So clearly, it’s vital to mention that there is no real single-player component on offer here, which is largely due to the core of the game’s focus being about playing competitively online. As soon as the main menu hits, you’ve got not much to choice but to either configure your character’s attributes or join a game. As is to be expected, the now-familiar trappings for player configuration are all here, including different sights for weapons and optional choice of grenade types, etc. Pretty much everything you’ve come to become accustomed to from an online FPS at this point – there’s really nothing that breaks convention from the usual fare.

One interesting part to Blacklight, however, is that its pacing is very sporadic and antithetical to that of Modern Warfare’s. By comparison, Blacklight very lightly hearkens back to the days of Quake and Unreal, albeit with the necessary precision and fluidity of the controls removed. If anything, it just comes across as a sloppily put together FPS with the speed dialled up a few notches. Interesting, then, but not really successful either.

And that’s really where the main problem lies – there’s a sheer lack of satisfaction involved in the game’s general mechanics. It feels shamefully weightless to play and gaining a kill tends to feel more like the result of random luck as opposed to direct skill. Plus, when you do try to apply considerate aim with iron sights, it still isn’t precise enough to make the mark feel satisfying. While it certainly isn’t broken beyond repair, it simply doesn’t match up to the finely-tuned calibre of more accomplished competition.

Some might say that isn’t a fair comparison on the basis of Blacklight being a downloadable game, but I refute any belief that this makes for an acceptable excuse, because an ‘excuse’ is really all that would be. In admittance, such a claim may appear overly cynical, but all the same, for a little more financial investment you could buy a pre-owned copy of Call Of Duty 4 and enjoy the crafting of a much better game that is still enjoyed by a wide audience, and one that ultimately carries more long-lasting appeal than Blacklight by a distinctly large margin.

On a good note, I do appreciate the game’s look. The neon glimmer and poor static reception look does actually make for an especially inspired art style. What I also found to be really pleasing was the mosaic texture that has been draped over what works towards the basic functions of a smoke grenade; distorting the view and creating confusion to great effect. That said, it’s not not entirely unjust to label this look as a re-tread of Ghost Recon’s recent future soldier vibe, but it still works well enough to let it stand out on some level nevertheless.

It’s probably worth mentioning that I also had some consistent problems when actually trying to connect to games online, as well. This issue maintained throughout several unique attempts to connect on different days and times, which is obviously a big frustration with a game made with online multi-player in mind. Sometimes it was easy to connect to a game, but other times painfully difficult.

Being able to predict the popularity of the game in the future is also anyone’s guess. If the rate of play for most XBLA games is anything to go by – even those heavy on adversarial modes – Blacklight may become an entirely redundant purchase without a dedicated community to keep it alive in a few months from now. That’s definitely a disappointing caveat to have to attach to any game like this, but it’s one that deserves to be brought up regardless.

Overall, it’s not that Blacklight can’t be enjoyed on its own merits, because it can in the most basic sense. But when held up to scrutiny and measured against those gunning for the same lucrative audience, it’s hard to recommend Blacklight: Tango Down with an absolute guarantee that you’ll be completely entertained. There are certainly moments of faint sparkle in Blacklight’s dim and unexceptional glow, but unfortunately none of it is ever put to good enough use and instead the game’s mediocrity shines through with harsh reality.

Racing games tend to live or die by their handling and in this respect the developers have crafted a fast and fluid system featuring pick-up-and-play mechanics – it’s instantly accessible, opening itself to a much broader audience than numerous other titles. This doesn’t mean the game is left wanting in the challenge department, in fact quite the opposite; sure a family member can pick up the controller and have a good time with it, but a high skill level is required to compete in some of the more difficult events. The cornering, the throttle, the boost; everything feels exactly as it should after the first few minutes of gameplay, making it very easy to slip into a groove and settle down for the evening.

Since Hydro Thunder is more about quality than it is quantity, the number of courses and vehicles may well disappoint. There are only eight tracks to speak of and only nine crafts with which to tear them up. To compensate for what would otherwise be a dire lack of replayability, the developers have employed a point system similar to the one featured in Split/Second. Completing an event on the Novice difficulty will add a modest amount of credits to your total, while winning on Pro or Expert will earn more depending on your position or completion time. Load times are short, making it quick and easy to restart a race should you feel the need, significantly reducing frustration in the process. That is, at least until the moment you decide to brave any of the events in the hardest category.

To the game’s credit, the eight locations have been well designed with frenetic gameplay in mind, providing enough shortcuts, boost refills and ramp triggers to keep things interesting. Most areas feature scripted moments – much like something from a water-based theme park ride – that appear on specific laps to add a welcome dose of variety. Each time such an event is activated the water responds accordingly, jostling your craft and causing chaos in the process. This can pose something of a problem during a mode such as Gauntlet, where each course gets littered with an abundance of deviously placed explosives.

The four single-player modes available are Race, Ring Master; a time trial demanding you complete the course while keeping within the rings to maintain boost power, the aforementioned Gauntlet involving explosives, and finally the multi-tiered Championship, made up of several events where a trophy is awarded for your overall ranking on the scoreboard. Essentially you’ll be doing the three event types over and over, but tedium is postponed thanks to the various route changes and difficulty levels.

A couple of avatar awards can be obtained via completion of specific criteria and whether you’re an achievement hunter, after in-game credits or items for your avatar, there’s always something to shoot for if you have the inclination. Be aware that the first couple of hours with the game will be spent blasting through the same couple of stages to increase your score and broaden your event list, but those of you rolling your eyes should take heed; there is another way – that way being via the impressive online component.

Featuring up to eight players at once, online races are fast, frantic and lag free. Points can be earned here in very much the same way as the campaign, resulting in a much faster accumulation of points leading to subsequent speedy unlocks. Beyond the standard race, a team-based mode entitled Rubber Ducky is presented, involving a designated duck tasked with crossing the finish line before the opposition. Split-screen has also come supported for up to four players, with skilful AI opponents claiming the remaining four spots. For the most part, taking on other people proves to be even more hectic (and in turn more exciting) than doing battle with the computer, as fellow gamers bump and shove your craft in a desperate bid for pole position. Online leaderboards keep track of your racing progress, offering competitive types a reason to keep playing long after the final events have been unlocked.

The overly critical will undoubtedly claim that Hydro Thunder contains too little content to warrant a full recommendation. We, on the other hand, believe such criticism to be largely unfounded given the modest 1200 point price tag, particularly at a time when many retail games sit proudly on store shelves lacking the accessibility, or indeed playability, of what’s on offer here. At under half a gig in size and just over the usual Live Arcade asking price, Vector Unit’s sequel to the original Hydro Thunder stands surprisingly tall against its ground-based competitors. It might not quite be F-Zero on water but what the game does, it does remarkably well; the stages are themed and colourful, the handling is superb and the action can get downright crazy at high speeds. A quality racer that won’t break the budget, we expect Hydro Thunder Hurricane to make waves this summer.

