http://www.eurogamer.netPreviews and first impressions from Eurogameren-gbCopyright 1999-2009 Eurogamer Network Ltd.Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:33:31 GMTWed, 10 Feb 2010 10:33:31 GMT3http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/903ab38/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Clego0Eharry0Epotter0Eyears0E10E40Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Abrickadabra. </strong> </p> <p> Adults, according to most fairy tales, have stopped believing in magic. The people at Traveller's Tales probably haven't, though. And why should they? Just five years ago the developer saw an unlikely potion brewed from two fantastically powerful ingredients - LEGO and Star Wars - turn a faintly clunky platformer into an instantly charming mega-hit, and recent forays into Gotham City and the knockabout sandboxes of Indiana Jones have only continued the spectacular run. </p> <p> With Harry Potter up next, you could almost forgive the team for doing little more than a quick palette swap before hiring the diggers necessary to tidy up the piles of money that are inevitably headed their way. But as we're hurtled through a quick hands-off demo of the latest game at a suitably Wizardy location in central London - there's plenty of wood panelling, ushers decked out in school robes and, rather worryingly, real owls - it's obvious that, while LEGO Potter is hardly a revolution, the designers have certainly spent the last few years hard at work, sounding out the peculiar strengths of JK Rowling's books and seeing how they can tailor their own formulas to mesh with hers. </p> <p> Mostly, Traveller's Tales has been looking at Hogwarts. A familiar ramble of stonework and tapestries, stained-glass, shifting staircases and talking portraits, in LEGO Potter the venerable old pile is not just a simple hub. It's the heart and soul of the game, in much the same way as it is with the novels: a place that will change while the teenage wizard grows, gradually unlocking its secrets as the adventure progresses. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/lego-harry-potter-years-1-4-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/lego-harry-potter-years-1-4-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/6/0/6/8/0/a_med_LHP_Screen48_Wave6.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/lego-harry-potter-years-1-4-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/6/0/6/8/0/a_med_LHP_Screen51_Wave6.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/lego-harry-potter-years-1-4-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/6/0/6/8/0/a_med_LHP_Screen44_Wave6.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/903ab38/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+LEGO+Harry+Potter%3A+Years+1-4&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Flego-harry-potter-years-1-4-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+LEGO+Harry+Potter%3A+Years+1-4&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Flego-harry-potter-years-1-4-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/63068939945/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/151235384/kg/25-43/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/63068939945/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/151235384/kg/25-43/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewXbox 360Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:30:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/lego-harry-potter-years-1-4-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/8d02f9c/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cchime0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Band Aid. </strong> </p> <p> "Whether we were developing the game for Save the Children or a puppy-killing Evil Mega Corp is irrelevant to me." Ste Curran, creative director at Zoe Mode, is adamant. "I still want to make something that people think is awesome. The aim wasn't to make a game as a half-hearted thank-you to people for donating money to charity. It was to make a game that's worth every one of your 400 Microsoft Points, with the added warmhearted glow that comes with gaming philanthropy after purchase. </p> <p> "Zoe Mode doesn't do business with corporations that kill puppies, by the way. I'm not sure if that's company policy or whether we just haven't found one yet." </p> <p> The Brighton-based studio isn't currently doing business with Save the Children either, but Zoe Mode is working on the first game to be released by the OneBigGame charity project. Titled Chime, it's what happens when you cross the music of classical composer Philip Glass with the blocks of Tetris, the principles of music sequencers and the philanthropic drive of Bob Geldoff. In other words, it's a music-based puzzle game. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/chime-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/chime-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/3/7/5/7/8/a_med_philipglass19.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/chime-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/3/7/5/7/8/a_med_moby16.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/chime-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/3/7/5/7/8/a_med_paulhartnoll05.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/chime-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/3/7/5/7/8/a_med_markusschulz16.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/8d02f9c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Chime&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fchime-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Chime&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fchime-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/61867129451/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/147861404/kg/40-43-45-67/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/61867129451/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/147861404/kg/40-43-45-67/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewXbox 360Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:41:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/chime-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/8af3a59/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Ckane0Eand0Elynch0E20Edog0Edays0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Glockumentary. </strong> </p> <p> IO Interactive has spent the last year or so thinking about what's real. That doesn't mean the developer's selling its car, renting out the flat and heading to Goa with an acoustic guitar, some awesome liquorice sticks and a dreadlocked chick named Mary-Beth it met on the Circle Line, however. Rather it means that the designers of Kane & Lynch have been studying the kind of things people associate with reality - prodding through the internet in search of whatever it is that has the power to jar and shock by virtue of its authenticity. They want something that will make you drop your ice lolly and think, "Ooh, that's a bit raw for a videogame". Sorry, Mary-Beth. </p> <p> That's why one of the entries on the developer's first-reveal slideshow presentation is "More Real". It's a peculiar kind of bullet-point, perhaps, but these are peculiar times, particularly for Kane & Lynch, a franchise that's probably more closely associated with boardroom scandal than couch-bound thrills at this juncture. </p> <p> A quick reminder may be in order, actually. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men was the fruits of a strange marriage between Ray Liotta and Terry Nutkins, as Kane (the kind-of handsome thuggish one with a military background) and Lynch (the definitely not handsome one with some severe emotional problems) dodged a one-way ticket to death row before shooting up a variety of holiday locations ranging from LA to Havana. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kane-and-lynch-2-dog-days-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kane-and-lynch-2-dog-days-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/1/1/4/3/9/a_med_KL2_FirstLook_02.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kane-and-lynch-2-dog-days-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/1/1/4/3/9/a_med_KL2_FirstLook_16.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kane-and-lynch-2-dog-days-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/9/1/1/4/3/9/a_med_KL2_FirstLook_13.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/8af3a59/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Kane+%26+Lynch+2%3A+Dog+Days&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fkane-and-lynch-2-dog-days-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Kane+%26+Lynch+2%3A+Dog+Days&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fkane-and-lynch-2-dog-days-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/58615144411/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/145701465/kg/25-42-65/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/58615144411/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/145701465/kg/25-42-65/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewPCFri, 15 Jan 2010 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/kane-and-lynch-2-dog-days-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/8512666/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Csupreme0Ecommander0E20Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> ACU in the hole? </strong> </p> <p> There are two possible reactions to any mention of Supreme Commander. Yes, just two. Don't pull that "how dare you force the entirety of human experience and attitude into just two boxes" stuff with me. Two! If it turns out there's more I'd have to axe this entire introduction, and then where would we be? We'd have a preview without an intro, and there'd be anarchy. Killings would be necessary. So: two possible reactions. </p> <p> Number one! "Oh yes, yes, the only true real-time-strategy game of recent years - none of this dumbed-down experience points and tank-rushing stuff." </p> <p> Number two! "It's too complicated, it's boring, and the entire genre is doomed etc." </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/supreme-commander-2-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/supreme-commander-2-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/9/3/9/8/4/a_med_1.