If you've been paying attention to Mass Effect 3, you'll be au fait with a handful of headline features. The new cooperative multiplayer. Kinect voice commands. Freddie Prinze Jr.

You'll know this is the third and final act in a galaxy-wide fight for survival. The implacable Reapers are preparing to purge the Milky Way of organic life, for real this time, setting the stage for an epic, space-operatic endgame.

You'll have noticed how pretty it all is, from the scuffing on Shepard's N7 battle gear, to the sleek squidbots descending on Vancouver harbour. In our recent hands-on with the upcoming demo, we watched red storm clouds roll in over the Mars horizon, flickering with otherworldly lightning, and they looked spiffy too.

But beyond the all-new co-op, celebrity cameos, and ever shinier visuals, Mass Effect 3 is about to hand Mass Effect 2, masterful though it was, a beating on a galactic scale. Here's why.

[Warning: may contain traces of spoiler. If story hints bring you out in a rash, click away.]

Don't fear the Reapers.

1. More customisation

Mass Effect's weapon and character customisation is richer and more meaningful than that of its forerunner, which cut a bit too deep when trimming the customisation fat. Options are still on the streamlined side, but this time your Shepard (and his or her crew and gear) will be a creation all of your own.

Biotic, tech, and combat powers are at the heart of customisation again. You can level up each of a character's powers through six ranks, with a branching choice after rank three, offering a couple of tempting specialisation options. Compare that to the four ranks per power in Mass Effect 2, with the option to finally evolve it into one of two more-powerful versions right at the end, in rank four. Evolving a power much earlier makes the choice more significant, not least because you'll spend much more time using it before (probably) nipping through a Mass Relay for a heroic final rumble with the Reapers.

Weapons also hit a sweet spot of streamlined customisation. Take scavenged upgrades to a weapons bench, and you can add a couple of mods to each gun, boosting damage, range, and the like. And your choices are reflected in the weapon models as well as the all-important stats so, hey, your gun will look different to how your gun looked before.

2. Shepard's got moves

Shepard is scrappier and more agile this time around. In addition to that flashy omni-blade melee kill, Shepard can sneak in, grab an enemy from behind cover, and give it a surprise helping of holographic stabbing. Other abilities include tossing grenades, sliding into cover, and vaulting up onto obstacles without pause.

Getting in, out, and around cover is smoother in general, and there's more up-and-down action, too; the levels we saw were generously populated with ladders to showcase Shep's all-new ladder-climbing power and designated points for hopping down onto lower levels.

And those early concerns that some shooter extremists at BioWare were turning Mass Effect 3 into a balls-out gun game and nothing else have resolved into something much more agreeable: shooting stuff is just plain more fun in 3 than it was in 2, whether you're sniping a riot-shielded enemy right in the eye slot or peppering a Reaper minion with space bullets from up close.

Omni-blade action.

3. The old gang is back

So what has Liara been up to? Is Miranda still genetically perfect? Did Garrus ever fix that gaping hole in his armour? This we need to know. Tighter gunplay and fuller character customisation are grand, but it could all go hang if this last game in the trilogy weren't a big old Mass Effect reunion party. Luckily, it's a little bit of just that: all the squad members from the first two games make a return in Mass Effect 3. If you didn't get them killed, obviously.

They won't all be coming back as playable squad members; we're told there are fewer characters to team up with than in the expansive Normandy roster of the second game, with its crowded character select screen. But everyone's back in some form, with "a lot more of an organic feeling to the relationships," says associate producer Mike Gamble.

The first mission, in which Shepard swings by Mars on the way to the Citadel to investigate a Prothean technology archive, reunites her with two Mass Effect old-timers: Liara and either Kaidan or Ashley, according to which one you sacrificed all the way back in the first game. With Liara conjuring biotic singularities over clusters of bad guys, Kaidan snap-freezing them with cryo blast, and you gunning down the lot, it feels just like old times. Aw.

4. Cerberus are baddies, for real this time

We spent Mass Effect 2 uneasily cooperating with Cerberus because they had the resources and the intel we needed, but they were always shifty pro-human militants named after a triple-headed hellbeast; it's well past time those guys showed their true colours. Look for that in Mass Effect 3.

As the game begins, Shepard has severed ties with the Illusive Man and his posse, though Kaidan (or Ashley, presumably) is still giving you trouble for having done their dirty work. And up on the red planet, Cerberus soldiers are getting their hands bloody, executing the staff of the Mars base housing the Prothean archive.

They may have spared no expense bringing Shepard back from the dead in game two, rebuilding him or her around a charred scrap of corpse, but like holographic Martin Sheen says: he needed you once and now "your time is over." We predict plenty of Cerberus thugs mixing it up in the enemy ranks, alongside all the multiracial Husk variants. As a pitiless, genocidal machine-race, the Reapers are officially the Big Bad, but we're looking forward to being back on the right (wrong) side of Cerberus.

He's back as well.

5. Earth, at last

Though we had a tantalising peek at Earth from the moon, Mass Effect never let us set foot on the blue planet. Through all of Shepard's planet-hopping, there has been no trip back to the cradle of humanity--until now.

Mass Effect 3 kicks off in future Vancouver, home of humanity's Defence Council, and with respect to that city, we can't imagine that's the only Earth location in the cards. Though the early trailer depicting a Reaper attack on London may have been just for flavour, not a promise we'd be omni-stabbing Husks in Hyde Park, we'd bet on Earth turning up more than just once.

"Earth in general has some significance," says associate producer Mike Gamble, and that's all the encouragement we need to be daydreaming of epic ground battles across semi-familiar territory. Because there's no place like home(world).

The Mass Effect 3 demo launches on February 14.

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The latest entry in EA's snowboarding popular snowboarding series is available on February 28. We've compiled a small list of features to help get you caught up on just how different this SSX is from its predecessors.

RiderNet

As we've seen with Autolog and Battlelog before it, RiderNet is your way of connecting with friends, racing against them, and posting scores. It lets you go all out to prove that you're the best SSX player around. RiderNet will appeal to you in the number of ways you can compete against friends and earn rewards. The longer you are better than your friends, the more rewards you get. You don't even have to be playing, and if your friends can't beat your score, you still earn credits.

[ Watch Video ]

RiderNet will give you the option of selecting which of your friends to focus on and letting you race only in the races where they have better scores than you. On top of that, with recommendations, you'll get around a dozen course suggestions, so picking the next challenge to beat will never require you to do a lot of searching.

And just like Autolog, RiderNet will have an app that lets you not only track your friends' progress on the various courses, but also send them messages outside of the game to really rub in your greatness over them. Who doesn't love to intimidate while stuck in a boring meeting or on the bus?

Global Events

On top of racing and challenging friends, being able to compete in global events against hundreds of thousands of players around the world for snow supremacy should be quite a treat. In these events, you can go after the highest score on a particular peak, and if you think you can do better, you can try it as many times as you want before the event ends. Online is the focus in SSX, and the better you are, the more rewarding being that awesome is. Rewards for global events will be based on percentages. The top score, along with those within 3 percent of it, will get diamond status. But even if you're not good enough to diamond an event, you can settle for platinum, gold, silver, or bronze. The rewards will work dynamically based on the number of people who take part. You'll want a lot of people taking part, so when you win it, you have even more reason to gloat.

[ Watch Video ]

Deadly Descents

Want to experience the thrill of a squirrel suit? Perhaps you enjoy racing through areas filled with fallen trees and other debris. Well, the Survive It courses in SSX will have you riding through some extremely dangerous locations in the hopes of lasting as long as possible. A cool aspect of these courses is that even after you successfully reach the bottom, you get right back in the chopper, return to the peak of the mountain, and do it over again. Surviving a descent down a mountain once is nice, but doing it three times is super rewarding.

GeoTags

Apparently geocaching is a popular thing, and SSX will have its own version of it online. You can buy and place geotags on courses and have your friends try to collect them. The rewards work the same way as being the best on a course; the longer your geotag is in a spot without someone collecting it, the more you earn. It's up to you where you place them on a given mountain, so picking a spot you think others won't be able to get to will be a game in itself.

[ Watch Video ]

Customization

Customization isn't new to the SSX series, but customization goes further thanks to the number of race types, specifically the different Deadly Descents courses that you'll encounter. Character progression goes up to level 10, so you'll want to unlock the coolest gear to be successful down a mountain. You can unlock and purchase different snowsuits and boards, and items like armor, oxygen tanks, geotags, and other treats will help separate you from your competition. Leveling up a character won't take long, especially if you're a seasoned SSX player, so the only thing separating you from getting the coolest gear is the amount of free time you have available.

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It would have been easy to dismiss the original Darksiders as the equivalent of a gaming pickpocket; liberally pilfering ideas from third-person action adventure titles such as God of War and The Legend of Zelda. But, for a game that borrowed so heavily, Darksiders carved out its own clear and fascinating identity. At the centre of the experience was War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who had been summoned to Earth believing the last of seven seals keeping the forces of heaven and hell at bay had been broken; in the process signalling the end war.