The ‘flick-stick’ swing mechanic returns once again (ever difficult to master as always!), whilst the ability to put spin on the ball mid-air, adding extra power through repeatedly tapping X and improving accuracy (reducing the size of the expected drop-zone circle) by pressing X within the shot preview screen are also all here. If you’d rather, you can also click the right stick for a more accurate (and my more preferred) setting to hitting the ball, the precise flick mechanic replaced by a more friendly and accessible cursor system in which you must click to begin the back swing, click for power selection and then click when it approaches the right zone. The amount of ‘draw’ or ‘fade’ can also be altered by moving the cursor over where you wish to hit the ball.

The basic set-up is as ever, tight and easy to use; however, what this latest version offers elsewhere is what the game can be remembered for in differentiation from its rivals. The addition of the versatile and brilliantly implemented ‘Focus’ meter- its semi-circle folded over the HUD of the ball and club type- will enamour those who loved the previous games’ granting of unlimited ball spin or power boost in every shot, whereas here you’ll have to take into account what aspects of your game are lacking/which will suit the hole, since using any of the mentioned power boost, spin and putting previews will slowly drain the meter (only filled in slight quantities if un-used for a single shot). The system works so well that in actuality, it gives PGA Tour 11 a new lease of life from those that came before it, which were ever so slowly ebbing towards a stale death. You’ll be cursing your impatient use of spin onto the green once you then approach a long putt with little more than the coloured gradient grid to help you along, putt preview an impossibility, yet a necessity, with the focus meter drained of all its accrued matter.

Otherwise, the only other additions come from the inclusion of the prestigious Ryder Cup – the dramatic Europe vs. USA battle for supremacy available either online or offline (good luck in getting the whole set of players together), whilst events including ‘fourball’ (each member of team has their own ball, the lowest scored hole earns a point), ‘alternate shots’ (teams of two play alternate shots for lowest shot count) and ’single play’ all add variety away from the well handled progression of the career mode. This time centred around earned XP deriving from a number of instances (in-game targets such as sinking a long putt, or progressing through the game’s other game modes, such as Tiger Woods’ ‘Skill Challenges’ mode against rival golfers- from Suzann Petterson to Tiger himself), experience points will go some way in making sure your once weak character goes on to rival the cream of the crop, as it were, within the game. Thus, you can choose where to spend your accrued XP points in a number of areas; focusing on ’swing speed’ and ‘power boost’ for added power, or ‘balance’ for accuracy, among others. Again, bringing into play what aspects of your game you feel you must concentrate on is paramount to how you approach such levelling; should you focus on putting prowess, or supreme power? It’d have been nice to have a few more choices regarding where to apply points, although the spread is large enough and broad enough to remain relevant.

The final addition to the game comes in the form of the new ‘True Aim’ mode, which aims to replicate a more realistic golfing experience for those who want added depth and challenge. Removing the overlaid shot circle, as well as moving into a first-person viewpoint in simulation of tracking the ball as the player, ‘True Aim’ is likely to be enjoyed by only a select few gamers who will sink their teeth into the expansive game play, whilst others, like myself, can applaud its addition into what is otherwise an already weighty package.

Already incredibly accomplished in its TV-style aesthetic, PGA Tour 11 looks vivid, bright and graphically excellent – golfers are accurately animated and modelled, while each golf course is well realised with the lush, green grass contrasting with the ever-altering light and dark from the ever-changing weather effects. Neat TV tricks such as the pseudo EA ‘live’ tracker bar for shot updates from other golfers is a nice touch and adds to the competitive feel of the game. The way the camera moves and is worked into the style of the game is also well choreographed; panning, zooming and tracking movements to ensure each snippet of play is captured – although once or twice the ball is difficult to spot in its choice of long shots!

PGA Tour 11 can be considered another major step forward for the series, which has struggled recently towards yearly updates becoming insignificant. The addition of the ‘Focus’ mechanic is superbly handled, ensuring gamers can finally be held from exploiting the artificiality of the game. Excellent in multiplayer as it has always been, with modes ranging from ‘Target’ to ‘T.I.G.E.R’ and ‘Bingo Bango Bongo’, it’s a shame that EA have chosen to include the online pass system as part of its upkeep, requiring players to purchase a code for online play if not purchased new from retail. All in all, it’s well worth a purchase if you’re yet to get into the series, and a worthy addition to the mounting pile for fans.

Redolent of German Expressionism – which itself paved the way for Film Noir – the rich monochrome of Limbo is a striking aesthetic, made all the more effective because, as well as ensuring that the game looks unlike anything else, the way it’s used is in keeping with those movements’ philosophy. In cinema and theatre the high contrast black and white, deep shadows and abstract sets were meant to reflect loneliness, threat, sadness; Limbo’s visuals and sparse sound design work towards much the same effect. Thankfully a subtlety underpins this approach, so despite the potentially contentious on-screen subject matter, there’s never any sense of gratuity when death occurs (the “potentially contentious” aspect is the fact that the boy you play as will die often, and in all manner of ways: drowning, decapitation, being impaled on a spike, falling from a great height and landing like a rag doll…it’s a sadists’ dream).

As well as killing off eight year-olds in ever more creative ways, Limbo also does other things that most games don’t (or, in some cases, shouldn’t), like asking you to make leaps of faith, and using trial and error in the solving of puzzles that often lead to a sudden death. But the checkpoints are always fair, the solutions tantalisingly hover within the realm of logic, and after every death the screen seems to linger for just enough time for you to look at the landscape and work out what the developers are trying to hint. You could even argue that the probing, instinctual nature of the gameplay neatly mirrors that of a young boy exploring new surroundings, however hazardous and frightening they may be. These frequent deaths underline the impression that your first playthrough feels very much like the practice run for a second, smoother journey; part of Limbo’s appeal will be in taming the environment until it can be played through in its entirety, in one seamless audience-impressing hour and a bit (the Achievement for completing the game with a maximum of five deaths will likely provide 10 of the most coveted gamerpoints of this or any other year).

Limbo is ostensibly, underneath these weighty images and even weighter themes, a 2D platformer that takes inspiration from two games with similarly one-worded titles, Portal and Braid (Gabe Newell is pointedly thanked in the end credits). Like those modern classics, Limbo introduces new ideas and devices at an expertly judged rate, until what began at the start with just a simple jump button has blossomed into all manner of gravity switches, magnets, and strange neon maggots (you’ll see). While Limbo may lack Valve’s self-reflexive wit and Braid’s mind-bending devious streak, it is still a supreme example of persistent invention, with the later platforming sections in particular playing like the best Bowser castle level Nintendo never made.

The one criticism that has regularly surfaced since Limbo’s launch is that of the game’s length. At a trim three or four hours for the first playthrough it isn’t a significant investment, but very few minutes of this time are wasted. The control of mood is masterly, the visual style invites immersion, and as experiences go it’s certainly better to be this tight, to be this memorable, than risk being bloated or losing the interest of the player. Also, the aforementioned temptation to keep returning to Limbo until the game has been mastered is strong. That it achieves this not through the pursuit of meaningless surface dressing collectables but via economical storytelling and the world’s nagging atmosphere, is laudable.

