World of Gaming

We slay bunnies and other foul beasts in From Software's upcoming 3D adventure game.

Some of you may take a quick glance at 3D Dot Game Heroes and have words like "rip-off" or "clone" spring to mind. While the game may remind you of classic action adventure games that may or may not involve a nameless boy armed with a sword and boomerang, 3D Dot Game Heroes is an homage or, as publisher Atlus put it, "a love letter" to the memorable retro games of the past. There's no denying that the gameplay is all too familiar--that everything to the world, music, and story is something that has been done before--but it's never been done quite this way.

3D Dot Game Heroes doesn't take itself seriously. You can tell immediately by the storytelling and the dialogue when you chat with non-player characters that are scattered throughout the world. As the hero that is destined to save the kingdom of Dotnia, you must seek out six sages and their respective orbs to protect the kingdom from evil. The colorful world of Dotnia was in 2D 8-bit, but the king felt that 2D was boring, and it was time to enter a new era--one in 3D. So now, you're exploring a 3D world from an isometric perspective as a pixilated 3D hero.

Your hero can be customized, pixel by pixel. Several templates are available to choose from, but if you want to play as an animated golf ball, you can, or you can play as a tree stump, depending on your preferences. As long as you have the patience and know how to piece the little blocks together into a cohesive shape that resembles something, then you can save the world of Dotnia as Donkey Kong if you like. You'll have to create six templates, one for standing, a couple for the walking or attacking animations, and another that is labeled "hurray," which is essentially your victory pose. Regardless of who or what you decide to play as, there are enough references to other games for you to feel that wave of nostalgia, especially during loading screens, which been have redone for the North America version to include familiar games.

Like certain games of the past, you're directed to one dungeon after the other and must trek across the map to find the entrance. Once inside, you're breaking pots, avoiding traps, and slaying skeletons or scorpions all to find little keys that will ultimately lead you to an even bigger key that will lead you to the final boss, which guards a sage or orb or both. You'll also come across new weapons on your adventures, like a boomerang, and even though we didn't quite finish the third dungeon, it was obvious with all the pillars outside that there will be some sort of chain or whiplike device to help you travel across gaps.

Villages located throughout the world give you an opportunity to rest or purchase items like healing potions, bombs, or additional arrows. Inns are conveniently located near temples so that you can set your revival points. Otherwise, you'll be bumped back to the king's palace, which is smack-dab in the middle of the map. If you die when you're in a dungeon, however, you'll just start again from the entrance and your progress will have been saved. Your health and magic will also be full again.


Cracks that you find in walls or outside should always been blown away by bombs because you'll never know what you might find. Healing pools, free money, and other stuff could be hidden for you to discover. We stumbled across the From cave, where the NPCs inside had some amusing things to say about From Software's previous game, Demon's Souls. Most of the time, NPCs don't offer anything useful in regards to your quest. For example, we interrupted a guy who was urinating by a tree and peed on himself, which was good for a few laughs, so it's worth talking to everyone just to see what they have to say.

3D Dot Game Heroes may not be visually impressive when compared to other fully animated 3D games out there, but it's done well. Water effects and depth of field have also been added to make the pixilated characters pop out. It's fun to listen closely to the melodies and sound effects as well, because you may find some key tunes or noises that will take you back. Look for 3D Dot Game Heroes when it is released exclusively for the PlayStation 3 on May 11.

Source: Gamespot.com

Liberating a country, one headshot at a time. We take a look at City Interactive's upcoming stealthy first person shooter.

Whether sneaking through a crowded village hoping to avoid enemy contact, or seeking a vantage point to line up a shot on a high-value target, a sniper's job is always a difficult one. And while many modern military games give you a taste of what it's like to wield a high-powered rifle as a part-time killer, the upcoming Sniper: Ghost Warrior looks to put you in a ghillie suit and give you a taste of the problems (and power) that come with being a military sniper.


Developed by City Interactive, Sniper will feature 16 missions that will add up to nine to 11 hours of gameplay. Though there are some straight run-and-gun assault missions to be found, most of your time is spent sniping. The game's plot takes place in the fictional South American country of Isla Truena, which has been under dictatorship rule. The US military is sent in to assist the rebels looking to overthrow the dictator, which is where you come in.

