Beowulf Preview and Trailer
Roar and gore. It' the two words that have been left lodged in our grey cells following a recent eyes-on event with Ubisoft's Beowulf.
Roar, because Beowulf's a shouty fellow with obvious anger management issues who is surrounded by thanes constantly yelling the Norse equivalent of "Beowulf FTW!"
Gore, because it's gratuitously violent. With gratuitously violent knobs on.
The game is a tie-in with Robert Zemeckis' forthcoming Beowulf movie - which in turn is based on the ancient Epic poem - and naturally borrows scenes from the flick while also featuring the notable voice acting talents of the likes of Ray Winstone (Beowulf), Anthony Hopkins (King Hrothgar) and Brendan Gleeson (Wiglaf). But rather than reprise just the movie in videogame form, much of Ubisoft's game focuses on a 30-year period in the fictional life of Beowulf not covered in the flick. It is, if you will, Beowulf: The Lost Years.
Boiling the game down to its bare bones, it's a third-person action-adventure steeped in Norse mythology that deals with a lead character (accompanied by a group of thane buddies) who is struggling to perform heroic, righteous feats while battling inner demons. In gameplay terms, this ongoing fight for Beowulf is represented by the player being able to switch between two types of play styles - Carnal and Heroic, both of which can be upgraded RPG-style during the game.
Carnal is akin to Beowulf unleashing berserker rage. On-screen, the world is overlayed with a tinge of red, the sound becomes muted and the violence ramps up to over-the-top mode. An already violent game, suddenly the lead character is ripping off heads, crushing enemies' chests in with knee stomps and causing gore-filled carnage with melee weapons. When the beast is let loose, no one is safe from Beowulf's ire. Both friend and foe can be cut down in an orgy of wanton destruction.
On the flip side of the coin, Heroic mode is Beowulf creating slightly less bloody mess while strapping on goody-two-shoes. In this mode he can boost the morale and combat effectiveness of comrade thanes during combat and order them to do his bidding via a simple command system.
Want that conspicuous, giant round stone rolled out of the way to reveal a cave entrance? Easy. Order your thanes and they'll shove it out the way with a testosterone-filled yell of hurrah. Well, as long as you succeed with the simple, timed mini-game this involves, that is.
Order Beowulf from Amazon.comBy design, playing in Heroic mode presents more of a challenge when stacked up against Carnal. Carnal is more seductive, an easier path to walk, helping you out of seriously sticky situations; and, at the risk sounding too much like Yoda, we'll shut up there. At this point you might expect us to start talking about a moral system impacted by the choice of play styles, except there isn't one. What you get instead, we're assured is key NPCs questioning you're actions if you revel in Carnal, but precisely what effect this has on the game overall we've not been shown.
However, what we do know is that a) there are two endings to the game depending on which of the Heroic and Carnal styles you plump for most overall and b) if all the thanes that accompany Beowulf die - the player can kill thanes when Carnal - then it's a trip to the game over screen.
It can also have a negative impact on missions if care isn't taken, as we discovered. We'd watched as Beowulf fought, fought and fought some more, scaled cliff walls Tomb Raider-style, discovered hidden weapons in niches in rock-faces and fought more some more, but were then privy to a scene requiring the character to rescue hapless virgins from great, stomping ugly trolls and sacrifice.
Carnal mode was engaged in favour of Heroic at this point in time and, in a moment reminiscent of God of War, a sequence of timed button presses performed found Beowulf leaping onto troll necks to beat them severely around the back of the head. But in a 'whoops' moment in the heat of general melee, the lead character's sword accidentally sliced through one of the virgins. Bet she didn't see THAT coming...Speaking of God of War, Ubisoft drew the eyes-on preview to a close by firing up the first of six main boss fights that feature in the game. And it could have been lifted straight out of a Kratos adventure.
Beowulf, muscled like a maiden's fantasy, stood defiantly alone on a small piece of land jutting out into the sea, and had the unenviable task of defeating a giant green serpent spewing up from the depths with just his bare fists and kicks.
Suddenly one serpent is joined by another, their heads snapping forward and giant pointy teeth attempting to sink into human flesh. But an opportunity suddenly presented itself in the shape of timed button presses, which saw Beowulf leaping up onto a serpent's neck, ripping a massive horn out of its back and ramming it home into the beast's head - with plenty of blood spurting, naturally.
Bionic Commando preview and trailer
Taking its inspiration from its 8-bit namesake released on the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1988, Bionic Commando features Nathan Spencer, a government operative who represents the ultimate fusion of man and machine. After distinguishing himself in a fierce conflict against the Imperials, Spencer is betrayed and falsely imprisoned by the very people he unquestioningly served.
Three years later, on the day he is due to be executed for his supposed crimes, an experimental weapon detonates in Ascension City, unleashing an immensely powerful earthquake coupled with a radiation shockwave that leaves the city in ruins, wiping out its populace. Military intelligence suggests that a large terrorist search force has moved in and occupied Ascension City, but as yet their motives remain unclear. With the terrain in ruins and the terrorists in control of Ascension City’s air defences the FSA has only one option open to them – the reactivation of Nathan Spencer.
