive. I am not saying that they shouldn’t strive to be the best. I am not saying that they shouldn’t dream. What I am suggesting is that we apply a little perspective here, a little realism.

If you think you have what it takes, by all means, go for it - put in eight hours of practice a day, just like the top international gamers.

The rest of us - let’s try to play nice and have fun. And remember... until you are a top international gamer, earning fat piles of cash from the activity, your achievments in games don’t really mean anything at all. You’re not going to win a Nobel Prize for headshots. g

Gamecca’s PC requirements powered by

www.pinnacle.co.za CPU: Intel Core I7 920; MB: MSI X58 Pro E; RAM: 6GB Apacer DDR3 1333mhz; GPU: MSI N260GTX OC Edition; PSU: In Win Commander 80+ 850W ATX2.3 EPS 12V; HDD: Western Digital Black 1TB; Chassis: Sigma Metal Storm Unicorn; Mouse: SteelSeries Ikari Laser Gaming Mouse; Keyboard: Steelseries 7G Gaming Keyboard

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gamecca • news

news news news

The Golden Joystick Awards The Golden Joystick Awards were recently handed out, amidst the usual fanfare. These awards have also been recognised by Guiness as the world’s most popular video game awards, with 1 223 646 votes having been cast for games this year.

Emma Parkinson, the organiser of the Golden Joystick awards, had the following to say: “The games industry remains innovative and vibrant despite economic pressures. Many of the winners at the Golden Joystick’s games demonstrate that UK talent remains crucial to the success of this industry across the globe and must be nurtured at all cost.

I’m delighted by the record number of votes – gamers deserve to have their say about their favourite games, having spent £2.7billion of their hard-earned cash in the toughest year the industry has experienced.”

And the awards themselves? The list is below...

Family Game of the Year: LittleBigPlanet Bliss Handheld Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Mobile Game of the Year: Metal Gear Solid Touch Nintendo Game of the Year: Call of Duty: World at War MSN Multiplayer Game of the Year: Call Of Duty: World At War The Rampage Soundtrack of the Year: Guitar Hero World Tour Xbox Game of the Year: Gears of War 2 PC Game of the Year: Fallout 3 Amiqus Games UK Developer of the Year: Jagex PlayStation Game of the Year: Killzone 2 Publisher of the Year: Activision Blizzard Online Game of the Year: Left4Dead ShortList One to Watch: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Ultimate Game of the Year, together with Zavvi.co.uk: Fallout 3 Astute readers will notice that some of the games given awards were released in late 2008 - that’s because the Golden Joystick Awards run from October to October.

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gamecca • news

news news news All Adrift Microsoft went all out recently at the Forza Motorsport 3 launch. Journalists and other industry insiders were treated to a day of playing Forza 3, as well as exciting rides in a pair of Nissan 350Zs, driven

by South African drifting champions. Yes, it’s a fun industry...

10

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

©2009 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft.

Ubi.com and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries

20.11.09

WWW.ASSASSINSCREED.COM

ALSO AVAILABLE ON PSP

18V

gamecca • unstuck

Uninspired

I

by Jimmy Glue

usually plan what my monthly column will be about develop a game, but there is no inspiration?” popped into before-hand, but as I opened the Word document, I my head. found myself staring at a blank page. The text cursor We have seen many games in the past, and there are blinked, as if patiently waiting for me to make his day surely more to come in the future, which just seemed to better by shifting him along with some constructive wordlack that oomph. Most of the time it’s blamed on poor forming. graphics, inconsistent game dynamics or a down-right The act of writing a column is a calculated, well-planned horrible control scheme. But what if that game was the and sometimes casual way of expressing what the author developing studio’s best work? I do pity them if it’s their has on his mind. It might be something controversial, could best work, but why release a product if it’s blatantly not up be rather amusing, or sometimes it’s just a platform to get to scratch? something of his chest.

The RPG Risen is a very good example of this. In the Normally I don’t weeks leading up to have a problem in its release date, I tried selecting a subject to confirm when the from my mind’s game will be released. library, so the Looking at some momentary lack of American sites, I soon follow-through and realised that Risen has ill-conceived planning been delayed there came as a bit of a until next year. surprise. I wasn’t Apparently the totally shocked, to European distributors be honest, as I had gave it the greenone of those days light, but what we where even a simple didn’t know was sentence came out as that the Americans [...couldn’t think of a picture to use... - ed] “ther bigestt thing in knew what we were gamiing today”. getting ourselves into.

I was rather Developed by the amused, however, by the fact that I can’t think of a single same studio that gave us the Gothic franchise, Risen is a subject that I would like to write about. I mean, there should poorly-constructed, ill-fated game that should have been literally be hundreds of topics up for conversation, but the delayed for release to the sunny shores of South Africa. risk of selecting one and making a foul-up was too great for So why do some developers feel the need to release subme to even start with. standard games? Now that I think about it, I have touched After a spectacularly short-lived trawl on the interwebs, I on this subject before, but that focussed more on delaying slouched back into my chair. As if a games than releasing horrible ones. bolt from Zeus himself struck against “What if you I won’t dare to publish any written work have to develop my forehead, I started to wonder that I’m not entirely happy with, and game a game, but about things. “I wonder how other publishers should have the same mentality. people do it?” I mumbled to myself.

It will certainly create a tougher industry, there is no Thinking that I’m just not approaching inspiration?” with only the best games making it through the article in the right way, I let my the front door. mind drift, seeking some clarity.

As I retreat to my comfy chair, I implore “What do you do when there’s simply nothing?” I game developers and planners to take some time out, think pondered the question for a while and without even about your title and deliver something that you are really properly thinking about it, the question “What if you have to proud of. After all, you don’t have to play it, we do. g

12

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gamecca • geekology

Getting better...

by Matthew Vice

I

know it’s just been released, but I’ve already sank a common in FPS games is the idea of iron-sight aiming, a-la substantial amount of time into Tekken 6. The new Far Cry 2, Killzone 2 and Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, characters are awesome and the improvements to where we can make our character raise their weapon to the existing ones are some of the best they’ve had get a slight zoom and slower movement for more precise in ages. But you know what made it even cooler? The fact shots. that I didn’t have to spend an entire day finishing the game It seems that it takes only a single developer to have with one half of the characters to unlock the other half. a good idea which gets a good response from gamers in Some fighting games, particularly those by Namco general before other developers cotton-on and the idea and Capcom, used to have only a small becomes the norm. Personally, I think “Who remembers it’s a good thing. Good ideas for entire selection of the characters available the days when we genres of gaming have been figured for players to choose from at the start.

From there, it was a variably laborious out this way as gamers and developers couldn’t throw and time-consuming process to unlock grenades in first- alike have figured out what flies and the remaining characters one-by-one. At what fails, and as long as developers person shooters the time, I enjoyed it, and felt a bit like a keep on paying attention to what their at all? ” competitors are doing, things can only kid savouring the slow unwrapping of a get better. g long-awaited Christmas present. To be honest though, I’m glad we don’t have to go through that any more. Soul Calibur IV did require players to unlock half of the characters – but one short play through Story mode rewarded players with enough cash to unlock them all in one go. Street Fighter IV also featured it, but cranking the difficulty down to the lowest setting and setting the number of rounds per bout to one made it a short process. These days, it seems that the trend in versus fighting games is to make players work hard only for the extra stuff, like outfits, concept art and other goodies.

Other similar trends in gaming happened almost imperceptibly over time. Who remembers the days when we actually had to switch weapons in order to throw grenades in first-person shooters? You know, before we just had to tap a bumper to throw a grenade with switching our currently equipped gun? For that matter, who remembers the days when we couldn’t throw grenades in first-person shooters at all? I can’t even remember the first FPS I ever played which allowed me to actually throw hand-grenades... It might have been Half-Life, actually. Another trend which slowly emerged to become increasingly

14

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GET READY for the

MIND-BLOWING INSANITY, as one of FOUR TRIGGER-HAPPY G MERCENARIES,TAKING OUT EVERYTHIN THAT STANDS IN YOUR WAY.

18V © 2009 Gearbox Software, LLC. All rights reserved. Published and distributed by 2K Games under license from Gearbox Software, LLC. Borderlands is a trademark of Gearbox Software and used under license. 2K Games and the 2K Games logo are trademarks of 2K Games in the U.S. and/or other countries. Gearbox Software and the Gearbox logo are registered trademarks of Gearbox Software, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION” and “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, and The Way It’s Meant To Be Played are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

gamecca • feature

FIFA, then and now The FIFA franchise has had a long and successful history 16

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by Walt Pretorius

gamecca • feature

V

ery few games have ever reached the prominence of the FIFA soccer franchise, developed by EA Games and published by Electronic Arts. In fact, much of EA’s success can be attributed to the company’s clever handling of sports franchises, and the FIFA range is one of the most successful of that group. With an appeal to gamers and soccer enthusiasts around the world, the FIFA franchise has been thrilling gamers since 1993.

Sixteen years later, FIFA 10 looks very different to the original release, entitled FIFA International Soccer.

Looking at the series not only tracks the dedication and enthusiasm that EA Sports showed towards this title, but also gives us a glimpse into the march of technology through that time.

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

17

gamecca • feature

FIFA International Soccer Sega Mega Drive, Master System, Mega-CD (As “FIFA International Soccer Championship Edition”), Game Gear, SNES, DOS, Amiga, 3DO, Game Boy, PlayStation 2 (with FIFA 06) The originator of the FIFA franchise, this game introduced the now familiar isometric viewpoint, leaving behind top-down and side-on perspectives. Teams had fictitious players.

1993

FIFA Soccer 95 Sega Mega Drive Using the same engine as the previous title (although with some modifications) this iteration introduced eight national leagues: Brazil, Germany’s FußballBundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga, England’s Premier League, France’s Ligue 1, Netherlands’ Eredivisie and USA. Although team colours were recognisable, the players still had fictitious names.

1994 FIFA Soccer 96 Sega 32X, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, SNES, DOS/Windows, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy Using a new technology called Virtual Stadium, this was the first soccer game to ever feature 3D graphics (on some of the platforms it was released for). It was the first release in the series to feature real player names, although there were some roster errors. The Scottish Premier League, Allsvenskan and Malaysia Super League were added to the game.

1995

FIFA 97 Sega Mega Drive, SNES, DOS/Windows, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy This was the first game in the series to feature motion captured character models, as well as models made up of polygons. A six-a-side indoor soccer mode was included. The number of playable leagues was substantially higher than previous versions.

1996 18

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gamecca • feature

FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 SNES, Sega Mega Drive, Windows, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy, Nintendo 64 With a refined graphics engine, customisable teams and players, 16 stadia and a better AI (as well as the Road to World Cup mode, which boasted all FIFA-registered national teams), this was the title that marked a massive upswing in the series. An excellent sound track, featuring licensed music, complemented this game – which was also the last 16-bit FIFA game ever made.

1997 FIFA 99 Windows, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64 The game might have lost the indoor mode, but FIFA 99’s overall experience was greatly improved over previous versions of the game. Improvements to characters included basic facial animations and height differences. This was also the first game to include non-major league teams – then called ‘Rest of Europe.”

1998

FIFA 2000 Windows, PlayStation, Game Boy Color The more arcade feel of this title alienated a number of the hard-core fans of the series. The simple, fluid game-play lacked some appeal for the more serious fans. This title also saw the introduction of set pieces. Six new leagues, being the Danish Faxe Kondi Ligaen, Greek Alpha Ethniki, Israeli Premier League, Korean K-League, Norwegian Tippeligaen and Turkish Premier League, were included for the first time, as well as a selection of classic Dream Teams.

1999 FIFA 2001 Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color With a new graphics engine, this title allowed teams to have unique kit, and even some players to have unique faces. Official club emblems were included for the first time, although not all leagues were licensed. This was also the first game in the series to feature a shot strength power bar.

2000

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

19

gamecca • feature

FIFA Football 2002 Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube This title was the last to feature the Japanese national team, with rights for that team given to Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series afterwards. The game still featured numerous unlicensed international teams, for which the players were identified by number, rather than by fictitious names.

Powerbars for passing were introduced in this iteration

2001

FIFA Football 2003 Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Mobile phone A complete overhaul to game dynamics and graphics awaited players with this release. An Elite League, featuring the best European Teams, was also introduced.

2002 FIFA Football 2004 Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Nokia N-Gage, Mobile phone While no major changes were made to graphics and game dynamics, a number of new features were introduced. These included the ability to simultaneously control two players to set up plays. Additionally, this was the first title to feature minor league clubs.

2003

FIFA Football 2005 Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, PSP (America only), Gizmondo, Nokia N-Gage, Mobile phone Released earlier in the year than usual, this iteration brought back the create-a-player mode, in addition to an improved career mode. With the introduction of first-touch dynamics, the player could now enjoy a more fluid experience.

2004 20

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gamecca • feature

FIFA 06 Windows, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PSP, mobile phone FIFA 06 saw an extensive overhaul. Aside from dropping the off-the-ball system, the developers reworked the entire engine, yielding a dramatic increase in control.

Additionally, improvements were made to the career mode, as well as the way the teams worked together.

2005 FIFA 07 Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PSP This iteration didn’t see too many changes, except for a new Interactive League function and new stadia. The Xbox 360 version used a completely new engine, and featured a much smaller team roster than other versions.

FIFA 08

2006

Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Wii, PSP The series debut for the Wii and PlayStation 3, this version was the first to introduce the ‘Be a Pro’ mode, which allowed players to experience a career as an individual player. The clubs and leagues available in the game were also increased.

2007 FIFA 09 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2 FIFA 09 saw a large system revamp, including improved collision mechanics, 10 VS 10 online ‘Be a Pro’ matches and live season updating (which updated in-game players according to their real-world performances.) The improved online play mechanics saw a vast upsurge in the number of games played online.

2008

FIFA 10

2009

Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PSP, Windows, Mobile Phone, iPod Touch & iPhone For more details, read the review on page 44. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

21

gamecca • preview

Previews

Let the good times roll!

Previews

24 Where the Wild Things Are 25 Aliens VS Predator 26 Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles 28 Vancouver 2010 30 R.U.S.E. 32 Army of Two: The 40th Day 34 Left 4 Dead 2

P

A B C D E F 22

good above average average below average poor terrible

erhaps it’s the global ecomomic situation. Maybe it’s the fact that, with the deluge of triple-A titles released at the end of 2008, a number of new IPs that should have performed well turned in disappointing sales figures. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because game publishers have realised that gamers will buy new products regardless of season, weather, holidays, or any other factor that seems to come into play when marketing types sit down and draw up strategies.

Whatever the case may be, those who have been watching the video game industry for some time are noticing a shift, a spreading out of big name games. In other words, they aren’t all arriving at once, and (thus far) traditionally quiet times of year are seeing more games released than before.

Here at Gamecca, we think that’s awesome. It means that the release of games is smoother, and the time we get to play them (all of us, not just the journos) is increased.

It also means that we can budget for games better, and won’t have to make those agonising decisions pertaining to which game gets left behind on the lonely store shelf quite so often.

There are a few big names already slated for early 2010, some of which we bring you in this penultimate preview section for this year. g Genre: What kind of game is it?

P l at fo r m s : Wh at c a n i t b e p l aye d o n ?

Dev: Who is making it?

Pub: Who will release it?

Release Date: When will it hit shelves? i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

Where The Wild Things Are

Escape Reality Follow a boy into the landscape of his imagination

by Jimmy Glue

G

ame adaptations of films are notoriously bad, but with the recent string of decent interpretations, we can only hope that Where The Wild Things Are will be much better than normal.

