Preview- Crackdown 2 [Hands-on]

Released: 9^th July 2010

Format: Xbox 360

Developer: Ruffian Games

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Having bypassed Realtime Worlds' original game released in 2007, I came to Crackdown 2 knowing little of what to expect. Not that I hadn't heard great things of the prequel, with a number of nods toward its “orbs” and devilishly difficult achievements. The direct sequel, now developed by Ruffian Games, follows the super-human officer working for the Agency (simply referred to as “Agent”) who looks to put a stop to the mutants that that have escaped the research facility from the original.

Granted a 30 minute demo with the game, it becomes immediately apparent what the team strive for, in a flash bang of explosive, fast, frenetic action with the beautiful cel-shaded metropolis of the open world sandbox Pacific City glistening in high def, fantastically realised, superbly composed and rendered. Considering a quick press of 'Start' unveils the map of the foreboding city, and you'll begin to admire the enormous play area that will be available to rip through in the main game, although here only a portion of which is playable. The cel-shaded feel only subverting your gaze away from similar open-world clones, and yes, it is indeed, beautiful.

But suppress premature applauds, since the combat system is where the game can truly be tested. And thus, it's where the game is perhaps least adequate. The over-the-shoulder third person perspective mitigated and underwhelming when 'firing from the hip', although the targeting system (a click of 'LT') does little to alleviate any problems since such lock mechanics are extremely rigid and far from dynamic. Specific targets can not be targeted, instead you'll be hoping that the system correctly guesses your plan of attack in a frustrating display of combative nuance. It'll certainly take a good deal of your hands-on if you're to get to grips with the mechanics behind such a system, although thankfully meleeing your way through the AI hordes is satisfying and deadly- going some way to alleviating such problems. It's a testament to its kinetic design that this is the case, since you'll most probably wade through the wave of enemies so quickly that such frustrations fail to hinder the impressive weight of the rest of the experience.

The variety in the arsenal of weaponry is certainly pleasing, with the usual shotgun, assault rifles and SMG's all complimented with the more powerful additions of the grenade launcher, rocket launcher and projectiles- cluster grenades and the like. All of which will be unlocked upon further progression in the game, and available to you from calling in weapon and vehicle drops (from a roll-caged buggy to a hefty steel truck) from Agency controlled areas. The demo, in fact, speeds up the rate of upgrades sufficiently in proportion to the limited 30 minutes with the hands-on that there is a smooth sense of progression felt in the half hour. The game's design is in fact so devoted to the feeling of ever-evolving suit abilities and the like, with the help of the collection of the number of orbs (ability, vehicle, strength etc.) scattered over the city, that soon you'll be adding verticality to your level of play, jumping from rooftops and over Pacific City's sprawling urban jungle instead of driving in any of the vehicles on the roads, as an increased skill-set is given- increasing running speeds, or the height of jumps, for example.

Of course, with sandbox gaming comes a level of freedom. Whether you choose to take up the Agency's missions, here in “restoring Agency dominance” or “establishing power networks” with the eradication of Crackdown's aptly named “freaks”, or choose to quench your unabashed desire for sheer mayhem in choosing to deviate from any required actions. The addition of its side missions are satisfactory and fulfilling in addition to the weight of the main game, whether in checkpoint races through the streets in vehicles, or 'free-running on steroids' in the free-running missions, leaping from checkpoint to checkpoint over rooftops. Audio logs can also be picked in order to flesh out the back-story in regards to the foundations of the city, and handily play over the top of game play.

The demo that is now available on Xbox Live is exceptional in delivering key aspects of Crackdown 2's design. It's engaging, exciting and not amiss to the odd splashing of claret. Also featuring up to four player co-op and the ability to unlock achievements within the demo, it'll get no doubt get you revved up for the full package. It's taken me by surprise, certainly that I'm now actively awaiting its July 9^th release.

News- PSN to go premium?

