Hosts In: Eric Bouchard and Yuoma

EDG Podcast Episode #23

The Main character in Prototype is Alex Mercer, a man with little to no memories of his past, and with a virus cursing through his veins which gives him his super powers, and has the entire United States army chasing after him. As Alex you have to use your powers to infiltrate bases, steal memories, fight soldiers and clear the city of the ever increasing number of infected. The story is told well, and the memory stealing power/feature helps you get as much out of the story as you want to: i.e. you can breeze through the main quest, doing only the missions that will get you to the conclusion fastest, or you can roam every corner of the island looking for people involved with the development and release of the virus. The story is really dark and about as cheerful as a zombie movie with a female lead character.

A sandbox game, Prototype gives you a massive version of Manhattan island to explore and enjoy, which is a good thing because you will be spending a lot of time in it, both following the main story and finding all the hidden collectibles spread throughout. Also, although it’s not a perfect recreation of Manhattan, the designers did a great job of capturing the spirit of some of New York City’s more famous landmarks. I mean, it was cool to fight the army in Times Square, and to climb the Empire State Building to reach a glowing orb, or maybe even hi-jack a helicopter as it flies over Central Park; but my breath was taken away when i was running at full speed through the streets, and had to stop and take a closer look at the spot on Bryant park where i would take my lunch breaks.

The gameplay is really where prototype shines, though at times it seems like a fancier version of Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, which is not necessarily a bad thing considering how fantastic that game was. The controls are easy to pick up, and the various powers keep things interesting for a while. These powers range from razor-sharp claws, to a long tentacle, to an armored behemoth who gains massive amounts of defense at the cost of your usually ninja-like movement. I personally loved the way the character’s movements were animated: Parkour flipping through traffic and over buildings is great, but nothing beats being in the thick of battle, getting hit by a rocket, scrabbling on all four before running at full speed and using a devastator attack to kill everything within a two block radius. Oh, and did i mention this game is violent? well, it is. Violent and bloody. some of the ways you have of disposing of enemies would make the creators of Mortal Kombat write some concerned letters to their respective senators.

The one area where this game disappointed me was in the graphic department. Don’t get me wrong, running and fighting and blowing things up looks great; but as soon as you stop running and look at anything up-close it looks so ugly and last-gen that it will make you cringe. I mean, it is understandable that at the speed at which you run through crowds and destroy thousands of cars it would be too taxing to render tons of beautiful people, trucks or buildings; but the sheer ugliness of these characters, and the amount of repetition of the same faces in the crowd (i think there’s maybe 20 different civilian sprites in the game) as you’re passing by thousands of them, makes the graphic design feel lazy and does not show the care that was taken into almost every other aspect of the game.

All in all Prototype is a great playing, at times ugly looking game that will make you feel like you really have super powers. An exciting roller-coaster ride, although if you’ve played their last Hulk game it will feel like it’s a ride you’ve already taken.

Point Lookout as it’s description implies is not a story driven experience as Operation Anchorage, The Pitt or Broken Steel before it, but is instead more of a themed environment, which is basically what Fallout 3 is anyway. Rather than prompting players to engage in a certain scripted series of events, the game simply provides a backdrop for exploration and action that the player can enjoy at their discretion. Though it does not have a single plot driving the gameplay, it is not devoid of quests either. It provides several, one in particular is fairly lengthy and could be seen as the main thrust, however the player is not obligated to complete them and can engage in them at their leisure. Point Lookout doesn’t have an ending per se and can simply be partaken of at the players discretion.

It is in this way very similar to the main world of Fallout 3 and delivers on the merits that made the original so good as a microcosm of of the Capital Wastes. There’s no war to win, no slaves to rescue or Enclave to exterminate, just an open world of possibilities, strange inhabitants to encounter and adventure to be had. I fought with local cretins, explored a crumbling mansion, climbed to the top of a light house, jumped off and killed myself, and dug for buried treasure, among other things.