The game throws the player into the role of Max as he ventures off to the island of the Wild Things, which he created in his imagination. Max soon befriends the scary-looking Wild Things, and realises that they aren’t so bad.

Max eventually becomes the “King Of All Wild Things” and learns that the island is close to total destruction, and needs to help out. This is where the player will need to jump in and restore order.

If it’s going to be anything like the film, it’s bound to be cute and child-friendly. It should be a great title for the young ones, but grown-ups might just like it too.

It’s a good thing it’s not based on the book, as it contains a total of 9 sentences. g

Genre: Adevnture P l a t f o r m s : X 3 6 0 , P S 3 , Wi i , D S Dev: Amaze Enter tainment P u b : Wa r n e r B r o s Release Date: December 2009

Anticipation:

Hardcore < > Casual

C

This video game adaptation of the film, based on the popular children’s book, may be a little more than the usual movie-game stuff... then again, it might not.

24

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Aliens VS Predator

Hunter, Hunted Three of the galaxies’ deadliest species crammed onto one disc

A

by Bryan Banfield

liens VS Predator is being developed by Rebellion, the same team that brought us the original 1999 PC release that quickly moved to becoming a classic.

The all new AVP title allows the player to assume the role of the three in-game classes: the Colonial Marines, the Predators and the Aliens.

One of the most exciting new features is the unique three-way online multiplayer experience, all while battling to survive and achieving the status of the deadliest class in the galaxy.

The single player campaign will allow players to engage in an action packed storyline that weaves between the other two species.

The whole story is set on planet BG-386, where a human mining colony discovers an ancient pyramid. Upon this discovery, a Predator hunting party is dispatched to make sure this secret does not become public.

At the same time this deadly secret has awakened aliens to search out new prey.

The Colonial Marine’s story is a fight against all odds, pitting the player against two effective enemies and putting him in the position of being humanity’s only hope.

As an Alien, the player will become one of the scariest creatures ever imagined, capable of incredible, gravity defying movement and devastating short range attacks.

The Predator, the master of the hunt, will give players access to all the exotic weaponry at the species disposal.

Stalking from the shadows will allow players the honour of fast ambush kills and the ability to relish in classic predator style trophy kills. g

Genre: First Person Shooter Platforms: X360, PS3, PC Dev: Rebellion Pub: Sega Release Date: Q1 2010

Anticipation:

Hardcore < > Casual

B

Three single player campaigns and massive online battles await those who take on this latest game project, based on the amalgamation of two popular sci-fi franchises. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

25

Resident Evil:The Darkside Chronicles

Here We Go Again...

Raccoon City is still a nasty neighbourhood

by Brian Murdoch

I

f you have followed the Resident Evil story (and not just the movies) youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be very excited about this title.

The Resident Evil series is very successful on the Wii and improving the shooting genre at the same time, giving you more reason to go out and buy a gun shell or zapper for your Wii remote.

The title is a remake on the GameCube title Resident Evil 2, and will bring your favourite characters back, including Leon S Kenny and Claire Redfield.

As the player shoots their way through zombies, they will be assessed by the AI (unless a friend wants to join in). A popular trend with most games is that the second player can jump in and out during the story with no need to restart.

Once this title has been released, there is talk of Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero coming to the Wii as well. g

G e n r e : S u r v i va l H o r ro r P l a t f o r m s : Wi i Dev: Capcom Pub: Capcom R e l e a s e D at e : N ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

Anticipation:

Hardcore < > Casual

C+

The Wii based reboot of the Resident Evil series is a welcome addition to the platform for survival horror fans... but it will be on-the-rails...

26

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JONI HOSTESS THE BALLAD OF GAY TONY

OUT NOW www.rockstargames.com/episodesfromlibertycity Š 2006-2009 Rockstar Games, Inc. Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto, Episodes from Liberty City, the r logo, the Grand Theft Auto logo and the Episodes from Liberty City logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Vancouver 2010

Chill... ... in virtual Vancouver

V

by Jimmy Glue

ancouver was recently chosen as the host city for the 2010 Winter Games, and as developers have done for the last couple of years, the chilly Games have spawned a game adaption.

It shouldn’t be anything ground-breaking, but Vancouver 2010 could still be a fun title nonetheless. It’s sure to feature the popular sports, like bobsled, giant slalom and freestyle snowboarding, while other favourites like curling and ice hockey could be present.

The latest version is said to boast uncanny realism,

with fully rendered models of the actual Olympic arenas… something that will put a bit of shine on the title.

Remembering the horrible button-bashing from the Summer Games version, we can only hope that the control scheme has been updated to give players a more realistic and accurate representation.

The title will also include a Challenge Mode, where players will get the chance to outrun an avalanche or beat a blizzard. With 14 of the most exciting events featured, it could be well worth a look. g

Genre: Sports P l a t f o r m s : X 3 6 0 , P S 3 , Wi i , D S Dev: Eurocom Pub: Sega Release Date: 2010

Anticipation:

Hardcore < > Casual

C

Vancouver 2010 is based on the Winter Olympic Games, and although the weather is chilly, the action is sure to be hot.

28

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HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT WITH AN AWESOME ASSASSIN’S CREED 2 HAMPER, COURTESY OF UBISOFT AND MEGAROM

PRIZE HAMPER CONSISTS OF: 1 x T-Shirt 1 x ring with wax seal 1 x Leather codex 1 x Promotional game copy on PS3

SEND AN EMAIL TO COMPETITIONS@GAMECCA.CO.ZA. TELL US YOUR NAME, AND THE NAME OF THE PUBLISHER OF ASSASSIN’S CREED 2.

Competition closes 30 November 2009. South African residents only. The judges’ decision is final.

Prizes may not be excahnged for cash. Competition closed to employees (and employee’s family) of 1337 Media CC, Ubisoft and Megarom Interactive. Games may be ‘white label’ products.

R.U.S.E.

Fooled You! Sneaky does it...

by Jimmy Glue

U

bisoft’s R.U.S.E. has been punted as a oneof-a-kind real-time strategy game, a title that is bound to shake things up in the genre. The main aim of the game is to trick your enemies and overwhelm them while they try to figure out what happened.

It’s a concept that could go either way, as it has the potential be very complicated, driving away casual players in the process. The campaigns can be started with a host of nations, including the British and Germans.

Viewing the battlefield should be no problem, as the game will exclusively feature the IRISZOOM Engine, making zooming in from a birds-eye view to the heart of the battle as seamless as possible.

Tom Clancy’s Endwar didn’t shift too many mountains, so the hopes are pinned on R.U.S.E. for delivering something different, while remaining playable. If the main aim is to trick and outsmart your enemy, let’s hope they aren’t pulling the wool over our eyes, too. g

Genre: Real Time Strategy Platforms: X360, PS3, PC Dev: Eugen Systems Pub: Ubisoft Release Date: February 2010

Anticipation:

Hardcore < > Casual

B

Lie, cheat and steal your way to victory in this rather unique new take on the real time strategy genre from Ubisoft.

30

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

13V

Army of Two:The 40th Day

Teamwork Army of Two’s unique co-op style is making a comeback...

by Jimmy Glue

W

hen the final cut-scene in Army Of Two flashed over the screen, it was clear that the title set itself up for a sequel.

Army Of Two: 40th Day is almost upon us, and it promises to be bigger, better and more humorous than the first.

Players will once again get the chance to play as either Tyson Rios or Elliot Salem, and they need to escape from Shanghai in a hurry. It can be expected that a lot of questions will be answered in the sequel, but that a lot more will arise as well.

Customisation will also play a key factor, as almost any weapon (which there are more of) can be upgraded and modified as the players wishes.

Want a blinged-out AK-47? No problem. Need to add a bit of finesse to your MP5? You got it.

With revamped partner AI and a new sprint function, it is sure to be one of the hottest and most action-packed sequels of next year. g

Genre: Action Platforms: X360, PS3, PSP Dev: EA Montreal Pub: Electronic Arts Release Date: January 2010

Anticipation:

Hardcore < > Casual

A

With more customisation and bigger action than before, it’s bound to be a block-buster.The first one redefined coop game dynamics... let’s see what the sequel pulls of.

32

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

WANNA GET BRUTAL? WIN A COPY OF BRUTAL LEGEND ON XBOX 360 OR PS3, COURTESY OF EA SOUTH AFRICA!

SEND AN EMAIL TO COMPETITIONS@GAMECCA.CO.ZA. TELL US YOUR NAME, AND THE NAME OF JACK BLACK’S CHARACTER IN BRUTAL LEGEND. AND REMEMBER TO STATE WHETHER YOU WOULD PREFER AN XBOX 360 OR PS3 VERSION OF THE GAME...

Competition closes 30 November 2009. South African residents only. The judges’ decision is final.

Prizes may not be excahnged for cash. Competition closed to employees (and employee’s family) of 1337 Media CC and Electronic Arts South Africa.

Left 4 Dead 2

Reinfected!

Those cuddly zombies are back for more...

L

Genre: First Person Shooter Platforms: X360, PC D e v : Va l v e Pub: Electronic Arts R e l e a s e D at e : N ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

by Jimmy Glue

eft 4 Dead created a lot of waves when it hit our shelves last year, and since then, players couldn’t wait for the sequel. Left 4 Dead 2 has had its fair share of controversy, but boycotts and cover art issues aside, it’s going to be a cracker.

The focus of the sequel will still very much be on co-op and multiplayer, as slaying zombies is always better with friends. As with the first, the sequel plays out during the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic.

The player will once again get to use whatever they can find to defend themselves against the hordes of undead.

The levels will also feature safehouses that act as checkpoints, because fighting zombies is hard work.

The great thing about this one is that the game will alter it’s difficulty according to how the player progresses. This is done through an artificial intelligence engine, dubbed the “Director”, that monitors performance.

New types of infected zombies, melee weapons and great action. What more can we ask for? g

Anticipation:

Hardcore < > Casual

B

Left 4 Dead 2 has some huge shoes to fill, as the first title created the setting for an awesome sequel. But more zombie apocalypse action is always welcome!

34

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

gamecca • ps zealot

A

Supersize Me!

new age of gaming has arrived, and many console gamers are starting to experience the change in environment that PC users have been going through for a while now.

Downloadable Content (or DLC) has fast become the gaming industry’s answer to falling sales and rising production and distribution costs.

For the latecomers, it works something like this: Boy buys game. Boy really likes game. Boy thinks to himself, wouldn’t it be nice if … Boy discovers that game developers had the same thought, and developed an addon for the game. Boy discovers that additional content is not free.

Boy starts wondering how much he really needs this add-on. Boy reaches for his credit card anyway… (please substitute Girl for Boy, if you really must) It may be simplistic, but it pretty much sums up what gamers are feeling about this new content, which is only available online and at a cost.

At the moment, publishers are keeping these costs fairly low, but gamers will have noted that games are already being released which seem designed to work with downloadable content. A good example is Fight Night 4, released in June this year. The game received a fantastic reception, but many fans of the series immediately noticed that absence of key characters, most notably Oscar De La Hoya (who has featured prominently throughout the series) and the Klitschko brothers.

Most merely breathed a sigh of disappointment.

by Suvesh Arumugam However, EA responded quickly by announcing a pending update, which would allow the omitted fighters to be purchased as DLC. This enraged some fans, who were of the opinion that this content was deliberately held back in order to cynically milk gamers for all they’ve got.

What’s clear from this scenario is that the game industry is changing its business model. While print and music industries continue to struggle to remain profitable using traditional revenue streams, game developers have realised that technology and online communities provide a perfect opportunity to increase sales by providing ongoing content, rather than a “onceoff” product. PC gamers are probably fairly comfortable with this concept, but this is still relatively new to console gamers. I still flinch every time I buy a new game and realise I have to wait 45 minutes before my first play, waiting for the latest update to download.

Having played a few of the newer titles from EA (and other publishers), it is clear that DLC is a deliberate direction in the industry, and it is here to stay. I booted up FIFA 10 on the day of release, and there was already a host of downloadable stadiums, kits, etc, ready for my credit card to flirt with.

It’s difficult to come to a verdict on DLC. It is certainly within the developers’ rights to publish content in whatever format they deem fit, but gamers would certainly have an argument if games are being published lacking key content.

When Sony introduced Trophies (hot on the heels of Xbox’s Gamer Score Achievement system), I assumed that these trophies would be linked to DLC in some way, rather than being a cosmetic rating system. It would be great if dedicated gamers could use these achievements to purchase DLC. I have no doubt that there will still be those who would rather pay for content, rather than earn it. But it will ensure that some people will be sitting up at 4 in the morning, dry-mouthed and bleary-eyed, chasing one more victory to unlock that final stadium or pair of trunks.

And playing more of any game just can’t be a bad thing in my book. g

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

gamecca • xbox beat

W

Getting the Most...

ith the launch of Windows 7 comes the opportunity to setup your home entertainment system with your Windows Media Center.

So how do we do this? Well, let’s take a look.

Some of you might have seen the option on the “My Xbox” blade of the Xbox360 dashboard. This is the chance you have to click on it and see how deep the rabbit hole really goes.

What you will need: a PC with Windows 7, a small home network connected via an ADSL router for internet connectivity and your trusty Xbox360 console.

Make sure everything is plugged in and connected correctly and click on the “Windows Media Center” option under the “My Xbox” blade.

Once loaded you will be presented with and 8 digit security code (e.g. XXXX-XXXX) to protect your media when linking your Xbox and PC. We don’t want your friends stumbling onto your My Little Pony collection, now do we?

by Bryan Banfield You will then be prompted to go to www.xbox.com/ pcsetup. This step is simple. Skip it!

Now back at your PC… you will need to launch the Media Centre. Click on Start and in the search bar type “Media”.

The “Windows Media Center” option will pop up and you can click on it to launch it.

After some wonderful animations and heart touching promo music, your media center will launch.

A few seconds later the media center will exclaim that it has found a media extender! That extender is our good friend, the Xbox360. It is true that you can drive all your media though the media center on the PC but having it pump media to your Xbox means comfortable chairs, better sound and a more relaxing environment.

After a few setup questions and accepting a licence agreement, you’re ready to tell the media center where to find all things awesome!

If you scroll down to the “Tasks” option you will find “settings”. Inside “settings” you will stumble upon “Media Libraries”. From here you can choose what type of media (Music, Pictures, Movies etc.) and where they are stored on your PC. Select the relevant folders and click “Next”.

You will then be presented with a summary of what you have just done, just in case you have forgotten what you were doing. After that friendly reminder you need to click on ‘finish’.

You will need to do this for all the media types that you are looking to add to a media library.

Once you have done this on the Xbox you will be ready to view / listen to your media. Return to the main menu, navigate and enjoy. g

This page is provided by Xbox Gamer 42

www.xboxgamer.co.za

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gamecca • the house of mario

M

We want Wii!

ost games that come out now serve an online community. The greatest communities (in number) are on the PC, second to this being the Xbox Live community, and third being the PSN. To join you connect your Playstation 3 online and sign up. For Xbox Live you have to find an address outside of South Africa and pay a subscription fee every so often.

Nintendo, in South Africa, is represented by the Core Group. I have been (and will continue to) working to help them in their goal to get Wii 24 Connect into South Africa. Currently, to get your Wii online in South Africa, you will need your console, a connection to the internet and a wireless network setup to access the internet connected PC. A wireless connection is needed because a wired connector isn’t standard kit for the Wii. So you have your Wii connected to the internet… now what? Is there any value to me having this connection?

If you have selected South Africa as your console’s country, then no. Any attempt to use an online feature is met by a message of “your country does not support online yet!”

Change your console’s country setting to United Kingdom or America and try again. Just a little easier than Xbox, but still lying.

The Wii online features come with a range of freebies.