Darksiders II takes what the development team at Vigil confesses was originally a game of experimentation, and refines the formula by stripping back the ideas that failed to meet the grade, and expanding further on its strongest traits. We recently got an updated hands-off look at the sequel, and found that while much of the basic structure that made it such a solid first outing has remained intact, this isn't the safe, cookie-cutter follow-up many may have expected.

The game takes place during the same time period as Darksiders, and runs concurrently to explore what older brother Death was doing while War sliced and diced his way through the armies of angels and demons. With the stage for battle set, the development team is using the sequel to branch out with more exotic locations than it did previously, and move away from the human planet setting to investigate events occurring above and below the surface.

Though of the same stock, Death and War are very different in their approach to movement and combat. War–s hard-hitting, lumbering way made taking care of business deliberate and brutal. Death is no less violent than his brother, but forgoes blocking and slower, more powerful strikes for zippier hit-and-run pokes and scrapes with scythes and fist weapons. That–s not to say that slower, higher damage-dealing weapons like hammers aren–t available in his arsenal, but that they act as secondary tools of the trade. New ethereal powers allow you to trade energy earned in combat to summon tombstones filled with zombies that act as crowd-control in multi-target fights. Alternatively, you can take a page out of the skunk playbook, dousing yourself in shadow and dealing hurt to anyone who invades your personal space.

Straight brawling has been tossed aside here to usher in combat that rests on two new skill trees. Spending points in Harbinger abilities increases Death–s agility, speed, and proficiency with melee strikes, while earning and unlocking those on the Necromancer side boost his magical prowess. The addition of these trees gives the game a much more role-playing game feel, while other changes include enemies receiving designated levels of difficulty, complete with visibly depleting health bar as you whittle them down with your attacks. Damage figures scroll across the screen as you land hits, and though Vigil is playing its cards close to its chest for the moment, we saw sporadically increased amounts of damage that suggests the new gear items that drop from bad guys may help raise your chance to perform critical strikes.

Before you go throwing your hands up to condemn this new attempt at a more cerebral experience, it–s worth noting that the platforming, puzzle-solving, and skull-splitting with big metal weapons that made the original so great are back in spades. In fact, in response to user feedback, Darksiders II will be more difficult than its predecessor, and giving less generous windows of timing when performing specific objectives. Quickly rising lava in one room showed an example where precise pillar jumps and Death–s wall running and Ghost Hand skills needed to be used to avoid being burnt to a crisp. The new Construct robot unit allows you to smash corruption crystals blocking access to new areas, like the gauntlet did previously. Firing chain-tethered arms from the machine as makeshift walkways help you retrieve items, while its raised control position from on top of its humanoid body keeps you safe as you coast across dangerous environmental hazards.

If you–re going to be traipsing across the newer, more open world, you–re going to want rewards for your troubles. Darksiders II hopes to provide both tailored gameplay and incentive to replay the campaign by offering multiple sets of armour to collect and wear. We were told about the Slayer, Necromancer, and Wanderer ensembles, but so far we don–t know where they all comes from, or what we'll need to do to obtain them. Loot dropped frequently during our demo, and while we were impressed with having the simplicity of quickly equipping it on the spot, or tossing it in a bag for later with a single button press, new items seemed difficult to spot on the ground. Optional side quests and dungeons will now also be available, some of which may take several hours to complete outside of the main campaign. It's worth pointing out, while this is a single-player game, Vigil has hinted at the possibility of allowing players to trade bind on equip items online with friends rather than vendor trash them.

Our demo ended with looks at two of the nastier foes players will encounter in their travels. The first, Ghorn, was a mini-boss who exploded and rebuilt himself at will. Carrying a huge clever, he spurted waves of lava through open grates on the floor of the arena. The second enemy was a mixture of organic and robotic, with giant black tendrils pulling together parts to build a kit-form monster who loved to pound the ground. Doing so sent out a huge shockwave, but in both cases, Death–s nimble movements allowed us to deftly jump to safety before returning fire.

Certainly not as pointy-headed as some of the other action RPG games already available, or soon to be released, Darksiders II appears to be cutting its own path. The addition of a more open world map, optional side content, and a more fluid and thoughtful combat system has us interested to see more of the game running. Look for more on it during 2012 ahead of its launch on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC.

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It would have been easy to dismiss the original Darksiders as the equivalent of a gaming pickpocket, liberally pilfering ideas from third-person action adventure titles such as God of War and The Legend of Zelda. But for a game that borrowed so heavily, Darksiders carved out its own clear and fascinating identity. At the centre of the experience was War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who had been summoned to Earth believing the last of seven seals keeping the forces of heaven and hell at bay had been broken, in the process signalling the endwar.

Darksiders II takes what the development team at Vigil confesses was originally a game of experimentation and refines the formula by stripping back the ideas that failed to meet the grade and expanding further on its strongest traits. We recently got an updated hands-off look at the sequel and found that while much of the basic structure that made it such a solid first outing has remained intact, this isn't the safe, cookie-cutter follow-up many may have expected.

The game takes place during the same time period as Darksiders and runs concurrently to explore what older brother Death was doing while War sliced and diced his way through the armies of angels and demons. With the stage for battle set, the development team is using the sequel to branch out with more exotic locations than in the previous game, and to move away from the human planet setting to investigate events occurring above and below the surface.

Though of the same stock, Death and War are very different in their approach to movement and combat. War's hard-hitting, lumbering way made taking care of business deliberate and brutal. Death is no less violent than his brother, but forgoes blocking and slower, more powerful strikes for zippier hit-and-run pokes and scrapes with scythes and fist weapons. That's not to say that slower, higher-damage-dealing weapons like hammers aren't available in his arsenal, but they act as secondary tools of the trade. New ethereal powers let you trade energy earned in combat to summon tombstones filled with zombies that act as crowd control in multitarget fights. Alternatively, you can take a page out of the skunk playbook, dousing yourself in shadow and dealing hurt to anyone who invades your personal space.

Straight brawling has been tossed aside to usher in combat that rests on two new skill trees. Spending points on Harbinger abilities increases Death's agility, speed, and proficiency with melee strikes, while earning and unlocking those on the Necromancer side boosts his magical prowess. The addition of these trees gives the game a more role-playing feel, while another change is that enemies receive designated levels of difficulty, complete with visibly depleting health bars as you whittle them down with your attacks. Damage figures scroll across the screen as you land hits, and though Vigil is playing its cards close to its chest for the moment, we saw sporadically increased amounts of damage that suggests the new gear items that drop from bad guys may help raise your chance to perform critical strikes.

Before you go throwing your hands up to condemn this new attempt at a more cerebral experience, it's worth noting that platforming, puzzle-solving, and skull-splitting with big metal weapons, which made the original so great, are back in spades. In fact, in response to user feedback, Darksiders II will be more difficult than its predecessor and will have less-generous windows of timing when you're performing specific objectives. Quickly rising lava in one room showed an example where precise pillar jumps and Death's wall-running and Ghost Hand skills were needed to avoid being burnt to a crisp. The new construct robot unit lets you smash corruption crystals blocking access to new areas, like the gauntlet did previously. Firing chain-tethered arms from the machine as makeshift walkways helps you retrieve items, while its raised control position from on top of its humanoid body keeps you safe as you coast across dangerous environmental hazards.

If you're going to be traipsing across the newer, more-open world, you're going to want rewards for your troubles. Darksiders II hopes to provide both tailored gameplay and incentives to replay the campaign by offering multiple sets of armour to collect and wear. We were told about the slayer, necromancer, and wanderer ensembles, but so far we don't know where they all come from, or what we'll need to do to obtain them. Loot dropped frequently during our demo, and while we were impressed with having the simplicity of quickly equipping it on the spot, or tossing it in a bag for later with a single button press, new items seemed difficult to spot on the ground. Optional side quests and dungeons will now also be available, some of which may take several hours to complete outside of the main campaign. It's worth pointing out that though this is a single-player game, Vigil has hinted at the possibility of letting players trade bind-on-equip items online with friends rather than vendor-trash them.

Our demo ended with looks at two of the nastier foes you will encounter in your travels. The first, Ghorn, was a miniboss who exploded and rebuilt himself at will. Carrying a huge cleaver, he spurted waves of lava through open grates on the floor of the arena. The second enemy was a mixture of organic and robotic, with giant black tendrils pulling together parts to build a kit-form monster who loved to pound the ground. Doing so sent out a huge shock wave, but in both cases, Death's nimble movements allowed us to deftly jump to safety before returning fire.

Certainly not as pointy-headed as some of the other action role-playing games already available, or soon to be released, Darksiders II appears to be cutting its own path. The addition of a more open-world map, optional side content, and a more fluid and thoughtful combat system has us interested to see more of the game running. Look for more on it during 2012 ahead of its launch on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC.

