At New York Comic Con this year, I was treated to a behind closed doors preview of an eyes-only session for Max Payne 3. This was an eyes-only presentation showed off on the Xbox 360.

Max Payne 3 features a whole new experience for gamers, and picks up where Max Payne 2 left off. Max is still haunted by the traumatic events of his past. I am first shown an early level in the game in Max’s apartment in New Jersey, where an older more cynical Max with a head of hair, is visibly distraught and tired. He just looks like he’s waiting for someone to walk in the front door and hand him the bullet to end his life while abusing painkillers. An old friend, Raul, from his police academy days appears and offers him a job in the world of private security in Brazil. Max of course didn’t have much time to think about the offer as he had just killed Anthony’s only son prior to the meeting with his friend Raul and the mobster of course is out to get revenge.

The game at this point has switched seamlessly from cut scenes to gameplay and Rockstar mentions they have worked hard to bring this transition smooth and unaffected to the user experience. They also mentioned any item pick-ups like different weapons or accessories get carried/shown into the cut scenes as you progress through the intense story. As the gameplay begins some gang members are already in the same floor as soon as Max opens the door from his apartment in New Jersey. But these thugs are easily taken out as bullet-time kicks in. It certainly wouldn’t be a Max Payne game without bullet-time and Max Payne 3 continues to build on that feature. Bullets are animated with complete detail and you’ll visibly see where your targets are hit and react in the manner of which they were killed. Rockstar mentions you’ll have many choices to use throughout the game whether it’s free form all out shooting or target-locking depending on different play styles.

As Max continues through the apartment complex, a gang member with a shotgun knocks him down and just before he is taken out a hobo bursts out of the door and takes out the gang member saving Max. The random hobo starts spewing some sort of dialect and runs off to fight off the invading gang members. Here is where Rockstar guided Max into the hobo’s apartment and explained about the amount of detail given to the environments and finds a bottle of painkillers. Max Payne 3 will not use regenerating health as most modern games have become accustomed too. You’ll have to find painkillers to heal yourself up during the fight.

Max can carry up to three weapons at a time with one slot for two-handed weapon (like a rifle or two pistols), and two other slots for other single-handed weapons. You can also dual single-handed weapons like a rifle and a pistol. Max also has the ability for detailed melee attacks. So if you’re up close to an enemy and hit the trigger Max will perform a pre-scripted melee kill. The bottom right of the screen shows a silhouette of Max with a number inside of him indicating how many painkillers you have on you. Also to the right is a meter indicating how much bullet time is available and below that is where your ammo count is located. This area of the demo ends where Max is seen firing bullets through the apartment windows to thugs on the other side of the roof and Rockstar again mentions the destructibility within the windows and wood destruction. We are forwarded to a point in the game where Max is in Brazil and bald-headed looking like he’s about take out someone like Jack from and episode of 24. In this part of the demo, the now bald-headed hero is on the run with Raul’s girlfriend Giovanna in Brazil. In the cut scene, you notice that the original voce actor James McCaffrey has returned to reprise his role as Max and Rockstar felt he should be given a work out and motion capture his movements as well. Rockstar mentions that sets were built to scale to capture the in-game environments you see Max interacting with. So in the next scene we see Max and Giovanna climbing over barricades, going through fences and climbing into buses, you would be well to remember that with motion capture, those actors climbed over those obstacles in real life.

During the game, you see Max and Giovanna working together much like Monkey and Trip working together in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. You’ll see her pulling down ladders for you and helping you getting into the hard to reach places. I should mention that during all of this the enemy AI wasn’t stupid. They’ll react based on the position you’re in and where you’re firing. Also, in the beginning of one section of the demo we were shown, Max is hiding as a group of thugs enters a junkyard, and you’ll have to move quickly to avoid detection, as the enemy will search every nook and cranny. The one thing I could see players getting frustrated with is the continuous switching from shooting section to cut scene. You’ll be fighting to reach every checkpoint and get to that next save point.

Multiplayer wasn’t mentioned, but given the success Rockstar received with its multiplayer in Red Dead Redemption, it wouldn’t be surprising if we see some sort of multiplayer showing up at some point. This is where our demo ended and we see that Max Payne 3 will hit store shelves in March 2012 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Here we go again, new season, new game, and from what I have seen so far, a whole new football gaming experience. One week away from release and it’s the word ‘new’ that is a daunting one here. Yes we love the updated teams, players and graphics and whatnot, but with the majority of the big changes made to the actual gameplay mechanics, should we be biting our nails at this stage?

Maybe the more hardcore FIFA players will be biting their nails over the changes made this year, but then maybe you’re just not as hardcore as you thought you were after all? See, the changes made to FIFA 12 this year are ones that force a more tactical and in turn more realistic sense of football simulation. Gone are the days of simply holding A and X (Xbox 360) in order to sandwich the ball holder into submission with two defenders. No more automatic jockeying, jostling and tackling with one button, because now it’s all about Tactical Defending (TD).

From the very tutorial-oriented start of the demo it is clear to see that this year EA Sports have set out to try something very different. No more than two minutes into the demo I am told that FIFA 12 has a very different method of defending which I would need to be taught prior to continuing. At this point, admittedly, I did shit myself slightly. Big changes such as this worry me, particularly for a game such as FIFA which is one that has come on leaps and bounds in recent years in terms of gameplay (and I say this as a former Pro Evolution enthusiast). Honestly though, in the back of my mind I knew that holding one button to press, jockey, jostle, contain and tackle an opponent was a bit of a cop out.

Defending tactically with a sliding impact...

TD is made up of a number of tactical methods which range from holding a player up goal-side to containing and taking the ball from the opponent. I firstly had the opportunity to try the Tackle Drill, aiming to take the ball from my opponent. This immediately reminded me of the FIFA games pre-2009, in that you had to press the B button to perform a standing tackle or block. The slide tackle doesn’t seem to have changed much, but it is just a sliding tackle. One noticeable feature when sliding however is the new Player Impact Engine which helps the sliding tackles feel more heavy and realistic upon impact with the opposing player or the ball. Jockeying is now not as simple as it used to be. It has been split up into numerous tasks working towards holding up an attacker, moving in to contain him and finally attempting to secure the ball with a tackle. This makes the defending tougher but more challenging. The ball carrier must be pressured to a certain degree and any mistake made defensively will more than likely be a costly one.

The new defending system is a son-of-a-bitch to get used to at first after having grown to playing the same way for the past 3 years or so, but I can’t help but feel that the change should be welcomed as the old method has become out-dated and much too simple. We all know it’s a bit too simple and quite frankly annoying when you get beat by a 7 year old kid online (the shame…).

Jockey, contain, jostle, tackle... all in that order...

The Player Impact Engine (PIE) looks to be a neat addition allowing real world physicality upon player contact. Two years in development this new physics engine has managed to provide FIFA 12 with a much more realistic feel on the pitch and ties in beautifully with the True Injuries feature whereby the PIE monitors contact between players in real time and evaluates each collision accordingly to decide if an injury has been done and if so, where.