The first and most important is the Shopping Channel. Here you will download other channels, games and demos, for Wii Points or for free. Your first step would be to download the free channels like the weather and news channels, “Everyone votes channel” and “Today and Tomorrow’s Fortune” channel. The games in this section are broken

by Brian Murdoch down into Virtual Console and Wii Ware. Virtual Console are all your classic games from past video game consoles, and the Wii Ware are the new and original games designed for the Wii. Playing games online and sending messages to your friends is possible but is kept very safe by Nintendo. For every game that you want to play with your friend, you’ll need to exchange “Friend-Codes”. Your friend code is different for each game. Not a very convenient system, but it’s managed and safe.

There is a “Connection Ambassador Promotion” running to encourage Wii owners that are online to help others get online. If you help a friend to get online you both get 500 Wii Points to spend on the shopping channel.

To incentivise even more, if you help 10 friends you are rewarded and can download any NES first-party Virtual Console game free! Then the next step blows my mind… help 20 friends online and any of the 315 games on the Virtual Console is yours to download free!

To help South Africa along in getting Wii24Connect they need to know that Wii owners in South Africa can go online.

Register your Wii online! With reference to last month’s House of Mario column, go to Club Nintendo at www.

Nintendo.co.za and use the scratch number that came with your Wii and register the console there. This shows Nintendo that you have a Wii in South Africa and have an internet connection to register it. The more of these we get, the faster Wii online feature will come to South Africa. g

This page is provided by Nintendo Gamer 44

www.nintendogamer.co.za

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72 '2 /,67

72 '2 /,67

+ EXPERIENCE A PILE OF HOT REVIEWS including GTA IV (PC), Prince of Persia, LittleBigPlanet, Legendary, Tom Clancyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EndWar and much more as we mop up from December...

+ EXPERIENCE A GLOB OF HOT PREVIEWS

35(9,(:6

+ COWER IN FEAR AS YOU READ our preview on Silent Hill: Homecoming and Resident Evil 5

F.E.A.R. 2: PROJECT ORIGIN // BIONIC COMMANDO

+ DOMINATE THE NAZI ZOMBIES using our unique survival guide!

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Including Guitar Hero: Metallica, Dawn of War II, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault of Dark Athena, The Godfather 2, Afro Samurai, Killzone 2, H.A.W.X. and more...

+ PREVIEW MADNESS THIS ISSUE with Singularity, PROTOTYPE and X-Men Origins: Wolverine + REVIEW SILLINESS WITH Halo Wars, Killzone 2, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Dawn of War II, Street Fighter IV and Skate 2

+ SWISH YOUR PLASTIC LIGHTSABRE* as you drool over our preview of Star Wars: The Old Republic + FORM AN EDUCATED OPINION with our reviews of Resistance 2, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, Rise of the Argonauts and more...

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* Just make sure the video camera is packed away!

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S AN UNKNOWN JEDI STANDING NEXT TO AN UNFAMILIAR DROID SET AGAINST A DIFFERENT BACKDROP. BUT HEY, THEREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S A LIGHTSABRE. COOL!

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INTEL CORE I7 EXTREME 965 REVIEWED â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S THE BOMB!

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The DVD was sealed inside a plastic bag, man. Sealed on all sides and now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gone. How on Earth did you manage that one? Do you even know where your car keys are right now?

+$5':$5(

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If you read this every month and your DVD is missing every month, perhaps you should consider going for that little visit to the head doctor. You obviously have a split personality and the other guy is getting the DVD each month. To the other guy, please leave the DVD where the other guy can ďŹ nd it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting tiresome now. Unless there are thee of you... gulp.

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If your DVD is missing, wait 24 hours (in case it comes home by itself) then call the police. Find a recent picture of the DVD and tell the cops what it was wearing and where you saw it last.

No DVD? The zombies got it, it looked like brains, and you know how zombies are when it comes to brains... and speaking of brains â&#x20AC;&#x201C; next time check that the DVD is in the bag.

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+ Ă&#x153;BER GAMING MOUSE: MICROSOFT SIDEWINDER ER X8 REVIEWED + WIN A WHITE-HOT GAMING RIG...

+ PREVIEWS

+ PREVIEWS

Fight Night Round 4 | Mass Effect 2 Batman: Arkham Asylum

We look at the madness and delight of Need for Speed: Shift with some armjerking Bionic Commando action

+ REVIEWS Demigod | The Sims 3 | inFamous Bionic Commando | More!

+ REVIEWS Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a heavy review issue with Resident Evil 5, Tom Clancyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s H.A.W.X., Wheelman, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, WWE Legends of WrestleMania and much more

MONSTER TERRITORY EXCLUSIVE The man dressed in white is back!

Exclusive artwork, screens and more!

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+ E3 PREVIEWS Bad Company 2 | Just Cause 2 | R.U.S.E. | Fairytale Fights | Rogue Warrior | Alpha Protocol | +more

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To prevent the current lack of technological diversity in the world, your cover DVD has been shipped off to a stud farm where it will be repeatedly mounted and harvested for DNA data.

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The NAG DVD sends its regrets for not making it this issue [cough]. Because it never washes its pits, it caught the floppy flu (HD-1440) thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been going around.

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I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t missing the cover DVD. The magazine of this DVD is recoverable to limiting by a single person only. Act according to know the magazine much question to ask normally lost. Do finding of this magazine DVD normal to make dissatisfied of reporting.

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Reviews

The flood gates are open!

Highlights: 44 FIFA 10

46 Tekken 6 48 Forza Motorsport 3 54 Brutal Legend 56 Borderlands 60 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 62 Dead Space Extraction 64 Spore Hero 68 DJ Hero 70 PES 2010

A

A B C D E F

good above average average below average poor

Hardcore < > Casual

terrible

Game: The name of the game Genre: What kind of game it is Platforms: Which machines it is made for Dev: Who made it Pub: Who sells it A g e R at i n g : Wh o s h o u l d p l ay i t Advisory: Themes in the game

42

t Gamecca, we believe in responsible gaming.

We hate seeing our beloved hobby being blamed for atrocities on any level. There is nothing worse than hearing video games being blamed for criminal activity, or even worse, for people being killed.

We can safely say that the flood gates have opened. We can say it rather happily, too... as much as playing games is our job (eat your heart out) we still love playing them.

So it’s an exciting time, complete with heated arguments and punch-ups during editorial meetings over who gets to review which games.

This month has 22 reviews on offer, which is a nice warm up for what we anticipate is going to be a mammoth December issue... and not just in terms of numbers, but also in terms of prominence. Many companies will be presenting highly anticipated Triple-A titles in the run up to the Christmas season, so we are sure to have a lot of stuff Awards: to talk about for the Glorious Game next few issues. And, Star Award as mentioned in the Given to the cream of the Previews Intro, the video gaming good games are going crop to be rolling well into 2010’s first quarter, too.

Editor’s ‘Right On’ Button Man, I love this job! g A dv i s o r y Key : V : Vi o l e n c e L : Bad Language S : S ex D: Drug Use P: Prejudice

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

Given to those games that the editor believes are really cool, although not necessarily the best of the bunch.

you have to FIGHT to win... or you could enter our excellent TEKKEN 6 competition instead.

Thanks to Megarom Interactive, you could win a limited edition Tekken 6 box that includes Tekken 6 (Xbox 360), an artbook, a poster and a hoodie.

SEND AN EMAIL TO COMPETITIONS@GAMECCA.CO.ZA..

COMPETITIONS@GAMECCA.CO.ZA TELL US YOUR NAME, AND THE NAME OF ONE OF THE NEW TEKKEN FIGHTERS. Competition closes 30 November 2009. South African residents only. The judges’ decision is final.

Prizes may not be excahnged for cash. Competition closed to employees (and employee’s family) of 1337 Media CC and Megarom Interactive. Games may be ‘white label’ products.

gamecca • review

FIFA 10

Goal!

The FIFA franchise scores again

by Jimmy Glue

T

he Fifa franchise is as strong as ever, and match, instead of swapping to the player with Electronic Arts having released the tenth nearest to the ball. instalment recently, fans around the world are Manager Mode is exactly that. Gamers can happily kicking their virtual balls around. [Sounds assume the role of the chosen club’s manager painful – ed] and need to have a keen business sense.

EA stuck to the previous designs by allowing the player Footballers need to be bought, traded, sold to practise their shooting and dribbling skills in the open and rested, all while managing the training, arena, even before activating any menu. players and governing the club’s financials. It’s essentially After taking a few pot-shots at the goalie, players can the same as Tournament or Season Mode, except with enter the menu, a managerial element, as actual where a whole host “Directional passing and matches can still be played, or shooting has also been made of game modes simulated. more accurate and sensitive, can be selected.

In Season Mode, players will The usual suspects so make sure your aim is true be able to chose from any of the are included, like 500 teams, spanning 30 leagues before letting rip” Tournament, Season from around the world. Leagues and Manager Mode. included range from the English The most exciting mode by far is Virtual Pro, where Premier League, German Bundesliga and Liga Do Brasil, players will design their own character, insert him into right through to the League of Ireland Premier Division and a chosen team and play with that team throughout the South Korean K-League. different modes.

Although no South African league has been included, EA also introduced a new version of the EA Game Face, Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirates can be selected under but through some rather bad communication, it soon the Rest Of The World banner. The Russian Premier became clear that players can only upload their own faces League was omitted from console versions, but was into the game if they have an Xbox Gold account. Other games like Fight Night Round 4 and Tiger Woods 10 also utilised Game Face, open to Silver members as well.

Using your virtually created Pro, players can upgrade the athlete’s skills by playing in the Be A Pro mode. This mode remained the same as in the previous titles, where players will only play with the created player throughout the whole Genre: Sports P l a t f o r m s : X 3 6 0 , P S 3 , P C , W i i , P S 2 , P S P, D S Dev: EA Spor ts Pub: Electronic Arts Age Rating: 3 Advisory: None

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gamecca • review

included for the PC. Fifa 10 also features an impressive number of stadia, modelled on their real-life counterparts, including Allianz Arena, Camp Nou, Emirates Stadium, Old Trafford, and San Siro.

After selecting a team, stadium and playing conditions, it’s off to the pitch. The graphics have indeed improved over the last effort, and the athletes’ faces are more life-like than before. It might well be one of the best-looking football games around.

The control scheme isn’t as hard as one might think.

Actually, it’s as difficult as the player makes it. Basic moves

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

A

and dribbles are easy to pull off, but once the list of 360 degree dribbling has been discovered, it might be hard to run in a straight line. Directional passing and shooting has also been made more accurate and sensitive, so make sure your aim is true before letting rip.

Besides the graphical beauty and easy controls, the true heart of FIFA 10 is what makes it one of the best football games around. Goals do not come easy, and the game constantly reminds the player that, even on an easy setting, goals need to be worked for.

But this isn’t stress-inducing, as it draws the player so much into the game that it soon seems as if they are in the game for real, not just playing a simulation. Competing against another human player, this element is amplified by the opponent’s desire to win, which can create some heated moments for some, and joyous celebrations for others. [And some stunning goals from just over the half line, as I recall – ed] This exciting game dynamic just goes to show that a lot of thought has been put into designing FIFA 10, and if a game can make grown men jump up and down in celebration, then EA truly has a winner on their hands.

Fans of football, no matter how big or small, will find hours of excitement in FIFA 10. The graphics are clear, colourful and accurate, while the sound is something to be experienced.

The only slight bug that might creep in lies with the commentary. Besides being the same two commentators throughout the whole game, the commentary might skip on occasion.

Other than that, it’s a fantastic game. g

FIFA 10 manages to be yet another excellent title in the franchise, with new ideas and refinements that not only make the game more exciting, but more accessible too. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

45

gamecca • review

Tekken 6

Iron Fist Returns New characters,

new moves, new options...

by Matthew Vice

Force mode; Online mode, which allows you to take on other players online and upload and download new Ghost Data; and Offline mode, which contains the usual Arcade mode, Ghost mode, Time Trial, Team Battle and Practice modes.

In addition to this, you can also enter Profile mode, where you can change which stage and character is displayed in the background of your main menu, and customise your characters.

Let’s start with the Story mode. Anyone who has played Tekken 3 or Tekken 4’s Tekken Force mode will be familiar with it. It allows you to take a character (initially only Lars and Alisa) through stages filled with relatively weak enemies and more substantial bosses.

It’s like Double Dragon with Tekken characters. Each character has their full move-set available to them, which feels awkward at first, but you can get used to f you’re not an avid fighting game player, it’s easy to it with practice. In this mode, you can make tons of understand how you might see iterations of fighting money and find cool items to customise your characters. franchises as little more than graphical upgrades.

It’s quite extensive, but let’s be honest, it’s just a diversion.

Without going into the technical nitty-gritty, you’d Most Tekken players will probably go through it once and never known that, let’s say, this character now has a never touch it again. Once you’ve earned a fortune in story stun effect on this move which allows him to perform mode, you can spend it in the profile mode, customising new combos. This might be gibberish to those who aren’t your characters with new outfits, accessories and even fighting-oriented, but it’s these things that allow us avid special items which grant them special attacks. fighters to determine the improvements or changes made The standard fighting modes are where the meat of the to our favourite franchises over the years. Tekken 6 is the game is. This version sports the largest and most complete latest and greatest instalment to Namco’s big-name fighting Tekken roster ever. Sorry guys, still no Kunimitsu or Dr series, and let me tell you as a fighting game lover, the Bosconovitch though. However, joining the old crew are improvement is much more than skin-deep. six new faces, Lars Alexandersson, Alisa, Bob, Zafina, After viewing the stylish CG intro and starting the game, Leo and Miguel.

Genre: Fighting players will find an unusual set of options awaiting them Lars is a powerful Platforms: X360, PS3, PSP – not least of all the option to choose your preferred side of and energetic fighter D e v : N a m c o B a n d a i Pub: Namco Bandai the screen, an option which pops up every time you start who puts his entire the game. From there you’ll be able to access the Story body behind all of his A g e R a t i n g : 1 6 Advisory: V mode, which is basically another iteration of the old Tekken strikes – but he can i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9 46

I

gamecca • review

miss easily if you’re not careful. Alisa is the resurrected daughter of Dr Bosconovitch, and has a bunch of cyborgexclusive moves at her disposal, including the ability to fly and extend a chainsaw blade from each wrist. Bob is the one most Tekken players have been talking about. This big round guy is deceptively agile, far more than most other characters in fact – and fast too. You won’t believe what he’s capable of. Zafina is a sultry fighter from the Middle East, using a bizarre array of moves that would make most contortionists turn green with envy. Leo is a boy (yes, he’s a boy, trust me) who fights with a hard-hitting, string-combo style very much like Elliot from Dead or Alive 4. Miguel is a Spanish giant with a limited but damaging array of savage bar-brawl type moves at his disposal.

All of the old crew have received some new moves and changes too, some more than others, which affect their tried and trusted fighting styles in new and interesting ways.

Hwoarang, for instance, has new, fast, mid-level right kick which offers him an alternative

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

way to switch into right-foot-forward stance – Hwoarang fans will know what that means. Another good example is Julia, who has received an entire array of new moves, almost all of which work beautifully in her juggle combos.