During our demo of the game, we watched as a sniper, wading through waist-deep vegetation, lined up a shot on two unsuspecting soldiers who were standing on the far side of a pair of cliffs spanned by a rope bridge. To set up a shot, you press the left trigger (on the Xbox 360 controller), which brings up the scope. The scope HUD has a lot of information--including the obligatory crosshairs, as well as a shifting red dot that is used on the easy difficultly level to show you exactly where your bullet will make impact (taking into consideration factors like wind and the natural arced path of a bullet's flight). At higher difficulty levels, that red dot is not available, and you'll be required to make the adjustments yourself. Another meter in the HUD measures your heartbeat; if your heart rate is normal (around 80 beats per minute), you're considered calm and can easily line up a shot. If you're under pressure and your heart rate is elevated, it will be more difficult to set up shots.

Much of the challenge of successful sniping isn't hitting the target, but rather getting into a suitable position that will allow you the best shot possible (while not getting caught in the process). In game terms, stealth is a big part of Sniper's challenge. Because many of the missions take place in the Amazon jungle, there will often be plenty of thick vegetation to hide in. You'll also have a handy meter at the bottom of the screen that will display how aware enemies are of your presence. If the meter fills up completely, you've been spotted and better look for an escape route. In some missions, you'll also have a spotter who will tell you exactly what you need to do in order to get through a mission. Finally, there's also a minimap that shows nearby enemies and their current state--calm, urgent, or alarmed.

In the sniping missions, you'll have a variety of gear to see you through to the end--most importantly your sniper rifle. You'll start a bolt action rifle but will eventually move on to longer range weapons like the Barrett, a significantly more powerful rifle that brings with its stopping power the added danger of being really, really loud. Enemies will respond to shots fired, after all, making every shot you take that much more important. There will be other accessories on hand in the game, including pistols, throwing knives (which you can pick up again to reuse), and claymore mines which you can use to set traps.

Different missions will have different requirements--some are straight-ahead sniping missions where the goal is to clear a village of enemies or take out a high-ranking officer. In others, you'll need to avoid enemy engagement altogether, and even being spotted by the bad guys will result in a failed objective. Some missions hold your hand more than others--such as those that use a spotter to alert you to nearby enemies--while others put the onus squarely on the player in dealing with all of the obstacles in your way; from planning, execution and, as looks to often be the case, dealing with missions that go haywire.

It's not all slow-paced stealth in Sniper, however; the game will have a number of assault missions to play through. In these missions, you're playing as an Army soldier whose missions are often tied to the sniper ops in the game. One mission we watched featured a full-on assault of a pair of oil rigs and, as you might expect, the action was frenetic and fast-paced, especially when compared to the slow-as-you-go sniper missions. In addition the game will include multiplayer, though details on the different modes haven't been released yet.


Developer City Interactive says Sniper will be "the most realistic sniping experience in a video game ever," which, considering the long and illustrious history of sniping in games, is a heady claim indeed. We'll have to wait until we actually play the game before we can judge that assertion, but we do know that Sniper deserves some credit for putting so much of its attention on this most deadly of professions. The game is currently due for release in spring for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Source: Gamespot.com

It still hasn't overcome its lack of replayability, but a great storyline and cast of characters make Episode Three the best entry in the series yet.

UK REVIEW--A sordid love affair, arson, and a puppy named Sparkles are just some of the elements of the new mysteries found in the third episode of puzzle-solving party game Blue Toad Murder Files. Though the core gameplay mechanics remain the same, a slightly longer length, a great set of characters, and an intriguing storyline make it the best entry in the series so far. Plus, owners of the first or second episode are able to pick up Episode Three for free, making it a no-brainer for fans. This also means there's absolutely no reason for newcomers to purchase Episode Three, because purchasing one of the first two episodes individually, or in a bundle, will net you the third for free.


Though it has the idyllic looks of a quintessentially English country village, Little Riddle is hardly the place you'd want spend your summer vacation. Crime runs rampant on its cobblestone streets, with the murder of the mayor and the burglary of Riddle Manor having already shaken its eccentric inhabitants. Episode Three adds arson to the list of crimes, and it's your job to investigate a mystery blaze at the village hall. In Episode Three, which has the most entertaining story in the series so far, you journey around Little Riddle investigating love affairs, descendants of Henry VII, and the theft of a mysterious antique necklace. More is revealed of the underlying conspiracy behind the crimes, but the game leaves just enough questions unanswered to spur you onto the next episode.

As in the previous episodes, up to four players take turns visiting various locations around the village of Little Riddle, questioning suspects and solving puzzles--the aim being to correctly identify the perpetrator. Different locations are shown via an animated overhead map, and a suspect is available to question at each location, along with a puzzle to solve. You're awarded gold, silver, or bronze rosettes for solving puzzles quickly and in as few attempts as possible. You must also complete quick-fire rounds at numerous points throughout the game. These require you to recall some of the recent facts you have learned on the case and answer a multiple-choice question.


