The first big change seems to be the introduction of ‘Pure Shot’. This is being heralded as an innovation to how players shoot on goal. Apparently, shooting has been transformed since the last game, giving players the intelligence to adjust their stride, positioning and timing to strike the ball with precision. It seems as though this will make striking the ball more accurate and realistic, leading to more satisfying goals and, most likely, devastating misses. This also seems to go hand in hand with the new ‘real ball physics’, meaning that a well struck shot will leave the soccer ball flying through the air like an arrow and a poor shot will leave it bobbling around the pitch.

EA have also stated that players will now be able to ‘protect the ball’ to help dictate and control play in midfield. This is a welcome addition to the FIFA series. It was something that they attempted with the realistic dribbling and close control of FIFA 13, but it was far too easy to barge the players out of possession. This often left midfield feeling over crowded, with as much free space as my six year old 20GB XBOX hard drive (not much space at all). Hopefully, now players like Arsenal’s Wilshire, Juventus’s Pirlo and Barcelona’s Iniesta will actually be able to control play, make powerful runs and pick those characteristic pinpoint passes with enough room to swing a proverbial cat.

In previous FIFA titles, scouting was incredibly passive, allowing your scout to jet to far off lands and bring back players like some exotic animal that was best seen and not used. These players often took an age to improve and were never really overly useful for the team. Now it seems as though the players you’ll be bringing in could have a real effect on your squad. Hopefully this will enable you to choose players with attributes that will actually help refine and boost your squad rather than just sit on the bench, sucking away at your precious budget. Finally, EA have promised that AI players will have attacking and defending intelligence. Now, this was a change that they initially brought to FIFA 13 but, sadly, it wasn’t overly effective. Players did seem slightly more intelligent, true, but they still made idiotic mistakes that, in professional soccer, would leave a player benched – probably for eternity.

It looks like FIFA 14 is shaping up to be the best the series will have ever offered. I’m pretty sure that I said that in last year’s FIFA preview. Keep an eye on inMotion Gaming for all of the latest information on EA’s next instalment to the FIFA series.

Written by

Alec Ward

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The first two BioShock games have been held in incredibly high esteem. The creepy underwater dystopia of Rapture was home to one of the most powerful and engaging stories ever to grace the next generation console. With BioShock Infinite, 2K Games, Irrational Games and Human Head Studios decided to leave the deep lagoon of Rapture behind and focus on the pearly white sky city, Columbia. There was a real threat that this third instalment could step away from more than just the setting. The creepily dank and twisted city of Rapture was all part of a wider theme of the insanity of the masses that made the first two BioShocks such popular games. Stepping into this idyllic cloud city could well have removed all that players loved about the BioShock series in one fell swoop. There’s no room for insanity in paradise, you would assume. Well, BioShock Infinite seems to hit the nail perfectly on the head. This is a city built on the insanity of one man, with danger, shock, as well as twists and turns, all awaiting you around every corner.

There is so much that could be said for BioShock Infinite, but it feels as though no words could ever be enough to convey the brilliance that is this game. It’s worth a try though, I guess. The best feature about this game is the story. Video games have an incredibly hard job to do when it comes to building a story. Like a movie it has to be a continuous arc, with as few breaks as possible, otherwise it could become confusing or lack depth. Unlike a movie it has to be experienced in sections, as few gamers will sit and play a game solidly from start to finish like they would watch a film. Thus, the story has to be engaging enough to come back to but not so engaging that it would be difficult to find a natural break. BioShock Infinite executes its story to perfection. Detailed bits of narrative are seamlessly broken up by chunks of combat and map exploration. In the quiet periods, Infinite throws various segments of back story at you, from audio logs in the form of Voxophones and miniature cine reels in the form of Kinetoscopes. These help give depth to the game, as well as fill in small gaps to the main story and connect up those quiet periods of exploration to the main quest.

Yet, it never feels like you are being diverted from the job at hand, saving the girl. The girl, in this case, being Elizabeth (movingly voiced by Courtnee Draper) – a Rapunzel like damsel in distress, locked in her tower with just her books, music and giant mechanised guardian bird for company. The player will become Booker DeWitt (brilliantly voiced by Troy Baker), a reluctant hero, whose only goal is to ‘retrieve the girl and wipe away the debt’. Booker isn’t your classic ‘knight in shining armour’; in fact his armour is anything but shiny. As the game develops you will uncover segments of his past that shape your view of him as a man. He’s no hero, at least not at first, anyway. Initially, Elizabeth is merely a means to an end for Booker, a way of clearing his debt. His actions are, at first, malicious – hiding his intentions from the slightly naïve, newly released, Elizabeth. Eventually, once the truth is out, the pair will build a partnership on mutual gain. Elizabeth wants to leave and Booker wants to wipe his debt. But this is just the bottom of the gigantic iceberg that is BioShock Infinite. There is no predictability to this story, even though the premise is so beautifully simple.

The setting is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive sights to be found in a game. In the opening twenty minutes, Columbia had the feel of a quaint little American town. A family friendly carnival had been set up for the residents to enjoy, bands played on stands and a Barbershop Quartet sang a rendition of “God Only Knows” on a floating blimp. The townsfolk were clad in turn of the century clothing and every citizen greeted you with a smile and a cheery hello. But, look a little closer and you can spot signs that something isn’t quite right with Columbia. Children smoked cigarettes in a dark corner of the carnival (shocking by today’s standards, but not so much back then) and racist slurs flowed from the mouth of Father Comstock – the religious zealot come self proclaimed prophet. Tensions bubble under the surface of Columbia’s society, with a harsh, racial and rich / poor divide. A secretive organisation in the form of the Vox Populi, threaten to overturn the tyrannical prophet and return Columbia to the people. All of this wonderful back story helps bring Columbia to life. It feels like an American city, it feels alive. Not only this but it looks beautiful too. The city literally floats among the clouds but at no point will you find yourself doubting the reality of this floating paradise. Not that it’s a paradise for long, however – things will quickly turn awry in true BioShock style.