“Uncertain of his Sister’s fate, a boy enters Limbo” – this is the only explicit communication of story, and it exists in the dashboard menu before you’ve even started to play the game. Why the boy’s sister is missing, the origins of the world he now inhabits, and the events that have led gangs of children to form Lord Of The Flies-style hierarchies is told with such attention to minimalism that it makes Ico look like a Final Fantasy cut-scene in comparison (a slight exaggeration, but you get the point). The smaller nature of indie development has obviously helped in bringing such a vision to complete fruition; only the forthcoming The Last Guardian promises something as affecting but on an even more epic scale.

Limbo is a game about death that manages to invest the act of dying, at least in the context of gaming, with a rare impact – quite an achievement considering how often it happens. Guilt, heartbreak, shock – they’re not the standard videogame experiences, but Limbo, despite its adherence to a familiar design framework, is not like many other videogames, as richly cinematic as it is unashamedly lyrical. An instant classic.

Eurogamer also broke the news through an interview with Product Director Aaron Greenberg that a new 4GB model will be hitting UK store shelves come August 20th at £249.99, releasing simultaneously with the motion sensor itself.

Greenberg stated, ‘It will effectively replace the Arcade console. We see it as a great value entry price point for consumers.’ He continued, ‘that 4GB is built-in flash memory, so it’s not a hard drive. There is a hard drive bay built into all the new Xbox 360’s.’

Speaking of the ‘mainstream casual consumer’ that the company hopes to target with Kinect, Greenberg stated, ‘This is – quite frankly – the exact type of experiences they’re looking for, that have that broad appeal, that allow you to experience games and entertainment in whole new ways.’ He continued to mention that 15 titles would be available at launch.

It has also been revealed that Kinect Adventures is to be included in the bundle, offering over 20 modes for up to two players to enjoy. Those who read our coverage of Microsoft’s E3 conference may recall that we were far from enamoured with the game’s on-stage demo, though we expect many early adopters to appreciate having a title to jump and wave to from the word go.

Kinect is to retail with a cable supporting the new Xbox consoles as well as a power chord and USB cable for older models.

So what say you, fellow D+Pad readers? Is over £100 a fair price to pay for a slice of motion-control action or is it too much for what could still essentially end up as an under-performing Wii clone? Get to the comment section and let us know.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge is the second instalment in the successful pirate adventure series and the HD gloss in this Special Edition is even more effective than that of its predecessor; it’s bright, colourful, with each island evoking a different atmosphere than the last – the artwork really is worthy of praise. As before, a mere push of a button will allow you to swap modes, revealing just how far the game has come since its pixelated beginnings. There’s very little reason to play the game in the original mode sans nostalgia, yet its inclusion is nonetheless welcome for curiosity’s sake. The looping animations might not hold up all that well in today’s more fluid era but it seems to have been designed this way on purpose, representing how point-and-click adventures were back in the day, albeit in a much more eye-pleasing way.

The adventure will take you from the swampy Scabb Island to the more serene Phatt and Booty Islands, presenting a greater sense of freedom for the remainder of the game. Each land plays host to a range of weird and wonderful characters, most of which serve an important if unforeseen role at one time or another. Some will provide Guybrush with information while others will grant him a special item in exchange for another, frequently resulting in a convoluted fetch quest. The sense of satisfaction upon completing such a quest is great, if a little short-lived. There’s almost always someone standing in your way, meaning the next half hour or so will be spent trying to find out exactly what it is you should be doing and when – it’s something of a double-edged sword and won’t appeal to everyone. If you’re the type of gamer who demands constant action and a quick pace then you should look elsewhere, as the head-scratching antics of Monkey Island 2 are most definitely not for you.

Although the original control scheme is an option, the revamped settings work just fine, combining classic ‘look here – pick this up’ cursor movement with an analogue-controlled Guybrush. It’s much less cumbersome than before, sitting well with the rest of the overhaul while keeping with the deliberate nature of the series. Clearly, there’s not a whole lot you can do with the controls of a point-and-click adventure designed around a mouse and keyboard. The ability to combine items then use them with objects is often required, making the answer less obvious than initially assumed. The ever-vigilant Lucasarts has included a hint system to alleviate the common issue of ‘being stuck’, with the hold of a face button revealing a clue or waypoint arrow, which may appear to guide you after several attempts.

There are occasions when the game offers a clue and leaves it at that, particularly once you’ve been given multiple main objectives. Moments of hair-tugging frustration are inevitable, as will be the desire to consult any number of online walkthroughs. Resist the urge – doing so defeats the very purpose of the game and cheapens any sense of victory earned from conquering the puzzles yourself. It can take minutes, hours, even days as you try to make your way through this intricate adventure, but the hint system and ability to highlight interactive objects in a room will be enough to see you through the majority of the game. Some objectives will have you hopping across islands many times and while this can become tedious after extended periods, the sense that everything is leading to an interesting and creative place will likely keep you hooked until the end.

This is due in no small part to the tale itself; the characters come to life thanks to the superb voice acting and top notch script. Comical lines are plentiful, as the game consistently offers dialogue options that play on the sarcasm of the lead character. Stalwart fans will be pleased to know that the humour has been left very much intact, with Lucasarts making light of itself as well as past Lucasfilm productions – most notably Star Wars. Performing menial tasks such as setting up a library card is kept entertaining through this tongue-in-cheek comedy, revealing a level of creativity from which many of today’s high-flying developers could benefit.

Although most of the puzzles require finding and using a specific item at your own pace, there are a handful of instances where time plays a factor. Usually this involves opening the item menu then selecting which item to use, then quickly activating it before a specific event occurs. The conditions change according to context and things can get awkward later on, when several items must be combined under these timed conditions. There seems to be no real penalty for failure, so what it boils down to is a simple test of patience and joypad dexterity.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge is everything fans of the series would expect from a high-definition remake. Lovingly recreated with an art-style and sense of humour that will appeal to players of any age, this is a game that the whole family can have a hand at cracking. Of course, it’s still a point-and-click adventure and undeniably shows its age, but it’s also an enjoyable title in its own right – it just never comes close to transcending the limitations of the genre and consequently has a limited core audience. Patience may be the key word here but those willing to see past the frayed edges will find a fascinating world of intrigue, so long as they don’t go in expecting a combat system of any kind or indeed a contemporary control scheme. It may have rusted a little over the years but make no mistake; Monkey Island 2 is still a treasure worth discovering.