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The number of military action games based on the events of World War II has tapered away during the past several years, with the setting focusing on either current or futuristic storylines. Bucking this trend, Rebellion Games is going back to the tail end of WWII with its upcoming third-person action game. Sniper Elite V2 is the follow-up to the 2005 game Sniper Elite. The developers are hoping that the game's open-ended nature and "kill cam" camera mechanic will set it apart from other games.

Sniper Elite V2 puts you in control of Karl Fairburne, a US sniper. He has been sent to Berlin in the midst of post-WWII conflicts between Nazi and Russian forces with the mission of trying to eliminate, capture, or rescue those involved in the famous V2 rocket program.

The story is spread across 11 missions, but how you approach each mission is where the game's open-ended nature comes into play. Like so many other action games, you can customize your arsenal to best suit your play style. Fairburne is equipped with a primary sniper rifle, a machine gun, and a sidearm, as well as a number of different supplementary items. These include explosive mines and trip mines, which can be set up in locations to serve various functions, such as defense mechanisms or traps.

Even though Fairburne is a sniper, you won't be restricted to playing as stealthy soldiers. The different weapons and items let you approach an area in various ways. With your silenced sidearm, you can slowly creep behind enemies and eliminate them. If you're the kind of person who enjoys running and gunning, then your machine gun will let you play with no regard for your safety.

Still, the primary focus is to snipe enemies and use the terrain to your advantage. Enemies will often be far away, so you can eliminate entire squads before they can react. When sniping, the game features both a heart-rate monitor and breathing bar, which factors into shooting. Holding your breath will allow for a more precise shot, but if you're being fired upon and under a lot of pressure, Fairburne's high heart rate makes shooting more difficult.

Proper sneaking will help you to accomplish any task.

Kills with your rifle also showcase the game's kill-cam mechanic. When you pull off incredible kill shots, the game momentarily stops the action and goes into a bullet animation that slowly highlights the bullet's trek from the muzzle of your rifle to its target. Based on where the bullet goes, you are treated to an X-ray animation that points out exactly what internal damage has been done, such as shattering skulls and exploding livers. During our presentation, these animations were shown a lot, but we were promised that the frequency of these moments--which can take you out of the experience--will only happen at key moments.

Sniper Elite V2 is scheduled to hit the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 this May.

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It's hard to argue against the fact that pitching is the most important aspect of baseball. Regardless of how everyone else is playing on the field, if your pitching is lacking, then the likelihood that your team will win is diminished. 2K Sports understands this, and for this year's MLB 2K12, on top of the many things 2K is addressing, pitching is seeing the biggest changes.

Great pitchers know how to adjust when facing any batter.

For 2K12, there are a number of different things being tweaked to improve the pitching aspect of the game. For starters, there is greater feedback thanks to the inclusion of more detailed pitch counters and trackers. Past games have included markers to showcase the history of throws for the current batter, but now you can get a look at all pitches thrown. On top of that, there are pitch trackers that highlight all pitches thrown to the specific-handed batters. This way, you can get a better idea of what is working depending on the kinds of batters you are facing.

Because of the game's new dynamic AI system, it's important to know which pitches work. Now, batters will make adjustments to combat the pitches being thrown at them. If you rely too heavily on one kind of pitch, even if you've been throwing strikes, batters will notice this and change their approach accordingly. With the dynamic pitching, after every throw, markers will show you which pitches are working, will suggest which ones to use, and will highlight the ones to avoid.

In addition, as you progress through a game with the same pitcher, the response in terms of how effective he is in both accuracy and speed will be shown to give you a better idea of what to expect. As you move deeper into the game and increase your pitch count, even with a fantastic pitcher, the effectiveness of all your pitches will suffer, and deciding the best course of action will come heavily into play to ensure your team leaves with a win.

Pitching is not the only aspect of the game that 2K Sports is addressing for 2K12. 2K heard the complaints about past games and is looking to adjust everything that fans of the series have noted as being weak. Fielding is being worked on to ensure better throwing by outfield players. Also, player animations, specifically for the catcher, have been heavily worked on to ensure the players move as they would in real life. Lastly, the graphics engine and lighting have been tweaked to give a more realistic viewing experience.

2K Sports is promising a more realistic-looking game.

If you haven't been keeping track, baseball season is only a few months away, and MLB 2K12 is on track to deliver a solid experience. If you're not having a fun time pitching, then it's almost impossible to enjoy virtual baseball. 2K Sports knows this and is hoping that what it's doing with 2K12 will please fans of the sport and bring back those it has lost over the years. Expect to see and hear more about the game as we approach its March 6 launch on all major consoles.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

It's hard to argue against the fact that pitching is the most important aspect of baseball. Regardless of how everyone else is playing on the field, if your pitching is lacking, then the likelihood that your team will win is diminished. 2K Sports understands this, and for this year's MLB 2K12, on top of the many things 2K is addressing, pitching is seeing the biggest changes.

Great pitchers know how to adjust when facing any batter.

For 2K12, there are a number of different things being tweaked to improve the pitching aspect of the game. For starters, there is greater feedback thanks to the inclusion of more detailed pitch counters and trackers. Past games have included markers to showcase the history of throws for the current batter, but now you can get a look at all pitches thrown. On top of that, there are pitch trackers that highlight all pitches thrown to the specific-handed batters. This way, you can get a better idea of what is working depending on the kinds of batters you are facing.

Because of the game's new dynamic AI system, it's important to know which pitches work. Now, batters will make adjustments to combat the pitches being thrown at them. If you rely too heavily on one kind of pitch, even if you've been throwing strikes, batters will notice this and change their approach accordingly. With the dynamic pitching, after every throw, markers will show you which pitches are working, will suggest which ones to use, and will highlight the ones to avoid.

In addition, as you progress through a game with the same pitcher, the response in terms of how effective he is in both accuracy and speed will be shown to give you a better idea of what to expect. As you move deeper into the game and increase your pitch count, even with a fantastic pitcher, the effectiveness of all your pitches will suffer, and deciding the best course of action will come heavily into play to ensure your team leaves with a win.

Pitching is not the only aspect of the game that 2K Sports is addressing for 2K12. 2K heard the complaints about past games and is looking to adjust everything that fans of the series have noted as being weak. Fielding is being worked on to ensure better throwing by outfield players. Also, player animations, specifically for the catcher, have been heavily worked on to ensure the players move as they would in real life. Lastly, the graphics engine and lighting have been tweaked to give a more realistic viewing experience.

2K Sports is promising a more realistic-looking game.

If you haven't been keeping track, baseball season is only a few months away, and MLB 2K12 is on track to deliver a solid experience. If you're not having a fun time pitching, then it's almost impossible to enjoy virtual baseball. 2K Sports knows this and is hoping that what it's doing with 2K12 will please fans of the sport and bring back those it has lost over the years. Expect to see and hear more about the game as we approach its March 6 launch on all major consoles.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Now that the Kinect has been out for a while, we've begun to see developers use the technology for more than just gesture-controlled sports compilations. BioWare might be the most high-profile example of this, having implemented the Kinect as a tool for voice commands in the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 3. It's one of the few Kinect-compatible games that completely eschews any use of the sensor's built-in camera; this space opera is all about shouting.

Having played some of it for ourselves at CES last week, it's clear that BioWare's done a good job of getting the technology to play nicely with its sci-fi shooter action sequences. Pretty much everything you can do from the radial menu can also be done with your voice. And in a nice touch, you can say "quick save" to make the game, well, quick save. Take that F6 key!

But there is something odd about voice commands in Mass Effect 3. It's something that makes you take a step back and think, "Maybe I should tone it down a bit." See, you're supposed to be role playing as Commander Shepard, right? So isn't it a little weird to shout "shotgun!" to switch to your boomstick, or "incendiary ammo!" to switch to fire bullets? At that point, aren't you kind of yelling at yourself?

The Kinect voice commands are great for issuing squad orders. If James is playing it too safe, you can yell "James attack!" and he'll charge forward just as you commanded. If you need to get at an enemy pinned behind cover, you can shout "Liara lift!" and she'll instantly turn your foes into a bunch of helplessly floating bull's-eyes. It works; it feels natural. You're Shepard commanding your troops like the space general you are.

But yelling at yourself to open a door instead of hitting the A button per the giant onscreen button prompt? That's a little weird. There's some mild mental instability bubbling beneath the surface there. But, hey, maybe it's just us. Take a look at the demo below and let us know what you think of Mass Effect 3's voice commands in the comments.

Want to know more? Visit our Facebook page and vote on which fan questions you want us to ask when GameSpot UK meets with BioWare next week!

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Now that the Kinect has been out for a while, we've begun to see developers use the technology for more than just gesture-controlled sports compilations. BioWare might be the most high-profile example of this, having implemented the Kinect as a tool for voice commands in the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 3. It's one of the few Kinect-compatible games that completely eschews any use of the sensor's built-in camera; this space opera is all about shouting.