As a piece of real estate, Point Lookout is a riverside bayou. It’s themes are well realized and clearly drawn with southern swampland motifs that are complete, down to the moonshine and confederate hats you’ll find scattered around. The swamp itself is very distinct from anything in the Capital Wasteland or any of the other DLC, saturated and miry with tepid ponds and streams mottling the landscape. Fog and dreary overcast skies obscure visibility, frogs chirp and spiry mournful trees festooned with ethnic fetishes enclose about you in sparse forests. Dilapidated lean-tos and creepy shacks speckle the marshland. I wasn’t a huge fan of Operation Anchorage but just as I could almost feel the freezing air in my lungs I am reminded again here of how well conceived the environments are. I can just about smell the balmy swamp air. The environment is another distinct landscape that attests to Bethesda’s desire to use the DLC to explore visual themes and concepts they didn’t have a chance to in the main game. It’s another refreshing and different experience.

The marshland theme is appropriately completed by the indigenous swamp dwellers that populate the region. Lurking about the swamp are hillbilly mutants, including a flanneled brute and a shirtless crony, as well as a lumbering buffoon that looks like a cross between Left 4 Dead and Chunk from the Goonies. My favorite of the three is the scrawny shirtless one known as the creeper, a comically grotesque pot bellied characature with the same goofy expression permanently plastered across his mug. His slinky posture and doofish tufts of hair on either side of a bald strip (yes I said strip) are always amusing to encounter up close. As a rule, these locals don’t take kindly to your presence and assail you with a variety of  local weaponry including double barrel shotguns, lever action rifles and axes.

Other enemies include swamp ghouls, (same as usual) the glowing ones and the brutally tough ghoul reavers, mole rats, Swamplarks (mirelarks) and tribals. The tribals factor into the largest quest in the game and can be either friend or foe depending on how you play your cards (the only cards I played were hot lead and I was the dealer). There are also smugglers which play a less significant role. Mirelarks, and Mirelark Kings in particular, are used to great effect in this region. They are featured prominently and seem right at home in the salty seaside murk.

The map is large but not huge and features beaches, seaside cliffs, and of course an abundance of swampland. The activities you can engage in range from modest affairs such as gathering ingredients to make moonshine, and collecting soil samples (yay!) to more involved efforts such as taking side in a local feud. Said feud is a large part of Point Lookouts gameplay and the best and longest quest it offers. It involves a dispute between a vicious mercenary ghoul and his longtime rival. I wont give away too much but it’s a lengthy and satisfying quest that gives Point Lookout some girth. The other quests, such as the moonshine one, are primarily errands and are fun for the sake of the action you encounter along the way. All in all the it’s a collection of about 5 quests and various other diversions and activities set in a new and interest environment. Nothing revolutionary, but satisfying as ever. The point is less about following a specific storyline as simply exploring the territory.

The weapons I mentioned before are less significant and flashy than the additions of previous DLC, such as the Gauss gun or Tesla Canon, but they are fun to play around with. The most impressive is the double barrel shotgun, a trusty no nonsense weapon handy for dispatching enemies with a single pulverizing blast equivalent to nearly 100 damage. It’s extremely satisfying. I have the bloody mess perk and it’s a powerful feeling watching an attacker utterly disintegrate into a chunky mist with one shot (sorry I just had to say it). The Lever Action rifle is a 32 cal. weapon similar to the hunting rifle offering slightly scoped sighting and fairly quick reloads. The axe is the melee weapon of choice for locals and if up close and personal is your style it does a respectable amount of damage. There is another more unique weapon you can acquire at the end of a quest but I’ll let you discover that one on your own.

With it’s interesting environment and cavalier gameplay, Point Lookout is a satisfying companion to Fallout 3. With the elbow room of it’s free form style and a decent amount of quests to partake and areas to explore it’s also a great value for 800 pts. I’ve spent around 10 hours playing through it. It’s another solid DLC installment. I’m pleased to see such support for Fallout 3 and hope Bethesda’s dedication continues on for time to come. There are plenty or other places in the radioactive wastes we have yet to set foot.

Sow what did I think of the game?

The Good:

Unique Battles: Unlike Knotthole Island, which in which you square off against the same creatures you face in the regular game, See the Future introduces new enemies, including the Shadow Cultists, Poison Balverarines and probably the single hardest creature in the game, the Necomancer. These new battles help make the combat feel fresh and interesting.