The quality of the puzzles remains high, with the familiar riddles, counting games, and memory tests all making an appearance. However, that familiarity sometimes makes the puzzles feel repetitive; particularly when some setups, such as the Colonel's strange duck obsession, are reused. There is also one spectacularly bad puzzle, which requires you to follow an incomprehensible scribble of lines from one end to another and identify which lines lead to the correct path. The small size of the lines, coupled with the lack of definition between them, means you have to get up close and squint at the screen to solve it. Good luck with that one if you have poor eyesight or a standard definition television. Sadly, there's still no hint system, so if you get stuck on a puzzle your only options are to struggle or to skip it entirely.

Two new characters have been added to the already-excellent cast: Mrs. Bothersome and The Librarian. While Mrs. Bothersome closely follows the template set by Mrs. Gossip--her incessantly talkative sister--it's the sultry librarian that steals the show. Her softly spoken voice and flirtatious demeanour constantly have you questioning her motives, so it's a shame that her appearance in the episode is all too brief. The Wodehousian narration and often sarcastic dialogue remains a strong point. A great deal of credit must also go to the voice acting, which remains top-notch.


As in previous episodes, the most fun you can have playing the game is with friends as you try to figure out who the guilty party is and land the highest score. There's still no incentive to play through the episode again because the answers to the puzzles, the quick-fire questions, and the guilty suspect never change. While there are still just 12 puzzles to complete, the overall play time has been increased slightly to just over an hour and a half, thanks to some extended cutscenes, though this will vary depending on how long it takes you to solve the puzzles. The price of Episode Three remains the same at £6.99, but it's also available free for owners of episodes one or two. While this is good news for fans, newcomers purchasing the first two episodes in a bundle at £9.99 will also receive the third for free, making it much better value.

If you're not a fan of the Blue Toad series, then Episode Three is unlikely to convert you. Despite the best cast of characters and voice acting in the series so far, the underlying problems with its lack of replayability, as well as the hints system, haven't changed. However, if you're willing to overlook these issues, then you'll find Blue Toad to be an enjoyable distraction with friends or family, plus the offer to pick up this installment for free makes it an essential download for fans, and a much more attractive proposition for newcomers.

Source: Gamespot.com

We take an updated look at Funcom's next online game with the first live demonstration of gameplay.

We've finally had a chance to see footage of the gameplay in The Secret World, Funcom's next massively multiplayer game. As you may recall, the game takes place in a modern-day version of our world where occult legend is reality and where three player factions (the Illuminati, the Dragon, and the Templars) take up the fight to save the world from the shadowy forces that have emerged to threaten the world. Previously, GameSpot revealed the first look at the first area revealed by Funcom: Kingsmouth. This fictitious New England town has come under siege by a mysterious fog that encloses the town and also seems to have turned the majority of its citizenry into walking dead with a nasty tendency to get right back up the next evening, no matter how many times you "kill" them.

We were first shown a chopped-up trailer that showed numerous, fully voiced dialogues with various non-player characters who either inhabit the town or have come to investigate it. These characters include a gruff, gray-haired cowboy type with a rifle who gave a weary speech about how the walking dead just keep coming; a priest wearing a sweater vest who had apparently given up on his faith; a housewife who complained about how Kingsmouth used to be a peaceful town; a female sheriff explaining how the police cruiser can't be used to escape now that it's part of the barricade; and two clean-cut youngsters in slick black leather jackets bantering about status reports and government cover-ups. While none of the clips or dialogues we saw were shown at any length, they gave a good idea of what exploring Kingsmouth will be about--getting intel from the locals and trying to piece together exactly what's happening from participants with varying levels of insight (and sanity). Funcom is already recording speech for its ton of fully voiced in-game dialogue.

And perhaps more importantly, the studio is now conducting internal playtests on The Secret World's gameplay, which we've finally seen in motion. Rather than focus on character levels (The Secret World doesn't have any), the game lets your character earn "points," which can then be spent to purchase "powers." Funcom plans to add a huge number of different "powers" that can take the form of either passive abilities that are "always on"--such as enhancements to your character's basic damage levels or perks that may occasionally let your character knock down your opponents with a standard attack--and active abilities, such as using melee weapons like swords, ranged weapons like assault rifles, and occult powers, such as hurling bolts of fire, ice, or lightning.


