Tails Nightmare
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Game Description
Tails is stuck in a nightmare world and Sonic the Hedgehog is no where to help out!
Fashion Designer World Tour
Hosted by Daily Free Games
Description :
Design the next big thing in fashion and travel the world to
build it into a worldwide fashion...
Star Wars: The Old Republic Hands-On - The Sith Inquisitor
Star Wars stole the limelight at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. There, the creative forces of BioWare and LucasArts revealed some juicy new information about their upcoming sci-fi online role-playing game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. In addition to unveiling a mouthwatering cinematic trailer at the show, the developers gave us a taste of the smuggler and bounty hunter character classes behind closed doors. Since then, we've seen the Sith warrior, Jedi knight, and Imperial agent. At a recent EA showcase in London, BioWare revealed the remaining two classes: the Jedi consular and the Sith inquisitor. We got the chance to play through an inquisitor quest during the event and talked to the development team.
According to creative director James Ohlen, the inquisitor is inspired by Senator Palpatine and Darth Maul, and he claims the class is "lightly armoured, acrobatic, and uses lots of lightning abilities and telekinetics." While this combination of skills might sound strange, given that Palpatine and Maul are quite different in their fighting styles, each class has the ability to branch into two separate subclasses once you reach a certain level. In the inquisitor's case, you can focus on lightning-based abilities and become a support character, or, if you prefer melee combat, you can have a character who focuses on acrobatics, speed, and dual-wielding lightsabers. While our demo was limited to the Sith inquisitor class, Ohlen told us about the Jedi consular and how it differs from the previously announced Jedi knight. "The Jedi consular is more based in telekinetics," he said. "He stays a little bit back [in battle], although he can also engage with his lightsaber. He can use telekinetics to throw his enemies around, lift them up into the air, and slam them down to the ground."
Our hands-on with the game featured a combat-heavy side quest on the Sith homeworld of Korriban--which was also featured in Knights of the Old Republic II. The area that we saw was certainly a desolate place, featuring red dirt and rock formations and some dangerous alien life-forms. Our character, a level eight Sith inquisitor, had come to Korriban to study the lost laws of the Sith and to be trained in their ways. After talking to a shady quest giver called Ephram Zell, we needed to enter a Sith tomb and acquire an artefact known as the Red Engine. This mission also served as a test for would-be dark lords like us, as we needed to kill the monsters that lurked within the tomb before collecting the device and returning to Zell.
The Sith tomb featured caverns, tunnels, and a large outdoor area, and we encountered several different enemies, including K'lor'slugs, which are giant molluscs that attacked us in groups when we got too close. We're pleased to report that our long-range weapons were capable of dealing with these pests before they got too close, but we did need to cycle through our abilities so that we weren't overwhelmed by enemies. Inquisitors have some powerful attacks at their command, such as electrocute, which unleashes a devastating lightning storm. We also found the shock ability to be quite useful, as it froze an enemy for several seconds while we attacked others. The inquisitor is formidable in melee combat too, and this is when our lightsaber came in handy. The saber strike is deadly at close range with several slashes performed in quick succession, and another useful ability was the lightning drain, which transferred health from enemies to our character. With these abilities, we found the inquisitor to be formidable in long- and close-range combat; however, we generally found it easier to stand back and attack with electrocute and shock and then rush in for the kill with a saber strike or lightning drain.
In addition to fighting our way through K'lor'slugs, we encountered other human tomb raiders in the form of renegades and slaves. These weaker enemies attacked us using blasters and metal swords, but they were no match for the dark power surging through our veins. We were able to defeat them with ease, and we then decided to loot their bodies. Unfortunately, this didn't result in anything of interest, besides a few galactic credits and the occasional cheap sword. The inquisitor was a rewarding class to play, and we almost felt like an all-powerful puppet master when wielding our dark powers from afar.
What we've seen of Star Wars: The Old Republic has only scratched the surface of what's in store for massively multiplayer online fans, but it has also left us wanting more, which is certainly a good thing. We're looking forward to seeing the game again, and with a firm release date yet to be announced we should have plenty of chances before launch. In the meantime, be sure to take a look at all of our previous coverage, and stay tuned to GameSpot for more on this promising sci-fi MMO role-playing game.
LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
Little Big Planet's happy-go-lucky burlap star is making his way to the PlayStation Portable so you can create, explore, and share from almost anywhere. Developed by Cambridge Studio with the help of Media Molecule, LBP for the PSP is very much like the PlayStation 3 version, except modified and squished onto a handheld. The scope of the game may not be as big, but it was hard for us to tell the difference from the newly designed levels because it's just like taking a romp through the 3D hand-crafted world from the original LBP. We spent some time playing through several stages on the PSP and were impressed with all the features that have made it into the game and how it all looks.As Sackboy--the fully customizable and lovingly sewn together doll--you'll travel across the different continents, starting with Australia and then venturing to the Orient, eventually leaving your mark all over the world. There are 30 new developer-created levels across seven themed locations, and we really enjoyed the new level designs from what we've played. It doesn't look like anything was lost during the transition, other than the fact that you have to play alone instead of with three other players. There's plenty of detail in the environments as you pass through, making it feel like it was a port from a PS3 game, even if it isn't.
After navigating through the harsh lands of the outback, hanging off koalas and jumping on kangaroos, we made our way to the Orient and had to fend off fire-breathing dragons. It's interesting to note that the levels in the Orient progress from right to left. One of the more memorable stages we saw was a level that required us to use a cannon-like device that fires synthetic logs. We hopped onto the back of a rickshaw and went blazing down a steep hill, trying desperately to hold on while using the cannon to keep the dragon at bay. We had to aim for the target inside the dragon's mouth to get it to back off--otherwise we'd be toast. It was a bumpy ride but a lot of fun. All this game needs is some rockets, which we hope will be included in the later levels.
Some puzzle-solving skills are needed to get past some areas, but the game makes good use of its tools, like switches, which are quite prominent in the levels that we played. LBP is generally fairly linear, but we came across a level that has you exploring multiple zones in order to figure out a combination code, which you then input using the switches. Even though the game is now single-player only, it's still tough to run through the levels and track down every single object. There are still an abundance of stickers, objects, and costumes to collect, all so that you can mess with the items later in the creation mode, but you'll have to carefully explore every nook and cranny to locate them all.
Like in its PS3 counterpart, you'll eventually unlock the moon so that you can create your own levels from scratch, using the items that you've found during the main game. And also like in the other version, you need to go into individual tutorials for each component of the Popit menu system before going to town with it. You can easily escape out of these tutorials, but the load times are noticeable, and it's unfortunate that you can't just have access to everything and choose to check out the demonstration later. It's amazing the amount of freedom you have at your disposal, and once you create a level you want to share, you can do so by heading to the PlayStation Network to show the world what you've come up with. LBP is about the community, so you'll have access to an endless supply of content to play through from anywhere.
It's going to feel very much like the PS3 version, all the way down to the controls. Instead of three planes to manage, there are two, so not only do you need to worry about going from left to right (or right to left), but you have to use some of that depth perception to navigate through the background or foreground as well. It's not bad when you're casually trying to find your way through a maze, but it can be tricky if you don't notice it happening and suddenly find yourself walking or jumping into a fire pit instead of on the block that was on the back plane. Luckily, you have an unlimited number of lives, and the checkpoints are much more frequent, so you can keep going until you feel like manually exiting the stage. The Popit menu is still there, so you can swap your outfit on the fly and access trigger stickers to help you get more items.