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/supreme-commander-2-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/9/3/9/8/4/a_med_2.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/8512666/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Supreme+Commander+2&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fsupreme-commander-2-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Supreme+Commander+2&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fsupreme-commander-2-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/58614373811/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/139535974/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/58614373811/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/139535974/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewWed, 06 Jan 2010 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/supreme-commander-2-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/84aa684/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cspec0Eops0Ethe0Eline0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> SandShock? </strong> </p> <p> Walking around Yager's home city of Berlin, it's easy to understand why the developer is making a city-based third-person-shooter. Berlin may be a modern centre of financial security and a model of civic, dare I say it, efficiency, but it has a long history of grand conflict, from the turmoil of ancient history right up to the front lines of the Cold War. Anything older than 60 years is covered in bullet-holes and shrapnel scars, a chilling reminder of the intense street-to-street fighting at the end of World War II. Statues and memorials commemorate the myriad fallen of all nationalities, as well as victories and conquests of the past. Everywhere among the charming Christmas markets is scattered evidence of the human capacity to destroy. </p> <p> Perhaps even more apparent, especially from the vantage point of the huge tower which dominates the skyline, is the ragged legacy of the Berlin Wall, which only 20 years ago cast a grim concrete shadow over the social, political and financial divide between East and West. Viewed from above, the line of the wall still delineates the ideologies of Capitalism and Communism in many parts of the city, with modern or well-preserved older buildings on one side and a host of functional Soviet Bloc apartments on the other. These contrasting themes of order and ruin, of opulence and poverty, have permeated to the core of Spec Ops' design. </p> <p> The game is set in near-future Dubai, a glittering gem of ostentatious prosperity in one of the world's poorest and most desolate areas. In the game this manmade fortress of luxury has succumbed to nature's sustained assault, buried under a sudden and hitherto unprecedented sandstorm of Roland Emmerich proportions. The tops of buried skyscrapers peek through ever-shifting dunes, whilst the city's chattels of excess lie forgotten and useless in its streets. What was once a spotless landscape of gleaming glass and burnished marble is now a ruin, its carefully planned urban topography now at the mercy of unrelenting sand. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/spec-ops-the-line-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/spec-ops-the-line-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/9/2/3/0/6/a_med_5new.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/spec-ops-the-line-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/9/2/3/0/6/a_med_SOTL_Flag.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/spec-ops-the-line-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/9/2/3/0/6/a_med_SOTL_Rooftops.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/spec-ops-the-line-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/9/2/3/0/6/a_med_SOTL_Lobby_AA12.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/84aa684/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Spec+Ops%3A+The+Line&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fspec-ops-the-line-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Spec+Ops%3A+The+Line&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fspec-ops-the-line-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/58614280360/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/139110020/kg/25-31-40-43/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/58614280360/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/139110020/kg/25-31-40-43/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewXbox 360Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/spec-ops-the-line-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/77a5bfb/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cwarhammer0E40A0E0A0A0A0Edawn0Eof0Ewar0Eii0Echaos0Erising0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Mild chaos, turning heavier with a risk of thunder. </strong> </p> <p> Almost universally well-received for its clever integration of RPG elements into the strategy mix, Dawn of War II was a high point for Warhammer's forays into the world of games. As such, when it's time to sit down with the game's associate producer, Jeff Lydell, and talk about an expansion pack, it seems reasonable to ask how the team plans to top its previous performance. </p> <p> As it turns out, it's not a hard question. The team at Relic, reckons Lydell, are not only very receptive to feedback from players, but also their own harshest critics. "Every time we release a game, we know where the strong points and weak points are," he says (surely begging the question why they release games with weak points, but shh). "When we see how people react to the game, that validates which of those weak points is most important." </p> <p> With Chaos Rising, the first expansion for DOW2 (it's an "expandalone", Lydell insists on saying repeatedly, despite my pointing out that he's in England now and we like to treat the language with respect), Relic has cast aside the "more of the same" recipe you might expect for an expansion. Instead it's approached the game with a shopping list of things to add and improve. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/5/5/4/9/8/a_med_Aurelia_123.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/5/5/4/9/8/a_med_Aurelia_174.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/5/5/4/9/8/a_med_Aurelia_002.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/5/5/4/9/8/a_med_Aurelia_183.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/77a5bfb/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Warhammer+40%2C000%3A+Dawn+of+War+II+-+Chaos+Rising&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fwarhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+Warhammer+40%2C000%3A+Dawn+of+War+II+-+Chaos+Rising&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fwarhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/57106707103/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/125459451/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/57106707103/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/125459451/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewPCTue, 01 Dec 2009 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii-chaos-rising-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/70ca163/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cea0Esports0Emma0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Catch-kick as catch can. </strong> </p> <p> "I think everybody can agree the visuals are very pretty," says Hedrick "Rocky" Rivero, one of the designers on MMA, as he presents the game. Are they? You think? Flowers are pretty. The Chrysler Building is pretty. Unicorns and waterfalls and that Florence lady out of Florence + the Machine is pretty (just me?). MMA, chock full of sweaty biffers with stubbly faces and tight pants, simultaneously giving each other a lamping and a shoeing - these are the official terms - isn't really pretty is it? </p> <p> What it is, though, is staggeringly convincing. EA's yet to let anyone outside of the development team pick up a pad for themselves, but to see Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers zip about the ring with a faultless frame-rate, pin-sharp textural details and unnervingly realistic animation provides another one of those rare moments in games where you almost can't believe your eyes. </p> <p> Compared to the lean forms of boxers like Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, MMA fighters often look like a couple of tanked-up builders laying into each other after a few beers at that pub on Coronation Street, but the work EA has put into making the characters duck and weave and step in and out with that unlikely swiftness the best in the business seem to possess, bodes well for the rest of the game. The actual modelling isn't bad either - when Rogers went to the studio recently for character creation, his new tattoos were still a little puffy, and you can genuinely see that in-game. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ea-sports-mma-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ea-sports-mma-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/3/7/4/1/7/a_med_MMA1st.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ea-sports-mma-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/3/7/4/1/7/a_med_mac_danzig.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/70ca163/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+EA+Sports+MMA&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fea-sports-mma-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview%3A%0A%09%09%09%09+EA+Sports+MMA&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2Fea-sports-mma-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55541028085/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/118268259/kg/25-31-40/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55541028085/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/118268259/kg/25-31-40/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewPlayStation 3Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ea-sports-mma-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/6d90734/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cdisney0Eepic0Emickey0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Retaking the Mickey. </strong> </p> Here's a fact you almost certainly didn't know about Warren Spector: he is exactly the right height to stand upright on the top floor of an old Routemaster double-decker bus. The curving roof brushes the top of his tidy crop of grey hair and frames the compact games designer, creator of Deus Ex, perfectly. <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/disney-epic-mickey-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/disney-epic-mickey-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/2/2/4/0/2/a_med_Screen3.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/disney-epic-mickey-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/2/2/4/0/2/a_med_Screen1.JPG.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/disney-epic-mickey-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/2/2/4/0/2/a_med_Screen6.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/disney-epic-mickey-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/8/2/2/4/0/2/a_med_Screen4.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/6d90734/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Disney Epic Mickey&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/disney-epic-mickey-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Disney Epic Mickey&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/disney-epic-mickey-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50220341242/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/114886452/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50220341242/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/114886452/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewWiiFri, 30 Oct 2009 11:55:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/disney-epic-mickey-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/685947c/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cyakuza0E40Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> SEGA's superseries broadens further. </strong> </p> <p> Imagine a game that depicted a living, breathing London - not 1940s London, not post-apocalyptic London, but today's London, with every homeless drunk, ambling pedestrian and dingy side-street intact, every brand name, every overflowing bin. Imagine there was one Pret a Manger outlet for every six residents of the city, and you could walk in and choose from a selection of actual products they sell in real life - if practically every shop and brand in the whole game were a real one, fully endorsed and realistically reconstructed. This is what Yakuza is to Japan, and Tokyo in particular. Kamurocho might be a fictional, sleazy corner of the city, but it might as well be real; everything in it is true to life, even the adverts on the vending machines. </p> <p> Of course, you run around this eerily accurate facsimile of the real world beating up gangsters who randomly throw down in the streets, often using nearby lampposts and/or motorcycles. This is a video game, after all. Yakuza's realism is all in the detail. It's the world's biggest-budget, most ambitious attempt at grounding a game's fiction in our own, tangible reality; outside of Shenmue there is nothing else that comes close to realising a world so immediately recognisable. Few people would call the Yakuza games realistic - the enjoyably overwrought plot and excessive violence see to that - but their authenticity is beyond compare. </p> <p> SEGA's unveiling of Ryu ga Gotoku 4 at the Tokyo Game Show last month really focused on that authenticity. The presentation was equal parts footage of the game and behind-the-scenes chats with the various digital actors and voice talent lending credence to the game's characters. There are virtual likenesses of Japanese drama stars Kitaoji Kinya and Maju Ozawa, the female lead, and many other famous names providing voice work. Yakuza 3's half-million sales clearly made an impression on Japan - Yakuza 4 is going to be absolutely huge. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/yakuza-4-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/yakuza-4-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/9/2/1/9/a_med_y3.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/yakuza-4-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/9/2/1/9/a_med_y1.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/yakuza-4-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/9/2/1/9/a_med_y2.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/685947c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Yakuza 4&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/yakuza-4-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Yakuza 4&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/yakuza-4-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50218687098/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/109417596/kg/25/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50218687098/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/109417596/kg/25/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewPlayStation 3Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:30:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/yakuza-4-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/670ffd8/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cdust0E5140Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Earth to earth. </strong> </p> <p> Someone asks Atli Mar Sveinsson if DUST 514, the console shooter that will share a universe with sci-fi MMO EVE Online, will have character classes. You know, like engineer, medic, or assault. "That stuff is for computer games," the game's creative director says, dismissively. "This is not a computer game. This is a world. If you want to be a medic, take some stuff with you." </p> <p> If CCP is different from other developers in one way above all others - and CCP is definitely different from other developers in more than one way - it's philosophical. And that philosophy can be boiled down to one central principle, pithily put by Sveinsson just then. "This is not a computer game. This is a world." </p> <p> So DUST 514 is more than it appears to be - which, on the surface, is a large-scale, strategic multiplayer FPS in the style of Battlefield. Battlefield 2142 to be precise, not just because of the futuristic setting and vehicles, but also because victory hinges on the destruction of huge, mobile, airborne command points. The comparison is exact, but also misleading, because Battlefield is just a computer game, and DUST 514 is a world - or rather, half of one. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dust-514-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dust-514-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/4/5/8/0/a_med_2.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dust-514-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/4/5/8/0/a_med_5.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dust-514-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/4/5/8/0/a_med_3.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dust-514-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/4/5/8/0/a_med_1.