In addition to the new gameplay features, there are new modes such as Online Friendlies, Head to Head Seasons and an all new Career Mode which all seem like promising additions to the game from both multiplayer and single player perspectives.

The full game is available from September 30^th, until then the demo is available now for download. Check it out and let us know what you think.

We got our hands on the game’s multiplayer mode through Ubisoft’s PS3-exclusive beta and we were pleasantly surprised with what we played. Brotherhood’s multiplayer was a little side-distraction, and whilst it was fun enough it didn’t really have that little something extra to keep you playing. Going by the beta though, Revelations has improved on the multiplayer experience and provides you with more fleshed-out gameplay mechanics.

We played with the game’s wanted mode, where you have to kill target whilst avoiding being killed by your pursuers. It’s a fun if confusing little mode, as it’s not abundantly clear who you should be hunting. However, that’s part of the point as you’re all supposed to be assassins out and about on the day job so blending in is the name of the game. It’s quite odd though when some of the playable character models stand out from the NPCs (no long-con pun intended) whilst others look exactly the same as the AI folk. Regardless, it still presents an enjoyable challenge.

There are audio and visual clues when you get near your target/get hunted down so that helps, but there’s a large sense of tension in that anyone can randomly turn around and literally stab you in the back. Apart from that, this mode had all the usual bells and whistles you expect from modern multiplayer games such as point bonuses. Killing a higher-ranked assassin nets you more points, as does doing it in an original manner. Deathmatch mode follows the same rules, apart from the fact you’re not allowed to trigger chases or use a compass.

Next up is the manhunt mode, which pits one team against another with each team taking turns to pursue the other. This is where we personally had the most fun, as the points accumulate rather rapidly and the desperation one feels when chasing down a good for nothing assassin is terribly great fun. It’s here that you will get to see some of the game’s more expansive environments and experience more gameplay aspects.

We were impressed with the fluidity of the movement and just how fast you can traverse the landscape. It genuinely feels much faster than Brotherhood, so much so in fact that we’re wondering if this will be toned down a touch for the game’s story mode. For multiplayer, it makes sense as you blindly run around panicking about your next kill but it does make getting to each place ridiculously easy (especially when coupled with this mode’s instant win button: a massive radar).

On the whole then, Assassin’s Creed Revelations’ multiplayer is shaping up to be a sizeable piece of the final game’s package. The experience and unlock system have combined well with the refined gameplay to complete a surprisingly compelling experience. Whether or not it distracts you from Ezio and Desmond’s latest adventures remains to be seen, but we definitely recommend giving it a go.

Over the last year details on Modern Warfare 3′s multiplayer has been a bit of a mystery and Activision has had yet to reveal any detail. Now, we have a full length trailer for you to feast your eyes on.

The new trailer details some interesting perks and kill streaks for you to earn this go around. It should turn your 5 minute gaming session into 5 hours or more. I fondly remember back in the day playing more then 5 hours a night on Modern Warfare 2 for a while there. Infinity Ward is looking to make a splash again and it looks like they just might accomplish that.

The Uncharted series has been one of the major PlayStation titles since it launched back in 2007. Nathan Drake has become synonymous with the PlayStation brand and is an award-winning series. The game is set to release on November 1, 2011 and focuses on Nathan Drake’s relationship with his old pal Sully as they go on another adventure to find a lost city. The city in question is the obsession of Lawrence of Arabia and Drake’s own distant relative, Sir Francis Drake. It’s referred too as Atlantis of the Sands. So, much like what you saw in the teaser trailer back when the game was first teased, you won’t be spending all your time in the desert. Read more below for our preview of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.

The single-player campaign reveals a new villain that gets in Drake’s way known as Katherine Marlowe. Marlowe is apparently the head of a powerful cabal (powerful organization) that looks to have been in reign since the time of Queen Elizabeth in the 16^th century. She has a long-standing rivalry with Sir Francis Drake over his ring that both contend that it’s rightfully theirs. This ends up propelling Marlowe into a conflict with Nathan Drake all around the globe while Drake continues his quest for the Lost City. Marlowe is a more resourceful enemy then that he’s faced in the past and uses physical and psychological tactics in her arsenal. The brutes she uses to do her bidding are loyal adherents of the organization and use special ops and covert ops training to confound their opponents.

Naughty Dog has improved Drake’s overall character giving him more abilities to work with as you move through each level. In accordance with the “living levels”, Drake can now interact more with his enemies. You’ll be able to perform more stealth kills either using the environment to slam your enemies into the corresponding objects or simply out fisting in hand to hand combat and taking their weapon at the same time. Other times you’ll see Drake will be able to sneak up on an enemy and pull the pin on their grenade and push him away to be able to move on. This is just one of the many melee tactics that were added to Drake’s arsenal.

Moving on to the multiplayer side of the game, our hands-on time with the beta back in July was a very positive experience. Naughty Dog has added new maps based on the single-player missions in the game though context free of any spoilers so as to not give away the storyline. These are also living environments as well as you will be able to climb every nook and cranny of the map and interact with the environments. The new buddy system allows players to work together to collect treasures from fallen enemies and help each other during intense  fire fights. If you are on a killing streak you’ll be able to unlock boosters to help your weapons along with kickbacks to help you earn additional cash. The monetary system will allow you to purchase weapons and customize your characters as you level up and gain experience. You’ll be able to join in late-games that are already in progress as well as have two-player split-screen that supports two separate PSN logins. The game will also support stereoscopic 3D and multiple co-operative modes.

With new physics, visuals and environmental effects, Naughty Dog has really recreated a livable and breathable world in the Uncharted universe. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception will launch exclusively on PlayStation 3, November 1.

The Gears of War series was the premiere console series, launching exclusively on Xbox 360 back in 2006. The series has since then been a landmark in cover-based third person shooters and was a pioneer in Epic’s Unreal Engine the game is developed from. Since then the Gears of War franchise has spawned comic books and novels all considered cannon in the ongoing Locust war. As the COGs are fighting to keep the human race alive, a new enemy emerges in that of the Lambent. These include enemies like Drudges, Polyps, and Lambent Stalks. We’ve taken the game through its paces with the multiplayer beta back in April and now that we’ve seen some more footage of the game and even the games opening cinematic, its only a matter of time before the game reaches the hands of gamers worldwide. Continue reading below for our preview of Gears of War 3.

To kick off, the campaign now features 4-player co-op for the first time in the series. This gives way to make more room for new and even more challenging enemies outside of the Locust Horde. The Lambent, are all over the place when you first start and explode when you shoot them. These spawn from pods that shoot out from the ground.  There are infected Locust soldiers and new enemies like Brutes that spout tentacle arms and can attack in a variety of ways. These guys fire off balls of explosive goo and luckily shooting at them in their glowing weak spots is a good way to finish them off. Another new enemy is that of the Corpser, who is a spider like creature who can burry underground and come up for sneak attacks can make it difficult to dispense of.