Bionic Commando harnesses the power of the latest generation of hardware to fully exploit the swing mechanic that made the original title so unique. The ruins of Ascension City and its surroundings provide an engaging environment of towering buildings, suspended roadways and monorails, deep canyons and sheer rock faces that allow gamers to traverse each area via multiple routes using swinging, rappeling, climbing and wall-walking techniques.
An expertly trained operative, Spencer is able to target and take out enemies while hanging upside down, climbing a building or even in mid-swing. At close quarters, the bionic arm packs a mean punch, while from a distance, objects such as boulders and cars can be grabbed and launched at enemies.
The development team behind Bionic Commando represents a unique and compelling collaboration of cultures and skills, consisting of an American Producer living in Japan, a Japanese Creative Advisor and highly-rated Swedish developer GRIN providing a European influence. This partnership provides a further example of Capcom’s strategy to work with the best developer talent, whilst maintaining the unique elements of creativity and approach to game design for which Capcom is renowned.
Mass Effect preview and trailer
Mass Effect is a sci-fi action RPG created by BioWare, Mass Effect delivers an immersive,
story-driven experience coupled with awe-inspiring visuals, delivered exclusively to the Xbox 360™.
As one of the first human beings to step onto the galactic stage, you face a grave threat that may destroy all of civilization. Your job is complicated by the fact that no one believes that there is any threat at all. Travel across an expansive universe, exploring the uncharted corners of the galaxy, searching for pieces of the truth in order to discover how to defeat the coming destruction.
Explore uncharted worlds: Uncover a mystery that defies imagination as you travel to the far corners of the universe. Visit unexplored planets, finding side quests that unfold parallel to the main story. Discover alien life, new resources, ruined civilizations, and powerful technologies.
Fight in real-time: Mass Effect features a real-time, squad-based, tactical combat system. Enjoy intense and exciting third-person action as you face off against your enemies. Engage your foes with ranged weapons, biotic powers, science-based magic, and tech powers, all accompanied by astonishing visuals.
Customize your character: Build a stunning, photo-realistic character, expanding your skills and statistics as you progress. Utilize a deep reward system as you travel further afield and discover more about the coming invasion. Change the appearance of your characters with the additions of newly discovered weapons, equipment, and armor to make each one truly unique.
Experience the next generation: Mass Effect takes full advantage of Xbox 360 hardware, providing players with photo-realistic high definition graphics, amazingly realistic characters, branching dialogue with A.I. responses, and a massive universe to explore. As the future of gaming continues to expand online, look for premium downloads on Xbox LIVE
Xbox 360 Mass effect trailer:
Conan preview and trailer
A novel/comic book series that was popularized in a series of 80’s movies starring a certain “governator” in the titular role, Conan the Barbarian is experiencing a revival of sorts, at least in the video-game universe. Funcom is currently developing an MMORPG for the PC called Age of Conan. On the other side of the fence, however, THQ is publishing their own game featuring the Cimmerian hero.
Simply called Conan, the game takes a straight-forward action approach to the license, drawing heavy inspiration from games like God of War to make for some intense moments. Conan doesn’t bear much of a resemblance to the Schwarzenegger films, as it draws exclusively from the works of Robert E. Howard.
The combat feels a lot like God of War. The camera is controlled by the game, with the right thumbstick dedicated to performing rolls and dodges. You perform combos by combining quick attacks with stronger ones, block and perform reversals. Additionally, the game has an orb collection system that allows you to collect red orbs from defeated enemies to spend on upgrades and new moves. Also like in God of War, the game has some real-time sequences where you have to push a button at the right time in order to perform certain actions, like tapping the B button to pull open a heavy door and so on.
One main difference between the two is that Conan allows you to pick up and use the weapons of your fallen foes. Single-handed blades can be dual-wielded, and two-handed blades add extra power at the cost of some speed. You can throw weapons at your enemies too, adding some range to your weapon repertoire. Using the B Button, you can perform “camel punches” and grabs, letting you throw enemies into others to others as well as objects in the environment.
Xbox 360 Conan Trailer:
In terms of speed and pacing, the game does move noticeably slower than GoW. The action doesn’t feel quite as smooth as a result, and loses a bit of fluidity when it comes to performing combos and one-hit kill reversals. However, since the build was in preview form, this issue could be cleaned up before the game ships. The game wears its M-Rating on its sleeve, as the violence level is quite high, as those familiar with the license would expect. You’ll chop through hordes of enemies, spewing blood and hewing limbs and heads at every turn.
Graphically, the game looks pretty good. The character models and environments are done in the style of Frank Franzetta, renowned fantasy illustrator, resulting in a very stylized look. The lighting effects and textures boast the same quality, lending a comic book feel to the game. The sound effects sound pretty good, the score is impressive and the voice work features Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Blade: Trinity) in the title role.
Conan may seem a bit derivative, but the action is actually quite fun in a gory guilty-pleasure sort of way. Look for it to hit later this October.