As to exactly how the powers system will work, The Secret World will have some kind of stamina bar that determines how much you can use your powers before you become exhausted, and active powers will have "cooldown" timers that determine how frequently you can trigger them. Similar to the strategic powers system of Guild Wars, The Secret World's power system will let your character earn hundreds of different powers but load up only a handful for a specific mission, which you must determine in advance. There will be places in the world where you can change your character's current power loadout (explained in terms of game lore as ley lines or other focal points of occult power) and purchase new powers if you've earned enough points through questing and fighting. Interestingly, while you'll be able to load your powers to hotkeys as you've come to expect from massively multiplayer games, The Secret World will also have an onscreen pop-up prompt for your powers that bears a distinct resemblance to the icon-heavy user interface of Apple's iPhone--different powers will be color-coded and labeled with cleanly lettered block script.

We watched a few party combat demonstrations with a small, three-person party of an assault rifle specialist, a hybrid melee/magic character who used a sword that could be ignited with magical fire, and a magic-focused character equipped with fire, ice, and healing powers. We watched this party take on different battles in a demonstration of The Secret World's "states" system, which will add a combinatorial element to battle. Certain powers can put enemies into a specific state, which will render them more vulnerable to follow-up powers that capitalize on that state (such as using a setup power to put an enemy into a vulnerable-to-fire state and then unloading with a fire-based attack). Funcom suggests that the most successful hunting parties will be players who do some pre-mission planning about which power combinations they want to bring with them, though the studio also confirms that The Secret World will very much be a game that will let you go solo if you prefer.

We watched three different battle sequences with this party: the first in the streets of Kingsmouth against a walking-dead onslaught; the second in a junkyard against a gigantic metallic monster made of wrecked cars and other scrap metal; and the third on a beach against strange, warped sea monsters with slick purple skin and glowing yellow eyes. Let's just say that if the setup of an evil curse falling on a New England town resulting in an ancient evil emerging from the seas reminded you of H.P. Lovecraft's short story Shadows Over Innsmouth, you were right on the money.


The Secret World still has a way to go, and no final release date has been confirmed, but we're pleased that we've finally seen the gameplay in motion, and we look forward to bringing you more about the game in the future.

Source: Gamespot.com

We storm the beaches of the NEVEC facility in this map from the single-player mode.

If there's one thing Capcom wants to make clear about Lost Planet 2, it's this: There's much more variety in the levels than there was in the original Lost Planet. We've seen everything from lush jungles to arid desert environments in Lost Planet 2, and our look at the latest demo revealed a new area--stormy seaside cliffs where ex-NEVEC marines make landfall to begin the assault on their former employer and stop the company from returning the planet of EDN III to its formerly frosty state.

The mission objective for this particular section of the level is simple enough--activate three data posts scattered throughout the enemy's fortress with a team of four marines (three of whom can be played by humans or bots). But getting to these points under a barrage of enemy fire was the real trick. We started out by grappling up the side of a nearby cliff and were greeted at the top by an empty vital suit (a mech that you can pilot) that we subsequently jumped into and put to good use by unleashing its dual Gatling guns on enemy vital suits and troops down in the small valley below. After picking off some foot soldiers here and there, we jumped down into the valley to take on two of the enemy vital suits defending the area, which probably wasn't the best tactical decision, but it let us put this particular vital suit's agility to the test. We were able to jump into the air and hover for a brief period of time, enabling us to rain down bullets from an elevated position. And we also tried to make use of the vital suit's dashing ability, which gives the suit a quick burst of speed to avoid enemy fire.

But we weren't able to evade everything, and the suit suffered as a result. Since one of its wings was severely damaged, we weren't able to hover for as long in the air, and while you (or your teammates) can repair vital suits, you can't replace a wing. Still, we took out the two enemy vital suits as well as the pair of turrets sitting atop towers in the area. With the immediate battle seemingly over, we jumped out of the vital suit and proceeded on foot, only to be met with a new type of enemy vital suit that is far more agile and more adept at melee attacks than those we faced just minutes before. Needless to say, we didn't last too long against them and quickly died. If you're ever low on health, you can use stored thermal energy (collected from fallen enemies, teammates, and other sources) to refill your health bar.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't have helped us in this particular situation. We respawned near the beginning of the level and headed right for one of the data posts inside a small bunker on the cliff. After taking out a few enemies with the default assault rifle (you can carry up to two weapons at once in Lost Planet 2), we activated the post and headed back down to the valley, where we found our battle-weary vital suit. Since there wasn't any immediate danger (and no sign of the two enemy vital suits that killed us), we took the time to repair the suit and move forward into the main portion of the base, where we met little in the way of resistance. But that didn't last for long--as we powered up the last data post, a swarm of inbound massive enemy helicopters (that also serve as troop transports) came into view, dropping off reinforcements--suddenly, we were on the defensive.


