We obviously haven’t had the chance to play the game yet, which sucks, because despite it being a year away, it looks extremely playable and good to look at. From the demo we saw though, we were able to get a pretty good sense for how the game works and its basic mechanical ideas.
In terms of story you play as a dude called Will. Now Will’s a Pilot, and a stupid one at that, so he decides to go and fly over the Bermuda Triangle which obviously has disastrous consequences because he discovers a portal (or dark void, if you will) which takes him to an alien planet where, of course, there are aliens called Watchers.
Aliens = hate. Aliens = you shoot. Aliens = die.
So it looks to me as though we’ve got a cross between Jak II: Renegade and Gears of War. Although, if we explore the game play for a second here, there’d be another game to add to that list because in Dark Void you can totally hover and fly. So, we’ve actually got Jak II: Renegade, Gears of War and Crimson Skies, and it’s this mix of game play that’s got us all excited (not sexually). From what we saw from the footage, Will will be able to kill the Watchers using an arsenal of unconventional weapons such as one which shoots electricity which is already looking pretty nice despite being a year away. As well as that, players will be able to take advantage of cover, but you’ve got to be careful because it can easily be destroyed, which means that even when it looks as though you’re safe, you’ve got to be constantly aware of your environments to make sure there’s another piece of cover to hide behind. If you’re not into playing the waiting game, you can utilise a handy jet pack you pick up from one of the Watchers to shoot up into the air to kill dudes from behind their own cover. This plans out especially well when you’re climbing vertical cover, such as cliffs, where you have the ability to shoot dudes from above you and watch them fall past you.
Looking at the way that Will moves from fighting from the ground and into the air, Dark Void looks as though it handles really well, how that extends to the full flight combat is also really interesting. If you’re on the ground and you see a flying saucer over head (yes, there will be flying saucers) you can boost up to them and jack them. From there on, the game totally becomes Crimson Skies, so if you we into that then you’ll love how this plays.
Therefore, Dark Void looks as though it’s aiming to please a myriad of people when it comes out next year. To me, everything I’ve seen looks pretty good, but I’m quite nervous to see how the gun combat plays out with all of the crazy weaponry; which I have to say I’m not really into. Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait and see for a little bit more of information at E3, so until then, our thoughts are positive.
--Tom Rhodes, 360Stage--
At last it’s happened. One of the greatest games to come out of 2003’s action/ adventure packed holiday season is getting a sequel. There was news a while back that Rayman creator Michel Ancel was focusing on a Beyond Good and Evil sequel, but it somehow got overlooked. However, we’ve finally all got proof of his word with the above teaser trailer which gives us a look at the game’s “identity”. Of course I’m not talking about specifics here, but you can see from the clip that the two main characters, Jade and Pey'j are back, along with the game’s sense of humor. I’m not going to give you a running commentary though; that would just be filler, I’ll just let you watch the trailer and remember back to that great 2003.
Looking at the trailer, it looks like the game’s in development primarily for “next generation” platforms, but it would be hard to see them leaving out a Wii and PC version too; remember, this is all just my speculation. Moreover, by putting the fact that the two characters are back together and that this is likely to come out on the 360 and the ps3, I think that we can presume there to be some sort of co-op mode, because that seems to be the current trend: why not throw in co-op?! Hell yeah why not?!
Nothing specific has been said about the game itself in terms of new characters, mechanics and story, but rest assured that as soon as anything else is said, we’ll be right on it. Hmm, isn’t E3 sort of just around the corner…?
--Tom Rhodes, 360Stage Editor--
1.The cost is so high because of shipping costs
2.European gamers will have a special edition copy of the game
3. We decided to release the game solo for the benefit of gamers - They can use Guitar Hero controllers and any usb mic
A prettier Mario Galaxy would be too much to ask for, I guess.
There's an article over at http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52755 right now which lays claim to the announcement of the the third and concluding Spyro game in the “mature Spyro” trilogy which was started with “The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning” back in 06. For me, the most impressive thing about this article, is the above screen shot, taken on the 360 version of the game, which sent shivers down my spine when I first laid eyes on it.
-overhauled visuals
-drop-in cooperative play
-free flight
Josh and Tom give a running thought track of a short section of gameplay collated from the single player section of Gears of War 2. These are our thoughts. We hope you like them.
--360Stage--
60% Aerosmith 40% otherWe're also told to expect 60 tracks but we expect it may be a bit less but with various sources citing there to be about 40.
It’s been a long while since we heard anything about the up and coming sequel to last year’s critically acclaimed Gears of War by the kids at Epic Games. Well, that’s all about to change, with Cliffy B taking us on a grizzly rampage through the world of the second instalment of one of the most successful franchises on Microsoft’s popular platform (i.e. not the PC).