Because there's so much happening onscreen sometimes, it does take a while to adjust to playing LBP on a smaller screen. Sackboy isn't going to be nearly as detailed as its high-def counterpart, but you can still have him make funny faces with the D pad, and he'll easily win your heart all over again. A nice variety of music is included, and while the tracks may not necessarily fit with the theme of the level, everything so far is catchy and fun to listen to. The game is what you would expect LBP to be on a handheld, but what's impressive is that it doesn't feel like anything was lost or sacrificed to get it to fit on the system. At least, it's difficult for us to tell at this point, so be sure to stay tuned for our review later this month.
For anyone who wants a playground to play, create, and share, the possibilities are endless when Little Big Planet for the PSP is released on November 17.
Lego Rock Band ( PS 3, XBOX 360, WII )
It's impressive how much the minifigs have accomplished through the years, particularly when you consider that they have curved yellow pincers where their hands should be. These easily recognizable Lego figures have already starred in a series of action games that parody popular films, but they are taking a brief break from their lightsaber swinging and whip wielding to rock out with some instruments that are just as plastic as they are. Lego Rock Band is a kid-friendly entry in the ubiquitous rhythm game genre, and it has just enough style and humor to stand out from the sea of note-strumming clones. Sadly, as charming as this accessible rhythm game is, there are a few omissions that make it seem stripped next to other games in the series, most notably the ability to play online. Even though this is a little short on content, Lego Rock Band is still a ton of fun with some friends and has a setlist that's good enough to keep even Rock Band veterans entertained.
The opening cutscene for Lego Rock Band borrows the same imagery popularized in Rock Band: the band balancing precariously atop a speeding van, whaling on their instruments as they weave down a barren stretch of road in a desert wasteland. However, it doesn't take long for the game to delve into the slapstick humor that has worked so well in previous Lego games. As soon as they enter a city, a charging dinosaur begins to chase them, and in their zeal to avoid his chomping wrath, they crash their van into a million pieces. Luckily for them, Legos can be reassembled in a variety of ways, and they quickly turn their van into a few other vehicles, all while they stand on top rocking. There are a few of these elaborate, always ridiculous cutscenes during the course of your trek to superstardom, and they add a lot to the otherwise predictable experience. It's goofy fun to watch the mute minifigs grunt and gesticulate wildly to get their point across, and these serve as a good reward when you reach a milestone.
Another Lego-themed highlight pops up when, during certain performances, the story and gameplay combine in a unique way. Rock Power Challenges have you curing the ailments of your cheering fans through the power of music. In the first such competition, a demolition crew is having trouble razing a dilapidated skyscraper. When they find that their wrecking ball and dynamite are ineffective against the sturdy brick foundation, they turn to you for help. Turning that bass dial up to 11 gets the ground shaking, and by belting out a particularly intense rock song, you can cause that building to topple to the ground. Although Rock Power Challenges do not change the basic gameplay in any way, it's a lot of fun watching your music have a tangible impact in the world, even if the scenarios don't always make much sense. Why would ghosts be chased away by music? If anything, it would make their haunted abode seem even more welcoming. Once you throw logic out the window, these challenges provide a solid detour from the standard jamming.
Like the other games in the Rock Band series, Lego Rock Band can be played with up to three friends, and a full band is composed of a bassist, guitarist, singer, and drummer. The gameplay hasn't changed at all from the first Rock Band game; you still strum along as notes pour down from the top of the screen. But it's still a lot of fun, especially when you have a few friends really getting into the music. The setlist is an odd blend of classic rock, modern hits, and recent tracks that have quickly lost relevance. The eclectic mix works well because there are just enough good songs to hide the less-than-thrilling ones. For instance, the inclusion of "Ghostbusters" is inspired. The catchy riff and infectious chorus are known by just about everyone, and it's awesome to sing along while everyone laughs at the ridiculous subject matter. This camaraderie also makes it easy to stomach lesser tracks, such as the inane Good Charlotte song "Girls & Boys," since it can be just as much fun to mock their embarrassing lyrics.
There are a few features in Lego Rock Band that help make it accessible for a wide audience. The most important inclusion is the ability to turn off the kick pedal for drummers. It can be difficult for less-experienced musicians to coordinate all their appendages into a coherent beat, so being able to focus on keeping time with just your arms alleviates many of the frustrations that go along with using the full kit. You also have the option to play a shorter version of any track in the game. This is perfect for players who don't have quite enough free time to play through the entirety of some of the meandering tracks, but the editing leaves a lot to be desired. Songs often abruptly end right before a chorus or guitar solo begins, which can be jarring, even if you aren't familiar with the full-length versions. Furthermore, overdrive notes often appear right at the end of a song, which makes it impossible to take advantage of them.
Unfortunately, there is no option to expand Lego Rock Band's catalog through the Music Store, so you're stuck with only 45 songs on the disc to play through. Replay value is further hindered by a lack of online functionality, so you cannot challenge friends outside of your home. However, even with these omissions, this is another solid entry in the popular franchise. The charming visuals and goofy story make this a good place to start for Rock Band rookies, and the setlist is quirky enough for everyone else.
Dragon Age: Origins (PS 3)
Dragon Age: Origins Review
Incredible storytelling, great characters, and exciting battles are just a few of the things that make this fantasy role-playing game so extraordinary.The Good
- Spectacular visual design
- Unique, team-based combat
- Fun skill chaining
- Good quest variety.
The Bad
- Generic and forgettable plot
- Disruptive party AI
- Combat gets repetitive
- Customization lacks depth
- Linear with few opportunities for exploration.
When was the last time you felt totally lost in a fantasy gameworld? When was the last time you played a game with such a well-crafted and enjoyable story that you knew you’d remember it for a long, long time? Dragon Age: Origins is that kind of game, so rich and involving that you are powerless to resist its wiles and whims, so touching and triumphant that your mind and heart will be moved. In the fictional land of Ferelden, you meet memorable characters and fight for a cause you believe in, and it's this backdrop that makes developer BioWare's newest role-playing game so extraordinary. Dragon Age is more than a well-crafted story, however: It's a lengthy, intricate, and thoroughly entertaining adventure that's easy to fall in love with
Dragon Age's plot, which deals with the impending invasion of a horde of demonic creatures called the darkspawn, isn't where the story's biggest surprises lie. The shocks, the joys, and the disappointments spring from the repartee among a number of remarkable characters; they lurk within books of lore and stories of martyrs; and they burst forth during spine-tingling moments when you must choose from a selection of difficult choices that affect the tale's direction--and the way your associates interact with you. Ferelden is a colorful and fascinating kingdom that takes enough cues from well-known fantasy tropes to be familiar, but bends enough conventions to feel original. Dragon Age features dwarves, but their caste-based society and the social paragons that rise above it twist the norms enough to keep you intrigued. Mages remain under the constant watch of templars, a restriction that doesn't sit well with those who view such policing as virtual slavery. The role of religion in human circles is of particular note. Chantries provide refuge to those worshiping the all-powerful Maker, and chanters recite the holy word near their houses of prayer. But lest this world sound too serious, don't despair: One such disciple slides food references into her chant, and a few dwarves warn you not to fall into the sky. Small, humorous touches like this are plentiful. Even if you aren't the literary sort, Dragon Age may inspire you to read every note, every character bio, and every creature description, thanks to the richness of the world and the consistency with which it's presented.
You'll learn even more from the companions who join you, and you'll grow to care about them on your quest for glory. There's Morrigan, the cynical apostate mage bound to your cause for reasons that become clear only late in the journey; Sten, the strong, silent type who isn't so quick to reveal his innermost thoughts; and Zevran, a darkly mischievous would-be assassin with a wild streak and a playful disregard for the law. There are others too, including Alistair, a wisecracking, vaguely insecure member of the Grey Wardens, an elite group of champions that recruits you early on. Great dialogue and fantastic voice acting make these characters leap off the screen as if they were real friends, and the way they interact with one another feels authentic. Morrigan and Alistair banter about the role of templars in the lives of mages, and the sweetly devout Leliana tries to communicate with your trusty canine cohort in some amusing exchanges. You may even develop a romance (or two) before all is said and done. The course of love isn't always a smooth one, though it can be a bit steamy, in a PG-13 sort of way.