The gameplay itself has changed very little from the original titles. The weapons are pretty much the same and the combat system remains relatively unchanged. The Vigors (powers gained through Booker digesting various coloured liquids, much like the plasmids and tonics of the BioShock of old) have had an overhaul, however. They give Booker the ability to force enemies into the air and slam them to the ground, encase them in a whirlpool of water or burn them in an explosive fireball. It’s even possible to place these powers on the floor like mines, waiting to trap unsuspecting enemies. These powers can even be combined together for ultimate destruction.

The two biggest changes to gameplay can be found, firstly in the way in which the player navigates around the map. As Columbia is a floating city, it’s necessary for the player to jump from one platform to the other. This experience has been made all the more enjoyable by the introduction of Skylines. These are basically zip-lines that allow players to zip from one platform to another, as well as traverse different levels with ease. Trust me when I say that this is no ugly way to travel.

The final change can be found in the involvement of Elizabeth in combat. Elizabeth plays a huge part in how Booker shoots his way through Columbia. During combat she will throw you ammo and health as well as salts (to restore your Vigors). She will also use her ability to ‘open tears’ to bring in allies from parallel dimensions, cover that wouldn’t usually be there and weapons that would otherwise not exist in your world. Agreed, it’s confusing, and you’d be right in wondering why she would have to go to such lengths to help out when she could just as easily pick up a rifle and get her hands dirty. But Elizabeth’s role as Booker’s Guardian Angel is one that the player cannot do without. It’s very noticeable when Elizabeth is removed from the game, ammo is difficult to come by and health seems to be but a distant memory of times gone by. I often found myself relying heavily on her guidance, and even in the quiet parts of the game she will throw you coins that she finds as well as point out hidden loot and lock picks. She truly is an asset to the player, as well as a brilliantly developed character, possibly one of the best female characters in the gaming world.

To be perfectly honest, I have barely scraped the surface of the game with this review. There is just so much to love about it. The general atmosphere around Columbia is incredible, the sights and sounds are beautifully rendered and wonderfully chosen, the voice acting is second to none, the combat is engaging and enjoyable and the story drags you deep into this perfect little world that 2K have created. All I can say is, 2K Games, Irrational Games, Human Head Studios and Darkside Game Studios – please, take a bow.

Written by

Alec Ward

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The original Army of Two brought a well needed injection of comedy and action to the shooter genre. Before its arrival games such as Call of Duty and Medal of Honor ruled the roost with their stuffy take on first person shooters. Sure, they were realistic and well made with gripping stories, but they weren’t ‘fun’. Not in the sense of what Army of Two brought to the table, anyway. Both Army of Two and Army of Two: The 40th Day focused on the idea of camaraderie in battle. This is why their co-op campaign element was hard to beat, near impossible in fact.

When it was first announced that EA were moving away from the original duo of Rios and Salem and opting for new characters, Alpha and Bravo, fans of the game series were slightly concerned. The partnership of Rios and Salem had ran through the first two games, it was a coupling that fans were comfortable and happy with – their off the wall antics and tongue in cheek humour gave a different edge to what could otherwise have been a boring shooter. After all, Army of Two is one of our favorite co-op games here at iMG. The new paring seems lacklustre when compared to the original duo. Rios and Salem were charmingly stupid and well, pretty awesome, Alpha and Bravo seem rigid, undeveloped and, in truth, they lack personality. It’s understandable that these characters could seem undeveloped; they’ve been given a starring role in a trilogy of which they’d never before played a part. The original guys do make a return in a number of the missions to lend an experienced helping hand but, sadly, they are NPCs – still, their appearance was a pleasant break from the unnatural and disappointing relationship that had been formed between Alpha and Bravo.

However, the story itself was well crafted. Numerous cameo appearances from various different characters kept it feeling fresh and helped break up the awful one liners between Alpha and Bravo that plagued the general gameplay. It was full of action and more than enough excitement for one game, with a few surprising twists and turns that made the storyline one of the best aspects of this title. Shooting your way through the slums of Mexico, crumbling hotel rooms and desert villages was enjoyable, if a little bland. The locations felt as if they were missing a certain depth that games such as Battlefield 3 seem to nail pretty well. It’s not that the game graphics were poor, just that there was a certain lack of attention to detail that its competitors manage so well.

The gameplay was slightly less impressive with combat seemingly unchanged from the earlier games. In all fairness, it’s notoriously difficult to make combat effective and engaging in third person shooters. If you want to see a game do it well, check the Gears of War series. The combat system really needed an update to bring it in line with today’s shooters, but sadly EA opted out. They have recycled old features from the original game and, rather than adding something new to the mixer, they instead dropped a few elements from the originals that made them so charmingly quirky. Most noticeable of all is the choice to loose the ability to interact with your co-op partner. In the games of old, Rios and Salem would fist bump, play rock paper scissors and rock out with air guitars in the quiet periods of the game. Alpha and Bravo seem to be under much stricter orders, with ‘fun’ being severely out of the question.

Furthermore, quiet periods of game play have been replaced with waves and waves of enemies who seem to run single file into the muzzle of your gun. Yet, combat is still enjoyable, especially when it comes to co-op tactics. Flanking, drawing fire, and dummying are all simple to do and add a ‘we’re in this together’, sense to the game. The co-op campaign is the most important part of this game; it’s what it has been developed for. If you were to play this on your own you would be missing out on a lot of the game’s best features. To be honest, playing this game as a single player shooter will leave you bitterly disappointed. If you’re looking for a single player shooter, try Call of Duty or Battlefield; Army of Two just won’t be for you. It is called Army of Two, after all.

EA have added a lot of customisation options, really building on the previous two titles. Players can now create their own masks for Alpha or Bravo leading to some cool creation possibilities. This really lets your creative side shine with endless possibilities for mask designs just waiting to be made. Not only this but it’s possible to customise their kits, guns and tattoos, allowing you to truly make Alpha or Bravo your own – if only they had as much personality as they do outfits.