Maestro! Green Groove opens with a charming cutscene in which we witness a great calamity befalling the world, stemming from something as innocent as the jazz improvisations of scatting-songbird called Presto. Presto’s scooby-doo-wop-skiddly-ba-doo-wop’s prove all but irresistible to the lovely female songbird, Bellisimo, something that does not go unnoticed by the heavy metal loving arachnid, Staccato. Staccato’s, heavy-rock leanings have made him unlucky in love and the heartbroken spider calls forth a smog that smothers all music out of existence; the world falls into silence. Thus, it falls to Presto to set out on a search for the worlds missing sounds, and bring the evil Staccato to justice…

Maestro! Green Groove has the looks of a fairly traditional platformer but is, at heart, a fairly pure rhythm action experience. The game’s mechanics are quite simple, but nonetheless quite difficult to explain. Levels are constructed from suspended strings running from left to right; Presto moves automatically along these strings and can be made to jump or descend by a quick stroke of the stylus across the string (just like playing a guitar). Further depth is added with the introduction of different string types – strum a red string, and Presto is sent soaring onto the DSs top screen, giving you more freedom to concentrate on plucking glowing strings that require specific timing. Successfully controlling Presto, collecting percussive fruit and plucking glowing strings, all trigger audio feedback, building and embellishing the accompanying music. On top of this, the game also requires that you tap leaping spiders in rhythm before they hit your screen, sending out distracting shockwaves.

It’s certainly an ingenious concept that, at its best, works wonderfully, with the tactile nature of the stylus control blending beautifully with the music; it can feel responsive, fresh and engaging and definitely immerses you in the music. Boss fights against the malicious Staccato introduce a new mechanic, with the touch screen playing host to a selection of drums and strings, that must be plucked – call and response style – to replicate the tune played by Staccato and his cronies on the top screen. The game also makes use of the microphone, with extra points being earned by the player singing along – despite being reasonably musical ourselves, we simply could not get this feature to work with any degree of accuracy.

Some slightly poor design decisions stand in the way of the game reaching its full potential. The biggest problem is that instead of having a fixed view that would allow you see all the strings at all times, the game attempts to always keep Presto at the centre of the action. The upshot of this is there are numerous occasions when Presto jumps that strings disappear off the bottom of the screen, making it incredibly difficult or even impossible to pluck them. While this is forgivable when Presto falls through a gap acting as a perfectly reasonable punishment for your errors – its less easy to stomach when you’re actually performing well.

The second major issue is the game’s slightness; though selling as a standalone package, Maestro! Green Groove is actually only one world that has been sliced out of the full retail version – Maestro! Jump in Music (which has to date not been been released in Europe) – and repurposed for DSiWare and the iPhone app store. While we’re not completely averse to such repackaging of content, Maestro! Green Groove ultimately feels somewhat slight as a result. Included in the game are a measly three audio tracks (Beethoven’s ‘5th Symphony’, Dvorak’s ‘New World Symphony’ and Chopin’s ‘Nocturne No 2 Opus 9’) plus an original composition to accompany the handful of boss fights. To 100% complete the game takes a few hours at most, at which point, replayability is reliant on your desire to beat your high scores. For 500 DSiWare points, it could be worse, but when you realise the exact same game can be bought for the iPhone for 59p…it’s hard not to feel a little short changed if you plump for the former.

Maestro! Green Groove is a nice little title that strives for originality and almost achieves its goal. Production wise, we have very few complaints – visually, it’s all very slick (with some nice character design and crisp 2D sprites embellished with the sparing use of 3D in the boss battles) and the songs themselves are well produced, absolutely doing justice to original compositions. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to whole-heartedly recommend. Upon completing everything the game has to offer, the simple fact is that you’re left wanting more – more levels in which to perfect your strumming skills, more songs to enjoy and more time for the game to convince you of its design decisions. In fact, it really isn’t too much of a stretch to suggest that Maestro! Green Groove feels like more of an extended demo than a fully fledged DSiWare title – its brevity is put into stark contrast by other 500 point titles on the service such as Starship Patrol and Reflect Missile. Our advice would be to give the iPhone version a try and if Presto and company managed to get under your skin, hope that the full retail version gets a European release.

An important aspect to what makes the Harry Potter franchise a fitting series for a Lego-based game is, quite simply, that its general universe makes for an ideal and accessible experience for fans of all ages. The typical Harry Potter characters, locations and narrative set-pieces from the first four years of the films all feature with loving playfulness, upholding the voiceless cut-scenes and semi-obscure nods aimed at the most dedicated of Potter fans.

In terms of how it plays, it’s strikingly familiar if you’ve ever tried one of the previous Lego games. It doesn’t necessarily wield any amount of depth or versatility in the execution, but its strengths in level design more than make up for the increasingly tired requirements for story succession. But let’s be honest: there was never intention to change that formula, and there’s really no reason for there to be any change. That said, if you haven’t enjoyed these games in the past, this one probably isn’t going to change your mind either.

As ever, you can switch between different characters as you accrue enough points to unlock and purchase them from in-game shops and vendors. There’s also a heavy emphasis on co-operative play, making the game a surprisingly viable conduit for getting a relative or partner to join in on the fun. It develops an enjoyable atmosphere that becomes bolstered when both parties are fans of the designated material. In a sense, it’s almost like re-experiencing your favourite scenes but in a totally different and fresh form.

When you look at the game as a whole, it’s hard not to appreciate the value on offer. The puzzle elements are simplistic in nature and fun to watch unfurl, even though some of them are primitive to the point of basically being ‘connect-the-dot’ riddles. Not only that, but some of the results are strange and unusual as well, as characters’ spells concoct absurd mechanical creations and other weird and wonderful contraptions to help progress the story.

Hogwarts itself and the surrounding environments from the books and films also enjoy a noticeable Lego face-lift, with resident students and ghostly inhabitants making their way around the halls. It’s not quite as involving as the open free-roaming between missions in Bully, but it does a good job of conveying the right sense of wonderment whilst retaining the essential ‘cutesy’ vibe. As ever in a Lego-based game, you are also free to run around the locations with your mass of unlocked characters and cause some penalty-free havoc and mess around with all the cool little Easter eggs in the world.

This is all well and good then, but at the same time there are still certain fundamental aspects to Lego Harry Potter that continue an unfortunate chain of omissions that you’d expect to be included by now. The most glaring of which has to be the lack of online co-op play – how is this feature not implemented yet? Whilst I can definitely see more kids wanting to play with friends or family on local split-screen as opposed to finding a random player online, the fact that there’s not even an option for it seems incredibly short-sighted at this point.

Plus, as a whole, there’s really nothing new here. It doesn’t break new ground, but then again nor is it really trying to. Everything from the length of each chapter to the objectives required to finish them are overtly parallel to the pacing of other Lego games. Although, I can see this being a deliberate measure taken on the behalf of Traveller’s Tales, purely based on the fact that these games are supposed to appeal to kids first and foremost and messing with the current formula may throw them off a bit.

But for good or ill, that’s not to say the game isn’t any fun for the rest of us. By the simple virtue of being a more cleverly designed game than those from recent history combined with the clear love and appreciation for the source material, Lego Harry Potter firmly stands out as the most accomplished title in the Lego series yet.