Though the Shadow Cultists and the new puzzle solving are nice additions, the Coliseum is what will keep you coming back for more.

Inventive Puzzles: Let’s face it; about all Fable II had in the way of puzzle solving was the flip switches, which could become repetitive and annoying. See the Future brings in the “Costume Party,” where you have to dress up in different outfits to achieve the ends set before you. Though the puzzle solving section is relatively short, it is a welcome addition.

The Coliseum: This is the part I will be playing again and again. The Coliseum, which is not unlocked until after you beat the DLC, is a five minute battle against ever increasing odds with no break in between. The weapons you enter the arena with are the ones you have to use, and you have no access to your items. In the midst of the combat, there are chickens to kick and switches to flip that increase your score multiplier. It is the most hectic 5 minutes of gameplay I have had in a long time, and I will deffinetely play it again.

The Bad:

A Little Short: I know it’s only meant to be an add on to the game, but it does not feel like See the Future is quite fully realized. It just does not seem like there is as much room to explore the new areas as there was even in Knotthole Island. Maybe I will fine more when I travel back  to the Cursed Snowglobe, but I would like to have had a more sully realized addition to the world.

Not Much of the Future to See: While the short glimpse of what is to come is nice, it really does not tell you much. For as much and they made out of that, I was expecting a little more.

The Verdict:

All told, See the Future is a nice addition to the Fable II universe. While it may not be as long as as I would like, the Coliseum more than makes up for it. If you are a fan of the series, you will not be disappointed.

For more on See the Future, check out the following video review.

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Thomas Pine, and Eric Bouchard

Intro Music by: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #22

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, David Lange, and Thomas Pine.

Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #21

Sucker Punch, the studio that brought you the Sly Cooper series on the Playstation 2, has created a brand new I.P. from the ground up. SP’s inFAMOUS is a super hero story centered around an everyday bike messenger who goes by the name of Cole. With the lack of back story or comic book tie-in, Sucker Punch has successfully created a story that is accessible to any gamer interested in jumping into the shoes of a super.

Players are introduced to the story of inFAMOUS through beautifully rendered comic book story windows. The narrative begins when a package that Cole is delivering explodes leaving Empire City – the game’s world – a mess, and Cole in a coma. Cole awakes from the coma to find the city devastated, and discovers that he has an electrical power which he can use to wreak havoc on the game’s inhabitants, or help reclaim the the world in which he lives.

Empire City is a living, breathing open world not much unlike GTA’s Liberty City.  As Cole you are given free reign to run about the world interacting with NPC’s, scaling massive buildings, and completing missions. At first glace the game’s parkour-like approach to maneuvering throughout EC, may draw Crackdown comparisons, however a little hands on time will show the gamer that the control scheme is somewhat of a mixture of Crackdown, Mirror’s Edge, and Assassin’s Creed. When Cole leaps to, or from a building he will automatically stick to the next mountable piece of environment if you are in fact close enough to said object.

Combat is handled in a few different manners – you can perform hand to hand combat, which for it’s part works really well, or you can use one of your electrically charged super powers. The standard electrical attack functions much like a gun does in a shooter with the weapon making way to the Cole’s arm, and bolts taking the place of bullets. The on screen reticule works wonderfully, and makes taking out enemies a breeze.

Probably the most compelling aspect of inFAMOUS is the choices that you are given throughout the game. You can approach each of the game’s scenarios from a multitude of angles, but one way or another you have to chose whether to play as good, or evil. Depending on the path that you take, the game will unfold differently – Cole will have access to either good or evil powers, the cities inhabitants will fear, or learn to trust you, and ultimately the game’s story will be effected.

Through the development powers of Sucker Punch, Sony has published yet another game that gives those without a PS3 a reason to purchase one. inFAMOUS is one of the most fascinating, and fun to play titles to come out, not only this year, but possibly this console life cycle. If you’re still on the Playstation 3 purchasing fence… here’s one more reason to jump on board.

The lengthy trailer is comprised entirely of gameplay and offers little information about the story, which is understandable since the stories in Mario games are always more like an excuses for the fantastic gameplay than deep plot driven narratives. The most important news however, revealed in the footage, is that Yoshi will be part of the adventure this time.