Online multiplayer was first added to the series in Army of Two: The 40th Day, and it was met relatively well. However, online multiplayer has been dropped from this title. EA decided to focus on the campaign rather than spend their time adding a, presumably, unnecessary multiplayer option. Usually this wouldn’t be a bad move. Recently, games have had an unneeded multiplayer element added (such as Tomb Raider and Mass Effect 3) where the campaign was more than enough to keep your attention. However, this title could have used a good multiplayer element to help support the slightly disappointing campaign mode. It could easily have tipped the scales from a mediocre title to something slightly more special.

If you can play Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel with a friend then you’ll probably have a good game on your hands. If your friends seem reluctant to buy the game then it’s probably best to avoid it altogether. This game has had some bad press of late, receiving mixed reviews from critics. It’s not that it’s a bad game; it’s just not a game that you should play by yourself, which was probably EA’s intention.

Written by

Alec Ward

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Released in late 2011, Dead Island debuted to much hype because of its stunning trailer. Many players waited for the same gameplay and off-scale drama that the groundbreaking trailer exemplified. But the reality was far more prosaic. This was a marketing move, and had nothing in common with the game itself. Dead Island was a brutal, bloody action game, where the only priority was to destroy zombies with any materials at hand. No need to say that the plot and characters played only a minor role in all this carnage. However, this fact did not stop Dead Island from finding its fans and selling 5 million copies. But all those players who wanted to see drama in zombie apocalypse decorations has got it a year later from other developers.

In its essence, Dead Island: Riptide is the attempt of Polish studio Techland to show the world what the original game should have looked like: improved, with no bugs and other irregularities that plagued many gamers to fully enjoy the survival on the cursed island. To say it briefly, the developers promise us almost a “perfect Dead Island” with all the ensuing consequences. Only the absence of major gameplay changes hasn’t allowed them to add a number “2″ to the title. At the same time, the amount of in-game content increases so much that you will unlikely call Riptide a simple addition.

No Escape

Dead Island: Riptide will continue the story of familiar characters established in the first game. Four survivors safely landed on the deck of a warship, but a nasty surprise waited for them instead of peace and respite. Not only did the military give them a very cold reception, but the nightmare from which they tried to escape from reached them again. The deadly infection that gives birth to zombies entered the ship, and soon the whole crew became infected. Enveloped by chaos and storm, the ship eventually loses control and crashes near a new tropical island.

Fate decided to play a cruel joke with the characters, having returned them to the usual decorations. Palanai, the setting of Riptide, looks uncannily like the island Banoi from the previous game: the same beaches, sea, sun and sand, and the walking dead out there, no less. Techland has stated that the new island will still have some distinctive features, such as the abundance of flooded spaces. The fact is that Palanai was badly damaged by monsoon rains. Even the island’s lone city, Henderson, was unable to avoid this natural disaster.

Incessant rains have turned the tropics into a swamp, so the only convenient way to travel will be via boat. If you felt invincible in a car back in Dead Island and could scoff zombies as you wanted, that won’t work with a flimsy motorboat this time. In Riptide, the infected learn to cling aboard, interfere with your movements, and try to get inside. To avoid becoming an easy target, it is necessary to bat them down with oars or whatever makeshift weapons you could find. A bat studded with nails or a sharpened machete will be very useful in such moments.

Water will interfere with players greatly, while the living dead do not experience any discomfort of being in it. The developers decided to add a dynamic system of weather change to the game. For example, a heavy rain may suddenly appear, and it will be difficult for you to even see. A zombie may suddenly jump out of this rainy wall and attack you with its heartbreaking cries. Walking through knee-deep water slows all your movements down, and a ghoul in the river will definitely choose the worst possible moment to catch hold of your heel.

These are just small tricks of the ordinary infected, and you’ll get used to them eventually. But don’t forget about new zombies species too! As for now, the developers mentioned only a couple of new freaks: Grenadiers and Wrestlers. The former are covered with terrible abscesses, and they use them as grenades. Tearing away a hefty chunk of itself, a zombie will throw it straight in the direction of the players, and the explosion won’t be possible to avoid. But everything is much easier with a Wrestler. This is a massive, hulking thug with a hefty hypertrophied hand. He will shake the ground with his club and knock out anyone who comes too close.

Back to Hell

Gamers who are familiar with zombie invasions will find themselves in a familiar situation: the army of evil dead around and only one vague goal – to survive at any cost. And as we know, the easiest way to survive is a good company. Just like its predecessor, Riptide will be primarily designed for cooperation. You will have a great opportunity to gather a good team and go into a tropical hell once again. Moreover, the developers allow you to import all the characters you played as from the previous game.

All those players who prefer playing alone, or newbies who are just beginning their acquaintance with the series, won’t be left without attention too. They will be able to test a new character – John Morgan. John was a cook aboard the aforementioned military ship and joined the four survivors after the wreck. In general, he’s a really good guy: professional military, and a martial arts master.

Dead Island: Riptide follows in the footsteps of the original game, and looks as if it just might a better experience. The landing on a tropical island will be held on April 26. Have a good time with friends and zombies!

Written by

Alex Strike

This article was provided by Alex Strike, a copywriter of writing-help.com. He is a passionate gamer who can’t live without his Xbox 360.

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Update: 7 April 2013

In a quite shocking turn of events, Nintendo has revealed a new Pokemon–one that looks uncannily related to the classic Pokemon Mewtwo. It is unclear at this time if it is a new Pokemon entirely or an alternate form to the famous monster. Nothing else has been revealed, including its name and typing.

Original Article

Every few years, the power couple that is Nintendo and developer GAMEFREAK ushers in a new era of their uber-franchise, Pokemon. For nearly two decades now, the series has introduced a horde of games and nearly seven-hundred of the titular pocket monsters. The most recent ‘generation’ of Pokemon games, Black, White, Black 2 and White 2, were critically acclaimed for moving the admittedly stale franchise forward in an exciting and fresh direction.