We’ve already played with some of the new weapons like the bayonet-fitted retro lancer and the camper killing digger launcher, but we’ve only gotten a glimpse at the new sniper rifle appropriately named the “One Shot”. Epic says there will be many more weapons in the main campaign so that’s certainly something to keep an eye out for. The multiplayer component has been greatly expanded to include the newly updated Horde Mode 2.0. The new Horde mode adds in new tower-defense like torrents and booby traps and other things to keep the Locust Horde at bay for as long as you can survive. It even adds a monetary system to allow you to purchase upgrades to your traps and other items in your quest to get that Horde achievement.

Epic has added a lot of new co-op features that weren’t in place in the previous Gears titles. Players will be able swap weapons back and forth by simply throwing their weapons on the ground for the intended player to pick up. You can even share ammo if your partner is low during the heat of the battle. During the campaign you’ll still see Marcus Fenix being the star of the show but the game will also focus on its newly introduced characters like Anya Stroud into the COG group. Part of the first act even lays focus on Cole Train and his past. A big feature in the game is the women characters like Anya and Sam, as for the first time you’ll be able to play as them in both campaign and in multiplayer modes for female gamers out there. The new campaign certainly has a lot to live up too and a lot of questions to be answered. Be sure to check back here at The NPCs for our full review of the game in late September. Gears of War 3 launches exclusively on Xbox 360 September 20.

Over the last few seasons, EA Sports has continually been innovating its NHL series with each new release. This is no different this year as EA Sports brings in over 300 gameplay refinements concentrating on three key features, Anticipation AI, Full Contact Physics Engine, and Dynamic Goalies.  Continue reading below for our full preview of NHL 12.

Yes, you read that right; goalies are now fully dynamic. If you were familiar with previous games in the series, goalies didn’t feel organic to the rest of the game or players for that matter. It was too often that goalie interactions were too strict and limited not too mention predictable, only reacting if a specific event occurred. Now, goaltenders will make better decisions and react to their surroundings in different situations. When a player attacks them for example, they’ll take the hit. Of course don’t expect to get away with it on multiple occasions as you can be sent to the sin bin for a penalty. But if you manage to pull it off, there are certainly scoring chances you can take advantage of.

Moving on, you’ll notice that the next bullet point EA Sports is addressing is Anticipation AI. This refers to player interaction within the game. Players will now react more realistically during offensive and defensive changes throughout each game. This includes everything from players skating to open positions for scoring opportunities, to the small things like a player stretching his leg out to not be caught off sides on the play. Other fun points to mention are helmets are now able to fly off players if they’re hit hard enough, and you can even hit players into breaking glass and over the benches.  When the play develops offensively, players will skate into open areas as mentioned earlier and make smarter decisions to anticipate the puck. On the defensive side of things, defenseman will try to anticipate where the puck might go next and try to cut off passing lanes and break off for a counterattack.

Finally we have upgrades to the full contact physics engine allowing more realistic hits and puck movements. Hit animations won’t feel scripted or unoriginal; every hit will react differently depending on the situation. Of course, don’t expect to go unpunished, this is hockey after all and expect some fisticuffs. The first person fighting that was introduced in NHL 10 has returned again this year with a refinement as well. Now as your fighting if you don’t want your player to get injured you can easily raise up the white flag and end the fight. A new addition is now allowing goalies to join in on the fun. If it’s a playoff or an intense game goalies will now be able to fight and take the penalty.

Although, they haven’t shown off much of it, Be A Pro mode has been completely revamped. You’ll play a full season in the CHL, which is the junior league before being called up to the minors. With the new Action Tracker you’ll be able to sim during games to your next shift so you can quickly get into the action. Another neat addition is the NHL Winter Classic in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. You’ll be able to pick any two teams to match up outdoors on a snowy New Years Day. NHL 12 launches for Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on September 13, be sure to keep an eye out for our full review.

English indie development outfit Raw Games is developing The Spire for the PC. Normally we don’t just post random stuff like this, but we feel the game looks pretty swish so it should be brought to your attention. It’s a first-person adventure game set in a mysterious facility in the Antarctic, using the Unreal Engine.

You play as a man who’s lost his memory (conveniently). He wakes up to find a weird tool on his arm that can do some cool future gravity cool stuff. So, it’s not the most original game in the world but it does look swish considering it’s officially classed as an “indie” title.

There’s the typical gravity puzzles as you work your way through the base and 2029 future setting to content with, but it all looks ever so shiny. It’s plain to see that the production values on offer (at least if the trailer is anything to go by) here vastly push the boundary of what is normally expected of an indie title. If Raw Games can find ways to keep the gravity gun-esque arm entertaining throughout the entire game, this could be something to look out for.

There’s no beating about the bush, this does look suspiciously like Portal but obviously with a different gameplay mechanic. It remains to be seen if there’s enough here to distinguish itself from the crowd of puzzle/puzzle element FPS’ (Singularity, Half Life 2, Portal, etc.). Even the abandoned facility is ever so Portal, but there just might be something good going on behind the similar clothing if they remember that the game world is just as important as the central premise. Game worlds are essentially characters in themselves, especially in environments where there isn’t anything else to interact with.

The Spire is currently down for a “TBA” release, disappointingly.

Much has been said about Sony’s first party PS3 games. Some have been a bit hit and miss, while others have emulated the company’s success from the PS2 era. Increasingly, their new efforts seem to be falling in the latter category and gamers are profiting from delightful experiences that push what the system can offer. Even though the majority of them are sequels (at the moment), they are performing well at retail and through critical reception.

This new era (if you like) started back when Sony lifted the lid on Killzone 2. It looked and played the part; a full “next-gen” title with the velocity that gamers want nowadays. The game turned out great, if a little congested with dodgy controls and an endless supply of enemies. We had the opportunity to pick up Killzone 3 (in 3D!) at the Eurogamer Expo to see how the sequel’s turning out.

Well, we’re happy to report that Killzone 3 is every bit as fun as its predecessor and seems to fix most of the series’ problems. Guns no longer feel loose thanks to some solid controls and the amount of enemies has been better moulded to the level design. It isn’t particularly easier, just a bit more refined in its execution. The gameplay feels as sharp as ever, with movement and POV issues from 2 fixed. The protagonist is no longer ridiculously short compared to everything else in the game-world. He has grown to the size of regular folk in the space of one game.

However, it doesn’t really feel like a sequel. The weapons (at least in our demo) were exactly the same, and some weird gadgets have been introduced just to give the game another bullet point on the back of the box. This is most prudent with the jetpack which is not only unintuitive to control, but it’s just not particularly fun. It’s essentially a device to achieve longer/higher jumps. We hate to make comparisons to seemingly unlinked games in previews, but if this jetpack followed the fine balance achieved by Halo: Reach’s variant it could be a bit more entertaining. Regardless, it has a lovely built-in gun that fires off rounds at a pleasantly rapid speed.