Relationships must be nurtured; in the world of Dragon Age, love doesn't develop at first sight. Rather, you must improve your standings with available party members by giving them gifts and fulfilling quests in ways that please them. Doing so opens more dialogue options and may even reward you with unexpected gifts beyond the private pleasures of your tent. Your personal relationships aren't all you need to worry about when facing a difficult decision, however. On significant quests, you'll encounter complex choices that force you to weigh the risks against the rewards, even as you try to stay true to your own vision of your character. Are werewolves heartless killers, or is there a method to their madness? Should you wholeheartedly embrace a political candidate, or will some unexpected information have you playing double agent--or just killing the opposition? Such open-ended quests have become staples in many similar RPGs, but few make these decisions feel so momentous. The anxiety that results when you encounter important choices is a result of superb writing and character development: When you care about your destiny, decisions have more weight.
Even Dragon Age's initial moments present important decisions that affect how your adventure plays out. You'll customize your own avatar's look from a variety of presets, but more importantly, you'll choose a race and class. The choices may seem initially limited, but your options eventually expand. Later, you can choose up to two subclasses once you reach the necessary level requirements, and there are a few different means of unlocking additional skill trees. Your initial race and class choices don't just determine the kinds of skills and spells you will have access to, however; they influence how the first few hours of the game progress. You will experience one of six different "origin stories" that follow the events that lead you to the elite Grey Wardens. Every origin story leads to the same place, but that doesn't mean you leave these events behind for good. Characters you met early on will cross your path again, and crucial moments of your origin story will continue to haunt you. The varied origin stories not only provide plenty of replay value, but allow you to see familiar characters from a different angle. A prisoner you meet within a dank dungeon may not have much impact on you if you are playing as a Dalish elf, but if you play as a human mage, this encounter is a bittersweet reunion.
You aren't a lone adventurer, however. You can take up to three companions along with you, and eventually you will meet more willing (or unwilling, as the case may be) darkspawn slayers. You can switch out party members back at your camp or in other friendly areas. Party members you don't use will remain at camp, though they thankfully level up even when you don't take them along. Your comrades aren't just AI-controlled henchmen; you can take full control of any party member at any time, though how you do so depends on the platform. PC owners get the most versatile and rewarding experience in this regard. You can zoom the camera in to a close third-person view when exploring and conversing with non-player characters, or pull the camera back to a tactical view, which makes it a breeze to quickly and easily micromanage every spell and attack, in true Baldur's Gate tradition. On consoles, you always view the action from behind a single character, and you use a shoulder button to switch among them. It's a great way of experiencing the buzz of battle, though occasional pathfinding quirks are more apparent in the console versions, simply because you experience the action from a single perspective at a time, rather than while managing four characters simultaneously.
If you've played a BioWare fantasy RPG in the past, you'll feel right at home with the combat system. By clicking on your target or pressing the attack button, you don't just swing a sword, but you approach your target and queue up your attack. Once your party has gained access to a good number of spells, stances, and skills, battlefields explode with bright colors and raucous sound effects, and it's a lot of fun to switch back and forth between party members, managing your abilities and taking advantage of various spell combos to wreak havoc. There are dozens of different types of enemies to slice up, from giant spiders and darkspawn, to ghosts and walking trees, to demons and, of course, dragons. Allies will join you in the biggest battles, and the best of these, particularly those toward the end of the game, are thrilling. On the PC, they're particularly challenging, and many battles benefit from frequent pausing and tactical thinking, so that you can queue up attacks across your entire party. The same battles on consoles are noticeably easier.
Nevertheless, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions have their challenges, and no matter which platform you choose, you can customize your cohorts' AI behavior to be more effective in battle. Using the tactics menu, you can set characters up to drink potions when their health gets low; have Morrigan cast helpful crowd-control spells when enemies are clustered together; and program sturdier characters to draw enemies' ire when more vulnerable party members are under attack. As you level up, you will earn additional tactics slots, allowing you to implement even more intricate actions. You can also apply basic behaviors to your team members, making them more aggressive or defensive, and you can switch them around on the fly if an experimental custom tactic isn't working as you intended. When things come together as you plan--such as when Morrigan freezes a hurlock in place and Alistair smashes it to smithereens--battles are even more rewarding.
All of these elements coalesce wonderfully, making for a memorable and exciting adventure that keeps you on the move. The flow of loot and pace of leveling are both highly satisfying, and because you have four active characters to consider (in addition to others back at the camp), you spend a lot of time poring over armor and weapon choices. The tempo is even quicker than the Dungeons & Dragons games that preceded Dragon Age, thanks to important tweaks that minimize downtime. For example, you do not need to rest between encounters to replenish your health and recharge your spells. Instead, health and stamina are replenished quickly once the skirmish ends, allowing you to string encounters together without unwanted breaks in between. Should a party member fall during battle, he or she will be resuscitated once the battle has ended, albeit with a stat penalty applied (though it can be cured with an injury kit). These factors, and more, give Dragon Age an excellent sense of forward direction.
All the spells, tactics, and skills sound like a lot to organize, but the interface does a great job of helping you keep track of things. The PC interface is brilliant, letting you browse through your inventory and tweak your quickbars quickly and easily. The console versions do a surprisingly great job as well, making it simple to sort through your quests, and to queue up actions while battle is paused. One particularly useful feature is the ability to identify inventory items as trash and sell them all with a single button press once you're back in town. There are some console-specific interface irritations that could have been cleaner, however. For example, identifying new codex (that is, lore) entries can be troublesome, because the list doesn't scroll down until your highlight cursor reaches the bottom of the window. As a result, you can't always distinguish new entries from old ones, which is an issue that doesn't plague the fantastic PC interface. The consoles' radial menu, on the other hand, is an excellent way of letting you access every battle skill, and it works somewhat like the similar interface in Mass Effect--albeit with a few more layers.
The differences between versions aren't limited to the interface. Dragon Age doesn't look amazing on the PC, but it's an attractive game nonetheless. Zooming from an isometric view to a third-person perspective is slick, and while environments don't hold up quite as well when viewed up close, they're consistently lovely when viewed from above. On the flip side, the Xbox 360 version looks positively disappointing. Textures are highly compressed and colors are washed out, though the upside is that this version maintains a smoother frame rate than on the PlayStation 3, where things might get jittery when swiveling the camera around. The PlayStation 3 version features higher-quality textures than those on the Xbox 360, better color saturation, smoother facial animations, and shorter load times. Minor visual hiccups, like corpses that disappear and reappear, are a bit more common on the PS3, however. The PC version is the superior experience, but if you're choosing between the two console releases, the PlayStation 3 has the upper hand. Some minor glitches are shared between the console versions, however, such as rare occasions when the soundtrack or voice-overs disappear. We also ran into a few quest malfunctions that could be replicated on all three platforms, though they were relatively minor and did not interfere with the progress of the main quest.