Having played some of it for ourselves at CES last week, it's clear that BioWare's done a good job of getting the technology to play nicely with its sci-fi shooter action sequences. Pretty much everything you choose to do can be done from the radial menu with your voice. And in a nice touch, you can say "quick save" to make the game, well, quick save. Take that F6 key!

But there is something odd about voice commands in Mass Effect 3. It's something that makes you take a step back and think, "Maybe I should tone it down a bit." See, you're supposed to be role playing as Commander Shepard, right? So isn't it a little weird to shout "shotgun!" to switch to your boomstick, or "incendiary ammo!" to switch to fire bullets? At that point, aren't you kind of yelling at yourself?

The Kinect voice commands are great for issuing squad orders. If James is playing it too safe, you can yell "James attack!" and he'll charge forward just as you commanded. If you need to get at an enemy pinned behind cover, you can shout "Liara lift!" and she'll instantly turn your foes into a bunch of helplessly floating bull's-eyes. It works; it feels natural. You're Shepard commanding your troops like the space general you are.

But yelling at yourself to open a door instead of hitting the A button per the giant onscreen button prompt? That's a little weird. There's some mild mental instability bubbling beneath the surface there. But, hey, maybe it's just us. Take a look at the demo below and let us know what you think of Mass Effect 3's voice commands in the comments.

Want to know more? Visit our Facebook page and vote on which fan questions you want us to ask when GameSpot UK meets with BioWare next week!

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Respected journalist Malcolm Gladwell came up with an interesting concept entitled "The 10,000 Hour Rule" that stated in order to be really good at something, you have to invest at least 10,000 hours into it. Those people who have reached that goal can lay claim as the best at their respected professions. The best athletes manage to hit this mark early in their lives, but others aren't that lucky. Thankfully, in THQ's upcoming UFC Undisputed 3, creating a virtual fighter and becoming the best won't take you 10,000 hours.

The Career mode has seen a number of changes and adjustments to ensure that the experience doesn't drag on too long. While UFC 3 still lets you create a customizable character, this time around, preexisting fighters can be thrown back in time and given the opportunity to rewrite history. If you're a fan of a particular underdog fighter, now you have the opportunity to change his career and make him a champion.

Regardless of the fighter you choose, your career starts off the same. At the start, you'll be asked to complete in three tutorials: Standup, Clinch, and Ground. Your performance in these will dictate the fighter's initial stats. Once that's all said and done, your character begins in the World Fighting Alliance as an up-and-coming fighter. There, you'll face off against other wannabe MMA fighters in the hopes of catching the eyes of the UFC. Your time in the WFA can vary based on your performance. In as few as four fights, you can fight for a shot at the title and a potential call-up to the UFC. Winning the WFA title opens the door to the UFC, but if you think your fighter still needs additional training, you can hold off and join the next time an offer is made. But once in the UFC, the real magic starts and the highs and lows of an MMA fighter are shown.

Some of the other changes in the Career mode include a wider array of training options. In regular training, there are eight drill exercises, as well as six different sparring challenges. Each of the 14 training minigames focus on different aspects of your character's skill sets, and mixing up which ones to work on will factor heavily into your success.

This isn't where your training ends. In fact, there are two additional training options available. The first of these is Camp Sessions. The development team has included six real-world fighting academies, such as the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, CA and Greg Jackson's Gym in Albuquerque, NM. There, you can spar with other fighters, level up your character's skill on particular move sets, and learn new ones. Because these are real gyms, the actual fighters who frequent them will be among those your character interacts with in training. On top of that, the gym you choose to be a part of will become your entourage and the trainers will be by your side at fights.

The final training aspect is Game Plans. Just like in real life, fighters will go into an upcoming fight with a plan of attack. This lets you choose from eight different approaches your fighter should use going into the fight, such as focusing on counterattacks, working the clinch, or improving your ground and pound. Prior to the fight, your character takes part in a sparring exercise, and success here will give you a significant edge when it comes to facing off against an opponent in the ring.

One of the facets gone from Career mode is computer-generated cutscenes. In their place, THQ and the UFC partnered up to create a series of miniclips with footage from real fights and interviews with current UFC fighters. These clips highlight specific moments in a fighter's career, including discussing his first professional fight, first loss, and his training regiments.

San Jose's American Kickboxing Academy is one of the six gyms your fighter can train in.

Having a successful Career mode in place is important in ensuring that fans of the sport and the series are kept entertained. The changes and additions made to Career mode, including the ability to fight in Pride, should do a great job of keeping you playing for long periods of time. If playing through the life of a fighter isn't what you crave, then there are a number of additional options, such as Title Defense, Ultimate Fights mode, and the ability to create customized UFC events. UFC Undisputed 3 will be released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America on February 14.

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En route to a recent Syndicate event at Electronic Arts' HQ, I wasn't sure what to think. I hadn't seen the new Syndicate before, and as a longtime fan of the original Amiga strategy game, I think it's fair to say that I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of revisiting its dystopian world in a first-person shooter. But after spending an hour with the game across three co-op missions, my thoughts were not of the original Syndicate and of how badly I'd still like to see a true continuation of the series, but rather of how much fun I'd just had and how much I'm now looking forward to getting my hands on Starbreeze's game next month.

I'll be keeping an eye out for reviews of Syndicate next month, not because I expect it to evoke memories of the game I enjoyed during my formative years. Rather, because it has the potential to be an action-packed and entertaining shooter that--based on my exclusively cooperative experience with it--I'll enjoy with friends. Perhaps more of the folks being vocal about their disappointment following the game's announcement would be looking forward to it if they could get past the title--particularly given the developer's track record. Maybe if Syndicate had a different title, forums and comments sections wouldn't be filled with remarks like:

"Making syndicate a shooter, this is awful."

"As a shooter?!? Ugh. Dead on arrival, EA."

"i really was a fan of the syndicate series loved to play all parts so im definately [sic] wont get this one!!!"

Failing that, perhaps folks will be won over by the consumer demo that's coming at the end of January. The demo will incorporate the first of the three missions that I played at EA, which, incidentally, is the only one that I'm cleared to talk about until sometime next month. I don't want to get hung up on the specifics of the nondisclosure agreement, though, because while the scenery and the objectives in the three levels were different, the levels were near identical mechanically.

As I sat down to play Syndicate, the first choice presented was selecting a defensive, offensive, or support agent. I ended up opting for the latter because, after taking a quick look at their respective default loadouts, I decided I'd rather have a sniper rifle as my primary weapon than a shotgun or machine gun. Zooming in on enemies and quickly taking headshots with some subtle snap-on targeting assistance, I was pleased with my choice. Hanging toward the back of our foursome, I not only picked off enemies from a safe distance, but was also ideally placed to heal my fellow agents by simply holding down the "breach" button when prompted to do so. (My secondary weapon, incidentally, was a pistol with an impressive rate of fire that made it fun to use when enemies got too close for comfort.)

Anytime an agent in front of me had a health bar that was less than full, there I was, topping them up with the L2 button on my PlayStation 3 controller. Different classes of agents have different repertoires of breach abilities (damage-over-time attacks and squad heals, for example) at their disposal, but all have the ability to heal other agents and, when necessary, to disable the otherwise impenetrable armors on some enemies by holding down the same button. Agents cannot, however, heal themselves, so it's a bad idea to stray too far from your co-op buddies.

Click on image to check out five new Syndicate screenshots.

My experience playing through that co-op level--set in Western Europe--wasn't wholly unlike playing through a small dungeon in a massively multiplayer online game. We didn't have clearly defined tank, healer, or DPS roles, but we were relying on each other for heals (and for resurrection-equivalent breaches when the heals failed) at all times, and we were mowing down dozens of vanilla enemies between more meaningful and challenging encounters with minibosses. There was no loot, but we were free to swap out our weapons for those that enemies had left behind at any time, and when those minibosses went down, we could extract the chips from their heads and use them to upgrade our own chips between missions. At that time we could also queue up various weapons and weapon accessories for research, all of which had point costs associated with them; score enough points with your persistent agent during a mission, and there might be a new gun or hair trigger waiting for you at the end.

After finishing the Western Europe mission, I couldn't wait to get into the other two, and after making it through those, I wished I could have taken a copy of Syndicate away with me. Did I leave EA feeling like my memories of Syndicate are being betrayed somehow? Or that as a matter of principle there's no way I'll ever play the finished game? No way. I left EA that day eager to experiment with more of the game's weapons, trying to figure out which of my friends will play through the co-op missions with me next month, and wondering if it was me or one of the other agents who had somehow managed to cut an enemy clean in half at one point.

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With the development of the upcoming shooter based on the comic book franchise coming to an end, we figured it would be best to get a bit more insight into the game's development. We recently had a chat with The Darkness II's project director Sheldon Carter, whose previous acclaims include being a producer for Dark Sector, as well as contributing to the development of BioShock 2 and Jade Empire.