There are three different modes. The first is Practice where you can practice making words without a time limit. The second is Examination where you are to complete as many words as possible within the time limit of 3 minutes. You can choose to move onto different letters if you like after you complete a certain amount of words. The last of the modes is Challenge where you can challenge other people on Facebook via Facebook connect. You can also challenge people on your phone’s contact list by signing up to the 99games server. Wordulous also supports Local and Global high scores.

Wordulous is a lot of fun if you are into word games. If you enjoy Wordsworth then I suggest you pick this one up as well. At the writing of this review Wordulous is a mere $0.99 which is well worth the money.

GAMES:

Eric Bouchard:

Microsoft needed to come in strong with game announcements at this show. After all, we all knew what Sony had to offer, and it was starting to look like the 360 was going to be left behind. Well, Microsoft answered in a big way. While it may not in the end rival the exclusives Sony will mention, it was good to see some impressive exclusives unveiled.

Crackdown 2 and Left 4 Dead 2; two sequels worth anticipating.

Of course, Crackdown 2 is a major announcement, even if it is not exactly a surprise at this point. While it looks like they are getting away from the Cell Shaded look of the first game, it still looks good and much more in depth than the first. Then came Left 4 Dead 2. They had me at the announcement, but then throw in the new melee combat and I am hooked. Splinter Cell Conviction may actually get me into the series, especially with its promise of sandbox gameplay and real time storytelling. Forza 3 will really be an impressive entry in the racing series, though racing games have never been my cup of tea. Halo ODST looks seriously impressive, and the announcement of Halo Reach…we’ll have to wait and see just what that turns out to be.

Then came Alan Wake. Gamers have been waiting for this one ever since Max Payne 2, and the game play footage they showed was amazing. From the mini-series based story telling to the innovative use of light as a weapon, Alan Wake looks extremely impressive. I’m generally not a survival horror fan, but I will be playing this. Even better was the announcement that it is coming in Spring 2010. Finally, we have a release time frame.

The most impressive debut came after all of that. Hideo Kojima came out to announce what I had predicted, that his latest project will appear on the 360. It is going to be called Metal Gear Solid Rising, and it will be featuring Raiden. Not much else has been mentioned, but just getting the Metal Gear Solid series on the 360 is a major victory for Microsoft. Now if they could just bring MGS 4.

Looks like Microsoft will not be hurting in the games department.

Shadow Complex and Metal Gear Solid Rising were two unexpected announcements for Microsoft.

David Lange

Coming into the conference 10 or 15 minutes after it began I started watching in time to catch some gameplay for Modern Warfare 2. I liked what I saw but wasn’t blown away. The snowy environment showcased some interesting gameplay uses of the environment such as using the blizzard conditions as cover, with a weapon equipped with some type of radar apparatus. There was also a mountain climbing sequence which looked like an extension of the automated but exciting rope repelling moments from the first although. These areas increase player immersion and realism but if they push it too far it may have too much of an on-rails feeling.

One of the exclusives that caught my attention was actually an arcade game, introduced and briefly demoed by Cliff Blaszinsky and someone else who’se name escapes me. His mic was apparently not working correctly but one of the inspirations behind the gameplay he mentioned was Metroid, and what was shown of the game clearly demonstrated this. Called Shadow Complex, the game is a 2d exploratory shooter in the sci-fi style of the old Metroid games, infused with the graphics and innovation of recent action games. In addition to a huge map featuring both interior and exterior portions of the fortress, there where some cool weapons and gameplay moments that demonstrated real creativity. There was a hard foam dispensing gun that can be used to create either defence barriers or platforms, and everything from the dynamic way the character progressed through the level to some exciting mini boss encounters got me excited for the way this game seems to marry classic 2d design with sweet graphics and next gen innovation.