With a roster of characters this large and all these new moves to play with, Tekken fans will be busy with this one for a long time. It’s a huge improvement over Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, both in graphics and game-play, and best of all, Xbox 360 owners get to play it this time round too. g

A

Tekken 6 is faster, smoother and weightier than is predecessors, making it a joy to play. It features a bunch of new characters, too... i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

47

gamecca • review

Forza Motorsport 3

Speed Freak Forza’s back, and as good as ever

by Walt Pretorius

T

developers (Turn 10) have managed to bridge he racing simulation genre has a few big players the divide between more casual racing game in it, in terms of franchises, and when they get released, they “Forza 3 rises to the challenge, fans and hardcore petrol make waves. delivering a realistic and heads. This Naturally the Need for addictive performance that will is no different Speed and Gran Turismo have players constantly coming with Forza 3. franchises fall into that The game can category, because they back for more” be as light or have been around for a long as technical as the end-user wants it to be. time and have built a solid reputation. Microsoft’s Forza This adds a massive amount of accessibility to Motorsport games are relative newcomers to the genre – they have been around since the days of the original the title, as well as a lot of appeal. The player Xbox, but this is only the third title to see the light of day can play this game on their own terms, which is always a in the series. Yet, the franchise has managed to achieve nice thing. an excellent stature reputation already, and the launch of Another area of appeal comes from the huge stable of Forza 3 is big news for Xbox 360-based racing enthusiasts. cars on offer, ranging from small, entry-level vehicles right One of the factors that make the Forza franchise so through to powerful, gas-guzzling monsters and ultra-tuned appealing as a racing game series is the fact that the speed machines. The player can, as before, collect any

48

i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

number of cars (with the game generously giving the player a new vehicle with each driver level that is achieved as well.) These cars can also be customised using the game’s improved visual customisation system… which includes a “flat canvas” for creating complex vinyl shape groups which can later be applied to cars.

The vehicles are faithfully recreated, with a good amount of interior detail. The graphics are very high quality, but some other recent releases do trump Forza 3 in a few areas (read as vehicle interiors in NFS Shift.) The tracks, though, are another matter entirely; Forza 3 delivers some of the most beautifully presented racing environments we have seen in this kind of game.

The biggest change to the game comes in the form of presentation. The menu system has received an extensive overhaul, and the career mode within the game works a little differently. It is now calendar based, and the player is pushed through a season whether they win or lose events.

This isn’t too much of a problem, thanks to three ideas within the game. The first is that, win or lose, the player will earn money and experience. Obviously more is achieved by a better placement, but poor performances aren’t punished as heavily as in other games. The second is that the player can re-race any events on the calendar through a different menu branch, and can even take on events that they haven’t been presented with before. These events can be replayed as often as the player likes, and still carry the rewards of money and experience. The third concept is one that occurs in-game; if the Genre: Racing player makes a mistake (even one P l a t f o r m s : X 3 6 0 as trivial as leaving the track just Dev: Turn 10 a little) they will be able to rewind Pub: Microsoft the action and try again. While this Age Rating: 3 Advisory: None appears to be a cop-out on the

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

surface, the truth is that several petrol heads I spoke to love the idea – it allows them to try different approaches and techniques without having to redo an entire race.

With lots of cars, deep visual and performance customisation and a very friendly presentation, Forza 3 is a great prospect. Naturally, though, the proof is in the pudding. Forza 3 rises to the challenge, delivering a realistic and addictive performance that will have players constantly coming back for more. The cars handle the way they should, with copious driving assists for less hard-core players. These can, of course, be turned off, should the player want a more challenging experience.

On the whole, Forza Motorsport 3 presents the player with a solid, accurate and (most importantly) enjoyable racing experience, whether in the single player career, in split-screen mode or through linked multiplayer. The AI is sensible and scaleable, the cars are adjustable, and the entire experience is exhilarating – for newbies and pros alike. If driving games on the Xbox 360 are your bag, Forza 3 is a must-have title for you. g

A

Forza Motorsport 3 delivers (as was expected) with a game dynamic that is equally attractive to casual players and hard-core petrol heads. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

49

gamecca • review

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Worth the Wait Tecmo saves the best for last with Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

S

that they got a very cool game.

The story for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is about as creative and in-depth as we’ve come to expect from Tecmo – meaning not very. It seems that Ryu Hayabusa, the young master ninja from the Dragon Ninja Clan, is called into action once again after his village is attacked and the sacred Demon Statue, an artefact of immense evil power which his clan was guarding, is stolen by the leader of the evil Spider Ninja Clan. Wasn’t Ryu’s village destroyed in the last game too? You know, for a ninja clan who pride themselves on their highly skilled, highly trained warriors, they sure seem to get their butts kicked a lot. Anyway, to make a short story even shorter, Ryu has to get it back.

To achieve this, players control Ryu as he fight through stages filled with varied enemies and bosses. The game is classified as an “extreme action game” by hardcore gamers, meaning that it’s a very technical, performance-oriented, hack-and-slash fight-fest from beginning to end. It seems to be a bit more forgiving that the last game, though, and most players should be able to get through it, but only the really hardcore action fans will be able to attain those high rankings for each mission. Ryu has access to a wide selection of weapons, like dual-katana, nunchaku, a staff, claws and a huge hammer. He can power up each of these weapons over the course of the game to make more moves and combos available for them. With all of these to choose from, every player is sure to settle on their personal favourite weapon eventually. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

ometimes being made to wait a year for the release of a game on a particular console that is already available on another console isn’t entirely a bad thing – especially when said game comes loaded to bursting point with awesome extras. In this case, I’m talking about Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, the PS3’s version of the Xbox 360’s hit action game, Ninja Gaiden 2.

Now, Ninja Gaiden 2 on the Xbox 360 was damn fine game to start with, and to compensate PS3 owners for the incredible wait, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 for the PS3 includes new characters, weapons, enemies and missions.

Admittedly, most PS3 owners probably wouldn’t know which content is new and which is old unless they’d played the 360 version, so they’ll just have to be satisfied knowing

50

by Matthew Vice

gamecca • review

Confident players can upload their scores for each mission to the online leader-boards for a slice of humble pie. There are also some extra co-op missions allowing two players to play together online or on the same machine to slay hordes of enemies for Genre: Action high scores. In addition to Ryu, Platforms: PS3 D e v : T e a m N i n j a players can also play as three P u b : Te c m o extra characters on certain stages Age Rating: 16 and in the co-op modes. The first Advisory: V is Momiji, a female ninja from

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

B

Ryu’s clan who wields a huge spear that can hit multiple enemies at once. Dead or Alive fans will recognise the second character: Ayane, a young female ninja from the friendly Mugen Tenshin Clan, who uses a pair of short swords to deliver streams of attacks in quick succession. The last one is Rachel, the axe-wielding, leather-clad blonde bombshell from Ninja Gaiden Sigma, who is less agile but more powerful than the other characters. With all of these scantily-clad young ladies helping him out, it’s amazing that Ryu manages to get any work done.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 has also seen quite a substantial graphical upgrade since its appearance on the 360. I think we can safely pen that down to the expected refinement of the developer’s techniques over the intervening year rather than “the awesome power of the PS3”. Ryu looks great in his ninja gear, as do his entourage of sexy female helpers, but by far the biggest improvement is in the backgrounds. Ninja Gaiden Sigma was basically an enhanced PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden Black on the Xbox, and while they bumped up the characters and other details, the stages still retained a noticeable amount of their last-gen blandness. That is no longer the case, and the stages in Sigma 2 are brimming with all kinds of cool details. The sound effects are very anime-like, especially that indescribable squeaking sound generated when bladed weapons slice through enemies.

As it stands, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is probably one of the best action games currently on the PS3. It’s challenging, but rewarding, and there’s plenty in there for action game lovers to experiment with. g

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 may be a late arrival on the PS3, but it’s still well worth playing. We’re not too sure what the Sigma bit of the name means, though... i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

51

gamecca • review

NHL 10

Tough Enough Deliver bone-crunching checks, duke it out with opponents and score spectacular goals!

N

by Suvesh Arumugam

exception to this new direction. Although fans HL 10 is the 18th instalment in one of the most decorated sports game franchises. NHL 09 won of the series will be happy to see that most of the key features of the previous award-winning at least 12 Sports Game of the Year Awards over the past two years, leaving fans wondering title have been preserved, game-play is the main area where gamers will feel the transition exactly how EA Sports planned to improve on a very from 09 to 10. A flaw in previous titles has addictive game. been that passing and team play was not Having had the opportunity to play (and review) several realistic. A successful pass was almost of EA Sports releases in the 10 series, it is clear that the guaranteed, and using buttons for offensive focus has been on realistic, flowing game-play, rather than emphasizing graphics, cut scenes, and unlockable content. manoeuvring and to create big defensive hits made it easy to dominate. EA have cleverly EA developers have got into the spirit and dynamics of the various sports, looking changed the entire “While SA gamers may not at how the games are way in which basic moves are actually played, and what have had much exposure to executed, and fans may initially influences outcomes (even the real game, NHL delivers feel that there is a loss in gamethe kind of action most want play, but this is not the case. luck is now a factor).

NHL 10 is certainly no A little investigation reveals to see in a game”

Genre: Sport Platforms: X360, PS3 Dev: EA Spor ts Pub: Electronic Arts Age Rating: 16 Advisory: V

52

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gamecca • review

that there are more actions buttons and executable manoeuvres than ever before. They are simply more realistic, and rely on various factors (facing direction, player fatigue, skill level, etc). The new 360° Precision Passing system is much more real, and requires more thought. It also means that players will need to improve on their stick-play, because you’ll need to hold the puck up longer before a clean pass is possible, and not being able to spin or deke with a touch of a button makes it very challenging. Luckily, there is a full host of tutorial videos that walk you through each facet of play.

NHL 10 has the same core features as 09; Instant Gameplay, General Manager Mode or a full season with your favourite Franchise or Player, both of which you can either create or pick from a list of existing teams and players. A brand new feature is the “Battle for the Cup Mode”, which is like instant play, except you play in a series of games (or a playoff) for the Stanley Cup, hockey’s highest honour. The best improvements are in-game, like the new Battle on the Boards feature, which allows players to hold up the puck, as well as try to steal the puck against the boards. New Post-Whistle Action provides more realism in the game; you can still complete your skate, shoot at goal or even start a fight after the whistle has gone. Speaking of fighting, NHL has taken a page out of Fight Night 4 by introducing a first person punch-up, using the right stick as a hit stick. Thankfully, they’ve also made

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

A

it easier to initiate fights, so that you can get straight into it when playing against your mates.

I am thoroughly impressed with NHL’s Be A Pro Mode, which is now a feature of most of EA Sports’ various franchises. NHL10 takes it one step further by having intro videos from your player’s perspective, and when your player gets subbed or put in the “sin bin”, you actually watch the game from the sidelines.

While SA gamers may not have had much exposure to the real game, NHL delivers the kind of action most want to see in a game: blistering pace; big defensive hits; intricacy in game-play and manoeuvring players; stunning graphics in the opening and closing scenes, as well as in game; and plenty of game modes to keep you interested for hours and hours. NHL is also a perfect game for multi-player sessions, supporting up to 7 players. Featuring vastly improved player and goalie intelligence, as well as fighting and new intimidation tactics (which really capture the nature of a very aggressive game), NHL 10 is one of my favourite “pick up and play” games. g

With over two hundred gameplay refinements, NHL 10 delivers a new level of toughness and aggression to sports fans. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

53

gamecca • review

Brutal Legend

Get Metal!

Go on the road with Jack Black

J

by Jimmy Glue

ack Black is one-half of the awesome rocking duo it’s clear that Brutal Legend will be a very exciting game Tenacious D, so it’s actually no surprise that Black indeed, and that the player will be in for a wild ride. is starring as the main character in Electronic Arts’ Speaking of fighting, the player will have limited (but cool) Brutal Legend. weapons at their disposal, each with different strengths The game has garnered an almost cult-like following and weaknesses. The main weapon of choice is the battle even before its release, and with good reason. Before the axe, but no rocker is complete without a Flying V guitar that game dynamics and internal workings are fleshed out, it shoots out bolts of lightning. To get around has to be noted that the title brandishes one of the best the open-world a bit faster, the player can soundtracks in gaming history. summon The Deuce, aka The Druid Plow, a Brutal Legend proudly assaults the player with over a 108 hotrod which can also be used as a rather heavy metal songs from 75 different bands, and includes effective weapon. headbang-inducing tracks like Children of the Grave by Throughout the open-world, the player will Black Sabbath, Her Ghost in the Fog

by Cradle of Filth, Stigmata by Ministry and the all-time gaming classic Through the Fire and Flames from Dragonforce.

And the butt-kicking soundtrack creates the right atmosphere for some serious virtual decapitations, which there will be plenty of. The player assumes the role of Eddie Riggs, a professional roadie with a cursed belt buckle.

During a freak accident at a rock show, the stage collapses and crushes Eddie. Blood drips from his hand onto his belt buckle, which is actually an amulet for the mythical rock-god Ormagöden, and transports him to a weird and wonderful world where metal is the currency, and butt-kicking the change.

After a short tutorial, Riggs meets up with his first contact, and together they have to slay there way to safety. From the first, short fighting sequences, i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9 54

gamecca • review

the hat to Lars Ulrich from Metallica, upon closer inspection also have to unlock, or raise, several special buildings Lars resembles Dave Mustaine from Megadeth. The that will grant the player the opportunity to upgrade their reason why that’s so significant is that Mustaine and Ulrich weapons and The Deuce. have a notoriously rocky relationship, and combining them Besides the traditional hack-and-slash, Riggs can also into one character was just too hilarious to pass up. summon some special attacks with his guitar, such as the The controls of Brutal Legend are fairly simple to Facemelter, by pressing a rhythm based button sequence understand, with one button for each action, which can be similar to that of Guitar Hero or Rock Band. combined for deadly combos.

Parents who are concerned The camera is free to be about the amount of profanity “Brutal Legend proudly and violence in the thirdassaults the player with over changed by the player, which makes for easy navigation and person action adventure need a 108 heavy metal songs on-map location. not worry, as Riggs checks from 75 different bands” Graphically, the title might with the player during the seem to be a bit dated, but it opening sequence if they truly works. From the highly-detailed world to the smaller would like to hear the naughty words and see the virtual details on each character, it’s enough to convince the blood, or turn them off completely. player that a lot of hard work has gone into developing it.

While fighting off foes, the player will notice many The only small problem that players might encounter, similarities between the game’s characters and real-life rockers. Needless to say, Eddie Riggs does resemble Jack will happen during the boss fights. Throughout the entire Black, but that’s only the beginning. Lemmy Kilmeister from game, the player is told what to do and ushered in the right direction, but during the boss fights ...there’s nothing. The Motorhead, Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Halford from Judas player will only have a vague idea of what to do, so it might Priest all make an appearance. Tim Curry also voices a take a couple of tries and a combination of weapons to rather menacing demon.

Genre: Action actually slay the beasts.

One character that Platforms: X360, PS3 Dev: Double Fine The non-existence of directions aside, Brutal Legend is took some thinking was Pub: Electronic Arts definitely one of the most fun heavy metal-themed games Ironheade’s Lars. Although Age Rating: 18 to be released this side of 2010. And even when you one might think it’s a tip of Advisory: V / L finished it, you can still go back to complete the remaining secondary objectives. Or you can take on your friends in a Reviewer’s Rating: loose strategy-style multiplayer game.

Hardcore < > Casual Re-match with heavy metal. Awesome. g

B

With a rocking metal soundtrack and a trusty double-sided axe, Brutal Legend is tons of fun... if you’re not a metal fan, you probably will be after playing it. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Borderlands

Got Gun, Will Travel Borderlands promises a very unique experience

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by Walt Pretorius

and tons of adventure, and is a wonderfully aunching a new IP is always something of a realised backdrop for Borderlands. The sci-fi daunting prospect for video game publishers.

Wild West feel of the game carries throughout, If the game isn’t well received, it’s back to the from the voice acting and often-stirring drawing board, possibly even with a financial loss music score right through to the characters, stinging an already bruised set of egos. But when the new situations and weapons.