No matter which version you choose, however, there are plenty of audiovisual details to note. In many ways, Dragon Age looks and sounds like other high-fantasy games, but while the towers, forest paths, and underground caverns are what you've seen before, the art style is attractive, and a few sights, such as an underground dwarven city, are particularly eye-catching. Character models don't exhibit Mass Effect-level expressiveness, but they look good and animate smoothly enough. Also of note are the splatters of blood that appear on your party members after battle. It's a nice idea, but the splotches look like they've been splashed across you with a paintbrush. The crimson stains are a cool thematic touch, however, because blood plays an important role in Dragon Age. The sound effects are excellent, console glitches notwithstanding, and the soundtrack, while typical for a fantasy game, swells and murmurs at all the right moments.
Few games are this ambitious, and even fewer can mold these ambitions into such a complete and entertaining experience. You might spend 50 or more hours on your first play-though, but there are so many paths to follow, so many details to uncover, and so many ways to customize your party that you'll want to play again as soon as you finish the first time. PC owners even get an extra dash of depth via the downloadable toolset, which lets you create new levels, spells, skills, and even cutscenes. But any way you slice it, here's the fantasy RPG you've been waiting for, the one that will keep you up late at night, bleary-eyed, because you have to see what happens next. Like the best fiction, Dragon Age will sweep you up in its world, so much so that when you're done, you'll want to experience it all over again.
Magna Carta 2 (xbox 360)
Magna Carta 2 Review
Excellent visual style does little to mask Magna Carta 2's middling story and annoying AI.The Good
- Spectacular visual design
- Unique, team-based combat
- Fun skill chaining
- Good quest variety.
The Bad
- Generic and forgettable plot
- Disruptive party AI
- Combat gets repetitive
- Customization lacks depth
- Linear with few opportunities for exploration.
Magna Carta 2 is an unapologetically cliched role-playing game that focuses on real-time, team-based combat, which the game translates into a single-player experience rather successfully. Its novel battle system, emphasizing speed and brutal skill chains, is initially fun, but it eventually struggles with hack-and-slash mechanics and aggravating AI, occasionally regressing into repetitive button mashing. Though the game looks superb and is mildly interesting at some points, its substandard plot and unsophisticated gameplay undermine a lot of the excitement.
The storyline is underwhelming and dull, offsetting its dramatic tone against flat, archetypal characters and a confusing world history. A greedy politician has murdered the queen of Lanzheim and seized the throne, sparking civil war between the usurper and a shoddy resistance group. You control Juto, an amnesic country bumpkin who stumbles into Princess Zephie, the overburdened heiress and a major pawn for the resistance. You guide the duo and Zephie's elite combat unit to retake the throne, unveiling Juto's troublesome past along the way.
The real-time battle system is refreshingly fast-paced, incorporating active, turn-based elements that let you control every aspect of combat while keeping you on your toes. You fuel your abilities with kan--energy stored by constantly slashing opponents with standard attacks. Exerting yourself raises a stamina gauge, and once it's full, you go into an overdrive state that briefly increases your attack power but can cause you to overheat, rendering you unable to attack or use items for a period of time. It takes some finesse to avoid overheating, which you can do by instantaneously switching between party members in the heat of battle; this grants you direct control over every ally's stamina gauge and attacks at a moment's notice, encouraging you to strategize on the fly. Each character possesses two distinct fighting styles and a healthy variety of skills to enliven combat, along with special talents that you activate via onscreen prompts. These abilities often boost your defenses and can help make the game's challenging boss fights less daunting.
The battle system's most enjoyable aspect is its high-speed chaining, which intensifies combat by forcing you to focus on proper timing and stamina management. Ideally, you'll time your basic attacks to keep your party's stamina gauges up. This lets you easily initiate a chain by performing a skill while in overdrive status, though you'll overheat. Your goal is to quickly perform a second skill using another party member who is in overdrive; doing so before the previous member recovers from overheat completes the chain and resets both characters' stamina gauges, freeing them from overheat status and dealing increased damage. If you slip up, however, you'll have two useless characters briefly trapped in overheat. The process may sound complicated, but it's relatively painless to learn, requiring some skill in balancing how long you stay in overdrive against the risks and rewards of chaining. The chaining system's only disappointment is its failure to mature beyond the bare-bones basics, restricting you to repetitive, two-character chain spamming that often devolves into button mashing, which lowers the excitement.
Party AI is functional but frequently problematic. Characters get stuck on environmental obstructions like barricades, trees, or even small dips in the ground, which makes you feel like you're controlling a party of nitwits. Sometimes your allies will stand on affected status areas that are harmful to them or stray too close to a boss, resulting in fevers, poisonings, bouts of vertigo or heavy beatings. Fighting in tight corridors is especially frustrating, because they're usually littered with objects, and the camera zooms in too close, limiting your field of view and making it difficult to manage your party. The AI settings could also use some tweaking; even if your party members are set to attack whatever you target, they'll often loaf around while you're being pummeled or designate their own targets, which interrupts your strategizing. Ultimately, the only way to work around the AI is to assume direct control of offending teammates, which is an annoying distraction.
A good variety of side quests and basic customization provide a little depth to relieve the sometimes finicky combat. These include missions to rescue civilians, hunt vicious monsters, and activate character-specific quests to acquire special gear, but a few frustrating yet thankfully sporadic quest bugs prevent you from receiving rewards. A basic crafting system lets you tweak stats by creating accessories from gems, or you can insert the gems into weaponry to directly enhance abilities. Unfortunately, you can't combine gems to unlock new varieties or forge weapons and consumable items, so the system is limited.
Aesthetically, the game achieves a distinctive, surrealistic look. The expansive, richly detailed environments are well textured, and battle effects are impressive, with colorful lights and flamboyant sequences, though they periodically cause minor slowdown. Characters are creatively designed with exquisite outfits, and everything from facial expressions to fluid battle movements has been expertly modeled. The orchestral soundtrack offers appropriately sullen background music for the serene forests and desolate war zones, along with livelier scores for battles, but it's hardly exceptional. Sound effects are usually grandiose and often gratifying to hear, such as the sound of steel weapons sliding against one another. Voicing is a little melodramatic but competent, so you'll rarely feel the need to reach for the mute button.
The game has a respectable 40 hours of playtime if you complete most side quests, but its replayability is lowered by a noticeable lack of dungeons to explore and a high degree of linearity, restricting your adventuring until you're more than halfway in. The battle system's initial allure also wanes, making one play-through more than sufficient. Magna Carta 2 struggles with irritating AI and a generic plot, leaving its high-speed battle system and impressive visual style as highlights to an otherwise banal adventure. Some combat aspects are enjoyable, but the game's shallowness and redundancy are uninspiring.
DJ Hero (X BOX 360)
This new frontier in rhythm gaming is electrifyingly fun, but the cover charge is steep.
As is the case with almost every rhythm game out there, playing DJ Hero will not prepare you to be an actual DJ. The songs are premixed, the sound effects are preloaded, and the wheel (just one) of steel is actually plastic. Yet, as is also the case with many rhythm games, this is no barrier to having a whole lot of fun. DJ Hero comes with a turntable peripheral that is well engineered and responsive, though it may take a little ingenuity and creative furniture rearrangement to find your optimal playing position. There's a large, diverse catalog of energetic mixes to choose from, many of which are fun just to listen to, let alone play. As you get the hang of tapping, scratching, and crossfading, DJ Hero grabs a hold of you like the best rhythm games do, drawing you into the music and triggering the adrenal rush of performance. Unfortunately, the price of admission to this show is steep: the game and the required turntable cost as much as two full-price games, and significantly more than other single-instrument rhythm games. And those hoping to flex some creative muscle will likely be disappointed with the limited opportunities to do so. Yet despite these drawbacks, DJ Hero is immensely entertaining, and manages to earn its place as a sparkling new star in the rhythm game heavens.
The key element is the wireless turntable peripheral. It's a few inches longer than a horizontally positioned Xbox 360, half as tall, and much, much lighter. It's made up of two pieces: one contains the spinning circular platter, and the other houses the crossfader, effects knob, and other buttons. It is built to accommodate lefties and righties alike, and though it features a few aesthetic touches (like the silver bumps that ring the platter edge), it definitely focuses on function over form. It is so light that it initially feels a little flimsy, but once you get used to it, you'll find it very well suited to the task. The lightness actually encourages you to be more deft with your motions, something that comes in handy once things get hectic.
But don't worry--things get hectic only if you want them to. There is a wide array of difficulty modes to help you get the hang of the relatively few actions you'll have to perform. On the platter are three buttons (green, red, blue), and you tap these to correspond with the note jewels that come down the note highway, much like in Guitar Hero. You hold down one of these buttons and move the platter back and forth to scratch (that is, make that "wikka wikka" sound that people make when they are pretending to be DJs). On easier difficulties, you can move the platter in any direction you want, but as things get tougher, you'll encounter directional scratches that require you to move in certain ways. The noise the scratch makes is prerecorded in the mix, so you don't have any creative control there. The only chance you get to add your own sounds comes courtesy of the effects knob. This allows you to tweak the timbre of the mix during certain sections and lets you choose which of your five preset samples will play when you tap the red button during freestyle sections. You can also earn the ability to briefly rewind the song and play a certain section again. This can be used to boost your score or repeat a favorite section, though it works only in single-player and will occasionally ruin your score multiplier as if you had made a mistake, even if you think you're in the clear. From a creative standpoint, these outlets are minimal, but it can still be fun to add your own spice to the mix.
In addition to tapping and scratching, you'll have to start crossfading once you hit medium difficulty. Every track in DJ Hero is a mix of two songs, and crossfader is used to highlight different songs at different points in the mix. The crossfader is a simple gray tab that moves on a slider between far left, far right, and a central position marked by a small divot. When the crossfader is in the center, both tracks play equally and the screen shows your three colored paths of light (green, red, blue) evenly spaced. The green and blue paths represent the two songs in the mix, and pushing the crossfader all the way left or right will also bump one of those two paths out to the left or right. When you are done highlighting one song, you slide the crossfader back to the center position to resume playing both, and this can be a little tricky. The divot in the center serves as an indicator of the center position, but it doesn't catch the crossfader tab. This allows you to fade from far left to far right unimpeded, but it also makes it easy to overshoot the center. Leaving a finger in the middle can help, and applying some downward force can help you hit the divot a little harder, but it's one of the toughest things to master, and it feels like the turntable design could have been a little more helpful in this regard.
So you're going to need to practice if you hope to crank up the difficulty. DJ Hero is very accommodating to all skill levels, from rhythm game newcomers to hardcore plastic thrashers. Lower difficulty levels start out with simple requirements, and no matter what level you're on, you can never do so badly that you fail a song and it abruptly stops. If you make a mistake, you may hear awkward static or scratches, and one of the tracks may drop out temporarily. Hitting a note or nailing a crossfade will bring that track back up immediately, and the track will come back automatically after a certain amount of time. DJ Hero is geared toward letting you enjoy the music, and the difficulty levels range from super easy to blisteringly hard. Tougher difficulties require faster and more frequent tapping, scratching, and crossfading, and they challenge you to do many of these things at the same time. You'll also see crossfade spikes, which require you to move the crossfader out and back in a quick stabbing motion. If you nail certain sections, you'll earn euphoria. Activating euphoria with the quick press of a button doubles your score multiplier and automatically performs your crossfades for as long as it lasts.
MySims Agents (WII)
Be the most adorable secret agent on the block.
EA has seen a mountain of opportunities with the MySims franchise. Ever since its first release in 2007 on the Wii, the charming characters have partied hard, saved a kingdom, and participated in go-kart races in order to save a sleepy town. The lovable MySims return once more in their third spin-off game, MySims Agents, a title that is both the most original MySims adventure and the best to date.
A very important theme in the MySims games is that of helping others, and MySims Agents promptly follows suit. Players will take on the role of a neighborhood detective during the game's first missions. Once these missions are accomplished, the player will be accepted into a secret agency that is investigating the evil corporation Morcu Corp. Its leader, Morcubus, the series' main antagonist, might be working on an experiment called "The Nightmare Crown". This will force the characters to travel all over the world, view exotic locales, and meet lots of eccentric characters in a story that is intriguing while never taking itself too seriously.
The previous stories in the MySims series were always fun and charming, even if they were secondary. But in MySims Agents, the story is a key element to the enjoyment of the title, and thus has received a substantial upgrade in terms of plot while keeping the charm and wit the series is known for.
MySims Agents starts as a simple adventure title as humble as the beginnings of its lead character. When the game starts, the player is merely a neighborhood detective taking on small cases, which serve as the game's introduction to its mechanics. But once these cases are solved, you catch the attention of a secret agent, beginning a lengthy and even in-depth adventure. One of the first things you earn with your new secret agent rank is your own headquarters in the city. The headquarters will serve as the game's main hub, where the player will be debriefed on the events going on in the storyline.
When a lead on the Morcubus case is discovered, the player is sent to a scene to investigate a small piece of the plot. The first thing to do upon arrival is to talk to the people present and get their side of their story, to see if they are hiding anything that may bring new angles to the case. Once a believable story is found, it is up to the player to investigate the whole scene. Usually, an important item is missing so in order to find out where it was taken, the footsteps of the suspect can be tracked down using a magnifying glass.
There a small element of platforming in MySims Agents, especially during the later levels. Players can use a special gadget that will allow them to move objects around to create steps that will help them reach high places. The secret agent must also be wary of high places, as he or she needs to get to the other side by traveling down a small plank or branch. Jumping from building to building in order to find the odd clue is another useful skill.
During key moments, players will have to partake in various mini-games in order to get the desired clue and move the plot forward. If a door is locked, players can pick the lock by playing a sliding puzzle mini-game. If some DNA evidence is found or the agent needs to determine if the element is legit, a "connect the dots" mini-game appears as a form of analysis. In this mini-game, players have to connect the DNA dots in the right order so the evidence can be successfully analyzed. If there's a machine or object that is essential in solving a mystery, but it is damaged, a mini-game emerges where the player has to properly place the parts. Finally, it wouldn't be a secret agent game without hacking. If a video camera hides footage of the suspect, or a computer has a vital piece of data, the agent will hack it by guiding a dot of light through a maze.
In addition to the main case, there are additional side missions that can be found at HQ. Though you won't be able to participate in them, you can recruit new agents and send them to help solve these cases. During the main adventure, the agents and even the client will call the agent's cell phone and inform the progress of the case. It's a very clever way of adding interactivity to the game, even if the player doesn't get to directly participate in it.
What's important about the side missions is that success is dependent on the agents' skills, which can be modified according to how you decorate the levels of the HQ. In MySims Agents, the tradition of customizing your surroundings is present and accounted for. You can find new items, decorations, and even music that to stylize the room. These items are labeled under five different categories: paranormal, smarts, athletic, charisma, and nature. The items placed in the room will affect the agents' stats. The cases themselves will also be labeled in one of these categories. The higher the teams are in any of these stats, the better chances they have of successfully completing the case.
Successful completion of the cases (both main and secondary) can earn players new costumes and accessories to deck out their character, trophies that work as the game's achievements, and even new characters to recruit and deploy to cases.
MySims Agents surprises in its robust gameplay. A lot of thought and planning went into this new iteration of the franchise, and it shows. Levels are large, allowing the player to explore every nook and cranny. The implementation of stats for the side missions is a clever one and will have players experimenting with a layout that maximizes the agents' stats. There are also a lot of goodies to discover. It is also a moderately long title, with more than ten hours of gameplay. It is also quite balanced in terms of challenge. It is easy enough for any younger player to enjoy, but with enough challenge to keep older players interesting and even hooked. It's one of the best games to play with the family.