It now seems that the Pokemon franchise is moving forward once again. Pokemon X and Y have been announced for a simultaneous worldwide release sometime this October. This 6th generation of Pokemon introduces some truly huge departures for the series, as well as more Pokemon to catch, train and battle.

Pokemon X and Y will have fully-realized 3D graphics. The series will no longer be sprite based, as it has been done since the original games, Red and Blue. Everything, from your player character to the Pokemon themselves, has a unique character model. Despite this, movement in the field appears to still be grid-based. That means your player character will only move up, down, left or right, with no diagonal movement possible.

Battles are also fully realized. For example, Pokemon will react to being hit by certain moves. This builds on the previous generation’s gameplay enhancements, with Pokemon having moving sprites during battle. Attack effects have also been enhanced and look even more dynamic than ever. The environments in which battles take place are even fully three-dimensional.

Pokemon X and Y will be exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS, and unavailable for any incarnation of the Nintendo DS. Both games will be available to download directly to the 3DS via Nintendo’s popular e-Shop application. It should be noted that this is the first time a Pokemon game will be available at the same time in Japan as the rest of the world. This means Pokefans across the world can experience the new games together.

Pokemon X and Y Official Reveal Trailer

This new, dynamic world looks to be very detailed and very fun. Pokemon X and Y will be set in a new region, the name of which is currently unknown. It does appear to at least be inspired by Europe (more specifically, France) the same way the previous generation’s region, Unova, was directly inspired by New York City.

Pokemon X and Y will return to the series norm of including older Pokemon along with brand-new ones in the main part of each game’s story. In Black and White, by contrast, the player couldn’t even witness Pokemon of past generations until finishing the game’s main narrative.

With every new set of Pokemon games comes, of course, new Pokemon. As of this update, there are six known official new Pokemon being debuted in X and Y. They are:

Froakie, Fennekin, and Chespin

These three constitute this new region’s starter Pokemon. Like all starter trios in the Pokemon series, they are typed as Water, Fire and Grass respectively. These are the only new Pokemon whose types are officially revealed. At this time, there has been no official reveal of each starter’s evolution family. Chespin appears to be based on a hedgehog and/or porcupine, making it the first Grass-type starter to not be reptilian. Fennekin most likely uses the real-life fennec fox for its inspiration, while Froakie is obviously based on a frog.

Xerneas and Yveltal

These formidable looking creatures appear to be the stars or ‘version mascots’ of Pokemon X and Y, respectively. Virtually nothing is known of them yet, including their types. You can see the ‘X’ and ‘Y’ motifs that each beast is designed after, however. Xerneas and Yveltal may be the most confusing Pokemon names yet; proper pronunciation of each is ‘ZURR-nee-us’ and ‘ee-VELL-tall.’

Sylveon

Arguably the most controversial new Pokemon so far revealed is Sylveon. It is the newest in the ‘Eeveelution’ family of Pokemon, or different creatures that share a common base form in the classic Pokemon Eevee. Due to their designs, this collection of Pokemon is incredibly popular, and Sylveon is already forming a fanbase all its own. Like Xerneas and Yveltal, its type has not been officially revealed.

Little is known about Pokemon X and Y, but the games are already shaping up to be nothing short of revolutionary. As the October 2013 release date approaches more information will be made available. Keep it here at inMotion Gaming for Pokemon X and Y news updates you can trust.

That being said, I think Chespin is the coolest starter out of the new three, by far. Disagree? Let us know which your favorite is in the comments below!

Written by

Christopher A. Carlson

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As of April 3rd 2013, one of the biggest names in the gaming industry—LucasArts—is no more. Rather, it won’t be creating games anymore. The studio’s staff of 150 were laid off and its new parent company, Disney, is using the name LucasArts as a licensing firm—so that third party companies can create games having to do with Star Wars, Indiana Jones and so on.

Although the studio was never as large or successful as say, Electronic Arts, it will always be remembered as one of the pioneers of modern video gaming. Out of respect for LucasArts’ brilliant minds and people, we at inMotion Gaming have compiled a list of some of our favorite games to ever be developed and/or published by this truly legendary studio.

The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)

When it comes to point-and-click adventure games you could easily make a strong argument for LucasArts as the be-all-end-all when it comes to developing the best of them. Nothing could be truer of this than the Monkey Island games; the first of which, ‘The Secret of Monkey Island’ has to be my favourite.

Monkey Island is a game with wit; its humour is a wonderful blend of deadpan comedy and outlandish situations that go together so well with its characters that seem so blissfully un aware of the idiotic of the world they inhabit.

It has truly earned its place in the nostalgic memories of the older gamers who originally played it and has been discovered by a new generation thanks to its HD revival. Perhaps its biggest strength is that you can talk about how much fun it still is to play without needing to ever spoil the plot, which I’ll summarise for those who’ve yet to experience this marvel.

You are Guybrush Threepwood, a wanna-be mighty pirate, who to become a full pirate has to undertake several trials. Things get out of hand when he falls in love with Governor Elaine Marley, who’s quickly kidnapped by a ghost pirate. Guybrush then embarks on a high-stakes rescue mission to save his love.

Play it for yourself and maybe 20 years on you’ll still remember how you wanted to be a mighty pirate, too.

-David Wyatt, Video Features

Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993)

This gem of a game defined multiplayer for me as a child. In a game which was as weird as it was challenging, having a buddy blast zombies with waterguns with me was truly a childhood memory I’ll never forget.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors was released on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis in 1993. It was developed by LucasArts and published by Konami. For those who have never played it, I highly recommend that you do. The game is best described as a zany top-down shooter overflowing with personality.

The game had you control either Zeke or Julie—or both, in multiplayer—as they struggle to fight hordes of demons invading their neighborhood. That is basically the extent of the story. There’s no mythical blade to collect, no ancient demon come to life—just two kids, miles of zombies, and enough weaponry to rival that of the Worms games.