One of the big surprises Microsoft pulled out this year was a new MGS on the 360. As Kojima himself joined the speaker on the floor Metal Gear Solid Rising was announced. Other than the fact that the game will focus on Raiden few details where disclosed. While this is great news, I am reminded of Miyamoto’s prompting of Kojima to bring an MGS title to the Gamecube (resulting in the re-make Twin Snakes) and feel that Microsoft simply shoved a pile of cash at Kojima and said make a Metal Gear game for us. This is not to imply that this game won’t be awesome but I suspect it isnt going to be on the same level as MGS4, at least in terms of cinematic. Since the 360 is sans Blu-Ray I doubt Kojima will go through as much effort in terms of the quantity and length of the story and cutscenes. I suspect this will be a good, but possibly trimmer entry in the series.

Among other notable games announced was Splinter Cell: Conviction which featured a creative, movie-like storytelling device that brought the narrative backdrop into the gameplay, with story fragments projected on the environment. Alan Wake finally saw the light of day with an extended gameplay demo which nicely exhibited what appeared to be pretty good graphics, very solid sound design and mostly interesting looking gameplay. Gameplay was also showcased for Halo: ODST, which of course looks great in terms of gameplay and surprisingly well developed in terms of storytelling and overall production values, not that Bungie has ever dropped the ball.

Alan Wake and Halo ODST both look good. Not much was revealed about Halo Reach, but the name alone should bring ideas to the minds of Halo fans.

Using ODST as cover they also snuck in the surprise announcement for Halo: Reach. Little more than the game itself was made known but we might assume this will be the next full fledged installment of the Halo franchise with the teaser confirming that “Spartans are on the ground.”

NXE Changes:

Eric Bouchard:

The NXE really did change the 360. It was the first time a major console was completely overhauled 3 years into its life cycle. The addition of Netflix was huge, but you figured Microsoft wasn’t finished there.

Sure enough, it wasn’t. At today’s conference, Microsoft revealed Facebook functionality, including Status Update, picture sharing, connection with your friends and their 360 avatars/gamertags and the ability to save in game screenshots and post them directly to Facebook. Then just as I was telling David on Google Chat that all Microsoft needed was Twitter, it was announced as well. Looks like I’ll be getting myself a Chat Pad now. Add to that Last FM, the ability to actually browse Netflix and add to your instant queue from the 360 itself and the HD Zune Marketplace that will offer Instant On 1080p HD content and it becomes obvious that he XBox team has been hard at work adding new functions to the NXE.

The big NXE announcement, however, was the return of Live Party. When Netflix functionality was first announced on the 360, the concept of watching shows with your friends over Live was introduced. It did not roll out with the NXE, however, and it looked like all prospects of that ever happening was gone. Now it’s back, and I cannot wait.

Microsoft had said it was going to change the face of entertainment. The new additions to NXE back that claim.

Facebook, Twitter and Last.FM are all coming to NXE

David Lange

Microsoft continues to assert itself as one of the savviest media corporations around, further implementing features to its online service that increase social networking and draw it towards its elusive goal of being the home media box. Facebook and Twitter will now be incorporated as ways to further draw the online/pc and console worlds together and making it easier for friends to stay connected via these different platforms. The inclusion of Last FM and some type of cable TV streaming (Europe) and it’s clear to see that Microsoft is graduating to a much broader perception of the video game console.

Other improvements such as instant streaming of downloadable movies was announced as well as an upgrade to full 1080p HD. One of the changes we expect but none the less applaud is the ability to browse the Netflix streaming library from your console. This is the sort of thing that seems like it should have been  available from the outset, or at least something that shouldn’t have had to have waited almost a year to implement but never the less I’m happy to see it finally arriving. Another eagerly anticipated feature is the full functionality of the Live Party system, which will now allow users to watch TV shows and Movies with their friends in a party.

All these changes affirm, what a company as smart as Microsoft knows: the future of video games is broader than just games’ its audience will likewise be more diverse, and the console of the future is not simply a gaming machine but a complete media source.

Project Natal:

Eric Bouchard:

I was really hoping Microsoft would not go the whole “motion control” route. It seemed like a gimmick, and diminishing sales of the Wii seemed to be all the evidence the company would need to show gamers just don’t care.

Project Natal changed all of that. Now I am excited.

Project Natal is a new bar containing three separate cameras that track the player’s movements. The video they showed had people fighting, racing, video chatting…it all looked impressive, especially when the girl in the racing game pulled into the pits and her dad jumped up and started changing the tires. Granted, this is not actualy footage yet, but the potential is amazing.