IP is good… well, it’s potentially the start of a franchise. All And weapons are, to a large degree, what the popular games were new IPs once upon a time, after Borderlands is about. One of the game’s main all. selling points is that it features a randomised Borderlands is a new IP from publishers 2K, developed weapon generation system. In other words,

by Gearbox (who made their name with the Brothers in according to certain guidelines, the weapons Arms franchise.) The game places the player in the role of a treasure hunter, seeking a are generated randomly. This “This is the kind means that the game features a massive mysterious alien Vault on the planet variety of weapons. Some fire explosive Pandora. Pandora is a ramshackle, of game that will, undoubtedly, spawn rounds, some fire very fast, some have dusty place, full of pioneer types who seem to have been selected to a long and exciting faster reload speeds… or any combination of a wide number of similar traits. Finding populate the planet based on their franchise ” a unique gun is easy in this game. Finding degree of inbreeding and general the perfect gun is a little more difficult, and I would have trailer-trash rating. It is a place populated by hill-billies and liked to see a system of collecting parts and building my full of rusted metal, poorly maintained buildings and rusted own weapons. That would probably have over-complicated metal. It is also a place full of nasty wildlife, brutal bandits matters, though, and the random nature of the guns adds an exciting aspect to finding one dropped by a downed enemy. Not only are there a lot of different modifiers for guns, but a wide variety of gun types as well – from revolvers to rocket launchers.

This variety goes into other equipment as well.

Shield systems, grenade modifiers and character class modifiers have the same approach, meaning that customising the experience is fairly easy and enjoyable – provided the player is lucky enough to get the kind of weapons and equipment that they want.

As impressive as the wide array of weapons is the presentation of the game. Rumour has it that the early graphic style of the game was dropped i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9 56

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when designers came up with a more unique look for the title. It feels almost hand drawn, a nice progression from the ideas of cell-shading graphics. The looks are stylised but clear, and fit the overall feel of the title perfectly.

The sound delivers, too, particularly in terms of music.

Some scenes are made that much more tense through the use of well-composed atmospheric musical score.

The controls are also solid, although the analoguestick based driving controls do take a little getting used to – yes, there are vehicles to help the player traverse the large setting. The world presented to the player is broken down into bite sized chunks, which means that Borderlands features a little more loading than is desirable. The game doesn’t feature difficulty levels, but rather rates missions according to the player’s levelbased progress through the game. While this system works, it does make the title a little less accessible than some other shooters out there.

With four very different character classes to choose from, the game offers a lot of replay value. There is a hell of a lot to do in the game G e n r e : F i r s t P e r s o n S h o o t e r in single player Platforms: X360, PS3, PC mode alone (even D ev : G e a r b ox if it’s just hunting Pub: 2K for the perfect Age Rating: 18 weapon or character Advisory: V / L

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

A+

modification). The wide variety of weapons and other tools at the player’s disposal means that each play-through of the estimated sixty-hour single player campaign will be different. And to add just a little more value, the game offers both co-operative and competitive multiplayer game modes.

So while launching a new IP may be daunting, launching one of this calibre is almost a no-brainer. This is the kind of game that will, undoubtedly, spawn a long and exciting franchise and I, for one, am already excited about what the next instalment of Borderlands might hold. This is a massive game with huge amounts of potential and variety built in. g

A massive landscape, multiplayer game modes, a lot of customisation and an almost infinite selection of guns - plus the fact that it’s just plain awesome - means that players will spend a long time with this one i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

NBA 2K10

Slam Dunk!

Tons of realistic ball-bouncing action...

A

by Jimmy Glue

merican sports don’t have a huge following in South Africa, but one of the more successful titles has to be the NBA franchise. It’s a rather niche market here, but distributors Megarom nonetheless supply avid NBA fans with 2K’s recently released NBA 2K10.

The game features all the regular season teams, such as New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets, while the Eastern and Western Conference teams are also included. The player will be able to play with any team they wish, either in Quick Play or in Tournament.

2K introduced the NBA 2K10 Draft Combine for players on Xbox LIVE and Playstation Network, which allows virtual athletes to create a player from scratch, and insert them into several pre-NBA draft drills. From here, the player will have to perform at the top of their game in order to be chosen for the NBA. In a similar mode, players will also be able to create their own player in the My Player mode. The objective is to train your athlete as hard as possible, in order to be invited to the NBA training camp.

While playing in this mode, it might be difficult to understand what is going on, as not much is communicated to the player in terms of strategy, positions and roles. It’s Genre: Sports P l a t f o r m s : X 3 6 0 , P S 3 , P C , Wi i , P S 2 , P S P D ev : Vi s u a l C o n c e p t s Pub: 2K Age Rating: None Advisory: None

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almost like the player is left to their own devices, and needs to figure out by themselves that they actually need to mark their man with the blue circle underneath him.

After each match, the player will be given a rating and if the desired C or higher isn’t achieved, the coach will rather bluntly tell the player how badly they played. It’s a tedious process, but fans of the official NBA will find this very exciting.

NBA 2K10 also hosts new signature moves, player styles, tendencies, dribble packages, dunk packages, facial expressions and team rituals, all which will make the player feel a part of the courtside action. A new stamina system makes it easier for the player to see how much running power is left in a particular athlete, and how much time will be needed to regain his strength.

The graphics aren’t worse than any sports game has to offer, but they could have been slightly better. On many occasions a NBA player will appear to be of a certain ethnicity, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be the opposite. On the other hand, the NBA stars’ expressions and body language have been faithfully recreated to lend an aspect of authenticity to the title.

2K decided to stick with their new menu system for this title as well, and just as in NHL 2K10, it’s horrible. Many other publications have praised 2K for the new menus, but they simply don’t work. Even if the player is familiar with 2K’s style, it will still require a fair amount of digging before the right setting is found.

The sound of NBA 2K10 is all-immersive, and the crowd

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responses make the experience just so much better, but sadly the control scheme leaves much to be desired. The buttons are fairly easy to get a handle on, but the athletes are far too often too busy to notice the ‘pass’ button being pressed.

Although the control scheme boasts an impressive amount of moves, attacks and defences, the player will most certainly never use all of them as, frankly, there isn’t enough time between baskets to think about smart moves or fancy tricks.

Besides for the menu issue and the small problem with the unresponsive team mates, 2K’s NBA 2K10 is worth the money for a true NBA fan. The graphics are decent, the sound is incredible and the controls are easy to understand, which covers all the fundamental basis of any sports games.

Now, if we could only get to understanding the sport, it would help a lot. g

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

B

NBA 2K10 is a decent game for all the NBA fans, but you should rather stay away if you don’t know the difference between an alley-oop and a slamdunk. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Bad Company Drake returns in a splendid offering

by Matthew Vice

S

ince the days of the CD ROM and the multimedia PC, game designers and journalists alike have been waxing lyrical about how videogames and movies are quickly becoming one and the same medium. But no matter how much clever direction and seamless transition between cinematic scenes and play a game featured, the claim didn’t seem to have any real justification – until now, that is.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the eagerly-awaited sequel to one of the PS3’s biggest exclusive titles, has just arrived and it’s been impressing gamers around the world with its incredible graphics and big budget action movie story.

The original Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was easily the PS3’s trump card during the machine’s uncertain first year.

Uncharted went a long way towards reassuring early PS3 owners that they’d made a solid purchase and probably influenced the decision of many potential system buyers. It likely also helped that the developer, Naughty Dog, claimed that to create the graphically-amazing Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, they’d only used around 30% of the PS3’s total power. At the time it seemed hard to believe that they could squeeze around 60% more graphical goodness out of the machine when Uncharted already looked so good.

However, when you slip in the disc and start up the sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, it all becomes a lot easier to swallow. Not only is Uncharted 2 a huge graphical improvement over the first game, but everything else has been cranked up a few notches too. The movielike cinematics that weave seamlessly around

the game-play have been expertly directed and acted by a crew of superb voice actors, lead by Nolan North, a fast-rising videogame voice artist, in the lead role of Nathan Drake.

All of the characters are realised with strong performances full of good humour and some of the funniest quips you’re likely to hear in a video game. The story moves along at a compelling pace, and you’ll want to keep on playing just to see what happens next.

When you’ve picked your jaw up off the floor after watching the opening cinematics and finally get around to playing the game, it quickly becomes apparent that Naughty Dog have gone out of their way to spice up the previously quite linear game-play. Instead of starting out with a gun in his hands and a wall of enemies to shoot, the very first thing Drake must do is climb to safety from a train car which is dangling inexplicably from

Genre: Action Platforms: PS3 Dev: Naughty Dog P u b : S o ny C o m p u t e r E n t e r t a i n m e n t Age Rating: 16 Advisory: v

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a cliff in a snowy mountain. He’s also badly wounded, which slows him down and makes climbing difficult. How did Drake end up in this situation? Well, that’s for us to find out. During this climb and escape from death, the action cuts to back-story-revealing sections of gameplay and cinematics revealing more and more nuggets of information about how Drake ended up in his current predicament.

Like last time, Uncharted 2 is predominantly a thirdperson shooter, a very slick, smooth and satisfying third-person shooter. Drake usually starts out each section with a basic handgun, or sometimes no weapon at all, but he can freely pick up and use weapons and ammo dropped by enemies. The lineup of weapons is even more extensive this time round, and there are a plethora of different handguns, rifles, SMGs, machine guns, shotguns and even some more exotic weapons, like crossbows, for players to find and use. Drake is also more competent in hand-to-hand combat this time round, and he has an arsenal of Splinter Cell-style stealth moves to take down enemies quietly if players want to try and avoid starting huge fire fights prematurely. And speaking of fire fights, the sheer scale of the gun battles Drake engages in this time make the battles in Uncharted 1 look like training missions. The exploration and puzzle solving elements are a bit more prominent in Uncharted 2, and the sections where Drake must navigate hazards and

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

A+

solve puzzles occur much more frequently.

Uncharted 2’s controls are so slick and intuitive, and the weapon list so extensive that Naughty Dog felt it would be a crime not to include a multiplayer mode this time round.

So if you fancy trying out your headshot skills on human opponents, you can head online and engage in ten player battles in a variety of competitive multiplayer modes.

With it’s amazing graphics, enthralling story, smooth game-play and likeable characters, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is quite possibly the best PS3 game of the year and a definite must-buy for almost every PS3 owner out there. g

Uncharted 2 delivers on all fronts and is a must-have for almost every PS3 owner. Super graphics, a great story and brilliant game-play await. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Dead Space Extraction

Slice ‘n’ Dice Chopping up the competition is what this one is all about

M

by Brian Murdoch

use of a particular alien rock. One group wants to ‘mine’ ost stories have two sides but, when there the rock, while another believes it holds a deep religious are horrific events and horrible monsters significance. These Unitologists believe that the rock is a involved, sometimes they have more marker, and is responsible for the presence of evil on the dimensions than normal. Thus far the Dead Space franchise has enjoyed two sides – the original game, planet in question. They believe that the rock drives people to kill one another in a search for some form of twisted released for Xbox 360 and PS3, and a movie based on the transcendence. The resulting corpses are turned into franchise – but the Wii-exclusive Dead Space Extraction Necromorphs. adds a third side to the twisted tale… and even a fourth.

This game is not a late port to the Wii platform – rather, For those that don’t know much about Dead Space as a franchise, here is a little illumination: this deep space horror it is an expansion of this increasingly rich mythology.

Additionally, it is a true horror in the way that it gets almost sci-fi series, on the surface, presents itself as a survival horror, with the player flippant with characters. In many “Like the bad guys in the horror games, the player knows battling horrific creatures other version of the game, (on some level, at least) that their called Necromorphs. the player needs to cut these character will survive. That’s not However, delving deeper dudes to pieces, removing the case here. Main characters into the story (which die in Extraction, and the player Extraction allows one their arms and legs to will, as a result, play several to do) reveals that two slow them down before characters through the factions are divided administering the final blow” different course of the tale. This adds to around the origins and the uncertainty of the title, and definitely amps the horror of the game up a few notches.

While the developers claimed that Dead Space Extraction would be a ‘guided’ first person shooter, their execution of this idea – which basically breaks down to the player being granted camera controls every now and then – didn’t really work out too well. In the end, this is an ‘on-the-rails’ shooter, for the most part. However the problems that come from this kind of game – notably aiming issues resulting from forced character G e n r e : S u r v i va l H o r ro r movement P l a t f o r m s : Wi i Dev: EA Games – have been Pub: Electronic Arts lessened by a smart approach A g e R a t i n g : 1 8 Advisory: V / L to the game i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9 62

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architecture. So while it might be ‘on-the-rails’, they’re nice, high quality rails…

Another difference between ‘standard’ survival horror games and Dead Space Extraction comes in the form of the enemies that the player has to take on. Most games that use some kind of undead – generally of the zombie persuasion – allow the player to brutally punish these nearly-unstoppable foes with a lot of firepower. But body and head shot administered to the Necromorphs are going to do little to stop them. Like the bad guys in the other version of the game, the player needs to cut these dudes to pieces, removing their arms and legs to slow them down before administering the final blow. Legs are a good option for initial attacks – a Necromorph that has lost an arm will attack with a very vicious, speedy attack, but one that has lost a leg is pretty much useless.

The Necromorphs are fast and super-nasty opponents, and to this end the player is provided with a variety of weapons with which to dismember them. Other collectable and unlockable items can be found in the various levels of

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

B

the game, including six cartoon style set-pieces that help elaborate on the game’s deep and rich story-line.

There’s more to do in the game than just dismember undead monsters. There are numerous puzzles and challenges that await the player, with entertaining dynamics to keep the player intrigued.

The single player game is supported by an entertaining multiplayer co-operative mode.

Getting down to it, Dead Space Extraction is a fine example of what a Wii based ‘on-the-rails’ shooter could and should be. Electronic Arts have outdone themselves with this new title, which is a valuable and exciting addition to their new horror franchise. g

This satisfying on-the-rails shooter uses the Wii controls perfectly, and creates a great sense of dread in the player.

The age restriction is well deserved! i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

The King of Fighters XII

Dethroned The King has lost his crown

I

by Matthew Vice

could go into this review in my usual way, starting with how 2D fighters declined quickly in popularity in SA after the early Mortal Kombat era, but everyone probably knows that already. It is for this reason that most gamers here probably won’t be familiar with the King of Fighters series beyond having seen it mentioned in games magazines or online. This is a real pity, because KOF was one of the most iconic and innovative series of 2D fighters available, having competed with Capcom’s Street Fighter series for the better part of a decade.

Unlike Capcom however, KOF’s developer, SNK Playmore, didn’t have a string of other game franchises to fall back on, and there was a brief time around 2000

64

that they almost disappeared completely. Somehow they survived and continued to release King of Fighters games with their tried and trusted graphical style until round about 2006. After a few years they appeared again with an announcement: The King of Fighters XII, the first game in the series to feature full HD widescreen graphics.

The upgrade from SNK’s old Neo Geo, 320x200 resolution hardware meant that the old graphics and animations had to be completely discarded. All of The King of Fighters XII’s graphics have been hand-animated from scratch. That’s right, no fake 2D or cell-shading here, KOFXII features authentic, hand-drawn 2D graphics, and it is beautiful. Not only do the characters look great, but

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they’ve also been incredibly smoothly animated, on par with Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves, I’d say. Some of the characters have also been completely redesigned from scratch. Iori, one of the most popular characters in the series, has had his red and black ensemble completely replaced with a new black and white one. He also sports an entirely new set of moves. The same goes for Kensou, who now actually wears Chinese clothes and sports a set of moves which look a lot more like the Chinese martial arts he was supposed to have practiced all these years. Leona has also received a cool new outfit, but her move-set is the same old one we’ve come to know and love over the years.