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/670ffd8/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: DUST 514&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dust-514-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: DUST 514&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dust-514-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50218243758/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/108068824/kg/31/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50218243758/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/108068824/kg/31/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewMMOSat, 03 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dust-514-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/669588c/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Ccrackdown0E20Etgs0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Double agent. </strong> </p> <p> Making the sequel to a blockbuster hit must be tough. On the one hand, you've got to keep the existing fanbase happy by offering more of what made it a hit in the first place. On the other you're expected to be all innovative and bold, and come up with fresh ideas which will attract new admirers without annoying the old ones. And on top of all that you've got to fix everything that was wrong with the original, make the visuals prettier, construct a new plot, create new characters, invent new weapons... No wonder George Lucas struggled. </p> <p> So is Ruffian Games up to the challenge? The studio itself is something of a spin-off as it's mainly staffed by former Realtime Worlds employees. They all worked on the first Crackdown, which ought to give them an advantage when it comes to developing the sequel. Producer James Cope and lead designer Steve Iannetta, who conduct a demo presentation at the Tokyo Game Show, certainly seem to know what they're talking about - and what they're tasked with. </p> <p> "There is an awful lot of new stuff in Crackdown 2," says Iannetta. "However, I believe we've kept to what the essence of it... The core of it is still Crackdown. We believe we've augmented the areas which need to be augmented, but retained the essence of what people really love." </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crackdown-2-tgs-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crackdown-2-tgs-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/0/8/2/9/a_med_2.png.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crackdown-2-tgs-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/0/8/2/9/a_med_3.png.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crackdown-2-tgs-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/0/8/2/9/a_med_1.png.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crackdown-2-tgs-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/9/0/8/2/9/a_med_4.png.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/669588c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Crackdown 2&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crackdown-2-tgs-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Crackdown 2&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crackdown-2-tgs-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50218083112/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/107567244/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50218083112/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/107567244/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewXbox 360Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:18:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crackdown-2-tgs-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/65aaeba/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Calan0Ewake0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Light-motif. </strong> </p> <p> For all its cinematic and televisual influences - Hitchcock, Lost, Twin Peaks, The X-Files - Alan Wake isn't just another action game that wishes it were on the big screen. Light, its thematic motif, is woven inextricably into the gameplay itself; as well as a stylistic visual technique, it's a combat device, your means of progression, your guide through wide-open environments. Alan Wake tells its story like only a videogame can, deftly fashioning its narrative themes of light and darkness and subjective and objective reality into essential gameplay elements. Instead of feeling like the actual game is just getting in the way of the story, as is so often the case with such plot- and character-orientated videogames, Alan Wake's integration of an emotionally-engaging thriller narrative into a third-person action template feels entirely natural. </p> <p> It's clearly not a happy accident that Alan Wake looks and feels so polished. It's been in development a long time now, and finding the correct balance of explorative gameplay and the linear structure necessary for effective storytelling has been a matter of trial and error. "The game is still built on openworld technology, but we consider ourselves storytellers, and in order to deliver that well it has to be a more linear experience," explains Remedy's ever-charismatic MD, Matias Myllyrinne. "We don't want the player to feel like they're being pulled by a string all the time - we want them to feel like he's making his own decisions and choices, even though we're delivering the story in a certain way." </p> <p> In short, then, Alan Wake drops you into tightly-scripted cinematic set-pieces, but it lets you determine your own way of making your way through them. You can see a lone, abandoned farmhouse in the distance with the light left on, and figure out how to get there yourself - it doesn't force you along an arbitrary path between lovingly-rendered cut-scenes. The game's environments are miles wide, encouraging you to dig further into the fiction and really explore Bright Falls rather than follow a set path. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/alan-wake-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/alan-wake-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/8/6/2/8/5/a_med_2.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/alan-wake-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/8/6/2/8/5/a_med_1.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/65aaeba/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Alan Wake&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/alan-wake-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Alan Wake&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/alan-wake-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50217776337/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/106606266/kg/40/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50217776337/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/106606266/kg/40/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewXbox 360Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:50:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/alan-wake-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/640ea13/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cbrink0Eseptember0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Do the Smarties have the answer? </strong> </p> Civil unrest is brewing in Bromley, Kent. Its residents though, whether treading the floors of Poundland or waiting by the conveyor in Argos for a Swingball set, are blissfully unaware. Brink - set in 2025 on a futuro-archipelago called The Ark, which may be humanity's last outpost on a flooded earth - is a team-based, objective-driven, story-packed first-person shooter, but it's designed to appeal to n00bs and normals alike. And yet the streets are not full of pitchforks, burning cars and decapitated heads being waved up at Splash Damage's office windows. It's a brave new world. <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brink-september-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brink-september-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/7/0/1/6/2/a_med_bash_him_002.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brink-september-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/7/0/1/6/2/a_med_run_n_gun.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brink-september-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/7/0/1/6/2/a_med_art_attack.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/640ea13/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Brink&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brink-september-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Brink&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brink-september-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50217253039/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/104917523/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50217253039/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/104917523/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewTue, 22 Sep 2009 13:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brink-september-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/63b164a/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cdeathspank0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Ron Gilbert gives us some skin. </strong> </p> <p> "I'm betting," says Ron Gilbert, settling into a killer pause with the practiced air of a world-class vacuum cleaner salesman, "that you've never fought a nun before." He laughs, slightly frazzled after a day full of promotional interviews backstage at PAX. "If you've ever wanted to fight a nun, this is the game to do it in." </p> <p> Well, if we're sharing, Ron, you have no idea how many nuns I've fought over the years. But I'm willing to let that one go: I've never fought a nun in a videogame, and when it comes to Gilbert's latest, I sense that taking on Whoopi Goldberg's crew is one of the milder distractions on offer. </p> <p> DeathSpank's rolling cardboard world is filled with things to do and people to hit. In fact, it's practically drowning in everything you've come to expect in a videogame: explosive barrels, angry monsters and rattling skeletons. As for treasure? There are treasure chests lying around all over the place. But for once, the designers have earned the rights to their tatty old clichés. DeathSpank is a game about games; it's a title born, it seems, from Gilbert's frustrations with the industry and its endless desire to circumnavigate the same old territory. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/deathspank-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/deathspank-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/6/5/5/5/1/a_med_DSscreen09.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/deathspank-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/6/5/5/5/1/a_med_DSscreen02.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/deathspank-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/6/5/5/5/1/a_med_DSscreen10.jpg.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/deathspank-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/6/5/5/5/1/a_med_DSscreen08.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/63b164a/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: DeathSpank&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/deathspank-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: DeathSpank&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/deathspank-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50217117603/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/104535626/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/50217117603/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/104535626/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewPCMon, 21 Sep 2009 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/deathspank-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/614301c/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cthe0Esecret0Eworld0Epax0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Novus Ordo Seclorum. </strong> </p> <p> The Secret World is an evocative, luxurious kind of title, a handful of words that conjure up a riddled sprawl of subterranean canals, dew-dropped gateways and darkened under-streets slotted in and around our own humdrum neighbourhoods and cities. It promises a glimpse of a murkier, sexier kind of life that unfolds just out of reach, on the other side of the raindrops, perhaps, or tucked in somewhere behind the fireplace. It practically bubbles with conspiracies, too, and we all love those - presumably because they allow you to believe that everything will make sense if you just stare at it long enough, that there's a governing force at work, however malignant, and that it operates within a galaxy of rules and restrictions, unfailingly listening to a quiet heartbeat of cause and effect. It all sounds a bit like a game, really. </p> <p> Well, now it is one: an MMO designed by the cheerily unpredictable Ragnar Tornquist, creator of adventure games Dreamfall and The Longest Journey, and a man whose name suggests he belongs inside a fantasy universe - possibly smelting something nasty - rather than at the helm of one. (You can read an interview with Tornquist elsewhere on the site.) On the day I meet him at PAX, Tornquist finds himself in a secret world all of his own, wedged into a flimsy prefab alleyway threaded in amongst the slick bulk of Harmonix's booth where someone appears to be administering an unforgivable shoeing to Eleanor Rigby. "I never thought I'd get tired of the Beatles, but f**king hell," says Tornquist, speaking into a microphone even though I'm about a foot away and one of only three other people in the room. "And I was really looking forward to that game," he sighs. </p> <p> Well, I'm still looking forward to his game at any rate, and not just because it wasn't put together following close consultations with Yoko Ono. Nobody's seen much of The Secret World in the first two years of its development, however. Early videos, particularly some brooding CGI of a knitwear-clad lady with fearsome highlights, made the game look grown-up and entirely non-traditional - actually, if you took away the shotguns and demons, it could have been an advert for an up-market Eastern skiwear manufacturer - but hard details have been scarce. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-secret-world-pax-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-secret-world-pax-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/5/3/2/5/2/a_med_2.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-secret-world-pax-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/5/3/2/5/2/a_med_3.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-secret-world-pax-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/5/3/2/5/2/a_med_1.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-secret-world-pax-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/5/3/2/5/2/a_med_4.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/614301c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: The Secret World&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-secret-world-pax-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: The Secret World&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-secret-world-pax-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48805614539/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/101986332/kg/25/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48805614539/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/101986332/kg/25/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewMMOThu, 10 Sep 2009 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/the-secret-world-pax-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/60e2d79/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Capb0Epax0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Stop in the game of the law! </strong> </p> <p> Mark Rein, star of the maddest thing we've ever published, is a lot of things. He's a former id Software play-tester. He's a vice president of Epic Games. He's a shameless promoter of Unreal Engine 3. He's a fantastic conversation. Today though, Mark Rein is a cop. </p> <p> He's helping Realtime Worlds demonstrate APB, playing through a series of missions with the game's community officer Chris Collins, and everything's going as expected. He's wearing a grin, and a button-up shirt with a big Unreal logo stamped on the back, and he's drawing our attention to the fact APB runs on Unreal Engine 3 in his usual, friendly showman's patter - with the usual, inflected trace of apprehension, as though he can't quite believe he gets away with banging on about Unreal Engine 3 all the time without someone slapping him. The only difference is that he's leaning out of the window of a sportscar firing an assault rifle. </p> <p> Because Mark Rein isn't just playing as a cop - thanks to APB's quite staggeringly awesome character-creator, he actually is the cop. The cop doesn't just look like Mark Rein, he's unmistakable. If I ever see Mark Rein climbing up a ladder to empty a clip into a gangbanger at close range in real life, this is what it will look like. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-pax-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-pax-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/5/2/5/3/1/a_med_all_points_bulletin_screenshots_4_tga_jpgcopy.jpg.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-pax-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/5/2/5/3/1/a_med_all_points_bulletin_screenshots_5_tga_jpgcopy.jpg.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-pax-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/5/2/5/3/1/a_med_all_points_bulletin_screenshots_2_tga_jpgcopy.jpg.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-pax-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/5/2/5/3/1/a_med_all_points_bulletin_screenshots_7_tga_jpgcopy.jpg.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/60e2d79/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: APB&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-pax-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: APB&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-pax-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48805479329/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/101592441/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48805479329/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/101592441/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewMMOWed, 09 Sep 2009 13:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/apb-pax-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5f29e40/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cband0Ehero0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Guitar Hero: Pop Edition. </strong> </p> <p> Band Hero has long been lurking at the bottom of the Activision Blizzard release list in perplexing proximity to the more self-explanatory DJ Hero and Guitar Hero brands, but until last week I had absolutely no idea what it was. It doesn't take much power of deduction to conclude that it's another peripheral-based music game, but why? Surely that could only serve to dilute the Guitar Hero brand? I'm not sure how many more plastic instruments my flat can hold. I can count seven guitars without even exaggerating for comic effect. </p> <p> Activision believes that there's a section of the market that grungy, 'tude-packing Guitar Hero doesn't cover, though, and that's girls and families. The best way to describe Band Hero is as a pop version of Guitar Hero 5. The peripherals and interface are the same, but the tracklist looks like a female student's drunken SingStar download history - Maroon 5, Spice Girls, Avril Lavigne - and the characters and venues have all been given a colourful, family-friendly pop makeover. </p> <p> If the worlds 'family-friendly pop makeover' in connection with Guitar Hero struck fear deep into your heart there, you're not alone. I was quite convinced that Band Hero was going to be a heartbreakingly cynical, focus-group-determined bastardisation of my favourite game series of all time, dressing Johnny Napalm and Lars Umlaut up in boy-band t-shirts and jeans and having them sing Robbie Williams like monkeys dressed in tutus and forced into a grotesque facsimile of ballet. The horror. Thankfully it's not like that - it's actually a valid expansion of the brand, with enough new ideas to justify its place on the shelves and distance it from Guitar Hero. Particularly, it does some innovative things with DS/Wii connectivity, a feature which developers to date have completely neglected. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/band-hero-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/band-hero-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/4/3/0/4/8/a_med_Band_Hero_DS___Slap_the_hands.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/band-hero-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/4/3/0/4/8/a_med_Band_Hero_DS___Guitar.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5f29e40/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Band Hero&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/band-hero-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Band Hero&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/band-hero-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48804912594/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/99786304/kg/25/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48804912594/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/99786304/kg/25/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Nintendo DSPreviewWed, 02 Sep 2009 11:30:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/band-hero-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5e6d02c/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cstar0Etrek0Eonline0Ehands0Eon/story01.htm<p> <strong> Engage? </strong> </p> <p> Star Trek Online is the stuff of dreams: not only for fans of the series who've dreamed of piloting their own starship since they were six, all tucked up tight in their Next Generation bedsheets, but for the developers at Cryptic. Star Trek presents them with a massive ready-made fan-base which will probably be willing to play the game for a few months regardless of how they treats the license. But there's no laziness or complacency evident here; Cryptic is creating a flexible yet faithful interpretation of the Star Trek universe that stands a good chance of living up to even the unrealistic expectations of the faithful. </p> <p> Cryptic's aim is to give fans that dream: to be a starship captain. Every player in Star Trek Online is a Kirk or Picard (or a Janeway or Sisko, I suppose) rather than a behind-the-scenes red-shirt working their way painstakingly through the Starfleet Academy and up the ranks. "We didn't think it would be very interesting to sit down in the transporter room and press a button for twenty hours to level up, and then maybe get to work in engineering for a while," says executive producer Craig Zinkievich. "What everybody's really interested in the captain experience, the command experience." </p> <p> He's not wrong. In a universe as vast and complicated as Star Trek's, the thought of being consigned to transporter-room duty for your first 10 levels would surely fail to enthuse even the least thrill-seeking members of it target audience. You'll be working together with other players, but as fleets, rather than as part of a crew. You don't have to be a Federation do-gooder, either - you can also be a Klingon limb-severer instead, aspiring to be in charge of a war-painted Negh'Var rather than the majestic Enterprise. You can be any race from the Star Trek universe, or create your own. The basic philosophy of the game is to enable you to experience it exactly as you want to. You can wander around in the neutral zone picking up trading missions, you can go out fighting in the great vastness of space, you can follow the story, you can just explore. It's all cool, as far as Cryptic is concerned. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-hands-on"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-hands-on"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/8/3/2/0/a_med_s1.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-hands-on"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/8/3/2/0/a_med_s4.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-hands-on"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/8/3/2/0/a_med_s2.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-hands-on"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/8/3/2/0/a_med_s3.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5e6d02c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Star Trek Online&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-hands-on" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Star Trek Online&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-hands-on" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48804676608/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/99012652/kg/25-31/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48804676608/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/99012652/kg/25-31/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewMMOSun, 30 Aug 2009 18:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/star-trek-online-hands-onhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5da9ccf/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cmafia0Eii0Epreview0I50I40I4/story01.htm<p> <strong> Family reunion. </strong> </p> <p> New York, meet New York. While Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City could not and would not claim to be a facsimile, it wears its influences proudly on the sheer glass sleeves of prominent landmarks, and in the architectural sweeps of its bridges, towers and districts. One imagines Mafia II's Empire Bay pursues the Big Apple with no more of a mind toward replication - even of the equivalent city from the 1950s, when the game is set - but developer 2K Czech does have a mind toward authenticity of another kind: it's out to recreate the life of a post-war gangster, from pin-striped trilby to designer shoes and every phone booth, Billy club and shakedown in-between. They may only be a couple of publishing labels and a few European borders away from one another, but 2K Czech's world of organised crime is another world away from Rockstar North's excellent Grand Theft Auto IV. </p> <p> This is brought home to sharp, almost jarring effect by the simplest of acts: starting a mission, a process that is now so incidental, so streamlined in modern open-world adventures that we've progressed from driving across a city ignoring traffic regulations, pulling up and walking into a big yellow circle for a briefing, to leaping over the rooftops of cars and buildings at cheetah speed, hurtling down from the sky like a lightning bolt and cratering into an objective icon; and woe betide any game that forces us to press a button or take a breath in the process. </p> <p> By contrast, in today's demo of Mafia II, wannabe gangster and player-character Vito Scaletti pays off a prostitute, saunters to the fridge in the kitchen to collect a beer, wanders through his apartment in vest and slacks, and meanders to the phone in the hallway, where he receives instructions. Then he strolls off to get dressed, admiring another working girl showering fairly decently in his bathroom in the meantime, and walks downstairs from his apartment - observing a man beating on a front door, pleading with his wife for leniency over some perceived infraction, and a woman scrubbing the tiles - before heading outside to his garage to chew over which car to get into. It should take a while for an impatient gamer such as myself to adjust to the deliberate pace, but in practice the world is so rich with detail that my senses are no less pampered by Empire Bay's painstaking craftsmanship. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_4_4"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_4_4"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/5/6/2/2/a_med_m2.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_4_4"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/5/6/2/2/a_med_m3.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_4_4"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/5/6/2/2/a_med_m1.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_4_4"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/5/6/2/2/a_med_m4.