Whether you choose to forgo the story missions that interweave between the narrative of the aforementioned CG offering, (and thus, presenting many of the new cast of characters), or jump on Bullseye for a ride around the open-world toy box, the game very rarely fails to delight. The “ToyBox Mode” open world sees Woody become sheriff of the Western-inspired toy-town, western strings plucking along to the rhythm of game play, as you complete missions and mini-games as you see fit for any of Toy Story’s excellent characters. From clearing mine shafts for Stinky Pete, to sprucing up the town for Mayor Hamm and capturing criminals to throw into the town jail, the toy box represents a good deal of gameplay in only a tiny proportion of the overall package on offer. The area is large and intricately designed enough for the more mundane ‘fetch’ tasks to remain relevant and adequately challenging, whilst also familiar enough to alleviate unnecessary meanderings. Extra toys, whether vehicles or perfunctory buildings, can be bought from Al’s Toy Barn for coins that are awarded for completing missions (each with a fantastic TV style ad to match), to add to the town. The vast weight of the game comes from the story missions that perhaps best demonstrate the game’s effective and enjoyable platforming mechanics.

Though many missions are underwhelming in terms of contextualising such instances into the overarching plot, the lay-out of each are surprisingly well thought out, enabling the game to deliver a superb single player, and even better co-op experience. Revolving mostly around 3D platforming, the controls feel sensitive and in-tune with the very best of platformers, even though the level design could perhaps be improved upon for the game to stand alone on its own terms- many of the levels being a split between ‘find the item’/mini-game/platformer. The platform sections work best, infused with puzzles that handle the ability to switch characters (between Woody, Buzz or Jessie, using L1) effectively. Each of their own unique abilities (such as Jessie’s ability to land on smaller platforms or Buzz’s laser targeting), meaning many of the puzzles that break up the platforming sections are sufficiently challenging and ensuring the game’s ability to co-op with other players exceptionally rewarding, with players working together towards the end of the level. Story missions such as ‘Junkyard’ expel all that is great about the game, with each character’s abilities intertwined and interspersed between each other towards a conglomerate resolution of stopping Rex, Slinky and Hamm from entering the mouth of the junk machine- where Jessie landing on valves allows Woody to swing to the next mechanical button, thus allowing Buzz to knock down a piece of junk to Jessie for further progression, a prime example of the developer’s quality. It is instances such as these in which the game really shows the best qualities on offer, alleviating it above other movie tie-ins that so often fail to excite.

To Page 2 >>

Not accounting for Naughty’s hut, this single map consists of two relatively small areas that reveal a complete lack of effort and creativity from the level designers, if indeed there were any. Woods encompass the perimeter for concealment, winding paths serve as patrol routes for your prospective victims, and houses allow frightened bears to barricade themselves in and call for help. This help comes in the form of gun-toting police bears by way of speedboat and can also be called in by any bears lucky enough to escape your notice. After the first hour of gameplay, you will have memorised vehicle and telephone locations to ensure that this simply doesn’t happen, effectively trapping the bears for the inevitable slaughter. The game throws the occasional curveball later on but this principle is enough to see you through the majority of the game’s seven chapters with little fuss.

For a game that focuses on beating the literal stuffing out of your fellow bears, an assortment of weapons is nothing short of a necessity. Naughty has access to knives, golf clubs, baseball bats, umbrellas, frozen legs of meat and even the odd bear trap that can be placed quite blatantly in the middle of a path, ready for anyone foolish enough to step into it. You can choose to slice and dice if that’s your preferred style of play but it’s in the contextual kills that most people will find the real enjoyment. Sabotaging a piece of equipment such as a telephone, power box or vehicle will more often than not lead to an unassuming bear leaning over to fix it, leaving itself wide open for a satisfying instant kill. A bear might even do this once all of his friends have been wiped out – something you’ll find utterly ridiculous but nonetheless useful. Gunplay fares particularly badly, taking a long time to despatch your prey and feeling generally awkward to use.

It’s worth noting that although the game has just seven chapters, each one consists of five regular stages in which certain criteria must be met. Killer challenges demand the standard method of blocking escape routes and slaying every bear on the map, whereas Untouchable challenges prove to be the most difficult, demanding that the bears meet a ‘grisly’ end with Naughty himself taking zero hits throughout. This becomes almost impossible once zombears (from the aptly-named, ‘Night of the Living Ted’) begin to shuffle out of the ground, following you into the bush then soaking an obscene amount of hits before taking the fall. Invisible challenges require that Naughty not be seen more than a select amount of times, which is especially difficult given the cack-handed stealth mechanic which fails to impress from the word go.

Camera issues don’t help the proceedings much either, failing to present the world in a way that’s useful for surveying the lay of the land. It can shake, wobble and generally glitch out at completely the wrong time, with the game itself suffering from the odd framerate hiccup. The game is not a graphical marvel in any way – or indeed all that technically sound – yet it never becomes downright ugly. The voices are cute, only rarely irritating, though the narrator who initially provides the game its pre-school charm eventually wears out his welcome, much like the sullen bear himself. Every chapter gives an equally ridiculous reason for the butchery and what might have raised a smile at the beginning will be met with a bored shrug later on.

Online multiplayer has been advertised as part of the package, apparently sporting eccentrically named modes such as Cake Walk, where players must claim and keep a golden cupcake and Jelly Wars, where a team sets out to defeat Naughty by filling a mixing machine with ‘jellies’. Obviously, these modes are unlikely to persuade anyone to step away from the major releases for long, particularly as the online component is unequivocally broken. Try as we might, we could never actually begin a match, and on one occasion the game tried to dump us into a mode we hadn’t chosen at all, only to boot us off before it even began.

To be fair, Naughty Bear does feature some creative moments in the different types of enemies, cutscenes (though these repeat themselves in the sub-stages all too frequently) and quite humorous kills. Hearing a bear squeak and chirp out of fear in a hurried limp as you plot their demise is good fun when pulled off correctly and watching the AI react to the carnage inflicted on them can, at times, be sadistically entertaining. People who enjoy beating their own score and unlocking different costumes with various stats will definitely find something to work for, even if it does become a grind after the first hour or so. If you aren’t interested in these things, or you spent full whack on this release at retail, then you’ll undoubtedly find yourself disappointed, even fuming at the limitations of this over-priced title.

There can be no doubt – Naughty Bear should have been a Live Arcade title priced at no more than 1200 MS points, in which case the score would most certainly have been higher. The fact that the publishers had the audacity to give the title a full retail release, albeit with a few quid knocked off, smacks of daylight robbery given the extremely limited nature of what it has to offer. Lacking in depth and diversity but not completely devoid of charm, the game is a playable yet troubled effort that warrants little more than a one-night rent. Naughty Bear – more like Lazy Developer.

So for this weeks D+BATE we thought it would be timely to ask:

‘What’s your favourite title of 2010 so far?’

Read how the D+PAD team responded below (it would appear that D+PAD loves Mass Effect 2…).

Zoheir Beig – Bayonetta :

That Bayonetta was released just eight days into 2010 is nicely appropriate. Not only did Hideki Kamiya’s opus lay down an extremely early benchmark for all the things that games writers like us here at D+PAD care about (innovation, visual design, Sarah Palin-lookalikes wearing catsuits made out of hair), it’s my opinion that despite such a heaving, unprecedented six months of triple-A games, still nothing has come close to the madness unleashed in that first week of January.

