Review: The Dream Machine – A Surreal Stop-Motion Point and Click Adventure

Developer Summary

You play as Victor and Alicia, a couple who’ve just moved into a new apartment. While trying to get settled in, they soon discover that all is not as it seems in the quiet, unassuming apartment building…

What We Think

Among the dozens of interesting games I saw at IndieCade 2011, I happened to stumble upon one of the finalists in a quiet back corner room where a few computers were tucked away, though their screens were being washed out by the sun blasting through a window in the later part of the afternoon.
Liking stories that explore the landscape of the subconscious and dream-states, and a long time fan of “Psychonauts,” naturally, I was immediately intrigued by the name “The Dream Machine” and then subsequently delighted by its unique look. The graphics you see, comprise hand-made stop-motion animation of clay, Popsicle sticks and other found items handled with painstaking care that would make the Quay Brothers blush.
The amount of creativity, and time that went into this is unlike any other I have yet seen. Whereas Telltale adapted the famous claymation franchise Wallace and Gromit for the PC with 3D graphics resembling clay, Dream Machine is literally to claymation what Dragon’s Lair was to Saturday Morning cartoons, except that it has much greater interactivity than the cut-scene style of Bluth’s standup arcade title. But I felt the same sense of awe as I did then.

read more:
http://www.indiegamereviewer.com/review-the-dream-machine-a-surreal-stop-motion-point-and-click-adventure/

Battlefield 3

• Developer: DICE
• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Genre: Shooter

Online features

• Online multiplayer 2 - 24
• Online co-op 2
• Content downloads
• Leaderboards
• Voice chat

Battlefield 3 leaps ahead of the competition with the power of Frostbite™ 2, the next installment of DICE's cutting-edge game engine. This state-of-the-art technology is the foundation on which Battlefield 3 is built, delivering superior visual quality, a grand sense of scale, massive destruction, dynamic audio and incredibly lifelike character animations. As bullets whiz by, walls crumble, and explosions throw you to the ground, the battlefield feels more alive and interactive than ever before. In Battlefield 3, players step into the role of the elite U.S. Marines where they will experience heart-pounding single player missions and competitive multiplayer actions ranging across diverse locations from around the globe including Paris, Tehran and New York.

From:
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Battlefield-3/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80245410950

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Is it possible to have your expectations raised too high? Uncharted 2: Among Thieves delivered a monumental leap over the first game in the series, and it might be easy to fall into the trap of assuming the same advancements would take place in every subsequent release. If that's your state of mind going into Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, you might walk away slightly disappointed. But that's not a fair response. Though the third entry in this treasure-hunting franchise offers a similar experience to its revered predecessor, it's no less magical. Just about every element showcases the care and craftsmanship you would expect from the series. Combat is even more versatile than in previous entries, combining incredible shooting encounters with advanced hand-to-hand takedowns set in lavishly designed areas. When you need a break from the taxing physical endeavors, thoughtful puzzles allow you to explore your more contemplative side. And these two elements are punctuated by exhilarating set-piece events that leave you gasping. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is another superb entry in Nathan Drake's ongoing quest to find the world's many lost treasures.
Once again, Nathan Drake is in search of lost treasure in a mysterious land. The story encompasses many of the same tropes from previous games--deception, twists, camaraderie--though the nuts and bolts of the plot have never been one of Uncharted's strong points. Rather, it's the realistic portrayal of characters--their lively back-and-forth discussions and snide jokes--that give you a reason to care about the tale. Drake, Sully, and the supporting cast sport detailed animation that makes them almost look real, and their playful dialogue further cements this image. Tempers flare, threats are made, and you can feel the tension during heated moments. But these lifelong friends always make up, and it's their believable relationships that make it so easy to become invested in their struggles.