The look of the game is also fantastic. Even if it uses some of the same character models from previous games, it does a great job of taking the classic MySims characters and giving them a look that fits the secret agent storyline well. The worlds are also very colorful and detailed, running at a smooth frame rate. Even the music is pleasant to hear, with a soundtrack that changes in real time according to the scene or the level the characters are in at the moment. Of course, the Sims speech remains as charming as ever.
This, however, doesn't mean that the game is perfect. As wonderful as the story is, it has the tendency of dragging in places, affecting the pace of the gameplay. Some of the cut scenes are very chatty, and if the player isn't a fan of the Sims speech, it can be a potential turn-off. The game can also get redundant, thanks to a lot of backtracking and performing the same actions over and over again. Finally, the mini-games also get tedious during the later segments, especially the DNA forensics game.
Despite these flaws, EA has constructed a great game anyone from fans of the series to newcomers can enjoy. It is easily one of the most original games in the series, thanks to its globetrotting, mystery-solving theme along with gameplay that recalls classic game conventions while successfully putting a MySims theme on it. This is one mission players will not regret taking on.
Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2 ( DS )
As an action-packed re-creation of the Naruto anime, Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2 gets the job done, but as a solid fighter, not so much. This stylish brawler is too heavy on the button mashing and too light on the gameplay options and fighting depth to compete with other fighting games. If you're a fan in desperate need of more portable Naruto brawling, this will suffice, but fighting game purists should look the other way.
Ninja Destiny 2 comes with all the standard fighting game modes--Versus, Survival, and Story--none of which are fun for long. Story mode drags you through hours of meaningless random battles as you run back and forth across the world of Naruto performing lame fetch quests and completing uninspired missions. The story is told through fuzzy stills from the anime and poorly condensed text that summarizes events from the show to the point that only hardcore Naruto fans will be able to follow along after the first few missions.
The other modes fare a bit better because they don't drape boring quests around the bare-bones fighting. In addition to regular melee attacks, each of the 34 fighters has a special move and a couple of combos. The specials are easy to figure out, because they just require a press of the A button. The combos are a lot trickier; there's no move list or chart, which means most of the time you'll happen upon them while mashing on the two attack buttons. There are six slots on the touch screen that hold random power-ups, such as double damage or extra energy, but using them in the heat of battle can be tricky.
The touch-screen "buttons" are unresponsive, sometimes requiring multiple taps to register. Since you have to take your thumbs off the fighting controls to activate them, don't be surprised when you finally activate that extra defense power-up just as your ninja drops dead. These power-ups seem like they would add an extra layer of depth to the fighting, but since they're random, they tend to lead to imbalances and unfair advantages. That's not so bad when you're playing against the computer, but it's a real pain when fighting with friends. There are no options to turn these power-ups off, either. Actually, there aren't many options at all--button mapping, move lists, and power-up explanations are all absent.
What you'll find in place of all the options and deep combat is lush visuals that nail the look and feel of the show. The characters fight fast and fluidly, and their outlandish special moves are over the top and fun to watch. The damage doesn't always match the theatrics, though. It seems a bit odd that a special move that incorporates a massive sand tsunami would do less damage than one in which a couple of paintings are brought to life, but such are the mysteries of the ninja. Story mode, boring though it may be, has a nice look about it, and the wilderness of Naruto's world is brought to life in vivid colors. The only hiccup in the visuals is the unsteady frame rate. Some of the more visually intense characters are too much for the game to handle. The music consists of cheesy rock tracks and nonintrusive background tunes inspired by the show. There are voice clips from all of the characters, but they aren't of the best quality.
If you're not a fan of the show, you'll get all you need from Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2 in about as much time as it takes you to finish saying its name. The fighting is serviceable for a little while, and the visuals are nice, but the lack of options, the shallow fighting mechanics, and the tedious Story mode keep this game from fighting game fame. There's no compelling reason to spend time mashing buttons on this one.
GTAIV Ballad of Gay Tony (XBOX 360 )
The current iteration of Liberty City is home to a great number of interesting people, but until now you've been able to play only as two of them. In Grand Theft Auto IV you assumed the role of illegal immigrant Niko Bellic as he stepped off a boat from Eastern Europe. In The Lost & Damned downloadable episode you played as biker gang member Johnny Klebitz. And now in the The Ballad of Gay Tony, which is being released both as a downloadable episode and as part of the Episodes from Liberty City stand-alone retail product, you play as nightclub owner Tony Prince's business partner and confidant, Luis Lopez.
Despite the fact that he shows no remorse, and even appears to enjoy killing people for money, Lopez is a multifaceted and extremely likable protagonist. In part, that's because he's clearly someone who wants to better himself after doing a stint in prison for dealing drugs as a teenager, even if he's not going about it in a way that any parole officer would approve of. Lopez is loyal to a fault, so while the missions you undertake in his shoes are rarely selfless acts, you often perform them primarily to help other people out. A lot of the time it's his business partner, Tony, whose life needs sorting out, but missions also come courtesy of childhood friends, the always-amusing son of an Arab billionaire, the older brother of a previously prominent character, and a disapproving mother who has fallen on hard times, to name but a few.
Depending on how you play and choose to move around the city, Lopez's never-a-dull-moment story will likely take you around 10 to 12 hours to play through. Mandatory missions are significantly more varied than those in either the original game or the previous downloadable episode. To cite examples would be to risk spoiling some of the most memorable moments, but in addition to the regular gunplay and driving, you can expect missions to incorporate plenty of helicopter combat and parachute jumps, a handful of cage fights, and even something resembling a game of golf. You can also expect to experience some missions from both Niko's and Johnny's stories from a different perspective, which will bring a smile to your face if you've played through them before. All of these missions are a lot of fun, and your performance in each of them is now rated based on the time taken, damage sustained, enemies killed, and other mission-specific criteria. Scores are then uploaded to online leaderboards, and once you've beaten the game, you have the option to revisit any mission in an attempt to improve your rating or just to play through your favorites again.In addition to story missions, Liberty City is again filled with all manner of optional activities--many of which expand upon gameplay mechanics introduced as you progress through the game. For example, base jumping isn't something that you're required to do very often, but it's so easy to grasp and so much fun to do that after your first freefall you'll almost certainly want to check out all 15 of the optional jumps that are scattered across the city. Furthermore, there's a good chance that you'll end up making some of them multiple times, not only because riding a motorcycle off the roof of a skyscraper and then parachuting down onto a moving boat is a blast, but also because each jump has its own objective (typically a target on the ground or a moving vehicle) and is scored in the same way that missions are.
Drug Wars, another optional undertaking, are another great addition. Early on, there's a distinct lack of gunplay in Lopez's storyline, and while that's certainly not the case for the duration, you're undoubtedly going to be looking for an excuse to play with some of this episode's new weapons. Sticky bombs, a .44 pistol, an advanced sniper rifle, and an automatic shotgun with explosive rounds are all excellent additions to the GTAIV arsenal, and they're way too much fun to just have them sitting in your inventory. And that's where Drug Wars challenges come in: There are 25 in total, and they generally involve plenty of shooting as you help a couple of smalltime dealer friends to rip off their rivals.If you'd rather test the expanded arsenal against other players than against street gangs, you can hop into The Ballad of Gay Tony's multiplayer suite at any time via an option on your in-game cell phone. Unlike The Lost & Damned, which introduced a number of brand-new modes to GTAIV, this latest episode only offers modes from GTAIV, albeit enhanced with a few new features. The Free Play mode now seems designed primarily for players who want to make parachute jumps and impress one another with stats that let everyone know how long you were falling for and how close to the ground you opened your chute; Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch games benefit from the inclusion of new weapons and location options; and Race and GTA Race contests (the latter are races that encourage the use of weaponry) play quite differently now that every vehicle comes equipped with a nitrous tank that gradually refills after every death-defying use. New street circuits have clearly been designed with nitrous use in mind, because they incorporate lengthy straight sections and some spectacular jumps.