Despite being very much an evolution of familiar third-person combat models, Bayonetta manages to somehow feel fresh. It is initially daunting, and does require a certain investment on the part of the player; merely button-mashing will only get you so far. Far more satisfying however is taking the time to slip into the game’s rhythm. Start to recognise certain visual cues, understand the seamless integration of combos and the extent to which you can personalise your approach with upgradeable moves, and Bayonetta soon blossoms into something quite beautiful.

So yes it’s a lavish third-person action game of the highest order, but Bayonetta is also something a whole lot more: its wit, balance, sheer number of ideas, pacing, visuals and fighting system of incredible depth is a staggering package; Kamiya has taken the hack and slash, and its emphasis on style, to a boundary that not many people knew existed. Whatever his intentions, whether he created Bayonetta out of frustration with the paucity of imagination in evidence elsewhere in the genre (something Devil May Cry 4 would be guilty of), or whether he simply wanted to make his own love letter to videogaming (because Bayonetta is also that), he has made a game that proves you can use the constraints of a genre creatively and not, as in for example Dante’s Inferno (another high-profile 2010 release), use them as an excuse to indulge in stifling conservatism.”

Chris Morell – Mass Effect 2

“If Bioware’s original Mass Effect was the title that launched a brand new (and rather well received) franchise then ME2 was the sequel that absolutely smashed it. Merely the second instalment of an overarching trilogy, it’s startling that such a rich, diverse and living universe has been fleshed out so thoroughly; the glossy sheen of the Citadel, the dreary slums of Omega and the Coruscant-like Illium have all become but small facets of a colossal setting, rich with potential and limited only by the imagination of the developer. It’s not that these places are always dripping with innovation (indeed, we’ve seen much of it before in prior media) but the way in which the game’s many intricacies – such as the characters, dialogue wheel, levelling system and satisfying blend of gunplay and powers – come together to form a cohesive whole is nothing short of astounding.

Mass Effect 2 is all about choice. Taking the reigns of the first human Spectre, Commander Shepard, players can choose from a wide range of actions and responses, crafting a character with a strong personality in the process. The story still has a defined set of stages that must be completed in a specific order and Shepard’s sense of purpose is the same regardless of moral standing – everything else can be tackled as and when you see fit, so long as you’re prepared for the possible consequences.

As a sequel, ME2 offers everything the fans could want and just that little bit more, as many of the complaints from the original have been addressed, with subsequent tweaks and removals serving to improve the playability of what was already a well-conceived space adventure. Granted, the cover-to-cover can still use some work and the planet scanning is more mundane than it should be, yet such criticism comes as little more than nitpicking given Bioware’s eagerness to correct its errors via online updates. With a host of downloadable content available through Xbox Live and the Cerberus Network – including a few in the pipeline looking to bridge the gap between games – there’s more than enough reason to return to this fantastic sci-fi epic.”

Simeon Paskell – Red Dead Redemption:

“It’s heartening that we’re only 6 months into the year, and there were so many games that I considered for this D+BATE. After weighing up the pros and cons, I was left with no other choice than to go with Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption.

While you could argue that it is just Grand Theft Auto on a horse, I think that Red Dead Redemption managed to transcend the high-water mark for sandbox gaming, set a new benchmark for realism in videogame worlds and make considerable strides in advancing the delivery of narratives/narrative structures. It’s a game that – once completed – leaves you with a countless memories and a palpable sense of having been there; of having lived the life of a cowboy and of having confronted the hardships that life in the Wild West presented.

Rockstar managed to take everything they learnt from the Grand Theft Auto series and improve it in nearly every way. Visually it’s utterly sumptuous; its audio is a treat for the ears and the breadth, depth and variety of gameplay on offer is simply astounding. Most importantly, it manages to transport you to another world and another time with unrivalled panache; presenting an all encompassing vision of the wild west, effortlessly encapsulating the decades of celluloid folklore whilst never losing sight of actual historical setting.

It’s also an incredibly brave title that makes many bold and challenging design choices, forgoing the obvious and genuinely breaking new ground and does much to reconfirm the reasons why I play videogames in the first place, adding fuel to the long standing hope that videogames will one day surpass movies as a means of storytelling. There’s so much to praise, so many memorable moments and so much like I simply love about it, it’s going to take something pretty damn special to shift Red Dead Redemption out of my ‘Game of the Year’ position.”

Richard Birkett – Mass Effect 2:

Released in the very first month of the year, my game of the year so far has to be Bioware’s masterpiece Mass Effect 2, which I felt refined the core experience at the heart of the first game so consistently that it was very nearly of unrivalled quality from the get-go. No other time in 2010 have I felt so enveloped in a game’s experience as this, stepping into the shoes of Commander Shepard for the second time. From its excellent cinematography and outstanding cinematic action, to its deep and atmospheric storyline and plotting, it really had it all.

As well as providing us with a presentation overhaul with a gorgeous visual quality and bright and vivid worlds that filled its narrative, Bioware went further in delivering a top-class cover based system for combat, rivalling some of the leading shooters out there. The first games clunky control system could finally be forgotten, as enemies were neatly dispatched through a hefty mix of gun play and clever use of powers. The dialogue was excellent, each character given a full and well rounded personality, and there were enough dramatic moments to rival the very biggest of Hollywood blockbusters.

With Mass Effect 2, we were presented with a rolling continuation of the vast space saga that will conclude in the final game of the trilogy, whilst the negativity that the first game held was addressed wholeheartedly. RPG mechanics were weakened (no bad thing), its cinematic offering was improved, the dialogue system was given extra weight, and action was upped. A resounding success, but did we really expect anything else from Bioware!? Sufficient to say, the third can not come soon enough!

Emmet Purcell – Mass Effect 2:

“Mass Effect is a near-perfect action RPG, and a pure example of the growing convergence of Western RPGs and third-person shooters. With cinematic-quality acting and cut-scenes, state of the art graphics, sound design and even lip-synching, ME2 is not just a perfect example of creating a videogame sequel, but of ending a videogame sequel.

Simply put, the conclusion to ME2 is absolutely unrivalled and unprecedented. Gamers across the world are still debating the significance of their leadership decisions and consequences, and bemoaning the death of their faithful comrades who are no longer available should they wish to purchase additional downloadable content.

The past six months have been perhaps the busiest, star-studded opening six months to any year, with Mass Effect 2 easily the undisputed jewel in the crown. If ME2 can fight off the likes of Red Dead Redemption, God of War 3 and Bayonetta, the rest of the year should be a cinch.”

Crackdown 2 opens with what can only be described as an archaic training section; in 2010, it’s disheartening to be presented with a clunky systems calibration as means of teaching you the ropes. The thinly veiled artifice of being asked to point the reticule at a series of lights just to ensure that your character’s neck works and that you, as the player, have the required dexterity to manipulate an analogue stick (though a means to an end) results in a distinct lack of dramatic bang and foretells of the narrative weakness that inevitably follows.