GameSpot Asia: It seems natural to bring Paul Jenkins on board because he wrote about The Darkness in comics. Elaborate on the process of how both the writer and a group of game designers work together for The Darkness II.

Sheldon Carter: Paul had an understanding of the way the games and comic lore work right away. After all, he also did writing work for the first Darkness game. We had a very collaborative experience on The Darkness II, in which both sides bounced tons of ideas off each other and we tried to be as integrated as possible.

A good example of this is in one of the scenes from the demo we've used to introduce the game to everyone. There is a moment where Jackie is being crucified by our main antagonist Victor. In the starting point of the script, Jackie is trapped and Victor is trying to take the darkness away from him. We worked together and started figuring out the methods and rituals that the Brotherhood--the ancient organization that Victor controls--would use and eventually came up with the scene you will see in the game.

GSA: Was there at one point any consideration by the team to get the original creators, specifically David Wohl, Garth Ennis, and Marc Silvestri, on board The Darkness II for writing duties? What made the team decide on using Paul Jenkins' talent in the end? SC: The most important thing for us in making The Darkness II was to strictly stick to the story of the first game. The comic books were our inspiration, but the first game was our model.

As such, we kept the same writer from the first game. Paul wrote a bunch of the Darkness II comics, he wrote the first game, and he maintained that storyline for the second.

GSA: Tell us what is unique about the game engine you're using, in terms of technology.

SC: The game runs on our own engine called the Evolution engine. The great thing about using our own tech is that we were able to tailor it to best express the graphic noir art style that so beautifully stands out in the game.

"Graphic noir" is the name of our game's vibrant and red-lighting-heavy art style that's directly inspired from the comic books. Every texture in the game is hand painted to give you the feeling that you're playing in a graphic novel. We wanted to use as broad of a palette as we could for this game because when you look at the comics, you really notice the vibrancy of that palette.

GSA: In terms of the level design for single-player mode, are we looking at linear corridors or more wide-open spaces for combat?

SC: One of the key aspects of the gameplay is "quad-wielding." This means that the player can use a grabbing demon's arm, a slashing demon's arm, and two weapons all at the same time. On top of that, you have this huge assortment of powers and talents, which made level design such a crucial component.

The player needs to be able to have objects to grab and throw, places for cover, and the right space to use the powers. The mixture we've tried to come up with is to keep the game's pacing just right.

GSA: Will there be a subway system linking each stage ala The Darkness I, or will the game have a level-after-level structure like most shooters?

SC: The subway system made sense in the first game because Jackie was a "hitman" working for the mob. In The Darkness II, Jackie is the don of the family, so he takes his limo instead. It also means that Jackie has a mansion, a place where he can go and talk to his crew, learn background information, and practice his skills.

GSA: Given the first game's huge focus on single-player, why did your team decide to add in multiplayer for The Darkness II with obvious nods to Left 4 Dead?

SC: Everything we've done in The Darkness II has been focused around one key pillar: the service of the story. When we thought about multiplayer for this game, it was very clear to us that we had to advance and complement the single-player story for the player.

We worked with our writer to come up with a campaign that you can experience from the perspective of four unique characters--complete with their own talent trees and very different personalities--that ties directly into the single-player campaign.

GSA: Speaking of which, what kind of locales are we expecting in The Darkness II apart from the seedy underbelly of the city?

SC: Ha! The seedy underbelly is definitely a critical piece of where the game takes place, but we travel to a lot of different locations. Examples include the very top of the New York scene, Jackie's own penthouse mansion, the Brotherhood's makeshift base in a carnival, as well as in otherworldly places that I don't want to spoil.

GSA: Give us a brief description of the level design for Vendetta mode.

SC: Vendetta is a fast-paced narrative co-op experience that corresponds to the single-player story. There are four characters that you can choose from and they all have [their] own unique darkness weapon, powers, and talent tree. It was designed as a team-focused, mission-based experience, and it explores the roles each character plays in Jackie Estacado's fight to defeat the Brotherhood.

GSA: Will The Darkness II's online play use dedicated servers, or are you using another means to handle networking?

SC: Peer to peer. We're a co-op game and our engine handles that very well.

GSA: What are the minimum and recommended specs for the PC version of the game?

SC: Here they are:
Minimum
- OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
- Processor: Intel Core 2 @ 2GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
- Memory: 1.5GB RAM
- Hard disk space: 10GB
- Video card: 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8600 / ATI Radeon HD 2600

Recommended
- OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
- Processor: 2.4 GHz quad-core processor
- Memory: 2GB RAM
- Hard disk space: 10GB
- Video card: 512+MB Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX
- Sound: DirectX compatible

GSA: Why was the game delayed twice from its original release date: one on July 10 and one on October 4? Was it due to multiplayer additions, or was there something else?

SC: To make a better game! We wanted to make sure that we only put out the best possible game we can. We hold ourselves to high standards, so we polished this game as much as possible and we needed more time in order to do so. Our publisher, 2K, was good enough to allow that.

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The rush of holiday releases hasn't done any favors for The Darkness II and its impending release on February 7, so we thought it would be a good idea to get everyone caught up on all the pertinent details and interesting tidbits about the game before it hits store shelves. The Darkness II captures much of what made the previous game successful and introduces some new features--both cosmetic and mechanic--that are a direct attempt to fix issues with the first game.

It's in Development at Digital Extremes, Not Starbreeze
The original Darkness was developed by the same team that produced the lovely Chronicles of Riddick. The sequel is in development at Digital Extremes, which you might know from the entertaining Dark Sector, as well as its collaborative efforts on BioShock 2, various Unreal Tournament games, and even the original Unreal.

It's Cel-Shaded
This might seem like an obvious departure from the first game--which shared the darker, almost sterile tone of Starbreeze's previous work--but the effect doesn't really make an impact until you see it for yourself. It's an obvious nod to The Darkness's comic book roots and certainly creates an interesting dichotomy between the onscreen violence and the vibrant world that it inhabits.

It Has Red Dead Redemption-like Auto-Aim
The shooting in the original Darkness wasn't exactly the highlight, but it worked well enough in tandem with Jackie's darkness powers. The Darkness II makes the shooting a little more user-friendly by making the "snap to" far more generous when you aim in the general vicinity of a foe. This gives the shooting a Red Dead Redemption feel where firefights feel more like a series of quick draws as opposed to prolonged sharp-shooting affairs.

It Has BioShock-like Skill Upgrades
The Darkness II has a skill tree system where you can spend points to unlock new skills that are then separated into different sections that focus on Jackie's abilities with firearms and the darkness itself. For example, in the firearm section, you can find a skill that lets you infuse darkness power into bullets, making them stronger. In the darkness executions section, you see skills that will give various bonuses (like health) for executing enemies. A personal favorite is the skill that turns every object you can throw into a bomb.

It Has Fatalities
Eat your heart out, Mortal Kombat! No, really. The darkness will eat a heart out, rip through a belly, or tear off the head of an incapacitated foe. Of course, these fatalities don't serve just as violent window decorations; Jackie gets a boost in health for going that extra mile.

It Has a Brothel Level That Will Likely Cause Some Controversy
About halfway through the game, Jackie makes his way to a brothel because of information he receives on the group that wants him dead. Needless to say, there are some…questionable choices of taste in terms of what's showcased in this particular level. That's not to say that these things are completely out of the thematic realm of what The Darkness is, but it's quite surprising nonetheless.

It Has a Cooperative Multiplayer Mode
The Darkness II doesn't have competitive multiplayer, but it will let you play cooperatively with friends taking on the role of different characters that have unique darkness powers. You can watch more about it below!

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If the end of the world turns out like games told us, we'll do fine. With the scavenging smarts of a Fallout vault escapee, the immunity to infection of a Left 4 Dead survivor, and the expert gunshootery of all the rest, we'll have the wasteland bandit-free and society back on its feet by Tuesday.

Except the actual post-Apocalypse will be more like I Am Alive. Cities will be depressing rubble heaps; there will be no food or water, let alone bullets; and the great bullet famine will hardly matter, because a gun is dodgy defence against your feral neighbours when you've never fired one before.

I Am Alive is pitched as the antithesis of gaming's postapocalyptic power fantasy. "It's definitely the opposite of that," says Ubisoft Shanghai's Aurelien Palasse. "Post-disaster [in games] is often unrealistic, and I Am Alive is realistic. I think it's different from all the other games we've seen: it's more mature; everything is real."

So the game lifts its setting and atmosphere from movies rather than other games: the film adaptation of misery travelogue The Road, with a dash of The Book of Eli, which is inferior but has machetes. "We are definitely closer to the movie inspirations than the video game inspirations," says Palasse, "because no games have done this before."

The protagonist of I Am Alive is less a one-man army and more the beleaguered dad from The Road. Before a set of cataclysmic earthquakes laid everything to waste, he'd never fired a gun. Now, after a yearlong cross-country trek, he's back in his home city, searching for his girlfriend and young daughter, carrying only a bullet-less handgun and a climbing harness.