When you're not taking down drug gangs, jumping from tall buildings, or racing exotic sports cars that have never been seen in Liberty City before now, you might opt to spend some time at one of the nightclubs that you partially own, either partying or putting in some hours at work. If you do the former, you can take part in a simple champagne-drinking minigame in the VIP area or strut your stuff on the dance floor in a rhythm-based game that starts out simple but has the potential to get more challenging if everyone else on the floor decides to join in with a full routine. Other potential outcomes when you start dancing with a girl don't involve gameplay at all, and while they're hardly surprising, they're still pretty amusing.
Working in the club is a quite different experience, and while there's still some interaction with members of the fairer sex to be had, much of your time is spent walking around and keeping an eye on things. Standing in certain spots will shift you to a first-person perspective so that you can look for trouble more easily, but it's a message in your earpiece that alerts you when, for example, a drug dealer is operating inside the club and needs to be ejected. Time spent working in the club isn't particularly entertaining, and it would more or less be a waste of time if it weren't for the random missions that crop up and bring your shift to an end prematurely. These play out a lot like story missions and can include anything from helping a high-profile patron escape the paparazzi to running halfway across Liberty to fetch a snack for a supermodel while her assistant calls you every two minutes for an update.
As you'd expect, there's no shortage of humor in The Ballad of Gay Tony, and while plenty of it comes in the form of phone conversations during gameplay, a great deal of it is deftly delivered during cutscenes that are noticeably longer than those in previous games. Both Lopez and the titular "Gay" Tony Prince are wonderfully voiced and animated, but it's tough to call them standouts because there are so many other characters who are every bit as impressive. The cast is arguably even better than that in GTAIV, which perhaps isn't surprising given that a couple of the best characters from Nico's storyline make cameo appearances in Lopez's.
If you've revisited Nico's storyline recently, or Johnny's for that matter, you've probably noticed that GTAIV's visuals are starting to show their age. It's still impressive to see an environment the size of Liberty City rendered with such attention to detail, but jagged edges and frequent, noticeable texture pop-in are a little more difficult to overlook now than they were almost 18 months ago. The audio, on the other hand, continues to be impressive. The city sounds like a city, vehicle engines have satisfying roars, conversations between pedestrians often raise a smile, and there are even additional radio stations up and running in Liberty now, such as Vice City FM, which you'll love if you were a fan of the '80s music in 2002's GTA: Vice City. Incidentally, you can find new content on the TV as well as on the radio, including not only the latest episode of the Republican Space Rangers cartoon, but also an amusing anime spoof titled Princess Robot Bubblegum.
The Ballad of Gay Tony wouldn't be difficult to recommend as a full retail product, so at 1,600 Microsoft points this downloadable content really is a steal. There's a lot of content here, even if you just play through the superb story without ever checking out any of the optional activities. You might be disappointed that this episode doesn't bring much in the way of new multiplayer content to the table, and it's true that one or two of the optional activities aren't as much fun as they might have been, but the incredible value offered by The Ballad of Gay Tony is undeniable. This is superb additional content for one of the very best games of last year, and you won't want to stop playing it until you've sat through the entertaining and enlightening end credits.
Tekken 6 ( XBOX 360 )
Despite the dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of moves available per pugilist, intricate juggle combos, complex counters, and esoteric gameplay quirks that have evolved through five prequels, Tekken 6 is an altogether welcoming fighting game. For veterans, the game offers the most comprehensive roster in the history of the series, a new way to extend damaging combos, and enough change to--whilst not exactly feeling brand new--make it feel exciting to play Tekken again. For newcomers, the game's comprehensive training modes and expansive single-player beat-'em-up campaign serve as an enticing gateway into the world of the King of Iron Fist Tournament. For everyone else, Tekken 6 features the same outstanding qualities that have made the series a fighting favorite on consoles: deep yet accessible mechanics, as well as excellent extra features not seen in arcades. Whether you're a complete stranger to the series, an occasional masher, or someone who can pull off 10-hit combos without dislocating a finger, the superb Tekken 6 has plenty to offer you.
That abundance begins with Tekken 6's roster, which is a beefy lineup that features 41 fighters, including old stalwarts, such as Kazuya, Lei, Paul, Nina, Jin, and others. It also includes more recent additions from Dark Resurrection, such as Lili and the emo-Nazi look-a-like Dragunov. Even series veterans may find Tekken 6's jam-packed character selection screen a little overwhelming because it's initially tough to identify characters from their small portraits alone. But once you've found your favorites, experienced Tekken players will see that the tweaks and changes made to the move sets of returning characters are, for the most part, minor. Most characters get a new attack or two, some stances have been modified, and it seems the damage dealt by some of the more powerful combos in the past have been slightly toned down. Despite this, all of the returning characters feel completely familiar, so you'll never feel like you have to relearn your favorite fighter from scratch.
It's not all veterans, of course, with six new characters making their home console debut in Tekken 6. These include: Bob, a rotund American fighter who is deceptively speedy for his size; Leo, an androgynous German martial arts specialist; Miguel, a Spanish brawler who seems to rely more on power than speed; Zafina, a member of a mysterious secret order who sports some creepy and unusual stances; Alisa, a seemingly naive young girl who's actually a jetpack-and-chainsaw-wielding android; and Lars, who has some relation to the sprawling Mishima bloodline (hence his move set similarity to Jin and Kazuya). Of the new recruits, Zafina feels the most unique, thanks to her distinctive-looking moves that incorporate stance-based attacks, such as the off-putting tarantula, which sees her get down on all fours to creep low along the ground. Alisa is just sheer fun to play as given her frankly bizarre move list, which includes using her own head as an explosive and a whole series of attacks based on her chainsaw appendages.
A fembot with chainsaws for hands may seem overpowered in a fighting game, but Tekken 6 manages the tough task of presenting a well-balanced brawler despite the abundance of characters. For novices, Tekken's fight mechanics--each limb assigned to a button on the controller, with special moves usually performed via button combos and directional stabs on the D pad or control stick--are just as easy to get into as they have been in the past. Most of the hundreds of moves in the game are a cinch to perform individually, which means you'll be able to pull off some flashy moves from the get-go. Stringing them together into increasingly damaging combos, however, will take some practice, which is where the game gets deliciously deep. Juggle combos--where you launch your opponent into the air and try to keep him or her there--are still integral to the Tekken experience for expert players. Other important moves include throw counters, wall juggles, roll evasions, and various in-depth strategies. For those already comfortable with their various 10-hit combos, Tekken 6 introduces a new way to deal extended damage. The bound system essentially allows you to extend combos by slamming an airborne opponent into the ground, leaving him or her momentarily vulnerable for further strikes. Just as with juggles, each of the characters has his or her own bound launcher, and it's a great new addition for Tekken fanatics to explore.