What we’re given is a five or six minute look at an early mission taken from Gears 2, Act one / Chapter three: "Assault", to be precise. As the “B Meister” explains, the Locust now have a technology which allows them to "sink entire cities", which sounds pretty terrifying if you ask me. Gone are the days where a well-aimed grenade would stop a Locust Hoard from appearing; now, the COG have to work on a much larger scale to stop the locust from wiping out the entire human civilisation. Cool, isn’t it?
When the sequence starts, we see a huge three or four tiered moving structure called a Derrick (hopefully that’s the correct spelling...) coming up over a hill. It reminds me of something straight out of the “Mortal Engines” series of novels, and looks as though it could crush the largest of foes, but as Cliffy explains, the Derricks are only pulling machines, which tow something even larger to their destination.
These Derricks are towing Grind lifts (spelling?), which are what the COG are going to use to "borough down into the depths of the underground" to take out Locust resistance. From the looks of things, the COG have to protect the Grind lift at all costs, and so once again, you take up arms as Markus Phoenix in an attempt to save the human race.
I think that there’s so much to talk about that I guess I’ll have to do it systematically, starting with weapons. As far as we can see, there appear to be quite a few upgrades, changes and additions to your arsenal in GoW2. The first thing to change is the design of the chainsaw gun, although the changes made appear fully aesthetical. It looks as though Epic have decided to go into minute detail with their weaponry, and now you can actually see the florescent cross-hair of your chainsaw gun as Phoenix aims to kill. Additions to the quantity of guns have been made, and it looks as though most of the weapons from the first game remain (although there’s no word on the long shot) with the addition of a new acid grenade and a new automatic pistol. There’s likely to be much more announced on this front closer to the release of the game in November, so watch this space. To top it all off, Epic have tweaked the active reload system, which hopefully means that different weapons’ active reloads will activate a different power, which would definitely make the game play a little more tactical.
Most of the other neat things that we saw were mainly to do with combat. At the COG progress down the Derrick, they come across new types of enemies and their new abilities. For starters, there’s now a locust which can climb up walls using metal attackable claws. In the footage we saw for example, a Locust climbs up the side of the Derrick and runs at you, but with a quick blast form the Lancer (chainsaw-gun) Markus gets him down. What’s really cool is that when downed, Phoenix can pick up an enemy and use them as a human (/locust) shield. Then, when their purpose has been fulfilled, they can be disposed off with a finisher. The one that we saw was a quick and painful snap of the neck, but we’re guessing there’ll be a few more. Another addition we saw to the combat was a higher level of contextual moments For example, everyone’s chainsaw executions are back, but now, depending on where you go at your enemy from, you’re chainsaw will do a different animation. In the one that we say, Markus goes at his enemy from the back, resulting with a bloody upwards slash, ripping them in two. Other tweaks to chainsaw combat have been made, with button mash battles now occurring if two chainsawers get together. For example, if Phoenix tries to chainsaw someone who has a chainsaw gun and has their chainsaw out, the two will have to enter a furious battle of the thumb; having to tap B, rather like in God of War, before the victor receives their precious kill.
The amazing cover system from the previous game is similarly returning, with only minor changes, increasing the difficulty of being able to shoot at someone from behind cover. Thank god, because it was one of the things that made the original Gears one of the best shooters I’ve ever played.
What’s also returning is the exceptionally high graphical standard, both artistically and technically. Throughout the whole presentation there were no frame rate drops, consistently running at around 35 frames, which was hugely impressive, considering the amount of enemies and partial effects on screen at any one time. Explosions from the Derrick, sparks from your gun, blood from the chainsaw and great lighting effects are some of the most drastically improved areas to take advantage of the newest updates of Unreal Engine 3, along with an over-all sharper look to pretty much every area of the game.
There you have it. I’m sure by now you can tell that I’m stoked about Gears of War 2 and why wouldn’t I? It looks as though Epic knew they were onto a good thing with their new franchise, and thankfully they’ve not tried to do too much new to it. Roll on November 2008!
Check out the footage now:
*Update: HD footage from GT!*
--Tom Rhodes, 360Stage Editor--
I remember hearing about this game some time ago and as an old school ghostbuster fan of course the news excited me. What excited me more was the involvement of all the original cast. And what excites me more is the many references to the movies within the game as Slimer, Stay Puft Giant and the crazy woman ghost in the library. The new story, which was actually written by the cast, combines the old stuff with a whole new story. Graphically the game looks stunning and the voice acting as we know should be fantastic unlike LOST: Via Domus. We're told you can manipulate and destroy the environments and I'm sure you agree it is a good feature to have.
Back to what excites me again - The chance to cross-over to the ghost world and with the next-gen graphics this should look amazing. Ghostbusters is shaping up to be one of the best movie-based games in a long time, if not ever. Obviously, without seeing the controls and getting a real chance to play we can only go on looks but for Ghostbuster fans who've seen the Sega and Snes versions it looks like we may finally have a good Ghostbusters game.