The city is an ashy mirage: a desaturated skyline, dust clouds, and city blocks turned to shadowy wreckage. As the game begins, our hero faces it across a broken bridge, poised for a climbing tutorial. His one pre-Apocalypse talent is climbing, hence the rope looped over his shoulder, but monkey-man Nathan Drake he is not. Stints of climbing are time-limited by a regenerating stamina bar which drains while you hang or clamber around. Further on, you get more mountaineering gadgets: a grappling hook and pitons to create temporary rest points on the long climb up a skyscraper.

He's a climber, not a fighter (mostly).

The feel of manoeuvring along broken girders and up bridge supports wasn't as slick as the equivalent clambering in, say, Uncharted, but at least our man is a cautious, sure-footed climber--you won't be carelessly steering him off edges or leaping into open space. The stamina gauge makes climbing sessions short and tense; when it's nearly empty, you can hammer the right trigger to have him overexert himself, but it damages your stamina reserves more permanently, and you have to later restore that lost stamina with food items.

Holding the right trigger (in the Xbox 360 version) makes him jog, while tapping the trigger makes him sprint, with sprinting also limited by stamina. The upshot is an easily winded protagonist who might frustrate players who'd rather control a superhero, but is consistent with I Am Alive's idea of an everyman's post-disaster scenario.

Fights, like climbs, are short and tense. The protagonist is vulnerable and underpowered; with no bullets, you have to bluff your way through confrontations with violent survivors. You can keep unarmed survivors at gunpoint to ward them off (aiming the gun pops the view from third-person into first-person), or surrender and let them get close enough for you to attempt the grisly one-button "surprise kill" with your machete. When you do scavenge a single bullet, you must use it strategically: look for the mouthiest member of a gang, take him out, and the others will back down.

You also eventually pick up a bow and arrow. Though the protagonist's ability to headshot body-armoured thugs with arrows undermines the impression of Joe Average's postapocalyptic adventure, it at least lets you shoot more things, since you can retrieve the arrow from the split skull of a victim.

In keeping with I Am Alive's take on grim realism a la The Road, there's sinister stuff on the streets of the city. Early on, we see a feral mob pursue a young woman into the thick dust haze. In the sewers, there are a few terrified survivors locked up by cannibals (you can sacrifice your single bullet to bust the lock, or you can walk on by). The cavernous, lethally dusty space below a monorail is littered with shrivelled corpses. Later, you find a leering gang trying to drag a little girl, Mei, out of her hiding spot; a portion of the game after that is spent protecting Mei--by giving her a piggyback ride through fights and climbs.

Weapons include knives and a bow and arrow.

I Am Alive has 10 levels through which you explore the ruins of the city, climb, scavenge, and deal with other survivors. It isn't an open-world game, though levels aren't entirely linear. You mark the map with red scribbles as you encounter the obstacles that narrow your options down to a single path, but there are some areas off the beaten track in which you might find survivors who can shed light on what happened to his family. Though Palasse won't be drawn on the campaign's length in hours, he calls it "longer than a lot of triple-A [campaigns] now on the market."

Checkpoint retries are almost as scarce as bullets (after you've spent the few you have, you must restart the level), as are first aid kits; at one point, we couldn't save a woman's injured son because we'd already used on ourselves the single kit we'd seen in an hour of play. It was a pleasingly harrowing moment of helplessness in what could be a routine fetch quest in another game. For a postapocalyptic experience that has you scraping by instead of conquering all, we're looking forward to I Am Alive, available for download on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 before too long.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

If the end of the world turns out like games told us, we'll do fine. With the scavenging smarts of a Fallout vault escapee, the immunity to infection of a Left 4 Dead survivor, and the expert gunshootery of all the rest, we'll have the wasteland bandit-free and society back on its feet by Tuesday.

Except the actual post-Apocalypse will be more like I Am Alive. Cities will be depressing rubble heaps; there will be no food or water, let alone bullets; and the great bullet famine will hardly matter, because a gun is dodgy defence against your feral neighbours when you've never fired one before.

I Am Alive is pitched as the antithesis of gaming's postapocalyptic power fantasy. "It's definitely the opposite of that," says Ubisoft Shanghai's Aurelien Palasse. "Post-disaster [in games] is often unrealistic, and I Am Alive is realistic. I think it's different from all the other games we've seen: it's more mature; everything is real."

So the game lifts its setting and atmosphere from movies rather than other games: the film adaptation of misery travelogue The Road, with a dash of The Book of Eli, which is inferior but has machetes. "We are definitely closer to the movie inspirations than the video game inspirations," says Palasse, "because no games have done this before."

The protagonist of I Am Alive is less a one-man army and more the beleaguered dad from The Road. Before a set of cataclysmic earthquakes laid everything to waste, he'd never fired a gun. Now, after a yearlong cross-country trek, he's back in his home city, searching for his girlfriend and young daughter, carrying only a bullet-less handgun and a climbing harness.

The city is an ashy mirage: a desaturated skyline, dust clouds, and city blocks turned to shadowy wreckage. As the game begins, our hero faces it across a broken bridge, poised for a climbing tutorial. His one pre-Apocalypse talent is climbing, hence the rope looped over his shoulder, but monkey-man Nathan Drake he is not. Stints of climbing are time-limited by a regenerating stamina bar which drains while you hang or clamber around. Further on, you get more mountaineering gadgets: a grappling hook and pitons to create temporary rest points on the long climb up a skyscraper.

He's a climber, not a fighter (mostly).

The feel of manoeuvring along broken girders and up bridge supports wasn't as slick as the equivalent clambering in, say, Uncharted, but at least our man is a cautious, sure-footed climber--you won't be carelessly steering him off edges or leaping into open space. The stamina gauge makes climbing sessions short and tense; when it's nearly empty, you can hammer the right trigger to have him overexert himself, but it damages your stamina reserves more permanently, and you have to later restore that lost stamina with food items.

Holding the right trigger (in the Xbox 360 version) makes him jog, while tapping the trigger makes him sprint, with sprinting also limited by stamina. The upshot is an easily winded protagonist who might frustrate players who'd rather control a superhero, but is consistent with I Am Alive's idea of an everyman's post-disaster scenario.

Fights, like climbs, are short and tense. The protagonist is vulnerable and underpowered; with no bullets, you have to bluff your way through confrontations with violent survivors. You can keep unarmed survivors at gunpoint to ward them off (aiming the gun pops the view from third-person into first-person), or surrender and let them get close enough for you to attempt the grisly one-button "surprise kill" with your machete. When you do scavenge a single bullet, you must use it strategically: look for the mouthiest member of a gang, take him out, and the others will back down.

You also eventually pick up a bow and arrow. Though the protagonist's ability to headshot body-armoured thugs with arrows undermines the impression of Joe Average's postapocalyptic adventure, it at least lets you shoot more things, since you can retrieve the arrow from the split skull of a victim.

In keeping with I Am Alive's take on grim realism a la The Road, there's sinister stuff on the streets of the city. Early on, we see a feral mob pursue a young woman into the thick dust haze. In the sewers, there are a few terrified survivors locked up by cannibals (you can sacrifice your single bullet to bust the lock, or you can walk on by). The cavernous, lethally dusty space below a monorail is littered with shrivelled corpses. Later, you find a leering gang trying to drag a little girl, Mei, out of her hiding spot; a portion of the game after that is spent protecting Mei--by giving her a piggyback ride through fights and climbs.

Weapons include knives and a bow and arrow.

I Am Alive has 10 levels through which you explore the ruins of the city, climb, scavenge, and deal with other survivors. It isn't an open-world game, though levels aren't entirely linear. You mark the map with red scribbles as you encounter the obstacles that narrow your options down to a single path, but there are some areas off the beaten track in which you might find survivors who can shed light on what happened to his family. Though Palasse won't be drawn on the campaign's length in hours, he calls it "longer than a lot of triple-A [campaigns] now on the market."

Checkpoint retries are almost as scarce as bullets (after you've spent the few you have, you must restart the level), as are first aid kits; at one point, we couldn't save a woman's injured son because we'd already used on ourselves the single kit we'd seen in an hour of play. It was a pleasingly harrowing moment of helplessness in what could be a routine fetch quest in another game. For a postapocalyptic experience that has you scraping by instead of conquering all, we're looking forward to I Am Alive, available for download on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 before too long.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

If the end of the world turns out like games told us, we'll do fine. With the scavenging smarts of a Fallout vault escapee, the immunity to infection of a Left 4 Dead survivor, and the expert gunshootery of all the rest, we'll have the wasteland bandit-free and society back on its feet by Tuesday.

Except the actual post-Apocalypse will be more like I Am Alive. Cities will be depressing rubble heaps; there will be no food or water, let alone bullets; and the great bullet famine will hardly matter, because a gun is dodgy defence against your feral neighbours when you've never fired one before.