OK, so it looks great, but surely there must be a downside, right? Well... yes, there is. More than one actually. For starters the roster features only twenty selectable characters, which make it the smallest character roster ever in a King of Fighters game. This is a mild disappointment when you consider that, in their later years, KOF games started to feature rosters well in excess of thirty characters. But we still have twenty of our favourite characters with all their moves intact, right?

Wrong. Another slight let-down is Genre: Fighting Platforms: X360, PS3 the fact that, of the D ev : S N K P l ay m o r e characters featured Pub: Ignition Entertainment in the game, a lot Age Rating: 12 of them are missing Advisory: V

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

D

half of their special moves. Ralph and Clarke, for instance, have only three special moves each. And Mature, the console exclusive character, has only one of her special moves with her! ONE! She used to have around eight special moves before – I couldn’t believe it. Still, a few characters, like Kyo, Ryo, Robert and Leona seem to have made it into the game with most of their iconic moves still intact.

OK, so that aside, how does it play? Rather well, I must admit. Despite the severe lack of characters and moves, the game plays solidly. The old 3-on-3 battle system still applies, although the ability to switch characters midstream a-la KOF 2003 is gone. Now all a player’s characters must be defeated in order, just like the good old days. It feels a little different to the old KOF games, weightier and with a higher focus on combos created from counter-hits. Some odd new facets have crept in too, like the ability to stop an opponent’s projectile move by punching or kicking the projectile – some which was a very, very bad idea before.

Another interesting new addition is the Critical Counter system, which allows players to unleash a wild flurry of moves similar to the old Custom Combo system in Street Fighter Alpha 2.

Recommending The King of Fighters XII is difficult. Only hardcore KOF lovers are likely to see enough good points in this game to warrant a purchase. We’re all glad that KOF is still going and has finally made the jump to modern hardware, but it needs to do better than this. The biggest problem of all is that it feels like a superb game that’s half made, so let’s hope the next one feels more complete. g

The King of Fighters looks more like the Newborn Princess of Fighters with this outing. It lacks much of what made the previous games such enjoyable cult classics. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

DJ Hero

Virtual Vinyl Spin the decks in this new take on music-rhythm games

T

he Guitar Hero franchise proved a great many people wrong. Initial reactions to the idea, particularly in the music industry, were decidedly cool. However, the franchise managed to prove that it was a viable idea to all those that doubted it. Now, in a bold new move, Activision are expanding the franchise to encompass more music genres. This expansion comes in the form of Band Hero, as well as the highly anticipated DJ Hero.

While Band Hero will look and feel a lot like Guitar Hero, thanks to the use of similar peripherals and concepts, DJ Hero is a complete departure from what has been seen before, both in terms of the style the game takes on and the peripheral needed to play it.

Right out of the box, it is obvious that DJ Hero is something rather different. The peripheral that ships with the game is unlike any ever seen for any other game

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by Walt Pretorius (much like what was said about the now-iconic Guitar Hero guitars). It is a virtual turntable, complete with a rotating plate, mix slider and other control inputs. The plate features three buttons, and can be rotated freely. Above the slider is a dial, as well as a large button that is used to activate DJ Hero’s version of Star Power, called Euphoria.

In a style similar to Guitar Hero, the player is presented with a track that runs towards them.

And, like the franchise originator, the player needs to perform actions with the custom peripheral which are dictated by this track.

That, more or less, is where the similarity ends.

Genre: Rhythm The most P l a t f o r m s : X 3 6 0 , P S 3 , Wi i , P S 2 notable change D e v : F r e e S t y l e G a m e s Pub: Activision is that the Age Rating: 12 player’s right Advisory: L

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products. To complement the great sound, the game hand (for right handed players, of course) will now be the shows off some very nice graphics (although the player more active one. The right hand is used to press the three will likely be too busy watching the track to notice the buttons as they come up on the guide track on screen, as sexy virtual dancers shaking their bums on screen.) The well as to ‘scratch’ the rotating plate back and forth when the game calls for it. The plate can also be spun backwards game captures the look and feel of the culture it emulates wonderfully. for a ‘rewind’, which takes the music back a few seconds A question does arise, though, and allows the player to and one that is rather valid; will replay certain sections of the “DJ Hero is a very entertaining and worthwhile DJ Hero meet the same success mix in question. that Guitar Hero did? The Guitar The left hand handles the game, and one that will Hero concept is very firmly mix slider, as well as the become a ‘console seller’” entrenched in the hearts and Euphoria button and the minds of gamers the world over, and has enjoyed a lot of rotating knob next to it. exposure through various media (it was even a big thing in Each song is a ‘vs mix’, featuring two songs mixed the second season of Californication.) Will DJ Hero achieve expertly together. The complexity of what the player needs to do is determined by the chosen difficulty setting. At lower the same status?

It’s hard to say. DJ Hero speaks to a very different settings, the player will be using the right hand controls market than Guitar Hero, although rhythm game junkies almost exclusively, while more difficult games require use will probably want to play it regardless of genre and theme. of the mix slider and even scratching in specific directions.

The ability to play a combination of one player on the decks The player can also add pre-chosen effects into the song, and another on guitar leads to an interesting mix, and adds and play with the song’s tonality via the rotating knob in appeal for the Guitar hero fan, but the game is a very new certain sections of each track. These make DJ Hero a bit more freeform and expressive than Guitar Hero, which only idea, on the whole, and speaks to a very different set of people. really allowed creativity through the limited application of In my opinion, DJ Hero is a very entertaining and the guitar peripheral’s whammy bar. worthwhile game, and one that will become a ‘console DJ hero features some excellent mixes, many of which seller’… in other words, it will become the kind of game may seem strange on paper but result in really great final that people will buy a console to play. This may result in a slower burn in terms of sales, but I firmly believe that Reviewer’s Rating: anyone giving the game a try will likely be won over by it’s Hardcore < > Casual charming presentation and addictive nature. g

B

DJ Hero is the hot new property from the Guitar Hero stable, and offers the player something completely different in terms of rhythm gaming. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition

Wasteland, Revisited The complete Fallout 3 experience in one package

W

by Matthew Vice

When Fallout 3 was released last year, equipment even further. You see, unlike other we all knew that it would receive a few free-form role-playing games, where there is expansions full of new content. The only usually only one way to complete every quest problem for us in SA is that we had to or mission, and the mission itself determines acquire these expansions online, which not everyone whether you’re good or bad, in Fallout 3 can do. Well, the good news is that Fallout 3: Game of almost every quest has multiple solutions, the Year Edition was released recently, and it includes and how you choose to handle it determines every downloadable expansion for Fallout 3 on the disc whether you’re good or bad. These choices directly affect in addition to the main game. While that does mean that your karma. Good actions, like helping people, charitable we essentially have to buy the main game again, it will acts, and killing evil characters will give you good karma. probably still be cheaper than downloading the expansions Bad actions, like stealing, pick-pocketing, and murder will for most of us. net you bad karma. The amount of good or bad karma you If you haven’t played Fallout before, well, you don’t accrue determines how other people in the wasteland will know what you’re missing. Fallout 3 is a completely freereact to you. If you become really good, some particularly form role-playing game set in a fictional, post-apocalyptic spiteful bad guys might try to kill you just for being a goodyAmerica. Players create a human character of any race two-shoes, but if you become really bad, those same and sex, choose what kind skills they’d like them to have, evildoers might actually try to recruit you. and then venture out into the smouldering wastelands of Scattered through the settlements, tunnels, decayed Washington DC to find fame, fortune and adventure. There cities and forts of the wasteland are plenty of useful items is a main quest to follow involving a new method of water to help players in their quests. Weapons and armour purification, but players are free to ignore it completely are two of the most common ones players will have to and wander around finding other things to do – and there are plenty of people in the wastes who need a hero, sucker, patsy or coconspirator to do some donkey work.

For example, there are a few ramshackle settlements scattered throughout the wasteland that are plagued by all kinds of problems, like malfunctioning equipment or attacks by raiders. You can choose to help these poor souls by saving them from the raiders and searching for the parts G e n r e : R o l e P l a y i n g they need to repair their broken Platforms: X360, PS3, PC Dev: Bethesda Softworks machinery, or – and this is where Fallout 3 really shines – you can be P u b : B e t h e s d a S o f t w o r k s the bad guy and help the raiders kill A g e R a t i n g : 1 8 Advisory: V / L the townspeople and sabotage their i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9 68

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familiarise themselves with. The weapons all fall into one of five categories, Big Guns, Small Guns, Unarmed, Melee and Energy Weapons. Raising the skill of a particular weapon class will increase the character’s skill with all weapons of that type, meaning increased accuracy and higher damage. A good suit of armour will help to ensure

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

A

that you can withstand more damage than you would otherwise. All of the other items in the game, from healing items like Stimpacks and Rad-away to junk like scrap metal, pressure cookers, and packs of cigarettes all have their own uses. Some players might just wish to sell them for loads of caps (money) while others might wish to hang onto the junk they find so that they can make their own inventions.

The five expansions included on the disc allow players to continue their adventures in the wasteland.

Broken Steel is the first expansion. It takes places directly after the end of the main quest and allows players to increase their level to 30 (previously the highest attainable level was 20). It also supplies a bunch of new and interesting Perks (sort of like permanent bonuses) to acquire. The other expansions, Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta also provide new quests, locations, items and characters to interact with.

You’d have to be very much lacking in imagination if you aren’t intrigued by this game, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a lot of time to spare, because to get the most out of it, you really need to sink months of play into exploring the wastes of Washington DC. g

Fallout 3 is definitely one of the most enthralling role playing games currently available, and this special edition contains everything ever released for it. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Realism... ... is not a matter of opinion

W

by Walt Pretorius

I wish they had just shut up about it instead. hen Codemasters got the hype machine See, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is, when all rolling for the next instalment of the is said and done, a passable Operation “It’s the kind of game war simulator, but it is far Flashpoint that will develop a rabid from being the best. Had the series, they really went to following, but will prove hype not been quite so huge town. Here, they told us, was the largest development it would have been better, but rather unpopular with the team the company had ever this is a case of a game that main stream.” looks worse because it was assembled, doing the most supposed to be much better than it is. Hype is a dangerous extensive R&D project ever undertaken by that interest. thing to play with, particularly when the developers cannot Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising was going to be the most realistic, best gosh-darned war-simulation ever made, live up to what the marketing department promises.

The first thing that strikes one about this game is that by golly. it looks really good. The overall presentation of menus and intro movies is slick, but as soon as the player starts getting into the game, chinks start appearing in the Kevlar. The first thing – and it is nauseatingly perpetual for the course of the whole game – comes from the animation applied to the player’s character. Sure, it’s a first person shooter, but it becomes obvious when the player starts moving about; the player’s weapon bobs about on the screen in a way that no trained soldier would allow. It looks like the guys is either desperate for the loo, or has one leg significantly shorter than the other. This deformed idea is supported by the most horrible voice imaginable having been used for the player’s vocal responses. One can’t help but think about the deformed guy turned down for duty

by Leonidas in the movie 300. And there is a gap i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9 70

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Genre: First Person Shooter Platforms: X360, PS3 Dev: Ego Pub: Codemasters Age Rating: 15 Advisory: V / L

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

C

(albeit a small one) between his hand and the gun…

The next issue comes into play when anyone tries to rely on the AI allies in single player mode. They’re thick, and behave more like unruly schoolboys that highlytrained military operatives. Although I didn’t see it myself, another writer working for Gamecca swears blind that one of his AI squad mates blew himself up by misplacing a grenade throw – the grenade rebounded off of a tree right in front of the hapless soldier and blew him to bits.

Most of the game’s issues are mitigated by the multiplayer game, which is not too bad at all. In truth, the game isn’t as bad as it sounds in the first few paragraphs. It’s a passable simulation that fans of the series will likely enjoy. It offers a wide array of authentic equipment, and makes use of all the right kind of jargon and tactical ideas. But the single player game is a bit of a let down. Likewise, the overall thing just doesn’t live up to what was promised. And no matter which mode you play it in, that damned bobbing gun is annoying.

This is one for hardcore enthusiasts, more than anything, and is a little better on PC than on console platforms. It’s the kind of game that will develop a rabid following, but will prove rather unpopular with the main stream. g

A complex control scheme and too many little irritating points mean that this game will never be more than a cult classic - it has little mainstream appeal. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Trine

Three’s a Crowd Awesome adventure in a

neat downloadable package

I

’m not a huge fan of quirky little downloadable games, like Geometry Wars on Xbox Live Arcade or Blast Factor on PSN. If I’m going to pay for and download a game, the quality of the game matters more to me than the size of the download. That’s why I happily download games like Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, despite their large size. After seeing screenshots of Trine, a recently released downloadable game on the PlayStation Network, I was intrigued.

Taking a chance, I downloaded it and found it to be just the kind of thing I like, a fully fleshed-out game that was fun to play, had great graphics, beautiful music and an

by Matthew Vice awesome sense of humour. The story for Trine is relatively simple. In a deserted kingdom, which has been overrun by armies of undead creatures, is the King’s abandoned treasure vault. Among the unfathomable wealth in this vault lies the Trine, a mythical artefact that has the power to bind men’s souls together. You can probably guess what happens next. Yep, three unwitting adventurers, a nimble thief, a cowardly wizard and stupid but noble knight, stumble upon this ancient artefact and end up magically bound to one another until such time as they can liberate the kingdom from the undead. This unfortunate twist of fate is made amusing by the fact that they don’t like each other one little bit, leading to some great banter between them during the story scenes.

At its heart, Trine is a puzzle game similar in many ways to the PC classic, The Lost Vikings. Each of the three characters has a set of unique abilities.

Players can switch between the three characters at will to find ways to navigate the enemy and hazardstrewn stages. The Thief is the most nimble of the lot, being able to jump the highest and furthest. She also Genre: Action Puzzler Platforms: PS3 D ev : Fro ze n by t e Pub: Nolibis Age Rating: 12 Advisory: V

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has a grappling hook which she can use to reach places the others cannot, and she can shoot enemies and certain other targets with her bow. The wizard is slow and not too nimble, but he can use his magic to manipulate items from a distance and create boxes which he can use for various purposes, like holding down switches or blocking projectile spitting traps. He’s not entirely helpless in combat though – creating a box some distance above an enemy’s head and letting it fall on them is an unorthodox method of killing them, but it’ll do in a pinch. The knight is the brute of the trio. He can hold his shield at various angles to protect himself from damage and he can plough through enemies and some breakable items with his sword.

The use of each character’s special abilities is governed by a magic energy bar, which sits just underneath their portrait, next to their health bar. Health and magic energy can be regained by finding health and magic potions, but those aren’t the only items up for grabs. There are also experience potions hidden in the stages, which are a good reason to explore. When a character collects enough experience potions, all three characters will level up, allowing players to upgrade their abilities by spending points. For instance, the wizard can earn the ability to create more than one box at a time, and the thief can earn the ability to shoot two or more arrows at once. There are also some special items, like rings and other accessories, hidden throughout the stages. These items come with

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

B+

typically RPG- like benefits, such as increasing the amount of magic energy your character can hold or reduce the amount of damage they take from fire.

Trine’s beautiful, orchestrated music and dreamlike fantasy visuals combine to create quite an enchanting experience. It’s hard to describe, but the atmosphere is not unlike the feeling we used to get when reading old fantasy storybooks as kids, a kind of innocent awe and joy at the mere sight of the appealing surroundings and the music which just suits the fantasy subject matter of the game perfectly. The voice acting sounds a bit hammed-up, but that might have been intentional, and it doesn’t make it any less amusing.