Luckily it’s not long before you’re unleashed and left to explore the game’s setting, namely Pacific City. As is to be expected, Pacific City is in all kinds of trouble; hordes of mutants have broken out of a research facility and a rebel group, known as The Cell, have risen against both the mutants and the government. The only thing standing in the way of utter anarchy is the (somewhat overwhelmed) Agency, whose dwindling resources must quash the dual-uprising, and wrestle back control of the city. It is fortunate that they have a group of super powered agents within their ranks and that some fool has scattered superpower-enhancing agility orbs across the city’s rooftops, just waiting to be snuffled up by fledging Agents.

As with the original, it doesn’t take long to realise that Crackdown 2 has the ability to devour your time, mainly as a result of the ingenious action-reward loop that is spun out by the levelling-up system. In short, the more time you put in, the more your character grows. Every orb you collect, every enemy you kill and every race you win increases your agent’s capabilities, in turn putting more agility orbs within reach. It’s a simple formula that once again serves to make an extremely addictive experience. Ruffian have expanded on the original’s agility orb fetch quest with the addition of ‘online orbs’ (that can only be collected with a partner), ‘rogue orbs’ (that actively flee) and ‘driving orbs’ that require you to mount up and put the pedal to the metal. These additions are more than welcome, adding yet another layer to the rich tapestry of Pacific City.

While the original’s orb hunt is still present and correct, Crackdown 2 is no longer structured around the task of bringing down gang Kingpins. Instead, your main objectives are the destruction of freak lairs, the capture of Cell strongholds and the activation of Absorption Units. Lairs can only be destroyed once you have activated a required number of Units, and captured Cell strongholds are quickly lost if you fail to obtain control of two neighbouring strongholds within a given time. Though the lack of Kingpins can make your task feel a bit impersonal, the Cell/Freak set up does tie-in well with the overall sense of chaos; you could say that Pacific City itself is your enemy, a character that must be overcome, tamed and wrestled back to normality.

To Page 2 >>

And it works. As the demo’s opening cut scene begins (once the loading screen has neatly portrayed a phone call), the excellent tone becomes immediately clear. It’s something that is expertly transitioned into the third-person, over the shoulder, cover-based action also, where the camera idles from side to side and waves to and fro as quality seeps and loses focus once the game play picks up.

Taking control of Lynch in the sequel, combat feels extremely well handled, from smooth transitions into cover, to the aim assisted shooting mechanics that do well to pick off enemies through the destructible cover. With the opening of the hands-on taking place in a Shanghai restaurant (more on that later), the explosive blend of action movie and grindhouse rough and tumble can be sampled. With sprinting seeing the camera jaunt up and down and side to side in trying to replicate the work of amateur cameramen, action is visceral and brutal with an unforgiving feeling of being a part of the action.

However, the short demo does little to forbid negativity coming its way. I wholeheartedly question the reason for the HUD elements when IO has gone so far in addressing the pervading sense of ‘real’. Why not go all out in having that sense of documentary film making? It seems only a part of the intention has been carried out, since the remainder of the game is still blindingly eager in promoting unrealistic gameplay elements such as relocating weapons after a fire-fight using down on the d-pad highlighting dropped weapons, or choosing to use markers for points of interest. Not that the developer seems keen in becoming lazy in other aspects of the game’s design- the attention to detail within the streets of Shanghai is simply fantastic. Stores are fully stocked (one shop has IO’s previous work on store shelves!), and the shady streets are dirty and populated with well animated characters. The sense of location is further improved with the lights of monumental skyscrapers casting shadows down onto the action.

In addition to the sample of single player campaign, the demo also features a newly introduced single-player ‘Arcade’ mode in which players must accumulate as much stolen money as possible with a team of ragtag NPC criminals against AI police officers within a four minute time period. Working together is the aim of the game if you’re to make the escape vehicle in time. However, with the money being split evenly between surviving members (used for buying additional weapons), you may want to increase your share by killing other members of your team- becoming a “traitor” and a walking target for everyone involved. Fail to escape the heist and you’ll lose a life, with each of the three rounds given getting progressively harder. The multiplayer equivalent to ‘Arcade’ is the returning ‘Fragile Alliance’, whilst ‘Undercover Cop’ selects one player to be “cop”, tasked with stopping the other players from stealing the dough, introducing a dramatic multiplayer mode in which no one can be trusted until the cop is dead. ‘Cops and Robbers’, meanwhile, is Dog Days’ take on team death match in a 6 versus 6 fight between the opposite sides of the law.

Whilst the first game was something of a disappointment, Dog Days looks really quite excellent. The cover system adds weight and refinement to the combat system whilst the presentation and immersive graphical style are well put together (unless you suffer from motion sickness that is!) The main problem I have is the sense of uniqueness- other than the visual flourishes, it offers very little different from the waves of other games already on the shelves; risking a fairly speedy journey to the budget bins.

Operation Arrowhead, a standalone expansion, also seems to be under the impression war shouldn’t last very long. The perfect war shouldn’t take much longer than a comfortable weekend of play, it seems, and that’s with frequent breaks for telly and a whole trip to the pub on Saturday night. There’s a scant six missions in the main campaign, although the package is beefed up a bit with the usual collection of scenarios and multiplayer.

It’s undeniably daunting at the start, especially if you’ve (like me) got into Modern Warfare or Bad Company in recent months. Bullets really hurt in ArmA II, and there’s no certainly no scope for any of the kind of gung-ho bravado or glistening biceps that make up most contemporary shooters. You will instead spend a lot of the time with your bum in the air, slinking your way across barren rock and occasionally sprinting from shrubbery to piles of bricks.

Enemy encounters rarely involve shooting them at a distance where you can see the whites of their eyes, although you can still run up to them after they’re dead and dance on top of their corpses. Opposing forces are usually just distant blips on the horizon, so you shoot at pea-sized opposition across the gulfs, valleys and buildings of fictional Takistan.

That might be an altogether more realistic fashion to wage wars, but it does make you eerily detached from the proceedings. Soldiers might prefer it that way, but gamers usually expect something a little more emotionally complex from their targets. I am definitely more acquainted with the Pig Cops from Duke Nukem, for instance.
The wannabe-realistic war simulator takes us to the entirely fictional land of Takistan, pitting you against the oppressive forces of Colonel Aziz who, presumably, took to becoming a videogame baddie after his career as a Saddam Hussein lookalike stopped being financially viable. Despite shamelessly fashioning the story and environments around certain obvious events in the real world, there’s very little going on to engage players with the story.

Despite having never held a gun, I get the distinct impression Bohemia can accurately capture the heft, weight and feel of an assault rifle. Give them a narrative arc, however, and they fall to pieces – the droll AI members of elite military coalition Task Force Knight have less combined personality than a single generic townsperson from Final Fantasy.

It’s because Bohemia’s talent is simulating, not creating – their extensive roster of military equipment is bolstered by the addition of thermal imaging, backpacks and UAV’s, amongst others. If you’ve been partial to taking ArmA II online then the new bits of kit offer up surprising amounts of tactical depth and entirely new ways to approach dangerous situations.

Answering the key question of any good expansion pack – should you buy it? – is a tricky one. Operation Arrowhead is standalone, sure, but I think it’s definitely preaching to ArmA II converted instead of trying to attract new fans. And while there is plenty of content for the veterans, there’s very few ways to actually get a good play with the new equipment out of the box. Fans of the mission editor will be set for a good few years, and the modding community will go absolutely gaga, but it’s a bit too much like slim pickings for the rest of us.