Now, let’s talk about 3D. The code we played was a bit picky about where we sat for the 3D effects to work. We had to sit directly in front of the game, in the middle of the screen. Whether or not this is entirely the game’s fault remains to be seen, but the TVs at the expo were some expensive Sony models that we’re guessing they actually want to work as advertised. The 3D glasses provided were some basic non-powered hard-plastic devices so the fault could possibly be with them too.

Anyways, the game was a bit weird in 3D if we’re being honest. It feels like you’re playing through it all constantly zoomed in. This effect might’ve been caused by us being a bit too close to the screen, but it’s worrying that a game like this can’t demo effectively when the elements needed to run it at home can quickly clock up to over £3000. However, it’s worth noting that the build we played was “pre-alpha”, so we have to reserve real judgement on such matters until we see a later build.

Killzone 3 is shaping up well, but it seems slightly uninspired at the moment. There doesn’t seem to be much new stuff to play around with, but it’s a tighter experience that’s still fun to play. Hopefully Guerrilla can add some more diverse elements throughout the game to warrant a sequel. We already know they’re not very strong story-tellers, so they need to up their game in their other areas to deliver something that doesn’t just feel like an expansion pack.

The Metroid series has always been one of Nintendo’s major hardcore gaming pillars. It has followed the company from platform to platform, stopping off on the GBA for a few titles and really came into its own during the Prime saga on the GameCube. Prime was my first entry into the series, and it was perfect to introduce new players such as myself. Retro Studios understood our mindset and made the Prime series immersive and fun to play.

So, imagine the world’s surprise at last year’s E3 when Nintendo announced that Retro will be stepping aside for Team Ninja to take up the reigns for the next title in the series: Metroid Other M. It was the only hardcore title announced at that particular conference, but it split fans. Could Team Ninja really deliver something comparable to the epics Retro treated us to?

Well, I got to have a play on the game behind closed doors, and the answer is still not clear. We sat down on an obscure “minimalist” stool with no prior knowledge of the controls and a misplaced sensor bar. Once everything was fixed and we got comfortable, we settled in to what we assumed would be a slice of gaming excellence. What we got was far from it.

As shown by the game’s videos and screenshots across the web, Other M is back to third person with an awkward camera. For the most part, it controls fine, but the third person viewpoint doesn’t seem that conductive to the Metroid experience. Navigation is a touch annoying and the attempt at a mini-map doesn’t help with anything. If you try to go to a place you’re not supposed to go too early, nothing will happen and you will be left wondering what on Earth you have to do.

This isn’t helped by some weird menus and the scan ability being hidden behind some weird fiddly visor control system. Talking of the visor, it is technically not that difficult to use but complicates itself by overloading you with features. To use it, you have to move the Wii-mote so it faces the sensor bar and then you need to select what you want to do. It leaves you vulnerable as Samus anchors to the ground whenever you use the visor.

Frustratingly, you can now only fire missiles through using the visor and you will get attacked a fair bit as you fuss about the visor. Normal gun operations are fine in third-person, so it just makes the missile experience even more bizarre. Furthermore, there are some dull sections where you have to use missiles to blow up enemy spawning locations. If you don’t do it, they will carry on spawning when you try to kill them. It’s age old design and it just doesn’t seem as well thought out as Prime.

However, the melee system added a bit of depth to the combat. Dodging enemies and launching counter attacks not only looked cool, it played well. The morph ball segments were also good. In the demo we played, there wasn’t much ball action but it did serve as an entertaining distraction. There wasn’t any Prime-esque timing bomb awkwardness and it just felt right to roll around causing trouble.

In conclusion, there technically isn’t much wrong with Other M. It has everything you want from a Metroid game, but it’s weighted down with some atrocious fiddly elements that bring the experience down. The gameplay is too linear and the cutscenes add nothing to the game at all. The whole point of the Metroid series is for Samus to be all alone as she potters about trying to stop some evil folk by herself and it seems Nintendo has no idea what direction it wants to take this series any more. Metroid fans will probably be able to find something they like in here, as will a lot of other people, but it just doesn’t feel like the real McCoy.

When we went to Nintendo last week, Wii Party was not on our main list to play. However, after grabbing some Nintendo-made OJ and saddling up some seats, we settled to try it. All three of our epic staff members were perched around their delightful cubes, accompanied by their Wii-motes (including wrist straps for all) and the game begun.

This is where something we didn’t plan for happened: we actually enjoyed it. Wii Party was like a guilty pleasure, intoxicating our mind like a mainstream “indie” album from a hot woman in her 20s. The gameplay is like every other party game out there. You have to go around a board by rolling some dice. Only this time, you play as Miis and the board is actually fun. Random squares would bring up challenge dice, special treats and if you got lucky, a catapult to a square to the other side of the board.

Then the biggest surprise came: the mini-games. We were expecting some obscure games involving dodgy controls and poor people. What we got was actually fun to play. Don’t get us wrong, this is no WarioWare, but it’s perfectly adequate fun. In one game, we had to balance some presents with our Wii-motes. Naturally, we all started to cheat straight away and used each other for epic leanage. It didn’t go well.

Another game we got to experience was this bizarre tank/train hybrid. Our Miis were loaded onto some tanks and we were tasked with shooting a target on the back of each other through a pre-determined maze. It felt like that weird tank game in Wii Party that no one admits they played. Things got pretty intense towards the end, and with two seconds on the clock, I showed the remaining staff member who runs this town tonight (and each and every night).

So there we have it, Wii Party. It’s shaping up to be pretty fun. It won’t be on anyone’s must-have lists, but if your granny accidentally picks it up for you somewhere along the line it won’t make you kill yourself. Nintendo families will probably enjoy its Wii Sports/Party theming whilst Nintendo fanboys will weep at what could’ve been another lacklustre Mario Party game.

As you may know already, we’ve visited Nintendo this week and now have a great deal of content to give to you. We’re trickling some hands-on reports throughout the week (news is a bit average this week to be honest) for your reading pleasure. Now, let’s talk about something that’s dear to all our hearts: Super Scribblenauts. Sat alone at its own DSi XL unit at the Nintendo event like a forgotten GameBoy, Super Scribblenauts quietly got on with basking in its glory.

You see, there’s something quite obvious with this game that should’ve got you excited. It has “Scribblenauts” in the title. The predecessor was an entertaining journey through our inner psyche via our imaginations, a complete “err why hasn’t this been done before” game made of win. If you need a brief recap, here it is: you control Maxwell, a dude who can summon cool stuff to help him with puzzles thanks to a fancy dictionary. You type in the word, it comes to life. Bingo. The sequel is the same really. Whilst there hasn’t been many gameplay tweaks aside from some actually useful controls (the original was a bit fiddly; this has d-pad and face button support), the stuff on offer here is compelling.