On their quest to rid their neighborhood and the rest of the world from the clutches of evil, Zeke and/or Julie must rescue at least one civilian per level. With 48 regular missions and 7 bonus levels, Zombies Ate My Neighbors lasted a good long while. Grabbing a buddy to play the game’s 2-player mode with is encouraged, as the game gets incredibly hard towards the end, in true Super Nintendo action game fashion.

I think that the kind of spunk Zombies bore defined gaming in the mid-90s. It was weird, yeah, but it was also really fun and very unique. Zombies Ate My Neighbors is fondly remembered by those who played (and were terrified by) it in their childhood. It had a sequel, entitled Ghoul Patrol, but that ended up how most sequels do—not nearly as good as the first.

-Chris Carlson, Editor

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

When I was a mere 8 year old lad I wasn’t lucky enough to have my very own PlayStation. We had a PC and an old Saga Mega Drive but the ‘new generation of console’ wasn’t on the top of my Christmas list back in 1999. As a young boy I had always been fascinated by the Star Wars franchise; to be honest, I liked the lightsabers. So, when I stepped into the kids play area of my local restaurant after a lovely meal I was, understandably, drawn towards the PlayStation in the corner of the room. The PlayStation was neglected as the other children opted for the climbing frames and foam swords. I, however, was enticed by the look of the game loaded on the console – Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Developed by the short-lived Big Ape Productions and published by LucasArts, the game itself was incredibly detailed for its time. The graphics seemed smooth, the game play was quick, responsive and exciting. It goes without saying that attempting to play the game now would probably give me a headache but, at the time, I was captivated. I played for a good hour, slowly drawing a small crowd to watch my slightly pixelated adventure unfold. Sadly, I had to leave the quest unfinished as I was eventually torn away from the screen by my parents. However, after a few months of patiently waiting, my parents eventually bought me my very own PlayStation with a new copy of the game.

It was LucasArts that introduced me to the joys of console gaming. The Phantom Menace still is one of my favorite games. I am sad to see LucasArts go; it’s a loss to the gaming world indeed.

-Alec Ward, Assoc. Writer

Star Wars Galaxies (2003)

Star Wars Galaxies was developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts on June 26, 2003. Its servers were online until December 15, 2011. For seven and a half years, the game captivated subscribers like me with its limitless options and paths for players to pursue. You could be a gunslinger of many varieties, such as a marksman, or a pistoleer. “But wait,” a lot of gamers might say, “that sounds like every other sci-fi MMO ever made!” Au contraire, ladies and gentlemen.

Where SWG broke the mold was with its introduction of noncombat classes. You see, players could decide to be artisans. But within that path, they could also choose to focus on tailoring, droid building, gunsmithing, armorsmithing, mining, architecture, furniture, medical supplies…the list goes on and on.

And if that didn’t strike your fancy, but you still wanted to skip the nitty-gritty of combat, then you could take up the role of Medic. When players died, they accrued “wounds,” limits placed on their three status bars (Health, Action and Mind) that could only be healed by Doctors (Health and Action) and Entertainers (Mind).

While the game went through multiple redesigns and eventually suffered the fate of many an ailing MMO by turning into what was essentially World of Warcraft with Star Wars textures, it maintained a strong, loyal community that loved it to the very, very end. I played it from release to shutdown, and it provided me with many of my very favorite memories of gaming, and helped me develop friendships that I continue to maintain now.

The closing of LucasArts is like a pinch of salt dropped onto the wound left by SWG’s server shutdown last December. Knowing I may never again have an experience like the ones I had in SWG is a hard thought to bear, and I tip my hat in the memory of LucasArts as an oft-troubled, yet doggedly determined presence in the gaming industry.

-Will Brunelle, Assoc. Writer

Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb (2003)

Sure, it wasn’t the greatest Indy game to ever grace our consoles, but let me tell you—she’ll fool ya. Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb was a great game, even if it wasn’t a ‘great’ game. Emperor’s Tomb was developed by The Collective and published by LucasArts in 2003. Featuring several long levels and a surprisingly good Harrison Ford impersonator, Emperor’s Tomb did its best to capture all the adventure and suspense that is Indiana Jones.

And it achieved that, for the most part. The story was excellent, and the game leads right in to the classic movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The levels were partially interactive, as Indy could bash enemies with whatever he could find—chairs, barrels, and so on. Unfortunately, the game was weighted down by poor controls and an even worse camera system. One level—the clock tower in Prague, for those who’ve played it—was a notoriously hard challenge due to the lackluster camera angles the game presented.

I remember Emperor’s Tomb so well because it took my best friend and I years to finish. Part of that was due to the aforementioned clock tower level, part due to conflicting schedules as we entered our college years. Even today, we’ll occasionally call each other up to talk about how much we hated—yet loved—that damn game.

-Chris Carlson, Editor

Star Wars: Battlefront (2004)

In a time when the only games I had known were Ratchet & Clank, Need For Speed, and a handful of other games of similar styles, Star Wars: Battlefront was very refreshing. Not only was this little gem my first shooter, but it also introduced me to the idea of using strategy in any game I’ve played since. Hearing my friends talk about blasting droids to a million pieces, fighting for command posts, and zipping through the battlefield on Speederbikes instantly had me intrigued. LucasArts and developer Pandemic did something that is a rare find indeed in the gaming world; they made a great licensed game.

Frankly, Battlefront wouldn’t have been nearly as great if it weren’t for the Star Wars title and setting. It was splendid for a Star Wars fan such as myself to explore the popular worlds and battlefields from the movies. Half the fun was just walking around taking in the sights as the sounds of battle echoed in the distance. Back then, that was the ultimate shooter experience for me. I set the camera to first-person and went to town with my blaster rifle. After all these years of playing Halo, Call of Duty, and all the other more refined shooters, Battlefront didn’t age very well. However, the nostalgia never fails to wash over me when I pop that disc into my Playstation 2. I have LucasArts to thank for the memories, and for the game itself, and I’ll never forget that. You will be missed LucasArts. May the Force be with you… always.