When you picture Uncharted, you may think of plundering ancient tombs or throwing as many grenades as you can manage in bombastic sequences. But the opening of Drake's Deception eschews the larger-than-life action the series is known for in favor of an old-fashioned bar brawl. This is where the new animations that have been incorporated into fisticuffs are apparent as you wrestle with a platoon of aggressive men in a confined place. Shoving a burly dude into the bar while you pummel his face or grabbing a stray bottle to crash over someone's head conjures images of Patrick Swayze handling business in Road House, and the controls are precise enough to make it possible to manage an approaching group without getting your face beaten. Ultimately, these instances where you're forced to take matters into your own hands are the weakest aspect of the game because your freedom is so limited, but that's not to say they're boring. There's a satisfying rhythm to throwing fists while avoiding counters, and you have enough flexibility to move around that you don't feel like you're just performing mindless quick-time events.
As much fun as it may be to bash in a man's head with a wooden chair, it can't match the thrill of beating a man with your fists when he's sporting an assault rifle. There are segments where you have to fistfight in Drake's Deception, but there are other times when you're in a battle for your life and you can use any weapon you want to stay alive. Thanks to the incredibly impactful animations of a hand-to-hand assault, it's fun to put aside the bullets and explosives to focus on getting your hands dirty instead. Being sneaky certainly helps. Snapping a man's neck before he can turn around or just shoving someone clear off a building is immensely rewarding. But there are other times when stealth doesn't work, and you find yourself grappling, feinting, and punching below the belt, while bullets fly and enemies scream death threats at you. Particular animations make these encounters a special treat. You may grasp the barrel of your gun and swing at someone's head with a metal uppercut or elbow a foe in the neck like a wrestler suffering from roid rage, and it's hard to contain your joyous laugh. There are times when you run out of bullets and fighting with your fists is the only way to go. Once you finish off your foe, a slow motion moment in which Drake snatches your enemy's discarded gun in midair adds a fitting end to the fight.

Of course, you don't have to go toe-to-toe if you'd rather not. The beauty of Uncharted's combat is that you can dispatch foes in a variety of ways, and all of them feel incredibly empowering. The key is the expertly designed levels. Drake's Deception is a cover-based, third-person shooter; thus, chest-high walls populate many of your encounters. But those familiar structures aren't used as a crutch here. Verticality gives you the option to climb around like a gun-toting monkey if you prefer, getting the drop on lackadaisical foes. If a man with a rocket launcher is forcing you to hunker behind a piece of debris, fear not; you can smoothly leap from cover, shimmy up a nearby wall, and sprint pell-mell across a rooftop. Grab a sniper rifle on the way if you want to handle him from afar or a shotgun if you'd like to pop him right in the head. Toss grenades at the group of enemies hiding by that well, man the turret once you finish off its previous operator, or sprint past everyone until you make it to the door that marks your safety. Versatile level design lets you choose how to go about killing your pesky foes in Drake's Deception, and rock-solid controls ensure every action you want to perform can be pulled off without any hesitation.
If you're feeling sluggish and just want to use your gun for a while, doing so is a perfectly valid alternative to the high-flying adventuring. The mechanics in Drake's Deception have been refined even further from the previous game. No matter which gun you grab, you can target weak points with ease, and enemies recoil when you prick their flesh with searing-hot bullets. Drake's Deception offers so many different ways to take down foes that you might think it falls into the camp of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But that's not true at all. If you take things slowly--crouch behind cover only risking your neck when the opportunity presents itself--you have just as much of a chance to succeed as someone who makes use of Drake's agility. And you can have just as much fun, too. The weapons are a blast to use. Landing a headshot from across the map with a sniper rifle is eminently satisfying, as is taking out a gunner with a sure blast from a shotgun. You can easily keep an enemy off balance with a fast-shooting assault rifle or knock a grenade right out of someone's hand with a steady pistol. Ample ammunition lets you focus on the fun of firing rather than scrounging for extra bullets, so you can stick with your favorite weapon if you want or mix things up after every fight.

Read More:
http://asia.gamespot.com/uncharted-3-drakes-deception/reviews/uncharted-3-drakes-deception-review-6341906?tag=summary%3Bread-review&page=2

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

The Elder Scrolls. The series that let players get completely lost in a fantasy world of elves, magical spells, mythical creatures, swords and shields, epic storylines, and large masses of explorable land continues with Skyrim. Did the extreme amounts of hype and speculation live up to what the game offers?

Yes.