The game now supports adjectives (cleverly alluded to by the title); ten thousand of them to be exact. On top of that, there are some new words to muck about with. We didn’t come across many in the brief demo we experienced (our imaginations were drained by a long train journey), but adjectives definitely add a bit extra to the game. You can now spawn things like a “Firey Vampire” and a “Wet Computer”, amongst others. It adds an extra dimension to the gameplay, even if some of them are mainly aesthetic effects stuck on to pre-existing sprites. Things such as robot dinosaurs are still included, as are wings to go with it so the old-school crowd should still be happy.

We only had time to play one puzzle level, and down to peer pressure I ended up electrifying a Platypus with a toaster. Don’t ask. Early puzzles seemed to be a bit complex compared to the original, so we hope youngsters will be brainy enough to get it done. There was a new hint system though, and it should help out younger folk if they can afford it. Basically, the game will sell you information (for in-game currency), with the cost decreasing over time (shown on-screen by a handy hourglass). Joe couldn’t resist the age-old favourite of “Nuke”. Next time, we’ll be sure to try “Mega Nuke” and the surely most ultimate prize of them all: “Invisible Nuke”.

Our dear Jereme has already previewed Epic Mickey but when Nintendo invited us to go and play lots of cool stuff with them, we were able to get our hands on the game itself for a much longer time period. After a mammoth talk and introduction from a designer on the game (whom was a rather nice chap), we managed to get Mickey under our control.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Platformers are not easy to demo at any event, especially one where you have to stand to play. They usually have intricate designs and bizarre objective placement to encourage exploration, but that takes time. Time events don’t have. Epic Mickey was a keen demonstration of this.

The demo focused on three levels from the full game. In the first, Mickey has to retrieve some bits and pieces for Smee in order to get Steamboat Willy up and running. This involves running around and helping other Peter Pan pirates and a shop owner out with their problems. One pirate wants to get off with a woman so wants something to woo her, one wants his missing treasure and the shop owner wants three masks. To get them, we had to do a bit of exploring.

This is where the game’s paint and thinner mechanic came in useful. We could thin out the back of a shop and have a nose about, and find some hidden game currency in a rock. The paint mechanic mainly came into play when we had to fix roofs and other broken things. A subtle shadow envelopes the area you can paint, which we believe is a nice addition for younger players whom might not have the gaming experiences of their older counterparts. However, acting like a kid and spraying thinner in all conceivable directions is a fun distraction, just like the age-old pastime of pissing about with paint in real life.

The gameplay seemed to be a bit too simplistic, with some artificial difficulty chucked in through hiding some objectives in pointlessly weird places. It seems the game wants to mainly trade on its design and looks. The animated cutscenes were solid (albeit without voice acting, and when quizzed about this, our host dodged a question about this being because of the Wii’s limited technical ability), as were the character designs. The environment in the first level was a bit cramped, but it was a solid introduction to the game. When we moved on to the Steamboat Willy level, though, our eyes did a double take.

It just looked amazing, completely like the old black and white Mickey cartoon. It was very short but served its purpose as a smile-raising distraction before the next level. The design, animation and music really came together here to offer something truly unique. Even something inconsequential like the random cow platforms brought a reminiscent tear to our old, world weary eyes. We hope the other intermediate “travel” levels in the game are this good.

The next level was interesting in that you get to decide the fate of the aforementioned pirates. You could either let them continue to be made into robots, shut down the machine (and let the pirates be turned back into normal pirate gits) or blow it up (and keep the pirates as robots). We liked that the game didn’t pressure us into doing anything here and being pressed for time, we pushed on for the main objective of getting out of dodge. That meant releasing the anchors of a ship, which had become stranded on the island.

A brief bit of exploration led to the discovery of the anchors and getting rid of them required a bit of thinner. There were some interesting uses of the thinner in other places too: using it on lookout towers at the top of a ship’s mast allowed them to become handy platforms. It’s worth noting that the sea in this part of the game was polluted with thinner, which can hurt Mickey and enemies.

Talking of which, this was the first environment to contain enemies. We were told that as with everything else throughout the game, Mickey would come up against enemies from all different Disney properties. The ones in this level mainly consisted of those tall gits from Fantasia, and some short stocky things from something we have no idea about. What’s interesting about the fight mechanics in this game though are how you can deal with your combatants. You can use thinner on them to destroy them, or use paint on them to make them become allies. If you do that latter, they stay in their small area and fight for you. There’s also a Mario-esque spinning move, activated through waggle.

To conclude then, Epic Mickey is shaping up fine. There needs to be a bit more challenge in the gameplay to make it rewarding for adults, but kids should love it. The Warren Spector factor is apparent with some of the choices you can make in-game and with the overall presentation, but it seems Disney are restraining his vision. Hopefully the full game will have more epic segments and set-pieces.

Nintendo invited the UK’s media to come and play lots of exciting things yesterday. We were invited, and to kick off our coverage of what we got to have a look at is the Nintendo 3DS.  When Nintendo first announced the device, people were left scratching their heads. A 3D based gaming system that didn’t require glasses was too much for some to take, with most people wondering if they were in the future and stuff.

I’m happy to report we are in the future. Nintendo took us to what can only be described as a flock of gorgeous women with 3DS’ everywhere and told us to have fun. We obliged. Some of us obliged a little too much (they tried some outrageous geek flirting, which didn’t go down too well. If anyone from Nintendo is reading this, I apologise profusely for their unprofessional behaviour and their bizarre understanding of physics). Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the Nintendo 3DS hardware.

The units we got to play with were jet black, with a solid metallic feel. As you may know by now, the device has two cameras on the lid with another on the inside. There’s also a new analogue slider alongside the DS Lite style D-Pad, with the traditional DS touch screen and button arrangement. The face buttons had a glossy look, but felt responsive enough and easy to use. The shoulder buttons were more interesting though. They were smaller (thinner) and made out of a harder metallic material. The back side of the 3DS has a bigger cartridge slot, but old DS cartridges should fit in there just fine. Next to that is an infra-red connector.

Around the other side is the SD card housing, with the stylus slot taking up the spot directly opposite. It’s worth noting that the top lid had a slight over-hang to the bottom, but this is still prototype hardware and susceptible to a redesign. The 3DS top screen is just like what you’ve heard about everywhere else: a nice sizeable widescreen. The 3D slider worked well, but it’s interesting to note that when we took the screen to 3D, the image lost a bit of sharpness but worked exactly as advertised. We were playing in 3D and enjoying it.

Let’s talk about what we got to play with on the console: Pilotwings Resort, Nintendogs + Cats and Hollywood 61.