After the video, they demoed Natal live. While obviously a work in progress, it is clear that this is the most advanced motion capture system created yet. Just as it all seemed to be winding down, out stepped Peter Molyneux. He presented Milo, an AI boy created by Lionhead Studios. This was beyond impressive. Milo reacted to the “player” in the video, including her emotions. He even interacted with her by throwing her a pair of goggles for her to wear and “taking” a picture she had drawn from her, recognizing it as a fish and even knowing the color.

Project Natal is like nothing I have ever seen. Granted, we need to see if it comes anywhere close to living up to its potential, but if it does, you can say Goodnight to the Nintendo Wii.

Could this kind of character interaction be the future of gaming? Microsoft thinks so.

David Lange

When I first watched the demo video for Microsoft’s motion capture device, Natal, I wasn’t sure if they where serious or not. What the video demonstrations implied was that Natal was advanced enough to simply read the position of your body and limbs and respond accordingly. Seeing people without a controller or input peripheral of any kind, simply move and interact with games seems like something from a movie about life 20 years from now.

Yes, the video they showed was a cheesy casual gaming scenario that featured the whole family in Wii-esque gatherings, and yes the games on display where clearly concept graphics only. But still, such a level of motion recognition and immerse interaction along with voice and facial recognition is a tremendous leap into the future of entertainment.

The stage demonstration, while a little iffy (the avatar Natal was attempting to match with the on stage performer’s motions to was humorously sporadic, with his arms twitching and wrapping around his body at one point), still proved the functionality of the device. A girls motion was captured as she played a version of breakout with her body that reminded me of the third person vantage point of the soccer game from Wii fit. The other demo was a glorified finger paint session that did little more than utilize the gesture capture abilities you would use to interface with the NXE menu system with Natal.

The most impressive demo, however, was one conducted by Peter Molyneux, in which he introduced us to Milo, a virtual boy who recognized the face and speech of a woman who interacted with him via Natal. As the camera projected her reflection into the ripples of a virtual pod it was clear how exciting the possibilities of this technology are for the future of gaming

Overall I suspect it is not quite sophisticated enough to meet the demands hardcore titles and the frenetic action and complex control set of games such as Halo or Call of Duty 4 (how do I run or pull the trigger without a button or stick? I doubt Natal can distinguish finger movements.). Since there is no additional peripheral that goes with it certain gameplay functions will be difficult to provide physical input for. It might have been wise for them to provide some type of device you can hold at the same time.

To spite a few such foreseeable setbacks, Natal is none the less a thrilling new development. Watching it’s potential at work was an exhilarating experience as a gamer. Microsoft has said Natal is already in the hands of developers so I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Final Thoughts:

David Lange

Overall it was an impressive conference for Microsoft. They did not debut as many exclusives or surprises in the software department as I expected however, nor did they debut a handheld or dedicate their time to the Zune HD which was also somewhat surprising since it’s ability to work in tandem with NXE is a great extension of the service. Still the games they showed looked promising and the improvements to NXE where good steps.

The real showstopper in my opinion was Natal, however. Though with more time and consideration I am slightly jaded as to it’s current applicability to the kind of games most hardcore fans will get excited about, it is still a very big deal. More importantly it may be the coup they needed to gain a foot hold in the casual market. They needed more than a flimsy imitation Wii peripheral to catch the faddish attention of the mainstream and the ability to control games with your body alone is a big enough deal to do it.

Also the technology, while not exactly ready to be used in say the next GTA, still has a lot of promise in the hands of talented studios. It will be hard for Nintendo and Sony to top. Here’s looking to them.

Eric Bouchard:

Microsoft has truly set the bar extremely high for Sony and Nintendo. If Natal can deliver, it could be the death knell for the Wii, and the addition of Facebook, Last FM and Twitter make the NXE far above and beyond anything Sony has done with PSN. Microsoft has shown that, as a company, it’s willing to look beyond the traditional boundraies of what is expected of a gaming console and truly try to become a multimedia entertainment system. Add to that the great games, Live Party and the new Games on Demand feature they could not include int he press conference due to time constraints, and Microsoft has made a strong bid for most impressive presenter at E3.