It’s easy to see why Trine took the European PlayStation Network by storm and became their top downloaded game for September despite showing up halfway through the month. It has wonderful graphics and beautiful music, but most of all, it’s just a heck of a lot of fun to play. g

A charming puzzles game with a good sense of humour and an enchanting atmosphere make Trine a welcome addition to the PlayStation Store. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

MySims Agents

Mission: Sim-Possible It’s all puzzle-solving and character building...

A

by Brian Murdoch

real MySims game again, at last. It just seems like forever since the last actual MySims title. I say this because while the models and voices were used in MySims Racing, there was no other MySims feel to the game. The last ‘real’ one was MySims Kingdom… now that was true to the franchise.

MySims Agents, as the newest in the MySims series, is a basic point-and-click adventure game.

Ever wanted to be in the FBI, or just investigate the truth behind a story? Maybe you’re just plan nosey! Bundle this with the cartoon goodness that comes with the MySims franchise and the language that no one really understands, and you have MySims Agents. The investigations are more like Scooby-doo than James Bond, though.

The game is all about the story; there is a main plot and

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requires the player to solve a big crime. This is not all done at once, of course, and the player will need to work their way up to the case… and that starts at working to become an agent. In the beginning there is a big jump, from casual ‘poke your nose in other people’s business’ to three cases later, when you own your very own agent head quarters.

The story is a good one and has interesting little twists in it.

The story is linear and does not offer much in replay value, but is long enough to be enjoyable.

There is a fair amount of reading to be done, so little ones may need the help of a parent. In the previous MySims titles, most conversations where just frills, but with Agents you’ll find yourself wanting to remember every word that the Sims said! After talking to the suspects you can sometimes be sent on the wrong lead and the truth is what

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you’ll need to find via a few incorrect assumptions.

Your great detection skills and hunches will be helped by three basic tools; a magnifying glass, crowbar, and wrench.

The magnifying glass helps find foot prints that often lead to more clues. The crowbar is use to open and, at times, bash objects to get information from them. Your wrench is used to fix or get spare part out of objects. These tools are automatically upgraded throughout the game The mini games are good and bad. When detective action is needed to get more information in the form of a computer hack or lock pick, completing these mini games are required to continue. Although you can replay any of this mini games from a video game console in the head quarters, you can’t change the difficulty… and they are not really very challenging.

The player will take their Sims on missions all the time, but as the leader of the head quarters, the player will recruit more agents (with a maximum of 12) to be dispatched on other missions.

You can’t do everything yourself, now can you?

Genre: Adventure Sending P l a t f o r m s : Wi i Dev: EA Games a team P u b : E l e c t r o n i c A r t s on these Age Rating: 3 missions Advisory: None

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

will require matching up skills required, to increase the opportunity of success for each mission. While the recruited agents are out, they will keep the player up-todate regarding their case. A successful mission will reward the player with new clothing, recruit options and new furniture.

There are no real penalties or drawbacks to failing and because of this there will not be a challenge for older players. So take your time to play and customise in true Sims style and enjoy this title for what it is – a MySims game. g

B

Yes, you too can be a secret agent, albeit a cute and cuddly one. And it’s not just solving puzzles - you’ll get to manage an agency, too... i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Hearts of Iron 3

Iron Will Here’s a game that

will take a lot of work...

by Jimmy Glue

I

consider myself a bit of a fundie when it comes to management-style games, as I have ploughed through hours and hours of games like The Sims, SimCity, Football Manager and even Microsoft Flight Simulator. Maybe Flight Sim isn’t a management game by the strictest definition, but you still have to manage the plane, which I like.

A considerable number of these games require the player’s undivided attention, with the occasional gap to take a quick coffee break. When I got handed a copy of Hearts Of Iron III, I snatched it with much glee, expecting to wage all-out World War II destruction. What I realised, soon after the installation finished, was that I couldn’t be further from the truth.

While the loading screen flash real-life war north , United States to the west, and, of course, Germany. images, accompanied with the war-time classic Ride Of A custom country, or campaign, can also be selected, The Valkyries, it soon becomes evident that the player will where the player can take control of virtually any country have the opportunity to change the course of history, or or territory that existed before 1933. Even South Africa is follow the chronological order of events. up for selection, with the old ZAR flag and British-colony A warning label should be stuck on the game’s box, troops. advising players not to expect a quick pickup-and-play title, Being a management game, everything is left up to the as it will take up vast chunks of the player’s time, energy player’s control. Economy, politics, technology, diplomacy and sanity. And by vast chunks we mean it and research, as well as troop management, G e n r e : M a n a g e m e n t are all expected to be handled by the player. could take as long as two weeks, of 6 hours Platforms: PC gaming a day, to finish a campaign.

It’s a rather daunting task, as war waits for D ev : Pa r a d ox In the beginning the player will be asked to no man. The game does have a nifty pause P u b : Pa r a d ox choose a number of historical campaigns, button, though, which comes in rather handy.

Age Rating: 7 ranging from Japan in the Pacific, Britain in the A d v i s o r y : N o n e The game’s interface is very intimidating,

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and if the player opted to skip the tutorial, tough times lie ahead. It’s not advised to skip the tutorial, but developers Paradox Interactive could have streamlined the process. They babble on about the war through a storytelling mechanism, something that gets very annoying after a while. They do give hints and tips on how to play the game, but should have left the ramblings for a later stage.

The tutorial is mainly text based, with the occasional snap to the screen for better clarification… but the number of spelling mistakes witnessed in the first four boxes is enough cause to close the tutorial and plod along on your own.

Playing as any nation, and in this example as Germany, warfare isn’t as easy as one might think.

To invade a country, like Poland, a whole host of conditions need to be met, and only under the correct circumstance will the AI allow you to do so. The game tries to be as accurate as possible, but if you want to invade a country just for the sake of it, it should let you…

And then leave you to deal with the consequences.

Invading and warfare aside, the menus and management elements is a whole different battle. The player will have the option to switch between user-controlled and AIcontrolled aspects at the click of a button, but it’s easier to let the AI handle Technology, Research, Politics and Resources, while the player takes control of the armed

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

C

forces and Diplomacy. Otherwise, there is just so much to handle, that a couple of aspects are bound to be neglected.

The graphics aren’t groundbreaking either, which makes the game look older than what it actually is. The unit representation is rather accurate, but that is probably where the niceties end. It’s great to see that Paradox has put so much effort into developing a WWII management game, but unfortunately their efforts just weren’t good enough.

It’s a tough game to play, even for hardened veterans of the genre, and Paradox could have done so much more to increase the beauty of the graphics, flow of action and overall access

To play Hearts Of Iron successfully, you will definitely need to have your wits about you, but once you get in the swing of things, it will be entertaining. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers

Have a Ball Buying virtual fads is probably cheaper than investing in the real thing...

T

by Walt Pretorius

One of the latest fads is Bakugan, a game played with he real beauty of fads is that they are completely, magnetic cards and weird balls that unfold into stylised utterly exploitable. Some fads haven’t been warriors. Just like Pokemon and Ben 10 before it, Bakugan exploited very heavily, but others have been has been given the video game treatment. milked for all they are worth. And to start such It might be pertinent to point out, at this time, that milking activities, all the creators of the fads need to do is reviewing a game aimed at a much younger market can appeal to kids. Just look at Pokemon. There was a time where you couldn’t look anywhere without seeing some be something of a challenge, because you need to apply kind of Pokemon paraphernalia somewhere, and the stuff yourself to the task in a slightly different way. Thankfully, I appear to have never actually grown up (just take a look is still selling to this day. Ben 10 is another prime example at the job that I do) so I found quite a lot I could relate to in of exploiting a fad – the exploitation is not of the product, Bakugan: Battle Brawlers. and not even of the product’s fans (because they’re kids) The game is fun, but rather of the fans’ parents. It’s an “The over-the-top action, but players should awesome business scheme – appeal bright graphics, easy game not expect any form to the kids, and the parents will buy dynamics and absolutely of extreme complexity the stuff to stop the kids whining. laughable plot will appeal to – at least not on the And these days, fads get video surface. The body of games. youngsters of all ages’” the game is made up of Bakugan battles, which take place on a virtual setup much like the arena used to play real Bakugan games. Naturally, being of Japanese origin, the game features a huge anime influence, and the games themselves are spectacularly imaginative, with the small ball-based creatures turning into massive brawling monsters.

The aim of the game is to win a best of three competition. Each round the players place two ‘gate cards’ which provide overall modifiers to the game. The players then throw out their Bakugan (a process which can be steered and controlled to a degree) with the aim of landing them on one of the i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9 78

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gate cards. That’s called a stand.

If both players get a stand, a brawl ensues. If one player misses the gate card, the other player can throw out a second Bakugan to attempt a double stand. A double stand is an instant win.

If the players each get a Bakugan on the gate card, they can further modify the action by playing cards to aide their specific Bakugan (on top of the global gate card modifiers.)

The fight itself will present the player with one of a number of mini-games that entail control waggling, target shooting and some other stuff. At the end of it, the player that has garnered the most power for their Bakugan (through modifications and mini-games) wins.

It’s pretty simple, all told. However, the game does offer quite a bit of depth, Genre: Action P l a t f o r m s : X 3 6 0 , P S 3 , W i i , P S 2 , D S in terms D ev : N ow P ro d u c t i o n of new Pub: Activision cards and Age Rating: 7 Bakugan Advisory: None

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

C+

that can be purchased, existing bakugan that can be improved, and a host of other things. The player can even change their character’s clothes and hair styles.

The over-the-top action, bright graphics, easy game dynamics and absolutely laughable plot will appeal to youngsters of all ages, and the more cerebral nature of this particular title (because the player needs to strategise and build the most effective ‘deck’) makes it a good one for the kids. And, realistically, buying them a virtual version of the latest fad will likely be cheaper than buying them the real thing… that was the case for me with Magic: The Gathering… g

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers is a surprisingly complex and fairly deep market aimed at all those kids screaming at their parents for inclusion in the latest collectible fad... i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • review

Crazy Machines Complete

Mad Science Making things work in the most difficult way possible

T

by Walt Pretorius

here is a certain amount of charm in playing older sausage fried. Putting it into a pan, though, would be too games, or games that are built around older much work. Rather, the player will get pulleys, cannons, technology. Retro gaming is a big thing, actually, balloons, bowling balls, elastic bands, candles, cranks, with many gamers partaking in the activity. Even engines and a host of other completely impractical more reminisce about the great games of yesterday (and in equipment. There won’t be a frying pan or stove in sight. this fast moving industry, yesterday IS retro). Right, time to Using these elements, the player will need to figure out change the train of thought entirely. how to achieve the desired end result. And they will be Reuben Lucius Goldberg, better known as Rube timed.

Goldberg, was born in 1883, and became a cartoonist, While Crazy Machines can prove to be a challenging satirist and inventor. He won the Pulitzer prize for his game, the truth is that it is pretty relaxed and rather political cartoons, but was perhaps better known for amusing. Yes, there is a timer, but that’s purely for ‘record’ something called ‘Rube Goldberg Machines.’ These purposes. If the player doesn’t finish the puzzle in the machines were fanciful inventions that entailed the most complex ways to perform every day tasks.

No, he didn’t build them – he drew them as cartoons. These machines became the inspiration for many elements in entertainment. The movie Mouse Trap was based on the concept, as were video games like The Incredible Machine and this one, Crazy Machines.

This particular release, Crazy Machines Complete, is a pack that contains the original game, as well as Crazy Machines 1.5… making it pretty good value for money for players who like their puzzle games to be something out of the ordinary.

In Crazy Machines, the player is tasked with making things happen… for example, getting a i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9 80

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prescribed time, they can still finish it and progress – their rewards just won’t be as great. And for those that don’t want the pressure, they can build their own free-form projects.

It may seem a little pointless to do that, but the end results can be very cool indeed (if you have the kind of mind that goes ‘I am pretty sure I can build a perpetual motion machine using this old gumboot…’)

The player shouldn’t expect much in terms of sound and graphics from this game. OK, the sound is pretty good (except for the annoying comments that the in-game professor passes a little too often.)

The graphics are straight, oldfashioned 2D affairs that, while clear and accurate, are not particularly awe-inspiring. The game dynamic is simple, too, with the whole thing controlled with just the mouse.

Genre: Puzzle Platforms: PC Some of the puzzles are really D e v : I v a M e d i a tough, requiring more than the Pub: Kalypso usual ‘out-the-box’ thinking that Age Rating: 3 A d v i s o r y : N o n e these games demand. It’s all based

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

C

on slightly spurious logic, in the end, and if an end result seems likely, no matter how ridiculous it is, that’s probably the best route to follow in solving a given puzzle. But this game is by no means hard-core. In fact, it is incredibly accessible in terms of dynamics… the puzzles may be tough, but playing Crazy Machines is not.

As long as the player doesn’t expect too much from this game, which has a very retro flavour, they will be fine.

There is a lot to do, and the game allows for a sort of virtual ‘invention-doodling’ which can be very satisfying, but it’s hardly a demanding title. g

Crazy Machines Complete is an uncomplicated and entertaining puzzle game that can result in quite a few laughs as the player puts together Rube Goldberg machines. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

81

gamecca • review

Gobliiins 4

Escapism Helping Goblins get out of a pickle

T

by Bryan Banfield

hose of you that have been gaming long enough to be able to remember the first three Gobliiins games might have the same reaction to this title as what I did. I was ecstatic. It has been 15 years since Gobliiins 3 was released. Some of the initial rumours were met with a large amount of initial doubt; “Are they

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really looking to release another Gobliiins title?”

The initial three titles were developed by Coktel Vision.

However, Gobliiins 4 is developed by Société Pollene and produced by a Russian company, Snowberry Connection, with series creator Pierre Gilhodes back at the helm.

For Gobliiins 4, we see the return of 3 clumsy, plucky,

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fun-loving Goblin friends, all dedicated to helping each other out. Tchoup, the detective, can pick up items and keep them in his pockets.

Perluis, the wizard, can bring things to life with magic, while Stucco the Viking possesses brute strength and no common-sense at all.

The story line involves helping King Balderone find his missing aardvark Riri. The traditional slap-stick, twisted humour is back, with antics, sound effect and mannerisms that keep you chuckling right the way through the story.

The game is broken into 15 stages, with a bonus 16th stage if you have successfully collected the golden teeth from some of the previous levels.

Visually Gobliiins 4 makes a huge jump forward from the previous 3 titles in that this iteration is built in a 3D environment, unlike the previous 2D Gobliiins titles.

The puzzles are sometimes frustratingly difficult.

However, if you take the opportunity to step inside the mind of a Goblin you will find Genre: Puzzle Platforms: PC it a touch easier.

Dev: Société Pollene Objects are hidden P u b : S n ow b e r r y C o n n e c t i o n inside anything and Age Rating: All everything and will Advisory:None

Reviewer’s Rating:

Hardcore < > Casual

C

have you pixel hunting in order to find the next item to assist you in completing a puzzle.

The combination of items and the process of solving the puzzles are relative to Goblins and require us to get on their page. As I said, you need to get into their heads. [quite difficult, I would imagine, seeing as how they’re not really… well, you know… real – ed] This fun filled title offers you some excellent laughs and fun antics. Even though there are 16 levels, you will be surprised how long it will take you to solve some of these well thought-out challenges g

A visually dated point-and-click, ‘escape the room’ adventure game, Gobliiins 4 is a great trip down gaming-memory lane for those who have played the previous titles. i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • beginner’s guide to good gaming

Cable Connector: Located between the bumpers, the cable connector allows a wireless controller to be connected to the Xbox 360 console via a cable.