Details have fluttered site to site today as the oh-so-long rumoured but often avoided topic of a subscription based model for the Playstation Network (PSN), have been detailed by an “unnamed” source at VG247. To cut the long story short, Sony are suspected to officially announce specifically what the service will afford us gamers at E3 this June, although the source at VG247 has indicated that the monetizing of PSN will not hinder any online functionality that is currently available for free and will not discount any further improvements that are expected to the service, such as cross-game voice chat.

What is expected to be included within the subscription model (of “less than £50 a year”) is a choice and download of one of the pre-picked PSN titles available for that month (“two to four”), along with the ability to stream music straight from Sony's music library to play in or out of games.

We'll have to wait until E3 to get a broader sense of what the package really provides, although I like the idea of streaming music seamlessly whether in-game or on the XMB. The Xbox 'LastFM' app, in contrast (and to its detriment, in my opinion) could only be run by itself, so it's nice to see the integration in place that could raise its quality. Whether it's worth the expected value of £50 per annum is another matter entirely and could come down to the quality of PSN titles that are made available month to month. I'd love to see a mix of indie titles and bigger downloadable titles offered every other month which would give indie developers as much exposure as some of the big boys and could be a 'win-win' situation for all involved. Nevertheless, it has been coming for quite some time and I wish Sony the best in competing with XBL.

Feature- EA announce "online passes"- acceptable or one step too far?

“Project Ten Dollar”, as it is affectionately known, was a way of curtailing the second hand market that we keep being told severely detriments a number of game companies and market shares. Such triple-A releases such as The Sims 3 and Mass Effect 2 have already featured a one-off code within new boxed copies that grants the bearer magical gifts in the usual form of a future DLC package- effectively punishing frugal gamers whose only source of games is their local second-hand retailer! It marks a frustrating time in the gaming sphere, where companies are looking towards outlandish and over-thought, nonsense strategies to halt the second-hand market and the burden of piracy that is still strife all round. Ubisoft started the “always online” format of DRM management- their games on the PC now require the user to be signed onto their on-line service as its legitimacy is constantly checked, meaning the game is, in effect, useless off-line. I'm all for stopping piracy and the like, but come on! Surely upon purchasing a legit copy, gamer's can choose to play that game on-line or off, why limit the end user? Even off-line games such as Assassins Creed II require the use of the system which is just baffling to say the least.

“Project Ten Dollar” was met with similar scepticism although it can be understood- it's neither invasive nor absolutely required. DLC should be used as an extension to a complete game in which development was required outside of the full development cycle (there are exceptions, I'm looking at you; Resident Evil 5 and Bioshock 2, but don't get me started on those!) Thus, the way in which gamers are granted access to 'extra' content for buying the game full price makes certain sense, rewarding and not hindering, first-time buyers. And if you do pick it up on the used shelf at the local store, the DLC is still available for $10 if you so wish to play to purchase it, meaning the publisher still gets its fair slice of the money pie, as it were.

Activision's rise to its status as behemoth publisher (and consequently a growing of an abnormally large head from its leading figures) has seen EA shepherded into a more comfortable position. Activision's constant aggravation towards gamers have made EA's previous grievances seem tame in comparison. But alas, EA couldn't resist and have taken an extremely annoying step towards, supposedly, curtailing the second-hand market even further. The news from earlier in the week that EA were now to use “online passes” in their 'EA Sports' games is a punch to the stomach for gamer's such as myself. Yes, I enjoy a game of Fifa as much as the next person, but now I'll have to pay for my on-line service from Microsoft, and a new copy of the game (or $10) to enable networked features within the game. Really, when is it going to stop!? For one, the online integration is already there, available on the disc and ready to use. I can understand that the addition of extra DLC requires extra work on behalf of developers, thus costs need to be covered. But to need use of a one-time code to simply “allow access” is beyond a joke in my opinion. EA are proving once again, sheer greed is the aim of the game. This isn't a step towards rinsing the proliferation of the second hand market- the 'EA Sports' brand is one of the most successful brands in gaming, year on year delivering huge sales figures. The giant seems to be taking a bite of Activision's apple, delivering radical steps to the detriment of core gamers because they both know how successful these brands have become and people will pay for content, regardless of their thoughts towards it. The casual market is also going to take a massive hit- much more susceptible to buying second hand copies of games. It's going to be a shock when they get home, put the disc in, and are told another wad of cash is required for online play.

Ultimately, it's us as consumers that are getting the hard deal. Such games are now going to be worth much less value if you wish to trade or sell and the code has already been scratched off. I can't see the lower value being transferred over to the next person somehow, instead I expect further exploitation of the trade-in market that can only harm us in the end.

Preview- Split/Second

Released: 21^st May 2010

Format(s): PS3, Xbox 360

Developer: Black Rock Studio

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios

What do you get if you put Burnout, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 into a creative blender? That's right, Split/ Second- an arcade-style racer intent on delivering the thrills, competition, and insane speed of the racer of the norm and injecting it with style, destruction and chaos. Much in the same style as the Burnout series before the Paradise open-world departure, Split/Second by Black Rock Studios (who made Pure) is a circuit based racing game where the key to taking the chequered flag in first place is wanton destruction of opponent's vehicles in a bid for survival of your own.

Playing off the game-show backdrop, the racer seems like the video game equivalent of Death Race, where the whole level is literally rigged to blow. From buildings falling atop speeding cars, and air planes landing within a whisker of your rear bumper, this is unlike anything really witnessed from the racing genre as yet. All this chaos is of course limited, however, and this is where the meter system is implemented. The “powerplay” meter itself is split into 3 sections, slowly filling through such driving manoeuvres as drafting an opponent, drifting, and jumping. A fill of the first part of the meter results in the ability to trigger small explosions through the track, perhaps a single car, or a few barrels on the side of the track. Nothing major- the most destructible events are saved when all three sections of the meter have been filled, levelling buildings on top of any incoming racers, felling satellite towers and more edge of your seat carnage. Certain events also occur only once in a single race, such as opening short-cuts which will alter the shape of the track.

The demo, available now on Xbox Live and PSN, takes place at an airport, where you'd do well to avoid one of many explosive set pieces. From what I've seen of the game so far, it looks absolutely brilliant, very similar to Burnout- as mentioned before. Where it improves on that particular game is the way in which the HUD is placed beneath the car's rear bumper meaning the full impact of the surrounding action can be taken in without any obstruction, which I think is a nice touch. Upon running through several races, it's refreshing to tell you that my experience was somewhat different on every play-through through the use of the game's mechanics making it possible for the track to change into one of several routes. The way in which each race progressed was also thoroughly entertaining to say the least. Whilst I enjoy racing-sims wholeheartedly, the way in which Split/Second's approach and originality sets itself apart from basic racers is great. I just hope that re-playability can still be had after extended sessions of play with the full game with only a limited number of sights to see. But with the demo anything to go by and 8-player online multi player and 2-player split screen, Black Rock should certainly deliver the first big racing hit of 2010. 

Original Xbox Live Disabled- The State of Things to Come?

Yesterday marked the end of Xbox Live for the original Xbox console and its games. As reported in February, at midnight last night, the plug was indeed pulled, the service was deemed to be a drain on resources when they could be much more effective elsewhere. Xbox's Mark Whitton claims the move will “provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox Live community”.

But at what cost does this action really weigh? Is this a state of things to come in terms of gaming? An 8 year reign may indeed be enough hours to wring from Halo 2 online, yes, but it marks the start of a worrying future. I'm talking of course towards the medium as a whole moving towards the reliance on digital distribution methods, where not only indie, bite-size titles are released on our online services, but full fledged titles, such as for example, Warhawk and SOCOM: Confrontation for the PS3. Furthermore, the announcement of services such as 'Gaikai' and 'OnLive', which is released in the US this summer (in which full titles are processed and streamed to users via the services own servers), it's hard not to question whether the content we buy now will be available to us, from day-to-day, like a regular disc-based product is. Granted, services such as Steam already exist within the gaming sphere and has been met with huge success since its initial release in 2003, ultimately, referred to as the saviour of PC gaming.