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5da9ccf/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Mafia II&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_4_4" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Mafia II&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_4_4" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48804375943/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/98213071/kg/25-31/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48804375943/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/98213071/kg/25-31/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewXbox 360Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_4_4http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5daa5ce/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cmafia0Eii0Epreview0I50I9/story01.htm<p> <strong> Family reunion. </strong> </p> <p> New York, meet New York. While Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City could not and would not claim to be a facsimile, it wears its influences proudly on the sheer glass sleeves of prominent landmarks, and in the architectural sweeps of its bridges, towers and districts. One imagines Mafia II's Empire Bay pursues the Big Apple with no more of a mind toward replication - even of the equivalent city from the 1950s, when the game is set - but developer 2K Czech does have a mind toward authenticity of another kind: it's out to recreate the life of a post-war gangster, from pin-striped trilby to designer shoes and every phone booth, Billy club and shakedown in-between. They may only be a couple of publishing labels and a few European borders away from one another, but 2K Czech's world of organised crime is another world away from Rockstar North's excellent Grand Theft Auto IV. </p> <p> This is brought home to sharp, almost jarring effect by the simplest of acts: starting a mission, a process that is now so incidental, so streamlined in modern open-world adventures that we've progressed from driving across a city ignoring traffic regulations, pulling up and walking into a big yellow circle for a briefing, to leaping over the rooftops of cars and buildings at cheetah speed, hurtling down from the sky like a lightning bolt and cratering into an objective icon; and woe betide any game that forces us to press a button or take a breath in the process. </p> <p> By contrast, in today's demo of Mafia II, wannabe gangster and player-character Vito Scaletti pays off a prostitute, saunters to the fridge in the kitchen to collect a beer, wanders through his apartment in vest and slacks, and meanders to the phone in the hallway, where he receives instructions. Then he strolls off to get dressed, admiring another working girl showering fairly decently in his bathroom in the meantime, and walks downstairs from his apartment - observing a man beating on a front door, pleading with his wife for leniency over some perceived infraction, and a woman scrubbing the tiles - before heading outside to his garage to chew over which car to get into. It should take a while for an impatient gamer such as myself to adjust to the deliberate pace, but in practice the world is so rich with detail that my senses are no less pampered by Empire Bay's painstaking craftsmanship. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_9"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_9"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/5/6/2/2/a_med_m3.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_9"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/5/6/2/2/a_med_m1.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_9"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/5/6/2/2/a_med_m4.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_9"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/5/6/2/2/a_med_m2.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5daa5ce/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Mafia II&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_9" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Mafia II&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_9" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>PreviewXbox 360Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:50:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mafia-ii-preview_5_9http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5d7f920/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cfinal0Efantasy0Exiii0Epreview0I1/story01.htm<p> <strong> Summoning and soundbites from director Motomu Toriyama. </strong> </p> <p> Our last meeting with Final Fantasy XIII - playing the half-hour demo on the bonus disc nestled in the Advent Children special-edition Blu-ray in a tiny Japanese living room, back in April - was rather more intimate than this month's gamescom demonstration. It was possible to gain a real feel for the colourful, sleek science-fiction setting and revamped Active Time battle system, and both impressed us with their innovative spark as much as their predictably professional implementation. FFXIII is, in keeping with series tradition, a bright departure into a brave new universe rather than an incremental update. </p> <p> This time, design director Motomu Toriyama took us through a five-minute slice of gameplay, offering a tiny amount of new information about the game and a few generous insights into its design process. He was fighting in a party with main characters Lightning and Snow, sidekick Sazh and Vanille across a snowy plane, showcasing the battles, summoning system and party AI. </p> <p> Although you only directly control one character at a time in FFXIII, all party members can be directed via the Paradigm Shift system. It's an addition that was made fairly late in the design process, according to Toriyama, in order to endow the game with additional strategic depth; based on the number, nature and level of your foes, directing party members to adopt a defensive or aggressive stance is going to be a necessary consideration rather than an arbitrary option. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiii-preview_1"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiii-preview_1"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/4/4/2/2/a_med_FFXIII_cut_scene03.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiii-preview_1"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/4/4/2/2/a_med_FFXIII_battle02.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiii-preview_1"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/3/4/4/2/2/a_med_FFXIII_battle09.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5d7f920/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Final Fantasy XIII&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiii-preview_1" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Final Fantasy XIII&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiii-preview_1" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48804334236/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/98040096/kg/31/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48804334236/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/98040096/kg/31/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewPlayStation 3Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiii-preview_1http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5c85b52/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cfinal0Efantasy0Exiv0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> A confusing first meeting with Square Enix's new MMO. </strong> </p> <p> It's a general rule that Japanese developers are nowhere near as effusively forthcoming about their games at preview stage as their European or (especially) American counterparts. But for the world's first showing of Final Fantasy XIV, we might have expected slightly more than producer Hiromichi Tanaka and online director Nobuaki Komoto sitting in a room and waiting for questions whilst the game ran in the background, showing an immobile Elvaan mage standing in front of a building. </p> <p> Square Enix seems to want FFXIV to speak for itself. The alpha build is playable on the show floor, giving attendees 15 minutes with the game without explaining how any of the combat or skills actually work. The result is party after party of confused adventurers wandering around in FFXIV's world clicking on random things to see what happens, and altogether failing to kill the five somethings that the demo quest demands of them. </p> <p> From such a brief glimpse it's difficult to discern too much about the game except a distinct visual similarity to FFXI. Partly to tempt XI subscribers into XIV's world, the game's five races bear a huge resemblance to XI's - you can't carry over your old character into the new game, but the developer wants it to be possible to create a very similar visual approximation. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiv-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiv-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/2/5/6/2/9/a_med_1.jpg.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiv-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/2/5/6/2/9/a_med_2.jpg.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5c85b52/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Final Fantasy XIV&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiv-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Final Fantasy XIV&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiv-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48239315636/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/97016658/kg/25-31/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48239315636/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/97016658/kg/25-31/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewFri, 21 Aug 2009 12:34:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/final-fantasy-xiv-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5c80cae/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cuncharted0E20Eamong0Ethieves0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Ice ice baby. </strong> </p> <p> Platform games have come a long way in the last couple of decades. Remember when this was all just 2D side-scrolling fields? Now there are huge 3D environments to explore, combat that involves more than jumping on enemies' heads and storylines that aren't just about rescuing princesses. In fact they're not even called platform games any more - it's all action this and adventure that. </p> <p> But some things will never change. For as everyone knows, every game studio in the world has a copy of the Ten Commandments of Videogames pinned to the office wall. These are mainly directed at the makers of first-person shooters - Thou Shalt Honour the Colour Brown, Thou Shalt Not Introduce the Rocket Launcher Until the Sixth Level etc. But there is one commandment specifically meant for those developing platform games: Thou Shalt Include an Ice Level. </p> <p> Naughty Dog is not about to disobey. The level they're showing off at gamescom is set in a giant cavern full of dangling icicles and snow-covered ledges. It feels like we've been here before - or rather, like someone we know rather well has. Lara Croft visited an ice cavern when she went to Nepal in Tomb Raider: Legend, and during her trip to Valhalla in Underworld. In fact, Lara's first ever adventure began with her approaching a set of carved stone doors set into the side of a snowy mountain, accompanied by a sherpa in a big hat. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uncharted-2-among-thieves-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uncharted-2-among-thieves-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/2/4/1/1/7/a_med_3.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uncharted-2-among-thieves-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/2/4/1/1/7/a_med_1.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uncharted-2-among-thieves-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/2/4/1/1/7/a_med_4.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uncharted-2-among-thieves-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/2/4/1/1/7/a_med_2.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5c80cae/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uncharted-2-among-thieves-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uncharted-2-among-thieves-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48239308143/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/96996526/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48239308143/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/96996526/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewPlayStation 3Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:30:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uncharted-2-among-thieves-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5c710f4/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Cassassins0Ecreed0Eii0Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Renaissance. </strong> </p> <p> Non-linearity may be everywhere these days (with the option of being everywhere else), but as inFamous suggested and Assassin's Creed II now hopes to prove, a bit of linearity goes a long way too. Sucker Punch's PS3 game had those underground bits where you collected new powers, and they were some of the best and most focused bits of the game. Ubisoft Montreal's second crack at Assassins-versus-Templars pulls the same trick, hiding self-contained, Prince of Persia-style platform levels around the open world, virtually none of which is obligatory, but each of which rewards you with a special metal seal, which together will add up to a great, unidentified reward. </p> <p> Assassin's Creed II, announced just before E3, is fundamentally similar to its predecessor, but thanks to the Animus concept of replaying a young man's genetic memories, it transplants the action completely from the Middle East to Renaissance Italy, where young nobleman Ezio Auditore da Firenze is out for revenge on the people who killed his father, and falls in with the assassins in the process. He also pairs up with Leonardo da Vinci, who creates various gizmos for him including a flying machine, and who solves previous star Altair's uncomfortable problem of having a finger lopped off to make room for his stealth blade, thus saving Ezio a couple of digits, since he has two of the knives at his wrist-activated disposal. </p> <p> There are lots of other tweaks and changes, and Ubisoft Montreal is anxious to atone for the first game's repetitive structure, but the linear side-mission levels being shown off at gamescom using the Florence setting are arguably one of the biggest changes. The specific one we're shown is the first, and the only one you have to play. It's accessed through a church. After paying a few NPCs to stir up trouble at the entrance, distracting the armed guards, Ezio ducks inside and sneaks up on two Templars admiring a silver skull-shaped switch, planting his twin blades simultaneously in the backs of their heads. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/assassins-creed-ii-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/assassins-creed-ii-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/2/1/6/6/0/a_med_AC2_S_039_Florence_SpearImpale.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/assassins-creed-ii-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/2/1/6/6/0/a_med_AC2_S_043_SecretLocation_Shipyard.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5c710f4/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Assassin's Creed II&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/assassins-creed-ii-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Assassin's Creed II&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/assassins-creed-ii-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48239282994/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/96932084/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48239282994/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/96932084/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewFri, 21 Aug 2009 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/assassins-creed-ii-previewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5c45340/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0Ccall0Eof0Eduty0Emodern0Ewarfare0E20Epreview/story01.htm<p> <strong> Or whatever it's called. </strong> </p> <p> Modern Warfare 2? Modern Warfare 1 minute and 58 seconds more like. Nobody from Infinity Ward has made the trip to gamescom, the nervous Activision man demoing the biggest game of the year is under orders to refer all questions not on his script to Infinity Ward in spite of this absence, and the hands-off demonstration is a Special Ops level with a par time of 90 seconds. At least we get more than our money's worth. </p> <p> Spec Ops is a serious undertaking in Modern Warfare land, considered the third key game mode alongside the single-player campaign and the presumably world-conquering multiplayer. It's inspired by the Mile-High Club level at the end of the first Modern Warfare, and basically amounts to a bunch of unlockable time trial levels for one or two players. </p> <p> There are split-screen and online co-op options, but today we're seeing it in solo and one level - apparently unlocked quite deep into Spec Ops - called Breach & Clear, in which you're expected to tool up, breach through a wall and then clear the area as quickly as possible under heavy, sustained attack from all directions, including elevated positions. Your time will eventually go towards leaderboards, we suspect, since Nervous Activision Man says Infinity Ward hopes you will compete for better times with your friends. But naturally he can't actually confirm whether it has leaderboards or not. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-preview"> Read more... </a> </p> <br/> <br/> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/1/8/9/5/8/a_med_ModernWarfare2_Screenshot9_1920x1200.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/1/8/9/5/8/a_med_ModernWarfare2_Screenshot7_1920x1200.jpg.jpg"/> </a> <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-preview"> <img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/7/1/8/9/5/8/a_med_ModernWarfare2_Screenshot8_1920x1200.jpg.jpg"/> </a><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/5c45340/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=Preview: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif" border="0" /></a></td><td valign='middle'><a href="http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=Preview: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2&link=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48239229110/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/96752448/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/48239229110/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/96752448/a2.img" border="0"/></a>PreviewThu, 20 Aug 2009 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-preview