I Am Alive is pitched as the antithesis of gaming's postapocalyptic power fantasy. "It's definitely the opposite of that," says Ubisoft Shanghai's Aurelien Palasse. "Post-disaster [in games] is often unrealistic, and I Am Alive is realistic. I think it's different from all the other games we've seen: it's more mature; everything is real."

So the game lifts its setting and atmosphere from movies rather than other games: the film adaptation of misery travelogue The Road, with a dash of The Book of Eli, which is inferior but has machetes. "We are definitely closer to the movie inspirations than the video game inspirations," says Palasse, "because no games have done this before."

The protagonist of I Am Alive is less a one-man army and more the beleaguered dad from The Road. Before a set of cataclysmic earthquakes laid everything to waste, he'd never fired a gun. Now, after a yearlong cross-country trek, he's back in his home city, searching for his girlfriend and young daughter, carrying only a bullet-less handgun and a climbing harness.

The city is an ashy mirage: a desaturated skyline, dust clouds, and city blocks turned to shadowy wreckage. As the game begins, our hero faces it across a broken bridge, poised for a climbing tutorial. His one pre-Apocalypse talent is climbing, hence the rope looped over his shoulder, but monkey-man Nathan Drake he is not. Stints of climbing are time-limited by a regenerating stamina bar which drains while you hang or clamber around. Further on, you get more mountaineering gadgets: a grappling hook and pitons to create temporary rest points on the long climb up a skyscraper.

He's a climber, not a fighter (mostly).

The feel of manoeuvring along broken girders and up bridge supports wasn't as slick as the equivalent clambering in, say, Uncharted, but at least our man is a cautious, sure-footed climber--you won't be carelessly steering him off edges or leaping into open space. The stamina gauge makes climbing sessions short and tense; when it's nearly empty, you can hammer the right trigger to have him overexert himself, but it damages your stamina reserves more permanently, and you have to later restore that lost stamina with food items.

Holding the right trigger (in the Xbox 360 version) makes him jog, while tapping the trigger makes him sprint, with sprinting also limited by stamina. The upshot is an easily winded protagonist who might frustrate players who'd rather control a superhero, but is consistent with I Am Alive's idea of an everyman's post-disaster scenario.

Fights, like climbs, are short and tense. The protagonist is vulnerable and underpowered; with no bullets, you have to bluff your way through confrontations with violent survivors. You can keep unarmed survivors at gunpoint to ward them off (aiming the gun pops the view from third-person into first-person), or surrender and let them get close enough for you to attempt the grisly one-button "surprise kill" with your machete. When you do scavenge a single bullet, you must use it strategically: look for the mouthiest member of a gang, take him out, and the others will back down.

You also eventually pick up a bow and arrow. Though the protagonist's ability to headshot body-armoured thugs with arrows undermines the impression of Joe Average's postapocalyptic adventure, it at least lets you shoot more things, since you can retrieve the arrow from the split skull of a victim.

In keeping with I Am Alive's take on grim realism a la The Road, there's sinister stuff on the streets of the city. Early on, we see a feral mob pursue a young woman into the thick dust haze. In the sewers, there are a few terrified survivors locked up by cannibals (you can sacrifice your single bullet to bust the lock, or you can walk on by). The cavernous, lethally dusty space below a monorail is littered with shrivelled corpses. Later, you find a leering gang trying to drag a little girl, Mei, out of her hiding spot; a portion of the game after that is spent protecting Mei--by giving her a piggyback ride through fights and climbs.

Weapons include knives and a bow and arrow.

I Am Alive has 10 levels through which you explore the ruins of the city, climb, scavenge, and deal with other survivors. It isn't an open-world game, though levels aren't entirely linear. You mark the map with red scribbles as you encounter the obstacles that narrow your options down to a single path, but there are some areas off the beaten track in which you might find survivors who can shed light on what happened to his family. Though Palasse won't be drawn on the campaign's length in hours, he calls it "longer than a lot of triple-A [campaigns] now on the market."

Checkpoint retries are almost as scarce as bullets (after you've spent the few you have, you must restart the level), as are first aid kits; at one point, we couldn't save a woman's injured son because we'd already used on ourselves the single kit we'd seen in an hour of play. It was a pleasingly harrowing moment of helplessness in what could be a routine fetch quest in another game. For a postapocalyptic experience that has you scraping by instead of conquering all, we're looking forward to I Am Alive, available for download on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 before too long.

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For all its gloomy aesthetics and creepy storytelling, the original Alan Wake was a deceptively cheeky game. Sure, you spent the bulk of your time wandering through the woods battling terrifying shadow monsters, but let's not forget that epic heavy-metal-and-fireworks stage battle, or pretty much any scene featuring hapless sidekick Barry Wheeler. So it probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise to see that Remedy is taking Wake in a decidedly more outlandish direction with the downloadable spin-off called Alan Wake's American Nightmare.

"In terms of tone, Wake was more Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock," says Remedy CEO Matthias Myllyrinne. "Here we're going for much more of a Quentin Tarantino and From Dusk Till Dawn kind of approach." American Nightmare represents a stylistic shift toward a different subgenre under the horror umbrella: the eccentric world of pulp horror, though the game could also be described as a pop culture melting pot encompassing desert highway urban legends, classic sci-fi, and even a little bit of grindhouse minus that particular genre's propensity for awkward sexual lewdness.

The idea is that Wake is living through an episode of Night Springs, Remedy's tongue-in-cheek nod to The Twilight Zone. The action has moved from the Pacific Northwest to small-town Arizona where Wake not only has to battle even more bizarre and powerful shadow creatures, but also has to chase down a serial killer who just happens to be an evil manifestation of his own self. The latter, cutely enough, is portrayed via in-game television sets that show live-action video of bizarro Alan Wake (called "Mr. Scratch" in the game) taunting you in suitably creepy fashion.

But a new tone isn't the only departure from the original game. "There's a different focus here. If Wake was maybe two-thirds story and one-third action, American Nightmare is two-thirds action and one-third story," says Myllyrinne. "It's really the Remedy team kicking back and having fun."

There are some scary new enemies in this spinoff.

Of course, that move toward a more action-heavy game does raise one particularly glaring question: wasn't action the weak link in the first game? One of the most common complaints with Alan Wake was that its combat started out strong but failed to evolve in a meaningful way as the game went on.

Myllyrinne, for his part, recognizes that this was a flaw that needed correcting. So what American Nightmare does, according to Remedy's man in charge, is take the core combat of the original game and expand outward from there. The idea of light and darkness still plays a significant role, with Wake weakening enemies with his flashlight before even thinking about firing a weapon.

This time around, however, Remedy is taking advantage of the "exaggerated pulp-action tone" to go wild with enemy designs that present new challenges as the game moves forward. You'll find shadow creatures that split into two or more smaller versions of themselves when shot, a monster who rapidly shape-shifts between a crawling human and a flock of crows (what Myllyrinne calls a "tip of the hat" to fellow Finnish video game property Angry Birds), and more than a few massive saw-wielding creatures who are easily twice as tall as Wake. But in an act of fairness to you, Remedy has included newer, more powerful weaponry that presents interesting strategic options, such as a crossbow that can kill enemies without the need for a flashlight, but it takes forever to reload.

Get your fix on Route 66.

Remedy is so confident in the expanded combat system that it has even included a timed survival mode (what it's calling "arcade action mode") that has Wake trying to survive 10 minutes in a cemetery until daylight arrives. As the name suggests, this mode is all action, giving you a multiplier system and leaderboards to encourage high score runs. But sticking with the game's theme of survival, you still need to be smart with your ammunition because you've got only so much to spare.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

For all its gloomy aesthetics and creepy storytelling, the original Alan Wake was a deceptively cheeky game. Sure, you spent the bulk of your time wandering through the woods battling terrifying shadow monsters, but let's not forget that epic heavy-metal-and-fireworks stage battle, or pretty much any scene featuring hapless sidekick Barry Wheeler. So it probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise to see that Remedy is taking Wake in a decidedly more outlandish direction with the downloadable spin-off called Alan Wake's American Nightmare.

"In terms of tone, Wake was more Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock," says Remedy CEO Matthias Myllyrinne. "Here we're going for much more of a Quentin Tarantino and From Dusk Till Dawn kind of approach." American Nightmare represents a stylistic shift toward a different subgenre under the horror umbrella: the eccentric world of pulp horror, though the game could also be described as a pop culture melting pot encompassing desert highway urban legends, classic sci-fi, and even a little bit of grindhouse minus that particular genre's propensity for awkward sexual lewdness.

The idea is that Wake is living through an episode of Night Springs, Remedy's tongue-in-cheek nod to The Twilight Zone. The action has moved from the Pacific Northwest to small-town Arizona where Wake not only has to battle even more bizarre and powerful shadow creatures, but also has to chase down a serial killer who just happens to be an evil manifestation of his own self. The latter, cutely enough, is portrayed via in-game television sets that show live-action video of bizarro Alan Wake (called "Mr. Scratch" in the game) taunting you in suitably creepy fashion.