-Jonathan Gipson, Assoc. Writer

Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005)

Developed and published by LucasArts, Star Wars: Republic Commando is an oddity in the Star Wars game library. It mirrors the experience of playing a modern Call of Duty or Battlefield entry, but covered in the livery of the Star Wars universe we all know and love. Rather than having you jump around with lightsaber(s) drawn and chairs being Force-thrown every which way, LucasArts threw you into the boots of RC-1138, “Boss,” as he leads his team of three fellow Republic Commandos on covert assignments to sabotage the Separatist’s campaign.

The game was gritty, visceral, and challenging. Enemies spurted blood onto your visor when you took them down with your wrist-mounted knife, and shootouts were intense, forcing you into cover and testing your ability to deploy your squadmates effectively and tactically.

By the end of the narrative, I found myself attached to my teammates, laughing at Scorch’s jokes and Sev’s dark, deadpan sarcasm. I cared about the outcome of my team’s efforts. I would throw myself into harm’s way if I saw a team member being outgunned, and consciously tried to protect them (something I don’t bother to do in Call of Duty, that’s for sure).

Republic Commando offered some of the most compelling FPS gameplay in a while, and it remains in my memory today as an example of how both a Star Wars game and an FPS in general should be made. I’m sad to see its creators close their doors, and I only hope that some other developer will pick up the reigns in the future and carry on the legacy of such great games.

-Will Brunelle, Assoc. Writer

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008)

I think LucasArts will mostly be remembered for its Star Wars games in the same way that any branding of a Lucas-owned company will be mostly related to Star Wars. Skywalker Sound was a nice name variation at least. For me the fondest game I have in memory that came from them was the more recent Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. In my opinion it has the story that any of the prequel films should have had; telling a tragic story that ends with hope (Episode IV: A New Hope if you’ll forgive the pun).

It was the most cinematic Star Wars game every made up to that point and at times felt like it was one of the films. The Force Unleashed told us the tale of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, Starkiller, and the birth of the Rebel Alliance. I could leave it at that, but it would do the game a great disservice. There were many other things the game did that hadn’t been done before.

Using the new Euphoria engine developed at LucasArts you had a game where enemies and environments would dynamically react to your Force powers; for example, Lift a Storm Trooper and he would flail around. Move him near another Trooper and he would grab on to him (if you had the power you could lift even more up and watch them grab on for dear life).

On the gameplay side things were kept simpler, with a more hack-and-slash feel when it came to lightsaber combat. You were encouraged to use your force powers at every opportunity to wreak havoc upon the Empire. The Force has never been as destructive as what you can achieve in this game, with it shown as a vicious and spectacular power unlike its more down to earth portrayal it receives in other media.

The second game never received the praise that this one got but at over 5 million copies sold worldwide ‘The Force Unleashed’ no doubt has its share of fans across the world who will mourn the passing of LucasArts and the potential loss of Star Wars 1313, though I’d place my bets on it being acquired by another company.

-David Wyatt, Video Features

With an exceedingly large catalog of games the studio has either created or published, LucasArts will always be thought of as one of the most prolific games companies ever to grace the industry. We here at inMotion Gaming would like to wish the laid-off staff the very best of luck, and we hope they’re able to find new homes throughout the gaming world.

Written by

The inMotion Gaming Team

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JRPGs, or Japanese Role Playing Games, have always been a touchy subject within the gaming community. They were (and to some, still are) insanely popular, especially in the 90′s and early 00′s, with such classic masterpieces as Chrono Trigger, most of the numbered Final Fantasies, Secret of Mana, and so on. They are directly responsible for some modern gaming trends. At least two or three of them usually fall on the average gamer’s best games ever made list. Despite all this, the JRPG subgenre has been the target of multiple recent criticisms. Most claim this style of gaming has gotten ‘stale,’ with the cliche’d plot of ‘teenage boy and girl fall in love, save the world’ running rampant throughout many titles calling themselves JRPGs. If the plot bears at least some originality, then it’s the character design being called out; both males and females in this flavor of role-players end up looking awkwardly feminine most of the time.

As much as this editor loves the JRPG genre, he has to admit that most of those aforementioned criticisms do ring true. However, some titles released over the past few years do give us some hope. Despite some criticisms due to a very linear story, Final Fantasy XIII was a fine game; its sequel was even better. Two JRPGs released state-side last year, The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles, were both brilliant titles that brought some much-needed ingenuity to the dying genre. And now another promising title, Pandora’s Tower, is being localized for the United States, and is due for an April 16th release on the Nintendo Wii.

Pandora’s Tower is an action/RPG that was released in Japan about two years ago. It was developed by Japanese studio Ganbarion, and will be published in North America under XSEED Games. Pandora’s Tower is the third in a trio of games being localized due to the continuing efforts of Operation Rainfall, a fan-mounted movement asking for the localization of quality JRPGs. The other games have already been brought over; they were The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles.

Although Pandora’s Tower dips into the cliche’d ‘boy must save his girlfriend’ trope, the game offers so much more than a fantasy love story. Pandora’s Tower follows a young man named Aeron as he sets out to break a terrible curse placed on his love, Elena. This is achieved by traversing thirteen towers and slaying certain beasts within each. Aeron must work quickly, however–he only has a limited time before Elena is lost for good.

If Pandora’s Tower is already sounding like a JRPG version of Shadow of the Colossus meets Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, don’t worry–that’s a good thing. Both were incredible games; the former being the primary argument for games being art, with the latter as one of the more unique titles in one of gaming’s most iconic franchises.

Pandora’s Tower Trailer

If you’re reading this in an RSS feed or an email, click here to watch the video.

Pandora’s Tower looks to be a rather enjoyable spin on the JRPG genre. Check back with inMotion Gaming after the game’s April 16th release for a full review.