Taking place about 200 years after the events of Oblivion, players are now thrust into the lands of Skyrim. On the verge of meeting their doom, players soon find out that Dragons are no longer just beasts of myth, and the player isn't just another ordinary citizen of Skyrim. You play as the last of the Dragonborn, a chosen individual who understands and comprehends the language of Dragons and is able to adopt it as his own to use it against the onslaught of Dragons plaguing the lands of Skyrim.

If you've read any of our Previews, you already know of the vast improvements that Bethesda has made to ensure Skyrim is nothing short of a breathtaking experience. Everything from combat, leveling, and the graphics went through some drastic changes, and trust me when I say it's all for the better.
The classic races that Elder Scrolls fans are familiar with are back and looking even better than ever. Oblivion wowed us back in 2006 with some really impressive visuals. Seeing the forests come to life before our very eyes was truly a sight to behold. Even though the faces, by today's standards, are fairly horrendous looking, at the time we were all mesmerized that an open-world fantasy game could look that good! Bethesda really outdid themselves this time.

One glance from a high mountaintop overlooking Skyrim, and you'll be speechless at not only the vastness of the explorable land, but the beauty that it encapsulates. Skyrim isn't as lush and green as Oblivion was before it. It feels more dark and gritty, with snow covered mountaintops, deteriorating shanty towns, outposts built up from wood, and cities literally constructed out of stone bricks. Every location has its own distinct look, to the point that they become easily recognizable by looks alone.

Locations themselves are going to be every player's major time suck. Not because you'll necessarily be looking for these locations, (though chances are some definitely will) it's the fact that in between questing to a new area that you haven't yet discovered, various dungeons, caves, outposts, towers, statues, and villages will pop up on your compass HUD, and like a magnet, you'll feel drawn to discover them, if only to just unlock their location on your map to come back to later. It won't be long until you realize that you're not only way out a completely different direction that you're supposed to be, you've uncovered 20 different locations in the process, many that enticed you to explore even further. You then look at the time and notice that something that was supposed to take you only ten minutes in travel time, has now turned into four hours.
Skyrim is a living, breathing world with citizens who actually live out their lives on a day to day basis. This was already introduced in Oblivion, but looking at the system now, you can notice that it had its flaws. Though not perfect, every person's actions are far more believable in Skyrim. Workers attend their daily routines chopping wood, tending their shops, hunting wild animals, etc. People converse in the streets, react to your presence, and to what you're currently wearing, including your race. Just something as simple as playing through the game as an Argonian instead of a Nord, for example, will yield you varying results with citizen reaction, as there are some who are more prejudice to certain races. This alone encourages multiple playthroughs with various races just because of the different interactions.

The biggest change to character development might just be what makes Skyrim the most accessible in the Elder Scrolls series to date. Gone are the major and minor skills that produced character growth which relied on use of that particular skill. Now, everything is a major skill. From Heavy Armor, Two Handed Weapons, Destruction Magic, Sneaking, Speechcraft, and more, raising skills in any of these will now grant you a point towards leveling up. To those not familiar with the process, XP points are not part of the equation here. Instead, each skill can be leveled up to 100 points and each 1 point you gain in a skill, that one point goes toward your level. Getting ten points will net you a level that lets you upgrade either Health, Magicka (Mana) or Stamina, and then assign a perk point in one of the many branching skill trees.
The beauty of this free-form character development is that it truly lets you be whatever it is that you choose. You can be a warrior that concentrates on Heavy Armor and wielding a two handed sword, or you can go a more hybrid route and be a warrior/mage that holds a sword in one hand, and wields a destructive fireball spell in the other. The freedom is there, it's just up to you how you want to use it.