Thanks to a nearby Gatling gun (which we picked up), we were able to take down one of the inbound helicopters right away, but our position was quickly overwhelmed by enemy troops, and those two other vital suits also decided to show up again. Fortunately, there was an intact enemy turret close by, so we grappled up the tower, jumped in, and took down the transports as they came in. With the last batch of them destroyed, we went on foot to clear out the rest of the area of foot soldiers and enemy vital suits, completing the mission.

This particular mission in Lost Planet 2 shows that you can tackle some objectives in any number of ways--whether you want to go in with guns blazing or take a slower, more methodical approach. And if you're playing with human cooperative players, there's even an added layer of strategy involved thanks to the integration of persistent characters. Over the course of the game, you have opportunities to upgrade and buy equipment (crates that appear have credits to spend on either items or new weapons) that can help specialize what you do on the battlefield. For example, you might have someone on your team who's more adept at repairing than the others, putting him in a support role when equipment is in need of fixing.

Additionally, at the end of each mission, you'll see a rating screen that shows you how well you performed and rewards you additional credits for your character. You'll also see how many sub-achievements (different from the Xbox 360 achievements or the PlayStation 3 trophies) you've completed in the mission. You'll also see ratings for your cooperative buddies if you're playing over Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, or two-player local split-screen. Lost Planet 2 is scheduled for release on May 18 for both the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Source: Gamespot.com

We got to play a very early build of Codemasters' latest Formula One game and hear about the publisher's plans for the series.

The Formula One season may already be underway, but gamers have another six months to wait before they can jump in this year's cars themselves. Thankfully, Codemasters has been hard at work on this game since the publisher acquired the gaming rights to the F1 World Championship and showed off the game for the first time at an event in London yesterday.

While none of the 2010 cars are yet in the game, the demo and brief hands-on time were enough to show quite how good the game looks using the data the team had from 2009. The game is based on Codemasters' Ego engine, which was used to drive its previous highly rated racing games Grid, Colin McRae: Dirt, and Dirt 2 but with a significant number of tweaks from the engine's core development team to ensure it's up to the job of modeling the pinnacle of motorsport.

This takes several forms, according to the developers who were on hand to explain the work that has already gone into the game. Firstly, there are subtle but important factors, from ensuring the tracks rubber in properly over the course of a dry race weekend, which allows for faster times along the racing line but slower times off it, to the more obvious effects, such as tyres wearing down and eventually failing if they're not replaced. The game also features the most complicated weather system ever implemented in a racing game, according to the developers, and it will (as you'd expect) form as important a part of the game as it does the season itself.

The weather effects themselves look very impressive at this early stage, with the experience of driving around Monza in bright sunshine being entirely different when dry from when rain was pouring down. Not only does it impact the drivability of the cars in all the ways you'd expect, but it also looks really good in any of the views on offer. Most dramatically, in the in-car view, you get the joy of massive spray from cars in front of you, as well as water streaming across the screen as it sticks to your visor, which has you fighting to see more than glinting rear lights through spray if you get too close.


This level of attention to details isn't limited to the races, however. The pit stop crews are fully motion captured, ensuring that when you pull in for repairs or tyre changes, it all looks perfect. It has also been promised that players will be able to have full pit-lane car control should they wish, meaning that you'll have to manage your speed in the run-in, as well as get your braking timing perfect if you want to get a good time and not take out any of your mechanics or pit crew.

In the brief time we spent in the car itself, we can report that not only does the game look great, but it also seems to be handling well. With all the driver aids turned off as they were for our demo, the game will certainly present the challenge core fans of Formula One games expect. The accurate physics modeling means that the cars themselves are far easier to maneuver at high speeds, thanks to their dependence on aerial downforce for grip, and the differences (especially in the wet) between the different tyre types are very noticeable at this stage.

While the 2010 cars might not be implemented, the rule changes for this year's season are at the forefront of the developers' minds. Car handling will alter dramatically during the race as the fuel is depleted. On higher difficulty levels, engine settings and maps will also come into play as drivers are forced into attempting to optimise fuel consumption, as well as engine wear and performance, to get the best race finish possible rather than running out of fuel or running one of the limited number of engines into the ground.


All in all, F1 2010 is looking like a very exciting proposition, and we're really looking forward to seeing more of the game's attempts to re-create the experience of being an F1 driver both on and off the track. Formula 1 2010 is scheduled for release in September.

Source: Gamespot.com