I had thought going into E3 Microsoft had something up its sleeve. I had no clue it would be this big.

It was surreal watching the demo video with people playing games using only their bodies to control the onscreen action. It seemed more like a concept from science fiction that real world technology but as a few stage demonstrations proved, Natal is not only functional but apparently, already in the hands of developers.

It remains to be seen how reliable the sensors are with more advanced uses, how sophisticated the technology is at this point or how well it will be implemented into hardcore titles. The stage demos, while a legitimate demonstration of an exciting new advancement, didn’t showcase much beyond it’s simple applications in avatar control and games that directly relate to that. Also, as the motion capture avatar control was being demoed the onscreen avatar went a little spastic as Natal attempted to read the person’s position.

I suspect it may not be as perfect as we might hope and aside from the presumed potential of such technology, advanced hardcore applications where not shown. Still, this announcement is huge, both for it’s future promise in the hands of visionaries such as Peter Molyneux, who offered an impressive demo of Natal’s capacity for player interaction in a game world, but also for what it means for competitors Nintendo and Sony.

By comparison, Natal obliterates the capabilities of the Wii since it frees players from the controller itself and allows for a far more diverse range of motion and interaction. Wii motion plus at this point may be too little too late but we’ll see.

Red Faction: Guerrilla takes place on Mars and your character is Alec Mason a former miner who rebels against the EDF (Earth Defense Force). Basically the EDF are the bad guys along with with Marauders which are the original inhabitants of the planet. RFG is an open-world game similar to Far Cry 2 and the Grand Theft Auto series. You can do what you want when you want. There are different types of missions that you can complete. The first type is the Gorrilla Actions, these are kind of like side quests, they aren’t necessary but they are pretty fun. Most of these missions consist of doing something in a certain amount of time, for example, destroying the building in front of you with only your hammer in under 2 minutes, or use the turret to destroy the windmills in under a minute. Some of the Gorrilla Action missions consist of going to rescue hostages from a building or stealing a truck from EDF territory and bringing it to a safe house. Each GA mission has a reward whether it be to raise the morale of the Red Faction or give you salvage. The currency used in the game is known as salvage. Salvage is picked up from destroying things as well as rewarded for completing missions.

The second of the mission types are the Destruction Targets. Destruction Targets are exactly what the name says, EDF targets that are to be destroyed. These can range from windmills to office buildings to huge EDF bases. These targets are to be destroyed to weaken the EDF’s forces. The last of the mission types is the actual campaign missions. These missions are usually pretty long and consist of doing more than one thing. If you played the demo you saw one of the campaign missions. Infiltrate an EDF base camp and steal a Walker. Take the Walker to the truck and then defend the truck as it escapes. The campaign missions usually have more of a structure. It’s these missions that when completed will get you further in the game. As you complete these missions you also unlock new areas of the map to explore and conquer.

By completing missions you receive salvage. Salvage is then used to buy upgrades. Some examples of upgrades would be being able to carry more remote charges, or being able to increase the amount of charges you can lay down at one time before detonating them. Other upgrades include better weapons and increasing the amount of damage your armor can withstand. It’s these upgrades that I look forward to most in the game. They change the game up and give you a reason to get more salvage.

There are a few things that instantly stood out about the game for me. One being the fact that the shooting is very accurate and feels great. Another being the vehicles. There is a wide range of vehicles and they are all fun to drive. Some vehicles even have turrets which you can switch to at any moment. Another thing I liked was the fact that they took the narrator from Crackdown, this gave it a great feel. The last thing and also the most important aspect of the game is the fact that everything is totally destructible. Everything. You can go up to a huge tower, destroy the foundation and the whole building will fall down and crumble to pieces. This is at times pretty amazing and this is what makes the game so fun.

Overall Red Faction: Guerrilla is in my opinion a day one purchase if you like open-world games. If you are skeptical, try out the demo, I bet you will enjoy it. I did not play the multiplayer modes at the time this review was written but the single-player campaign alone is enough to merit a day one purchase in my opinion. I plan on putting many more hours into the game so I am happy it was released right in time for the summer months. It looks like all my time is going to be spent on Mars this summer.