Written by

Christopher A. Carlson

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Update: 3 April 2013

The demo for Injustice: Gods Among us is now live for the PS3 and Xbox 360! No word yet if Wii U players will get access to it. The demo contains playable versions of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Lex Luthor. Get it now to hold you over until Injustice’s April 16th release!

Original Article

When they hear that a game focused solely around super heroes is in the making, gamers tend to be skeptical. Developers continue to fail in meeting our expectations of superhero games and in doing so their efforts flop like a fish fresh out of water. Now, there are some great licensed games out there, such as the Batman Arkham games and Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions. However, they’re so few and far between that the term ‘superhero game’ is usually associated with something mediocre-to-terrible. Remember last year’s The Amazing Spider-Man?

Thankfully, NetherRealm Studios’ latest fighting game looks to defy that stereotype. It shows that it’s very much possible to have a game featuring our favorite heroes, which is both exciting and high in quality for a modern video game. This is Injustice: Gods Among Us.

I may be putting a lot of faith in the success of this game, but the plentiful trailers and the genius idea of having the characters face each other in a tournament is doing wonders to build up hype leading up to the April 16th release. NetherRealm has had a lot of experience with fighting games with its successful Mortal Kombat franchise from before Midway Games filed for bankruptcy, and it isn’t their first time using DC characters either. They released the title Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe a few years ago, albeit to mixed results. Fans were psyched about pitting Mortal Kombat characters against popular superheroes such as Superman, but in the end were disappointed by the lack of violence that the Mortal Kombat brand is known for. NetherRealm learned from their fans and are making a second attempt; one that will hopefully satisfy both comic fans and Mortal Kombat vets alike.

DC still prohibits NetherRealm from using that Mortal Kombat brand of graphic violence when it comes to their characters–no decapitations, no fatalities, and no unique ways of splitting someone in two. You might think that puts a damper on NetherRealm’s signature violence, but they’ve come up with a new style of action that will not only keep everything just as intense, but fits the concept of super heroes fighting each other like a glove. For what it lacks in over-the-top violence, Injustice reciprocates with crazy jaw-dropping action.

When first seeing a fight in progress, you can definitely tell this is a NetherRealm game. The characters and environments are realistic and dark, every punch is felt as it connects, and the familiar HUD is in the corner, containing a bar that fills up with each attack landed and taken. However, underneath the familiar exterior are several new mechanics that make Injustice stand on its own from other games in the fighting genre. All the characters–heroes and villains–are split into two different classes: Power characters and Gadget characters. Power characters are the over-powered fighters who can throw cars like cardboard boxes, while Gadget characters rely on their speed, agility, and as their name states, gadgets, to take down opponents. The one question that everyone has been asking is how can someone like Batman stand a chance against, say, Superman in a fight? There’s definitely a reason for the balance among the characters, but NetherRealm hasn’t revealed what it is, as it’s likely an important plot point. Just know that there’s a reason for everything. Check out the video below for the official Injustice story trailer.

From what we can tell so far, the story revolves around the ‘human’ characters standing up against the superheroes. The why of it all is beyond me, but the circumstance is uniting heroes and villains to form a resistance. Hopefully the story is stronger than NetherRealm’s previous games, as that’s been a constant downside to their games for years.

Let’s get down to the gameplay. From what you can tell from the videos, the game seems to focus on being equally entertaining and jaw-droppingly epic. This is evidenced by the way you can utilize the environment to your advantage. Power characters can smash cars over their opponent’s head, while gadget characters can use cars to hop behind their adversaries. Lasers, rockets, robots, portals; just about anything can be used to turn the tide of a fight. Stages are much more than a couple of tricks though. Characters can be smacked straight through a wall, floor or ceiling if hit hard enough. This commences a cringe-worthy (and sometimes hilarious) sequence showing the character hitting objects and hazards before landing in a whole new area of the stage.

If you watched the videos above, you may have noticed the insane moves that the characters pulled off. When you fill up your battle meter all way, you can perform what’s called a ‘super move’, which naturally deals a copious amount of damage. I’m not going to announce any of them, because they’re such a blast to watch for the first time, but that’s just one of the things you can spend your battle meter on.

If you have at least one segment filled, you can use the classic combo breaker to get out of a nasty situation. Or, you can initiate an epic clash between the characters, which has the players bet a certain amount of their bar. Whoever bets the most wins the clash and gets significant damage dealt to their opponent.

Netherealm has a knack for having lots of characters, and a healthy amount of bonus content outside of the story and multiplayer. Injustice is no exception! So far twenty-two characters have been announced, with potentially more on the way. Also count on there being tons of collectibles and minigames to play on the side from the main story.

Injustice: Gods Among Us comes out April 16th and it’s building up a lot of hype. What do you think? Does it look like a smash hit, or a dud? We at inMotion Gaming love to hear from our readers, so leave a comment below and give us your opinion!

Written by

Jonathan Gipson

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Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

The Legacy of Kain series may possibly fall on deaf ears for those of you who’ve only come into gaming within the last decade. The Legacy of Kain franchise contained five vastly different games. It consisted of two main characters and a whole TV series’ worth of supporting characters across different ages in the fictional realm of Nosgoth.

The plot of Soul Reaver takes place a few millennia after the original game of the series, entitled Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. The eponymous Kain has become the leader of all vampires, with his children serving as his vampiric lieutenants. Raziel, his second in command enters a stage of evolution before Kain does–he grows a pair of wings, which Kain does not approve of. Kain destroys Raziel’s wings and tosses him off of a cliff to his doom.

After a long time of suffering, Raziel is revived by a mysterious voice known only as the Watcher, who guides souls of the dead along their correct path. The Watcher reveals that Kain has corrupted his ability to do this and tasks Raziel with the job of saving the world by destroying Kain and his own brothers, who have grown further corrupted. In doing this, Raziel would also avenge himself.

For the most part, each game in the Legacy of Kain series has a widely different style of gameplay. One exception to this is Soul Reaver 2, which retained many of the key elements of the first Soul Reaver sans the open world elements, forcing it to be more linear.