Pilotwings Resort

This was our first playable title on the Nintendo 3DS. The demo had two modes, one with a traditional bi-plane and another with jetpack. The objective for the jetpack mission was to fly around and pop balloons, with the bi-plane mission being to fly through some rings. You get to play as your Mii in this one, which was quite interesting. It used the typical “Wii Sports” look for the UI. Having a flying game in 3D is a good way to show off the technology, and Pilotwings doesn’t disappoint. It looks just like a Wii game, and the 3D really helped with navigation.

However, it became a bit too easy to focus on nearby buildings instead of the protagonist and it wasn’t always easy to determine how close we were to the objective. Other than that, the controls were fairly solid and the analogue slider was intuitive. It is much better than the PSP one and should be just fine with prolonged use. However, while we liked Pilotwings, it was a bit boring and the objectives seemed overly simple to get to. Hopefully they’ll be able to shape a whole game round the premise rather than do consecutive simple challenges.

Nintendogs + Cats

This was our next playable game in the long tour of upcoming stuff for the 3DS. The demo was distinctly lacking in cats for our liking, but it did have plenty of dogs. To be precise, there was a beagle, a golden Labrador and a terrier. They all behaved very Nintendogs-like and it seemed very natural to pick up and play, just like the prequel. What’s interesting about this one is that it has facial recognition. When I put my beautiful face towards the camera, my beagle came up and tried to lick me. It’s a fun touch but I’ve never seen this dog before in my life, so how does it know who I am? We’re not sure if the camera is advanced enough to tell owners apart from other humans and no one at the show seemed to know.

Regardless, the 3D effect was really entertaining here. It adds to the whole effect of owning and playing with your virtual dog. Throwing things like boomerangs and Frisbees looked amazing, and even though the demo only had an indoor location, there was plenty of space to muck about with. When the camera went to a semi-isometric viewpoint, the 3D effect was stunning. The dog’s home looked like a fully realised place. However, using the 2D touch screen to interact within a 3D space can feel a bit weird. That wears off fairly quickly though and we enjoyed it. Disappointingly, we haven’t seen anything to differentiate it from the original yet.

Hollywood 61

This was our first ever playable third party 3DS game. It’s a Hotel Dusk-esque game from Ubisoft, focusing on a detective going after a serial killer. The demo took place at a theatre, and included a cut-scene, a quick puzzle and an interesting brief ending segment. The cardboard cut-out style character design was competent enough, but the 3D element was surplus to requirements here really. The puzzle was a short “reflect the light with mirrors to the ending” one, and seemed to be very easy.

However, the ending of the demo really saved it. The protagonist moved to the middle of the theatre and we got to control his viewpoint of the stage with the analogue slider. When looking at it from the left, the message “YOU’RE” was viewable on the stage curtain, and when looking at it from the right, the message “NEXT!” was viewable. This used 3D strangely well, and we thought it was a highly entertaining way to try to scare us. Hollywood 61 has a lot of potential, but we’re not sure who exactly it’s appealing to. Hotel Dusk didn’t sell a massive amount and the puzzles on offer here don’t look to be as complex as those in the Professor Layton series. If they manage to frame it as a book-style adventure, it could do well.

Camera

Nintendo also showed us a 3D camera application. They didn’t confirm if this was the exact one that will be included with the 3DS, but it seemed adequate enough. Interestingly, the 3D depth slider didn’t work with this demo. Instead, you could change the focus of the 3D image on the bottom screen with a slider.  There was no ability to save or transfer photos in the demo. Pictures taken with it use a low resolution, but it seemed to work as advertised. The two front cameras on the lid do their job well. However, we were in a well-lit environment so we’re not sure how well it’ll do in the dark. There’s no flash on the device.

If Nintendo can get the pricing for the device right, this could be the first “cheap” mainstream 3D device with a 3D camera. It can push the format forward on mobile platforms and could lead to even bigger things in the future.

Everything else and conclusion

After playing with those, we were treated to the same trailers and videos that were at E3. There was a 3D film trailer about some owl film coming out soon (can’t remember the name), Mario Kart, Resident Evil Redemption, Metal Gear Solid 3D Naked Sample and a few others floating about (including Kid Icarus). Mario Kart looked like a cross between the Wii and DS version, and there wasn’t a massive opportunity for any 3D effects in the demo. Resident Evil Redemption looked very good, albeit a bit bland. We couldn’t follow the plot but if games really do look this good on the 3DS then we’re in for a treat.

Metal Gear Solid 3D Naked Sample (or something to that effect) was also highly entertaining. It follows either Snake or Big Boss (probably the latter) in a first person crawl through a forest. The camera then zooms out to show our protagonist, as he has an entertaining moment with a guard and a packet of cigarettes. He then runs across a bridge and fights the female Boss (we’re guessing she’s Big Momma). There are some beautiful flower effects and other various 3D elements as all this is going on, with the graphics looking better than the recently released PSP title Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker. Needless to say, we were very happy with it and we hope it will be released.

In conclusion, the Nintendo 3DS is an exciting step in the right direction for 3D. While many seem to be ringing the format’s death knell at the cinema, the 3DS can stand up to the plate thanks to the device not needing those Joe 90-style 3D glasses. People won’t be able to look over your shoulder to watch you play in 3D unless they get close enough to breathe their cancerous germs all over you, but you will be safe in the knowledge that they will be jealous. The system just needs one killer app and it could be epic. We’re not sure if Kid Icarus will be it, but this is Nintendo we’re talking about here. A new Mario or Zelda will come along and sweep everyone off their feet. The world will go mad with fanboyism and the 3DS will rule all. Sony really needs to come up with something mind-bending to trump this.

The Kane & Lunch 2: Dog Days demo was released today (on the 360) to those lucky enough to get a download token from Square Enix. We were in the bunch that got a code, and have just finished up with our first play of the demo from the third person stop and popper. Immediately upon loading the game up, you can see the new CCTV-esque presentation and a fancy, clean UI. There’s a lot to try out here in the demo, including a small part of the story mode, arcade mode and a smattering of online modes.

Let’s begin with the story mode. For the most part, it plays well. The cover mechanic and gunplay is very smooth, with weapons each having a solid individual presence. Movement and pacing seem to be done well too, with ample space to run around and shoot cops. The biggest thing that will strike you when you play is the gameworld. Environments look fantastic.

There’s this one section in the demo where you have to run and gun down a typical Shangai street, and even though you can’t enter the majority of buildings there’s some lovely window/lighting trickery that makes shops have that typical eastern look. The CCTV-esque camera follows the action well, but if you’re prone to motion sickness the wobblyness of it all might send you over the edge.

Kane & Lynch are their regular chipper selves, with them both delivering some nice dialogue as you go through the level. It’s good to see a believability that characters are in the same environment as you and are reacting to the same things you are. Obviously this has been a part of games for a while, but it just ads to the feel of this game and it just feels solid coupled with the mise-en-scene and narrative. Lynch is now the single-player protagonist, but the demo didn’t show anything trademark Lynch-y.