Check out the first section of this video from GT for a sneak peek of the Ghostbuster's game.
Don't forget to check back, we'll keep you updated and look for the review of the game later this year.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Teaser
Josh is playing Grand Theft Auto IV since he has to review the game (yes Tom I will upload the review soon) but he is not taking notes properly, with Master Tiger Bamboo Stick, Josh learns the arts of how to review a game..
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Ahhh, GTA IV, isn’t it amazing? Hell yes it is and we here at 360Stage believe it impossible to think of any one thing wrong with the game that Rockstar have given us. But, looking towards the future, what are the things we’d love to see arrive as Downloadable content for the game? Take a look:
1. GTA: IV: The Prequel, which focuses on Niko’s life before moving to America to live out the “dream”. We’re adamant, however, not to turn it into some kind of war focussed shooter, but hell, to see what Niko got up to in the homeland would be cool.
2. The ability to fly plains. They’re one of the things which make Liberty City look so cool, but it would be great to be able to fly one...and maybe jump out.
3. To be able to fly to Vice City and San Andreas would be nostalgically cool, , but be likely pricy. How much would you pay?
4. A Co-op campaign mode, where the second player could play as Roman.
5. Deep can customisation, not just painting
6. The ability to trade vehicles online with your friends
7. Clan or Gang creation online
We realise that possibly all of these are too much to expect, and besides, we haven’t even completed the game we’ve got. However, Rockstar have announced that the first lot of DLC will come in the form of an extra story mission set which will last around ten hours to complete. A sizable piece for a game that’s already successful set for an August release. Look forward to it, we are!
--360Stage--
Looks like: An N64 game
The way in which the game is structured is one of the only good things about the entire package. You begin the first campaign learning the basic techniques which will help you through the rest of the game, and in online matches, if you can find anyone (good luck with that...) and then you move onto the second campaign, do the same. Move onto the third campaign, up to the end, where the world map opens up to you, and you get the choice of where you want to take your fight to. 
The overall package that one gets with Universe at War at first glance appears to quite substantial. You get three single player campaigns, which unlock after the completion of the previous one, a skirmish mode and a multiplayer portion. However, when you think about it, you’re only getting what every other game can give you, except that those games will give it to you better. To add insult to injury, UAW for the Xbox literally does nothing new to the PC version, so in effect, you’re actually getting nothing you couldn’t get on your PC, and probably with a better frame rate.
There we go then. Universe at War: Earth Assault. Wrapped up it’s a game that should have been left on the PC. If a company feel like developing an RTS for a console they should put a little bit of effort into it, because with that effort, they’ll be the ones who evolve a genre, making them more money and respect then they’d receive if they just do a quick port.
--Tom Rhodes, 360Stage Editor--
It’s not time for all XBOX owners to gloat. One of the year’s biggest games is coming to us first (May 23rd to be precise and Autumn for WII and PS3). But stop, will this game be able to warrant its hefty price tag?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the price tag of rockband it will cost £180 for those of you who want to purchase the game and all instruments and for the mathematicians, yes it does cost more than a brand new XBOX. Included in the package there is a drum kit, guitar controller and microphone amounting to £130 and an extra £50 is required for the game. That’s right the game isn’t included, you have to buy it separately. Harmonix seem to be quick on the “this games a success lets charge a hell of a lot of money”. They blame it on high import costs but then there is a simple solution make the game in Europe and with EA’s investment it is of course possible.
Guitar Hero users are in luck. If you own an XBOX live mix and a regular Guitar Hero controller then all you need is to grab a copy of the game and the drums which will cost you around £100-£120. Non-Guitar Hero users should be able to buy Everything (game included) for around £140 according to retailers.
Getting your moneys worth? Harmonix say the above should cost you £130 with NO game
The track list varies, in fact many cross over from Guitar Hero 3 (Surprise, Surprise) so the main selling point for Rock Band is DLC but with the lack of this within Europe anyway will Harmonix focus DLC in
European gamers can look forward to some exclusive tracks including Muse as we get a special edition of Rockband which is another reason for the hefty price tag according to Harmonix. But am I the only one who would sacrifice this for the American price tag of around £90 for everything including the game?
£90 more for Blur, Muse, Oasis and Tokyo Hotel in the UK
In all fairness Rockband never does anything totally new. The microphone is a clone of Singstar, the guitar controller of Guitar Hero and the drum controller is just a different shaped Guitar Controller. It’s the fact that you can put all these together that makes the game different and so popular. If you enjoyed Guitar Hero and are willing to pay for Rockband you won’t be disappointed, Rockband has received rave reviews in
In a sense you're getting 4 games: Vocals, Drums, Guitar and Bass.