Microsoft's innocuous pull of Xbox Live's proverbial plug casts huge doubts in my mind. So all games still run, which is important to be reminded, however a title such as Halo 2 relies on its online capability, and is now, unplayable. It has been let known to the public that if for some reason Valve was to shut down the Steam service, then all games would be patched to allow to be run in offline mode. With services such as 'OnLive', it can not be this simple...

Now, imagine yourself, the proud owner of such titles as GTA VI and Final Fantasy XVII, all available through an online-only service such as 'OnLive' where the under-the-TV box is merely a thin client, a device that's only purpose is to send and receive digital signals, with little to no processing power of its own. What happens when a service like this is shut down? Does our legally downloaded content vanish into the virtual esther?

Sadly, it is an answer, that after much sifting, I can not locate, but it is worth thinking about. It seems we will only really find out once the service is made available to us. The shift to digital distribution and 'cloud computing' holds a tremendous amount of positives, but also, as covered, can hold its own problems. Is this the future we want, or should we be sticking to physical products?

Preview- Dead to Rights: Retribution

Released: 23^rd April 2010

Format(s): PS3, Xbox 360

Developed by Volatile Games, Dead to Rights: Retribution is a neo-noir crime drama with cover-based, third-person shooting mechanics that sees cop Jack Slate take crime into his own hands in the corrupt Grant City. With the help of his canine companion, Shadow, which introduces new game play opportunities, players must be ready to take action onto the streets in a blend of slow-motion gun play, hand-to-hand combat techniques and brutal takedowns- with inspiration from Eastern action cinema. 

Preview- Nier

Released: 23^rd April 2010

Format(s): PS3, Xbox 360

The latest franchise from Square Enix, developed by Cavia, Nier for the Xbox 360 and PS3 is an action role-playing game with a delicate balance of intricate story line, well-developed characters, action-packed battle sequences, and traditional RPG mechanics. 'Nier' is the name of the title's protagonist, who is resolute in finding a cure for his daughters mysterious illness, from the 'Black Scrawl' virus- desperate to overcome any challenge that comes up against him.

News- 'Gears of War 3' Officially Announced

Cliff Blezinski, of Epic Games, officially unveiled Gears of War 3 during Jimmy Fallon's late-night chat US chat show last night. Blezinski joked, "It's about the worst kept secret in the world" since the announcement was leaked earlier in the week after an Xbox 360 dashboard slip (see my story here).


The announcement came with a teaser trailer- entitled 'Ashes to Ashes' which features Marcus Fenix and his crew coming up against a raging army of Locust. The trailer also shows a female soldier as a part of the COG squad, a first for the series. Blezinski noted the game is set after the events of Gears of War 2 and also features a number of new weapons.


The confirmed release date is 8th April 2011. Check out the teaser trailer below for some awesome COG-action. With a year to wait, I'm already hugely excited about the prospect of playing as Fenix and co. once again. Expect more to be announced at E3 in June.

News- Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package

Is this the end of the 800 Microsoft Points price threshold for map packs? It certainly seems it may be. Infinity Ward's recently released DLC map pack for the biggest game of 2009, Modern Warfare 2 was released exclusively on the Xbox 360 on 30th March 2010, named the "Stimulus Package" for an increased price point of 1200 MSP (around $15). The map pack contains 3 new maps; 'Bailout', 'Storm' and 'Salvage' as well as 2 re-makes of popular maps from Modern Warfare; 'Crash' and 'Overgrown'.


Originally, the announcement of 1,200 MSP infuriated gamers who were angry at the way in which only 3 new maps were provided for a higher cost than seen before. However, we speak with our wallets, and its no doubting that Activision has hit a sweet spot once again- the map pack sold an incredible 1 million within its first 24 hours of release and rose to 2.5m units within the opening week, which broke Xbox Live records. 


Don't expect this to be the last of this kind. Companies will no doubt be jumping on the bandwagon with similar gusto.