Next up is arcade mode. This basically plants you into the shoes of a random character that has to join up with a load of non-playable AI-controlled folk as you all go and steal money (well the description says information, but in-game it says money) from a van. Even though you’re not playing as one of the game’s infamous twosome, the dialogue here is also solid. After you’ve stolen a load of money and killed the frankly annoyed cops, you have to get away in the back of a van. The twist is, during all of this you can go rogue and steal your allies’ money, or even go 50/50 with the van driver to make the most. It’s an interesting mode and serves a small distraction.

Finally, there are the multiplayer modes. The demo only supports multiplayer through Xbox Live, but does have three modes to try: Fragile Alliance, Undercover Cop and Cops & Robbers. At the end of each round you get to buy different weapons, but the game normally gives you a fine selection to play with normally. You can also take guns from fallen foes, like nearly every other gun-based game in existence. We bet that surprised you.

Fragile Alliance is basically the same as the arcade mode in the demo, but expect more rogue gits thanks to real-life humans being a bit more selfish. This mode is limited to four minutes, and when you die you respawn as a cop, fresh for corruption and revenge. I thought this mode was quite fun, and offered a degree of unpredictability. Surprisingly, my teammates showed camaraderie when a dude with a lot of money tried to go rogue on us. We put him down, shared his loot and got on with the job.

Undercover Cop is basically the same again, but the twist is that there’s an undercover cop in your midst. It creates a nice feeling of tension, akin to the Spy in Team Fortress 2. The undercover cop is chosen at random, and has to stop any of the naughty law breakers from escaping. They can only take down the rest of the group once a crime has been committed, which normally takes all of five seconds in this mode.

Cops & Robbers uses the same basic framework as the other two multiplayer modes and arcade mode in that there are (human controlled) robbers that want to steal a load of money and get away. However this time, there are also human controlled cops that have to stop them. This also played well, with both sides choosing some sneaky hiding spots and paths for the big ambush.

Overall, the Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days demo is surprisingly well-polished and features good old-fashioned shooting fun. It may not have the best gameplay or story, but it’s a good indicator that the full game should at least be entertaining. The multiplayer side of things is fun, but highly repetitive. Hopefully in the full version there will be more modes to choose from, or it could get rather dull quite quickly.

While I wouldn’t call myself much of a fan of Disney aside from being a fan of a few of their movies, but Epic Mickey is looking pretty epic so far. The game itself is pulling from a history of over 80 years of Disney characters and Mickey Mouse history in general. For me, the many references in the game would probably go right over my head and would be pretty hard to find something for me to latch on too. For instance, the world of Epic Mickey starts off with Steamboat Willie, a cartoon from 1928 in which Mickey made his first appearance. This is where the adventure kicks off and you can read more about below.

It’s hard to imagine that you could take a character like Mickey Mouse and give him so many depths in terms of story-telling. He’s been hard to come by in the video game industry but with releases like the Kingdom Hearts series and now the upcoming Epic Mickey, Mickey Mouse is making a return for gamers. Releasing exclusively on the Nintendo Wii this Fall, gamers will be able to paint their way through the long and forgotten world of Disney characters. Warren Spector and his team over at Junction Point Studios are having re-born Mickey in a way that you can attach to him and feel for the character. Mickey is thrown into the world of Wasteland and must find his way back home. Wasteland is the world of forgotten Disney characters from the many years of Disney cartoons and movies.

You’ll fight through the world using paint and thinner. With these two options in mind, you can paint the world around you and restore objects that are outlined and use the thinner to erase characters and objects in your. Keeping this in mind as well, play style will matter, so as you venture through the world you will affect the story as you progress through the game.  You’ll be advancing through the story by completing various side quests that will also change the way each character views you. Whether you decide to help them along the way or ignore them. To advance through the game, players will go through film screens or portals if you will. These turn into mini-games inspired by the old Disney cartoons, like Steamboat Willie, Disney’s first cartoon.

There are two parts of levels to adventure through that you’ll discover in the game. One is the upper level and lower level; this is how you’ll advance to various parts of the game. The upper level is the more challenging part to keep you on your feet. The lower level is the easy parts of the mini-games to get you through to the next section of the game. There are plenty of collectibles to keep you busy as well. One of things that was mentioned for instance was various old Disney pins that you can find around the world. Also, the games currency is the old Disney tickets that you can use to buy things with. Warren Spector mentioned in his discussion that there were A, B, C and D tickets in the old Disney parks given out which you’ll notice in the game. It was mentioned vaguely that some of Mickey’s friends will appear in the game in some form, but that you’ll just have to wait and see. Also mentioned was that no one was going to have a voice in the game and Spector’s quote was “If Oswald didn’t talk, no one was going to talk”. In which this rings true considering over the years, none of the old Disney characters ever had a voice in the old cartoons and movies.

Disney Epic Mickey is a new tale for the Disney icon, Mickey Mouse. Taking the game exclusively to the Nintendo Wii is a bold choice for Disney. Using the power of the Wii Remote you’ll be painting and controlling Mickey through your adventure. Disney Epic Mickey will be hitting store shelves this Holiday 2010.  Check back to TheNPCs for more coverage on Epic Mickey.

The newest entry in the Zelda series has lately been a shroud of mystery. Coming off of last years E3 all we were given was a graphic designed internet poster not revealing much at all about the next installment. However, with this year’s E3 in the bag and the box opened, we finally have all the details regarding this new title, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Read on to find more.

In E3 2009, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed a piece of concept art to a few select media journalists and to the public a few days later. It detailed a near-adult Link standing with his back towards you hold his shield with nothing in his other hand. Facing you; however was a mysterious female figure standing at his back. Many speculated it was the personification of the Master Sword which has always been Links main weapon throughout the series. Also during that time, Miyamoto revealed that the new Wii Zelda would be incorporating the use of Wii Motion Plus for one-to-one sword fighting and shield wielding among other uses. This all happening last year, let us know that development was right on track and we would hopefully be seeing the game very soon on store shelves.

However, lets fast forward to this year, with Nintendo’s press conference recently at E3 2010. Miyamoto comes on stage once again and Nintendo kicks starts the conference with a brand new debut gameplay trailer for the newly titled Legend of Zelda; Skyward Sword. It becomes mandatory to carry the Wii Motion Plus device on your Wii Remote to feel the full effect of the game. Miyamoto goes onto to explain the general concepts of the game with a tech demo which was also available on the show floor. From what was shown on stage it seems like you’ll get a good one-to-one feel of the game despite the interrupted interference during the showing.

Miyamoto goes forward to explain what items Link will be encountering in his adventure. You’ll reach the crossbow, which if you remember was also one of the mini games you played with in Wii Sports Resort. Skyward Sword borrows some of that technology into the game and the same way you use the bow there you’ll use it in Zelda. You simply aim with the Wii Remote and pull back and fire with the nun-chuck. The slingshot works just like the bow as well and you simple point the Wii Remote in the direction you’re aiming to fire. With your bombs, after selecting the item you can choose to either throw it, or roll it like a bowling ball. Other item included the whip and a beetle which you can control simply by tilting your Remote in a specific direction and using it to pick up items…etc.