But a new tone isn't the only departure from the original game. "There's a different focus here. If Wake was maybe two-thirds story and one-third action, American Nightmare is two-thirds action and one-third story," says Myllyrinne. "It's really the Remedy team kicking back and having fun."

There are some scary new enemies in this spinoff.

Of course, that move toward a more action-heavy game does raise one particularly glaring question: wasn't action the weak link in the first game? One of the most common complaints with Alan Wake was that its combat started out strong but failed to evolve in a meaningful way as the game went on.

Myllyrinne, for his part, recognizes that this was a flaw that needed correcting. So what American Nightmare does, according to Remedy's man in charge, is take the core combat of the original game and expand outward from there. The idea of light and darkness still plays a significant role, with Wake weakening enemies with his flashlight before even thinking about firing a weapon.

This time around, however, Remedy is taking advantage of the "exaggerated pulp-action tone" to go wild with enemy designs that present new challenges as the game moves forward. You'll find shadow creatures that split into two or more smaller versions of themselves when shot, a monster who rapidly shape-shifts between a crawling human and a flock of crows (what Myllyrinne calls a "tip of the hat" to fellow Finnish video game property Angry Birds), and more than a few massive saw-wielding creatures who are easily twice as tall as Wake. But in an act of fairness to you, Remedy has included newer, more powerful weaponry that presents interesting strategic options, such as a crossbow that can kill enemies without the need for a flashlight, but it takes forever to reload.

Get your fix on Route 66.

Remedy is so confident in the expanded combat system that it has even included a timed survival mode (what it's calling "arcade action mode") that has Wake trying to survive 10 minutes in a cemetery until daylight arrives. As the name suggests, this mode is all action, giving you a multiplier system and leaderboards to encourage high score runs. But sticking with the game's theme of survival, you still need to be smart with your ammunition because you've got only so much to spare.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

The Penny Arcade Expo can be a great place for independent developers to showcase their upcoming releases to a wider audience. The games get to be in the hands of those they are intended for, but at the same time, doing that can also be a risk. Back in 2010, developer Illfonic used PAX to show off its upcoming arena first-person shooter, Nexuiz. The company touted the fact that it was going to be the first game released to use CryEngine 3, months before Crysis 2 would be available. Unfortunately, Nexuiz wasn't up to snuff, most people avoided Illfonic's booth, and the game went dark shortly thereafter. The team has been silent since then, but because THQ is now assisting with the publishing, the developers hope they can win the hearts of FPS fans with this multiplayer-only downloadable release.

Nexuiz is hoping to rekindle the love of arena first-person shooters

Nexuiz is an online team-based shooter in which eight players on two teams square off against each other for supremacy. The game will have two modes: Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch. The modes will be available on nine maps--three focused on CTF and six designed for TDM. While these modes don't help to separate the game from the plethora of FPS titles available, the inclusion of dynamic mutators is what the developers hope is enough to entice people to their game.

What dynamic mutators do is give you the opportunity to modify aspects of the game in-match. While some shooters give you the ability to make changes to a match before it begins, the mutators available in Nexuiz are scattered around the arena and can be triggered as soon as they’ve been collected. There will be 100 mutators available. They range from expected modifiers like increased shields, firing power, and speed, to out-of-the-ordinary ones like color blindness, which turns your screen completely black and white and forces you to use your reticle to determine who is friend or foe. Other rare modifiers include one that forces you to play part of the match with inverted controls.

Dynamic mutators work in a number of ways. Some can be triggered to benefit your team, while others are triggered to affect the opposition--and some give everyone an advantage. Also, mutators aren't controlled solely by one person; they are scattered throughout the arenas, and anyone can find them and initiate them. While only one mutator can be active at a given time, it's possible to have others ready in a queue. Lining up mutators can make an entire match completely dictated by them.

The developers tout that there are over 100 mutators which will allow for more than 1.7 million match possibilities. The mutators will be broken up into tiers to ensure that certain ones don't appear as often as others. On top of that, when you're playing online, the points you earn in-match from your kills can be spent to increase the odds that a given mutator appears. Upgrading a specific modulation to its max doesn't necessarily ensure it will be available in a future match, but if other players have also upgraded the same mutator, the greater the liklhood that particular one will appear in-game.

Of course, mutators won't be mandatory. Because Illfonic is looking to cater this game to hardcore players, these can be turned off, and normal FPS rules will apply. As for everything else in Nexuiz, the game is pretty standard. Console players familiar with the genre will be able to pick up a controller and get into the action with no need for practice. On the PC side of things, when the game is released, the developers are promising better match finding and hope to implement modding tools that will let you tweak many aspects of the game. There is no date when PC players will see this inclusion, but it is expected shortly after launch. Lastly, while the console version of the game will have some aim assisting, PC players won't have that aid available.

Things look pretty crazy in here!

Deciding to hold off on releasing the game back in late 2010 seems to have been a smart move by Illfonic. But at the same time, there are so many first-person shooters on the market that Nexuiz is still going to be in a position to have to try hard to earn an audience. Mutators seems like they could do the trick, but the smaller-scope matches, where only a maximum of eight players can play, might not be enough in comparison to other games that allow for greater numbers of players. But to combat that, when Nexuiz is released on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in early 2012, it will cost only $10. Hopefully the less-than-regular price point and the planned post-launch support and PC bonuses will be enough to get those who grew up playing arena first-person shooters a reason to play Nexuiz.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

The Penny Arcade Expo can be a great place for independent developers to showcase their upcoming releases to a wider audience. The games get to be in the hands of those they are intended for, but at the same time, doing that can also be a risk. Back in 2010, developer Illfonic used PAX to show off its upcoming arena first-person shooter, Nexuiz. The company touted the fact that it was going to be the first game released to use CryEngine 3, months before Crysis 2 would be available. Unfortunately, Nexuiz wasn't up to snuff, most people avoided Illfonic's booth, and the game went dark shortly thereafter. The team has been silent since then, but because THQ is now assisting with the publishing, the developers hope they can win the hearts of FPS fans with this multiplayer-only downloadable release.

Nexuiz is hoping to rekindle the love of arena first-person shooters

Nexuiz is an online team-based shooter in which eight players on two teams square off against each other for supremacy. The game will have two modes: Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch. The modes will be available on nine maps--three focused on CTF and six designed for TDM. While these modes don't help to separate the game from the plethora of FPS titles available, the inclusion of dynamic mutators is what the developers hope is enough to entice people to their game.

What dynamic mutators do is give you the opportunity to modify aspects of the game in-match. While some shooters give you the ability to make changes to a match before it begins, the mutators available in Nexuiz are scattered around the arena and can be triggered as soon as they’ve been collected. There will be 100 mutators available. They range from expected modifiers like increased shields, firing power, and speed, to out-of-the-ordinary ones like color blindness, which turns your screen completely black and white and forces you to use your reticle to determine who is friend or foe. Other rare modifiers include one that forces you to play part of the match with inverted controls.

Dynamic mutators work in a number of ways. Some can be triggered to benefit your team, while others are triggered to affect the opposition--and some give everyone an advantage. Also, mutators aren't controlled solely by one person; they are scattered throughout the arenas, and anyone can find them and initiate them. While only one mutator can be active at a given time, it's possible to have others ready in a queue. Lining up mutators can make an entire match completely dictated by them.

The developers tout that there are over 100 mutators which will allow for more than 1.7 million match possibilities. The mutators will be broken up into tiers to ensure that certain ones don't appear as often as others. On top of that, when you're playing online, the points you earn in-match from your kills can be spent to increase the odds that a given mutator appears. Upgrading a specific modulation to its max doesn't necessarily ensure it will be available in a future match, but if other players have also upgraded the same mutator, the greater the liklhood that particular one will appear in-game.

Of course, mutators won't be mandatory. Because Illfonic is looking to cater this game to hardcore players, these can be turned off, and normal FPS rules will apply. As for everything else in Nexuiz, the game is pretty standard. Console players familiar with the genre will be able to pick up a controller and get into the action with no need for practice. On the PC side of things, when the game is released, the developers are promising better match finding and hope to implement modding tools that will let you tweak many aspects of the game. There is no date when PC players will see this inclusion, but it is expected shortly after launch. Lastly, while the console version of the game will have some aim assisting, PC players won't have that aid available.

Things look pretty crazy in here!

Deciding to hold off on releasing the game back in late 2010 seems to have been a smart move by Illfonic. But at the same time, there are so many first-person shooters on the market that Nexuiz is still going to be in a position to have to try hard to earn an audience. Mutators seems like they could do the trick, but the smaller-scope matches, where only a maximum of eight players can play, might not be enough in comparison to other games that allow for greater numbers of players. But to combat that, when Nexuiz is released on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in early 2012, it will cost only $10. Hopefully the less-than-regular price point and the planned post-launch support and PC bonuses will be enough to get those who grew up playing arena first-person shooters a reason to play Nexuiz.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot