http://www.eurogamer.net/Eurogamer is the largest independent gaming website in Europe, providing news, reviews, previews, and more.enThu, 09 Feb 2012 08:11:53 GMTThu, 09 Feb 2012 08:11:53 GMT3http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c83251b/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A20E0A80Estreet0Efighter0Ex0Etekken0Epreview0Eyear0Eof0Ethe0Edragon0Epunch/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/4/6/4/1/450-rk6r1s.jpg" alt=""/><p> Back when I worked in a game store selling third-party controllers to unsuspecting customers (on the basis that if I ever recommended an official pad, I'd be on permanent stockroom duty) an import-savvy shopper informed me that Famitsu had announced a crossover between Namco and Capcom. My automatic assumption was that this had to be a fighting game, and that Capcom had somehow struck a deal with Namco and was about to bring the likes of Ryu and Jin together in the ultimate 2D mash-up. Boy was I wrong. </p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eanxcTWC75A">Namco x Capcom</a> turned out to be a tactical-RPG, and when a fan translation patch surfaced a few years later I saw for myself that this was a million miles off 'The King of Iron Fist Tournament with a Shadaloo twist' that I'd imagined. But it did get me thinking as to how a crossover between the world's most popular 2D and 3D fighting game franchises could ever work. </p><p> Street Fighter has always been about condensed command lists with special moves that rely on charge and circular motions, while Tekken is defined by its limb-based buttons that focus on juggling. And although they share the concept of one-on-one combat with health bars, multi-hit combos and a three round format, in every other respect they're the polarised bookends of a diverse genre. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-08-street-fighter-x-tekken-preview-year-of-the-dragon-punch">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c83251b/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Street+Fighter+X+Tekken+Preview%3A+Year+of+the+Dragon+Punch%3F&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-08-street-fighter-x-tekken-preview-year-of-the-dragon-punch" 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=Street+Fighter+X+Tekken+Preview%3A+Year+of+the+Dragon+Punch%3F&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-08-street-fighter-x-tekken-preview-year-of-the-dragon-punch" 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/126178038480/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c83251b/kg/281/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/126178038480/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c83251b/kg/281/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1444641http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c6fa930/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A20E0A60Espec0Eops0Ethe0Eline0Epreview0Ea0Emore0Ethoughtful0Eshooter/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/3/6/9/7/450-6poo97.jpg" alt=""/><p> 2K's Spec Ops: The Line is riddled with conflict and contradictions. It's partly about the culture clash that's played out across the dunes of Dubai as the Middle East crashes violently into the consumerism of the West - a parable told in the tidal waves of sand that splash up against the city's shards of concrete and glass in the game's near-future vision. </p><p> But there's another, more curious conflict at Spec Ops' own dark heart. Here's a tale of the dehumanising horror of war, its story leaning heavily on Conrad (and a little awkwardly too, with its Kurtz-inspired character clumsily renamed Konrad). And at the same time, here's a game about the simple pleasures of slamming your shoulder into a wall before lining up headshot after headshot after headshot, in combat that's physical, muscular and entertaining. </p><p> Can 2K and developers Yager Development have their cake and eat it, providing a moral tale and a meaty shooter all at once? A tour through a handful of Spec Ops' campaign missions doesn't present a comprehensive answer, but it does give a glimpse of a game that, with its own internal conflict, promises to be more interesting than many of its peers. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-06-spec-ops-the-line-preview-a-more-thoughtful-shooter">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c6fa930/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Spec+Ops%3A+The+Line+Preview%3A+A+Shock+Shooter&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-06-spec-ops-the-line-preview-a-more-thoughtful-shooter" 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=Spec+Ops%3A+The+Line+Preview%3A+A+Shock+Shooter&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-06-spec-ops-the-line-preview-a-more-thoughtful-shooter" 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/123996111515/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c6fa930/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123996111515/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c6fa930/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:45:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1443697http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c6070b3/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A20E0A30Elumines0Evita0Epreview0Ehistory0Erepeating/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/3/1/8/2/450-6bkfy5.jpg" alt=""/><p> Lumines wasn't any old PSP launch title. It was <em>the</em> PSP launch title, and arguably the best pure puzzler since Tetris (a title it held onto until Drop 7 came along, of course). The synesthetic concerns of Q Entertainment, which first strutted along in ten-inch platforms in 2000's Space Channel 5 before taking a turn for the metaphysical in the following year's Rez, were melded perfectly with simple, grid-based puzzling. Like Rez before it, Lumines felt like a celebration of club culture - or, with its lazy rhythms and ability to consume whole hours, more a celebration of post-club culture. </p><p> It was <em>the</em> launch title in part because of its brilliance, and in part through a lack of anything else worth getting particularly excited about. For a year at least, the PSP was a Lumines machine - a situation that, in light of the Vita's bustling launch line-up, is unlikely to be repeated this time out. </p><p> The years since have seen Lumines spread like a sweet virus, although its appeal has been watered down a little, its rhythms gradually becoming easier to resist. Sequel has piled upon sequel, and each new iteration has struggled to add much of substance to the original - which is always a problem when you get it so very, very right the first time around. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-03-lumines-vita-preview-history-repeating">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c6070b3/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Lumines+Vita+Preview%3A+History+Repeating&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-03-lumines-vita-preview-history-repeating" 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=Lumines+Vita+Preview%3A+History+Repeating&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-03-lumines-vita-preview-history-repeating" 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/123996060934/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c6070b3/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123996060934/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c6070b3/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1443182http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c5db5e9/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A20E0A30Edirt0Eshowdown0Epreview0Edriving0Edirty/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/2/8/5/2/450-jg9aox.jpg" alt=""/><p> Motorsport is glitz and it is glamour. It's the teardrop curve of an F1 car as it reflects Monaco's harbourline, its perfect swoop capturing a moment of speed in carbon fibre, or the romantic siren call of a V8 as it bounces across the housefronts of the Mulsanne Straight in the dead of night. </p><p> That's one ideal, anyway. There's another world of weekend heroics where the smell of simmering bacon grease mixes with that of engine oil and damp grass, and where the cars, with their punctured bodywork and torn-off doors, capture a moment of violence rather than one of speed. </p><p> I used to go there myself, when trips to the likes of Silverstone and Brands Hatch were out of the question. Here, in a track marked out of discarded tires in the backwaters of Bovingdon, drivers would take out their frustrations on one another, turning each other to pulp over the course of a slow Sunday afternoon. It's a spectacle that, for its lack of airs and graces, offers just as much as any Grand Prix or sportscar race. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-03-dirt-showdown-preview-driving-dirty">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c5db5e9/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Dirt+Showdown+Preview%3A+The+Ghost+of+Destruction+Derby&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-03-dirt-showdown-preview-driving-dirty" 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=Dirt+Showdown+Preview%3A+The+Ghost+of+Destruction+Derby&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-03-dirt-showdown-preview-driving-dirty" 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/123996046218/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c5db5e9/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123996046218/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c5db5e9/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:18:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1442852http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c5a3833/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A20E0A20Emass0Eeffect0E30Epreview0Ethe0Egood0Eshepard/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/2/7/6/3/450-abe36k.jpg" alt=""/><p> The townsfolk have been listening to Shepard pulling the old "Commander who shouted 'Reaper!'" ruse for some time now. First she (he, if you're feeling obtuse) shouted 'Reaper!' when she discovered that the caretakers of the Galaxy were about to sweep up all known galactic civilizations. Then, in Mass Effect 2, she shouted 'Reaper!' after she'd fought against a big icky monster that had been made from human body parts, and had all/most/some of her underlings killed in the process. </p><p> Did the intergalactic townspeople listen though? Did they pay attention to this particular Shepard, and her sad tale of a sexy secretary being mulched and, as a consequence, all her fish dying? Of course they didn't. The Earth people were too busy worrying about what their Cerberus faction were up to, the Krogans were whinging about the Genophage putting the kibosh on procreation and the Quarians were preoccupied by wondering what their own faces looked like. Typical. The cretins even stripped her of her rank for something she did in the DLC. <em>Tch.</em></p><p> So now the Reapers have finally showed up, guess who has to clean up all this mess? That's right: muggins here. Good old reliable Commander Shepard - back to save the day with a brand new sexy space adventure. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-02-mass-effect-3-preview-the-good-shepard">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c5a3833/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Mass+Effect+3+Preview%3A+The+Good+Shepard%3F&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-02-mass-effect-3-preview-the-good-shepard" 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=Mass+Effect+3+Preview%3A+The+Good+Shepard%3F&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-02-mass-effect-3-preview-the-good-shepard" 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/123996023949/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c5a3833/kg/300/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123996023949/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c5a3833/kg/300/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1442763http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c52fdab/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A20E0A10Esyndicate0Epreview0Eneed0Ea0Ereboot/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/2/2/8/2/450-mihkk0.jpg" alt=""/><p> You come to Syndicate with expectations. It's unavoidable. Your eyes can't help but flit over the screen, desperate to find nostalgia that's survived unscathed. Occasionally they succeed. The fabled Eurocorp corporation, that jagged and efficient-looking world map, the spotlight street lamps and the cold and business-like mission run-downs all trickle cold fire through your synapses. </p><p> After a fashion, however, bright eyes grow dim. You feel a slight heat in your head while your emotion chip boots up, your brain fuzzes over and consequently (thankfully) teardrops do not fall. You just kill, and kill again. During my hours with Syndicate's co-op mode I certainly felt Bullfrog twitches (once I saw a comrade's flapping coat and said out loud "Syndicate coat!") yet each time my mood was swiftly stabilised. </p><p> Co-op missions may be loosely based (very loosely) on the original game - but at no point does pressing RB let you see your surroundings in Rosetint Vision&#8482; where everything's isometric, the explosions are the greatest thing 1993 has ever seen and, if you listen hard enough, you can hear your Mum shouting that your tea's ready. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-01-syndicate-preview-need-a-reboot">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c52fdab/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Syndicate+Preview%3A+Need+a+Reboot%3F&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-01-syndicate-preview-need-a-reboot" 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=Syndicate+Preview%3A+Need+a+Reboot%3F&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-01-syndicate-preview-need-a-reboot" 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/123995928367/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c52fdab/kg/273/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995928367/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c52fdab/kg/273/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1442282http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c5126a1/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A20E0A10Eshogun0E20Efall0Eof0Ethe0Esamurai0Epreview0Egunpowder0Evs0Ethe0Esword/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/2/2/5/3/450-1rfpm1.jpg" alt=""/><p> Jan 27th, 1868. A snowy plain just outside of Kyoto. The battle of Toba-Fushimi is about to take place. A small battalion of Imperial soldiers shiver as they face down a force of the Shogun's finest warriors advancing across a handful of rivers, hopelessly ineffectual at preventing the samurai from their coming attack. Hundreds of these majestic samurai warriors riding on noble horseback are drawing near. Playing as the Imperials, I'm hopelessly outnumbered. Traditionally, I wouldn't stand a chance. But these are hardly traditional times. </p><p> From <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPnbkvL1IQA" target="_blank">the trailers </a> released so far for Fall of the Samurai, you could be forgiven for thinking of the ill-fated Satsuma rebellion that made Tom Cruise sad in The Last Samurai, but while set in the same period of turmoil, Fall focuses on the earlier 1869 Boshin War, a civil conflict that barely lasted two years. A brisk timeframe to contend with as you struggle to determine the course of Japan's embrace of industrialisation. </p><p> But don't go thinking Fall is going to be a couple of scant missions and some new DLC outfits. This is a proper old-school expansion pack with all-new toys, a different beast entirely from Shogun 2's campaign. This was a period in Japan's history that saw it transform overnight from a feudal agrarian society into a steam-powered industrial powerhouse. To represent the lightning pace of development, turns on the campaign map take up a mere two weeks. Better pack an extra pair of mittens, as that means Winter now lasts a morale-shattering six full turns. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-01-shogun-2-fall-of-the-samurai-preview-gunpowder-vs-the-sword">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c5126a1/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Shogun+2%3A+Fall+Of+The+Samurai+Preview%3A+Gunpowder+vs.+The+Sword&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-01-shogun-2-fall-of-the-samurai-preview-gunpowder-vs-the-sword" 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=Shogun+2%3A+Fall+Of+The+Samurai+Preview%3A+Gunpowder+vs.+The+Sword&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-02-01-shogun-2-fall-of-the-samurai-preview-gunpowder-vs-the-sword" 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/123995968258/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c5126a1/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995968258/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c5126a1/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:30:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1442253http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c4a8b11/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E310Egunpoint0Epreview0Erewiring0Ethe0Eaction0Epuzzle0Egame/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/1/8/1/7/450-l5luwj.jpg" alt=""/><p> Several months ago Tom Francis, whom you should know from his writing for PC Gamer, went to Seattle to interview the team at Valve. When he sat down with Gabe Newell and Erik Wolpaw, something really weird happened. They asked him how <em>his</em> game was coming along. </p><p> His game, as it happens, was coming along pretty well. I saw a rough demo of it at around the same time, and I've just now played the newest version, which has art by John Roberts and Fabian van Dommelen, music by Ryan Ike, Francisco Cerda, and John Robert Matz, a new mission structure that ties its individual levels together in a witty fashion, <em>and</em> an IGF nomination for excellence in design. Newell probably wants to kick him in the nuts, frankly. </p><p> The game's called Gunpoint, and it's a stealthy action-puzzler in which you play a secret agent for hire, breaking into hi-tech buildings and stealing various cyberpunk MacGuffins. It's the future as rain-slicked corporate nightmare, but the game looks more like The Spy's Guidebook than Bladerunner. Meanwhile, with its 2D cross-sectioned levels and flashes of nasty humour, it feels a little like a grown-up version of Bonanza Bros. And that's a compliment. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-31-gunpoint-preview-rewiring-the-action-puzzle-game">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c4a8b11/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Gunpoint+Preview%3A+Rewiring+the+Action+Puzzle+Game&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-31-gunpoint-preview-rewiring-the-action-puzzle-game" 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=Gunpoint+Preview%3A+Rewiring+the+Action+Puzzle+Game&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-31-gunpoint-preview-rewiring-the-action-puzzle-game" 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/123995874754/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c4a8b11/kg/273-300/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995874754/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c4a8b11/kg/273-300/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1441817http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c43285a/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E30A0Ekingdoms0Eof0Eamalur0Epreview0Eaction0Espeaks0Elouder/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/1/6/7/3/450-1u823z.jpg" alt=""/><p> Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. It's an instantly forgettable title. And it's not just meaningless and profoundly generic, it's saddled (like Dragon Age: Origins before it) with the exhausting suggestion that this isn't the birth of an exciting fantasy universe so much as the launch of a new franchising opportunity. </p><p> Having spent 15 hours or so in the company of a near-finished preview build of 38 Studios' brisk role-player - out next week - I can confirm that it deserves much better than this limp nomenclature. And yet, it's true that the title fits it like a glove. </p><p> 'Kingdoms of Amalur': the game's universe is exactly the derivative mishmash of worn high fantasy tropes that you expect after reading those three words. It's been rubber-stamped by some big-name creatives (fantasy author RA Salvatore and comic and toy king Todd MacFarlane), and I suppose it's possible that "every building, tree and creature has a clear and defined history within this immersive world," as the literature claims. But this land of elves (sorry, Fae), dwarves and men initially offers nothing to distinguish itself beyond a similarity to Blizzard's Warcraft that's not so much striking as actionable. (I could swear that I met the Night Elf druid from the original WOW trailer. She even had the same clothes on.) </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-30-kingdoms-of-amalur-preview-action-speaks-louder">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c43285a/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Kingdoms+of+Amalur+Preview%3A+Action+Speaks+Louder&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-30-kingdoms-of-amalur-preview-action-speaks-louder" 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=Kingdoms+of+Amalur+Preview%3A+Action+Speaks+Louder&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-30-kingdoms-of-amalur-preview-action-speaks-louder" 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/123995890493/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c43285a/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995890493/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c43285a/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1441673http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c4205cb/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E270Eghost0Erecon0Epreview0Erebuilding0Ethe0Efuture0Esoldier/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/0/8/4/8/450-ywdh1x.jpg" alt=""/><p> Ghost