And then there are Dragons. These huge beasts of myth have been unleashed and it's up to you to ensure these overgrown, flying lizards become extinct. These unscripted beasts fly around Skyrim, or protect various locations, and each fight with one is a fight to the death, as they fly around you, swoop down hurl flames and try to eat you in one swift chomp. Each fight can be completely different from each other, and they all make your heart race, even as soon as you hear the loud Dragon shriek way before you even catch a glimpse of one. The best thing is, Dragons are friends to nobody. If you manage to draw them out to where other monsters reside, such as the uber powerful Giants, they'll gladly help out in taking them down (just don't stick around afterwards, since you'll be their next target).
As a Dragonborn, you not only understand the language that Dragons speak, you're also able to learn it and absorb a deceased Dragon's soul. Scattered across the lands of Skyrim are various Dragon Burial Sites, which not only are always guarded by one of these beasties, but they also contain a Dragon word that you're able to learn and wield. These shouts will either propel you a far distance, shoot a freeze breath, disarm opponents, highlight living creatures with an aura, and other useful abilities. To claim these words as your own, you must use a slain Dragon's soul to unlock and wield it. Shouts don't work off of Magicka however, they rely simply on cooldowns. Each shout can also be powered up multiple times once the corresponding Dragon words are found. This combination of weaponry, magic and shouts truly bring out a fun combat system.

Combat and questing aren't the only things that will consume your time in Skyrim. You're able to purchase property, court maidens or men, and eventually get married, take up a profession such as cooking, alchemy, or smithing, and brew up your own healing potions and construct protective pieces of armor and powerful weapons. Does this sound like too much work? Take up thievery and steal or pickpocket your way to wealth, assuming you don't get caught by the authorities. Join the Thieves guild and become a master thief, or perhaps the Dark Brotherhood's murderous intentions are far mor appealing to you--all of this is available to anyone. Skyrim's Radiant Story system will ensure that you constantly have something to do, way beyond finishing the main quest, and even beyond finishing side quests. Simply saying that there is so much to do cannot fully express just how massive this game is.
Though Skyrim is one fabulous package that by some crazy miracle fits on one single disc, it still retains some "open world bugs" that the Elder Scrolls games are known for. Pieces of the environment getting stuck or attached to passing-by NPC's, the occasional NPC getting stuck in a standing walking cycle, or even a dragon completely frozen in mid air. Sure they look odd and out of place, but they haven't once broken my game. Surprisingly enough, throughout my extremely long gameplay sessions, not once have I experienced the game freezing on me. For what the game offers, I was surprised that I only experienced the little amount of bugs that I did. It seems as though Bethesda is definitely learning to iron these things out.

The fact of the matter is, Skyrim is amazing. As an open world where you can truly live out your fantasy life and as a technological marvel, it impresses on almost every level. The few graphical bugs you might encounter shouldn't deter you from what is this years most anticipated game. Bottom line is...you need it. Period.

Read More:
http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-review

Download of the Week: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light on iOS

Game: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light | Platform: iOS | Publisher: Square-Enix | Developer: Crystal Dynamics | Price: £0.69

All our downloads are piped in with the lightning-quick Virgin Media 50Mb Broadband...

Lara Croft's 'twin-stick shooter' action adventure is an absolute blast on iOS however you look at it. But with an unbelieveable price of just £0.69p until Monday 14th November, it is frankly unmissable. Buy, buy, buy!

Premier Manager 2012 | PSN | Urbanscan | £9.99

This classic footie management series' latest game has got a special launch week price of £4 off, so grab it while it's hot. With RPG-style manager leveling and an enhanced matchday experience, it's well worth a look for your console-based management fix.

Codemasters Racing Bundle | Steam | Codemasters | £20.39

How about 66% off DiRT 3 and F1 2011 on PC? Justin gave both of these games 9/10 at review, so to get the pair of them for the cost of less than one is an amazing offer. It's the 'weekend deal' on Steam, so get 'em quick before they go back up.

from:

http://www.gamesradar.com/download-week-lara-croft-and-guardian-light-ios/

Battlefield 3 Screenshot Compares Xbox 360 HD and Non-HD Texture Packs Graphics to PC

Earlier this week DICE stated that Battlefield 3 played on Xbox 360 without the installed texture pack looks like "standard definition."


“The thing with the 360 is that you need to be able to give consumers a game where you don’t have to install it on a hard drive, because there are 360s without a hard drive,” said Battlefield series producer Patrick Bach

“So we need to give you the option of installing it, rather than just demanding it. You could call it a ‘standard-def’ version for the 360 if you don’t have a hard-drive.”