Battery Housing: Situated underneath the controller (wireless controllers only) the battery housing holds 2 AA batteries.

Left Analogue Stick (LS): Primarily used for movement in games. Can be ‘clicked’ for additional functions.

Back / Start: Primarily menu control buttons, these are often used to access in-game menus. Start is also used by most games to initiate the programme.

A

s gamers, we often forget that many people out there don’t engage in our favourite hobby. We play games, many of our friends play games, and the Internet is crammed with people who voice their opinions about games. But, realistically speaking, the number of people who know little (or nothing) about video games and the associated industry is very large.

At Gamecca, we hold a few things dear: we like telling people about games, naturally, but we also feel a responsibility to educate people about games. Some of those people are concerned parents and care-givers, while others are folks who have an interest about gaming, but may find the whole prospect a little daunting. We have already introduced accessibility ratings for games, which are designed to let people know how ‘hard-core’ those games might be. We have introduced age restrictions and content advisories in our reviews, so that concerned people can (at a glance) see who games are appropriate for. And now we are introducing the Beginners Guide to Good Gaming, a new section that will educate readers who may be interested in gaming, but don’t know too much about the activity, industry or culture of video gaming.

This section will cover a wide variety of topics. At times we will look at basic hardware ideas (like this month) while at others we will investigate gaming genres and provide guidance in approaching the hobby and the industry. We will even be running a gamer’s lexicon, to explain some of the terms that form part of video gaming culture.

We hope that you, or someone you know, will find this section useful... because, in the end, our primary goal is to promote good, healthy and enjoyable video gaming. g

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Analogue Analogue functionality allows the user to make use of degrees of movement or pressure. This means that the effect of the particular input on the game can be varied... the difference between walking or running, for example, or the difference between slowly accelerating or going all out in a racing game.

gamecca • beginner’s guide to good gaming

Gaming Anatomy 101: The Xbox 360 Controller Bumpers (LB / RB): Often used as modifiers, these are non-analogue buttons.

D-Pad: Can be used for movement, but is not an analogue input.

Primarily used for menu navigation or quick selection functions.

XBOX Button: Large silver button allows the user to see if the controller is powered or not. Can be pressed to access Xbox menus. The illuminated ring around it will indicate which of the four player slots the controller is assigned to.

Headset Jack: To allow use of Xbox 360 headset (mainly for voice communication during multiplayer games).

Triggers (LT / RT): Situated below the bumpers, these analogue triggers are often used for weapon-based functions, or for acceleration and braking in racing games.

Right Analogue Stick (RS): Primarily used for ‘camera’ or viewpoint control. Can be ‘clicked’ for additional functions.

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Face Buttons (Y / X / A / B): Coloured, non-analogue buttons used for primary game functions. Often used in combination with each other, or triggers and bumpers.

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gamecca • beginner’s guide to good gaming

Lexicon: Casual Gamer: A video game player who plays occasionally.

Hard-core Gamer: A video game player who borders on obsessive behaviour. This kind of player will game at every given opportunity.

Multiplayer Game: A game in which more than one human opponent is taking part.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): The ‘thinking’ part of a video game, the AI will control elements like NPC reactions and action.

Non-Player Character (NPC): Characters in a game that are not controlled by players. These are generally enemies.

LAN Game: A game played over a local area network - in other words, a game played on a network rather than online.

Genre Check: FPS

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irst Person Shooters are one of the most popular genres of video game, particularly among hard-core gamers.

The term First Person Shooter refers to the fact that the games are generally action oriented, and always show the action from a first person perspective. In other words, the player sees through the eyes of the character that they control.

The easiest way to identify a First Person Shooter, or FPS, is by looking for the weapon in the game, which is prominently featured onscreen, and appears to extend from the player’s viewpoint.

The original First Person Shooter was Castle Wolfenstein, a 2D game manipulated to have the appearance of a 3D environment. These days, First Person Shooters are all set in true 3D environments.

Most First Person Shooters will allow the player to improve their in-game character by aquiring better equipment, although there are some (like 2K’s Borderlands) which also allow skill advancement through gaining experience by defeating enemies.

First Person Shooters are a very popular multiplayer genre, allowing players to test their skills against each other in a wide variety of settings, either online or in LAN game set-ups.

Many professional cyber-athletes specialise in First Person Shooters.

First Person Shooters are also characterised by a heavy dependence on a strong AI, which will govern the reactions and actions of the NPC opponents the player faces.

Most First Person Shooters carry a higher age restriction, due to their generally violent content. g

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Far Cry 2

Borderlands

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gamecca • beginner’s guide to good gaming

Good Guidance

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here are numerous organisations around the world that provide parental advisories for video games. In South Africa, the Film and Publications Board (FPB) fulfils the role, but their ratings are often not very prominently displayed on the game’s packaging. In fact, many times the rating is fixed to the packaging by way of an adhesive sticker on the outside of the game’s cellophane wrapping, which gets discarded as soon as the game is opened.

Because of this, parents need another reliable way to check whether a game is suitable for their children... and that comes in the form of the PEGI rating system.

PEGI stands for Pan European Game Information, and is a system that is applied across Europe. What makes it valuable to parents in South Africa is that fact that, because most of the games sold in South Africa come via Europe, the PEGI ratings are prominently displayed on game packaging. And, because they are printed on the packaging itself, they are never lost or discarded.

PEGI was started in 2003, and has grown to represent 30 countries for parental advisories for video games. The age rating system used by PEGI was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe and will, at a glance, indicate to parents what age group the game is appropriate for, as well as an overview of potentially disagreeable content. The content is described by symbols printed along with the rating on the back of the game packaging, while the age rating is repeated on the front.

The PEGI system advises parents when a game contains violence, bad language, sexual themes, drug abuse, discrimination, gambling and horror elements.

It is important to remember that every child is different, and parental involvement in the child’s video gaming is advised. It is also important to remember that what were

once just blocks on a screen, accompanied by abstract noises, have become fully fledged virtual environments with powerful messages and potentially strong influences on people. While no evidence exists that video games can lead to aberrant behaviour, there is also no evidence stating that the games have no effect on whoever plays them. Responsible gaming falls to the game player, or (more importantly) to the parents of that game player (should the player be younger.) The attitude of ‘oh, they’re just TV games’ is one that has long since lost any relevance.

For more information on PEGI, head over to their website at www.pegi.info... and help keep gaming responsible, safe and enjoyable for everyone involved. g

Sound Advice: The following pointers are given by PEGI to parents as the most basic level of parental involvment.

• Always look for the age classification on the package of a game or via the search engine on this website.

• Try to look for a summary or review of the game content or ideally play the game yourself first.

• Play video games with your children, watch over them when they play and talk about it. Explain why certain games are not suitable.

• Be aware that online games sometimes enable the download of extra software that can alter the game content and eventually the age classification of the game.

• Online games are usually played in virtual communities requiring players to interact with unknown fellow players.

Tell your children not to give out personal details and report inappropriate behaviour.

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gamecca â&#x20AC;˘ hardware

Logitech G19 Keyboard

Shiny...

Quiet keys and tons of functionality

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estern Digital is not a newcomer to the hardware market, and their hard-drives show their experience. As the need for faster, more powerful hardware has increased, this veteran company has answered every challenge with devices that are solid and reliable.

Anyone who has spent time gaming on PC - particularly competitively - will know the necessity of having a really good keyboard. But these devices are often treated as afterthoughts when putting a PC together.

The Logitech series of gaming keyboards is a great option for anyone who wants to keep their playing at a high level. These devices are specifically built with gamers in mind.

The Logitech G19 gaming keyboard features everything a gamer could want. Aside from the comfotable design and low key-stroke noise, the keyboard offers a number of features that serve gamers very well.

A bright, centrally mounted LCD can display pertinent

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by Walt Pretorius

information, either about the system, or the game being played at the time. It ties in with bundled software which allows the user to create specific game profiles.

Additionally, 12 macro keys with three bank modifers mean that the player can prerecord keystrokes and assign them to one single button - up to 36 in total. A slider allows the player to set the keyboard to gaming mode, which disables the Windows hot key (meaning no more rude interruptions when the key is accidentally struck.) And the illuminated keyboard means visual clarity in any lighting conditions.

Two USB ports at the top of the keyboard mean extra functionality, particularly when combined with the cable channels at the bottom of the device.

We have only two complains: the left shift key is a little small (due to the inclusion of a secondary backslash key) and the keyboard requires power, provided by a power adaptor supplied with the G19. These are minor niggles, though - the G19 is a prime device for those who want to get more out of their gaming. g

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gamecca • hardware

Logitech G9x Laser Mouse

Speedy and Sweet Control and precision in the gamer’s hands...

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by Walt Pretorius

recision is not negotiable when it comes to a gamer’s mouse. A mouse can make or break a gamer’s performance, and so precision, comfort and easy of use are

vital.

Logitech know this, and have applied these ideas to their gaming devices. The G9x is a great example of their approach to gaming peripherals.

This laser mouse is crammed with features. It has nine buttons, including a tiltable scroll wheel and on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment buttons. The sensitivity can be set to five different levels, that can quickly and easily be scrolled through. The Microgear scroll wheel can be adjusted for superfast scrolling, and an on-board memory allows up to five profiles to be saved to the mouse itself.

Like any good gaming mouse, the G9x comes with a weight tray, allowing the user to make sure the mouse is at a comfortable weight level. Large feet ensure smooth movement on virtually any surface, and the interchangable outer jacket of the mouse means that the most comfortable experience can be achieved with ease. Even the LCD colour (which displays which sensitivity setting the user has selected) can be changed.

The G9x is great to use; it is of a comfortable size, with all the buttons easily accessible. The mouse has been rated to a life of 8 million clicks and 250km of distance. That means that it will last long, as well as being wonderfully accurate.

This is a tough, attractive and extremely cool mouse to use, and any PC gamer worth their salt will value the performance enhancemnets it offers their gaming. g i s s u e 5 • n ove m b e r 2 0 0 9

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gamecca • hardware

Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller

Rock Out! An authentic experience

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usic rhythm games are all the rage these days, but the peripherals that come with them sometimes leave a bit to be desired. You can’t feel completely like a rock star when your ‘instrument’ isn’t up to scratch.

Logitech’s Wireless Guitar Controller mitigates that problem because, for all intents and purposes, it is a real guitar. The body is sold. The neck is made of wood, with a rosewood finger board. The fret markers and machine heads (or tuning pegs) are metal. It looks and feels like the real deal.

Specifically licensed for Guitar Hero World Tour and compatible with both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 consoles, this guitar is a great investment for fans of that particular franchise.

While the controls mirror the original Guitar hero devices exactly, the Logitech offering is longer and far heavier than the ones that come with the game. Because of this, it may be difficult for youngsters to use. Still, the absolute authenticity and excellent wireless perfomance delivered by the device (which is powered by a pair of AA batteries) is well worth the added weight and length.

No virtual rocker is complete without this excellent toy.

The controls are wonderfully responsive, too, so you can play well while looking good. g

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by Walt Pretorius

gamecca • hardware

ASUS Sabertooth 55i Motherboard

Tough as Nails ... and possessed of a bite!

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t might look more like a piece of military hardware than a consumer motherboard, but the ASUS Sabertooth 55i is a gamer’s dream. A variety of components and features make this a very high performance motherboard, capable of being drilled through its paces with ease.

The 55i makes use of top notch cooling systems to ensure that pushing this board to its limits won’t result in any damage. With ceramic mix heat sink coating technology, active cooling technology and a fan frame built in to help keep RAM temperatures down, the board

by Walt Pretorius

performs admirably under any conditions.

The board also makes use of TUF capacitors and MOSFETs, allowing even more brutal duty to be demanded from it. An intelligent power switching system will help ensure that energy is conserved without compromising performance.

In short, the Sabertooth 55i is a tough board. It might not have all the overclocking features that some people look for, but it is designed to be rugged and punchy, all at the same time. This motherboard certainly puts the ‘hard’ into hardware. g

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gamecca • in the lair

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Busy, busy, busy!

hat a bumper month this has been.

There has been a gaming event happening almost every weekend so far.

As usual, we bring you a rundown of what has been happening in the month of October.

Liberty LAN: 16 – 18 October 2009 As usual the gamer attended in droves. By late Friday night the pace was packed and COD4 and DotA dominated the menu.

The Lair was there on the Saturday with a Guitar Hero 5 and DotA tournament. We also had our Intel Core i7 gaming rig down there for the gamers to see and to test drive. This baby scores 17k in 3DMark Vantage.

In the evening we kicked it into high gear with some Street Fighter IV, with a few Liberty lanners showing off their stuff.

by thebanman

PES2010: 24 October 2009 It is here! Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 has arrived and The Lair was there, at the hands on event.

The press and fellow sports gamers were given the chance to win some great give-aways, as well as limited edition soccer balls in the first PES 2010 tournament.

Ster Kinekor made their preview cinema available to us. We linked up the PS3 and had the tournament matches played on a massive screen with enveloping sound.

Mayhem LAN: 31 October 2009 Yet again the gamers went into a weekend of “Mayhem”. As the 31st was officially Halloween, they were encouraged to attend in costume!

Halloween titles were rampant, including some board gaming, Magic the Gathering, Warhammer and the ever-popular console section. g

Windows 7 Launch: 22 – 25 October 2009 With Windows 7 RC1 out for some time now, I’m sure that there are a number of you that have already installed it. On the 22nd it officially launched with a VIP gathering at the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton.

Colin Erasmus, the head of the Windows business at Microsoft South Africa was there to take us through a few new features, and The Lair was on-hand to show off Windows 7 as an outstanding gaming platform, as well as all the media player functionality. A home office and bedroom environment was setup for us to show off Windows 7.

This page is provided by The Lair 100

www.thelair.co.za

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The Age Old Fight...

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or as long as there have been video games, there has been the argument between fans of consoles and fans of PC gaming.

So, in an effort to put the argument to rest (because I have heard it more than once too often) we have invited a representative of each camp to debate the matter in our Showdown section...

PC: PC gaming is purity, man, relating back to the dawn of...

PC: PC games are more versatile. And they have set technology trends.

Console: Have to give you the versatility bit, and I agree that they managed to set the groundwork for current technology.

PC: So you agree that they’re better.

Console: Nope. One word. Patches.

Console: Pong...

PC: That’s no longer a valid argument!

Not valid! PC game patches fix games and besides, you can download onto consoles too these days, so those games can be patched too!

PC: Sorry, what? I... don’t smell anything...

Console: You were going to say that PC gaming dates back to the dawn of time.

But the truth of the matter is that the first PC game was released commercially around 1976, while the first video game console, called Pong, came out for home users in 1974...

Console: They can be, but they’re not. And besides, everything gets released on console first these days. There’s no need for system requirements, either... the games just

PC: What?

That’s horsesh...

Console: And while the first PC games were text based games, Pong featured rudimentary graphics.

PC: OK, but...

Console: And console gaming has always been more prominent than PC gaming in terms of numbers.

PC: ...

Console: ...!

PC: You finished?

Console: Yes, for the moment.

work.

PC: But PC means that players can mod games and do more to enhance the experience. PC games allow for more versatility in control and more creativity on the part of the player. And they are almost unrestricted in terms of harddrive space requirements...

OK, I am putting a stop to this, because I have heard this argument for more than ten years now. And I know the truth, having been an avid console AND PC gamer for most of my life... and that truth is that both console and PC platforms have strengths and weaknesses, and both ARE COOL! Damn it!

So tired of this fight... (grumble, grumble). g