Recon: Future Soldier ain't quite what it used to be. When it first broke cover - and when <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ghost-recon-future-soldier-preview">we last took a serious look at it</a> - Ubisoft's tactical shooter series had evolved into something far removed from the games of old, having become an action-heavy third-person shooter starring a soldier who was, in Ubisoft's own words, "an F-16 on legs". It had turned into Gears of Recon, and it proved an unpopular shift in direction for a series once known for its tactical smarts. </p><p> "We'd just finished Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, but that was just an iteration of the first Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter," creative director Jean-Marc Geffroy says of Future Soldier's first pass. "The team wanted to renew the game - they wanted to stay faithful, but they wanted to renew as well. And sometimes, when you're like that maybe you go too far in one direction." </p><p> Remember the over-powered exoskeleton, the class system and the player tethering discussed at the game's reveal? Forget about it - all of it - as today's version of Future Soldier is a world away from the one first shown in 2010. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-27-ghost-recon-preview-rebuilding-the-future-soldier">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c4205cb/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Ghost+Recon+Preview%3A+Rebuilding+the+Future+Soldier&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-27-ghost-recon-preview-rebuilding-the-future-soldier" 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=Ghost+Recon+Preview%3A+Rebuilding+the+Future+Soldier&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-27-ghost-recon-preview-rebuilding-the-future-soldier" 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/123995835037/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c4205cb/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995835037/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c4205cb/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:30:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1440848http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c299508/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E260Ea0Escience0Efiction0Esaga0Epreview0Ea0Emodern0Eadventure/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/0/5/4/3/450-kohmn5.jpg" alt=""/><p> I wonder if David Ostman, the indie developer behind A Science Fiction Saga, has received a call from Futurama's lawyers yet. His upcoming release tells the story of Anderson Kane - an unfortunate chap who finds himself thrust thousands of years into the future after an incident at work. The involvement of pizza and cryogenic freezing is something that's yet to be confirmed. </p><p> Far removed from Futurama's silliness, though, this point-and-click adventure is set in a world touching on Star Trek, Firefly and fellow indie point-and-clicker Gemini Rue. In it, the entire human race has found itself caught up in a vast conspiracy, full of interstellar police forces and private investigators. You'll even become the owner of a spaceship, complete with crew members who begrudgingly accept your space travel ineptitude. </p><p> Impressively, all this is in the first game of a planned series. It's a vast undertaking for a solo developer, with a little help from an animator on the side. Is he mad? "You have to be a bit crazy to get into game development," he says. "It's hard work and often little-to-no glory, and you need to be stubborn as a two-headed mule to stick with it." </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-26-a-science-fiction-saga-preview-a-modern-adventure">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c299508/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=A+Science+Fiction+Saga+Preview%3A+A+Modern+Adventure&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-26-a-science-fiction-saga-preview-a-modern-adventure" 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=A+Science+Fiction+Saga+Preview%3A+A+Modern+Adventure&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-26-a-science-fiction-saga-preview-a-modern-adventure" 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/123995711953/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c299508/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995711953/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c299508/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:01:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1440543http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c18c23c/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E240Edarksiders0E20Epreview0Elooting0Ethe0Eclassics/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/3/9/6/9/4/450-q8ylkx.jpg" alt=""/><p> "Choose Your Own Death" is one of the strangest video game pitches that's been flung our way in a while. Choose Your Own <em>Death</em>. Okay, so I've thought about it, and I'd like to go with rollerskates, a wonky stepladder, a plate glass window, and the glinting tines of an upended garden fork, please. At my funeral, I want them to play the theme from Shaft, and everybody has to dress like they work at Burger King. </p><p> It all makes a bit more sense, though, when you discover that Death is the new protagonist for Darksiders 2. He's taking over from his brother War in a sequel that fits neatly inside the timeline of the original. Think of it as Back to the Future 2, but with a rock-fisted demon in place of Thomas F. Wilson. War has been accused of kicking off the Apocalypse early, and he's out to clear his name: that's Darksiders. Meanwhile, Death thinks War is his kind of people, so, as another of the famous four horsemen, he sets off on his own parallel adventure to see if he can help his brother out. <em>That's</em> Darksiders 2. </p><p> As for the element of choice, this comes from a slight change of emphasis. In Darksiders 2, you'll be able to shape Death a little as the game progresses, selecting which armour you want him to wear as you pick paths through his skill trees, while juggling his load out of weapons and magic attacks. It's a mix-and-match approach that mirrors that of the developer, Vigil Games, which built the original Darksiders, in part, from its favourite pieces of the Zelda and God of War series, taking the dungeons-and-gadgets structure of the former, and the pointy melee combat of the latter. For Darksiders 2, all of that stuff remains in place, but the team is throwing in some new inspirations as well. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-24-darksiders-2-preview-looting-the-classics">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c18c23c/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Darksiders+2+Preview%3A+Looting+the+Classics&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-24-darksiders-2-preview-looting-the-classics" 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=Darksiders+2+Preview%3A+Looting+the+Classics&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-24-darksiders-2-preview-looting-the-classics" 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/123995627322/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c18c23c/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995627322/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c18c23c/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1439694http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c17ab71/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E240Easuras0Ewrath0Epreview0Erage0Eagainst0Ethe0Emachine/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/3/9/7/2/1/450-11d4ri.jpg" alt=""/><p> CyberConnect 2's central office is equal parts library and games development studio. Before you can get to the 140-strong workforce in the developer's Fukuoka base - supplemented by a further 70 staff working out of Tokyo - there's a lobby that houses over 3,000 DVDs and Blu-rays, the walls lined with a comprehensive collection of sci-fi and anime. Downstairs there are shelves upon shelves thick with manga, the stark strip-lighting and functional furniture giving the large open-plan meeting area the feel of a school reading room that's stacked with forbidden fruit. </p><p> It's more than mere decoration or pleasant distraction for CC2, a team that made its name first with the .hack series and then found greater success with Naruto before embarking on a brand new game, Asura's Wrath, in partnership with Capcom. All of these DVDs and all of these mangas are required reading for the team. Every single one of them. </p><p> "It's a general rule in our studio that all staff members should know all of the anime and manga that are on the shelves," CC2's president Hiroshi Matsuyama tells us with a smile, before his face hardens a little; "If they don't, and if they're not reading something or watching something, I get mad." </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-24-asuras-wrath-preview-rage-against-the-machine">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c17ab71/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Asura%27s+Wrath+Preview%3A+Rage+Against+the+Machine&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-24-asuras-wrath-preview-rage-against-the-machine" 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=Asura%27s+Wrath+Preview%3A+Rage+Against+the+Machine&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-24-asuras-wrath-preview-rage-against-the-machine" 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/123995676646/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c17ab71/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995676646/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1c17ab71/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1439721http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c2ed7b5/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E190Esoulcalibur0E50Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/3/8/3/5/4/450-hy42oh.jpg" alt=""/><p> It all began 15 years ago, with a lofty voice that proclaimed: "Transcending history and the world, a tale of soul and swords <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxrpyv8SNS4" target="_blank">eternally retold</a>!" But after the progressively stifled SoulCalibur 4 - a game whose unique selling point was the clashing of katanas and lightsabers in a Star Destroyer docking bay, with its cameos from Darth Vader and Yoda - it seemed like the curtain had finally fallen on the Stage of History. However, nobody told Project Soul director Daishi Odashima, as by taking the series 17 years into the future and retiring certain members of the cast, he finally gives us a SoulCalibur that shows tangible progression since its days on the Dreamcast. </p><p> A quick trip to the select screen reveals that Taki, Xianghua and Kilik have been replaced by Natsu, Leixia and Xiba - respectively an apprentice, daughter and successor. This passing of torches is also inherent in their fighting styles, as with b&#333;-staff in hand, Xiba (whose named is pronounced the same as a popular brand of cat food) fights in a way that closely resembles his less goofy predecessor. Although his move set has been subtly tweaked, you can still achieve a ring-out by jamming your pole between your opponent's legs and tossing them over your shoulder. </p><p> While Sophitia has passed on her shield duties to her twin children, Patroklos and Pyrrha, the rest of the roster is made up of Calibur classics like the nunchaku-twirling Maki, the axe-swinging Astaroth and the double-cheque-cashing Yoshimitsu. Some of them also look more advanced in years, with Mitsurugi keeping it classy with his Just For Men mane and Lizardman - who now goes by his human name of Aeon Calcos - rocking an angelic set of wings that give his techniques an aerial edge. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-19-soulcalibur-5-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1c2ed7b5/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=SoulCalibur+5+Preview%3A+Getting+Its+Edge+Back&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-19-soulcalibur-5-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=SoulCalibur+5+Preview%3A+Getting+Its+Edge+Back&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-19-soulcalibur-5-preview" target="_blank"><img src="http://res3.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif" border="0" /></a></td></tr></table></div>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:52:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1438354http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1bf4f402/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E190Esoulcalibur0E50Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/3/8/3/5/4/450-hy42oh.jpg" alt=""/><p> It all began 15 years ago, with a lofty voice that proclaimed: "Transcending history and the world, a tale of soul and swords <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxrpyv8SNS4" target="_blank">eternally retold</a>!" But after the progressively stifled SoulCalibur 4 - a game whose unique selling point was the clashing of katanas and lightsabers in a Star Destroyer docking bay, with its cameos from Darth Vader and Yoda - it seemed like the curtain had finally fallen on the Stage of History. However, nobody told Project Soul director Daishi Odashima, as by taking the series 17 years into the future and retiring certain members of the cast, he finally gives us a SoulCalibur that shows tangible progression since its days on the Dreamcast. </p><p> A quick trip to the select screen reveals that Taki, Xianghua and Kilik have been replaced by Natsu, Leixia and Xiba - respectively an apprentice, daughter and successor. This passing of torches is also inherent in their fighting styles, as with b&#333;-staff in hand, Xiba (whose named is pronounced the same as a popular brand of cat food) fights in a way that closely resembles his less goofy predecessor. Although his move set has been subtly tweaked, you can still achieve a ring-out by jamming your pole between your opponent's legs and tossing them over your shoulder. </p><p> While Sophitia has passed on her shield duties to her twin children, Patroklos and Pyrrha, the rest of the roster is made up of Calibur classics like the nunchaku-twirling Maki, the axe-swinging Astaroth and the double-cheque-cashing Yoshimitsu. Some of them also look more advanced in years, with Mitsurugi keeping it classy with his Just For Men mane and Lizardman - who now goes by his human name of Aeon Calcos - rocking an angelic set of wings that give his techniques an aerial edge. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-19-soulcalibur-5-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1bf4f402/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Soulcalibur+5+Preview%3A+Getting+Its+Edge+Back&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-19-soulcalibur-5-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=Soulcalibur+5+Preview%3A+Getting+Its+Edge+Back&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-19-soulcalibur-5-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/123995503764/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1bf4f402/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995503764/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1bf4f402/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:52:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1438354http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1bcaef96/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E130Eagent0Eof0Echange0Ehitman0Eabsolution0Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/3/6/8/0/5/450-5201am.jpg" alt=""/><p> Here's the scene; an orphanage, on a dark and typically stormy night. Blood runs through the corridors, and fresh corpses pile up by the walls. In the nursery, under bright birthday bunting, there's a lullaby of screams as a guard strapped to a wooden chair is slowly tortured. </p><p> Meanwhile, a silent killer picks off his prey one-by-one. At one moment in this violent game of hide and seek, a brightly coloured beach ball rolls silently past - at another, with one more victim dispatched, the body's hidden in a nearby ball-pool. It's an orphanage, but with the body count tick-tick-ticking ever upwards it may as well be an orphan factory. </p><p> For all the concerns about Hitman: Absolution's grittier, more action-led take on Danish developer IO Interactive's bloodthirsty mascot, it's most definitely retained its line in jet-black humour. "We tried to take it out of Absolution in the beginning," says game director Tore Blystad, a man that, despite being in charge of one of the medium's most notorious killers, can't hold back the widest and most infectious of grins, "we wanted it to be more serious, so this humour had to go. But then it crept back in, so we had to embrace it. It's one of the fundamental pillars of the game." </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-13-agent-of-change-hitman-absolution-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1bcaef96/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=Agent+of+Change%3A+Hitman+Absolution+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-13-agent-of-change-hitman-absolution-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=Agent+of+Change%3A+Hitman+Absolution+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-13-agent-of-change-hitman-absolution-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/123995240586/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1bcaef96/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/123995240586/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1bcaef96/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1436805http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1b8917e5/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A120E0A10E0A40Emud0Epreview0Earticle/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2012/articles//a/1/4/4/2/0/4/1/450-5x6428.jpg" alt=""/><p> Racing studios are, sadly, a diminishing breed, and those that still stand are having to adapt to survive. Following the closure of Bizarre Creations and Black Rock Studios last year, existing developers are finding new paths to explore - Codemasters steering its Dirt brand toward the downloadable route, while Slightly Mad turns to the strange new world of user-generated content for its ambitious and intriguing Project Cars. </p><p> There's one studio that's weathered the storm well enough, however, and which, despite the struggles elsewhere in the market, still manages to produce up to three boxed racing games per year. And it does that with a thinly stretched team of 90, spread over three floors of a slightly scruffy studio near the centre of Milan, Italy. </p><p> It's this team that put out the functional yet entertaining WRC game and its somewhat underwhelming sequel, and that in the SBK series has produced arguably the best bike game on the market; not a particularly impressive feat when its sole competitor, Capcom's MotoGP games, has seemingly slipped into obscurity, but a noble one nevertheless. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-04-mud-preview-article">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1b8917e5/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="http://share.feedsportal.com/viral/sendEmail.cfm?lang=en&title=A+Racing+Milestone%3A+Mud+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-04-mud-preview-article" 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=A+Racing+Milestone%3A+Mud+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2012-01-04-mud-preview-article" 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/121588189763/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1b8917e5/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/121588189763/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1b8917e5/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1434324http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1b263a9e/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A110E120E20A0Ebinary0Edomain0Eeast0Emeets0Ewest0Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/3/1/7/8/2/450-36lciz.jpg" alt=""/><p> It has, since its unveiling late in 2009, been hard to muster much in the way of enthusiasm for Binary Domain. Fronted by a stubble-chinned, crop-haired hero who's seemingly more anonymous than the waves of robots he's tasked with gunning down, it's a game that's generic to the point of rendering itself invisible. </p><p> If Sega's own Tokyo studio's perverse objective has been to blend in its first foray in to the duck and cover shooter genre crowd in much the same way as Binary Domain's new breed of robots try to hide themselves within its imagined future society, it's proved successful; some have emerged from demos from this year's trade shows with little recollection of what they've just witnessed, an instant amnesia brought on by what seems to be a particularly inoffensive yet uninspiring effort. </p><p> It's all the more dispiriting when you consider the heritage behind the studio that's developing Binary Domain - this is the same outfit that has in recent years produced the consistently brilliant Yakuza series, games that are as colourful as they are eccentric and unique, and it's headed up by one gaming's few rockstar developers, Toshihiro Nagoshi. But beneath Binary Domain's innocuous exterior there's something smarter, more cunning and ultimately more beguiling than first looks might lead you to believe. Yes, it's a third person shooter set in a dreary monochrome future, but it's one that's got character, style and a handful of neat tricks to boot. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-20-binary-domain-east-meets-west-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1b263a9e/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=Binary+Domain+Preview%3A+When+East+Meets+West&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-20-binary-domain-east-meets-west-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=Binary+Domain+Preview%3A+When+East+Meets+West&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-20-binary-domain-east-meets-west-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/121585586703/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1b263a9e/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/121585586703/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1b263a9e/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1431782http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1b25ff84/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A110E120E20A0Ebinary0Edomain0Eeast0Emeets0Ewest0Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/3/1/7/8/2/450-qh57g3.jpg" alt=""/><p> It has, since its unveiling late in 2009, been hard to muster much in the way of enthusiasm for Binary Domain. Fronted by a stubble-chinned, crop-haired hero who's seemingly more anonymous than the waves of robots he's tasked with gunning down, it's a game that's generic to the point of rendering itself invisible. </p><p> If Sega's own Tokyo studio's perverse objective has been to blend in its first foray in to the duck and cover shooter genre crowd in much the same way as Binary Domain's new breed of robots try to hide themselves within its imagined future society, it's proved successful; some have emerged from demos from this year's trade shows with little recollection of what they've just witnessed, an instant amnesia brought on by what seems to be a particularly inoffensive yet uninspiring effort. </p><p> It's all the more dispiriting when you consider the heritage behind the studio that's developing Binary Domain - this is the same outfit that has in recent years produced the consistently brilliant Yakuza series, games that are as colourful as they are eccentric and unique, and it's headed up by one gaming's few rockstar developers, Toshihiro Nagoshi. But beneath Binary Domain's innocuous exterior there's something smarter, more cunning and ultimately more beguiling than first looks might lead you to believe. Yes, it's a third person shooter set in a dreary monochrome future, but it's one that's got character, style and a handful of neat tricks to boot. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-20-binary-domain-east-meets-west-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1b25ff84/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=Binary+Domain%3A+When+East+Meets+West&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-20-binary-domain-east-meets-west-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=Binary+Domain%3A+When+East+Meets+West&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-20-binary-domain-east-meets-west-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/121587736241/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1b25ff84/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/121587736241/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1b25ff84/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1431782http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1afa966f/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A110E120E150Estar0Ewars0Ethe0Eold0Erepublic0Ethe0Eend0Eof0Ean0Eera0Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/3/1/3/6/9/450-2wnub1.jpg" alt=""/><p> The Guinness Book of Records: Gamer's Edition must be having a field day with Star Wars: The Old Republic; most expensive game ever, most vocal recording in a game, longest hype, most embarrassing cosplayer, most Jedi teabagging... </p><p> Yet despite the long list of superlatives already attached to it, SWTOR feels like the last of its kind; a game that was started at the end of one era of the MMO, and one that will be released at the beginning of another. </p><p> There are uneasy parallels that can be drawn with Star Wars: Galaxies, SWTOR's much-maligned predecessor, here. Galaxies took the (then still mostly-unsullied-curse-you-Phantom-Menace) main Star Wars brand and made a universe out of it, doing a fair job at replicating the feel of the world. It was released at the peak of the paid-for MMO business and did respectably, despite repeated design screw-ups, only being shut down to make room for SWTOR. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-15-star-wars-the-old-republic-the-end-of-an-era-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1afa966f/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=Star+Wars%3A+The+Old+Republic+-+The+End+of+an+Era%3F&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-15-star-wars-the-old-republic-the-end-of-an-era-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=Star+Wars%3A+The+Old+Republic+-+The+End+of+an+Era%3F&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-15-star-wars-the-old-republic-the-end-of-an-era-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/121217457035/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1afa966f/kg/273-300/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/121217457035/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1afa966f/kg/273-300/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1430557http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1ae6ac66/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A110E120E130Ethe0Elast0Eof0Eus0Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/3/5/1/5/2/450-5m4mvp.jpg" alt=""/><p> When it comes to keeping secrets, the games industry is about as trustworthy as Julian Assange. Just ask Konami, whose VGAs-closing trailer revealing MGS: Rising as a Platinum Games title leaked online hours before the show. </p><p> And yet, defying the odds, news of two-years-in-the-making The Last of Us, created by an 80-strong Naughty Dog team no-one knew existed, was met with that rarest of emotions when it broke cover at the weekend: genuine surprise. But, oh, how close it all came to unravelling as the big day approached. </p><p> Two months ago, Neil Druckmann, creative director and writer on the project, left his iPad on a plane. An iPad with the debut trailer for the game stored on it. Frantic calls to the airline ensued, but the device was gone. Naughty Dog waited nervously. And, to its considerable relief, nothing happened. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-13-the-last-of-us-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1ae6ac66/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=The+Last+of+Us+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-13-the-last-of-us-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=The+Last+of+Us+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-13-the-last-of-us-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/121217251152/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1ae6ac66/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/121217251152/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1ae6ac66/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1429358http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1ae6a30a/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A110E120E130Ethe0Elast0Eof0Eus0Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/2/9/3/5/8/450-xaf1sr.jpg" alt=""/><p> When it comes to keeping secrets, the games industry is about as trustworthy as Julian Assange. Just ask Konami, whose VGAs-closing trailer revealing MGS: Rising as a Platinum Games title leaked online hours before the show. </p><p> And yet, defying the odds, news of two-years-in-the-making The Last of Us, created by an 80-strong Naughty Dog team no-one knew existed, was met with that rarest of emotions when it broke cover at the weekend: genuine surprise. But, oh, how close it all came to unravelling as the big day approached. </p><p> Two months ago, Neil Druckmann, creative director and writer on the project, left his iPad on a plane. An iPad with the debut trailer for the game stored on it. Frantic calls to the airline ensued, but the device was gone. Naughty Dog waited nervously. And, to its considerable relief, nothing happened. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-13-the-last-of-us-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1ae6a30a/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=The+Last+Of+Us+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-13-the-last-of-us-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=The+Last+Of+Us+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-13-the-last-of-us-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/121217249265/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1ae6a30a/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/121217249265/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1ae6a30a/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1429358http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1ae172cf/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A110E120E120Egotham0Ecity0Eimpostors0Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/2/9/1/1/7/450-3yc72c.jpg" alt=""/><p> Gotham City Impostors is all about obsessive fans. Obsessive fans who, as is so often the case, happen to be both slightly unstable and very heavily armed. </p><p> It's a multiplayer-only online shooter set in the Batman universe - but because Batman doesn't actually like to <em>shoot</em> people in his universe, Monolith, the game's developer, has had to get creative. The solution it's come up with is to offer players the choice between two opposing teams of cut-price vigilantes decked out in cheap costumes and weighed down with home-made gadgets and weapons. </p><p> Drawing inspiration from the real superheroes and villains, these gangs have called themselves the Bats and the Jokerz, and they spend their weekends blasting each other to pieces. This, in case you haven't noticed, is the set-up for one of the weirdest licensed games you'll have seen in quite a while. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-12-gotham-city-impostors-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1ae172cf/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=Gotham+City+Impostors+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-12-gotham-city-impostors-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=Gotham+City+Impostors+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-12-gotham-city-impostors-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/121221205242/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1ae172cf/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/121221205242/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1ae172cf/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:00:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1429117http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1ab3a4e2/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A110E120E0A50Ethe0Edarkness0E20Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/2/6/8/3/0/450-b2tvv3.jpg" alt=""/><p> The Darkness II sees the moody franchise handed a new developer and a new secret weapon. The developer is Digital Extremes, an outfit that takes over from the gloriously under-appreciated Starbreeze Studios, and the secret weapon is colour. </p><p> Colour, eh? Cliché that it is to comment on the fact, it's all too often MIA in contemporary shooters. Once it's back, you realise how much you've missed it. Digital Extremes has interpreted The Darkness' funny book origins as an excuse to paint its levels with pools of rich blues, greens, and reds. Look closely and you'll see a touch of cel-shading on top. Look closer still and you'll see traces of Borderlands' lovely cross-hatching, too. It's hard to see the game in motion and not want to try it out. That's colour for you. </p><p> In the single-player, the other big ideas include quad-wielding (it was inevitable really) and Nolan North (ditto). All of that's for another day, though, sadly. Today we're only talking about multiplayer. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-05-the-darkness-2-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1ab3a4e2/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=The+Darkness+2+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-05-the-darkness-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=The+Darkness+2+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-05-the-darkness-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/120219228854/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1ab3a4e2/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/120219228854/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1ab3a4e2/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:01:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1426830http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1a995269/l/0L0Seurogamer0Bnet0Carticles0C20A110E120E0A20Eauto0Eclub0Erevolution0Epreview0Epreview/story01.htm<img src="http://images.eurogamer.net/2011/articles//a/1/4/2/6/3/2/0/acr.jpg.jpg" alt=""/><p> The automotive industry in Britain isn't what it once was, but it's learnt to adapt and evolve, finding and filling niches and flourishing in an ever-changing market. For the country's virtual automotive industry it's much the same story; there have been some big casualties (rest in peace, beloved Bizarre) but there are those that continue to thrive, creating the same, well-crafted output that made the industry's name in increasingly novel fashion. </p><p> Codemasters struck gold with an Indian investor and the F1 license, while Criterion worked its magic on Need for Speed and looks likely to return to the franchise it breathed some much-needed life into. Elsewhere, South London's Slightly Mad Studios, its own stint on Need for Speed seemingly on hold, has turned its expertise to Project Cars, a crowd-sourced game that's taking more than financial donations from its fledgling community - it's taking their ideas onboard too. </p><p> And then there's Newcastle's Eutechnyx, modest veterans of the UK's racing scene with coming up to 14 years experience of crafting driving games. Like Slightly Mad, it's struck out on a different path to many of its competitors, although Eutechnyx is currently a little further along the road. </p><p><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-12-02-auto-club-revolution-preview-preview">Read more&#8230;</a></p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/352/f/4740/s/1a995269/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=Auto+Club+Revolution+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-02-auto-club-revolution-preview-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=Auto+Club+Revolution+Preview&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2011-12-02-auto-club-revolution-preview-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/120218849210/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1a995269/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/120218849210/u/0/f/4740/c/352/s/1a995269/a2.img" border="0"/></a>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:30:00 GMThttp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1426320