No plot details were revealed at the press conference and Miyamoto ended the demonstration by saying that The Legend of Zelda; Skyward Sword would be available on store shelves, in 2011 when it was originally targeted to get Zelda out by the end of this year.

The original Crackdown (developed by Realtime Worlds) initially garnered a great deal of attention. This was likely because of its attachment to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta; however, after a bit of playtime and some critical acclaim, it was apparent that Crackdown was much more than a $60 ticket to preview Master Chief on the Xbox 360. Fast forward three years and you have now brought peace to Pacific City and are eagerly awaiting the follow-up to the game that put a refreshing spin on the sandbox genre. Things, however, are not necessarily how they appear.

Upon completion of Crackdown, you were lauded for your work in the removal of some of the most dangerous organized gangs of Pacific City. You were hailed as a hero, but in actuality you only eliminated the opposition so that the Agency could rule with an iron fist. Over the course of ten years in Pacific City, the freaks that underwent Shai-Gen bioengineering and were released during one of your raids began to take control of sectors of the city. The citizens formed an underground rebellion to combat both the power-hungry Agency and the blood-crazed freaks. Things spiraled out of control with the entire city once again becoming a warzone. The Agency’s power is slipping, the humans fear for their lives, and the freaks are continuing to terrorize everyone that they encounter. Welcome back to Pacific City, agent.

In Crackdown 2, there are three main factions that exist in a power struggle for control of Pacific City: the Agency, the freaks, and the Cell. The Agency, like in Crackdown 1, is the authoritarian peace-keeping organization whose motives are still shrouded in mystery. The freaks are the bioengineered product of Shai-Gen research that have taken over the sewers and parts of the city and terrorize ordinary citizens after sunset. They are a nocturnal group that is susceptible to ultraviolet light. The Cell is the human response to these organizations simply fighting for survival and the opportunity to retake the city.

In the ten year interim between the Crackdown 1 and Crackdown 2 stories, the Cell was able to shut down the agent program and the Agency lost control of all of Pacific City except the Agency tower. During the onset of Crackdown 2, the Agency is finally making its move against the freaks and the Cell by reinstating the agent program. This is where you come in.

Unlike the original, Crackdown 2 is designed with multiplayer in mind. The original was very much a single player game where a friend could join; Crackdown 2, however, focuses on a four-player cooperative campaign. That is not to say that you cannot play Crackdown 2 solo, but there are objectives in place where playing with friends will make your life a lot easier. In addition to co-op play, Crackdown 2 also contains a competitive multiplayer mode. This mode is a deathmatch mode at heart and features up to 16 agents facing off in Pacific City.

Another difference between Crackdown 2 and the original is that the sequel does not follow a linear progression to a gang kingpin through his subordinates. Instead, you have much more say in how peace is once again restored. As always, running into the streets with your guns blazing is an option; however, there are also much more subtle ways of getting the job done in Crackdown 2.

For instance, some missions involve gaining control of Cell establishments. Therefore, if you take out a Cell-operated power plant and disable the lights in these regions, the Cell establishments will be vulnerable to freak attacks (since they do not have UV light to defend themselves). This could result in an all-out onslaught between the Cell and the freaks, making it much easier for you to take control of the objective location. Though employing a run-and-gun strategy could have been just as effective, key examples such as this can show the benefit of holstering your gun temporarily in order to more closely examine and utilize your surroundings.

Over the course of Crackdown 2, your agent will use a variety of gadgets such as a revamped Supercar, an Agency Buggy, choppers, UV shotguns, homing rocket launchers, and mags (sticky grenades that can be used to create magnetic bonds between objects for use in combat, travel, and a wide variety of other things) among others in order to take down Cell strongholds and eliminate the freak threat. Like in Crackdown 1, your agent will level up by obtaining skill orbs relevant to the abilities being used. With a combination of high skill levels and these Agency gadgets, your Agent should possess the tools to once again retake Pacific City. We’ll just have to wait until July 6th (or July 9th for those in Europe) to see if Ruffian Games is able to retake gamers’ attention and deliver the high-octane sequel that we have come to expect with the Crackdown title.

Western movies have been on the decline these past couple of decades thanks to sci-fi and action genres taking over, but fortunately, western games have been on the rise. Games such as Gun, Red Dead Revolver, Call of Juarez and Desperados have helped to propel the genre to a new audience thanks to the increased power of this generation of consoles.

Now, Rockstar is back with another entry in the Red Dead series: Red Dead Redemption. The game is set in America in the early 1900s. It follows main protagonist John Marston as he is given free reign by government agents to capture or kill his former gang members. The government has threatened to kill his family if he doesn’t comply to their demands, so he doesn’t get much of a choice.

Redemption uses an open world sandbox, based on the GTA IV RAGE and Euphoria engines. Expect familiar western locales such as frontier towns, deserts, prairies and mountain passes and horse riding to get to all of them. Animals in the game can be hunted too, with creatures such as cattle, bison, beaver, bears, cougars, rattlesnakes, deer, wolves, mustangs, coyotes, wild boars, vultures, bighorn sheep, elk and ducks all up for grabs in a move that will depress the RSPCA.

GTA IV’s blood runs through the core of this title, with the combat system lifted from the third person epic. Players can take cover, target a specific person and can use blindfire as well as free aim. Players can also target individual body parts in the same manner as GTA IV. Expect weapons along the same lines as GTA IV but re-themed for the western era, such as semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, shotguns, lever/bolt action rifles, knives, dynamite, molotov cocktails and mounted gatling guns/cannons. However, there will be also an appearance by the iconic western lasso.

The combat system also has another ace up its sleeve; the “Dead-Eye” targeting system. Basically, when activated, Dead-Eye slows down the game world’s time and allows players to paint a few shots over an enemy or multiple enemies. After you place all your allowed shots or after the Dead-Eye time limit expires, normal time resumes and the protagonist will eliminate the targets.

Another area that’s getting fans hot under the collar about Red Dead Redemption is the multiplayer component. The game is promoting a fresh change in the organisation of a multiplayer game by eliminating lobby screens. Instead, you will be placed in a single player map and given the freedom to explore with up to 15 other people. Within this, you can create your own 2-8 person posse.

This mode is essentially similar to GTA IV’s free roam online experience, but with the added benefits of mini-games and vigilante justice. There is also a level progression system, with a cap of 50 in place. Game modes on offer include Free Roam, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Gold Rush and Team Gold Rush.

All in all, Red Dead Redemption is shaping up to be something special. The random countryside events and mini-games will keep players diving in for more and the game world utilises mise-en-scene to recreate the Wild West in all its grimy beauty. Red Dead Redemption is released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 May 18th in North America and May 21st in Europe.