Today, thanks to reddit users "xxgrplayer", we have evidence of just how "standard" Battlefield 3 will look without the HD pack installed on the Xbox 360. Below we have three screenshots comparing the same scene taken with three different setups running Battlefield 3 -- the PC version, an Xbox 360 with the HD pack installed, and an Xbox 360 without the HD pack installed. Keep in mind, these are compressed as JPG and several factors weren't mentioned like frame rate and resolution. Still, I think these give a pretty decent depiction of how the game will look comparatively.
PC is obviously the winner in a graphics comparison, but we all knew that already. What we didn't know was just how well the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3 with the HD texture pack installed looks in comparison. PC clearly has the lighting edge over the Xbox 360 (no matter the HD texture), but nonetheless, for a machine pushing five years old, DICE has optimized it quite well.

The face alone isn't the best place to look for differences, but when you look at the knuckles and the gun you can see the big differences. First off, the knuckles on the PC version are much smoother. The gun is more clearly defined on PC, though that could be due to lighting as well.

As for the Xbox 360 HD pack vs Xbox 360 non-HD pack, well, you can definitely see the differences. Look at the guys fingers and it's a dead giveaway. It's actually pretty bad looking at it with the HD pack not installed. Right away you can see the railing missing and the difference in the shirt the terrorist looking over his shoulder is wearing in the non-HD version. The gun and hands are so blocky and lacking texture that it draws comparisons to Half-Life 2. Aside from his face, everything else looks pretty bad.

Although several factors could be contributing to the poor quality of the non-HD textured version of Battlefield 3, I assume this is a pretty accurate depiction of what it will look like. Comparatively, the PC version is better than the Xbox 360 HD-pack version, but not enough to make the game un-enjoyable. Actually, with the HD texture pack installed, the Xbox 360 stands up quite well to the the PC version. The non-HD version on the other hand, well, let's just hope everyone can install it.

from :
http://www.gamezone.com/news/battlefield-3-screenshot-compares-xbox-360-hd-and-non-hd-texture-packs-graphics-to-pc

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Review - Xbox 360

As a game reviewer (who has been at this for more years than I would sometimes like to admit), I have to say that a score of 3 is usually equivalent to an uninterested Meh. A three is a game, nothing more, nothing less. This does not apply to El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. This three has passion on both sides. Some parts of this game deserve a five, while others deserve a two -- or dare I say it -- a one. So get ready for a passionate, heart wrenching, emotional, completely unsatisfying yet utterly deserving three.

A Tranquil Heart Is Life to the Body, But Passion Is Rottenness to the Bones.

Right off the bat, I want to talk about why El Shaddai is special. If you are interested in art direction, or are a person drawn to the visual nature of gaming, you should -- no you must -- check out this game. I loved the visuals. Maybe I need something stronger than loved. How about unequivocally adored? I unequivocally adored the visuals. Sometimes the screen is so bright it hurts your eyes.

Sometimes it's a 2D black and white pencil drawing. Sometimes it's a perfect cell shaded cartoon. Sometimes you are surrounded by abstract neon, sometimes it is drab industrial, sometimes you are in Tron. You really never know what look you are getting next, and you never see the same thing twice. It bravely challenges the notion that a game has to have a cohesive art style, and that feeling of never knowing what comes next, then being dazzled when you get there, is what makes El Shaddai a stand out game. The artists worked overtime, and they created beautiful, trippy, acid-coated magic.

The music however, is not so good. As a visual person, the quality of the music is usually lost on me. If I don't notice it, it's fine. I leave it to others to judge such things; however, if I notice how bad it is, and actually turn it off, that's not a good sign. You could make your own soundtrack. Pink Floyd should do you just fine.


I Pursued My Enemies and Overtook Them, and I Did Not Turn Back Until They Were Consumed.

El Shaddai is a 2D platformer, a 3D platformer, and a brawler all in one. The 2D platforming? Brilliant. Fantastic. Utterly under-represented. By the time you've made it through the first third of the game you will have enjoyed all the 2D platforming the game has to offer. There are some bonus (yet boring) Darkness 2D levels peppered throughout the rest of the game, but since failure at these levels means an agonizingly long and dramatic death scene followed by the game's credits, you quickly learn the unexplained advantages are not worth the potential downside, so you mainly avoid them.