An official press release posted at http://www.egmnow.com/press1.html states EGM founder Steve Harris has bought the rights back from Zip Davis and intends to print the magazine again.

Granted, he probably won’t be able to get the old crew back together, but this is still good news for gamers.

Turns out there was this old gaming company called Edge Games owned by Tim Langdell. He claims to have copyrighted the word Edge as far as it’s use in gaming goes. This is not the first time he has forced a company to change it’s name. Remember when Soulcaliber used to be called Soul Edge? Namco was forced to change it for the same reason.

The biggest joke in all of this is Edge Gaming has not released a game since 1994. So just how is an iPhone/iPod Touch game made this year going to be confused with that company?

Now the makers of EDGE are in negotiations to get use of the name back, but my question is why should they need it? Did I judge really rule they needed to change the name? Or did Apple just see someone claiming to have a copyright and remove the game without further evidence?

Either way, all this is doing is depriving gamers of a great game.

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It’s a clever approach and since handheld gaming devices are gradually becoming integrated with other technologies as multi-purpose phones, mp3 players etc. the market is more wide open and in general more forgiving since companies can borrow the popularity and demand of those other tchnologies while they develop their presence and viability in the handheld gaming industry.

The announcement is not a full fledged commitment by Microsoft but it’s reasonable to assume they’re eyeing the handheld market. This is a logical step in that direction and they’re not going to miss the opportunity to at least dabble in it. Microsoft has modestly stated in regards to the Zune HD “Gaming is a big opportunity for us.” No kidding.

As Patrick remarked on this week’s podcast with the NXE Arcade and community games marketplace being so well established the proposed integration to Live gives the system immediate access to an existing library of games.

With E3 at our doorstep it will be interesting to see how this develops.

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Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, David Lange, and Thomas Pine.

Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #20

UP is an adventure/action type game like most movie games. You can take control of and switch between either Carl or Russell (and later Dug) but honestly this game is best played with a friend controlling the second character. I played through it with a friend. What I liked most about the game was that each character had a specific role that they did in specific spots. For example Carl was always the one who would jump up and use his cane to reach a ledge and then pull Russell up and Russell was always the one who would shimmy across ledges and pull Carl up with his rope. These actions weren’t interchangeable, they could only be done by the specific character. This made team-work crucial. I almost feel like UP did the whole co-op thing a lot better than Army of Two did.

The basic gameplay is get from point A to point B while collecting coins and smashing bugs. You also collect artifacts and mementos along the way. Being a perfectionist it was great fun smashing all of the rocks and mushrooms to collect things. I never was bored of the game, I always wanted to keep playing. This was mainly due to the fact that the environments were very diverse and looked very polished. The game is definitely a great looking game. Another thing I enjoyed was the fact that the movie scenes wouldn’t start until both characters were present, this was actually helpful because I would sometimes hang back and collect more coins than my friend would, so I didn’t have to worry about a movie scene cutting into my coin collecting.

The two things I didn’t like about the game were the dogs, these are the only real “enemies” you encounter other than spiders and wasps but they were all kind of annoying. I could never quite block their attacks at the right time. The other thing was the camera, while the camera was great most of the time it did sometimes hang back and do weird things that made it hard to play the game. Sometimes we would have to back track a little to get the camera to reset and follow us.

There are 11 levels total in the game and the game is disappointingly very short. We finished it in about 3-4 hours. This is my only major complaint. The $40 price tag for the Xbox 360 version (which I played for review) is great but might be a little too expensive for the length of the campaign. There are 3 multiplayer modes however. All of them consist of flying a plane but they are all pretty fun. The first mode is “Attack” which is the basic shoot your friends down mode, the next is “Pop” where you are to be the first to shoot and pop 100 balloons, and the last mode is Team where you are to shoot the vital parts of the other teams “drigible” to destroy it. There are 7 maps that you can play these modes on.

Overall UP was a lot of fun. Even though we breezed through it I enjoyed it very much and would love to play it again just to collect all of the mementos and artifacts. I do recommend picking this one up if you have a second person to play it with. While the campaign is short the multiplayer modes are enough to keep you busy for a little longer.