While those with only moderate Tekken experience probably won't be performing too many juggle or bound strings, everyone will be able to make use of Tekken 6's other biggest gameplay addition: rage. Rage kicks in when your character's health drops to about 10 percent, bathing him or her in a red aura and significantly increasing the damage he or she dishes out. It's pretty exciting when you're able to pull off a miraculous win, thanks to your rage-fuelled strikes, but the rage system is one that's unlikely to change the course of most matches because by the time it kicks in, you're usually only one hit away from oblivion.Tekken 6 packs in plenty of gameplay, which starts with an Arcade mode. As in Tekken 5, Arcade allows you to gain ranks for each individual character you decide to try out. If you're an utter recluse or just don't have access to the Internet, the game also tries to emulate the experience of playing against real people by having your AI opponents appear with their own individual gamer names, win/loss ratios, and ranks. The AI here is strong--there are five difficulty levels to choose from, ranging from ridiculously easy to frustratingly tough, so there's a good chance you'll find a fit for your own experience level. If Arcade mode isn't your bag, then you can take on a virtually endless lineup of opponents in Ghost Battle, which is a mode that pits you against the ghost data of real players downloaded online. There are also the stock-standard fighter modes of Survival and Time Attack, as well as two dedicated two-player modes--VS Battle and Team Battle, the latter of which allows you and a friend to choose up to eight characters to fight in consecutive battles.
If you find yourself getting pummeled too often by your friends or the AI, Tekken 6 features a comprehensive Practice mode that allows you to polish your moves. Practice won't take you through the very basics (such as movement, blocking, throw counters, and more), but newcomers will still get plenty from this mode, thanks to the helpful way the game demonstrates every move. This includes showing you the specific timing required for each button and direction press. Practice can also help you shore up your defense, with a dedicated mode that lets you set an AI opponent's attack so you can better identify each move and counter it in a real match.While previous Tekken home releases featured several extra modes outside of the one-on-one fighting core, Tekken 6 only has one extra: the beat-'em-up mode dubbed the Scenario Campaign. Unlike previous Tekken bashers, such as Tekken Force or Devil Within, this is no short-lived distraction. The Scenario Campaign is a surprisingly addictive multihour marathon that takes place over a wide variety of environments. It's also a must-play if you're at all interested in the story of Tekken 6, since it follows the adventures of two new characters--Lars and Alisa. During their adventures, they try to unravel the global-war-raging machinations of the Jin-controlled Mishima Zaibatsu, find out what part the Kazuya-controlled G Corporation plays, and discover just how the game's end boss (the Egyptian godlike Azazel) fits into the whole story. The Scenario Campaign is also the only place you'll see each character's full video ending, which is another highlight of previous Tekken games and definitely a winner for Tekken 6. After completing the first few levels of the Scenario Campaign, an Arena mode becomes unlocked. Acting like a truncated Arcade mode, Arena allows you to play through the storyline for all of the characters. It starts with captioned still images that outline their involvement in the latest King of Iron Fist Tournament and culminates in their ending movie. Unlike Arcade mode, however, you won't have all of the characters unlocked immediately--you'll have to unlock them by playing through the Scenario Campaign and defeating them when they appear as boss characters at the end of each level.
But figuring out the convoluted plot of Tekken 6 isn't the only reason to play through the excellent Scenario Campaign. This mode could almost be a full game on its own, taking five or six hours to complete and having plenty of replay value, thanks to its compelling item-drop system. While the Scenario Campaign tells the story of Lars and Alisa, you can play the mode as any character you've unlocked, although all of the major cutscenes will still feature the two main protagonists. In terms of gameplay, the Scenario Campaign isn't too taxing on the old synapses--you and your AI-controlled partner Alisa will have to fight through waves of enemies. And while the controls are initially fiddly to come to terms with, you'll quickly get used to them. You can move freely anywhere on the screen using the left thumbstick, and when enemies are within view, you can use the D pad to pull off your character's moves and the right bumper to switch targets. It's a lot of fun, if a little repetitive, although it's a mystery why two-player offline co-op play wasn't included in this mode.
As opposed to Tekken's previous attempts at a beat-'em-up, the Scenario Campaign mode actually features a decent number of different enemy types and environments. And while it's easy for most of its duration, the difficulty ramps up considerably in its final few stages. But what makes it most worth playing are the items that certain enemies drop when defeated. These items are pieces of clothing for every Tekken 6 character, and there are literally hundreds to collect. These items include new shirts, pants, shoes, headgear, accessories, weapons, and more, with each item having its own unique properties that confer special bonuses when worn. You can find clothing that will increase your health; increase defense; add elemental properties, such as fire or ice, to your attacks; improve the value of items dropped, and much more. It's an almost role-playing-game-like loot system, giving plenty of incentive to keep playing Scenario to get better gear for each of the game's 41 characters.
But even if you don't play Scenario, you can still buy any of the hundreds of different costume items for each character using money earned in almost every other mode in Tekken 6. There's a ton of customization available here: Ever want to know what Panda looks like wearing a pink bikini? Don't like the particular shade of Lei's shirt? Think Eddie looks better wearing a baseball cap? Or would you prefer your Ganryu with angel wings? You can mix and match to your heart's content; thus, with some truly wacky costume options, it'll be easy to come up with a unique look for your favorite fighter.You can show off your uniquely costumed character in Tekken 6's online modes, although any bonuses that piece of clothing may have in the Scenario Campaign won't carry over into proper bouts. The game has both ranked matches for battle points and friendly bouts where you can set up lobbies with up to three other people. The matches we played since the servers went live this week globally have been mostly stable with very few dropouts, but lag seems to be an issue with most matches. With slower connections, you'll notice a definite gap between your controller input and what's happening on screen, and there seems to be a very slight lag with even the fastest links. It's not unplayable, and if you're just after a few fun games against players online it plays well as long as you're on a decent connection. But anyone serious about their Tekken will recoil in horror at the input lag present.
A much more interesting online option is the ability to download ghost data from players all over the world. You can download up to 100 different "real" personalities, which you can then play in the offline game to help improve your skills against the top players in the world (your own ghost data becomes uploaded automatically). These ghost players do act noticeably different to the game's AI, and they're often a better option than trying to find stable connections to play online when you're hankering for some real competition. You can also download replays of people's matches, which is another great training tool if you want to see how the best go about their brutal business.
Tekken 6 looks impressive, but it's not the prettiest fighter out there. There are definitely some impressive details to be found on each character model, and the whole game runs smoothly at 60 frames per second, but some of the game's textures look rather bland. Skin, for example, looks pretty waxy, giving near-nude characters like Ganryu a mannequin-like look. There's also some noticeable aliasing to be found on the game's various stages, from which both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions suffer. The game's stages, in fact, can be a little too distracting. There's plenty going on in each level, such as helicopters crashing, jets flying by, and even livestock milling around, but some of these aren't rendered in impressive ways. Seeing a poorly animated sheep or pig bounce away as you accidentally hit it, for example, just serves to draw your attention away from the solid fighting. Thankfully, the sound is quite impressive, with solid and bone-crunching effects adding a great deal of believability to your every strike. But perhaps Tekken 6's most apparent technical downside has to do with its load times. They're not so long as to break the game, but there are noticeable lags when matches load and character models appear on selection screens. Installing is practically a prerequisite on the PS3 version to get it on par with the Xbox 360, which features shorter load times from the get-go.While a bouncing pig may be a slight distraction and the online can be disappointing, it's nowhere near enough to dull the outstanding qualities that Tekken 6 has to offer. For fans, Tekken 6 is the most complete Tekken experience so far. It features a large roster, strong customization options, and tight mechanics, and it's sure to be a time sink as you enjoy battle after battle and strive to perfect your skills. If you're a newcomer, the game is as welcoming as ever, and there's plenty here to keep you occupied until you're ready to start busting out your own combos. If you're a fighting fan or are just curious to dip a tentative fist into the genre, then Tekken 6 is the game for you.