If you’ve played Guitar Hero you know what to expect. Rockband is quite simply an extended version of Guitar Hero but will it captivate a European audience or has its price already hindered the marketing? With Activision said to be working on a drum controller and microphone also, we can only hope this is a good thing and will drive prices down. It may also kill any future waiting in this genre. If anything, competition should make for a better game but it will inevitably kill a once original genre as the gamer gets ready for their yearly dosage of rocking out.
Watch this space for a review this May!
--Sean Linley, 360Stage Editor--
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This is just a quick one, but the achievements for Sega’s Universe at War: Earth Assault (which I’m playing for the review – coming soon) has really lame achievements. Take a look at them http://www.achieve360points.com/game/universeatwar/ and see the craziness that is present! You’d think by now that developers would know how to add achievements into their games correctly, but no! Sega just have to be different. Hmmm.
Thinking about my gaming life, I can pick out a tonne of fantastic moments which alone make the endless hours I spend in front of a screen worth my time; I’m sure that some of those moments will be the same for all of you out there reading this. Getting your very own console, completing your first game, playing against one of your friends and beating them for the first time, and of course, taking your gaming online and playing against others.
...
Are you ready for the first major criticism? Here it comes, and it’s in the form of the game’s Protagonist Hayden Tenno. Hayden is not your typical one-man-takes-on-the-whole-world type shooter protagonist. Why? Because he’s an emo. And you know what I think of emos? I think they should all have their retarded little fringes ripped out of their bony white heads. However, on reflection, I don’t want to be playing as an American Slap-head either, so really we’re all screwed whatever they do, because they’re never going to let you play as anybody reasonably normal anyway. The second criticism I have is much more simple and to the point. The game has no story whatsoever. From what I remember it’s something to do with mutations and killing fools but that’s all I can recall without looking at Wikipedia.
What’s so frustrating about Dark Sector is that, on the surface, it doesn’t appear to have very many problems (despite the guys stupid hair). In fact, it seems to have quite a few great ideas, like, for example, your main weapon – the glaive, which is sort of like a boomerang, but it has three blades attached to it. If you could find me a cooler weapon I’d have sex with you, so I guess you’re lucky that we’ve got one right here. The “cool” factor gets a + 10 because of your ability to slow down time when it’s in mid-flight which enables you to guide it around corners and be more precise, allowing for more dismembering and decapitating. At various points throughout the game you’ll be able to apply different elements such as fire, electricity and ice to the glaive as well. However, all of these extra abilities become stale when you start having to use them in puzzles.
The puzzles are, in my humble opinion, the worst part about the game, and were a large part of my decision to discontinue playing. They start out sure enough, as small introductory puzzles which acquaint you with the basic concept of setting your glaive on fire and throwing it at an obstacle to allow you to pass. I can manage these generic, simple ideas, but when after playing the game for four or five hours and you realise you’ve been doing the same environmental puzzles over and over again, you realise that you’re on the downward-spiral and it’s soon after that, when you’re fully aware of the game’s lapses, that you too, will decide to remove the disk from the drive.
That’s really the most awful thing about this though, because Dark Sector has any other number of good features which are unfortunately countered by their overuse, however, you won’t begin to notice this until you’re a few chapters in. One of the best is your ability to pull off finishers on your enemies, which becomes extremely helpful when you’re tackling the zombies in the game. There are a couple of different animations for these finishers and depending on where you get the kill from in relation to your enemy depend on the animation you’ll get. For example, if you run up and get a kill from behind you’ll grab their neck and rip it back, with copious amounts of blood, a good amount of rumble from the controller and an extremely satisfying “crack” from your speakers. This is definitely one of the reasons why the game deserves it’s ‘18’ rating, but whatever, they’re seriously fucking awesome!
If only the guns in Sector were as good as the finishers...Which, unfortunately they aren’t. When you start the game you’ll be stuck with a crappy little pistol, and you’ll stick with it until you can afford to buy something better from the Merchant, Resident Evil 4’s most awesome character. Yep, this game features a similar Buy, Sell and Upgrade system to RE4 which I think sucks, because if you don’t find hunting around for money crates interesting then you’re screwed. You do have the option to pick up your enemies weapons once you’ve killed them but they somehow seem to evaporate after ten seconds use, which is highly unfair.
Now, before I took the disk out I managed to force myself through some of the game’s multiplayer features. There are two modes and they both suck. That’s all you really need to know really, and if you’d like to know more about that I suggest you go to Wikipedia because I’m not going to describe them. If I were in your position and you decide to go out and buy Dark Sector, firstly I wouldn’t, I’d rent it, and secondly I’d keep way clear of the multiplayer portion because It just feels too tacked on and would be putting a multiplayer section onto Resident Evil 4.
--Tom Rhodes, 360Stage Editor--
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