Then, there are the 3D platforming levels. This is where I tried to find out if a 30-something video game host could actually rip an Xbox controller in half in utter, bitter, miserable %^&**R$^&^%'ing frustration (the answer is no, but my dog did leave the room for fear that things might soon get violent).

Now, before you get all your boy-panties in a bunch about how I couldn't actually be good at games because I'm a woman, I will say that 1. I have a mean headshot and 2. I can platform the &*%$ out of anything, being, as I am, of the Greatest Generation (the Nintendo Generation. What, you thought I was talking about war?). I love challenging platforming. No, I need something stronger than love - lets go with unequivocally adore. I unequivocally adore challenging platforming.


This platforming, however, has a fundamental flaw. The static camera is mostly positioned at an odd three-quarters angle. Combine this with the lack of camera control and the often abstract visuals, and you are basically platforming without depth perception. There are jumps you should be able to make without a second thought, but the controller-ripping problem is that they won't work except by chance. You can tell where the platform is on the x and y axis, you just can't tell where it is on the z-axis. You will fall again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and, not to put too fine a point on it, you will fall again. Then you will polish up your swear words, make sure your dog isn't in the room, and let a giant, jagged, pissed off f-bomb fly.

The brawler sections don't fare much better. The game would have been saved if they had just ripped off God of War like everyone else. Instead El Shaddai looked for inspiration somewhere in 2002. The simplistic, yet frustrating, combat is hindered by the lack of camera control but defined by the long animation and the cheap shot. An enemy finally gets close enough to get one shot in? That means he gets five brutal shots because you're down for the count.


The main problem stems from the fact that you are constantly locked into attack animations while your enemy is barreling down upon you. You spend most of your time hopping around like an idiot trying desperately to stay as far away from your foes as possible. There is a ranged weapon, but it spends most of its time shooting at the wall due to a tragic lack of target lock. You get your one shot in at the boss, and your stupid weapon not only shoots the wall, it locks you into shooting at the wall for several seconds while you can see your doom about to rain down upon you. Then you let another giant, jagged, pissed off f-bomb fly because you have already fought this boss three times.

And thus, we get to another odd part of the game: for some reason you fight the same bosses multiple times. In one case they are similar bosses (Foola & Woola are pretty much the same thing as Boola - they are all pigs with armor and you defeat them the same way), but in most cases you fight the exact same bosses you have already fought, with the same exact moves and the same cheap shots. It is just such an odd choice, and I can't figure out why they would do that. If you were happy that you accomplished a certain boss victory, and happy again you defeated him in his second monster form, you might find it frustrating to have to go through the whole process again a second, and even a third time throughout the game.


There Is No Speech, Nor Are There Words; Their Voice Is Not Heard.

You make this redundant journey mostly as the mute Enoch, sent by God to battle seven fallen angels and lock their souls away for eternity. They even have you go through the unnecessary motions of opening each of their prisons at the beginning, ready, no doubt, to receive the remains of your easily vanquished quarry. Right away, though you realize things are not going to follow this nice linear path, and, at the slight risk of spoiling too much, you're fairly far in the game before you actually manage to lock up anyone.

For our purposes, this is all you need to know about the plot, and while it's not earth shattering or transcendent, it is serviceable; however, you realize some plot points were cut. For example, in a cut scene at the end of a chapter, someone tells you your next task is to go see a Freeman named Sin and do whatever tasks he asks of you. Then in the loading screen it tells you that you did some tasks for the aforementioned Sin and now you are doing something else. Why bring it up at all if it wasn't originally intended to be included in the game?

I could nitpick for an hour, but let me just get to the meat of it. For any instant that the game is transcendent, the game has three moments of %^&**R$^&^%'ing frustration. The combat is so dated I sometimes felt like I was reviewing some low budget PS2 Samurai game from 2002. Having everything look different was a great conceit that I adored, and I also loved the idea that one game can have many different styles of gameplay. The problem comes from mixing a very modern game with some very outdated mechanics. I felt like this game was not the vision of one genius but the result of a number of strong wills each fighting for their own piece. It's too bad; El Shaddai could have been a classic.