Operation Arrowhead still features the elements that ArmA II did so spectacularly to begin with, though, such as capturing a sense of weight and heft with even basic movements. It gives you new ways to play in its literal sandbox, new tools to muck around with and some brilliantly designed set-piece scenarios: “Laser Show” has more laser pointers than a trendy disco and creates a night-time gun battle that is beautiful, dangerous and gripping.

You’ll be unhappy if you were hoping to see bugfixes and optimisations, however. Takistan is still home to an erratic framerate, temperamental engine and the kind of sloppy AI that remains completely oblivious until you start firing. If these troops are the best Takistan can bring to the battlefield, well, it’s no wonder you can plough through Operation Arrowhead so easily.

In this weeks D+BATE, the D+PAD team pick over the remains of the show, and ponders…..

‘How will E3 2010 be remembered?’

Read on for our thoughts, and let us know what you think below.

Simeon Paskell: “I think that E3 2010 might be forgotten pretty quickly, as despite the unquestionable quality that was on display, it lacked many (or indeed any!) moments that made me go ‘Wow!’. For the big three – Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft – it was mainly about consolidating their positions and re-emphasising their respective business plans to illustrate how solid each of their platforms are.

Though this is to be expected so far into this generation’s life-span – especially bearing in mind that the usual console release cycle seem to have pedalled out of sight – it raises some interesting questions about gaming, and where it will go next. Obviously, motion controls are still very much in fad, and Sony’s and Nintendo’s dabblings with 3D mark an evolution in terms of how game visuals are delivered, but in terms of actual game design, innovation was pretty thin on the ground. Even the supposedly revolutionary Kinect couldn’t muster anything more exciting than a selection of fairly blatant Wii knock-offs.

Maybe it’s unfair to expect E3 to shatter our expectations each and every year, but as an event, we have come to expect glimpses of the future, things that make us, as gamers, fantasise about the experiences that lie around the corner and how they’ll change the gaming landscape forever, This year, it just didn’t happen. Sure, we all can’t wait to get our hands on the 3DS, bark orders at our Xbox’s and try the next generation of waggle with Move, but there was nothing on show this to suggest that these aren’t just baby steps, not giant leaps. I’m hopeful that next year – when Move and Kinect have time to mature and the potential of the 3DS has been explored a little more, there will be more likelihood of games surfacing that mark real revolutions in design.

This year – though the show as a whole was solid – it was really only Ubisoft’s Child of Eden that set my head spinning. Much of the rest – from the triple-A FPSs to racing titles – largely showed genres inching forward and adding polish. While this is still a good thing, it’s not going to knock my – or, I expect – many other gamers socks off. Or am I just getting old and cynical?”

Chris Morell: “Gamers are a cynical bunch anyway, so when Microsoft is seen dedicating over half a conference to the casual market, during an event sporting a lack of new IP’s overall, criticism will undoubtedly and quite rightfully follow.

The name of the game this year was disappointment, despite the few welcome gameplay videos for the likes of Metal Gear Solid Rising and Gears of War 3. Where Microsoft’s Natal excited, Kinect floundered, largely down to the complete lack of interesting titles on offer. If anything, E3 2010 will be remembered as the year that Nintendo hit a home run, as the reveal of the 3DS impressed journalists present almost as much as the games themselves; Donkey Kong, Metroid, Kirby and Zelda have all promised to make a triumphant return to your living room, and most of them offered playable demos on the show-floor to back up this claim.

For me, the relevance of E3 was more about what wasn’t shown – still no word on Devil May Cry 5 or a new DOA and the complete lack of footage for The Last Guardian and Arkham Asylum 2 was simply bemusing – with almost zero core announcements for Kinect serving to limit its appeal much more than Microsoft had hoped. True, the likes of Platinum Games’ Vanquish and Ubi’s Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood were present and looking pretty slick but I, like Simeon, found myself underwhelmed due to the lack of major announcements and fresh ideas on offer.

Thankfully, E3 is rarely remembered in its entirety, but rather for its many surprises and gaffes (who could forget the hilarity of Jamie Kennedy dying on stage in 2007?), so with any luck Sony and Microsoft will be able to come back next year to a clean slate and present something truly special to masses. I expect both Move and Kinect to do well this Christmas – with Your Shape: Fitness Evolved serving to slim us down following the usual holiday binge – but until we see some real games for the current audience their longevities are in question. For now, Nintendo can hold its head up high for a job well done, even if Miyamoto’s showing of Skyward Sword didn’t quite go to plan.”

Emmet Purcell: “Like every E3, this year’s event will be remembered by the press conferences of the big three gaming giants. Actually scratch that, I can barely remember a thing from Sony’s show, so let’s just stick to Nintendo and Microsoft.

I’ll always remember E3 as the year Microsoft killed gamer expectations of Project Natal. With a new name and a new audience to court, Kinect is a worrying sign for me as a core gamer. A year after Molyneux’s Milo demo had forums in rapture over the potential of controller-free gaming, we got an hour of Wii copycat titles, Dance Central excluded. In previous years we’ve always known Ninty would disappoint at E3, but we could always rely on a great MS show. This year MS went so overboard in trying to attract the Wii audience, I actually felt embarrassed for the company. And if an Xbox 360 + Kinect costs close to $400, then they’ve wasted everyone’s time – themselves included.

Nintendo on the other hand, surprised a lot of people – I wonder just how they keep some of these releases under lock a key so well, especially compared to Sony, whose numerous leaks killed any surprises during their event. I think Nintendo learnt from New Super Mario Bros Wii that they can now create games which appeal to casual audiences, then crank up the difficulty and nostalgia for core gamers. My only complaint would be the lack of any fresh IPs but that would be a little nit-picky, this was the show Ninty fans had clamoured for the last few years, with even Kid Icarus and Pilotwings showing up.

To keep it simple, E3 2010 will most likely be remembered for Nintendo’s surprises and well-received 3DS reveal, and Microsoft’s sudden change of tone regarding their audience.”

Zoheir Beig: “I think I’d echo the majority of opinions here in saying that the new hardware presented at E3, both for the first time in the case of Nintendo’s 3DS and – in the case of Kinect and Move – with one eye on imminent retail release, will take time to bed down; it’ll be perhaps a full year, until the next E3 in fact, before their success and potential can really be assessed.

The overriding feeling for me, one I heartily embrace, is that these hardware revisions haven’t meant the start of another wave of brand-new consoles (following past cycles it would’ve been quite predictable to have expected a new Microsoft Xbox, for example, at the E3 just gone). If Kinect and Move can extend the lifespan of this current generation for another good few years then very few people will complain.

But if I had to choose one highlight it would have to be Nintendo’s 3DS reveal. And the corresponding list of games, particularly those first-party titles (Kirby! Pilotwings! etc etc). And Child Of Eden of course. Is it just me though, or were there very few genuinely brand-new titles announced? Still, exciting times.”