Soul Reaver’s gameplay could almost be compared to that of 3D Legend of Zelda titles; it has a similar combat system to the famous Z-Targeting, as well as open world exploration elements.

While I like to remain positive about every game I cover there are a few negatives to Soul Reaver. For one, it hasn’t aged well. The sound effects and in-game cutscene animations look and sound quite bad. Despite this, the voice acting will be forever be remembered as some of the best from any video game series—a trait that continued throughout the Legacy of Kain series. The game was also unfinished when it debuted, which meant a number of things were removed from the game. For example, one of the brothers was never included in the game and was left out completely (though thankfully this was dealt with in future re-releases). Perhaps the biggest example of this is the ending. Soul Reaver just ends with a rather quick and boring boss fight. It’s a major shame, especially when compared to the rest of the main game. The sequel picks right up from there, but at the time that was another console generation away.

A lot of the open world elements are sometimes unclear, and many extras you find along the way feel like they should have had more explanation of gameplay use. Cheat codes also reveal variations of the Soul Reaver that can’t be found in the main game, as well as a bigger use of your other spirit guide, Ariel, who you meet through the game.

The story is a big theme of the series as a whole, and in the efforts to make a good game a lot of narrative sometimes takes a backseat so the gameplay can shine. The balance of the two would become better in future games of the Legacy of Kain series, but it leaves Soul Reaver with a skeleton of a main story and it writes Kain in as a full villain. In all other games, conversely, he’s more of an antihero and/or outright protagonist. However, this fits newcomers to the Legacy of Kain series well as they’ll identify with Raziel more while players of the original game will be interested in Kain’s fall from grace as the Scion of Balance and saviour.

With its preconceived story over and complete, the Legacy of Kain series is a collection of games that are unlikely to get a sequel; and since the possibility of an HD update seems unlikely at this time, it’s worth getting the games as they are to try. The Soul Reaver games play out more like standard action/adventure games while the Blood Omen games are more experimental in gameplay; the final game in that miniseries plays out more like Devil May Cry. You might want to stick to Raziel’s story and just play his games to get the gist of Legacy of Kain’s central narrative. Regardless, it’s a series that shouldn’t be missed and I hope you feel a need to give it a try. You can pick them up very cheaply these days.

That’s ‘Why You Should Play’ Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver!

Words & Video by

David ‘Ryatta’ Wyatt

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Star Wars: Battlefront 3

I never realized how much of a following the Battlefront series had picked up in its two game run until relatively recently, when it was revealed that the third game was painfully close to being finished when Pandemic went under. Maybe if they hadn’t wasted their time on Lord of the Rings Conquest they could have squeezed it out.

Now that Disney bought Lucas Arts, we find a speck of hope in the darkness. It’s been quite a while since Battlefront 2 came out for Playstation 2 and Xbox. It was considered somewhat of a failure to fans of the first game. While the battles were larger, there was more diversity in class options, and you were even able to play as Jedi or Sith, it suffered from framerate issues that the systems of the time couldn’t handle. Now what if we saw a Battlefront 3 for this generation of consoles, or even the next? Framerate wouldn’t be nearly as much of an issue if handled correctly, whoever developed the game could make a much deeper system of class options, and even create a customization feature. Can you imagine creating and customizing your own Jedi and personally plunging him into an epic battle?

Why stop there? Space battles were introduced in Battlefront 2, but it was a shallow, unsatisfying experience after the glamour of the concept wore off. If the hypothetical developer could just learn from Pandemic’s mistakes, they could make it so much more. Here’s another fun thought: grant the ability to do an orbital drop from space to the battlefield on the planet and vice versa.

Kingdom Hearts 3

This is the one that I have a strong personal investment in. The Kingdom Hearts series is based off of a crazy idea of having a game with Disney and Final Fantasy characters mixed together to weave an epic tale through space. Personally, there isn’t too much improvement needed on my end. We all just want to see more of the story unfold. Since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2, Square Enix has done nothing but dance around the third instalment by making mediocre side-games that just fill in some of the gaps that were left by the first two games. While taking their sweet time is more than irritating for die-hard fans like myself, I can’t help but see the plus side of them taking all these side ventures. Square has been learning much about what works with fans in terms of gameplay and they’re doing wonders to build up tension leading up to the hopefully-soon-to-be-announced third instalment of the main story.

Half-Life 3

What’s with all of the threes? Here’s yet another case of the developer taking their good time making what their fans clamour for. Valve’s CEO Gabe Newell has become infamous over the years for teasing Half-Life fans about a sequel. He even released a photo of himself holding a couple of knives while standing in front of a television that has a Half-Life 3 logo on it. Not cool Gabe.

Valve is best known for their innovative and outside the box ideas for their games. Half-Life 2 had an amazing physics engine for its time, the concept and execution of the Portal games is genius, and Left 4 Dead takes zombie survival to a whole new level. It’s their knack for making unique games that makes the wait for Half-Life 3 all the more intense. What amazing new innovation to gaming will it bring with it? Perhaps that is what’s making Valve take so long.

Mirror’s Edge 2

Mirror’s Edge was an amazing idea that fell short due to a lack of planning. The game was way too short, combat was shallow, I can’t even remember the story it was so lacklustre, and the beautiful graphics were wasted on a pale, colorless city. Even the cutscenes were replaced by cartoon/anime graphics. I have all the faith in the world that Dice could learn from their mediocre first outing with the IP, and sling out a sequel that could be one of the most breathtaking experiences you can find in a game. We just have to hope that they’re given another chance.

Another Burnout

Burnout games are insanely fun. While I love the games that Criterion is pumping out for the Need For Speed series, I miss the ridiculous, fast-paced, crash-fuelled experience that is a Burnout game. The racing game genre just doesn’t feel the same without it.

It may very well be that all of these games will eventually be announced some day in the future, and I certainly hope that that’s the world we live in; where all the games we desire are made. What sequel are you dying to have put into production? Sound off in the comments below!

Written by

Jonathan Gipson

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