I know there are a lot of people out there that will love this game, so if the visuals interest you, please check it out, I don't think you will be sorry. There were parts of this game I enjoyed a great deal, and I'm glad I played it, though the gameplay limitations will turn a number of people off so I can't unequivocally recommend this game. Maybe that is the true definition of a three -- perhaps it is not a Meh, but a game that walks a very fine line. Some people will love it, and some people will hate it. I hope that you choose to give it a shot.


Read more: http://www.g4tv.com/games/xbox-360/63954/el-shaddai-ascension-of-the-metatron/review/#ixzz1WiClUcMR

E3 2011: Dragon's Dogma Updated Hands-on Preview

E3 2011: We lurk in caves and wrestle mythical creatures in our updated hands-on with Dragon's Dogma.

Last time we saw fantasy hack-and-slash title, Dragon's Dogma, we took on a mighty griffin, plucking it from the sky, setting it on fire, and turning it into a sword pincushion. Today during E3 we got our hands on another of the game's three classes: the fighter. Where previously our time was with the strider and saw us using a combination of short swords and arrows to jump in and out of the action and still stay at arm's length, the fighter class doesn't back out once involved in the skirmish. Instead he makes full use of his sword and board to keep the hate off the squishier members of the group.

Our quest began inside a cave. Initially flanked by just a single other team member, after we had come to grips with the controls, we located a stone that doubled as both a summoning portal and squad manager. Though pre-set for our demo purposes, the full version of the game will allow you to trade and equip any associate (Capcom calls them Pawns) you've met along your journey on the way to kill the namesake beast at the centre of Dragon's Dogma. A strider and a mage joined our merry team, the latter helping out by buffing the group with area-of-effect auras during combat, and helping to heal when things weren't going so well.

As we wandered deeper into the bowels of the mountain, we warmed up our steel inside the bodies of goblins and other mythical creatures dumb enough to cross our path. Jumping down a steep, rock embankment we picked on something a bit more our size: a Chimera; a monster with the head of a lion, half the body of a goat, and a tail made from one hissed off snake.

Our AI counterparts offered their advice on the best approach to take slaying the creature, and the enemy's health bar at the top of the screen indicated with two extra notches that the encounter would contain three phases. We began by attacking the tail, jumping onto the rear of our target and after several hacks, severed it to leave a bloody stump. Goat proved to be slightly more difficult as he was raised high on the midsection of the animal, and used his psychic goat powers to incapacitate members of the team-- rendering them unconscious temporarily. While we didn't appear to take any additional damage when downed, the spell did leave us us knocked out and pressing buttons wondering what was going on for an extended period of time.

As we slowly limped to our feet to rejoin the fight, we moved on to king of the fantasy jungle, the ferocious, bearded lion. Though the game practically begged us to climb aboard by choosing a foothold on its body by hitting the left trigger--and we were pleased to see you can do it anywhere on the thing you're trying to make dead--we struggled to climb as it moved around above, often getting caught underneath, brushing against the flooring of the arena and hugging its knees.

Low on health from the encounter we pulled up the menu mid-fight, pausing the action and allowing us to rummage through our knapsack. Herbs instantly heal you for a particular amount of life, and by selecting the item it was easy to see how much value its consumption provided before committing to its use.

Because his area of expertise was physical damage, and he seemed to have more than a passing interest in rush attacks, we were forced to use our shield a little more liberally with Mr. Lion. Once we cottoned on to its routines, we managed to successfully keep it at bay before returning fire with a bevy of light and heavy sword attacks. The game didn't appear to offer much by way of a combo system for alternating strike types, but we did find ourselves finding a rhythm to the fight, and after a protracted period of time, we slew the fiend.

In our two outings with the game, we've now had the chance to experience two different levels--today's cave adventure and one in the rolling green fields of the outdoors. Though you'd be mistaken for assuming this is an RPG, it's very much a hack-and-slash adventure title. Capcom staff did say that the finished game will include towns to trade in, and that the wider world will be open to explore. We enjoyed our fantasy outing, and while we would like to see climbing become simpler, our AI team did an admirable job holding its own and offering sagely advice in the throngs of battle. Dragon's Dogma is due out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 some time in 2012. Stay tuned for more details.

detaill:

http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6318200/e3-2011-dragons-dogma-updated-hands-on-preview?tag=top_stories%3Btitle%3B3