Beautiful Katamari preview
The King of All Cosmos and the Prince have returned in amazing next-generation brilliance in Beautiful Katamari! The game that took the videogame world by storm is set to continue rolling with new stages, cousins, and visual style.
Play as the Prince or one of the cousins, new and old, to roll up objects in all-new stages and missions as you explore this brand new creative exploration. With this new era, the hit style of gameplay is able to present an experience only hinted at in previous versions. Seamless Katamari growing and animated presents add to the experience that has captivated hardcore and casual gamers everywhere.
Rolling in 720p: Katamari leaps into the next generation with an upgrade into the HD era with increased visual depth and seamless Katamari growth.
New soundtrack: Pick up items at your leisure to a brand new catchy soundtrack.
New Levels:New levels and objects present more craziness to conquer like keeping your cool and collecting frosty items in the Ice House!
New characters: New cousins join the fun to bring the total to over 50 playable characters, each with their own quirky animations and style.
Offline multiplayer: Share the experience with another player as you race to collect more objects than each other. Tired of battling it out? Make peace and work together in CO-OP mode to roll the same Katamari. Make sure your communication skills are working at peak efficiency!
Online multiplayer: For the first time ever, the Katamari franchise rolls into the online world. Compete with your friends to roll up everything or as many specific objects as possible. As your waiting for more online players, also take part in the lively mini-games that populate the lobby and spread the world of Katamari Damacy.
Downloadable content: The world's ever-changing as your game will continue to give you joy through downloadable content ready to give you a fresh experience every time you fire up your system.
Ace combat 6, Fires of Liberation preview
If Namco Bandai was worried about how the public would receive the newest Ace Combat after jumping from a Sony console to Microsoft's, its fears were certainly calmed by the 900,000 downloads the game's demo has already received. Namco Bandai is showed a new single-player mission at their pre-TGS event yesterday and the game's online mode is playable on the show floor. That's where we went as soon as the show opened.
We snagged the first available controller and were immediately thrown into what appeared to be a standard deathmatch. It was already in progress, so the sky was filled with jet contrails, missile trails, bullets, and of course, jets. We were fighting along a coastal city, which made for some interesting tactical choices. Many pilots (us included) tended to head straight for the city as soon as we heard an enemy pilot had missile lock on us. The buildings seemed to provide some shelter, and if nothing else it was fun to zoom between structures.
From a technical standpoint the online mode played no differently than the offline portion. The frame rate was fast and there was no noticeable lag, though that shouldn't be a surprise since we're pretty sure we were playing against the people right next to us. One way in which the game did feel different was how smart the other pilots were. The CPU might be prone to letting you get an easy shot off, but real people are much more adept at avoiding your missile lock. They're also more aggressive so you've always got to be on your toes.
The level we saw was a new single-player mission, Ragno Fortress, the 10th mission in the game. A fortress that was once yours is now under enemy control. You'll need to clear the way for ground troops to come in and retake the fortress. The level is loosely based on the Grand Canyon and the heavily fortified base is right smack in the middle of it. You have three operations to choose from and you must beat two out of three to move on to the next mission. The first objective was to defend ground forces. Another was to protect a different group by flying through the canyon and taking out enemy targets, and the third has you flying through a tunnel and blowing up some sort of underground target, not unlike Luke's run on the death star in Star Wars. After you choose the two missions to tackle you can pick from the 15 real and one fictitious aircraft in the game. As you pick your plane you can look at it from inside the hanger. The planes are incredibly detailed and they look great. After picking your craft you pick the jets for your wingmen. Our host chose the F-15 for himself and the A10-A Thunderbolt for his wingmen. Once you've got that sorted out you pick your weaponry, starting point, and it's off to the skies for combat.
This level appeared to take place just after sunrise so it was filled with intense colors. The sky was a deep blue, filled with clouds. The ground had an orange tint to it. Watching the plane go through the new high G turn we marveled at the game's great particle and lighting effects. As the squadron continued through the level looking for targets they came across a boat in the river and took out an operation on the docks with a well-placed missile. There was no time to relax, because as soon as the missile had been launched the jet flew under a bridge and pulled up just in time to avoid a giant dam. Once the canyon forces were taken out, the next objective was to cripple the base's power facility. It's a tough thing to accomplish alone, but you don't have to. As soon as you clear an objective you can call in an attack and all remaining allied forces will focus on your target. It's important to keep your friends alive or you're in for an uphill battle because there will be no one left to call. After our the allies took out the objective it was time to hit the tunnel--which turned out to be a bad idea, as the plane crashed and the demo ended.
But the demo wasn't quite over. You can now replay your mission from a variety of camera angles. Not only can you see what you were doing, but you can track your allies' moves in the replay as well. It's a neat feature that lets you learn from your mistakes.
If you've read all of our Ace Combat 6 coverage and you've played the demo, you're most likely itching to get your hands on the finished product. The good news about the two-month wait for the game, at least for non-360 owners, is you've got two more months to pick up an Xbox 360. That's the only way you'll get to play the game, as Namco Bandai still promises it's an Xbox 360 exclusive.
Xbox 360 Ace Combat 6 trailer: